What I Did
Bodega Bay: At the beginning of the month Emi’s school was out for a week so we decided to take a short trip north to Bodega Bay. On the way up we stopped at the Charles Schultz Museum in Santa Rosa (aka the “Snoopy Museum”), which Emi loved (mostly because of the Charlie Brown cartoon playing on the TV). We stayed at the Lodge at Bodega Bay, which was nice because it was so close to Doran Beach along with a bunch of seafood shacks (our favorite was the Fisherterian Market). We also hit some stops on the California Cheese Trail and saw lots of cows lol. Overall it was a great change of scenery!
No Buy June: As I mentioned at the beginning of this year, I made a goal to do a No Buy Challenge on all months that start with “J.” January went well (as it normally does after the glut of the holidays). This time around it was a tad harder than in January and I had to delete the Etsy and TRR app off my phone (the places where I browse the most). I also stayed away from thrift stores, which are my brick and mortar kryptonite when it comes to shopping. But after years of not shopping at conventional stores, I haven’t had too much trouble sticking with my No Buy challenge. I also spent some time going through my things and listing things for sale. I find that’s always a great exercise in appreciating the abundance that I have and helps me not shop. The real challenge is going to be next month since it’s usually the time for summer sales (and I would have already been on a this ban for a month). But I just went over my No Buy July guide that I wrote up last year to strengthen my resolve. Ah well wish me luck and perserverance!
Tried the eBay Authentication service (as a seller): If you’re a long time reader, you know that I’m quick to sell any bag that I don’t use frequently (I’m not a collector of bags). So I sold my Hermes Evelyne via eBay and for the the first time tried out their free “Guarantee Authentic” service. As a seller, the bag is mailed to an authentication service (in Las Vegas), which authenticates the bag and then sends it to the buyer only if proven authentic. Of course, I don’t know how good their authentication services are, and whether or not they’re able to sniff out those A-grade replicas (so I’m not sure I’d trust their service 100% as a buyer). But at least as a seller of authentic goods it makes me feel good that 1) they’re at least trying to curb the fakes on their site and 2) the buyer then can’t try to fraud me by claiming that it’s a fake and then sending me a fake in return (which was a fear that kept me from selling my really high-end stuff on eBay for the last several years). Now I’m way more likely to sell my big ticket items on eBay since I do end up making more money than through a consignment service like TRR or Fashionphile.
I haven’t mentioned it in awhile but yep, I’m still alcohol-free (since January 1st). It’s a tad easier now since I can recognize that my jonesing for a drink are just cravings that’ll pass in less than 5 minutes if I just wait it out. Overall I’m pretty happy with this alcohol-free lifestyle and I feel healthier in general. On the other hand, the morning pages and artist dates from The Artist’s Way book have not been going well. Also no meditations or morning rituals from Quit Like A Woman.
Read: That Summer by Jenifer Weiner, Time is a Mother by Ocean Vuong, Calmer Easier Happier Screen Time by Noel Janis-Norton, Cultish by Amanda Montell, The Whole-Brain Child by Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson, Educated by Tara Westover, Worn: A People’s History of Clothing by Sofi Thanhauser, We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, The Family Firm by Emily Oster, Decoding the World by Po Bronson and Arvind Gupta.
Revised these blog posts: My Hermes Evelyne III PM review (you’ll be surprised to see what happens when I try to resell it—and I’m not talking about my eBay experience above), my recent purse collection ranked post (oops I forgot to add one of my most used bags—see it added at number 11), and my Mate the Label review.
And last but not very least, Emi got her first dose of the Covid vaccine (Moderna). I won’t lie and say I didn’t feel even a tiny bit anxious about giving my three year old daughter this novel vaccine. But at the same time I believe in the due process that the vaccine has gone through and trust the scientific/medical community. As a Public Health grad, if I don’t trust it then who will. I mean science has gotten us through this pandemic thus far, right?
What I Didn’t Buy
Article Goods Mini Shopper Tote: The brand Article Goods has been on my radar for a couple years now (I was first drawn to their crossbody camera bag), especially since they’re an SF brand (local to me). I have yet to purchase anything, but I like their expanded selection of leather goods and might try something out in the future. The photo below of their mini shopper tote popped up in my Instagram Stories since I follow the West Coast Craft account, and now I want it.
What I Bought
Blueland Foaming Hand Soap Refill and Multi-Surface Cleaner Refill: I was influenced by Kristy for this purchase, but since I was out of these two items I thought I’d give them a try.
This butterfly garden kit for Emi. We saw this at a friend’s house and couldn’t wait to try it out ourselves. Emi loves checking on the butterflies daily. Excluding this from my No-Buy Challenge because it’s educational lol.
P.S. It feels like I’m adding a post script to every monthly recap because there’s something catastrophic happening at the end of every month. But my goodness, I have such grief for my country and my fellow American women, especially those in the states with complete abortion bans and no options. What a setback for human rights. I firmly believe the world is a better place when becoming a mother is a choice. And to have no say on something as monumental as giving birth is unfathomable. There is something rotten in the state of America so to speak and it’s time we did something about it. Both the SCOTUS and electoral system needs changing. It’s time to count the popular vote, otherwise every vote doesn’t count and you end up with a government that wasn’t elected by the people (but rather a conniving minority) and not for the people. Where has our democracy gone? It’ been sold to the rich (white patriarchy).