What I Did
Annual Airstream trip: If you’re a long time reader, you know my husband and I have a passion for Airstream road trips and we take one every year. This year we took a short one-week trip to Monterey and Santa Cruz. We realized with a toddler in tow, it’s so much harder to go to far-off destinations (days of long driving are especially hard). So we decided to keep it fairly local and enjoy spending more time at each destination. And I think overall it was a great plan. We had a blast at the Monterey Aquarium, driving to Big Sur, camping amongst redwood trees in Santa Cruz, and spending a day at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.
Morning pages: I’m back to doing a morning pages of sort. After reading the Power of Fun, I started writing down my most impactful goal of the day, 3 important goals, 3 nice to do goals, 3 things I’m grateful for, and 3 things I’m looking forward to. And at night I write down one positive sentence for the day, 3 accomplishments, and 3 of the best/fun moments. I’m not sure how long I’ll keep it up but it’s a nice way to start and recap the day. I’m hoping that doing this exercise will not only make me more mindful of how I’m spending my time but also remind me of the special moments of the day.
Updated these blog posts: Tangie Shampoo Bar review (added an update), the Augustinus Bader Shampoo Review, my Alohas Shoes Review, my Quince jewelry review (about Quince’s addition of white gold items), and my Quince Linen Review (I got the linen pants in large and I love them!).
I got a job! The universe must have heard me when I wrote my post about how I need to start looking for a job because not long after that, I found out through Instagram stories that my local zero waste/refill store, Planet Renu, was hiring. I answered the stories in DM, got an interview, and got the job! I don’t think I could have found a better job that aligned with my values. And now I can review a lot more low waste products, so keep an eye out for those. And I asked my wonderful boss Amy to give you guys a discount code if you’re interested in trying some zero waste items from the store, so use the code fairlycurated to get 15% off your purchase at Planet Renu (also let me know if it doesn’t work because she’s still working out the bugs on shopify). We stock my favorite shampoo bars (Tangie bar reviewed here) and the cotton rounds I use everyday (Marley Monsters review here). I’m very excited to expand FairlyCurated’s collection of zero-waste reviews! {P.S. I don’t make any commission from your purchases. I’m just excited to share all these products with you guys!}
What I Bought
Birkenstock Boston Mules from the RealReal: I had a pair that I bought off eBay but unfortunately they were a size too big. So I resold them on eBay and got a pair from the RealReal. I haven’t worn them too much, but I did wear them most recently while glamping and I like them. And for the one person who asked for a review of these a long time ago, I’ll definitely write one up now that I have the right size.
Quince Italian Leather Shoulder Bag, Italian Tote, and Linen Pants (credit): After mentioning in my Quince linen review that I liked the linen pants but they were a smidge too tight in medium, I decided to get the large. And I much prefer the larger size. I also decided to add the Quince shoulder bag and tote bag so I can include them in my upcoming Quince bags review. I reviewed Quince’s tall Italian leather tote (back when they were still calling themselves Last Brand), but that was a gift to a friend. Since then I ended up selling all my leather totes so Quince’s leather tote will fill a hole in my bag lineup (especially since I need a work bag now that I’m going back to work!).
Linenfox Ocean Pants in heavy linen: After 3 years of wearing these ocean pants (about 2-3 times a week), the pants have worn down to the point I have two major holes in them. What can I say, my thighs touch 🤷🏻♀️. I’ve had the same issue with my Elizabeth Suzann linen Clyde pants that are about a year older. I repaired the Clydes (or I should I say I had them mended at my local dry cleaner/tailor), but unfortunately reinforcing some areas, then causes strain and small tears in the non-reinforced areas of the pants. Thus for the Ocean pants I decided to get another pair (though I might still try to repair this old pair), but this time in heavyweight linen. I love my Ocean pants (reviewed here) and I’ve tried Linenfox’s heavyweight linen (reviewed here), so I look forward to having the best of both worlds in my new Ocean pants.
Harney and Sons tea: This was a splurge influenced by Eva Chen. I saw it on her Insta stories and checked out their website. I like tea but I have to admit, those tea tins really got me to buy (I’m such a sucker for packaging 🤦🏻♀️).
Upgraded gardening tools: Now that I’m spending more time gardening, I’m no longer satisfied with my cheap gardening tools that don’t do a great job. So I got myself a new Japanese weeding/digging knife, a serrated planting trowel, a long sleeved leather and canvas gloves, and French pruning shears that are all of better quality so I hopefully can enjoy using these tools when I garden (instead of feeling frustrated like I do with my current tools). I also wanted to get away from rubber and plastic on tools for the most part. Not only do these new tools look better (more classic imo), but at the end (of their very long life—if there ever is going to be an end) I rather not add more plastic to a landfill. My current cheap and plastic-handled tools will be a backup for Emi or any other person who might want to garden with me.
Secondhand watch from the RealReal: I used to have a handful of watches, but then I realized I never wear them so I sold them all except for my favorite Cartier one (also purchased secondhand). Well I wasn’t going to wear my really nice watch for work so I decided to look on TRR for one. I got a really good deal on a Raymond Weil one (made sweeter by the fact that I had some TRR credit so out of pocket was quite reasonable). Anyway it’s larger than what I’m used to, but it’s also nice because it’s easy for me to see the time (lord I sound old).
Items from Planet Renu: I have already used my employee discount to purchase several things from my new workplace. I liked the toothpaste tablets my boss gave to me for free so I bought more. I really like the peppermint ones since they taste like regular toothpaste but without all the added chemicals and disposable plastic. But I decided to try the charcoal mint ones (for that extra teeth whitening). I also bought some Hay straws because my daughter is currently in a straws only phase when drinking her milk. I have the stainless steel ones but she’s constantly stabbing herself and our dining table with them so I wanted something a little more toddler friendly and these fit the bill. I also refilled some hair conditioner and dish soap. And I got one Swedish dish cloth to try out. These cloths are super absorbant, reusable for 6-9 months and then compostable at the end of their life. I’ll let you know how it lasts!
What I Was Gifted
Anothersole shoes: The kind people at Anothersole reached out to me to see if I wanted to try out their leather sneakers. And I definitely wanted to try them out since their leather sneakers looked so comfy and luxe. Lucky for me, the shoes are beautiful and comfortable! Full review to come soon!