Nordstrom personal shopper review

I have two business trips coming up so I decided pretty last minute I needed to find some business clothes I felt comfortable in (not the case for the items in my closet pre babies). Also, I have 2 "work" dresses I typically can get away with re-wearing since I'm at different meetings with different clients, but my upcoming trips are both 3 days long with the same people, so my two dresses wouldn't get me too far. I typically use Trunk Club and love their service and my stylist, however, there was no time to receive a trunk and then see what worked or not and send things back. I also worried that the business items from trunk club would be more then I wanted to spend.

So after some browsing on the Nordstrom site, I went ahead and filled out the form for a personal stylist session. Super easy to do! I indicted I'm ok with an email or phone call, and the stylist will reach out before the appointment.

The day before I did receive a call from my stylist. He asked for sizes, what I was looking for, what brands I liked and what my budget was. I indicated I wanted mix and match business casual looks that I could feel comfortable in all day at a meeting and on a plane ride. I also explained I typically work from home and wear yoga pants so I wasn't sure where to start in terms of business casual and how to make it work for me, since I haven't been in an office setting since pre kids. I also stated I needed mix and match items to get me through 6 days of meetings with the same people.

I arrived and the dressing room was set up with some outfits paired together, along with some separates. I did send the stylist pictures of items from my wish list, I wasn't set in stone with any. But wanted to give him an idea where my head was at. He picked some items from that list and filled in from there. The room included shoes, a bag and accessories as well. It was awesome to see a "full look" but my closet is jammed packed with those items already!

My appointment was for an hour. And I did not try on everything. Some items were a no because of the look right off the bat. I did try on anything I wasn't sure about or maybe wouldn't have picked for myself. I also did not pay attention to price because I felt like if I loved something maybe there was a cheaper option somewhere (even if not at Nordstrom). I did not feel any pressure into buying a certain amount. That being said, stylists work off comission and so I wouldn't go into this apppointment if I wasn't planning on spending money, but that's just my take.

In the end I felt like I went through a workout! I loved three of the outfits that were put together and paired up and purchased those, along with additional items to mix and match. To my surprise only one of the items I purchased was from my wish list! The sizing was right on, I said a M for flowy tops and a L for anything more form fitting to cover the baby pooch, and this was 100% taken into account. I'll admit I was a little worried because the stylist was a young guy and I felt like he may not "get it" in terms of what a mom may want hidden, but he was on the mark!

Checkout was a breeze, I shockingly came in at my budget (thanks to a giant Nordstrom note I earned from the anniversary sale shopping spree I went on!). I left with two pairs of pants, two blouses, one sweater and one moto jacket. The stylist walked me to my car and loaded my purchases and it was overall a great experience. I will definitely take advantage of this service again!

Let me know in the comments if you have any questions!






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Tips for Saving on Summer Activities

Kids are home for the summer! Now what?? I'm sure the first weeks were exciting, activities planned, art supplies purchased, but now that it's been about 2 weeks your kids are probably already telling you they are bored. Despite the hours you spent on pinterest coming up with summer activities, and the time spent researching all the summer camps, kids attention spans are so short and they want you to find another way to keep them busy.

 

If you have a chance to escape the house (other then running to buy snacks in bulk at the store because for some reason in summer your kids eat 100 snacks a day), I have some ideas for you to save some money and keep the kids busy.

 

Of course, the park is free, you can run under a sprinkler, build a fort on a rainy day - I'm not talking about these kinds of activities in this blog post. Since I like to save money, let's talk about things that already cost you, that you don't want to pay full price for. I mean, I'm sure seeing the joy on your kids faces is totally worth the full price admission rate...but if you don't have to pay full price why would you?

 

First, start your search out on Groupon or another similar site like Living Social. Find local activities at a discount. Right now, in my location, we can go to an indoor playground, trampoline park, try to solve a mystery at the escape room, and visit a local amusement park all at a discount.

 

Next start researching companies specifically, maybe you've had your mind on a water park to visit, but Groupon turned up empty for any discounts. Check local stores to see if they have discount passes available. This is common for the bigger theme parks in the area. For the smaller local places, many offer discounts for admission at non peak times, or specific days. Being flexible is key here, most of these deals are for early morning or late afternoon, and likely mid-week. If you have a specific destination in mind, you can also save money by planning ahead. Buying tickets for a specific day so far in advance may give you a discount, and you can save with opportunities to bundle with things like parking or meal plans if you pay when you buy admission tickets.

 

Speaking of bundling items to save - if you are going to visit a place multiple times, bundle up the whole summer - heck, the whole year - and get an annual pass. Zoos, waterparks and children's museums are likely to offer this, and if you have multiple kids it can be a savings to buy a family pass. 

 

And maybe it's one of those days where it's just too hot to be outside and you want to head to the movies. Many theaters offer lower priced movies certain days of the week. A common big chain has $5 movies on Tuesdays. A theater local to me offers a specific movie for only $1 every week on Tuesday mornings. So drag those kids out of bed and take advantage of seeing a movie at an off time.

Hope this list helps you to start brainstorming some ways to get the kids out of the house without spending your whole paycheck! Have a fun summer and when your kids say they are bored, you can tell them what my dad always told me: ""Only bores are bored." Which will help you in no way and will likely only confuse your kids. But it may buy you an extra 5 minutes of not being bugged to come up with something to do, so there's that.

April Trunk Club Review

If you are looking to get started with a styling service, then Trunk Club is for you! It's so easy to connect with a stylist, chat via their app, and then receive a box full of items specific to your needs and requests!

To highlight how this works, you are charged a $25 styling fee, that is applied to your purchase, and you have 5 days to try everything on and return the items you don't wish to keep. Could not be easier!

 

For April I asked for some shirts, as I lost weight and needed to size down. I also requested navy sneakers, and a trendy one piece. My stylist took it from there.

Let's start with the shoes, both were navy sneakers, as requested. However, they were suede and just not a material I was looking for to wear in the summer. They do come in multiple colors and both were well made and comfortable! Just not what I needed at this point in time.

So Nice Slip on Sneaker $109.95
Teagen Sneaker $89.95

 



Lace Trim Floral Print Tank $195

If you follow the link you will see that this top looks longer on the model. I didn't love the length on me. I'm 5'6" for reference. The front came up higher then the back which was cute, but felt too short for me. It was a nice quality top, would look really cute with some white jeans.







Cold Shoulder Ruffle Sleeve Top $49

This was well made, it comes in a bunch of different colors. Very flattering on. This color isn't great with my skin tone, but blush is very in right now.

 Ruffled Handkerchief Hem Top $42

Another nice fit that comes in plenty of colors! This was lightweight. Once again, I received the blush color which I can't really pull off, but in terms of tops with ruffles that I have seen and tried on, this one was the most flattering.

Ruffle Sleeve Tee $58

This I could have used a size up in. If you follow the link the model wears it better and it's not clinging to her. The white was pretty see through, there are no other color options. There are better basic white tee shirts out there. Like this one from Halogen or this Madewell tee that is an absolute staple in my closet.

 

 

 Speaking of Madewell, I received 3 items that I am keeping. I love this brand for basics!

Brea Split Neck Tee $37.50 (gray)

Whisper Stripe Cotton Tee $19.50 (see it in first photo with shoes)

Stripe Cotton Tank $19.50 (red)

 

 

 

Peplum Tee $39

This was a cute basic, just received in a size too big for me. If you are in between sizes, you can size down. Lots of color options available!

 

 Lace Yoke Cold Shoulder Dress $79

I requested that this dress be added to my trunk. I really liked it! It was lined, not see through at all, and the lace detail on top was very cute! But man is it wrinkled. Ask yourself if you will spend time in the upkeep of these before buying. Would be great for a bridal shower! I wanted it to be an easy thing I throw on and accessorize, but I have two little kids and no time to steam this every time I want to wear it.

Print Swing Dress $69

Ok, this looks nothing like it looks on the model. The print was fun little airplanes. But this dress was massive on me. Maybe adding a belt would be a good option if it was in your correct size, but you can see by the arm hole it was just too big. There is another fun print option available as well.

Finally, items you won't see a picture of me in ;)

I requested the white bathingsuit, but in black. I really loved it, but not in white. White is fantastic actually, it's well lined and was flattering. If I was heading on a vacation with no kids I would have kept it. However, I have a baby and preschooler so white is never going to happen. Also, my time is spent pool side with family so I think black would be a more conservative option. I'm going to keep it real, I'm 38D. The smaller your chest, the more conservative this bathingsuit is. Both have a tie in the back so the backs actually look like a bikini. For the blue suit, my chest was just too big and had too much side boob action. Once again, if I was jetsetting to Mexico with my husband, maybe would have been a keeper. It was more revealing then the white though. A smaller chest would be a better look in that one.

Siren One-Piece $124 (white)

All in Mix Plunge One-Piece $115 (blue)



 

 

Oh - one more item I forgot to show a picture of, because I was wearing it with my bathingsuits, is this fun and cute Wide Brim Straw Panama Hat, just $38. Fit well and I always wear hats while outside so I'm glad my stylist sent this as I did request a hat.

What do you think of my trunk? Do you like these styles? If you are interested, check out Trunk Club and work with my exact stylist by using this link. My stylist does a great job of sending affordable pieces!

Some links may be affiliate links - thanks for your support! Please note I do not edit my pictures, like don't even have time to hit that magic button or crop, so apologies for the bathroom selfies. If you have questions on the clothes or how they fit, leave it in the comments.

Meal Delivery Reviews

So I have been so busy with work and so has my husband, which lead me to research some food delivery options. I've been using Amazon Fresh for about a month but because I wasn't browsing the grocery store any more, I was buying the same things over and over. I wanted to mix up dinners, but with as little effort as possible. Here is my review of the meal delivery services I tried out!

Hello Fresh
Cost: $29 after 50% discount for first subscription ($9.99 per meal after)
Plan: 3 meals for 2 people.
Ease of ordering: Option of 6 meals where you can select 3. You can pick the delivery date. You can also easily skip the following weeks. Cancelling was easy as well. There is a veggie option that is separate too if you are a vegetarian. You can select which items you don't want included, for example I did not want lamb or certain fish sent.
Packaging: Came in a box with all 3 meals and ingredients separated. I loved this because I could pull a box from the fridge and have everything needed at my finger tips. Also included recipe cards. I accidently threw away the meat at first. The meat that goes with each meal is under a cardboard layer on dry ice. I figured the meat was in the individual meal boxes and the rest was packaging so I put it out in the garage. Thankfully my husband asked "where is the meat?" and we were able to save it!
Prep: So easy! Recipe cards are very clear to follow. You were even told what kitchen items you needed, like a sauce pan or a fry pan. Each meal took on average a half hour to prep/cook. My husband was even able to make a meal, although full disclosure the fire alarm did go off. But it still ended up tasty and looked as pictured.
Ingredients: Every ingredient is pre-measured for the most part. If they give you too much it will be noted. The items you needed to have on hand were pretty much just olive oil and water. All items were fresh and used within 4 days of delivery.
Taste: We enjoyed all the meals. The recipes were not crazy or gourmet things we would never consider eating, but they were prepared differently then we would have done in the past. The meals we selected were things we would typically eat and not totally out of touch with what a normal dinner may be. There were a few ingredients we would have not eaten on our own, but we tried the complete recipes. We even ended up liking the snap peas and I had collard greens for the first time as well!
Portion size: Each meal was plenty for each person. Cooking for 2 can be a pain because there are leftover ingredients and then leftover cooked items, and while we can eat things for lunch the next day you get sick of eating the same things over and over.
Overall review (scale of 1 to 5): 4. Meals were easy to store, prep and eat! Full cost of $60 a week though is what makes me hesitate to continue. It's cheaper then a meal out though so if you like to have higher quality meals and eat out, this might be a money saving option. Meals were things we would eat normally, but with a twist, and we felt like we could recreate them if wanted.





Blue Apron
Cost: $29 for first order with discount ($30 off first order). $59 a week after.
Plan: 3 meals for 2 people.
Ease of Ordering: There is no separate vegetarian option, so just like Hello Fresh where you have 6 meals to pick from, 3 are veggie options. As a meat eater I didn't love that because it limited what my husband and I would agree on. There was no option to deselect certain categories like lamb. We ended up with 2 meat dishes and a pasta. I have nothing against pasta but it was like paying $5 per person to eat pasta, with the discount. At full price that would be $20 and so it's really overpriced as I can cook pasta on one of the nights I don't have one of these meals to prep. It was easy to skip weeks but I had to search in the help section on how to cancel my account. You have to send an email and then follow the steps in the email to cancel. Kind of annoying.
Packaging: Items were not separated by meal and came all together. I was confused as each meal also had a little brown bag of knick knacks and I didn't know if it had to be refrigerated or not, so I stuck it in the fridge just in case.
Ingredients:  Everything was fresh.
Prep: Ingredients were not split per meal. Meaning if you needed half a tomato in two of the meals, you received 1 tomato to split. Garlic came peeled and ready to be chopped in the Hello Fresh box, but with Blue Apron you received a garlic clove. Not a big deal, but it increases prep time. You have to search for the items you need for each recipe since it's all packed together. Also, you had to figure out what pans/bowls you need and you needed a lot for every recipe. Tons of clean up to do after the fact as well for these recipes. Honestly, one night we were like do we have to do this, can't we just order pizza! But we opened a bottle of wine and got to it. Honestly, we have a baby and preschooler and I don't have time to prep for 20 minutes. It's hard to chop veggies with a baby clinging to your leg.
Taste: Ok. We felt like it was "add salt and pepper" a lot. Some of the items would be pretty flavorless without that. We altered some recipes by adding some things from our pantry, like additional pepper flakes and more cheese. Sometimes we left an ingredient out - for the pasta dish we didn't even both making the side which was roasted carrots, olives and some other ingredient we didn't want to eat by itself, let alone combined with these other items.
Portion Size: Decent, we finished our meals and felt full.
Overall review: 3. Cost is high considering that you are likely to get a vegetarian option which were overpriced. The meal options seemed more gourmet then Hello Fresh. The prep could be more labor intensive depending on the ingredients. I also didn't like that the ingredients weren't split up by meal. By the end of this trial my husband was asking me to sign up for Hello Fresh again, but we had one more company to try...


Home Chef:
Cost:  $29.70 with discount on first order. $59.70 a week after (or
 9.95 per serving). Although, after your first order you earn a $15 credit towards your next purchase.
Plan: 3 meals for 2 people.
Ease of Ordering: This service provided the most options. I selected what I prefer to eat and could also select items not to send, I was able to get rid of beans and mushrooms. They even asked if you were on a low cal or a low carb diet.  I was able to skip weeks easily. There were 10 options available along with add ons. This was the biggest selection out of all the services. It was a good mix of vegetarian, gluten free, non diary - you could easily find something you liked. Also, each week you can select between 2-5 meals and you pay based on your selection. So if the next week you will be out of town a few days, or you only like 2 of the options, you can pick the number of meals to send. Easy to cancel.
Packaging: All items per meal were bundled together, but everything was in the main box not separated. I do love that the recipes we received had what ingredients and the amount they sent so you can actually re-create the recipes. They send you a binder so you can store your recipes for easy reference.
Ingredients: Everything was fresh.
Prep: This was not as easy as Hello Fresh, but not as complicated as Blue Apron. Garlic clove came whole, but the items were easy to identify. The steps were easy to follow in the recipe even though my husband said he felt like he had a lot going on at once.
Taste: Yum! We liked all the meal options and didn't alter any of the recipes.
Portion Size: We felt the most satisfied from these meals. I usually didn't take my "half" and my husband had more on his plate.
Overall review: 5. We were surprised to find we liked this service the best! With more options to pick from each week, and ease of ordering, this is the reason for the high rating.

Overall, even though the packaging from Hello Fresh was the best and easiest to prep with, we found the service comparable to Home Chef. We went with Home Chef because there were more options weekly to choose from and you could easily alter how many meals to send a week. 

Want to try for yourself? 
Hello Fresh
Blue Apron
Home Chef or consider using my referral link:  https://www.homechef.com/invite/KMEQAc48XpJK

What are your thoughts? Have you tried one of these services? Which did you like better? Share any feedback in the comments section!