Traveling in Tokyo 2023

I’m very lucky that my mother’s side of the family lives in Japan. So growing up I went there almost every summer and winter break. If you were to ask me about my Japanese speaking skills, I can speak at an elementary level and I understand way better than I speak. I usually default to English first and only break out the Japanese when the other party doesn’t know any English (though these days in Tokyo that feels pretty rare). But it’s been almost a decade since the last time I was in Japan (maybe 8 years) and wow things have gotten so much easier for your average English-speaking tourist.

Top 5 Luxury Purchases of 2023

I am very grateful to be able to purchase high ticket items, and most of the time I think they’re 100% worth it (though not always). This year I didn’t have any luxury purchases I regretted so I just wanted to recap my top 5 favorite and/or most used luxury purchases of 2023. And without further ado…

Traveling in Seoul 2023

I originally planned to do a full recap of my trip to Seoul and Tokyo, but since the post is running long I am just recapping the Seoul part here. Stay tuned for my Tokyo recap!

November 2023 Recap

Yes I know it’s already December, but since I was out of town in November this post got a bit delayed. But without further ado, here are all the things I did and bought in November:

Everlane 2023 Review: Wide Leg Dream Pants, Organic Cotton Striped Tee Dress, and Felted Merino Half-Zip Sweater [Updated December 2024]

If you’re a long time reader, you know this blog was built on Everlane reviews (see the extensive but not updated list here). So I was surprised to see that I had yet to do an Everlane review for 2023, but then again I hadn’t purchased anything from them until just recently. In the last couple of months I got the Wide Leg Dream Pants (on eBay), the Organic Cotton Striped Tee Dress (from Crossroads—a thrift shop), and the Felted Merino Wool Half-zip (on the Everlane website during their F&F sale).

Loewe Small and Mini Puzzle Bag Review: Which Size To Get? {Updated August 2024}

In late July I ordered two Loewe Puzzle bags from Fashionphile, one in the mini size and one in the small. after watching some Youtube videos from Maggy, a fellow handbag enthusiast, rave about it. Plus the Puzzle has been around for so long it’s starting to become a classic. And the news of the classic Puzzle being phased out, motivated me to give them one more chance. And I’m glad I did!

October 2023 Recap {May 2024 Update}

What’s the most October thing you can do? The pumpkin patch of course (well especially if you have kids). We also went on another Airstream trip to catch the Fall foliage in Oregon.

Hermes Regate Scarf Ring and Hermes Scarves Review

After going down a Diane Keaton scarf inspo Google wormhole I got a couple of scarves from Madewell and the RealReal. And in June I decided to go for a scarf ring from Hermes after watching a couple YouTube videos on tying scarves. And since it’s getting to be scarf season, I thought I’d take the time to review both the Hermes scarves and Hermes Regate ring today.

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!

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!

September 2023 Recap

An eventful September in the books!

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!

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!

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.

July 2023 Recap

Most of time this month was spent relocating my kitchen (and alllll the items in my cabinets) to the dining and living room and redoing our kitchen.

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.

Celine Vertical Cabas Review

I’ve been eyeing this Celine small vertical cabas bag for years (like around 5+), but never pulled the trigger because I wasn’t sure I wanted to spend $1300 on a fairly simple bag.

Flume Review: Why Everyone Should Get a Digital Water Monitoring System

This month instead of selling something on my online shop, I thought I’d take a break and instead talk about a product that I’ve found immensely useful in saving water and money!

June 2023 Recap

At the end of May we went on a one-week RV trip to Folsom/Sacramento and Caleveras Big Trees State Park.

Jennifer Fisher Review: Small Brass Pearls Necklace

I’ve reviewed Jennifer Fisher Fine Jewelry and her salts in the past, but when someone from JF contacted me to see if I wanted to review something from her brass line, I couldn’t resist! I’ve admired JF, the person, for awhile now. I love her style and her drive.

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