Jack is 13!

When I started this blog back in early 2011, Jack wasn’t even a twinkle in my eye yet. Then over my first year of blogging, I became pregnant with Jack, unexpectedly lost my job, sold our house, started a new job, moved into a new house, and had a preemie. Jack joined us 2 months early, spent about 4 weeks in the NICU and then came home.

And now, that little 4 pound, 15-ounce potato of a baby is a teenager.

One of the absolutely most wonderful parts of this blog is that the last THIRTEEN years of his life is here. I mean, kind of. Over the years I’ve been very careful to make sure I’m telling the stories from my perspective of being a working mom. I’d never wanted to focus too much on my kiddo in a way that would embarrass him when he was older. For the last few years, Jack has been in charge of approving any posts about him, as well as any photos that I share.

Each year, I do a Jack birthday post. And each year, I include a photo of my rapidly growing boy and marvel at how quickly time flies.

Here is Jack at 13:

Once again, he asked if I could take him to NYC for an overnight adventure. So that is what we did – we visited the Lego store, drank butterbeer at the Harry Potter store, ate Crumbl cookies in the bed of our fancy hotel, watched the waiters and waitresses sing at Ellen’s Stardust Diner, ate a fresh donut off the Krispie Kreme conveyer belt in Times Square, and bought souvenirs at the M&M’s store.

It was the perfect weekend with my teenager. And on the train ride home, I made a cute little compilation video of our adventure.

Happiest of birthdays to my Jack!

Lucky Brand “The Baggy” Jeans: Website vs Reality

I’ve been looking for a specific pair of jeans for quite a while on my thrifting expeditions. I wanted them to be black, but not too black. More of a ‘washed’ black’ rather than the solid color black, if you know what I mean. They could have a little distressing, but no holes. And I wanted more of a straight, or baggy cut. No skinny jeans. No flares.

I had been content to just keep looking, but then I randomly found an amazing jumpsuit that happened to check a lot of those boxes – perfect shade of black, no distressing/holes, and a baggier leg. They were EXACTLY what I was looking for, if the jeans detached from the top half. And no, I’m not chopping my jumpsuit. So, I decided to zero in with some internet searching to try and find my magical jeans.

Which led me to the Lucky Brand website. Lately I tend to prefer STS Blue Jeans, but couldn’t find what I was looking for from them. I’ve previously had Lucky Brand jeans in the past and they have a good return policy, so I figured I’d give them a try.

I found these: “The Baggy” Jeans

Source: LuckyBrand.com

And yes, they look ridiculous on the model. And it takes me right back to high school when the skater boys would wear this kind of jeans. BUT… check out the jeans in blue on a different model:

Source: LuckyBrand.com

These are CUTE. And totally give the ‘boyfriend jeans’ look on a curvier body. So, I took a chance and I ordered them in two different sizes.

They came to my house and I was SO EXCITED to try them on. And neither pair fit. So, I ordered a third size and waited.

And here they are:

Yes, the legs are baggier than a standard ‘straight leg’ cut, but they don’t have as much volume as the first website photo. The fabric content is 56% Cotton, 44% Lyocell, which you would think would have some stretch to it… but it feels more like a softer version of rigid denim with NO stretch.

As I mentioned, I tried on three different sizes: 30, 31 and 32. Depending on the brand/day of the week/magical computation that they use to make women’s clothes sizes, I wear a 10, 12, 14, medium, large, extra large. You know, as you do. My last couple pairs of jeans that I’ve liked are a size 31 from STS Blue. For these Lucky Brand “The Baggy” jeans there was pretty much no stretch. The size 31 could fit, but I enjoy breathing and eating carbs regularly, so the 32 was much more comfortable. As for length, I’m 5’7” and the ‘regular’ length fits well with my boots.

Website vs Reality:

I actually really like the baggier shape of the jeans and its fun playing with a new silhouette in my closet. I don’t think I’m going to donate all my straight legged jeans any time soon, but this ‘The Baggy’ pair is a nice change!

Recent Poshmark Scores: January 2025

I haven’t shared any recent Poshmark scores for a while, so I thought it was the perfect time to show you a couple new additions to my closet!

I mentioned back in November that I’ve become somewhat obsessed with Garnet Hill’s cotton and linen sweaters. They are just so classic and beautiful, but the retail price of $100 – $160 is a little nuts. I came so, so, so close to pulling the trigger for a sweater on their website when they had a recent sale, but when I realized their sale and a promo code wouldn’t stack… I closed my browser and walked away.

So, when the exact cardigan popped up on Poshmark… I immediately gave it a ‘heart’ and waited.

Source: GarnetHill.com and Poshmark.com listing

I had been eyeing the Ecru/Caramel striped version, but this one in Tourmaline would also work great with my wardrobe. It’s still on the Garnet Hill website for $159 and the seller had it listed for somewhere around $55 – 60ish. After a few days of waiting patiently, the seller sent me an offer for $44 and I happily purchased it.

In person, it’s a great amount of slumpy and oversized, while still having a pretty linen + cotton chunky weave. However, on literally the first day I wore it, a couple threads got stuck in the strap of my purse! Had I paid $159 I would have been livid and heartbroken. Having paid $44, I shrugged it off, grabbed a safety pin and pulled the loose threads back to the other side.

I’m not really a ‘be careful with my clothing’ kind of girl, so I’m sure it will happen again and again. However, I buy clothes to WEAR them… so I’ll fix it when it needs to be fixed. It did cure my thoughts of purchasing a striped one at retail price though.

The second item I found on Poshmark, is another Garnet Hill gem.

Source: Poshmark.com listing

This is the Essential Cashmere Retro Cardigan in Dijon and it is currently on their website for $179. It was new with the tags still attached (and the plastic baggie with the button attached to the inside tag) and the seller had it listed for $40. I took a chance and put in an offer of $30 and to my delight, they accepted it!

My best guess is that it was perhaps a Christmas gift with no gift receipt. As it was, it arrived at my house quickly and it is absolutely gorgeous. The color, the speckled hints of other colors, the classic shape, the softness of 100% cashmere. I love it so much and I can’t wait to wear it a million times.

If you’ve been thinking about trying Poshmark, you can use my special invite code to open an account and get $10 off your first order. Just use: POCKETFULOFJOUL And here is a direct link to my closet: https://poshmark.com/closet/pocketfulofjoul. Feel free to make an offer on something if you love it!