Thursday, August 20, 2015

Broody Chicken!


Our Easter Egger, Vanilla Ice, laid her first egg today in one month! That's right. Broody July 20-August 20. Nate sent me a picture at work:


Monday, August 17, 2015

From Woodstock to Mackie: My Mexican Embroidered Dress Obsession



My aunt Janet has an amazing yellow dress covered in colorful embroidery that she breaks out every summer, retelling the story of how she wore it to Woodstock. This summer, my sister Molly's sister-in-law Jen found a company selling similar Mexican embroidered dresses in a myriad of colors: The Mackie. Molly had to have one. So did I. And soon, so did all of our girl cousins! I had such a hard time picking a color, I left a note in the checkout page of the website asking for a surprise color! The dress arrived in Orchid and I couldn't be happier! I got the "Classic" length and then hemmed it to above my knee, because I was worried "Beach" length would be too short. It was fun to see all the cousins in their Mackie dresses at a recent family reunion, no two are the same! Note Janet wearing the original.


I'm a little obsessed. Despite a rather difficult website with far too few photos of the colors available, I'm considering getting another one! I have my eye on the orange with solid white stitching, if it ever comes back in stock! There's an interview with company founder Pam Cameron on the Wild Precious Life blog, which features my favorite quote about the Mackie dress: 
"The great thing about the Mackie is its versatility. There’s the 'day to night' aspect of it. I’ll wear it with flip-flops at the beach or to lunch and then at night with wedge heels and earrings to dinner. However, a friend of mine recently pointed out that she likes the 'night to day' strength of the Mackie. She wears it to bed, wakes up and wears it straight out to get her coffee and drop the kids at school! It looks great with a big broad brimmed sun hat, espadrilles and a belt for something like strolling through the farmers market."

The Mackie goes to work! I felt that the black belt, cardigan and ballet flats dressed it up for the office.
Molly ordered a size up (small instead of XS) to leave room for the baby in her belly :)

Dresses can be ordered at themackie.com and there are better pictures on the company's Facebook page.

Thursday, August 13, 2015

August 2015 Stitch Fix Review

Today my third Stitch Fix box arrived! I tell you what, that's some exciting mail. This fix was done by Carrie and I think it's my best yet, although looking back at the last one, I could have kept everything in that box and been happy.

My stylist Carrie really payed attention to my note and my Pinterest board, and was specific about why she chose certain things. That was really fun, and made me feel like she spent some time looking at my style. So. Here's what I found in the box:

Jilla Gupier Lace Detail Tank by Skies are Blue ($48). I had pinned some lacey tops and also shirts with henley necks on my Pinterest board, and clearly Carrie was paying attention! This shirt is so soft. I usually wear tops a little more fitted so my first reaction was that it was too big, but I think loose is a look, right? I also struggled with what necklace to wear with the henley neckline. I liked it ok with my jean shorts (Quicksilver) and orange shorts (Hurley), and even better with jeans (Loft). Mom voted yes. Molly voted no. Verdict: KEEP.

 Kamile Jersey Ruched Detail Dress by Gilli ($54). Carrie says, "I thought the grey dress would be special for your birthday but still casual when paired with black sandals. In the fall, it would be amazing under your leather jacket and a pair of textured tights." This dress is really comfortable and I can definitely see myself wearing it to work. That said, it's a little plain, and as Molly reminded me, I'm better with a little more color. Mom voted yes. Molly voted no. Verdict: SENT BACK.

Maycon Halter Top by 19 Cooper ($54). Carrie says, "The 19 Cooper halter has a tassel hem that will provide texture and interest to your look. And how cute will that trim be peeking out of your edgy moto when the weather cools?!" This tank is one of those things I would never pick for myself, but liked much better when I put it on. I thought it was cute with a variety of bottoms (even my purple jeans). I also loved it that Carrie payed attention when I mentioned in my styling note that I didn't know what to wear with my new moto (which, btw, is not real leather and from Zara). Mom voted yes. Molly voted yes. So I went ahead and wore it on Sunday! Verdict: KEEP.

Vena Short by Skies are Blue ($38). Carrie says, "The pink short with either top is another casual option for a birthday by the grill." I love the hot pink color of these, and while I didn't really like them with the Stitch Fix shirt, I liked them a lot better with a solid tee or tank (although maybe not that bubble necklace now that I look at it).  I'm wondering if I'm supposed to wear them high or low on my waist (see below)? Sadly, they're a little too tight so even though I want to keep them, I can't. I emailed Stitch Fix to ask if I could exchange for a bigger size, but they said they are sold out of mediums. Sigh. Verdict: SENT BACK.


Malvina Triangle Lariat Necklace by Soko ($68). Carrie says, "The necklace is higher than you requested to spend, but it reminded me so much of one on your Pinterest board that I thought you'd love it." Of course, she's right. I do love it. And it is more than I typically spend on jewelry. But oh, it's so fun! Despite really liking this necklace, it's just out of my price range. Verdict: SENT BACK.

There's one more thing about Stitch Fix. If you keep all 5 items, you get a pretty hefty discount. If the shorts had fit, I might have kept all 5. But since they didn't fit, I planned to send them back. The problem is, if I only sent back the shorts, I would pay more than if I kept the too-small shorts. I can't rationalize that. So then I had to pick something else to send back, which led me the the dress that I liked but didn't love. When I really thought about it, I'd rather buy another Mackie dress in grey, which has a little more going on, than keep this one. But even then, keeping 3/5 of the items, I was really quite close to the price of keeping 5/5. So that's when I nixed the necklace. Which I really do like. But I'm trying to be smarter about spending money on clothes.

If you think you might be interested in a magical personal shopper from the fairytale kingdom of the internet, check out Stitch Fix. To see more posts about clothing, including Stitch Fix reviews, click here.