low-buy update 1 year later

Last year I made a goal to wear the things I have and try to only focus on wishlist items and I mostly succeeded! But did I keep up with a low buy in 2023? Not really unfortunately. I bought quite a few things. I did try to keep it to basics I felt were missing in my wardrobe, things that had been on my wishlist for a while that I got second hand, or purchases from indie brands. I still feel pretty good about my level of purchasing lolita items this year, I think I ended up going a little more to make up for not buying as much last year. I do track my clothing spending (all clothing spending) on a spread sheet because I want to see where my money on clothes is going and what I'm buying at what prices.

Bibliotheca: Wishlists and Dream Dresses!

This January Bibliotheca theme is wishlists and dream dresses. I'm going to combine them a bit here and talk about my current wishlist and all of my dream dresses over the years (some of which I own now and a few that have yet to be acquired!)

Tea Review Round Up!

Phew! I did it! All the current standalone(ish) tea places in the bay that I can reasonably get to! It was definitely a journey and I do still love afternoon tea but I think I'll take a pause for a bit unless there's a particularly good theme that someone hosts.

Remember this is only my experience one time and my personal tastes/bias. There's quite a few things (like not preferring smoked salmon, favoring flavored black tea, and being located in the peninsula) that will definitely skew my reviews and ratings. If you live in a different part of the bay area or value different things in your tea experience you'll probably have a different rating than me and that's ok! I'd recommend looking at both my individual review of a place for a more detailed description and other yelp or google reviews to see which you would like to try. 

And without further ado, The List!

8/10: Leland Tea Company

8/10: Dartealing Lounge

8/10: Crown and Crumpet

7.9/10: Pardee Home

7.8/10: Sip Tea Room

7.8/10: Masion Danel

7.6/10: Malaya Tea Room

7.5/10: Lovejoys

7.5/10: Chelo Tea House

7.5/10: Tea Time

7.5/10: The Rotunda 

7.35/10: RoyalTEA Garden

7.3/10: Tyme for Tea

7.25/10: iChina

7.2/10: Lisa's Tea Treasures

7.2/10: Son and Garden

7.1/10 Jade Chocolates 

6.8/10: Dainteas

Honorable mentions that aren't in the bay area:

7.1/10: Casting Whimsy, Woodstock, IL

6.5/10: The Tea Terrace, Las Vegas, NV

Thank you all for coming on my tea review journey with me! It was a lot to do in one year but I am really glad I did it and can now have a more definitive answer for which tea places in the bay area are my favorites 💖