Getting my fix: #1

I first heard about Stitch Fix through one of my favorite blogs, Peanut Butter Fingers.  Basically it is an online service where you enter in your preferences of what style of clothing and jewelry you like, and a price range for what you are looking to spend, and they send you 5 items.  You can even link your Pinterest board(s) to give the stylists ideas of what you like.  Another neat feature is that you can request specific items---I do have a couple weddings coming up so may include dresses in the future!

You keep what you like and send back what you don't.   You pay $20 for the "styling fee" but if you keep anything, the $20 goes towards that purchase.

Stitch Fix is pretty popular right now and has about a two month waiting list.  The nice thing is, you can choose how often you want to receive the box.  I chose every other month, as I like to go shopping in the stores too!

When you open the box, you will initially see a styling card.  This is nice because it shows you what to wear with the pieces-if you need that kind of thing.  I do.  The second is a list of the items and the prices-if you choose to purchase all 5 items, you get everything for 25% off.  

The first item I got was the Bay to Baubles Christy Layered Bauble Necklace for $38.00.  They called this light green but I think it's closer to turquoise.  I LOVED this item and ended up keeping it!  I know I will get a ton of use out of it this summer. 

The second item was the 41Hawthorn Dita Colorblock Sleeveless Ponte Dress for $78.00.  This fit me really well and would be perfect to wear to work but I was not a huge fan of the colors.  I did look online and saw similar 41Hawthorn color block dresses so may request a similar one for the future.

The next item was the Hourglass Lilly Brandi Open Front Cardigan in Coral for $58.00.   I loved this cardigan-it fit me great and I loved the color.  That being said, I have one that is similar to it.  And for the price, it was a little high for a basic cardigan.  I decided to pass on this one.

I also got the Renee C Ventura Paisley Print Keyhole Detail Tank Top in green for $48.00.  This was really cute and a fun print, however, it ran a little short and I didn't love the way it fit.  I ended up sending this back.

The last item I received was a pair of Kensie Jeans Johnny Regular Length Skinny Jean in Navy for $88.  These looked black to me...I had been looking for a pair of black skinny jeans for a while so was really excited when I saw these!  I typically buy short length pants and these were just a little too long. I could have hemmed them but unfortunately were just a little too snug. 

Despite only keeping one item, I would say it was a success as most everything fit me well and most were items that I had clothing similar to already or things I was looking for.  Here is a referral link if you are interested in trying it:  Referral link

I hope to do reviews here each time- I have a few friends who have signed up so it's fun to compare and see what everyone received!

Animal Rescue Sites

I have had a lot of friends lately ask me about animals, more specifically dogs-what kind of breed to get, where to get a dog, if they can adopt breed specific puppies through a rescue, etc. so I decided to start a list of pet rescue sites in Minnesota and nearby cities.  And YES!  There are lots of breed specific puppies in rescue!  If you are looking for a specific breed or age of dog, I would love to help you look! And if I am missing a type of breed or rescue, please let me know and I will add it below!

Below are our first couple fosters-Julian (left) was a pit/boxer/cattledog mix (our foster failure Toby was camera shy).  Kendra (right) was our first foster from the MN Boxer Rescue.
Airedale Terrier

http://aire-rescue.com

Australian Shepherd

http://www.aussierescuemn.org/available.html

Basset Hound

http://bassetbuddiesrescue.org/basset/

Beagle

http://gotbeagles.org

http://beagle.rescueme.org/Minnesota

Bichon

http://bichonfrise.rescueme.org/Minnesota

http://www.smallpawsrescue.org

http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/MN179.html

http://www.bichonrescues.com

Border Collie

http://bcrofmn.org

Boston Terrier

http://www.mnbtc.com/rescue.php

Boxer

http://mnboxerrescue.rescuegroups.org

http://www.everyboxercounts.com/going-home-furever

https://www.facebook.com/acrossamericaboxerrescue

Cockapoo

http://www.adoptapet.com/s/adopt-a-cockapoo

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Adopt-A-Cockapoo-Rescue/281829088543979

https://www.facebook.com/cockapoo.rescueme.org

http://cockapoo.rescueme.org/Minnesota

Cocker Spaniel

http://www.cockerrescue.net

Corgi

http://www.faerielandrescue.org/index.htm

Doberman

http://www.dobermanrescueminnesota.com

http://dobermanrescueminnesota.blogspot.com

English Springer Spaniel

http://www.springerrescuemidwest.org

German Shepherd

http://germanshepherd.rescueme.org/Minnesota

http://www.faerielandrescue.org/index.htm

Golden Retriever

https://www.ragom.org

http://www.gtcgrc.org/rescue.htm

Great Dane

http://www.gdromn.org

http://thegreatdanerescue.com

Greyhound

http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/MN298.html

http://www.minnesotagreyhoundrescue.org

http://www.nlga-mn.org

Havanese

http://www.havaneserescue.com/our-rescue-dogs/happy-beginnings!/362-abby-a-max-in-minnesota

http://www.adoptapet.com/s/adopt-a-havanese

Husky

http://www.adoptahusky.com

http://www.mushr.org

Japanese Chin

http://www.luvachinrescue.org

Labrador Retreiver

http://lab.rescueme.org/Minnesota

Maltese

http://maltese.rescueshelter.com/Minnesota

http://malteserescue.homestead.com/AvailabledDogs.html

Mastiff

http://www.midwestmastiffrescue.org

http://mastiff.rescueme.org/Minnesota

http://www.englishmastiffrescue.net/minnesota.html

http://www.glmr.org/home0.aspx

http://www.mastiffrescue.org/main.htm

Min Pin

http://www.ssmpr.org

Newfoundland

http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/mn141.html

Pit Bull

http://www.mnpitbull.com

http://saveabullmn.com

http://www.arottalove.org

http://pitbull.rescueme.org/Minnesota

http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/mn46.html

http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/gemini.html

Poodle

http://home.earthlink.net/~tcpcmn_holly/id1.html

http://www.picketspoodles.com

http://www.tcpoodleclub.com

Pug

http://www.mnmidwestpugrescue.com

Rottweiler

http://www.arottalove.org

http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/mn46.html

http://rottweiler.rescueme.org/Minnesota

http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/gemini.html

Scottish Terrier

http://lacyslegacyrescue.org/available-for-adoption

Sheltie

http://www.mnsheltierescue.org

Shih Tzu

https://www.facebook.com/NorthStarShihTzuRescue

Vizsla

http://vizsla.rescueme.org/Minnesota

http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/MN198.html

Westie

http://lacyslegacyrescue.org/available-for-adoption

Yorkie

http://yorkie.rescueme.org/Minnesota

http://www.adoptapet.com/s/adopt-a-yorkie

Yorkipoo 

http://www.adoptapet.com/adoption_rescue/71352.html

Small Breed Mixes

http://www.bichonrescues.com

https://smalldogsminnesota.org

http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/MN111.html

All breeds/mixes

http://northwoodshs.org

http://homewardboundrescue.com

http://www.underdogrescuemn.com

http://www.midwestanimalrescue.org

http://secondhandhounds.org

http://www.wagsmn.org

http://www.secondchancerescue.org

http://www.safehandsrescue.com

http://cocosheartdogrescue.org

http://www.ruffstartrescue.com

http://www.alldogmn.org

http://www.pethavenmn.org

https://www.animalarkshelter.org

http://dog.rescueme.org/Minnesota

http://www.ndlbrescue.org

http://www.animalhumanesociety.org

http://www.barkmn.org

http://www.carverscotths.org

https://gt-as.org

http://www.happyhoundrescue.org

http://www.last-hope.org

http://www.muttsandmore.org

http://www.petprojectrescue.com

http://www.redlakerosie.org

http://www.rpaw.org

http://www.swmetroanimalrescue.org

http://startseeingblackdogs.com

http://tlccaninerescue.com/about/

http://www.topdogfoundation.org

http://www.tcpetrescue.org

http://www.underdogrescuemn.com

http://www.windmillanimalrescue.com

Wedding Details

I just purchased this from Etsy today!  I love the personalization it will add to the wedding day and is something I can use again! 


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My fiance and I have been going back and forth between paint colors ever since we bought our house back in February.  We have been through 2 seasons of Parade of Homes, sneaking into the storage rooms of the model homes to jot down the colors on the paint cans stored there, but still can't decide on a color palette.  Then we came across this special for half off a color consultation at Hirshfields.  We knew this may result in more work for us since we had already painted a majority of our main floor in Stonington Gray by Benjamin Moore but we were up for the challenge.  I was a little wary about someone coming into our house and having a completely different style than what we had in mind.  I am going for a Nantuckett/Pottery Barn style and didn't want someone who liked animal prints all over their walls to be giving us advice.  I had also told my fiance that I wanted someone who could make our home feel like a 'Parade' home.  I wasn't really sure what to expect but for half off, I figured we might as well try it. On Halloween morning, our consultant, Lisa, came to our house. 

We both liked her right away!  For starters she told me she had worked on many of the Parade homes and based on a few comments from me, told me that she thought my style was leaning towards Pottery Barn! Bingo!  I knew this was my gal.  She told us she loved the gray we had chosen and that we should definitely stick with it.  She then proceeded to go into our sun room and after a few trials of a deep brown, told us we should match the paint with the chair cushions we just recently purchased from Pier One.  She said once we pull together the room with window panels, a large shaggy cream colored rug and some other pieces of furniture, that it would really be a focal point of our home. 



Green on kitchen walls

 Next she went into our mudroom and picked out a bright and cheery yellow that would go well with our checkered black and white floors and be a warm welcome to all that entered.  We have a green on our kitchen walls that she said blended in too much with the gray and recommended we go with a beige/neutral color and said that our white cabinets would really stand out. 

In our dining room we want to do wainscotting on the walls. Lisa recommended adding a deep navy blue paint on the walls to make the white of the wood on the wainscotting pop. She suggested adding the blue color to our main floor bathroom.



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We had only made it through the main floor of our house by the time our hour appointment was up. I was disappointed because we still had the second floor to do but Lisa assured us that we could check out the upstairs.  We went to our master bedroom and after telling her what we wanted in there for furniture and bedding, she suggested a dark gray on the walls.  In our bathroom she suggested carrying the gray in or adding an eggplant.  She suggested adding white paint to for our claw foot tub and getting rid of the green that is currently on it.

When she was done, I couldn't think of much else besides painting our walls.  We wrote out our check for $75 and Lisa was on her way.  She assured us that she would write up a full design plan with all the paint colors and types of paint she recommended for each room and send it in the mail along with a $20 gift card to use at the store.

Now if I can only convince the fiance to let me get the window covering consultant to come in....



Wedzu

I have been using Etsy for a lot of my wedding planning. A friend recently told me about a new site devoted to weddings. http://wedzu.com/

It's similar to Etsy in that a most of the items are handmade.

I particularly like these ring bearer pillows

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This clutch is nice too

 Hopefully I will be able to find accessories for the bridal party!

In search of...

I would love to do something like this for half the tables at our reception!  Anyone know where I can get the branches to hang the tea lights on?  I am hoping to find fake branches with wires in them so I can form the shape and hang the lights on them.  Has anyone ever seen this?

A vintage touch

I plan on having a locket attached to my bouquet with pictures of my grandparents in it for my 'something old'. I am in search of a vintage looking locket and have found a few I like here:

So, what do you think? Should I purchase one of these?