Stitch Fix Review

I really enjoyed my whole experience with Stitch Fix. The clothes that I received were very high quality and cute. I have decided to keep one of the five items even though I really did love 3 of them.

Liverpool Denise Bootcut Jean $78

These jeans were an obviously good quality and they fit pretty well. They were a little loose in the leg and they were a stretch denim. I am really not a fan of stretch denim so they are definitely going back.

Gilli Gabbey Sleevless Maxi Dress-$74

I really liked this dress. My photography does not do it justice. It is a nice color, great fit and it is made from good fabric so it flows well. But, I have a dark blue maxi dress in my closet. And though I like this one better, I can’t quite justify it.

Olive and Oak Liah Racerback Blouse-$48

Okay, this one fit soooo well! And it was long enough which tends to be a problem for me. The print was my issue with this one. It reminded me of the housedresses my Grandma wore.

Renee C Huebert Space Dye Open Cardigan-$58

I really loved this. It fit so well and would be perfect for nursing….but it was $58. And I am a cheapskate.

Pixley Millie Textured Dress-$68

This is the one I will probably keep. It fits very well and skims over my problem areas. It was comfortable and I really loved the pattern. $68 is more than I would typically spend on a dress but it was a very good quality.

When you order your box you spend a $20 styling fee that is then applied to any purchases you make. If you don’t purchase anything, you lose that $20. They also send a postage paid bag to mail back anything you don’t like and a styling card to show you ideas on how to wear the clothes. If you buy the whole box you get a pretty hefty discount, mine was over $70. I will probably be doing this again in the future because I really had fun! And, there is no impulse buying! Huge plus for me!

If you are interested in ordering your own box, here is the link.

http://stitchfix.com/referral/5211886

Love the Skin You Are In!

---I need to preface this post by saying that I am not in any way shape or form endorsed by the companies I am about to tout. I spend my own good money on them and have never regretted a purchase. I am sharing just for the love of the products.---
I have had skin issues my whole adult life. Actually, I remember being a pre-teen and not being able to sleep at night because my legs itched so badly. As I get older, (almost 28 people!) it is only getting worse. Red bumps all over my legs, constantly dry, flaky skin on my face and oh the itching!!! I would find a new lotion at Walmart and it would provide relief for a few weeks but inevitably, before the bottle was even empty, I would break out in itchy red spots every time I use it.
And then I found Renew. A friend had been using it for many years and had recommended it a couple of times but I had been hesitant to try it because of the price. Now I am going to be honest. The price is high. About $19 for a 20oz bottle. A dollar an ounce is quite a bit higher than I would normally consider spending on anything but after the first bottle I was hooked. I use it on my entire body every day and it lasts me a couple of months. I even apply it to my face in place of moisturizer. No more itching, no more bumps and no more flaking! The lotion is the best feeling I have ever used as well. I use it to treat Molly’s dry skin and Caleb’s eczema and we all love it.
http://www.melaleuca.com/ProductStore/Product?sku=6600
When Molly was born she had slight eczema and very dry skin so our doctor told us not to bathe her more than once a week and to use a very mild bar soap like Dove. Well, Molly was a puker so we had to do more baths than that but using Dove over baby soap really did make a difference. Of course, it doesn’t have that awesome baby smell. So since it helped Molly so much, I decided to switch over all of our soap to Dove. It did help considerably but tended to leave a bit of a residue and it was still more drying for my skin than I liked. After much experimenting with other brands I was in our local grocery store one day and got a whiff of something amazing. And that was the beginning of my love affair with Pacha Soaps. These soaps are made here in Hastings and have the most amazing scent combinations. They are colored naturally and feel soooo good! I stopped using a bathroom air freshener because every time someone washes their hands, the house is flooded with the amazing scent of lemon and lavender. Once again, this is a product that I wouldn’t normally have spent this much money on but the feeling of the soap can’t be beat. It feel luxurious but is good for our skin and I love their mission statement.
http://www.pachasoap.com/
I have so many friends with skin issues and not every person will be able to use the same regimen but hopefully, my experience can help someone else out. Molly used to lay in bed and scratch her legs until they were red because they itched so badly. Now she doesn’t and as long as this lotion helps our skin, I will continue to pay the high amounts to make sure she doesn’t deal with it for as many years as I did.
The Renew lotion must be bought through a distributor but I have a friend who sells it so anyone who is interested I can get her info.

Tornados don’t sound like trains to me.

Last night was the first time I have been through a tornado. Oh sure, we have had the sirens go off and I have rushed to many a basement in my life as a Nebraskan, but last night was the first time that a tornado ripped through my neighborhood. I am still in a bit of shock. I don’t think I have completely reconciled myself to the fact that we came that close to disaster.

The sirens blew at 4:22. My girls, as well as the boys I babysit, were already in the basement playing house. We had been in a tornado watch for a couple of hours so I thought it was just precautionary. I picked up Caleb and my phone and headed downstairs with the dog slinking in fear behind me. That should have been my first clue. Dogs know when the weather is scary.

I gathered all the kids around the laptop with the intention of pulling up Netflix so they could watch a cartoon to calm their nerves. Then we lost power and the siren stopped blowing. I put in a movie and headed upstairs to check it out, Jared as a natural Nebraska man, was outside checking out the storm. Then we got a call from a friend saying that a tornado was on the ground in town. I headed back downstairs even though it looked fine outside to me. I was bouncing Caleb on my lap when I heard the back door slam and Jared run down the stairs. He ran into the room and hollered at everyone to get away from the windows. That probably should have been my second clue.

The noise and wind lasted less than 30 seconds. It was intense but just seemed like wind to me. We can’t really see much from the basement windows so once it was over, Jared went upstairs to check it out. I followed a bit later to see tree branches and fence all over our yard. No major damage so I still hadn’t realized. Our neighbor pulled up to check on us and told us that houses were off their foundations. I walked back into my living room and looked out our front window and could see a house that we can’t normally see. It had been shoved off of its basement and was sitting in the back yard.

The gal who lives here was found in her living room, safe. Had she been in her basement, that may not be true.

Jared immediately started clearing trees while I calmed down a very scared 5 year old. The power was going to be out for a while so we called Jareds parents to come get the kids so they could get supper. I am still in awe of how well all 5 kids handled it. Molly got scared and weepy but the others all took it in stride. Jared was checking on the neighbors who had a branch fall on their house when another large one fell right next to him. Fortunately, no one was home when their house was hit.

My in-laws were able to get into town to pick up the kids for us. They headed off to town and Jared and I set out to see what we could do to help. We drove a couple of blocks and the immensity of the damage started to sink in.

This is one block from my house. One block. Not a town over, not a mile away; one block. This family lost a garage and a bunch of windows but they are okay. There were no major injuries. That is what I consider a miracle. There were dozens of people helping with the clean up and by the time Jared and I were able to get out to help, most of the homes had been patched up for the night. Southern Power worked hard to get our electricity back up for the night.

This morning, at dawn, men and tractors and trucks were already hard at work clearing away the mess. After lunch today, a group of men with chainsaws showed up in my yard to clear our the large branches that had broken in our back yard. The streets are cleared and they are moving out the tree debris. It’s amazing being from a small town that bands together like this. Lunch was being served at the church as well as the firestation and supper is being provided by Pinnacle bank. A neighbor with 5 young children lost their home. While they were in it. I can’t imagine what that poor mom must be going through. Before bedtime, someone had already started a fundraising page for them.

My family was so, incredibly fortunate. It is both amazing and terrifying to think that we escaped the damage by a block. One block, people. Let that sink in.

http://www.gofundme.com/txq6e9s9s

If you feel compelled to donate to a family in need, here is the link.