weekly r.e.p.o.r.t. c.a.r.d. #54

how to clock a scammer 101, bandana bags galore, and insanely good sale buys

Happy Monday! I spent the weekend in California wine country (at The Madrona) for a wedding. It was extra special, as my husband was a groomsman and a speaker!

I haven't been to Healdsburg in a minute and forgot how peaceful it is. We only had one day to explore, but we loved Journeyman for incredible bacon, leek, and egg pizza and Noble Folk for ice cream.

Always love meeting kindred fashion spirits at weddings. This clutch has been a wedding guest favorite for years. (For an even better price, you can find it secondhand here). I also have a similar shape in silver (secondhand here!), and it always gets a ton of compliments. This isn’t a bad dupe, but I much prefer the OG!

Last week, I dove financial tea, Prime Day picks, and critical travel hacks. This week, how to clock a scammer, the bag stack that keeps me sane when constantly on the road, and insanely discounted buys.

This was my delicious weekend read. Absolutely raced through it.

A twisty, turny thriller-drama about rich people doing bad things and lots of sibling fighting. A very fun beach or (in my case, poolside!) read.

Town and Country is one of my go-to publications for cultural insight (but also, lots of tea!) This article veers more educational. College is extremely expensive, and this Swiss Army knife professional helps parents figure out how to squeeze out every single dollar out of institutions. Send to any parent of college kids in your orbit.

In addition, this article is a great one on attachment theory—and how what has been marketed to us as a fixed part of our personality can be changed (if we want it to be).

Peanut butter-stuffed, chocolate-covered dates are one of my all-time favorite desserts. Sprinkle on some sea salt and you have a one-bite dessert that will impress anyone (and is no-bake for hot summer days!) This is the recipe I use.

However, I’ve loved seeing all of the new CPG entrants on the market. I tried this pre-packaged variety for the first time the other day and was very impressed!

I'm all for a personal challenge. Something that I’ve been playing with recently is not only breaking my gel nail habit—with this foolproof at-home nail kit!—but also my reliance on weekly blowouts.

This blowout in a bottle spray has made things super easy. It zhuzhes up a day two or day three blowout and makes it look like I came straight from the salon…and makes an at-home blowout look even more voluminous.

It's equal parts texturizer and hair oil. I spray on my ends and roots, give it a shake, and boom! Instant volume and my blowout is perfected.

As someone who has been on ten flights in the past four weeks, my travel bag stack has really been put to the test.

It all starts with this incredible crossbody. (I call it my Mary Poppins crossbody because it holds so much!) I put my passport, valuables, hand sanitizer, men's sunscreen, plan snacks, and anything that I want to be easily accessible. Most critically, this bag needs to be compact enough to be shoved in my bag and not count as an additional personal item. Very well-priced (and looks like The Row!)

The next item in the lineup is my all-time favorite bandana bag.

I paid full price for this one, but you don't have to. This red option (from Walmart, really!) is equally as cute as these incredible dupes from Etsy.

I was a fan of the Beis weekender bag for years, but realized I didn't make use of it once I got to my destination. It would just lay dormant in my room, and I would never want to lug it around (it’s pretty bulky!) Enter the bandana bag. It’s equally perfect for a city or beach destination, super lightweight, and can hold so much.

I also love this puffy laptop sleeve to keep my laptop safe (and as another place to store valuables!)

And finally, I've had Away bag for years. I’m beyond loyal to the brand. However, I got my carry-on painted with my initials a few years back, and the paint has since worn off pretty rapidly. I recently ordered this sticker to cover it, and it's held up beautifully for the last few months. A great addition if you want to personalize your suitcase at a low, low cost.

Some things, people, and content I’ve been loving this week:

Hard agree with the importance of these skills (via DAN KOE):

• It’s sale season, and there are so many good picks on sale. What I’m personally shopping:

  • Margaux is my all-time favorite brand for comfy flats and Mary Janes. I own this pair as well as this one, and they’ve all taken me 15K+ steps on my first day of wear. No break-in period needed! However, be aware that their sale is final sale. The brand fits true-to-size, so it’s worth the gamble!

  • Larroudé is my go-to for comfy heels—whether they’re two inches or sky-high. They’re running a flash sale (returnable!) with very deep discounts. This pair is a newer closer addition and one I’ve been reaching for all summer—the raffia goes with everything! In addition, these heels have carried me through all of my weddings this year. Hours of dancing with no pain!

• July 4 is right around the corner, and unless you’re headlining your town’s parade, there’s no need to get something super Americana-coded. Instead, opt for something with dashes of red, white, and blue that you can easily wear again and again and not look like a walking American flag. Options I love (and more here):

  • This rainbow set (100% cotton and looks just like STAUD!)

  • A floral patterned dress from a brand that’s very much giving Hill House a run for its money (pretty much love anything they make!)

  • This striped midi dress (which could easily flex to an elevated cocktail dress)

• FIVE STAR WEEKEND (an adaptation of the beloved Elin Hilderbrand book!) comes out on July 9. I’m beyond excited! It’s a stacked cast (headlined by Jennifer Garner) and it will be such an easy summer watch.

• On the beauty front, this hand cream is a fantastic gift for the bougie women in your life. It’s infused with retinol and has dramatically transformed the texture and tone of my hands over the past year (I use religiously every night). A friend texted me for a failproof gift for her mother-in-law, she bought this (along with a basket of her favorite treats!) and it was a smash hit.

• As summer trudges on, this body sunscreen is a great pick. I used to just slather on whatever was available to me, but have become a big fan of this one!

The pieces worth your time this week:

• Loved Sarah Shapiro’s deep dive into With Nothing Underneath. The brand has been on a total tear for the past year, and it was great to get insight into why their customers are so obsessed.

  • For the record, I own this set from them and absolutely love it. Made of natural fibers and it’s so comfortable!

• As we’re very much in the GLP-1 era, I’m fascinated by all of the unexpected side effects (and industries!) the drug has created. Namely, the rise in facelifts and other cosmetic procedures. This article (by Kevin James Bennett) gets into it all.

• This article (by Lindsay Pinchuk) reiterated so much about what I feel about the coaching industry and masterminds. It goes deep on how many coaches are so scammy, just want to sell you something, and don’t care about driving results.

  • Last year, I was invited to coffee by someone I met at a conference. She sat me down and immediately said, “I can tell that you’re struggling...I think you need to enroll in my $75,000 mastermind. Your business will be turned around.” I immediately excused myself from the coffee. I still see her posting weekly about how there’s “one spot left!” in her pricey mastermind. Total scammer alert.

    • I really have a visceral reaction to courses being shilled online, and thus, have made a decision to not do it (and work 1-to-1 with clients instead, which I love dearly!)

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