Happy day after Thanksgiving! I hope all my American readers had a great holiday and ate lots of turkey (or no turkey if you're vegetarian!)

This month I added a few pieces to my closet but paid $0 out of pocket! Love when that happens.  Last week Everlane surprised me with a $20 credit and since I couldn't decide between two pairs of jeans ($30 difference in price, haha) I decided to just go for a plain v-neck tee.

I also bought a couple things during Shopbop's Buy More, Save More sale with my store credit from my partnership with them. They should arrive on Monday, hopefully they both fit or I'll be sending them back....sad. It took me HOURS to decide what to get. Funny how even when something is "free" you second guess all your decisions. I had so many things in my cart and Christian helped me whittle it down to boots and a sweater. I'll be on the lookout for a few of the other things I wanted to actually go on sale (more than the 20% off I would have gotten if I bought 4 of the things I wanted)

I still haven't made my Net-a-Porter sale purchase but I will probably buy something next month at the end of the sale.  Right now I have about $75 in Paypal thanks to Ibotta and Survey Junkie and should have a payment from RewardStyle on the way as well. That'll help soften the blow if/when I splurge on something.

UPDATE: Sadly had to return the boots as they were a lot chunkier than I expected and I didn't like how they looked on my feet.

THE (modified) RULES

1. Be mindful of purchases 
2. Quality over quantity
3. Basics are best

MY PROGRESS 

Clothes:

1. Autumn Cashmere Landscape Cashmere Crew ($240, retail $440, Christmas + ad money)
2. Sandro burgundy double breasted blazer ($36 via Roundabout Resale, retail ~$500)
3. Massimo Dutti white wool blazer ($19 via Roundabout Resale, retail $130-$250)
4. Rag & Bone 'Jackie' purple leather trimmed wool jacket ($32 via Roundabout, retail $495)
5. eight sixty floral camisole dress ($7 via eBay, used ad money)
6. Joie 'Johnesha' black polka dot tiered dress ($39.99 via Marshalls, $398 retail)
7. Edun red printed silk dress ($25 via eBay, $500+ retail) 
8. *NEW!* Splendid Duke Striped Pullover ($0 c/o Shopbop, on sale for $47, retail $148)

Basics:

1. J.Crew Tissue Turtleneck ($5, retail $30, used gift card)
2. J.Crew Ribbed flare-sleeve turtleneck ($8, retail $45, used gift card)
3. J.Crew Midrise skinny jean in velvet ($10, retail $80, used gift card)
4. AG Jeans 'The Evan' pleated linen pant, Sulfur Harvest Olive ($39 @ Marshalls, $178 retail) 
5. Splendid Arabesque Cargo Short in Antique Military Olive ($29.99 via Marshalls, $108 retail)
6. *NEW!* Everlane Cotton V in Heather Gray ($0, after $20 credit)

Shoes:

1. Lanvin Studded Suede 'City' Sandals ($60 via The RealReal, $790 retail, used ad money) 
2. Lanvin Studded Leather 'City' Sandals ($60 via The RealReal, $790 retail, used ad money)  
3. Ancient Greek Sandals 'Apteros' in Crosta Wine ($158 in Athens, used ad money)
4. Ancient Greek Sandals X Gas Bijoux 'Stephanie Charms' in Natural/Red Charms ($254 in Santorini, used ad money)
5. Sam Edelman 'Gigi' ($12.49 via DSW)
6. Restricted Memo Flat ($12.49 via DSW)

Accessories:

1. Mini Leather Bag (25€ in Italy, used ad money)
2. Olive Leaf + Branch + Pearl Necklace ($50 in Santorini, used ad money)
3. DSW Backpack (free with purchase)

Gifted from Brands:

1. Simple Pearl Necklace c/o AUrate
   

Total spent in November: $0

Total spent in 2019: $245.46

We got a LOT done on our first full day in Athens. Starting at the Acropolis we made it to most of the ancient sites including the Ancient Agora where Kristen Bell was filming an episode of The Good Place. Luckily they left soon after we got there, otherwise a ton of the site was blocked off for the shoot.

For our busy day I wore a nice, airy dress. This Splendid dress has seen me through many hot days and this day was no exception. The print makes it that you don't need to worry about heavy accessories, which I am horrible at putting on.

Dress: Splendid Zebra Print Dress (NETAPORTER, also here), Sandals: Ancient Greek Sandals 'Alethea' (shop Ancient Greek Sandals),  Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs 'Natural Selection Mini Messenger Bag' (shop more Marc Jacobs bags), Sunglasses: Chanel (shop oversized sunglasses)

I think I'm in a blog funk. Christian hasn't been able to take as many of my photos lately and when I have my Dad take them I don't like to take up too much of his time so we just take 5 quick shots and I'm done. So even though my Dad is a great photographer (it's one of his favorite hobbies) a lot of the time the photos just aren't up to snuff because I rush.

In this case it was my shorts fault, the linen wrinkles SO easy and I had already been wearing this outfit for half the day. I also stupidly covered the graphic on my shirt with my still wet hair.  Plus my cousin was visiting from Ohio so I REALLY rushed these photos. At least there's a cute puppy (my brother's) to distract from all of that. 

Graphic Tee: EPCOT Food & Wine Festival Passholder Tee, Shorts: Splendid Arabesque Cargo Short in Antique Military Olive (Marshalls), Sandals: Ancient Greek Sandals 'Alethea' (bought in Santorini),  Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs 'Perfect Purse ostrich-effect PVC' (Net-a-Porter), Sunglasses: Chanel

On super hot Summer days all I want to wear is a loose dress and sandals. This Splendid zebra print dress is always a good choice.  Unfortunately we still have 2 more outfits (including this one) where my camera was acting up. Hopefully we fixed it so no more issues when my Dad takes photos, ha ha.

Dress: Splendid Zebra Print Dress (NETAPORTER, also here), Beaded Sandals: Seychelles (DSW), Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs 'Perfect Purse ostrich-effect PVC' (Net-a-Porter), Sunglasses: Chanel

Welp, I had a bad month. I went to Marshall's with my mom intending to just buy a new set of dishes - which I did - and walked out with a new pair of pants and shorts. But I've been wanting more think pants for Summer and another pair of shorts to add to my rotation. Both are linen/tencel blends and super soft!


THE (modified) RULES

1. Be mindful of purchases 
2. Quality over quantity
3. Basics are best

MY PROGRESS 

Clothes:

1. Autumn Cashmere Landscape Intarsia Cashmere Crew ($240, retail $440, used Christmas + ad money)
2. Sandro burgundy double breasted blazer ($36 via Roundabout Resale, retail ~$500)
3. Massimo Dutti white wool blazer ($19 via Roundabout Resale, retail $130-$250)
4. Rag & Bone 'Jackie' purple leather trimmed wool jacket ($32 via Roundabout Resale, retail $495)
5. eight sixty floral camisole dress ($7 via eBay, used ad money)
   

Basics:

1. J.Crew Tissue Turtleneck ($5, retail $30, used gift card)
2. J.Crew Ribbed flare-sleeve turtleneck ($8, retail $45, used gift card)
3. J.Crew Midrise skinny jean in velvet ($10, retail $80, used gift card)
4. AG Jeans 'The Evan' pleated linen pant in Sulfur Harvest Olive - also here ($39 via Marshalls, $178 retail) 
5. Splendid Arabesque Cargo Short in Antique Military Olive ($29.99 via Marshalls, $108 retail)

Shoes:

1. Lanvin Studded Suede 'City' Sandals ($60 via The RealReal, $790 retail, used ad money) 
2. Lanvin Studded Leather 'City' Sandals ($60 via The RealReal, $790 retail, used ad money) 

Accessories:

1.  None Yet

Gifted from Brands:

1. None Yet
   

Total spent in June: $68.99

Total spent in 2019: $155.5

Earlier this month I went shopping with my Mom. I was only intending on buying new dishes but ended up with a pair of shorts and a pair of pants as well. The dangers of Marshalls, ha ha! I had been wanting a couple new pairs of shorts to add to my Summer rotation and this pair by Splendid are perfect! They're a really soft linen blend and have the fun paper bag waist detail, just on a smaller scale.  They do wrinkle fast so I look a bit disheveled in the photos, but what can you do?

Floral Tee: Urban Outfitters, Short: Splendid Arabesque Cargo Short in Antique Military Olive (Marshalls), Sandals: Ancient Greek Sandals 'Athanasia'  in Croc (Moda Operandi), Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs 'Natural Selection Mini Messenger Bag' (Saks Fifth Avenue), Sunglasses: Gucci, Necklace: BubuRuby



Alsooooo, for you ice cream lovers out there - I was introduced to a new brand this week, Art Cream Ice Cream! They sent me a couple of their ultra-premium ice creams - made with clean ingredients and certified organic milk and cream from a herd of cows in Wisconsin. The brand was founded in 2018 and they focus on happy cows, happy people, quality, community support and creating art!

The ice creams are produced in small batches in “normal" flavors like Chocolate and Cookies & Cream (their best-seller,) plus creative options like Saffron Honey Lemon and Cardamom; 9 tasty options as of right now.

What I love about this brand is the mix of art and flavor. Each flavor has a different container with a painting created specifically for that flavor profile. As a graphic designer I really appreciate this approach to packaging, it makes them so much more fun and unique!

My verdict: Both the Indonesian Vanilla Honey and Cookies & Cream were really good! I think the Vanilla was my favorite, super refreshing. I personally like a higher cookie concentration in cookies & cream but it was delicious as well.  The ice cream is also nice & smooth, no grainy texture that you sometimes get with store-bought.

Select stores in CT, MD, NJ, NY, VA and DC - soon MA & PA - carry the brand for $8.49 a pint. I’ll definitely be trying some of the other flavors this Summer!

P.S. My ice cream scoop is the Midnight Scoop. I got it through Kickstarter 4 years ago, it's amazing! 

Animal Kingdom is one of my favorite parks. Sadly we only went for 3/4 of a day on this trip because there were so many other things going on. We had to take our usual Safari and a quick visit to Pandora (we didn't go on the rides because we couldn't get Fast Passes and didn't want to wait in super long lines.)  I also had my friend try Yak & Yeti for lunch since she had never been and I've wanted to go back since my first visit a few years ago.  Before heading out we also did the Jungle Trek in Asia to see the two young tigers who are growing up very quickly!

My zebra print dress by Splendid was the perfect piece for this hot day visiting with the animals. It kept me cool and on theme.

Dress: Splendid Zebra Print Dress (NETAPORTER, also here), Sandals: Target,  Sunglasses: Ray Ban 'Erika', Eyeglasses chain: Tinksky (Amazon), Bag: Dooney & Bourke 2017 Sorcerer Mickey Disney Shopper Tote (eBay)

Food

Isle of Java

Before heading on our trip we searched for new foods at the park and came upon the Apple Cider Donut Holes at Isle of Java. I have a slight obsession with apple cider donuts so I HAD to have them. When we got to the kiosk there wasn't a sign for them so I thought they might not be selling them anymore. But we asked to double check and lo and behold they had ONE left, just waiting for us! And they were delicious, totally work $5.

Yak & Yeti

We went for appetizers during lunch instead of larger meals because we weren't super hungry. I got the Pork Pot Stickers and a side of Fried Rice. Soooo delicious!

What To See

Kilimanjaro Safari

The safari is always a must-do at Animal Kingdom. The best times are first thing in the morning or in the evening when it cools down so most of the animals are out. On this particular trip we were able to see the new baby giraffe, Aella, such a cutie.

Jungle Trek

The jungle trek has a lot of animals to see from bats and birds all the way to tigers. Last year two cubs were born and they are growing so fast! We skipped most of the animals to get right to the tigers and watched them playing in the water. I could have stayed for hours but it was super hot.  (see some cute pictures and video of them back in February)




There is a LOT more to see and do at Animal Kingdom.  See another mini guide from May here!