Getting my fix on!

I guess I've been living under a rock or maybe we can chalk it up to adoption and moving? But I hadn't heard of Stitch Fix until I saw a friend post her Stitch Fix link on Facebook. I clicked through to check it out and I was intrigued. As much as I love clothes, I don't particularly enjoy the act of shopping.  When I go to a store it is because I know exactly what I'm looking for. I get it and I'm out.

I went straight to work filling out the detailed Stitch Fix survey. Geek alert - I secretly love surveys.   I told them my height, weight, average clothing size. The kinds of styles I like, the items I want more of and the price range I'm willing to spend on each category. Then I scheduled my first fix for the week of April 7th and waited.

Here is the photo I said was most like my style in the selections they provide. They call this "casual chic," which is  funny because I call it "I'm a stay at home mom so it really doesn't matter what I look like." But I'll take "casual chic."

April 10th, 2014 Ta-da.... there is a personal stylist on my doorstep - actually it's my Fed Ex guy with my very first Stitch Fix - potatoe potato! I got some new clothes and didn't even have to pick them out.

Here are my five items...

1 scarf, 2 shirts, 1 pair of pants, and 1 dress

Here is the Styling guide that came with my clothes - cool little idea.

Here's how it looked when I opened the box...

And I see pattern... this is quite foreign to my closet but we will see how this goes...

So outfit number one... the purpley tank with pockets and the "pants"... Before we go any further I have to address the fashion issue that could be one of my biggest pet peeves - LEGGINGS ARE NOT PANTS - let me expand on that and say leggings are especially not pants for those of us in the 40+ club. Now having said that if you want to continue to subscribe to the notion that leggings are not pants DO NOT buy these leggings - OH! MY! WORD! So comfortable that they make me simply want to buy long tunics and only tops that cover my bottom so I can wear them every day. They are thicker than typical leggings and my girls even asked if they were jeans when I modeled them for them. So forgive me if you see me committing this fashion faux pas - I'm sorry they are just so comfy.

Opinions on the purpley tank & black "pants" ;-)

The daughters...

Kennedy - thumbs up

Terry - That's cute

Ryan - Oh I like it

The husband...

That's cute.

The bat wing cream colored top

Okay I know this totally washes me out, but my current "go to" top - as in if it's clean I'm wearing it, is a very similar design in my signature black. So I really think if I can add some color, or maybe a black scarf I will wear this comfy cosy top. 

Opinions on the bat wing cream colored top that washes me out

The daughters...

Kennedy - Yeah

Terry - That's nice

Ryan - Nice

The husband... 

I like the other top better

The very big scarf ...

Again - not my colors (though I do like the leopard print)  but keeping in mind that if I keep all 5 of my items I get 25% off and this is the cheapest item it may just make the cut.

Everyone agreed - the scarf didn't do anything for me - so if I keep it I will need to put it away as a gift for future use because it is very nice just not my color.

My photographer got silly while I was changing outfits. 

Looking totally unimpressed with my favorite item in the box. Awkward.

Opinions on the black & white stripe fit & flare dress

The daughters...

Kennedy - you look like you are going sailing

Terry - that's my favorite

Ryan - very nice dress 

The husband...

Wow - you need to keep that. :) 

So this was a cool thing for me to try. If you are a stay at home mom like me you spend most of your shopping time keeping your growing kiddos in jeans that aren't flood pants and shoes that don't cramp toes. New clothes for mom are usually a luxury even if they come from Target while you are there getting a jug of milk. So this was a rare treat for me but given my stylist Rachel's success I may try it again in a few months.

So now if you think you might want to show yourself some love and try it out you may be wondering.... "How does this Stitch fix thing work exactly?"

SAD DISCLAIMER - CURRENTLY ONLY AVAILABLE IN THE UNITED STATES

If you haven't yet clicked on one of my referral links (hint, hint) you can do that now and as a thank you Stitch Fix will give me a $25 credit towards my next fix. So let me thank you in advance. :-) Bonus you get your own personal referal link when you sign up for your first fix. From there it is very self explanatory. You create your personal style profile, pay the $20 styling fee (which you can use as credit even if you keep only 1 of the 5 items they send you), schedule your Stitch Fix delivery. After you receive your parcel you have three days to decide what you like and want to keep - love it all - keep it all and in addition to your $20 styling fee credit you will get 25% off everything. Don't love it all? Pop the returns in the postage paid envelope and be sure it's postmarked within 3 days so you don't get charged for your items you don't want.

You can schedule to receive an automatic fix monthly - or like I did just schedule one to try it out. I'm thinking I may schedule 1 fix per season - so my first fix was my spring fix. I will go ahead and leave feedback for my stylist about what I liked/didn't like and what just didn't work for me and hope for a great summer fix. That's the other great thing is that you can go in and update your profile and leave notes for your stylist if something changes. i.e weight, style needs due to a new job, a wedding you need to attend etc... Pretty cool and I didn't have to leave the house.

By the way, if you haven't guessed by now - I'm keeping everything! That gives me the 25% discount so it works out to about $40 per item. Not too shabby for sitting at home having someone else look at my profile and pick things out for me - everything fit perfectly. 

Gotta go update my Pinterest style board for my next fix! Casual chic stay at home mama signing off!

Happy (first) birthday party!

He is 13!!!!

It's amazing how quickly they grow up when you start parenting them so late. ;)

The birthday boy isn't a fan of cake, so I made individual chocolate chip cookie "cakes," frosted them and added M&M's to make them look like Lego pieces. Thank you Pinterest. 

S had a Lego movie themed birthday party. It was his first official birthday party ever and we were able to have it on his actual birthday. He was so excited I can only compare it to when my friends had an adoption shower for him and I came home with all the gifts for him. Although his adoption was finalized a few weeks prior to his 12th birthday we chose to celebrate that birthday with just dinner out as a family. All the attention and excitement from Christmas was a lot and we wanted to keep the 12th birthday small.

 BUT THIRTEEEN!!!!
You only become a teenager once in your lifetime. :)
So there had to be a party. 

This is also his first season ever playing basketball. He has an awesome coach. S is doing well, having fun and making some great friends. It was fun for Michael and I to spend a little time getting to know these boys a bit off of the basketball court. They were all very polite boys. Loud, yes... but still polite. :)
Seeing as we just moved to the area a few months ago and we don't know any of these boys parents we were very thankful they let their sons come and join S for his first 13th birthday party.

I love that they pray before each game - I snapped this as I was bowing my head in the stands and didn't see until I reviewed the pictures he spent prayer time tying his sneakers. Still getting used to the whole church thing. 

His very first basketball game ever and he takes the tip off - proud mom & dad in the stands. 

The party was fun and we enjoy watching him play basketball. But life at home still certainly has it's struggles. School is still a challenge, or should I say homework is still a challenge. He will be starting Middle School this fall and I'm really trying to balance helping his learning with leaving him with more of the responsibility of completing his work. 

It doesn't make for good mother/son bonding time.  :( 

On another note Michael & I are now officially the parents of FOUR teenagers ...