Fashion - Pocketful of Joules

Stepping Up My Game with a Sassy New Headshot

While I was a BlogHer last week, one of my favorite events was when I was invited to the #ReSPECKed suite by Speck Products.

I had a chance to hang out with Lindsay from Speck – she is so funny and sweet – while checking out the latest and greatest. One of my favorites was a phone case that holds three cards (like a license, ATM card and credit card), which I will be showing you in a review soon. I also have a giveaway coming up that I can’t wait to share with you.

After checking out the Speck products and browsing the Stella & Dot display (you’re not going to believe this, but I resisted buying yet another statement necklace!), I was invited to have a local photographer take my picture.

Tina Case, from Tina Case Photography (her website and her Facebook page) was AWESOME. I typically don’t do well when other people take my picture and prefer to set up my camera and do it myself. That way I can take a crapload of pictures and then just delete them all if I hate them. However, Tina was so professional and confident in her ability to pose me – she probably spent 15 minutes with me – that I felt like a total supermodel. I’m pretty sure that confidence followed me around the rest of the day too!

Yesterday, I got the email that my pictures were ready to be viewed and I was super nervous. I mean, it wouldn’t be the first time that I thought a photo session went well, only to see a picture that showed me much fatter and uglier than I am in my imagination. So I was pleasantly surprised to see three pretty darn good pictures of me. Actually, flabbergasted is probably a better descriptor word. I narrowed down my favorites to two and then asked everyone what they thought on my blog Facebook, Instagram and personal Facebook page.

I can’t believe almost 70 people gave me their feedback… THANK YOU! I added up everyone’s choice and came up with the clear winner. Which is funny, because my gut reaction when I saw the pictures was exactly the same as what the majority chose.

And the winner is:

I can’t even tell you how nice it feels to have a picture that I think looks like ME. No weird angles or odd squinty eye from the sun… just me the way I think I look when I hang out and talk to my friends with a glass of wine in my hand.

So thank you so much to every single person who gave me feedback on my new headshot and THANK YOU to both Speck Products and Tina Case Photography for making me feel beautiful!

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. I was not required to write about Speck Products or Tina Case Photography. I just LOVED the experience so much that I wanted to give credit where credit is due!

My July 2.0 Stitch Fix: A Lesson in Customer Service

I know, I know. I JUST wrote about my July Stitch Fix order two weeks ago. But, I was left with a yucky taste in my mouth after that Fix and just didn’t like ANYTHING that much. I was disappointed. And even kind of annoyed because I was totally planning to find something amazing to wear to BlogHer.

Instead, I returned the whole box. I also dropped a line to one of my Stitch Fix contacts about how disappointed I was and she totally offered to send me a do-over! YAY, A DO OVER! She even tried to get it out in the mail ASAP so that I could check it out before I left for California, but unfortunately it arrived at my house 4 hours after I left.

I had something to look forward to when I got back though… and I’m in LOVE all over again. I couldn’t WAIT to share it with you all, but felt a little weird about it since I just posted about Stitch Fix so recently. So I do what I usually do. I asked you! And according to the immediate feedback on my Facebook page, you wanted a post and you wanted it NOW.

So, here we go. I didn’t even take the time to digitally erase the camera remote from my hand!

Item #1: Ezra Bryn V-neck Mixed Material Knit Shirt – $48
Remember when I said I wanted “interesting” tops? Well, LOOK at this one! It is a mix of chiffon and a gorgeous knit and it doesn’t look like something I’ve seen a million times before. The color is a pretty mint and I tried it on with a pair of casual jeans (Loft), a t-shirt material skirt (Loft), and a pair of grey skinny jeans (Kate Spade). The only drawback is that it is see-through so a layering tank top is a necessity. Keep or Return?

Item #2: Mystree Skylar Asymmetrical Knit Zip Up Jacket – $78
If you’ve been following since my very first Stitch Fix review, you’ll remember that I said that asymmetrical tops aren’t flattering on us busty girls. I don’t know if I got used to the moto jacket look or this one is just super cute, but I’m LOVING this jacket. It’s made out of a super soft knitted material on the outside and a t-shirt material as the lining. It’s basically a fancy sweatshirt and I can see myself throwing this on with jeans or shorts all the livelong day. Keep or Return?

Item #3: Renee C Tucker Mixed Print Tank – $48
I actually had this tank top pinned on my Pinterest board at one point, because I liked the crazy pattern. In person, I like it even more. The fit is perfect and the colors are so vibrant. There is a split-back feature in the back that I’m not crazy about… but it’s only seen if you wear the tank untucked on its own. I like how it can have a super hippy vibe with shorts (Gap) and a jaunty hat (this one in chocolate from Ashbury Hats), or it can be totally professional with a swing skirt (Stitch Fix). Keep or Return?

Item #4: Pomelo Missy Polka Dot Tab-Sleeve Blouse – $58
When I opened the box, this top was the one I was least excited about. I mean, polka dots are cute. Tab sleeves are cute. The colors are cute. I don’t know. But, then I tried it on as both a casual and work option and I think that can become one of those fun go-to tops. It looks fun as heck with my red skinny jeans (Stitch Fix) and also looks totally professional with a high-waisted pencil skirt (Loft) and leopard heels (Target). Keep or Return?

Item #5: Daniel Rainn Greta Geo Print Crochet Detail Blouse – $68
I never realized it before, but I’m a huge fan of Daniel Rainn. Whenever I buy something from that brand, I wear the heck out of it. This shirt is super adorable. The top portion is eyelet and the print has hints of red (check out the fabric close-up picture for the details). For the first look, I paired it with a pair of my often-worn plain black work pants (Loft). For the second look, I threw on a pair of boyfriend-ish jeans (Loft) and sassy wedges (Toms). Cute, right? Keep or Return?

Here are all the close ups:

I want to know your thoughts. I really, really do. Because right now I’m pretty darn sure I’m going to buy the ENTIRE BOX! That’s right, the golden unicorn of Fixes has arrived… an entire box I want to keep! After having my first crappy Fix experience earlier this month, they really LISTENED to what I was saying and wanted to make it right. So they totally stepped up their game and I LOVE it all!

Let’s Talk Money
I think I’ve mentioned before that you get a 25% discount on the price if you buy the whole box. This entire box is $300 for all 5 pieces. Once you subtract the $20 styling fee, the additional buy-it-all discount is $70. I have been super lucky and three people have used my special referral code in the last month (which is AMAZING and has never happened before!!), so that is an additional discount of $75. So, for me to purchase the entire box it will be… $135.

Now it’s time for you all to chime in. Do you think I should keep the whole box?

Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored by Stitch Fix, I pay for the $20 styling fee and any clothing I purchase with my own hard-earned money. If you enjoyed my review and decide to try Stitch Fix 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!

7/29/14 Update: Yup, I bought the whole darn Fix and I’m even wearing one of the tops to work today. I postponed my next Fix until the middle of September, as a birthday gift to myself. Thank you all for your feedback!

Psssst…Do you love checking out what other people received in their Fixes? I added quick links to every single one of my reviews on my Stitch Fix Reviews page!

How to Keep Your Wrap Dress from Being a Peep Show

I went to Nordstrom Rack and found this Maggy London wrap dress marked way down to just $35. I couldn’t resist it! The colors were pretty, the price was right and the fit was great, except for one little thing…

BOOBS!
Right?!

Wrap dresses are super flattering, especially for us curvy girls with boobs and hips. However, they also fly open like they’re advertising your goodies for sale.

Yes, you can always throw a camisole on underneath your dress, but when it’s 95 degrees and humid the last thing you want is another layer of clothing. So you can do one of two things, strategically keep your hand over your cleavage or just yank that baby back together when nobody is looking (you hope).

As attractive as those options tend to be (obviously), they are not really a great long term solution. Which brings me to the point of today’s post: a super easy way to fix your wrap dress for less than $5.

And no, the answer is not to use a safety pin. {However, if you MUST use a safety pin, use one of these — it’s an assorted set of black and white pins so that they don’t catch the sun and glint… catching everyone’s attention!}

Before you start, go out and buy something like this:

You can get sew-on snaps at your local Joann’s or online. Here’s a set on Amazon.com for just $3. And before you tell me what a horrible sewer you are, let me say that ANYONE can do this. I wouldn’t consider myself a good sewer, just a randomly capable person who can figure stuff out logically. If I can do this, you can do this!

Step 1: Put your dress on and use a safety pin to hold the top together just a smidge below where you’d like it to fall. Take the dress off over your head, keeping the safety pin attached to the dress.

Step 2: Leave the safety pin in your dress. Take the pokey end of a snap (I used the largest one in the package) and sew it onto the side of the dress that will lay closest to your skin. Try to use thread that will blend into your dress; however if you don’t have matching thread just keep the sewing on the folded over area of the seam. Then, you won’t be able to see it come out the other side.

Step 3: STILL leave the safety pin in your dress. Line up the unsewn side of the snap with the one that is now sewn onto your dress and attach above the safety pin. Once again, be sure to keep your sewing on the flap so that your thread won’t be seen through the fabric.

Step 4: Once both sides of the snap are sewn on, make sure they line up and snap together. NOW you can remove the safety pin.

Step 5: Look the safety pin is out and the dress is snapped together!

You’re done! All that’s left to do is for you to try your dress on again and marvel about the fact that you no longer showing off your bra.

And if you’re wondering what that cord is in the picture, I’m trying out a remote camera shutter and I’m kind of loving it! I’m also loving my new wrap dress, which is why it will be going to BlogHer with me this week.

Are you a fan of wrap dresses? Do you go the camisole route, or just stick a safety pin through the fabric and pretend to ignore the shiny gleam that peeks through?

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