The story of

Beautiful on a Budget

Don’t go broke trying to look rich.

I’ve always been a lover of all things fashion for as long as I can remember. What started as being so particular about my outfit as a kid and playing dress up, evolved into a deep passion. In high school, I was that girl who dressed up every single day and was nominated for ‘best dressed’ my senior year. I even had a blog in high school, Carly’s Clothes Closet, that solely consisted of mirror selfies every morning, but I was too nervous to share it with my friends.

When it came time to apply for colleges, I applied to SCAD and got in. I toured the Atlanta campus where their fashion department was and absolutely fell in love. I was dead set on this dream! After deliberating with my family, a year at SCAD would be more than my entire time at KSU. We made a deal — I’d go to an accredited college, get a business degree, and then it was off to grad school at SCAD to pursue my fashion career.

Well, it’s funny how things work out because my plan for the future took a different course. Instead of a business degree, I got a my Bachelors in Journal and Emerging Media, and went on to grad school for digital media. I ended up starting a new blog and landing my dream job as a magazine editor. It was a dream come true! Fast forward to three years after I graduated, and I made a career switch to a marketing agency. While it doesn’t entail writing about the latest fashion trends and high-end products, I’m happier than ever and inspired by my work. But I’ve been missing my creative outlet, so it was only right that Beautiful on a Budget made comeback!

So here's the story...

2015

THE BEGINNING

As I entered my junior year of college, I was looking for a creative outlet to share my love of fashion — and Beautiful on a Budget was born.

2017

DREAMS COMING TRUE

It was the start of a new year, I was a college grad, and I just landed my dream job as a magazine editor. The blog was starting to take off and I was getting in a steady routine with it!

2018

GOING FOR IT

I’d be blogging for quite a bit now and incorporating Instagram more and more. I was sharing my everyday work outfits, beauty favorites, and all the fun things I did in the city. I was pretty much working 2 full-time jobs to make both dreams a reality!

2020

TAKING A STEP BACK

I kept the steady routine and schedule with Beautiful on a Budget for several years and loved it. As March of 2020 rolled around, I tried to continue with it, but it was a heavy time and I just couldn’t bring myself to have photoshoots and shop for new stuff. It took a back seat to my career, and eventually came to a halt.

2022

THE COMEBACK

Now, here we are — entering the last quarter of the year. The past few months I’ve been longing to bring back my blog. I wanted to reinvent the space to better capture who I am, and where I’m at in life now. Things looks totally different, but I couldn’t be happier. So what better time to make a comeback, then now?

it’s about to get really good…

What you can expect

on Beautiful on a Budget

A glimpse into…