Thred Up Goody Box - Review

I was pleasantly surprised with my Goody Box from thredUP. For anyone that doesn't know thredUP is a consignment website - where you send them your gently worn or new with tags clothing and they sell them for you.
The way the Goody Boxes work is you create an account on their website and fill out a style quiz. Here you will let them know your sizes, style preferences, brands you like, etc. Unlike Stitch Fix and Nadine West this isn't a subscription box - you just order one when you want, as often as you'd like. My first box was $10 (comes off the price of anything you keep).
I was shocked when I saw the box on the porch last night, it was huge compared to the other two I have tried. And I was surprised to find 12 hand picked items for me to try inside! And the prices are pretty reasonable. Again, some of this is new with tags, some is gently worn but great quality and brand names.

First, I apologize for the bad pictures and lighting, I had to use my daughters room this time :)

Up first, the keepers.
The box started off right with this burgundy Loft blouse which I loved. Keeper!! Price $24.99.

Next up this classic white blouse. Brand is Nydj - I do not own anything this brand, but my little sheet with the pricing says it retails for $143. Ouch. My price is $30.99. The quality and fit of this had me sold regardless of retail price tag.

This Banana Republic cardigan is perfect for me. Black = my favorite. It's also long and super soft. Keeper at $20.99. 

My last keeper were these dress pants from Torrid. Slightly too long for me but not drag the floor long so I'll take them! $21.99

So my total is $98.96 - $10 = $88.96. Plus since I spent over $75.00 I get $10 off my next box. Really not bad to me considering all of it I can wear to work, I didn't have to shop and it is all great quality. 

The rest of the pics are the things I'm sending back. 

This bag is HUGE and I would never be able to find anything in it.

This jacket was super cute until I turned it over and it had giant flower embroidered on it - not my style! 

These pants are dark blue not purple, also WAY too long.

Not my style.

I had a serious debate with myself on this jacket. I just feel like I like it in theory but I would never wear it.

Sweatpants - meh. Super comfy though but I have plenty of those.

Love this color but too many ruffles for me.

Off the shoulder - a definite no.

And here are all the prices. If I would've purchased it all it's about $328.

All in all very pleased with this box and will be ordering another one after Christmas.

Nadine West Review - First Try

So I had a feeling after the higher end items I received in my Stitch Fix when I got my Nadine West selections I would be underwhelmed. True story.
This was my first one from Nadine West so it was free shipping so I'm not out any money at this point.
I received 3 clothing items and 4 jewelry items.
First this rust color tee. It's soft and the color isn't bad. The length is good but they want $24.49 for it. Going to pass on it.

Next this green hoodie. Pretty basic and actually fit a little snug. Price tag $30.49(!) Another pass. 

The navy pants were super weird with wide bottoms and a tight waist. $21.49. Pass

 I actually like these earrings but they are pretty cheap and they want $14.99. I wouldn't pay more than $5 for them. Another pass.

 These are NOT my style at all. $9.99 - not a keeper.

 Another no - this necklace is $17.99. Looks cheap to me.

This bracelet is the only thing I'm considering keeping. It's $14.99. Since I'm not already out the shipping costs on this stuff I don't have to keep anything. Well you don't have to keep anything ever but I don't like to pay shipping for something and get nothing :) Still considering keeping it.

Overall Nadine West was very disappointing. I feel like some random items were just thrown in a bag and sent to me. The website seems to be a little generic and they stylist questions are definitely not as in-depth as Stitch Fix. I might keep my subscription for another month, so I can see what they send me once I put in my feedback.

Something New - Stitch Fix Review

I've had a few friends try Stitch Fix and it sounded amazing for my busy lifestyle. I used to love to shop. Still do - but by myself. Find me one mom who loves to shop with 4 kids in tow, all fighting and wandering through the aisles.

Anyway, my first Fix arrived this morning. I'm out a $20 styling fee at this point and if I don't like any of it and send it all back I lose that $20. Otherwise, that $20 comes off the price of one of the items I keep.

And sorry for not doing the whole, here's me in this shirt thing, I think pics of just the clothes are good enough :)
Upon opening the box the first thing I noticed were the jeans. Jeans and I are NOT friends. I mean, I love them but finding a pair that fit right and are the right length forget about it. So that was the first thing I tried on.
I  LOVE THEM. They fit perfectly. HOW!!?? What is this witchcraft my stylist practices.
I'm 99% sure I'm keeping these and only 1% of me thinks my frugalness will win out. They are $88. Yikes. Normally I would spend that on 3 pair of jeans. But only $68 when I consider taking the $20 styling fee off. No?

Next was this cute sweater. Super cute but the stripes made me look wider than I am so it's a no. It was $68 so that helped make my decision.

Next up was this lovely tank. I really like this but I'm not a huge fan of anything sleeveless. It was good quality and I love the color but it's another pass. Price tag $34.

I had high hopes for this because I love the color. But the front curved in toward the sides (if that makes sense) and I know it would bug me. I would've kept it if the front squared off.

Lastly, this little number is EXACTLY something I would pick up and love. It's is oh so comfy, gray, has pockets, ticks absolutely every box of something I would buy. Well except the price tag. I'm undecided on this one because of a couple of factors. I tried this because I really wanted to step out of my comfort zone and try new styles. But it's SOOOOOOOO soft. Price is $38. I think I'll keep it. Maybe. Probably. 

Overall I've very very pleased with my first Stitch Fix. I reallllllly wish the prices were lower. But at the same time I feel like you are getting what you pay for here and the quality seems excellent.
They also send a little card so you can put outfits together (which I need all the help I can get there).

I was hoping my Fix would include some shoes or jewelry but not this month.
I'll definitely keep my subscription for another month.
I also subscribed to Nadine West which is a less expensive monthly clothing subscription box. It should arrives this weekend so I'll review that one too to compare!

Oh and one more thing, if you keep everything in your Stitch Fix you get 25% off your total box. Total price for all the items I received minus the $20 styling fee is $179.50.

If anyone wants to try it out use this link and I'll get $25 off my next Fix - Referral

I Haven't Blogged Because I Can't Think of Clever Titles

OK not really. I guess I haven't blogged in so long because some shit went down that I don't/didn't want to share. 10 months have passed and I think I'm ready to share my little heart out going forward. No looking back.
So after the bad stuff some good stuff happened. We moved, we celebrated the kids birthdays, we had a great summer, Audrey had a dance recital, Evan Soccer, Wes soccer, etc. etc. I can't go over it all because jeesh I'd be sitting at this computer forever and I'm busy as hell so I'm giving myself 30 minutes until the dryer is done then it's back to folding.
OK so last week was fall break. And we had to evacuate Panama City because of a freaking hurricane. Hurricane Michael.
Nothing had formed in the gulf last Friday night before we left so I was super excited for a week at the beach. 11 hours in the car we arrived and we were all soooooooo excited!

Sunday morning we started hearing a little about a hurricane that was forming in the gulf. As the day went on we heard more and more but they were predicting a category 1 and we decided to ride it out when it made landfall on Tuesday or Wednesday. Buy Monday morning we heard the dreaded words "mandatory evacuation" being thrown around. We made the best of our couple of beach day and I went down Monday morning and got pics on the beach.

 I wish I'd gotten more of Erin but she was in a MOOD. The wind was blowing pretty hard and she was mad she was getting sand blown at her.
Here are some beach pics - the kids liked the beach but the LOVED the pool. I need to convert these kids because mama is a beach person!

So by Monday evening we had this sign on the door.

So we needed to get out. So we had two options, head home along with a billion other people of head West to stay with Todd's cousin in Fairhope Alabama. We chose option B so we could maybe salvage a couple days of vacation plus avoid hours and hours of traffic. We left almost all of the groceries we'd bought Sunday morning (about $200 worth!) thinking we might be able to return Thursday morning after the storm passed and we could spend a couple more days at the beach.
We left PCB at about 4am on Tuesday morning. I was so sad to leave.
Fairhope was a cute town and we took a day trip to Gulf Shores.

We tried to make the best of it but we were so disappointed. On Wednesday Hurricane Michael made landfall at almost a category 5. And PCB was clobbered. Power was knocked out and there would be no going back on this trip. We headed home Thursday morning from Alabama.
We are being refunded about half of what we paid for the condo and I'm rolling it into booking another trip on Spring Break - not sure where yet but I need another vacation. This was not the relaxing stress relief I needed in my life!
When I think about it I really can't believe our luck - but I'm glad we made it out safely.