Stitch Fix #8 (Total Score!)-Review

Stitch fix #8 was a total score.  I kept all 5 items and finally got to use the 25% discount.  Yay!!  My stylist for this box was Jackie and I feel like she completely understood me.  She must have really looked at my Pinterest and took my pinned fashion pieces into account when she put my box together.  I love her and have already requested her for my next fix (next week).  She may end up being my permanent stylist in the future.

Here's what I got:

MAK JACLYNN 3/4 SLEEVE BUTTON-UP CARDIGAN - I saw this in three different colors on Stitch Fix's website and love all of them.  They sent me the dark coral one and it is so pretty.  It looks fabulous with my new chevron dress.

HONEY PUNCH HARRIET CHEVRON PRINT DETAIL DRESS - This dress is a tiny bit small in the chest area so I have to wear it without the bulk of a bra.  That's fine by me since I would prefer not to wear one anyway.  You can't see anything through the solid black top so no worries.  Love the chevron bottom and the inclusion of pockets.  Since it is black/off white, I can pair it up with any colorful cardigan or accessories.  It's very versatile.

TULLE BAIN CINCH-WAIST TEXTURED COTTON TANK  - The fabric on this tank has a pretty texture and is deep coral.  It is adorable.  The picture doesn't do it much justice.  It is very comfortable.  There are cute buttons on the back that I tried to get a photo of but it turned out blurry.

KUT FROM THE KLOTH DAUMIER DOT COTTON CHAMBRAY BLOUSE - This designer makes great clothes.  I tend to love a lot of their stuff and this one didn't disappoint.  I have had this shirt pinned on my Pinterest board for quite some time.  It is gorgeous!  While I am not a fan of chambray (or denim) tops, this shirt is simply striking.  It is fitted and feminine.  I can layer it under a sweater, wear it open with a tank top, or wear it all by itself.  It will be an essential piece for my wardrobe.

DANIEL RAINN ASHLEE SILK TAB SLEEVE BLOUSE - I admit to being disappointed when I saw this top listed on my content sheet.  I don't really like the feel or maintenance of silk.  It wrinkles horribly and is not wash&wear.  Well, I was so surprised when I saw this.  It doesn't have that weird suede-y feel of typical silk (though it is 100% silk).  It is really wrinkled in the photo because I had bunched it up in a pile the night before I took the above photos.  The fabric really doesn't wrinkle that easily though.  It is a beautiful mint color.  I will need to wear a tank top underneath because it is on the thin side.  I wasn't wearing a bra for the pic so I had to edit out my nipple-age, lol.

If you want to give STITCH FIX a chance to impress you with their mad styling skills, go for it!  I enjoy getting surprise packages in the mail.  It is so much fun.

Father's Day 2013

My 3 sweet guys

Father's Day was really awesome this year.  Clayton and I love to go big for holidays (wish I had remembered to post pics from my awesome surprise Mother's Day in uptown Charlotte).  The day started with black forest pancakes and we let him open gifts.  Emerson gave him 2 pieces of artwork and both boys made him a card.  E also drew him a "Bazinga" beer on his dry erase board, lol.  We gave him lots of candy, 4 sets of beer sampler paddles, and a new pair of shoes.  Let me tell you about the shoes.  First off, Clayton has an old pair similar to them that have started to fall apart.  I have been begging him to replace them but he is soooo picky.  He hasn't liked anything and we have tried everywhere.  Basically, all he wanted was a new pair just like the ones he needed to replace.  Sigh.  I went on a search for them.  Unfortunately, Gola does not make his old ones any longer and there is nothing available in the states that even come close to resembling them.  I found a very similar pair in the UK though.  After much deliberation, I decided to order them and hope for the best.  They got here and I was so happy when I saw how nice they were.  They were very close to his ones so I knew Clayton would love them.  It was the best gift I could have gotten him.  Yay!! 

New School, An Accident, Homebrewed Beer, & A Date

Emerson and his unfortunate head injury

I know I haven't said anything about this on my blog but we have been very unhappy with my kids' districted elementary school.  I won't go into details but just know that the scores are horrible there.  When January rolled around this year, Clayton and I applied to every magnet and charter school that we could.  There is such a high demand for these alternative schools that everyone gets put into lotteries.  My boys got put on the waitlist for many schools before we finally got a phone call from our school district saying that both boys were invited to attend the new STEM magnet school that they were going to start in Fall.  Our county originally only had one STEM school (I will explain what that is, just let me get this story out first) but the demand was high enough to convert another regular elementary into a STEM school.  All of the kids on the current waitlist for the first one would be automatically accepted into the second one.  We were beyond thrilled!  Hayden was #2 for 5th grade so we thought he would get into STEM anyway but Emerson was #35 for 3rd grade.  Our prayers had been answered.  I truly believe my kids are meant to be in this new school.  It feels so right.  After we got this news, Hayden got accepted into a brand new charter school in Mooresville but we turned it down (it was crazy because he was drawn out of the lottery as #58 out of 69 future 5th graders and there was over 300 applicants for that grade).  We just know that STEM is the right way to go though so we didn't even consider it.

So, what the heck is STEM?  It is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.  They learn by doing rather than sitting quietly at a desk.  There is a heavy emphasis on project or problem based learning and it will be applied to all subjects.  My boys will love this method.  Math and science are their strongest subjects so it will be good to push them this direction.  Clayton is a chemical engineer and the boys will hopefully go the same direction in the future.  The thought is that there are too many kids getting degrees in the liberal arts and not enough getting degrees in engineering/tech fields.  Yes, it is a harder road but the demand to fulfill those jobs is shooting up.  There aren't enough kids wanting to go the extra distance in science/math to get those jobs.  This program is designed to help get kids interested in these fields in the future.  Yes, I want my kids to be NC State bound as they have a remarkable engineering program.  That would be a great thing!

So anyway, we went to an informational session at the new school last Tuesday.  While we were listening to the speakers in the gym, the boys were outside on the playground.  Emerson got hurt when a girl backed into him and it made him hit his noggin on a pole.  His skin split and a nurse said that he would need stitches.  He was brought into the gym to find us but he couldn't see us.  They stopped the session to ask who he belonged to (which I am sure embarrassed the poor guy).  I was shocked when I turned around to see him hurt.  Clayton took him out to look at him while I listened on.  He sent me a text saying we need to go to the ER and that sent me into panic mode.  We ended up going to urgent care and they closed it up with glue.  No stitches were necessary, thank the Lord!  

Clayton's custom labels are so cool

Hubby decided to host a beer brewing party with 3 of his fellow engineers from work in April.  They made an American pale ale that they named 5% (it's an inside joke amongst themselves).  It was bottled/kegged later that month.  It didn't last long at all!  Our keg ran dry quickly and now we only have one bottle (shown above) left from the 10 gallon batch.

new red ale fermenting in our guest shower

Clayton and Charles (an engineering co-worker) made the above red ale 2 weeks ago.  It's supposed to be like Fat Tire.  I am sure it will be kegged/bottled soon.  They made 10 gallons and it looks so good!

My cute date and my pretty Hawaiian martini

I took Hayden out on a mom-son date recently.  He loves Bonefish Grill so I surprised him with a trip to the one in Birkdale Village.  We went on a Wednesday because that is known as Bang Bang Wednesday.  We adore their bang bang shrimp.  Everything was yummy.  After we ate, we headed over to Barnes & Noble to get him a new book (he is an avid reader) and then to Ben & Jerry's for ice cream.  It was a fun evening.  He makes a great date. :) 

Stitch Fix #7---Can't decide what to keep

It's that time again!  I received my 7th Stitch Fix this past Saturday.  Jocelyn was my stylist.

B_envied: Wynn Front Pocket Blouse-Grrrrr, I have a note on my profile that says that I want color and that I find black boring.  Somehow, I ended up with a solid black blouse anyway.  To make matters worse, I also have it noted that I do not like gold metals.  There are two very gold buttons on the sleeves of this.  Ugh.  Regardless of color and the gold buttons, I love the fit of this blouse.  I just wish it had a pattern on it of some sort (stripes, polka dots, or SOMETHING).  Regardless of my disdain, I could actually use a black blouse since I don't already have one.  I am still thinking on this one.  BTW, I am well aware that the black blouse doesn't match the navy pants but I was too lazy to go upstairs to get something out of my closet.

Jack by BB Dakota: Dean Striped Hi-Low Tank-When I saw this folded in my box, I got angry.  I had already bought this dress so why did they send it again?  They were just kidding.  They sent me the top that matches a dress that I bought in fix #2.  I wondered why I would buy it since I already have something that is made with the same material but then I tried it on.  It is so cute and it feels so soft.  It would be perfect for summer in the hot south.  Regardless of how much I like it, it is a rather simple tank top that costs $48.  That just isn't happening. [I know I look weird with my hand over my boob in the pic but I wasn't wearing a bra.]

Staccato: Arriah Striped Hi-Lo Blouse-This blouse is pretty but isn't a perfect fit for me.  If I keep it, I will have to fix the shoulders a little bit.  They pucker awkwardly.  It wouldn't take much to correct but I really shouldn't have to do it when I spend so much on clothes.  The color in the photo looks bright orange/black but it is actually a nice salmon/navy.  I do not care for the hi-lo hemline but I could tuck it in.  The back has solid navy at the bottom.

Kensie: Johnny Skinny Jeans-My gosh, these pants rock my socks.  They fit perfectly and are so comfy!  Mine are a lovely deep navy blue. {KEEPING}

Tulle: Moritz Geo Print Sleeveless Dress-OK, I adore this cute dress but I have an OCD issue with it.  Across the bodice, the lines from the pattern do not align across horizontally.  You cannot see what I mean in the photo, but the lines slant down and look like a novice seamstress put this together.  I used to be a seamstress so it is driving me crazy that the pattern wasn't sewn straight across.  What's weird is that they managed to cut and sew the backside straight across. I wish they had managed to do that to the front also.  Anyway, it is only really noticeable if you are really close to me.  If you stand back, the pattern looks really cool and you can't see the lines.  It's hard to explain. I am in love with this dress so I have a request in to Stitch Fix to exchange it.  Oh, and I forgot to mention that the colors in the photo are look bad.  They are actually navy, coral, white, and mint.  It is such a pretty color combo.

I am still waiting to hear back about the dress exchange before I decide what to do.  The dress is the piece that will make it or break for a complete buy of the whole kit and kaboodle.  I would love to finally buy a whole fix for the 25% discount but I am not quite sure what I am going to do as of yet.  I will update this post as soon as I know.

If you are interested in this fun service, visit Stitch Fix's website at: Stitch Fix.

UPDATED: I ended up keeping the pants and sending everything else back.  I just couldn't come to terms with the dress and the tank was way too expensive for what it is.  I didn't like the fit of the salmon/blue striped blouse.  The black blouse looked good on but isn't anything special.  Next fix is schedule for 6/21.