You may feel uncomfortable dressing up for New Year’s Eve this year without any plans. Power through. I’m a huge believer that you get what you put out into this world. If dressing up and making yourself look and feel good for one evening makes the difference, then you should do it. Every year, I kind of dread New Year’s Eve personally all while still writing this post annually. Just because I don’t have big plans doesn’t mean I don’t want you all to look great. And because this year has just been A LOT, I’m planning on treating myself in the best way possible.
I know this isn’t the post you thought you’d be seeing. Quite frankly, it would be irresponsible to host a holiday party in 2020. Like many of you, I too, am disappointed. Our company holiday parties have typically been the event that we looked forward to the most. It was also the best opportunity to get dressed up and celebrate a hard working year. Now with the pandemic year, it’s hard to know if we’ll ever have another holiday party again. Though you may not have one to attend this year (I sincerely hope you don’t) that doesn’t mean that you can’t celebrate in your own way. Get dressed up. Buy that new dress if you want. Use it this year to make yourself feel good or save it for your next party when the world is safer. Despite the circumstances, retailers are still putting out pieces and we’re still going to share our favorites.
With just a few more weeks of summer left (can you believe it?!) it’s tough to know what to shop for. Do we continue to buy summer wear and hope for clearance or do we begin prepping for fall? San Francisco summers make it hard to decipher. In this week alone, I found myself purchasing a swimsuit that I may not use this season and a half-zip long sleeved sweater. It’s clear that we are also still trying to figure this out. This month’s post teeters on both seasons if you’re like us and can’t make up your mind. For once, it also has a hearty mix of accessories along with it!
It has been a month since we last did an update on this so I figured it might be nice to do a short little roundup of what we’re up to. We are now almost two months into quarantine and getting better at figuring out our rhythm.
What we’re watching: Normal People (Hulu)
Technically I finished this right before the weekend. Normal People was released earlier this week and with 30 minute episodes, the series flies by. We wrapped everything up in the span of two days. Now, I was looking forward to the release especially with the build up leading up to the premiere, but I hadn’t read the book itself. After watching the first episode, it was so easy to get swept up in the young love story of Marianne and Connell. In previous lives, we might have written off a story like this where a shy loner girl ends up with a popular jock, but this one is different and you’ll know it when you see it.
Okay, so we’re starting to get a little bit creative with our loungewear in quarantine. I had purchase this piece specifically for my Phuket trip, but we didn’t get a whole lot of wear out of it while we were there. Since I want to prioritize being functional and comfortable while working at home, I decided to pull this out of my closet earlier this week. It also feel appropriate as the temperatures are starting to rise once again in the Bay Area as we inch towards summer.
What We’re Listening To: JoJo – good to know (Album)
There hasn’t been a shortage of new releases during this time and I am here for it. Actually for the first time, I’m able to not fall behind in new singles and albums. We’ve been waiting for JoJo’s comeback for some time now and I’m looking forward to listening to “Good to Know” over the span of this weekend. I was already a fan of her released single “Man” so I have no doubts that I won’t feel the same about the rest of her eight songs on the album.
I’ve been putting off this recipe for some time now and I’m not sure why given how simple it is! I’ve unfortunately had to toss two onions in this time that have gone bad because I haven’t made this recipe and that kills me. I’m not a very elaborate chef in the kitchen, but I’m great at making some quick and simple recipes. It wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I finally got my hands on some ramen from a Hawaiian market and now those possibilities are endless. My ramen game has increased 10 points, but I can also forgo ramen one night and making a stir fry like this above.
We are just kicking off a 2020 year of trips! Many of my closest friends are getting married this year and while we typically do our fair share of wedding guest dress purchases, some of these are stretching to other wedding activities – showers, longer weekends, destination weddings, bachelorette parties! It’s a lot to prep for. Last week we were just in LA and there’s something about venturing to a new city that makes us feel like anything we currently own won’t do. This edition of The Closet is jam packed with items that you could bring along with you for any vacation! As always, you know yourself best and whether or not you need to break out the wallet. At the same time, practicing willpower isn’t underrated.
We are nearly a month out from our trip to Thailand! Since this year is littered with weddings and wedding activities, this is our one trip that is just for us. I’m looking forward to our stay at three different resorts and exploring the different islands, but we’ve got some work to do before then. That work includes shopping for a roster of swimsuits to hold us over for a week. Below are some of my favorites that I’m lusting after:
[Monday Swimwear St Barth’s Top / Bottom] – $87 / $77
Okay, so I know Christmas just passed and all and maybe we have everything we need. But isn’t the new year, even a new decade, just the perfect reason to refresh your wardrobe? This post, combined with our gift guide and what to ring in the New Year with may seem like overkill, but I promise it’s not. Sometimes, we just want and need things that don’t fall into either of those categories.
Whether you received some wearable pieces this holiday or took advantage of the after Christmas sales, I hope you have in possession something that makes you feel good. You deserve it.
I did a first pass at the mall last week for holiday party dresses and while I wasn’t looking too hard, nothing called out to me. That’s never a good sign. I also realized that for the first time this year, I’m not looking forward to holiday party dress shopping. Mainly, that might be because I realized that whenever you’re hunting for something specific or under a timeline, you’ll never find it. Hence the reason why I found a dress a couple years ago over the summer months.
That only works maybe 50% of the time. Retailers prepare for holiday party season and create collections that come out right about now. The positive is that you’ll have a lot to choose from, but run the risk of having wearing the same outfit as another attendee. This year, I decided to try something I’ve never done before. Before writing this post every year, I always look at last year’s. There happened to be a dress from my guide in 2018 that is still available that I decided to purchase. Sure, it’s last season or last year whatever. It is, however, on sale and still something I’m interested in. Here’s to hoping it fits and that it has a generous return policy if needed. If all else fails, at least we have this guide.
Every year, holiday party season always comes up so fast! I’m excited this year to have a true holiday party with my current company and the opportunity to dress up. As soon as I discovered the date, I was off to the races. There are actually so many options this holiday season that I’m swooning over, but the trouble with every year is that I have in my mind what I already want. The hard part of that is that it often times is hard to find where that exists. Since I hold onto that dream of a dress for so long, I often don’t find it and find myself stressing last minute.
This year’s party will be on a Friday – a first for me! It’s also unfortunately the first year where Mandi and I won’t be getting ready together. I’ll be using my new favorite startup Glamsquad for hair and makeup though which I can’t say enough good things about. Lastly, I’ve got a couple of ideas in mind for what I want to wear, but I’m not quite ready to share that yet. What I do know is that I want to stay away from lace if I can and sleeves because we did that last year. If things don’t work out for me, at least I’ve got a post to fall back on.
To get into the spirit of creating this post, I just looked at last years post and am surprised at how much my tastes have changed in the last year. Since my party is earlier, I wanted to start this post early.We’re also going to release it earlier than any other year prior. Enjoy!