Fashion - Pocketful of Joules

More True&Co Love

Okay guys, I just got my second order of bras from True&Co and I’m in LOOOOOOOVE. Like that gushy annoying kind of love where you want to just make googley eyes and shout about it from the rooftops.

If you remember from my first try, I liked the bras I was sent but nothing fit well enough to purchase. I returned them all (for free) and it was no big deal. I went on the website a week or so later to order my favorites in different sizes and then forgot about my order.

Well, the box arrived and HOLY guacamole… every single bra fit great. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE.

And they’re sexy as hell.

Okay, maybe not the exercise bra… because its job is to keep the bounce under control and not bring the boys to my yard, but the rest of it. KA-POW and HOT DAMN come to mind.

Oh and I thought I should give you guys my tips for determining if a bra fits correctly. They’re not scientific or anything, but they totally work for me:

Step 1: Once the bra is on touch your toes, reach to the sky and then jump up and down. If nothing shuffles around and falls out, move on to step two.

Step 2: Check for scratchy pieces, armpit overflow and weirdly shaped boobies.

Step 3: Put a lightweight shirt on over the bra. Check to see if you can see bra lines, boobs popping out over the top of the cup or back fat. Do the same with a fitted summer tank top.

If the bra passes all those tests, it’s a winner in my book!

Let’s check out what I got in this month’s order:

Panache Sport Bra – $68
This is the same picture from my last post, because I ordered the exact same bra in a different size. When I first ordered this bra, I had read reviews saying that if you want the best fit you should go down in the band size and up in the cup size. Well, that didn’t work for me AT ALL and I could barely get the clasps closed. I reordered a larger band size (but kept the cup size the same, which was one size up) and it fits perfectly!

I tested it out in my house by wildly running from one room to another, jumping on the elliptical for a minute and then running around the house again. NOTHING MOVED! I especially love that there is a little snap on the back that converts the bra into a t-strap:

I find that this gives me better support and also looks darn cute. As an added bonus, my husband says that this exercise bra makes me look like a superhero… so that’s pretty cool. I’m absolutely buying this one!

Feathers Bra – $68
Here is one of those va-va-voom bras. I ordered it in my typical bra size that I wear in Wacoal and it fit well. The bust area is purple with matching netting over it and the band is lace all around. With all the lace, it’s still super comfortable. And SEXY. The color is also really flattering on my pale skin. The ONLY reason I decided not to buy this bra is that the front is very, very low cut for maximum cleavage. While this looks fantastic when I’m shirtless, it causes a bit of cleavage overflow that looks kind of odd when wearing a shirt.

Deco – $60
First off, I LOVE the color of this bra… the cobalt blue is gorgeous in person and the straps are so pretty! The first time I tried it on I was in love. However, when I tried it on again the next day (when I had more time to do my silly bra tests) I decided that it wasn’t fitting as perfectly as I’d like. There is a little bit too much padding in the cups for me and also there’s a bit of armpit spillover after jumping around a bit. The bra is beautiful, but not for me.

A Space Girl’s Dream Bra – $44
Here’s another picture repeat because this bra is also same as what I tried last time. I reordered the bra in the same cup size (one larger than my typical Wacoal sizing) and my normal band size. It fits PERFECTLY and I’m in love with it. I was pretty darn sure I was going to buy it, but there’s another contender in the running…

Pure Plus – $49
Is it weird to be in love with a bra? When I put this one on my boobies pretty much sighed. True&Co’s website suggested I try this in my normal band size, but go up a cup size and they were totally right. The color is Wild Orchid and it’s pretty enough that I’d be cool with a strap peeking out of my tank top. The fit is PERFECTION and it passes my tests with flying colors.

I went back and forth trying to decide whether to buy this one or the black bra and this one won out. The fit is fantastic and the color is pretty. It also got my husband’s vote… so I bought it and I LOVE it! It was super easy to save the information for the A Space Girl’s Dream Bra in my True&Co account in case I decide to buy it a few months down the road.

My updated thoughts on True&Co:
When I did my first post on True&Co I liked them, even though I ended up sending all five bras back. Now that I’ve gotten my second order I’m changing my opinion to LOVING them. I honestly think that everyone should try them out – it’s FREE to try, so why not?! I could do my bra tests and try the bras on under a couple different tops at home, instead of doing it at the store and hoping that they’ll work for me. I also had 5 days to make my decision before sending them back. Delivery and returns are FREE.

So I’m just going to say it: try them. DO IT NOW and you won’t regret it!!

Also, if you do decide to try them out they hooked us up with a discount code! If you use this link you can get $15 off your first purchase. There is no expiration date, so you can order your own box of free bras whenever you’d like to try them out. I do want to point out that I get credit if anyone uses my referral code, but much like any review I’ve done on this blog I NEVER give a company a positive review unless I think they actually deserve it!

Giveaway
As a thank you for tweeting a picture of my True&Co box (you can do it too!) they sent me a free pair of panties. It’s a pretty lace thong called “Best Thong Ever” in one size fits all (retail value: $16). I don’t do thongs, whether it’s the best one ever or not. So I’d be happy to give it away to a Pocketful of Joules reader!

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this blog post. I’ll pick a winner on Friday!

Would you try a box of bras at home instead of going to the mall? Do you have a funny test to determine if your bra is fitting properly? Do you have a company, service or product that you wish I’d review?

Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored by True&Co. They did not ask me to review their service or reward me for doing so. True&Co did give me a special referral link for my readers though and if you decide to use it for your purchase and save $15 off your order, I will receive a small referral reward. Here is my link. So thank you to anyone who chooses to click through and support my shopping addiction.

5/30 Update: And the winner of the free thong th thong thong thong is…. Anne Church! I’ll be emailing Annie directly so I can mail her prize out. Thank you to everyone who entered the contest!

Our Williamsburg Trip, Part 2: Old Cars & Busch Gardens

I had to divide this into a few pieces, because there was just too much FUN to stick in one post! If you missed, it you can read Part 1: The Timeshare here.

After we escaped our timeshare meeting, we grabbed some breakfast at one of the half-dozen pancake houses in the area. We ended up at the Capitol Pancake House and I can vouch that their pancakes and coffee were amazingly delicious!

Once we stuffed ourselves full of caffeine and carbs, we followed signs to a local car show. For just $5 we were able to check out a ton of gorgeously restored cars. Oh and you may recognize my outfit from last week’s Stitch Fix – I’m so glad I decided to go with the chevron top because it was the perfect shirt for a day of outside fun!

After browsing the pretty cars, we hopped down the road to go to Busch Gardens. We had visited Hershey Park in the Fall and thought that Busch Gardens would be a hit with Jack now that he was a bit older.

The park opened at 10:00 am and we ended up getting there around 11:00 or so. I have been to pretty much ALL of the amusement parks in the area and I have to say that Busch Gardens is one of the most well organized parks I’ve ever seen. The parking lots are super easy to navigate with shuttles picking you up and dropping you off at the park doors. As an added bonus, Jack thought the shuttle was a ride.

Since Jack is a HUGE fan of Elmo, our first stop was the Sesame Street Forest of Fun. Right when we got there, we saw that we could do a photo session with Elmo and Big Bird. Of course, Jack isn’t smiling but he was basically pulsating from the excitement of sitting on Elmo’s knee! Hmmm… maybe this can be this year’s Christmas card?

We rode a TON of rides and my husband even surprised Jack with a mini Elmo to add to his collection. Oh, and the reason Jack looks so freaked out is that he just saw a grown-up rollercoaster go by and thought we were going on it.

And here he is giving kisses to a caterpillar in the Sesame Street forest:

Over a span of about 6 hours we visited the ENTIRE park, from England to Germany to France and back. The weather was gorgeous and OH THE FOOD. We devoured lunch in Italy, dessert in France and snacks in Germany.

We also watched the Pet Shenanigans show, which Jack was GLUED TO the entire time.

Family CHEESE!

The only thing we missed out on was we really wanted to see the Sunny Days Celebration on Sesame Street, but we were stuck on the wrong side of the tracks while a train went by and missed it. I could see Elmo’s head bob into my line of sight every couple minutes if I jumped as high as I could (which is basically 3 inches), but that was about it.

We had SO MUCH fun though and Jack didn’t even have a meltdown from skipping his afternoon nap. It honestly could not have been a better day and I’d go back in a heartbeat!

We even had some energy left over and decided to walk around Colonial Williamsburg after the park. After cruising around and visiting a few stores, my world was rocked by a colonial drumline. Unfortunately, they weren’t QUITE as awesome as the real* Drumline… but they were still pretty cool. To be honest though, if they played each other’s drums I may have fainted from happiness (the ‘oh no they DIDN’T’ part is at 3:17).

Are you an amusement park lover? If so which one is your favorite? Are you one of the 5 fans out there of Drumline?

Disclaimer: This post is not a sponsored post. All thoughts and comments are my own. However, I would like to say a big THANK YOU to the people at Busch Gardens for providing us with free park tickets.

* The first time Travis and I ever watched a movie together, it was Drumline on TV, so it holds a special place in my heart. Also, it is awesome.

Stitch Fix #8: Help Me Decide What to Buy!

YAY, it’s time for my 8th Stitch Fix! I took a little break last month because I had such great luck with my March Fix… so I was super happy when the Stitch Fix box landed on my front porch this week! If you must know, the second it was sent out I obsessively stalked the items online.

Yup, not a drip of self-control for me this week.

Let me back up a scooch, if you are like “What the Heck is Stitch Fix” you should probably check out this post. If you’re feeling super stalkery and want to see ALL my Stitch Fix posts, you can find them here.

For this month’s Fix, I requested my same stylist again (Meagan) because she did such a wonderful job putting together my last three months of boxes. On the notes for this month’s order, I asked for a pair of ‘grown up looking’ distressed jeans and something that I can throw on over t-shirts instead of my overused zip up hoodie.

Here’s what I got:

Item #1: Emmet Marled Knit Open Cardigan – $48
I’m guessing that this cardigan is meant to be a replacement for my faithful hoodie. I really wanted something I could throw over a t-shirt and shorts (or jeans) for warmth and comfort. So, with that in mind I styled it like I would typically run around during the spring/summer. Yup, with a t-shirt (Loft) and a pair of jean shorts (Gap). It has an interesting texture and pattern to it, but I’m not sure that it’s really what I’m looking for.

Keep or return: I’m feeling kind of torn on this one. What do you think?

Item #2: Ivy Abstract Triangle Print Tab-Sleeve Blouse – $68
Okay, add a cute print and tab sleeves and I’m usually SOLD. One of my favorite Stitch Fix purchases is the tulip printed tab-sleeve blouse and this is pretty much the EXACT shirt in a different pattern… so I love it. First, I styled the top as if I were going to work… which was pretty easy since I was wearing my tulip blouse! I just switched out blouses and kept the same necklace (Etsy) and pants (Loft) that I was already wearing. Meagan suggested that the top would also work well with my red jeans from the last fix (LOVE that she keeps track of these things!!), so I tried it out.

Keep or Return? Do you love it, or is one tab-sleeved work blouse enough?

Item #3: Mirena Zip Pocket Top – $68
This top is kind of odd – the front is made out of a silky material but the back is a soft cotton. I guess it’s like a mullet, all business in the front and party in the back? Oh, and it has a boob zipper. It’s actually a pocket, but I just keep imagining that it would be super handy for those times when you’d like to pull your left boob out.

Keep or return? It’s a pretty color, but the rest is just super weird. RETURN!

Item #4: Edmond Chevron Print Henley Shirt – $54
When I originally saw the description for this shirt, I was a bit worried. Chevron has been SO POPULAR lately that I was afraid a chevron printed shirt would look dated pretty much immediately. When I pulled it out of my package I was pleasantly surprised. The fabric is the silkiest cotton EVER and the best part is that it’s NOT SEE THROUGH! I hate it when lightweight shirts require wearing another shirt underneath. Since this is the casual shirt that I’ve been wanting from Stitch Fix, I styled it like I’d typically wear it – with jeans or jean shorts (Gap).

Keep or Return? Keep. Right?

Item #5: Sophia Distressed Skinny Jean – $88
I was super excited to see these jeans in my Fix, because I had been really wanting a pair of distressed skinny jeans. I’ve been LOVING my red skinny jeans, so I had high hopes for this pair when I pulled them out of the box. As luck would have it, they have the perfect amount of stretch and they’re super comfortable! If I could have taken a pair of jeans out of my imagination and put them on my booty, these jeans would be it! For the pictures, I did a “date night” version with one of my favorite tops (Daniel Rainn) and leopard heels. Of course. For the second outfit, I took Meagan’s recommendation and tried it with the chevron blouse and marled cardigan.

Keep or Return? Um… just TRY to take them away from me!!!

HELP ME!
So now it’s the fun part where you get to tell me what to do! My mind is totally made up on the jeans and I’m leaning towards buying the triangle print blouse AND the chevron Henley shirt. I wish I loved the whole box o’ clothes so that I could get 25% off of everything… but I HATE that zip pocket top!

Because of my dumb scheduling, I don’t have a ton of time to make my decision so PLEASE help me out by leaving a comment below with your thoughts!

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!

5/16/14 Update: Thank you all SO MUCH for leaving all your amazing feedback comments! From this Fix I decided to buy the jeans and the chevron henley shirt. I was sooooo close to also buying the black and white top, but when it came down to it I just didn’t have that giggly love for it that I had for the other pieces. Countdown until the next Fix begins NOW!

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!