So how did I do for the second month of my low-buy year?

What I Did

• My first thrift trip to Crossroads and first time consigning in-store at the RealReal: You can read my experience at the RealReal store here.

• Finished reading these books from the library:

  • The Chiffon Trenches: A Memoir by Andre Leon Talley: This was an interesting peek behind the curtains of the real workings at Vogue from the point of view of an outsider of sorts (a black man raised in the Jim Crow south) though he was in with all the right fashion people. There’s of course a lot of name dropping and some dishing, but I did find ALT’s encyclopedic knowledge of fashion edifying. I found myself constantly looking up garments he was describing in the book, as well as a lot of french-origin words that I had no idea the meaning of. I don’t really read a lot of memoirs so I don’t know how this compares, but I liked it and found his description of working during the golden days of fashion magazines to be interesting.

  • The Day The World Stops Shopping by J.B. Mackinnon: Wow this book is so good and one I really needed to read. The author writes this book with the premise, what would happen if consumption decreased by 25% across the board, all over the world and stayed that way (for reference, in the US consumer spending only went down about 3% during the pandemic shutdowns of 2020 but then bounced right back up). First there would be a consumer disaster much like war where unemployment and poverty would sky-rocket. But at the same time we would lower carbon emissions, prevent mass extinctions, and change the course of our current climate trajectory. We would also adapt and and society will change (for better or worse). We might start valuing things other than just stuff—maybe live more authentic lives. This is a very simplistic recap of course and the book goes into so many aspects of this thought experiment (and since it was completed in 2021, it does touch upon the pandemic as well). I highly highly recommend reading this book. I enjoyed it so much that I (ironically) might go out and buy it.

• Alcohol-free for another month. This month was the first where I had to tell my usual drinking buddies that I’m not drinking for the year. Luckily they’ve been understanding and none of them have pressured me to drink, whew (I guess we are all getting older and more mature 😂). Yes they were a bit disappointed (and tbh probably don’t believe I can do it lol) but they were kind not to ask too much about it. So I’m feeling good about it all! Also I borrowed the “Quit like a woman” book from the library so thank you to a reader for suggesting it!

• Fertilized all my indoor houseplants: Spring is in the air (and we’re already getting highs in the mid-70s here), so the growth season is upon us. I like to fertilize my plants at least once (if not twice) during the warmer months since I love seeing new leaves lol. I use Joyful Dirt because not only is it organic and nontoxic, but it’s really easy to use (just sprinkle some on the dirt and then water the plant). I’ve tried liquid fertilizers before and it can get kind of messy. This one is just like sprinkling a little pepper on your plant.

• Participated in the #ShopYourWinterWardrobe challenge on Insta: I talked a lot about doing another 10x10, but at the end of the day I just didn’t have the energy (and health) for it. So I joined a minimally challenging Insta challenge and had a fun time with it.

• I sold a couple of pink dresses on my closet sale page. 2020-21 was definitely a time of experimenting thanks mostly to the pandemic, and I tried out some styles outside my usual comfort zone (hello cottage-core). And though that’s not a bad thing, in the end I’ve come back to what feels more like me (simple clothes in dark neutral colors lol). So I’ve given up the idea of girly pink dresses (well I still have a couple left, including my April Meets October one) but I’m slowly letting go of items that I haven’t touched in over a year.

• Updated the following posts: Verlein Ana bag review (updated with how it’s faring one year later), the Polene Beri bag review, and my one 2021 Everlane review.

What I Bought

A prepaid box with ScanMyPhotos.com: This is a California-based (Irvine) company where they provide a prepaid box of $200 (this price includes the 50% off promo code I used), and they scan a whole box of photos to put on a thumb drive( $15) and a 2-month online service for downloads ($20). I’m finally going to take all my decades of photos and digitize them. But since I don’t have the time, will, or scanner to do it on my own I’m hiring it out to ScanMyPhotos.com. I’ll let you know how it goes!

Ring sizer from Amazon: Last month I sized a couple of rings up, and it was a tad pricey. Well I have a couple rings I want to size down but I’m not sure I want to pay for that yet (especially since by not sizing them down I have option to put them on different fingers). Yet, I don’t want to lose a ring if it doesn’t fit right, so I found some excellent clear plastic ring-sizers which are super comfortable and easy to use. I purchased something like this 5 years ago, and back then they only had hard plastic tubes. Now they come as a flexible spiral that also comes in various sizing. They are leaps and bounds better than the old stuff!

Striped button-down from Crossroads (pictured above): As soon as February started I went for my first thrift trip of the year. I know the point of a low-buy year is to do less shopping overall, but there’s just something about the thrill of the thrift-hunt that I can’t give up. TBH it’s more fun for me than shopping at the mall. I went looking for a striped button-down to fill a gap in my closet (having size out of most of my button downs during pregnancy and the pandemic), and I was happy to find one for less than $10. I tried some other things but nothing worked and I just went home with the one thing, which is a good start to my Less New 2022 goals.

Babaa sweater from the RealReal: I had some expiring credit in my TRR account so I decided to splurge on this jumper no25 from babaa (it’s part of their merino wool sets). I did a mini review on Insta stories but in case you missed it, I thought it’s a great quality sweater with a tight weave and minimal itch. But I definitely did not think it’s worth the $211 price tag. But as an Insta friend pointed out, part of that price is to pay for fair labor. Yet I feel like there’s definitely some kind of mark-up in there? Also it’s a tad ridiculous that it only comes in one size. I would say it’s a medium and luckily I fit, but their lack of size inclusivity is a pretty disappointing.

Ree Projects Mini Ann bag (I sold my Mini Helene tote to the RealReal): I got this as an early bday present for myself and this was my first new purchase of the year (and of course it’s a bag). I saw in on sale at Saks, where I had some gift cards. I was able to get it for a really good price and it essentially replaced my Mini Helene tote, which I wasn’t using because it was just too deep of a bag to be practical for me. I’ve used the mini Ann bag a couple of times now and I love it! Not sorry at all for buying this for my bday.

What I Was Gifted

Merit Beauty Signature Lip Shades: I received two free lipsticks in exchange for two reviews on Sephora.com. This was my first time doing this and I never realized brands “padded” their reviews on other sites by giving away freebies. Anyway I’m not complaining since I actually like the lipsticks (especially the color called “Fashion”) and because I haven’t purchased a lip product since my kosas lip gloss two years ago.

commiskids dim sum play dough kit: After writing my review of my commiskids play dough kits, my friend kindly gifted me with their dim sum kit for Emi as a thank you. So now we can have even more play dough fun! Emi loves it and plays with it at least once a day.

Vday present from the family: My husband surprised me with the other coat I wanted from The Curated, the Tailored Coat in Olive. I was pretty bummed when I saw that this coat was being phased out and thus was a part of their archive sale. But since January was a no buy month, I couldn’t buy it. Well I told this to my husband and luckily he made a note of it and got it for me for Valentine’s!

Not terrible (though not great either) for the second month of my low-buy year.

P.S. I just wanted to add that my monthly recaps are usually ongoing posts that I add to throughout the month, and this was completed before the start of the war in Ukraine last week. A lot of it feels trivial to me now, considering how the world has changed and how many additional people are suffering (not to mention all those that continue to suffer in current ongoing wars). Monetary donations I’ve made feel like a drop in the bucket, and my mind is turning (or maybe rather churning) on ways to take action in my own neck of the woods.