We've got mostly simple bakes this go around because we haven't had much free time on the weekends or were away. There is also a mix of new to me and repeat bakes! Sometimes you just have to go back to some standbys. 

Chocolate Brownie Cookies

We love cookies and brownies, so obviously we would love brownie cookies, right? These were super easy to make and so chocolatey and gooey! I love how they get the crinkly crispy top of a brownie in cookie form. 

Funfetti Sheet Cake

It was my brother's 30th birthday on our camping trip in June so I made this easy sheet cake for his treat! Much easier to make than a layer cake and safer for travel too! Funfetti is his favorite so of course it was a hit! The cake was super moist and the frosting wasn't too sweet. 

Lemon Poppyseed Two Bite Scones

These are always a quick, tasty treat, if not a bit messy to make. Mine are never the same size so they're very rustic. I had some heavy cream to use and a lemon that we didn't end up needing for dinner so it was the perfect thing to make! 

Marble Loaf Cake

I had some extra buttermilk from the funfetti sheet cake so I decided to try this chocolate and vanilla marble loaf cake! It was surprisingly easy to make and came out great! I actually don't think it needs the ganache on top, but it is rich and delicious. 

Drop Biscuits

Whenever I have extra heavy cream I make these super easy biscuits! This time I made them and froze them so we could just grab them out for our lunches when needed. We have eggs a lot for lunch so they're the perfect accompaniment.  

Quaker's Best Oatmeal Muffins 

I made these according to the recipe last month and this second time I made them I decided to add some blueberries to them and skip the topping. They came out pretty good, especially since I didn't adjust anything for the possible addition of water from the berries. I think next time I'll do blueberries and the crumble to see what happens! While they don't look super appetizing without a nice browned streusel, they're the perfect healthy-ish breakfast! 

We've had some pretty hot days so far this Summer so I've been trying to keep breezy and cool but still look cute when I actually have somewhere to go. I wore this to a family gathering at my brother's where it started off nice and warm and then we had to move in during a little rain storm. Rather than just wear a sundress I decided to layer with my favorite knit sweater tank, made by my Grandma for my Mom years ago. It's been in my possession since 2012 so it's already had a full second life with me, ha ha! 

Unfortunately I can't find this exact dress because it was a random no-name company from Marshalls in Missouri and I took the tag off without writing it down, ha ha! I even went through my phone history because I looked to see what else the brand had but it was just an old lookbook and nothing for sale currently. But I could not find it. I did find some similar designs and prints to help recreate the outfit. 

Sweater: Made by Grandma 

Dress: Marshalls

Sandals: Ancient Greek Sandals 'Kore of Berlin' Embroidery Sandal - 10th Anniversary Collection (Shopbop)

Sunglasses: Gucci Aviators (bought in Rome)

Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs 'Natural Selection Mini Messenger Bag' (Saks Fifth Avenue)

Pearl Stud Earrings c/o Aurate

Shop the look: 

For the past couple years I have been mulling over the idea of needing some new one piece swimsuits. This month I ended up getting a replacement for one of my favorite suits because I found the same one new with tags on eBay and a couple actual new suits. 

I still wanted another option so I have been stalking Lands End for a good coupon code (every day there is a new code but stuff is always the same price, ha ha) and finally gave up when they had a slightly better sale at the end of this month. I grabbed 2 suits because 2 for $86 sounded better than 1 for $58, ha ha. The new ones haven't arrived yet so I don't know if I'm keeping them, but including anyway! Unfortunately they are non-returnable so if they don't fit I have to sell them or something. It was worth the risk, I hope, because I have wanted the purple ombre suit for quite a while and the tropical print one is very fun!

EDIT: They fit! 

THE (modified) RULES

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

MY PROGRESS

 

Clothes:

1. None yet

Basics:

1. J.Crew vintage relaxed v-neck in Evening Shadow ($9.50, retail $34.50, used ad money)
2. J.Crew broken-in t-shirt in Bellport Blue ($9.50, retail $36.50, used ad money) 

Shoes:

1. None yet

Handbags:

1. None yet

Accessories:

1. None
   

Activewear/Swimwear:

1. Eddie Bauer Polar Fleece-Lined Pants in Black - similar ($18, retail $90)
   
2. Eddie Bauer Tank Top  in Grey ($5, retail $25)
3. Eddie Bauer Trail Tight High Rise Legging in Grey - similar ($19.80, retail $99)
4. *NEW!* Michael Kors one piece swimsuit in walnut print ($32.99, retail $140)
5. *NEW!* Lands End Side Tie Wrap One Piece Swimsuit in Navy/Prism Pink Multi Palm ($26.99, retail $134.99, used ad money) 
6. *NEW!* Lands End SlenderSuit Wrap One Piece Swimsuit in Violet Rose/Navy Ombre ($44.69, retail $164.95, used ad money) 

Gifted from Brands:

• Aurate x Marilyn Monroe: Lab Grown Red Marquise Earring Threader c/o Aurate
•  Pearl Drop Necklace c/o Aurate

Spent in June: $32.99

Spent in 2026: $75.79

Spent in 2026 - counting ad money: $166.47

(Almost) every year since 1995 my family has gone camping in Vermont in the Summer. For a few Summers I went with my two best friends. Now Christian has joined in on the tradition and we enjoy our quick weekends away in the sticks. We hike/walk, do a little shopping at the Vermont Country Store and just enjoy the company of family and less screen time. Of course I always have my phone with me so I can take pictures, but I try not to do anything else.  

I'm well prepared for our hikes with my comfortable orthotics from PowerStep. I have been using their inserts in various shoes for years now and they really do make a difference. This pair is by Rykä and have lasted me quite a few years. If you aren't sure what type you need, you can use their Insole Finder and take a quiz to see! No hiking outfit is complete without comfortable leggings - my favorites at the moment are from Colorfulkoala. I've also got on my tick/mosquito repellant socks, mosquito bracelet, and trusty Ray-Ban sunglasses. Plus my runDisney completer shirt from 2023!

A newer tradition while camping is grabbing a ton of sausages from A Crooked Barn Charcuterie. Pete makes artisanal sausages with locally and sustainably farmed ingredients! We usually leave with 3 or 4 varieties and freeze them to use throughout the year! This year we bought 5—we meant to buy 6 but since we were getting some for others in our group we miscounted. Pete told us that we were some of his first 50 customers when he started his business, which I didn't know, super cool! 

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Hello! Nothing new this month.

THE (modified) RULES

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

MY PROGRESS

 

Clothes:

1. None yet

Basics:

1. J.Crew vintage relaxed v-neck in Evening Shadow ($9.50, retail $34.50, used ad money)
2. J.Crew broken-in t-shirt in Bellport Blue ($9.50, retail $36.50, used ad money) 

Shoes:

1. None yet

Handbags:

1. None yet

Accessories:

1. None
   

Activewear/Swimwear:

1. Eddie Bauer Polar Fleece-Lined Pants in Black - similar ($18, retail $90)
   
2. Eddie Bauer Tank Top  in Grey ($5, retail $25)
3. Eddie Bauer Trail Tight High Rise Legging in Grey - similar ($19.80, retail $99)

Gifted from Brands:

• Aurate x Marilyn Monroe: Lab Grown Red Marquise Earring Threader c/o Aurate
•  Pearl Drop Necklace c/o Aurate

Spent in April: $42.80

Spent in 2026: $42.80

Spent in 2026 - counting ad money: $61.80

Baking time! We've got a mostly beige lineup this time, and the brownies are pretty close, ha ha! Most of them were winners or winners with some tweaks, so I will be making them again at some point. Not shown in this roundup is the two Whipped Cream Dream Cakes I made last month. I made one for a friend who just had a baby and one for Christian and I because he was jealous, ha ha. Watch me make one in this Reel!

 

Strawberry Jam Sugar Cookies (using raspberry)

I've made these a couple times before and they're always tasty! I just haven't figured out how to store them without them getting sticky yet. I used raspberry preserves instead of strawberry this time, because that was the catalyst for making them - using up the preserves! I imagine they'd work with just about any type of preserve because the base is a simple sugar cookie. Delicious! 

 

Almond Croissant Cinnamon Rolls

I don't remember how I found this recipe, but it is from a creator I had not seen before. They sounded and looked great so I decided to give them a go! The recipe took me a couple days because I started on Friday and formed them into rolls before bed so I could bake them first thing in the morning Saturday. I took them out of the fridge before we went to the grocery store and baked them when we got home. It did take about double the baking time because they were probably still cold from the fridge, so next time I'll leave them out a little longer before baking.  Christian and I looooved the frangipane filling, and Christian went as far to say these are his second favorite "rolls" after my maple sticky buns! I also gave one to my mom and she said it was delicious! Will definitely be remaking these.

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Wild Blueberry Crumble Bars

These were my contribution to Easter dessert. I had saved this recipe last year and finally got around to making it. It's super easy and not many ingredients! We keep frozen wild blueberries on hand for Christian's breakfast and if I want to make blueberry muffins so we had everything in the house already! Before we left my Dad stole a bunch to have for breakfasts. When Dad takes something for breakfast, that's a success! Ha ha.

 

Quaker's Best Oatmeal Muffins 

We bought quick oats on sale a while ago because I needed some for a recipe and they were buy 2 for $3 so we got 2 containers. Christian figured he would use them for his morning oats but then decided he didn't like the texture of them. So I hunted for a few recipes so I could use them for my own breakfasts. These muffins were the first one I tried! They baked up beautifully so I was excited to try them! They were pretty good, but I think next time I will add some cinnamon to add a bit more flavor. Overall, a great quick breakfast option!

Lazy Daisy Oatmeal Cake

This one is a little more like dessert than breakfast, but still tasty thanks to the coconut topping! The texture of the cake was a little off for me, but that is to be expected when using oats. I probably wouldn't make this one again because it's not healthy for breakfast, but maybe I'll use the topping on some muffins!

Easy Fudge Brownies

With the price of chocolate not going down I'm always happy to find a recipe that uses less of it. Jenna formulated these brownies to be made with cocoa powder instead of melting chocolate but still uses chocolate chips in the brownies for added texture. They were really rich and fudgy, yum!! In the future I may try it without adding the chips to really make it without those expensive nuggets of deliciousness, but we'll see.

I got a few basics this month with two $10 J.Crew coupons that were floating about. I was going to get a purple tee and the blue v-neck but then I ended up getting a second blue tee to see if either would match one of my favorite tees from Everlane that I had to get rid of last year. One is also a men's tee, why do they get nicer shades sometimes? The men's color is closer to what I was going for, but still a little darker.

We also went to the last opening day for the Eddie Bauer outlet at the Westbrook Outlets by chance after a cars and coffee event we went to where everything was at least 80% off. Christian had discovered he loved their tees so we wondered if they might have some left. They did not, but he got a couple fleecey long sleeves for $30 total (this one and this one.) I ended up finding some things for myself too for camping/workouts. There were mostly just super small and very large items left on a couple racks but I managed to squeeze into a pair of fleece-lined pants, leggings and got a large tank that will be nice and loose for Summer, ha ha, all for $40.

THE (modified) RULES

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

MY PROGRESS

 

Clothes:

1. None yet

Basics:

1. *NEW!* J.Crew vintage relaxed v-neck in Evening Shadow ($9.50, retail $34.50, used ad money)
2. *NEW!* J.Crew broken-in t-shirt in Bellport Blue ($9.50, retail $36.50, used ad money) 

Shoes:

1. None yet

Handbags:

1. None yet

Accessories:

1. None
   

Activewear/Swimwear:

1. Eddie Bauer Polar Fleece-Lined Pants in Black - similar ($18, retail $90)
   
2. Eddie Bauer Tank Top  in Grey ($5, retail $25)
3. Eddie Bauer Trail Tight High Rise Legging in Grey - similar ($19.80, retail $99)

Gifted from Brands:

• Aurate x Marilyn Monroe: Lab Grown Red Marquise Earring Threader c/o Aurate
•  Pearl Drop Necklace c/o Aurate

Spent in April: $42.80

Spent in 2026: $42.80

Spent in 2026 - counting ad money: $61.80

This month went by pretty quickly, didn't it? I wasn't really in a shopping (or window shopping) mood this month so I didn't add anything to my closet. 

I took a bit of a baking break before and after our cruise but now we're back in the game! In this roundup I was able to use my Le Creuset tarte dish and classic pie dish, items I don't use often because I'm not a huge fan of pies or tarts, haha! 

 

Salted Caramel Chocolate Tart 

I have had this recipe saved for quite a while to make and just never got around to it. Finally decided to make it for a somewhat last minute "big game" get together. I don't really care about football but I go for the food, ha ha. This was fairly easy to make, but I had some difficulty with the crust at first because Christian and I are used to making pie crust, not tart crust, so when the recipe said to keep pulsing the dough in the food processor until it came into a ball it seemed like it wasn't working and not coming together. But we just had to leave it going for a whiiiiile. This was my first real time making caramel, so that was fun. And ganache is old news at this point, so easy to make (and so good!) This one came out a little thin, but I went with it. 

 

Life Changing Chocolate Pie

This was our Valentine's Day dessert. It was super easy to make, no baking involved, but very expensive becasue of the price of chocolate these days. Worth it for a special occasion though! I needed to make the whipped cream a little stiffer and the filling was a little loose overall but it was delicious! We still have one slice left each as of writing this paragraph...yum!! 

Bakery-Style Chocolate Chip Yogurt Muffins

These popped up on Instagram and Christian always has Greek yogurt on hand for breakfast so I decided to whip these up. I DO NOT like yogurt, but luckily you can't really taste it in this recipe. I could tell something was a little different but it didn't gross me out too much so I call that a win, ha ha! The recipe uses maple syrup and extra virgin olive oil as well, very interesting! I will definitely be keeping these in the rotation, super easy and "healthy."

Whipped Cream Dream Cake

 

Date Night Chocolate Fudge Cake for 2

Made this to use a little bit more of the leftover heavy cream from the other bakes! They were easy and pretty tasty. I still prefer chocohotopots because they are even easier and I love the texture of them more. These got a little too cakey for me, which is what they're supposed to be so nothing wrong with the recipe, just my preference.

 

Madeleines

I got myself a madeleine pan just after Christmas and have been trying to find the perfect combo of recipe and method to get the perfect bake with tall humps. I trolled reddit for tips and even watched a youtube video where someone tried a ton of recipes. I decided to do orange zest instead of lemon for all my attempts. So far I have tried recipes from Daniel Boloud and Sally's Baking. I have been starting them at 450 and then lowering the temp to 350 after they start to puff up a bit.

My first attempt was Daniel's and I overfilled them so I think that contributed to them not having humps; a few of them had small ones. The first time I tried Sally's recipe exactly as written they didn't get humps and were very light in color. The next time I followed tips I had found for cooking the batter in the fridge, filling the molds and then freezing the pan before baking. When I did that method her batter was too crumbly after refrigerating BUT the did have humps! My next attempt will be Daniel Boloud again and I will fill them less and freeze for longer before baking. 

 

2 months into the new year already, wow... No new clothing items purchased this month, but I may be going to Roundabout tomorrow after an appointment so that might change and I'll update, haha! I did do a sponsored post that resulted in a couple new pieces! A pair of gorgeous Marilyn Monroe inspired earrings as well as a pearl necklace that hasn't arrived yet (made to order)