Midweek Update.

 Hi! Sorry to be MIA, but things have been busy in my non-blog life (in a good way) and honestly, I'm just out of good ideas. I did want to give a few quick updates. FIRST:

I bought this tee after influencing myself and it's SO GOOD. It's also really on sale. I gasped when I pulled it out of the packaging and can't wait to wear it in a blog outfit. It's just everything I wanted it to be. I love that it's already got a worn-in look and isn't super obviously a band tee, plus it's got some cool studs and whatnot. It's just really cool and so good with jeans. It's also available without embellishment (the men's version) for even less. Lucky has really great graphic tees and a lot of them are 40% off right now! 

Next, thank you ALL for your help/suggestions/comments on my sunscreen allergy post. Things are going much better with my skin now that I've figured it out! I'm using mineral-only sunscreen right now, specifically MDSolarSciences Mineral Crème which is a little heavy on the silicone but otherwise is doing the trick. I have both the tinted and untinted versions, and I like the untinted better. I also have  It Cosmetics CC cream, which is VERY tinted so I use it as foundation. A little goes a long was which doesn't really work when you're trying to sunscreen yourself so I usually layer it over regular sunscreen.

A lot of you recommended EltaMD Clear, but it turns out that's a mineral/chemical combo. It's pretty much the same combo (Zinc Oxide/Octinoxate) as my beloved Skin Aqua Super Moisture Shower Milk sunscreen which I don't seem to be reactive to, but for now, I'm sticking with mineral-only formulations. My friend Kate recommended Tatcha The Silk Sunscreen which she loves but warns that the packaging is terrible. (They're apparently fixing it.) I have the mini size in my Sephora cart right now as I wait for my sad little 10% Insider discount tomorrow. 

Finally, I finished my re-read of The Witch Elm and I can confirm it's much better on the second read. The whole first 200 pages is the sub-plot which seems crazy (and really didn't need to be so long) but it's really an interesting look at "luck" and privilege with an unreliable narrator to boot. It's not Tana French's best, but it's beautifully written and worth another shot if you didn't get into it the first time. Now I'm reading Book Lovers by Emily Henry because I needed a light palate cleanser. So far, it's good but not great, which is fine. I am enjoying it but don't need it to change my life. 

That's it for today! I hope to be back tomorrow with an outfit post. 

Stuff I Bought: A Few Shopping Updates.

Hello! Thank you all so much for your bra-related recommendations last week. There were too many for me to try but I do appreciate all of you for your help. I returned the offending Soma bras and took myself to a nearby Dillards last week and lucked out with a great bra sales lady who listened to what I wanted and found it for me. I had been pretty loyal to Natori bras because they are comfortable without being mumsy but the ones I had were (thanks recent weight gain) a bit too small and also worn out. She recommended a different Natori style in a size that actually fit correctly and I am really happy with it:

It's a good one! A really good underwire t-shirt bra (which is mostly what I wear) that's crazy comfortable and comes in some fun colors (a few of which are on sale here.) Also the straps are pretty, which I like. I also bought this Wacoal model:

It's good looking and gives everything a little oomph, though I'll admit it's not Natori-level comfortable. It is, however, very pretty. Everyone needs one of those.

NOW. You know how annoying it is when a friend asks for an opinion and you give her one and then she totally disregards it? Isn't that annoying? I agree. But, listen, I'm about to do that to you and I don't want you to be mad. Last week I posted this on IG asking for opinions and then ended up buying the pair that nobody chose. But here's why:

(Sorry about the duckface.) 

The Wayfarer Meteor. They are rad, y'all. I dragged Kate to the mall and tried all the different styles on for her and these were the ones that made her and the salesperson say, "YES. THOSE." They also felt the best on my face. I loved the Wayfarer II style so much but they looked wide on me and slid down my nose. Marianne's beloved Erika style are, sadly, too round for my already round face and I already have aviators that I love. Anyway, I went for the Ray-Ban Meteor and they are FUN and totally make me feel like a rockstar fashion person, you know? Sorry for not taking your advice, Internet friends. Don't be mad.

I'm Back From My Trip! Here's What I Learned.

HI HI HI. I am back from the best vacation of my life and thanks to all of you who checked out my IG stories on my personal account and the blog account. Also, again, I really appreciate the advice, recommendations, and suggestions I got from all of you! We only had 2 1/2 days in each city so, while we covered a lot of ground, it still feel like we barely scratched the surface. My thoughts:

London. London is totally my kind of place and I felt right at home (even if everything is backwards and I almost got run over by a bus because I looked in the wrong direction.) Such an great city! I loved the tube, I loved the style and vibe of the city and it was so beautiful. And efficient! I don't know how else to describe it but it was an easy city to navigate. Everywhere we went we were blown away by the history and architecture.

And London fashion tip: leather jackets are the thing. Everyone was wearing beautiful leather jackets so obviously I marched right over to Allsaints and bought one like the fashion zombie I am. I am not even kidding. Also, if you visit London you must go to Liberty. It's the most charming tiny department store full of beautiful things and the people who work there are extremely friendly and helpful. I didn't buy a tote bag but I did buy this little zipper pouch. Apparently it's for sunglasses but I'm using it as a wallet. Carnaby street in general was really fun and charming.

Paris. From the second we got off the train I was basically losing my mind. IT REALLY LOOKS LIKE THAT. Like walking back in time! And the light was unreal!  Paris exceeded all expectations and we both fell in love and are already planning our next trip because two days in Paris is not enough days. Marianne asked what my favorite part was and this was my reply:

Favorite things: Wandering around the tiny medieval streets in the Marais district; French breakfast (carbs on carbs!); coming up from any metro station and gasping every single time; walking up the tiny staircase in Sainte Chapelle and being breathless at how fucking beautiful it is; sitting next to the chicest woman I’ve ever seen in my life at a cafe on Île Saint-Louis and being like, THIS IS MY LIFE TOO; making a pharmacist beam when I attempted to speak French while making a purchase. 

It's pure magic, you guys. I didn't buy much in Paris because we were either trying to see everything or we were sitting outside at various cafes recovering from seeing everything. I do want to mention that learning a bit of French before we left was super valuable. Everyone in Paris was very kind and made it easy for us because we made an effort. (We did witness some terrible American (and other) tourist behavior and were both moderately delighted when the crêpe stand guy assumed we were Dutch.)

Packing: How Did I Do?

Now, I knew that I was really overthinking the packing process but you guys stuck with me and I'm going to write a whole aftermath post about it tomorrow. Also, we checked our luggage and it was fine. REPEAT: We checked out luggage and it was FINE. Don't be afraid to check your luggage! (I mean, if you have three flight connections maybe don't but for direct flights or one connection, you'll be good.)

Stuff: How Did It Work Out? 

I bought a fair amount of stuff for this trip and here are my quick reviews:

Travelon Anti Theft Classic Backpack. My backpack worked okay though in retrospect I think it's a bit too small. I appreciated the many pockets and used it mostly for the traveling portions of our trip. However, I'm glad I didn't pay more than $45 as one of the locking zipper pulls broke almost immediately and the lack of double zippers was immensely frustrating. It's fine for a day pack but I think I'll find something a bit bigger and better quality for my next trip.

Turtl Travel Pillow. I used it and it was...okay. I am bad at sleeping on planes and I'm not convinced this thingy is the answer to my airplane pillow prayers but I used it and it was fine. I did like that I could shove it in my backpack when I wasn't using it.

LL Bean Personal Organizer Toiletry Bag. This is the BEST EVER. The medium bag fit all my crap for a week, even my tiny travel flat iron! It held up like a champ and I was grateful for the hook because European hotel bathrooms are the tiniest. I also loved the detachable shower caddy. This bag is probably the best $30 I've spent in a while.

Nike Free RN 2018. These were great! I wore them all over London and Paris and they were comfortable and lightweight. Nike generally fits me well so I wasn't surprised.

Athleta Soho Jogger. Soooo, yeah. Confession time. I have been thrifting on the regular to find things for my Poshmark closet and I found the lined version in grey (slightly older style) in my size for $4. FOUR AMERICAN DOLLARS. So, I returned the Soho joggers but only because why pay $89 when you have perfectly good $4 airplane pants? And they were perfect! I was warm and comfortable.

Vince Camuto Gally crossbody. I bought this on Posh because my MBMJ crossbody was way too small. The VC bag was perfect for what I needed during the day - just big enough for my giant phone, lip gloss, tissues, money/cards and sunglasses. It had two zip compartments and felt secure. Nobody picked my pockets is what I'm saying. Definitely a keeper!

Banana Republic Silk-Cotton Pointelle sweater. Don't buy this. I panic-bought it in black a few days before we left so I'd have a super-light sweater option. It's cute and comfortable and pills so badly that after one wear it looked like total shit. I am going to try to return it because what the actual hell, BR. You're back on my list.

THIS IS A LONG POST. More tomorrow!