Pocketful of Joules

I had off for three days last week for spring break (perks of working at a university), so I had some glorious thrifting time! I spent a few long hours on Monday at one thrift store, and came home with a bunch of great items. Then, on Tuesday I spent about an hour at a second thrift store and scored big on shoes!

{Pssst, you can read about my previous thrifting adventures here}

While my favorite thrift store has special sale days where certain colors of tags are on sale, the majority of the time I don’t end up with anything that special sale color. However, when I went on Monday, all blue and pink tags were 33% off AND all violet and yellow tags were 50% off!

Anthropologie Cartonnier blazer, size medium, $4.69 ($6.99 blue tag)

I typically don’t thrift items to sell, but occasionally I’ll pick up an Anthropologie item because they tend to sell pretty quickly. This Cartonnier blazer is great and I actually own it in a size large. I decided to buy this for $4.69 because I love mine and identical blazers are currently selling on Poshmark for around $40.

Anthropologie Moulinette Soeurs Linnea Velvet Dress, size medium, $6.69 ($9.99 pink tag)

I love Moulinette Soeurs dresses and would totally keep this one for myself if I were a few inches shorter. As it is, the medium on me is a bit too short on my 5’7” height. The dress is gorgeous though and in perfect condition. It retailed for $228 and is currently listed on Poshmark for $130 – $150. I’m going to list it soon and add any earnings to my vacation funds account!

Talbots 100% linen cardigan sweater, size large, $5.36 ($7.99 pink tag)

I really like this pretty blue ‘boyfriend’ sweater and the linen weave is perfect for spring. This one was a steal for less than $6 and I’ll certainly get my money’s worth out of it!

Loft dotted cardigan, size XL, $3.50 ($6.99 yellow tag)

I loved this lightweight dotted cardigan when I picked it up, but then once I realized it was half-off with a yellow tag, I loved it even more. I like the dots a lot and it looks great with as simple t-shirt and jeans. I actually already wore this one once and will be wearing it again and again this spring!

Elle floral dress, size 16?, $10.05 ($14.99 pink tag)

Once again, a lesson in trying on everything you like no matter what the size tag says! This dress was marked a size 16, but fits like a size 10/12. I like the darker floral pattern along with the tucked neckline and tie-waist. This will look great with a pretty cardigan and flats for work.

Talbots striped spotted ¾ sleeve top, size 1X, $5.00 ($9.99 yellow tag)

I love the mixture of dots and stripes on this soft cotton top. It must have been designed to be worn more fitted, but I like that by sizing up it’s a little roomy for a slouchy fit. I’ll certainly be pairing this with jeans and maybe even some shorts in the summer. I wore it for a hot-minute this morning, before I found out my meeting was cancelled (so I changed back into sweatpants).

Ann Taylor dress, size ? (tag ripped out), $10.05 ($14.99 blue tag)

I picked up this dress and immediately liked the fabric colors. I was cautiously optimistic though because it doesn’t have a size tag and the thrift store had marked it an 8. I tried it on anyways and it fit great! This will be perfect for work with a cute cardigan or on vacation down at the beach with sandals. Such a steal for $10!

Ann Taylor wrap dress, size 8, $14.99

I was on an Ann Taylor roll with the dresses and picked up this wrap dress because I really like the colors and pattern. This one is also marked as an 8, but since it’s a wrap it’s a bit more forgiving. I love the look of this one and it will be added into my work dress rotation asap. And yes, I find it absolutely ridiculous that I picked up a size 16 dress and a size 8 dress that fit pretty much identically…

Lucy exercise leggings, size large, $4.99

I typically don’t bother sorting through the exercise legging section because it tends to be a lot of crap. However, these were hanging by the end of the aisle so I grabbed them up to try. Lucy is a great brand that was recently purchased by The North Face. These leggings are made of extra thick but stretchy fabric, so I’m happy to have gotten them for just $5.

Chicos The Platinum Boyfriend jean, size 1.5, $5.36 ($7.99 blue tag)

I freely admit that this purchase was an oops purchase. I liked them when I tried them on in the fitting room, but once I got them home and washed them, they are no longer winners in my book. Luckily this was just a $5.36 mistake. I’ll add them back in to my re-donate pile for another thrifter to enjoy.

Brighton Summer of Love Tote, $12.99

I saw this tote from across the aisle and it was LOVE at first sight. It’s brand new with tags still on, in perfect condition and a great size for hauling a bunch of crap around. I did a quick search and found that the retail value for this bag was $100, which seems crazy high. However, once my friend suggested it might have been a gift with purchase, I honed in on an old Brighton Facebook post from June 2017 announcing the limited edition bag as a gift with purchase for anyone who spent over $100 on jewelry. Any which way, I love it!

Gap driving moccasins, size 8.5, $4.99

I love the bright green colored suede of these fun Gap driving moccasins/loafers. These are a little preppy for my typical outfits, even though the pop of color is fantastic.  I’m thinking I may use these as my summer slippers for around the house.

Kate Spade suede chukka boots, size 8.5, $12.99

Another total shoe score… these fantastic blue suede Kate Spade chukka boots! I love, love, love this find and apparently they retailed for somewhere between $250 – 300. They are my size, super comfortable and will look great with some rolled up boyfriend jeans this spring!

Did you have any luck thrifting this month? Share your scores!

With the first day of spring FINALLY arriving, I’m in the mood to pack away my winter clothes! My Trunk Club stylist, Amelia must have heard my thoughts because she sent me a quick note telling me that spring pieces were starting to come in and asked if I’d be interested in a Trunk with some transitional items.

Well, I have some Trunk Club credits burning a hole in my pocket… so I figured why not?! Amelia’s last try wasn’t a winner though, so I gave her a bit of homework and asked her to please check out my Instagram for what I typically wear to work. I also sent her though my last few My Style posts (winter, fall, summer) so she could see what I tend to like/look best wearing.

Well, Amelia certainly did her homework… because my Trunk preview looked FANTASTIC:

(1) Curves 360 by NYDJ, $89, (2) DL1961 Florence Midrise Instasculpt Ankle Skinny Jeans, $142.99 sale, (3) Eliza J Floral Belted Midi Dress, $138, (4) Madewell Whisper Cotton V-Neck Tee, $14.63 sale, (5) 1901 Wrap Sweater, $59, (6) Chelsea28 Print Midi Skirt, $79, (7) 1901 Stripe Belted Shirtdress, $139, (8) Madewell Texture & Thread Full Sleeve Top, $35.70 sale (no link), (9) Modcloth Heirloom Tomato Print Pocket Skirt, $65, (10) Madewell Summer Ryder Cardigan, $69.50, (11) Madewell x The New Denim Project Patchwork Skirt, $69.50, (12) Madewell Whisper Cotton V-Neck Tee, $14.63 sale.

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: Eliza J Floral Belted Midi Dress ($138)

On paper, this dress seems like everything I like: floral pattern, midi length, cropped sleeves. I even usually like Eliza J designs and have a couple skirts from the brand. Unfortunately, in person the dress just looks very matronly. Perhaps if it had a v-neckline it would have been much more flattering, but as it is… it’s a pass.

Outfit 2: Madewell Whisper Cotton V-Neck Tee ($14.63 sale), Modcloth Heirloom Tomato Print Pocket Skirt ($65), 1901 Wrap Sweater ($59)

How adorable and springy is this outfit?! It’s difficult to tell in this photo, but the v-neck tee is actually a light lilac color. I love Madewell whisper tee’s and have a few of them in heavy rotation. Of the two colors that Amelia sent over, I actually already own the pretty bluish-gray. This lilac is pretty, but not right with my complexion.

When I first tried on the wrap sweater, I felt like it was a bit too short-waisted… but I was proven wrong because I love the way it looks with a skirt. I don’t love this skirt though — the fabric is a bit cheap feeling and seems to wrinkle easily. I do have similar skirts and can absolutely recreate this look by adding the sweater to pieces I already own.

Since I liked the sweater, I decided to try it on over one of my dresses to see how it looked:

I wear a lot of cardigans in the spring and summer, and this wrap sweater might be a fun piece to add to my closet! What do you think?

Outfit 3: Madewell Summer Ryder Cardigan ($69.50), Madewell Whisper Cotton V-Neck Tee ($14.63 sale), DL1961 Florence Midrise Instasculpt Ankle Skinny Jeans ($142.99 sale)

Dang it, I didn’t mean to try these jeans on. My last stylist sent me a pair of DL1961 jeans in my October Trunk and I have literally worn them 98% of the time that I’ve worn jeans in the last 6 months. They are my FAVORITE jeans – they have the perfect amount of stretch but somehow NEVER get baggy in the butt or knees… even when sitting on an airplane for 6+ hours. Magical. So I should have known better when I tried on this pair.

These are just as soft and stretchy as my other pair, but these are a lighter wash and cropped length that are perfect for spring. I paired them with the same lilac tee and added the orange Madewell cardigan. I LOVE this entire outfit. It is very ME and also perfect for spring or even a cool summer day.

Here are my quickie 6-words-or-less thoughts on the items I didn’t show you:

• (1) Curves 360 by NYDJ blouse – boring.
• (6) Chelsea28 Print Midi Skirt – cheap, cheap fabric.
• (7) 1901 Stripe Belted Shirtdress – sleeves too tight.
• (8) Madewell Texture & Thread Full Sleeve Top – weird fabric.
• (11) Madewell x The New Denim Project Patchwork Skirt – clingy on the tummy area.

Trunk Finalists
Okay, so if you’ve been playing along that leaves me with the following favorites from this Trunk:

• (2) DL1961 Florence Midrise Instasculpt Ankle Skinny Jeans, $142.99
• (5) 1901 Wrap Sweater, $59
• (10) Madewell Summer Ryder Cardigan, $69.50

I do have credits in my account that will go towards this order, which is super awesome. I’ve also been selling a bunch of stuff on Poshmark, so I’m leaning towards buying all three finalists.

So now I’d love to know what you think! Leave me a comment below!

3/22/19 Update: Thank you all for your feedback here, on Facebook and on Instagram! I decided to buy the DL1961 jeans and the Madewell cardigan and pass on the wrap sweater!

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.

This is the week of my quarterly box reveals! I received both my FabFitFun box AND my Causebox, so I can’t wait to show you all what is inside. I’ll post the Causebox review later this week, but let’s get started with FabFitFun!

Before we get into the goodies, here is a quick overview of FabFitFun:

• Boxes come on a quarterly basis and cost $49.99 each. To upgrade to a ‘select member’ you just pay for a year at once (rather than quarterly), it’s usually a little cheaper and it gives you the chance to make some choices on options. If you want to try them out, here is a special $10 off link for you to use on your first box.
• You can find links to all of my previous FabFitFun box reviews here.

Here’s my Spring 2019 box:

I love that the boxes are always so pretty and I use them to organize things all over my house (especially my closet and office)!

Let’s look inside:

Daily Concepts Daily Detox Brush, retail $18

This brush is supposed to exfoliate layers of dead skin and stimulate circulation with the natural bristles and massaging nodules. With summer coming, this is perfect timing to start exfoliating away my winter dryness. I tried doing some small circles on my dry legs and it felt really nice!

Manna Kadar Champagne Charcoal Body Scrub, retail $34.95

Here is another scrub-type item… this one is formulated with charcoal and dead sea minerals. Between this and the brush, I’ll have skin like a newborn baby!

OUAI Leave In Conditioner, retail $26

I use a leave in conditioner every time I wash my hair, so I’m happy to give this one a try. It is supposed to help with detangling and also heat protection, so I’m hoping it works for my knotty color-treated tresses.

Show Me Your Mumu Brie Robe, retail $84

This pretty floral print robe has a removable belt and a high-low hem. I’ve seen Show Me Your Mumu stuff before and I typically love their designs. This robe is super pretty and can be worn as a kimono over a cute outfit or as a robe around the house. For me, this seems like the perfect little robe to pack for an upcoming vacation. Like, maybe to Hawaii…

The2Bandits Athens Necklace, retail $30

This opal and silver necklace is very simple and pretty. I’ve gotten out of habit of wearing necklaces (I’m more of a bracelet girl), so I’ll either give this one a try or pass it on to one of my sisters.

Dr.Brandt Skincare Needles No More NO MORE BAGGAGE Eye De-Puffing Gel, $24

I’ve used Dr. Brandt products before (mostly the exfoliating face scrubs) and have really liked them. I’ve heard good things about this de-puffing gel, so I’m excited to give it a try. With allergy season coming, I can use all the under-eye help I can get!

Quay My Girl Sunglasses, retail $55

I had to include a photo, so you get one of me by the window in my home office (and I’m totally wearing my pajamas…). I love a good oversized sunglasses frame and bonus points for the cat-eye look! These are really cute and seem to be made very well. I wear sunglasses ALL THE TIME, so these will be a great addition to my collection!

Palmetto Derma Double B Facial Oil, retail $48

Black Currant, Evening Primrose, and Grape Seed oils deliver the super powers of antioxidants that fight free radical damage, brighten the complexion, and soothe irritation. This oil is to be used after serum and moisturizer, but before daily sun protection. I think I’ll try this one at night to see how it works!

Overall Thoughts

After not really liking the last two FabFitFun boxes, this one was a pleasant surprise. I really like the big-ticket item of the robe in this box and it will certainly get used. I’m also excited about pretty much every single product in the spring box. The total retail value of my spring box is $319.95, which is pretty great! I have one more box – the Summer 2019 box – on my subscription before I have to decide whether to renew or cancel.

What is your favorite item from the Spring FabFitFun box?

Do you want to try out the FabFitFun box? I have a special code that will give you $10 off your first box, just use this link.

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored review.

I mentioned earlier this month that I was thinking of doing some sort of March Fitness challenge to get me out of my rut. Well, that Friday at the gym I noticed a private group working out with a trainer in one of the rooms and decided to ask about it.

I ended up speaking to the trainer, Walter, and found out that the class I saw was a private lesson called Elite Warrior Boot Camp. I could sign up for 6 weeks (for a fee, of course) and either do just Friday nights, or the three-day-a-week option of Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights.

I walked away from that meeting thinking I’d sign up for the one-day-a-week option. However, I thought about it over the weekend and was apparently feeling quite energetic… because I decided to just invest the money, and time, and pain into the three-day-a-week training group.

Yeah, that snowballed quickly.

Now, let me make this very clear. Although I try to get to the gym 2-3 days each week, I’m not very fit. I can knock out a bunch of cardio, lift some light weights and have tried out a class or two. However, I am NOT what you would consider an athletic (or graceful) person. When it comes to deciding that I could do an ELITE WARRIOR boot camp, it really is all about my misplaced confidence that I can pretty much do anything I want to. Like when I run a 10k with no preparation. It’s not recommended, but I’m stubborn and I do what I want.

Day 1: Monday 11^th

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I decided on a whim to sign up for a 6 week Elite Warriors Boot Camp. And HOLY HELL I just got my butt kicked. I may need help getting out of bed tomorrow. And up stairs. And out of chairs. 💦 💪 #fitmom #joulesgetsfit

A post shared by pocketfulofjoules (@pocketfulofjoules) on Mar 11, 2019 at 4:47pm PDT

I went to the gym ready to get my butt handed to me. There were about 8 people at today’s session and everyone had been working out with Walter for a pretty long time – some for 1 year, a couple for 2 years and one couple for 4 years! I’m hoping there is some sort of pricing break if you renew after the 6 weeks…

Anyways, we started with doing a circuit of 8 different exercises. Each person would do their exercise for one minute and then we’d switch to the next exercise. The first circuit included: running on a weird kind of treadmill, waving around some ropes like some sort of superhero, crunches on a ball, doing a sit/squat thing against a wall, dumbbell stuff on the bench, kettlebell swings while thrusting like a porn star, push-ups on a bar, and stepping up on a box. These are obviously the technical terms.

From there, we went to another room and did a circuit on machines. This circuit was a little different where we would first do the machine, then do something like jumping jacks or crunches, then a plank, then back to the machine, then all over again, then switch to the next machine.

By the end of the workout my arms felt like limp spaghetti and I was seriously concerned about whether I’d be able to get out of bed the next morning.

Day 2: Wednesday 13^th

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Elite Warrior Boot Camp class 2: It was touch and go at the beginning where I really regretted eating a yogurt before class, but I finished strong and CRUSHED some sprints! #fitmom #joulesgetsfit

A post shared by pocketfulofjoules (@pocketfulofjoules) on Mar 14, 2019 at 3:34am PDT

I was still sore from Monday, mostly my poor non-existent abs. There were only 4 people in the Wednesday class, so there was lots of extra attention from the trainer. I really liked that we did entirely different exercises than the first day. However, I did make a BIG mistake. I was really hungry during the first class, so I thought it would be a good idea to have a yogurt before the Wednesday session.

This was WRONG. This was a TERRIBLE IDEA. We started with doing all sorts of stuff on a step, like push-ups, kicking around like a crazy person, step ups, squats and more flailing around. I honestly thought I might hurl and I may have even turned a little green.

Towards the end of the session, Walter had us go onto a group of treadmills to do some sprints. Basically we would walk for 30 seconds and then run flat out as fast as we could for 30 seconds. Over and over and over. There was some friendly competition on how quick you could turn the treadmill to for the sprints and over the course of the 25 minutes or so I was able to get quicker and quicker without the treadmill throwing me off. I actually REALLY liked doing the sprints and plan to add this to my list for when I exercise on my own.

Day 3: Friday 15^th

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Elite Warrior Boot Camp class 3: I just spent the past hour beating the crap out of this punching bag and I LOVED every second of it! 💥 🥊 #fitmom #joulesgetsfit

A post shared by pocketfulofjoules (@pocketfulofjoules) on Mar 15, 2019 at 3:37pm PDT

I was surprisingly not feeling as sore as I expected going into the third class of the week. Today’s class was in the private fitness room that had piqued my interest the week before… the punching bag room! When I walked into the room, Walter instructed me to put on a pair of boxing gloves and I knew it was about to go DOWN. There were 5 of us in Friday’s class (one woman was in all three days – she’s super fit and totally my hero) and we all got our own punching bag.

Let me tell you, I punched and kicked the bejesus out of that bag! It was like the bag had personally wronged me. It was a GREAT way to get the stress of the workweek off my shoulders and I loved every single second of it! After beating on the bags for about 30 minutes, Walter had us go pick a cardio machine and do 10 minutes out there. Then, we returned and punched, elbowed, kicked and kneed the bags for another 20 minutes.

By the end of the hour, I was dripping with sweat and had a huge smile on my face! Once again, I am NOT an athletic person, but give me a pair of boxing gloves and I turn into Ronda Rousey! And yes, I had to google her name, because I’m not a sports person.

Week One Thoughts:

I wasn’t really sure what to expect going into week one, but I was pleasantly surprised. Sure, there were times where I wasn’t going as hard or as fast as some of the other people in my class, but I did the best that I could for the entire 60 minutes of each session. I certainly worked out much harder than I do on my own and I learned a bunch of new ways to work out too. I was sore after each session, but not so sore that I needed to pop any Tylenol. Mostly I’m proud that I decided to put this 41-year-old body to the test.

I can’t wait for next week!

If you want to follow along with my Elite Warrior Boot Camp, I’m trying to post after each workout on my Instagram account (find it here). I’m also planning to do a half-way point blog check in at the end of week three!