Stitch Fix - Fix #8

Last month I got the invite for a Style Pass and I couldn't pass it up! While no one knows the criteria for sure, a Style Pass is a special invite directly from Stitch Fix that lets you pay a $49 fee and get unlimited fixes for a year!
Usually, you pay a $20 styling fee with each box you get. The money still goes toward anything you keep from the box, but I never saw a point in getting a box unless I planned to buy something, so I wouldn't lose my $20. Now? I paid my $49 (and applied it toward items from this first box I got on my Style Pass) and scheduled to get a new box each month. If I keep something, that's fine. If I don't keep anything, I send it back in the postage paid envelope and I'm not out anything. Yay!

For my first box on my Style Pass, I said in my note that my daughter and I were getting ready to attend a baton competition in Orlando, Florida, and visiting Disney World, so I needed casual, comfortable clothing for warmer weather. I don't always wear shorts in summer, and also enjoy skirts and dresses, but casual shoes sometimes stumped me for these outfits. My stylist delivered!

The first couple items I tried on were the Eileen Honeycomb Texture Knit Tank from Pixley (cost $54) with the Dear John - George Cargo Shorts in taupe (cost $58). The knit texture of the shirt was very comfy. While I usually like nay and mint together as colors, this mint on the shoulders seemed a little out of place to me. When I tried on again for hubby to see, it didn't really matter; he didn't like the fit of the tank and said it was 'old-ladyish.' I've got some news for him - no one will be confusing me for a teenager any time soon. Hahaha.... Anyway, I decided to keep the shorts (love them!) and send back this tank. While my husband definitely doesn't tell me what to wear, he does see me pretty regularly, so spending that much on a shirt I know he doesn't really like seems silly.


Next up I left on the shorts, but switched out for the Sam Hi-Lo Short Sleeve Tee from Mix by 41 Hawthorn (cost $34) and added the SeaVees - Monterey Canvas Lace Up Sneakers in red (cost $68). While the shoes seemed pricey for something more cute than comfortable, I decided to keep them. I did end up wearing them around Disney for one day, but then switched back to my regular tennies that have more arch support and less canvas rubbing spots. I do love their style, though, and will certainly wear them with casual skirts/dresses and shorts this summer. The shirt was similar in style to some I already have, but super soft. I liked the fit and feel of this one, but decided against it to try and keep my spending under control. I figure I'll be buying at least one t-shirt as a souvenir, right?

Last but not least is this unique maxi dress. It's the Nikita 2fer Knit Maxi Dress from 41 Hawthorn (cost $78). I loved the style, but I didn't like the view of my back fat. Haha.. Hubby thought it looked fine, but I would have been uncomfortable. I loved that it completely covered bra straps and was stretchy and comfortable. I'm not sure if going up a size would have made it more flattering - I think that's just a bad peek-a-boo spot for me. So I sent it back.


Overall, keeping two out of five items in a fix wasn't too bad. Remember if I'd kept all five items, I would get 25% off of the total cost. But since this was my first box on my Style Pass, I had already paid $49 toward what I chose to keep.

If you'd like to try Stitch Fix, please use my referral link to get us both some extra credit ;)

10 Random Things for Friday

1. Although I only had a three-day week essentially, this is a very needed Friday! Maggie and I were driving back from Florida on Monday and Tuesday (and school was closed for mid-winter break), but I feel like we've crammed five days of schedule into the other three days!
2. I worked as a substitute in another school kitchen today. It was easier and harder. But the ladies there were nice and friendly, and the kids were polite. I'd do it again if asked, but not too often. My body doesn't really like these long days on my feet...
3. We had better be done with snow.... the forecast doesn't show any coming in the next ten days, and we're nearly to spring, right?
4. And in looking at the forecast again, I just realized that the first of March is next Thursday. I've been putting Feb 28 as next Thursday on everything I've done. Whoops.
5. My fish are luckily little miracles. I got back from Florida Tuesday. As I looked at the tank and stand they're on, I noticed the container of food that was almost gone the Tuesday before was still there. As soon as I started to say something to hubby, he said, "Oh my gosh! I never fed the fish!" All six are still swimming, luckily.
6. I want to have dinner at home, but I don't want to cook. I'm thinking a big pot of chili and some cornbread sounds yummy. Or, you know, carry-out pizza.
7. So what's next? I think between regular work and training days, I don't have a week-day off of work til spring break starts March 30. :O
8. I'm hoping to hear soon about scoring some standardized tests again this spring. It's been a pretty regular thing for me for years. I could use a few extra bucks to entertain the kids and I this summer. 
9. Now that Maggie and I are back from Twirlmania, I've got to start lining up our spring competitions. 'Our' meaning I sign up and pay, and she twirls. ;) I do love to see her so happy doing something she enjoys and is good at.
10. Only two weeks til our library's Battle of the Books! I've got to get together some sample questions for our team and get ready for practice in a couple hours.

Have a great weekend!!

The Greatest Showman - My Review

Wowwie. I had heard great things about this movie since it opened in theaters in late December, and I now agree with everything I remember hearing. My family and I LOVED this movie! Even my husband (who stopped at the poster and said, "WAIT - this is a MUSICAL??!") admitted to enjoying it by the time it was done. And my six-year-old (who spent most of the movie whispering, "Mom, this movie is FIVE HOURS long!!") is asking to go see it again.

The Greatest Showman celebrates the story of PT Barnum and his creation of the circus. We watch his unbeatable spirit rise from being a poor tailor's son, to rubbing elbows with upper society types, including his wife's family. The story is not one to be missed. Loving movies that pair with books as much as I do, I'm eager to find a good biography of PT Barnum. I heard of one viewer who did not like the movie because he said his history with the circus taught him that much of the movie was false. I doubt learning the 'real' story will ruin my enjoyment of this wonderful film.

In case I haven't been clear, I loved this movie! I actually bought the soundtrack before even seeing it, and have listened to it many, many times already. The music is great, and even better with the memories of them from the movie. The costumes were wonderful (and many were actually borrowed from Feld Entertainment, owners of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which stopped performing in May 2017).

If you haven't seen this movie yet, you should! If you have, what was your favorite part?

Fogo de Chao Review

I was lucky enough to be treated to dinner at Fogo de Chao in Troy last weekend. YUMMO!! I love meat, and this is the place to go.

Fogo de Chao is a Brazilian steakhouse offering fabulous cuts (and cooks) of meat brought right to your table. Once we were seated at our table, our server brought us the card pictured at right (explaining the meats available) and pointed out our coasters - green on one side for 'more meat,' and red on the other for 'WAIT - I need to catch up before getting more meat.' We were to simply show the side of the coaster that indicated our current wishes throughout our meal.



I started off with a Berry Mint Caipirinha (their signature drink, available in six flavors). It was refreshing and delicious, while not being too sweet to go with all the meat and, well, meat. Hahaha...


I did visit the Marketplace (included with the meal) before we started receiving meat at our table. Having been to Fogo once before, I knew not to fill up on all the fresh and unique sides and salads. Speaking of meat (yes, I do like meat the best), the brown sugar and black pepper bacon is absolutely my favorite item at the Marketplace. I not only had some before we started the rest of dinner, I also wrapped up the end of my evening with more bacon and some pineapple. Writing about the bacon again now makes my mouth water. Yes, it's at least that good.

During this visit, we were seated near the room where the servers get the skewers of meat. So fun! I tried to get a good picture of the meat all lined up and kept hot, but I only ended up with some bad pictures of my reflection in the glass. The ambiance throughout the restaurant was great for a relaxing or romantic evening, but not very conducive to pictures of all the wonderful-ness.

Onto the meat! Some of my favorites this time included the sirloin, the bacon-wrapped steak (sensing a theme?), the lamb, and the parmesan-crusted pork (which I don't remember having last time). We were also asked by several servers what temp/cook we wanted on our meat. I always went with a medium rare, and it was without fail juicy and delicious.

The full dinner is $48.95 for adults, but I just found out on this visit that it's also available at half-price for kids age 7 - 12, and free for those 6 and younger. I've suggested it as a great daddy/daughter night out since hubby and our daughter have both been jealous of my visits, and I think they'd love it. I believe it can also cost less for a limited selection of meats, or for lunch.

Check it out and let me know what you think!



In exchange for this post and social media shares, I enjoyed a free meal at Fogo de Chao, but these are truly my thoughts and opinions about my visit.

Jack's Kidbox Box - February 2018

Jack has been missing out! He watches mom get boxes of clothes, and Maggie get boxes of clothes, and he wanted his own box of clothes....enter Kidbox! I ordered a box of clothes from Kidbox for Jack about two weeks ago, and they shipped super fast. The original follow-up said to expect a box within two weeks, and within a few days I received a shipping confirmation. Yay!

The Kidbox subscription service is very similar to the two we use for Maggie and me. You get a box of clothes (in this case, there is no styling fee in advance) and pick what you want to keep, then send the rest back in a postage paid envelope that's included in your box. There's a discount for keeping everything in your box, and with Kidbox, if you keep the whole box, they also make a new clothes donation to a family in need. How great is that?!

Jack received seven total items in his box,  plus a pack of thank-you postcards that he can use to send cute thank-yous to friends and family who gift him thing through the year. His clothing items in this winter box were three pairs of joggers (he had requested not to receive any denim), one zip-front hoodie, and three long-sleeve shirts.

The first outfit he eagerly tried on was the Eland boys long sleeve tee (retail price $22, Kidbox special price $18) with the Adidas boys' jogger (retail price $34, Kidbox special price $26). I would love to explain their pricing, but I really don't get it.  I just saw that the whole box is a good deal and didn't worry about the details. LOL The fit on the joggers (size 7) and the shirt (size 6) was just right for Jack, and he says he wants to keep this outfit and wear it (it's been a week, and he hasn't worn it yet...).

The next outfit in our fashion show was the LRG boys raglan henley in red (retail price $18, Kidbox special price $14) with the Puma boys joggers in black (retail price $36, Kidbox special price $27). Both items were again comfy, fit well, and stylish. In retrospect, I should have had him try this shirt on with the next joggers, but what's done is done, and the pictures are already taken. LOL I'm also kind of shocked at the idea of paying $36 regular retail for a pair of kids' sweat pants, but my end price made much more sense. Not sure if my sticker shock was because this is 'name brand' stuff, or just because we get so many hand-me-downs I don't have to actually buy too many clothes usually.

The final outfit to try on was actually three pieces, and as I already admitted, probably would have gone better with the red shirt (I think it would have popped better with the gray of the pants, and coordinated nicely with the hood lining of the jacket). Here he's wearing the Silver Jeans boys long sleeve henley in green (retail price $26, Kidbox special price $19) with the Paper Denim & Cloth boys knit joggers in black (retail price $46, Kidbox special price $35), shown here with and without the  DKNY boys zip front hoodie in grey (retail price $46, Kidbox special price $37). In the semi-dark family room the evening we opened the box, I thought the pants and jacket matched, but on further review, they're actually different brands. I never claimed to be a fashionista. Jack actually left these pants and shirt on as we headed to swim class the same evening.

Overall, Jack and I enjoyed our first Kidbox. The pricing as I said looks somewhat confusing, but I kept everything in the box for $88.20. You can also get a discount by using my referral link: http://refer.kidbox.com/hL7nn (I would also get another discount. Discount not applicable on baby boxes.) Also worth noting, I've edited our preferences to allow denim in the next box. While Jack does wear mostly non-denim pants, I like some of the stylish stuff we've seen both in our own box, and in ads I've seen for Kidbox. I'm excited to check out a little different box next time.

10 Random Things for Friday

1. What a long Friday! I worked my regular breakfast shift, then stayed through lunch to cross-train and help out. Then we had less than two hours of the school day left, so I stuck around. We went from there to a Battle of the Books meeting before making it home just shy of 12 hours after I left in the morning...
2. And now I'm staying up long enough to wash and dry my favorite PJs so I can curl up cozy with my book until I wake up without an alarm tomorrow morning.
3. Still stuck in today - I can't decide if I'm proud of myself for redirecting Jack to watch a movie at home, or disappointed in myself for not pulling it together one more time to take him swimming like we originally planned. I think the fact that I'm too tired to figure it out is good enough.
4. Maggie and I have less than two weeks til we leave for Twirlmania in Florida! She needs to get some more practice in to make sure she's got the parade routine she needs, and to keep improving her solo, strut, march, and model. Luckily she enjoys it.
5. I'm so tired of the cold, but I'm so grateful that we haven't been buried in snow lately. That's supposed to change a bit this weekend, unfortunately.
6. Why don't I do five for Friday like other bloggers? LOL
7. Coming soon to this spot: Fogo De Chao review from last week, pictures and what I thought of my son's first Kidbox box, and impressions and decisions from my StitchFix box arriving Monday. 
8. I'm thankful for a not-too-scheduled weekend. We're going to see The Greatest Showman tomorrow, and then have a neighbor's birthday party on Sunday. Pretty low-key - I love it!
9. Still in the mood to watch Groundhog Day after seeing some images and jokes to coincide with today's big holiday ;)
10. Hope you have a great weekend, and a healthy and productive week to follow :)