One minute it was April and I was moving out back out to Charlotte and in a blink of an eye it's the end of August, WHERE DID THE TIME GO??
Pearl Romper (old print) || Purse || Watch || Earrings (old, but love this and this pair!) || Shoes || Ring
Hi friends!
If you're a Lilly lover then I know you're on the lookout for two important dates each year, the After Party Sale. If you're not familiar with the After Party Sale, it's a sale, Lilly Pulitzer has twice a year (one usually in January and another usually in August) where they offer past season pieces for discounted prices. Since Lilly doesn't have sales throughout the year, these two sales are your best bet for purchasing Lilly Pulitzer pieces for a great price. If you want more in-depth information on the After Party Sale, I wrote a whole blog post a couple years ago breaking down exactly what the sale is and some tips I picked up over the years.
Today I want to share some of my tips on how I tackle the After Party Sale on a budget. As many of you know, the After Party Sale is the I use to stock up on my Lilly pieces since I normally can't afford them at full price. As much as I want every new and brightly colored piece added to my wardrobe as soon as it comes out, my wallet doesn't seem to be on board with that idea.
Related: Lilly Pulitzer Sizing Guide
1. Set a budget
I know it can be easy to get caught up in the excitement of a sale. I mean, so many pieces are at a discounted price and there's an urgency to purchase something before it sells out. I get it. To help make sure I don't overspend I usually give myself a set budget and try my best not to go over it (hey, sometimes we just have to treat ourselves to an extra dress we've been eyeing it for ages). Since Lilly has been dropping new pieces in their sell throughout the duration of the sale, I tend to make multiple transactions. To keep up with everything I tend to make note of it all on my phone.
2. Evaluate your closet
How many times have you purchased a piece only to realize that you have something similar in your closet already? It happens. To avoid spending your money on pieces you already have, take inventory of what you have beforehand. Also, this is a great time to sit down and really think about the type of pieces you need to fill out your wardrobe. I know that this year I'm in need of more pieces that I can wear to work so I'm focusing more on work dresses and tops.
Related: Lilly Pulitzer Sizing Guide 2.0
3. Make a list
Kinda pigging back off of the last tip, but make a wishlist of pieces you want to keep you on track. I know it's a little hard to try and predict what pieces are actually going to be in the sale, but you can pretty much bet on the classics such as Mila Shifts, Popovers, Callahan Shorts and Elsas. Also, make note of past seasons prints you've been eyeing as well. This will help you keep focused on what to purchase during the sale and not feel so overwhelmed.
4. Be realistic
I know being on a budget I really want to try and purchase pieces I know I'm going to get a lot of wear out of. With that being said. I know as much as I love fun and embellished dresses and rompers, I'm not going to wear them unless I have an occasion I'm shopping for. With that in mind, I'm focusing more on pieces I'm about to wear for work this year.
And there you have it, my top tips on how I tackle the After Party Sale on a budget. Even at After Party Sale prices Lilly pieces are still a bit of a splurge, but it's the one sale that I tend to save up a little extra for. I remember being a freshman in college and hearing about Lilly Pulitzer for the first time and wishing I could afford to wear the bright and colorful pieces I saw online. Now that I've been able to make my own money to treat myself to these pieces every once and a while, I can't help but be happy every time I wear them.
I hope you all found these tips helpful! As far as when the After Party Sale will be announced, my best guess would end of this week or the week after Labor Day weekend. Be sure to follow Lilly Pultizer on their social media to find out when it'll be officially announced!
Are you excited for the sale? If so, when do you think it'll be and what are you hoping to score? Let me know in the comments down below and thank you for reading!
xoxo,
Amy
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I feel like the business casual game has changed a lot over the years. Gone are the days of only wearing crisp white button-down shirts and solid black pixie pants. Although there's nothing wrong with sporting the basics, it's exciting to know that there are so many different style options available now to allow us to express our own style.
Hi friends!
As many of you know by now, I started a new job back at the end of April and since then I've slowly been trying to grow my work wardrobe. Even though I was a business major and had to dress up for presentations and had internships, I never really had a solid business casual wardrobe. I've stated on the blog before that my office is pretty casual, but I still like to dress on the business casual side (look good, feel good, am I right?).
As of late, I've been really into sporting color and prints for work. I'm pretty notorious for showing up in palm printed pants or any and all things Lilly Pulitzer... I mean, if I'm going to be sitting at a desk staring at spreadsheets all day I might as well do it looking like a tropical vacation, right? Also, for someone who's into fashion and style, I love experimenting with different styles and trends for work.
Lately, the paper bag pants trend has been super popular lately and I knew I wanted to pick some up for my work wardrobe. I had heard Gentry of Girl Meets Bow rave about these pants from Amazon on her stories and I figured I'd give them a try... I'm hooked.
For one, the pants are nice and lightweight which is ideal for the hot Charlotte weather we've been having lately and they're also not see-through. Ordering from Amazon is always hit or mess with their quality, and my biggest issue is that many of the items are see-through. I've worn these pants twice now and they've held up through the wash and have already put in an order for a second pair in a slate color.
I can totally see myself pairing this with a classic white button-down for when it gets cooler or with other graphic tees like I've done here for a more casual vibe. How would you style these pants? Also, where are your favorite places to buy workwear that won't break the bank? I'm excited to start sharing more workwear inspo for you all! I hope you liked the post and as always, thank you for reading!
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Hi friends!
As many of you know by now, I started a new job back at the end of April and since then I've slowly been trying to grow my work wardrobe. Even though I was a business major and had to dress up for presentations and had internships, I never really had a solid business casual wardrobe. I've stated on the blog before that my office is pretty casual, but I still like to dress on the business casual side (look good, feel good, am I right?).
As of late, I've been really into sporting color and prints for work. I'm pretty notorious for showing up in palm printed pants or any and all things Lilly Pulitzer... I mean, if I'm going to be sitting at a desk staring at spreadsheets all day I might as well do it looking like a tropical vacation, right? Also, for someone who's into fashion and style, I love experimenting with different styles and trends for work.
For one, the pants are nice and lightweight which is ideal for the hot Charlotte weather we've been having lately and they're also not see-through. Ordering from Amazon is always hit or mess with their quality, and my biggest issue is that many of the items are see-through. I've worn these pants twice now and they've held up through the wash and have already put in an order for a second pair in a slate color.
xoxo,
Amy
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It seems like the topic of diversity in the media has been popping up a lot lately. To be more specific, the topic of Asian American representation has been getting more attention within the past year than it ever has before. I guess it can be credited to films like Crazy Rich Asians, To All the Boys I Loved Before, Always be my Maybe, Boa, and now, The Farewell for starting these conversations. For someone who has been a little ashamed of being the "Chinese girl" growing up, it's been pretty cool to see more representation of Asians in the media.
Hi Friends!
Welcome to the first official post in my #AMYIRL series, a series where I break down the perfectly filtered walls and dive into more personal topics with you all. To learn more about this series, be sure to check out this post. I figured what would be a better way to start off the series than to dive right in on talking about what it's like growing up as an Asian-American from my perspective.
So, let's rewind a bit.
I had touched a couple of times on my blog that both of my parents had immigrated to the United States at a young age and were able to provide a life for my brother and me here in America. I grew up in a very small southern town where there was barely any diversity, my family was the only Asian family in our town up until middle school, which in a way forced my brother and me to become more Americanized than my parents would have liked. Despite the fact that my black hair and olive skin stood out like a sore thumb among a school of fair-skinned blondes and brunettes, I thankfully never had to go through any severe bullying growing up.
For the most part, going through elementary school, I didn't realize I was different than all my other classmates. I mean, I took naps and played skip-it just like all the other kids on the playground. Nothing seemed out of the normal to me. As I got older I did begin to question why no one else at school had black hair like me, why no else knew what a hóngbāo was, why I wasn't allowed to sleepover at my friend's house and even why doesn't everyone else eat rice with every meal?
Middle school is a tough period in life for anyone in general. Everyone just wants to fit in, you're hitting puberty, going through awkward stages in life and in a way you're starting to figure out who you are. I guess I never really knew I was different until a boy in 6th grade asked me why I had a "normal" sounding name because he thought all Chinese people were named after the sound a spoon makes when you drop it.
I have always gone by Amy in school and was really only called my Chinese name by extended family or when I really got in trouble with my mom. I didn't really think much of it up until that point but since that instance, I made it a point to not let anyone know that I had a Chinese name. I didn't want to be different.
Like I had stated earlier, I was lucky in the fact that I never had to go through any severe bullying for being Asian, but I did have my fair share of kids slanting their eyes back to look like me or the constant "but where are you really from?" questions. I can't exactly pinpoint when I started to resent being Asian, but I distinctly remember one day at dinner I had gotten into an argument with my mom on why we had to eat rice all the time and why we couldn't be like normal families to which she replied "so you just don't want to be Asian anymore?"
Fast forward to college.
I'm in a new city, going to a new school, being thrown into a pool of new and diverse classmates. Finally, I'm able to step out of my comfort zone and meet new people. Except, I didn't. To be honest, I strayed away from joining The Asian Student Association because I didn't want to seem like one of those "Asian people who only hung out with Asians." Even being in a new city I was still ashamed of being seen as "different."
Despite being in a new city filled with a diverse pool of people, I still found myself closing myself off and limiting myself to a small group of people from my hometown. As the years went on in college, I found myself being more and more distant from my culture. I didn’t make it a priority to go home for Chinese New Year, I stopped eating Chinese food, and I was barely in touch with my family. It had gotten to a point where I was embarrassed to visit my relatives because I had unintentionally distance myself for so long that I didn’t want to be made fun of for being so Americanized now. I mean, even “calling” my relatives by the appropriate Chinese names seemed so foreign to me.
I remember moving back from Florida and decided to take the plunge into dating again. I mean, I had to get myself out there eventually, right? To put it out there, I haven't dated another Asian before (due to the lack of diversity in my town), and it never really crossed my mind to. Two dating apps and a few duds later I found myself eventually going on a date with a total of two Asian guys. Before each one of those dates, I couldn't help but think "What will they think when they find out I don't speak Chinese?" "What if they think I'm too Westernized?" "What the heck is mahjong?" I know I should have known better than to have already had those thoughts invade my brain, but if you grew up with Asians parents, you know.
It wasn't until I went up north to Philadelphia last year for a family trip that I really realized how much I pushed away my culture. My family up north is a lot more traditional than my family in the south. I couldn't help but feel embarrassed as I sit there silent as my extended family exchanged foreign words in front of me or when we would go out for dim sum and I barely knew what any of the dishes were.
For the longest time, I couldn't really put my finger on exactly why I felt the way I did or pushed back from being Chinese as much as I did until I came across this Twitter thread and I had to do a double to take to make sure I didn't accidentally write it myself in my sleep. I think the line that resonated with me the most was “It’s a race to reclaim everything you’ve hated about yourself. For the 1st time, you want to be Chinese.” I came across that tweet about a year ago and it’s stuck with me since. I hate how it’s taken me 23 years to want to be someone that I’ve been this entire time.
Even though I had this tweet in the back of my mind and have watched Crazy Rich Asians ten times since it came out, nothing really clicked until I found myself back in Philly for the second time in five years.
I had never been to a funeral until this past March. Visiting Philly this time felt like a culture shock. Between the ceremony preparations, trying to learn all of the traditions to follow, and going to Ching Ming for the first time in 20-years, I was overwhelmed. I couldn’t help but get emotional and guilty over the thought of “I could have” the whole time. I could have made more of an effort growing up to learn Chinese so I could communicate with her more. I could have made time to visit and be around family more. I could have put myself out there to hang around with other Asians and be more appreciative of my culture...
So, why? Why did I spend the last 15 minutes of your life breaking down my life story?
Because I think there needs to be more discussion on this weird cultural limbo. I grew up most of my life in this weird in-between of not being "Asian enough" for my family but not "White enough" for my peers. Every time someone would ask if I could speak Chinese I would always be embarrassed to say no, to which they follow up by asking if I was adopted since that would be the logical reason why I couldn't speak it, right?
Society likes to make things into two clean categories. You’re an American or you’re an immigrant. You’re a FOB or you’re whitewashed. You’re dark, you’re light. But, what about those of us in the middle?
I had always felt guilty being so disconnected from my culture but at the same time, it was a little inevitable since I did grow up in America. I think one of the more difficult parts about being in this cultural limbo is trying to find the balance between respecting your parents and honoring tradition but at the same time living your own life and taking on the Western mindset. I'm sure many other cultures that have immigrated here as well have experienced this too, but the Immigrant Asian / Asian - American pull is difficult. My parents and I don't always see eye to eye and I know that many issues in regards to my career, relationships, education, etc are always being in question.
So, what's next?
Even though I can’t rewind time and give myself the realization earlier that you don’t have to shed half of you to conform to the other half, I can try to at least make an effort to move forward to make it all balanced. I want to keep the discussion going. Part of the reason why I even had any sort of wake up call was that I watched Crazy Rich Asians for the first time in theatres. You never realize the lack of representation until it’s finally given to you.
When I was thinking about getting back into blogging I told myself I wanted my space to be more than just cute outfit pictures. Continuing the discussion on Asian American representation has been on my mind a lot lately and I want to be part of the conversation. I also wanted to share my experiences in hopes of showing that it’s ok to be lost in this weird cultural pull. I know it would have helped me when I was younger if I knew there was someone else out there who felt the same.
Now to throw it all back to you. Are you a child of immigrants or feel like you're in a weird cultural limbo? Let's start a discussion down below! I know this post is very different than what I typically post here, but I really want to help start the conversation about this. I hope you all enjoyed my novel and as always, thank you for reading.
Welcome to the first official post in my #AMYIRL series, a series where I break down the perfectly filtered walls and dive into more personal topics with you all. To learn more about this series, be sure to check out this post. I figured what would be a better way to start off the series than to dive right in on talking about what it's like growing up as an Asian-American from my perspective.
*Disclaimer: this post is a lot longer than my usual blog posts. I suggest grabbing a snack before we dive in.
So, let's rewind a bit.
I had touched a couple of times on my blog that both of my parents had immigrated to the United States at a young age and were able to provide a life for my brother and me here in America. I grew up in a very small southern town where there was barely any diversity, my family was the only Asian family in our town up until middle school, which in a way forced my brother and me to become more Americanized than my parents would have liked. Despite the fact that my black hair and olive skin stood out like a sore thumb among a school of fair-skinned blondes and brunettes, I thankfully never had to go through any severe bullying growing up.
For the most part, going through elementary school, I didn't realize I was different than all my other classmates. I mean, I took naps and played skip-it just like all the other kids on the playground. Nothing seemed out of the normal to me. As I got older I did begin to question why no one else at school had black hair like me, why no else knew what a hóngbāo was, why I wasn't allowed to sleepover at my friend's house and even why doesn't everyone else eat rice with every meal?
Middle school is a tough period in life for anyone in general. Everyone just wants to fit in, you're hitting puberty, going through awkward stages in life and in a way you're starting to figure out who you are. I guess I never really knew I was different until a boy in 6th grade asked me why I had a "normal" sounding name because he thought all Chinese people were named after the sound a spoon makes when you drop it.
I have always gone by Amy in school and was really only called my Chinese name by extended family or when I really got in trouble with my mom. I didn't really think much of it up until that point but since that instance, I made it a point to not let anyone know that I had a Chinese name. I didn't want to be different.
Like I had stated earlier, I was lucky in the fact that I never had to go through any severe bullying for being Asian, but I did have my fair share of kids slanting their eyes back to look like me or the constant "but where are you really from?" questions. I can't exactly pinpoint when I started to resent being Asian, but I distinctly remember one day at dinner I had gotten into an argument with my mom on why we had to eat rice all the time and why we couldn't be like normal families to which she replied "so you just don't want to be Asian anymore?"
Fast forward to college.
I'm in a new city, going to a new school, being thrown into a pool of new and diverse classmates. Finally, I'm able to step out of my comfort zone and meet new people. Except, I didn't. To be honest, I strayed away from joining The Asian Student Association because I didn't want to seem like one of those "Asian people who only hung out with Asians." Even being in a new city I was still ashamed of being seen as "different."
Despite being in a new city filled with a diverse pool of people, I still found myself closing myself off and limiting myself to a small group of people from my hometown. As the years went on in college, I found myself being more and more distant from my culture. I didn’t make it a priority to go home for Chinese New Year, I stopped eating Chinese food, and I was barely in touch with my family. It had gotten to a point where I was embarrassed to visit my relatives because I had unintentionally distance myself for so long that I didn’t want to be made fun of for being so Americanized now. I mean, even “calling” my relatives by the appropriate Chinese names seemed so foreign to me.
I remember moving back from Florida and decided to take the plunge into dating again. I mean, I had to get myself out there eventually, right? To put it out there, I haven't dated another Asian before (due to the lack of diversity in my town), and it never really crossed my mind to. Two dating apps and a few duds later I found myself eventually going on a date with a total of two Asian guys. Before each one of those dates, I couldn't help but think "What will they think when they find out I don't speak Chinese?" "What if they think I'm too Westernized?" "What the heck is mahjong?" I know I should have known better than to have already had those thoughts invade my brain, but if you grew up with Asians parents, you know.
It wasn't until I went up north to Philadelphia last year for a family trip that I really realized how much I pushed away my culture. My family up north is a lot more traditional than my family in the south. I couldn't help but feel embarrassed as I sit there silent as my extended family exchanged foreign words in front of me or when we would go out for dim sum and I barely knew what any of the dishes were.
For the longest time, I couldn't really put my finger on exactly why I felt the way I did or pushed back from being Chinese as much as I did until I came across this Twitter thread and I had to do a double to take to make sure I didn't accidentally write it myself in my sleep. I think the line that resonated with me the most was “It’s a race to reclaim everything you’ve hated about yourself. For the 1st time, you want to be Chinese.” I came across that tweet about a year ago and it’s stuck with me since. I hate how it’s taken me 23 years to want to be someone that I’ve been this entire time.
Even though I had this tweet in the back of my mind and have watched Crazy Rich Asians ten times since it came out, nothing really clicked until I found myself back in Philly for the second time in five years.
I had never been to a funeral until this past March. Visiting Philly this time felt like a culture shock. Between the ceremony preparations, trying to learn all of the traditions to follow, and going to Ching Ming for the first time in 20-years, I was overwhelmed. I couldn’t help but get emotional and guilty over the thought of “I could have” the whole time. I could have made more of an effort growing up to learn Chinese so I could communicate with her more. I could have made time to visit and be around family more. I could have put myself out there to hang around with other Asians and be more appreciative of my culture...
Because I think there needs to be more discussion on this weird cultural limbo. I grew up most of my life in this weird in-between of not being "Asian enough" for my family but not "White enough" for my peers. Every time someone would ask if I could speak Chinese I would always be embarrassed to say no, to which they follow up by asking if I was adopted since that would be the logical reason why I couldn't speak it, right?
Society likes to make things into two clean categories. You’re an American or you’re an immigrant. You’re a FOB or you’re whitewashed. You’re dark, you’re light. But, what about those of us in the middle?
I had always felt guilty being so disconnected from my culture but at the same time, it was a little inevitable since I did grow up in America. I think one of the more difficult parts about being in this cultural limbo is trying to find the balance between respecting your parents and honoring tradition but at the same time living your own life and taking on the Western mindset. I'm sure many other cultures that have immigrated here as well have experienced this too, but the Immigrant Asian / Asian - American pull is difficult. My parents and I don't always see eye to eye and I know that many issues in regards to my career, relationships, education, etc are always being in question.
Even though I can’t rewind time and give myself the realization earlier that you don’t have to shed half of you to conform to the other half, I can try to at least make an effort to move forward to make it all balanced. I want to keep the discussion going. Part of the reason why I even had any sort of wake up call was that I watched Crazy Rich Asians for the first time in theatres. You never realize the lack of representation until it’s finally given to you.
When I was thinking about getting back into blogging I told myself I wanted my space to be more than just cute outfit pictures. Continuing the discussion on Asian American representation has been on my mind a lot lately and I want to be part of the conversation. I also wanted to share my experiences in hopes of showing that it’s ok to be lost in this weird cultural pull. I know it would have helped me when I was younger if I knew there was someone else out there who felt the same.
Now to throw it all back to you. Are you a child of immigrants or feel like you're in a weird cultural limbo? Let's start a discussion down below! I know this post is very different than what I typically post here, but I really want to help start the conversation about this. I hope you all enjoyed my novel and as always, thank you for reading.
Xoxo,
Amy
I think it comes to no surprise that I love the city. I thrive in living in urban areas where it takes you 30 minutes to drive 5 miles down the road and 5'oclock traffic is an actual thing. There's something about being somewhere where there's such a large diversity of people hustling every day to reach their goals... and the countless food options are a major plus.
Spoiler alert: my favorite color is pink.
Romper || Heels (taller version linked) || Sunglasses || Purse || Watch || Earrings (similar here and here) || Daisy Ring
Hi friends!
I'm pretty sure it's no surprise to anyone that pink, especially pastel pink/blush/light pink/rose gold (lol all the shades) is my favorite color. I mean, my old blog name was Pastel N Pink! There's something so feminine and girly about the color I'm just drawn to. I mean, from my shoes to my watch, rings and overall romper itself in this blog post it's clear to see I have a color preference.
The funny thing about me liking the color pink is that growing up I hated the color. I wanted nothing to do with it and would refuse to wear it. Granted I went through a tomboy phase, but it's funny how life pans out.
I had recently read an Instagram post by Amy of Amy Believes in Pink (funny coincidence, huh?) on how she started her blog based on the color pink and how the color pink can represent so many different things: sweet, romantic, feminine, strong, bold, and so on... and it's so true! I think the reason why I've gravitated so much to the color is that it symbolizes everything I want to embody. Even just wearing the color instant makes me happy and gives me a little extra boosted confidence. Funny how a color can do that, huh?
But enough on my pink obsession, I do want to quickly touch on this romper! This is one of those Amazon Prime finds I've been seeing float around Instagram for a while and decided to see what the hype was all about. What drew me to this romper the most was the ruffled sleeves. You all know I have this white ruffled blouse from SheIn that I wear all. the. time. and the sleeves on this romper had the same, less dramatic look.
This romper is a nice lightweight linen material that's perfect for the hot Carolina summer we've been having lately. I had ordered a medium and it overall fits pretty well. My only complaint is the shorts are a tad too short and tend to ride up a little, but nothing major. I will also add that the drawstring waist is not functional and just there for looks, but the romper does have pockets so I guess that evens everything out, right? For less than $30 I think this is a great summer date night piece paired with heels and a fun pair of earrings like I've shown here. I also think you could dress this down with a denim jacket and white converse!
Photos by: Deeana Kourtney Photography
Now to throw it back to you all! What is your favorite color and why? I'd love to know down below if you feel some kind of connection to pink like I do (maybe I'm just crazy, who knows) or you just simply like it because it's pretty. Let me know!
I hope you all enjoyed this post and as always, thank you for reading!
xoxo,
Amy
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I'm sure you all have seen the ads on Twitter, deals on Facebook, Influencers sharing it on Instagram Stories, YouTubers doing plugs of it in their Vlogs... everywhere. You know, the "get $80 off your first month!" HelloFresh ads. I'm not going to lie, I kept ignoring them thinking that I don't need to add another subscription service onto my account, and plus, is it really worth the hype?
Well, I eventually caved, and here are my thoughts.
Well, I eventually caved, and here are my thoughts.
Hi friends!
If you read my July Monthly wrap-up post last week then you may know that I have started ordering HelloFresh boxes last month to try out. I have been seeing the ad for this meal delivery service everywhere (props to their marketing team, am I right?) for a while now and decided to cave in and try it out for myself. I've done about three boxes now and thought it'd be helpful to give you all my honest reviews of the service.
This is by no means sponsored and I know it would have been helpful for me to get an unbiased insight on the service beforehand. I hope this helps you all out that may be curious about HelloFresh / on the fence about trying it out!
ABOUT HELLOFRESH
If you are not familiar with HelloFresh, Hellofresh is a meal subscription service that delivers ready-to-cook recipes to your doorstep. The main selling point for HelloFresh is that each recipe comes with perfectly portioned ingredients so you eliminate the waste of going out to buy one ingredient for a recipe and never using it again.
When you sign up for the service you begin with choosing what type of meal plan you'd like with your preferences such as meat & veggies, vegetarian, family-friendly, or calorie smart along with the number of people you are feeding and how many recipes per week you'd like to be delivered. You do have the option to make specific dietary preferences such as recipes that are beef-free, gluten-free, etc.
The different plans HelloFresh offer include:
After you make choose your plan, you are able to choose which meals you'd like to be delivered to you. The service automatically chooses your meals for you, but you have the option to go in and select specific recipes as well. The menu changes every week and you are able to skip weeks if you don't like the menu/don't want the service for that week.
I will say, HelloFresh does offer a nice variety of meals to choose from each week. They have a variety of Asian, Mexican, and American food options as well as calorie smart meals and gourmet meals for an additional cost. They also offer the option to add on additional items such as cookies and garlic bread for an additional cost as well as an option to add an additional recipe to your plan for that week.
THE GOODS
Now diving into the actual contents of the box. Each box comes filled with insulation and massive ice packs to ensure your food stays fresh. Not going to lie, having to dispose of all of the packaging is kind of a pain, but the ice packs did come in handy when moving my brother out and transferring his food!
Another thing to keep in mind is that the box does not include the cooking basics such as olive oil, salt, pepper, and oil. I will tell you ahead, you will use all of these in pretty much every recipe. I also recommend making sure you have a zester on hand as well. Most of the recipes we chose require some type of lemon or lime to be zested into our dish.
THE COOKING PROCESS
As for the cooking process, each meal comes with a recipe card with step-by-step instructions and pictures. Everything is pretty easy to follow and according to the recipe card, each recipe should take about 30 minutes to make. I wouldn't pay too much attention to the cooking time, especially if you're cooking by yourself. My boyfriend and I usually do the HelloFresh boxes together as a little date night and it still tends to take a little longer than the recipe cards state that it would take even with the both of us cooking.
*Pro Tip: Save all the recipe cards for the future! I keep mine in a binder and pull them out when we want to recreate the recipe or a sauce from it!
Okay, now for the actual review portion of this post!
1. Conveniently portioned + Easy cooking instructions - First off, being someone who wants to try new recipes and get into cooking more, this box is pretty ideal. I love how each recipe is perfectly portioned out with easy cooking instructions and all of the ingredients have been pretty fresh, as advertised. Also, everything we've made has been delicious which is pretty important for a meal service!
2. Easy to cancel/skip each week - I also love how you can easily skip each week that you're not feeling any of the meals or if you just simply don't want to pay for the service that week. Also, if you realize the service just isn't you or if you want to just put a pause on the service for a while you can easily cancel the membership with a click of a button, unlike many subscription services where you have to call customer service. To reactive it's just as easy, you just have to click a button.
3. Good gateway to try new recipes - We've been there, we pin all of these recipes on Pinterest in hopes that one day we'll recreate them. I tend o get sucked into this recipe rut because I'm always hesitant about trying new recipes that require me to buy an ingredient that I'm not sure if I would ever use again. I will say from this there are several things I would definitely recreate again in the future.
If you read my July Monthly wrap-up post last week then you may know that I have started ordering HelloFresh boxes last month to try out. I have been seeing the ad for this meal delivery service everywhere (props to their marketing team, am I right?) for a while now and decided to cave in and try it out for myself. I've done about three boxes now and thought it'd be helpful to give you all my honest reviews of the service.
This is by no means sponsored and I know it would have been helpful for me to get an unbiased insight on the service beforehand. I hope this helps you all out that may be curious about HelloFresh / on the fence about trying it out!
Pictured: Spiced Dijon Salmon with Couscous and Apple Salad
ABOUT HELLOFRESH
If you are not familiar with HelloFresh, Hellofresh is a meal subscription service that delivers ready-to-cook recipes to your doorstep. The main selling point for HelloFresh is that each recipe comes with perfectly portioned ingredients so you eliminate the waste of going out to buy one ingredient for a recipe and never using it again.
When you sign up for the service you begin with choosing what type of meal plan you'd like with your preferences such as meat & veggies, vegetarian, family-friendly, or calorie smart along with the number of people you are feeding and how many recipes per week you'd like to be delivered. You do have the option to make specific dietary preferences such as recipes that are beef-free, gluten-free, etc.
The different plans HelloFresh offer include:
- Classic plan for two people: three meals for $69, four meals for $84.99, five meals for $99
- Family plan for four people: two meals for $79.95, three meals for $105 or $8.75 per meal, per person
- Veggie plan for two people and two meals for $59, four people and three meals for $109
Pictured: Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken with Truffled Chive Mashed Potatoes and Lemony Green Beans *gourmet meal*
After you make choose your plan, you are able to choose which meals you'd like to be delivered to you. The service automatically chooses your meals for you, but you have the option to go in and select specific recipes as well. The menu changes every week and you are able to skip weeks if you don't like the menu/don't want the service for that week.
I will say, HelloFresh does offer a nice variety of meals to choose from each week. They have a variety of Asian, Mexican, and American food options as well as calorie smart meals and gourmet meals for an additional cost. They also offer the option to add on additional items such as cookies and garlic bread for an additional cost as well as an option to add an additional recipe to your plan for that week.
HelloFresh does offer an app and I do recommend downloading it as it makes it easier to navigate through picking your meals and when you are ready to cook, there are timers set to each step which makes it convenient.
Pictured: Chimichurri Pork Tenderloin with Honey-Roasted Carrots and Lime Rice
THE GOODS
Now diving into the actual contents of the box. Each box comes filled with insulation and massive ice packs to ensure your food stays fresh. Not going to lie, having to dispose of all of the packaging is kind of a pain, but the ice packs did come in handy when moving my brother out and transferring his food!
Another thing to keep in mind is that the box does not include the cooking basics such as olive oil, salt, pepper, and oil. I will tell you ahead, you will use all of these in pretty much every recipe. I also recommend making sure you have a zester on hand as well. Most of the recipes we chose require some type of lemon or lime to be zested into our dish.
Pictured: Southwest Tilapia with Charred Corn Salad and Buttery Lime Rice
THE COOKING PROCESS
As for the cooking process, each meal comes with a recipe card with step-by-step instructions and pictures. Everything is pretty easy to follow and according to the recipe card, each recipe should take about 30 minutes to make. I wouldn't pay too much attention to the cooking time, especially if you're cooking by yourself. My boyfriend and I usually do the HelloFresh boxes together as a little date night and it still tends to take a little longer than the recipe cards state that it would take even with the both of us cooking.
*Pro Tip: Save all the recipe cards for the future! I keep mine in a binder and pull them out when we want to recreate the recipe or a sauce from it!
Pictured: Brown Sugar-Glazed Pork Chops with Garlic Herb Couscous and Roasted Zucchini
REVIEW: PROS
Okay, now for the actual review portion of this post!
1. Conveniently portioned + Easy cooking instructions - First off, being someone who wants to try new recipes and get into cooking more, this box is pretty ideal. I love how each recipe is perfectly portioned out with easy cooking instructions and all of the ingredients have been pretty fresh, as advertised. Also, everything we've made has been delicious which is pretty important for a meal service!
2. Easy to cancel/skip each week - I also love how you can easily skip each week that you're not feeling any of the meals or if you just simply don't want to pay for the service that week. Also, if you realize the service just isn't you or if you want to just put a pause on the service for a while you can easily cancel the membership with a click of a button, unlike many subscription services where you have to call customer service. To reactive it's just as easy, you just have to click a button.
3. Good gateway to try new recipes - We've been there, we pin all of these recipes on Pinterest in hopes that one day we'll recreate them. I tend o get sucked into this recipe rut because I'm always hesitant about trying new recipes that require me to buy an ingredient that I'm not sure if I would ever use again. I will say from this there are several things I would definitely recreate again in the future.
Pictured: Parmesan-Crusted Chicken with Creamy Tomato Spaghetti
REVIEW: CONS
1. The price - first and foremost, my biggest con with this service is the price. At a little over $60 for three meals for two people, it seems a bit much for me, personally. I guess it's at which perspective you look at it though. My boyfriend and I use HelloFresh as a date night activity where we get to spend time cooking together and share a bottle of wine. From that perspective then $20 a meal isn't that bad of a deal considering we'd spend more if we were to do date night out at a restaurant. On the flip side, with $60 I'm able to do grocery shopping for a whole week with breakfast, lunch, and dinner plus snacks. Considering I tried HelloFresh with a coupon and was able to get the boxes for about $30 each making it roughly $10/meal it seemed more worth it for me.
2. There's a lot of packaging - I've mentioned earlier that the box comes with a lot of packaging with the ice packs, insulation, individually wrapped ingredients, etc that there's a lot of *stuff* to dispose of. I do understand the purpose of all the packaging, but it is a bit annoying having to dispose of all of it.
3. No option for a single meal plan - The smallest meal plan that HelloFresh offers is two meals for two people. Depending on what meals you pick, this could work out if you wanted to order the service for yourself and have leftovers. This isn't that big of a con, only if you're not into leftover meals!
4. Having to plan time for delivery - for the service, you do have an option to pick which day you'd like your HelloFresh box to be delivered. I work your typical 9 - 5, Monday - Friday, and opt for a Saturday delivery since I'm more likely to be at home to bring the box inside. I will say it can be a little inconvenient having to wait around for the box to be delivered since it doesn't give you a time frame of when it will be dropped off, and even though with the ice packs and insulation it could potentially sit out on your doorstep for a little, the idea of food sitting outside for a period of time doesn't sit well with me.
3. No option for a single meal plan - The smallest meal plan that HelloFresh offers is two meals for two people. Depending on what meals you pick, this could work out if you wanted to order the service for yourself and have leftovers. This isn't that big of a con, only if you're not into leftover meals!
4. Having to plan time for delivery - for the service, you do have an option to pick which day you'd like your HelloFresh box to be delivered. I work your typical 9 - 5, Monday - Friday, and opt for a Saturday delivery since I'm more likely to be at home to bring the box inside. I will say it can be a little inconvenient having to wait around for the box to be delivered since it doesn't give you a time frame of when it will be dropped off, and even though with the ice packs and insulation it could potentially sit out on your doorstep for a little, the idea of food sitting outside for a period of time doesn't sit well with me.
Pictured: Amazing Apricot Chicken with Fingerling Potatoes and Green Beans
FINAL VERDICT:
I think it is clear to say that I'm a fan of HelloFresh. I love the convenience of not having to fight the Sunday night grocery crowd trying to figure out what meals I'm going to make for the week and having to lug arm fulls of groceries up three flights of stairs (#truth). I also think it's super fun to step out of your comfort zone and try new recipes and ingredients that you would normally not gravitate towards (who knew that I would like pork chops?!).
My biggest con with the service is the price. From a business standpoint, I get why it costs so much, but I'm not at the point to be comfortable spending $60+ on a box every week for dinner. I did mention that I did do the service on a first-timer $80 off coupon which is why I've been able to do as many boxes as I did. I may consider ordering a box once a month or a special occasion to switch things up for date night or if I especially love the recipe for the week, but definitely don't see this as a regular occurrence, at least for now.
I think it is clear to say that I'm a fan of HelloFresh. I love the convenience of not having to fight the Sunday night grocery crowd trying to figure out what meals I'm going to make for the week and having to lug arm fulls of groceries up three flights of stairs (#truth). I also think it's super fun to step out of your comfort zone and try new recipes and ingredients that you would normally not gravitate towards (who knew that I would like pork chops?!).
My biggest con with the service is the price. From a business standpoint, I get why it costs so much, but I'm not at the point to be comfortable spending $60+ on a box every week for dinner. I did mention that I did do the service on a first-timer $80 off coupon which is why I've been able to do as many boxes as I did. I may consider ordering a box once a month or a special occasion to switch things up for date night or if I especially love the recipe for the week, but definitely don't see this as a regular occurrence, at least for now.
Gourmet meals, is it worth it?
Out of all our meals, we did try one gourmet meal, the Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken with Truffled Chive Mashed Potatoes and Lemony Green Beans (second photo). What made this a *gourmet meal* was the truffle powder included in the mashed potatoes. This was an additional $5.99/person and to be honest, I don't think it was quite worth it. We've yet to try another gourmet meal, but so far none of the recipes that are marked as gourmet seemed to interest me / worth it to me.
Pictured: Pulled Pork Fiesta Bowls with Tomato Salsa, Bell Pepper, and Monterey Jack Cheese
So, now I'm throwing it to you guys! What do you think? Have you tried HelloFresh or any similar meal delivery service? If so let me know your thoughts down below! I think it is a cool concept and a fun way to learn new recipes, but I am interested in trying out the other meal services to compare. Leave me your suggestions down below and as always, thank you for reading!
*Non-sponsored plug: if you want to try HelloFresh, you can use my code: AMYLIM6 for $40 off your first box!
*Non-sponsored plug: if you want to try HelloFresh, you can use my code: AMYLIM6 for $40 off your first box!
xoxo,
Amy
Many of you know that I love Lilly Pulitzer. The bright colors and prints always make me so happy when I wear them and I just love the overall brand itself. I purchase most of my Lilly pieces during the After Party Sale due to the fact that Lilly pieces aren't cheap and it's the only way I'm able to afford them. Since the pieces in the APS are nonrefundable and still more of a splurge purchase for me, I always have to make sure I'm purchasing the correct size.
I do the majority of my APS shopping online and can know it's pretty tricky on trying to figure out what size to order. I always rely on reviews on sizing and fit to help make my decision when online shopping. Today I'm sharing another Lilly Pulitzer sizing guide with some new pieces in preparation of the second After Party Sale for 2019!
I do the majority of my APS shopping online and can know it's pretty tricky on trying to figure out what size to order. I always rely on reviews on sizing and fit to help make my decision when online shopping. Today I'm sharing another Lilly Pulitzer sizing guide with some new pieces in preparation of the second After Party Sale for 2019!
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