Blog

Moving from conspicuous to conscious consumption and doing reviews along the way.  Find plenty of unsponsored reviews of Quince, Everlane, Grana, and Cuyana on the site!  I'm working towards a minimal waste lifestyle, and oh yea I love bags >.<

Quince Review: All Things Linen [Updated November 2024]

One of the first things I tried from Quince was their linen bedding and I was (and still am) a huge fan. Since then I’ve tried a multitude of their linen items because I love linen and Quince linen is quite good. How good you ask? Well, as a lightweight linen (at 160gsm) it ranks just below the slow fashion linen brands from Lithuania (NotPerfectLinen and LinenFox) but better than many other conventional brands that price their linen products higher (Ilana Kohn, Tradlands, etc.). You can peek my Ethical Linen Guide here. So without further ado, here’s what I think of the linen things I’ve tried from Quince:

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June 2022 Books

I didn’t think I could top the number of books I read last month, but I did. I guess that’s what happens when you’re trying not to shop during a No-Buy month (and no browsing), plus you don’t go out as much because you’re trying to save gas. Well I have no complaints, and I’m perfectly content to sit around reading library books.

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Top 5 Best Sellers and Top 5 Blog Posts from the First Half of 2022

After reading Andrea’s top 5 best sellers and top 5 blog posts of this year, I decided to take a look at what were my top 5’s. And I decided to do it for the first half of 2022 since, well that’s the data that I have (plus I feel like month to month, some of the same posts are always in the top anyway so this won’t be a monthly thing). So without further ado, here’s my top 5:

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Alohas Shoes Review: The Trailblazer Crystal Loafers and Harper Sandals {Updated August 2022}

At the end of last year, after trying the Ganni loafers from the RealReal that were too small, I pre-ordered these chunky loafers from Alohas. I’ve seen them around on Instagram and I have to say their ads got me. Also NGL, their name Alohas got my attention since I’m from Hawaii (sadly it has nothing to do with Hawaii and this is a Spanish brand that makes all their items ethically in Spain).

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April Meets October Review: May Dress

My first dress from April Meets October, this small BIPOC female-owned La-made brand, was the Ogden dress. Since then I had seen the May dress everywhere and wanted to try it out. I was a bit hesitant at first since the long length and long bodice of the dress doesn’t usually favor my petite height and long torso. But when I found it on eBay for a bit less than retail, I decided to give it a try. And overall, I’m quite happy with my new-to-me summer dress!

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Unsponsored Solo Stove Review

Since Father’s Day is right around the corner (this Sunday!) I thought I’d take the time to review something that might interest the outdoorsy pyro-loving man (or woman) in your life, this Solo Stove. We got the Bonfire size Solo Stove bundle at the beginning of the year and it was the perfect gathering spot on our patio during the cold winter months! So do I think the Solo Stove is worth it? Absolutely (if you are the campfire-loving type).

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Pepper Bra Review: The Lift Up Bra

After trying out the Mesh All You, the Classic All You, and the Limitless Wirefree bras from Pepper (my first Pepper bra review here), I decided to try out their Lift Up bra, ie their version of the push-up bra. As I mentioned in my first Pepper review, I had been wearing mostly push-up bras before this because I’ve always been self-conscious of my bust size. But I have to admit that after wearing the All You bras (my favorite being the Classic for the comfort though it’s not as supportive) I’ve gotten used to my chest size and don’t feel the need to give it a boost. But for the sake of experimentation and for those days that I feel like being boosted, I decided to go for the Lift Up.

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May 2022 Books

I think my reading speed has increased because I was able to finish an all-time high of 9 books this month. I was also probably motivated by the fact that I had renewed a bunch of these books the maximum number of times so I was under a deadline so to speak.

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Rudy Jude Day Blouse Review

I tried to go to the Rudy Jude store twice, on the two separate occasions I was in LA, and sadly the store was closed both times. I think fate was telling me not to be tempted with their high-priced (but ethically made) clothing. Well lucky for me, I happened to be on Insta when Helen decided to sell her white day blouse (just the item I had been wanting). So what did I think of the insta-famous Rudy Jude Day Blouse?

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My Purse Collection Ranked in 2022

So back in 2019 I ranked my purse collection from my least favorite to most favorite. Well sometime late last year someone asked what my purse collection ranking looks like now (so thanks for that post idea). Since I’ve purchased quite a few new bags (and sold quite a few too), my list now looks different enough to warrant an update. So without further ado here are my bags ranked from least to most favorite:

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My Experience Selling Jewelry In-Person At The RealReal {Updated April 2024}

In the past I’ve talked about selling bags in-person at the RealReal, and at that time a couple of you guys wanted to know what the jewelry valuation and selling experience would be like too. Well I decided to try it out a couple weeks ago when TRR was having a promo of $100 credit (for a $300 purchase) when you sold something in-person. Since I had a couple pieces to sell, I thought it’d be worth a visit.

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April 2022 Books

I read an all time record of 6 books this month: How to Avoid a Climate Disaster by Bill Gates, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra, The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking, Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, Nicely Said: Writing for the Web with Style and Purpose by Nicole Fenton and Kate Kiefer Lee, and Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner.

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April 2022 Recap

April was a month of toothache and adventure at Yosemite. I’m still continuing my practice of two non-commercial days a week (albeit imperfectly), and I’ve accomplished another month of being alcohol-free.

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