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Another month gone...this year is going by so fast! This month my extra money was mostly spent on Christmas gifts so not really much for my own purchases. We'll see if I can make it through the rest of the year without buying more clothes. I made it through Black Friday and Cyber Monday without buying any clothes but did splurge on a few Le Creuset pieces using blog income, the easy way for me to spend and not feel bad, haha! 

I bought a Deep Dutch Oven for $200(!!!!) a Classic Enameled Cast Iron Skillet for $120, Mini Pumpkin Cocotte, and a free Holly Mini Cocotte! (Originally, on Black Friday, I also bought a Mini Round Cocotte to get a free Snowflake Platter because I needed to spend $250 for the free gift. Then Cyber Monday came and I liked that gift better so I called to cancel my order and made a new one, I only needed to spend $200 for the free cocotte but still wanted the pumpkin one so I just nixed the plain round cocotte.) I bought the cast iron skillet from Williams Sonoma because I had 10% cash back and the rest from the Le Creuset because they had the colors I wanted and the free gift. So I bought it all for less than the normal price off the dutch oven - WOO! I still really want their round dutch oven (in purple that they don't make anymore,) but for $200 (reg $380) vs $460 or $420 I'll see how I like the slightly smaller size.


I did order some gifted pieces from Aurate for a post coming in January. Always love being able to add more of their pieces to my jewelry collection. They'll be arriving some time in December as they are made to order.


THE (modified) RULES

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

 

MY PROGRESS

 

Clothes:

  1. Marc by Marc Jacobs cropped sweater ($12.50, retail $298, used ad money)
  2. J Brand Maria High Rise in Purple Velvet ($7.50, retail $228, used ad money)
  3. Current/Elliott "The Muscle" leopard print tank ($8, retail $75?, used ad money)


Basics:
  1. mīere the label "Frankie" knit sweater in Faded Black ($56.92, $32.15 if we omit shipping)
  2. Madewell Whisper Cotton V-Neck Tee in Spiced Plum ($2, retail $19.50, used ad money)
  3. Madewell Whisper Cotton V-Neck Tee in Sahara Sand  ($2, retail $19.50, used ad money)

 

Shoes:

  1. Ancient Greek Sandals Kore of Berlin ($365, used Shopbop gift cards + ad money + 15% off)


Handbags:

  1. None yet

 

Accessories:
  1. None yet

 
 

Activewear/Swimwear:

  1. Ryka "Belong" Walking Shoe in Plum Red/Burgundy via DSW ($26.58, $79.99 retail)

 

Gifted from Brands:


Spent in November: $0

Spent in 2022: $83.50

Who doesn't love a good festive sweater?! I've had this one from J Crew for quite a few years and always love breaking it out. Usually I wait until after Thanksgiving but I went to the New England Christmas Festival the first weekend of this month and wanted to dress on theme! A lady at the show even commented on my perfect coordination, ha ha. 


Unfortunately, the event was a little lackluster for me overall. Since it's only 1 weekend they don't really decorate the venue all that much. It also was a lot of non-Christmas items and if I'm going to a Christmas Festival I want it to be pretty much all holiday themed and maybe some fun giftable food items. I bought a cute snowman and Christmas tree ornament but not sure if it was really worth the $15 admission fee, but that could just be me. Christkindlmarkt in Bethlehem, PA (my photos) was much more fun, but also a lot further away, ha ha.


Llama Jewel Sweater: J.Crew

Jeans: rag & bone high rise ankle skinny jean in burgundy

Boots: Marc by Marc Jacobs Buckle Boot in burgundy (Coco's on the Green) 

Bag: Dark Purple Chloé Faye (eBay) 











I bought both of these pieces in August and was waiting for the perfect time to wear them together. That ended up being my cousin's baby shower this past weekend. It was a little chillier with random rain sprinkles so I didn't want to wear a dress and, since the sweater has some sparkle in it, I thought it would be a good alternative.


Sweater: Marc by Marc Jacobs cropped sweater (The RealReal)

Pants: J Brand Maria High Rise in Purple/Aubergine Velvet (The RealReal)

Shoes: Nicholas Kirkwood suede Prism pumps (NET-A-PORTER)

Bag: Purple Prada Cahier in Viola (Rebag via Vestiaire Collective)

Topaz Necklace: Grandma's, BubuRuby Gemstone Chain necklace 

Rings: Grandma's opal, Aurate Vintage Emerald Cut Ring - Topaz

Earrings: Mejuri loop earrings 










 

This roundup is full of bakes Christian and I did for our Halloween party. He's been wanting to have one for YEARS but Covid ruined that. So happy he was finally able to do it this year. I have a few things I want to bake next, we'll see how successful they are.

 

King Arthur Baking School - Pizza Perfected Class

Starting off with my King Arthur Baking School bakes - Pizza Dough and Semolina Pizza Dough! I was always afraid to try hand stretched dough but this class made it so easier and now I'm sure it will be our top made pizza. Make sure to check out my recap post on the class and learn how to take one of your own! Unfortunately, the two recipes we used weren't on their website.


Depression Cake - Halloween Style

We have made a depression cake many times over the past couple years and thought it was the perfect choice for our dirt cake. We made the recipe as usual and added crushed Oreos and gummy worms to the top.


 

Healthy Birthday Cake Break - Halloween Style

Another Halloween spin on a treat I've previously made (for Christian's birthday.) For this we just used Halloween sprinkles instead of plain rainbow. Yummy yummy!


 

Halloween Sugar Cookies

Christian 3D printed some Halloween cookie cutters so we could make some spooky cookies for our party. This recipe was super easy to follow and delicious! Will definitely have to make these again for Christmas! 


King Arthur 'Our Favorite Sandwich Bread'

Another recipe I have made multiple times. The first time I made this recipe the bread didn't come out the best but this time the bread shape is much better! It also helped once I bought a slightly smaller loaf pan. Previously I only had a 5x9 but now I have a 4.5x8.5 and it does the job so much better. We love having it with honey (or a mix of honey and butter, yummmm)




Somehow I never got around to posting these few outfit photos I took for a brand partnership with Aetrex on Instagram. Whoops! Only a few photos but the outfit still deserve a post, right?! It's the perfect simple look for early autumn days when it's still warm-ish but there's a chill in the air.

 

Tee: Madewell Whisper Cotton V-Neck Tee in Spiced Plum

Jeans: Everlane high-rise skinny jean in mid-blue

Bag: Madewell Medium Slim Saddle Bag in Croc c/o Shopbop

Shoes: Aetrex Libby Comfort Clog in Tobacco suede

Necklace: Acanthus Jewelry


 


Happy Halloween! It was my birthday month but I behaved and didn't make any purchases. Nothing was really calling out to me in all of my window shopping. Sure I added things to my cart, but in the end they just weren't worth the cost to me. Maybe if they go more on sale, ha ha.

 

THE (modified) RULES

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

 

MY PROGRESS

 

Clothes:

  1. Marc by Marc Jacobs cropped sweater ($12.50, retail $298, used ad money)
  2. J Brand Maria High Rise in Purple Velvet ($7.50, retail $228, used ad money)
  3. Current/Elliott "The Muscle" leopard print tank ($8, retail $75?, used ad money)


Basics:
  1. mīere the label "Frankie" knit sweater in Faded Black ($56.92, $32.15 if we omit shipping)
  2. Madewell Whisper Cotton V-Neck Tee in Spiced Plum ($2, retail $19.50, used ad money)
  3. Madewell Whisper Cotton V-Neck Tee in Sahara Sand  ($2, retail $19.50, used ad money)

 

Shoes:

  1. Ancient Greek Sandals Kore of Berlin ($365, used Shopbop gift cards + ad money + 15% off)


Handbags:

  1. None yet

 

Accessories:
  1. None yet

 
 

Activewear/Swimwear:

  1. Ryka "Belong" Walking Shoe in Plum Red/Burgundy via DSW ($26.58, $79.99 retail)

 

Gifted from Brands:

 

Spent in October: $0

Spent in 2022: $83.50

This orange sweater was another perfect piece for my Autumnal trip to Vermont. The trees were mostly yellow, but you can see some peeks of orange that match the sweater. My new Remy Dooney & Bourke bag was the perfect finishing touch. I brought it along since I was taking a baking class at King Arthur Baking School and thought it would be a fun nod.


Sweater: Mīere the Label women's cotton knit sweater in terracotta 

High Waisted Jeans: J Brand 'Maria' High Rise in Supreme

Boots: Eighteen 68 'Megan' (Gilt)

Necklace: Indulgems (Gilt)

Bag: Disney Dooney & Bourke 'Remy's Ratatouille Adventure' 

Sunglasses: Ray Ban 'Erika' c/o Shopbop

 




As I mentioned last week, Christian and I spent a weekend in Vermont recently. I'm used to going every Summer on our camping trips so it was a nice change to go in Fall! This wasn't a camping trip but we did sleep in our car at a campsite as purely a money-saving tactic. We were visiting Woodstock, VT (and surrounding areas) and hotels are notoriously expensive up there. We spent $54 on 2 nights at the campsite vs at least $200 a night at a hotel. Sheesh!

It's the time of year for one of my favorite sweaters! This landscape sweater from Autumn Cashmere definitely makes a statement. It was the perfect piece to wear on our trip to Vermont. Just look at it with the Autumn leaves behind it. I'm in love. 


I was also excited to finally wear my new purple velvet jeans! They are super comfortable, even being high waisted. They are going to get a lot of wear this fall and Winter.

 

Sweater: Autumn Cashmere Landscape Intarsia Sweater

Jeans: J Brand Maria High Rise in Purple Velvet (The RealReal)

Boots: Vince Camuto 'Davilla' (Marshalls/eBay - I have 2 pairs, this is my replacement pair, ha ha) 

Bag: Dark Purple Chloé Faye (eBay)  

Sunglasses: Ray Ban 'Erika' c/o Shopbop













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