Stress Free Family Photo Planning!

As you have probably noticed a lot of my recent posts have been around finding contentment and reducing stress while living in rural America.  With the exception of about 4 months, I have lived my entire life in Rural America and I wouldn't change it for anything.  I lived in the panhandle of Texas until I was 10, in western Kansas from ages 10 to 19, and then I've been in Eastern Colorado for 12 years now.  Every where I've lived there's never been a Wal-Mart or clothing shop down the road and that is OK!

My husband and I both work outside the home so weekend trips to stock up on groceries, or go clothes shopping is just not a great use of our time and quite frankly we don't really enjoy it either.  If we leave town it's usually to go see family, go run a race or do something fun, or just enjoy some time together.  And all of the other times we would rather just enjoy some quiet family time at home!

Here's a list of reasons we do so much of our shopping online:
1.  Save on time
2.  Save on fuel expense
3.  Save on eating out while shopping
4.  Save on impulse buys
5.  Save on Sales Tax (we don't have a local sales tax where our house is located so IF we do have to pay sales tax, it's only state sales tax, which is 2.9% as compared to 7.4% in say Brighton)
6.  Convienience of having our purchases delivered to our door, plus the ability to shop a variety of stores all at once.
7.  More and more vendors are offering free shipping

And the list can go on...

I shared a facebook post sharing about how we buy a lot of our household and grocery items through www.walmart.com and www.amazon.com.  We have arranged an area in our storage room to store some products in bulk and it makes daily living so much easier!

This leads me to my newfound appreciation for Stitch Fix!  I shared last month about my first 'fix' and how it all works.  I was so happy the first time, that I signed up for another fix.  Having family pictures taken every fall is something that is so near and dear to my heart, which unfortunately results in stressful planning for outfits.  I remember last year I was in tears and stressing about what everyone was going to wear the very night before our pictures.  I remember having clothes for everyone thrown all over my bed, trying to mix and match everyone's clothes.  I did finally get something put together AND we have an incredibly talented photographer, Cherished Snapshots, that helped cover my defeat in planning!

I typically pic a couple colors to work with when planning photos (but am by no means an expert).  We've done red & black, teal & purple, teal & denim, etc.  This year I wanted to do brown and olive/army green.  I love picking out clothes for my kids and my husband, but have always gotten stressed over picking out my own clothes.  I went out on a huge limb this year and let Stitch Fix help me out this time. When scheduling my second fix, I let them know I was planning family photos and what colors we were doing.  I also knew that if it didn't go well with Stitch Fix, I wasn't going to have a whole lot of time to come up with Plan B.  After losing 30 pounds, I'm still rebuilding my closet over time, so I don't have a whole lot of green items that would work for pictures.

I could not have been more thrilled with what they selected for me.  They chose this olive green jacket (which also has a drawstring on the inside) on the top left in the picture below, which I plan on pairing with a brown/cream shirt, some skinny jeans and boots.  I didn't even give the Stitch Fix shopper a picture of what everyone else is wearing, and I think she nailed it!!!

They also gave me a couple other items as a back up in case I didn't like the jacket.  They included this adorable brown cardigan and infinity scarf, which I could have put together completely different outfits together as well (and yes, I kept these items as well).  Sorry for not including pictures of me trying them on, just didn't have the energy to set up the tripod and all that fun stuff!

I still need to add a couple accessories and finish planning the rest of the details for everyones outfits, but the major decisions are done and ready and I couldn't be more excited for family pictures in a couple weeks.

A huge sigh of relief for this mom!  Also, don't forget that Stitch Fix has a great referral program too. For every friend that uses your referral code and receives their first 'fix,' you receive a $25 credit towards your next fix.  A great way to share your experience with a friend and make your next fix a little easier on your budget!

Blessings,

Krystal

A Personal Shopper ~ Stitch Fix!

I've been talking to several of my close friends about how I actually enjoy shopping for clothes now, but to find the time to do so is such a challenge.  Plus I get so frustrated going from store to store and from one dressing room to the next.  Some of the items are a little expensive but I also factor in the fact that I saved on fuel, time, meals and additional unnecessary impulse buys of traditional shopping!  I also have absolutely no fashion sense and definitely need some help in that department.

After reading a blog post written by Candace Cameron Bure (DJ from Full House) about the company Stitch Fix, I was SOLD!  Here's how it works:

1.  You sign up and provide them information regarding your size, body shape, style preference, the type of items you're looking for, your preferred budget by item type, etc.  The more information you provide, the better experience you have.  You can even give them the link to your fashion board on Pinterest so that they can see the outfits/style that you like!

2.  You then schedule a 'fix.'  This requires a $20 design fee, which can be deducted off of your purchase on an item(s) in your 'fix.' You can also decide on the frequency of your 'fix.'  It could be monthly or it could be a couple of times a year, it's entirely up to you!

3.  Then the fun begins!  Your personal shopper at Stitch Fix picks out 5 items based on the information you provided.

4.  Once you receive your fix you have 3 days to try on the items with other items in your closet (in the comfort of your own home) and decide what you want to keep (oh, and it's free shipping both directions).  My first fix consisted of a necklace, a pair of skinny jeans, two tops and a sweater/jacket.

5.  You also get two styling ideas with each piece, which is what I so desperately need!

6.  Then you log back into Stitch Fix and check out.  You decide what you want to keep and give specific feedback on each piece.  This feedback helps the personal shoppers improve on your next fix.

7.  Also, after you sign up, refer your friends and receive a $25 credit towards your next fix!

I REALLY enjoyed my first fix and have already scheduled my next 'fix.'  And this time I let them know what colors we're doing for our fall family pictures.  I can't wait to see what they come up with!!!  It's going to be so much fun overhauling my closet... gradually :)  

I enjoyed this process so much, that I just had to share!

Blessings,

Krystal