WHOA! Where did the year go?! 2018 was a great one and it sure did fly by. 😀
We are so excited for New Year’s Eve because we have our annual group date night and sleepover tradition tonight with our besties! We go to a really fancy dinner, have some super yummy drinks and then come back to change into pjs’s ring in the New Year with a sleepover and more drinks haha. What better way to start the first day of the year than waking up to your bestie’s faces haha! We have a 1.5 liter bottle of champagne that will surely be enjoyed 😆
This year brought so many wonderful memories and I cannot wait to see what 2019 has in store! I hope when you reflect on 2018, you have an abundance of fun memories to soak in.
Last year I wrote this blog post highlighting my favorite purchases for 2017. Since it’s continuously one of my top read blog posts each month, I figured I’d curate one for my favorite 2018 purchases!
While buying our first home was definitely my favorite purchase for 2018, there were some much smaller ones that were great too that you’ll find below that I think you may enjoy as well. Xo Mindy
GUCCI DISCO SOHO CROSSBODY
I enjoy this crossbody so much that I did my first ever designer handbag review on it this past fall which you can read HERE. While the price tag is steep, when it comes to designer handbags I’d say this one is the most worth the money due to the versatility and quality.
My favorite aspects are the color, size and structure. The color is so gorgeous and is what originally drew me to the handbag years ago. Having any bag in a neutral color like this allows you to wear it all year round.
I’d say at first glance, you wouldn’t think size or structure would be the leading description words fort his bag, but they really are! While this appears like a small crossbody, the depth of it allows it to fit a deceptively impressive amount of things. Plus, the inside has a zipper and pocket area allowing for more organization compared to other crossbody I’ve owned.
SHOP: GUCCI CROSSBODY
READ: ORIGINAL BLOG POST, HANDBAG FULL REVIEW
ARTIFACT UPRISING WEDDING ALBUM
In this day of age, we tend to leave pictures digitally and not print as often as we used to. Wedding pictures are much too special to just keep on a USB drive!
In addition to framing photos for our home, I wanted to create a wedding album. There is just something about curating a selection of your most favorite wedding photos and bundling them into one gorgeous book to look back on.
Every time I open our wedding album, my tummy gets my wedding morning butterflies all over again! We looked through it on our first anniversary and think that will be a tradition with each that comes. I get so giddy thinking of sharing this wedding album with our future babies Ah!
If you’re a bride-to-be or newlywed, I cannot suggest Artifact Uprising enough. I have a full review HERE. The creation process is a breeze. The quality is the best on the market. And it’s such a wonderful way to store memories from your wedding day.
SHOP: WEDDING ALBUM C/O ARTIFACT UPRISING
READ: ORIGINAL ARTIFACT UPRISING REVIEW BLOG POST
PMD MICRODERMABRASION TOOL
While I reviewed my microneedling tool this year, I haven’t gotten to providing you an in-depth look at my favorite skin tool of the year – the PMD Microdermabrasion tool.
To start microdermabrasion is a professional-grade form of exfoliation where a pressurized jet, full of ultrafine aluminum oxide crystals, scours away dead skin cells that daily face washing, and even Clarisonic devices, don’t remove. Then it vacuums the leftovers away! The PMD Personal Microderm is the at-home version of the machine and the closest you’ll get to a spa treatment at home.
As for results, this device will fade sun spots, wrinkles and pore size.
SHOP: PMD MICRODERM TOOL
SERENA AND LILY RATTAN BAR STOOLS
My favorite product purchase of all 2018! Ahh! I really believe that your surroundings greatly effect your mood, so I always want to create a relaxing, comfortable aesthetic and environment with pieces we truly love. And boy, do I <3 these!
I’ve eyed these Parisian barstools even before we were thinking of buying a house. Once our offer was accepted, I was started mocking up design boards and immediately incorporated these. They are so cute and remind me of our Paris honeymoon.
Since our kitchen is white and our moonstone granite has a lot of grey, we bought the ‘fog’ hue.
They are also super comfy! The design of the seat makes them surprisingly way comfier than our previous upholstered barstools.
As for customer service, Serena and Lily was outstanding and I’d order from them again and again. I mean – I want the entire catalogue, but my CPA husband may not want that lol.
SHOP: SERENA & LILY RATTAN BARSTOOLS
RING HOME SECURITY SYSTEM
I’m still over the moon to have partnered with Ring on the home security for our home. We use our entire system every single day and cannot suggest it enough for any other home owners out there. I have a blog post dedicated to the system and the exact products we have HERE.
At a high level, we love the secure feeling Ring has brought to our lives. The part I hated most about apartment living is that I didn’t know how my furball was when we were away.
In our Boston apartment, a condo two floors under us caught on fire one day and we weren’t contacted, briefed on the cause or anything. We technically lived in a condo, so while our landlords were absolutely amazing and are now lifelong friends, the property managers that mange the property were so horrible. All that to say, I am relieved to have 24 hours emergency dispatch and a full home security system to have a piece of mind that my furbaby is safe whether I’m in a different state or just working across town at my office.
The more lighthearted benefits of package deliveries, being able to see visitors and monitor every inch of your home from all angles when you’re away are so great!
SHOP:VIDEO DOORBELL PROÂ c/o IÂ SPOTLIGHT CAM BATTERY POWEREDÂ c/o IÂ FLOODLIGHT CAM BATTERY POWEREDÂ c/o IÂ RING ALARMÂ c/o [includes base, keypad, contact sensor, motion detector and range extender] c/o IÂ PROFESSIONAL MONITORING SYSTEMÂ c/o
READ: 5 WAYS RING HOME SECURITY SYSTEM MAKES OUR LIVES EASIER
SHOP MY FAVORITE 2018 PURCHASES
CASLON PEPLUM TEE
I lived in this adorable knit tee all summer long! You know those clothing pieces you love so much, ya buy it up in every color? That’s this!
The cute peplum detailing rings an otherwise standard knit tee up a notch. It’s so feminine and just so cute!
SHOP: CASLON PEPLUM TEE [RUNS LARGE, GO DOWN ONE SIZE]
READ: THE CUTEST PEPLUM TEE
INVISIBOBBLE HAIR TIES
Look at that pony volume! In addition to that, these Invisibobble hair ties don’t leave crinkles like tradition hair ties do so you can spend less time restyling your hair in between washes.
I wear them all the time for working out and for keeping my hair up while I sleep all without getting major creasing.
I first discovered these by Santa Servello himself. S sticks these in my Christmas stockings 😆 I stick them into birthday packages for my girlfriends al the time!
SHOP: INVISIBOLBBLE, ALSO HERE
READ: 4 TIPS FOR STAYING COMMITTED TO YOUR WOK OUT
NIKE IWATCH
I’m not a tech junkie.. at all. With that, I never thought I’d like a smart watch! But here I am two years of owning one later, and I wear it every single day. I cannot imagine not having the push it gives me to move my booty and the data it provides! While there are so many benefits to having the iWatch, my top two are:
-Work out insights: After having a fitness tracking watch, it seems silly to work our without one! Without tracking our output, you don’t know what you exerted during your work out and have no benchmarks for the future to push yourself. At lest that’s me because I’m super data drive.
I originally actually started with the FitBit Blaze [and other than the looks], loved it! Starting with something from the FitBit product suite will allow you to see if this iWatch investment is something you’ll enjoy and stick with. After wearing my FitBit all through wedding prep, I invested in the Nike+ iWatch.
-Extra push: Some days I realize I have only drank 30 ounces of water. Some days I realize I haven’t moved from my cubicle in five hours. Some days I realize I’ve taken only 200 steps due to working from home. My iWatch sends me alerts on this data, plus more, that inspires me to get my booty movin’!
I purchased the larger 42MM size [I have 32MM] for S’ birthday and he’s glued to his watch too 😉
READ: IWATCH SERIES 3 REVIEW
BLANKNYC DENIM SKIRT
Oh boy – this skirt is a winner! I lived in Hollister denim skirts in high school and college. Post-college I figured my belly button shouldn’t be for all to see and butt cheeks shouldn’t be on the verge of showing 😉 I had ordered and returned a bunch of denim skirts in the years that passed because the fits were just off.
Some were too short, but a great rise. Some were a great length, but baggy at the belly. Some were such stiff denim, when you sat down you felt like you were vacuum packed. Some were just too expensive for the lack of quality.
Then I found this gem! This is what I’d call the best denim skirt. It’s a mid rise, great length, under $100, perfect wash all with just the right amount of structure and stretch.
Every girl needs a cute denim skirt in her closet and this is the only one you’ll need!
SHOP: BLANKNYC DENIM SKIRT [GO UP ONE SIZE IF YOU HAVE HIPS LIKE ME!]
READ: TRANSITIONING YOUR DENIM SKIRT THROUGH FALL WITH A DUSTER
URBAN OUTFITTERS THERMAL TOP
The world’s best thermal top. I love this top so much, that I own it in just about every color now. Why? It’s just so cozy, but also makes you feel put together!
In New England, you honestly hit a time during the winter wear fashion goes out the window and you just gotta survive to be warm, lol. At least with this top, you can wear your fleece lined leggings, fluffy Ugg boots and thick winter jacket, but still know I’m sorta cute underneath all the layers.
Not only that, but it’s super versatile! I’ve paired this top with anything from distressed denim, lounge pants, leggings and even denim shorts in the summer time.
Throw on this cutie bralette and you dress it up a notch!
SHOP: THERMAL TOP [RUNS TTS] I LACE BRALETTE [RUNS TTS] I SLIPPERS [RUN TTS, 30% OFF!] I GOLD EARRINGS
ETSY DOOR WREATH
One of my most common DMs this year? Where this wreath is from! IT’s off Etsy from a super cute shop that you can shop HERE.
Before you close on your house, you have this month+ span of time where you’re so excited, but can’t really do anything! Even though it’s so tempting, I didn’t want to purchase any furniture before we moved in. Furniture is expensive [and sending it back is even more so] so I didn’t want to buy things just to have them there. I wanted to wait to invest in products we really love that truly fItS our homes aesthetic that would come to be after living there.
Instead, to celebrate I treated us to a really nice front door wreath and a custom front door mat. That helped get my home decor excitement bug out all while making product choices that we won’t regret!
SHOP: ETSY DOOR WREATH [XL SIZE]
PELOTON
No surprise here! S and I are obsessed with our Peloton. After two months, I’m 50 rides in and cannot wait to see how much we use it in 2019. With this time of year, I’ve sorta been allowing my Peloton work outs to negate the holiday sweets lol so that habit has come to an end. We have a half marathon booked for June, so we’ll be using this to strength cross train and build up endurance!
I have a whole review dedicated to it HERE that you can read through.
If you are already sold on buying a Peloton, you can use code ‘Â ‘RGBPMX‘ for $100 off accessories with any bike purchase.
READ: PELOTON REVIEW + DISCOUNT CODE
SHOP FAVORITE PURCHASES FROM 2018
