My Stitch Fix Review - Fix #1

I am a bit behind in the blogging game about my Fixes because I never intended to do it, but blogging seems to be the best way to review Stitch Fix boxes. I will catch up as time allows and review all previous fixes. If you need pics of anything before I get them posted please don't hesitate to message me or comment on the post.

In 2007, after 14 years working in manufacturing, I quit my job and went back to school. Two years later I graduated with an Associates Degree in Accounting. The two jobs are like night and day. The manufacturing job was dirty, smelly, and my wardrobe consisted of things I didn't mind getting dirty. Accounting jobs are in banks, CPA firms, and other offices. The wardrobe is most often business formal or business casual.

Upon graduation I had no experience in my chosen new field. I was eager to work in accounting because it was such a perfect fit for me. In accounting I felt like my whole life made sense. I applied for job after job, but never got a call. I one interview in five years and felt good about it, but never heard back from the company. After five years I finally got the opportunity that I needed at my alma mater where I used my "inside" influence, but after 14 years in manufacturing and seven years without a job at all I didn't have clothes to wear to an office job. I made do for about two months before I found bloggers talking about Stitch Fix.

Bay to Baubles Santana Layered Beaded Necklace
$48




This was a nice necklace with a two position toggle clasp, but I don't wear a lot of jewelry, so it was way too heavy for me. I kept it because it was my first fix and I really wanted to "branch out" with my style. Over a year later I still couldn't figure out when to wear it and hadn't worn it outside of the house. I sold it for $30 on a Stitch Fix sale page on Facebook. Yes, I took a loss on it, but it was a learning experience that I don't regret.

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Loveappella Yonnie V-Neck Shirred Waist Maxi Dress
$74

I was intrigued by the idea of a maxi dress because I had never worn one, so I was excited to get this in my first fix. The shirring at the waist is nice and flattering, but this is a boring dress and it is VERY long. It is too long for my 5'6" frame. The material is nice, soft, and comfortable.

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41Hawthorn Carson Silk Front-Twist Sleeveless Blouse
$88


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41Hawthorn Natasha Front Pocket Sleveless Blouse
$54


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Margaret M Emer Polka Dot Print High-Waisted Cropped Pant
$98


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Getting Started

So, here I am trying to blog again. I tried it once before because of an English class, but got bored quickly once the class was over and it wasn't required.

I really don't know what my blog is about, but I suppose it will have a little bit of everything because that is life: crafts, household DIY, recipes, pictures, some mindless ramblings, and who knows what else.

The "Pixelated Life" title is obviously a reference to digital images, so I don't know how long that name will stay around as this venture evolves.

The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter Discussion

Questions

• Compare Maggie Underhill to to Ophelia, the character she is playing in in the school presentation of William Shakespeare's "Hamlet." 
• How does the subplot involving Tavy and Taw relate to the primary theme(s) of the novel? 
• In what ways does the novel explore the liminial state between life and death? 

Response

On her own website, author Sharyn McCrumb explains that this novel was originally a series of images in her mind that seemed to be unrelated, but all were part of a story. She discussed the images with a friend, who is a professor of folklore. This friend made her see that the images all related to the liminal state between life and death. The theme of liminality between life and death is illustrated through several prominent examples in the text.

In a broad sense, the Appalachian region portrayed is on the edge of civilization. Dark Hollow, TN, is located in Wake County. The residents make their own clothes and live off of the land that they own. At the same time, the nearby city of Johnson City has fast food restaurants and nearby Erwin has factory jobs. Laura Bruce’s hometown of Roanoke, VA, is only four hours east of Dark Hollow, but she did not know of the “other world…in the hills that surrounded Roanoke” (18) until later in life. The remoteness of Dark Hollow forces the women to mostly marry in their late teens and live “within hailing distance of parents or in-laws. Economic hardship makes jobs in the nearby cities unattainable for these unskilled women, leaving them "one man away from welfare." (23) The geographic separation of Dark Hollow from nearby cities leaves its residents in their simple lives and not moving forward with technological advances. As the story progresses, the pollution of the Little Dove River and the plight of the chestnut trees are used as symbols to illustrate that the area is not so far from civilization that it cannot be affected by the advances of the outside world.

In varying degrees, it is fairly common for people of Scotch/Irish descent to have “the sight,” speak to the dead, and know things they should not know. In spite of not having a phone, Nora Bonesteel always about deaths in the community before anyone made the two mile trek up the mountain road to her home to tell her. Ghosts of the people who died visit her shortly after their passing. She also knows many other things about the people of the community near her. She knows who is pregnant, when to protect plants from frost, and where missing items will be found. (13) This gift puts Nora between the world of the living and the dead and the world of the conscious and subconscious mind.

Nora Bonesteel has a pet groundhog that she says “tries on death until the spring comes.” (34) True hibernation is a state in which an animal goes into a period of inactivity and its body slows down to conserve energy during the winter months during which there is little food to sustain that animal’s life. Groundhogs are one of the few animals that enter true winter hibernation. Nora explains to Laura that her pet groundhog still hibernates, because “it’s nature’s way.”

Maggie Underhill is the daughter in the family that is killed in the first pages of the book. Her parents and younger brother are murdered by her older brother, who then kills himself. Maggie is soon visited by the spirit of her older brother in a series of phone calls through which he guides her through events that occur after the tragedy of his actions.

Click here for more information on author Sharyn McCrumb and her other literary works.

Long Week

It has been a long week.

Tuesday night, my two year old Toshiba did not want to go into "sleep" mode or power off. I thought little of it...until Wednesday morning when it would not load windows. The power light and the fan came on, but after that, nothing. So, I suffered through three days of just my iPhone internet access and took it to the repair shop on Friday.

My subsequent facebook status message was a quote from The Wizard of Oz:

"As coroner, I must aver I thoroughly examined her. She's not only merely dead, she's really most sincerely dead." - The Coroner of Munchkinland

My coroner is Cyber Solutions Inc. (CSI) and their diagnosis is that the motherboard on the Toshiba is gone and replacing a motherboard is not worth the cost. I was advised to purchase a new computer and have the files from the old hard drive transferred to either a disc or the hard drive on the new computer.

Soooooo...I drove to Best Buy and discussed their selection with three different salespeople. I left there with two new computers. (My husband broke his five or six years ago.) After going to Wal Mart for groceries, I took my new computer back to CSI to have the data transferred to it. Because of the backlog of work, it will be about a week before I get my new computer. I drove home from there and set up my husband's computer and promptly began using it. While I have spent considerable time on it, he has used it more than I have.

So, now I am set for the week and awaiting a call from CSI.