Brookies

I first made these when they were a newsletter subscriber exclusive, but she has since posted the recipe on the blog! Jenna of Butternut Bakery shared herself testing these on her Instagram stories in May and I knew I would have to make them the moment she posted the recipe. Sadly, for me, she said in the post that they wouldn't be posted until after her maternity leave. THEN she got so much love for them that she decided to release the recipe for email subscribers only before she created the full blog post. I was missing one ingredient so I had to wait until after our next grocery store trip to make them. They were so easy to make and super delicious! I slightly underbaked them (my pan was a little smaller than what the recipe called for) at first so I threw them back in the oven for about 10 minutes the next day and that fixed them up! The brownie layer is super fudgy and the cookie on top had almost a brownie-like crackle on top. So perfect!

S'mores Fudge Bars 

Easy Blueberry Muffin Cake

Moist Chocolate Cake (aka Matilda Cake)

Buckeyes

July really went by in a flash! Probably because the first half of the month we were in Missouri visiting Christian's Mom and then last weekend we took a trip to Maine with my family. We were only home for one weekend of the month, ha ha! 

THE (modified) RULES

1. Be mindful of purchases 
2. Quality over quantity
3. Basics are best

MY PROGRESS

 

Clothes:

1. Purple Polo Ralph Lauren Cashmere Sweater ($0 with credit, $18 at Marijane Boutique, retail $?)

Basics:

1. Old Navy Sleeveless Open Stitch Sweater in Gingerspice ($17.49, retail $34.99)
2. Old Navy Luxe Crew Neck T-shirt  in Wild Currant ($8.49, retail $16.99)
3. Old Navy First-Layer Ribbed Scoop-Neck Tank Top in Alpine Tundra ($4.99, retail $9.99)
4. Old Navy First-Layer Ribbed Scoop-Neck Tank Top in In the Navy ($4.99, retail $9.99) 
5. C&C California purple linen short via Marshalls ($16.99)

Shoes:

1. Ancient Greek Sandals Chania Sandal in Black ($110 via eBay, $270 retail)
2. Ancient Greek Sandals Thais Sandal in "Mure" Burgundy Velvet ($15 via Poshmark, retail $275)

Handbags:

1. Loewe Mini Puzzle Bag in Pomodoro red soft grained calfskin ($895 in Japan, retail $2650)
   

Accessories:

1. None
   

Activewear/Swimwear:

1. None
   

Gifted from Brands:

• None
  

Spent in July: $0

Spent in 2025: $1,072.95

Spent in 2025 - counting ad money: $1,072.95

After last month I didn't plan on buying anything this month. Sales almost got me a few times but nothing really called to me. I still would like some new Summer dresses that are easy to throw on, but haven't found those magic pieces yet. 

I spoke too soon when writing this post. On Saturday Christian and I were a little early to a lunch spot we wanted to visit and there was a Marshalls next door so we popped in for a quick look. I found a few things but ended up just picking up a pair of light purple linen shorts. 

THE (modified) RULES

1. Be mindful of purchases 
2. Quality over quantity
3. Basics are best

MY PROGRESS

 

Clothes:

1. Purple Polo Ralph Lauren Cashmere Sweater ($0 with credit, $18 at Marijane Boutique, retail $?)

Basics:

1. Old Navy Sleeveless Open Stitch Sweater in Gingerspice ($17.49, retail $34.99)
2. Old Navy Luxe Crew Neck T-shirt  in Wild Currant ($8.49, retail $16.99)
3. Old Navy First-Layer Ribbed Scoop-Neck Tank Top in Alpine Tundra ($4.99, retail $9.99)
4. Old Navy First-Layer Ribbed Scoop-Neck Tank Top in In the Navy ($4.99, retail $9.99) 
5. *NEW!* C&C California purple linen short via Marshalls ($16.99)

Shoes:

1. Ancient Greek Sandals Chania Sandal in Black ($110 via eBay, $270 retail)
2. Ancient Greek Sandals Thais Sandal in "Mure" Burgundy Velvet ($15 via Poshmark, retail $275)

Handbags:

1. Loewe Mini Puzzle Bag in Pomodoro red soft grained calfskin ($895 in Japan, retail $2650)
   

Accessories:

1. None
   

Activewear/Swimwear:

1. None
   

Gifted from Brands:

• None
  

Spent in June: $16.99

Spent in 2025: $1,072.95

Spent in 2025 - counting ad money: $1,072.95

We're getting closer to Summer which means trying some lighter bakes. I remade some past favorites and also tried some new recipes that will definitely be added into the rotation.

Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies

Every few months I'll mix up a batch of these cookies, let the dough marinate, form the cookies and then freeze them so we can have fresh cookies whenever we want. They are so good and always come out perfect. What's not to love about a chewy, buttery, chocolatey cookie!?

Strawberry Lemonade Bars

These popped up a King Arthur Baking email and I knew Christian would love them. I still had some freeze dried strawberries in the pantry and we had some extra lemons hanging around so I decided to try them out! They were super easy to make, bars and frosting, so I was able to do it on a Monday in between work tasks. Christian really enjoyed it and I wasn't a huge fan of the frosting. I'm not a huge buttercream person so that's probably why.

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

I made these super quick one night because we were heading to my aunt's house the next day and I figured I should bring a tasty dessert! I wasn't in the mood to make cookies or a brownie but cookie bars sounded pretty good! I think I found my new "I want cookies but I don't want to make cookies" recipe, ha ha! I forgot to take a good picture after we cut them up, so a post-bake shot will do.

Strawberry Bundt Cake

This bake has become a "welcome to Spring" tradition bake for me. I made it for Mother's Day this year and as usual the family devoured it. So delicious. I love that it uses real strawberries in the batter and the freeze-dried strawberries in the frosting really bring the strawberry flavor punch.

ChocohotoPots

Whenever we don't have dessert in the house and are really craving something sweet I whip up a batch of chocohotopots! They last us two nights because I bake 2 the night of and then we have 2 more in the fridge that I'll bake fresh next time. These are from the past couple times I've made them this year.

Chocolate Fudge Cake Doughnuts

It's been a while since I used my donut pan and when Christian and I were watching something on TV they had donuts and we thought "maybe we should have some." I decided to try a King Arthur recipe for chocolate donuts with chocolate frosting this time. They came out so great! Little pops of chocolate chips were a nice surprise. (Previously I made chocolate donuts with glaze that were also pretty tasty.)

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I bought a bunch of new things this month, mostly basics. Last October one of my favorite pairs of Ancient Greek Sandals finally called it quits and a strap broke while I was at Disneyland. They were very well worn in the 10 years I owned them and walked hundreds of miles around Greece, Italy, Florida and more Summer holidays. I finally replaced them with a new black pair after putting it off for months. I almost bought the same exact pair - the Alethea (without the perforations) but because of tariff fears and the price I decided to go the eBay route instead. I was choosing between a few pairs and ended up with a new in box pair of Chania sandals for a great price. Because they were so (relative to retail) cheap I allowed myself a little extra treat and bought a second pair of Ancient Greek Sandals on Poshmark for only $15! They are technically a size too large, but who cares at that price!

I also made an Old Navy order after my mom showed me some pieces she got recently. One was very similar to a sweater vest my Grandma knit that I wear a LOT over the Summer - it just doesn't have buttons. I got it in Gingerspice/rust (same as my Mom) and thought about the Sea Salt color too but it was a bit too white for me. I also ordered the Blue Multi version for Mom because she wanted another color, ha ha! I almost didn't buy anything because of the price but then it went a little more on sale so I decided to go for it. 

THE (modified) RULES

1. Be mindful of purchases 
2. Quality over quantity
3. Basics are best

MY PROGRESS

 

Clothes:

1. Purple Polo Ralph Lauren Cashmere Sweater ($0 with credit, $18 at Marijane Boutique, retail $?)

Basics:

1. *NEW!* Old Navy Sleeveless Open Stitch Sweater in Gingerspice ($17.49, retail $34.99)
2. *NEW!* Old Navy Luxe Crew Neck T-shirt  in Wild Currant ($8.49, retail $16.99)
3. *NEW!* Old Navy First-Layer Ribbed Scoop-Neck Tank Top in Alpine Tundra (4.99, retail $9.99)
4. *NEW!* Old Navy First-Layer Ribbed Scoop-Neck Tank Top in In the Navy (4.99, retail $9.99)
   

Shoes:

1. *NEW* Ancient Greek Sandals Chania Sandal in Black ($110 via eBay, $270 retail)
2. *NEW!* Ancient Greek Sandals Thais Sandal in "Mure" Burgundy Velvet ($15 via Poshmark, retail $275)

Handbags:

1. Loewe Mini Puzzle Bag in Pomodoro red soft grained calfskin ($895 in Japan, retail $2650)
   

Accessories:

1. None
   

Activewear/Swimwear:

1. None
   

Gifted from Brands:

• None
  

Spent in May: $160.96

Spent in 2025: $1,055.96

Spent in 2025 - counting ad money: $1,055.96

A little late, but here's what I wore for Easter! We got lucky and the flowers were blooming at one of my usual photo locations, ha ha. This whole street is lined with these trees, I love that the homeowners all decided to go along with this town park to add them to their lawns too. Makes it so pretty. 

These cherry blossom print pants were perfect for the occasion and paired nicely with my dark pink sweater and light pink blazer. The bag is probably too big but it matched the leaves on my pants perfectly so I used it anyway.

Blazer: Jones New York

Cashmere Sweater: Paolo Rodesco (Roundabout Resale)

Pants: Cherry Blossom Print "Ryan" Pant c/o Banana Republic Factory (Clinton Crossing Premium Outlets)

Sandals: Everlane Double-Strap Block Heel Sandal in Strawberry

Bag:  3.1 Phillip Lim Pashli Medium shoulder bag in Nile Shark Embossed Leather via Bag, Borrow or Steal  

Sunglasses: Gucci Aviators (bought in Rome)  

Necklace: Grandma's London Blue Topaz

Other Jewelry: Aurate Vintate-Inspired Emerald Cut Ring, Aurate Birthstone Baguette Studs

We have a nice mix of bakes in this roundup! Some chocolate, vanilla, breads, savory! I've been in a little bit of a baking rut the past couple months and haven't felt up to baking much. Now that it's Spring maybe I'll get back into making a new dessert every weekend.

Mint Chocolate Cookies

I bought Andes Mints bites around Christmas and still hadn't baked with them so I turned to my Handle the Heat Ultimate Cookie Handbook for a recipe! I ended up doing mostly mint candies and less chocolate chips because I wanted to use all the Andes, but they came out great! I always love a chocolate cookies and Andes are never a bad idea, this was a great mix of the two.

Hamburger Buns

I haven't made these since the Summer so when pulled pork was on the menu I decided to bake instead of buy! They're so easy to make and very tasty! They also freeze quite nicely so after they fully cool I freeze what we don't use and pull them out as needed. For one meal I baked up a pork butt (that we got for 99 cents a pound, woo!) and served on the rolls. SO GOOD! We also used them for veggie burgers.

Poğaça

This is the second recipe I've tried from Turkuaz Kitchen’s cookbook and it did not disappoint! I had too much ground beef defrosted for one of our meals and decided to make a half batch of these savory bread rolls. This version is filled with beef, onions, parsley and green onions as well as mozzarella. I only put mozzarella in half of them because I don't like cheese (in 90% of foods.) We really liked the flavor and I will definitely be making them again!

Pizza with Zucchini, Red Onion and Pesto

I had pepperoni pizza on the menu one week and decided to switch it up and use some leftover zucchini, red onion & pesto we had instead! I used the recipe from our King Arthur Baking School class we took a couple years ago at their Vermont location. To help the zucchini cook faster I sliced it using my mini mandolin slicer. We really liked how it came out, super light and fresh!

Vanilla Cupcakes

For Easter I didn't want to go out and buy any ingredients so I settled on making some simple, yet fancy, vanilla bean cupcakes! I don't usually do cupcakes because I'm horrible at frosting things. This recipe uses vanilla bean paste (which my mom just happened to buy recently) in both the cupcake AND frosting. They were super easy to make and I didn't do too bad with the frosting once I decided to pipe some on and then squish it flat on parchment paper before dunking in sprinkles. The ones I tried to frost normally came out a little messy, ha ha. I also made a couple with chocolate buttercream since my sister doesn't like just vanilla.

Crusty European-Style Hard Rolls - turned into Bunny Buns

Technically a purchase was made this month, but it was paid for by a credit I had at Marijane Boutique. Lydia spotted this sweater and asked if I was interested. I tried to talk myself out of it but she ended up grabbing it for me, ha ha.

THE (modified) RULES

1. Be mindful of purchases 
2. Quality over quantity
3. Basics are best

MY PROGRESS

 

Clothes:

1. Purple Polo Ralph Lauren Cashmere Sweater ($0 with credit, $18 at Marijane Boutique, retail $?)

Basics:

1. Nothing yet
   

Shoes:

1. None

Handbags:

1. Loewe Mini Puzzle Bag in Pomodoro red soft grained calfskin ($895 in Japan, retail $2650)
   

Accessories:

1. None
   

Activewear/Swimwear:

1. None
   

Gifted from Brands:

• None
  

Spent in April: $0

Spent in 2025: $895

Spent in 2025 - counting ad money: $895

We've finally made it to my last Japan recap! On our last full day we spent the morning with some adorable bowing deer in Nara and visiting Todai-ji Temple. If this were the beginning of the trip we would have made more of an effort to visit other areas of Nara, but as we were on day 13 (our last full day) we didn't have it in us to walk too much. 

On our second day in Kyoto we spent the first couple hours of the day getting to and exploring Fushimi Inari Shrine, then we hopped back on the train to Osaka. We got on the train at Fushimi Inari Station and arrived at our first stop in Osaka at 11:03am!

Christian and I aren't into nightlife so we were there for the food, shopping and sights! I was on the hunt for my designer bag treat and Christian wanted to buy a bunch of vintage games. He also had a very specific snack in mind for our visit to Dotonbori Street. We walked 9.4 miles this day, phew!