Stitch Fix #6 - October 2015

I was SO excited to receive this fix. It came the day I came back from my trip from Seattle, so I tore into it when I got home and settled.

For more details about how stitchfix works, click here.

Everything was SO pretty and filled with fun fall pieces for layering. I requested a pair of black skinny jeans in my note, so those came through and she sent a sweater that I had pinned on my pinterest board.

The dress, I was really excited for because Troy and I are going to a wedding in a few weeks and it looked like a winner for that.

Here is the styling card and Katie's super sweet note to me.

I loved the dress when I pulled it out. The weight of it and fabric felt really high end. It was fully lined and tailored beautifully. But when I put it on, I just felt. I dunno. Like I was going to a tennis match? The top was very sporty and did not do nice things for my already deflated chest from nursing 3 babies. Troy loved it and encouraged me to keep it. But ultimately, I don't want to pay for something that I don't feel great it. Verdict: RETURNED

This cardigan is so soft and drapes so nice. It's black and lovely. It made the dress look better. Not good enough to keep the dress. But it's a great laying piece and a nice change to the traditional button up cardigan that I have.

Also, it has pockets. I LOVE this cardigan. It's super versatile for my wardrobe. Verdict: KEEP

Next up, black skinny jeans. I paired it with my Corinna Dolman top from another fix and a pair of black boots. Yep. They're a perfect fit. They are my 3rd pair of pants I've been sent and the 3rd pair I've kept. I seriously don't know how they do that. It is so difficult for me to buy pants and they have like, these magic pants. Whatever. Keep them coming, I say. Verdict: KEEP

View from the side. Look at that...no gaping at the waist band. They have magic stretch pants.

I put this on and wanted to keep it immediately. But I wanted to keep it because my stylist sent it to me because it was pinned on my pinterest. For some reason, I felt like since she had taken the time to look at my board and acknowledged in my note that she looked, I felt like I had to keep it out of guilt. The more I thought about it and put it on, I was like, meh. The neckline is okay. I love the colors. But ultimately, not doing much for my body and makes my boobs feel small. I don't ever want to keep something because I feel guilty. This is a service that is a luxury that I am paying for. She was doing her job. It just wasn't right for me. Verdict: RETURNED

And lastly, the bag. When I pulled it out, I thought for sure it was a keeper. Navy is an amazing color for fall and winter. And it's a great neutral. It's like blue jeans. They match everything. I'm all about streamlining the number of times I have to switch all my stuff from purse to purse. I thought it was a cross body bag. But when I took the "strap" out of the purse, there were two straps. They attached to both sides and made it a little longer for over the shoulder carrying. It was a funny length for shoulder carrying and too short to be a cross body. I prefer cross body because when I go out with the twins, they're a hot mess and we're not using a stroller anymore, so they walk and I have to hold their hands and I don't like having a bag slide down my arms into their faces. Verdict: RETURNED

If you are interested in filling out your own style profile and getting a box of your own, click here! It's like Christmas!

To see what else I've received, click here and here.

Seattle Trip - Part 2

Taylor's room sleeps like a dungeon. Her black out curtains are crucial. I slept in for the first time in...I don't even know.

We got up and Taylor decided we were going on a hike. Which I had been fighting her on since my plane landed the day before. I was like, "um, I did not fly here to work out." But after the day of eating we had, a hike wouldn't be so bad. She lied to me about the distance to convince me though.

We left her apartment and walked to a restaurant called Portage Bay Cafe. Their motto is "Eat Like You Give a Damn." Well, I do, and yes, I will. We got a mushroom and apple sausage scramble with all kind of local vegetables...so good. And oatmeal crusted french toast. There was a fruit and granola and whipped cream bar to dress up your baked goods. Yes please. I'm pretty sure I gained pound 4 there.

We walked 2 miles from breakfast to get to Discovery Park. The walk took us through the locks for boats to get in and out of the port/sound. We watched a couple boats go in and out while they added and took away water. It was pretty cool. They also have a salmon run area that no fish were using because the salmon breeding time is over. But it was pretty cool.

Then we got to the park area. After being in Las Vegas for 3 years, I gotta tell ya. The foliage was GORGEOUS. Fall had definitely arrived in Seattle and I was loving it.

We picked (and ate) wild blackberries. The ones sitting in the sun were delicious and sweet.

And then another 2 miles back to her apartment. There were some crazy stairs up and down in that park. I was ready to be done. Taylor lives in Ballard, which is one of the neighborhood areas. Everything is super walkable and accessible. On the way back, Taylor suggested, in between my whining about my hurting feet, that we hit up the massage place. It was $30 for a 60 minute massage. Taylor says they "push all the air out of your fingers when they massage your arms and hands." Seriously Taylor. That is not a thing. There is not air in your fingers. Just saying.

The catch is for the cheap price, you're in a room with 10 other people with your clothes on, so you hear all the rubbing, slapping and clapping while they massage other people. DONE! It had it's moments where I was like, "do these people know what they're doing?" or "Ouch, do know that's a bone?" But for the most part, for $30, it was totally worth it.

Here's my phone pedometer for the morning. We got back to Taylor's apartment by about 3, after our massages.

When we got back to her apartment, we opened a bottle of wine and made a plate of snackies. And watched Grey's Anatomy and Scandal.

Went back downtown to get a drink, Taylor's favorite drink in Seattle. It's at a bar called RN74. I can't remember what the drink is called. I ordered a drink called "what she's having" so when you order you say "I'll have 'what she's having.'" My drink was champagne and lemonade and had some basil in it? I think. We spent the time at this bar watching the sommelier. Which is basically a wine expert. There's a documentary on 4 guys trying to pass the advanced somm test on Netflix that Taylor has seen (she's such a foodie) that we watched the next day as a result of seeing this guy. His only job is to taste wine and pair them for the restaurant with different foods and desserts. I want that job.

This was my "official birthday dinner," so we went to a restaurant called Radiator Whiskeys. I know, more eating right? It was located on the second floor of a building right across from the Pike's Fish Market, so we had a good street view for people watching. The food was bbq style and the restaurant was teeny. The drinks were strong and the food was good. We ordered a turkey leg with fingerling potatoes and braised beef brisket and a green apple salad with radishes. SO delicious.

Here's me with a picture of the menu. Apparently, you can call ahead an order half a pigs head. But they only have 4 of those (so two pigs heads a night) and they're supposedly delicious. The cheeks and jowls are "amazing." I don't care if you're a foodie, Taylor. That sounds kind of gross.

The we went down to the bottom floor of the same building to a little tiny theater called "Can-Can" for a burlesque show. More drinks. Big drinks. Taylor ordered bengiets. I passed. Because wine.

The show was kind of "broadway" themed. They did songs from Hairspray, Grease, and ? a few others that I don't really remember. Because wine.

We got home late and slept late. And got up to do the ONLY thing I wanted to do in Seattle. Go to a local farmers market. We walked to the one in Ballard and bought all of the stuff we would need for dinner and making my birthday cupcakes there. And flowers. And apple cider.

Here's our loot for the farmers market. We pretty much cleaned up.

We watched that documentary on sommeliers (called Somm, I highly recommend it....it was great) and Orange is the New Black. And drank 2 bottles of wine.

My birthday dinner. Butternut squash and mushroom risotto with leeks. Yum.

Lemon and blackberry cupcakes with cream cheese icing.

My plane was scheduled to leave on monday afternoon about 1:20pm. And I'm a paranoid traveler. I like to be at the airport the 2 hours early. Even when I'm traveling alone and am carrying on bags. So we got dressed and headed downtown again to the Starbucks roasting and tasting room. It's the only one in the country. And check out the door. It's really serious. Seriously heavy.

This is Taylor and me waiting for our flight of coffee. I gotta admit though. I drink coffee every day. And I like my creamer. I buy the fru-fru flavored creamer, I buy pumpkin spice lattes and I love seasonal drinks they serve at Starbucks. This flight of coffee made me feel like a baby. Black coffee is serious. But seeing as we went to the roasting and tasting room, I felt all this pressure with the baristas. They stand there at the bar (like where they serve alcohol) and take orders, making them, while all the patrons watch. So after they make you a drink, you have a barista staring at you, as well as the rest of patrons, making sure you don't wince or make a face. I play poker face well. I wanted to like it.

But after we finished our "flight" I was relieved and excited to order my menu regular, a skinny vanilla latte. Yum.

This was the center of the bar, where all the baristas received their fresh roasted beans from the ovens. They ground them up and made fresh coffee.

My regret is that I didn't buy a Seattle Starbucks coffee mug. You know, the ones with the city skyline on them? I almost bought one like 5 times in the airport.

I had a good flight back to Las Vegas, and took a cab to meet some friends from Dover when I landed. It was hot.

Overall, I give Seattle a big old fat stamp of approval. I loved that the whole city seemed supportive of small businesses, buying local, living within your means, being considerate, and walking everywhere. I can see why Taylor loves it. I can't wait to go back! I gotta lose this weight first...

Pitch Perfect

Pitch Perfect is one of my all time favorite movies. I just love it so much.

While sitting in a bar with Taylor in Seattle, she was scrolling through instagram and there was an upload from Rebel Wilson that Pitch Perfect 3 was going to be released.

Taylor and I screamed, high-fived, toasted and then proceeded to make a replica movie poster.

We were those girls. Sitting at the bar with the selfie timer on for a good 20 minutes to get a good picture. We kept laughing while taking pictures and then retaking it. It turned out pretty okay, right?

Ageing Gracefully - Seattle Trip Part 1

So, I'm officially in my thirties. I'm good with it. I went to Seattle to visit my sister for the weekend.

Back in May, Southwest was having this crazy flash sale with flights starting at $49 one way, so I decided to look up flights to Seattle, since they were cheap and wanted a good deal. Taylor comes to visit 3 times a year, so it's only fair, really. Low and behold, a round trip ticket on Southwest for $160. It wasn't $100, but I figured that was a pretty great price, so click and done! I bought them without checking with Troy first, figuring, it's my birthday, he can't be mad :)

I left on thursday afternoon and had a very relaxing flight there. The plane landed about 630pm and Taylor picked me up to go downtown and we met Aunt Leslie for dinner at a place called Terra Plata for dinner. It was delicious. One thing you should know about Taylor. She is a MAJOR foodie. I never order when we are together. She is the BEST orderer. I usually don't even look at the menu. She is awesome. As a side note, I weighed myself after the trip. I gained 6 pounds. In 4 days. Not my best. You'll see why after all the food pictures in this blog...lots of food and more booze than I normally have in 6 weeks.

We went back to her apartment and went to bed about 11pm.

Taylor had to get up friday morning and go to a meeting for work. I stayed home and drank coffee for 4 hours, laid on the couch and watched Netflix. It was the fastest 4 hours of my life. When I'm home with the kids, those are our busy hours and I feel like I'm always checking things off my to do list. Not that day. It was wonderful.

I realized how much time had gone by and I told Taylor I'd be showered, dressed and ready to go by 1230 when she got home. The leisurely shower I had planned was out the door because I let time get away from me. Whoops.

I rushed around and got ready, just in time. Taylor got home and we headed out to Seattle's famous Pikes Market. You know, where they throw the fish. I always picture the opening scene from the Real World, where they toss the fish and "The Real World" is written on the fish. We had pesto lasagna and mushroom risotto at a restaurant called The Pink Door and a few glasses of wine. Yum.

Then we walked across the alley and went to a wine bar called the Tasting Room, where I ordered a flight of wine called "Aging Gracefully." It was yummy. I don't consider myself a wine taster/connoiseur AT ALL, but when you drink wine one after the other, you can really taste the difference. I'm normally like, WINE!! It's good. All wine is good. But all wine is not good when compared one right after the other. So lesson learned.

Then we went and walked around Pike's Market. The very first ever Starbucks is there. The line was absurd. We did not get coffee there. But that's okay. We were already AT LEAST 1 bottle of wine in. At 2pm.

I'll tell you what though. Flower in Seattle are GORGEOUS. And cheap. It was ridiculous. If I were to get married there, I would just go down to the market the day of the ceremony and buy the $5 bouquets. Stick them in a watering can and call it good. They were absolutely beautiful.

I mean, seriously right?

Taylor documented just about everything.

I'm an embarrassed tourist. Meaning I HATE looking like a tourist with all the posing and taking pictures. I want to look like a local. She kept making stand and pose for everything. I started making ridiculous faces in retalition to her forced tourist shots. Which you will see momentarily.

I like to eat. Hence the 6 pounds. The bakeries down there were awesome. I get excited about food. I have no self control with portions. I ate that whole thing.

And then we went to a brewery.

I had the cider. It was delicious. We hung out at the brewery for a bit and then went for a long walk to the Mariners stadium.

Isn't that pretty?

Let me tell you. After walking around Seattle, my hips were SO sore. I know, I know. I turn 30 and start complaining about my old lady hips. But for real. Those Seattle hills are ridiculous. I thought I was gonna face plant about 20 times.

We walked to the Mariner's stadium for a baseball game, but we were a little early. We ducked into a bar next to the stadium called Elysian that serves Taylor's favorite fall brew, called the Night Owl. Here we are, with me looking silly excited about my beer. But in all honesty, here's my review. JUST BECAUSE YOU DUMP NUTMEG AND CLOVES IN A BEER BREWED WITH PUMPKIN, IT DOES NOT MAKE IT GOOD. Just saying. It was okay.

This gets more embarrassing. I seriously ate so much this weekend. The next thing I ate was called a Seattle Dog. Ermahgerd. It was delicious. It was a park hotdog with cream cheese, grilled onions and peppers on it. So. Damn. Good. Can you tell by my face? I ate the whole thing.

I just love baseball games. Especially that day. It is SO HOT in Vegas still. It was wonderful to do an outdoor activity where it was officially fall weather in that location. The people watching was good. The Mariners lost, but, c'est la vie.

It was fan appreciation night, so we got a fireworks show. Which I was SUPER impressed with. The quality of the fireworks was excellent.

Part 2 - coming up soon! Hiking and SURPRISE!! More eating. Those pounds had to come from somewhere.

Anecdotes with Avery

Kids are hilarious. Good thing too.

Recent conversations with Avery include but are not limited to:

Troy is driving Avery to school and it is the first ACTUAL rainy, cloudy day in months.

Troy: Look at this! What does it look like to you?

Avery: I don't know.

Troy: If we were in the Lion King, what would it look like?

Avery: AN ELEPHANT GRAVEYARD!

Look at that face. I love it so much, I could just punch it. She makes my teeth hurt she's so sweet.

One of the bonuses of Avery getting older, is that she can do her whole bedtime routine herself.

Avery: DAD!!! DAD! I NEED YOU! I'M HAVING A HEART ATTACK IN HERE!

Troy comes running into the bathroom-

Troy: What's wrong? Are you okay?

Avery: I'm squeezing and squeezing but I can't get the toothpaste out. Help me.