The cold weather and general unpleasantness of Winter has led to no purchases for February. I did stop by Roundabout in Westport earlier this month for their end of season sale but the one thing I wanted—Charlotte Olympia velvet kitty flats—was only 30% off instead of 70 so I resisted.
THE (modified) RULES
- Be mindful of purchases
- Quality over quantity
- Basics are best
MY PROGRESS
Clothes:
Basics:
- Nothing yet
Shoes:
- None
Handbags:
- Loewe Mini Puzzle Bag in Pomodoro red classic calfskin ($895 in Japan, retail $2650)
Accessories:
- None
Activewear/Swimwear:
- None
Gifted from Brands:
- None
Spent in February: $0
Spent in 2025: $895
Spent in 2025 - counting ad money: $895
We've got a lot of bread in this week's roundup. Guess I've been in a bread mood, ha ha!
Coconut Chocolate Chip Brownies (modified Almond Joy Brownies recipe)
I wanted to use up some unsweetened coconut flakes we had without using a ton of butter (gotta conserve!!) This recipe popped up and sounded interested, but I didn't want to use almonds so instead of an Almond Joy brownie I made a Mounds version, ha ha! I simply left out the almond extract and almonds and followed the rest of the instructions. Since it was almost Valentine's Day I decided to use my heart shaped dutch oven instead of a square tray.
Pain de Mie
I got a 13" Pullman Loaf Pan for Christmas and finally got around to trying a pain de mie - aka sandwhich bread - at the beginning of February. Unfortunately I think the house was a little too cold because the bread did NOT want to rise at all. I ended up leaving it out all night and then putting it by the oven when I made the above brownies to see if that would help it rise. I think I may have to wait for warmer weather to attempt again, or crank our heat up real high. At least it still tasted good! I made it again a couple weeks later and it came out much better! I still need to let it rise a bit more before baking to really fill out the pan but we're getting there. I'm sure in the warmer months it will be much easier.
Blueberry Muffin Bread
I had some sour cream from HelloFresh meals to use (we don't like sour cream sauces so we leave them off) and some frozen blueberries in the freezer so I decided to whip up this bread. the recipe does say not to use frozen blueberries but I'm a rebel, ha ha! I added extra flour and baked it longer as the instructions said to do if you used frozen berries and it came out great. It took about 20 minutes longer than stated, so they really do make a difference (plus I used wild blueberries which are smaller than normal ones, a double whammy!)
Mini Loaf Pan Focaccia
I wanted to make some bread to go with our pasta for Valentine's Day dinner but didn't want to make something big so I searched around for small batch focaccia and found this recipe. It came out REALLY good. Might be one of my favorite focaccia recipes I've made because it's super easy and not a huge portion so we don't have to worry about waste.
Chocolate Lava Cake
For Valentine's Day dessert I changed up from our usual chocohotopots and made a chocolate lava cake for the first time! It was a lot less complicated than I thought it would be, none of that putting something in the middle to the the lava, its literally just the batter and you bake it hot and fast. I love a non-fussy recipe.
Garlic Naan
Technically I wore this the day after Valentine's Day, but we were celebrating so I wore my trusty red Everlane sweater and brand new crimson red Loewe mini puzzle bag! It's such a fun burst of color and I've been enjoying wearing it with everything. That's one of my favorite parts of having something new, wearing the heck out of it for weeks!
This is the original puzzle bag and not the new "edge" version. I definitely prefer this 2018 version, it feels so much cooler. The Edge doesn't look as much like a puzzle because the pieces are sewn on top of one another. I really love the spacing in between the "pieces" on this version, feels more luxurious, detailed and more handcrafted versus just another mass produced bag. I found this post that explains the differences between them.
I've also been wearing this coat non-stop, probably need to rotate in some of my older ones! I would have worn my red Burberry coat this day but I already had a lot of red going on so I skipped it. After looking at the pictures I realized I should have worn my faux fur leopard coat! Oh well.
For our Valentine's celebration we headed up to Old Mistick Village for lunch and a walk around before heading back home just before the weekend snow storm began. We finally ate at Amalfi which has been on my list for over a year now. It was delicious! We got 2 appetizers and then each got one of their house-made pastas. I'm not usually a pasta person at restaurants but when they're handmade in-house it's hard to resist! Makes me feel like I'm back in Italy.
Sweater: Everlane "The Wool-Cashmere Square Crew" in Crimson
Jeans: Current/Elliott 'The Ankle Skinny' (The Outnet)
Purple Coat: Greylin Longline Shirt Jacket in purple (Anthropologie)
Bag: Loewe Mini Puzzle Bag in Pomodoro red classic calfskin (bought in Japan!)
Boots: Eighteen 68 'Megan' (Gilt)
Ombre Beanie/Winter Hat: Disney World
Here's a look at our day and what we had to eat:
I have a lot of posts planned to recap our two-week trip to Japan, but let’s start with an easy one—what I wore to stay warm and comfortable in the cold weather! After calculating our mileage when we got home, I realized we walked a total of 96 miles over the two weeks. By the end, our feet were definitely feeling it, but thanks to my comfortable supination insoles from PowerStep, I avoided serious pain. I've had these insoles in my boots for over a year now, and while the boots have always been comfortable, the insoles took them to the next level. To stay extra cozy, I also used a pair of Flat Socks fuzzy liner socks on top!
I tried to pack as light as possible since I knew we’d be bringing home a lot of souvenirs. The plan was for me to use my Day Owl backpack and a small carry-on, while Christian carried his brand-new Tortuga backpack (which he got specifically for this trip). We entered Japan with just these bags, determined to see how far we could get before needing extra luggage. We made it all the way back to our last night in Tokyo before buying a medium-sized suitcase from Don Quijote to check on the flight home. Before that, we had been using a giant Disney shopping bag for our purchases, which obviously wasn’t going to work for air travel. It was great for train travel because we didn't need to buy "oversized baggage" train tickets that are required if your bags do not fit in the overhead bins or by your feet.
Packing light meant re-wearing a lot of the same clothes, but honestly, it didn’t matter since I had my coat on almost the entire time. No one would have noticed if I repeated outfits every day (not that anyone would care!)
For clothing, I brought two pairs of jeans, comfortable pants that don't look like sweatpants I bought 2 days before we left (mainly for the flights, since hotels in Japan provide pajamas), and a handful of sweaters and layering shirts. For extra warmth I had a Disney hat, big Madewell scarf and gloves. I only packed one pair of boots, knowing they’d work in rain, snow, and cold. Looking back, I probably could have packed even less, but hey—a girl likes to have options! I also brought a simple sling bag that would fit my essentials on sightseeing days.
Here’s what you can look forward to in my upcoming Japan posts—assuming I can get myself in gear and actually tackle them! 😉
- Our Full Trip Itinerary
- A Deep Dive into Our Tokyo Disney Experience
- A Tokyo Disney Planning & Information Guide
- Our Stay in Shibu Onsen & Visiting the Snow Monkeys
Is there anything specific you’d like to hear more about? Let me know! In the meantime, you can check out my daily Instagram recap carousels for a peek at what we did.
* I was gifted this product for the purposes of this post, all opinions are my own.
One of the ways I like to decompress at the end of the day is cooking or baking. I know that is opposite to a lot of people, but I like the routine of it. Christian and I are slowly trying to swap out our old and cheap cookware to better quality, easier to maintain pieces. I was very excited when Alva Cookware offered to send me one of their stainless steel pans to test out!
They sent me the Chef 8" stainless steel frying pan which can be used with any heat source, is oven safe (to 392°) and dishwasher safe! I do love easy cleanup. (Alva does recommend hand washing to keep the finish nice, but the pan can be put in the dishwasher.) This size would be perfect for someone cooking for one, but since I usually make larger batches of food it's not the most practical size for me. That being said, the moment I picked up the pan I could tell it was high quality from the weight and feel. The handle is great for gripping and easily moving it around. The 8" is currently sold out but the Alva Chef 9.5" frying pan is available.
A bit of history on the brand - Founded in Belgium in 1949, Alva has been making high-quality cookware from recycled materials. The first pots and pans were made with repurposed materials from World War II and that practice continues today with the brand focusing on sustainability in its products. All Alva products are free of PTFE, PFOA, PFAS, lead, and cadmium, including ceramic-coated products.
Next I've got my eye on their Nesting Cookware Set, 5-ply stainless steel frying pan and Carbon Steel Wok. I make fried rice so often I feel like I could use one!
It’s cooking time! I made crispy gnocchi with veggies since Christian and I are in the middle of a vegetarian dinner month. We love doing this as a way to switch things up—it’s a nice reset. While we usually include a couple of vegetarian meals in our weekly rotation, going completely meat-free for a while feels refreshing.
This dish was super simple and cooked in just one skillet. I started by pan-frying the gnocchi in olive oil until crispy, then sautéed the veggies until they softened before adding the gnocchi back in. Easy peasy!
Cooking with the Alva pan was great! Its solid weight gave me confidence throughout the process, and the high sides made stirring and sautéing a breeze—no veggies escaping! Cleanup was just as smooth. A quick wash with soap and water, and everything came right off.
And just like that, it's the end of January. This was a weird month for me because the first 10 days I was dealing with some issues with our house while also finishing preparations for our 2 week trip to Japan. From the 11th through the 24th we were in Japan and then it was back to work for the final week of the month.
I did make my first purchase of 2025, and it's a good one! I knew I wanted to try and find a secondhand designer bag in Japan since the exchange rate is amazing right now and they are very strict with counterfeit items so I knew whatever I found would be authentic. I would have loved to grab one of the many Birkin bags I saw, but they were still very expensive. I came close to a few Chanel bags in various colors and a Dior Saddle Bag but in the end I found a 2018 Mini Loewe Puzzle bag in a lovely red color! A puzzle bag was on my short list of things to find. At the beginning of the trip I had seen a few, but none in exciting colors (I didn't want tan or black or cream.) There was a nice light blue but it was a Nano size which I don't believe they make anymore.
I bought a shirt and a sweatshirt at Tokyo Disney as well, but since I won't really wear them outside of Disney I don't count them in my wardrobe, ha ha.
THE (modified) RULES
- Be mindful of purchases
- Quality over quantity
- Basics are best
MY PROGRESS
Clothes:
Basics:
- Nothing yet
Shoes:
- None
Handbags:
- *NEW!* Loewe Mini Puzzle Bag in Pomodoro red classic calfskin ($895 in Japan, retail $2650)
Accessories:
- None
Activewear/Swimwear:
- None
Gifted from Brands:
- None
Spent in January: $895
Spent in 2025: $895
Spent in 2025 - counting ad money: $895
A couple weeks before Christmas I headed over to my Mom's and we had a full day of cookie baking to prepare for Christmas Eve. Including some of what we made as separate items here because I have links to the recipes, the others I'll just add at the end. Here's an Instagram post I did of our baking day:
Christmas Lofthouse Cookies
You know those horrible sugar cookies at the grocery store that you can't resist and enjoy eating anyway? Well these are a better version of that!
Spritz Cookies
My Mom needed a new spritz recipe this year becasue the one she used the past couple years never turned out right. We went with Sally's recipe and they came out great! After they came out of the oven we added the cute star sprinkles (last year we put them on before baking and they melted, haha!)
Turtle Thumbprint Cookies
I've made these a couple times before and they're always tasty! They also look very impressive and they aren't that hard to make. It was definitely easier to have someone help this time though. Rolling them in the pecans is always a little tricky with one person. With help I was able to coat them in the egg whites and my Mom got the pecans on. Way less messy!
Others we made: Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, Rugelach and Biscotti! We also made Snickerdoodles
Snowflake Shortbread Cookies
I used my snowflake shortbread and cake pan again, this time to make shortbread. They came out with much more detail than the cake I made with it last time!
Blossom Cookies
We did a cookie swap at my Mom's the Saturday before Christmas and I made these fun kiss cookies. The recipe has 3 flavors but my brother is allergic to peanut butter so I didn't make that variation. These are chocolate, sugar cookie and gingerbread!
Christmas Light Hostess Cupcakes
I made my version of Hostess Cupcakes with some M&Ms to look like Christmas lights for our Christmas Eve celebration. I used the cake recipe I have used in the past which is a couple recipes mashed together and then baked in cupcake tins instead of cake pans. Funny going from cupcakes to a cake inspired by those cupcakes and then back to cupcakes with the inspiration recipe, hah!
Chocolate Mousse Cake
