Ah, tis the season for every blogger to ignore the fact that it’s 90 degrees and talk about must have sweaters and fall favorites. I am of course talking about the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. Unlike most sales which are at the end of the season, the Nordstrom Sale presents shoppers the opportunity to purchase fall merchandise on sale at the start of the season. Over the years I have changed my approach to the sale, in the beginning I used to focus on items I thought would be big trends for fall. While I still think the Nordstrom Sale is a great way to get a pulse on fall trends I like to use i ..read more

One thing you should know about me is that I live for classic clothing pieces that are always going to be in style. I spent so much time in my teens and 20s obsessing over fashion magazines and trying to re-create Champagne trends on a beer budget and it never worked out. This left me with a closet full of clothes I only wore once or twice before they went out of style and I never really even liked to begin with. As a wiser woman in my 30s I love to focus on pieces in classic styles that I actually like so that I don’t have to stress about what I’m wearing. One thing that hasn’t changed though ..read more

Waaaay back in my earlier days of blogging and relationship with Shaun I used to do a series called $40 dates. You can still find a few on the blog but a lot of places closed down and I took down the posts. As time marched on the economy changed and it became a struggle to find dates nights on $40, and as our income grew we didn’t need to be so tight with our spending and we started spending more on our nights out. But in 2022 as we reflected on our finances and took a temporary cut in income we realized how careless we had become with our spending. Sure, there were nights where we’d drop $150 ..read more

If we’re going to talk about size inclusive style than Universal Standard has to be part of the conversation as it is the most inclusive brand in the US clothing market. This brand offers size 00 – 40 and frames their lettered sizing around the average US woman’s size. Since an 18 is the average woman’s size in the United States, Universal Standard calls an 18/20 a medium. Processed with Lensa with PT2 filter Universal Standard is female owned and was founded in 2015. I really wish they had been around when I graduated college and was a young woman building her wardrobe. Although the brand doe ..read more

If you have any level of social media presence you no doubt are familiar with the Nordstrom sale. This sale has a lot of hype and while some people love it others can’t stand it. I used to be one who can’t stand it and while I’m never going to be one to drop thousands of dollars on a massive haul I’ve learned to appreciate it. Because the Nordstrom Sale is one of the few sales where items go on sale at the start of the season I find paying attention to what is popular is a good way to get an idea of the trends for fall. Since I see the Nordstrom Sale as a good trend forecast I like to round up ..read more

Things have escalated a little bit since the last time I blogged about headbands in 2020. What started out as a fun way to occasionally accessorize has turned into something I wear almost daily. In my last headband post I talked about the difference between Lele Sadoughi headbands and inexpensive ones off amazon. At that time I had a small collection of pricey headbands I wore on repeat since they offered more comfort as someone who suffers from migraines. Since then a new headband brand has entered the market as a compromise between price and quality and offered me the same comfort- La Bella ..read more

The first time I saw The Madonna Inn on instagram my first thought was oh my – what and where is this place because I must go! Founded in 1958, The Madonna Inn is a motel off the highway about halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles in San Luis Obispo. Each one of the 110 rooms have a unique theme and in my opinion fall into three categories – rock rooms (apparently the most popular) glam, and 1960s kitsch. The property has a Swiss Alps look on the exterior with two restaurants, a spa, tennis courts, a garden and beach entry pool on site. A bull painted in The Madonna Inn signature print ..read more

My closet is a time capsule of target designer collaborations. While over the years I have regrettably had to purge pieces that no longer fit I still have pieces from designers like Victoria Beckham, Anna Sui, Vineyard Vines LoveShackFancy, and of course the infamous Lilly for Target collection. So of course I was thrilled to hear the spring 2022 collaboration is Stoney Clover Lane x Target. I am an existing Stoney Clover Lane fan (read my brand review here) so I am excited to score pieces in the aesthetic for a fraction of the price. (Example: SCL mini pouches are $58 while SCL x Target mini ..read more

I’ve been going to the Florida panhandle beaches as long as I can remember. After years of vacationing in various areas along the emerald coast, when I was in the 2nd grade my parents bought a townhouse in Miramar Beach and we spent the next seven years going on a regular basis. But family dynamics changed and eventually the townhouse was sold. Miriamar Beach went from a quiet little strip of beach to a bustling hub. We vacationed on and off on 30-A, loving the charm of the pretty beach towns but hating that the only way to have a beach view was to rent a large mansion. And then Majestic Beach ..read more

When I hear about a new brand in the attainable affluence market I tend to have sticker shock. Kendra Scott, Draper James, Lele Sadoughi, and Hill House are all brands I love that I was initially hesitant to buy due to their pricing. Sometimes I’ll try the brand out and determine it is worth the price or I might follow them on social media for a while and purchase when they have a sale. With Stoney Clover Lane I followed them for months before ever making a purchase. My first Stoney Clover Lane purchase was in the Spring of 2021 and I now have 15 bags and have purchased numerous patches so I g ..read more