At a rest stop in Oregon
Whew had it already been a month since my last blog post? TBH I’ve missed writing! And thank you to everyone who left me a note to keep on blogging (and not go on substack since it clogs up email—which I agree with). Call blogging old fashioned, I don’t care lol. Anyway since my last post, we’ve done a two week RV trip in our Airstream trailer, I’ve purchased waaaaaay too many bags, and the home renovations marches on.
Did
An RV trip around Oregon: We took our longest RV trip yet in our trailer with a two-week stint around Oregon. We went from Bend, OR, to the coast, and then back down to Portland and through Ashland to get back to California. And most of the time we stayed at Oregon state parks, which are hands down some of the best state parks in the country (and it blows California State Parks out of the water—especially for RVers). Almost all of Oregon’s State Parks have full hook-ups (ie water, power, and sewer, thus making your RV a full mini apartment). And they’re usually laid out in such a way that gives each RV a bit of privacy. You really can’t ask for more (oh and they’re priced very fairly as well). Just make sure you make reservations about 6 months in advance for these state parks because everyone loves them! Plus Oregon is super lush and green, and their towns/cities are all pretty cool. I love Bend and Portland! And what’s not to love about tax-free shopping (you can see my little video of the shops I went to in Portland). We really fell in love with Oregon on this trip, and I would love to move there someday. The only downside was the fires and smoke that we had to deal with, but that’s no different than in California most summers anyway. We just traveled with our Dyson Hot/Cold Air Filter (reviewed here) and masked during the worst of it (but I saw surprisingly no one in Oregon masking outside even when the AQ was 150+ 😮).
Continued kitchen renovation and started on the bathroom: I’m still cooking in the living room but at least we have part of our dining room back. And we’re down a bathroom so we’re learning to all share one bathroom (and it’s been interesting to say the least 😂).
Updated my Quince Jewelry Review (with the first bracelet from Quince that I’ve kept).
I restarted writing in a gratitude journal (or rather an app, Gratitude 365). I don’t do it everyday but I try for at least every other because I know writing down at least three things I’m grateful about will help me have a brighter outlook on a daily basis. This NYT article made me think to do it.
And this last bit isn’t so much as an action as it is a decision, but I’ve decided that on Instagram I’m going to focus mainly on my first true love when it comes to fashion: bags. These days I rarely buy new clothes (and most of it comes from credits earned on Quince). And even though I will continue to talk about zero-waste favorites here on the blog, I’ll be focusing less on that on social media. I keep trying to marry these two interests (bags and sustainability) but they don’t really intercept (though luxury is slow fashion in some ways-buy it slowly, take care of it, and then resell it to someone who will also love it). I’m thinking funneling my interest in sustainability into a separate blog, newsletter, or social media account. But I love talking about bags and I won’t apologize for it (and thus my new tagline for insta is “unapologetic handbag enthusiast”). This is also why I bought so many bags this month since I’m giving myself permission to really indulge in this passion (at least for now).
Bought
Longchamp Le Pliage XS Bag in navy: This was an impulse purchase a the end of July at the Nordstrom Anniversary sale. I went into repurchase my Augustinus Bader rich cream (with some credit) and ended up walking out with this bag. What can I say, the small form factor is so stinkin’ cute. And I’ve always been a fan of my large Longchamp tote, though I only really use it for travel. But now this XS version is an everyday favorite that I interchange with my other favorite below. Also I should mention this is the bag that released the flood gates in bag buying.
Longchamp Le Pliage XS Cuir Bag in pilot blue (same one from eBay here at a really good price): Well after purchasing the nylon XS, I started thinking about the leather XS bag. I saw one in the store, but with a $495 price tag it was a lot more than I wanted to spend on a Longchamp (no offense to Longchamp). But then I saw this secondhand pilot blue version on the RealReal for only $20 more than what I paid for the nylon one on sale and decided to give it a try. Side note: purchasing bags on the RealReal is a real risk because they don’t allow returns on bags (they must know how many fakes they have on their site lol 😂). Various things I’ve heard about the RealReal (most recently a Tanner Leatherstein video where he talks about his trouables with the RealReal and their authentication department) have be believing they don’t have real authenticators for most of their bags (at least not the super expensive ones), but rather they use authentication software (and a group of authenticators trained by them but also rushed to put as many items on the website as they can during their working hours). And with such great fakes these days, I think a lot of fake bags get through. Anyway, I usually won’t purchase bags on the RealReal, but if I do I always research which color ways are faked (just search on Google the bag you’re interested in + the word “replica”) and I don’t buy the bags in those colors. And then I also search for the real deal on the brand’s website to verify that they have indeed made those bags in those colors in the past. This is all to say I’m fairly certain this particular Longchamp is real. And then I always look up how to authenticate a bag (like from this website here), but I was also able to compare it with my nylon XS bag this time. Anyway all that aside, I really really love the leather version of the bag. It’s slightly different from the nylon one (full review to come soon of course), but this leather one is the slight favorite. And it was this one that I took with me to my two-week RV trip (pictured above).
Loewe Puzzle Bag in both the mini and small size for comparison: At the beginning of the month (or rather very late in July) I ordered two Loewe Puzzle bags from Fashionphile, one in the mini size and one in the small. I resisted getting the Puzzle bag in the past because in 2018 I tried it in person and very much disliked how small the opening was and how hard it was to get things in and out of the bag. However, after watching some Youtube videos from Maggy, a fellow handbag enthusiast, I decided to give it a try. She mentioned that with time, the leather on the Puzzle bag starts to relax and thus makes the opening of the bag wider. So what better than to buy these bags used and see how I like them. Since I couldn’t decide between the mini and small size, I decided to get both and then return one. Unfortunately I’m 50% certain the small in blue is a fake (originally I said 95%, but after talking to some people with old Loewe puzzle bags I’m only 50%. But even 50/50 certainty is not enough for me to keep a bag, I have to be 100% certain it’s real). And this is why I only make expensive bag purchases from Fashionphile—because I can always return it if I’m not sure. However I should add that recently Fashionphile changed their return policy so that the bag must be returned within 14 days of receipt and they now charge $15 per return (which I think is more than fair to try out a $1K+ bag and have in your hands for a couple of weeks). I ended up returning both the small and mini bags, but will most likely repurchase a small Loewe puzzle bag (new or used) in the future. But I’m still planning to write a review of these bags with my initial thoughts.
Proenza Schouler White Label Small Baxter Bag: And then the bag-purchasing-train went full steam ahead in Portland where I purchased this PS White Label bag. I had a Proenza Schouler Medium PS1 bag back in the day, and though I loved it I didn’t love how it sagged when it got heavy. So I sold it, and haven’t really thought of Proenza Schouler since. But I saw this bag at Mercantile Portland, and fell in love with the really soft and yummy leather, along with the saddle bag design. I also really love how they’ve designed it so that the excess strap can be tucked in under the bag’s moon shape. So you can also turn this into a handheld or shoulder bag by shortening the strap and tucking in the ends (as pictured here). And the pricing is similar to Polene bags, though the leather on the Proenza Schouler one is so much more divine!
Reorder Kinfield Products: Kinfield was having a summer sale so I purchased another stick of their anti-itch Relief Balm (which both my kid and I love) along with their Daily Dew sunscreen. This brand was one of the few that I got a free gift from where I purchased more after I was done with the products. My review of Kinfield here. The last time I did that was probably with Merit Beauty.
New Phillips Sonicare Toothbrush with compostable toothbrush heads: Finally after almost 10 years of using the same Phillips Sonicare Toothbrush base we decided to buy a new one. And oh wow, what a difference. The new ones definitely feels stronger and vibrates faster. We’ve relegated the old toothbrush to the RV (since it still works, though not super well). And now we’re using this new one daily. And instead of purchasing a bunch of plastic toothbrush heads I’ve converted to these biodegradable ones made of bamboo and castor oil.