These monthly recaps are henceforth replacing my “What I Bought” posts. Since I want to get away from being so material/consumer-minded, I want to place less emphasis on acquiring things. I originally wanted to name the post “What I Bought and Did in January” but that felt limiting. So without further ado, here is my first monthly recap:

What I Did

• Finished reading Consumed by Aja Barber: I can officially say I’m no longer addicted to shopping fast fashion (ff) so I read the bulk of this book from the POV of agreeing with her though not necessarily needing her tips. But if you’re still shopping ff and want to stop, or still shopping ff from the point of view “I’m broke and can’t afford anything else”, then I highly recommend checking out this book. But what I found most helpful from Aja’s book is her discussion about ff and race/colonialism. There is very much a colonial/imperial way of thinking when it comes to ff. It’s basically made with slave labor (because garment workers aren’t earning living wages) for the Global North, who then wear it less than a handful of times, and then dispose of it back in a country in the Global South. And she also reminded me that the purpose of marketing/social media is to make me feel “less than” so that I keep spending. It really was the perfect read for my #LessNew2022 goals this year!

• A #NoBuy10x10 on Insta: I kicked off the year with a 10x10 challenge on Insta. As I mentioned in a weekend post, I really enjoyed doing it since it helped me get some use out of clothes that I don’t normally wear. I have a full closet of clothes and yet I get lazy and wear the same things all the time. This little challenge definitely got my creative styling juices going and I plan to do 10x10s more often to get some good use out of the things I have. I’ll do this challenge again in June and July (my next planned No-Buy months) but I’m thinking of possibly doing one a month too. TBH doing the 10x10 got me excited to get dressed again in the mornings (even if it’s only for an hour before I change back into my loungewear lol). It also helped me appreciate my closet full of clothes.

• This year I’m also going to focus on updating older posts to let you know how things wear or whether or not I thought something was worth it after the initial honeymoon phase passes. Some of the posts I’ve updated include: Augustinus Bader Review: The Body Cream Vs. The Body Lotion (an update after finally finishing the cream), the Augustinus Bader Rich Cream review (about changes to their auto-replenishment deal), Buying Secondhand Jewelry From Etsy (added a couple more Etsy shops that I bought from last year to the list), my big Quince review from last year—specifically the socks portion of the review, the Two Days Off Haruko Dress Review, the Ree Projects Mini Helene Tote review, and my 2015 Everlane vs. J.Crew cashmere comparison post.

• I repaired my birkenstocks (in December actually), and added some much needed grippy soles to my Martiniano Glove shoes (they also did a wonderful job of cleaning them up). All with my local shoe repair guy who only charged me $58 for both.

• Resized a couple rings: After pregnancy I found that most of my rings were only fitting on either my ring or pinky fingers, and so I wasn’t wearing most of them (since I have my go-to for my ring fingers—my wedding rings on my left and my grandmother rings on my right). So I decided to resize my rings so that I would actually wear them more often, and thus appreciate what I already have. Resizing wasn’t cheap but it’s cheaper than buying new jewelry.

• Checked out my new local zero-waste store and was really happy I could refill my body lotion bottle that’s been sitting empty for awhile now. I’ve been trying out lotion bars but I don’t like having to rub it on and then there’s a residual greasy feel. So I’m so glad there’s finally a zero waste store in my neighborhood!

• Dry January: My plan is to be alcohol free this year, starting with Dry January. And tbh it was easy because we spent a lot of time hunkering down at home and not gathering with friends (thanks to Omicron). So we’ll see how easy/hard it will be once we start doing social gatherings again (but I’m pretty determined to resist peer pressure). I think the one thing that can bring me down is if I start craving a good red wine (which luckily hasn’t happened yet). But man, living in American and trying not to drink is no easy task (I mean you see ads for alcohol everywhere and people drinking on tv shows allll the time).

What I Bought

Fabiana Pigna blouse from eBay: Actually this was a December purchase but I forgot to add it there (oops). I first found this brand through Erica and loved their simple yet architectural pieces. But I wasn’t a fan of their price so I saved a search for it on eBay, and was happy to get this blouse for about $70. Only later did I find out that Fabiana Pigna is a BIPOC designer (she’s from Venezuela) and that all her clothes are made in LA.

Birdies shoes: This was another December purchase (I bought it during our trip to LA) and it was my last new purchase of 2021. I’ve been wearing it with my 10x10 challenge and it’s super comfy. And you can read my full review of my Birdies shoes here.

Alohas loafers: So I impulse-ordered these loafers back in October when I was on the search for some platform loafers (after trying the Ganni ones from the RealReal that didn’t fit). Anyway I totally forgot about them because they were a pre-order, and they just came in this month. My first impression is that they are comfortable and run TTS. Will review them and talk about Alohas more in a future review.

So I’m happy to report that I was able to complete my no-buy goals for January (with only a couple temptations I had to resist—ahem Grechen’s closet sale on Insta). We’ll see how it goes, but I hope to keep up a more mindful consumption pattern and to make do with what I already have!