Pocketful of Joules

I swear, I just blogged about this in April when Jack grew out of all his size 6 pants. Which was just 7 months after he grew out of all his size 5 pants. At the time, Jack’s pants were suddenly a few inches too short… but since it was only April, I had to buy the next size since it was a month or so until shorts weather.

I had high hopes that after wearing his size 7 pants for a month, I could squeak a little more wear out of them in the fall.

Yeah, that didn’t happen.

We had our first week of cool weather and the kid grew out of his dang pants again.

But now we have a new problem. I usually stock up on Nike and Under Armour track pants at TJ Maxx and Marshalls, but after a size 7 there is no size 8. Instead the sizes transition into small, medium and large.

Well, you may be thinking that I should just go with smalls. Yeah, me too. But while the smalls are consistent with an 8 in length, they are much larger in the waist. And my kid is super slim with really long legs. So, to get the pants to fit in the length, you have to tie the waist really tight and they are still falling down on him!

Also, apparently size small isn’t popular. Or maybe it’s too popular. I went to 3 Marshall’s stores and 1 TJ Maxx store and found just TWO pairs of potential pants in a size small. They had plenty of the thicker sweatpants, but the sporty trackpants where nowhere to be found. I also found a pair of Adidas trackpants in a 7x, so I figured I’d throw them into my pile too.

Then, I went to Kohls because I heard they have a good sporty boy’s section. After searching the entire section, I found a total of 6 pairs of size small pants that ranged in price from $25 – $40. I’m used to Marshalls pricing of $17 for a pair… so there was some super sticker shock happening!

So, that gives us a total of 8 pairs of size small pants and 1 pair of a 7x size. We had a little try-on session at home in the living room and I made three piles: fits just right, fits good but a little big (and he will grow into them), or way too big around the waist (and he will grow too tall before he fits them in the waist).

The one pair of 7x pants were perfection. The same size around the waist as a normal 7, but with a few extra inches of length! EXACTLY what I needed.

The two pairs from Marshalls that were a size small were okay. The length was good and there was a little extra space around the waist, but Jack could jump up and down and not worry about them falling to his knees. The prices were right, so I may pack these away for a few months to see if they fit better in the winter.

As for the six pairs from Kohls, only one pair worked at all. Every single pair was great when it came to length, but holy hell were they wide at the waist and butt area! I picked up a mix of Under Armour and Nike, so I was shocked that they went from a slim size 7 to a husky size small. SHOCKED!

Out of all 9 pairs, we ended up with 2 that can fit right now and 2 that may fit better in a few months. That’s it! I packed the Kohl’s pants back up in the bag to return and went to bed defeated.

And then I had a thought. Maybe I can find some more of those Adidas 7x pants somewhere! I did some googling around and found them on Amazon with Prime shipping! They have two versions with 7x as an option, the Adidas Boys Tapered Trainer pant for $19.20 and the Adidas Boys Tricot Jogger pants for $18. I ordered three more pairs and crossed my fingers that they’d fit consistent with the pair we had.

And they do! Jack now has 5 pairs of pants that actually fit him and 2 pairs waiting for him to gain a little weight in the tummy. I wish I had that problem with my pants…

If you also have a tall, thin kid that keeps growing out of pants, you may find the fact that there are a few 7x’s out in the world helpful!

Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means that clicking on a link may help me earn a small commission at no cost to you.

I was in a shopping mood a couple weeks ago when my Trunk Club stylist reached out to see if I’d like to see a fall Trunk. So, of course I said yes. I mean, if I don’t like anything I can send it all back. And if I do like something, she saved me the time and the effort to go and find it!

I did give her a teensy bit of instructions before she put together her preview. I’d recently seen a really cute outfit on Instagram of a leopard print tank top, fuzzy cardigan and colored pants. I told her that I loved the outfit and would like to see something similar.

Here is what she sent over for me to try:

If you’re new to my Trunk Club reveals (you can find them all here), I don’t typically photograph every single one of the items. When the Trunk first arrives, I usually go through it and narrow down my choices to a pile of my favorites. Let’s check them out!

Outfit #1: Vince Camuto Print V-Neck Blouse, $59 (find it here) and Kut from the Kloth Diana Stretch Skinny Pants, $69.50 (find them here)

I love this outfit with the v-neck leopard print blouse and the moss green corduroy pants. This is super cute for weekends and if I throw on a cardigan it would be great for work too. I think this top would also look really great tucked into a skirt for a work look! Love, love, love both of these pieces!

Outfit #2: Loveappella Pleat Neck Tank Top, $45 on sale for $26.98 (find it here) and Kut from the Kloth Diana Stretch Skinny Pants, $69.50 (find them here)

My stylist sent me over a second leopard print top to try and it happens to be on sale right now for $26.98. The neckline of this one is higher and it has some fun pleats too. I’m not loving it with the cords, but this one would be really cute tucked into a skirt. The color scheme isn’t my favorite though and it kind of blends into my hair color. Even though this one is on sale, if it were a fight to the death for leopard tops, the first one I tried on would win for me.

Outfit #3: Vince Camuto Print V-Neck Blouse, $59 (find it here), Madewell Kent Cardigan Sweater, $98 (find it here) and Kut from the Kloth Diana Stretch Skinny Pants, $69.50 (find them here)

This look is exactly the color combo I loved in my inspiration outfit. I love the way the rust color of the sweater plays off the leopard print and moss green pants. However, while the color combo is a winner for me… I don’t love the thickness of the sweater. It is super soft and nubby (with no scratchy wool), but it is awfully warm and I would probably sweat in this. For those of you who tend to run a little colder though, this one is a great choice!

Outfit #4: Cece Ruffle Tie Neck Top, $79 (find it here) and Kut from the Kloth Diana Stretch Skinny Pants, $69.50 (find them here)

I need some more solid tops that are more elevated than a t-shirt for layering with my work clothes. This one is really pretty and I like the tie at the neck and the ruffles around the sides as well. I’m not totally loving this top with the cords – too much of summer and winter mixed together for me – however it is perfect for jeans. Or skirts, of course. The one is one of those workhorse pieces that my closet has been needing.

Trunk Finalists
Okay, help me decide what to buy! Here are my finalists:

• (2) Loveappella top, on sale for $26.98
• (3) Kut from the Kloth moss green corduroys, $69.50
• (4) Vince Camuto top, $59
• (9) Cece Ruffle Tie Neck Top, $79
• (11) Madewell Kent Cardigan, $98

I’m leaning towards buying the v-neck leopard top, the ruffle tie top AND the corduroys. However, I saw a very similar pair of Kut from the Kloth cords on Amazon for just $23, so I ordered them to compare (crossing my fingers that they get here before I have to send my Trunk back!) What do you think I should buy?

If you want to have Amelia style a Trunk for you I have her linked to my referral code here:  https://www.trunkclub.com/invite/QZFJ33 (Please note: if you use my referral link it will cost you nothing extra and it earns me a small amount to go towards items in my next Trunk).

Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored by Trunk Club, I pay for any clothing I purchase with my own hard-earned money. If you enjoyed my review and decide to try Trunk Club for yourself, the biggest compliment you can give me is by using my referral link. Thank you to anyone who chooses to click through and support my shopping addiction! This post contains ShopStyle affiliate links. This means that clicking on a link may help me earn a small commission at no cost to you.

I’ve been having a face lotion issue. Much like Goldilocks, everything was either too heavy or too light… but nothing was just right.

For years and years and years, I used Origins A Perfect World lotion year-round. It was indeed *perfect* – not too heavy, not too light, not greasy at all. But then a year or so ago they changed the recipe to increase the SPF and it was suddenly too thick and greasy for me.

So I switched over to Origins Ginzing Gel Moisturizer. It didn’t have a SPF in it, but I loved it for my daily moisturizing needs. The problem is that while it is wonderful in the spring/summer months, it wasn’t quite hydrating enough when the weather cooled off.

I have a few night creams I like, but I really needed something for day time! I saw Oil of Olay Total Effects at Costco one day, so I figured I’d give that a try. But that one was also too thick and goopy for me. It felt more like putting sunscreen on my face than a normal face lotion. I also had a few random lotions that I had received in FabFitFun and Causebox boxes, such as the Murad Skin Perfecting Lotion and the Kalos pH Balancing Moisterizer, but after trying them I just didn’t love anything.

Before I fell too far into the vast well of face lotion options, I figured I’d ask my Facebook friends for their recommendations. And WOW did everyone deliver. In no particular order, here’s what you all like:

• Beauty Counter Daily Lotion
• Kiehls Ultra Facial Oil Free Moisturizer
• Belifs The True Cream Aqua Bomb
• Oil of Olay
• Arbonne’s Face Lotion
• The Olive Branch Skincare System
• Neutrogena Face Moisturizing Cream
• LaRoche lotion
• Trader Joe’s Face lotion
• Philosophy Renewed Hope in a Jar

One commenter recommended I hit up an Ulta and try a few samples before committing, which I thought was a great idea. I’m so sick of spending money on a big bottle of stuff only to decide I hate it and never use it again!

So, off to Ulta I went with my list in my hand. And I must have found the Ulta with the least helpful workers ever, because I couldn’t find ANYONE to help me… much less get me a sample. So I wandered around for a bit and couldn’t find anything on my damn list.

I did find myself in the Philosophy section though and I do tend to like that brand’s body lotions/souffles. So, I did a little digging and found the “Purity Prep Set” for $24 which contained a bottle of Philosophy Purity facial cleanser and a sample size of the Purity moisturizer.

I figured I’d give it a try, even though, yes, I was once again committing to products that I could hate. Sigh. I also grabbed a sample size of the Clinique Dramatically Different face lotion at the checkout so I could try that one too. I used it ages and ages ago and couldn’t remember why I stopped.

I finally found an Ulta worker at the cash register (and she was super rude), so apparently there were some in the store. But wow was I surprised that literally nobody was around to help me at all.

Anyways, this story has a happy ending.

I tried the Philosophy Purity cleanser and lotion… and it’s exactly what I was hoping for! It’s lightweight, but not too lightweight. It doesn’t have a heavy scent. And it leaves my skin hydrated all day long. So yay, it wasn’t one of the lotions I was looking for… but it WAS a winner!

I found a new-to-me author who I love and I wanted to share it with you all! I love Kristan Higgins! I picked up her first book at the library and loved it so much that I logged in and used the library hold feature for as many of her books that I could find!

On Second Thought

Find it here on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2pm89VI

The first one I read was “On Second Thought” and I LOVED it. The story centers around two sisters – Ainsley and Kate. Both are going through some hard times and so they and up living together to help each other through it. There were super sad bits and laugh out loud like an idiot in my sunroom by myself bits. But all in all, I loved how she wrote these characters so much that I was salivating for more Kristan Higgins books!

Good Luck With That

Find it here on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2IMDurt

Emerson, Georgia, and Marley have been best friends ever since they met at teenagers at a weight-loss camp. After Emerson tragically passes away, she leaves a wish behind for her best friends to conquer the fears that they still carry as adults. Oh my gosh, this book made me feel all the feels. I felt so sorry for poor Emerson and I cheered as Georgia and Marley celebrated their successes.

Now that You Mention It

Find it here on Amazon: https://amzn.to/35wrHHG

This book follows the life of Nora Stuart, she earned a prestigious scholarship in high school which gave her the opportunity to leave her small town. But now, recovering from an accident she returns back home to finally find some peace and re-connect with her mother and withdrawn teenage niece. I have to admit, there was one particular scene in this book that I absolutely hated (I felt like the violence was drawn out way too long in a way that was way too ‘real’ for a chick lit kinda book). But, other than that scene, I highly enjoyed this one.

I’m still waiting on a couple more book holds to come up at my library, but I’m already ready for my next Kristan Higgins book! Have you read her?

Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means that clicking on a link may help me earn a small commission at no cost to you.