I have be so excited to share this week’s column with you because it is more then just a fashion piece, it is about life and how quickly things can change for the better if you take the first step!

As New Years Eve approaches it is only natural that we reflect on the past year. We each hope for the future and start to think ‘will anything be different this year?’ It’s okay to reflect on the past, but don’t dwell in it. Look back, see your accomplishments and appreciate them, then look at your failures as opportunities to make a change or try again. When you look to the future make sure that you don’t look so far ahead that you miss the here and now. The reality is that the journey is what makes life so special.

Now, this all didn’t come to me today; it has taking years to understand. I spent so much time dwelling on people and things that I couldn’t change that I got lost in it all. This year I decided to put myself first, and because of that I have been able to find true happiness. I am not saying that my life is perfect by any stretch, but it is a work in progress towards the right direction. I never knew that by doing the things that I loved and actually making myself the priority in my own life could make so many other things to fall into place.

If you want to make a positive change in your life, now is the time to do it. Don’t wait until next year and definitely don’t wait for someone else to do it for you. Life is a special wonderful thing, but it comes without any future guarantee for happiness, so make the best of what you have today! Think about the future but don’t miss the journey because it’s those moments along the way that shape who we are.

I couldn’t leave you with out any fashion advice this week, so I decided to share with you the ways that you can celebrate the New Year looking fabulous with out breaking the bank. In the aftermath of spending money on holiday presents, splurging on a NYE dress is just not an option for me, so I decided to resurrect an oldie but a goodie and put a new spin on it. You can do the same. Take a dress that maybe you have worn before and rework your accessories, change your handbag, add a necklace or jacket to make it look different. My favorite thing is to have a classic black dress and let the paired accessories speak for themselves. You don’t have to break your budget to ring in 2012 in style.

The best things in life are free and the best fashion in life is finding something old and making it special again. Rehabbing an item from your closet is kind of like learning from past experiences and moving on—you take the best of what you had with you into the future— except it’s a different, better version.  See examples of how to vary your look…

Fashionably Yours,

Melissa