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Stitch Fix Review: Getting Warmer

Okay friends, I had high hopes for my second Stitch Fix box. Hiiiiigh Hopes (yes, let’s break into song now…).

High Apple Pie in the SKY hopes.

After receiving and reviewing the first box, I was pretty excited because the stylist then looks at your feedback when selecting the items for your next box. I also added to the notes section that I’d love some “fall transition pieces” since I will be going on our anniversary trip to Hershey Park and wanted to look kinda cute while chilling out with my boys.

Oh and in case you aren’t familiar with the concept, you can read my first Stitch Fix review here. The short version is that Stitch Fix is your own personal stylist that picks 5 items that she thinks you’d like and sends them to you. You try them on in the comfort of your own home (with your own stuff from your closet) and send back whatever you don’t want.

Here’s what I got in my October Fix:

Street Level Kirkham Crossbody Tote with Side Pocket – $66.00. And yes, that is Ollie’s face in the corner, just checking things out.

Street Level Kirkham Crossbody Tote with Side Pocket – $66.00. If I were in the market for a cute tote and purse, I would have totally have purchased this cobalt blue set. However, I already have a purse that I love so I don’t need this one.

RD Style Genoa Seamed Ponte Knit Pant – $58.00. As you can see, I’m not wearing them and there is a reason for that.

RD Style Genoa Seamed Ponte Knit Pant – $58.00. I liked the color and weight of these pants, but just did not dig the style. With the seam running down the front of the leg and the elastic sides on the waist, it just reminded me too much of the under-the-foot leggings from the 1980’s. I tried them on, but totally hated the way they looked. If this were a pair of skinny jeans in this color, or even a pair of work-appropriate trousers in cranberry, I would have kept them in a heartbeat. As they are, they went back into my return bag.

Under Skies Elissa Terry Cloth Moto Jacket – $68.00. It’s grey, but it’s kind of a beige-taupe-grey.

Under Skies Elissa Terry Cloth Moto Jacket – $68.00. I like the IDEA of this jacket, kind of rocker-cool in a soft snuggly fabric. Unfortunately, the problem with asymmetrical zippers is that they tend to make a busty girl look even more broad and busty than she already is. And not in a va-va-voom way, in a chunky-chunky-monkey way. Back in the return bag it goes!

Sanctuary Pfister Crochet Detail Sleeveless Top – $48.00. Here is the close-up so you can see the pretty detailing.

Sanctuary Pfister Crochet Detail Sleeveless Top – $48.00. This one ALMOST ended up in my closet. I love the crochet/lacy detail on the front of the shirt and of course I love a nice black top that I can dress up for work or dress down for play. Unfortunately, this top had two things going against it – first it was see-through, so I’d have to wear a tank underneath it. Yeah, a tank under a tank.

That was actually do-able. It wasn’t until the second time I tried it on (for the pictures) that I noticed that one of the middle buttons was straining just a bit. So since the fit was a teeny bit off, I decided to send it back.

41Hawthorn Abrianna Long-sleeved Knit Cardigan – $48.00. Outfit experiment #1, I did a double-knot in the cardigan and put it over a red dress from Banana Republic. And yes, you can totally see the back view in the mirror.

41Hawthorn Abrianna Long-sleeved Knit Cardigan – $48.00. It’s so funny that they sent me this sweater, because I pinned it on my pinterest board from the Stitch Fix blog. I really liked how they showed four different ways to wear an open front cardigan and I was planning to try their tips with a short-sleeve one I have.

Here it is in outfit experiment #2, I left it open and put it over a taupe-colored tank top and a pair of black skinny jeans.

Now that I’m looking at their tips again, I wish I had taken a picture of this cardigan belted. Oh well – I did try it both open and tied in a double-knot over a dress. What you can’t see in the pictures is that the cardigan is so incredibly light AND super soft, without being see-through. So I love it and am definitely keeping it.

So, once again I’ve ended up buying one item out of the five that Stitch Fix sent me. I ALMOST bought two though, which is why I think they’re getting warmer when it comes to sending me stuff that I love. I’ve decided that for next month’s box I’m going to ask for: a pair of work appropriate pants, a dress or two, a skirt and the rest tops. That way I can give them an idea of what I want (no purses) but still give them full control of surprising me!

Also, just so this is perfectly clear this is not a sponsored post. Stitch Fix did not pay me or reward me in any way to blog about them. However, if you do decide to give Stitch Fix a try and use my special referral code, I will receive referral rewards. Here’s my link. So thank you for anyone who chooses to click through and support my shopping addiction.

What do you think, did I choose wisely? Have you tried Stitch Fix? If so, how long until you got that coveted five items box where you purchased everything?

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!

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Welcome to the Bang Club

Yup, that’s how my favorite barista greeted me at the Starbucks drive-thru this morning. Even though I started laughing hysterically, I’m not really sure she realized that she inadvertently said something naughty.

For those of you who don’t follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you may be a little confused right now…

I got bangs on Friday.

After years and years (and years) with the same hairstyle, I decided it was time to change things up a little. One way to tell that you’re in a hair rut is when your long-time hair stylist gets excited to finally do something new. Yup, Kristin was ecstatic.

For years, I’d consider chopping some bangs but would always wimp out. But then, I got a nice big kick in the head from a fellow blogger. I’m a HUGE fan of Shana over at Ain’t No Mom Jeans (if you haven’t checked out the blog, it’s not just for mommies. It’s an awesome fashion blog for REAL people). She’s currently going through chemo and has decided to try out a bunch of haircuts on the way to bald. Did I mention that she’s awesome? Because she is totally kicking breast cancer’s boobies with her positivity and humor. Anyways, watching Shana go through this makes me realize how stupid I’ve been. It’s ONLY hair and I’m lucky to have all of mine. So if I feel the itch to change it up, I should just go for it because nobody knows what the future brings.

When I went to the salon I took a picture of Shana’s beautiful hairstyle with me, as well as this picture I snapped of a Loft display right before I walked in:

And then less than an hour later I walked out a whole new person.

instagram pic — I snapped the first picture right before I walked into the mall and the second about an hour later from a dressing room. I didn’t change my hair color, it’s just the change in lighting that makes it look so different.

At first I felt super weird and self-conscious. Like everyone was staring at my forehead full of hair. One of my Facebook commenters described it as feeling like you have a mustache on your forehead and that’s totally right. I was aware of every single follicle of hair sitting on my eyebrows.

And suddenly I started to HATE it. I ran into a dressing room (ok, walked slowly while gathering clothes to try on) and STARED at myself for probably 10 minutes. It was like SuperVainWoman took over as I kept sweeping my hair to one side and the other, adjusting each piece of fringe carefully.

I sent a picture to my bestie and my husband, hoping for some ‘it’s not that bad’ comments. After some consideration (because I was in a very fragile state…) I also posted a picture on my Facebook page asking if I had made a huge mistake.

Within a couple minutes my world was rocked. There was positive reinforcement out the yingyang! I walked into that dressing room feeling like Hermione in her early years and walked out feeling like a BOSS. If by “boss” I mean a sexy boss of AWESOME!

My new haircut required new lipstick. Obviously.

My husband thought I looked like Cici from NewGirl. Kari from A Grace Full Life said Anne Hathaway in the Devil Wears Prada. And then a friend from high school decided that I looked like Carly Rae Jepsen, the singer of “Call me, Maybe”. To each of these comparisons I say, “HECK YEAH!” and “THANK you!!”

Too bad once I washed my hair I couldn’t figure out how to style it.

I even went out to buy a new flat iron and STILL couldn’t figure out how the heck to make it work. On Saturday it was just weirdly curled at the tips, which then stuck to my forehead with sweat the second I walked out the door. Then on Sunday, I got so mad I gave up and corralled the bangs with a barrette. Thank goodness for barrettes!

This morning I tried yet again and I think I finally figured it out!

So yay for bangs. I’m kind of digging them again. My husband is not a huge fan, but I think it’s more to do with his dislike of change then the actual look. We’ll see if it grows on him.

Wow, I can’t believe I’ve written over 600 words about hair. I’m hoping that I get used to this new look soon because right now with the time and effort it takes to make my head look good, I’m feeling incredibly vain.

And hot. For the first time in forever, I feel kind of sassy again.

For those of you thinking of doing the Big Bang chop, here are 5 things I didn’t know about bangs before I had them:

Your forehead gets hot. Like REALLY hot and sweaty when you’re trying to get ready in the morning. Which makes it difficult to style your bangs and makes you want to just give up and put them in a barrette off your face.
Nobody can see your eyebrows, so if you’re going for an inquisitive eyebrow or the “Peoples Eyebrow” you’re out of luck. On the plus side, you can skip penciling in your brows.
You don’t look like Jess from New Girl when you wake up, you look ridiculous.
A swift breeze is your enemy.
You will take like 100 selfies an hour. You won’t post them because you realize how incredibly douchy you are acting. However, when your husband borrows your phone to check out the pictures you took at the pumpkin patch you will get INCREDIBLY embarrassed when he swoops his finger too far and sees you. And you. And you with kissy face. And you again.

Here’s a dare for you – are you thinking about changing up your look but keep wimping out? Well, DO IT! Even if you hate it, you won’t have to wonder about it anymore! So tell me, is there a look you’ve been wanting to try?

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So much Sadness

Today is not going well.

You know a day isn’t going to go well when you wake up incredibly sad and it takes you a few minutes to remember why. I’ve already ~~burst into tears multiple times~~ cried all morning long and thank goodness I’m at our Rockville office and nobody is here to see me.

To catch anyone up who doesn’t follow me on Facebook, my dog Potter has been at the hospital since Tuesday and his kidney’s are failing.

After 24 hours on IVs and antibiotics, he only had mild improvement of his bloodwork. As of this morning, his condition hasn’t changed at all and the doctor said that he seems “sad, depressed and still in pain” which kills me. We’re still giving him his IV and antibiotics and they’re retesting his kidneys at 6:00 tonight. At that point, we will have to make a decision based on his numbers.

Well, we don’t HAVE to make a decision… they could keep trying and keep trying… but as long as he is feeling awful and there is no marked improvement, it seems pointless. It’s like I’m just torturing him because I’m too selfish to let him go. Yesterday I spent about 2 hours with him on my lap just hugging him and telling him what a good dog he is. And crying. Of course, crying.

The stupidest things keep crossing my mind. Like how Jack looks around and says “dog” and he’s not there. And how Potter will never perch on top the couch again and fall asleep. And how he won’t climb up in our bed and roll around to get all snuggled up under the covers. And how we won’t be able to all crawl into bed as a family and hold everyone close. And how I won’t be able to tap his nose until he sneezes and then looks at me all accusingly. And how he loves bananas and will come running if he hears you snap one off of the stem.

It hurts so bad. I can’t even describe the pain that I feel right now. I’m devastated. And I feel terrible and guilty and horrible that I’m most likely going to have to make the decision tonight to put Potter to sleep. How can you do that? How can you say, I give up? At what point do you decide that you can’t spend any more money? How do you decide that you love him too much to let him hurt anymore?

And yes, I know he’s “only” a dog. But he’s been mine for almost 10 years. When I broke up with my boyfriend and bought my first house I was all alone. And Potter was my Christmas present to myself. And I have loved him every single day for almost 10 years. And I can’t believe that he’s going to be gone forever.

I tried to help myself feel better by doing a search online of other silky terriers that need homes, but that just makes me feel worse because even though we can get another dog it will never be the same as Potter. When Jack “pets him” by smacking him and he just moves to another part of the couch, when he is so freaking nice and sweet to everyone who comes in the house… how can you bottle that and make a duplicate?

A tiny part of me is still holding out hope for a miracle, but the other part — the part that can’t stop crying — knows that this is the end. I tentatively asked the doctor this morning whether they’d send him home to die or put him to sleep and it seemed like the doctor felt it was more humane to put him to sleep.

So I’m planning to go back to the hospital this afternoon to spend some more time with him. My husband will be joining me after work so that we can approach the test results together.

7/11/13 Update: Potter’s kidney numbers have gone in a good direction. He is still sad and not eating though. Our current plan is to do 24 more hours with the IV to see if there is further improvement. Then, we will most likely bring him home to see if being in his normal space relaxes him enough to eat and heal.

7/12/13 morning Update: Potter had some bladder issues overnight with led to an x-ray and catheter (which is now out). He is still depressed and still not eating. So, we’re back to waiting to see how his kidney levels look at tonight’s 6pm test. At this point, if there is not further improvement we’re thinking that it is time to make the decision to let Potter go.

7/12/13 evening Update: Potter was doing much worse and we had to make the hard decision to let him go. Our beloved dog was snuggled up with his head laying on my chest as we kissed him and said goodbye.

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