My MM Lafleur experience

 My only other experience with a subscription based clothing box has been with stitchfix, and that is hit and miss. Sometimes they send just the right thing and other times it a big miss. I find I buy a lot of casual clothes from Stitchfix and no clothes for work.

That's where MM Lafleur comes in. Its a subscription box of nothing but professional office attire.  Its a little different than stitchfix in that you are assigned a personal stylist who contacts you through email, text and phone calls. Its more personal service. It is only professional office clothes and it is much more expensive. I thought it might be a good way to get one nice dress for work every so often. 

The process was easy and it arrived at the door very nicely packaged. 

And the clothes were in a heavy ziplock type bad with a nice zipper. It was impressive. 

A nice scarf was included.  I really liked it. It was not my color and, although I understand you have to pay a little more to look your best, I was not ready to pay that much for a scarf.  I was not even in the market for a scarf, even a nice one.

There was also a belt. A very nice belt. Also not my color. I am in general, not a fan of belts.

These two decisions were immediate and easy ones to make. They was no doubt both of these were going back.

The black jacket was made of very nice heavy material and I wished it would have fit me. It was a weird fit.  The arms were not long enough, it was tight in the shoulders, it was just not a good fit. Same with the only blouse that was included. There was too much fabric and it looked like I had been swallowed. I am not a fan of the color. It was a washed out pink tone. It was not for me. Both of these decisions were quick and easy ones. No second guessing. Its going back.

The other decisions turned out to be easy as well. There was a total of 4 dresses, but I only got a shot of two of them. They were all similar in style and similar in fit and they did not fit. I really liked a navy one and would have strongly considered purchasing it, but it was a weird fit. The price was a little scary, but not outrageous. It was what I expected. It was higher than a nice dress at Dillards or Talbots (when it is not on sale).

In the end, I packed everything up in its nice wrappings and returned it all. Overall, I was disappointed.  The quality is really good and it certainly is convenient to have it shipped right to you. I really like the presentation, and the clothes were very nice, but it just fit me funny.  It was not for my coloring.

I have a friend who said the same thing.

I understand it takes a few tries for the stylist to get to know you and what colors would be best for you (navy- not light pink) and I might give it another shot.... and I might not.  The fit was really off.

Walmart Beauty Box

The Walmart box was completely underwhelming this month. Nothing exciting. Nothing I have been hoping to try.  The box is on probation. Its days at my house are numbered. Its on the to be cancelled list.

working upstairs- a little office progress

It feels like the office is making progress. I still have my one box at a time system going strong. I also filled one large trashcan (the kind that sits at the end of the driveway for the garbage truck) with one shoe,  one shelf bracket,  class notes from law school and  other stuff saved/damaged from the flood but somehow still  sitting upstairs.

Its not the neatest space yet, but I have the desk up and running. I'm using it at least. Which is a nice thing to have as I worked from home a few days last week.

I even got the one desk drawer organized, which  required me to run the old broken plastic organizer through the dishwasher twice. It is missing a corner but I thought it would be easier to just make do than to run out and find another one. Who knows when the desk would be organized.  When they say sheetrock dust gets everywhere, they are not lying. I sat on the phone one evening and gathered all the bookmarks, pushpins, nails and tabs and got them situated neatly in the clean desk tray.

I found a very tarnished little brass swan (duck?) in the mayhem upstairs that belonged to my aunt. He cleaned up and is now holding paperclips on a tray that once sat in the kitchen.  A bowl from a different aunt was called into use holding post it notes. 

I also gave some decorations my attention.

The only expensive curtains I own were once in the dining room and were somehow washed and saved and just sitting in a box. With the new furniture and new colors, they probably will never go back in the dining room, so I thought I'd try them upstairs.  I had white curtains up temporarily, but I never took a liking to them and it was just time to try something else, as long as the something else was just sitting in a box and did not cost anything to change them out. Free decorating. That's my new thing now. I am pretty sure they are staying.

More no cost decorating.  A large picture went up over the couch and a white/wooden mirror is going to replace the silver one that was hanging on the side of the desk.  Both these were  flood survivors.

I hope to/plan to get rid of that big couch. I was storing it and some more furniture for someone before  the flood, and thank goodness I was because after the flood, that is the only furniture I had to use. I slept on that couch more than one night, and it is pretty comfy,  but it is so big and takes up so much space. I am counting down until it is time for it to go. 

more getting back in the swing of things.... cooking

Cooking is getting easier for me but its still not as natural and easy as it was before the flood- also known as the long long cooking break. 

Crockpot meals are always the easiest to cook, after you gather all the things needed.  This weekend I made white beans and tasso. Helped a little with a can of white beans. This is a recent find. Adding a can of beans makes it so creamy.

Also made corn bread as well and rice and it was delicious. 

one box a day

I am overwhelmed with a lot of things including the upstairs. Part of the problem is I don't know where to start and so I give up everytime I think of working up there. Another part of the problem is it is frustrating and I don't want to be frustrated.  Maybe the biggest part of the problem is I really don't have anywhere for all this random stuff I saved from the flood to live downstairs and everything is kind of dusty. It is just a mess. And who wants to get themselves in a mess?

For instance.... Lightbulbs. I don't have a designated spot. Before the flood they all lived in one shelf in the standing cabinet by the stacked washer and dryer. Now, that cabinet, like most everything else I owned and my organized systems, is gone. In place is a new washer and dryer that is not stackable but a side by sde. thus there is no room for a cabinet next to it. There is a  new cabinet above it, but it is currently holding all the laundry items, the iron, the paper plates and cups and plastic storage bags and it just cant hold everything. 

So that is the delimina in a nut shell. There is no place for the lightbulb to live. And all this mental energy, angst, frustration, and time for just a lightbulb. Its just easier to let the light bulb, and everything else, just sit upstairs then to try and figure all this out. Its frustrating.

That's just the lightbulb. I've found one used  shelf bracket, two parts of a 5 tier shelving unit (where is the rest of it? should I save it and try and find the rest of it? who knows...), one shoe that I love and keep thinking the other one will turn up, a flashlight, a purse that has white paint on it, and one VHS movie. 

The only thing that seems to be working is, for the last few weeks, I've been making myself fill one box at a time and bring it downstairs. I sit in on the dining room table then deal with everything in box over the course of a few day. 

The plates slowly make it to the dishwasher, some get thrown away because the flood water stained them. When I am piddling around I look around for a spot where all the lightbulbs can live. It has also helped a lot that the husband put up some shelves in the  garage and that's where the lightbulbs are going to live.

Slowly, slowly. One box at a time.