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 >.<

Linenfox Review: Heavyweight Linen Ocean Pants

I ordered these Linenfox heavyweight linen ocean pants back in August, and even though I wore them a couple times in the summer, they really are better suited for cooler temperatures (I was wearing my linen pants from Quince on hot days). Now that we’re in the 50-60s consistently, I’ve been wearing this almost every other day, and I love them.

Brightech Review: Sky Floor Lamp

One thing about living in an older house is that sometimes there are no overhead lights. We’re used to recessed lighting so we didn’t have many lamps when we moved in. Well I finally got a lamp about 2 years after moving in because we just needed more light (though I really didn’t want to accumulate more furniture). I’m not sure how I found Brightech, a San Francisco direct-to-consumer (DTC) company, but I’m so glad I did!

Most Used Purchases of 2022

I already did my best Quince purchases of 2022, so here are my top ten non-Quince, most used items that I purchased this past year (in no particular order).

November 2022 Recap

This month we went on an Airstream trip to Pinnacle National Park, Pismo Beach, and Solvang. And I went a little overboard with the purchases 🤦🏻‍♀️

The Curated Review: The Tailored Coat

After purchasing The Curated’s Classic coat, which I loved (and reviewed here), I decided to try out another one of their coats, this time the Tailored coat (currently no longer sold). I got this one on sale at the end of the season and thus was only able to wear it a couple times before it got too warm. Now that it’s Autumn and the temps are cooling down am I reaching for this coat? Frankly, not so much.

Ree Projects Review: The Medium Wyn Bag

I had been eyeing the medium Wyn bag from Ree Projects since the beginning of summer when I saw Sherri, the owner of the boutique McMullen, carrying it around during her travels in Paris (see below). But for $750, the price was quite a bit steeper than I was prepared to pay. So I was thrilled to see it on sale on FarFetch (I paid about 40% off), and I nabbed the last one they had in stock. And I’m so glad that I did because I absolutely love this bag.

My Most Worn Quince Items in 2022 and 2023 {Updated February 2024}

I don’t know if you can tell by now, but Quince is now my go-to brand for pretty much everything. I love their quality clothing (both womens and mens), jewelry, bags, and even home goods. And I’m very lucky that many of you guys have supported these reviews by purchasing through my referral link (thank you guys! ). But after doing so many Quince reviews, which items were my most used? My favorites? Well here they are (in no particular order):

Birkenstock Boston Mules (Clogs) Review {Updated October 2023}

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 November 2024}

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.

Fairly Curated