F is for Family

Family, home, travel, life

Review of MM.LaFleur Bento Box

I’m sure by now many people have heard of Stitch Fix, a website that creates custom selections of clothes and ships straight to your house. You receive, try on and return what you don’t want and pay for only those pieces you keep. I’ve never tried Stitch Fix but have seen a number of reviews. The looks are more casual, everyday looks, not much that would be work appropriate if you have a business attire work environment. MM.LaFluer is the response to that gap. In my first bento box, I received a dress, collarless cropped blazer, an asymmetrical navy shirt and a plum colored pencil skirt.

First, the clothing in the box comes in a great zippered protective bag with a card that explains what is in your bento selection and how to keep/return the items once you’ve decided. Each item had a great weight to the fabric and was wrinkle free despite being folded in the box. I’m certain they would be perfect for work travel and hold up well in a suitcase. My only complaint about fabric would be that it was a little too heavy for this time of year in Florida, however, being a NYC based company, I can understand how this might be an over site.

Item #1: Emily dress, Black
Review: The dress fit great in the shoulders and waist. It was a bit long as I’m petite. This dress had pockets and because it wasn’t tailored for a petite frame, they weren’t laying quite right. I passed because it wasn’t a “perfect” fit, would need to be tailored and the fabric was a little too heavy for spring/summer in Florida

Item #2: Noho Skirt, Plum
Review: This skirt was extremely comfortable with just the right amount of stretch. Again, not cut for petite so, it cut at a strange area on my leg. I also really wanted it to be more tapered at the bottom. I passed because of fit and the weight of the fabric, same as the dress.

Item #3: Ephron asymmetrical shirt, Navy
Review: The fabric seemed great for travel. Other than that, I was NOT a big fan of much else on this item. I paired it with black ponte pants but the cut of this shirt was not flattering for these pants or any other pants. The slit up the side of the shirt came above waist line meaning that a small amount of skin would show just on one side. Because of the stretch in the fabric and the cut of the slit it hugs the tummy. Which if you have had kids or don’t have a completely flat tummy…you know is not a god thing. This went back without a second thought.

Item #4: Sant Ambroeus Cropped Blazer, Black
Review: Again, great fabric for travel. This is my single regret…I loved this piece. It had quite the price tag attached which was my sole reason for sending it back but this one will probably haunt me and gives me non-buyers remorse! The cut was fantastic, it was cropped in back and comes forward a bit in the front. I threw this on with a grey shift dress I already owned and it looked perfect. This is a piece that could be added to a number of items. It could be worn with jeans, short enough to flatter a work dress and the neutral color would compliment any work wardrobe. This should have been a keeper!

Week 2: Letter B!

This week I introduced Sofia to the newest worksheets that I pulled from1Plus1Plus1Equals1 and Education.com. We moved from “A” to “B” and chose the color blue. We skipped a shape for this week because I’m adding in a unique project on Friday to sub for the shape. Last week she loved all of the sheets. When we got home every afternoon from picking her up after work, she’d ask for her “project” and sit and complete her sheets quietly.

This week…it’s a completely different story! She is asking for the sheets but isn’t as interested in sitting down to complete the activity for more than a few minutes. 

She woke up sick Monday and Tuesday, it’s possibly the reason for the disinterest. Yesterday she just wanted to snuggle and watch TV. We are trying again this afternoon and we’ll see how it goes. Oh, the best laid plans…

Week 2: Letter B!

This week I introduced Sofia to the newest worksheets that I pulled from1Plus1Plus1Equals1 and Education.com. We moved from “A” to “B” and chose the color blue. We skipped a shape for this week because I’m adding in a unique project on Friday to sub for the shape. Last week she loved all of the sheets. When we got home every afternoon from picking her up after work, she’d ask for her “project” and sit and complete her sheets quietly.

This week…it’s a completely different story! She is asking for the sheets but isn’t as interested in sitting down to complete the activity for more than a few minutes. 

She woke up sick Monday and Tuesday, it’s possibly the reason for the disinterest. Yesterday she just wanted to snuggle and watch TV. We are trying again this afternoon and we’ll see how it goes. Oh, the best laid plans…

Week 2: Letter B!

This week I introduced Sofia to the newest worksheets that I pulled from1Plus1Plus1Equals1 and Education.com. We moved from “A” to “B” and chose the color blue. We skipped a shape for this week because I’m adding in a unique project on Friday to sub for the shape. Last week she loved all of the sheets. When we got home every afternoon from picking her up after work, she’d ask for her “project” and sit and complete her sheets quietly.

This week…it’s a completely different story! She is asking for the sheets but isn’t as interested in sitting down to complete the activity for more than a few minutes. 

She woke up sick Monday and Tuesday, it’s possibly the reason for the disinterest. Yesterday she just wanted to snuggle and watch TV. We are trying again this afternoon and we’ll see how it goes. Oh, the best laid plans…

Brought By The Letter “A”

I’ve noticed Sofia asking a lot about reading and “how do you spell” words. About a year ago, I went to a local shop that sells teacher and classroom supplies and bought some fun wall decor that would help with learning the alphabet. Well, my little overachiever went and learned the alphabet all on her own and had little need for my original idea. I should really be wise to my children making plans of their own by now!

 Needless to say, I’ve been trying to rack my brain about how to supplement learning at home. One of my favorite sites 1+1+1=1, has amazing printables. I went through and decided to stop thinking about the letters individually and take it up a notch and focus on words that start with the letter of the week. We colored in the letter “A” and read the “Aa is for apple” line and pointing out sounds we recognized. We practiced writing our letter and she LOVED that sheet the most. She was so proud of herself and did a great job tracing the line. Her perfectionist side came out and she got a little upset about not drawing a perfect line on one attempt. I let her know that she did a great job and that her line looked great and she perked back up and kept going. She matched some shadow pictures and a small puzzle. She worked on a few pages independently and she was so proud to come back and show me when she was all done.

While searching through 1+1+1=1, I found that some of the sheets didn’t seem like things that would really grab her attention so, I opted to only print the pages I felt would interest her. I also chose a color of the week, red…her favorite color and a shape, circle. I found some additional printables at Education.com that would help trace circles. She loved all of it!

We set her up to start last night and first thing this morning, she asked to work on her worksheets! Today, I will also add some word family words that end in “-at”. She loves Super Why and rhyming words so, I think she will love it.

Baby brother even got in on the action! We chose a new “sign” for him to learn this week. So, we are learning “again” and practicing our animals and animal sounds. As soon as I laminate some of these pages, he can play with big sissies sheets too.

Brought By The Letter “A”

I’ve noticed Sofia asking a lot about reading and “how do you spell” words. About a year ago, I went to a local shop that sells teacher and classroom supplies and bought some fun wall decor that would help with learning the alphabet. Well, my little overachiever went and learned the alphabet all on her own and had little need for my original idea. I should really be wise to my children making plans of their own by now!

 Needless to say, I’ve been trying to rack my brain about how to supplement learning at home. One of my favorite sites 1+1+1=1, has amazing printables. I went through and decided to stop thinking about the letters individually and take it up a notch and focus on words that start with the letter of the week. We colored in the letter “A” and read the “Aa is for apple” line and pointing out sounds we recognized. We practiced writing our letter and she LOVED that sheet the most. She was so proud of herself and did a great job tracing the line. Her perfectionist side came out and she got a little upset about not drawing a perfect line on one attempt. I let her know that she did a great job and that her line looked great and she perked back up and kept going. She matched some shadow pictures and a small puzzle. She worked on a few pages independently and she was so proud to come back and show me when she was all done.

While searching through 1+1+1=1, I found that some of the sheets didn’t seem like things that would really grab her attention so, I opted to only print the pages I felt would interest her. I also chose a color of the week, red…her favorite color and a shape, circle. I found some additional printables at Education.com that would help trace circles. She loved all of it!

We set her up to start last night and first thing this morning, she asked to work on her worksheets! Today, I will also add some word family words that end in “-at”. She loves Super Why and rhyming words so, I think she will love it.

Baby brother even got in on the action! We chose a new “sign” for him to learn this week. So, we are learning “again” and practicing our animals and animal sounds. As soon as I laminate some of these pages, he can play with big sissies sheets too.

Brought By The Letter “A”

I’ve noticed Sofia asking a lot about reading and “how do you spell” words. About a year ago, I went to a local shop that sells teacher and classroom supplies and bought some fun wall decor that would help with learning the alphabet. Well, my little overachiever went and learned the alphabet all on her own and had little need for my original idea. I should really be wise to my children making plans of their own by now!

 Needless to say, I’ve been trying to rack my brain about how to supplement learning at home. One of my favorite sites 1+1+1=1, has amazing printables. I went through and decided to stop thinking about the letters individually and take it up a notch and focus on words that start with the letter of the week. We colored in the letter “A” and read the “Aa is for apple” line and pointing out sounds we recognized. We practiced writing our letter and she LOVED that sheet the most. She was so proud of herself and did a great job tracing the line. Her perfectionist side came out and she got a little upset about not drawing a perfect line on one attempt. I let her know that she did a great job and that her line looked great and she perked back up and kept going. She matched some shadow pictures and a small puzzle. She worked on a few pages independently and she was so proud to come back and show me when she was all done.

While searching through 1+1+1=1, I found that some of the sheets didn’t seem like things that would really grab her attention so, I opted to only print the pages I felt would interest her. I also chose a color of the week, red…her favorite color and a shape, circle. I found some additional printables at Education.com that would help trace circles. She loved all of it!

We set her up to start last night and first thing this morning, she asked to work on her worksheets! Today, I will also add some word family words that end in “-at”. She loves Super Why and rhyming words so, I think she will love it.

Baby brother even got in on the action! We chose a new “sign” for him to learn this week. So, we are learning “again” and practicing our animals and animal sounds. As soon as I laminate some of these pages, he can play with big sissies sheets too.

Lent and Littles

Admittedly, I have slacked as a Catholic Mom on “teaching” my children religion. Not for lack of belief but more my own uncomfortableness in explaining the “why” and “what does that mean”. This stems from my own lack of retention over the years. 

Proudly, Sofia does attend a Jewish preschool and has learned many basic principles of religion. She’s learned prayers and the foundations of having a moral compass. She’s learned some common Old Testament stories like “Creation”, “Jonah and the Whale” and “Noah’s Ark” but we haven’t moved passed what she gets in her Judaic class in school. 
On Ash Wednesday, I took Sofia to the Liturgy of the Word and we received our ashes together. She was apprehensive and wanted to know why they were wiping that on our heads! I didn’t have a good explanation. On the way out of church, they were giving out little guide books to the Lenten season and I picked one up. It’s not overly preachy or lengthy. It’s a great, easy to follow guide to understanding our faith a little more. 
The Ash Wednesday lesson explained the dualism of Lent looking at the past and present. The challenge they proposed was that you spend less time thinking about things from the past and spend time thinking and praying on the future. “Don’t drift halfheartedly…Plunge into it.”
So, we are by talking more about what the season means. We are learning the “why” together. Today’s lesson was about Jesus’ last supper and the closeness of that group. The desire for closeness in his final hours. The ending message was to just enjoy his presence. I took this as being intentional in enjoying the presence of those we are close with as well. 
Happy Lent to all those who celebrate! 

Saying her Hebrew prayers at bed. 

Lent and Littles

Admittedly, I have slacked as a Catholic Mom on “teaching” my children religion. Not for lack of belief but more my own uncomfortableness in explaining the “why” and “what does that mean”. This stems from my own lack of retention over the years. 

Proudly, Sofia does attend a Jewish preschool and has learned many basic principles of religion. She’s learned prayers and the foundations of having a moral compass. She’s learned some common Old Testament stories like “Creation”, “Jonah and the Whale” and “Noah’s Ark” but we haven’t moved passed what she gets in her Judaic class in school. 
On Ash Wednesday, I took Sofia to the Liturgy of the Word and we received our ashes together. She was apprehensive and wanted to know why they were wiping that on our heads! I didn’t have a good explanation. On the way out of church, they were giving out little guide books to the Lenten season and I picked one up. It’s not overly preachy or lengthy. It’s a great, easy to follow guide to understanding our faith a little more. 
The Ash Wednesday lesson explained the dualism of Lent looking at the past and present. The challenge they proposed was that you spend less time thinking about things from the past and spend time thinking and praying on the future. “Don’t drift halfheartedly…Plunge into it.”
So, we are by talking more about what the season means. We are learning the “why” together. Today’s lesson was about Jesus’ last supper and the closeness of that group. The desire for closeness in his final hours. The ending message was to just enjoy his presence. I took this as being intentional in enjoying the presence of those we are close with as well. 
Happy Lent to all those who celebrate! 

Saying her Hebrew prayers at bed. 

Lent and Littles

Admittedly, I have slacked as a Catholic Mom on “teaching” my children religion. Not for lack of belief but more my own uncomfortableness in explaining the “why” and “what does that mean”. This stems from my own lack of retention over the years. 

Proudly, Sofia does attend a Jewish preschool and has learned many basic principles of religion. She’s learned prayers and the foundations of having a moral compass. She’s learned some common Old Testament stories like “Creation”, “Jonah and the Whale” and “Noah’s Ark” but we haven’t moved passed what she gets in her Judaic class in school. 
On Ash Wednesday, I took Sofia to the Liturgy of the Word and we received our ashes together. She was apprehensive and wanted to know why they were wiping that on our heads! I didn’t have a good explanation. On the way out of church, they were giving out little guide books to the Lenten season and I picked one up. It’s not overly preachy or lengthy. It’s a great, easy to follow guide to understanding our faith a little more. 
The Ash Wednesday lesson explained the dualism of Lent looking at the past and present. The challenge they proposed was that you spend less time thinking about things from the past and spend time thinking and praying on the future. “Don’t drift halfheartedly…Plunge into it.”
So, we are by talking more about what the season means. We are learning the “why” together. Today’s lesson was about Jesus’ last supper and the closeness of that group. The desire for closeness in his final hours. The ending message was to just enjoy his presence. I took this as being intentional in enjoying the presence of those we are close with as well. 
Happy Lent to all those who celebrate! 

Saying her Hebrew prayers at bed. 

Michael’s AD