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Today: a corporate accounting manager working in manufacturing who makes $95,000 per year and spends some of her money this week on ice cream.

Occupation: Corporate Accounting Manager
Industry: Manufacturing
Age: 31
Location: St. Paul, MN
My Salary: $95,000
My Husband's Salary: $70,000
Paycheck Amount (2x/month): $2,866
My Husband's Paycheck Amount (2x/month): $1,831

Monthly Expenses
Mortgage: $2,145 (includes P&I, HO insurance, property taxes, and flood insurance)
Car Loan Payment: $325
Student Loan Payment: $0 (Mine are paid off, and my husband's education was paid by the GI Bill.)
Electric, Gas, Garbage & Water: ~$200
Internet: $69
Life Insurance: $292 (includes a combination of whole life with cash value and term)
Car Insurance: $180 (for both cars)
Netflix: $12
Hulu: $10
Preschool/Childcare: $1,200 (for two children)
HSA: $100 (My employer covers premiums and contributes $120.)
401(k): 6% of my salary (employer matches 3%), and same goes for my husband
Savings: $1,000 automatic transfers into a brokerage account. (We keep around $50,000 in checking and savings accounts for liquid savings, travel, and home improvement projects.)
My Daughters' Savings Accounts: $100 into each daughter's account, in addition to any money they receive as gifts. (I want to switch these over to education savings plans, but have not done so yet.)

Day One

7:30 a.m. — It's Sunday! I wake up for the day, thanks to my daughters (four-years-old and 14-months-old). My husband is already gone, as he is dropping my parents off at the airport this morning. I get the girls dressed and fed, then load them up to head to the grocery store to pick up our weekly order. Every Saturday, I plan our meals for the week and place an online order for pickup on Sunday morning. It is a lifesaver with a toddler and a baby, and it's free with any order over $100. We typically spend about $130/week on groceries. I have saved so much money by not aimlessly wandering the aisles. This week I get ground beef, Italian sausage, mozzarella, chicken breasts, brats, juice boxes, applesauce pouches, guacamole singles, avocados, bananas, noodles, milk, buns, bread, chopped salad, General Tso's Chicken, rice, three veggie steamer bags, grapes, strawberries, blueberries, tomatoes, onions, green and red peppers, asparagus, sliced cheese, protein bars, yogurt, Diet Coke, and deli turkey. $112.73

9:15 a.m. — Arrive home to unload the groceries, and my husband is back home too. I give the girls a snack of Goldfish before putting the baby down for her morning nap. Then I prepare a homemade lasagna for one of my best friends who just had her second baby. I know how hectic things are right after having a baby, especially the second one, so I'm planning to drop this by her house during the week for her and her husband and toddler. It should last them a few days! Then I shower and blow-dry my hair, as I'm going to a show in Minneapolis with a college friend tonight.

11 a.m. — Old Navy is having a 40% off sale, and I love their basics. I order three tanks and a T-shirt for myself, two shirts and leggings for my toddler, and matching shirts for the baby and toddler ($91.80). I notice we're almost out of diapers, so I order more on Amazon ($30.59). $122.39

11:30 a.m. — I feed the girls lunch (macaroni and cheese and strawberries) and snack on cheese and crackers while doing laundry and mild cleaning. We load up the girls in the double jogging stroller and my husband runs and I rollerblade to a park a couple of miles away. It feels so good to be outside and have the girls run around and get some fresh air!

3:30 p.m. — I finish getting ready for the show tonight and make sloppy joes for my husband to eat for dinner while I'm out. My husband is an amazing father and so involved with our girls. He's always willing to watch them so I can get out occasionally, and I try to make sure he does the same. I head to Minneapolis to meet one of my best friends from college and a couple of her friends for dinner and a show.

5:15 p.m. — We decide on a brewery next door to the theater, since my friend broke her foot last night and can't walk very far. I order a Moscow Mule, cheeseburger, and fries. YUM. I usually cook dinner during the week and try to prepare relatively healthy meals, so I love splurging on the weekends. I'm glad we had this time before the show to catch up, as we live far from each other and are both busy with our families. $28.54

9 p.m. — The show is over and we loved it! It was the Cat & Nat Fun Show. They're moms who basically got famous from making hilariously honest YouTube and Facebook videos about the realities of motherhood. They are a hilarious duo. It's rapidly approaching my bedtime, and I'm happy to be on my way home at a decent hour for a Sunday night. Unfortunately, the parking lot is super crowded with only one parking attendant, so it takes me 45 minutes just to get out of there. I pay for parking ($13) and reimburse my friend for the show ticket ($66). Get home around 10:30, wash my face, and crash. $79

Daily Total: $342.66

Day Two

5:45 a.m. — Wake up at my usual time to shower, get dressed, blow dry my hair, and do my makeup before my girls are up.

6:30 a.m. — Now the fun begins. I wake up the toddler, put on one of her favorite shows, and get her milk. While she wakes up, I pack her lunch for the day (chips and guac, tomatoes, applesauce, and grapes). Then I wake up the baby, feed her, change her, and get her dressed for the day. Next, I get the toddler dressed. She'll never let me help her get dressed until the baby is ready because, well, she's a toddler. You learn to pick your battles. I pack up my daughter's bags for preschool, grab a yogurt and protein bar for myself, and we are out the door.

8:15 a.m. — Arrive at work after dropping the toddler at preschool and the baby at daycare. I make a cup of hot tea from an assortment I keep in my desk drawer and drink that, along with the yogurt and protein bar from home. I settle in for a morning of catching up. I just started this job three weeks ago, and one of my staff members gave notice on my third day, so it has been a hectic ride trying to learn the company and both my position and hers before she left. Her last day was Friday, so now I need to catch up and focus on some things that have been on the back burner.

12:15 p.m. — I normally try to pack my lunch, but realistically, it only happens two or three times per week. Being a working mom can be a little crazy at times, so I try to give myself a break in this arena. Plus, I enjoy a good excuse to get out of the office a couple of times per week. I head to Subway (not my favorite, but the most convenient) and grab a turkey guacamole wrap, Baked Lays, and a Diet Coke. I bring it back to my office to eat while I work. $10.48

4:45 p.m. — After spending the afternoon reviewing and updating our capital expenditures and budget, I am ready to head home. I have my first meeting with the company owners on Wednesday to discuss this information, so I am trying to prepare as much as possible before then. I identified some glaring mistakes made by my predecessor, so I am sure I will have some explaining to do on some of the changes. But one rule that I always try to follow as I navigate my career is to do everything I can to avoid throwing anyone under the bus.

5:15 p.m. — Arrive home and start making dinner for the family. I'm craving Mexican food, so I make ground beef nachos with cheese, onions, green peppers, lettuce, and salsa. Then we get the girls in the jogging stroller and head out for a run. We do a two-mile loop, and the toddler gets out and runs with us for parts of it. It is so fun to involve her more as she gets older! She just loves it and is so proud when she can do the same things we're doing. Proud mama moment.

8 p.m. — Get the girls in their pajamas and in bed. They always want me to sing them a couple of songs before I leave the room. (They are literally the only two people in the world that enjoy my singing voice — I am the worst singer!) I relax with my husband and we catch up on our days before passing out at 9:30.

Daily Total: $10.48

Day Three

6 a.m. — Up later than usual and rushing to get ready. After I shower and get dressed, I blow-dry my hair and then set up the toddler with a TV show and her milk while I finish getting ready. I pack my lunch and breakfast for the day, and then wake up the baby to get her changed, fed, and dressed. My mother-in-law arrives because she watches the toddler on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We are so thankful for her and the close relationship they have developed because of this. I leave for the day with the baby on my hip.

8:15 a.m. — Arrive at work after dropping the baby off at daycare. Eat a protein bar and sip on iced tea. I get an email from HR telling me that the staff accountant I extended an offer to on Friday has accepted the position. This is such a relief and a weight off my shoulders! She'll be starting in two weeks, so I need to start developing a plan to get her trained and starting off on the right foot. This will be a challenge, since I myself have been here for less than a month. But I was very honest and upfront during the interview process that it will be a team effort for a short time until I get everything squared away. She seems ready and motivated, so I am happy about this hire!

11:30 a.m. — Well, that protein bar didn't tide me over for too long. I am always so hungry the day after I work out at night. I grab the lunch I brought from home — turkey and cheese sandwich, chips and mini guac, grapes, and a Diet Coke — and work my way through it while sending off a couple of emails.

5:30 p.m. — I stop for gas on my way home from work. I typically fill up at least once a week with all of the commuting I do. Our neighbor drops of her 17-month-old daughter because she has to teach a class tonight and her husband had surgery today, so we agreed to watch her for a few hours. My husband grills cheddar brats for dinner while I prepare an Asian chopped salad and watch the girls. After dinner, we take the three girls on a long walk around the neighborhood. $30.39

8 p.m. — Our neighbor picks up her daughter and we get the girls ready for bed and put them down for the night. I sneak a couple Double Stuf Oreos while I settle in to review my brother-in-law's résumé and cover letter that he asked me for pointers on. I finish up and shoot him an email with some tips. Husband and I watch an episode of Homeland before going to bed.

Daily Total: $30.39

Day Four

5:15 a.m. — Up early this morning to get in a strength training circuit before my normal morning routine. If I don't do it in the morning, it won't happen. I lift weights in the basement for about 30 minutes before showering and getting ready for the day. My husband leaves just as I'm finishing my workout. I pack lunches for myself and my daughter and get both girls dressed, fed, and ready. It's the usual routine, except the baby is glued to me this morning for some reason. I can't complain about the extra snuggles, though. We hit the road for drop-offs.

8:15 a.m. — Settle in at my desk with a yogurt I brought from home. I spend a good chunk of the morning preparing for my meeting later today with the owners and CFO. I also draft and propose my first process change to the team. I tend to err on the side of getting to know the company and the current processes well before proposing a change. This was one of the reasons I was hired though, and this is a minor change so it's a good place to start. Thankfully, everyone is open to my idea and willing to work through it together.

9:30 a.m. — Need a caffeine boost. I make hot tea from my desk drawer.

11:45 a.m. — Since I know I'll get hangry if I don't eat before my meeting, I grab my lunch from the fridge and dig in — sharp cheddar cheese and crackers, strawberries, raw green pepper slices, and Diet Coke.

4:30 p.m. — Head home for the day. I grab the lasagna I made on Sunday and drop it off with my friend who just had a baby.

6:30 p.m. — Home from my friend's house. Her new baby boy is so precious and perfect. Dare I say I want another one?!? I make General Tso's chicken, rice, and asparagus for dinner. Then I give the girls a bath and get them ready for bed while my husband cleans up the kitchen and does the dishes. I put the girls to bed while my husband goes on a run. When he gets back, we watch an episode of Homeland, and then I wash my face and pass out around 9:30.

Daily Total: $0

Day Five

6 a.m. — I sleep in today since my mother-in-law is coming, so I only have one drop-off. (My husband leaves early every morning so that he can get off work in time to pick up the girls.) I do my usual routine — shower, get dressed, blow-dry my hair, and do my makeup. The toddler wakes up around 6:30, so I get her settled in to watch her favorite show. The baby wakes up while I'm getting ready, so once I'm done I get her up, feed her, change her, and get her dressed for the day. My mother-in-law shows up, we catch up for a few minutes (we have a great relationship), and then the baby and I head out. I grab iced tea and a protein bar on my way out.

12 p.m. — I spend the morning with a coworker going through some tasks, and we discuss the reality of how ancient/inefficient many of the processes here are. I'm feeling a little stressed about everything that needs work, so I leave the office for a bit to get fresh air. I remind myself that I love a good challenge, and there is a great opportunity to make improvements here. I get a car wash ($10), and then grab a chicken Philly sandwich, Mrs. Vickie's kettle chips, and a Diet Pepsi (11.40). Head back to office to eat and get back to work. $21.40

5:15 p.m. — Home from work. We have a coupon for Panera that expires soon and it's beautiful out, so we decide to go pick up dinner and eat it at the park. I get a chicken Caesar salad, my husband gets a BBQ chicken flatbread and a Southwest salad, and we order a tomato soup kid's meal for the toddler. I bring snacks for the baby. We drive to the park and settle in to eat. Five minutes in, the baby grabs the toddler's cup of soup and dumps most of it out, which results in meltdown central and a huge mess. Sometimes things just don't go as you envision them with young kids. But, the toddler forgets about it quickly and is so excited to be at the park. She even makes a new friend. I love how friendly and social she is with other kids — I am not sure where she gets it! $19

7 p.m. — We're low on milk (which is a major crisis in our house), so we stop for two gallons on the way home from the park. $6

8:15 p.m. — Get the girls settled into bed. We wind down with an episode of Homeland, which I don't even make it through before falling asleep. I wash my face and head to bed at 9:30, and my husband is not far behind me.

Daily Total: $46.40

Day Six

3:30 a.m. — Up with a crying baby. I normally let her cry for a few minutes because she usually falls back asleep, but this morning it continues to escalate, so I give in. I feed and change her and put her back to bed. Then I fall back asleep.

5:15 a.m. — It takes every ounce of my willpower, but I get up to get a workout in this morning. I do an upper body strength training circuit. Then the usual routine — shower, get dressed, blow-dry my hair, put on makeup (primer, foundation, mineral veil, mascara). I make my daughter's lunch for preschool while she watches TV. The baby isn't up yet, so I wake her, and she does NOT want to wake up today. (Gee, I wonder why, Miss 3:30 a.m. snack!) I get them both ready and we head out for drop-offs. TGIF!

8 a.m. — I stop at the gas station on the way to work for a sugar-free Red Bull and a donut (breakfast of champions, I know). $5

12:15 p.m. — After a productive morning, I leave the office to grab a chicken sandwich and a Diet Coke. $7.87

5:15 p.m. — Home from work. I ordered the new Fitbit Versa Smart Watch last week, and it arrives today! I got a deep discount through my company's wellness program. I've never had a Fitbit, so I'm curious to see if it'll actually encourage me to move more throughout the day.

5:30 p.m. — Our neighbors invite us over for an impromptu pizza party. I pack up food for the baby and the diaper bag, and we get the girls in the stroller to walk up there. It's about a half mile walk. We spend the evening relaxing, chatting, and eating pizza, salad, and strawberries, while our girls play with their daughter. They pay. We trade off hosting dinners with each other, and usually whoever is hosting provides the food.

8:30 p.m. — Home from our neighbor's house to get the girls ready for bed. The baby seems to be running a low grade fever and has a runny nose. I really hope she isn't sick all weekend. I have a feeling she might be cutting a tooth, but it's always hard to know for sure, because those symptoms can be very similar to cold symptoms. I get the baby in bed and snuggle with the toddler for a little bit before putting her to bed. We watch an episode of Homeland while I get my Versa watch all set up! I am loving it so far. Head to bed around 10. Wild Friday night y'all!

Daily Total: $12.87

Day Seven

12 a.m. — The baby wakes up crying. I had a feeling this would happen with the condition she was in at bedtime. Thankfully, my husband gets up, feeds her, and changes her, and she goes right back to sleep.

6:45 a.m. — The toddler wakes up and comes in our room. Surprisingly, she is requesting that Daddy get up with her (oh, darn!). I stay in bed for another hour or so, and then the baby wakes up. I go grab her and we join my husband and the toddler. The baby is a little warm, and her nose is runny, but she is happy. It is such a beautiful morning! We live on a river and the water is so calm as the sun rises this morning. There have been rare pelicans in the area all week, and this morning they're hanging out right in front of our house! They are huge and so cool to watch!

8 a.m. — Breakfast time! My husband and I each eat a bowl of Raisin Bran. I make the toddler a bowl of oatmeal that she devours and cut up a banana for the baby. I love a relaxing Saturday morning after a long week! I spend the morning cleaning, doing laundry, and playing with the girls while my husband does some work on the basement. The baby goes down for nap at 10:30.

11:30 a.m. — Lunchtime! My husband eats leftover sloppy joes, I have a bagel, and the toddler has yogurt and a bagel. The baby wakes up around noon and I feed her turkey and cheese.

1 p.m. — The girls are in desperate need of new shoes for spring, so I take them out shopping while my husband continues to work on the basement. We head to Kohl's and I find matching Nikes for them (so cute!). My toddler loves them too, which is a bonus. The girls are behaving really well, so I decide to browse the women's section. I'm in search of a particular pair of pants, but they are wiped out of sizes. We don't get out shopping very often, so I seize the moment and grab quite a few items to try on. I end up buying an open front sweatshirt, a floral shirt, a lavender cardigan, and a workout tank ($150.23). We stop for chocolate Frosties on the way home — one for me and one for the toddler ($3.41). $153.64

4 p.m. — My husband and I are meeting another couple for an early dinner, so we drop the girls off with my mom and dad. We're very fortunate to have both sets of parents close by to watch the girls when we want some time away. Our friends suggest a local scratch kitchen that we've never been to, and it does not disappoint! I have two glasses of wine and carnitas tacos. My husband has two Old Fashioneds and short ribs. This was a spendy dinner for us, but we really enjoy the relaxing evening catching up with our friends with delicious food and drinks. It's worth every penny! $75.24

8 p.m. — We aren't quite ready for the night to end and we've had enough cocktails, so we decide to head to a local ice cream parlor. We each get two scoops. We treat, since they paid for an appetizer at the restaurant. Time to pick up the girls and head home. Our date nights just aren't as late as they used to be! But I am grateful for a night of fun and relaxation. $16.50

Daily Total: $245.38

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Weddings in Game of Thrones are uniformly terrible affairs: characters are poisoned, stabbed, or, if they are lucky, kidnapped.  Luckily, Leslie and Harington got hitched without any hitches going off during the ceremony. She wore a long-sleeved white lace gown with a flower crown, while Harington rocked pinstriped trousers.  They were doused in flower petals on the way out of the venue, which clung like snowflakes onto Harington's signature curly locks. Click through to see the photos of the only happy Game of Thrones wedding.

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White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders used her official Twitter account to call out a restaurant she was asked to leave because she works for President Donald Trump. Supporters have unleashed a bevy of vengeful comments and reviews, while others question her choice to use her platform to take down a small business.

After an employee at the restaurant shared the incident on social media, Sanders told her version of the story with on the @PressSec Twitter account.

“Last night I was told by the owner of Red Hen in Lexington, VA to leave because I work for @POTUS and I politely left,” her tweet from her White House account reads. “Her actions say far more about her than about me. I always do my best to treat people, including those I disagree with, respectfully and will continue to do so.”

Last night I was told by the owner of Red Hen in Lexington, VA to leave because I work for @POTUS and I politely left. Her actions say far more about her than about me. I always do my best to treat people, including those I disagree with, respectfully and will continue to do so

— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) June 23, 2018

Sanders has not made further comment about the incident, but the restaurant’s co-owner, Stephanie Wilkinson, did. “This feels like the moment in our democracy when people have to make uncomfortable actions and decisions to uphold their morals,” Wilkinson told The Washington Post. Wilkinson said she consulted her employees before asking Sanders if she would step aside for a private conversation. “I explained that the restaurant has certain standards that I feel it has to uphold, such as honesty, and compassion, and cooperation. I said, ‘I’d like to ask you to leave,’” the restaurant owner continued. Sanders and her party left without any issue and they were comped their meal. According to The Washington Post, the negative reviews of the restaurant started after a waiter’s post gained traction online.

Just because Sanders is a public figure doesn’t mean she can’t give a restaurant a bad review; however, the bad review is her personal opinion. She has a verified personal Twitter account with over 223,000 followers but her bad review is nowhere to be found on that account. Instead, she chose to use her official White House account with just over 3 million followers.

This tweet and the reach that it possesses is having a very real impact on the Red Hen restaurant. Since Sanders tweeted, the Red Hen’s Yelp, Facebook, and Google pages have been bombarded with one-star reviews from Trump supporters as well as flooding the comments sections on each of the positive reviews with hate-filled, pro-MAGA propaganda and cries to boycott the restaurant. In the time that I’ve written this, thousands of more one-star reviews have been added.

*takes out pen*
*takes out paper*
*adds Red Hen to list of preferred restaurants in my best handwriting*
*with hearts*

— Ava DuVernay (@ava) June 23, 2018

Think about this.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders went home after this incident. She went to sleep. She woke up. A good 12 hrs after the incident — knowing this restaurant and person would become an enemy to the most rabid Trump supporters — she used her official account for this tweet.

— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) June 23, 2018

So this is uncool, but it’s totally fine for a baker to refuse to make a cake for gay people, because of personal convictions? 🤔 https://t.co/7XECMhTAYw

— Celeste Ng (@pronounced_ing) June 23, 2018

Her father, Mike Huckabee, shared the tweet, calling it “bigotry” before reiterating both the name and location of the business.

Bigotry. On the menu at Red Hen Restaurant in Lexington VA. Or you can ask for the “Hate Plate”. And appetizers are “small plates for small minds” https://t.co/rHEVdcQwwh

— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) June 23, 2018

Sanders isn’t the only one working for the Trump administration who has been forced to leave a restaurant this week. One day after supporting the administration’s policy of separating families at the U.S.-Mexico border, Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen was quickly joined by a crowd of protestors outside of a Mexican restaurant in Washington D.C. Yes, she actually decided to eat at Mexican restaurant after agreeing with a policy that is tearing families apart as they cross into the United States from Mexico.

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Welcome toMoney Diaries , where we're tackling what might be the last taboo facing modern working women: money. We're asking millennials how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period — and we're tracking every last dollar.

Want to continue the conversation? Join our Money Diaries Facebook Group to discuss finances, share spending habits and saving advice, ask money- and career-related questions, and get access to exclusive content. It's a judgment-free zone.

Today: a senior analyst who makes $99,000 per year and spends some of her money this week on Triscuits.

Occupation: Senior Analyst
Industry: Legal & Regulatory
Age: 30
Location: New York City
Salary: $99,000, with a 10% annual bonus
Paycheck Amount (Biweekly): $2,104.57

Monthly Expenses
Rent: $1,100 (I live with my boyfriend of six years, and we split our rent and shared expenses proportionate to our salaries. The total rent for our one-bedroom duplex in Manhattan is $2,900.)
Student Loan Payment: $0 (My parents covered undergrad, and I worked full-time while completing my master's degree.)
MetroCard: $121 (taken out of my paycheck pre-tax)
Health, Dental & Vision Insurance: $120
Retirement: $410 (6% of my salary, with a 5% corporate match)
Electricity, Gas, & Internet: ~$140 (split with my boyfriend)
Cleaning Service: $115 (split with my boyfriend)
Hulu, Netflix, HBONow, & Spotify: $50 (I'm still on my family's cell plan, and in exchange I give my family access to all of my subscriptions.)

Additional Expenses
Stitch Fix: $20 (every 6 weeks)

Day One

6:15 a.m. — I wake up before my alarm because I went to bed really early last night. I've been grappling with depression lately, though, and I'm pretty unhappy at my job, so I hit snooze and sleep again for as long as I can.

7:50 a.m. — Okay, okay. Up, showered, and out the door. If I leave the house by 8:30, I can be at my desk by 9. After years of living in D.C., where the subway was always broken, I'm grateful for my short commute here.

9:15 a.m. — I bring breakfast from home (cottage cheese and two slices of Dave's Killer Bread) but grab coffee from our subsidized corporate cafeteria. The charges come directly out of my paycheck, post-tax, which can sneak up on me sometimes. $1.50

1 p.m. — Grab salad, pasta, and tofu from the cold bar downstairs. Spend lunch at my desk reading a piece on LongReads.com about life as a woman in an oilfield town. $5

6 p.m. — Get home. I was going to go for a run, but…it's colder than it looks outside. Instead, I throw together avocado, pico de gallo, and rice from the fridge and work on my to-do list for the week while catching up on Westworld.

8 p.m. — I always go to weekly trivia at a nearby dive bar with friends — it's nice to have something to look forward to when you have a case of the Mondays. I have two vodka sodas and tip generously because I always come to this bar and they take care of me. I also sneak bites from everyone's Chinese takeout because I'm the worst. $20

Daily Total: $26.50

Day Two

7 a.m. — Wake up to my boyfriend's Venmo payment for his portion of a recent trip I booked for us. I immediately transfer the $700 to my savings.

9 a.m. — I make cottage cheese and toast for breakfast, and then cash in on a surprise free drink coupon from Starbucks. It's so nice being able to spend extra time outside on a beautiful morning.

9:45 a.m. — It's almost skirt season in New York, and I realize I somehow have no nude color work shoes. After wasting so much money on cheap-ish flats that I only wear once due to killer blisters, I've accepted that I need to be picky about my shoes. I'm obsessed with Rothy's and consider them well worth the splurge, given how much I walk. I place an order for my third pair. $145

12:15 p.m. — It's a beautiful day, so I spend lunch just strolling the neighborhood. I stop by the office cafeteria for a salad on my way back and escape to a windowed conference room for the rest of the day to do legal analysis in natural light. $5.80

5:45 p.m. — I meet someone from my grad program for networking drink. We have way more in common than I expected; I think I may have just made a friend? TBH, I don't know how this works in the adult world. $24

8 p.m. — I know better than to go to the grocery store hungry, but here we are. I pick up LaCroix, Triscuits, cottage cheese, chorizo, artichoke dip, cheese, and dessert hummus (?). A few things are on sale, so I get doubles. $44.30

8:45 p.m. — My boyfriend is traveling for work, so I turn the dip, chorizo, and Triscuits into a bizarre mezze plate for dinner. Then I throw on a sheet mask and browse job boards before bed.

Daily Total: $219.10

Day Three

9 a.m. — It's pouring, and I just want to stay in bed. But I have important meetings today and want to look especially professional. I get to work and realize I forgot to bring anything for breakfast, but luckily someone brought in bagels — score! I grab a coffee downstairs. $1.50

12:30 p.m. — My two important meetings were cancelled, and I'm pissed about it. One was to discuss the future trajectory of my role, and has been pushed several times now. I find myself getting mad at work a lot lately…another sign that I need to keep my options open. I run downstairs for lunch before an afternoon of meetings. $6.60

3:30 p.m. — Someone brought Girl Scout cookies to our meeting marathon, and I snack all afternoon.

6 p.m. — My friend is moving soon, and she invites me over for dinner. I buy a bottle of wine to bring as a belated birthday present, and we catch up while packing her kitchen. $13

9:30 p.m. — I'm tired and don't feel like facing a 45-minute train ride home. Uber to the rescue. $15.45

Daily Total: $36.55

Day Four

8 a.m. — I'm working from home this morning because I have a doctor's appointment, and I manage to squeeze in a phone interview for another job beforehand. It's so hard to interview when you don't have a private office! The position is in another city, but I'm more focused on getting back into the interview game than on the logistics of this specific position. I run to grab an iced coffee with my birthday coupon before it expires. My interview skills run on Dunkin'.

11 a.m. — The interview goes over our scheduled time, and I'm running late for the doctor. I grab an Uber, and the ride there lasts longer than the appointment does. I get some lab work done. $9.90

12:30 p.m. — Get to the office, and I'm starving. I grab a fried chicken sandwich from the cafeteria. $6.90

4:30 p.m. — I sneak out a little early to go for a run in Central Park. The cherry blossoms are in bloom and the city literally smells…nice. That's a first.

7:30 p.m. — Shopping in New York means a ton of options, but it also takes a ton of time going between stores. It's honestly made me hate clothes shopping, so I get a Stitch Fix box every six weeks. I opt to keep two items from my latest delivery for $146. $146

9 p.m. — My boyfriend has been working 70 hour weeks lately, and it hasn't been great for our relationship. He leaves work early (by his standards) for us to go on a date tonight. We grab octopus tacos and (a few too many) margaritas. He picks up the tab.

Daily Total: $162.80

Day Five

8:30 a.m. — I am feeling those margaritas today. I down some Pedialyte, say a silent prayer of thanks to the creator of dry shampoo, and run out the door.

9:20 a.m. — I think an egg and cheese sandwich is in order with my coffee. Luckily I have a day of email follow-ups with business units, so I'll be able to sit quietly at my desk. $5.50

1 p.m. — Weekend meal planning is always such a delicate balance between wanting to only get takeout because the pantry is empty and not wanting to waste food because of fun, last minute plans. I stop by Trader Joe's during lunch and grab a few items with a longer shelf life, including ingredients for prosciutto pizza, veggie sausages, and cauliflower gnocchi. I charge it to the credit card I use for shared expenses with my boyfriend. $43.85

6:30 p.m. — I smile at a puppy on my way home. The owner catches my smile and goes, “You know, you can pet him.” It's literally the highlight of my week. New York can feel really hard sometimes, so I've learned to appreciate the little things.

8 p.m. — Quiet night in on the couch with my boyfriend. We make a frozen pizza, split a bottle of wine, and catch up on our weeks.

Daily Total: $49.35

Day Six

8:30 a.m. — My neighbors are up and loudly tinkering in the backyard, so now I'm up too. I grab toast and get myself together to run errands: drop-offs at the post office, Goodwill, and Rent the Runway. I tried out Rent the Runway Unlimited this month, but I was ordering way more misses than hits. It was a fun experiment, but I couldn't justify the $160 price tag to myself.

10:45 a.m. — Spin class. I bought a bunch of classes on Black Friday last year, and now I'm scrambling to use them before they expire. I grab an iced coffee next door on my way out. $3.45

12:30 p.m. — I love wandering farmer's markets, even if visiting them usually means an impulse purchase or two. I unsuccessfully search for my favorite mushrooms (lion's mane) and buy plants for my backyard. $38

1:30 p.m. — I get home, put together a salad with random things in the fridge, and spend the rest of the day fiddling with my garden.

7:30 p.m. — I'm feeling especially introverted tonight, and encourage my boyfriend to go to his friend's party downtown without me. I have an avocado with rice for dinner and look forward to an evening of guilty pleasures (Halo Top and browsing AskReddit for creepy stories).

Daily Total: $41.45

Day Seven

11 a.m. — I wake up way late — it seems like when I wind down, it's really hard to get myself going again. I'm not sure if it's my inner introvert, my depression, or general tiredness from the week. I make eggs with mango salsa for breakfast and catch up on SNL over a very late breakfast.

12:20 p.m. — My boyfriend did some spreadsheet budgeting while I was sleeping, and now we have a bit of a surprise serious conversation about marriage and buying a house in the next five years. He's shocked by the cost of weddings, and I'm shocked by his budget for a first home. We both leave the conversation feeling a little overwhelmed. I don't see myself in the New York area long-term, but his industry, where he's totally killing it, is really based here. The tension between those things has been hanging over our relationship for the last two years and has really kept me from wanting to get engaged.

2 p.m. — I had big plans for the day, but I'm still on the couch watching Law & Order: SVU. I give up and own it, as opposed to feeling guilty.

7 p.m. — My low energy has transformed into existential dread for Monday. My boyfriend heats up (another) frozen pizza for us and makes me a martini. He catches up on work while I read on the couch. The Sunday scaries are alive and well and I go to bed before 10.

Daily Total: $0

If you are experiencing anxiety or depression and need support, please call the National Depressive/Manic-Depressive Association Hotline at 1-800-826-3632 or the Crisis Call Center’s 24-hour hotline at 1-775-784-8090.

Money Diaries are meant to reflect individual women's experiences and do not necessarily reflect Refinery29's point of view. Refinery29 in no way encourages illegal activity or harmful behavior.

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You never want something until you can't have it. So, each week in The Sell-Out, we're getting the scoop from your favorite retailers on what's selling like crazy. Watch this space to find out what everyone's buying, sign up for wait lists, and keep tabs on restocks.

We've seen time and time again that shoppers love a good one-and-done outfit. There's a reason overalls and jumpsuits sell out left and right — not only do they look Instagram-worthy with minimal effort, but they're the easiest one-piece outfit to throw on without getting caught up in styling. And, that's exactly what we want come summertime. The latest example? The Lou & Grey utility jumpsuit, which has already become a fan-favorite this summer (and the season's only officially just begun!).

This navy pinstripe MVP sold out in a matter of days when it launched, and its popularity may have something to due with the stylish Elaine Welteroth sporting one for a Lou & Grey store event recently. A few additional units showed up this week on the site, and those, too have already been wiped clean. Luckily, though, the brand, which you might know for its cozy sweatpants and go-to T-shirts, surprisingly has a whole section of stylish, one-piece wonders that it calls the "Do-It-Alls" that are already selling just as quick. So, don't mind if we do... Click ahead to shop 'em while they're hot.

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Women in Saudi Arabia are now able to legally drive in the Gulf kingdom — but the move isn’t entirely a progressive stride forward for women.

The decree, handed down by Saudi King Salman last September, officially went into effect on Sunday, when the nationwide ban against women behind the wheel was lifted. The new policy allows women to apply for and receive driver’s licenses. Ten women have already done so, earlier this month, and thousands more are expected to get their licenses in the coming weeks.

But it’s still a long road ahead for the women of Saudi Arabia, and the Saudi monarchy’s decision to allow women to drive appears to be more of an opportunistic move rather than a feminist one.

Heaping too much praise on the monarchy and framing their decision as progressive glosses over the history of women’s rights in Saudi Arabia. Women have called for the right to drive since the 1990s, risking imprisonment, harassment, and exile in pursuit of equal rights under the law.

Many of these activists have been harshly penalized and still remain behind bars, and the struggle continues. Only a month ago, the Saudi government imprisoned about a dozen women who previously rallied against the driving ban — the same one that has just been lifted — and have been noted critics of the male guardianship policy that governs most of Saudi society.

Driving aside, male guardianship has been and continues to be a pervasive discriminatory practice in Saudi Arabia. The male guardianship system requires every woman to have some kind of male guardian — a father, brother, husband, or even a son — who makes major life decisions for them. That includes getting married, traveling out of the country, and applying for a passport. According to Reuters, Saudi officials say women won’t need permission to drive or have a guardian in the car while driving.

Saudi Arabia was the last country in the world to ban women from getting behind the wheel. As the birthplace of Islam, the country’s long-time restrictions on women driving have been officially attributed to religious practice. The major policy change was backed by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who has been hailed as a progressive reformer by many supporters — but this is ultimately a tactical play by the monarchy and just one of many elements of the crown prince’s ambitious efforts to reform the nation’s economy, which centers on weaning Saudi Arabia off of what he’s called an “addiction” to oil.

Granting women the right to drive is a step towards revitalizing the Saudi workforce and enabling them to join in. By 2030, the nation hopes to raise the number of working Saudi women from 22% to 30%, in large part because women will be able to travel on their own. The decision to lift the driving ban is a strategy sandwiched between the crown prince’s other proposals, including raising gas prices, issuing licenses for commercial movie theaters, and opening Saudi Arabia to tourism.

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June is Pride Month, and while we’re all living our happiest rainbow lives, the silence from the White House has been deafening. For the second year in a row, President Donald Trump has not proclaimed his support for LGBTQ Pride. But one member of the Trump family is not towing the party line: Tiffany Trump.

Tiffany shared videos on her Instagram stories of herself getting ready to attend the 2018 Pride Parade in New York City. She’s seen decking out a denim vest with Pride-themed glitter paint, which is very punk rock of her. She also posed for a photo with her reported bestie, fashion designer Andrew Warren, while they were on their way to the parade. She also appears in Warren’s Instagram stories, as they attend Pride festivities at New York’s Soho House. Clearly, this Trump is down with the LGBTQ community.

Earlier this year, Trump scaled back safety protections for incarcerated transgender people. He also directed the Department of Defense to impose enlistment limitations on transgender service members; the new policy effective bans transgender people from serving if they have begun any medical efforts to confirm their gender. He also fired the entire White House HIV/AIDS advisory council, and has actively campaigned against the Affordable Care Act even though more people than ever are managing their HIV/AIDS with medication. Happy Pride, Tiffany!

❤️ Officially Sunday 💜

A post shared by Andrew Warren (@adwarren) on Jun 24, 2018 at 2:14pm PDT

Pride Saturday 🌈📍

A post shared by Andrew Warren (@adwarren) on Jun 23, 2018 at 5:32pm PDT

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After issuing a statement that she was asked to leave a restaurant in Virginia, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders is facing accusations that she may have committed an ethics violation because her tweet came from her official @PressSec Twitter account.

Deadline reports that Democratic Representative Barbara Lee of California also called for Sanders to be “referred to the Office of Government Ethics” on CNN’s State of the Union with Jake Tapper.Walter Shaub, former director of the OGE, criticized Sanders’ misuse of her government position on Twitter, comparing it to “the same as if an ATF agent pulled out his badge when a restaurant tried to throw him/her out.”

Sarah, I know you don’t care even a tiny little bit about the ethics rules, but using your official account for this is a clear violation of 5 CFR 2635.702(a). It’s the same as if an ATF agent pulled out his badge when a restaurant tried to throw him/her out. https://t.co/Fj6OfBAdew

— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) June 23, 2018

“This is a sign of the total ethical rot of this administration, which comes from the model set at the top,” Ian Bassin, executive director of Protect Democracy and former associate White House counsel to Barack Obama tells Refinery29. According to rules set in place by the nonpartisan OGE, Sanders may have violated rule 5 CFR 2635.702 (c), which bars federal employees from using their government position to endorse any private “product, service, or enterprise.” Conversely, this same rule bans federal employees from using their official titles to denounce such private entities.

Bassin explains this rule’s applications succinctly. Trump administration employees cannot “use their [White House] titles or resources (like Twitter acct) for personal uses like making restaurant reservations or promoting businesses,” he wrote on Twitter. “So yes, this tweet violates federal ethics rules.”

When I was a WH lawyer we trained all staff they couldn’t use their WH titles or resources (like Twitter acct) for personal uses like making restaurant reservations or promoting businesses. So yes, this tweet violates federal ethics rules. I’m sure Don McGahn will remind her. https://t.co/2t2JCVb5B7

— Ian Bassin (@ianbassin) June 24, 2018

Sanders could have posted her Red Hen statement to her personal Twitter account and would have been in compliance. When Sanders tweets from the @PressSec account, she is presumed to be speaking in her professional capacity as the press secretary, and her communications from this accounts are subject to government ethics rules.

We saw this same controversy arise when White House counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway was accused of breaking this rule after she invited Americans to purchase Ivanka Trump-branded products on a 2017 episode of Fox & Friends. Conway was on the show performing her White House communications duties, making it inappropriate for her to shout out a private company, especially one owned by the president’s daughter from which the family had means to experience financial gain.

“Sanders’ violation is small potatoes,” says Bassin. “These types of violations from the president and his family are the true injury to the American people.”

Refinery29 has reached out to the White House press office and counsel's office for comment.

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There's a reason why you'll see the BET Awards referred to as a family reunion of sorts: It's the one awards show where the brown and Black faces that star in our favorite movies and music videos come together for a glorious night of celebrating us being us. Aside from the funny tweets and backstage drama, you also get to see celebrities and other notables who look like your own aunties, cousins, and sorority sisters.

The point is, while the red-carpet beauty looks — like Logan Browning's faux locs and Amandla Stenberg's rainbow braid — are still worth saving and pinning, they're attainable at the same time. Ahead, see the natural textures and protective styles that popped up on the red carpet, and that we'll be copying all summer.

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On Sunday, Janelle Monáe attended the BET Awards in Los Angeles, showing us exactly what it looks like to be a “free-ass motherfucker.” She walked the red carpet in a Nicholas Jebran green lace bodice, rainbow skirt, a conductor hat, and matching crystal-embellished bag, slaying in a look perfect for Pride Month. She finished the look with Tiffany & Co. jewelry.

Since ditching her alter-ego Cindi Mayweather, an android based on the 1927 film Metropolis; Mayweather represented a mediator between the mind and the hand, the heart that brings people together, and was who Monáe used to comment on cultural and political issues, Monae said goodbye to her signature color palette, too.

And while Monáe wasn’t wearing THE pussy pants from her “Pynk” music video that broke the internet, her skirt did have Twitter going crazy as Monáe identifies as queer (and is rumored to be dating actress Tessa Thompson). As she told Refinery29 in May, “The truth is that this was a time for me to discuss my sexual identity. I said it before and I'll say it again: I'm proud to be a young, Black, queer, American woman.”

Of her latest and most personal album to date, Dirty Computer, Monáe told Rolling Stone, “I want young girls, young boys, nonbinary, gay, straight, queer people who are having a hard time dealing with their sexuality, dealing with feeling ostracized or bullied for just being their unique selves, to know that I see you. This album is for you. Be proud” — and her skirt was just another reminder to live your best rainbow life.

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Across the world, from the streets of Greenwich Village in New York City to Guatemala City, Mexico, Pride Month parade revelers celebrated love in all its beautiful forms. And surprisingly, the celebration continued at the 2018 BET Awards in Los Angeles, too. Granted, there were plenty of out-and-proud performers and attendees — including Amandla Stenberg, Lena Waithe, and Janelle Monáe, who was fully decked out in rainbow herself.

But we'd be remiss not to note that homophobia within the Black community (and in the music industry) is still all too real in this day and age. Nipsey Hussle, who closed out the pre-show, once proclaimed that gay Black men weren't as "strong" as straight men. And Offset, a member of the Migos (who took home an award for Best Group tonight) issued an apology after rapping that he "cannot vibe with queers." Both of these instances took place in 2018.

That's why the subtle representation on the carpet and during the performances — some in the form of rainbow hair — is a huge, huge deal. It's a small step, but hopefully one that's reflective of an industry-wide change that's coming soon. See how stars waved their rainbow flags, ahead.

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I’ve spent many hours on Instagram entranced by the 10-second videos of NBA players walking to the locker room on a runway flanked by heating pipes, trash bins, and now, photographers. It's an amusing way to get somewhat unfiltered insight into the teams — possibly fighting pre-game nerves whilst sporting the season's coolest hoodies, suits, and sneakers.

It's difficult to flex your personal aesthetic when participating in a team sport where uniforms are a requirement, which is exactly why these arrivals are so compelling. Win or lose, showing up for the game has become a spectacle in and of itself, with players offering up more than an athletic skill - they're offering up a lesson in style.

Ahead, of Monday evening's NBA Awards, we decided to dish out some accolades of our own. Here's R29's NBA Fashion Awards.

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When award season graces us with its presence, we can’t help but flock towards our televisions to take stock of every red carpet we can get access to. While the nominations and winners play a key role in the success of an award show, we have our own category of winners. Obviously, we’re talking about the red carpet. The hours of prep that go into red carpet appearances don’t go unnoticed. From the couture gowns (good and bad), to the many whispers of who will show up (and with who), to the “Did they really just ask that?” interview moments, the pre-show almost wins out as the main event in our hearts.

While we’re suckers for the glitz and glamour of the big award shows (i.e., the Oscars and the Golden Globes), there’s an undeniably exciting edge when it comes to the style choices we often see grace the BET Awards red carpet. And with Cardi B and Rihanna winning in the nominations department and a line-up of performances by Nicki Minaj and Janelle Monae, we’re pretty confident tonight’s red carpet won’t disappoint.

Fingers crossed that the pregnant Cardi B will actually show (and, in a dream world, dawn a matching get-up with Offset). The BET Awards is one of the only award shows where the same cycle of designers and stylists aren’t dressing everyone. Instead, this red carpet in particular celebrates and encourages diversity — from the designers to the stylists to the attendees.

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Fashion is beaten only by the oil industry for the tarnished crown of being the dirtiest industry in the world. In recent years, fashion’s impact – on both people and planet – has been documented in innumerable news reports and exposés of garment factory fires, workplace sexual violence, and widespread pollution. Just last week, British parliament launched an inquiry to measure the true carbon footprint of fast fashion. But things are changing: Brands have started to pay attention and make efforts to change their exploitative and polluting ways. Or...so it seems.

The collapse of Rana Plaza in Bangladesh in 2013 — which killed 1,134 garment workers — along with other high-profile tragedies, finally gave influential, trailblazing NGOs the clout they needed to pressure brands into investigating and reporting on their supply chains. More scrutiny would create more transparency, and brands could be held accountable. It sounds great, but the resulting ‘transparency’ drive isn’t quite what it seems. And since there are no minimum requirements for reporting — just how open and honest are brands actually being?

It is a question often asked by the activists behind Fashion Revolution, the nonprofit responsible for much of the positive change since Rana Plaza. To encourage transparency, they collate an annual Transparency Index, which calculates how much information brands make available and aggregates it into a ranked system. Sarah Ditty, Fashion Revolution’s head of policy, explains that research such as this urges brands to disclose more. "When we compare the 98 brands and retailers in both the 2017 and 2018 Index, we have seen an average increase of 5% in their level of transparency," she tells Refinery29. "Sixty-four percent of brands have disclosed more policies and commitments than they did last year, and all but 10 brands are disclosing at least one relevant social or environmental policy."

It’s been five years since the Rana Plaza factory collapsed in Bangladesh, killing 1,138 people and injuring thousands more. But people around the world are still suffering as a result of how fashion is made, sourced, and purchased. It’s more important than ever that find out #whomademyclothes and how our spending habits are affecting them. We believe the more awareness we can bring to the stories behind our clothes, the more impact we can have across the fashion industry to raise standards for workers and for the environment. Your curiosity, your voice, and your shopping habits are more powerful than you know. ———————————————————— When you buy fair trade, you help support a fair fashion industry. Fair trade promote accountability and creates better transparency in fashion. It helps give workers a voice, by creating a dialogue between workers and management, and it's rigourous standards make working conditions safer. Meet some of the @fairtradecertified producers who make our clothes: Ulageshwaran who works at Bestitch Knits in Delhi. Priti who works at Pratibha Syntex in India. Shiv who works at the Rajlakshmi Cotton Mills in India. Thakskila in Sri Lanka. #imadeyourclothes

A post shared by Fashion Revolution (@fash_rev) on Apr 23, 2018 at 2:36pm PDT

"But, of course, none of them are perfect," Ditty continues. "At 58%, which is what adidas and Reebok – the highest-scoring brands – achieved, there’s still a long way to go toward full transparency by all the major brands and retailers. But it is important that they are taking steps forward on this journey." How genuinely labels are making efforts to take these steps is open to debate. Since Rana Plaza, the fashion industry has been under a microscope; people are considering where their clothing was made more than ever before and the answer can dictate where they shop. In the world of social media and 24-hour news, companies are striving to maintain their reputations, which means that filing a transparency report isn’t necessarily an act of goodwill, but a bid for good PR.

"You have your reputation-sensitive brands opting in and disclosing their first and second-tier suppliers, but nobody is forcing them," says Stephanie Klotz, communications manager at the C&A Foundation, which supports Fashion Revolution. "If you go beyond brands and retailers to look at manufacturers, there’s very little information. There’s also no government I know of actually asking that information," she says, hinting at the deceptive power of omission. "Brands choosing to be that transparent are [self-enforcing] those standards. So that’s where we’re trying to catalyze some change."

55 brands (37%) out of the 150 major brands and retailers reviewed in the new Fashion Transparency Index 2018 are disclosing their manufacturers – more than ever before! Read @Fash_Rev full report: www.fashionrevolution.org/about/transparency 🔎 Let’s get more brands and retailers to tell us #whomademyclothes! #fashionrevolution

A post shared by Fashion Revolution (@fash_rev) on Apr 25, 2018 at 4:56am PDT

In 2015, the Modern Slavery Act was feted as a landmark piece of legislation for the fashion industry. It undeniably marked a step forward in the fight against labor exploitation, but many of its guidelines are voluntary, and many brands (including some really big ones) fall short of full disclosure. The implications of this disparity – between the amount of noise brands make about ethics and sustainability, and the actual value of their reporting – cannot be underestimated.

Some auditing initiatives, such as the legally binding Bangladesh Fire Safety Accord, which shuttered hundreds of unsafe factories, have made a real difference. But when I asked Klotz if audits are often conducted by parties with a vested interest in the results, she replies simply: "Yes." In particular, she says, difficulties arise when workers are asked to talk about their workplace culture. Garment workers are predominantly women, on the lowest rungs of the employment ladder and invariably working for men in positions of power. "That’s an issue which is so often overlooked," Klotz says. "One of the things that we do is put a gender lens on absolutely everything, because gender justice is intimately tied in with garment workers’ rights, in a way that I don’t think people are conscious of," she adds, "I’m sure that auditors will interview workers, but maybe with their supervisors behind them." These suspicions appear to be confirmed by a recent, damning report that detailed a devastating pattern of sexual assault and harassment.

The #MeToo movement has shown that unchecked power in male-dominated hierarchies can fuel gendered abuse in any industry. But while revelations about the abuse of women in the West have delivered a moment of reckoning for some abusers, the outcry over the conditions faced by poor women working in the garment industry has been markedly more muted. In Myanmar, for example, which has been hailed as a fashion success story, nestled among the reports of financial growth are harrowing reports of ethnic cleansing of Rohingya people. Hundred of thousands of women have been displaced, some internally, while others are trafficked to Bangladesh as sex slaves or agricultural laborers. As refugees, they often become undocumented workers – in countries renowned for their garment industries. Much more research needs to be done on intersections such as these; history has shown how common it is for refugees to find themselves in modern slavery.

There is also a burgeoning garment industry in Ethiopia, but its relatively new status as a garment industry hub – as well as the media’s overwhelming focus on south Asian countries – means that it has largely escaped international scrutiny. Some reports, however, have hinted at maltreatment and exploitation. Klotz agrees that these newer, lesser-known hubs are the ones most in need of investigation. But exploitation also happens right beneath our noses. Recent research has shown that in wealthy countries like the United States and even the United Kingdom, workers are forced to work long hours in unsafe conditions for approximately $4/hour.

Fashion needs to change its business model, says Safia Minney. The founder of ethical label People Tree has been pushing for change since the early 1990s. "Back then there was a little awareness about sweatshop exploitation of workers making training shoes and denim in Indonesia," she says. "That’s how I became interested in fashion and the human rights violations that take place behind the glamour." Safia made it her mission to educate consumers, and she has made documentaries, hosted press trips to boost media coverage of exploitation, and written books like Slave to Fashion to help bring workers’ stories to light. "I wanted to be part of the solution, not part of the problem," she says.

Increasingly, young independent designers are rising to this challenge. OneByMe’s no-waste formula is a great example, as is Bethany Williams' model of using recycled materials. Leading ethical label Ninety Percent has a business model that ensures 90% of distributed profits are shared between charitable causes and the makers of the collection. Customers even get a say in which charities the money goes to. "We wanted to challenge the usual exploitative model, which features very little giving back and lots of benefits for stakeholders," says cofounder Shafiq Hassan. Emerging labels are often best placed to enact change. Operating on a comparatively small scale makes it easier to keep track of every link in their supply chain, and to experiment with innovation.

But larger, multinational brands have more work to do to comprehend the many layers of subcontracting in their international supply chains – something they have never previously had to worry about. The garment industry, like all truly global industries, is tangled up in complex debates about human rights violations, immigration, and corporate regulation. And companies still profit from exploitative governments. (Some brands have even outsourced the manufacture of their 'Pride' collections to countries that persecute LGBTQ+ people.)

So yes, after recent tragedies became headline news, some brands are engaging with efforts to bring more transparency to the industry. And that is a good thing. But it's important that we notice it's often the 'reputation-sensitive' brands (which consumers may have traditionally associated with garment worker exploitation) that are increasing their reporting – from nothing to something, but definitely not the whole story.

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In 2014, self-taught braiding guru Taiba Akhuetie turned her side project into her main hustle when she launched KEASH BRAIDS with her friend Jessy Linton.

Following the success of their first-ever pop-up at Butchers Salon in London, British luxury department store Harvey Nichols contacted them to host a four-day stint in-store, with everyone from WAH Nails to Urban Outfitters and Missguided wanting a piece of the brand.

Since then, KEASH has transitioned from a pop-up braids-and-blow-dry bar to a big-name brand, offering everything from wig workshops to tooth gems, alongside other beauty services. So it was a total no-brainer for Akhuetie and Linton to open their first brick-and-mortar salon in Peckham, southeast London, in collaboration with Chanice Copeman of BAMBROWS.

We caught up with Akhuetie to talk Mary J. Blige, the difference between cultural appropriation and appreciation, and more...

What was the hardest part about starting a business as a young woman?

I believe in myself a lot but deciding to finally quit my job and focus 100% on KEASH was hard. I waved goodbye to stability and that was scary. I don’t have rich parents to chuck me money whenever I want, so I took it very seriously and I hustled my ass off to build up clients. It’s still early days for me; I have many more things I want to do, and sometimes I still worry about what the future may hold, but that’s what being a boss is all about.

I waved goodbye to stability and that was scary. I don’t have rich parents to chuck me money whenever I want, so I took it very seriously and I hustled my ass off to build up clients.

Is KEASH your main hustle or do you have other jobs?

KEASH is my main hustle. Now and again I do a bit of modeling and I’ve got into DJing, which I really love. Before KEASH, I was working as a quality control operator for a media company, then I moved on to assist a fashion stylist and work part-time at Matches Fashion. I worked seven days a week for three months, trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I’ve always been my own boss and I knew I had to be.

What was the turning point in your brand becoming what it is today?

The fact that I've worked with some of my favorite brands and celebrities is incredible. Social media was a huge stepping stone for KEASH to become what it is today. In the same breath, though, Instagram can be very deceiving because it’s not just about followers. I’m still growing, but being paid to do something I love is something I’m proud of.

Were you a braiding pro before you started?

Not at all. I started braiding when KEASH began. I used to watch my mum and her friends do it so I had some insight into different techniques. Braiding was a huge part of my childhood; Black people braid their hair to maintain and tame it. Afro hair is extremely high-maintenance and requires a lot of care. Braids were always and continue to be an important part of my grooming process.

Where should we draw the line between cultural appreciation and appropriation when it comes to braids as a Black cultural tradition?

It is important that culture is shared and appreciated, but it has to come from the right place. When fashion brands take braided styles and use them on the catwalk with an all-white lineup and all of a sudden it becomes a trend, then that's a problem. We need to consider the struggles Black people have had over the years with their hair not being accepted — it’s a sore subject. I love that more people are wanting to wear braids and I am one of the people educating them and sharing my culture. I get people from all over asking me about KEASH and truly showing appreciation for styles that I have introduced them to. I believe that Black people should be in charge, ensuring Black hair culture is shared by them.

Who are some of your favorite hair icons?

Mary J. Blige is a don when it comes to hair. I’m sure she probably has a walk-in wig wardrobe. Obviously, I’m obsessed with Solange. She has inspired many Black women to appreciate their hair and to see the beauty of it!

Now you're expanding from WAH Nails and launching your first ever salon in Peckham. What can we expect from that space?

Our new salon is located in Holdrons Arcade on Rye Lane. I share the unit with BAMBROWS and both Chanice (founder of BAMBROWS) and I designed the space completely by ourselves. We can only do one client at a time, which makes it very personal. But you can come down with your friends or family and hang out around the arcade — you won’t be disappointed. KEASH is all about keeping it real. I believe the environment allows our clients to feel relaxed and not afraid to ask questions. I want my staff and my clients to feel like they can be themselves.

We've joined a lovely community in the neighborhood. It’s great to be in the mix with a vintage designer store, vegan café, radio station, and many more incredible independent businesses that maintain their own personality, culture, and aesthetic. Some people may think our prices are high for braids, but it is an art that takes time, and I want to move away from Afro-Caribbean salons being associated with being cheap and dirty. We need to know our worth. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s important to have services that are affordable for everyone in the community. We respect the braiding community and we are not here to step on anyone’s toes. If you want bespoke braids and a high-quality service, expect bespoke prices.

This story was originally published on Refinery29 UK.

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Most days, we wish we could roll out of bed and wear our pajamas to the office. But let’s be honest, our boss might not approve. Instead, it’s all about striking a balance — especially in the dead heat of summer — that’s equal parts business-casual, comfortable, and warm-weather-appropriate (all while making sure we can still transition to a rooftop bar for happy hour). Safe to say, it’s a lot to ask of one outfit. Luckily, INC International Concepts, created for Macy's, has all the right office staples we’re looking for this season. Whether it’s a pair of statement tassel earrings or classy white heeled sandals, the pieces below ensure that we’ll be styling at work from head to toe.

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I have to admit the BET Awards red carpet left a lot to be desired. It’s the one awards show where the brown and Black faces that star in our favorite movies and music videos come together for a glorious night of celebrating us being us. While we were excited to see Janelle Monáe celebrating Pride with her dress; Chloe and Halle, and Dej Loaf (and when security wasn’t busting up interviews on the red carpet), we wished for more women. If we didn’t know any better, we’d say it appears the awards show refuses to truly invest in the women promoting Black excellence every day.

Usually we get a lot of the same when it comes to men’s red carpet and award show fashion, but not at the BET Awards. No, these men were not relegated to the background like other award shows. In fact, they took advantage of the opportunity to show up and show out in the finest of fashions. There was baby Asahd Khaled in his custom Gucci, singer Tank in his pastel suit, and YG had not one but two gorgeous suits. When Jamie Foxx invited Donald Glover on stage (after doing the comedian did his own rendition of “This Is America”), the Atlanta star admitted he was wearing pajamas — and looked chic as hell. But don’t take our word for it, click ahead to the men that shut it down at the BET Awards on Sunday night.

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Teyana Taylor’s latest album, released slightly belatedly on Saturday, June 23, after some last minute tinkering, tops off a big month for G.O.O.D. Music, in which the Kanye West-helmed label dropped five albums in five weeks, each executive produced by West himself. K.T.S.E. (Keep that Same Energy) is completely different from the others, in that it’s an R&B album. It’s also a return to Kanye’s days of deep-crate digging to find samples from the catalog of Black excellence in music.

Taylor’s performance on every song is emotional, her voice filled with cracks reminiscent of Mary J. Blige, if not quite executing the same range. The album feels intimate, like Taylor is whispering stories from her life and how she lives it into the ear of the listener. A sample of her daughter Junie at the end of “Never Would Have Made It” is especially poignant. Her voice is lush at times and full of raw edges at others, but it defies the typical expectations of female R&B voices. Much like Beyoncé on her most recent release, the 23-minute long album is full of hashtag-able lyrics, continuing the run of short albums by G.O.O.D. Taylor explores multiple facets of womanhood, from the sexual on “3Way” to courtship and relationships on “Issues/Hold On” and “Hurry,” to navigating success on “Rose in Harlem” and “Never Would Have Made It.” She’s created a straight-up anthem with “WTP,” which uses callouts from an old-school ball announcer to create an infectious summer jam.

Most interestingly, West uses K.T.S.E. to blow up the R&B template. Hip-hop has been, historically, crafted on the back of samples from soul and R&B songs. To take that idea and flip it, crafting an R&B record where the melodies are sampled, recalls how the actual Pablo Picasso treated the work of the old masters. West notably uses Ben E. King’s “Spanish Rose” to build the lyrical backbone on “A Rose in Harlem” while the music is crafted from a sample of the Stylistics’ track “Because I Love You Girl.” Ye goes deep across the album, pulling out samples from Sly & the Family Stone to Sisqo. All the elements of a classically beautiful work of art are there, but chopped up and rearranged in a Cubist framework until they are unrecognizable and became a new form of art. That’s the trip West is on with Taylor. It’s a smart move for an artist like Taylor, who is as much a brand and reality star as she is a singer and dancer.

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Welcome toMoney Diaries , where we're tackling what might be the last taboo facing modern working women: money. We're asking millennials how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period — and we're tracking every last dollar.

Want to continue the conversation? Join our Money Diaries Facebook Group to discuss finances, share spending habits and saving advice, ask money- and career-related questions, and get access to exclusive content. It's a judgment-free zone.

Today: a digital marketing specialist working in furniture who makes $65,000 per year and spends some of her paycheck this week on nachos.

Occupation: Digital Marketing Specialist
Industry: Furniture
Age: 22
Location: Petaluma, CA
Salary: $65,000
Paycheck Amount (Biweekly): $1,873

Monthly Expenses
Rent: $1,425 (I split the rent with my boyfriend.)
Student Loan Payment: $0 (My parents paid my college tuition in full.)
Car Loan Payment: $125 (I split the car loan with my boyfriend.)
Health, Dental & Vision Insurance: $85
Gas & Electric: $100 (If it's more than $100, my boyfriend pays the rest.)
Water: $65
Garbage: $17
Spotify: $5 (I'm still using a student account.)
Internet: $0 (My boyfriend pays.)
Netflix: $0 (We use my dad's account.)

Additional Expenses
Car Insurance: ~$1,000 (paid once a year)

Day One

5:30 a.m. — I wake up and make coffee at home. I kiss my boyfriend goodbye before heading out the door to walk the dog. I listen to podcasts while I walk ( The Daily, then Invisibilia) for about an hour. The sunrise is lovely. I get home and get ready for work, trying to find something to wear and realizing that I really need to do laundry. I make a smoothie for breakfast and put it in my purse to have when I get to work.

12 p.m. — I should take real lunch breaks more often, but most of the time I just eat at my desk so I can go home a little earlier (even though I rarely actually go home early). I eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a banana, and a granola bar that I brought from home. I like bringing my own lunch because I can save a lot of money and time. I usually make PB&Js for my boyfriend and me the night before and take a few trips to the coffee machine down the hall throughout the day. I spend the day in front of a computer, so frequent breaks are important! I make a lot of progress on my projects today.

7 p.m. — I go home (a little) early from work so I can get ready for a work dinner tonight. My boss is retiring and invited my whole department (and their significant others) to a nice dinner to celebrate. It's at an Italian restaurant and we all get wine and pasta. My boyfriend gets along well with my coworkers and it is so nice to meet everyone's SOs. My boss pays for the whole meal. We go home with full bellies and go straight to bed.

Daily Total: $0

Day Two

8 a.m. — I sleep in and cuddle with my dog for a while before I finally made it out of bed. I make coffee and head out for my usually morning dog walk. When I get back, I spend two hours cleaning the whole house (my Saturday ritual). I reward my efforts with breakfast: avocado toast, a hard boiled egg, and a banana.

1 p.m. — I meet two of my coworkers at a local beer garden. I usually only hang out with my boyfriend, so I'm excited to do something social and build my friendships with the people I work with. It's a beautiful day, so we sit outside to drink and eat nachos. I have two beers. We split the bill evenly; my portion comes out to about $30 including a generous tip, since the waiter is very nice and funny. $30

4 p.m. — I stop at the grocery store on my way home for my usual weekly necessities. I get bananas, peanut butter, cottage cheese, and chips (for my lunches this week); chicken breasts, cheese, bread, mushrooms, and tortillas (for dinners this week); and laundry detergent, apple cider vinegar, and trash bags since we ran out recently. I usually spend a long time in the grocery store comparing prices and looking for the best value. $84

6 p.m. — My boyfriend makes us homemade pizza for dinner and I prepare a salad with lettuce from our garden. His pizzas are always delicious, and they're actually pretty inexpensive since he makes the dough and sauce from scratch. He splurged on an outdoor pizza oven a few months ago (he says it was on sale at the hardware store), and it cooks a pizza in about five minutes!

Daily Total: $114

Day Three

7 a.m. — I wake up early and decide to take the dog for a hike. I make coffee at home and load up the dog in the car. We drive to the regional park about 15 minutes from the house and hike for an hour and a half. It's sunny and crisp outside, and the dog enjoys the little adventure. When we get home, I make breakfast (Kashi cereal and a banana).

11 a.m. — My boyfriend and I meet up with friends at a local winery. They know someone who works there, so we get free wine tastings and 50% off purchases! The estate is gorgeous, so we walk around for a while before enjoying our wine tasting. I buy two bottles, one sparkling and one red, which comes out to just $30 after the discount. We play bocce ball and end up drinking the bottle of sparkling during our game. $30

2 p.m. — After wine tasting, we're all getting hungry, so we go to a BBQ place nearby. We got burgers and beers and split the bill. My boyfriend pays for our half. Then we spent the next hour talking about the business that we want to start together. My boyfriend and the other guy are both landscapers, so they want to start a landscaping company that they can work on on afternoons and weekends in addition to their day jobs. I would help them set up their website and digital marketing, and our other friend would help with billing and bookkeeping. We have a pretty good idea of what we want to do, but it'll take time to get it off the ground.

7 p.m. — After a pretty heavy (and late) lunch, I'm not hungry for dinner, so we just have snacks and watch TV at home. I get my stuff together for tomorrow (I like to plan my outfits for the next day every night) and make our lunches. We're in bed by 9 p.m.

Daily Total: $30

Day Four

6 a.m. — It's pouring rain outside when I wake up on Monday, but I'm pretty committed to my daily dog walks, so we gear up and head out. When we get back a half hour later, both me and the dog are totally soaked and it takes me a while to get us cleaned up and dried off. I get ready for work and pack my yoga clothes for the class I plan to go to after, pack my lunch and head to work.

12 p.m. — It's a pretty mellow day at work and I've been steadily checking things off my to-do list all morning. I eat my lunch and snacks at my desk (PB&J, hard boiled egg, banana) and decide to go for a walk during my lunch break. There's a nice wetlands nature park across from my office, and now that the weather has cleared up, it's beautiful out. I take a trail that I assume will loop around, but I end up having to turn around and hustle back so I'm not gone too long. I check my Health app and see that I already walked three miles today!

5 p.m. — My regular yoga studio is about a half an hour drive away downtown, where parking is kinda tricky. I leave work a little early, change clothes on my way out, and drive to the studio. I park on the street in a metered space, which is $3 for two hours. I'm glad I made time to go to yoga today because I really needed it! I was feeling sore and tight, but the gentle Vinyasa flow did the trick. $3

7 p.m. — After my yoga class, I walk over to Starbucks and get a small black coffee ($1.95). It is WAY too hot, so after scalding my tongue, I douse it with cream and head back to the car. At home, my boyfriend saved me pizza (BBQ chicken this time). I make our lunches for tomorrow and we settle into the couch for Last Week Tonight and Vice News. $1.95

Daily Total: $4.95

Day Five

6 a.m. — We both slept horribly last night because the neighbor's dog was barking outside all night. I sleep in an extra 30 minutes. Then I do my normal morning routine: coffee, dog walk, get ready, make breakfast, head to work. It's sunny this morning, so I take the long way, driving past the pastures of sheep.

12 p.m. — I have a really successful morning of checking things off my to-do list. I prepare for a meeting scheduled with my boss this afternoon. I've only been in this position for a few months, so I'm trying really hard to make a good impression and go above and beyond (because I hope to get a raise at the end of the year!). I eat my lunch at my desk (PB&J, chips, hard boiled egg) but then my boyfriend calls me to ask if I want to meet up for lunch. He drives around all over the county for his job as a landscape project manager, so he happened to be at a project near my office. Since I've already eaten, we decide to meet for a walk in the nature park. It's a nice little break in the middle of the day and I get in some fresh air and kisses.

6 p.m. — The meeting with my boss goes great; I don't know why I was stressed about it! He's very approachable, and these meetings are really just to give us the opportunity to check in about my projects and ask any questions. I'm really liking this company and the people I work with. I feel valued and appreciated, and I think the work I'm doing is making a difference! I come home and make myself a nice cocktail while my boo makes dinner (more pizza). He brings in salad greens from the garden, which I toss with Caesar dressing and homemade croutons. We tend to eat the same thing all week because it makes grocery shopping and cooking quicker and easier. This week is obviously pizza week, but we mix it up often.

8 p.m. — We go over our finances again to make sure everything is even. Since the rent, water, electric/gas, and garbage ($3,027) come out of my account and he deals with the Internet, car lease, and car insurance ($435), he gives me a check for $1,300 each month. I take care of most of the groceries so he can focus on paying off his debt. I'm also trying to save up to buy my car once the lease is up. I have $9,000 now, but in a year, I need to have at least $15,000 so I can buy the car outright and avoid financing it. I'm thinking about investing in mutual funds, but the process seems complicated and I'm not sure if now is the right time with the market going up and down. We're both doing pretty well, but he needs to pay off his debt. We both want to save up to buy a house.

Daily Total: $0

Day Six

6 a.m. — Neither of us wanted to get out of bed this morning. I snooze the alarm a couple times and we have sexy time instead ;). I take the dog for a longer walk than normal and jump in the shower when I get home. I decide to wear my "power pants" today because I'm just feeling good. I make a smoothie, pack my lunch, and head to work.

10 a.m. — I have a meeting with my team to go over our projects. My boss gave me a few new projects to handle this week and gives us updates on the progress of the showroom we're redesigning for an upcoming trade show. There will be a lot of work coming down the line soon, but there's nothing we can start on yet. This is the calm before the storm.

11 a.m. — I signed up for a brown bag Lunch and Learn last week as part of our wellness program that focuses on "handling difficult situations," so I head down to the conference room. The presentation was good and we learn about how to minimize conflict in the workplace. The main take-away was that we can only control our reactions and we shouldn't take the behavior of others personally. Overall, it was helpful and gave me good interpersonal tools. I snack on Sun Chips that they provide.

12 p.m. — I take a little break, walk down to the nature park, and sit on a bench in the shade to read my book. I'm on the third book of the Millennium series, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.

12:30 p.m. — I head back to my desk and eat my lunch — PB&J, banana, and cottage cheese. I spend the rest of the afternoon checking things off my to-do list, but I don't get as much done as I had hoped. I stay a little late, and head home at 5:45 p.m.

6 p.m. — My new Girlfriend Collective leggings have arrived! I got a free pair a couple years ago as part of a promotion, and they're the only ones I wear now, so I decided to buy a second pair. They fit great and the packaging is beautiful. My boyfriend and I drink cocktails and eat salad and homemade pizza. We spend the evening watching Vice News Tonight and Troy, and then go to bed at 10 p.m.

Daily Total: $0

Day Seven

6 a.m. — It's really hard to wake up this morning. The house is chilly, which makes getting out from under the covers difficult. I finally get out of bed, make my coffee, and walk the dog. I do squats and push-ups on a park bench, and then get ready and kiss my man goodbye when he leaves. I make a smoothie and head to work.

12 p.m. — My boss's boss is retiring, and today is her surprise retirement party with the whole company. I help decorate with balloons and hang a piñata. She is so surprised and she tears up when she walks into the room. We eat cake and Mexican food and hang out for a couple hours. The afternoon is slow and I don't feel like working much today, especially after eating a bunch of cake.

5 p.m. — I get home and the house smells delicious. My man is cooking homemade (from scratch!) potatos au gratin. So. Much. Yes. We take the dog to the park across the street to play ball. He doesn't always listen but he loves fetch, so we compromise by playing fetch with a 50 foot leash on. He gets tired out pretty quickly. We eat our delicious dinner (potatoes, BBQ chicken, and salad from the garden) and settle in for TV time. I fall asleep on the couch and my boyfriend carries me to bed.

Daily Total: $0

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