What I Did

• Two non-commercial days a week: I write about it here. I guess by not only not purchasing anything on those days, but also by not browsing or partaking in my usual consumer habits I spent a lot more time reading. So I was able to finish 4 books this month (I don’t think I’ve read this much since college lol).

• Finished reading: Quit Like A Woman by Holly Whitaker, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown, Effortless: Make It Easier To Do What Matters Most by Greg McKeown, and The Art of Making Memories by Miek Wiking. I’ve decided to go into the details of these books and what I’ve learned from them in a separate books-related post coming Thursday! I figured I would keep it relatively short and sweet here, and if you’re interested in these books you can see what I have to say about them in of couple days (and if not you can easily skip it!).

• From reading Quit Like a Woman, I started a morning ritual. It consist of drinking hot water with lemon, reading 10-15 minutes of a spiritual book (right now I’m rereading Eckhart Tolle’s New Earth), and meditating for 5-10 min. I started on 3/7 and am going to try to continue it for 40 days until this ritual becomes a habit. {Update: Ok so I admittedly am not doing this consistently perfect—some days I don’t meditate until Emi is dropped off at school, or I don’t always drink the lemon water. But I’m ok with doing the best I can imperfectly. And I think the days I am able to accomplish all three before Emi wakes up, I feel more centered and productive in general.)

• Updated the following blog posts: Augustinus Bader Shampoo review (a follow-up after having finished the bottle), my original Augustinus Bader Rich Cream review (about the AB club), my Pepper bra review, and Buying Secondhand Jewelry from Etsy (I discovered a way to save around 15% off the Etsy-listed price and wanted to share it with you guys—scroll to the bottom).

• I turned 39 this month and my daughter turned 3. I feel pretty good about it and I look forward to enjoying the last year of my 30’s (alcohol free and hopefully more focused on the important stuff with lots of gratitude)!

What I Bought

Farm Salt truffle salt: I used to purchase this yearly (or basically every time I ran out) and used it so liberally that my husband said it was too much (but IMHO you can never have too much truffle flavor lol). Well I stopped purchasing it for a bit, but after eating a whole bag of truffle salt-flavored kettle chips (which were waaaay to salty) I decided to skip the chips and just go back to my old favorite. Luckily this small Etsy shop is still in biz and still selling their high-quality truffle salt!

Everlane Way-High Drape Pants (with credit): I had been eyeing loose trousers since the trend first appeared about a year ago, but didn’t think it was for me (especially since I’m not working in an office, so where would I go with said trousers?). But I checked my Everlane account and I still had some credit left from my referrals, so I decided to try them out. And I love them! They are the perfect baggy trousers I’ve been looking for, but now I need to find someplace to wear them to. Well I guess you can never be too overdressed for the grocery store these days 😂. They come in a fun gingham fabric as well now. Oh and I’m wearing the short version here and the hem just hovers over the floor when I’m wearing my 3” platform shoes (and I’m 5’4”).

Quince Pave Diamond Slim Signet Ring (with credit): I admired this style of ring when Mejuri first came out with it, but I wasn’t willing to spend $385+tax on it (eek they just raised their prices so it’s now $400+tax). Well lucky for me Quince just released their version their past month and I was able to use credit to purchase it (thank you again to all those who used my Quince referral link to get $20 off). Even though it was just released this month, they’re already low in stock. And I’m not surprised since it’s a gorgeous sparkly ring that’s simple but makes an impact.

Rudy Jude Day Blouse: I purchased this secondhand from Helen when she had a mini closet sale. I’ve always loved the Day Blouse, and I even purchased a dupe hand made by Christina. But when I got the opportunity to buy the real deal I couldn’t pass it up. Full review coming soon!

What I Was Gifted

Hahaland toys: I guess you can call me a mommy-blogger now because this is the second month in a row I was gifted a toy for Emi. The people at Hahaland kindly asked if I wanted to review any of their offerings, and after seeing both fun and educational toys I couldn’t resist. I find toys (even those made of plastic) have a long use-life since they’re something I can hand down to my friends’ kids and they in turn pass it down to more kids. And free toys are always a bonus (including the ones handed down to Emi) because you never know what a kid will end up liking. Full review of the Hahaland toys coming soon.