Awaiting my first Stitch Fix

I just scheduled my first Stitch fix for the first week in February. I'm really excited, but a little bit nervous, too. My good friend said she was going to order along with me, so I should have some support. 

When I ordered my fix, it let me add a short note to my stylist: 

I love how much interaction you can have with your stylist. To give mine a better idea of what I look like, as well as the things I'm interested in, I updated my style board on Pinterest. On my style board, I also included a few pictures of me in some of my favorite outfits that I've worn recently. 

No, those pink shoes and that blue ball gown are NOT realistic. A girl can dream though, right? 

I do have a few hesitations about Stitch Fix:

• Price: I don't mind paying a bit more for quality pieces, but some of the items tend to be more than I would normally spend on some items.
• What if I get a ton of pieces that are similar to ones I already own?
• Sizing: I'm right on the verge of the higher end of Stitch Fix's available sizes. Hopefully I'm not too chunky to make it work. 
• Personal preference: I know the whole point is to step outside my comfort zone, but what if the stylist and I have wildly different ideas about fashion? What if she (I'm assuming gender here) wants me to wear zebra striped leggings and a fluorescent yellow tunic? Not happening.
• What if I like everything? I'm sort of going in assuming that I will hate the choices. When I go into a store, I generally try on 5 or 10 things with the hopes that I'll like even one. I NEVER like everything. I'm not sure I can drop $250 if I end up liking it all. Let's hope for restraint!

Even with these hesitations, I'm going in with an open mind. I figure that it's $20 and if I don't buy anything, I've only spent the cost of a meal out. Let's hope it works! 

Have you tried Stitch Fix yet? What was your experience with it? If you want to sign up, you can click here. (In full disclosure, if you sign up using my link, I'll receive a $25 credit toward my next fix.)

Disclaimer: This post contains referral links.

January Graze Box Review

January Graze Box

Graze is a foodie subscription box that sends you 4 different snacks to try. Each box is a surprise- you can't pick your exact items, but you are able to customize it somewhat by opting to not receive certain items. One of the things I like about Graze is that you can decide how often you want to receive your boxes. They can be sent as frequently as once a week, or you can pause them to come less frequently. I decided to do mine once a month.

Each box costs $6.99.

I thought this was pretty cute. I'm definitely glad to receive the warning so that I didn't dump the snacks all over. I guess it wouldn't matter too much though, because they're all sealed in plastic. One of my favorite things about Graze is the packaging- it's simple, clean, and recyclable. Yay for being yummy and eco-friendly!

Graze has a great rewards program. When you refer a friend and they order their first box, you receive a box for free. You can share instantly on social media using your individual link, or you can hand out these little cards. When your friend signs up, they'll receive their 1st and 5th boxes for free.

Graze includes a nutritional information card. This is great if you're watching what you eat. I receive what Graze calls their "Calorie Counter" box each month. Every snack portion in the calorie counter is under 150 calories. They also have a regular box, and are going to be debuting a "Sharing Box" very soon. 

The four snacks are individually wrapped so that they don't spill, and so that all smells/flavors are contained. I'm not sure that it always happens this way, but both of my boxes so far have had 2 savory and 2 sweet options. 

Fruity Mango Chutney- This was really tasty and I would definitely eat it again. I liked the balance of spiciness and sweetness from the mango. The little peppered dippers they included were okay, but nothing to write home about. I wish that the chutney was a little bit more uniform. I liked the chunkiness, but there quite a few chunks of really spicy pieces of something. It wasn't a happy surprise.

Tropical Daqiuiri- We didn't like this one at all. The rating in the picture above says I want to try it, but after taking the screen shot, I trashed it. The fruit had a very artificial lime flavor, like a cheap piece of hard lime candy. Yuck. 

Mississippi BBQ Pistachios- This was our favorite snack of the bunch. It might have been all in my head, but the pistachios tasted like really clean, great quality nuts. I like bbq, but I'm not always a fan of other bbq flavored foods. (I hate bbq potato chips.) These didn't have an overwhelming bbq flavor. It was more of a subtle smoky taste. I would order these on their own, and I'd be happy to get them again. 

Jelly Doughnut- Who doesn't like a jelly doughnut? This was an interesting blend. It had little fruity pieces, fruity ropes, nuts, and cookie wafers. The overall flavor was good when you ate it together, but I wish there were a few more of the cookie pieces.

So far I've really loved receiving our Graze boxes. We've enjoyed it as an at home mini-date night opportunity. I would highly recommend this for yourself or even a friend. A warning though- the snacks aren't enough to really fill you up if you just graze on them bit by bit. They just offer a fun tasting opportunity. If you want to sign up, you can click here and get your 1st and 5th boxes for free. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I pay for this subscription box, but the post does contain referral links. If you sign up, I will receive a free box. That works for me if it works for you!

January Ipsy Review

Ipsy is a monthly beauty subscription that sends 4-5 items curated around a central theme and the user's feedback. The cost is $10, and shipping is FREE. 

This was my first time getting an Ipsy delivery. I've been on the waiting list for over a month, so I was pretty excited when I got an email saying my glam bag had shipped. 

The bright pink bubble mailer is pretty eye-catching. I definitely saved this to use for the future. (Yep, I'm that person... at least in the case of shiny pink office supplies.

Stylit

I'm really excited to share this new online styling service I found a few months ago! Do you like fashion (even a little)? Do you like surprises? Do you like free things? Of course you do! Then I think you'll really like Stylit. 

Stylit is a free personal styling service that delivers 6 different outfit ideas to your email each Thursday. Signup is required, but it's completely free and takes just a minute. You can even sign in with your Facebook to make it easier. 

Once you enter your basic info, it will lead you through filling out a "style profile." It shows you a series of outfits and asks you what is MOST like your style. This was a really fun process and I had to stop and think about quite a few of them. I wish you could be a bit more specific, like picking individual pieces and assembling an outfit rather than just taking every single piece, but I understand why they had to do it this way.

I'm obviously pretty casual most of the time. There are 17 steps to the style profile. At first they are all pictures. Then you are asked your measurements (voluntary), favorite colors, trends you hate, etc. It was very thorough!

Yes, I am showing you my actual measurements and choices. Honesty, people...brutal honesty.

They even ask your budget for different categories.

Then, every Thursday you get an email with a link to your latest outfits. It always cheers me up to see them. And honestly, I really have looked back at some of them before I went shopping to get ideas. You can rate the outfits, pin them to Pinterest, or even click on them and be taken to the website where they're sold. (Stylit doesn't actually sell any of the items. They're sold on third-party websites like Amazon, Nordstrom, Old Navy, etc.)

Here are a few of my recent ones:

Things I love about Stylit:

• Free fashion advice
• Most of the outfits are actually really decent. They aren't all "runway" looks that no real person ever actually wears.
• There are a wide range in prices. Sometimes a shirt might be $40 and sometimes it might be $120. It works great for all budgets!
• The clothes are from a variety of retailers, some that I've never heard of.
• Pinterest integration
• I don't have to go search for the item like I might if I saw it on a random website. I just click on it and I'm taken right there.
• Easy to use interface (Really! It's idiot-proof!) that's clean and clutter-free
• The only emails they send are the weekly outfit notifications. You're not bombarded with spam.

Things I wish would be changed/improved:

• I wish you could rate individual items in an outfit collection. Sometimes I love half of the outfit and not the other half. I don't feel great about giving it 3 stars, when I really love a few things. this frustrates me.
• The outfits tend to be rather girly. It's great for many women, but I know that many tomboy/androgynous/sporty women feel rather left out by this. If there was an option that allowed for more inclusive styling, that would be excellent.
• Even though I have rated things low before, similar outfits show up still. This isn't a major thing, and maybe it will get better with time.

As you can see, the positive WAY outweighs the negative. What do you think. Will you try it out?

Disclaimer: The opinions in this review are completely my own. I was not paid or compensated in anyway for this review. Membership on the site is free. I'm simply sharing this because it's a service I love.

January Birchbox Review

Birchbox is a monthly subscription box that delivers 5 samples of makeup, skincare, or beauty products to your door. Each month, the products surround a central theme. This month's theme was "Let's Do This!" Most products are sample sizes, but a few full size products may be included. The value usually well exceeds the $10 you pay. This is my 2nd time receiving a Birchbox delivery, and I'm even happier this month than I was last month. 

First look:

 

I love the vibrant, festive packaging this month! It definitely helps brighten up these dreary winter days. Plus, it's totally different from last month's (equally) pretty packaging.

Treatsie Deal Alert

Treatsie Deal Alert!

Do you have a major sweet tooth? Yeah, me too. Ice cream has been my downfall on more than one occasion. I saw this deal on Facebook today, and I thought I'd pass it along to you.

Treatsie is offering a "Double the Sweets" deal. If you use the code FBDOUBLESWEETS at the checkout, you can receive twice the sweets in your first box. That sounds like a pretty sweet deal! (Ha! See what I did there?) Unfortunately, this deal has to come right around the time we're all making resolutions and trying to be healthy. It may be a really great treat for yourself, or a nice gift for a friend. 

Treatsie sends sweets from 3 small vendors across the country. They promise that the box has a retail value of $20-25. I won't be ordering it this month, but I will keep this in mind for the future. Let me know if you decide to try it out!

Cost: The subscription is cheaper if you pay for it multiple months at a time. $15/month, $42/quarterly, or $144/annually. Shipping is $4.95. You can cancel any time. I do wish there was a one-time option, though.

Disclaimer: This post contains referral links. If you click through the link, I'll receive credit towards a purchase on their site. 

Graze Box Giveaway Winner

Happy New Year!

Credit: Imagenes

Thank you to everyone for entering the Graze Box giveaway. I hope you'll stick around and see what else is in store for the Boxanista in 2015. I've taken the past few days off from posting to enjoy the holidays, but stay tuned, because I have a few great products I'll be reviewing in the coming weeks. 

The winner of the Graze Box giveaway is...