Craft Beer of the Month Club, December 2013 Review

Omg! This box is HUGE news! I am in Kentucky and, like lots of states, no alcohol can be shipped here. But this one can! And I got a subscription for the hubs for Christmas! And we are super excited about it!! :)

Craft Beer of the Month sends a monthly box of 12 beers, 3 each of 4 different kinds, from small-production, independent brewers around the US. The monthly cost is $37.75 with free shipping and, if you sign up for monthly service, they send various introductory bonus gifts!

Here's first looks:

And the breakdown:

Two selections from Elysian Brewing Company, Washington: 

Loser Pale Ale

Bifrost Winter Ale

Two selections from Seirra Blanca Brewing Company, New Mexico:

Roswell Alien Amber Ale (haha)

Nut Brown

We also received several free bonus gifts for signing up! 

Bar snacks

Tasting glasses

Bottle opener

I'm not doing a cost breakdown for this box because it is definitely worth $3.14/beer for us. Craft beer is definitely more expensive than regular beer and there is value for us in the information provided and the opportunity to try things we've maybe never heard of - and the fact that we can do it without ever leaving the house!

So excited about this subscription and looking forward to seeing what they send in January!

Catherine Malandrino + Kohl's - Coming SOON!

Oh, I get pretty excited about these designer collaborations!! I was just out on Sunday morning fighting the masses for my Phillip Lim + Target goodies and now I'm looking forward to doing it all over again in about a week and a half!!

Fabulous French fashion designer Catherine Malandrino is doing a collaboration with Kohl's that will launch on September 27th. The collection is very French - as in Eiffel Towers, berets and lots and lots of black. She designed the collection with the intent of helping people to "bring the romance of Paris to everyday life." Pieces are to be priced between $30 and $130.

Kohl's has done a good job of getting this collection on some often-photographed celebs and the pieces look really nice! 

Olivia Palermo in the dress that's my pick of the collection

Olivia Palermo, Maria Menounos and Louise Roe, photo by TheRecessionista.com

Kelly Rutherford, photo by TheExaminer.com

Here are a few of the things I am loving:

And here are a few that I think seriously look one step short of a "French" costume. For real, I can picture a couple of these girls on a bridge over the Seine doing some mime work for tips! LOL!!

What do you think?? I have really loved the Vera Wang Princess line at Kohl's and I really enjoyed the Derek Lam collection and some others, too! I've got high hopes for this one! Anxious to get a feel for the fabrics, etc., and see what they are really like! The entire lookbook can be viewed on the Kohl's website HERE. 

Website Review: Dancewear Solutions

Over the years I have bought LOTS of dance, cheer and gymnastics clothes, and that doesn't look to change in the near future! I find the options in local stores a little bit limited. You can go the ULTRA basic and inexpensive route and buy (boring) pieces from major chains like Wal-Mart, Target and Meijer. Don't get me wrong, my dancer thinks the Danskin Basics at Wal-Mart are super soft and comfy, but personally I get tired of looking at them! LOL!

The other main choice in Louisville and surrounding areas is Kinney Dancewear. They have super cute things, and a weak rewards program where you get a little certificate after you spend $250, but BOY are they expensive. Gymnastics leotards can easily run close to $50. It's a great place to pick up a "treat" piece every once in a while, but I try to avoid it most of the time because we can't seem to get out of there without spending $100+!

Last year I took a chance on online retailer Dancewear Solutions and have been really happy with it! The products have been the great quality and the prices are definitely more reasonable. And I love that it gives me an opportunity to buy my girls something to wear that nobody else has! SO much more to choose from!

We recently ordered a few things, including this leotard/dress for a voice recital performance:

So, so soft and pretty and she loves it! It was $35 before discount and is actually something she can wear over and over again for regular classes!

Here are a few of the other things we've bought recently:

It's all so cute! And neither of those are my kid, BTW. Haha!

If you spend $100, shipping is free. And coupon code DWSBB4 will save you 10% through the end of May!

What do you think?? Is there some magical land of dance and gymnastics clothes around Louisville that we've been missing out on??

Website Review: Team Wardrobe

I have been seeing and loving the galaxy leggings on Instagram for a while but wasn't sure where to get them. Then I got a website suggestion and I was.... skeptical. The Team Wardrobe website looks a little too "junior" for someone of my *ahem* age in all the ways that make me leery. I found the leggings but.... ? Will the material be too cheapy? Will the junior sizing be incredibly tiny? Will this website that caters to a crowd half my age have decent customer service?


I started to look around for a little bit and when I found the melting CC Chanel logo t-shirts, I was sold. I put enough in my cart to use one of the two offered coupon codes: NEW10 for $10 off of $75 or NEW20 for $20 off of $150. What's the worst that can happen? I put the clothes on, get a good chuckle and give them to my niece? It's worth a shot! LOL!

My first pleasant surprise came when I received an email with the tracking number for my shipped package THE SAME DAY I placed my order. I mean, seriously. As a person who shops online a LOT, this was nothing short of amazing to me! Less than 48 hours from placing my order, our mail lady had already attempted a first delivery. This was just with the regular shipping option! Granted, the package only had to go from Arkansas to Kentucky, but I was impressed!


Next pleasant surprise came from the nice touch of cute duct tape to seal the package. Followed by dumping out my bag and finding that they had included a little surprise freebie bracelet that I LOVE and would have totally bought on my own!

Still not expecting much from the clothes, I pulled them out and.... they looked good! They are definitely similar to the quality of fun pieces from Forever 21 or Charlotte Russe or something, but that's what they are meant to be - FUN! These aren't things meant to be worn a million times and I'm really happy with them!

Here's what I bought:

Sublimation Galaxy Leggings ($19.99)

White Dripping CC Top ($17.99)

Multi Color Zig Zag Maxi Skirt Dress ($44.99)

So what do you think?? Stuff is cute, right?? Sizing was fine and customer service gets an A+. I have been looking for a chevron maxi skirt anyway so that unexpected piece on the website was a great score! I'm thinking all three of these pieces get to go on my upcoming adventure this weekend!! ;)