Stitch Fix: The ONLY way to shop for clothes!

I got another Stitch Fix in the mail today!!

So much fun.

I know I've posted about it before. 

But for my friends that would want to go shopping with me, here is our virtual shopping trip!

When you open the box, this is how it arrives.

It's rather exciting I must say.

While my "dressing room" is a little cluttered, at least I'm not fighting for space with my kids. The girls are doing their normal activities around the house and have no idea that I'm shopping. That might be one of the biggest benefits of Stitch Fix. No fighting with your kids in the dressing room at the department store!

Anyway.. here are the clothes.

Shirt 1. Loved it, but it was a little big. It's a bubble shirt. If I keep the rest, it's worth keeping for the discount. If I'm sending something else back, it not worth keeping. (The 25% off discount to keep all 5 items is a big incentive!) 

Shirt 2: LOVE.  I got one similar that was sleeveless in my last fix. At first I thought about not keeping it, but Hello... school!! This is a perfect teaching shirt!

Shirt 3 (and pants): LOVE the shirt. It has cute little gold buttons on the shoulders. It is perfect for work!  The pants were a bummer. I loved them in the box and was so excited. But they were just a little too snug in the rear and the fit was a little off. I'm short and they weren't made for my hips or legs. Oh well.

Shirt 4: MY FAVE!! I would have NEVER even tried this shirt on. I don't do much pattern, but I love it and it is cute!

So thanks for shopping with me! It was a good trip :) 3 shirts that I would have never picked out for myself that look good and fit nicely and the price was reasonable. Yes, more costly than Walmart or Kohls, but the quality is on par with Ann Taylor and for the most part not as pricey.

If you are interested in shopping this way.. click on my referral link. I'll get a store credit! And have fun! I'm getting another one next month so I'll be ready for school to start! Yippee for new clothes!

The Japanese Gardens

Today I took the little girls to the Japanese Gardens. It was awesome! The price is very reasonable and it wasn't too hot. We very much enjoyed exploring the park and we even saw a "real princess"! (otherwise known as a young girl having her quinceanera pictures taken... but Kylie was sure she was a REAL princess since she had a tiara...)

Here are some pictures from today.

They loved feeding the koi! I loved the fact that it cost a quarter to get more than a handful of feed! And even better, the lady at the entrance reminded me to purchase my quarters as part of my ticket so that we wouldn't have to come back for change! Big help!! We spent $1.50 and the girls had a blast!

 And look! Lexi got me in a picture too! Yippee! Proof that I am part of my kid's lives beyond just taking pictures!

I got some great ones of Lexi taking pictures with her camera. Sadly, her camera is a piece o'crap and her pictures almost always turn out blurry and bad on her camera. She does great with mine. I've got to just make the investment in Lex!

The girls let me take lots of pictures of them and I have tons more that I'm not posting. you are welcome.

But let me end with my favorite picture from today...LOVE!

Just makes my heart smile.

And in case you were wondering... June was awesome.

I'll do some catch up posting soon!

My first commissioned piece!

 A friend of mine just recently purchased an insurance agency and is decorating her office building. She asked me to paint some bright and fun paintings for her! I am super excited!

She took one of my first landscape paintings as it was ready to go and it's already hanging in her personal office.

This piece is currently curing and then it will be hung! I can't wait to see it on the wall!

It is 2' x 4' and makes quite a statement!

And if you want your own copy of the Tree of Whimsy, click here.

Tree of Whimsy

My newest painting. I'm having so much fun!! 

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/tree-of-whimsy-emily-mclemore.html

Summer!

Oh how I love the month of June!!

School is out.

The weather isn't too hot yet.

It's all around a great month.

Here are a few highlights of week one of summer.

Kylie: Hanging out with me. Talking. Talking. Talking. She is adorable and crazy and has way, way more energy than one child needs.

Sporting a few tats.

A new bike. Her old one was so small that her knees hit the handle bars every time she pushed the pedal!

Swimming Lessons. Finally. This is the third year we have tried. Third time is the charm in at least this case. She is doing fantastic!

 

A little running. Can't keep her off the thing! 

 

Lexi is reading (of course) and chillin' and doing her best to avoid cleaning her room. She is also playing with her younger sister like a champ. Last week she participated in volleyball camp. This week she joined Kylie at swimming lessons. She is working on her dive!

   

And both little girls have helped me cook.

  

Maddie started the summer with color guard basics camp and even was awarded the "beast" award the first day! Woohoo!

She even spent time after camp hours working with rifles and sabers. She is disciplined that girl.

On Friday we went and watched Maddie perform with the YellowJacket Band and Colorguard for the first time. I had tears. It was rather emotional for me. It was just two summers ago that I had to take Maddie to physical therapy twice a week so that she would be able to take junior high dance class in school. Now here we are with Maddie trying out and making a dance-type team! I am so proud of her! 

Maddie is second girl middle row closest to the viewer.

Here they are performing the fight song.

But by the end of the week and after only swimming twice this summer so far, she has swimmer's ear in one ear and an ear infection in the other.  Not right.

It has been a while, but I'm bringing out my research again and starting to read medical journals. I KNOW that there has to be a link to having almost constant oral ulcers (that get so bad they have to cauterized) and ear infections that last for months on top of her daily life issues with kidney disease, asthma and allergies. I've let her state of "doing pretty good" lull me into non-action. But I'm starting again. Just today I made an appointment with a new pediatric rheumatologist that specializes in sports medicine. I am really hoping that he will be as good as his bio on the hospital page makes him sound.  I'm tired of the lackadaisical attitudes of some of our other doctors.

And what have I done this first week of summer? I ran! Lots. Love. 

 Kylie took this picture of me. not bad.

While the girls have had swimming lessons, I've been running trails out at the ranch were the lessons are. I have absolutely fallen in love with running with dogs. I wouldn't want to have to if they were on a leash, but I love running with dogs when they are keeping the cattle at bay and making sure that there aren't any creatures that I don't want to see close by!

Here is where I have been running!

 

And that was about it for week 1. We swam and played and cooked.. but I won't post EVERYTHING we did! :)

But here is one last picture. I heart her.