The Investment

Lately I've been cruising the city streets with blinders on. Avoiding sales and cute spring wear after a long winter is BRUTAL.

The battle is twice as hard once I go online. The internet is such a timesuck and these Piperlime sales are not helping.

Every now and then, I'll add something to my cart and immediately x-out of that page. I admit it, I love to shop but I love traveling more. My Poshmark corner (where clothes wait to get listed) is a constant reminder of my love and how it hasn't previously helped in the travel department. In fact the only thing this pile gets is an exasperated "UGH" from the boyfriend... Like every day.

Does any of this sound familiar? If it does, I feel you.

You're probably wondering why not stop shopping completely. Speaking from experience; cutting myself off would only lead to an insane and unplanned shopping spree. 

So, in an effort to save up for my trips and hopefully build up my closet (wishful thinking) I decided to go the route of investment shopping. Hopefully these tips will help you too.

Investment shopping would:

1 - give me a purpose and a goal to work towards

2 - prevent mindless shopping (very important)

3 - free up space by getting rid of similar (lower quality) items

4 - help establish my lewk by only investing in pieces that I've carefully thought about

I've put this plan into action last month and so far it's been going good. The first two pieces I decided to roll this plan out with were an Equipment shirt and this Acne leather jacket. 

Here's the break down:

1 - goal: an Equipment signature shirt + Acne leather jacket

2 - mindless shopping has stopped. Instead of spending $400+ on things I didn't need, I started saving $160 a month for my investment pieces. Plus, I've been able to save an additional $350 per month for my future trips. All in all - lots of saving!! By December I will have enough for a jacket (got the shirt last month on eBay) and will have enough by summer for my winter trips.

3 - every month, there's a mini purge and lots of things have been Poshmarked or donated. It can be a little hard at times to list everything, but small changes will lead to big progress.

4 - establishing my look is a work in progress, but I'm getting there!

So what do you think, are these helpful or not so much? Are there any investment pieces in your closet and how did your big purchase?

photo credit: one, two, three, four, five

Apartment Life | Blue Apron

Cooking in a NYC apartment usually comes in at a strong second to Seamless. There are moments when I decide to give cooking a go but ultimately those moments are few and far in between.

Then I saw these Blue Apron ads all over the subways and had to give it a try.

No harm, no foul right?

And you guys, there wasn't any foul done at all! Instead it made my life a million times easier (and affordable) when it came to dinner time. Plus, no grocery store visits were needed (hell YES).

From the start, it's pretty much fool-proof. After setting up an account you get to choose your week's recipe and customize it to your needs! I thought that was pretty convenient, especially the delivery options.

I had the box delivered to my office (packages tend to disappear from my apartment) and didn't have to worry about the food spoiling. Each box is refrigerated to make sure the ingredients are fresh #winwin.

Here's a peak at the amazing recipes included in my box. My mouth is basically salivating just thinking about it.

I started the week with the Three-Cheese Cannelloni. It came with fresh pasta sheets and lots of cheese. I LIVE for cheese.

One of the things that deters me from any homestyle cooking is the prep. All that chopping, cutting, and dirty-dish making - no thanks. With Blue Apron, almost none of that happened or were kept to a bare minimum. The majority of their fresh ingredients were already prepped and made me a much happier person. 

Also, how cute is the packaging?

Mmm, butternut squash and kale filling. Prior to this I have never cooked with butternut squash - kind of embarrassing right?

The end result was scrumptious cannelloni that were happily devoured by me and the boyfriend. For once we were so excited pasta, mainly because it wasn't the standard spaghetti and mystery sauce when we're at our wits end.

My overall thoughts, Blue Apron is certainly an option for those who want to save time and has the flexibility for almost any #GirlBoss. If we want to get specific, each meal takes around thirty-five minutes - a lot faster than selecting a meal (off Seamless) + waiting for its delivery.

Blue Apron isn't a New York thing either, it's available Nationwide. To get you started, Blue Apron is offering my readers two free meals on the house! Redeem the promotion by clicking here.

Learn more: www.blueapron.com

Blue Apron provided my first box for free for an honest review. Each box after was paid for. All opinions expressed are my solely my own.

City Slicker

Honesty hour: I absolutely do not wear heels during my rush hour commutes. 

But really, who does in New York City? 

If you're able to handle a rickety train during rush hour in 5 inch heels, more power to ya. 

You would think a girl born and bred here would be able to master that by now - NOPE. Instead I mastered the art of balance sans subway poles. Not complaining because it does come in pretty handy during flu season and every season.

Since the hour hasn't passed, I will mention a few more truths.

Recently, I've been cleaning out my closet and haven't touched my undies - ignored it basically. With a past that includes lingerie shop girl at Bloomies, one would expect better. Normally I get Calvins, so got a few fresh necessities from them but also wanted to try something new (i.e. great fit). 

Lo and behold, Third Love was able to customize a bra to my exact fit. For those of you in need of a fitting, consider their phone app which will act as your personal fitter. Remember, a great fit can save your back and posture. It goes without saying the fabric and make is way better than a few of its contemporaries too - my boobs can attest to it.

Last truths, to hide my tired (or burned by Peroxiclear solution) eyes I heavily rely on sunglasses. Don't we all? 

Once indoors all bets and sunglasses are off. I recently discovered Besamé's brightening violet powder; it does wonder for the designer bags hidden underneath my eyes. Not only that, it sops up all the oil on my skin (handy for shoots like this) and looking semi-presentable for last minute meetings.

Coat: H&M (similar here)  Striped Shirt: J. Crew  Pants: Old (similar style)  Necklace: Marc Jacobs (similar)  Watch: RumbaTime  Purse: Rebecca Minkoff  Sunglasses: Ray-Ban  Sneakers: Nike  Heels: Jessica Simpson  Lipgloss: c/o NARS - Priscilla  Face Powder: c/o Besamé Brightening Violet Powder

If your curious to see my Q train lewk, well here it is. These Theas are heavy on the comfort and dope factor.

Photos by Lydia Hudgens.

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