Garden Party 2017- Spring Seed Planting

"I must have flowers always and always."

-Claude Monet

Starting a garden from seeds can seem a little daunting.  Honestly, most of the time it's probably not any more expensive to go ahead & buy the $2.50 Home Depot plant, rather than hassle with peat pots and seedlings hoping they survive to be transferred to your garden.  Most people do not have a garden large enough to use up all of the seeds in one packet.  So that's why I decided to have a seed planting party- to learn from friends who had done this before and share the rest in my seed packets that would have been wasted!

Last year, we had our first seed planting party {here} looking a little different than this year's brunch without kids and forecast for snow flurries :)  While I'm hoping for successful seeding again this year, truly it's more about spending time with friends and meeting new ladies in the community.  My friend, Deanna, and I invited a few friends and then they invited others... I highly recommend mixing up party guests like this.  I love watching two friends connect with each other that might not have ever met.  Or looking around my home seeing lots of new faces and everyone laughing and eating and planting!  They might have thought I was crazy serving up brunch on a mix-match of my grandma's china and then passing buckets of soil inside the house, but cleanup still was faster than lunch with my 3 kids!

I highly recommend finding a sweet friend to host parties with you! Makes it more fun and enjoyable, but it's also a major plus when she can bake like a professional :) How cute are these cookies?!

Want to host your own Seed Planting Party? Text all of your friends, have everyone bring a snack and get to planting.  Here is a good list to get you started...

-Seed Starter Soil & Spoons/Scoops
-Peat Pots or have each person bring a dozen empty egg shells in a carton
-Popsicle Sticks & markers so you can remember what you planted!
-Spray bottles (so you can mist the soil as you plant)
-Seeds! (We had each person bring 2 packets and we assigned categories like herb, veggies, etc.)

Also Kari Jobe's new album The Garden is the perfect background music!

Now we will wait and see how many of our seeds actually grow well enough to plant in the garden, but at least we had a fun ladies' brunch!

Let me know if you have a garden party with your friends & send me some photos at everydaypitpat@gmail.com. I would love to see your party and garden ideas!

A few girl scarves & outfits

bracelet from (Petite Hero)

Butterscotch Moccs from (Max Moccs)

Necklace from (Pitter Patter) Slate Gray Moccs from (Wild Explorers)

Necklace from (Pitter Patter)

My 3 in South Carolina

  Kiawah Island, SC 

July 2016

Seed Planting Party

 This past week I had some friends over for a little Seed Planting Party!  I usually buy all of my plants at Lowe's or a local nursery and put them straight in the ground, but I've always wanted to start from seed.  Several friends had shared an interest in gardening & I figured it would be more fun to try it out together and not waste all of those extra seeds that come in a package. 

We all brought a different category of seeds (veggies, fruit, herbs, salads, flowers...) and I had a mixture of peat pots, starter kits, egg cartons/eggs, & dixie cups to fill with soil mix.  My starters were not as cute as Joanna Gaine's egg starters {see here} but those eggs are supposed to be good for your plants if you put them straight in the ground!  And if you're feel real crafty, try out her adorable DIY plant stakes {blog post here}.  We just used permanent markers on popsicle sticks or directly onto the cup/eggshell. 

It was pure chaos and SO much fun!  The temperature got up to 80 degrees- we most definitely could have turned on the sprinklers!  There was dirt everywhere, the kids had a contest digging for the best worm and I'm pretty sure I'll have random plants growing throughout our lawn from stray seed packets I found in the yard :)

 John Ryman added jelly beans to his watermelon seeds :) And how cute are those dirt cups a friend made for the kiddos!!

 Now here's to hoping our little seeds start to grow and we can plant them in the ground later this spring!  If not, at least we had a fun day with friends in the sunshine and could share a few gardening tips with each other along as well!

Stitch Fix #6: Summer Box Details, My Favorites & My Review

My 6th Stitch Fix box arrived last week!  Thanks to some extra credit on my account I was able to ship my box a little faster than I expected :)  This may just be my favorite box so far!  My stylist was very detailed in her note... she explained her choices and even mentioned items from fix #2 that would pair well with items in this fix.  Here are the 5 pieces in my fix:

 I love the fit and color of this coral summer dress- 

the fabric was super soft, but a little thin and clingy for my preference and price range.

 This top had such pretty details and my stylist reminded me that it would match my 

coral bermuda shorts from fix #2!

 In Fix #5, I received a pretty navy and mint shirt that I loved but the sleeves were a little hot for summer.  Because I left a detailed "checkout" review after my fix telling my stylist how I felt about each piece, she sent this tank to me :) It is in the same soft fabric with gorgeous stitching, but a lot cooler in these hot months! and I love the back...

 These summer jeans were a great wash & one of my favorite brands, 

but I am good on jeans for now and they were a tiny bit short unless I rolled them up.

 I commented that I loved the lightweight fabric of one shirt in my last fix, so my stylist sent this top in the same summer fabric.  It's a little brighter than I might normally pick, but I love that she recommended something I wouldn't grab for myself.  

A good way to add a little variety to my closet and try out some fun colors!

Now to decide which pieces to keep :) Thanks to some credit in my account, I could have kept the entire box for $124! Thanks Stitch Fix!

You can read my other fix reviews and see some examples of what can arrive on your doorstep {here}

Stitch Fix- My Personal Review

Last year, I ordered two shipments from Stitch Fix near my birthday.  I was amazed by the ease of the process.  I kept jeans, a top and shorts last year- although I loved almost every piece!  I still think about a coral leather bag that was in one of the fixes, but keeping every piece was totally out of the budget :) The jeans in my first box fit perfectly!  I thought it was a total fluke- because it usually takes store after store and tons of returns before I find jeans that work (especially in the post-baby awkwardness) but after 3 successful fixes and hearing from tons of other women...  the incredible pants fit & selection seems to be the favorite part of everyone's experience.

This time around I was looking specifically for a new spring dress and a pair of jeans.  I needed another pair since I wear my first Stitch Fix pair several times a week!  Each order is $20 up front, but that money goes towards any item you purchase.  I suppose you would be out $20 if you didn't pick any items, but I highly doubt that will be the case if you fill out your style profile accurately.

The Key to Stitch Fix is to be extremely honest in your style profile about size, fit and style AND be very detailed in your message to your stylist! 
(Areas you want to conceal or accentuate... your typical frustrations you have when shopping or fitting clothes that you want to avoid... an event you have coming up where you need an outfit...)

In my box this month, I received two dresses (left blue maxi and right knee length) a simple thin sweater top, Kensie jeans, and one necklace.  Each piece fit perfectly!  The jeans were long enough, tops were the perfect neckline for me & the necklace was a great accessory for it all!  Obviously my budget did not allow for me to keep all the items, but if it had- you always receive 25% off the entire 5 items! So if you're on the edge about one last item it is probably cheaper to go ahead and buy all 5.  I kept the top right dress and the jeans (which was the most expensive item $88 but the one I needed the most).  I didn't really need a necklace, the deep red sweater fit great but for $34 didn't seem like anything too special and the maxi dress was super comfy but maybe in a different color. 

So after I clicked on the "checkout" option in my email- I left feedback on each item for my stylist.  (More unique piece for a top next time... not any cobalt blue... perfect fit for jeans... love the neckline on the blue lace dress...etc)  Then I just packaged up what I didn't want in the envelope they provide in the box & placed it in my mailbox. 

And all of this happened while I was snowed in at the house :)  Dreamy! 

Now the inner TJMaxxer & Clearance shopper in me wishes I could just peruse aisle after aisle and wait patiently for my favorites to go on sale... and Yes, that worked 3.5 years ago!  But honestly I've put my own style and sale hunting time at the bottom of my to-do list because its not nearly as enjoyable with two toddlers.  I've decided that I need to spend a bit more on fewer key pieces in my wardrobe.  There are sections where you can list your desired price range for different items, but it will never be as low as a Target dress or sale rack find.  So this is not for my sister who can walk into goodwill and find $5 designer shoes that fit perfectly and it's not always budget friendly or a monthly membership for every person.  Although $88 for a perfect jeans mailed to your snowy doorstep may sound worth the $ to some of you.  I have only received three boxes in the last year.  Two for my birthdays & one specifically to find jeans I had been saving for :) and I had a little credit in my account as well!

What I love about Stitch Fix...
- I can schedule a fix as often or little as needed (my account was on hold for over 6 months!)
- Stylist help! I can leave a message and request something even more specific than shown in my style profile.  
- Try-on at home! No kids in dressing rooms, no hassle of going store to store :)
- If your friends order a box with your referral code you get $25 off coupon!
- I can throw my returns in the bag & place in the mailbox- so easy!
- Each item comes with a little card showing two different styling ideas- so helpful!

 and how gorgeous is this skirt for spring: