Well, I did it. I got my Prada Cahier bag! Well....almost. Read the story here! Since the bag money came out of a savings account I've been adding to for a few years I'm not counting it in my main 2021 spending total, but I did add a line at the bottom of the post including it in my yearly spending.

I also finally got Teva sandals after spending a couple months mulling it over. I went with a crazy printed pair since they'll be more fun for beach trips, camping and rainy Disney days! I also bought a new bathing suit from Target for a beach trip (that ended up being canceled.)

THE (modified) RULES

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

MY PROGRESS

 

Clothes:

1. mīere the label Women’s Cotton Knit Sweater in Terracotta ($68.87 including shipping)

Basics:

1. FRAME Denim Le Skinny de Jeanne Crop in Sunnyside ($30 via Poshmark, retail $189, $18.67 after ad money)
   

 

Shoes:

1. Splendid Harvest Mules in Tiger/Cheetah Print - also here ($25.80 via eBay, retail $118, used ad money)
2. *NEW!* Teva Original Universal Sandals in Boomerang Pink Lemonade ($42.50 via Shopbop, used partnership money)
   

Handbags:

1. *NEW!* Prada Cahier in 'Viola' purple via Vestiaire Collective ($1488, used bag savings account)
   

 

Accessories:

1. None yet

 
 

Activewear/Swimwear:

1. *NEW!* Target "All in Motion" Zip-Front Racerback Laser Cut Back Detail One Piece Swimsuit ($34.99)
   

 

Gifted from Brands:

• Vintage Emerald Cut Ring - London Blue Topaz c/o Aurate ($50 after gifted amount)
  

 

Spent in June: $34.99

Spent in 2021: $209.66

Spent in 2021 Counting Prada bag:  $1,697.66

A couple weekends ago Christian and I went out to eat for the first time since February 2020 and boy was it weird! It was so nice to have hot food delivered to you at a table rather than opening up slightly cooled takeout (which is still delicious.)

 

I won a gift card to Sherkaan in New Haven back in April and was super excited because I was always jealous of my food blogger friends enjoying their tasty food and never made it there before the pandemic! The gift card was pretty big so I invited my brother and sister-in-law because they've wanted to try it out too! We got a bunch of different dishes to share. It was so nice to be out somewhere. 

Dress: Who What Wear x Target floral dress

Sandals: Ancient Greek Sandals 'Clara' Sandal c/o Shopbop 

Sunglasses: Gucci Aviators (bought in Italy)

Bag: 3.1 Phillip Lim Pashli Medium in Nile Shark Embossed Leather (Bag, Borrow or Steal) 

Necklace: Olive Branch Pearl Necklace, bought in Santorini

 

 

 

Photos of everything we tried!

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Name a better gift for Mom than beautiful gold personalized necklaces! They can be made special in so many ways with initials, birthstones and zodiac signs. You can personalize them for your Mother's birthday or even with your/all her children's birthdays. AU-Rate has plenty of options to choose from! If you're not a birthstone or initial fan you can just choose any of their pieces and select your Mom's preferred color - gold, white or rose! It's impossible to not be able to find the perfect piece of jewelry.

 

Aurate also released a new collaboration with Kerry Washington last week called The Birth of Mother  featuring beautiful organic pearls and seashell motifs. Order by May 5th for regular shipping and May 7th for overnight to get your gift in time (in stock items only, not made to order.)

If your Mom isn't a jewelry lover there are plenty of other options to make her smile! Mine will never say no to a beautiful candle, my favorite brand to splurge on the past number of years has been Voluspa, but I also discovered L’or de Seraphine last year! Both are a bit on the pricier side, but when it comes to gifting - go for the high end!

 

For the Mom with a sweet tooth you could bake her something yourself (check out my baking posts to see what I've made lately) or order her a fancy dessert she wouldn't buy for herself! Maybe some Ladurée macarons or Dō cookie dough! You could even find a local donut shop that makes over the top donuts! Around here we have Donut Crazy!

Side-note: How beautiful is this london blue topaz and diamond ring from Aurate? I had to buy it when I saw it matched one of my favorite necklaces that my Grandmother handed down to me.

 

Double V-Neck Cashmere Sweater: Calypso St. Barth 'Gylden' (Gilt)

Floral Jeans Target Flipside Denim 

Sandals:  Zigi Soho Velvet Floral Embroidered Open Toe Mules (TJ Maxx)

Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs 'Natural Selection Mini Messenger Bag' (Saks Fifth Avenue)

Sunglasses: Gucci Aviators (bought in Italy)

Blue Topaz & Diamond Necklace: hand-me-down from Grandma

Ring: Vintage Emerald Cut Ring with London Blue Topaz c/o Aurate

Unfortunately we had a little problem with these outfit pictures. Christian and I took a bunch on his camera in the National Gardens and for some reason when he was emptying his SD card he didn't copy them over - oops! So here are a few shots from our phones taken in Athens and Rome. (I wore it for our first few hours in Rome and then on our last day in Athens.)

It's one of the perfect travel dresses, easy to throw on and super comfortable. Everyone should have a printed shirt-dress in their wardrobe!

 Floral Shirt Dress: Who What Wear x Target (shop floral dresses), Sandals: Ancient Greek Sandals 'Alethea' (shop Ancient Greek Sandals),  Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs 'Natural Selection Mini Messenger Bag', Sunglasses: Chanel (shop oversized sunglasses), Simple Pearl Necklace c/o AUrate

Quick post today! Sometimes all you need is a dress and you're good to go. Such is the case with this black floral shirt dress! No accessories apart from shoes and a bag required! I wore this to take my dad out to lunch for Father's Day. We were able to eat outside because it was a beautiful day! Since then, unfortunately, it has been gross and rainy! Hoping it clears up because I'm going camping in Vermont this weekend.

Floral Shirt Dress: Who What Wear x Target, Suede Mules: BCBGeneration 'Beverly' c/o Clinton Crossing, Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs 'Natural Selection Mini Messenger Bag' (Saks Fifth Avenue), Sunglasses: Gucci

Happy First Day of May! I can't believe we are already 4 months through 2019.  These photos are from Easter Sunday. The weather was still a bit dreary but Christian and I stopped at a local historic society to snap these photos with beautiful blossoming trees! A lot of the people on this street got this same type of tree a few years ago so each Spring we are greeted with about a half a mile of beautiful pink flowering trees. You have to love communities coming together to make something so pretty.

Once again I'm wearing my new white blazer. This time I wore it with one of my favorite Target designer collaboration pieces - a Jason Wu for Target floral dress! I wear this almost every Easter because it's so perfect for the holiday. It definitely ranks in the top of my dress collection - quite a feat considering I have some "real" Jason Wu (and Burberry!) dresses in my closet.

Blazer: Massimo Dutti (Roundabout Resale), Dress: Jason Wu for Target floral dress, Sandals: Cole Haan 'Minetta' (Amazon), Necklace: BubuRuby