March Outfits

March 16, 2014What I'm wearingChevron Sweater, GAP, Loft, outfit ideas pear shape, Piperlime, stitch fix, Victoria's Secretpacificnorthwestpear

Here’s what I’ve been wearing in March.

I wore this striped maxi skirt from Ann Taylor Loft with a blue GAP sweater and scarf. It was the first time I wore a maxi skirt in the winter with tights, but I liked the look and think I’d wear it again.

peter pan collar — Peter Pan Collar Sweater

I bought this sweater from LOFT in the early fall and planned to wear it with a skirt, but decided to pull it out this week to wear with black jeans and my favorite rhinestone skull flats.

I had been hesitant about this purchase from stitch fix, but when I paired it with a skinny jean, a black long sleeve tee and these boots, I liked the look. It is comfortable and kept me warm enough in the office. Glad I kept it.

I got this mixed media tee by Hive and Honey from Piperlime. The fabric is so soft and I loved the pattern. Unfortunately I wore it to a cooking demonstration after work where they were grilling onions and I need to somehow wash it without ruining it now. We’ll see how that goes.

cowlneck sweater — Victoria’s Secret Sweater

I got this 3 way sweater from Victoria’s Secret for Christmas and love how soft and over-sized it is.

I bought this dress from ModCloth last year and love the color and shape. I enjoy wearing it with black tights, boots, and a cardigan.

This sweater was in my last stitch fix, and I decided to wear it with a blush silk blouse underneath and skinny jeans and boots. It was really comfortable but I don’t know how flattering it looked.

March Stitch Fix Review

March 10, 2014Stitch Fix Reviews41Hawthorn, pear shaped body, stitch fix march reviewpacificnorthwestpear

My March Stitch Fix has arrived a few days early and I am quite pleased. It seems they have switched to USPS for shipping instead of FedEx so I was able to get my fix on a Saturday. I eagerly opened the box hoping for color, and sure enough, there is color!

C.Luce – Carmela Multi Stripe Sleeveless Blouse $58

I love the idea of pairing it with a jean jacket and mint skinny jeans, because I actually have those two items and I think it will look very retro! What an 80’s throwback. Verdict: Keep.

Renee C – Ashford Striped Cross-Front Knit Shirt $48

I recently bought a few tanks in a nice nude color and I think those would go better underneath this, but overall I like it. It’s very similar to a different top I got that had faux leather patches in the shoulders and had the wrap drape like this, but it’s enough different that I’m willing to keep it. Plus the price is pretty good. Verdict: Keep.

RD Style – Galvin Airy Knit Heathered Sweater $58

This one by itself is a little too bare up top with it’s super wide neck, but I love the chunky soft knit and thought it might look cute with a maxi skirt. How’s this?I’m not sure about this look, but it was also cute with a chambray shirt underneath so I think there will be multiple ways to wear this. Verdict: Keep.

Loveappella – Baltimore Chevron Striped Knit Shirt $48

I love the colors of this shirt and it is a nice soft drapey knit. I think it would look cute with a bright colored skirt too, I’ll have to see what I can dig up. Verdict: Keep.

41Hawthorn – Renesme Graphic Print Faux Wrap Dress $78

I think this was my favorite piece in this fix, and I absolutely love this dress! I love the pattern, the colors, the fit, and the length. Perfect!!

Verdict: Keep for sure. The only thing I didn’t care for was the name. Now I keep picturing this when I see the dress. (shudder)

Overall Impressions

This was a really good fix. I loved the patterns, colors, and fabrics so I kept the whole thing at a cost of $202.50 after the discount. Cody has been my stylist for the past few fixes and I think she does an awesome job. I’m glad I found a stylist who seems to get my style and finds interesting pieces that I wouldn’t have otherwise tried. If you enjoy reading my stitch fix reviews and want to sign up, I’d be thrilled if you used my referral code. 🙂 Thanks!

For the Makers Ophelia Collection

March 6, 2014What I madeDIY, DIY beeswax sachet, DIY jewelry, DIY kits, For the Makers Ophelia reviewpacificnorthwestpear

This month’s For the Makers box was called the Ophelia Collection. It consisted of two jewelry projects, a hair tie, and a beeswax sachet.

The jewelry and hair tie projects took me maybe 45 minutes to complete (mostly just trying to tie a knot for the tiny ring without the beads going everywhere.) The sachet was pretty fast as well but ended up partially ruining my melting pot I use for candle-making.

Finished Jewelry pieces

The first jewelry project was a pair of earrings with a small green jewel hanging at the end. The only thing you need to do is fasten the jewel in the setting then attach it to the findings. I struggled with one of the settings because the jewel wouldn’t sit flat.

The ring was simple to string together, but I could NOT get that knot to tie without a ton of frustration. Also, I used all of the beads and it is still pretty tight on my middle finger where I want to wear it. (It does not fit a size 7 as suggested.)

Hair Tie

This was just a regular hair holder, a length of cord, and a crimp bead that needed tightening. I doubt I’ll ever wear this in my hair because the crimp bead has rough edges and would likely catch and snag my hair. I already have fine hair to begin with so I don’t want to tear it.

Beeswax Sachet

This was an unexpected delight. I put off making this because it needed a bunch of supplies that were difficult to gather and I didn’t have a rectangular cookie cutter like they used. In fact the only metal cookie cutter I had was this squirrel shape. (Who knows.) But it ended up turning out really cute! Unfortunately the beeswax stuck to the sides of my melting container I use for candle-making and even boiling water in it several times and trying to rinse it out barely worked. There is still residue near the top. Who knew beeswax would stick so bad. Paraffin and soy come off cleanly.

Overall I was a little dissapointed in this kit because the jewelry projects were super simple and the supplies seemed really cheap for what I paid. The sachet turned out really cute but didn’t really make up for the cheap jewelry and hair accessory. I hope next month has some more involved projects.

For anyone interested in signing up, you can learn more here.

Paper Pumpkin February

March 6, 2014What I madecraft projects, DIY, DIY gift bags, Paper Pumpkin February, Paper pumpkin reviewpacificnorthwestpear

I enjoyed February’s Paper Pumpkin since it was a departure from just cards. This month it was supplies to make 5 gift bags with your choice of lettering. I only made 2 so far because I wasn’t sure what I’d want the others to say. (Maybe I’ll give a personalized gift to someone and will want to spell their name.)

What I got:

It came with two round texture stamps, an ink pad, tiny wooden clothespins, ribbon for the handles, 5 bags, cutout circles, raised stickers, and letters.

The Finished Product

I decided to go with “hello” since it was generic enough to give to anyone. I like the polka dot texture but did another with the stripe texture spelling out my husband’s name. (I figure I’ll probably give him a small gift at some point.)

Overall I think this month was probably worth the $20 subscription fee. I’ll see what the March kit brings.

Another winter week of outfits

February 24, 2014What I'm wearingblack lace dress, how to wear a cape, Kate Spade, military jacket, outfit ideas pear shape, stitch fixpacificnorthwestpear

Here’s what I wore last week.

Kate Spade Cape

This cape from Kate Spade had been hanging in my closet with a nice bag over the hanger to protect it for the last year or so. I had purchased it on sale and was so excited to look at it in my closet that I failed to actually wear it. It seemed worthy of a special occasion that never came up and so I finally decided one day that I was just wearing this to work for no reason at all, other than I love it. I love the weight of it, the cut, and the fabric. I felt a bit like a caped crusader.

Black Lace Dress from Golden Tote

I adore this dress. The cut, the fabric, the way it looked awesome with my military jacket, all of it added up to awesome. It looked cute without the jacket, but I ended up wearing the jacket all day at work to keep warm and it kept it casual.

Teal cowl neck from Stitch Fix

I wore the teal cowlneck top from my last stitch fix with this super cozy furry cardigan I bought many years ago at the Nordstrom anniversary sale. It was a very cozy outfit and kept me warm.

Navy Patterned Dress from Stitch Fix

I paired this navy and white shirt dress from Stitch Fix with a purple cardigan and black tights and boots. I actually thought the dress was black and white until I got in my car and saw it in the dreary daylight. I probably wouldn’t have worn black tights and boots if I knew it was navy, but I’m sure no one noticed.

Bonus February Stitch Fix

February 24, 2014Stitch Fix Reviewspear shaped body, stitch fix review februarypacificnorthwestpear

Because of the mix up with Stitch Fix losing my first fix this month, then it miraculously showing up, I ended up with an extra bonus fix this month. Here’s what I got.

Pomelo – Salvatore crochet detailed V-neck shirt $58

This is a cute casual top, but I don’t see it being good for layering since there is a ton of crochet detail on the upper arm which looked weird under a cardigan. (It bunched up horribly.) By itself it is nice for warmer weather, and I can see myself wearing this with jeans and tennis shoes on a weekend. I felt it was a bit pricey for just a casual tee, but I liked the color and with the discount decided to keep it in the end.

41 Hawthorn – Milano twist front crew neck knit top $68

By itself I didn’t really care for this top because it showed every lump and bump of my jeans (and the fitbit I am wearing), but when I added a layer on top it was better. The fabric is incredibly soft and stretchy and I liked the color. This was one item I was hesitating about but ultimately decided to keep.

Stitch Fix February — With a white jean jacket

Tart – Corwin stripe cowlneck $68

I really liked this top. The colors were nice, the fabric was soft, and I liked the cowlneck with a short necklace. Definitely keeping this.

41 Hawthorn – Callafia short sleeve wrap dress $68

This was by far my favorite item in this fix. I love the color of the dress and the cut is perfect for work. I love the full skirt and how feminine I feel wearing this. These are probably not the shoes I’d end up wearing with it, but these happened to be close at hand so I threw them on.

Kensie – Kormann drape front open cardigan $78

As I’ve stated before, I really don’t love drapey cardigans and just don’t feel that they work well with my figure. They do nothing to define my waist, and end up emphasizing my widest area. Despite that, this cardigan was made of a super soft material, and a nice neutral grey tone. It felt so cozy on that I figured I might wear it on a weekend or maybe to work over a more fitted top. I did request that she send no more drapey cardigans since I have more than enough now, and I don’t particularly like the way they look, but for now I’m keeping this one since sending it back would have cost me the 25% discount.

Overall Impressions

Overall, I decided to keep everything in this fix in order to get the 25% discount. Without the discount, the individual pieces were way too expensive for what they were. The fabrics were ultra soft and comfortable, and the colors were soft and muted which I really liked. I hope to see more color in my March fix now that spring clothes are starting to come out in stores, but for now I’m happy to wear the muted winter colors.

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A Pear to Remember

How to dress a pear shaped body