Weekend Update/Ramblings

This past week I messaged one of my all-time favorite Instagrammers, Jamie of AnnStreetStudio, with a zero-waste suggestion to use these aluminum bento boxes for her cheese take-out. And I was a little too excited when she responded haha. I know big grammers are regular people but it kind of felt like I was chatting with a famous person. Anyway those aluminum bento boxes have been great for packing snacks on the plane, they’re leak proof and really quite light. I also plan to use them when I take out poke here in Hawaii to reduce my own use of single use plastic.

As for me the cleaning of my dad’s apartment goes on. My dad has been living in this apartment since childhood and though he had a couple decades where he didn’t live there, he’s been there for the last 30 years with my grandma who passed away 3 years ago. And they were two peas in a pod when it comes to not being able to throw anything away. I now know what a lifetime of plastic bag hoarding looks like (along with paper bags, gift boxes and bags, plastic nut containers, and cookie tins). Believe me, all that fills a 800 sq ft apartment from floor to ceiling with only narrow pathways of walking space in the bedrooms. And I see those hoarding tendencies in myself because I feel bad to have to throw some of that away. But at least my mom is taking all those plastic bags and plans to use them to last her lifetime (since Hawaii finally banned free flimsy plastic bags at grocery stores). Currently we’re using them to throw out all of Emi’s poopy diapers since we don’t have a diaper genie here.

And speaking of poop, I read this article this week about Waste Water Sanitation companies repackaging human feces as fertilizer and now it’s making people sick. This seems to be a common practice (about 60% of this sewage sludge is going to be spread over farmlands this year). So if you live near farms (especially in Maine, Michigan, Wisconsin, Alabama, and Florida) please be informed since many farmlands there are now contaminated with the chemicals from human feces. And one of those chemicals is PFASs (poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances). That’s the stuff used for non-stick pans, stain resistant fabrics, and fire-fighting foams. PFASs are not biodegradable and persist in humans and the environment (a “forever chemical”). They are associated with health issues like cancer, hormone disruption, and immune suppression in children. And we in California might be drinking this stuff through our water system. Most household filters can’t filter out PFASs. As you can see I went down a bit of a rabbit hole on this subject (it’s the public health nerd in me) and now I’m looking into an activated charcoal filter like this one or reverse osmosis filtration system for my house.

My Zero-Waste Shower Routine

via

I don’t know how it is for you, but getting to any kind of consistent zero-waste routine has been quite a struggle for me. So now that I’ve got my shower routine down to zero waste I couldn’t be prouder. Granted, this stuff is pretty low hanging fruit. But still it’s progress, right? So here are the ways my shower routine is now zero waste:

1) Shampoo, Conditioner, and Body Wash from Plaine Products

Yep, reviewed this back in 2017 and I’m still going strong. However, shipping back the aluminum cans can be kind of a pain so I’m looking into ordering from The Good Fill next (they ship their products in reusable plastic pouches that you ship back and you use your own containers—I’ll be reusing the Plaine Product containers of course).

2) Organic Cotton Washcloths from Muji

I’ve never blogged about these before but I love my organic cotton Muji washcloths. They’re thin enough that when they’re full of soap and water they don’t get super weighed down. And they’re just enough gentle exfoliation for my sensitive skin. I’ve been using them for years and they’ve held up like a champ.

3) Safety Razor

And the new zero waste love of my life is my safety razor, which I reviewed here. No cuts or nicks yet—you just have to use the very slightest of pressure. Also I use the Plaine Products conditioner as a shaving cream. But if you’re prone to cuts with a safety razor I recently found this other zero waste razor that is more like traditional razors.

Okay so yes that was a pretty short list. But really that’s all it takes to be zero waste in the shower. For my face wash, I use these small microfiber wash cloths to remove make-up and these cotton rounds for toner. Unfortunately my favorite face wash for acne-prone skin and toner don’t yet come in a zero-waste option. But my beauty routine is one of the next things I want to tackle to make zero waste. Anyone have tips for zero waste beauty?

Weekend Update/Ramblings

Hi y’all, how are you guys doing? I’m currently in Hawaii and it’s H-O-T and humid. Emi did great on her first airplane ride and slept through half of it. Though that night she cried for an hour before going to sleep from over-tiredness. But we survived! So far we’ve been busy visiting family so we haven’t done anything really exciting (though we did get out to the beach for a bit but Emi wasn’t really a fan lol). I also started cleaning up my dad’s apartment and it’s been rough. I miss him very much and I can’t help thinking he would have loved to meet his granddaughter. At the same time I see how he’s kept every single thing I’ve made (most of which I don’t even remember making) and I feel his love even though he is not here anymore. Anyway we’ll see how long it all takes but I’m motivated to get it done asap.

Completely changing topics now but have you see Inside Bill’s Brain on Netflix yet? If not, I highly recommend watching it. He is really trying to move some mountains and I support him all the way, including his endeavours in nuclear energy and especially in his efforts to improve sanitation to reduce childhood death by diarrhea. I would include this documentary in my list of “must-watch” tv, which also currently includes Ice on Fire on HBO. If these two documentaries don’t convince you of climate change and the need to change our ways, then nothing will.

Everlane Review: The Texture Cotton Crop Cardigan {Updated October 2020}

When Everlane came out with their texture cotton crop cardigan (aka the babaa dupe) last year, I have to admit I was put off by the 27% nylon content of the yarn they used for this knit (vs. the 100% cotton weave of the babaa). But now I have to get off my high-horse and admit I was wrong for looking down on this dupe because it’s a pretty great sweater.

{Wearing: Everlane Texture Cotton Crop Cardigan, Elizabeth Suzann Harlow Dress (reviewed here), Martiniano Glove Shoes (reviewed here), Celine Small Cabas Phantom (reviewed here)}

First of all, I do feel Everlane wades into some shady waters when it copies the design of smaller ethical and more expensive brands. Call it the Zara-move if you will. But at the same time, I could never really pull the trigger on a babaa cardigan (even when they had their sale in July). And as much as some of us love to support small brands, we can’t always spend that kind of dough. I actually was lucky enough to try the babaa cardigan in person at West Coast Craft and I didn’t love it enough to spend $250+ on it. So when Everlane offered me something free to review, I succumbed to temptation and asked to try this cardigan. And I have to say I love the way it fits more than the babaa version, and maybe it’s because of the nylon. The Everlane sweater overall feels less bulky and I appreciate the stretch it has over the babaa one.

And as much as I prefer an all-natural fiber and no plastic in my clothing, there are advantages to plastic. Not only does the nylon make the sweater stretchier and lighter but it helps retain the shape of the sweater. I’ve decided to take the “treat plastic like gold” disposition with this sweater and treasure it as if it did cost $250.

Anyway I’m wearing a size small here and feel like it’s the perfect fit for 5’4” me. I find the sleeves a bit long so I need to roll them up. I really love the drop shoulder detail and the overall cropped fit. I can’t wait to wear this cardigan more in the fall and style them with other outfits. I have a feeling this cardigan is going to be a staple in my wardrobe!

{October 2020 Update: So after having this sweater for over a year, I have to say that sadly it isn’t as great as I first thought it was. My main issue with it is that once the sweater snags the nylon fibers, the fibers break super easily and you’re left with a stringy mess. It can’t be pulled back in so I end up having to cut the fibers to clean up the look. After admiring the babaa cardigan for so long (2.5 years!) I finally purchased it and now understand why there’s such a cult following for babaa. I have to admit it was idealistic of me to think I could treat plastic like gold and think it would work out. Sometimes the original thing is better than a substitute. But I also understand if the original is not within your budget, then yes maybe treating the dupe like the original might work—but only if you’re careful with your sweaters. And sadly I am not.}

Amazon Prime Wardrobe Review

What I ended up keeping through Amazon Prime Wardrobe

So when I first heard about Amazon Prime Wardrobe, I thought do we really need another method to buy more clothes? Basically it’s a service available to Prime members that allows you to try items for free at home, and they will only charge you for the things you keep. So it’s $0 upfront. But if you don’t return the items within 7 days, you’ll be charged for everything you ordered. So it’s probably a service best for those who are good about returning packages. It’s sort of like those try-at-home subscription style service but you choose what you want (with a minimum of 3 items per box). You could also have a stylist pick out clothes for you for a fee, but we’ll see if that really catches on. And though I wouldn’t personally use Amazon Prime Wardrobe to buy more clothes (I already have enough on my wishlist from slow fashion brands), I did take the opportunity to try out different sleep sacks for my baby since I wasn’t sure which one she’d like best. She was super picky when it came to which swaddle she liked best (we tried 3 different kinds and her favorite was the Halo Sleep Sack Swaddle). This time I’m going to try out the sleep sacks before committing to buying one.

Well their marketing works because even though I was only planning to keep one sleepsack, I ended up with two (granted one is a larger size for her to grow into). The one she liked are the ones by Burt’s Bees. The package itself comes with a return shipping label and a resealable plastic mailer so the return is super easy. Just indicate on your Amazon prime wardrobe page what pieces you’ll be keeping and then return the rest via UPS. Amazon will also send you reminder emails for when it’s time to send things back. Once you return it, the items you kept will be charged to your card. I guess it’s not too different from just buying it outright and then returning something for a refund, but at least you don’t have to pay the upfront cost.

Has anyone else tried Amazon Prime Wardrobe and what did you think?

Weekend Update/Ramblings

via: Loved this fall inspiration look. It’s the It’s-Fall-And-I’m-A-Busy-Mom look lol

Thank you to everyone’s kind comments and support from last week’s weekend update. I’ve decided to look at the bright side of these fibroids and am grateful that it’s a wake-up call to take care of my health more. In an effort to shrink the fibroids I’m laying off the booze and red meat (which the internet tells me can lead to fibroids/fibroid growth). And because of that, I’m feeling overall quite healthy. Maybe this is just the start for me to eat more of a plant-based diet.

Starting next week I’ll be in Hawaii with Emi for a month. She’ll finally meet her paternal grandmother and great-grandmother, along with all my uncles, aunties and cousins. I’m also going to spend several weeks clearing a lifetime of my dad’s clutter. But first I have to pack (I’ll spare you a packing list post because do people really read those kinds of posts? I don’t because obvi we just pack what we need to pack from the things we have available). We also need to get through a 5 hour plane ride. I’m trying not to be too anxious about it because I don’t want Emi to sense that anxiety when we get on the plane. Luckily we spoiled ourselves by buying Emi her own seat because neither of us wanted to hold a 20-pound (yes 20 lbs!), squirming 6-month old for 5 hours (even with taking turns).

Anyway this is all to say my scheduled posts are running out and there might be some radio silence over on the blog. But I’ll try to keep up with my insta-stories (because who doesn’t want to insta-story a Hawaii trip lol).

P.S. Have you guys seen The Mind Explained on Netflix yet? I loved all the episodes and it reminded me I need to pick up my meditation practice again.

KOTN Review: The Oat Henley Dress

I first mentioned this henley dress in my What I Didn’t Buy in July post because even though I was eyeing it, I didn’t purchase it. And well sometimes I guess good things do come to those who wait because it was on sale in early August. But also because it was on sale, I was unable to return it…which unfortunately is what I would have liked to have done. But first, here’s my full impression of this KOTN dress.

KOTN markets themselves as an ethical company that makes premium quality basics from Egyptian cotton. But to be honest, I don’t feel their cotton to be exactly “premium quality.” The cotton material feels quite thin. PACT’s organic cotton tee dress felt immensely more premium (which I loved and reviewed here), and even Everlane’s regular cotton feels better than KOTN’s. I guess it all depends on what you define as premium. I like my cotton garments to have some thickness to them. While KOTN’s cotton does feel silkier, it’s a lot thinner. Also this might be fine for tees, but as a dress I prefer thick cotton. Also I think organic cotton is better than conventional cotton (no matter where it’s grown) because conventional cotton uses a lot of pesticides.

Anyway this is to say that I was disappointed in their cotton, and because the fabric was so thin the dress is a bit sheer. Plus the style was not great: the slit up the leg was way too high while the general dress length was too long (I think the site model in the pic above is 5’9” for reference. I’m 5’4”). Thus you won’t see me model it here. I almost didn’t write this review, but decided that this might be informative for those who are thinking about trying KOTN. If you do, I would go for a shirt over a dress, or if you do go for a dress a darker one would be less sheer. As for me, this was a total miss >.<

Weekend Update/Ramblings

Ahoy there my blog mateys. It’s been quite awhile since my last weekend update post, but like I said in past posts I’m suffering from a bit of blog burnout. But I’m slowly getting back into the groove of things and thought I’d write one of these personal posts for this week. I have to admit, one of the reasons for my general funk is my fibroid issue. I did an MRI and they found several fibroids in my uterus, the largest one measuring 20x21cm (that’s bigger than some newborns!). The growth of the tumors is a recent thing (sometime in the last month or so). They gave me a shot to hopefully reduce the size of them, before doing the hysterectomy scheduled in December (the shot will also mimic early menopause so I get to look forward to that). I seriously look pregnant again and am dreading a stranger asking me when I’m due. I was thinking of coming up with a bogus due date so I wouldn’t have to go through the awkwardness of telling them I’m not pregnant.

The fibroids have also been a big buzzkill for putting together outfits for the blog. All my pants are too tight again. I’m back to my pregnancy outfits that I pretty much wore all last year and yet I do not want to buy more clothes. So I’m making do with what I have but it’s been pretty boring around here outfit wise.

Anyway I’m trying not to get too caught up thinking about these tumors growing in my uterus and keep telling myself, this will all pass by the end of the year. And I don’t want to waste Emi’s precious baby months preoccupied. So I try to keep present and stop any feelings of shame about my body.

Plastic is Wonderful

Well that’s not a title you see very often in this day and age. That’s probably something that was touted in the 60’s when the harmfulness of plastic was still unknown. But just as the quote “money is the root of all evil” is technically misquoted from the Bible (it’s “the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil”), I think saying all plastic is bad is also imprecise. In this case “disposable plastic is bad”, would be the more accurate phrase. Because tbh, I can’t imagine living a life without plastic. It’s man-manipulated stardust if you will. They’ve allowed for modern miracles and have prolonged our lives in general (think of all the plastic necessary in hospitals and saving lives). So this post is an ode to my favorite items made of plastic!

My plastic water bottle: My constant companion.

My collapsible salad bowl: I originally purchased it for use in trailer life, but I love this bowl for everything. It’s lightweight and doesn’t slide.

The NoseFrida: for helping to suck out my baby’s boogers in the gentlest way possible

The Everlane Nylon (Original) Anorak: been using it for 3 years and plan on wearing it forever

Erasable Frixion pens with refills: These are my go-to pens for everything including writing checks, writing in greeting cards and writing in my notebooks because they are erasable (but look like normal pen ink). And I always buy refills now because there’s no point in buying a brand new pen every time.

The Away Suitcase: It’s lightweight and undentable. I can’t imagine owning luggage that wasn’t made of plastic.

The 5% elastane in some of my clothes: I’m grateful for the comfort that the stretchiness of the fabric allows. I can wash it in the washing machine without it losing its shape. Nowadays I try to stick to mostly natural fibers but am ok with some plastic in it sometimes as long as I wear the item as much as possible and as long as possible.

I could probably keep going on and on here but my point is that we need to change our mindset about plastic. It’s not all bad. We just need to treat it with the respect it deserves, thus using it wisely and reusing as much as possible. Disposable plastic is what’s killing our planet, so we need to end those practices and habits (for me that would be pre-washed and pre-made salads and other packaged foods). Plastic is a non-renewable resource that I plan to treat like gold, not trash.

This girl is on firrreee: six months on FIRE

I had originally written this post over a month ago (before we purchased a home). So even though we’re not quite on the FIRE track, we’re still working on it. Anyway here is the original post:

(Lol, you know I’ve been just itching to make those FIRE puns). Anyway for those who aren’t familiar with FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early), it’s a movement to save money, put it towards investments, so that you have the financial freedom to do what you like (more about it here). You basically want to get to the point where your expenses are covered your passive income earned through interest of stock or rent collected on properties. I’m super grateful to have the privilege to work on my FIRE path. And a reader has asked what that looks like for me. Since I’ve only started 6 months ago (and this is a years-long or even decades-long plan) I’m very much still a newbie. There are many other experts out there who have achieved their FIRE number and right blogs about what it’s like for them.

The first step of our FIRE plan was to start tracking our expenses. We combined all our bank accounts and credit card statements under Mint so we could see where our money was going. My husband is the one organizing (ie categorizing expenses) and then he tells me how we’re doing. This is also the first time I’ve shared my accounts with him so now I’m much more careful what I spend my money on, knowing there’s going to be a second pair of eyes judging me (which is a good thing).

Also starting in December/January, we started to limit our expenses. The first thing we cut out was eating out. We used to eat out at least twice a week (and while we were running the Airstream business we would eat out twice a day about 6 times a week—crazy I know but we were busy running a business and we weren’t on FIRE). So February (before the baby came), was probably our lowest spend month ever in the history of us. Of course now with baby, we never eat out anymore. Though the temptation to get food delivery or takeout is high we resist, and we keep it to maybe one takeout a week if that (it has become a treat when we do). My husband brings lunch from home to work, even if that means a $3-4 burrito from Trader Joes (but it beats his at minimum $11 lunches he gets in downtown SF). I’ve also started clipping coupons for places we like to eat (like a BOGO for bagel sandwiches at Noah’s Bagels—such a good deal!), and that would be our treat meal out sometimes.

As for my blog expenses, I’m no longer just purchasing things willy nilly (though it may look like I still am acquiring a lot—but really this is me trying to be better). I’ve been buying a lot of things off of the RealReal when I want to try stuff (like the Martiniano shoes, kowtow romper, Chanel ballet flats, etc.). I sold off a bunch of things one month and instead of collecting a check, I decided to go with credit so I have revolving RealReal credit to try things. Also I’ve been selling things on eBay and have made my Paypal account a revolving credit account to try things for the blog. This also makes tracking expenses easier for my husband since he doesn’t constantly see an outgoing and incoming amount that’s not related to our daily life. I’m also tracking my blog expenses separately to make sure I’m not spending more than I’m earning.

And then we started investing our money into Vanguard Index funds. I’m no expert so I’m trying out several different index and mutual funds after reading up on them. So far they’re doing well but the market is currently down right now and we aren’t doing as well as they were. But of course that’s just how it goes with the stock market. If anything, now is the time to buy more (it’s on sale! lol).

It may sound like we’re only being frugal with the small stuff but that’s because we’ve gotten the big stuff luckily out of the way. No car payments with one really old car and one newer but used car. We’re both suuuuuper duper duper lucky not to have any college loans. We got really lucky also by being able to buy a house when we were young and then selling it when it was at a market high. Currently we’re living in an apartment but are looking to move back into a house. We’ll end up taking on some debt then but currently we are debt free. So yep, we’re focusing on the smaller savings now. But seriously all the small things add up. {Update: We purchased a house and are now in debt. We’re going to have to work extra hard in budgeting and keeping all other expenses low.}

Anyway if you’re new to the concept and want some practical tips, I recommend reading Your Money or Your Life. It’s what got me going down this path and really motivated to get my financial life in order. And I’m by no means there yet and am still constantly figuring out how to live with the FIRE concept.

Why I Think A Virtual Assistant is Essential

via

I have a different sort of post today since I’m getting a bit fatigued about going on and on about clothes sometimes. Today I wanted to talk about how essential Amazon’s Echo (aka Alexa) has become in my new life with the baby. Here are the top ways I use Alexa and if you don’t currently have a digital assistant I highly recommend looking into getting one. You don’t know how convenient it is until you start using it.

1) Turning on and off the lights. We have both a smart plug connected to lamps as well as a smart switch wired into the walls so that we can just “Alexa turn on the living room” or “Alexa turn on Emi’s room.” This is especially useful when carrying a squirming baby or if you have your hands full in general. You can also turn on and off lights from different rooms.

2) When I was using the Medela breast pump (reviewed here), it didn’t come with a timer. So I would always call out to Alexa “start a timer for 15 minutes.” Again, no need to fiddle with a timer when I have my hands busy setting up the breast pump.

3) We use Alexa’s pre-programmed soothing noises for Emi’s sound machine. We just say “Alexa turn on rains sounds” and it’ll go on for an hour (you can also loop it so it goes on until you tell it to stop). We still have a mobile sound machine for when she sleeps in her stroller or at a friend’s house but we saved money on not having to buy a permanent at home plugged-in sound machine.

4) My husband especially loves music so he tells Alexa to play music all the time. We have it connected to our Spotify account so that we can pull up all our favorite playlists and artists easily. He’s also trying to expand Emi’s musical tastes early lol.

5) And as a reader called out in my Fourth Trimester Essentials post, a video monitor is essential for sleep training. You need to know if she is crying because she flipped over and can’t flip back or because she’s just generally being fussy. We have our nest cam connected to our Amazon Show so that we can easily say “Alexa show me the crib” and I can monitor her from the living room.

6) We also have our Alexa connected to our nest thermostat so we can easily call out “Alexa set the temperature to 74” or “Alexa turn off the AC.” It makes it super easy to change the temperatures without having to walk up to the thermostat.

We love our Amazon echo system so much we have two echo dots and one echo spot (so basically an Alexa in every room). This is not sponsored by Amazon and I’m just a huge fan of the convenience of Alexa. Google Home is another virtual assistant that works just as well. But don’t mix the two ecosystems and just stick to one for convenience.

Anyone else have a virtual assistant integrated into their home life? What do you use it for most?

What I Bought in August

Aaaaand we’re back on the buying train. A month “detox” on spending won’t do much except maybe give you some time to ruminate before purchasing. Oh, but waiting did do some good in that now some of the items I was eyeing went on sale!

What I Bought

That KOTN dress I had on my list last month went on sale! Yay for saving some money while trying out a brand I’ve been itching to try for awhile.

I bought the black Only Child Alta top in black raw silk as I had planned last month (the Olive version went on sale in early August, and I was tempted but the black would be more of a staple in my wardrobe). I sold both my Elizabeth Suzann silk Georgia tee (which was gorgeous but I just never reached for that rust color) and the ES Petra crop. So I have no regrets on splurging on the Alta (especially since I wear the white one so much).

Everlane: Recotton Henley, Collarless Air Shirt, Silky Cotton Lantern Shirt, and the short sleeve Crew Neck Bodysuit which I all sent back. I wasn’t in love with them and didn’t feel like making the effort to blog about it. Sorry y’all but blogging burnout.

Elizabeth Suzann silk Harlow dress from eBay: loooove this and have worn it out twice already. I have a feeling this will be a staple in closet.

Mansur Gavriel Mini Mini Lady bag: bought this used on the RealReal and used store credit. I saw this on a friend and loved it on her. So I thought I’d give it a try. I’ve been like a MG Lady bag goldilocks and have owned in the past the large size (no longer produced), the regular size (which is now the large size) and the mini. Maybe the mini mini is the one for me?

What I was gifted

Everlane Denim Chore Coat and the cropped chunky cardigan (aka the Baaba knock-off; and yes I succumbed to the temptation of it even though it is made with 23% nylon. More thoughts about that when I blog about it).

And sorry no links and photos with this post because blog burnout >.<

Unsponsored Chanel Ballet Flats Review: Are They Really Worth It?

There are some costly items are that luxurious and others that are merely expensive and it’s hard to tell the difference. I’ve purchased a lot of expensive items in my lifetime (and sold a lot of them too), and I feel like I’ve gotten better at telling the difference. So are these Chanel ballet flats really a luxury or just merely expensive?

To me, they are merely expensive. TBH they don’t feel all that different from other ballet flats that I’ve owned. I mean the leather is nice and shoes are sturdy but nothing particularly screams “this is worth $750”. They just have the interlocking C’s on the cap toe and the words “Chanel” on the insole. But I’m no expert on ballet flats (I’ve only owned several pairs in my lifetime and they’re not my favorite type of shoe). My idea of a luxurious flat are Martiniano Glove shoes where the leather feels suuuper buttery and sumptuous.

But to be fair, these Chanel ballet flats are durable (I got a used pair and I still wear them out quite a bit and they look great). And they’re a classic that probably won’t ever go out of style.

As for sizing, if you have wide feet like I do you’re going to need to go up at least half a size. I usually wear a size 8 or 38, and I got these in a 38.5. So far I haven’t had any blisters in these, but I also got these used and so they were already broken-in for me.

Since these ballet flats currently retail new for $750 (craaazy), I highly recommend buying them used on a site like Fashionphile or the RealReal. And if you’re worried about the authenticity of used shoes, here’s a quick rundown of how to spot the real thing. And if you want to be 100% certain of authenticity, you can pay for an authentication service like Etinceler (just be sure to get the authentication done while you’re in the return window).

Elizabeth Suzann Review: The Harlow Dress

taken when I was still pregnant

So this review has been sitting in my drafts folder for a very long time since I first purchased this cotton Harlow dress (link to the Harlow page on ES) back when Elizabeth Suzann had a sale for them at the end of 2018. I’ve wanted to try the Harlow dress for a long time, ever since seeing campaign images from ES like the one below.

via

Something about the easiness and swinginess of the dress got me. But since the linen and silk versions are $245 and $265 respectively, I was a bit hesitant to spend that much on an easy summer dress. Also I thought the linen one might be too voluminous for my frame and the silk too fancy for daily wear. So when the cotton poplin Harlow went “on sale” (due to ES phasing out the cotton fabric for this style) for sub $200 I jumped at the chance. Unfortunately it was the dead of winter when I got it, so it was just in time to wear it for Christmas (that’s when the first photo above was taken). I was able to pull it off layered (while pregnant) but didn’t really have a chance to wear it much after that.

But now that it’s summer, I am loving this dress. It’s so easy to wear and comfy (basically like a nightie). I like that the cotton poplin is lightweight without being too voluminous. But the cotton does wrinkle pretty easily and it picks up lint and dog hair like crazy. If I end up wearing this dress a lot, I’ll consider splurging on the silk version.

Oh and as for sizing, I decided to get a medium because I didn’t want any pulling in the chest area. I’m usually a small in ES, but when you look at the Harlow pages on their site, when the model is wearing a smaller size the dress kind of pulls at the chest. It makes the chest area look more like an X in the front, while I wanted it to look more like a tank, with the shoulder part dropping straight down. But that does mean the dress is a tad large on me and you can see my bra band in the back. I think if you’re wearing a black bra, no one’s going to notice. Or make it fun and wear a really outrageous color bra and it’ll just peek out over the dress.

And even though there’s a lot of fabric with this dress, which can billow out with the wind (so don’t really wear it on a super windy day), you actually won’t look big in it because of the way it drapes. If you want to make it look even more slimming, a belt at the natural waist might work too. As for me, I can’t wait to wear this with some straw accessories and call it a summer day!

P.S. I just got the silk Harlow dress secondhand via eBay and it totally feels different. I love it so much!

Celine Soft Cube Bag 100 Wears Later

My Celine Soft Cube bag (originally reviewed here) is the third item in my closet to join the “100 wears” club after my Everlane Day Market tote and my Vince Blair sneakers (since recording wears in January 2018). And like I did with the other two items, I like to check-in on these items to see how they’ve fared after 100 wears.

I first got this bag back in August of last year, and I bought it used from Fashionphile. So it’s real wear count is more than 100, but I’ve personally used it now 105 times. And how is it doing? It’s looking pretty darn good. Upon close inspection there is only one popped stitch on one of the handles (but it hasn’t unraveled or anything), and a mark on one of the corners. Also there’s a bit of a slumping in of the corners as the leather softens (see pics below), but this doesn’t bother me.

And this is despite all the abuse I give my bags (for example, the Everlane Day Tote didn’t fare as well). This Celine Soft Cube bag looks almost just as good as the day I bought it and there aren’t any major scratches or gouges. The lambskin leather they used for this bag is tough!

I did however noticed the leather looking a tad dry up close. So I did a quick buff with my favorite leather conditioner, Chamberlain’s Leather Milk No.1 (reviewed here). And now the leather is looking more hydrated, and it looks like I got some dirt off the bag as well (but I could only tell by looking at the sponge since the bag itself is so dark).

Out of all my most worn bags, this one has held up like a champ and I can’t wait to see how it holds up after 100 more wears!

Weekend Ramblings

And another week has flown by and I’ve barely written anything. Things have been uber busy here and the big news is it looks like I’ll be moving again. This “Temporary-House Wifey” name has begun to take on a self-fulfilling prophecy vibe. I’ve moved from Airstream to a larger trailer to a house to an apartment in 1 year. Now it looks like we might be moving into a house again which I’m both excited and anxious about. This better be my last move for awhile, and I might finally take the time to change my blog name (maybe to Permanent-House Wifey? lol just kidding, it’ll be better than that hopefully). Also I had a whole post written for this Tuesday and sitting in my post schedule for weeks about being on the FIRE track (requested by a reader) but now I’m thinking I won’t publish it because how can I talk about being on FIRE when I just took on a whole mountain a debt to buy a house >.< . That is definitely anti-FIRE and more like keeping up with the Joneses (though to be fair, we really bought this house to raise Emi in because a small apartment for a kid is rather cramped + better school districts). But I very much look forward to having my own bloffice (blog-office) again and maybe I’ll start taking regular ootds again. I also look forward to a yard and composting again in an effort to reduce my garbage output.

There’s a saying in Japanese about getting poorer from moving. And I think there’s definitely some truth to that. With each move we throw things out (especially when downsizing) and then sometimes buy new things to fit the new space. Well since we’re upsizing again, we are looking to purchase some new furniture and new appliances (the current ones in this 1970s built home is from the 80’s). I don’t know how we’re going to be FIRE through it all but we’re definitely going to be counting on some black friday deals and maybe I’ll get a job at Crate and Barrel or something to try to defray some of the furniture costs. We’ll see if they even hire me lol.

And lastly I sympathized Leah’s post about her sustainability fail when moving. I haven’t really tried too hard to be sustainable this year due to the baby (I’m just too tired y’all) but I definitely feel some of the guilt she feels. But sometimes we just need to cut ourselves a break. We can only do what we’re mentally capable of, and tbh individual efforts in sustainability is a drop in the bucket compared to what policy changes can do (though that’s not an excuse to stop trying).

Unsponsored Sarah Flint Review: Lana Flats

After seeing Sarah Flint flats on the feet of one of my favorite ethical clothing influencers, Meghan Markle, I decided I wanted to learn more about the company and try out one of their flats.

via

Sarah Flint is a direct to consumer brand, designed by a woman (Sarah) that works directly with Italian shoemakers for their shoes. If we can assume that “artisanal” shoe factories in Italy pay their workers a fair wage, then this brand falls under the socially ethical realm. In a lot of ways, Sarah Flint reminds me of M.Gemi (reviewed here, here, and here). Maybe because they’re both direct to consumer and made in Italy. Though M.Gemi price points are about $100 less than Sarah Flint. Sarah Flint shoes will set you back about $300+. The particular flat I tried, called the Lana (which Sarah Flint is wearing below) is priced at $365.

via

But rather than spending the $365 for brand new shoes, I decided to stalk the RealReal and wait it out for a used pair. And I was able to snag the Lana flats in my size for $76! So what did I think of these flats? After having tried it out, I can tell you Meghan Markle must have normal to narrow feet, lol. My slightly wide feet did not work for these flats. And keep in mind this is after buying it used (so someone got the initial joy of breaking it in). The length was perfect and the width might have eventually stretched out (on the website they claim that it would), but the outer edges that hug the foot rubbed like a mofo. Unfortunately for me the size 38 flats (my usual size) didn’t work for me. If I ever see a size 38.5 on the RealReal I might try it out (and I’ll update my review when I do), but I could see the length being too long for me and my heel slipping out. Just like with some Italian factories that Everlane uses, their lasts (foot molds) just aren’t meant for my feet (or at least for this particular Sarah Flint shoe).

Speaking of Everlane’s Italian made shoes, I wonder what is the reason the price difference between their shoes and the ones by Sarah Flint is so great (almost $200 less for Everlane). For reference, Everlane’s Boss Flats, which look like some of the shoes Sarah Flint offers, costs $66 to make and Everlane prices it at $165. I wonder if the Sarah Flint shoes have higher end materials and trickier workmanship? Or do they just mark it up more because they can? Even M.Gemi is cheaper and with similar stuff. To me it’s not quite worth it. For just a bit more, you can buy the Martiniano glove flats (reviewed here) which are pure luxury.

But if you want to try them out for yourself and you have normal to narrow feet then this referral link will get you $50 off your first order (I will also get $50 but will probably give them to readers in giveaway contests like I normally do).