We've got a successful no shopping month. Probably because I was away for half the month, ha ha! I took 2 "working" vacations to North Myrtle Beach and Orlando - where I worked during the day and did vacation stuff during the evenings and weekends.

I had my eye on a few pieces but waiting for some good sales to add them to the closet because I really don't need anything.

 THE (modified) RULES

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

MY PROGRESS

 

Clothes:

1. Purple Polo Ralph Lauren Cashmere Sweater ($0 with credit, $18 at Marijane Boutique, retail $?)
2. Joie Cardigan with Floral Embroidered Detail via Marshalls ($24.99)
   

Basics:

1. Old Navy Sleeveless Open Stitch Sweater in Gingerspice ($17.49, retail $34.99)
2. Old Navy Luxe Crew Neck T-shirt  in Wild Currant ($8.49, retail $16.99)
3. Old Navy First-Layer Ribbed Scoop-Neck Tank Top in Alpine Tundra ($4.99, retail $9.99)
4. Old Navy First-Layer Ribbed Scoop-Neck Tank Top in In the Navy ($4.99, retail $9.99) 
5. C&C California purple linen short via Marshalls ($16.99)
6. Elie by Elie Tahari Sleeveless Knit Tank via Marshalls ($16.99)
   

Shoes:

1. Ancient Greek Sandals Chania Sandal in Black ($110 via eBay, $270 retail)
2. Ancient Greek Sandals Thais Sandal in "Mure" Burgundy Velvet ($15 via Poshmark, retail $275)

Handbags:

1. Loewe Mini Puzzle Bag in Pomodoro red soft grained calfskin ($895 in Japan, retail $2650)
2. Chloé Alphabet Mini Saddle Bag in Red and Brown leather ($515 via Ebay, retail $1050, used blog money)

Accessories:

1. None
   

Activewear/Swimwear:

1. None
   

Gifted from Brands:

• None
  

Spent in September: $0

Spent in 2025: $1,114.93

Spent in 2025 - counting ad money: $1,629.95

We've got an interesting mix this week, including some garden grown eats! We don't have a lot of variety growing in our garden this year (a lot didn't make it) but we've got plenty of basil, cucumbers, tomatoes and zucchini! 

Peanut Butter Zucchini Bread Baked Oatmeal

We were getting a lot of zucchini in the garden so I decided to try out this baked oatmeal recipe for breakfasts! The hardest part was grating the zucchini (aka - the recipe was very simple!) After I made one batch I went ahead and made a second and froze individual squares to reheat on demand. I don't usually eat breakfast during the week but I could definitely see myself making this a regular thing.

Pullman Loaf Bread / Pain de Mie

I got a Pullman loaf pan for Christmas this past year and have been trying to make a perfect loaf. The first few times I used a King Arthur recipe but it just wasn't working for me. I thought it was because I was making errors somehow or it was too cold to rise properly, but I tried this new recipe and it worked perfectly!  The flavor of the King Arthur version was great, it just never filled the pan for me. I could probably adjust the recipe to make more dough but now that I found this recipe I don't really need to.

Flourless Chocolate Cookies

I saw someone post these on reddit and they looked simple and tasty so I decided to try them out! They were a little messy to portion out because it is super liquidy, but they came out tasty! It's also a small batch of only 8 cookies so good if you don't want to make a ton. Not sure I'll make them again because they were tough to get off the parchment, but the flavor was good.

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tart Shortbread

I have had this recipe saved for a while and finally decided to make it! Brown sugar pop tarts are definitely the best flavor, but I always hate how little frosting they had on them. This recipe solved that by having every bit frosted, plus its easier than making pie dough.

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Milk Street's Stovetop Chocolate Cake

I don't remember where I first saw this recipe mentioned, but it sounded fun and easy so I gave it a shot one night before making dinner! Christopher Kimball, formerly of America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Illustrated/etc., started Milk Street in 2016 to continue his culinary career. If you don't have a membership you can also find the recipe here (I signed up for 12 weeks for $1!)

I only had an 8in pan instead of 9 so I knew I would have to steam it a little longer. It ended up taking 60-ish minutes instead of 23. It was delicious! Christian thought the texture was weird, but I enjoyed how steaming made it soft and light! 

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Mini Loaf Pan Focaccia

Our garden was in tomato producing mode so I decided to make some focaccia with them. I found this small batch recipe a while ago (I think I posted it once already) and find it's easier for us since there's only two of us. I make one for each of us and we can eat it all at once or in 2 servings. Along with the tomatoes I used basil from the garden! I almost could have used garden rosemary too but I had to buy some a couple weeks before when ours wasn't ready so I wanted to finish that up. I went a little extra and put our initials on them, ha ha.

We had a big purchase this month. The Chloe Alphabet Saddle bag in brown and red colorblock leather! It's been on my list (see blog sidebar) since I first saw it on Net-a-Porter in 2022 and then on Italist for a little bit cheaper. I regretted not buying it from Italist for $700 and had been hunting for it ever since. I finally got lucky and one popped up on eBay for about $515 all the way from Australia!

I also got a couple new pieces during tax free week here in CT. For those that don't know, we do a tax free week around back to school time for all clothing items under $100. My Mom & I headed to Marshalls and found a few things each, ha ha.  I ended up returning one of mine at a different Marshalls but then found a replacement item I liked more so still ended up spending the money. Unfortunately I couldn't find either one online.

THE (modified) RULES

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

MY PROGRESS

 

Clothes:

1. Purple Polo Ralph Lauren Cashmere Sweater ($0 with credit, $18 at Marijane Boutique, retail $?)
2. *NEW!* Joie Cardigan with Floral Embroidered Detail via Marshalls ($24.99)
   

Basics:

1. Old Navy Sleeveless Open Stitch Sweater in Gingerspice ($17.49, retail $34.99)
2. Old Navy Luxe Crew Neck T-shirt  in Wild Currant ($8.49, retail $16.99)
3. Old Navy First-Layer Ribbed Scoop-Neck Tank Top in Alpine Tundra ($4.99, retail $9.99)
4. Old Navy First-Layer Ribbed Scoop-Neck Tank Top in In the Navy ($4.99, retail $9.99) 
5. C&C California purple linen short via Marshalls ($16.99)
6. *NEW!* Elie by Elie Tahari Sleeveless Knit Tank via Marshalls ($16.99)
   

Shoes:

1. Ancient Greek Sandals Chania Sandal in Black ($110 via eBay, $270 retail)
2. Ancient Greek Sandals Thais Sandal in "Mure" Burgundy Velvet ($15 via Poshmark, retail $275)

Handbags:

1. Loewe Mini Puzzle Bag in Pomodoro red soft grained calfskin ($895 in Japan, retail $2650)
2. *NEW!* Chloé Alphabet Mini Saddle Bag in Red and Brown leather ($515 via Ebay, retail $1050, used blog money)

Accessories:

1. None
   

Activewear/Swimwear:

1. None
   

Gifted from Brands:

• None
  

Spent in August: $556.98

Spent in 2025: $1,114.93

Spent in 2025 - counting ad money: $1,629.95

Brookies

I first made these when they were a newsletter subscriber exclusive, but she has since posted the recipe on the blog! Jenna of Butternut Bakery shared herself testing these on her Instagram stories in May and I knew I would have to make them the moment she posted the recipe. Sadly, for me, she said in the post that they wouldn't be posted until after her maternity leave. THEN she got so much love for them that she decided to release the recipe for email subscribers only before she created the full blog post. I was missing one ingredient so I had to wait until after our next grocery store trip to make them. They were so easy to make and super delicious! I slightly underbaked them (my pan was a little smaller than what the recipe called for) at first so I threw them back in the oven for about 10 minutes the next day and that fixed them up! The brownie layer is super fudgy and the cookie on top had almost a brownie-like crackle on top. So perfect!

S'mores Fudge Bars 

Easy Blueberry Muffin Cake

Moist Chocolate Cake (aka Matilda Cake)

Buckeyes

July really went by in a flash! Probably because the first half of the month we were in Missouri visiting Christian's Mom and then last weekend we took a trip to Maine with my family. We were only home for one weekend of the month, ha ha! 

THE (modified) RULES

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

MY PROGRESS

 

Clothes:

1. Purple Polo Ralph Lauren Cashmere Sweater ($0 with credit, $18 at Marijane Boutique, retail $?)

Basics:

1. Old Navy Sleeveless Open Stitch Sweater in Gingerspice ($17.49, retail $34.99)
2. Old Navy Luxe Crew Neck T-shirt  in Wild Currant ($8.49, retail $16.99)
3. Old Navy First-Layer Ribbed Scoop-Neck Tank Top in Alpine Tundra ($4.99, retail $9.99)
4. Old Navy First-Layer Ribbed Scoop-Neck Tank Top in In the Navy ($4.99, retail $9.99) 
5. C&C California purple linen short via Marshalls ($16.99)

Shoes:

1. Ancient Greek Sandals Chania Sandal in Black ($110 via eBay, $270 retail)
2. Ancient Greek Sandals Thais Sandal in "Mure" Burgundy Velvet ($15 via Poshmark, retail $275)

Handbags:

1. Loewe Mini Puzzle Bag in Pomodoro red soft grained calfskin ($895 in Japan, retail $2650)
   

Accessories:

1. None
   

Activewear/Swimwear:

1. None
   

Gifted from Brands:

• None
  

Spent in July: $0

Spent in 2025: $1,072.95

Spent in 2025 - counting ad money: $1,072.95

After last month I didn't plan on buying anything this month. Sales almost got me a few times but nothing really called to me. I still would like some new Summer dresses that are easy to throw on, but haven't found those magic pieces yet. 

I spoke too soon when writing this post. On Saturday Christian and I were a little early to a lunch spot we wanted to visit and there was a Marshalls next door so we popped in for a quick look. I found a few things but ended up just picking up a pair of light purple linen shorts. 

THE (modified) RULES

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

MY PROGRESS

 

Clothes:

1. Purple Polo Ralph Lauren Cashmere Sweater ($0 with credit, $18 at Marijane Boutique, retail $?)

Basics:

1. Old Navy Sleeveless Open Stitch Sweater in Gingerspice ($17.49, retail $34.99)
2. Old Navy Luxe Crew Neck T-shirt  in Wild Currant ($8.49, retail $16.99)
3. Old Navy First-Layer Ribbed Scoop-Neck Tank Top in Alpine Tundra ($4.99, retail $9.99)
4. Old Navy First-Layer Ribbed Scoop-Neck Tank Top in In the Navy ($4.99, retail $9.99) 
5. *NEW!* C&C California purple linen short via Marshalls ($16.99)

Shoes:

1. Ancient Greek Sandals Chania Sandal in Black ($110 via eBay, $270 retail)
2. Ancient Greek Sandals Thais Sandal in "Mure" Burgundy Velvet ($15 via Poshmark, retail $275)

Handbags:

1. Loewe Mini Puzzle Bag in Pomodoro red soft grained calfskin ($895 in Japan, retail $2650)
   

Accessories:

1. None
   

Activewear/Swimwear:

1. None
   

Gifted from Brands:

• None
  

Spent in June: $16.99

Spent in 2025: $1,072.95

Spent in 2025 - counting ad money: $1,072.95

We're getting closer to Summer which means trying some lighter bakes. I remade some past favorites and also tried some new recipes that will definitely be added into the rotation.

Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies

Every few months I'll mix up a batch of these cookies, let the dough marinate, form the cookies and then freeze them so we can have fresh cookies whenever we want. They are so good and always come out perfect. What's not to love about a chewy, buttery, chocolatey cookie!?

Strawberry Lemonade Bars

These popped up a King Arthur Baking email and I knew Christian would love them. I still had some freeze dried strawberries in the pantry and we had some extra lemons hanging around so I decided to try them out! They were super easy to make, bars and frosting, so I was able to do it on a Monday in between work tasks. Christian really enjoyed it and I wasn't a huge fan of the frosting. I'm not a huge buttercream person so that's probably why.

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

I made these super quick one night because we were heading to my aunt's house the next day and I figured I should bring a tasty dessert! I wasn't in the mood to make cookies or a brownie but cookie bars sounded pretty good! I think I found my new "I want cookies but I don't want to make cookies" recipe, ha ha! I forgot to take a good picture after we cut them up, so a post-bake shot will do.

Strawberry Bundt Cake

This bake has become a "welcome to Spring" tradition bake for me. I made it for Mother's Day this year and as usual the family devoured it. So delicious. I love that it uses real strawberries in the batter and the freeze-dried strawberries in the frosting really bring the strawberry flavor punch.

ChocohotoPots

Whenever we don't have dessert in the house and are really craving something sweet I whip up a batch of chocohotopots! They last us two nights because I bake 2 the night of and then we have 2 more in the fridge that I'll bake fresh next time. These are from the past couple times I've made them this year.

Chocolate Fudge Cake Doughnuts

It's been a while since I used my donut pan and when Christian and I were watching something on TV they had donuts and we thought "maybe we should have some." I decided to try a King Arthur recipe for chocolate donuts with chocolate frosting this time. They came out so great! Little pops of chocolate chips were a nice surprise. (Previously I made chocolate donuts with glaze that were also pretty tasty.)

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