This is one of the outfits I wear multiple times in the Summer. My fun printed Sea New York pants and one of my 2 Everlane tees in this color plus a pair of sandals (Exhibit A, Exhibit B.) I wear the pants with other tops too, but this is the most common one. It's so easy and comfortable I can't get enough. I wore this a couple weeks ago when friends from out of town were visiting and again the next day so Christian could take pictures, ha ha. You can see our adventures on Instagram.
Tee: Everlane 'Cotton Box-Cut Pocket Tee', Printed Pants: Sea New York (The Outnet), Sandals: Ancient Greek Sandals 'Athena' (Gilt), Sunglasses: Gucci
Tee: Everlane 'Cotton Box-Cut Pocket Tee', Printed Pants: Sea New York (The Outnet), Sandals: Ancient Greek Sandals 'Athena' (Gilt), Sunglasses: Gucci
I was pretty good this month and only bought 1 new thing. Finally bit the bullet and bought that floral camisole dress I mentioned a couple months ago for $7, it didn't arrive yet so hopefully it fits! I've been watching it since last August, so I figure it was a good buy since I couldn't stop thinking about it, ha ha. I also used advertising money for it so that's good too, it wasn't "real" money. ;)
I did also buy 2 Disney shirts for myself and Christian but I'm not counting those since it's Disney-only or PJ wear. Hercules is one of my favorite Disney movies and they had a Megara and Hercules shirt set for $10 each! They didn't have our exact sizes so mine is a little bit and Christian's is a tiny bit tight, but who cares.
In fun house news, we've been living here for a little over a year now (a year and nice days) and are finally getting around to things we've been wanting to do. We've started our vegetable and herb garden and got natural gas installed on Tuesday! We actually had planned on waiting a couple more years before doing the natural gas conversion but we were forced into early action thanks to an oil tank leak. But we got a super low interest loan (only paying $500 in interest if we pay over the full 10 years) and now we don't have to worry about oil anymore! YAY! Not sure what's next for the house, but we'll start saving up for whatever we want to improve on in the coming years.
THE (modified) RULES
- Be mindful of purchases
- Quality over quantity
- Basics are best
Clothes:
- Autumn Cashmere Landscape Intarsia Cashmere Crew ($240, retail $440, used Christmas + ad money)
- Sandro burgundy double breasted blazer ($36 via Roundabout Resale, retail ~$500)
- Massimo Dutti white wool blazer ($19 via Roundabout Resale, retail $130-$250)
- Rag & Bone 'Jackie' purple leather trimmed wool jacket ($32 via Roundabout Resale, retail $495)
- *NEW!* eight sixty floral camisole dress ($7 via eBay, used ad money)
- J.Crew Tissue Turtleneck ($5, retail $30, used gift card)
- J.Crew Ribbed flare-sleeve turtleneck ($8, retail $45, used gift card)
- J.Crew Midrise skinny jean in velvet ($10, retail $80, used gift card)
- Lanvin Studded Suede 'City' Sandals ($60 via The RealReal, $790 retail, used ad money)
- Lanvin Studded Leather 'City' Sandals ($60 via The RealReal, $790 retail, used ad money)
- None Yet
- None Yet
Total spent in 2019: $86.57
I bought a super cute picnic basket at Good Will last month for $5 and Christian and I finally used it for a little picnic. For this first one we did a super simple one, maybe next time we'll have fancier food. But you can't beat a $4 foot-long sandwich, right?
Dress: Jones New York 'Jasmine' giraffe print (Lord & Taylor), Sandals: Malu c/o Marshalls, Picnic Basket: Good Will, Glasses: Kate Spade Saturday
Dress: Jones New York 'Jasmine' giraffe print (Lord & Taylor), Sandals: Malu c/o Marshalls, Picnic Basket: Good Will, Glasses: Kate Spade Saturday
One of my favorite sales - the Net-a-Porter End of Season Sale - has begun! I always allow myself a splurge or two during this sale and it has gotten me some of my favorite pieces! I skipped the last sale (in the Winter) but in the sale last year I bought my wedding dress and shoes! As I've shared before I have a system for shopping the sale.
My process: On the first day of the sale I go through every item and add anything I like to my sale wish list and/or cart, not paying attention to price. After everything I like is in my wish list I let it sit there. Slowly items sell out and I go through and get rid of things I definitely won't wear. I also wait until the final reductions, which come in a few weeks. This is risky, but also good for my wallet. If an item I have been lusting over for a long time shows up in the sale I may purchase it in the first round, but that is rare. The only example I can think of is my Burberry Prorsum calf-hair loafers.
Here's what I have on my wishlist!
My process: On the first day of the sale I go through every item and add anything I like to my sale wish list and/or cart, not paying attention to price. After everything I like is in my wish list I let it sit there. Slowly items sell out and I go through and get rid of things I definitely won't wear. I also wait until the final reductions, which come in a few weeks. This is risky, but also good for my wallet. If an item I have been lusting over for a long time shows up in the sale I may purchase it in the first round, but that is rare. The only example I can think of is my Burberry Prorsum calf-hair loafers.
Here's what I have on my wishlist!
I wore this a couple weekends ago to try out Place2Be in Hartford for brunch! I met up with other some fun Connecticut Food Bloggers where we proceeded to taste mimosas (I tried a wildberry one,) share out of a huge bathtub one foodie ordered and eat delicious brunch foods! I had to go for the The Morning Rooster Special, aka Chicken & Waffles! I'm not a huge fan of chicken and waffles with the bone on (I know it's traditional, but so hard to eat) but it was DELICIOUS. Next time I think I'll try the Cinnamon Apple Pancakes or French Toast!
After brunch Christian picked me up and we headed to Heirloom Market to see what types of seeds they have for our garden NEXT year. We weren't early enough to start from seeds this time. Then we took these photos and got some ice cream at Main Street Creamery, YUMMM.
Jacket: LAUREN Ralph Lauren, Top: Zara, Jeans: Everlane "The High-Rise Skinny Jean" in Mid-Blue, Boots: Miu Miu (Roundabout), Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs 'Natural Selection Mini Messenger Bag' (Saks Fifth Avenue)
After brunch Christian picked me up and we headed to Heirloom Market to see what types of seeds they have for our garden NEXT year. We weren't early enough to start from seeds this time. Then we took these photos and got some ice cream at Main Street Creamery, YUMMM.
Jacket: LAUREN Ralph Lauren, Top: Zara, Jeans: Everlane "The High-Rise Skinny Jean" in Mid-Blue, Boots: Miu Miu (Roundabout), Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs 'Natural Selection Mini Messenger Bag' (Saks Fifth Avenue)
Last Saturday I was invited to tour Winterberry Gardens in Southington, Connecticut. Since Christian and I are currently in the process of creating a vegetable/herb garden in our backyard I asked if he could come along as well. This was Christian’s first time attending an event with me, and it was right up his alley. Earlier that morning (6am, UGH!) we headed to the Hartford Regional Market with my aunt to check out their selection and then we headed off to Winterberry Gardens!
We were greeted by a wonderful member of the staff for some fruit, pastries and drinks, then it was time for the tour! The space is huge with both outdoor and covered sections. They have everything you need for a home garden from the plants and trees to mulch and stone for patios. They even have a flower wall that you can use as an Instagram backdrop!
Winterberry are also making an effort to lower their carbon footprint. They are growing more and more of their plants on-site to reduce transportation to the consumers. When it comes to watering they use special hoses that give the plants exactly how much water they need instead of a staff member who can accidentally over water.
In addition to providing plants, Winterberry also offers their services as landscape designers if you don't want to do the work yourself! From general plantings and patios to outdoor kitchens and water features they can help with anything you need! Their list of services doesn't end there, check them out for lighting, irrigation and lawn maintenance as well!
This event was a great way to see what’s available and learn from the experts at Winterberry! We almost bought a blueberry bush but they advised us to buy 2 so they grow better and that’s not in the budget just yet since we want to focus more on veggies first! Christian was also asking all sorts of questions on what type of soil to use and how to create our beds. Once we're done with the process I'll try to get a post done on how we (he) did it.
Winterberry Gardens provided us with a $50 gift card after our tour to thank us for visiting. Christian and I decided to forgo buying practical things with it and instead picked out some fun plants for our front yard - plus an adorable hedgehog succulent planter. We were gifted a couple gardenias and picked up some shadow dancers, cardinal flowers, catmint, and firewitch cheddar pinks! I went for pretty shaped flowers and bright colors.
Here's what I wore!
Cardigan: Banana Republic Italian Cashmere-Blend Boyfriend Cardigan, Top: Winter Kate 'Rune' (Hautelook), High Waisted Jeans: J Brand 'Maria' High Rise in Supreme (Gilt Groupe), Rain Boots: dav 'Moto Gunmetal' (and here), Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs 'Natural Selection Mini Messenger Bag' (Saks Fifth Avenue)
More photos from the day:
We were greeted by a wonderful member of the staff for some fruit, pastries and drinks, then it was time for the tour! The space is huge with both outdoor and covered sections. They have everything you need for a home garden from the plants and trees to mulch and stone for patios. They even have a flower wall that you can use as an Instagram backdrop!
Winterberry are also making an effort to lower their carbon footprint. They are growing more and more of their plants on-site to reduce transportation to the consumers. When it comes to watering they use special hoses that give the plants exactly how much water they need instead of a staff member who can accidentally over water.
In addition to providing plants, Winterberry also offers their services as landscape designers if you don't want to do the work yourself! From general plantings and patios to outdoor kitchens and water features they can help with anything you need! Their list of services doesn't end there, check them out for lighting, irrigation and lawn maintenance as well!
This event was a great way to see what’s available and learn from the experts at Winterberry! We almost bought a blueberry bush but they advised us to buy 2 so they grow better and that’s not in the budget just yet since we want to focus more on veggies first! Christian was also asking all sorts of questions on what type of soil to use and how to create our beds. Once we're done with the process I'll try to get a post done on how we (he) did it.
Winterberry Gardens provided us with a $50 gift card after our tour to thank us for visiting. Christian and I decided to forgo buying practical things with it and instead picked out some fun plants for our front yard - plus an adorable hedgehog succulent planter. We were gifted a couple gardenias and picked up some shadow dancers, cardinal flowers, catmint, and firewitch cheddar pinks! I went for pretty shaped flowers and bright colors.
Here's what I wore!
Cardigan: Banana Republic Italian Cashmere-Blend Boyfriend Cardigan, Top: Winter Kate 'Rune' (Hautelook), High Waisted Jeans: J Brand 'Maria' High Rise in Supreme (Gilt Groupe), Rain Boots: dav 'Moto Gunmetal' (and here), Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs 'Natural Selection Mini Messenger Bag' (Saks Fifth Avenue)
More photos from the day:
