Lately...

It's been two months since I last touched this space. Two very busy months.

At the beginning of October I was home with Michaela for three days because she had pneumonia. At first it just seemed to be a case of the sniffles (thank you, preschool), but when her fever spiked over 104* I took her in to see the pediatrician. Thankfully, it was quickly remedied with a round of liquid antibiotics and a couple weeks of Singulair.

Unfortunately, she is just getting through round two of pneumonia this week, and this time Michaela refused to take the liquid antibiotic. She preferred to go in for an injection three days in a row. Ouch! Hurts my pocketbook, too. Three additional office visits will surely cost me much more than the $13 the prescription cost me. It was a learning experience for me. I've learned that you can't reason with a three year old, and that losing my temper with her doesn't get us anywhere either. Sometimes it's hard to find the balance between maintaining a reasonable amount of parental control in the relationship, and allowing her to be three. It's times like that (actually, it's all the time) that I wish Michael were here to step in and help me handle things. His temperament was much different than mine, and it took a lot to get him upset.

Back to October...

We made our annual trip to the pumpkin patch at Irvine Park in mid-October. We met my cousin Stephanie and her little girl out there one afternoon, and the girls had a lot of fun running around. They especially enjoyed the maze!

Since the time change comes so late in the year now, we enjoyed walking in the neighborhood in the evenings to see the fall/Halloween outdoor decor our neighbors had up. Some things were more "child friendly" than others, of course. Michaela began to tell me that, "It's only pretend, Mama." I'm so glad she told me that, because some of those skeletons were pretty creepy.

While we didn't trick-or-treat, we did have a couple of occasions that we dressed up for prior to Halloween. My teachers' association hosted a party one weekend, and we dressed up like Indian princesses for that. The next day we attended the birthday party of Michaela's cousins, and she went as an Autumn Fairy.

November 4th was a very good day for me, professionally speaking. After campaigning for two school board candidates endorsed by my association, it was very satisfying when they were elected to my school district's governing board that day. My school district has been under the leadership of a board majority that was not cooperative with the teachers (and parents) for too long. It has been seven years since our last pay increase, and I think that board majority would have denied us another seven years had they had the opportunity to do so. There are other issues beyond our contract that need to be addressed, but now we'll have a new board with a new perspective to lead us. I am hopeful we will move forward in a positive way and that moral (and paycheck$) will improve.

The weekend after the election my parents took us up to Big Bear for a long weekend. It was the weekend of my wedding anniversary, and I was very grateful to get away. My mom found a really nice cabin to rent just down the hill from Snow Summit, and although there was no snow it was a lovely weekend. It was cool enough to have a fire in the fireplace every evening, but the days were warm. We visited the local zoo there, and the highlight was seeing their wolf pack. The wolves let everyone know that it was lunch time, and Michaela joined in the howling. Another outing we all enjoyed was a trip to the Alpine Slide. Michaela and I rode down twice. She's still talking about it. We are going to have to go back to Big Bear.

This past week was Thanksgiving Break. I had lots of plans, but we were slowed down by my cold and Michaela's pneumonia. Nevertheless, we did manage to get a Christmas tree, decorate it, and decorate the house for the holidays. We spent Thanksgiving with Michael's family in Santa Monica. His youngest brother has a penthouse apartment with an incredible view of the beach north of Santa Monica. I think we could see all the way to Malibu from there. It was the first Thanksgiving I've spent with that side of the family since 2009 - Michael's last holiday season with us. I'm really glad we were able to be there with them.

So, there you have it. That's what I've spent the last two months doing (when I wasn't working, of course).

My next post will be about my last two Stitch Fixes!

Stitch Fix #5

So back in August I had decided to bump up the frequency of my fixes to about twice a month. I really didn't do any back-to-school shopping - I wanted Stitch Fix to do it for me! But maybe I should have done a little shopping as this was not my favorite fix. I am still waiting for that fix where I just have to have all five items, but sadly this was not it.

Stitch Fix has a lot of features built into it so that you give your stylist feedback in addition to your style profile. After each fix, I complete a survey about each piece and what I liked (or didn't like) about it. There's also a place to write a note to your stylist to communicate about what you'd like to see in your upcoming fix. I always use that feature, and this time I asked for a dress I'd seen on another blogger's Stitch Fix review, a light-weight cardigan in a color other than black, more blouses, and a statement necklace.

Here's the dress I really liked:

Picture from TheBoxQueen dot com

Here is the note I received from my stylist - well, I should say from this month's stylist as that seems to change each time:

Okay, so that lovely dress was no longer in stock - no problem. However, the dress she substituted for it was very different:

This is the Elizabella Paisley Print Sleeveless Wrap Dress by Ark n Co ($34). The print was really pretty.

However, I really didn't care for the length of the dress. It hit me just below my mid-thigh about four inches above the knee. Being that I wear dresses (most often) to school or church, this would not be appropriate at that length. It was also a little small for me. It took me no time at all to decide I would be sending it back.

Next I tried the Collective Concepts Esten Button-Up Sleeveless Blouse in navy ($54) with the Pixley Leighton Metal Bauble Necklace ($34):

I liked the necklace, but I didn't love it. I liked the blouse, but it's nothing special. In the end, I sent the necklace back and kept the blouse. I could see the blouse being a nice basic piece in my wardrobe. I wore it with a pair of khaki colored cropped pants and a different necklace the other day, and I liked the way I felt in it. I would never have chosen it on my own. That's a good thing. I want to end up with some things that I would not have tried otherwise.

Then I tried on the 41Hawthorn Carson Front-Twist Sleeveless Blouse ($58):

I may be smiling in that picture, but it wasn't because I liked this piece. I have something very similar in a deep vibrant pink that I really love, but this mustard color was not a hit with me. I tend to choose cooler colors because I think they compliment my fair skin and dark hair more than earthy tones do. This had to be sent back.

Lastly, I tried on the Market and Spruce Alan Cowl Neck Asymmetrical Cardigan ($58):

It was lightweight, but it was either made from a wool-blend or an acrylic. It made me itch, and I would have only been able to wear it on the coolest of days here in southern California. I did think it was flattering and a unique design. Just not enough to love about it, so I sent it back.

Now I've adjusted my fixes back to once a month, and I've suggested in my note that perhaps it would be beneficial to have the same stylist more than once. At this point, I'm not exactly sure what I'd like to see in next month's box, but I'll be pinning things I like on my Pinterest board. The stylists do seem to use that to help them with their choices, and it's an easy thing to do.

If you'd like to try Stitch Fix, please use my referral link to get started. When you schedule your first fix, I'll receive a $25 credit toward my next fix - as will you when you refer a friend!

Stitch Fix #4

I love coming home to a Stitch Fix box on my doorstep! With school starting tomorrow, I was hoping that this fix would jazz up my work wardrobe a little bit. And it does indeed!

If you are still unfamiliar with Stitch Fix, it's a styling service. For twenty bucks per month, a stylist will select five pieces of clothing (and sometimes an accessory or a handbag) for me to consider. What I receive should reflect the style profile I completed when I signed up. That twenty bucks goes towards my purchase, and if I decide to keep all five items my purchase will be discounted 25%. There's also a sweet referral credit of $25 each time someone signs up using my referral code. I only pay for what I keep, and I have three days to put my returns in the prepaid envelope provided and give it to my letter carrier. Easy breezy!

Because I can leave a note for my stylist prior to receiving my fix, this time I expressly requested knee-length A-line or circle skirts. They are super practical for school. I also requested short-sleeve or three-quarter length sleeve blouses.

Here's what my fix included:

41Hawthorn Callifia Print Wrap Dress $68

I really like wrap dresses, but this one was too small. Way too small! Not all mediums are created equal. Know what I mean? If it had fit better, I would have seriously considered keeping it. Oh, well.

41Hawthorn Filbert 3/4 Sleeve Popover Blouse

Market and Spruce Jay Mini Houndstooth Printed Skirt $58

I actually liked both pieces, but the shirt was just a little too small across the bust. The skirt is a keeper, though. I like the soft knit fabric and the elastic waist. I think it will look cute with my black boots on colder days.

41Hawthorn Wrenn V-Neck Jersey Top $48

Papermoon Kasidy Abstract Print Swing Skirt $58

Once again, I really liked the skirt and I'm keeping it. It's another soft knit, but it's lighter weight than the houndstooth skirt is. I really like the fact that it's lined. However, the top is going back. I did not care for the neckline at all, but I thought the color was lovely. I have other things in my closet that I can wear with this skirt. I plan to wear it tomorrow with a black knit top I bought over the summer.

If the dress and the first blouse had fit, I would have kept four out of the five items. I think I've realized that the 41Hawthorn brand seems to run a little small in general - at least based on these two items of clothing. So that's two keepers out of five pieces for me this time. Because some sweet friend (I think it's you, Kim!) signed up using my referral code, I have a $25 credit that will apply toward my purchase. Yea!