how to shop like an angel.

This turned out SO long. Feel free to skim. I chatter. 

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So if you didn't know, I started the first part of my student teaching this week, down in Payson with some surprisingly spunky first graders. It's fun, but also exhausting. AND I have to go to bed at like 10:30 and I haven't seen any of my friends (besides E) in ageeeeees. So this weekend could have been a lot of fun--there was even talk of a triple date--but disaster struck and I have felt poopy all weekend, which is why I have watched every new episode of Selfie (and shamelessly enjoyed them all) and am holed up here while Eythan is out at a bachelor party. It's totally fine though because I am a HUGE fan of alone time and staying inside basically all the time.

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 I don't know if you remember this, but I used to work at a certain somewhat high-end underwear store (I don't want to say the name because if I do this might pop up on the google and I could get sued or something. I don't know, I just remember them mentioning that there were certain things we couldn't post on social media, and there was even a video about it, buuuut we never got to watch the video so I don't know what I'm allowed to say or what could happen if I say it anyway. Just to be safe, no names. But you know what I'm talking about, right?) ANYWAY, here are a few things I learned and want to pass on. 

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DISCLAIMER - I worked there only part time for not even a year, and I left months ago. I didn't know everything, so some of this could be wrong or incomplete. Things might have changed a lot by now, too. I don't mean to give away any corporate secrets, because I didn't even know any. So if a corporate employee stumbles upon this, don't sue me. I'm just passing along what I've learned. They're all billionaires anyway.

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1. Get a fitting. I usually just walked around, picking up things that I thought were pretty, and grabbing a few different sizes to see what would work. That was a horrible idea, because I didn't even know how anything was supposed to fit. Some things are pretty obvious: there shouldn't be any gapping or spilling over, the center should lay flat against your chest. But so many things can affect that, from the band to the cups to the straps to the style you're trying on. The attendant can make adjustments, grab you a different size, or recommend a style that would work better with your shape. (For example, the most popular line, DOES NOT fit me. Even in the right size, they just don't work.)

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2. Not all associates are created equal. Some have been there four years, some have been there two weeks. Anyone can be assigned to work the fitting rooms. The seasoned ones, or the ones who know their stuff are the ideal ones to work with. They will get you the right fit. Some, however, are really freakin bad at fittings and they might be spouting some mighty bs at you, especially if you're a tricky case. Or they might just not have enough experience to get you acquainted with the right bra. Also "bra specialists" are not always the best at fittings. They are often AMAZING sales people, who are good at fittings, and have an open schedule. When I first started, we had the two most spectacular bra specialists. It seemed like they knew everything and were really nice. I only remember one from when I left, but she was probably not my favorite person..... She'd been there for a very short time, and knew some things,... but wasn't that nice (in my opinion).  She made them a lot of money though. I dunno. There's another girl who works there, who would one hundred percent be the bra specialist if she wanted to work more hours. She is also great at selling, but is super authentic and kind, and knows so much. (So ask for Kelse, if you're at the one in Orem.) 

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3. Associates are now paid on commission. Just keep that in mind. I left before they started doing this, but they did track our sales. I'm not a "salesperson personality" at ALL, so I was probably hyper-sensitive to it, but I occasionally felt pushed to be pushy. ****HOWEVER, even though they're paid on commission, they aren't just telling you lies to get you to buy stuff. (usually haha.) It really is beneficial to have multiple bras that you rotate daily. They will last SO much longer. 

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4. You can order certain colors and sizes online in the store and get free shipping. Sometimes you fall in love with a bra, but you find out that you need it in a different size than you thought. But they don't have it in in your size, so they tell you to get your "sister size." Or a similar color. Or a similar style. But if you've already found the size and style you really really want, you can often order your preferred color from the register. As far as I know, the associates have stopped advertising this openly, because online orders don't count towards the store's daily sales.

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5. Cup sizes are proportionate to band sizes. Sometimes I would have a lady in a 34D and the band would be too tight, so I'd say, "hey, let's try you in a 36C." And they would be confused because hey, these d cups are fitting perfectly. So just so you know, cup sizes are not objective. The cups on a 38A are the same size as a 36B are the same size as a 34C are the same size as a 32D. Roughly. And hopefully you know that the 38 band is 38 inches, and the 32 band is a smaller 32 inches. So that's where sister sizes come in. If the 34C is your size, but they only have your preferred color in a 36C, the cups will be about the same size. But the band will be a lot looser! So if you do want to walk out the door with something in your bag, at least try it on first, because you get 80% of your support from the band. Make sure you're ok with the new fit.

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6. They'll sometimes let you use old coupons. You know those freebies you sometimes get in the mail? Have you ever missed the deadline by like two days? Well guess what? Sometimes if you go in and ask, they'll still let you do it. At the beginning, they would ALWAYS honor expired coupons when possible, but maybe they're a little stricter now. Also, this works for most coupons, except certain ones that are tied to the computer system. I don't know how this works exactly, but I know that we would sometimes give out $15 "gift cards" that would expire and there was nothing we could do. But most coupons we could still honor. I would advise using them on time, but if you accidentally forget, it's worth asking. Even if they've been "expired" for a really long time. Just ask. Ask about everything. They will do you a lot of favors if it's a good day. Also be nice. I wanted to do a lot more for the ones who were nice. 

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7. The semi annual sale is amazing, of course. But they only sell discontinued items. It's just clearance. If they launch a new line, a few crazy colors or patterns might go on sale by the next sas, but not the whole thing, or even many options. There were two lines that I saw launched, and at the sale one had a bright orange and a weird blue and orange paisley included. The other had bright green and yellow. This means that neutrals (blacks, whites, and nudes) almost never go on sale. They only will if they redesign the line, changing the padding or hooks or something, for example. So look for them, but don't count on it. 

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8. GET THE EMAILS. I'm always a little wary of giving stores my email address, and I sometimes get a little sassy about it. But here it's worth it. I have gmail, so they're automatically sorted into my "promotions" folder. That way they're not flooding my inbox, and I can browse them when convenient. The emails make you aware of sales and promotions you wouldn't otherwise hear about. NEVER buy anything for full price AND only get the thing you paid for. The send out so many "$10 off a bra" cards, and at least monthly they give out a tote or something other gift with purchase. Take advantage. If it's October, and you need two white bras, you're obviously not going to wait until January and hope they redesign the line and they're on sale (I mean you can if you want, but it's a long shot.) Instead of just paying them and walking out with two bras and some pink tissue paper, get yourself a coupon, see if there are any good promotions coming in the next few days, and/or get a free tote or something. ALSO ***always enter your phone number and email. As far as I know, they don't sell your info or anything, but they track your purchases. That way, they send you bonuses you would be interested in, and send you more coupons and stuff the more you shop. 

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9. The credit card is not evil. I don't know what your stance is on store credit cards, but my mom had one or two from stores she shopped at frequently. She would use it to get the discounts or rewards and then IMMEDIATELY (and I mean like right then, not when she got home or the next day or anything) she would pay it off. No harm done. If you're responsible like that, the card is great. You get a little booklet of great coupons. You can cancel the card any time, but if you use it the way my mom did, you can rack up points and get rewards cards. (These coupons are like the only ones that can be combined with basically any other offer, so.... jackpot.) 

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10. Bonus tips: If you're getting cotton or PINK panties, wait for the 7 for $27. It happens pretty frequently and is worth it. If you're buying any of the Fantasies (body wash, mist, lotion, etc.) wait until it's 6 for $35 and get the seventh free. (Basically 7 for $35.) 

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11. General bra tips (which I may have already mentioned): *Try it on with the hook on the loosest clasp. That way, as it stretches, you can tighten it and it'll last longer. *If your band is raising up in the back, it is probably too loose. *The center part (called the gore) should lay flat, though if you're skinny and busty, you won't always find the PERFECT fit, and it might pull away from your chest a bit. *80% of the support comes from the band, so make sure it's tight enough. *Adjust the straps. That can really change the fit. *Try different styles in the same size to see what fits your shape best. *The store really only works for median sizes. They offer 32A-38DDD in stores (at least when I left) but not every style comes in every size. They especially cut out the As&Bs and DDs&DDDs. Don't be said if they don't fit you, they honestly just need to make more sizes available. I don't think people are wrong for criticizing them on that front. There were many girls who were a little "too big" or a little "too small" to fit in the bras, but were in reality not extreme at all in size. 

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12. This was part of the above list but gets it's own place on the list.

*Don't you dare put your bras in a machine. Even just the washer. Even on gentle. Even in a garment bag. Hand washing is not that hard and doesn't have to be done that often. You know how the wire poking out is like being stabbed? Well that happens because you put them in the washer. (Or because you're in the wrong size.) Just sanitize your sink, fill it up with cold water. Pour in a little detergent and swish it around. Soak them for a while, dunk them in and out. Work the areas that get dirty, like the band on the sides, the bottom of the cups, and the straps. Rinse thoroughly under the faucet. Then lay them out to dry. I hear that if you hang them, they will lose their shape. I dunno, but I wouldn't risk it. So lay them out. (This is the worst part, because they can take up a lot of room and will get whatever they're on wet. And they take for-freaking-ever to dry. I usually lay mine on towels on the balcony, which is kind of embarrassing, because if someone were to walk by, there they are. But we're on the third floor and hardly any one comes up here, so.) You can also put rolled socks in the cup to help maintain shape. 

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13. I was told at least once that we can match online offers. Once it was buy one get one free online, but you could get that in the store too (and no pay shipping) if you asked for it. The associate won't tell you about the online deals, so watch your emails. Some of them say "online only" so I don't know if those can be matched, but I say it's ALWAYS worth it to ask. 

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ANYWAY........... Sorry this turned into a book about bras. These are just some of the things that I learned. They all seem very "duh" now, but I was apparently once very uneducated, because I didn't know like any of this. If you are wondering about anything I didn't mention, you can totally ask and I MIGHT know. Maybe. Especially if you're wondering about how best to work the system. Cause I like doing that. (And if you're still unsure about what store it was, here's another clue! I meant to write up something like this in honor of a certain, widely televised fashion show that should really only be watched by very secure women and no men or insecure girls ever.) Later, yo!


Wait, P.S. I also just wanna say that I miss the pretty ladies I worked with. It was a sometimes hard job, but SO fun, and they're great. You can pretty much count on being in good hands, unless they've hired new, less cool girls, which they might have. But you can probably still find the good ones.

thoughts after year one

Stephanie & Eythan from A. Green Films on Vimeo.

this year flew by.
we decided this video was perfect because the day was chilly and damp but everything else was so warm and cozy and happy.
we laugh together. often.
i love everyone who was there last september twenty fifth and everyone who couldn't be, too.
the scene with eythan and shay, <3
the scene with jaime doing my hair, too.
and my sisters.
lillie should have been there.
tracie, your torso made it in!
i should have worn my veil for more of the pictures.
someday i should write about the whole day.
someday we should sent out the rest of the thank you cards.
oddly, thinking about my wedding makes me think about how grateful i am for every single person i know and love and often miss.
what a strange year. kind of chilly and sad outside, but warm and cozy and happy.

in which i play catch-up

I added this picture because there needed to be some color up in here.

Ugh there are so many things that have happened and deserve to acknowledged. I was always really bad at writing in my journal. Every few months....or years..... I would get back to it and try to play catch up. And I would write pages and pages about what I'd been up to and the important milestones that had passed and hadn't yet been recorded. This would leave me totally burnt out and I wouldn't touch my journal for several more months. Or years. I eventually started just picking up where I left off instead of trying to cover everything that happened. It worked well, but I clearly haven't learned a thing because I'm going all the way back to April for this one. Although I will be using pictures and I'm typing instead of writing so my hand won't cramp up. Let's go. 

QUESTIVAL. Sometime in April we went on this big outdoor scavenger hunt called questival. The task list was pretty much everything cool to do in northern Utah. It was loads of fun. However, were we to do it again I think I could contribute more as a team manager instead of a member. Because let's be honest, I was all about the color coding and navigating, and place-finding, and picture-posting, but I wasn't the one trail running and climbing mountains and snowboarding. Though I did write our llama limerick, so...... there's that. We also signed up last minute, so we didn't have the time to gather equipment and map everything out the way we should have. If we'd had things like a paddle board or an extra mattress we could have gotten way more points. PLUS I told someone I'd cover their shift so I had to ditch out early which was AWFUL. Basically, we would have won if we'd had more time and money. Maybe. But anyway, Lindsay, Caleb, and Eythan are champs and it was worth it because it was superawesome hanging out with them. Especially the part where Lindsay and I found the rope swing in the dark, braced ourselves, hopped on, and it just spun in a lame circle. ALSO when the Peruvian restaurant just gave us cut-up hotdogs and french fries. haha. 

Then for my birthday my mom and dad took me and Eythan to see Les Mis at the Hale Center Theater, and it was fabulous. Like, so good. And the songs were stuck in E's head for SO LONG, it was hilarious. We took a picture with one of the actors who we had taken a picture with a few years before when he played Joseph (of the amazing technicolor dreamcoat variety - which E still has not seen, which is a crime.)

AND THEN on the morning of my actual birthday, this girl from work calls and asks me to come in, and I said no. And then I told E and he still had to set some stuff up, so we figured I might as well, and then I got to Victoria's Secret and my FRIENDS were there, and I was like *what a happy coincidence! good to see you!* And the scariest of all the managers said it was all a joke and I didn't have to work and my friends game me an envelope from E with cash and card because he knows I love shopping and my friends so he sent my shopping with my friends and bought us all cafe rio. My only regret is that I had worn my ugliest work clothes, so I just bought something else to wear. WHAT A CATCH. <3 <3 <3

Then we went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and I wore my new nail polish, but I think those pictures on on E's phone. And we stayed at the Little America and played Jenga and it was very fancy.

We ate pizza on the floor, reminiscent of our early days at Wymount when we had no furniture. 

And once we drove out the lake and watched a movie on our laptop because we don't own a TV anyway and the lake was a better backdrop than our cinder block walls.

THE BEST was when we went to Disneyland again, with my family. E almost bought that stylish visor, but didn't want anyone mistaking him for an early bro from the 90s.
The first day in Disney we were Buzz and Woody.(Eythan even had a red handkerchief around his neck for a while.)

 
 (I am not very good at this game, but I beat him at Midway Mania every time, which seems a little backwards considering  I was  supposed to be Buzz.)

And the GREATEST THING EVER was finding out that Ashten was there on the same day! But we met up right when our Tower of Terror fastpasses were expiring so we only saw her for like two seconds, and that is the pits.

Doesn't this look like it should be called "photography" instead of just a picture. Disneyland, if you want to use this for a brochure, that's fine with me.

Space mountain family selfies.

Rachel went on Indiana Jones for the first time since she is finally tall enough, and she also went on Tower of Terror, despite mom's protestations. She loves Tower of Terror. And even mom went on it and said it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. (And she bought the bathrobe in the gift shop, so clearly she secretly loved it.)

We got a gumbo bread bowl for dinner - we share a lot of things because we are broke.

I used to exclusively ride a carousel horse named Feather, but she disappeared after the renovations. :( So this time I rode Dasha, who is magnificent, and  chose his horse, whose name is Reginald.

And one day we dressed up as John Smith and Pocahontas. (notice the blue necklace -- it's all in the details.)

 

We went to the Animation Studio six times probably- these are pictures from when we were waiting for it to start and experimenting with taking "lens blur" photos - which didn't REALLY work out. Later, we had some of our drawings rolled up and we went on the tower of terror--and to me it looked like Eythan tossed them up a little bit to see if they would float, but he claims they just flew up on their own--either way they went right out the front of the elevator and were lost in the twilight zone. And when we went to look at our picture, we saw that  vvvvvv which made us crack up, but I was also very sad. (though I have since gotten over it.)

E tried his first dole whip!!!!!! Which he found "refreshing" and "delicious" and we were just in a great mood after that.

'

There's this thing they do at California Adventure called the Mad T Party, and there's a white rabbit DJ and once we saw a band with an undead or possibly just steampunk  Alice and Mad Hatter and this time we saw both Tweedles Dee and Dum as bouncers, which turned out to be a necessary precaution as some kids got busted for underage drinking right next to us.

 

We played with the kiddos in nursery a lot. And we LOVE THEM.

I finally hiked the Y after living in Utah County my entire life. And it was  pretty cool, I guess.

 E is still teaching old people at the senior MTC with his buddies. AND we just bought him some new dress pants because he has to wear them everyday and we're pretty excited about that.

 

We had shawarma with the Eckersleys, which is big in Romania and is in that credits scene on the Avengers. We shared, again, because we're broke.



  I refinished some furniture and maybe ruined the concrete on our balcony and spent a lot on spray paint.



 Plus we got invited to Rachel's Fairy Princess party and my mom is a master decorator/crafter/even planner. She handmade little fairy dolls and there were cupcakes and fruit and toadSTOOLS (toadstool stools if that was too quick for ya.) And I did fairy makeovers with shimmery eye shadow and bright pink lipstick (but I was only wearing neutral pink lipstick and didn't take any pictures of the kids.) Some of the seven year olds were pretty unpleasant and I didn't like them, but most of them were darling.


When were in Lehi one day, we went to the park where we first kissed/got engaged and climbed THE TREE, and there was a basket with sparkling cider and flowers and a necklace in the ring box and apparently it was the anniversary of our engagement and it was then that I learned that E is 1000x more romantic and thoughtful that I am.

 

Then Annemarie, Hannah, and I threw Aimee's bachelorette party. We don't ever remember to take pictures because this is the only one that I have! We had lunch at Zupas and then played games including Jaxson Jeopardy and had mocktails. *clink* Lovely.

Made dinner on a fancy stay-at-home date.

I am getting so bored of writing this. I am a terrible blogger. This is a neat picture from the orem summerfest. #nofilter. #fromthetopoftheferriswheel.

 Also from the top of the ferris wheel. yeehaw

The Stallings family had a reunion for my grandparents' 50th anniversary and I was really excited to take Eythan! We "got wood" from the wood pile, played some games, did some fireworks, and maybe did some things that the younger cousins weren't allowed to witness that led to even better fireworks.....

Eythan seemed to hit it off with the boy cousins (+Mynnette), and they lit off firecrackers in water bottles and stuff like that, and we played Betrayal at House on the Hill, which was a very elaborate, pretty creepy game.

We visited the Great Northern Carousel which is also an ice cream shop, as per tradition. There was also this place called the Staggering (pronounced stay-gering) Ox where they made sandwiches in tin cans and had a lot of hippie art everywhere.

This little girl was riding the carousel too and decided we were bestfriends for ten minutes. It was a little weird, but I liked her.

Then there was the party, and Heather suggested that we decorate the grandparents' car. So we ran (kind of literally) to the dollar store with Mynette, Hyrum and Andrew and managed to put streamers on a wet car and make it look pretty good. Grandma loved it, but Grandpa was not pleased.

So cute. But Grandpa had it washed and cleaned by like 9 AM the next morning.

(Grandma as they were being sent off: "Oh, did you get us a hotel too?") hahahaha

We bought cheap, neat fireworks to bring home to Utah. (legal here, just not available.)

Eythan climbed too high in some trees. I believe he fell out of one as well.

We sort of hiked Mt. Helena.













And got pasties! I believe they're a traditional English food that the miners would pack for lunch, and they're filled with meat and potatoes. Our family always makes them but it was fun to get them from the pasty truck. They tasted pretty much the same and were delicious. (Unfortunately they were out of huckleberry cream dessert ones, so maybe we should try making those.)

E thought it was so funny to take gross pictures of me because I sleep in the car for most of every road trip.

I'm not too vain to put these out there.











Eythan had his first bubble tea and we had some pretty gross Chinese food with the Eckersleys.

And this happened actually before Montana, but it is a freaking pain to move the pictures. We went to Idaho to see E's family and went to Yellowstone. On the way we were delayed by a GIANT HERD OF SHEEP. It was hilarious and it seriously sounded like people were making sheep noises which was super freaky. That was maybe the highlight of the trip, but we also went to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone,

Dragon Hot Springs (I think? Maybe Dragon's Mouth Cave or something),

And took a picture by this sign because we were going to Montana like 3 days later.

We did Fourth of July stuff with E's family and someone graffiti-ed with a smoke

ball.

Once we went to a wedding at a legit Provo mansion, that had an entire play village in the backyard.

Aimee and Jaxson finally got married!!

 And the bridesmaids got beautiful corsages. (I was a bridesmaid. FINALLY. Lifelong dream fulfilled. And I will not be told that I was a bridesmatron, ANNEMARIE.)

 Also, my bestfriend came home from her mission!!!!!!! And has moved to Provo, so hopefully we will be seeing plenty of each other once we get into this year's groove.

 We also found some tickets and went to Ancestry.com's company party at Seven Peaks, which is really the only way to go because there's free food and free tubes.

 The boomerang was a terrifying as ever.

 I wish I wasn't so burned out from typing all this so that I could do justice to the Murder Mystery Party we went to. It was fabulous. The Eckersleys invited us because they are our couple friends, and we didn't know anyone else there, so I was kind of nervous. We got these character packets a couple of weeks beforehand so we could learn our roles. I was Vicky Damiano, who was the ex-wife of the guy who got murdered. Eythan was Stefano Hervey, the Italian mob boss from New York. The hosts did a spectacular job with the decorating. There were feather centerpieces, a chalkboard drink menu, legitimate poker table, etc. etc. They had candy cigarettes and very authentic mocktails. (read: they were sometimes pretty gross but tasted like the real thing which made it more exciting). I won't get into the story and whodunnit and all, but I will have you know that Inspector Garland is a no good two-timer, and that my Rebecca did what she had to do. SPECTACULAR. And now I want to host my own murder mystery, so if you're interested......

 Went to the zoo.
Saw the bird show.

And the pachyderm show. (Eythan loves elephants!)

 

They do tricks!
















 Tigers are my favorite animal, obviously. 

 We were only supposed to babysit two, but the whole gang came along and that was fine with us! Good thing we had popsicles, popcorn and teddy grahams on hand.

 We went camping with my fam, and Eythan built  discovered this fairy cottage.

And he picked me some flowers.

Ok now I'm all caught except we also just started school but forgot to take first day pictures :( So bye!