Category: Fashion

I don’t know if it was our latest trip to Arizona, the fact that I just binge read the Gold Rush Ranch series by Elsie Silver, or just a gradual evolution of my closet… but I’m feeling a bit of a change in the air. My warm weather weekend style tends to be a mix of knee length shirts + graphic tees with sandals, or denim shorts with band tees. However, right now I feel myself gravitating towards more of a grungy cowgirl style.

In fact, as I was laying these thoughts out on paper, I wasn’t exactly sure WHAT to call it. So I started googling and some of the prompts I spit out were:

• Hippy cowgirl style
• Boho western style
• Bohemian cowgirl vibe
• Badass boho
• Gypsy cowgirl

You get it. Right?

I’m imagining cotton and linen flowy dresses, paired with a distressed denim jacket. Lots of turquoise jewelry. Band tees or graphic tees paired with skirts or jean shorts and then topped with lots of necklaces. Embroidery. Kimonos. Floral printed bandanas tied as a necklace over a simple tank top. A cowgirl hat to protect my face from the sun. All the bracelets. Vintage cowboy boots.

Here’s some visual inspiration from around the web:

Sources: GypsyTale etsy shop, Hippy Cowgirl Couture, Gypsy and Cowgirl shop, Hanker Bandanas, Natural Life shop, HaleyArtDecor9x etsy shop.

Honestly, it’s not that different from my regular aesthetic, but I’m looking forward to using these buzz words when shopping my own closet to create some new looks. And that’s the most important part – I don’t need to buy anything new! It’s just the feeling I want when I’m styling items from my own closet in a different way.

Disclaimer: This post contain an Amazon affiliate link (for the book series). This means that clicking on a link may help me earn a small commission at no cost to you.

Ah, the joys of aging. I’ve been wearing contact lenses since I was 10 years old, so I’m not new to the world of glasses. However, this year it hit me – now I’m that person who has to throw on a pair of readers (on TOP of my contact lenses) just to see my phone, read a book, or even squint at my computer screen. And it’s seriously annoying.

But leave it to GenX to turn an inevitable annoyance into a full-blown fashion statement. Reading glasses are officially a Thing, which makes this new ‘phase of life’ a little less horrible. Over the past 6-8 months, I’ve curated a little collection of glasses because obviously you need a pair for upstairs, downstairs, the kitchen, your office, and your reading nook. I basically place them around my house like a middle-aged Easter egg hunt. And I keep a pair in my purse. Obviously.

The bright side is that there are so many fun and stylish options out there that it ALMOST makes the whole ‘aging eyes’ thing bearable. My current favorites are this 2-pack of readers I snagged from Amazon:

I leave the black pair at work in my office and the green pair are the pair that live in my home office:

Hubeye 2-pack glasses: https://amzn.to/439mx2Z

They’re cute, comfy, they work and they are cheap enough that if I misplace them or drop them onto the floor I don’t really care. Oh, and as an added bonus, they look great on Teams calls. In fact, I don’t even bother with makeup on work-from-home days because the frames are so eye-catching.

It’s only a matter of time before I have to increase my magnification, so for my next order I’m eying these from the same listing:

I really like the bottom pair of tortoiseshell/greenish yellow. They’re super funky! Speaking of super funky…

These rhinestone versions are giving kooky aunt, which I’m digging.

All of them are on the same listing as the 2-pair I already have. I actually would love a mix of like a bright pink, the tortoiseshell/greenish yellow and one pair of rhinestones. So if that were a listing, I’d hit ‘buy it now’ so fast!

So, if you’re in your late 40s and your vision is starting to suck too, consider this your reminder to embrace the cuteness of readers. There’s no escaping it, but at least we can do it in style. Grab some sassy readers and join the ‘I need glasses to look at my phone’ club. Sigh.

Disclaimer: This post contain an Amazon affiliate link. This means that clicking on a link may help me earn a small commission at no cost to you.

Thanks to our annual spring break trips, April always goes by quickly for us. This year was no exception, we had some chilly early-April days, followed by a wonderful trip to Arizona, and then returned to a mix of mild spring days to finish out the month.

Let’s take a look at April:

I purchased this lightweight Eileen Fisher sweater secondhand a few years ago and I have mixed feelings about it. It’s a beautiful silk fabric, but it’s quite thin. Like so thin that it’s hard to determine what kind of weather it’s good for, considering there are long sleeves… but not much warmth.

I decided to give it a try for a workday and paired it with a pair of thrifted black pants. And yeah, I’m still on the fence about it. I also tried it with a denim jacket and wore that for the beginning of the day until it warmed up a bit. This might just be one of those items that are good in theory, but not in my actual reality.

Two more work looks:

On the left is a striped + floral skirt I thrifted earlier in the month. I like the fit-and-flare style, deep pockets and pretty bow. For my first try styling it, I went with a berry-colored blouse and a purpley cardigan. I like the combo, it’s very springy and was comfortable for a long workday with an evening event.

On the right is a more casual work look that I wore into the office to basically just do cleanup from the events that ran the day before. I’m still getting used to the look of the baggier jeans, but I do like them with the striped tee shirt. I’m not sure about the longer cardigan with the look though and think a shorter one might have looked a bit nicer (in hindsight, of course).

Two casual looks:

On the left is an Arizona outfit – I thrifted the skirt there and purchased the top at a retail store. After a round through our VRBO’s washing machine, I wore this outfit for our last day in Arizona, where we explored Scottsdale and made our way back to the plane and home. I love both the tee shirt and the skirt and can’t wait to wear them both many times over the summer.

On the right is another thrifted piece from Arizona, that fabulous striped Everlane sweater. I was so happy for a cooler day, so I could wear it before packing it away for next fall. For a lunch date, I added on a floral bandana and my visibly mended jeans. I love this combo and will absolutely be wearing versions of it again once we get to the other side of summer.

New vs Secondhand Tally

This month, I count 12 thrifted items and 5 that I purchased retail!