Monthly Archives: January 2014

Week of casual layers and one skirt

January 25, 2014What I'm wearingbooties, circle skirt, For the Makers, Golden Tote, H&M, layered looks, Loft, military style jacket, outfit ideas pear shape, skater skirtpacificnorthwestpear

This week I mainly picked out outfits with casual layers so I could stay warm at the office but still look put together.

stripes and layers — stripes and military jacket

Here I’m wearing a new faux layered look top from LOFT, and a necklace I made from my January “For the Makers” kit. The top is really comfortable and gives the look of layers without the bulk.

Two in One Softened Shirt – Ann Taylor Loft $59.50

Crown Vintage Samantha Bootie – DSW $69.95

Necklace – For the Makers

I got this lace blouse from Golden Tote , and the jacket is from Kohls. The delicate layered necklace is from H&M.

Diba pilot lace up boots – DSW $59.95

I got this quilted puffer vest from Banana Republic last weekend and the coordinating sweater on the same shopping trip. I had actually been looking for a puffer vest I saw in the H&M catalog, but the store I visited didn’t have it. When I saw this in Banana Republic I tried it on and knew it was a keeper. Everything in the store was 40% off and I had an additional $40 gift card so I got a great deal on it.

Quilted vest – Banana Republic $98.00

Striped textured cotton sweater – LOFT $59.50

This outfit was actually layered as well, but I took off the black faux leather jacket for the photo so you could see the cute pattern on the blouse. The blouse and skirt are both from LOFT.

Circle skirt in mid weight scuba – LOFT $49.99

Diba Pilot Bootie – DSW $54.95

For the Makers – January review

January 19, 2014What I madeDIY projects, For the Makers review, homemade jewelry, project ideaspacificnorthwestpear

This month’s For the Makers box arrived on the same day as Paper Pumpkin and I was really happy they got here in time for the weekend. I ended up spending Sunday morning doing crafts. Here’s what came in this month’s box.

This month’s collection was called “Sedona Sunset” and consisted of a chunky necklace, a stretchy bracelet, a faux leather notebook cover, and a clay bowl. All of them were fun to make, and the degree of difficulty was pretty low compared to the necklace from last month with the super thick chain.

Here are the finished products:

For the Makers Sedona Sunset — Chunky Necklace

This one was fun to make, but the metal beads that hold the rope together were rather stubborn and again my jewelry pliers were too delicate to really close them so I borrowed a pair of heavier pliers from the toolbox in the garage.

This one was super easy but really cute. I will probably end up wearing it quite a bit.

It’s hard to tell from the pic, but it’s a lavender faux leather notebook cover. You sew the edge then attach the metal piece that holds it shut. Pretty straightforward but I had to cover a notebook that already had a cute cover because it was the only one I had that fit.

For this one, you needed an oven safe bowl to shape the clay and bake it in the oven, but I wasn’t sure if any of my cereal bowls were oven safe so I found the only thing that was specifically labeled as oven safe, and it was a small ramekin used for fondue. The shape is a little weird, and the clay wasn’t quite as swirly as I had been hoping for, but it was a fun little project.

Overall, I think I liked the December kit best with all of the sparkle, but these were great projects for a slow Sunday afternoon. I really like this subscription service!

For more about For the Makers, learn more here.

Paper Pumpkin January review

January 19, 2014What I madecard making, DIY, Paper pumpkin review, stamping projectpacificnorthwestpear

This month’s paper pumpkin arrived and I think it was my favorite so far. This month, they sent a bunch of supplies to make Valentines but it was much more of a “use your own creativity” project than the last ones hand been because you could mix and match any of the supplies to create some different cards.

The supplies:

The suggestions:

I ended up spending about 45 minutes working on these, because I was playing around with the different stickers and stamps to see what could be done. I really enjoyed this months project.

Here are the finished cards:

What I wore this week

January 19, 2014What I'm wearingbrown boots, Golden Tote, layered looks, outfit ideas pear shape, stitch fixpacificnorthwestpear

I remembered to take pictures of some of the things I wore this week. I was trying to layer as much as possible because the office has been so cold and having layers enables me to adjust to whatever conference room or office I am in.

This outfit combined a long cardigan from Target with a blouse from Golden Tote and a necklace from stitch fix. These are my favorite brown boots that I purchased after a trip to Paris where all of the women were wearing boots like this with everything from flowery dresses to skinny jeans and sweaters. They are comfy and roomy and look cute with almost anything I pair them with.

I got this sleeveless blouse from JCPenny from their black Friday cyber sale, and the cardigan is from Ann Taylor Loft. I’m also wearing my favorite skull studded flats which make me happy whenever I see them.

On Friday I wore those boots again with a cream colored pull over sweater and a scarf my Mom had given me. When I was chilly I wore the leather jacket, but for most of the day I was just wearing the sweater.

Stitch Fix Review #8

January 11, 2014Stitch Fix Reviewsblack and white clothes, pear shaped body, stitch fix reviewpacificnorthwestpear

After battling some flu like symptoms and getting back to work this week, my January Stitch Fix has arrived. I approached the box with a bit of trepidation since the last few were not all that satisfying. I just hoped that I’d be keeping at least one item in order not to have wasted the $20 styling fee. My only request this time had been “more colors and patterns please”. I hesitantly opened up the box to see…

a sea of black and white.

This was not at all what I asked for, so I’m wondering why they completely ignored my request. Then I unfold the note that comes with the fix and see this:

Wait, What????? Congrats on your first fix? We’re excited to have you join? The receipt clearly states that this is my 8th fix!! So this stylist somehow thought I was a new customer and apparently did not look at a single note from my past history, or my last request for color and patterns. Wow.

Splendid Ruben Tab-Sleeve Open Cardigan $78 and Rikka Amanda Enamel Bib Necklace $38

Not really loving this cardigan. The fabric is thin and not at all good for winter, and the cut is not flattering. It just sort of cuts me off and makes my upper body looks stumpy.

41Hawthorn Amani Cowl Neck Sleeveless Blouse $48

This top by itself looks terrible on me. I look like an exaggerated purple pear. Thumbs down on this one.

But then, when I put the two items together…

Suddenly this outfit looks professional and I could see myself wearing it for an upcoming conference I have to attend for the night events. Despite the items being awful on their own, I decide I’ll keep them because paired together they work.

Renee C Rosenberg Dip-Dye Cross-Front Knit Shirt $58

This one is a bit quirky and strange, but overall I liked the faux leather panel at the top and the fabric was soft. I’m not sure what to wear under it though. A white tee looked bad and the sleeves were too tight, but I don’t like the triangular peak of my fly of my jeans so I might try to find a longer tank I could wear underneath. Decided to keep it because it’s unique.

41Hawthorn Dominic Brick Print Belted Shirtdress $78

On the hanger this one reminded me of a dress I had gotten in a previous fix that I really didn’t end up liking after I wore it, but once I put it on, I saw that the fit was much nicer and flattering. I will wear it with a black half slip underneath because the buttons don’t go low enough at the bottom and the flap kept opening up, but overall it was a surprisingly good dress for work. Decided to keep it.

Overall Impressions

Despite the fact that everything they sent was black and white with one exception of the purple blouse, and despite the stylist thinking it was my first fix, I ended up keeping all of the items from this fix for a total of $210. I actually requested this stylist for my next fix, because even though the colors were off, these pieces generally were a better fit for me than some of the odd stuff previous stylists had picked out. We’ll see what the February box reveals, but I really hope it’s color. My request this time was no more black/white, or solid burgundy or navy. Here’s hoping.

Winter Outfit Ideas

January 2, 2014What I'm wearingAnn Taylor Loft, JCrew, ModCloth, Outfit ideas for a pear shape body, target, winter outfitspacificnorthwestpear

I’ve been really bad about posting what I’ve been wearing lately, so here are a few things I wore in December.

I took this picture on our “Snow Day” we had here a few weeks ago. We only got around an inch, but everyone was freaking out and all the schools were closed. Most of my co-workers flaked out and didn’t show up, but being from the Midwest originally I didn’t really mind and went in anyway. Usually the biggest threat when it snows here is other inexperienced drivers, but I just watch out for them. The skirt is from Ann Taylor Loft, and the blouse is from Old Navy.

The thing I loved the most about this outfit was the shoes. I love those sparkly flats! The jacket was from Ann Taylor Loft, and the tee was from JCrew.

This is one of my favorite dresses and I’ve had it for a few years. I love the asymmetrical hem and the pattern. It’s also a nice soft material and great for the winter time. We were having some pretty chilly weather this December so this kept me warm with the tights and boots.

This is one of my favorite color combos with mustard and black and white. The top is from Anthropologie, and the sweater is from LOFT. I also really love these flats I got at DSW. Comfy and electric blue.

I got this sweater from Piperlime last winter, and like it paired with these eggplant skinny jeans and these awesome skull print rhinestone studded flats.

I wore this blanket sweater on one of our cooler days here and was nice and toasty! I think I got this from ModCloth.I also really love this skirt. It’s a nice long wool skirt that keeps me toasty and I paired it with this rust colored sweater from Target. The skirt was from ModCloth.

A Pear to Remember

How to dress a pear shaped body