Stitch Fix #21: Striped Cardigan

I recently received this horizontal striped cardigan in my last Stitch Fix box,  Fix #21.  It is a very subdued stripe, which I like.  If I'm going to wear stripes, especially horizontal ones, I prefer them to be more subtle.  I know stripes are every fashion blogger's best friend, but I really don't like them.  They use to say "Horizontal stripes make you look larger", now they say they do not.  I disagree, I think they do.  How can something that stretches horizontally straight across your body not make your body look wider?  I think "they" are just lying to us to sell more clothes. ha ha!

In addition to the subtlety of the stripes, which I liked, I also liked how thin the sweater is.  It is a very thin knit, not a chunky knit.  Chunky knits, like horizontal stripes, add a lot of extra weight to the upper body.  I also like how comfortably a thinner knit fits under a winter coat than a chunky knit.

However, despite liking  two aspects of this sweater (the subtle stripes and the thin knit) I did ultimately send this cardigan back.  I just don't think horizontal stripes, of any kind, subtle or not, looks good on me and I also was not fond of the dull, drab color.  I have since asked my stylist to send me more color in future fixes:  like burgundies, burnt oranges, mustard yellows, olive greens, purples...anything but brown, black or grey!

If you're interested in this sweater and you would like to request it from your stylist, it is by Leo and Nicole and is called Jaelynn Cotton Blend Ribbed Open Cardigan.  I am wearing a size Medium.

I styled my cardigan with a black tank from C.J. Banks that has a fun grommet neckline (old).  I chose to carry a burgundy bag (JCP, old) to bring a spot of color into this outfit.

For shoes, I went with these brown suede wedge booties from JCP (old) to coordinate with the brown tones in the sweater.

So what do you think?  Do you like this sweater?  Would you have kept it?  I'd love to hear from you!

If you've never tried Stitch Fix before and want to give it a try, use my Referral Code to get $25.00 off your first Fix!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

Hiking In Devil's Lake State Park, Wisconsin

My husband and I recently met up with our kids at Devil's Lake State Park for a weekend get-together.   Devil's Lake is a good halfway distance for both of us, and it is such a pretty park to hike, especially in the fall.

On this day, we hiked two trails:  the West Bluff Trail and the Tumbling Rock Trail.  First I'll show you the West Bluff Trail.

The West Bluff Trail is a medium effort trail that is 1.5 miles long.  If you start on the south end, like we did, it is quite a long steep climb up, but once your at the top, the trail is level for quite some distance and you enjoy gorgeous views like this till it's time to head back down.

Devil's Lake State Park is known for it's gorgeous bluffs which surround Devil's Lake.  This is such a beautiful lake.  You can rent boats at the park to take out onto the lake.  There is also a nice swimming beach.

There are several beautiful look out spots on the West Bluff Trail where you can see for miles!

It was a cold, cloudy, dreary day on the day we were there, but it did little to damper our spirits.  We enjoyed just being together again and loved being out in nature.

The foliage on the trees was not vibrant yet, my guess is they were only 25% color.  That was disappointing, but it was still pretty!

The picture below shows the swimming beach.  The large pavilion is where you can rent boats.  They also have a nice restaurant, gift shop, and a great coffee bar!  It was wonderful to be able to get a hot vanilla latte after a long hike on a chilly day.  I said to my husband "This is the only Wisconsin state park where one can buy a great vanilla latte!".

These are my beautiful children, Ashley and Jordan.

And this is my handsome son-in-law Jason with our granddaughter Alethea.  She was such a good girl!  She rode on daddy's back half the day with little complaining.  She even fell asleep once!  She preferred me to always hike in front of them so she could see me.  She kept leaning over, peeking over Jason's back and saying "Hi!" to me.  She's such a cutie!

 We took advantage of the beautiful scenery to take lots of family photos!

The West Bluff Trail is a one-way trail.  The best way to get back is to take the Tumbling Rocks Trail.  This is a easy, level, .8 mile asphalt trail that winds through large quartzite boulders along the lake shore.  It's one of my favorite trails because the boulders are just amazing and I love the gorgeous lake views. 

We did stop on this trail and rest awhile and fueled up on some healthy snacks.

As I said earlier, the boulders on this trail is amazing.  It is such a fascinating trail.  They definitely gave it the right name, for all these boulders "tumbled" down the hill and came to a sudden stop.  They then created a trail through the boulders.  It's such a surreal feeling hiking this trail, you feel surrounded by rock.  It's fun to climb the rocks too.

After we finished this trail, we enjoyed a picnic lunch on the beach.  We were planning on going on the East Bluff trail next, but we weren't sure Alethea was up to hanging out on dad's back for a few more hours.  Plus, it got colder and we all thought some time spent in a hot tub was a good idea;  so, we headed to Wisconsin Dells for our hotel instead!  But, more on that next week!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

A Colorful Blessings Friendship Card

I have another Colorful Blessings card to share with you today.  This one is a friendship card with cute little owls.

 To make this card no stamping was involved.  I used a card front from the Colorful Blessings set available on Amazon.  All I had to do was color it  and adhere it to a piece of white card stock to frame it, then I attached it to a coral card base.

I colored the image with Kaiser Gel Pens.

Have a Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!