Too Many Open Tabs (14)
A birthday-ish wishlist of some things practical, some things not, and some things I already got because of the birthday month girl math rule
And we’re back, with another installment of Too Many Open Tabs. I’m channeling all my screenshots and (literally too many) open tabs on my phone / computer / in my brain and rounding them all up for you.
This past weekend, I celebrated my birthday. 37. It feels old and also not. Or, I guess I should say, I don’t feel like I can possibly be as old as that number sounds (why does the number 37 feel substantially older than 36??) I know that is super cliche. But truly, I don’t feel older than I did nearly a decade ago! A good reminder that most of us (I won’t speak for everyone), do not feel “old!” and we are all just people working our way through life.
I feel very grateful for my family, the friends I am surrounded by and the life my husband and I are building. And also, it feels weird to be in this mid-to-late 30s age range where for the first time in my life I’ve thought a lot about getting older, and how my life & identity (and how people see me!) is shifting and will continue to shift in the years to come.
I celebrated by going out to breakfast with my kids at our local spot, getting a manicure and pedicure with my 4-year-old (she was too unbelievably cute and happy and proud to be sitting in the pedicure chair next to me getting her nails done, my heart could basically not handle it), going out for lunch at our favorite pizza spot, having a babysitter come mid-afternoon to take the kids out of the house so I could have as much time as I wanted to get ready (a gummy + 1.5 hours to take an everything shower and fully do my hair = yes ma’aam), went out for happy hour cocktails and oysters with my husband and then met up with my dad and sister for dinner at a new-to-us restaurant. It was great & scratched all the itches.
My husband got me the most perfect card (always nice to have that reminder that someone you love gets you!), and it really inspired this round-up (it’s pictured in the collage!). Or, it really inspired me to share this round-up, as he was spot on in the fact that I already had the birthday itch, and was feeling like I really deserved all the little (and maybe one or two big!) treats.
Some of these things are practical, some of them are not, and some of them are things that I’ve already treated myself to/clicked “checkout” on. No matter what, they are fun to look at and lust over (and, if you’re me, wear the heck out of because that how I like it with everything in my closet!).
This collage was created with Zeen, a new design tool for tastemakers that launched to the public this week! I’ve been very lucky to have been able to play around with the Zeen tool & platform for the past couple months, and it’s an amazing way to create visuals, plus has some incredible tools (I do love a time-saver!) for creators who are leveraging Substack to share their work - like the ability to directly import images from ShopMy collections to use in collages AND the ability to auto-generate a click-able caption that can be copy and pasted into the caption of an image you upload into substack.
I’m so excited for more people to have the opportunity to use Zeen and so excited for the team for their successful launch. If you’re interested in giving it a whirl, you can sign up right here (if you sign up via this link you'll get your first 3 months of Zeen Premium for $0.99!)
One of my best friends is getting married in a couple of weeks (!!!) and I’m on the hunt for a dress to wear. I tried this and unfortunately the fit was so off for me (although the dress is gorg!). I really love this one from Doen, and this from Saloni (one of my favorite brands for dresses, but this one is kind of outside my budget sadly), and this is a dress I recommend all the time - gorgeous and a classic.
I don’t have the dressed picked out, but I have figured out the cute bag I’ll be carrying!
Not wedding-guest appropriate, but this is a fab spring/summer dress - I would wear it to work with a cardigan or blazer, or even just a big belt when it’s warm enough, and exactly as it on the weekends! And if you have a warm weather trip coming up, I mean…
Work-friendly bags have been on my radar for awhile, as I’ve been searching for something new to replace my well-loved, but also time-to-shift away from MZ Wallace. There are a lot of functional requirements because my laptop is quite large, and unfortunately I don’t think a smaller laptop is happening anytime soon. I’ve hemmed and hawed, and considered a designer investment and so many other options but finally decided that while I want the bag to be something that I love and that makes me happy, I also don’t want to break the bank (it doesn’t need to be my big designer splurge!!). And so, long story short, I ordered this from Cuyana. Will report back!
And, as always, I have bags on the mind…I love this raffia (something about raffia in black is making me really, really into it!), and am pretty obsessed with this little bucket which seems like it would be a perfect life/weekend/all the time bag.
Still obsessing over spring jackets. This one is amazing.
Eek, love these so much they are so fun. Not pictured, but these are now mine (I got a gift from Dorsey for X-mas that I returned and I’m happy I waited these guys out!)
One of my favorite ways to inject a little personality into my outfits is via shoes. They make everything fun and are a very easy personality piece that I find incorporates really easily into my style. These have been on my wishlist for a long time, and I treated myself to them this month. I don’t know what I was waiting for, they are incredible. And, looking towards warmer weather, I love a woven flat for office-appropriate closed-toed shoes, I’m considering these, or these (I think both will sell out!).
I want to wear this vest to work with trousers, and with denim shorts on the weekends. Maybe pair it with these sunnies too?
And, back to that wedding…these are the perfect event sandal (is my age showing in the fact that all the high heels I have in my closet make me cringe, and I need all new lower options!).
These are gonna be it this summer (look for less).
Can never have too many black pants and I love the waistline on these!
What is your favorite? What are you shopping for right now? Can’t wait to start wearing more spring-y outfits as the weather (FINALLY AMEN BABY) is cooperating. I don’t know if it’s the best season, but it is a GREAT TIME TO BE GETTING DRESSED and we’re going to be celebrating that.
ICYMI
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I’m on board that everything is free in a birthday month! Also, I’m about to be 38 and I always say I never aged a day past 27 in my mind haha. My mom agrees, she also feels 27! Has that been studied lol?
Happy Birthday! Dream post! So good! Also quick question- did you get the Cuyana bag with the insert? Coz I am thinking I need to/have to get the insert (??) but is it necessary or can one get by without the insert?