Stitch Fix #5

Let's talk STITCH FIX!!!!!!!!!  

What is it???

Stitch Fix is an online personal stylist for YOU!  Who doesn't want a personal stylist?!?!?!?!?!

How does it work???

-YOU fill out a detailed profile about your size, style, likes, dislikes, etc.  You can even link your Pinterest clothes board!!!!!!!  What?!?!?!?  Yes.  True story.  So...I go "shop" on Pinterest, link my Pinterest clothing board to my Stitch Fix profile and then my personal stylist can see things that I have been pinning lately...Score!

-Once you have filled out your Stitch Fix profile, you can choose a process date to get your first Fix!

-After you have chosen a process date, Stitch Fix will ship you five items.  You can choose to keep all five, a few things or none!  On my 1st, 2nd and 3rd Fix, I kept one item...on my 4th Fix, I sent them all back (they were all hand wash or dry clean and ain't nobody got time for that!!!).  Each time I schedule my next Fix, I tweek my profile just a little so that I make sure I am getting items that I love!

-Once you have chosen what you want, you check out online and send back the items that you don't want...they sent you a pre stamped package thing (I can't remember what its called) so that its super easy!  You only pay for what you keep :)

What was in my latest Fix you ask?!?!?!?!

I LOVED this outfit....the shorts fit perfectly, like they were made for me.  I really really really liked the shirt, but it had mesh on the top that was way too low in the front.  I would have had to wear a tank under the shirt for modesty sake and it is just too hot for that!  So I sent back the shirt, but kept the shorts!  Nick LOVED this outfit though, so I will be on the lookout for another black top...TJMaxx will most likely have one for me :)

Dear John Light Green Shorts with Black Mesh Top

I thought that I would LOVE this shirt...it was cute and super soft.  I showed Nick and he hated it.  I tried to convince him by trying it on and he still hated it.  Then, I looked at this photo and I didn't really like it anymore either!  The black shirt with these shorts (above) was super cute, but this shirt just didn't look right on me...it seemed a little too short and it was too tight in the armpits!  No thanks.  So, I sent back the shirt :)

Dear John Light Green Shorts with Top

The material on this dress was super soft!  The navy blue color was really pretty.  The dress was lightweight.  The problem was that the waistband was too tight...like, going to leave a huge red indention in my skin, too tight...and I felt like the neckline made my shoulders look enormous.  I liked it enough, but I didn't LOVE it...so I sent it back.  I have learned to only wear clothes that I LOVE, so that I feel confident and pretty each day!!!

Navy Blue Dress

Liked the earrings, but I don't need any right now...I tend to just wear my pearls all of the time!  So, these were sent back.

Earrings :)

So, I packaged everything up this morning that I wanted to send back and I checked out online.  Here are the shorts that I kept with a tank that I already had from LOFT.  I have to say that I LOVE the shorts and I am glad that I kept them!  They fit perfectly.  They are comfortable, lightweight material.  They are modest.

Dear John Light Green Shorts with Loft Tank

I think that YOU should try Stitch Fix!!!!!!!!  Even if you only do it once and decide its not for you, it's worth the try!  Or even if you only do it every few months and keep only one item each time, its totally worth it!  That's pretty much what I do!

It's so fun to have someone else pick out stuff for you and send it to you!  I know that I get in a shopping rut and always buy myself the same things...this helps me branch out and I love being surprised each time I get another Fix!

SIGN UP HERE to get your 1st Fix!!!

The Happiness Advantage

     I am lovingly known by Nick (my sweet husband) as "Debbie Downer".  True story.  It's really weird because I am very gullible and believe that people are telling the truth when they say things, but at the same time I am very skeptical and don't trust anyone.  I think it all comes from growing up overseas in cultures where I felt that I had to be alert and careful all of the time...so really I can just go ahead and blame my parents.  Just kidding, kinda.  But, seriously.  A person's environment makes a huge impact!!!

     Since learning that Nick thinks that I'm "Negative Nancy" (yea, thats another one of my beloved nick-names...haha "nick"-names...get it?!?!?...ok, moving on), I have worked on being more optimistic.  Nick says that he can tell a HUGE difference in my attitude over the past 10 years...Yay!!!!!!!  But, I have to say, I still have a LOT of improving to do.

     I LOVE reading, but never know what to read unless it is recommended to me by someone.  That is why I LOVE my Book Club!  I have never been in a book club before and honestly, I always thought that they were for old ladies and that it was super weird.  But, I was mistaken!!!!!!  Last month, I read the book The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor...this book totally changed my mind on the importance of positive thinking.  I had NO idea that optimism had such an effect on the rest of a persons life!!!!!!!

     Most people measure happiness by success.  "When I get finished renovating my house, I'll be happy"..."When I buy that SUV, I'll be happy"..."When I travel to that side of the world, I'll be happy"..."When I make ______ per month, I'll be happy"..."When I can afford ________, I'll be happy".  Note: these are all things that I have actually thought!!!  People believe that they must get what they want FIRST and then happiness comes as a result of that.  But, thats actually not true!  It is the OPPOSITE!!!!

     Being happy actually fuels success!!!

     Did you know that "Optimistic salespeople outsell their pessimistic counterparts by 56 percent."?!!?!?!?!?!? (page 15).  When we are happier, we do better overall!!!  And did you know that teams do better if they have an encouraging leader?!?!?!!  Did you know that just by believing that you can succeed, you actually do better??!!?!?  And did you know that just by believing that someone else will do well, it causes them to actually succeed too?!?!?!?!

     It seems like it is all mind games!!!!!!!  

     Want to see if you are a positive person?

...Imagine that you are in a bank.  There is a robbery and you were shot in the arm.  No one else was hurt.  What goes through your mind?

a.  "Thank goodness that no one else was hurt and I was ONLY shot in the arm!"
b.  "Out of all of the places and people in the world, of course I was at THIS bank and I was the ONE person who was shot."

     See how different those outlooks are for the same situation?!?!!??  One is a glass half-full and one is half-empty...which one are you!?!?!?

     So, we know that being happy is what makes someone more successful...but do you know what makes people more happy in the first place?!?!?!  RELATIONSHIPS!!!!  It isn't having a great home, perfect family, new car, high paying job and so on...it is by spending time with people who matter to you!!!

So, in my effort to be a more happy person, I have begun to:

     1.  Take time to get to know people and build relationships...think of one friend or co-worker EACH day to thank them for something or encourage them in some way.
     2.  Take time to appreciate the small things...at the end of each day, write down THREE GOOD THINGS that happened to you that day.

^^^These habits will help us be happier people and, in turn, more successful people!!!  I HIGHLY recommend this book and hope that you will read it too :)

Silver Retreat

     Last year in June 2014, I hit the rank of Silver with Young Living Essential Oils...after maintaining Silver Rank for 3 months in a row, I earned this Retreat with Young Living!!!  I was SUPER excited, but had to "patiently" wait until THIS June 2015 to go...

Zermatt Resort and Spa

     Young Living put us up in Zermatt Resort and Spa in Midway, Utah...and it wasn't just a hotel room, it was more like an apartment!  We had a kitchen, living room, bedroom and bathroom!

Kitchen

Living Room

Bedroom

Bathroom

Bathroom

     At the Resort, there was an amazing bakery with all sorts of goodies...we ate there several times!  There were breads, muffins, sorbetto, gelato, desserts, croissants and the list goes on and on!!!!!  I am wishing I could eat some right now!

Breakfast

     The first day that we got there, we just walked around and toured the Zermatt, ate some delicious pizza at their restaurant and relaxed.  On day 2, before the Young Living Silver Retreat officially started, we rented an ATV and went on a 2 hour ride through the mountains!!!!!!  It was beautiful...impossible to even describe.  There were deer and chipmunks EVERYWHERE and Nick had an awesome time driving back and forth through the river...we got completely soaked!!!!!!!  We somehow made it back to the Resort on time even though we got lost over and over again...the map did NOT make any sense and we took too many wrong turns.

Adventures in the ATV

Top of the Mountain

     Once the Silver Retreat began, Young Living took us all to The Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City, for a fancy dinner...they pampered us and spoiled us for days!!!!!!!!

Dinner

     On our last day there, Young Living took us out to Mona, Utah to the Young Living Lavender Farm.  Did you know that Young Living plants their own seeds, farms the fields, distills, tests and bottles all of their own oils?!?!!!?!?  They are the only company in the WORLD that does this!!!!!!  It is SO neat to see the fields where it is all grown, see the distillery and see where it is all bottled and sealed all at the Young Living Lavender Farm!!!!!!!  Now, when I order an essential oil, I can remember the plants that I saw...I didn't even know what most of them looked like before visiting the Farm!  This is so special!

Young Living Distillery

Young Living Distillery

Young Living Distillery

Young Living Greenhouses

Us with Lindsay Moreno

     Here we are with our Team Leader, Lindsay Moreno and our fellow teammates who were invited on the Silver Retreat with us!!!  It was SO fun getting to know so many from my team...many of us only knew each other through FaceBook groups...now we know each other "in real life"!!!

Our Team

Young Living Lavender Fields

     If you know me, you know that my DREAM LIFE is to have a job where I can make my own hours, work from where I want, be involved in something natural, help people live healthier lives and travel ALL OVER THE WORLD!!!!!!  I LOVE how being involved with Young Living Essential Oils has given me all this!  Not only that, Young Living TREATED US to the Silver Retreat...now, THAT's what I call traveling in style!!!!!!

     Anyone want to guess where we will be going on our next trip!!??!?!?!?!

NEVER say NEVER...

     It's hilarious that we actually continue to say what we will NEVER do!!!  Let me walk you through my list:

1.  I will NEVER buy a house on a corner lot.

2.  I will NEVER buy a house without trees in the yard.

3.  I will NEVER buy a house that still needs to be fixed up.

4.  I will NEVER buy a house that is over 2,000 sq ft.

     Bahahahahahahahahahahhhahahahaha...yea.  We did EVERY one of those NEVERS.  I wasn't expecting it...it just happened...here is how:

-For months, my mom kept showing me this house online that she liked.

-For months, I kept saying I didn't like it for all those NEVER reasons listed above^^^.

-I finally HAD to go look at the house because I couldn't get it off my mind.

-My sister, Mary Ashley, and I walked through and LOVED it right away.

-We called my dad and he came to look at it.

-He walked through and told me to make an offer because if I didn't buy it, he would.

-I texted Nick.

-Nick said "Alright".
-Less than 1 month later, we were moved in.

Major Life Decision Made Through Text^^^

     We have a LOT of work to do, but I LOVE this house!  As soon as I saw it inside, I just knew that it was for us!!!

IT'S OFFICIAL!!!!!!!

Living Room

Living Room

Our Bedroom

Bathroom with Tub

2nd Bedroom

3rd Bedroom

Bathroom with Shower

Foyer

Office/Family Room

Kitchen

Sunroom

View from the Street

Best Porch Ever

Our Neighborhood

The Homeowners

     Soooooooo.......we are planning on having a BIG open house and inviting all of our friends and family!!!!!!!  Who wants to come?!?!?!?!?!