Summer Fix!

"This post contains affiliate links in which I make a small commission. All opinions in this post are my own."

My Summer Fix is here!!!!! My regular stylist was unfortunately not available for this fix which explains why I'm saving money from not keeping everything like usual. I love the floral dress but without the discount for keeping all, I'm thinking the price is too high. My one keeper item is the striped color pop that I can't resist but I do think sizing up will be a more comfortable fit! Otherwise the kimono and Mimi dress are not my style. At all. The KFTK pants fit perfectly with length and are so comfortable but the color seems a little dull to keep them.

If you haven't seen my previous posts, Stitch Fix is a fashion subscription service, styled just for you by your personal stylist! You fill out the survey on their website and link to your Pinterest board so your stylist knows the type of items your looking for. The styling fee is $20 but that includes shipping and returns and if you only keep one item, that $20 applies to that item! Each box contains 5 items and if you keep all 5, you get a 25% discount!!! Each box contains style cards like show you two different ways to wear the item so it's fun to mix & match with items you already have in your closet, something you wouldn't be able to do in a store. Your stylist will also leave you a note telling you ways to pair your items or why they sent you what they did. I always love my note from her! She knows me too well by now! Stitch Fix  also styles men and they have plus-sizes now too which I am thrilled about! So they really can style any shape and size now! I highly suggest you give it a try!

Let me know what you think in the comments! Click here to try!  http://www.kqzyfj.com/click-8047912-12694961  

This Collette Chavez Pop Color Cuff Knit top is super soft and love the hot pink color pop! This does run pretty fitted so I think I'm going to try sizing up with this one for a more comfortable fit. This one is my keeper though!

So there's this.... Definitely not my style. Not even a little bit. That's about all there is to say about this.

Yes! This Collective Concepts Kailey Dress is everything! Such a gorgeous color, perfect fit, super comfy, and I love dresses! Anything floral is typically my style and this bright coral color is so fun! Unfortunately I'm still undecided because of the price since I won't be keeping all of this fix and won't get the discounted 25% off price! :(

These Kut From the Kloth Brianna Skinny Pant are a great fit and I wouldn't even need to hem them! I would love these for work since they are super comfortable but the color seems a little dull (if they were navy or khaki I would definitely keep).

Typically I love yellow but this color also seems a little boring to me and I doubt it would get worn. The Papermoon Mauna Kimono is a great fit but not a keeper sadly.

Le Tote Review

"This post contains affiliate links in which I make a small commission. All opinions in this post are my own."

I gave the rental clothing company, Le Tote, a try recently. I love getting new clothes but I am also easily bored with them so the excitement of opening up something new to try appeals to me greatly! You can chose from a few different size boxes. The cheapest option is 2 clothing items and 1 accessory for $39/month. Otherwise for $59/month they have the option of 3 clothing items and 2 accessories or 4 clothing items without accessories. You can go through the clothing items and add your favorites to your "closet." When you are ready for a new box, they style your box and email you when it's ready (typically just a couple hours after you sign up or send the last box back). Then you can swap out items for others if you want and I love that feature! Maybe you have an event coming up that you need something particular for, you can swap things out for the items you need.

  

Now, the items in the box are worn but they are dry cleaned before being sent to you. So some of the items are a little more worn than others I think. The other downfall to the service is, depending on where you live, the amount of time it takes between boxes. Since it's coming from California, if I send it back on Wednesday morning and "finalize" the box options Wednesday morning after they style it, I still don't receive the new box until Monday. That's 5 days without any box. I think that amount of time could add up when your trying to get as much use for the service as possible.

On a positive note, this service could be great for people who like to change up their wardrobe often or people who don't like to wear the same thing twice. I also could see this being really great during wedding season or other social events to have a variety of dresses to chose from without having to buy a bunch. They also have a maternity option, that I totally would have used before, so you're not having to buy a bunch of maternity clothes. It's also less clutter for a crowded closet! They know already what your sizes are so they let you know on all the items whether it's true to size or to size up or down. They also have photos of other Le Tote members wearing the items so you have an idea of what they look like in person. And if you love an item and want to keep it, they are all at a discounted price!

I will be continuing this subscription, at least for awhile, to see how many boxes I can typically get in a month to see if it will be worth it for me or not.

If you're interested in giving it a try, click
here!! :)

Big Mac Casserole

Yes, it is as delicious as it sounds! Found this amazingly tasty recipe from http://peaceloveandlowcarb.com/big-mac-casserole-low-carb-gluten-free/. This is certain to fix any McDonald's cravings you might have after a late Saturday night of drinking. Kid tested, mother approved! You might want to make extra of the Russian Dressing because it's fantastic! No gluten needed for this dish!


Big Mac Casserole

Ingredients
2 lbs ground beef
2 tbsp minced onion flakes 
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
sea salt and black pepper, to taste
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded, packed and divided
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup Russian Dressing, divided (recipe below)
1 cup dill pickle slices
toasted sesame seeds  
1 large head of romaine lettuce, chopped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°

In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef, minced onion flakes, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, sea salt and black pepper.

Drain excess grease and transfer to a large casserole dish.

To the ground beef, add 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, and 3/4 cup Russian dressing.

Mix until all ingredients are well combined. Flatten down into a nice and even, compact layer.

Top with pickle slices.

Sprinkle the remaining cup of sharp cheddar cheese over top.

Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top of the cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes. Turn the oven up to a high broil and bake for another 5 minutes.

Plate each serving on top of a bed of shredded lettuce and top with remaining Russian dressing.

For the Russian Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
½ cup ketchup
2 tbsp spicy brown mustard 
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 tbsp fresh chives, chopped
1 tsp fresh dill, chopped

In a large mixing bowl, combine mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, parsley, chives and dill. Mix until all ingredients are well incorporated.

Don't miss this!!!

I just bought an embarrassing amount of gluten free ravioli from Aldi's! For Celiac Disease Awareness Month they get these specialty items in, while supplies last! Hence why I'm in my vehicle writing this to you so in case you are feeling as deprived of gluten free ravioli as I am, you can stock up! Or even if you're missing easy frozen meals for busy nights, these look like a great option! I can't vouch for the flavor of any of these since these will be new for me but it's ravioli!! How can that be bad??!

I purchased the General Tso's Chicken for $5.49 per bag, and the Cheese Ravioli and Spinach & Cheese Ravioli were both $3.99 per bag. Not bad at all compared to what were used to!! Can't wait to try! Leave a comment on what you think of this find!

El Dorado Royale in Riviera Maya

Finally doing my review of our latest vacation to El Dorado Royale in Riviera Maya, Mexico!!! We travelered from February 19-25, 2017. It was suggested by my travel agent, Lesley Hock from Travel Leaders (http://www.travel-agent-boston.com/specialty-travel/gluten-free-travel.aspx), that we try one of the Karisma Resorts because of their knowledge of gluten free diets so we finally gave one a try.

We arrived around noon at El Dorado Royale and we had to wait for 4 hours to get our room in building 9. The guys had muscle shirts on so we walked from restaurant to restaurant trying to find a place to allow the muscle shirts in, finally the 3rd one we went to allowed them in. I have never had to wait that long for a room before and it sucked lugging all of bags around the resort, not able to do anything really. I was also told I would be able to meet with a chef for my gluten free diet and I was never able to meet with a chef at any of the restaurants we went to so I was really disappointed. Many of the servers didn't seem to understand what Celiac Disease really meant. There was times we were given desserts all on one plate and they would point out the gluten free one, which I really couldn't have from being near the other gluten containing items. I was really hopeful that since the resort was supposed to specialize in these diets that the experience with the food would have been better. Instead, I was sick many days, and was so painfully bloated at times, my husband thought I looked 8 months pregnant. My husband had to stop ordering the same menu items as me because they would forget who's plate was who's when they brought them out.

They had a variety of different restaurants to chose from with various different types of foods!

Fuentes was a great experience. This one really seemed like the gourmet food we had wanted to get on vacation. The server was amazing and brought out my items and specifically told me each plate was gluten free rather than me having to wonder each time if they remembered. It was a lot of fun to see the chef making the food. We made reservations upon arrival but were only able to eat there the one night.

Cocotal my husband loved for the buffet. Unfortunately for me, the Gluten Free sign was not placed by the gluten free items until the last day we were there so I never got items from that area. I was also told they would have gluten free waffles and pancakes but each time I asked, they said they did not have any. I ordered the egg items off the menu here.

D'Italia on the Royale side had a great pasta dish for me. They also had more of a selection for desserts so we decided to try out the one on the Casitas side one night. This was my worst restaurant experience of my life. The hostess was extremely rude from the moment we walked in. She stood staring at us like I was supposed to say something but we had no idea what she wanted us to tell her.  It was not busy there but when we were seated and said we were only ordering desserts, they turned this into a big deal. She grabbed all of our menus from us without saying a word. She told our waiter this and when he came to our table, instead of introducing himself like they usually did, he proceeded to take everything off of our table: plates, water glasses, wine glasses, napkins....all of it....without saying a word to us. It made a scene in the restaurant and it was really embarrassing. We did not go back for food there again.

Kampai had excellent Spicy Tuna Sushi! We went here for dinner on the first and the last night. The first night, the waiter didn't understand the gluten free aspect of the menu but the last night I was able to explain taking the gluten free noodles and using them instead of the gluten noodles in a recipe and they were able to do that. They also offered gluten free soy sauce the second time we went.

Rincon had a decent dessert for me, creme brule, but nothing memorable for the meal. Santa Fe was a beautiful spot to sit. The menu was good but they only had gluten free sorbet here for dessert like many of them.  

Jo Jo's the first time for lunch they said I could only choose between the two salads like the menu stated. The next time we went, the waitress came over and corrected our waiter and said they could make a burger gluten free and it was fantastic. Everyone really enjoyed this restaurant and really loved the burgers here. It would have been nice to be able to eat the fries though as well as I was told they were not gluten free. One day they did bring me plantains though that were amazing!

La Cabana Pizzeria had a decent gluten free pizza but I was originally told the first day that the nachos were not gluten free. The last day I was told they were. This back and forth with items being gluten free one day and not the next was really confusing and I think that's why I was sick so often.

La Isla we had for breakfast twice. One day I had ordered an item that said gluten free on the menu and 2 days later the waiter told me that item is not gluten free and has "a little bit of flour in it." Another explanation for being sick.

Room Service food was great. Arrived in usually about 30 minutes and my husband and I both liked the options on the menus. Kind of wish the minibar had more gluten free drinks than just the water as it was full of beer.                           

I think the gluten free options really left something to be desired for me. I was really hoping to be able to have something a little different than the usual, like pancakes or something fun! I was never really offered any options and had to ask if they could substitute on menus. I was really hopeful about finding a great vacation spot to frequent and write about on my blog for other gluten free travelers but was left a little disappointed although the resort was beautiful. We had perfect weather and the water was as clear as crystals when you go down the beach a little further. The big pool was a lot of fun for lounging and swimming up to the bar for drinks.

The Spa was incredible. We did the Sky Massages for an hour and it my favorite spa experience of my life, seriously amazing. My husband and I were left with big smiles on our faces from the amazing massages and perfect beach location to listen to the waves. So relaxing!!!!!

The drinks here were excellent!

We didn't really get to experience much for the nightlife shows since I was a lot of times too sick to want to stay to enjoy it all. It would be great if they had more authentic Mexican music and shows rather than things you would see and listen to in the United States. We went to Dolphin Discovery to swim with the manatees and sea lions. This was incredible to see and be around the animals but it's really based around the photos they are taking of you rather than the experience itself. To buy the photos at the end, on a disk, it was a few hundred dollars!! I loved the experience though since manatees have been my favorite for as long as I can remember. The trip included a buffet type meal rather than just a "snack" as we had thought. I just think the mood of it all was ruined with the prices of the photos. They also do not allow you to bring your own camera with you to see the animals so you kind of have to purchase photos to remember the experience.

My favorite part of the vacation would have to be swimming with the manatees and at the resort, the Sky Massages and feeding the fish in the ocean! It was amazing how the fish would swim all around you, we had to take a video of it to show the kids. So cool! The worst parts, which made me not want to come back, was the service at some of the places and lack of gluten free knowledge so I ended up sick a lot. Beautiful location though!

The search is over!!!

I finally found it! The gluten free replacement for a Ritz-like cracker!

Lance has a few different boxes of gluten free crackers available like cheddar cheese sandwich crackers or peanut butter sandwich crackers. They all have that rich buttery flavor that will remind you of the crackers you remember! Can't wait to use these in recipes! Yummy!!

Stitch Fix Box #8 (Think Spring!!)

"This post contains affiliate links in which I make a small commission. All opinions in this post are my own."

My Spring Fix is here!!!!! This is fix #8 for me and I really feel like my stylist gets me now. So excited to share this one!

If you haven't seen my previous posts, Stitch Fix is a fashion subscription service, styled just for you by your personal stylist! You fill out the survey on their website and link to your Pinterest board so your stylist knows the type of items your looking for. The styling fee is $20 but that includes shipping and returns and if you only keep one item, that $20 applies to that item! Each box contains 5 items and if you keep all 5, you get a 25% discount!!! Each box contains style cards like show you two different ways to wear the item so it's fun to mix & match with items you already have in your closet, something you wouldn't be able to do in a store. Your stylist will also leave you a note telling you ways to pair your items or why they sent you what they did. I always love my note from her! She knows me too well by now! Stitch Fix also styles men and they have plus-sizes now too which I am thrilled about! So they really can style any shape and size now! I highly suggest you give it a try!

Here's what my stylist, Kristen, sent me after I requested some fun spring items! I specifically stated I like subtle florals and needed a versatile striped cardigan to wear during the cooler months. She definitely delivered! Here's what was inside:

Fun2Fun Kenniff Flutter Sleeve Blouse- $38

This is a beautiful green color that pairs nicely with a baby pink color. It's a very vintage looking piece that I typically wouldn't pick out for myself. I ended up liking this more than I thought I would although the flutter on the sleeves is a little different for me.

Verse Naomi Knit Maxi Dress- $54

My stylist knows I'm a sucker for dresses and I was a little bit worried that this was going to be too long on me, like most maxi dresses, but it was the perfect length, even if I wore flats! Love the colors on this and the unique pattern. This would be a great piece for most seasons!

Kaileigh Antoinette Scoop Neck Blouse- $34

This is a beautiful top with the subtle floral print on the side panels. This will be a fun spring piece with a cardigan or light jacket or it and a great tank for warm summer days (that will someday be here again.) It drapes down in the back and is also longer in the back than the front. I love getting unique pieces like this that have these subtle details.

Market & Spruce Dido Mixed Print Knit Top- $58

Definitely Spring with this piece! And let me tell you, this pattern is even more gorgeous in person! It's so bright and pretty and feminine! I loved mixed media tops so I knew this one would be a keeper. Doesn't get any more Spring than this!

Tea N Rose Vilsa Striped Open Drape Cardigan- $44

I really needed a versatile striped cardigan to add to my "cardi collection" and this certainly fit the bill! It's perfect for throwing over any tops really with the light gray and white stripes! Great piece for all seasons again or to tone down a bold print. This is a must-have for any closet!

The total cost to keep all the items is $171 with the discount. I typically get a fix for each season and she's great about keeping it under $200 for me. I always feel that she really takes the time to look at my Pinterest board and styles me according to what would work for me while expanding what I would typically put in my wardrobe.

What do you think of this fix?

Try yours out here!