Do you love your Stitch Fix or Hate it?

Stitch Fix, do you love it or do you hate it?  I’ve heard a few people at work talk about these personal stylist on Stitch Fix who help them find clothes that fit their body type.  I’ve read blog reviews from people who love them as well as blog reviews for people who hate them.  For those who hate them, it’s either because the stylist didn’t give them anything that they liked over a few “fixes” or they found another tag on their clothing that showed that Stitch Fix was very heavily charging a markup.  The average price per item is supposed to be $55.  That is an outrageous price for jewelry.  That seems quite high for a blouse, which is probably what I need most of it.  I’d pay that for a work dress or jeans but not a blouse. I've looked at some of the clothes from Pinterest and there are indeed a few items that I like.  But none that I thought "this, I have to have" and "I'd definitely pay a minimum $50 for that item."  I know I'm cheap, but if you find a good bargain, you get good quality clothes for a great price.  Definitely have to look into this more.

Turned to dresses

I have a lot of girlfriends who have influenced me one time or another to be a “shopper” and buy clothes or accessories that I just didn’t need or was looking for.  These girlfriends’ influences have been one day only…like the 1 day shopping excursion.  But of one my co-workers / girlfriends has been “working me” over the past few years on how to dress, what accessories to have, where to spend my money, and why I should do this.  She is mostly referring to my work wear.  She says I dress fine but I could dress better.  She says I’m pretty and not “fat” but I don’t really “leverage” my assets.  She has turned me on to dresses because dresses have room for people to fluctuate weight.  If you eat a big meal, you won't feel like you need to loosen your pants.  Or if you gain a little weight, your muffin top doesn't show.  On top of that, they're "cheaper".  You can $50 for a dress.  Or $40 for pants + $30 for a blouse.  

I never wore dresses to work before but I definitely am now.  I probably wear them 2-3 times per week now.  I have a handful of black, gray, and solid colored dresses that I like to rotate through.  I think my dresses for the office is mostly complete.  I could probably use a handful of wrap dresses.  I love wrap dresses because they really flatter anyone's figure.  I don't currently have any though.  The ones I did have were cheap and from H&M, which I have learned is a great store for cheap clothes that you can wear for about 1 year.  So a good quality wrap dress could be a "gift" to myself when I hit a goal/milestone.

What other rewards could I give myself when I hit my weight goal?

Just start now...

I decided to start this blog to communicate my life and just get some of the “mind wandering” out of my head.  I’ve been journaling my whole life and have had various different blogs throughout as well. But sometimes, I just want to vent to strangers and really get some objective point of views.  So that’s my intention for this blog.

I am a career mother of 2 awesome children and a wife.  I have a 4 year old girl and an 18 month old boy who I love dearly.  And I have a husband who I sometimes feel is more work focused than family focused.  He could do more to help out with the kids and try more to get to a place where he has work/life balance.  But on weekdays, he is very much a working husband than a father.  I drop off and pick up my kids from their respective school/providers.  I get my kids ready in the morning and prepare them for bedtime.  I cook dinner almost every night.  And I work full-time, which means I usually don’t get enough working hours during work so I have to finish up my work in the evenings after my 18 month old goes to bed. 

I work in a large company where I am expected to dress in office appropriate attire due to my customer-facing role.  But as a mother of young kids, I dress like to dress comfortably and casually in the evenings and weekends.  Dresses and skirts are my preference for office wear but I live in pants/capris/shorts on weekends because my kids have me mobile all day long.  It’s normal for me to immediately change into non-work clothes as soon as I get home from work.  And I definitely have a segregation of clothing items that I “only wear to work” and “only wear at home”. 

Since having 2 kids and stopping the breastfeeding (and age of course), I have realized my body isn’t as resilient as it used to be.  I actually need to watch what I eat.  For the past few months, I have really focused myself on eating smaller portions, more vegetables, and healthier foods.  In the past, I considered myself a healthy eater, but I can always do better.  And I have noticed that I am thinking more consciously about what I put in my mouth.  In relation, I am also thinking about how much more I have to work out by eating a particular food.  I have read and heard other people tell me this but didn’t really do this myself.  Now, I find myself doing this.  Should I eat this?  How much more do I need to work out if I eat this?  Can I wear “x” outfit if I eat this?

So I’ve set some “goals” for myself.  I am looking to lose a few pounds post baby #2.  Ideally 125 lbs is perfectly fine for me, but given that I fluctuate a lot, I have set my goal to be more like 122 lbs.  I was down to 120 lbs while I was nursing my son, but then gained 10 lbs and am wavering around 128 lbs.  My first goal is to get down to 125 lbs by the end of the year.  I am slowly, very slowly, getting there but if I continue to focus on eating more veggies, smaller portions and less snacking, I think this goal is possible.  Thereafter, the second goal will be to get down to 122-123 lbs.  Unfortunately, my yoga practice has been slipping since moving over to a new job.  I just don’t have the luxury or time in the day to get myself to the studio during lunch hours.  Too many meetings.  Too little time in the day to get my work done.  However, I have incorporated running into my workout routine.  I do this after my son goes to sleep and I have cleaned up after dinner.  It was a painful process to start and going 1 mile took forever.  Now I’m running 2 miles on average and taking 20-25 minutes per run.  I need to find a better route so I can get 3 miles in and 30 minutes of a workout.  Yoga practice 3 times a week and running 4-5 times per week would be my goal. 

Who needs the new year to create a new year’s resolution?  Just start now...