Everchanging Cadbury

So, found these super cute lavendar pants at F21 yesterday. I could not beleive the price. I have been wanting to do an outfit with spring pastels and the pants were perfect. Thought it looks interesting with my lizard print silk green shirt. I tried on so many different belts and shoes with this combo and really liked how these flats look with the pants. Of course the pants have silver zippers and the sandals are gold. Oh well. The hot pink belt, is still a choice I question. What do you guys think?

Lavendar skinny pants - F21 - $13.50

Silk Shirt - The Limited 

Gold Sandals - Dolce Vita - $100

Belt - F21 - $7

Today's Activities: Easter egg hunt and picnic lunch at a local neighborhood park by my mom. Hair appointment while the kids napped at home with my husband.

In the afternoon we went to the zoo. Since the weater was cooler I changed up the outfit. Swapped the pink belt with a black one and added a black cardigan and a silver chain necklace. Also swapped the gold sandals with uggs. I thought black converse sneakers might have looked super cool. I need to order a pair very soon.

TIP OF THE DAY:
I had two friends ask me about how I tie my scarfs. When I showed them I just simply twist it around my neck they said theirs didn't look like mine. I realized it is probably due to how they store their scarf. To get that ultra crinkly look you have to store your scarf as follows: ring it out like it was a wet rag you were trying to get rid of excess water. Then fold it in half and ring/twist again. finally tie it in a knot. Store it this way. When you are ready to wear it simply un tie. I will try to demo how I tie mine tomorrow but that part really is not tricky.

Who are you calling a 'mommy' now?

I love this outfit for more than one reason. 1st of all it is sexy even though it includes a button up professional blouse and a blazer jacket and boots by just bearing legs. 2nd it defies all the old fashion rules of not combining navy with black with brown. (navy jacket, black boots and brown belt). 3rd it makes me feel 6 feet tall with legs to match that height (I am only 5'5") and 4th and the one that counts the most my husband loves it.
My inspiration for this outfit came from a phot in Vogue. I cut the page out leaving the designer they were portraying so not sure who it was but the look stuck. These shorts are new as they are 3 inches longer than all the other jean shorts I own. The blouse is an old work shirt (great example of using old work clothes). The blazer I found on sale at F21. And of course my juicy boots makes the whole look. The shirt has stripes that go with the brown in the belt. Not sure if the photos show it.

Tonight's Activities: Celebrating our 5 year anniversary. We went pretty casual. Did not make dinner reservations and decided to shop together instead of individually. That way we left with no stress once my father and sister arrived to babysit the kids. Walked around downtown La Jolla shops. I bought him a whole new outfit. We looked for a purse for me but did not see anything I liked so it will have to be postponed. Had a nice dinner, followed with drinks.

Hubby took these photos, went a little overboard, but this was the first time he actually enjoyed taking my 'outfit' photos so here they go:

Casual with style

Going once again very casual today. So, this was on my list and when I read it off it didn't even make sense much to me. But, I must have been inspired by a photo or something cause when I put it on I got it. Once again the pants and the t-shirt by themselves are boring. But simply tucking in the tee, adding a belt and a colorful scarf makes a huge difference. And again since I am always cold in the mornings and the afternoon had to have a jacket to go with it. Went with this cream hoodie that has a very cool design on the side.

Teal Tee - target

Cameo Capri Pants - VS catalog

Zip up hoodie - Delia's Catalog

Leather Belt - Limited

Scarf - gift from mom (from Turkey)

Today's Activities: Shopping at UTC mall while parent entertain kids. The goal was to look for tank tops for my son to match his 3 new swim suits he got a while ago for this upcoming summer. But somehow ended up at Guess and Forever 21. Bought two great cardigans at guess on sale that I will probably wear forever. Bought the coolest lavendar pants and my first and only romper from F21. I plan to wear the pants tomorrow to the egg hunt tomorrow morning.

Hosted a mini playdate at home in the afternoon. Went out tonight which will be posted separetely.

TIP OF THE DAY:

When adding a scarf as an accessory, I use this rule, if you have patterned top (or striped) go with a solid color scarf. If wearing a solid color top, go with a patterned (or striped) scarf. Due to popular demand I will discuss scarf storage and tying in the next couple of days.

Rain Rain Come Again

So we started the morning with rain and a mini water incident at my house which is why I had these rain boots out. This mornign was tough. I did not follow my own advice and figure out what I was wearing beforehand. So, after the water incident and running totally late I couldn't figure out what to wear. I put on the jeans, and the thank and hoodie and realized it was too boring. Added the sparkly necklace and the headband (which I forgot to take a close up photo). As I rushed out the door I thought instead of uggs why don't I try these rain boots. They definitely look more interesting that uggs. Of course it was a bit odd when the sun came out to be walking around in them but since it was rainy in the morning I figured I could get away with it.

Semi-skinny jeans - Rock Revival - VS Catalog - $100

Black Tank - Closet - $3

Zip up hoodie - H&M - $30

Sparkly Necklace - H&M - $10

Headband - gift from Mom from Turkey

Rainboots - Merona - Target - $25

Today's Activities: Sea World in the morning. Great day where both kids took a 3 hour nap! Music class in the afternoon. Followed by dinner at Mom's house to celebrate their 20 year wedding anniversary.

Here we are at Sea World with the seasame street characters. As you can see my daughter is thilled to meet them!

TIP OF THE DAY:
Lesson learned today, do try to always know what you are going to wear before facing your closet half naked with kids crying and clock ticking. And when you do have those accept them the way they are. If you can come up with a last minute funky bold statement piece kudos to you!

Betsey Lacey...

This was my outfit tonight. Didn't come out as good as I hoped. The jacket needed to be more fitted and cropped. I don't know how I wore this skirt in my early days but oh man was it mini. And of course right as we are walking from the car to the bar, wind picks up and it was scary. But I do love the skirt. The rose design is velvet and it has mini pleats that have lace insets. Very cute.
And these are my Juicy peep toe summer boots. You know what I love about Juicy Couture (besides the amazing clothes and shoes) the packaging. If you have not guessed I am crazy about pink. I absolutely adore Juicy's shoe boxes. They give me the same warm and fuzzy feeling as the classic little blue box, well almost... These boots are great because they are open in the heel as well. And even though they look like they have a lot of ties and strings they are zippered. And the sole is this hiking shoe material so very comfy regardless of the stilletto heel.

Lacey Mini Skirt - Betsey Johnson

Boucle Jacket - Newport News Catalog (part of a suit)

White lace ruffle blouse (worn underneath) - vintage from my Grandmother

Boots - Juicy Couture - Zappos - $200

Black earings - Ann Taylor

Tonight's Activity:

Happy hour with the girls. Then saw the broadway play 'Legally Blonde'. It was such a fun and uplifting play. Loved it.

Here I am with my mom at the bar. She is wearing a dress she actually bought for me in Turkey but it needs to be altered to fit me so in the meantime she is getting some use out of it.

Oh, forgot to give credit to my best friend who took all the night photos. She made me laugh in the poses when I look up. She hates when I look away from the camera.

Copycat

So, this is a complete copycat of my fellow blogger E's look yesterday! (check her out at http://www.districtofchic.com/). The minute I saw her outfit, I told myself 'hey I own all similar items' I love it when I see looks that can be created with items I already own. And it was going to be a bit cooler today and hence my current list is full of spring/summer outfits it was perfect for cooler San Diego weather. She had jeans that was similar to this shade of blue, mine are cords. And of course her shoues are amazing Miu Miu, mine are my classic slouch boots. I should have tken the photos before I stuffed my bag with the laptop but I was running late as it is and was not going to unpack it just for the photos. Don't you love my son running across the first photo. I thought it was cute. You wouldn't beleive how some days these photos are taken so fast and in such super rush that is amazing they come out at all. Oh, I had a much better shirt to wear but it was at dry cleaners o had to go with this one. It is too short though so it kept coming out of the pants throughout the day.

White blouse - Charlotte Rousse

Blue Cords - Gap

Leather slouchy boots - Hype

Brown necklace - can't remember where I got this

Brown leather belt - The Limited

Tote - LV knock off - NYC street vendor - $50

I did not intentially omit the prices of the other items, they are so old, I can't remember them at all. Some items I remember the price the location like yesterday. Especially if they were a great deal and some I just don't.

Today's Activities: A very long Dr's (infusion) appt, hence the reason for me carrying a laptop and running errands during the day.

Not much to dress for after all.

TIP OF THE DAY:

First, I am sorry for forgetting to include this yesterday....

Second today's tip is probably not going to relate to any of you cause I doubt you are as crazy as I am when it comes to organization and obessions with spreadsheets.

But, regardless here it is: Organizing outfit ideas on a spreadsheet helps in many ways. It helps you pick out an oufit without much thought. If you tag outfits by 'dressy' vs. 'everyday' and by season you can sort them easily depending on weather and event. Also, if you are going to be traveling it allows you choose outfits that utilize the same top, bottom or shoes when sorted accordingly.

Here is the format I use:

Bottom Top 1 Top 2 Top 3 Dressy Shoes Casual Shoes Belt Jewelry Handbag Type Season

Allowing 3 fields for top lets me identify layers and if there are no layers I use those columns for things like scarf or additional accessories. I do two columns for shoes for those outfits that can go from casual to dressy with just the change of shoe. Those are tagged as 'both' under the 'type' column. When I have a busy day and plans at night I tend pick those outfits so I don't have to change clothes from day to night.

Since I had 3 hours to kill and no internet connection at the Dr's office, I was going to move my handwritten outfit ideas lis to the spreadsheet. Before that though I found my old spreadsheets. It was great to remember some combinations I had forgottan. Most were work combo's but some others were keepers.

I am going to post tonight's activity and outfit separately so there is a separate link to it.

Hello Stranger!

So, the title is addressed to my classic boot cut jeans! I have been bad and have neglected them for quite sometime. If you noticed I have been living in skinny jeans, occasionally mixing it up a bit with boyfriend jeans. But the boot cuts have been pushed to the bottom of the drawer. With a crop and fitting sweater like this only this cut would go, so here they came out. These jeans seem to always fit me. Whether I have extra pounds or have lost weight they just fit. Weird huh? Kind of like those jeans in the 'sisterhood of the pants' movie. That might not be the exact title but you get it. The length also is fine whether I am wearing flats or heels. Magical.
My sister was giving away this sweater and seeing its coral color I saw potential. First of all this color goes great with blue, hence the blue jeans. Than I realized it will make an excellent back drop to this big and funky blue necklace I bought last year's 'Thread Show'. It is such a statment necklace that it can only be worn with simple plain clothes I feel. It looks great on all black outfits as well which is how I wore it when pregnant.
To finish it off, wore my new rose metal colored flip flops, which if you look on my list of 'what is in style now' section you will see totally in. To match that I went with my bronze glitter belt which occasionally peeks under the crop sweater.
Although as my friend and I concluded at the end that wearing flip flops to the dirt roads of flower fields is not such a great idea. I had to wash the sandals when I got home.

Coral crop Sweater - mango - hand me down from sister
Jeans - Citizens of Humanity - Some Jean sample sale years ago - $100
Rose leather and satin flip flops - BCBGirls - TJ Maxx - $29
Blue bone necklace - Thread Show - $20
Bronze glitter belt - F21 - $4.50

Today's Activities: Playdate at a friend's house. Rushed home for lunch and naps and after 7 very angry phone calls to AT&T the tech showed up. Ironic part was all he had to do was re-start the modem! I don't even want to comment!
In the afternoon drove to Carlsbad (approx 25 miles north of SD) to the flower fields and met my friend and her kids there. Will include some photos at the bottom. Then had dinner at friend's house and drove back right at bed time.

Me and the kids at the flower fields. Loved this mushrom in front of the kid's playground area. My daughter is wearing her Juicy top (gift from grandma) and black tulle lined skirt.

Beautiful flower fields of Carlsbad... You can see the ocean in the back in the right photo.

Silky Cargos...

So, not much actiity today. I would say waste of an outfit but at least I was with my mom and she saw it. Oh, and some random people at Dr's office and Vons.

I had this outfit idea on my list but was not sure how it would look good. I just like the idea of silk with cargo's. It is so opposite that it attracts. The color is dusty rose pink which goes really nice with the khaki color. Went with a funky chain belt in cream and green colors. It is super old. I purchased it full price from Bebe as part of a whole outfit! Ironically, the pants of that outfit used to not fit and my mom had them but she gave them back to me today. So, may be I will wear that whole outfit again! It is backin style...Picked up that green in the belt with my tribal (really, from Kenya's Masai people) necklace and bracelet and my cameo flats. This is a good example of again using old work clothes. Yes, I realize 100% silk is risky with kids and equates dry cleanning. But it is either that or the shirt just gets old hanging in the closet until I work again? I figure why not use it. On the same token I beleive in using the good china even for casual company... And amazingly to note my shirt stayed spotless today. Probably due to lack of activity.

Silk Shirt - VS Catalog - who knows how much it is soooo old

Cargo Pants - J Crew - $39 on sale

Chain Belt - Bebe - Can't remember as this is also very old but probably in the $30-$40 range

Cameo flats - Rocketdog - I knw I got these from TJ Max but not sure how much. probably $25 or so

Tribal Necklace and Bracelet - Kenya, Africa - can't remember...

Today's Activities: WARNING - it was a boring day... Took my daughter to Dr's appt, then had lunch at my Mom's house. Spent all afternoon waiting for the cable guy to come fix our cable which has been dead since last night due to an upgrade they did. They were supposed to come Noon to 4 PM and it is now 8:45 PM and they are still not here but after 5 phone calls promise to come at some point tonight. We were already sooo behind in our DVR'd shows who know when we'll catch up now. They better not come and say we lost all our recordings. I will not be happy. I was so mad at them for not letting me know if they were going to miss their time slot. I could have taken the kids to the park or the beach, it was a beautiful day. Thank goodness my mom came over and waited for them so at least I can do some grocery shopping.

Oh, I forgot I did shop today. And did not spend a penny. Where you might ask? My mom's closet! Brought home bunch of items that I need to try and figure out what kind of outfits I can come up with them but two pieces are totally worth mentionning about immediately...
One is a black lace cardigan compeletly lined with 100% cashmere cream cardigan. It is crop and very lady like. Vintage of course. I plan to use it to re-create a chanel look I saw in Elle magazine. I might try it out tomorrow night at the play. We'll see...
The second piece is another vintage item, my grandmother's actually. It is a mod white lace mini dress. It is pure lace (arms, neck etc...) super mini I might add. It looks amazing. I have to figure out what to wear under it as it is see through. This also will have to be worn one night this month. Isn't it funny sometimes you have an outfit in mind and come up with an event just so you can wear the outfit? Do you do this or is it just me? :)

TIP OF THE DAY:
I have talked about this before as my motto so wanted to include it as a tip...
Even if you are not crazy about totally dressing up during the day, you can always style up a super casual outfit with minor accessories. Scarfs are my favorite and simplest. Statement necklaces are easy as well. Even hats...
For example, imagine leggings, ugg boots and a baggy sweatshirt/sweater. Totally casual. Add a fedora hat and a simple winter scarf and vola you got style. Another example, my outfit couple weeks ago, jeans, street sneakers, a top. boring. but add a bright yellow scarf and you got a punch of color that is eye catching.  If you want to start dressing up more this is a great way to start. Baby steps and easy...

Pink Blossom

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous here. Since I left my house later in the morning was able to dress more summery. Finally got to wear this new skirt I got from VS Catalog. It is flouncy and full and super light and airy. Perfect for summer. It is lined so does not show thru and the high elastic thick waist holds the skirt in place even in wind. And it has pockets which for a mom is a great asset. It came in many colors and designs but I loved this hot pink. I have 4-5 different outfits to wear this in on  my list.  I love how the b/w striped top pops over this color. To not compete with the colors of the outfit went with neutral colored sandals. Which are another purchase from VS. I am officially hooked on this style sandals where the ankle is covered with back/side zip closure. They are super comfy and yet very stylish. What makes them ultra safe is the heel is open so no fear of the sandal hurting your feet after a while. I wore them all day today, including an entire afternoon of walking at Sea World and they felt like sneakers and definitely more comfy than casual flip flops as they stay put. I love this tan color because it will go with everything while adding a very subtle style. I decided to add pizzazz to the whole outfit by wearing my new sparkly bib necklace. When worn a little lower like this it actually looks like part of the top. Even though it has tie closure it stays put all day long. The tan background complimented the sandals as well. To match that wore a gold leather, dark sliver chain combo bracelet, which is actually a necklace. Oh, and I will note my sunglasses today. I realized I frequently pose with them on but forget to list them. In San Diego, sunglasses are something you can't live without. They are like your keys and wallet so I forget to count them as an accessory. I have gazillion funky pairs but this is my every day one.

Top - F21 - $20 (old)

Skirt - VS Catalog - $30

Sandals - VS Catalog - $68

Bib Necklace - Kohl's - $22

Bracelet (necklace worn like a bracelet) - F21 - $7

Ring - heirloom from my mother

Sunglasses - Chanel - Bloomingdale's - $300

Today's Activities: Visited Mom and step dad for play and lunch. Went to Sea World in the afternoon, just me and the kids, had dinner there and came home in time for baths and bed time. Hubby had to work.

Please see the photos of my babies I added to the side of the blog. This weekend has been very productive for the blog adding all sorts of new gadgets and photos and slideshows. I am going to ask a few questions to some of you for some additonal tips.

TIP OF THE DAY:

Don't spend too much money on items that are in style now but will go out of style very quickly. They are not worth the investment. However for classics like boots, trench coat, a classic cut jeans, it is worth going brand name and good quality as they will be items you will wear for years to come.

Bump in Style

So, I had a little bit of time in my hands and was searching for other mommy bloggers on fashion and style. Found a mommy who has a website on fashion. Of course apparently I fogot to bookmark it and can't find it now to reference. But, I do remember registering to her website so as soon as she has a new post I should get a notification and will find her site again. Hopefully. Anyway, she had her pregnancy looks on the site and gave me an idea to post mine.

I, like her, also loved being pregnant. My son who I call the 'in vitro mircale' or 'my AA' was an IVF baby and total miracle. We wanted him so bad that when I got pregnant, I actually welcomed every symptom of pregnancy including morning sickness as a blessing, because it meant I was still pregnant. Must be due to this extereme happiness, and my healthy eater self all of a sudden craving junk food, that I ganed close to 50 lbs! But, I didn't care. I found the cutest outfits and dressed up as usual. Due to heavy weight gain I didn't wear form fitting tops but instead opted for babydoll styles.  Unfortunately I can't find my original photos and these are copies from my online gallery. 

1st one: Valentine's Day Feb 2007. Arden B tank top, cashmere wrap around seater, yoga style plazzo pants. None are maternity.

2nd One: Mexico Cruise, March 2007 - Capri maternity jeans, maternity top, sketchers sneakers

3rd One: Mexico Cruise again - Yellow/white set from 'Pea in the Pod', white and gold sandals

4th One: Easter 2007, Bloomingdales Aqua Dress (not maternity), Steve Madden navy flats

My 2nd Pregnancy:
I call my daughter the 'natural wonder' or the 'fighter'. So, after an IVF baby, I got pregnant naturally but miscarried at 7 weeks. After major depression and trying again for 2 months got pregnant again. 5 weeks into it, day after a Dr appointment with no sign of heart beat, I started bleeding and showing the same signs of miscarriage. Waiting out a horrifying weekend, at 6 weeks we found out the little fighter had a strong heart beat. But, the Dr's still were afraid of miscarriage as it was surrounded by blood. But, my little girl was strong and held on.
And I loved my body with her pregnancy. I only gained 20 lbs total and had a perfectly shaped (basketball like) bump. I wore nice and form fitting tops and dresses and loved to show it off. Luckily found the originals of these...

This is in October 2008. I am 17 weeks pregnant. Pea in the Pod maternity dress (hand me down from my sister-in-law), the same banana republic cardigan I wore yesterday, white guess flip flops. Silver locket necklace (gift from my mother-in-law). Guess cream/gold sunglasses.

Halloween 2008. I am almost 5 months pregnant.  My best friend is 2.5 months ahead of me. See, I told you guys I wore that top during pregnancy. Maternity jeans. Necklace a gift from my mother-in-law. Headband that amazingly matches the top from charlotte rousse.

This is in Manchester, NH, early Nov 2008. I am 21 weeks pregnant.
Brown Banana Republic top, khaki color velour sweats, pea in the pod maternity boucle coat, corchet hat. Ugg boots.

6 Mos pregnant. Late Nov 2008. F21 Dress, blue tights. I wore this with my cognac colored leather slouch boots and brown chloe purse. It was so cute.

December 2008. With my hubby. 7 Mos pregnant. Loved this dress from 'pea in the pod'.

Last but not least... Jan 2009 at Palm Dessert. I am 7.5 mos pregnant. Teal top from Macy's, over black yoga pants, bebe black sneakers.

I wish I had taken more photos. I took these to make a collage of my 10  mos of  pregnancy (not sure why they always say 9 mos in movies. 40 weeks of pregnancy is close to 10 mos. A brutal truth I found out when I first got pregnant).

I highly recommend taking photos each month (around the same time if you can remember) to make a little album for your little one. Some mommy's like to show their bare tummy but since I have a son I wanted photos he wouldn't be emberassed to look at. I have a mini album for both kids.