Beach all-inclusive resorts are not for everyone, but they are one of my favourite ways to vacation. As far as I’m concerned, nothing beats them when R&R is what you’re after. This trip marked my ninth (!) visit to the Yucatan peninsula since 2003 or so. I’ve been to all manner of resorts (from 3 stars and up) all up and down the Riviera Maya from Cancun itself down to Tulum. I love the area, its history, and all the attractions it offers. I’ve been alone, with girlfriends, with my husband (pre-kids), and with the whole extended family. Some of my favourite memories are of listening to the ocean waves, lying in some hammock or recliner, watching the palm tree leaves sway in the breeze. I don’t think I could be a beach bum all the time – the sun is my sworn enemy – but I like pretending to be one for a week every now and then.

I used to put a lot of thought into my resort wear, but that was before kids. Nowadays, every time I go, I pare down my clothes packing a little bit more. As previous posts would attest, I would rather save my luggage allowance for books and personal care items. [I don’t splurge on resort spa services, so I like having my own products at hand with which to pamper myself.] For this trip, I pared down the previous year’s list and the only reason why I ended up taking even as much as I did is because I was excited to have a chance to wear some of my summer dresses, finally.

Here’s what I took with me:

• 2 bikinis and 1 one-piece swimsuit (with an extra mix-and-match top and bottom);
• 2 cover-ups
• 2 jumpsuits
• 4 dresses
• 1 topper
• 2 pairs of sandals

We were there for 7 nights and 7 days and this was a perfect amount of items (not including travel clothes which I wore on the plane ride there and back). I re-wore some items, but still got enough variety to feel like I could dress up in the evenings, which I enjoy. I did end up borrowing a shawl from my mom for a couple of nights when the weather was a bit chillier than I expected but overall, I did pretty good. Here are the deets:

Notes: I got this Body Glove bikini at Winners for under $30 and I love it. My previous fave bikini, which I had for over a decade, was also from this brand. I find their cuts super flattering and the quality is great for the price point.

Notes: This was one of my 2 cover-ups, a thrifted MaxMara linen blend tunic. I love wearing linen at the beach, it’s nice and breezy and who cares about wrinkles.

Notes: This thrifted Orientiques dress was perfect for casual daytime resort wear. I hate wearing wet swimwear for any length of time, so I like to change as soon as I leave the beach. I wore this dress every day for the couple of hours between the morning and the afternoon beach shifts.

Notes: This was another Winners find. While I loved the colour and found the overall fit sufficiently accommodating for my long torso, the cutouts were a bit of a pain. I worried a bit about having a wardrobe malfunction in the bust area, but luckily it didn’t happen. It was the perfect colour to match the ocean too.

Notes: This was one of mix-and-match options, featuring the Body Glove bikini bottom and a top I bought at Nordstrom Last Chance in Phoenix a couple of years ago. They don’t really match all that much but, by the afternoon, with a gin bear under my belt, it didn’t matter.

Notes: This was probably my fave outfit of the whole week. The Rachel Zoe linen jumpsuit was an impulse buy at Winners last year. I adore the rust-red colour and the fit. It works so well with this Floreat wrap I bought at the Wardrobe Exchange secondhand market last year, not to mention my fave pearl necklace.

Notes: White is a risky choice to wear to a buffet but I like living on the edge. Besides, I don’t get enough chances to wear this Ulla Johnson dress and the white eyelet seemed perfect for the tropical setting. I kept things simple with a pair of colourful Melody Ehsani earrings.

Notes: At the opposite side of the spectrum was this Ted Baker maxi dress I thrifted last year. It’s not really my usual style but it’s a fun Boho chic beach vacation option. I’m on the fence whether to keep this long term or not.

Notes: Another fun, summery frock with bonus built-in bling. I thrifted this Moulinette Soeurs dress last year because I couldn’t resist the gorgeous embroidered neckline. It was a good decision. My mom said this reminded her of stars in the night sky.

Notes: Last but not least, I wore this Bailey44 jumpsuit twice. It’s so easy to accessorize, you guys – AND perfectly comfortable for a night at the buffet.

And that’s a wrap on my Spring 2020 beach vacation. Back to real life … and the rest of my closet!

A new year, another FabFitFun box subscription. In my last FFF post, I mentioned I was debating whether or not to renew my subscription. Well – belated spoiler alert – I did. I enjoyed 3 out of the 4 boxes I got last year, and still use many of the products regularly; others went on to become presents for friends and family. In the long run, there may come a point where the box contents start being too much of “same old, same old” but for now I still enjoy the process of trying new products and discovering new brands I like.
On to the Spring 2020 box.

Superficial comment: this was one of my favourite box designs. I love butterflies. My daughter likes to use these boxes to build additions to her dollhouse. I also like to keep them around in case I have something to ship out.

Compared to the Winter 2019 box, this was very nicely organized inside. Again, it’s superficial but FFF is a splurge for me, and nice packaging adds to the experience. I did initially feel like this box was “lighter” than usual (and, indeed, they added a ‘false bottom’ to the box to make it appear shallower so that it wouldn’t look too empty) but I think it was mostly a function of my selections. There were 8 products in total, which is standard I think.

I am very pumped about these straws. I have been wanting to buy some reusable straws for ages, but never got around to it. These come with a cleaner brush and a travel case, which is very handy. They were not a customization (i.e. something I could specifically choose), but I am not sure if they came in every box. FFF is doing something new now, it seems, where they select your “extra” items for you from a list of options. The other options in this category were a mascara (not my thing) and a body wash (meh), so I am happy I ended up with the straws as they would have been my pick.
Retail price: $15USD

This was another FFF pick, and one I wasn’t initially too excited about. However, the only other option in this category was a face mask, and I got a ton of other face products in this box (and in general) so the body cream was a better pick for me. Plus, it was the perfect size to take with me to Mexico.
Retail price: $40

This was a customizable option, and I struggled with it a bit. This category included a couple of other products I was interested in, including a gravity eye mask. Reading the reviews for the latter, however, I found out that it supposedly works best for people who sleep on their backs. I sleep on my side, so I decided against it. Another option was a coin necklace by Amber Sceats, but after a disappointing experience in a past box, I have sworn off jewelry when it comes to FFF. So I chose the Cosmedix vitamin C powder as a default; it’s one of those products I will try at some point – and hopefully will like it.
Retail price: $54USD.

This was another FFF pick, which I was happy to get (although I would have liked to try the Winky Lux lip balm which also came in this category, as well). I had heard good things about Purlisse, and having tried it, I like this mask. It’s a sort of cross between a mask and a scrub. I haven’t used it long enough to know if it makes any visible difference, but it smells nice, feel refreshing and doesn’t irritate my skin, so it’s a win for me.
Retail price: $35USD.

This was a customizable option, and I debated between the brush and the Imperial Jade body oil. I chose this, ultimately, because I wanted to upgrade my daughter’s hairbrush. She has super long hair (which she adamantly refuses to cut) and it’s fine, abundant, and easily tangled. Brushing it is a constant challenge and her old Trolls hairbrush wasn’t cutting it. This brush wasn’t very impressive at first, but once I started using it, my tune changed. This thing gets the tangles out without the usual whining, and that is no mean feat. Consider me impressed.
Retail price: $35USD

This was part of the toughest category, choice-wise. Other options included some packing cubes (I love these for travel), a Tarte moisturizer, and a Tarte highlighter set. The packing cubes were the most attractive option initially, but I decided against paying the additional $15USD to add them as an extra to my box because, after applying the exchange rate, I figured I could get a similar pack on Amazon or at IKEA for much less. I know Calpak is a nicer brand and this set looked very cute, but my current IKEA packing cubes work just fine so I will probably buy more of those in the near future; we seem to need more and more every time we travel as a family, sigh.
Anyway, I ended up choosing this radiance booster in hopes that it would be similar to the Rodial Soft Drops primer I got in my last box and which has become a go-to product for me. Also, did I mention it supposedly retails for $135USD? I am NEVER going to buy a skin product that costs that much, so I figured this would be my one chance to check it out.
Retail price: $135

The selection in this category was slim for me – I wasn’t at all interested in the eyeliner or the salt & pepper mills. This speaker was a default choice, but one that proved quite popular at home. My whole family loves this thing! My husband already has plans to steal it come summer, for use in this vintage car (which doesn’t have a real sound system). It’s awesome. Only caveat is that the rechargeable battery life seems to be fairly short.
Retail value: $25USD.

This was the one product I was most excited about, even though I expect it’s just a gimmicky gadget. I was initially concerned because directions suggested it should not be used with products that may cause light sensitivity, and I know that retinoids (which I use regularly) can cause that. After looking into it a bit more, it sounds like it’s not an issue as long as you don’t use the retinoid immediately prior to using the Glo device. To be on the safe side, I plan to use it on alternate days when I don’t apply my retinoid. I’ll post an update once I’ve had a chance to see how it works.
Retail: $68USD.

And that’s the box. Overall, I am quite pleased with it and happy to have renewed my subscription. I am already looking forward to my next box – hopefully, the trend continues.

It’s spring! Well, perhaps not technically … and perhaps not meteorologically either … yet … but spring is a state of mind, after all. And in my mind, what comes after February is SPRING. Which means that I am happier than I have been since, oh, the end of August. Things are looking brighter again, and I can look back on the past month with a measure of indulgence – not that I have a lot to hold against it. February was ok. Nothing too exciting happened, but neither did anything too terrible. The new year is already 2 months old, which is a bit of a mind f*ck because, seriously, where is all the time going and why is it going so fast? Yes, we are talking about winter, which is the least fun kind of time to be had, but still. At this stage of my life, I am loathe to squander any time, even the most “blah” kind. Not to get too graphic with you, but if life were a bone, I’d be the person trying to crunch down to the marrow.

Oh: in case you were wondering, I am still having a mid-life crisis. It feels less critical, but it’s still simmering. Will this be the spring of my discontent? I hope not. Because as the above suggests, all I want to do is enjoy my life to the fullest; and part of that means getting over the fear that it’s all slipping away from me while I’m trying to figure out what it’s all about.

Anywaaaaaay. Clothes:

Not a particularly vibrant month but some colour did manage to sneak in. Lots of good silhouettes happening. I do feel like I’ll be in the mood for something more, umm, exuberant next month. Maybe not florals, but something equally (non) groundbreaking for spring. As I alluded to in a recent post, I’ve been thrifting up a storm; consequently, I have been editing my wardrobe like mad because, unlike the universe, closet space does not expand. [Don’t @ me, physicists. I’m trying to make a funny.] I have lots of new-to-me pieces to experiment with, which is fun and exciting, but I am having some trouble figuring out what needs to go, which is less fun. I always feel better when I know that my old favourites are going to good new homes (I know it’s silly to get emotionally attached to clothes, but nobody’s perfect, yeah?), so it may be time to look into another clothing sale event. This would loosely tie into some long-term plans that I’ve been mulling over lately, so it will be near the top of my agenda in March.

Hope your spring is off to a great start!