Today is my 33rd birthday. 33! 33 years of growing, loving, laughing, crying, and learning. I have been so incredibly blessed in my lifetime, and this year in particular, I feel the need to give back. 

Nine months ago, I took a leap of faith and joined KEEP Collective. I knew this business would be a game changer for our family. It's allowed me to stay at home with our sweet son while still having a creative outlet (and fabulous income!) for myself. I've been blessed and honored to help women (and men!) tell their stories and represent what they hold closest to them. KEEP has been so good to me, and deep down, I had a huge itch to give back. 

So when another designer posted her idea to create and donate Chemo Care Pouches this month, I knew it was something I wanted to be involved in too! 

The premise is simple: Customers purchase/sponsor a pouch. They can choose to donate a plain pouch, or, they can add Keys (aka charms!) to their pouch to personalize it a little more (awareness ribbons, a message of believe or faith, a cute little ice cream cone or butterfly charm for kids, etc.). The pouch itself is $29, and the charms range from $7-19, depending on what each person chooses. Once the pouch is purchased, it gets shipped to me. 

Then, I take all of my commissions on the pouches (and more, if necessary) and fill the pouches with things that patients going through chemotherapy might like - coloring books, crossword puzzles, hard candies, chapsticks, scarves, hand sanitizer, hot tea packets, iTunes gift cards... you name it!)! The pouch will have a tag with the name of the sponsor on it, or, it can be an in memory of or in honor of card too! 

At the end of April, I'll be donating these pouches to Memorial Hospital in South Bend. I spoke with the patient care coordinator earlier this month, and she was over the moon excited to know they would be receiving these gifts! I can't wait to deliver them! 

I know these pouches might seem small in the grand scheme of cancer. But if for one minute, we can make someone smile or feel better or know that a total stranger took time out of her day to think about them, that makes it oh so worth it to me! 

So what do you do if you'd like to help? Contact me at AngelaPuttDesigner@gmail.com, or, visit my KEEP website (there's an option to email me through there too!)! We'll choose the items you love most and put them together in a cart. It's really that easy! 

To date, 30 pouches have been sponsored, but my goal is to sponsor 50 or more, and I would LOVE to have your help to get there! 

Transitioning my work to home wardrobe

After my most recent, super successful Stitch Fix (P.S. I kept ALL of it!), I started thinking about paring down my closet. One of the blessings (and curses) of not dramatically changing sizes (with the exception of pregnancy!) since high school means I have a LOT of clothes that still fit. That doesn't mean they're in style anymore, or that I like them anymore, but, gahhhh, they fit, so I have to keep them right? 

Wrong. 

Additionally, I have a LOT of work wear that, well, I just don't wear any more. Tons of dress pants, button down shirts, and other teacher-y things. These days, my outfits consist mostly of jeans, yoga pants, leggings, and comfy, functional shirts. And I'm okay with that... but sometimes it makes it hard to justify getting new clothes when we, for the most part, spend time at home and with other moms and kiddos! 

Now when I shop, it has to have a specific purpose in my life. Is it functional for every day use? If not, is it functional to wear to KEEP Collective Socials and events? If not, I just can't justify it right now! 

So, in scouring the web recently for all sorts of necessities (read: Cancun clothes, new, fun pants, shirts that don't need to be nursing friendly!), I've come across a few favorites that I want to share with you today! 

1. Dress Pant Yoga Pants by Betabrand 
You had me at Yoga Pants, but the fact that they're Dress Pants too takes the cake! Betabrand  is this cool, new site I found that's out of San Francisco. Their clothes are co-designed and crowdfunded by their fans, and everything is put in to production within a matter of weeks! The Dress Pant Yoga Pants and Dress Pant Sweat Pants by far have me the most intrigued, and I'm hoping to snag a pair soon! I figure this can justify me getting rid of all of my work dress pants, because, well, yoga pants. Aren't they gorgeous?! 

Seriously, they're necessary for days when I have meetings or need to look professional! 

2. I love Jesus but...
My friend Tiffany actually found these tanks and tees as we were preparing our Cancun packing lists, and these are too good not to share! Dentz Denim has these awesome I love Jesus but... shirts! Here's the one Tiffany picked for our trip - perfect for four days at an all inclusive resort! 

3. LuLaRoe everything
In the event that you've somehow been able to miss it, LuLaRoe is the in thing right now in direct sales businesses! Think boutique shopping but right in your home! They were made famous by their buttery soft, funky patterend leggings, but all LuLaRoe pieces are AMAZING. I'm a sucker right now for the Classic T, and I really want to try out their dresses too! You can't shop online, unfortunately, but you can use their site to find a consultant near you! You can also get added to a whole slew of Facebook groups for LLR designers - and if you're local and wanting to host a Social, I know a few great consultants I can hook you up with! How adorable is this arrow pattern?! 

So now I need to know... have you ever gone through a wardrobe transformation? What are you wearing these days? I always love a good tip! :D 

Stitch Fix #18: A Cancun dress, wardrobe staples, and should I keep it all?!

Last week brought so many AWESOME packages to our house! I'm working on a fundraising project with KEEP Collective right now to donate Chemo Care Pouches to our local hospital (blog on that coming soon!), and so loads of pouches and Keys started pouring in for that! AND, my most recent Stitch Fix box arrived - Oh happy day!!!

If you don't know about Stitch Fix (<--Referral link!), let me give you a little rundown. Stitch Fix is a clothing subscription service, and you decide how frequently, or infrequently, you'd like a shipment. You'll fill out a detailed style profile about your sizes, style preferences, and budget (and it's super fun to fill out the profile to see what your style preferences are!). 

Then, you decide when you'd like to receive a shipment! Stitch Fix will send you five clothing items or accessories to try on in your own home! This is perfect for seeing if the pieces you receive will work with the pieces you already have. Your Fix also arrives with detailed styling cards to give you ideas of how to wear each item. Each Fix costs $20, but the fee is credited toward anything you decide to keep. When you've decided what you don't want, you simply check out online and mail the items back in the prepaid mailing envelope. If you keep everything, you score a 25% discount! I love that I can work with my current wardrobe to see what will work best with what I already have. 

And, if someone signs up through your referral link, you get a $25 credit to use toward your next purchase! 

You can see my previous Fixes here:

Stitch Fix #1

Stitch Fix #2

Stitch Fix #3

Stitch Fix #4

Stitch Fix #5

Stitch Fix #6

Stitch Fix #7

Stitch Fix #8

Stitch Fix #9

Stitch Fix #10

Stitch Fix #11

Stitch Fix #12

Stitch Fix #13

Stitch Fix #14

Stitch Fix #15

Stitch Fix #16 

Stitch Fix #17

Stitch Fix #18 was styled again by Serena (girl knows my style to a fault at this point!)! For this Fix, I specifically asked for a dress I could wear on our upcoming trip to Cancun! And I also mentioned that jewel tones were always popular with me. And I'm really debating keeping the entire Fix for the discount, but I need you to weigh in! What do you think? 

1. Loveappella Lolla 3/4 Sleeve Woven Back Knit Top, $58

Okay, so, the front of this shirt is really nothing to write home about. It has a shallow v-neck and is just pretty blah. But the back. Ohhhhhh, the back. I LOVE the floral pattern! And I really love that I could wear this with jeans or leggings, dressed up or down! But I can't decide if the lackluster front makes it worth keeping! 

2. 41 Hawthorn Colibri Solid Tab Sleeve Blouse, $48

3. Rune Porter Legging, $38

4. Octavia Jolene Flap Crossbody Bag, $48

So, I'm a sucker for jewel tones, and these pieces don't disappoint in the slightest! I love color of the green top (so much so that I actually have a similar chevron top like this), and I love that it's tunic length so it can be worn with the leggings. Basic black leggings are always a safe bet, and I even love the pink purse with all of it! But, will I get enough use out of all the pieces to justify keeping them? 

5. Gilli Shay Maxi Dress, $78

You'll have to excuse the terrible lighting in this photo (it was snowing in Indiana today. On April 9!), but the top is a really pretty navy. The pattern on the bottom is fun and funky, and like Serena pointed out to me in her note, I can pair it with cute wedges while in Mexico or throw on a denim jacket when I'm home and running around here. I have it pulled a little funky here (go figure, my photographer didn't tell me!), but it's seriously cute and super flattering! 

With the buy five discount and a little bit of product credit I have, it would make each piece average out to roughly $30... but I can't decide if I should do it or not! What are your favorites? What would you ship back? Or, do I keep all five? Weigh in, and help me decide!