2018 in Review

I always love reading these posts on other blogs but have never put together a proper “year in review” post in over five years of blogging…until now! I went through the past year and picked out the most read posts from the year (not including review posts) and a few of my favorite looks (click the look to go to the original post). I also recapped the travel I experienced and looked back at my purchasing trends (but, as always, I’ll be sharing my best and worst purchases of the year in their own posts later this week). Happy 2019, and thank you so much for reading! xo


MOST READ POSTS


FAVORITE OUTFITS


TRAVEL RECAP

I didn’t do a whole lot of traveling this year, unfortunately! I did use a work visit to Seattle, WA, in June as an excuse to extend my trip and visit my mom and step dad in Sequim. My mom and I took the ferry over to Victoria, BC, Canada to visit The Butchart Gardens for a day (or half a day, as we missed the first ferry we were supposed to take!).

Over the Independence Day holiday week, Korri and I set off on a road trip to South Dakota to visit family. We drove through Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks in one day (twice) and saw many other notable sights in Idaho, Wyoming, and South Dakota along the way. The crazy part is that we still liked each other by the end of the trip, haha! ;)

We wrapped up the year back in the Pacific Northwest for a day trip to watch the Seattle Seahawks—on my birthday. After getting in later than originally planned due to flight mishaps, we met up with my mom and step dad downtown for brunch, watched the game (they beat the Cowboys!), and flew home.

I also featured some new local spots in 2018: the Central Addition neighborhood in downtown Boise (thanks to Stay Alfred at The Fowler), Cabalo’s Orchard and Gardens for apple and pumpkin picking in the fall, and iconic Harrison Boulevard with its gorgeous fall colors on display.

(I should also mention that we went to Seattle and Minneapolis for Taylor Swift’s Reputation Stadium Tour, too! I just didn’t blog the evidence…ha! You can catch the highlights on Instagram.)


BUDGET RECAP

This year was the first year I blogged my clothing purchases every quarter instead of every month. I started off strangely slow with only three purchases in January and February (after making six purchases in December for a total of nine new items) and stayed way under my $500 quarterly budget. I ended up not rolling the extra amount over because I had a lot earned from Poshmark sales.

I added 11 new items in the spring (and opted not to roll over the extra amount saved), 12 new items in the summer (went over budget if not for Poshmark sales), and 14 new items in the fall (went way over budget if not for Poshmark sales). I spent my entire winter budget this month so the next quarter is already off to a great start…ha! Those darn sales in late November and December always get me. And if it weren’t for my Poshmark sales this year, I would have gone way over budget for the year. You can see all of my wardrobe additions for 2018 on this Pinterest board.

Here’s more random stats from the year:

  • Total number of items added: 47 (including December; down from 53 in 2017)

  • Total number of items from my “main” closet sold on Poshmark: 56 (over double from 2017!)

  • Donated many older items that weren’t in my “main” closet (on Stylebook)

  • Added 4 sweaters

  • Added 2 sweater blazers from J.Crew

  • Added 4 pairs of jeans (2 from Everlane and 2 from Madewell)

  • Added 2 pairs of wide leg pants (!)

  • Added 3 midi skirts (!)

  • Added 3 dresses

  • Added 9 new pairs of shoes (5 pairs of boots, 2 pairs of sneakers, and 2 pairs of sandals)

  • Added 4 new pairs of shoes thanks to my longstanding collaboration with Earth (and one new pair in exchange for content on their end)

  • Added no jewelry and only 2 accessories (one beanie and one scarf this past month)

  • Added 2 pre-owned items via Poshmark (both Madewell flannel shirts)

  • Spent the most money on Marc Fisher boots ($265—full price plus sales tax) and the least on a J.Crew beanie ($19 on sale from $40); both were worn in this outfit

  • Top retailers: Everlane, Madewell, Nordstrom