...while "home" for a few days over Christmas, Clara, my mom, and I went for brunch and shopping at Terrain, otherwise known as my happy place.
It was a very French morning, with french fries and french toast. And Elsa earrings.
The ice queen was entertained by big mirrors...
...and diffuser samplers to stick in her ears
...and I'm no different.
Last month, I jumped on the Stitch Fix bandwagon. (My coworker Erin cannot remember the name of the site and refers to it as, "Stitch Bi**h.")
I didn't take any pictures or modeling shots of that shipment, but I ended up keeping two out of the five pieces. (One of the three I sent back was a horizontal striped sweater dress...my rear end looked like the size of Texas. The other I sent back was jersey fabric. Which I made really clear in my reviews,"NO MORE JERSEY FABRIC." I'm pretty sure you have to be a size 2 or have industrial-strength spanx to pull that off).
This month's box arrived yesterday and I tell you, opening it is the closest to Christmas morning you can come as an adult. I think it's the idea that we are all so busy caring about other people, doing our jobs, cooking, picking up crumbs, taking care of poop, that it's nice to think there's someone out there thinking about us. My stylist. Ha.
I was a little leary when I first opened the box because the first thing was this purse. Which actually wouldn't be bad (especially if I wasn't wearing my "day at home" hooded sweatshirt) but it's a little clunky, and not big enough for sippies, wipes, diapers, binkies, lovies, and toys. I also don't have the strap long enough but I didn't care enough to fix it.
But then I saw this top and things started to look up. I said no animal prints, but I guess birds don't count:
These are quite possibly the worst pictures I have ever taken.
I am keeping the bird top. I can wear it to work with a blazer or around here with jeans.
Next was this little green number:
I liked it, but at $48 for a woven tank, it just didn't seem worth it and I wasn't sure if I would wear it outside of work. I'm sending it back.
I almost didn't try this shirt on because I was like, "1980 called and wants it's top back." I thought it might have shoulder pads. But this is proof that you should try everything on in your box:
I actually really liked the way it looked. It had detail along the bottom you couldn't see just pulling it out of the box, and buttons on the 3/4 length sleeves. I'm still deciding about this one. I'm not sure if I'll wear it to work (my criteria to keep things is that they have to be able to be worn both at home and at work). My friend said this looked like a good boho-chic staple. Ha.
The scarf is from my last box. I love it.
Last thing was this odd cardigan/wrap/I knew it wasn't right when I first saw it:
Meh. I'm sending it back.
For $20, if you are considering doing Stitch Fix, I would say give it a try.
So that's it. If you would like to help me with my future purchases, please feel free to sign up using my link here.
...there’s a lot of pressure at Christmas-time for paper people. If you see me around and I have huge bags under my eyes and look as sleep-deprived as the mother of a newborn, it’s not that I’ve been up all night with a teething Clara, but I’ve been up all night perusing pinterest, etsy, and google for the.perfect.christmas.card
The thing that’s frustrating for me, usually, is that I find these cards that are super-expensive (but won’t be when I win that sweet Powerball tomorrow night! That will completely change this post). Anyway, I find these cards that are super-expensive and I think, “I could make that.” If only I had A) Time (maybe my time would be better spent learning letterpress than watching Grey’s…thoughts?) and B) Resources.
I did find the perfect card. Here were some of the front-runners.
Merry & Bright by Cheeky Cards
Happy Holidays by HollyWouldPress
Joy to the World by Icing on the Paper
Merry and Bright by Lindsay Letters (this was only an option if I won the Powerball.
Maybe I will have her design by Powerball-winning announcement).
Wreath of Hope by My Little Buffalo
Love and Joy by The Valley Designs
I was thinking a design-on-the-front, photo-on-the-back look. And the perfect card ended up being a variation of one of the cards above. I’ll share it once my family and friends have gotten it. Since I’m going to try to do my fancy font on each envelope, that might be by Christmas 2013. The thought is what counts, right?
Nest Pretty Things - 20 percent off through Monday with code "Sale20" - love, love this eclectic jewelry.
Sun Drop Clips - buy three, get a free "Darling Bow" - I can attest to how cute these are because Clara has 4,920 clips from here. They are also really well-made, which my washer and dryer can attest to since they haven't destroyed them even when I've tried to several times.
Laurel Denise - 10 percent off through Tuesday with code "Merry" - also check out her glass vases, which are beautiful. I got this bracelet is for Charlie's speech therapist.
Edison Supply Company - 25 percent off through Monday with code "Thanks25" - I've never shopped here before but had to take advantage of that deal.
Festive Home Decor - 20 percent off (not sure when it ends) with code "Friday20" - these are the pillows in our family room and oh lordy I love them. They are beautifully-made. But the price is so reasonable that I don't flinch when Charlie rubs his chocolate cookie covered face all over them.
Ash and Anchor - 20 percent off through Monday with code "CHEERS20" - I've never shopped from this store before either, but man I love this infinity scarf.
Urban Legend - 15 percent off through Monday (sale prices marked) - I've bought many a gifts from here after Carron introduced me to them. The necklace she got me from there is probably my most-complimented piece of jewelry. And the kids love it too, as shown in Clara's glee below:
Clara also gives it an A+ for durability and the ability to withstand toddler teeth.
Feel free to have your husbands e-mail me and thank me for all the good deals I found you! ;)
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Enter your name in the giveaway below by midnight EST tonight (Sunday). I'm going to try and get the packages in the mail tomorrow! Which means I will probably get them in the mail by January.
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Mom is OK. Just OK. Thank you for your thoughts. I'm sorry if I'm a little quiet about it, right now it just feels a little fresh and a little too personal to put out there.
...i love anthropologie, but generally speaking I can afford a pair of earrings and maybe a knob and that's about it. I had heard about Terrain, the sort-of-sister-home-store-of-anthro, which is pretty close to where I grew up, but never visited.
That all changed on December 29, when I decided that not only will it now be a stop every time I go home, but I might just move in.
It's a good thing I haven't found the money tree on our wooded lot I've been searching for, or I could have gone really crazy. Instead, I only went a little crazy. It also helped that Ken was there keeping a watchful eye on me (and carrying Charlie on his shoulders).
My mom got me this for Christmas:
...and this for our anniversary:
...and I bought this - hoping to use it for towels in at least one of the bathrooms:
...and who doesn't need a grape lug? Or two? Thinking I'll use them in the-pantry-that-is-bigger-than-our-former-master-bedroom:
And if you hadn't previously heard of Terrain before this blog post, you are welcome. You are welcome.