When I first signed up for Stitch Fix, I wasn’t planning on ordering a monthly box as it isn’t really in my penny-pinching budget. But a little referral credit started adding up, and it was burning a hole in my pocket. So, I went ahead and ordered my second Stitch Fix box at the beginning of this month! Not familiar with Stitch Fix? You can read more about it here, but basically it’s a personalized styling service that picks out 5 clothing or acessory items just for you. You can keep what you like and send back what you don’t!

Stitch Fix really knocked it out of the park with my second box! Keep reading to see what I got.

1. 41 Hawthorn Tab Sleeve V-Neck Blouse

This top is one of my favorite colors and can easily be dressed up or down for work or play. It’s super light weight so I’ll be able to wear it on into the summer. As you can tell from the picture, it’s a little sheer, but nothing a cami can’t fix. Kept it.

2. 19 Cooper Lyle Polka Dot Stripe Mix Sheer Tank

I love the mixture of stripes and polka dots on this tank! I wouldn’t have picked this shirt on my own because I typically steer far away from orange, but I liked it on me. You can’t tell from the picture but this tank 100% see through. This was kind of frustrating because after my last box I asked not receive any sheer shirts as I’m not a huge fan of having to wear a cami, yet all of the shirts they sent me in this box were sheer. Oh well. It wasn’t the most awesome quality ever — you could probably find something like it at TJ Maxx — and if I didn’t have credit I’m not sure I would have paid for it. But I thought it was cute and different so… Kept it.

3. Daniel Rainn Dharma Bird Print Sheer Blouse

When I pulled this top out of the box I wasn’t exactly thrilled. I thought it looked a little grandmotherly and… birds? I was surprised to find that I really loved it when I tried it on. Kept it.

4. THML Kahlo Racer Back Striped Maxi Dress

I pretty much squealed when I pulled this striped maxi out of the box. I had seen it in other Stitch Fix reviews online and added it to my Stitch Fix Pinterest board. I love that my stylist paid attention to what I liked and sent this to me after I pinned it! Sadly once I out it on, I just wasn’t feeling it. The yellow/green at the top was a bad color on me at the horizontal stripes weren’t doing my hips any favors. It was also a little short. I really, really wanted to love this dress, but it just didn’t look good on me. Didn’t keep it.

5. Kut From Kloth Kailyn Straight Leg 5-Pocket Denim

I had been on the hunt for white jeans and actually bought a pair of white cropped skinnies on sale at Anthropologie just 2 days before receiving my Fix. I liked these white jeans but was planning to return them and keep the ones I already had. Well, long story, but I wore the jeans I bought from Anthro to Kara’s bachelorette party in Raleigh and managed to spill chocolate, pizza sauce, spinach smoothie, and gasoline on said pants before 4:00pm. I had nothing to change into, but I had these Stitch Fix pants in my trunk to mail back, so yeah… Kept it.

All in all, this was an awesome fix! I would have kept everything if the dress had looked a little better on me. (You get 25% off if you keep all 5 items!) My only complaint is that there were 2 different stylists listed on my packaging. I’d love to ask for whoever styled this box to pick my next box for me, but I’m not sure who I should ask for!

Stitch Fix is still technically in Beta and is by invitation only. If you’d like to give it a try, here’s an invitation for ya! I know some of you guys have ordered a Stitch Fix box for yourself — I’d love to hear about what you got! Tell me in the comments!

BTW: I am in no way affiliated with Stitch Fix. I was not paid to write this review and I purchased the items with my own money. I just think the service is awesome and everyone should know about it! I do get a little bit of credit towards by next Fix if you sign up using my link — and so will you if you refer someone — just FYI! :)

Ben and Kara met a few months after we graduated from college when they both started the Raleigh Fellows Program. They knew they liked each other after knowing one another for only a few days, but there was one big problem — people in the program aren’t allowed to date each other until the program is over. That meant that they had 9 long months of waiting to spend time together and act on their feelings for each other. But on the day the program ended, Ben made up for lost time by picking Kara up before the sun rose and taking her on a 17 hour date! And now, they’re married!

Kara is one of my very best friends from college, so of course I was honored to stand beside her on her special day. One of the best parts of the weekend was spending time with all of Kara’s awesome bridesmaids. We all had so much fun together, from the bachelorette party to the bridal luncheon. It was a blast! It was so sweet to be reunited with lots of friends from college that I don’t get to see very often.

Kara was the greatest bride. She was calm all day long and never seemed nervous, just excited to marry her best friend! She even did some of the bridesmaid’s hair on the day of the wedding (including mine) — talk about a laid back, selfless bride. I’m pretty sure I’d be running around nervous like a chicken with my head cut off.

Jonathan was so sweet to take half a day off of work on Friday so he could join me for all of the wedding festivities. He is the best wedding date! I can’t say enough how much I appreciate the fact that he always comes to weddings with me even when he doesn’t know many people, which lots of times means he ends up making friends with strangers before I show up at the reception. He’s the greatest!

I am so happy that Kara and Ben found each other! Kara and I have been through so much together in the 5 years that we have been friends. We have walked together through celebrations and heartbreaks and she has helped me navigate through some of my very hardest times. I am so thankful to have been with her through it all and I know we will always, always, always be friends. What a blessing to celebrate with her as she promised to love Ben for the rest of her life!

p.s. See those flowers in the bottom right corner? Yep, I caught the bouquet. :)

Well, folks, I’ve gone and done it. I signed up for my 3rd half marathon.

Almost exactly 5 months ago, I was crossing the finish line of The Mistletoe Half Marathon, swearing up and down I’d never run 13.1 miles again. To be honest, I did a pretty crappy job of training for that race. I was coming off of a full year of minimal running, so I wasn’t in great running shape in the first place. While I completed the majority of my long runs, I skipped a lot of the shorter ones, and I hated most of them. I wasn’t doing any strength or cross training, so all I really went into the race with was a few, inconsistent, half-you-know-what-ed training runs. I blame it mostly on the fact that my life was pretty much up in the air — living at home, traveling every weekend, not having any real schedule, etc…

Life is much more routine these days and I feel a lot more like my old self. Old as in, like, back in college when I was taking really good care of myself. Since I have much more structure in my days now, I’ve been able to make exercise a routine and re-establish healthy habits. So when my sister-in-law mentioned that she was running this race, I impulsively signed myself up the very next day!

Reasons why the Bull City Race Fest is going to be awesome:

• The race isn’t until October so I have 6 months to train and train well. I am going to PR this race, mark my words. Okay actually don’t mark my words, I don’t like the pressure, but I really am feeling determined to PR. 
• October = fall race = the best.
• My whole family is running! My sister-in-law and sister are both running the half, my brother is running the 5-miler, and even my mom signed up for the 5-miler. So proud! Jonathan hasn’t signed up yet, but he will. :)
• There is a food truck rodeo at the end! Obviously this was the selling point for me. Durham has the most amazing food trucks and if running 13 miles means I can eat all of the food truck food I want, I’m in. Gotta refuel, ya know?
• There are more awesome things but now I can’t get the food truck rodeo out of my mind.

If you live in North Carolina, you should sign up for this race too! I’m going to try to do a better job of documenting my training here, but I have said that about a million times about other things, so no promises.

ENERGYbits Giveaway Winner:

The winner of the ENERGYbits giveaway is Samantha, chosen by a random number generator. Congrats, Samantha! Be on the lookout for an email from me. I hope you enjoy the bits!