It's Stitch Fix Day #4!...

I wasn't expecting it until tomorrow, but look what was on my doorstep when I got home from work today!!!

Yay!

Yep, almost like Christmas!

My last Fix was SO great and so I just couldn't wait to rip that tissue paper off to find out what my personal stylist Ashley had picked out for me THIS time!

In case you haven't heard of Stitch Fix... it's a personal styling service where they send you five different items to try on in the comfort of your home and you decide what you want to keep and what you want to send back. And you get a couple of days to try everything on with every single thing that's in your closet, which is what I think I love the most about this service! Plus, I never fail to receive some really fun and unique items that I would never find just browsing the racks at the mall (which I absolutely hate doing anyway!)

Anyway, it's pretty much all explained in my first Stitch Fix Review if you want to check out all the details (and also take a look at some of the fun things I've already received!)

**I do feel that I should make a disclaimer here that everything you receive will definitely NOT be the absolute perfect style for you (especially at first) but the more feedback you give your stylist (which Stich Fix strongly encourages) the better your next Fix will be! And you can also post your fashion "wants" on Pinterest which your stylist will always take into serious consideration and do hers or his very best to accomodate.

But without further ado, here's what was beneath Fix #Four's tissue paper!... Ta-Da!

The Giana Open Drape Cardigan by RD Style - $68... Honestly this drapey cardigan felt so incredibly soft and snuggly and I really wanted to love it, but sadly it hung on me like it didn't have any idea which way it wanted to hang. On the plus side, it did keep me really, really warm for a couple of minutes.

Verdict - Back It Goes

The Queensland Dolman Jersey Top by 41Hawthorn - $48... Just no. This one didn't have any idea how to hang on me either, plus I have enough drab colored tops in my closet already to last me the rest of my life.

Verdict - Bye Bye

The Anita Skinny Pant by Liverpool - $78... Oh my goodness!

Ok so I think this is probably the 3rd pair of pants they've sent me and each one of them I have absolutely loved! How is it that I can't ever seem to find a pair of pants that ever fit me at the store yet somehow Stitch Fix always gets it right?!! What an wonderful pair of skinny's... and in the most amazing "fallish" shade of dark olive green!

Verdict - Don't even try to talk me out of keeping these!

The Ackley Houndstooth Print Blouse by 41Hawthorne - $68... Perfect example of how your stylist checks out your Pinterest page because I pinned this exact blouse a couple of weeks ago! First of all, I don't dress like this...at all! Anyone who knows me knows I'm a total jeans and t-shirt kind of person. But StitchFix is helping me one tiny step at a time to break out of that mold. And anyway, who said you had to wear a blouse like this with professional business wear in mind?

I think it'll work just fine for me paired with jeans, boots and a lovely mustard, brick red or chartreuse cardigan. So many possibilities!
Verdict - It already has a hanger with it's name on it!

And now, for one of my toughest decision of the day... (heh)
The Zelli Split Back Tee by Market & Spruce - $48... Please humor my first experience with selfie photos because I'm not very comfortable with these! But anyway... I absolutely LOVE this top! Love it! No seriously! And it feels so incredibly comfortable on that I think I would probably want to sleep in it every night if it weren't so expensive.

And seriously, I wouldn't even question keeping this one if it didn't have the odd and funny split back thing going on back there and I'm honestly not sure if I love that or hate it. I guess it would be a whole lot easier to decide if I had eyes in the back of my head...

Plus, I already have something similar (see up right in photo). Except that THIS aztec print is a really deep dark purple (which you can't probably see) so it's actually quite different from the black and white racerback from Fix #3. :)

Verdict - Jury's still out. Help?

And so anyway, you can have just as much fun with this as me every month... or every other month... or every six months!.. or however often you choose to do it. I absolutely love the "no obligation" thing!
Meanwhile, thanks so much to my friends who read my last blog and used MY REFERRAL LINK to order their first FIX because by scheduling your first Fixes I got a $75 credit off of this one! So maybe I can afford to buy that cute and cozy Zelli Tee afterall!.. :)

And yes, once you sign up you will get your own referral link too! :)

Anyway, I've never been much of a salesperson but when I find something that works well for me I have a much easier time selling it. So I would just say give it a try!

And if you do, please don't forget to come back and let me know what you think. Thanks!

Third Time's A Charm! (My #3 Stitch Fix Review...)

You may remember me mentioning Stitch Fix a couple months ago when I first signed up for it.

No?

Well Stitch Fix is a personal styling service for women. With Stich Fix, you tell them about your personal style, size and budget preferences, and they will send you a package of really cute goodies to try on in the comfort of your own home. You pay only for the items you keep. Of course there is a $20 styling fee which is applied to your order but it goes towards anything you decided to purchase. If you don’t keep anything, you don’t receive a refund of the fee, but I personally can't imagine not wanting to keep SOMETHING because everything they send is so very stylish and unique. Like all those things I see other people wearing but never seem to end up picking out for myself when I go to the mall. (Which I don't go to very often btw because I absolutely hate shopping!)

But BONUS, if you keep all of the pieces, you get a 25% discount on everything! Unfortunately I am not able to keep everything and always have to end up choosing just one or two items. :( Anyway, you have a couple of days to try everything on and decide, and then you just put anything you don't want back in the prepaid USPS bag and drop it at any place that accepts mail.

It couldn't be easier!... or more fun!!!

So anyway, yesterday was Stitch Fix Day! You can choose to have a package delivered as often or as little as you want. Anywhere from twice a month... to once a month... to every other month... or even every three months. Regardless, it always comes with five outfits/items to choose from.

I always love bumping into this little box on my front porch!

It's like Christmas!

But first... I want to go back and show you some of the items I've snagged from my earlier Fixes! Which, mind you, there have only been two others because I've opted for the every other month plan... But just check these out!

The Emer Printed Straight Leg Pant by Margaret M from Fix #1

The Abourne Split Neck Top by Renee C from Fix #2

And of course these two items were never meant to go together. But they TOTALLY COULD! :)

I also grabbed these adorable edgebeaded teardrop earrings from Fix #2 as well...

And just look how perfectly they'll go with the Renee C top!

But anyway, back to the present.. haha.. because the anticipation is killing me!!!

So what came in Fix #3?

The Alexi Stud Detail Tote by Octavia - $48... a quirky little (I mean really huge) tote that I could probably stuff my entire life into and would be absolutely great for traveling. I know it's hard to see from the picture but it is a really lovely shade of olive... and softer than heck too!

Verdict - Undecided

The Hancock Racerback Top by Skies are Blue - $44... Oh my goodness, I just love this little top! So cute and the fabric is just incredible! I get so excited just thinking about all of the endless possibilities with this one!

Verdict - Keeping For Sure!

The Abrianna Cardigan by 41Hawthorne - $48... This little sweater is so lightweight and comfy and would be perfect to throw on in the overly airconditioned office! Plus, I seem to be acquiring a lot of navy stuff lately :).. I love it!

Verdict - Undecided

The Collen Straight Leg Jean by Liverpool - $78... Ok, wow. Hands down these are the best pair of jeans I've ever tried on in my life! What an unbelievable fit! Only problem is that I just bought another pair of jeans last week that were somewhat comparable.. but just not QUITE as fabulous! What to do... what to do? Can you ever have too many jeans?

Verdict - I want these jeans so bad BUT...

And finally, the Corinna Striped Dolman Top by Market & Spruce - $48... I love this top! So soft and comfortable! But I really had my eye more on the dark olive one which I pinned on Pinterest. (Yes, you can actually have a Pinterest Board that you can share with your stylist to show her/him your exact tastes and style preferences.) Maybe they didn't have the green one available in my size? Maybe I'll send it back and request the green one again? But still, I like this one too... and it would definitely go with the cardigan.

Verdict - Unsure

So what do you think? Which one(s) should I keep. If I keep them all it will cost me $179.50 with the all items 25% discount. If I keep the two that I'm mostly leaning towards it will cost me $122. But if I keep my three favorites?... $170. So really, why not just keep them ALL, right?

Or, I could just choose one.

I should really just choose one...

I hate this.

Anyway...

This is still so much fun and I love having somebody else do the shopping for me!.. in my case Ashley!

She really hit the nail on the head with this last one!

I also love how they send you these little cards with each of the items to help give you ideas about how to pair them with other things you might have hanging out in your closet.

So do you want to give it a try? There is absolutely no obligation and you can end your membership with a click of a mouse if it ends up not working for you.

But in the meantime, if you sign up and schedule your first Fix using MY REFERRAL LINK I will get a $25 credit towards a future Stich Fix purchase and just how sweet is that??? (And thank you in advance!) But don't worry, because once you sign up you'll also get your own referral link to share with your own family and friends if you choose.

Anyway, hope this works out for you and hope that you end up having as much fun with it as I do.

And if not?...

Well, you still get to keep this awesome box!!!

:)

The Six Reasons I Fly Out West Every Chance I Get...

Make that Seven...

Or Nine...

And that just scratches the surface...

Marzipan...

Yesterday this little guy walked home across the Rainbow Bridge.

I know he must have been ready to go because he went so quickly and without hardly any fuss at all.

I wasn't sure what the outcome would be when I took him to Thornwoods yesterday afternoon. I guess I was hoping the vet would be able to do something miraculous to help him get comfortably through the rest of the summer, at least.

He hasn't been well for a very long time...

On Wednesday he walked out into the yard and just stood there for a few minutes... as if he'd thought that going out there would make him feel better somehow. But when he started back towards the house I could tell that even walking for him had become such a struggle and I think that must have been the moment I realized what I was going to have to do.

I had never seen him quite that bad before.

The vet took one good look at him.. and then at me.. and said he thought we were both finally ready. We'd been down this decision making road a couple times before but there had always seemed to still be some quality of life left.

Even though he hadn't been able to jump on the bed to sleep with me for a number of years and then began having such a hard time even climbing the stairs. I had little kitty beds placed all over the house so that he'd have some comfortable places to lay down on every floor. But still his favorite place in the house was that sunny landing right at the top of the stairs... (which he always had to painstakingly climb to.)

I honestly don't know what I was feeling. I think a part of me may have been feeling relief but mostly I was in a state of denial.

I was cradling his head in my hands at the moment they gave him the shot. It had been sort of hanging off the edge of the table and I really wanted to scoot him back further to make him more comfortable, but at the same time didn't want to disturb anything. So I just held him and looked at that little face and I swear that less than 30 seconds later the vet confirmed there was no heartbeat left.

What a very sad, and yet in a way beautiful moment. He went so very peacefully after what I think may have actually been several months of who knows how much discomfort.

This was actually a shot I took of him of him laying on the cool garage floor just before I put him in his carrier. (And shoot I really, really wish I hadn't had that crazy filter set on my camera when I took this picture, because he really didn't look green like this.) :(

We got him from the Cascade Animal Hospital in September 1997. I'd always remembered it as being 1996... so all of this time I thought he was nearly 20 when in actuality he was ONLY 18. But still!
And we named him Marzipan because he was the color of honey and almonds and also because my daughter Whitney once had a stuffed animal named Marzipan that she'd loved so much that she'd picked all the fur off, so she needed more fur to pick... JK

Even though I'm sure she had a TON of fur to pick off of this black sweater afterwards...

Whitney with Marz (at a year old in 1998)

Here's Daryn with Marz shortly after we brought him home.

She loved that kitty so much! In fact she was the one to officially give him his full Christian name... Marzipan Milton Maude Vonya Milroy Moranz.

Don't ask, just smile...

And he was always such a trouper, surviving a number of accidents and maladies over the years including having his neck cut open on a barbed wire fence with ensuing stiches and a case of ring-worms that was so severe that he had to be completely shaved from head to tail!

Not to mention the traumatic day when little brother Riley came along and the terrorizing began!..

But through the years they truly became the very best of buddies and companions.

And right now I can tell that Riley misses him so much!

Daryn with Marz in 2005 (10 years ago!)

And with both of them during a visit back home in 2007.

He was always such a pretty boy!

He came to us in October at around three months old... which makes his birthday probably in July. So he was just almost exactly 18 years old...

I actually made this as a little birthday card for Whitney several years ago but it seems appropriate now as well I suppose. See what a little trouper he was? Thanks for humoring me little man! :)

I was looking for an appropriate poem to post, but you have to admit that most of the Rainbow Bridge poems are pretty darn corny (sorry)... or at least I think so. But this one works for me and somehow gives me peace.

We miss you Marz and we will always remember you!

And in our minds we can see you RUNNING home across that bridge... just as light as a bird and free as the wind!

And we know we will see you later...

Jacob Hudson Norris...

Seven is Heaven!!!

Welcome to the world Jacob Hudson Norris.

Thank you Daryn and Jon!

First Place!

So I have to admit I hadn't been keeping up very well on my running training after the RiverBankRun. I went on vacation and tried running a couple of times, but the altitude out there killed me! And so it wasn't until two weeks ago in the grocery store, when I just happened to see a pamphlet for Run4ACause, a 5k in my own little town of Ada, that my feet finally perked up again!

And how fun that I wouldn't even have to wake up before my normal Saturday morning wake up time!

The Route!!!

Anyway, two weeks is not a lot of time to try and get back in shape! But I did my best!

This morning was beautiful! Could not have asked for a lovlier day! And then Cheryl surprised me by showing up with her camera to grab this pic of me "Rockin' My Socks" near the Start Line. (Yes, the theme of the run this year was "Rock Your Socks!" :)

Bless her heart!

Starting off is always easy (Always! lol... this was only my second race!) but then about 5 minutes into it I'm like.. "ugh this is really, really hard!" And like I've said before, I have no idea why I even enjoy doing this!

At about the half mile mark... Thanks again Cheryl! :)

I'd started off running with Ken, a friend from work, who consistently runs longer distances and who in fact is now training for the 26 mile Chicago Marathon this October after just finishing the 25k RiverBankRun in May. So I figured as long as I could keep him in sight I'd be fine, and even though he ran the entire time and I switched between power walking and sprinting in order to keep up with him, I basically DID. He finished about 40 seconds ahead of me. But HA, who am I kidding with "about"??? Yes, it was EXACTLY 40 seconds lol, because seconds matter when it comes to these things! :)

Afterwards we enjoyed some ice cream compliments of Culvers, Yum! And then I went home...

...only to check the website to find I had placed first in my age group!!! So of course I drove back down to pick up my medal! (I seriously could have walked as long as it took me to drive and park!)

And to be perfectly honest, there were only 4 people in my age group (60-99) that ran, but when you think about it that's something to be proud of in itself, right?

Beat my previous time by 36 seconds!

Oh, and I would also have won 1st place if I'd been 55... 2nd place if I'd been 50... and 4th place if I were still 45, etc, etc...