A Mom Thing

I wore heels today...

 

Aren't they purty?  At least 6 years old...these guys made a re-appearance in my wardrobe.  Black with a pinstripe. Pointy toe and high heel (for me). I wore them today.  Woooeeeee did they get noticed. You woulda' thought I was wearing sequins...or had lost 20 pounds...or got my hair straightened...or had actual cleavage?  People stopped and noticed! 

Do I really not wear REAL big girl shoes that often?  Ok, Ok, I don't.  Shameful since my mom (who had Polio as a child) wears 3+inch heels everyday.  I'm more of a wedge/platform/kitten heel gal.  I believe in comfort.  Sucker, I know. Seriously, though -- today, I received like 20 comments:  "Where are YOU goin'?"  "You have a  MEETING??"  or "Date night?"  ... "Interviewing?"  Seriously - it was a-mazing.  

The funniest part is that on my commute in this morning, the radio DJs were all going on and on (and on) about a new study that shows the "power and confidence" women exude when wearing heels.  HAH!  Lucky coincidence?  We'll never know...

Good thing wearing those were my "workout" today... baby steps, right?
 

She was WEARING MY SKIRT.

Daughter is 9. Almost 10.  She came down for dinner the other night IN MY SKIRT.

Daughter is MAYBE a size 7 in kids clothes. MAYBE an 8.  That said, she's tall and thin and would have NO problem squeezing herself into a size 4 (kids size). I usually have to edit that stuff out of her closet so she DOESN'T wear it.  I'm a size 10 (in adult clothes).  (I can't believe I just put that on my blog.) 

To be fair, it was just a little casual elastic waisted skirt from Target.  But still -- it was a skirt (not a headband, earrings, socks or a top) ... and it was mine...and it looked good on her. Really good.

Guess I'd better get used to it, eh?

Are you wearing your husband's socks?

We're a fashion-conscious family ... sometimes. And sometimes not.  Middle Guy has the most advanced sense of style.  Though Daughter would probably argue that.  The reality is -- we all have our moments on both sides of the fence.

But I digress.  I was at the gym last week. A lot of the gals at the gym always look so nice.  So ... put-together.  Typically, I'm just happy to be there.  And remember - I sweat - so how pretty CAN you look?

So. Sometimes I happen to be wearing my husband's gym socks.  If they are what I grab, they are what I wear. I pull them up so they don't scrunch in my shoes. But that DOES mean the heel hump comes up and over the shoe.  It just sits there out of place, sticking out a pre-teen bra that just doesn't fit.

My trainer busted me on it last week.  He looked astonishingly and said, "Are you wearing your husband's socks?"  Me:  Yes...You should see when Little Guy wears them - they come up to his knees and bump out at the calf. Him:  Silence.  I think he was distracted and slightly offended by them the whole time.  Socks...they are just socks.  Right?

Sometimes I'm a complicated girl with simple tastes.  Sometimes I'm a simple girl with complicated tastes.  It's part of my charm.

I tried on ball gowns last night...

...in my dreams!  It's actually been a recurring dream lately. I have no idea where it came from but I love it!  It's so fun and fancy and totally different?  The only time I've ever come close to this was trying on prom dresses when I was 16.  And yes, this was very different.

I distinctly remember long, shiny, silky red ones -- all different shades of red. And brown. No black...imagine that...not a single black dress. And of course, I looked FABULOUS!

PS - next time there is an awards ceremony, I think I'll take some of the girls and go try on ball gown knockoffs...how fun would that be?!  After all, a girl should dream, right?

Thank GOD for polka dots and zebra belts

I am so in a fashion rut.

I wear black. In part, because it's slimming... but mostly because God granted me incredible sweat glands. (Seriously, my trainer recently said, "I have never seen anyone sweat like you do.") It's impressive for sure.

So - how do you "mix it up?"  Pop a little zip in the dreary black monotony of your wardrobe life. 

I've chosen zebra prints and polka dots lately. AND SOMETIMES... ONLY SOMETIMES... TOGETHER.  Crazy, I know.  But effective, very effective. It's like sunshine on a cloudy day... you can't help but smile.

I also accessorize with red ... and I'm considering green. Shoes or scarves mostly...I'm considering it.

What's your trick?

The Dress as "Frenemy"

Sometimes I think the cozy dress is as much a frenemy as the black yoga pants.  You can gain a few pounds and still look good.  Which is nice...especially on vacation...but not really. 

Longer term, it's really the perfect fitting jeans (not the cozy black dress) that are your true blue friends.  They are confrontational. They are the ones that HONESTLY tell you the second you've strayed.  Sure, they'll cut you a LITTLE slack -- especially if you unbutton them or loosen your belt a notch after a big italian dinner or burger and fries. 

But there is honestly not much room for straying in the fancy jeans.  And in the end, that's better for me.

Cozy Ugly Clothes

Why is it that your "ugliest" clothes are the coziest? I mean really - it's not like I want to come home and slip on stillettos and a slinky number??

Seriously. I crave comfort clothes like I crave comfort food. (And in case you have not figured that out, that's ...umm... a lot.)

Poor H.  Usually by the time he comes home from work, I'm in "my uniform" -- a black long sleeve v-neck, fitted t-shirt (from Target) or ribbed tank top from Gap (these actually look good and I would wear ALL TIME TIME if I could) and yoga pants.  Not too bad, right? Well, the only yoga pants I happen to have right now are really old, really big, light grey and have light pink paint spatters on them (from painting Daughter's room).  Nice. Not.  No - really. Not. I know I should just buy some more black yoga pants....but do you KNOW how hard it is to find nice yoga pants that aren't workout pants ???  (There's a difference, you know... I know that H has now officially stopped reading this post -- assuming he made it this far!).

Anyway - it's also COLD in our house. I finally buckled and turned on the heat.  That said, we have an OLD BFH (big fat house) and it's impossible to warm up.  It takes forever to get from 58 (our nighttime temp) to the guest-worthy balmy temp of 64ish (yes, we have guest-fleeces).  And a few radiators aren't working right now -- I guess they get bloated,too.

SO -- the other night I had a WICKED headache (that I probably waited about 3 hours too late to take advil for) ... Daughter was practicing her holiday songs (see headache comment earlier) and it was COLD IN HERE.  I begged Daughter to run upstairs and get my "ugly" sweater (to go with my long sleeved-black t-shirt).  It's a long ribbed,zippered MATERNITY cardigan that I have been SIMPLY INCAPABLE of giving up.

It's ugly.

It's warm.

It's big.

It's cozy.

I love it.

What are your "ugly cozy clothes?" 

Online Ordering

I suck at online ordering.  Seriously...S-U-C-K.  It's funny. My BFF is EXPERT at it. She can order anything from shoes (?!) to cocktail dresses ONLINE. Mr. Brown KNOWS her and her front porch.  She's amazing. She finds things on SALE. AND they fit. I just don't get it?  I order things and they are NOTHING like they look online; they typically don't fit ... and often (HELLO, READ FINE PRINT? NO, NOT I...TOO BUSY! OOPS.) are final sale/no return (what-is-up-with-that?). Like I said, OOPS.

I ordered recently from Ann Taylor (.com).  I don't really wear Ann Taylor -- at least I haven't in about 15 years.  Who knows what came over me. Anyway, I'd been "jonesin" for a trendy one-shoulder jersey knit dress (again...go figure) ... or something fun for the holidays. I have a 40th (39 AGAIN) bday fashionista bday party to go to on Saturday and kinda wanted to wear something "fashion-y" for her. They had a big sale and I was SUCKED IN.  I ordered three things figuring I could return them.  Um, uh, no - not when final sale.  And ... note to self ... it's not a deal when you won't wear it and can't return it.

The jersey one was pretty (above) but I still felt like I was dressed for a toga party.  And I couldn't really tell if the "ruching" was fat-camoflauging or fat-accentuating. Hmmm. Notsogood. And I'm a "necklace gal and it's not a necklace kind of dress).  BUT -- It was full-sale so I will return it.  The other two skirts were a great deal but not great for me...apparently those were final sale. BUM-MER.

Let's just say I'm officially done with online clothes buying. D-O-N-E.  You saw it here first.

Closet Organizers?

I re-organized Daughter and my closets recently.  It was cathartic.  Who knew a few flocked hangers and sweater bag box hangy things could be so fulfilling? 

I won't show the "before" shots...but check out the "afters" ... Ahhh.

PS.  Seems to be "in the air" -- my friend Danielle just did her closets, too!

  

Out of Uniform Day

Don't you loooove out of uniform days (she says sarcastically)? 

Especially when you're informed about them the night before (sarcasm increasing)? 

And when the out of uniform uniform is to actually wear your teacher's favorite color, even if it's pink (sarcasm crescendo!)?

Lucky for me, Daughter actually LIKES pink; Little Guy had to wear red and blue; and Middle Guy has a passion for fashion well beyond his years (and chromosones) and actually WANTED to wear a pink shirt, not JUST his sister's pink socks. 

Gotta' love it.  At least I remembered (why don't THEY ever remember?) before they got the regular uniforms dirty...Another day, another challenge met.