Since we are members of FONZ, we get some pretty sweet perks.  The annual membership, to me, is worth the ‘free’ parking when we go to the zoo.  So Saturday night, we camped at the zoo.  You read that right.  Tent, us, zoo, all at once.

It’s not like there are more reasons needed to want to camp at the zoo besides, you know, camping at the freakin’ zoo. But somehow it does get better. We selected the Cheetah Conservation option and it did not disappoint. We got to meet the Cheetahs. Not super up close, like we haven’t touched cheetah, but we were verrrrrrrrrrrry close. Of particular interest was Bacari. He was so obsessed with Thurston that he followed us around. This made for an extra incredible experience.

We saw other animals during our tour, including the Grevy’s zebras, damas, gazelles, and some super cool vultures — at feeding time, no less, so we got to watch a vulture pull the innards of a rat, well, out.

Other things we did:

We got to walk through whale invertebrate. Unfortunately this is a sculpture made entirely of trash recovered from one beach in Oregon (there were 17 or 18 assorted sculptures throughout the zoo). It’s cool what she did; just sad how she got her materials.

We got to see the tiger clean his paws at night.

A lion was our alarm clock.

Cutey boy catching the big cats.

The gorillas are quite active at 8am. This one was picking his nose and then seeing what came out.

And we got to watch the pandas tussle.  They were so dang adorable.

So happy to have the chance to celebrate Thurston’s 6th birthday with such a memorable gift.

At the suggestion of my computer nerd BFF, I threw caution to the wind this month, and release to you my very first unboxing video! Don’t judge too hard; it’s my first time!

So, what is this Stitch Fix! thing anyway?
The short of it is:
Sign up at Stitch Fix
Fill out your style profile (size, height, weight, age, budget, style preferences via photos, etc)
SCHEDULE YOUR VERY OWN PERSONAL CHRISTMAS
Sit back and wait.
You are charged $20 when the Fix ships. That $20 goes to anything you keep in the box, so it’s not just a service charge, which is pretty amazing if you ask me. If you keep all 5 of the items contained in each box, you get 25% off of the entire box!

So, without further ado:
I usually like to start things off with a picture of the stack. Since I ripped that puppy open for the video of my unboxing, well, there isn’t a stack picture. SORRY.

We’ll start the reviews with the Le Lis Kelden Ruffle Sleeve Blouse. The print on this is GORGEOUS. I love the navy with the yellow floral. Issues: three quarter bell sleeves. My soul has little to no love for this boho trend, even if I wish I could embrace it. It’s see-through. 100% completely you can see my bra right through this thing right down to the lace. So it requires a second layer. It’s Maryland. Though today may have been only a high of 75, yesterday was 90 and tomorrow will be also. So a draw back to get it now and save it until the fall (if the sleeves weren’t so awful to me).

The fit is pretty nice. As always, my arms are behemoth so that’s a little snug, but not to the point where I couldn’t get the shirt on or off of myself. I really like the way it feels on, and honestly, the sleeves aren’t as awful as I anticipated when I looked at it coming out of the box. And therein lies yet another reason why StitchFix is so amazing. 1000000% guaranteed I’d have passed right by this at a store.

The Collective Concepts Mikoh Crochet Strap Top is, quite true to how Holly (you rock!) describes it: easy breezy. It definitely has the color that we all need this time of year. And the ruffling is completely cute. I like the crochet, too. This brand always fits me right — no huge arm holes, not too tight on the shoulders or bust. I tried so hard to wear a fedora with this and, aside from a complete inability to take focused pictures of myself in this top for some really random reason, I just looked like a doofus. Maybe I’ll do a bloopers post one day. Today is not that day.

PS. Say hi to Cannoli with me.

Next up is a two-fer: Market & Spruce Colibri Polka Dot Print Top paired with the Liverpool Kaiden Distressed Denim Short. I was so relieved that these were shorts and not more white jeans. I have a pair of white jeans. They’re amazing and were from Target, my second favorite place to shop, and they fit amazeballs. So, anyway, relief flooded over me to find these were shorts. I was on the fence about them, too, because they’re white shorts. I mean, if you have white jeans, probably there’s no need for white shorts. So then I put them on. And, as Holly suggested, I paired them with the Colibri. This Colibri in the cutest variation of this shirt I’ve ever seen — navy with white polka dots. I effing love polka dots. I went out on a nerd limb and tried the mixed print craze via the striped shoes I scored at Target [and you should totally get some, too]. Holly was right. I needed both this shirt and these shorts (even if the shirt is long sleeves and it’s hot as hell in MD; I retract that first world problem whining in the video).

I’ve saved the best for last. I mean, holy amazing awesome in love, hanging in my closet first! The Brixon Ivy Cristen Shirt Dress is such a whimsical assortment of colors that it’s mesmerizing. Just the most gorgeously delicate balance of mint with coral and navy.  And it’s a shirt dress, so extra comfortable.  The waist tie is sewn on, which I wish wasn’t the case because I prefer to tie my stuff in the rear.  But not at all a deal breaker.  There’s also a slip layer so it isn’t see through.  This does make it a little weightier, but still not too heavy to be wearing in MD in the middle of our Augusts. This is in my top ten favorite Stitch Fix items of all time. Maybe top five. Seriously.

So, I’d say this one is a 4.5 out of 5. I’m still not sold on the ruffle sleeves totally BUT with the 25% discount to keep it is cheaper than to send it back.

Congrats to my friend Katy and her new beau on their beautiful nuptials.

I hope your Mother’s Day was as lovely as ever.