the best site for under <$300 wedding guest dresses & healthy desserts

the hidden wedding guest dress site I'm loving & healthyish desserts

Sep 07, 2025

Hi! Happy Sunday. It’s a super dreary day in NYC, so it’s a good excuse to get some life admin out of the way—fall closet cleaning, batch meal prepping, and post-wedding organizing. A few healthy tried-and-true meal prep recipes I’m tackling:

Chrissy Teigen’s chicken lettuce wraps, which I’ve made dozens of times. I omit the vegetable oil from the sauce (not necessary!) and the water chestnuts (just a personal preference).
Ambitious Kitchen’s healthy turkey chili, which freezes beautifully. I always have a container of this stashed away in my freezer!
Gaby Dalkin’s rainbow summer rolls. A super filling workweek lunch! I leave out the avocado so they stay fresh for way longer. I also cut the vermicelli noodles and go heavier on the veggies (again, just a personal preference).

This doesn’t look like much, but it’s SO good. It’s one of those recipes you try once and immediately becomes part of your rotation. It’s the famed Peanutty Pork & Brussels by

Caroline Chambers

. I got her cookbook last year for Christmas and am slowly making my way through it. Every recipe so far has been a major hit, but this one is my personal favorite!

P.S. If you’re new around here—welcome to the weekly r.e.p.o.r.t c.a.r.d! It’s a weekly grab bag of the ideas, things, and people that I’m loving. Check out the last issue here. It’s a fun, light addition to the VARSITY READER fold.

Reading (book): My friend

Kaitlin Kehler

and I share a love of juicy rich mom thriller reads. She recommended this book to me yesterday and I immediately ordered it on my phone and dove in before bedtime. It’s about a popular mommy influencer who is polished and perfect online—yet is dealing with some dark, dark life twists she’d never reveal to her followers. The perfect brain candy! Highly recommend.

A few other reads I’ve been loving recently:

This book about how to ask powerful questions—have taken so much away from this one.
Amy Odell
’s Gwyneth Paltrow biography—the ultimate edutainment!
Jo Piazza
’s book, which is a classic rich mom thriller mixed with Ballerina Farm-inspired influencer drama.

Reading (article): I wouldn’t call myself a Swiftie. But I’m completely engrossed by the entire Swiftie universe. Taylor is a master at world-building—stepping into a concert is like escaping to a different universe like Harry Potter or Star Wars. And yet, she’s managed to create an image that’s inimitably relatable and down to earth. This article dives into her personal brand and how she carefully crafts her public persona.

Eating: I’m all about a healthy-ish dessert indulgence. But let’s be real. So many “clean” desserts taste exactly that—like all of the flavor was vacuumed out. As a dessert person to the core, I’m not giving something an A just because it has healthy ingredients.

This treat gets high marks for taste and better-for-you ingredients. I tried Diana’s Bananas a while back, but I especially loved them before my wedding. It truly scratches the ice cream itch—and since it’s a chocolate-covered banana, it’s filling and not fro-yo pumped with air.

I’ve tried the dark chocolate and peanut butter cup and love them both—but am eyeing this new release (white chocolate cinnamon granola crunch).

Playing: Like everyone else, I love playing the NYTimes Connections game. Even better? Creating your own custom Connections game through this third-party site. It’s one of my best friend’s bachelorettes this weekend, so I’m creating a game for everyone centered around our favorite things about our friend / inside jokes! Could even be a fun icebreaker for corporate retreats / team bonding events.

Obsessing: I am very much in my wedding guest era of life. I have four weddings before the end of the year and four next year (so far). There’s nothing I love more than getting an invitation with a creative dress code (like colorful cocktail!) and piecing together looks from my closet (or let’s be real, getting something new).

I discovered this site when I was shopping for my own wedding, and was blown away by the quality. Super well-tailored dresses that look $1500+…for $200.

Now! There is a catch. Returns are for store credit only, which I find super annoying (and wouldn’t recommend if it wasn’t worth the hassle). I haven’t had to deal with this so far, though—I took a bet and ordered a white lace dress for the day after my wedding and it fit perfectly. The one I ordered is sadly no longer available, but I linked a similar one.

The dresses I ordered for upcoming weddings:

This embroidered lilac mini for the colorful cocktail welcome party I have coming up—it’s very Carolina Herrera-esque!
This mint green number, which reminded me of this sculptural green dress I almost ordered for my wedding after-party.
This aqua blue midi dress—the neckline reminds me of the Hervé Legér revival going on now. Clearly they have a new design director!
This chocolate brown midi dress—less of a wedding guest purchase and more as a fall daytime dress. Stunning and reminds me of this dress, which I bookmarked a few months ago and is way pricier.
And finally! This knit mini dress. It could turn out to be unbearably short (I’m 5’7), but love a dress with boots for the fall.

Recommending: I will devour any thriller show (especially if there’s a political bend). So I absolutely loved HOSTAGE and binged it over two days. It’s about a high-stakes kidnapping (the British prime minister’s husband) and the plot to get him back. Lots of backstabbing, betrayal, and family drama. In that vein, if you haven’t already seen BUTTERFLY, it’s equally excellent!

Treating: Investing in quality sweaters is always a good idea. While I do have a few low-priced sweaters in my closet (like this pointelle number, which I’m beyond impressed by!), the majority are pricier pieces that are meant to last multiple seasons.

I recently picked up this ribbed black sweater and know I’ll be wearing it a ton in the fall and winter. It’s not insanely pricey ($208), but I immediately fell for the super thick material, collar, and neutral buttons (so you can easily pair with gold or silver accessories). I saw a TikTok the other day that complained about the dearth of good tops and I have to say, I totally agree!!! Whenever you see a good top…get it.

Admiring: I’m loving the charm necklace trend—such a fun way to add some personality to a button-down or sweater.

This charm necklace caught my eye mid-evening scroll earlier this week, and I immediately added to cart. I’m a sucker for anything hearts, so it had to be mine. And a true cheap thrill at under $60!

the best site for under <$300 wedding guest dresses & healthy desserts

the hidden wedding guest dress site I'm loving & healthyish desserts

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