Weekend Musings

Last updated on December 29th, 2025 at 09:06 am

^{Header photo by JOHN TOWNER via Unsplash.}

Watching

Even though the Olympics were only on for two weeks, it now feels oddly empty now without. I loved how many wholesome and uplifting moments there were this year, particularly:

This summer, I’ve been jumping back into sewing – which means lots of related YouTubing and also general video watching on the side as I spend hours stitching (and often unstitching 🫠) projects.

• Elisa of Thrills & Stitches has amazing content on sewing on-trend dresses and even making her own patterns. I am planning to try her Amelia Dress pattern to dupe The Vampire’s Wife with Amour Vert silk deadstock
• Christina Mychas & Allana Davison for lifestyle / workout. I’ve been a pilates & cardio class person for the past however many years, and am interested in rotating strength training into my routine. Though both of them are primarily style influencers, I’ve found myself enjoying their daily routine and workout videos – I find it more inspiring to see how non-fitness industry people incorporate exercise into their lives.
• Allison Bornstein style sessions – I think I’m a bit late on this, but I enjoyed watching her session with The Anna Edit, Allana, and Christina. Great tips for seldom-worn pieces and how to get more life out of them!

Reading

I’ve been consuming a lot of retail industry news recently as it pertains to my day job, while trying my best not to get influenced. Some highlights from this week:

• Hello Coach, Goodbye Brat Summer
• See How We’re Breaking This Down? Very Demure And in direct contrast to coquettecore mentioned in the piece above. It’s crazy (and still sometimes concerning) how TikTok trends can blow up in one week, before moving onto the next micro-trend. However, I do love when individual creators and their ideas get the spotlight.

Listening

• Corporate Gossip: American Apparel A throwback! American Apparel was peak during my college years. It was interesting to hear about some of the company’s earlier practices that were actually quite progressive, but overshadowed by their founder’s antics.

Shopping Lately

I’m slowly starting to rotate out clothing that no longer suits me, primarily due to fit, though sometimes style as well. For example, I find that I’m less tolerant of tight fitting clothing now that we’ve moved away from skinny jeans! Also it doesn’t help that I’ve gained a few pounds in the last few years.

In that process, I’ve mainly been replacing them with updated versions, primarily:

• Cashmere cardigans. It has been surprisingly difficult to find secondhand J. Crew cardigans for this style, which was my first choice. In lieue, I did pick up this Naadam cardigan pre-loved and this Reformation one which comes in plenty of colors.
• Mary Janes. I caved! I know I had this as a “no” on my 2024 list – but ultimately I had to rehome my Quince flats (reviewed here) since they were slightly too small. I purchased the Rothy’s square mary janes pre-loved, and have been wearing them a ton. These definitely run small, this is the first time I’ve had to size up 0.5 in Rothy’s. They also recently released two new mary jane styles – I love the double strap version, though it’s a bit trendier.
• ISO Pointed Toe Slingback Heels. I finally retired my trusty old 4” Stuart Weitzman pumps, which was long overdue as I haven’t worn them in years. However, I’m lacking in nicer black shoes for the occasional evening event in the cooler months. I’m currently eyeing these Anthropologie ones, but would love any suggestions. Trying to find the happy medium between wearable heel height (less than 3”) but not too small / pointy, as my feet easily look like flippers.

Sneak peak: speaking of adding new items and making sure I actually get wear out of them, I’ve been trying the Indyx closet tracking app for a few months now. Full review to come soon.

Partnership Disclosure: This blog post was not sponsored by any of the brands listed above. As always, all opinions are my own. This post may contain affiliate links, in which I earn a commission on purchases.