Pocketful of Joules

To be honest, I’ve had so much luck thrifting and visiting consignment stores over the past few months that I haven’t really bothered with retail shopping. However, there was this one jacket that I kept thinking about. I’d forget about it and then suddenly I’d start obsessing over it again. It was the Boden Horseall Jacket in Leopard.

I love my thrifted leopard long coat and have been wearing it over and over again, so I thought a shorter option would be a great addition to my wardrobe. This jacket looks super adorable on the model! The reviews were really good (4 out of 5 stars) AND the jacket went on sale for $99 (original price $198), so I went ahead and placed an order.

When I ordered the jacket, they were sold out of most of the sizes except for US4 and US10. I am typically a US10 in Boden dresses, so I went for that size.

Okay, let’s check it out in-person:

Um, okay. It’s just okay. I mean it’s much more thick and fluffy than I expected. And the colors are a little more muted.

Wait, the shoulders are a little weird. Hmm… let’s check out the side view.

Um…what?! Well, this is really weird and unexpected. I look like I may be pregnant or have an unfortunate triangle shaped torso. Or um… both? It’s not flattering at all and I look like a weeble-wobble. Which is not really the look I was going for.

Luckily, Boden offers free shipping on returns because this jacket went right back in the mail. And I can easily say that this jacket won’t be haunting me anymore!

Do you enjoy my Online vs In-Person posts where I show pictures of how the item appears on the website model vs on me?

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As many of my long-time readers and Instagram friends know, I’m a big fan of Rothy’s. I had been looking for a comfortable, professional looking shoe that I could wear on a long workday and finally found that with the Rothy’s points.

Sure, they are pricey. But they are also washable and so comfortable that I can be on my feet for a 12-hour day and still not want to throw them across the room.

I’ve written about Rothy’s before, so if you want to catch up you can find:

•  Let’s Talk About Rothy’s: Are they Worth the Money  (this one has a $20 off promo code for new buyers)
• The Best Insoles to Wear with Rothy’s for a Perfect Fit

Over the past couple years of my Rothy’s fandom, they have released a couple new styles. First, was the slip-on sneaker which I love for casual weekend looks and the occasional Casual Friday at work:

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A post shared by pocketfulofjoules (@pocketfulofjoules) on Dec 28, 2019 at 1:14pm PST

After the sneaker, Rothy’s introduced the Chelsea (aka the high top sneaker). Some people kind of side-eyed the Chelsea because they thought it was ugly, but I ordered a ‘wildcat’ pair immediately that they have become my weekend shoe of choice this winter.

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A post shared by pocketfulofjoules (@pocketfulofjoules) on Dec 20, 2019 at 5:06am PST

They are a little warmer than the regular sneaker, I can stick a wool sock on my foot without it being seen, and it’s animal print… which makes even my most basic tee shirt + jeans + sweater outfit look cute.

Well, now Rothy’s has introduced yet another silhouette and I’m curious about your thoughts.

They’re called the Mary Jane and they feature straps to tie into a bow for a “soft, feminine look”. They are made to look like girlie ballet slippers and upon first glance, they are a little cute. I guess. But here’s the thing, to me the blue pair look like they have an ace bandage wrapped around them!

And once you see it, it’s really hard to un-see!

I do think the wildcat pair with the black bow is awfully cute, but here’s my problem with the Mary Janes. They look super trendy. The whole beauty of Rothy’s (to me) is that they are a classic, yet comfortable look that is totally appropriate for work. They’re not necessarily statement makers, but a workhorse in my closet. Sure, I have some bright color pairs that give you that pop of color or pairs that add a little sparkle to my outfits. But, I can see them still being ‘in style’ 10 years from now.

I’ve been trying not to buy things that I will just sell/donate/re-home in a year. And even though I’m a teensy bit tempted by this pair… I feel like I’d get bored of them pretty quick.

The Mary Janes just seem a little too STATEMENT MAKING, I guess. Also, I imagine trying to tie a perfect bow on the regular can be quite challenging. And don’t even get me started on what will happen if the bow unties and I end up tripping over it. Because that would obviously happen.

I’m curious though, what do you think of the new Mary Jane style of Rothy’s?

Each year as we near Valentine’s Day, I get a little nostalgic. Because not too long ago I had my most memorable Valentine’s Day ever, at the hospital in early labor with Jack. And each year, I need a bit more hugs and kisses from my little sweetheart, because his birth story plays on repeat through my head. But then… on the day after Valentine’s Day, it’s Jack’s BIRTHDAY!

And this year, my little guy is 8 years old!

Jack’s birthday fell on a Saturday this year, which worked out great. To celebrate, he asked to have three of his favorite friends come over for Pokemon battles, video games, pizza and cake. I mean, what’s not to like?!

In honor of Jack’s 8^th birthday, here are 8 things about Jack:

#1: Jack is still quite the mommy lover and has no problems hugging and kissing me in public. I know, I know. This doesn’t last forever… but as long as he’s giving out the snuggles I’m keeping them!

#2: Jack loves comic-book type books! We’ve read everything in the Dog Man series, as well as the Bad Guys series. For his birthday, he asked for the Hilo series (we had borrowed the first few from the library and he really wanted some to keep), so now we have 6 Hilo books waiting to be read!

#3: Jack is also OBSESSED with video games. His Uncle Jason started him on them a few years ago, but this year Jack received Uncle Jason’s old Nintendo Switch for Christmas and it blew his mind! His current favorite games are: Minecraft, Mario Maker, and Mario Party. For his birthday he received Mario Cart and his Mimi ordered him Animal Crossing (which comes out in March).

#4: Jack also still loves LEGOS and will spend hours rebuilding inventions. We’ve made a few visits to Legoland in Philadelphia and they are always a winner for him!

#5: Jacks current favorite foods are cheeseburgers, meatballs, steak, egg sandwiches, cinnamon toast, and ice cream sundae cones. Oh and he still loves Subway, but also really enjoys Mod Pizza with a dessert of FroYo!

#6: At school, Jack is still in the before/after program and has recently found that he loves playing chess. Each day when we pick him up, it’s pretty typical that he will be in the middle of a fierce chess game with either his friend or a counselor.

#7: Jack’s favorite friends right now are Holden, Emmett and Jameson. He invited all three of them to his birthday party and they had an awesome time playing video games and having Pokemon card battles. I think there may have been some illicit Pokemon trading too…

#8: Jack loves having the top of his hair long and when he’s thinking or concentrating he sticks one hand in the front of his hair and twists it around. Of course, then he has some crazy messy hair… but it is pretty darn adorable.

Happiest of birthdays to my super awesome, fun, amazing, hilarious Jack!

As I mentioned in my 2020 goals post, I’m planning one weekend of fun for each month throughout the year. In January, we took a trip to Kingsmill in Williamsburg, VA for my mom’s birthday celebration. For February, we decided to do something a little closer to home… snow tubing!

We were initially considering doing an overnight trip, but when we saw that Liberty Mountain Resort offered two-hour snow tubing passes AND they were less than an hour from our house we decided to just go for a day. While I love to ski (but haven’t been in 10+ years), I’ve never been snow tubing before. Neither Travis or Jack has ever tried to ski, so I figured snow tubing would be a fun and easy way to introduce them to the mountain!

Joining us on our trip:

The cost to snow tube for a two-hour session on the weekend is $34 per person. This includes your tube and unlimited tubing on the tubing trails. We grabbed our tubes and hopped on the people mover, which took us up to the top of the hill.

Jack is smiling here, but the first three times on the people mover were a little rough. He fell over each time and then insisted on holding my hand until he got to the top. The first time we rode it and jumped off, I was more worried about helping Jack walk off safely than myself… and I immediately slipped on some ice and fell to the ground like a ton of bricks.

Luckily, we all had on our puffy snow pants! Before he went down the first hill, Jack was pretty apprehensive. Especially when people requested to be spun around and the helper would yank their tubes in such a way that they would spiral down the tubing track.

Here’s the ‘regular’ non spinning way to tube, with Jack:

And here is my brother in law, Craig when he went down on his tummy and requested a spin:

We all had a pretty great time and snow tubing did grow on Jack just a little bit. After he mastered the people mover, he got more confidence after each run. He still didn’t want to be spun, but the fact that he was smiling was enough for me!

With that being said, when I asked Jack if he’d like to try snow tubing at another mountain resort, he said that he thinks he’s fine for the year.

Have you tried snow tubing?