Stitch Fix - Fix #3 July 2015

Stitch Fix is a monthly styling subscription service. When you sign up you fill out a surprisingly in-depth Style Profile about your sizes, your style, and pricing preferences, and then your personal stylist sends you 5 items to try once a month. This can include or exclude accessories as well (although I opted out of this option).  The fee for this service is $20, and that includes FREE shipping and FREE returns. If you decide to keep any of the items they send you, you get to deduct the $20 fee from the total. (If you decide to keep all five items in your "fix", you also get a 25% discount!) 
Once your Fix is delivered, you get to try them all on and decide if you want to keep any of the items or send them back in the prepaid return envelope.  Whatever you keep, you pay for.  If you don't like anything, you send it all back and you are just out the $20 styling fee.

My friends have been trying to talk me into Stitch Fix for months and I just wouldn't take the leap.  After losing all of my pregnancy weight, and having no new clothes and ZERO time to go shopping now that I'm busy with a 1 year old, I finally decided that I deserved this little package of happiness to be delivered to my door.

I was busy this week and didn't have time to make myself presentable and take pictures in the clothes. Sorry! My evenings have been full of baby showers, Pretty Little Liars, and UnReal and I have been lazy in the hair/makeup department this week.  I blame by underactive thyroid.  I will eventually upload a picture of the one thing I kept, since I have more time to take that one :)

Anyways, on to the Fix!

Stitch Fix - Fix #3

Renee C Morsey Crochet Trim Top - $48

Thoughts: I loved this right out of the box! I love pink and I loved the little detailing around the trim.  Unfortunately it was too tight in my bust area (which is a surprise since I stopped breastfeeding and am quite small now!)
Verdict: Sent back, sadly.

Pixley Sheryl Back Cutout Detail Top - $54

Thoughts: This had potential.  I didn't like that I would have to wear a strapless bra, and the material was kind of see through which I am not a fan of.  Ultimately it was too short for my long torso so that sealed the deal.
Verdict: Sent back.

41Hawthorn Neilson Halter Blouse - $54

Thoughts:  I immediately wasn't a fan of the material, but I did try it on.  Still didn't like the material on me and the fit didn't do anything for me either. 
Verdict: Sent Back.

Skies Are Blue Enna Short - $44

Thoughts:I specifically asked for some shorts in this fix and I appreciate that my stylist listened.  I loved the style of these! The little bow on the front is too cute.  Not a fan of the horizontal stripes though or the bland coloring.  I wanted something more colorful or maybe a fun print.  I did like the fit however.
Verdict:  Sent back.

Gilli Mitchel Maxi Dress - $78

Thoughts:  Another maxi! Yay! I love when my stylist looks at my Pinterest board and delivers! I pinned this dress in a different color, and she sent me this fun teal version.  The cutout on the back sealed the deal.  Adorable.  Not something you can find at Target, and it fit me perfectly.  Once I get some color this will look amazing.
Verdict:  KEPT!

Fix #3 was pretty great! The maxi was perfect for my style and an easy keep decision.  The shorts were so close to making the cut, but ultimately I wanted something more fun than bland horizontal stripes.

If you decide you want to give Stitch Fix a try yourself, please sign up via my link! Keep in mind that your fix will be totally tailored to your style and my fix doesn't reflect what you would receive at all.

Why I won’t apologize for my son’s early bedtime

 My son went to sleep at 6:30pm until he was almost a year old.  At that point he was waking up religiously at 5:00am every morning.  I tried pushing it later a few times, but he still woke up at the same time, and since he was still sleepy, he woke up in a bad mood.  Not a good way to start every day.  Around his first birthday, I started pushing bedtime a little later until I got it to 7:00pm, and now he sleeps until 6-6:30am.  This is perfect for us.  I wake up around the same time and we have an hour to get dressed and eat breakfast before I take him to daycare and go to work.

Even now there are evenings where I can tell that he is exhausted at 6 and just wants to go to bed.  My son is not a great napper most days.  If he gets in 1.5-2 hours that is a GREAT day.  Most of the time we are looking at a total of 1 hour, split into a morning and afternoon nap.  Since he doesn’t get much sleep during the day, he NEEDS the extra sleep at night.  And since he is naturally an early riser, he needs to go to bed earlier to get all of the sleep he needs.

An early bedtime causes lots of “problems” though.   We can’t usually go out to dinner.  Even if we went around 6:00, he’s tired and fussy, so it doesn’t make for an enjoyable experience.  When we visit family out of town, we leave early so that we can get home by 7:00 to put him in his own bed.  We’ve tried really hard to establish a solid bedtime routine with Grant so that he understands that it’s bedtime and he needs to go (and stay!) asleep.  It seems to have worked since he’s been sleeping through the night since around 7 months old and he hasn’t had one (knock on wood) night where we’ve had to go in and settle him.  Even when he’s been sick or teething, he sleeps through the night and if he wakes up he is able to settle himself.

Recently we had the 4th of July and multiple family members made comments about him staying up for fireworks.  I understand the excitement of watching him experience that for the first time, believe me, I’m looking forward to it too.  However, keeping Grant up 2.5 hours past his normal bedtime is not going to be enjoyable for anyone involved.  It’s going to consist of me trying to keep my whiny, tired 1 year old quiet so he doesn’t ruin everyone else’s holiday and trying to ignore the “look” people give you when you can’t keep your kid from crying. 

A major bonus of an early bedtime is 2-3 hours of kid free time! Some days my husband and I just want to cherish our alone time, I’ll take a bubble bath and he will watch YouTube videos or tv.  Other days we make it a movie night or have wine on the back porch.  And verrry occasionally I will use that time to catch up on cleaning, but let’s be serious here, most of the time it’s a movie/bubble bath. 

So, if I have had to miss a girl’s night or dinner or fireworks, I’m sorry.  My child was sleepy and we didn’t want to subject you to his tired cries.  We wanted him to be in a good mood the next morning and for us all to enjoy a good night’s sleep.  This is just a small season of our lives and it will be over before we know it.  I’m cherishing each night that I rock him to sleep and watch him on the monitor, because before I know it he will be a teenager barely making curfew and I know we will miss these early nights.