Two of my longtime series that have been Bows & Sequins reader favorites over the years will now be on Substack! Both Friday Finds and WIWLW: What I Wore Last Week will now live here. Since Substack feels like old-school blogging to me, it makes perfect sense.
Over the last year, I turned Friday Finds into more of an email newsletter where I shared my Rose & Thorn from the week, as well as what Iām looking forward to. You can still join my email newsletter here, but the weekly Rose & Thorn series will also now live here on Substack.
THIS WEEK'S ROSE(S) š¹
I went to hot yoga for the first time in probably six months and it felt SO GOOD! The studio I go to is so dark inside, candlelit, with loud beats, and you move to the music. And itās heated with infrared heat! Itās truly my happy place and Iām kicking myself for accidentally taking six months off. Granted, I donāt have the same craving to go when itās hot outside, but it felt incredible to be back!
THIS WEEK'S THORN šŖ”
Dave and I had kind of an āoff week.ā Is that a thing? Nothing bad, but I guess just a few hard conversations that were ultimately good to have, but definitely not fun at the moment and very emotionally/mentally draining.
WHAT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO āØ
SINGLE JESS, BABY! Maybe thatās a bad joke after my āthorn.ā No, Dave and I did not break up. But heās on a guys trip this weekend and I am SO FREAKING EXCITED to have the house to myself for three days.
I was chatting with Instagram Subscribers about this earlier this week, but I cannot put into words how much I love alone time. In my opinion, thereās truly nothing better than having the house to yourself. For whatever reason, being by myself resets my nervous system in a way that nothing else can. Itās beyond therapeutic for me!
Since Dave and I both work from home 100% of the time, I rarely get the house to myself. Dave was joking with me last night about a Curb episode where Jeff canāt hide his excitement Susie is going out of town. I donāt watch the show, but I linked the clip. Apparently, she cancels her trip because of how excited he is to get rid of her for a few days. š Thankfully Dave is already on the ground in NYC so I donāt have to worry about that!
Have a great weekend, friends! xo
Friday Finds
Friday Finds has also been called Sunday Scrolls at some point over the years on the blog, usually depending on which day of the week I had more time to post.
Everything on here is something Iāve come across this weekā¦ My favorite things from around the web.
Honestly, compiling this weekly list is a way for me to sort of clean up my screenshots each week. My toxic trait is that Iām a digital hoarder. Full stop. I have almost 116k photos and videos on my phone, and almost 31,000 of those are screenshots. I think itās partially a Virgo thing with always having #receipts, but Iām always trying to clean them up. (Which generally just looks like transferring them into the notes section of my phone, which is also a colossal clusterf*ck.)
Here are this weekās findsā¦
Things to Browse & Read
Meghanās Parisian-inspired apartment is GORGEOUS. I absolutely love what sheās done with her place!
I loved reading Evaās words about her recent move. āNo feeling is final.ā
Things to Shop
Last week on IG, I shared a few holiday finds from Old Navy! Old Navy's new arrivals are CA-UTE and we love to see it. ā¤ļø You know Iāve always been an Old Navy stan. This sequin maxi skirt was sold out by the time I posted it, but itās BACK IN STOCK today and 35% off. Itās a stretchy velvet material covered in sequins, but fully lined with the softest jersey fabric. Itās SO good! IMO, itās pretty big in the waist, so I ended up sizing down.
Another festive Old Navy findā¦ This fair isle cardigan. I have the 2021 version (in both red and navy), but they brought it back in a similar style this year.
I feel like I quickly realized in high school that strapless was not the silhouette for my upper body. I remember comparing my four prom photos and realizing halter was way more flattering on my shoulders. Anyway, Iāve seen so many people style this strapless top and it looks SO cute, but Iām hesitant to order it because I know I donāt love strapless on me. Iāve seen it styled with both jeans and leather pants and it looks fab! Itās available in more sizes here, but I think that this sleeveless top is probably more my speed. Cute way to get the look with a different neckline!
Did some damage on Amazon this weekā¦ First, I stocked up on my favorite holiday scent. Canāt wait to start burning this around the house! It comes in a glass jar with pine needles, a pretty metallic jar, and even a ceramic jar.
Then, I found the crystal-embellished flat motherlode. I ordered both these Khaite dupes and these Loeffler Randall wannabes. They take a few weeks to ship so Iāll keep you posted, but I have very high hopes.
Speaking of shoes, these suede knee boots are at the tip top of my wish list.
Nike is running a 25% off promo until tomorrow! Use code ACCESS. I did a little damage there, tooā¦ Grabbed these sneakers, these sneakers, and a brown sweat set (this top + these pants). I also had these, these, and these in my cart, but, you know, budgeting. š³ I saved more of my favorites here if youāre in the mood for some new kicks and/or athleisure!
Things to Cook
āCookā is a stretch, but I want to make these rose-shaped orange ice cubes for Thanksgiving next week! Since traveling to Italy with Daveās family last year, we love having an Aperol Spritz before dinner and I feel like theyāre a festive little addition for the holidays.
Love the candid Thorn - very relatable with my relationship (5 years in and going strong, but doesn't mean we don't have 'off' times!) and reassuring to know it's normal for everyone. Hope you had an incredible solo weekend and good start to the new week :)
Wow that strapless top with the buttons is cute and I donāt normally like strapless anything! I sew and I wonder if I could figure out how to make this myself!? All it would take is a strapless dress pattern. š¤ I hope you donāt have any more thorns like this week for a good while. š