By now I’m sure you’re all familiar with the home delivery style boxes like Stitch Fix. I’ve been doing Stitch Fix off and on for several years now, and I like it but not enough to do every month; I usually scheduled a Fix whenever I’m feeling like I’m in a rut (and have some disposable income), so maybe every 6 months-ish? I also did Le Tote for a while but their options were so limited because they had very few petite pieces so nothing ever really fit. Anyway, I feel like I haven’t had much luck with my past few Stitch Fix boxes so I decided to finally try Trunk Club. It’s the same concept: they curate some items for you, mail them to your house for you to try on, and you keep what you like and send the rest back. A few differences are that they send you 6-10 pieces (instead of 5 like Stitch Fix) and they let you view what they’re sending you ahead of time so you can swap things out if you don’t like the piece (much like Le Tote). It was like the best of both worlds so it sounded great to me!

I actually found out about Trunk Club through Nick because it started out as a men’s styling service and then added women’s when they were bought by Nordstrom. Nick had pretty good luck with them so I figured I might have some good luck, too. I really liked that I could speak directly to a stylist who asked me lots of questions about my lifestyle, how I currently dress, and what I was looking for in a box. I was really excited about the process and got my first box last night.

I was sitting at the kitchen table on a sunny late-summer afternoon, feeding my son lunch, when I was overcome with an amazing feeling of contentment. As Sebastian peeled the turkey and cheese off his sandwich and shoved them into his mouth, dropping some turkey onto the floor in the process, he looked up at me and grinned.  And I realized that this, right here, is exactly where I want to be. It’s really all I need in life. A loving partner, an adventurous kid, a goofy dog, a cozy home, and some fun experiences are what truly make me happy.

This isn’t turkey, but you get the idea!

Thinking about now, I’m not as surprised as I would have been a few years ago.

I’ve been trying really hard for some time to clean out my closet. At the beginning of the year, I went through a minimalist phase — which I would still like to continue to do but have admittedly fallen off the wagon — and got rid of so. much. stuff. It felt good and I couldn’t wait to get rid of more. But then life happens, as usual, and I haven’t kept up with it as well as I would have liked. Each day I take a long, hard look at my closet and try to grab at least one thing that I know I can part with. It’s hard because I like my clothes, otherwise I wouldn’t have bought them, but some of them just don’t excite me anymore.

This is as boho as I get. This skirt is about 4 years old and a tad too big.

Then I read this blog post by the amazing Alissa of The Adored Life about how she got rid of half the stuff in her closet. She describes how the woman her closet reflected wasn’t the woman she sees in herself because her clothes were from a different point in her life. This resonated with me SO. HARD.

When you ask someone who their heroes are, they’ll probably answer with super inspirational people who’ve done amazing things for humankind, like Martin Luther King, Jr. or Mother Teresa. And, of course, those are awesome heroes to have and I’d jump on that train any day. But if you ask Nikki Crews who her heroes are, she answers with the two most awesome blonde women in the world: Shakira and Leslie Knope!

Listen, I will drop everything to sing and dance along to a Shakira song AND most of the time, I’m quoting the greatest show to have ever existed: Parks & Recreation.

via GIPHY

I know I’m a little late with this post but better late than never. Before the baby came along, we spent the Fourth of July watching baseball, eating hot dogs, and watching fireworks.  It’s what we’ve done ever since we moved to Durham, and I love it. Baseball is my favorite, hot dogs are delicious, and fireworks are fun! It’s a win-win.

Durham Bulls