Nordstrom Trunk Club Review

I recently received a Nordstrom Trunk in the mail. I haven't gotten one for over a year. If you aren't familiar with the Trunk Club it is a really great service through Nordstrom. It's a personal styling service where you work with a stylist. My stylists name is Hannah and I really like her! I am going to say this right away. The first 1-2 boxes were a little rough. It took my stylist a little bit to understand my price points and my style. Now that she gets those things she sends some amazing stuff. She also sends stuff out of my comfort level too. I like this because I am not sure I would ever try certain things if she didn't help me think outside the box. 

You are able to preview the box of items prior to them being sent. Sometimes I will decline things. I send links to other clothing or shoes and ask for them to be sent to me. I have told Hannah that I do not need anymore scarves, so she doesn't add them to my box. Seriously I have enough scarves for like 10 people. Now that I am a stay at home mom I don't want fancy things. I need kid friend clothes. I do like to invest in a pair of designer jeans. They last and are very comfortable! I bought a pair of Joe boyfriend jeans I wear a lot. They are the most comfortable pair of jeans. In my last box Hannah sent a pair of Hudson jeans. I still kind of wish I had kept them! They fit amazing, but also were sooooo soft. When you pay for denim they are so much softer than the cheap pairs. 

You can try the Trunk Club HERE. 

Here are the items I received in my box. I will try to link everything back. I am sorry most of these pictures are dark. I am struggling with lighting in my bedroom. 

I really like this top, but I felt part of it hit me in a weird place. If it had been a little longer on me I would have kept it. It was super soft!  These are the jeans I talked about above. Amazing jeans!!!! 

Twist Front Cozy Fleece Pullover

Colette Step Hem Skinny Jeans

I am actually getting this tee in a different size with my next box. I loved it, but it was a little too long for me. If I folded it under it worked great, but I would like to be able to wear it out. I will let you know how the next size works for me. 

LS SIDE SLIT TEE

This was a cute sweater. I just can't do short sleeve sweaters. In the winter I need long sleeves. I felt this defeated buying a sweater if I have to lay another item over it. 

Layered Look Cable Sweater

This was the item that was out of my comfort level, but I decided to try it anyhow. I keep seeing these big sleeve sweaters, sweatshirts and various other types of tops all over blog land. I decided to give it a try. I just couldn't do it! I felt like I had wings. I could have flapped my wings chasing a toddler around. lol

FLARE SLEEVE SWEATER

I have tried peplum tops so many times. I think they are darling on other people, but I just can't pull it off for me. I feel like it makes my hips and midsection look weird. I have a peplum just like this that I still haven't worn, so I sent this one back.

LONG SLEEVE PEPLUM CREW

This top was sooo comfortable!!! It was soft! It was short on me though. I didn't feel it was mom friendly. If I bent over it didn't cover anything. I tried this on numerous times trying to make it work. 

'Hanna' Split Neck Knit Top

When I saw these shoes I was like yuck! These are just gross! I tried them on anyhow. They were soooooo comfortable!!!! I feel I could have walked 50 miles in them and my feet wouldn't have been sore. I considered keeping them. I just didn't feel they were for fall. If they make these without the frayed-jute espadrille trim I would buy them in a second!!! 

Jinnie Platform Sneaker

Here are a few other items I received that I did not photograph.

The knit tee I didn't take a picture of was white and VERY sheer. I have asked Hannah to send it to me in some other colors. It is coming in my next trunk! 

Long Sleeve Slub Knit Tee 

The item I kept was the sneakers! They are blush pink! I just love them. They are super comfy. I think they will be great for fall! I need some comfortable shoes for the cooler temperatures that are suppose to come our way at some point. 

'Gazelle' Sneaker

If you are interested in trying out the Trunk Club click HERE. 

Let me know if you try a Trunk Club and your thoughts! 

OOTD

This is such a mix of outfits because our weather has been insane lately. One day it is shorts weather and a couple days later we need a sweater. It's been kind of nice in some ways because you get to wear a variety of clothes. 

The top in my picture below is kind of a pink tie dye. I just bought it from Gap. I really like Gap tshirts, but I hate how they lose their shape after a few washings. My Havaian flip flops are on their last leg. I love them! I go through a pair every year. I wear them around the house all summer long. I will have to keep my eyes out at Nordstrom Rack for a new pair. Amazon carries them too. I buy them from both places. 

Tshirt: Gap

Shorts: Old Navy

Flip Flops: Havaians
Sunnies: Old Navy (last year)

I link Gap white jeans below. Gap jeans fit me really nice. I also don't feel they lose their shape. The butts don't start sagging on them by 10am. This is my second pair of Lucky leopard flats. My cousin bought me a pair of them when I had one of my MS attacks. I wore those suckers out until they had holes in the bottom of them. I had to buy another pair to replace them. They are my go to shoes to wear with almost every single outfit I own. They are worth the price and super comfy! I usually size up 1 size in Lucky shoes. 

Sweater: Nordstrom Rack

White Jeans: Gap

Shoes: Amazon Lucky's

I have been loving my Gap boyfriend distressed jeans again lately. They have been stuck in the closet for the past few months. These just fit me nice and are comfy. I bought the top I am wearing from Target in black and white. This is super comfy! Goes great with jeans and skirts. I like the little cap sleeve too. My sandals are very old from Target. I bought them on clearance for like $3. I am wearing a pair of Nickel & Suede earrings I bought ages ago. They are a lime green color. I think I bought these earrings back when Nickel & Suede was still on Etsy. They now have their own website and such cute stuff! These earrings look huge, but they super light weight! You don't even feel them on! 

Top: Target

Jeans: Gap

Shoes: Target

Earrings: Nickel & Suede

Disclaimer: All thoughts and opinions are my own. The post OOTD appeared first on Because Chocolate Can't Get You Pregnant.

Monday Thrive June 19

Happy Monday! 

1) I hope all you father's had a special Father's Day yesterday! I am so thankful for my amazing dad! The older I get the more I realize just what amazing parents I had growing up! I was closest to my mom growing up. I remember a change in my relationship with my dad  when I was about 18. 

I had left Michigan where we lived to go to college in California. I went to college about 30 minutes from where I live now. I remember the second day I was at school l became horribly homesick. I had asked to come home. I didn't want to be there and so far away. I cried so much in those 2 weeks. I am not sure if i had ever cried that much in my life. lol My parents said I had to finish the semester. At the time it sounded like the end of the world to a 17 year old. I had no friends, was in a strange place, and I was almost 2,000 miles away. Back then I didn't realize I needed to stay because 7 years later I would end up moving right back there! I didn't know this until later, but my dad told my mom to let me come home. My mom was the strict one this round and said NO. If I had known my dad was the softy in this situation I would have talked to him more about coming home. lol 

My dad told me after I came home at some point that I was the first person he missed so bad and how hard it was on him when I went away to college. This past summer he told me that story again. I dread the day G goes away to college. 

I have spent a lot of time with my mom over the past few years. She has come to CA to take care of me when I've been sick and when I had G. She stayed with us for a few months when I went back to work, so she could take care of G. Last summer I stayed in ND to help take care of my dad after he had open heart surgery. I really cherished that time that I was able to spend with him and my family. We spent a lot of time watching the Olympics. I told him I will be coming back every 4 years during the summer Olympics, so we can spend some time watching it together. He is less than thrilled to spend time watching the Olympics. lol He said he never would have watched it if he hadn't been recovering. 


2) G started preschool last week. The first day he barely had time to even tell me good bye. When I picked him up he ran to give me a big hug. I asked him did you like school? He enthusiastically said YES! I asked would you like to come back tomorrow? Again I got a loud YES! He really loved it! He had to tell both sets of grandparents all about his day. He played with trucks, had cheese sticks and crackers for snacks and there were lots of dinosaurs. He was a little clingier the rest of the day. I asked him did you miss momma? He said yes, then gave me a tight hug. I told him it was ok to miss me, but I would always come to pick him up. 

They do lots of crafts, play with toys, play outside, have snacks and read stories. When I picked him up I loved how calm everything was in the room. It is a room with about 8-10 two year olds. Everyone is playing or reading stories on the bean bag chairs. The teachers are really fabulous! The staff is all so friendly too. I am so happy that we found such a great place. 

3) I recently bought these earrings from Mia & Mac. I follow her on Instagram. She posted these adorable gold hammered earrings on her IG story the other day. She was selling a few different designs of earrings for different price points. I loved the plain hammer gold hoops. They are about the size of a nickle. The perfect size! They are lightweight, dainty and simple. Just the perfect touch for all my gold jewelry. I am always looking for earrings to go with different necklaces. I need a plainer type of earring because sometimes I just wear my G Silver Wren tag necklace and other times I will wear a big statement necklace. I have been tending to lean more to more simple pieces since I stay home with G. 

4) Heather from My Life Well Loved started a series called Holy Grit. She talked about it on her IG stories. I was like meh I don't know that I really want to do a 30 day Bible series. I decided to sign up for the emails on it. I need some Holy Grit in my life. I am soooo glad I signed up for this series. It is so amazing! Each day I take the time to read the emails and read the verses. It has been such a blessing to me and helped me so much. There is still time for you to join in. I highly recommend you join in if you need some encouragement, positive influence or just are looking for a new type of devotional to do. 


5) We are planning some water activities this summer. I decided to buy G a puddle jumper. I keep seeing kids wearing them on social media. I am hoping he likes this and it works well for us. We have a small pool in our backyard. He is cautious in it. He would rather just stand in there with no one else and splash around just a little bit. What type of flotation devices do you use for your kids? 

Monday Thrive

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a nice weekend! It has been soooo hot for us. It has been running in the high 80's. Thankfully it has been cooling off at night, so the house cools off too. 

1) I have been going to the thrift store for the past year and a half to buy G jeans. I usually buy him 1-2 pair from Gap. I buy him 5-7 pairs for play at the thrift store. I usually can buy them for about $1.50-$2 a pair. Depending on the brand and condition I will pay up to $4 a pair. 

I have a system I use when I am at the thrift store. I start a pile of his current size, must have an adjustable waist, straight leg and the knees need to look good. If they don't fit those requirements they stay on the rack. Once I have a pile I then go through my pile and pick out the best pairs. I went to the thrift store last weekend and I was able to score 5 pairs for $11. One pair is a 5T, but they were in really great condition for only $2.25. If the jeans get ruined for whatever reason I am not upset because I got a deal on them. 

2) I recently bought a new tumblers. I don't want to use plastic cups anymore, so I bought a stainless steal one on Amazon. It's a Haute 30 oz tumbler in a light pink. Let me just say this thing is AMAZING! I left it in the car twice on days when it was 80 degrees for up to 4 hours. I had ice water in the cup. When I returned to the car there was still ice in the thing! 

I bought these straws to go with my tumbler. I really like them. When I run the dishwasher I just through the straws in. I have enough to rotate. 

The instructions for the tumbler said not to put it in the dishwasher. I have been diligent about hand washing each time. I love this thing! It is worth the money especially for the summer! I took it with me to the zoo last week. It fits in my stroller cup holder. I had nice cold ice water through our entire zoo visit. If you know me then you know I drink A LOT of water. Water is so important for your health! Make sure you are getting your water in each day. 

3) I have talked about BeautyCounter's Mattifying Powder during a previous Monday Thrive. I have to say again how much I just love it. This past weekend like I said it was really hot. One morning I didn't put any powder on after I did my make up. Usually I put on my concealer, then put on some powder. Once I have completed all my eye make up right before my mascara I also put on the powder. I have noticed it helps my mascara stay in place better all day. Well I noticed a HUGE difference by not using it at all one day. Possibly from the heat too but I looked like a raccoon half way through the day. I don't have a problem with my eye make up coming off if I use the powder. 

4) Can we talk about toddlers and straws? Why do they need to bite the ends of them? This cup was like 5 minutes old and already the straw was destroyed. A week later this same straw is bitten up half way down. I had to buy more sippy cups since we stopped using bottles. It has been 3 weeks since we took his bottles away. He doesn't ask for them anymore. Once in awhile he will mention them. If he wants milk he is happy to have it in a cup. 

5) I took Bart to work almost every day for 7 years. I usually had a good store about the riders at least once a week. You do become immune to the insanity going on around you. I learned very early on to put headphones on or I would end up being highly annoyed every day on my commute. I don't have patience for nonsense in the mornings and some of these folks - holy cow!  Well last week I took G to San Francisco. On the way home we were at one of the stations. I looked to see some person sleeping on a bench, but they had so kindly taken their shoes. It cracked me up! They weren't on their couch. People walk all over those benches, so they could have kept their shoes on. 

Disclaimer: All thoughts and opinions are my own. The post Monday Thrive appeared first on Because Chocolate Can't Get You Pregnant. 

Spring OOTD

I recently bought this tshirt on Etsy. I think the eyelash and lip shirts are really cute. I went out with a friend for drinks one night and wore this. I haven't worn a blazer in ages. I use to wear them all the time for work. I tried to find some similar booties like the ones I am wearing. I bought mine at Nordstrom Rack on a great deal! I found a couple pairs that are similar I linked below. 

Tshirt: Etsy

Blazer: Old from Target (similar)

Jeans: American Eagle

Booties: Nordstroms Rack (similar) (similar) 

I love these jeans! I wear them at least 3 times a week. Sometimes I have to force myself to wear something different. I have 2 pairs. I bought a pair at Gap and American Eagle. The pair from Gap I got for like $10. It was the only pair they had or I would have bought a second pair. I just love them because they are so comfy, cropped and they don't sag. I really like cropped jeans because I can wear them with booties, sandals or my converse. I don't have to roll them up at all. They are just perfect! 

I bought the sweater from Nordstrom Rack a few years back. It's a staple. Just a simple crewneck black comfy cardigan. I can't find anything on their website currently that is similar. You can find this type of sweater anywhere. Target even sells them. 

Sweater: Nordstrom Rack

Jeans: American Eagle 

Booties: Nordstroms Rack (similar) (similar) 

I recently bought this dress from Old Navy. I have been on the fence about this dress over the past year. I LOVE it, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to wear a form fitting dress. I decided that I needed to stop being over self conscious. This dress is the perfect dress for summer! It is comfy, cool and covers enough while chasing a toddler. I wore it recently when it was 89 degrees! We were dying from the heat. We went from the 60's to almost 90. I suggest you add it to your wardrobe! 

Dress: Old Navy

Sandals: Target (similar)

Disclaimer: All thoughts and opinions are my own. The post Spring OOTD appeared first on Because Chocolate Can't Get You Pregnant.  

OOTD

I recently started taking OOTD pictures again. I need to start wearing all the clothes in my closet. I get in a rut where I just wear jeans and tshirts or sweaters. Our weather has been so beautiful lately too. This winter we had a TON of rain. I wore lots of cardigans with tees with jeans. Now that the weather has been in the high 60's or low 70's I have pulled out some skirts and dresses. This summer I want to wear more skirts. Sometimes it is hard to wear a skirt with a toddler. 

I spent a good portion of my summer at my parents last year taking care of my dad. I had a limited amount of clothes with me. This year I would like to wear more of the stuff I have in my closet. It also helps I have lost more weight, so all my clothes fit me again. I have actually had to get some newer things in smaller sizes. Skirts and dresses don't change sizes for me much if I go up or down 20 pounds. Pants on the other hand I have to change sizes. 

Tshirt: Target 

Shorts: Old Navy

Sandals: Birkenstock 

I recently got the tshirt at Target for $5. I really love their tshirts on the tables. They are reasonable and comfy. I don't feel bad if I ruin them because I get them for such a good deal.  The shorts didn't even fit me last summer. I couldn't zip them at all. I haven't lost that much weight since then, but I have lost a lot of inches. I bought the Birkenstocks last summer during Amazon deals. I had been looking at a pair on Ebay, but I found brand new ones on Amazon for the same price. 

Tshirt: Target

Jacket & Jeans: Gap Outlet

Sandals: Amazon

Tshirt: Gap

Vest: Old Navy

Skirt: Lularoe

Sandals: Target

Jacket, Tshirt & Shoes: Target

Jeans: Old Navy

Jacket & Shoes: Target

Top: Lularoe
Pants: Old Navy

Top: Kohls
Cardigan: American Eagle

Pants: Old Navy

Slippers: Amazon

I love this cardigan sooooo much! It is so incredibly soft. I recently discovered American Eagle clothing. I really love their jeans. They fit amazing. They also don't stretch out. I bought jeans, cardigan and a tee recently from them. They are my most worn items. 

Recent Haul

Here are a couple of my recent purchases. 

I bought 3 little green puppy tails for Bing Bong room! I can't wait to get them. We are making progress on the nursery and I can't wait to reveal it!

I really wanted the Steve Madden leopard slip on shoes. I just couldn't justify $100 for slip on shoes. I could buy 2 pairs of Toms. Well someone posted this pair from ASOS for only $37 bucks. I really hope these are comfy! I am having a lot of trouble with my feet recently, so I need really comfy shoes. 

Bing Bong needs a little pair of red skinny pants to go with a black shirt or navy plaid button up. I bought these from Gap on super clearance for $7. I bought them in size 6-12 months. 

I have this skirt in blue from Old Navy. It is super comfy. I just bought it in black too. I think I will get a lot of wear out of it during the summer. 

I haven't had the best luck with Old Navy tops lately. It is just because my shape has changed so much. I am hoping this top will work for me. 

Another Old Navy top. I hope this works because it is super cute! 

Recent Haul

Here are my purchases from last weekend. I found some good deals. My budget was to stay under $100. I love stacking coupons on top of sales. Target is really good because I can use a coupon, Cartwheel, Target card all for additional discounts. 

Gilligan & O'Malley Sleep Shirt

I have been watching this sleep shirt for months. I really wanted it, but I didn't want to pay full price. It has gone on sale a couple times, but I wanted a bargain. I ended up getting it in the store for $8. 

Target

The porcupine sweater was on sale for $18.99, 15% off with Target Cartwheel, 

plus an additional 5% with my Target debit card

Banana Republic

I plan to wear the royal & navy sweater with burgundy pants. 

I also bought a color block cardigan from Banana Republic that is royal blue and lime green. At Gap I bought a boyfriend button down that has green bicycles all over it for $8 bucks. 

I also bought a few items from NY & Company:

navy ankle pants

wrap bracelet

mint ballet flats

I feel most of the stores are in between seasons. Old Navy didn't have any fall items. It way almost like a mismatch of different things at the mall. 

Recent Haul

I have been on a spending freeze for awhile. I was shopping way too much. Well I decided I can do "some" shopping each month, but I have to stay within budget. I went shopping with my friend a couple weekends back. Here are some of the items I bought. 

Items above I purchased from Oldnavy.com

I am still debating if I am going to keep everything or any of it. 

Banana Republic purchases.
The cardigan was $15 and the tank was $20

I LOVE the cardigan and wish they had it in other colors. I already went to other stores to see if they had my size in black, but they didn't. :(

The tank is kelly green and navy. Now I feel like I need a navy skirt or crop pants. I can wear it with white, khaki and denim for now. 

Gap purchases

I bought each shirt for $12 plus a pair of black capris (no pictures)

TJ Maxx: black & white striped shirt $16.99

J Crew Factory: Anchor tshirt $17

I did really good at the outlets. I am trying to add some nice blouses or tanks to my wardrobe. I seem to wear a lot of solid colors and I want some pattern tops. I also had cleaned out my closet a few hours before I went shopping, so I knew I had plenty of room for new stuff. =)