5 things I've been loving recently
And an honest review of Anthropologie's best-selling Somerset dress.
Last weekend, after seven years of living together, Sean and I took a huge step in our relationship: we combined closets. Our former primary bedroom (which is now my office) has a decent-sized walk-in closet that I’ve been hogging the entire time; meanwhile, Sean’s been cramming everything into the tiny Victorian-era closet in our bedroom (formerly the office). So out of the kindness of my heart—and the desire not to be awakened at 6:30 a.m. when Sean’s looking for his gym bag—I cleared out half of the hanging space in our big closet. The verdict: I still have entirely too many clothes, but at least I can sleep in peacefully. I now have to be SUPER STRICT about what comes into my closet, so instead of tempting myself with new stuff, I thought I’d focus on what’ s been working lately (not just clothes, by the way!). Here are some recent loves.
Levi’s 501 jeans
Turns out Shopbop had a major sale during Prime Day—25% off a bunch of great stuff—so I took the opportunity to buy a fresh pair of my beloved Levi’s 501 jeans, a.k.a. the greatest straight-leg jeans of all time. With all of my recent struggles around wide-leg jeans, slipping into these felt like unlocking my own front door and coming home to my happy place. Honestly, why do I even bother with any other fit?
The God of the Woods
I stayed up five nights in a row past midnight reading this book. It’s the best kind of page-turner. I am pretty picky about mystery-thrillers—I find them generally cheesy, predictable, and/or upsetting—but this one was so subtle yet completely engrossing. It’s equal parts coming-of-age tale, detective story, and social critique; it reads like a really well-written Mary Higgins Clark book (I mean that as a compliment!). Shout out to Grace Atwood for the recommendation.
Kiko Milano Glossy Dream Sheer Lipstick
I bought this back in Rome when I blacked out and spent $100 on makeup. Unexpectedly, this is the perfect everyday lipstick. It’s light and moisturizing, but the color is more rich than you’d expect from the semi-sheer consistency. This is not a stay-all-day formula (you’ll definitely need to re-apply after a meal) and I kind of hate the case, but I would 100% buy it again. My color is 204 Warm Rose.
Bob’s Red Mill Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
I recently read an article about how we’re eating too much protein; I’ve been having a protein shake every morning for breakfast ever since Sean and I tried a high-protein diet (long story short, it was not a good fit for us at all) and honestly, I was getting sick of them. So I recently switched to oatmeal—I add cinnamon, a splash of maple syrup, and if I’m feeling really fancy, blueberries—and wow, do I feel way more satiated.
Anthropologie heart pendant (c/o)
I’ve been eyeing the Rosie Assoulin heart pendant for months but was put off by the price and the idea of doubling the chain to make it shorter (this always ends up choking me). Anthropologie let me choose a dress and a few accessories for a sponsored IG post (read on for more from this week’s blog post), and this necklace was my favorite thing I ordered. The pendant is very lightweight, and I love how the cord is adjustable—no choking necessary!
This week on the blog
I was super pumped when Anthropologie reached out to me for a sponsored IG post; I decided to get a little extra mileage out of the pieces they sent me and do an honest review of the Somerset dress, which is such a top-seller for them, they’ve spun it off into an entire collection of dresses, skirts, and pants. I see why people love this style so much—it has pockets! Read on for my full review.