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 >.<

Yoto Mini Player Review

It looks like my last kid’s review was almost a year ago so I’m due for one. But honestly nothing has really wowed us these days, except for the Yoto Mini Player, which we got a couple of months ago in anticipation for our two-week long RV trip. We knew this time around we would be driving for 4+ hours and wanted something for our kid to do in the car that doesn’t involve screens (we’re still holding out on screen time in the car). And this Yoto Mini Player was just the thing!

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Longchamp Le Pliage XS and Le Pliage XS Cuir Bag Review {Updated May 2024}

Back in August I had a bit of a bag-buying spree that was kicked off by this navy Longchamp Le Pliage XS crossbody bag. While there I also checked out the leather version of the XS bag, called the Le Pliage XS Cuir, but didn’t really want to spend the extra $300+ for the leather upgrade. However when I saw this cuir version secondhand at the RealReal for just $20 more than what I paid for for the nylon one I couldn’t resist. And now I have two Le Pliage XS bags, but I plan to keep both!

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Viori Shampoo and Conditioner Bar Review

As I noted above, I was paid a small amount to write this review of Viori Shampoo and Conditioner bars. I so very rarely get paid to do this work so I want to say a special thank you to Chase and the folks at Viori who recognize my efforts and paid me for my time. That being said, I will try to be as unbiased as possible when writing this review. But lucky for me, these shampoo and conditioner bars are pretty good!

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Quince Packing Cubes Review

I’m easing back into the review-train with a quick review of one thing that I really loved during my RV trip: Quince’s packing cubes. I’ve heard people raving about packing cubes before, but I never really got the hype because I tried some flimsy nylon ones from Muji and never really liked them. Yes, I use them for storing things but I never packed with them. But I was willing to try Quince’s version because I knew I’d be doing some traveling (mostly via RV) this year. And wow, have they made a difference!

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August 2023 Recap

Whew had it already been a month since my last blog post? TBH I’ve missed writing! And thank you to everyone who left me a note to keep on blogging (and not go on substack since it clogs up email—which I agree with). Call blogging old fashioned, I don’t care lol. Anyway since my last post, we’ve done a two week RV trip in our Airstream trailer, I’ve purchased waaaaaay too many bags, and the home renovations marches on.

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Kinfield Review

Since I’m always on the search for a good reef-safe sunscreen (because that’s important!), when the nice folks at kinfield asked if I wanted try out some of their products for review, I jumped on the chance to try their products.

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Nutrafol Review: Women's Balance

I’ve mentioned it in the past here on the blog but I am unfortunately suffering from thinning hair. And this isn’t just some postpartum hair loss since I had my baby four years ago 😆. No, I’m pretty sure this is a genetic predicament considering my grandmother on my father’s side, my father, and my mother all had/have thinning hair. I try not to be too self-conscious about it because this is just my lot in life and how I was made (or rather how my scalp was made). But that doesn’t mean I won’t try to fight the good fight of the receding hair line.

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Loewe Review: The Mini Flamenco Clutch Bag {Updated May 2024}

I’ve always admired Loewe’s Flamenco bag, with its soft structure and two knots on the sides, ever since I saw it on another woman. However, I never thought to purchase it myself until I saw it in the Loewe store at Ala Moana (Hawaii) when I was home for the holidays. As soon as I tried on the mini Flamenco, I knew it was the bag for me because it was everything I had wanted the MG Protea bag to be (and if you remember my Mansur Gavriel Protea review, I was horribly disappointed at how flimsy it was). The Loewe Flamenco has none of the flimsiness, and that’s probably due to the thick and luscious leather.

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May 2023 Recap

We celebrated a chill but rewarding Mother’s Day at the gardens at the park near my house. They were having a plant sale that day I bought some sunflowers for my yard! This year my garden is looking particularly lush and I enjoy adding even more flowers to it this year.

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Zestigreens vs. Hamama Greens Microgreens Growing Kit Review

I started growing my own microgreens at the beginning of this year and it’s been one of the healthiest addition to my diet in ages! I love harvesting them each morning and sprinkling them on top of my avocado toast for an extra boost of vitamins as well as flavor. Since I have two kits, one from Zestigreens and another from Hamama Greens, I thought I would do a little review comparing the two since they’re slightly different.

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Yes Friends Review: The T-shirts

It’s been awhile since I purchased t-shirts, thanks to buying so many Everlane shirts 5 years ago. However, many of those shirts have worn out or have become too small. So I had been on the hunt for a good classic tee when I found Yes Friends on a list of ethical brands.

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Linjer Jewelry Review

Though I haven’t done a Linjer review in the past, I’ve always admired their thoughtfully designed products (but mostly their bags). I mentioned them in my Hermes Bolide review and I guess that got their attention because they asked me if I wanted to try some of their jewelry items (it looks like their phasing out of the bag market for now). After taking a look at their wide selection of ethical jewelry, I decided to try their mother of pearl Margit ring and their gold tennis bracelet.

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