I’m doing something crazy. It’s flying-by-the-seat of your pants crazy in the mommy world… I’ve gotten rid of my diaper bag.
{I can hear the parents out there with their shocked gasps now!}
Ok, it’s not that crazy. And if you’re not a parent you’re probably wondering why it’s even a big (ok, medium-sized) deal. Honestly, I do feel a bit naked and maybe even uneasy with this change.
For the past 20 months, every single time I’ve left the house with Jack I’ve had my diaper bag.
It’s not your typical diaper bag from Baby’s R Us or Target… it’s actually a large purse from Fossil that I fell in love with and asked my parents to buy me for Christmas two years ago. It has worked great for lugging around everything you need when you have a baby: bottles/formula, cups, a changing pad, spare clothes, diapers, wipes, medicine, snacks, my wallet, etc.
But, it’s HEAVY.
And you tend to just throw things in there and later pull out three used cups, 8 empty snack containers and 3 socks.
I came to the realization a few weeks ago (and I’m almost afraid to share it because I might jinx myself) that I never change Jack’s diaper when we are out and about. Never. I change his diaper before we leave and he’s typically mostly dry for a few hours at a time. Also, Jack prefers to be home when he has his own personal twosie time… so I’ve never had to do that ‘oh no my kid just launched a poo granade’ thing in public.*
For most trips, I’d find myself leaving the diaper bag in the truck and just grabbing out my wallet. So I had the bright idea to just give up on a diaper bag altogether. Instead, I packed a cute Skip Hop lunchbox that we had gotten from Citrus Lane with the necessities – 2 diapers, a small pack of wipes, a change of clothes, teething tabs and an emergency pacifier – and left it in my truck for good. I also packed a gallon baggy containing 2 diapers and wipes for my husband to keep in his truck. So now, for our normal trips I’ll just throw a baggie of goldfish in my purse and be done with it.**
So much easier, right?
And if we do run into a changing emergency, I have everything I need in my truck without lugging it around daily. Why didn’t I do this months ago?!
Part of me feels a little sad because I most likely carried my diaper bag for the very last time, but another part of me feels so much lighter – mentally and physically – without the heavy bag o’ crap on my shoulder.
If you have kids, how long did you carry your diaper bag? Is there something that you think I should add to my truck ‘necessities’ bag?
*The only exception to this is that Jack apparently likes to poo on planes.
** For longer trips, like when we go to Hershey Park, I’ll put some necessities in a backpack or in a small bag to keep in the bottom of the stroller.
Yup, that’s how my favorite barista greeted me at the Starbucks drive-thru this morning. Even though I started laughing hysterically, I’m not really sure she realized that she inadvertently said something naughty.
For those of you who don’t follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you may be a little confused right now…
I got bangs on Friday.
After years and years (and years) with the same hairstyle, I decided it was time to change things up a little. One way to tell that you’re in a hair rut is when your long-time hair stylist gets excited to finally do something new. Yup, Kristin was ecstatic.
For years, I’d consider chopping some bangs but would always wimp out. But then, I got a nice big kick in the head from a fellow blogger. I’m a HUGE fan of Shana over at Ain’t No Mom Jeans (if you haven’t checked out the blog, it’s not just for mommies. It’s an awesome fashion blog for REAL people). She’s currently going through chemo and has decided to try out a bunch of haircuts on the way to bald. Did I mention that she’s awesome? Because she is totally kicking breast cancer’s boobies with her positivity and humor. Anyways, watching Shana go through this makes me realize how stupid I’ve been. It’s ONLY hair and I’m lucky to have all of mine. So if I feel the itch to change it up, I should just go for it because nobody knows what the future brings.
When I went to the salon I took a picture of Shana’s beautiful hairstyle with me, as well as this picture I snapped of a Loft display right before I walked in:
And then less than an hour later I walked out a whole new person.
I snapped the first picture right before I walked into the mall and the second about an hour later from a dressing room. I didn’t change my hair color, it’s just the change in lighting that makes it look so different.
At first I felt super weird and self-conscious. Like everyone was staring at my forehead full of hair. One of my Facebook commenters described it as feeling like you have a mustache on your forehead and that’s totally right. I was aware of every single follicle of hair sitting on my eyebrows.
And suddenly I started to HATE it. I ran into a dressing room (ok, walked slowly while gathering clothes to try on) and STARED at myself for probably 10 minutes. It was like SuperVainWoman took over as I kept sweeping my hair to one side and the other, adjusting each piece of fringe carefully.
I sent a picture to my bestie and my husband, hoping for some ‘it’s not that bad’ comments. After some consideration (because I was in a very fragile state…) I also posted a picture on my Facebook page asking if I had made a huge mistake.
Within a couple minutes my world was rocked. There was positive reinforcement out the yingyang! I walked into that dressing room feeling like Hermione in her early years and walked out feeling like a BOSS. If by “boss” I mean a sexy boss of AWESOME!
Too bad once I washed my hair I couldn’t figure out how to style it.
I even went out to buy a new flat iron and STILL couldn’t figure out how the heck to make it work. On Saturday it was just weirdly curled at the tips, which then stuck to my forehead with sweat the second I walked out the door. Then on Sunday, I got so mad I gave up and corralled the bangs with a barrette. Thank goodness for barrettes!
This morning I tried yet again and I think I finally figured it out!
So yay for bangs. I’m kind of digging them again. My husband is not a huge fan, but I think it’s more to do with his dislike of change then the actual look. We’ll see if it grows on him.
Wow, I can’t believe I’ve written over 600 words about hair. I’m hoping that I get used to this new look soon because right now with the time and effort it takes to make my head look good, I’m feeling incredibly vain.
And hot. For the first time in forever, I feel kind of sassy again.
For those of you thinking of doing the Big Bang chop, here are 5 things I didn’t know about bangs before I had them:
Your forehead gets hot. Like REALLY hot and sweaty when you’re trying to get ready in the morning. Which makes it difficult to style your bangs and makes you want to just give up and put them in a barrette off your face.
Nobody can see your eyebrows, so if you’re going for an inquisitive eyebrow or the “Peoples Eyebrow” you’re out of luck. On the plus side, you can skip penciling in your brows.
You don’t look like Jess from New Girl when you wake up, you look ridiculous.
A swift breeze is your enemy.
You will take like 100 selfies an hour. You won’t post them because you realize how incredibly douchy you are acting. However, when your husband borrows your phone to check out the pictures you took at the pumpkin patch you will get INCREDIBLY embarrassed when he swoops his finger too far and sees you. And you. And you with kissy face. And you again.
Here’s a dare for you – are you thinking about changing up your look but keep wimping out? Well, DO IT! Even if you hate it, you won’t have to wonder about it anymore! So tell me, is there a look you’ve been wanting to try?
A few weeks ago I kept seeing advertisements for something called Stitch Fix. I swear, the ads were stalking me… every page I clicked on: Stitch Fix. Stitch Fix. Stitch Fix.
Stitch Fix EVERYWHERE.
So fine, I finally gave up and clicked through.
And BOOM, they got me.
Stitch Fix is a personal stylist in a box. A PERSONAL STYLIST in a BOX!
You fill out a fancy schmancy style profile with all your stylish likes and dislikes (and your sizes). You answer lots of questions about your style, as well as preferences on what you’d like them to send – for example, I chose not to receive any accessories because I’m already drowning in statement necklaces. I also did a little extra work and built a board on pinterest so that my stylist would have a better idea of what I might like (click here to check it out).
After reviewing all your info, someone WAY more fashionable than me handpicks 5 items to send you. You try it all on in the comfort of your own home with clothes you already own to decide if you like anything. They even include a card that has styling tips for each item on how you can mix it up with other stuff.
You keep what you like and send the rest back in their supplied prepaid envelope. It’s that easy.
As for cost, there is a $20 styling fee for them to put the box together and send it to you. However, if you purchase anything from your order you use that money towards your bill. Also, if they hit it out of the park and you LOVE everything they sent, you get a 25% discount if you buy everything. So that you’re not totally out of your spending comfort zone, you set your pricing threshold when you fill out your profile.
So, now I need your help… I just got my box last night and I have three days to decide what I’m sending back. Oh and please forgive the crappy pictures — I got home from work at 9:00pm (I left the house for work at 6:30am, so it was a looooong day) and my husband was SO not in the mood to play photographer.
Here’s what I got:
Tart Holden Printed Swing Dress – $128.00
I was actually kind of excited when I unpacked this dress because I liked the feel of the fabric (it is heavy-ish but silky) and the print. However, when I put it on the fabric stretched in a really terrible way across the boobies area and the print just stretched out to WHITE/see-through. It was awful and there is no way I’m posting a picture of it on the internet!
I’m pretty sure I owned a very similar version of this sweater (down to the exact color of green) about 10 years ago from Banana Republic. I think the chunkyness of the sweater makes me look…well, chunky too. Thoughts?
Sanctuary Lanni A-Line Ponte Dress – $128.00
I kind of like this dress — it’s a dark burgundy color and would look nice with a grey suit jacket or black cardigan. I think I need to add some shapewear under it though because my tummy is not looking awesome right now. What do you think, is it salvageable or should I just send it back?
Mia Melon Paloma Striped Short Sleeve Cut-Out Top – $58.00 and Just Black Dark Purple Adora Ankle Length Jeans – $68.00
Here is a more casual look — the top is a nice weight black top with a little extra something fun going on in the back (check out the next picture). When I saw the pants (they’re a dark purple in person) I originally thought that there was no way in hell they were getting over my butt. But after some pulling, tugging and all-around cursing. They fit. Well, there’s a little bit of muffin top… but frankly everything seems to be a little muffin toppy lately. Here’s where I really need you to weigh in — is this too “young” for me? Should I give up on the skinny pants look? Here, check out another view:
The back view of the black top.
Oh and this view is a little embarrassing, but is my butt just totally out of control? Like in a you-need-to-never-wear-them-again kind of way? And this picture totally wasn’t taken on purpose, I was in the middle of trying to show off the back of the shirt so I have lots of awkward turning-around shots. Nice, right. It’s almost like I’m a professional. Not.
Help me. Help me!! PLEASE help me! I’m thinking of getting the black shirt. Possibly the purple pants and a slight maybe on the burgundy dress… But, I also might just give up the $20 styling fee and buy nothing from this box. I still want to try another box though, so that I can give my feedback and see how the box choices change.
Feel free to use this snazzy voting tool or just leave your comments below. Thank you in advance for rocking my socks off.
By the way, this was NOT a sponsored post. I went looking for Stitch Fix, they didn’t come after me and buy my love with free clothes. My love actually can’t be bought with free clothes… well… maybe. Nobody has ever actually tried to buy my love with clothes before. I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t work though, unless you were Tim Gunn and you wanted to replace my entire wardrobe with your perfectly chosen items instead. *
Anyways, if you decide to click through on my special link and try them out yourself, I will receive referral rewards. Here’s my link. So thank you for anyone who chooses to click through and support my shopping addiction.
*Do any of you remember the TV show from a few years ago called “Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style”? I LOVED it and wanted him to come to my house SO FREAKING BAD to fix my entire closet/life/style. Tim… call me!
Psssst…Do you love checking out what other people received in their Fixes? I added quick links to every single one of my reviews on my Stitch Fix Reviews page!
It’s not your typical diaper bag from Baby’s R Us or Target… it’s actually a large purse from Fossil that I fell in love with and asked my parents to buy me for Christmas two years ago. It has worked great for lugging around everything you need when you have a baby: bottles/formula, cups, a changing pad, spare clothes, diapers, wipes, medicine, snacks, my wallet, etc.
