Monthly Archives: June 2014

June Stitch Fix Review

June 28, 2014Stitch Fix Reviews41Hawthorn, Bay to Baubles, June Stitch Fix Review, Pomelo, Stitch Fix Review pear shaped body, Tartpacificnorthwestpear

My June Stitch Fix has arrived, and sadly most of it did not work out this time.

I was excited to see a bright salmon colored item, some yellow (hurray!!) and a green and blue patterned item. Not too exited about the grey.

Bay to Baules – Serratoga Double Layer Leaf Necklace $32

It was a pretty enough necklace and the price was fine, but the two layers kept getting twisted together and I knew it would constantly be annoying me.

Verdict – Sent back.

Tart – Baylie Abstract Print Fitted Dress $128

When I first pulled this one out of the box, it was so short I wasn’t sure if it was a tunic top or a dress. Turns out it was a very short dress.

Not only was it way too short on me, but there was a deep v in the back and I was super uncomfortable in it. It did nothing for my figure whatsoever. Also $128 for a knit dress that was poorly made and had a hole in the back just seemed ridiculous.

Verdict – Going back, quickly!

Pomelo – Downing Striped Knit Shirt $44

I had been asking for a yellow item since my very first fix (15 fixes ago now) and this is the first yellow item. I was excited for the color, and the fit was cute, but for some reason there were these little nubs in the fabric (hard to explain) that made it really itchy. I would only want to wear this on the weekends as a casual top but the fabric would make me pass it up in the closet. So unfortunately this cute little top is also going back.

Verdict – sadly, going back

41Hawthorn – Linda Cross Front Knit Top $54

Now if you notice, so far everything is going back. But this was by far the worst offender.

Look a little familiar? In a previous fix I got a tank very similar to this that I called the Miss America reject:

It might not be quite as bad, but it’s bad.

It boldly highlights every lump and bump and gives me an odd “pregnant with an alien baby” look.

Verdict – please remove this from my body and my sight.

Tart – Juliano Chevron Print Twist Shoulder Cowl Neck Top $88

At last, something I might consider keeping. But $88??? It seemed really high for just one stretchy knit top. The cowl neck was really fussy, and I was right about to just return everything and take the $20 styling fee loss on this one until I tried it on with a white linen blazer. Suddenly I could see myself wearing this to a presentation at work and it seemed like it might be worth the extra $68 to keep it.

Verdict – reluctantly keep

Overall Impression

Well, this wasn’t the best fix I have gotten. The dress was completely wrong for my body, the tank was a disaster, and the yellow tee while a good try was just not comfortable enough. So I ended up keeping one top for a total of $88 which eats into my clothing budget for a month with only one item to show. Since this seemed to be an outlier, I decided to give it one more go in June and scheduled my next fix for 3 weeks out. My fingers are crossed that I get at least 2 pieces I like in the next one. I requested a nice summer weight outer layer like a jacket or blazer, and maybe some bottoms if they have curvy style. We’ll see what happens with a second June box.

June Outfits

June 25, 2014What I'm wearingAnn Taylor Loft, Boden, Golden Tote, Nine West, Old Navy, Pear shaped outfit ideas, stitch fix, targetpacificnorthwestpear

Here are some of the things I’ve been wearing in June.

I got this Maxi Skirt on sale at Kohls and paired it with my usual jean jacket and some comfortable sandals. The boho necklace is from Ann Taylor Loft.

The Blue Skirt and graphic tee are from Ann Taylor Loft, the necklace from Kohls, and the shoes are Nine West.

The knit circle skirt is from Ann Taylor Loft, and I have it in 4 colors. It’s incredibly comfortable and easy to pull on when the weather warms up as an alternative to shorts. I wear them both to work and on the weekend. Here I paired it with a sweater from Ann Taylor Loft and a scarf from London.

Circle Skirt – Ann Taylor Loft $49.50 without a sale

open cardigan — Stitch Fix top and Cardigan

The striped blouse was from Stitch Fix, and the cardigan from Piperlime.

The Maxi dress is from Target, and the bag is Kate Spade. I paired it with my favorite jean jacket.

white blazer — Stitch Fix top and Blazer

The top and necklace are from stitch fix. I paired it with a white linen blazer I got from Nordstrom last summer.

striped dress — Golden Tote Striped Dress

In an attempt to mask the poorly placed gathering on this dress I wore the belt a little lower, but you can still tell it gives me a weird shape. Once again, my jean jacket. (I realized from these pictures that I’ve been wearing it a ton.)

I find that this silhouette works really well for my shape. The A-line pulls away from my hips and gives me a nice straight shape. The skirt is from Boden and the cardigan is from Old Navy.

Golden Tote June Review

June 14, 2014Golden Tote Reviewsclothing subscription boxes, Golden Tote June Review, subscription box reviewspacificnorthwestpear

June’s Golden Tote arrived yesterday and here’s what I got.

I got the $149 tote and the two items I picked this time were the striped dress and the blue palazzo pants.

Comme Toi Striped Dress

I had been really excited about this dress because it is knit, the pattern is cute, and it seemed long enough for work. Unfortunately, the gathering at the waist hits just below my bust (not at all where my waist is) and it looks frumpy and weird. I was sadly disappointed until my husband came upstairs and said it was cute. I guess I’ll wear it on the weekend at some point, but I don’t think it really did anything for my figure. (The belt is mine from Ann Taylor Loft.)

Renee C Palazzo Pants

I had been wanting a pair of pants in this style for a while now, and when I saw them as an option for the June Golden Tote I had to have them. I ordered the blue color. Unfortunately I had forgotten that I probably wanted a size Large in these in order to be roomy enough in the thighs/bum and the Medium is a bit on the snug side clinging just a bit too much. I think I can still pull them off but wish I had done a size bigger.

Here I paired them with a chambray shirt, but I think they’d look cute with a black tee and a long necklace. I’ll probably need platform sandals since they are a bit long.

I also got 4 Surprise Items.

Fantastic Fawn Blue Dress

I really liked this dress on, maybe even better than the striped one I had picked out, but unfortunately the picture turned out super blurry.

Miss Love Lace Top

This picture doesn’t do the top justice, it’s actually really cute on. I paired it with the next surprise item:

Priddy Black Pants

These are stretchy knit pants and are SOOO comfortable. They might not be super flattering, but I don’t care because I want to live in them now.

For this picture, I paired them with the next surprise item:

Porridge Blue Print Top

And this is the item I won’t bee keeping. On me this was way to open at the top and it bloused out and was not flattering.

Winner of the June Giveaway

Congratulations to the winner of the June Giveaway, Sara E. from Indiana.

I’ll be sending out the top this weekend, so watch your mailbox. 🙂

PopSugar June Box Review

June 10, 2014PopSugar ReviewsPopSugar Must Have Box June, subscription box reviewspacificnorthwestpear

I seem to be getting addicted to subscription boxes. The latest one I heard about and signed up for is called the PopSugar Must Have Box. It will include hand-selected items in beauty, fashion, home, fitness and food. They are full size products and the cost is $39.95 a month with free shipping. You can use the code REFER5 to get $5 off your first box.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with the first box since the April and May boxes seemed pretty different. I was very pleasantly surprised.

In total there were 6 items and a $15 voucher for a store I had never heard of before.

Hardcover Novel – The One & Only by Emily Giffin

This book kept popping up as a suggestion for me on GoodReads and Amazon so I’m excited to see it in this box. I probably wouldn’t have bought it myself because I usually wait for the paperback version of a book, but hopefully it’s a good summer read.

Turkish-T Beach Towel/Wrap

I probably would use this more as a wrap then a beach towel, but I love the colors and it is super soft. Another great item!

SACHAJUAN Shiny Citrus Body Lotion

I haven’t used this yet, but it smelled very nice and fresh like a summer day.

You Smell – Lemon Wet Wipes

I love the name of these. They seem like super fancy wet wipes, but I’ll stow a few in my bag for while I’m out and about. (Never know when you need a wet wipe.)

Lollies – Basic Hair Ties

Love the colors and they will look cute on my wrist where I usually wear a hair tie in case I want to pull my hair back at some point during the day.

One Potato Two Potato – Hawaiian BBQ

I’m sure I’ll be digging into these later when I’m craving my night time snack. I love Hawaiian BBQ chips.

Native Union – $15 Voucher

I checked out their website and it is mostly pricey hipster tech accessories. Since I don’t have an iPhone5, I probably won’t use this, but they did have a pretty cool charger thing that ran for $49. I’ll probably pass on this.

Overall, I was really excited about this box. Totally worth the $39 and I love the surprises. I can’t wait to sit in my wrap with some of my citrus body lotion and read my new book.

Early Summer Outfits

June 6, 2014What I'm wearingbanana republic, ModCloth, Old Navy, outfit idea pear shaped body, summer outfitspacificnorthwestpear

Here are a few of the early summer outfits I’ve been wearing.

I love this silk floral tank from Banana Republic and paired it with a cobalt blue cardigan and my dark skinny cropped jeans.

I was feeling a little “Rocker Chic” with this blouse from Target. I like the way it overlapped and the bright pop of color.

This outfit was actually inspired from something I saw on Pinterest with a basic yellow tee and a black and white chevron scarf. I had to add the grey military style jacket because the weather was a bit cool that day.

I got this Roses are Radiant skirt on sale from ModCloth and felt so feminine in it. I love the red envelope tee from OldNavy that I paired with it. All day I was twirling slightly and loving the feel of the long skirt.

For the Makers May Review

June 3, 2014What I madeCraft DIY subscriptions, DIY projects, For the Makers Toketee Maypacificnorthwestpear

This month’s For the Makers kit was called Toketee.

I looked it up on Wikipedia and found that Toketee is a Chinook Jargon word meaning “pretty” or “graceful”.

Here’s what was included:

There was a necklace, earrings, tea towel, and wall pegs.

I probably had the most fun with the tea towel. You needed to first cut out foam shapes and attach them to the ends of a cork. I decided on a triangle pattern, a chevron type pattern, and two parallel lines.

Then you mix up some paint and paint the foam and stamp it on the tea towel. Here are some designs I made.