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 >.<

Birkenstock Boston Mules (Clogs) Review {Updated February 2025}

I originally purchased a pair of Birkenstock Boston Mules sometime last year from eBay. And one reader asked for a review…so here it is over a year later lol, I apologize for the delay 😂. But I had made a mistake in my sizing of those mules because I thought I would wear socks with them so I went one size up. Nope, those shoes ended up being way too big and didn’t stay on my feet. So back to whence they came. And finally this year, to prepare for some camping (which is where I had envisioned using these Birks the most), I ordered a pair in my current Birks size from the RealReal (for a great deal I might add). So here is the review of the Boston mules now that I’ve worn them a bit.

October 2022 Books

I read quite a few books, and a diverse selection at that, this month. Of these, my favorites were This is Your Mind on Plants and In The Distance.

October 2022 Recap

In October we went on our first trip with our dream Airstream and it was a blast!

Hahaland Review: Toddler Busy Book and Dinosaur Robot/Trucks Toy

If you’re starting to think about gifts for the kids in your life (I know it’s a tad early), then might I recommend a couple toys that I were gifted by Hahaland and that Emi loves: The Montessori Toddler Busy Book and the Dinosaur Robot/Trucks Toy.

Review of Baby Books

So you know I love me those “personal growth” (aka self-help) books. There’s something about learning something from a book that might have the potential to make you a better person that gets me every time. So it’s no wonder that the love of that genre has led me to read quite a few parenting books. Because if we could become better parents by reading a book, why not read it?

Away Two-Way Crossbody Bag Review

As I mentioned in last month’s recap, I used some of my store credit from referrals to buy the Two-Way Crossbody Bag from Away. I never really thought to buy anything except for luggage from Away (which are awesome by the way—Away luggage review here). But something led me to their site, and I have to say I’m impressed with their lineup of bags. And like I was with their luggage, I’m very happy with the crossbody from Away.

Augustinus Bader Review: The Scalp Treatment and The Essence

Though my days of Augustinus Bader credit are over (they restructured their referral credit program earlier this year), I was still able to try two more of their products with some leftover credit: The Scalp Treatment and The Essence. Here’s what I thought of them:

Quince Leather Bags Review {Updated February 2025}

As I did in the Quince fine jewelry review and Quince linen review, I thought I would round up all the Quince bags I’ve purchased in one review. As a bag lady, I’m quite particular about my bags (see my whole bag review section here). And having tried everything from Hermes and Valextra (brand with bags handcrafted by one artisan) to Longchamp and Moop (canvas bags sold on Etsy), I feel like I know what quality bags look and feel like. And I have to say Quince makes great quality, practical leather bags at a really good price point. Most of their bags are made of Italian leathers and some in Florence, a location that is known to produce high quality leather goods. Without further ado, here are the Quince bags I’ve tried thus far.

September 2022 Books

I didn’t read a lot of book this month, and sadly of the ones I’ve read I didn’t really love any of them. But I think the most “useful” book for me this month was Glucose Revolution and do recommend it for anyone who struggles with their energy levels.

September 2022 Recap

We didn’t do a whole lot this September (being busy with back to school and all). But the Airstream we ordered late last year finally came in and we hope to be doing a lot of roadtrips in our future!!

Zero Waste Product Reviews: Huppy Toothpaste Tablets, Hay Straws, Silicone Food Covers, Swedish Dish Cloth and more

After about a month of working at my local zero waste/refill store, Planet Renu, I’ve tried quite a few of their offerings. Here are all the things I got with my employee discount and what I think about them:

Anothersole Paloma Shoes Review

Every once in awhile I’ll receive an email asking for a feature on the blog from a company that aligns with my values. But from that bunch, there’s even a smaller percentage where I actually love the look of their product. So I might do one or two of these “cold call” type reviews a year. And one of these for 2022 is the brand Anothersole. After taking a look at their website I requested the Palomas in the color Clay.

IM4000 Dual Chamber Tumbling Composter Review

This dual bin composter was one of my most exciting purchases this year (yes I’ve been looking forward to getting one for awhile) so I thought I would take the time to review it, even though it’s not really under the purview of this style blog. But then again when has that stopped me from reviewing an item? I’ve always wanted one of these rotating composter, ever since I tried making my own DIY composter about 10 years ago. This easy solution definitely works but it takes awhile (like about a year or more) for everything in the compost to break down. So when I was browsing for a spinning composter (because heck doesn’t that look like fun), I decided on this dual chamber tumbling composter from Amazon.

Quince 2022 Review: The Jewelry Case, Women's Oversized Cardigan, Women's T-Shirt Dress, Men's Shirts And More [Updated November 2024]

Thanks to everyone who purchased through my Quince referral link (where you get $20 off your first order and I get $20 of credit as well), I’ve been able to try quite a few things on credit. I wrote a comprehensive Quince review of all the things I tried during the last half of last year and I also wrote a Quince jewelry review and a Quince Linen review. Well here are all the other things I’ve tried since the beginning of this year:

August 2022 Books

Overall, I read fewer books this month and it was probably due to our family vacation and the start of my new job. However, of the books I did read, my favorites were The Water Dancer, Louder Than Words, and Trust.

August 2022 Recap

August was a really busy month and it just flew by. The month started with Emi’s summer vacation and our annual Airstream trip. I also got a new job!

Augustinus Bader Review: The Ultimate Soothing Cream

I got the Augustinus Bader Ultimate Soothing Cream back when I was still getting credit from the AB website (but sadly that is not the case anymore), or else I wouldn’t normally splash out on a $265 jar of cream just to try it. But lucky for you guys I nabbed this right before they shut off my credit tap from referrals so I can give you my honest opinion of the cream.

Planetbox Rover Review: Is it worth it? {Updated September 2023}

My purchase of this lunch box was influenced by this New York Times review that declared Planetbox the best lunch box for kids. But holy cow, those are some high price points for a lunch box. So is it worth it?

Everlane 2022 Review: Way High Drape Pants, ReNew Transit Bag, and Swim Review

Wow it’s been quite awhile and I’ve come a long way since my Everlane addict days where I reviewed Everlane allll the time (see my collection of past Everlane reviews here—where the bulk of the reviews are items that aren’t made anymore). Well it looks like I’ll be doing one Everlane review a year since I only buy items from them when I need to fill a wardrobe gap (see my last 2021 Everlane review here—when I was looking for jeans and jean shorts). And too bad that Everlane’s product churn is so fast that many of their items are not part of their continuous stock, thus even if I talk about it now (months after I purchase it) you won’t be able to find it on their website. But on the rare occasions they bring the item back, this review will be here for reference.

Hermes Roulis 23 Bag Review

I was 100% influenced to look at this bag by the Korean drama Hometown Cha Cha Cha (pictured below). In it, the main character, who loves bags and clothes moves from the city to a seaside town to open a dental clinic. I loved this romantic comedy with a charming look at rural life in Korea. Plus who doesn’t love a good city girl falling in love with the country boy trope. So when I found this bag at Fashionphile for a good price (quite a bit less than the $8550 retail), I decided to just try it out to see if I liked it. NGL I was fully intending to just check it out and then return it, but unfortunately (fortunately?) I fell in love with it and didn’t want to send it back.

Fairly Curated