I liked mine so much I hunted down a pair in her size. She was SO excited to get a package…and even more excited to see what they were. She wanted to put them on immediately but I made her wait until after dinner. And then I put mine on, too.
“I love being twins!”
Now we just need to go out somewhere I can wear this!
After Owen finished building, he made fast friends with another kid and they were running around the store like this.
Our first stop after getting off the island was at the grocery store to get OJ, water, and drops to make H2OJ for our road trip! Time to get back on track!
I had wanted to show how awesome everything was but I was so busy hosting and trying on stuff that these were the only two pics I got during setup:
Katie on kitty watch as the consultant was hauling in racks and bags of clothes.
One room starting to get full. She brought over 700 pieces and it was literally like shopping at a store!
I had a great turnout with 17 ladies attending and one friend even ordering via texted photos and then paying over the phone! I was lucky enough to earn three pieces of my choosing so picked the style maxi dress I’ve been wanting and two maxi skirts. I then also bought matching leggings for me and Owen—he really wanted some after he felt mine and Katie’s—and a shirt I keep looking at and liking.
As a completely unexpected bonus, the skirts I bought? Size XS. Yes, you read that right—EXTRA SMALL. What?! I tried the medium (my expected size) and while it fit, it felt a little loose so I pulled out a Small. That didn’t feel much different, so on a total whim I tried the XS and it fit fine. What?! So actually any of the three sizes would have been fine so I was able to pick the patterns I liked the best! BUT AN EXTRA SMALL!!
Katie always asks to ride in the car cart and I always say no because it’s a huge pain in the ass to navigate with and I hate it. But today I agreed, saying she had to stop asking because this was it. She agreed but, yes, I know she won’t stop asking.
She was good while I was shopping so her reward was time at the play area!
She loves wearing my sunglasses.
I bought it without trying it on so it could have been a huge failure…but it fit pretty well (though I could honestly use some Spanx!) and Tom really liked it so that’s a bonus!
If you’re wondering what LuLaRoe is…
They sell women’s clothing (dresses, skirts, leggings, tees, etc.) from at-home parties and pop up boutiques on Facebook—and of course there’s a big market on eBay. The leggings are usually described as “buttery soft” and the best you will every buy/wear. They aren’t cheap but also aren’t outrageously expensive, so I decided to dip my toe in with a pair of plain black leggings. (They are also known for their crazy patterns. And to be honest, most of them are downright fugly to me.) They have sizes from XXS to 3XL so that’s a draw as well.
A friend actually introduced me to LuLaRoe about a week ago (gee, was it only a week ago?!) and for not ever having heard anything about them, I quickly realized it’s an obsession with some people! I actually had a conversation at a baseball game the following night because a friend showed up in one of the dresses and three of us proceeded to talk about wishlists. 🙂
I signed up for a few Facebook groups and the popups seemed overwhelming with people snapping things up super quick so I went to eBay…where I quickly realized there’s a much bigger selection…but the prices are crazy. (If you buy direct, the prices are set. Otherwise, all bets are off.) They only make like 1000 of each pattern (I think, I’m still new at this) so if you see something you like, you need to snap it up. And once it gets rare, the price goes up exponentially. (For example, leggings are $25. I’ve seen some on eBay for $100.) I liked the black ones so wanted to find a cool pattern. But I wanted to make sure I get the ones I really like. So I searched eBay and watched a bunch and once they go past $30-$35, I’m out. (I figure I’ll pay a few extra bucks to get exactly what I want.) But then I actually got the hang of the Facebook popups one night when I was surfing through three of them at the same time (and chatting with a friend who was at the same three). We were sharing pics and getting opinions…and it was like a shopping outing with your bestie without leaving your house and spending hours doing it!
So once you start looking, you kind of get hooked. As I told my friend, they hit on a brilliant strategy—you can’t just go to a store and look at everything. Or a website even. So you get sucked into looking everywhere at everything every time it’s posted in case you find exactly what you want. My friend told me she belongs to 17 LuLaRoe groups. Yeah, she’s addicted. I wouldn’t say I’m addicted, but I ordered two more pair of leggings and this dress from eBay…and I actually won ANY PIECE I WANTED from a popup drawing!! HOLY COW! Of course they didn’t have anything I wanted in leggings, tees, or dresses (!) so I chose a $70 cardigan because I’d NEVER pay $70 for a cardigan!
So, that’s LuLaRoe. 🙂
This is a dress from Le Tote that I was pretty sure I was keeping so today was the real world test. It passed.
Dammit. I liked my whole recent Le Tote box. But I don’t need all of it. Hell, what am I saying?? I don’t need ANY of it LOL.
I more than like but not quite love the dress. Great length, good color, nice feel, not my favorite neckline (as a general rule I choose V-necks) but I can branch out, and it’s easily changeable with accessories. It’s a bit expensive at $64 but unfortunately isn’t available anywhere else online so no cheaper option.
I like the pants. They are a bit more current (hip?) than anything I own—they have pleather-type panels on the front (better seen in the stock photo)! My fashion-guru friend says these are a definite yes, plus says they’re a steal at $29. I’m still debating but leaning towards keeping them.
The tunic isn’t exactly my style but it’s super comfy and my friend really likes this one, too. I’m not convinced, though, since it is a bit big, a tad short (for just leggings for me), and a bit more than I’d want to spend ($30). I’m wearing it today to see how it works in real-life but I’m leaning towards returning it and then keeping my eye open for a more suitable tunic (since apparently these are totally IN now).
Necklace 1 is very similar to the silver one I already bought for $19 and I don’t like the shiny as much—even at $22. So I like it but it’s going back.
I LOVE necklace 2. And it’s a known famous brand so Google told me it was cheaper direct from the company so it’s already on its way! (And it looks much better in person than in this photo!)
If they discounted for buying a whole box, I might have just taken it all…but they only give you credit for another month and this is my last month…so that was a no. But it was good to end my experience with Le Tote on a high note (though it does make it harder to cancel—I just have to remember my other boxes that weren’t as successful)!
We stopped at the mall play area for a bit…
This was from 5/4 but I just got the pics Gramma Jean took. 🙂 She was surprised at how quickly he finished it.
For one of my first kidless afternoons, I decided to run some errands. Do I look free and unencumbered?! Positively joyful?
How about now? (Still giddy, even though I’m on my way to pick up the kids.)
(I have technically had one or two kidless afternoons since Katie has started school, but either my parents were here or Tom came home early so even though I was kidless I technically wasn’t alone. If that makes sense.)
I had to return some shoes to Nordstrom Rack so I looked for the $90 dress. And look what I found?! The dress—just with yellow instead of pink! And only $30! Perfect! 🙂 Except…they only had sizes S and XS. Of course. 🙁 (I also found a Large of the other V-neck dress but even though lots of friends liked it, I just didn’t love it. Plus it was more expensive.)
So I asked and they were able to order it in my size from another store! Even with the $7.95 S/H it was a major bargain (a savings of 44%)!!!
So while we were out, we stopped by Marshall’s so I could look for a similar, less expensive dress than the one I was wearing.
The top photos are the original $90 dress that I love…and the bottom dress is a similar $30 version of the same brand. Interestingly, the original was an XL and the less expensive version was a M—both fit, but I think a L would have been a *cough* happy medium. 🙂
I polled my Facebook friends to see what they thought, and it was pretty evenly split between the two.
I really wanted to keep the original dress but $90 was just ridiculous. And I really wanted to love the new dress but it just wasn’t right, either (even at the cheaper price). So I decided to be an adult and return both, pledging to keep my eyes open for the perfect dress. 🙂
Katie normally has no problem sitting in the cart…except when Owen is there, freely walking around, running, and playing. 🙂
I stopped by Marshalls today. On a whim I tried these on. They fit great. 🙂
Papa was good at keeping Katie busy while Grannie and I were trying to buy her a new iPhone.
I decided to keep the Le Tote pants! And I wanted to find shoes to go with them so I wore them again today to go shoe shopping!
I had asked my friends for assistance in picking the style shoe, so was consequently on the hunt for ballet flats. I was unsure because I didn’t think any of them had any support—and I need the support for my back!—and I’m at the age where comfort outranks fashion. But fortunately I found six pair to decide between—then narrowed it down to four:
Then two ($60 Born and $40 Life Stride on clearance):
I really wanted the Born because they were buttery soft and very comfy (and came highly recommended)…but the others were almost as comfy and a slightly truer black. And $20 cheaper. 🙂
Katie loves trying on shoes so she was helping! (In a new dress from Grannie Lin!)
And the final selection!
So my trip was a double success—I found the style shoes I set out to find AND I came home with only that one pair!
Hopefully it’s supposed to get to 70° today so I figured I’d better try the second outfit. This is the shirt I like—just not $70 worth—and the $50 pants I’m trying to decide on.
The detailing on the pants:
Dress and necklace from Le Tote, denim jacket from Nordstrom Rack (today!), and my own boots. Love it!
We ran a bunch of errands today and this happened on the way home about 12:30. So I sat in the car with her and read. 🙂
I have promised myself I would do StitchFix when I reached my goal weight…except A) it’s expensive and B) I just did a bunch of shopping and got a bunch of new clothes. So I had vowed to wait even longer. However, a friend introduced me to LE TOTE—a similar clothing loan company—with an offer for a free month (which means no cost unless you choose to buy something). So I went for it. I picked out things I liked and told them my sizes, they suggested pieces, I picked what I wanted, and they showed up on my doorstep.
Now, I wanted things to fit and I hoped I liked them, but I honestly didn’t want to love any of them because I need to stop buying clothes. 🙂 And dammit if I didn’t like every piece in my tote (well, minus one necklace). Here’s what I got:
All the pieces aren’t PERFECT but they’re very nice.
I have to check prices on a few pieces because I’m tempted. Of course I’d like to find cheaper alternatives (like I’m envisioning the necklace being $40 and I’d rather find a cheaper $20 version) but I love it and it’s probably worth the $40 because I can wear it with a ton. I just feel bad because I’ve spent a lot already. I think they said the whole box is $250 so I’m hoping the pieces I want aren’t terribly expensive.
Unfortunately, it was nice weather when I ordered and we have cold weather now…so it’s not going to be perfect to wear this summery stuff. I am planning on wearing the dress (or the pants/shirt) tomorrow when we go out to dinner with friends. I’m just not sure what shoes to wear with the dress since it’s not summery weather and my shoe selection isn’t as robust as it should be for the style of my new clothes. (First world problems, I know.)
So, then I looked up the prices. And…
So overall I’m very impressed!
I just tried on a Ralph Lauren pantsuit…in Medium Petite. It was a tiny bit too small…but it fit. A MEDIUM PETITE, PEOPLE. I loved it, though, and want to find it in the right size! (I didn’t think I was actually a petite…but…I do have some short pants that fit perfectly so I thought I’d try it. It was also the only size they had.)
Papa and Grannie got to see Owen build his bee in about three minutes. 🙂 And then they gave him $10 to pick out an Easter treat which he was thrilled with!
One of the outfits Sheryl helped me pick out (minus the shoes, which I picked after—and I’m trying to decide if they work with the outfit or not*). I’m also at a new low, just 1# away from 125# lost!
* Generally speaking I like the shoes, but with this outfit I think they make my feet look HUGE. I might wear them more with long skirts? Also, the heel is VERY slippery and I almost wiped out walking across our kitchen floor…so if I kept them I’d need to alter the heel somehow. I assume there are fixes for that? Otherwise, they’re going back regardless of how much I like them. (I also have a similar pair coming from Amazon today to see how they compare.)