Cheryl Shops

We're slightly more than halfway through 2025, and what a year it's been so far. In all honesty, 2025 started out as a complete dumpster fire for me, but thankfully things have been on the upswing the last few months and I'm hopeful the second half of the year will continue to be even better. One weird thing, however, is that the weather in San Francisco has been abysmal this summer—it's only hit 70 degrees once, and most days are foggy and cold (like under 60 degrees cold—so Sean and I haven't been shooting as much as we'd like. Fingers crossed things will get better, because I have a few cute things I'd like to show you. But in the meantime, I thought I'd take a look back at the year so far and see what both you and I have been loving in terms of content. Here's the best of 2025 so far. 

I recently started working in an office for the first time in five years, and I realized that on those days, my skin could probably use a little extra help. I really haven't worn foundation in years, but the harsh fluorescents lights in my workplace definitely don't do any favors for my pores or broken capillaries. I don't like anything heavy—I have very dry skin and thick foundation does not sink in very well—so I tend to prefer lighter, more blendable formulas. It also happens to be summer right now, so when I'm warm and sweaty, I really want something that lets my skin breathe. I've been testing a bunch of products lately in search of the perfect no-makeup look for summer; here are my favorite lightweight options. 

Confession: in the last five years or so, I have bought and eventually sold or given away at least five pairs of wide-leg white pants or jeans. I don’t know why this cut is so tricky to get right, but I have a feeling it has something to do with the color white—which can be a challenge especially on the lower half of one’s body—coupled with the fact that for a wide-leg silhouette, the fabric either has to be very fluid or very stiff, and anything in the middle can be a disaster. Like many women, I struggle to see my lower half with compassion, so I tend to be incredibly picky with what I wear on it. Because the color white reflects lights and often makes things seem bigger than they are, this can be especially problematic in regard to white pants. That said, when it comes to pants, there is one brand I trust more than most, and that is Spanx. When they offered to send me a pair of their upgraded stretch twill wide leg pants, I of course jumped at the chance. While I received these pants for free, the following are my honest and unfiltered opinions. 

The first thought I had while starting to write this post was, "Wait, how is it already time for the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale?!" Is it me or is this year flying by? The second thought I had was that this year's selection was a bit...underwhelming. People have been complaining about the decline in offerings for years now—most commonly that there's not enough quality merch, and the good stuff tends to sell out in the first day or two, when only high-spending cardholders are allowed to shop—and I was honestly a bit worried, given that Nordstrom has a new owner. It's true, the sale has changed over the years: It used to be where I'd jump on statement pieces like coats, boots, and sweaters for the upcoming season, but it's evolved into more of a way to replenish your basics at good prices. That has definitely become my strategy—more on that below—but after a thorough examination of literally everything that's on sale this year, I got pretty excited for the 2025 event. First, here are my top picks for this year's Nordstrom Anniversary Sale.