Stitch Fix. Need Help!

Help!! I received a new Stitch Fix order today. You give me your much solicited opinion and I'll let you know what I end up keeping. 

1. Skinny Ankle Jeans.

2. Navy and white Polka Dot dress. 

3. Burgundy Infinity Scarf

4. Grey Cardigan

5. Mustard Blouse

Okay....GO!! Tell me what you like, and don't like. What should I keep and what should I send back?

Closet mess and more

My confession: The hallway in front of my closet is always a mess!! It's a funny thing. I bring my clean laundry up and put it on the floor in front of my closet. Then, I neglect putting it away...and then I did through it...dump stuff on top of it. Finally, when I can't take it anymore, I clean it up.

It's an especially strange habit since I am very organized about my clothes once they are put away. I organize my shirt by color and by style. The first section is cardigan sweaters and then shirts.

Scarves at the end and then pants and then skirts by color....ooops it looks like one coral skirt is amiss. 

Dresses have their own area next to a long hanging organizer for bras, camisoles, and then folded sweaters.

At the end of my hallway I have a skinny cabinet that I put workout clothes, undies, and socks.

Once it's all put away I feel so good. It lasts for about half a week....or until I have clean laundry to put away. 

Once my closet is clean and organized I like to stand back and take a look. These pics were from summer so the colors reflect my summer wardrobe. You can see from the photos that I like coral, turquoise, green and navy a lot. I do have a smidge of purple and lots of basic black and white. And I love stripes.

I like clothes but I really don't like too many choices. I regularly purge because it's too overwhelming to decide if my closet it too full. 

This year I've added a lot of cute new items through Stitch Fix. I love it!!! I didn't post my last shipment because I was swamped getting ready for vacation. 

They sent me a coral cardigan (it was too long for my petite height), a coral leather purse (buttery soft), a pair of jeans (too tight and just like some I have), a zig zag pattern top (not my fav), and this cute navy tank.

I only kept the tank. Money was tight...although the purse was tempting. I've worn the tank several times. It's loose fitting and flows nicely. I wore it with my turquoise pants and fun orange and turquoise jewelry. It's also cute with jeans and a jacket or sweater. 

If you haven't tried Stitch Fix...you should!!

So what does my closet say about me? What does your closet say about you?

Deck Remodel

When we bought our house three years ago we knew it needed a deck. But, we had to wait until we could afford one. That time finally came this summer. Yippee!!

The slivers the kids and I were getting from the rotten wood were terrible. We were very excited to get the project done....and I could put my needle and tweezers away.

We hired our good friend Vern to do the job. The demo began on the weekend when Cam could help. The kids helped too! It was fun to watch the old rotten deck coming off. We rented a huge dumpster to put all the old deck into.

Once the deck was off I could start to imagine how the new larger deck was going to look. We made the new deck 4 ft. wider than the old deck. 

PS...see that doorway under the deck? When we bought the house I had Vern take the door off and board it up.

Once the deck was gone we discovered these nice concrete stairs....that didn't match up with the door. Not very helpful!

Did you know that the dirt under your deck is really dry, really powdery and that kids love to play in it? I found that out and then spent weeks hollering for the kids (Sis) to stop digging in it...and tracking it all over the kitchen. 

How do you like my kitchen stool/back door stairway? If I could do this project over again I would have the deck built in the Spring when the kids are in school ALL DAY LONG. Can you imagine the inandout, inandout, inandout!!!

And...it got even more fun for the kids when they could jump from beam to beam, duck under, run along, fall, bump their head....

Just imagine if you were the builder. Vern is a saint!!

Here are some Before and After shots of the deck. One thing I really needed changed was this corner. My BBQ lives in a little cubby at the end of the deck. When I use it, I pull it out...but the deck wasn't wide enough. And the stairs were angled so there was not enough room. Kids would run up and down the stairs and the hot BBQ would be right next to them. 

Adding 4 ft. made such a difference! Plus the new stairs go off the end instead of at an angle. Now I have lots of room for the BBQ. 

The end of the deck had built in seating. We opted to not have any built ins. I am planning new deck furniture for next summer. So fun!

You can get a sense how much bigger the deck is by looking at the picnic table and how much space was created.

Old stairs. I didn't care for the angle nor did I love how wide they were. 

New stairs!

Overall view from back yard.

The scale of the new deck is so much better. Vern made the beautiful lattice to cover the underneath area of the deck. I love it!

We used a composite decking. No more rot, no more slivers! Plus, it feels so nice on your feet. The railing is cedar with a wire inlay. I am thrilled!

First Day of School

Okay the first day of school was over a month ago. But, I'm finally done posting about vacation and now on to school!

Mr. P is in 5th grade, Moses in 3rd, Sis in 1st and George in K!! It's going to be a very fun year with all four kids at THE SAME SCHOOL!!

Tuba is back at the high school and has transitioned into job skill training. He is loving his first job. He delivers inter office mail at the school district headquarters. 

George is off to a wonderful start. He is loving K. He goes half day so then spends his afternoons with me. It's nice to have some one-on-one time together. It's also a little boring for him some days. He should probably be doing the all day class but it is expensive ($3,000) so we opted for half day for free. Free school Becky...that's the mantra Cam kept repeating. After seven years of paying for preschool it is exciting.

Sis is having a fantastic year!! She has an amazing teacher that is a perfect fit for her. Last year was a hard year for Sis. The K teacher last year was not a good fit and Sis struggled all year. This year is like a complete turn around. She is loving school and is blossoming. She won an academic achievement award last week!!

Moses is enjoying school too. It's hard to get details out of him. So far I know that he goes to lunch and recess. Seriously! So glad conferences are right around the corner.

Mr. P is thrilled to be in 5th grade....the big kids. He loves his teacher. He has signed up to be a mediator....helping younger kids solve disagreements on the playground. 

I'm excited for my time volunteering in the kids' classrooms. I truly love my time at the school.

Now that I'm practically caught up with blogging I'm at a loss for what to post next. I do want to share my new deck, my new art station, and fall inspiration. What do you want to read about. I do miss my lists of favorite things and Kairos moments. Is there an old post that you enjoyed? You pick it....I'll blog it. Leave it in the comments. 

Excursions

I'm almost done blogging our vacation. Are you sick of it yet? I'm not sick of it....I want to go back to it.

There are yearly outings we always do while at the coast. Cam takes the kids to the Air Museum in Tillamook. I browse the local antique/junk stores.

Our favorite is when we go to Pacific City for dinner at the Pelican Brewery. We have rituals that are important to us. Things like where we sit. There is a huge round corner table that we love. We will wait long amounts of time for it. This year we got smart and went for a late lunch early dinner. The wait was much better!!

Don't ya love Sis's expression in this photo? Ha! She was having a "moment". It's what I call the One Rule. There's always one person not happy, not going along with the plan. Oh well, at least there's not more than one at a time....usually.

We all have fish and chips and beers and root beers. Delicious!!

After dinner Cam and the kids love to go climb a huge sand dune. Last year it was wicked windy so Tuba and I sat in the van. This year we all ventured over.

The view was amazing!

The dune is SUPER steep!! I don't know if you can tell from the photos.....steep! Tuba tried to climb but it was just too tough. Finally he and I sat down about half way up. Fine with me....my belly was full.

Then one by one the kids and Cam come running down. 

Get out of this one's way!

Ta-da! And then....they do it again!!

The Sand

Like I said...there is 7 miles of sandy beach. I love to sit with my feet in the sun warmed sand....drinking tea and watching the kids play.

The kids love to find sticks and play war. 

And dig....

And dig....

And dance...

I love to go for long walks on the sandy beach.

Some of us like to nap after a long walk.