Let’s Be Real: Is Daily Harvest an Influencer-Only Cult Food Delivery Option?

According to my screen-time record on my iPhone I spend 8 hours a day on Instagram (It’s my job, don’t @ me, mom). so its no shock I’ve run into so many of those Daily Harvest adds. During one of the adds, I decided to swipe up and take a look. Surprisingly, it’s pretty affordable for normal people! I got 9 cups, weekly, for an intro cost of $45 ($65 after your first order). These are marketed for breakfast or lunch, but I’m mostly using them for dinner. I got a couple breakfast options, but prefer a savory breakfast and smoothies/ oatmeal just ain’t gonna cut it. Here’s what I ordered in my first box:

The best stuff:

Coconut Lemon bites: Not a huge fan of coconut that isn’t sweetened but wow yes to this. Great when you just need a quick little something sweet

Sweet Potato + Wild Rice hash: So good. We’re in a committed relationship now

Cauliflower Rice + Pesto: I’m not a pesto person, but this is amazing.

Mulberry + Dragon Fruit: This was an oat bowl and I’ve never had either of these fruits (cause who’s confident enough to pick up one of those dragon fruit things at the store?). Still not 100% sure what Dragon fruit tastes like, but love mulberry.

Everything I ordered was surprisingly pretty tasty good. For someone who literally only makes food for one person, these are fantastic. The serving sizes are great and everything you need to make it is already in the cup, just add water. Another great thing is it’s all plant based meals, which can be hard to make without buying a million different ingredients that go bad in 7 seconds. Truthfully, I will probably do this about 2X a month so that I have a variety of meals and I’m not overstocking my tiny fridge. Trader Joe’s freezer section has some competition.

Dating App Absolute Gems No. 4

Some real wild ones this week so let’s dive right in!!!! No time to waste:

 

I’m gonna go ahead and say you will never get an Uber with this guy.

 

Big words from a guy who literally took the time to put his own Zodiac in his bio.

This guy matched with me while my job title clearly states that I’m in Social Media?

I don’t know guys, I don’t think he’s gonna find anyone for his niche interests.

These were funny in 2014 for 5 minutes.

When your friend is way hotter than you so you have to cover his face with an emoji. I get it, I see you.

Even the Bumble bio has it’s limits.

 

Mystery, ladies, you ever heard of it?

 

 

And lastly, our Absolute Gem of the Week. I’m bestowing this honor on this guy for not taking the 7 seconds to google Shawn Mendes and then matching with me after I was incredibly snarky. God speed, king.

Let’s Be Real: Is Renting Your Clothes Actually Worth it?

Coming up on Fall and Winter, I have soooo many clothes. These two seasons are the longest and when, for whatever reason, I’ve bought the bulk of my clothes. I want new clothes, but the thought of having to put more sweaters in my suitcases for storage in the spring makes my skin itch. Enter clothing rental services.

Ive been wanting to try Rent the Runway Unlimited FOREVER. I love the idea of getting fancy clothes you can endlessly swap and make cool outfits, constantly. For $159 a month, it’s just not in the budget. It’s fantastic if you’re always buying clothes and usually spending more than that a month, but I’m definitely not. Recently, they added an option for $89 per month for 4 items a month. A better option for people like me, but I was still on the fence.

I came across this ad recently for a clothing rental service called Nuuly. It’s from the same company that does Urban Outfitters, Free People and Anthropologie. It’s super new and launched in July. It’s $69 a month for 6 pieces you can rent and return or buy for a discount (most of the time). Basically the same as RTR, but with more clothes for less money (which makes sense because they aren’t designer brands).

Since I had a good number of how many pieces in my box, I decided to build one full outfit I figured would go together. The next few pieces would be either things I liked but maybe wouldn’t buy or something different I wouldn’t normally wear. Here’s what was in my first box:

 

 

First thing I wore was the cheetah print romper. I figured it would be something I’d only be able to wear this month before it got too cold and I honestly wasn’t sure how it was gonna look on me. I surprisingly loved this piece. It ended up being so comfy, fit really well and the neckline was super flattering!

 

 

 

Next, was this snakeskin trench coat. I bought this to go with the neon turtleneck, but it ended up not looking that great. I really needed a white chunky turtleneck or something similar, but tried to pair it with what I had anyway. Loved this piece individually, but was really hard to style. With the right pieces, it would’ve been so much cooler.

Then, was the neon turtleneck shirt. Wouldn’t call this a sweater since it wasn’t super thick. I thought the material would’ve been thin, but it was actually not see-through while not being heavy. It looked really cool with on all black look!

 

Next, we have the Paige jacket. Mostly just got this because I was lusting after it. It ended up being another one that was a little hard to style. I felt like it really looked good with turtlenecks and thats about it. Still a gorgeous jacket and loved the print.

Last, but definitely not least, the patchwork flare jeans. I saw these and immediately had to try them. It was another risk because they could’ve not fit or been actually so weird in person but wow. These were so good I really wanted to keep them. Fortunately, the price tag kept me from that, I could get two more Nuuly boxes for the price of those pants alone. My only regret is that I didn’t wear them more!

If you can count, you’ll notice I left something out. The black pants with the ruffles were very underwhelming and fit weird. I’m a high waisted pants girl and these were not high enough for me, I need them boob level!!

I thought when I ordered this stuff “If I can wear 3 pieces out of all of these, it’ll be worth it.” Turns out, I found some stuff I really loved and took some style risks I wouldn’t have normally taken. That last sentence sounds like its a life changing thing and I’m a motivational speaker, but you get it.

Dating App Absolute Gems: No. 3

This week features a man that is definitely wearing a toupee and a new segment I’m calling “Absolute Gem of the Week.” Let’s get started:

 

Idk if my standards for men are too low, but I have never seen a drunk guy wash his face before bed. Let’s be honest, I can’t really recall a time I’ve ever seen a guy wash his face.

And on today’s episode of “holy shit, is that a toupee???”

Wow what a mystery, I’d love to be that lounge one day.

Ladies, red flag or deal breaker? This dude has absolutely no brain, but is probably a fun time.

Ugh, guys it’s fine. They’re just homies!!! Also probably the thing he’ll say after the 5th time he cheats on you with her.

 

I’m just gonna leave this one here. His entire profile was just pictures of food. Can’t bear to make fun of it, just bums me out. I hope he finds his food queen.

And last, but not least, this week’s #1 Absolute Gem. He deserved an entire screen recorded video for his profile. I can’t believe he’s single.

 

 

 

 

 

Dating App Absolute Gems: No. 2

And we’re back! Got a few very interesting convos that I just had to share, and one very rude suggestion from Hinge. Let’s go:

 

 

 

 This man does not know his own angles, lemme tell you.

 Scrolled down to find that this man was neither Obama OR Michelle. Shocked and confused.

 Never felt more connected to a person in my life.

 But Matthew, I have got to know what the hell a youth motivational speaker is.

 

 

 According to Hinge, this is the vibe I’m putting off on my dating profile??? Much to think about- Billy Ray Cyrus

At least girls have the decency to put music with their selfie videos!!!!!

 

  I mean no hey, hi, or how are you???At least pretend to be interested in my mind and not my brain. I reported him because I’m petty. Mom, if you’re reading this, don’t.

 

 First time I’ve ever been greeted like this and I didn’t hate it. Didn’t work out with us, but I’ll think about him always.

People Still Like Trader Joe’s Lists, Right?

I know people do these constantly, but its one of the few posts I’ll scroll through no matter whose it is. I’m always looking for new stuff to try, especially in the freezer section. There’s a combined Target and Trader Joe’s a few stop away from me, so basically that’s where 90% of my income is going these days. Let begin with the things I buy every time I go:

 

Cauliflower gnocchi: When will I have the dramatic glow-up that cauliflower has had? Pretty much all Trader Joe’s lists worth their salt have this on it. It’s as good as everyone says it is, but pro-tip put it in the oven with olive oil when cooking (trust me).

Organic Brown Rice Pasta: Does eating this make me feel healthy? Big Yes. Is it? Medium Yes. I’m not gluten free or afraid of bread anymore, thank god, but there was a time when I was. This is the pasta I would go with and now that I’m tight with bread again, it’s still my go-to. Mostly just because it’s actually good. Pasta that claims to be good for you is usually trash and basically dissolves in your mouth, no thanks. This one tastes like actual pasta, as it should.

Cauliflower Stir-Fry: Hitting you again with the cauliflower and I’m not done yet. This stuff has the luxury of cauliflower stir fry, without a million individual bags of frozen vegetables to buy. With corn, peppers, peas, ginger and sesame oil in one bag, all you need is soy sauce. Lots and lots of soy sauce,

Orange “Chicken”: I’ve become sort of a vegetarian in recent years. Not necessarily on purpose, but I’m just not a big meat eater anymore. This stuff is vegan and comes with a little sauce packet and it is divine! Put this with Cauli Stir-fry and you’ve got yourself a meal.

Kung Pao Cauliflower: How many cauliflower things can I buy? Many, many cauliflower things. I cook these for about 30 minutes in the oven and pour the sauce packet over them. Longer cook time, but worth the wait.

Dried Apricots, individual packets: I bought these once on a whim and I love them. I need everything to come in tiny serving sizes because I have no self control!! Tastes like candy, but with no added sugar.

Stuff that’s tried, tested, tasty, but not in the regular rotation:

Potato gnocchi stuffed with mozzarella and marinara sauce: These are basically grown-up pizza rolls and I’m not sorry about it. Put some cheese on top and you’ve got yourself an easy meal.

Vegan Pesto: I’m more of a red sauce gall myself, but wanted to try this out anyway. Tastes like normal, almost suspiciously good? If you’re cutting out dairy, this is a god one. If you aren’t, add goat cheese and put it on Cauliflower gnocchi to really lean into #health.

Candy Corn Popcorn: Candy corn, good. Popcorn, good. Candy corn popcorn, so delic. If you don’t like candy corn, let me live! And, alternatively, if you buy the autumn mix candy corn, don’t talk to me either.

 

Dating App Absolute Gems: The Weekly Roundup

As you’re all aware, I’m frequently on the dating apps. Some people say they don’t use them and to that I say, where does your validation from men come from? I’ve been sharing some things I’ve seen that are mostly what? and a little bit of why? and a dash of whomst mans is this? I’ve decided they really need their own post because they’re too good not to share everywhere, hence this weekly post was born. Let’s jump right into it:

  HATE when a guy is on a dating app and is clearly already in a relationship!! Ugh!!

 I have so many questions. How many times has he been asked to iron something by women? Apparently a lot since he had to add it to his profile

 Sir, this is a New York City.

 The bar for men is literally on the floor.

 

 And on today’s segment of I’m not sure if this is racist or I know nothing about Korea Town and it’s just mean??

 

 

 

Same PicNic energy.

 

 Yet another unattainable beauty standard for women!!!!!!

 

I’ll leave you all with this absolute gem of a conversation:

 

 

Only myself to blame with that one. Big Yike

 

Let’s Be Real: Should You Only Wash Your Hair Once a Week?

After doing a little research (I googled it), I’ve found some pretty conflicting info about how much you should be washing your hair. Apparently, how much you wash your hair depends on your hair type. If your hair is dry, no more than twice a week. If it’s oily, everyday is fine. If your hair is thick, once a week. If you’re a brunette, no more than twice a week. But what if you have oily, thick, brown hair? Good luck.

The censuses seems to be, less is more. The less you wash, the less you have to style it and the less chance for damage. My hair is naturally very oily or “greasy”, as I fondly, (not fondly), refer to it. Before the beautiful invention of dry shampoo, I used to just put on a headband and wash my hair every other day. Needless to say, I was first-world suffering. Since adding dry shampoo into my life, I’ve been able to wash my hair less and less. I try to go at least 3-ish days and day three was a bun day for sure. Recently, a combo of laziness and honestly just seeing how long I can go, I’ve been going longer and longer between washes. I’ve been doing a wash on Monday and then another towards the end of the week so I can appear to be fresh on the weekends. This past week, I went an entire 7 days without washing it. Here’s my true hollywood story:

Headbands are back and my dirty hair is thriving in the Blair Waldorf of it all. I recently got a bunch of really cute puffy velvet headbands and have been utilizing them to the max. Do they hurt? I’m not gonna lie to you, they give me headaches. So do a lot of other things: people who don’t text back fast enough, when its randomly 40 degrees and you wanted to wear shorts and a light jacket, when the subway doors don’t open for a long pause so you just stand there brimming with anticipation, someone taking a call on speaker in a public place etc. This headache is self-inflicted and I will endure pain for beauty!!

Dry. Sham. Poo. Obviously if this did not exist, I could not not wash my hair. It would drive me nuts. I will say after like day 3, you don’t need as much because it doesn’t, like, evaporate. It sticks around. My favorite is Dove, but it’s all about preference. Gives me the most volume and smells good.

Have good shampoo for when you do actually use it. I’m gonna level with you, my shampoo right now is crappy. It was cheap and I really needed some so I took what I could get. I have a very itchy scalp and dandruff issues, (TMI?) so I really need to switch. Thinking heavily about Function of Beauty again, but tbd.

On that note, probably also get a clarifying shampoo. What the heck is clarifying shampoo, Katie? Well I’ll tell you, dear reader. I discovered it the last time I went to get my hair cut (10 billion years ago) and I told my stylist that my hair looked so gross even though I had washed it that day. Apparently, jus regular ole shampoo doesn’t take all of the stuff out of your hair, so you need to use a clarifying shampoo. Go figure.

If you’re trying this, now is a great time. Hair + cooler weather = gorgeous hair for days. I don’t know what it is about fall/winter weather, probably the fact that you aren’t sweating anymore, but good hair is imminent. On day six of this journey it was about 40 degrees outside and for some reason my hair looked amazing (its also my featured image in the post thank you very much). If you’re even thinking about washing your hair less, this is a fabulous season to start. Also hello hat season!!!

Start slow. Go an extra day every now and then and work up to a full week without washes. Embrace a ponytail, a bun, a cute puffy headband. It’s better for your hair, better for good ole mother earth and saves some money.

 

Fall Trend Alert: Having Tiny Titties

DISCLAIMER:  I’m not coming for people with tiny boobs. We’re all given a certain amount and we may increase or decrease to our leisure, if you’re willing to pay for it. I would also like to point out that it is 10000X easier to add boob (pushup bra) than take boob away (there’s no “take boob away” bra).

However, when it comes to fashion lately, smaller boobs are more “stylish”. I can think of so many times where I’ve said, I can’t wear that because I have big boobs. I recently watched a IGTV video from an unnamed magazine company where they talked about trends for fall or things that they’re loving as far as clothes go. I would say about half of the things we’re very specifically tailored to people with absolutely nothing up top.

It seems that we always want to add more boob, but in clothing lately it’s trendy to just not have any boobs at all. Here’s some examples:

 Sweaters with just one button to close it, cute! On me? Suggestive.

Imagine trying to wear a bra with this–comical.

            The trend here seems to be tiny strings to hold your top closed. God forbid your boobs fall with gravity and aren’t inline with your eyeballs.

 

   This started trending on Instagram as everyone saying, “look at Katie Holmes being an influencer! So chic!” Instead of how it would be framed if she had my body which would be, “Katie Holmes wardrobe malfunction! Seems a little sloppy.”

 

 

Another trend I’d like to point out is the androgynous dressing, which basically means baggy-suit-wear-so-you-look-like-a-guy. A little easier to pull off, but I’m definitely still gonna look like a girl.

Without getting preachy or talking about something I very much don’t know anything about, this is part of larger issue with fashion. Everything is always made for people of a certain body type and looks wonky on anyone that doesn’t look like that. That’s why it’s cool that some brands now show you the same article of clothing on different body types.  But of course, high fashion and trends really aren’t there yet. Anyone who isn’t rail thin really isn’t considered in designing clothes, it’s always just made bigger in order to fit more bodies. And “thats the tea”, on that.

I Re-watched Sex and the City and It Changed How I Feel About Aiden

I’m Stanford!!!! This is the first time I’ve written in months and if you’re wondering why I’m writing this, of all things, I have no answers. I do, kinda, have a reason for this post.

So let’s go back, why am I re-watching Sex and the City for the 16 billionth time? I started listening to this new podcast called The Bradshaw Boys. It’s 3 straight guys watching Sex and the City for the first time (mostly) and then discussing it. Super hilarious and fun, highly recommend. At first, I wasn’t going to go back and watch the series with them since I’d already seen it multiple times. As they started going through the episodes, I really just couldn’t help myself and jumped in around Season 2.

One of the surprising things is the newfound annoyance with Carrie. I mean, come on girl, how are you trying to make this relationship with Big work if you never tell him how you feel about things? Every fight they ever have is about how she needs/wants something from him emotionally and is too scared to ask for it. This leads to her inevitable explosion and makes it a giant deal. I don’t wanna say the Big is innocent here, not at all. Anytime she does finally ask what the deal is, he’s usually super vague. I don’t, by any means, think their relationship is something to strive for. I do, however, get where she’s coming from a little. Personally, I find when I really like a guy; I hate bringing up any relationship talk. If you’ve been dating around a while, you sort of get the clue that when you bring that stuff up, it can blow up in your face. You either hear something you don’t like, or get rejected, and so it ends up just nagging you until you explode. I will say that sometimes when she does explode on him, it gets her the results she was looking for. For instance, when he doesn’t tell her he loves her in Season 2, she gets pissy and leaves him at a party. The next day, he actually says it over the phone. Thus, starting the cycle of silence, fight and reward. This is extremely toxic and pretty immature behavior, but I’ve been there. Should they have ended up together? No. You cant allow someone to treat you a certain way for X amount of months and then be surprised when they don’t get the hint that it’s not actually what you want.

I’ve never really been “big” on Big, but on the “Big vs. Aiden” debacle, I’ve always been Team Aiden. He was so sweet and soon much better than Big! I would argue Carrie was over correcting. By that, I mean she hated how badly she was treated by Big, so she went super left field. She needed the opposite of Big and she definitely got it. I always thought he was great, but in actuality, he’s kinda blah. He’s just there all the time. In her space and her life, but doesn’t really add anything. I don’t think he could ever actually hang out with her and her friends. He immediately tried to change her with the smoking thing. Literally all they do is lounge around her place being boring. We give “nice” guys such a huge pass, simply because they’re nice, but let’s please up the bar ladies. Maybe if we did, there’d be more nice guys to go around! Nice should be base level, what else does he have besides nice? I think Carrie stayed with him half of the time, just because he was nice, and then the rest of the time, just because she felt bad for him because he was nice. Think about when she first said, “I love you” to him. She said it right after he did and she had just cheated on him with Big. She didn’t love him, clearly. Also, they just truly did not mesh well. He didn’t like smokers; he liked the outdoors and loved staying in with his dog. She liked to party, smoke and be glamorous. She literally never went to a single party or outing when they were together, I mean what up with that? At least Big could keep up with her, her friends and her lifestyle. I get it nice is so refreshing. Dating a bunch of crappy dudes will really have you reaching for some boredom in your love life. It’s easier and you think that’ll mean predictability and that it’ll work out better. Spoiler alert, it doesn’t. Nice just translates to “I’m saving myself from getting hurt this time” which isn’t always the case, especially with Carrie.

It’s probably true that every time you watch a series again, you get something different out of it. You hopefully have different experiences all the time, so you watch things though a different perspective. I know Carrie’s overcorrecting because I’ve been there myself. On the Big vs. Aiden thing, I’m neither. I’m more of a Harry-Smith-Steve gal myself.