Stylish Blogger Award

Thank you to Frenchy for giving me this reward...

7 Things About Me (in random order):

1. I am excessively organized to the point some might call it a disorder (hence my outfit spreadsheet).

2. I love to eat popcorn with jalepegno peppers (random)

3. I have (at least used to) have some sick tolerance towards alcohol especially tequila, I could drink any guy  under the table.

4. I absolutely love spending time with my 'girls' (friends).

5. I have been married twice.

6. I am secretly addicted to the twilight books (have read them 3 times) Can't beleive I am admitting to this in public! (note: I am otherwise a very serious reader of classics and deep non page turner books)

7. I might look young but I am really 37!

Here are the blogs I would like to reward:

Artfully Awear - Each one of her unique outfits are inspired by an artists work which she posts side by side.

Atlantic Pacific - Bee has amazing style. Her posts/outfits look like magazine editorials.

Over The Knee

Before I forget I want to comment on my Brazilian blowout. I LOVE it. This whole week I was able to just wash my hair without having to do anything else to it. No blowdry, no flat iron, no roller, nothing. Just wash, air dry and some product and that is it. I am not saying it looks amazing but at least it does not look like a frizz bomb. This is such a gift to me in my busy crazy life.

So, back to the outfit...

The inspiration for this outfit came from the following Chictopia post, cause it reminded me of the mustard sweater top I have and the shawl.

So when I put on this outfit and took my photos it all seemed normal to me. I mean I see this look (OTK socks under shorts) all over other blogs, chictopia, store websites and various fashion magazines. So, it felt ordinary to me. But, I guess in San Diego not so much. That might explain the overly friendly attention I got from the male store clerks I encountered and lots of looks from people on the street. But, hold on could that also be due to the fact that I was not toting two little ones, a colossal double stroller, an overfilled diaper bag and a scooby do lunch bag. It is a toss.  

This mustard top although very cool in color and fabric is actually quite hard to wear. The fact that it is sweater knit material and t-neck makes it hard to wear in warm weather and the short sleeves are hard to wear in cold weather. But, today's weather was just warm enough in December for it to be enough.

I just got this necklace from H&M the other night when I went shopping with my mom and sister. I love the beads are oversized and the tiny rose print on it is so versatile. I bought it to wear with this mint and schiffon top I have but it also looked cool with this today.  I had found these OTK socks by the registers in F21 a few months ago. They had no tag so they just guessed $5 and I snacthed them.  Of course they do not stay OTK when you walk which is annoying. Nothing I buy for OTK seems to stay OTK for me. The booties are at least a few years old.

Since the beads are resind decided to go with resin bangles. The thin ones came in a set and I got the thick cuff to go with a white one for summer. I think they look good stacked together. Also my camera kicks butt in close-up when I can actually focus myself.

Here is the handstouth shawl. Can you beleive this is the first time I am wearing this? I bought it I think close to 10 years ago. It seemed super cool but I never could figure out what to wear it with. I know now I will find many other combinations in years to come.

I realize now the shorts are pretty short. I had these for years now and usually wear them over tights.

Weird thing is I didn't feel self conscious at all today. That is because I didn't meet up with any other mommy. I have no qualms about wearing sexy clothes in public and with my husband, family or my girlfriends. I am also used to now standing out in any mommy group gathering with my 'different' outfits and I don't mind. But, if my outfit stands out because it is a bit sexy than I feel very self concious with other mommies.  Today's outfit would have definitely qualified if I was in any playdate setting.

Top, shorts, bracelets and socks - Forever 21

Leather braided belt - Deliah's catalog

Shawl - Newport News Catalog

Booties - Steve Madden

Necklace - H&M

Today's Activities: It was somewhat of a free day for me cause my mom and stepdad helped out by entertainning the kids pretty much all day. They came right when I got both kids fed and dressed and lunches packed. Since they were all ready and I was still in PJs they went ahead of me so I could get dressed in peace for once. I met them at the mall where my son insisted we visit the disney store. I had him all conditioned that we will not be purchasing anything but of course my parents couldn't resist and got him a $50 'cars' set! Keep in mind until today the kid has never played with cars before. So it was actually nice to see him get excited about cars like every other boy his age. I was able to return a few items back to H&M and F21 from the other night and of course it ended up more being an exchange as the stores in this mall had my size on some of the things I was looking for. Then the kids started fussing so I bought couple things without trying them on. We brought them back home for naps which was very short, just enough for me to cook dinner.  When they woke up I tried on the items I got and realized they are no good so we went to my mom's house and I dropped them off and drove back to the mall to do a return once again! Picked them up after visiting for a while and having tea with my mom. Then found out my Dad was very sick so came home to drop off the kids with my husband and took portion of what I cooked plus the chicken soup I made last night and drove to my dad's (which happens to be right near my mom's). Since I rushed to get him the food on time I didn't change and of course dad had no shortage of comments on my outfit. It started with 'what is this outfit?', continued to 'it is kind of sexy', 'you look like you are 18', 'are you going to a club?', 'where are you going tonight?', 'Aren't you cold?' and finally 'YOU WORE THIS DURING THE DAY?' all in a good humored laughing tone of course.

So, a day filled with lots of driving but I am not complainning since I had all that help.

First Tie

So this whole outfit was created just so I wear this tie! Hard to beleive these jean's cut was labeled as 'skinny jeans' after what is in the market for 'skinny' cuts, this feels like bootcut to me. But I do like how they fit and because they have no spandex in them I don't need a belt to keep them in place.

I found this tie at my mom's local thrift sore for $3.50. I have never owned or worn a tie but thought this was cute enough for me to pull it off. For my first time with a tie I wanted to go simple. Button down, blazer jacket, jeans and to offset it all stilettho heels!

These were deep burried in my shoe section of the closet. I actually had to use baby wipes (as a mother of two toddlers something I have all around the house) to wipe off the dust on them. You know the heels are so not as high as I remembered them and I actually did not have any difficulty walking in them. May be I am used to heels now. 

To add more feminine touches I piled up cuffs and bracelets and wore my old chanel aviator style sunglasses

When I reached for a white button up shirt in my closet I realized that I own 5 of them in slightly different fits! Not sure why I saw the need to acquire so many. I picked this cause it was the lightest and had 3/4 sleeves which was good for today's weather.

Tie - thrifted

Button up shirt - Charlotte Russe

Khaki blazer jacket - thrifted Gap

Jeans slim cut - Rock Republic

Red lizard boots - Victoria's Secret Catalog

Cuffs and bracelets - from Turkey, Charlotte Russe and Forever 21

Watch - Michael Kors

Today's Activities: It was Thursday so swimming in the morning and music in the afternoon. My parents came over to visit the kids and my mom came with us to swim class. It is nice when I have help cause it is a hassle to just get in the pool but afterwards I have to shower two kids and myself then dress my daughter first, then my son then run into the locker room to dress myself. 30 minute class takes almost 30 minutes to get in and out of the pool! We then met my stepdad and all together had greek (which is very similar to Turkish food) for lunch then hit the dollar store for some valentine's day decorations as I promised my son as we took down xmas decorations we would decorate soon. After naps we went to the coffee shop next to the music class then the class. Came home for dinner and a quiet (well not so much with our kids but nothing major) night.

Birds on leather

Finally, finally getting to wear these leather pants I thrifted couple months ago. I have 3 combos with them in my list but it jus was never the right activity or weather to wear them until today. They fit perfect but all leather is not that comfy after a few hours I must say.

I bought this schiffon wrap around top from H&M for the purpose of layering. I do like the stripes and design as I did yesterday. This blouse has mini birds and flowers on it.

To bring out the touch of blue in the blouse I wore my turqoise bead necklace (bought in Turkey at a flea market once again). Then added the tarnished gold chain necklace for fun. 

Leather Pants - Thrifted Gap

Bird Schiffon Blouse - H&M

Striped t-neck & gold chain necklace - Charlotte Russe

Boots - Steve Madden

Necklace - from Turkey

Watch - Michael Kors

Today's (Wednesday's) Activities: Preschool again this morning. My daughter's new obsession is princess outfits. She has been crying bloody murder 3 preschool days in a row when I get them off of her to go home. I have to go find her one. She likes the gold bell gown the most. After naps my good friend came over with her kids for a house playdate. Managed to get two evites out during the crazy playtime and cooked dinner. We fed the kids together before they went back home.

Here is Juliet in her 'belle' costume and cheerleading!?

Here are both kids. Convinced Trevor to wear the batman costume (he wanted the dress!)

Layering a Floral tank

Not that crazy about this outfit which I wore on Tuesday. It was more put together to create more outfits for these denim leggings and the tank top. 

I do like mixing stripes with floral. Do you know this tank top is a size 12!? But because it is that size it can be layered on top.

Tank Top - H&M

Stipred t-neck - Charlotte Russe

Grey denim leggings - Kohl's

Belt - thrifted

Boots - Uggs

Today's (Tuesday's) Activities: Super rough night with my daughter this time waking up at 4:40 AM and never going back to sleep. It seems every 3 nights we have a bad night. Survived on coffee and managed to get the kids ready and out the door on time for the outdoor preschool class. Good thing we did cause the weather was sunny and warm and they had a great time playing with friend at the park. They were in their tee's and barefoot (sand park) and loving it. This nap time I did manage to pay the bills. When they woke up we ran around like crazy getting our car cleaned and washed which had turned into one giant snack cup with all the dropped food all over the floors and the car seats. The carwash people must hate me as I unload the entire car's contents (any parent will know how big of a deal that is), unhook both car seats so I can shake them off and have them vaccuum under before connecting them back. But it was the only way to get it clean. We did a huge costco shopping and even stopped at the dry cleaners. It was my husband's night off so struggled a bit unloading and putting away everything, getting dinner and cleanning the kitchen afterwards. And it was a bath night. Well everything got done they just ended up going to bed 20 minutes late.

Bazaar Dress

You are going to see a lot of versions of this outfit with tiny differences. The inspiration came from the following: 

The colors are totally different obviously, but what inspired me was wearing a crop blazer with this style of a dress. I had bought this dress at a farmer's market in Turkey for $15. I actually got it for another inspiration which I have not worn yet. So, when I saw this photo it was a great second outfit with the same dress.

This first version is with the peep toe lace up high heel booties.

This vintage looking charm necklace was perfect.

Once again proves navy (tights) and black (boots) looks great together.

2nd variation is with a beret added to the outfit. The tone of the beret and the dress are a pretty good match... 

Added a sage green top which has a tulle neck trim underneath to add some warmth as it was too chilly in the afternoon. Took the photo without a jacket just to show the dress but all day I had the jacket on. This dress is very comfy as it has no zippers or ties you have to undo. Just pulls on and off since it has elastic under the chest... 

3rd variation is with rugged brown boots instead of the heeled ones. I wore the outfit with these boots all day since I was with kids in the morning and went on a 3 hour shopping trip with mom and sister in the afternoon and needed comfy flats.  

I think it looks cool with these boots too.

Which variation do you like the best?

Blush Dress - from Turkey

Navy Crop Jacket - Forever 21

Navy tights - not sure

Vintage look charm necklace - Betsey Johnson

Pink Beret - Forever 21

Blak Peep toe high heel boots - Juicy Couture

Brown Lace-up Rugged flat Boots - Steve Madden

Monday's Activities: I actually tried to post this last night but was having some google issues with my browser and could not upload photos. And lets face it without photos it is hard to do a fashion blog post. So wore this yesterday thinking the 'sunny' forecast would equate warmer weather but it never warmed up. Hence the addition of the hat and the undershirt. Preschool was cool with the kids. I had grand plans of getting so much stuff done during naps but only got the dinner cooked and that was about it. After they woke up managed to put away the laundry and clean-up. Never got to the bills. My dad came by so he can take over the kids until my husband came and I took off with my mom to go to a more remote mall to meet my sister. The hype? It has the largest Forver 21 store in the city. You probably don't know but pretty much every mall in San Diego is an outdoor mall. So naturally mom and I had packed big winter coats but we realized the mall we were going was indoor so ditched the coats which was nice. If you can beleive it we only got to 3 stores in 3 hours. Forever 21 was nice. Every brand (Heritage, Love etc...) had their own section. It was roomy and very (very) bright. I made sure we approached the store systemmatically so we didn't miss a section. I of course did spend my $100 gift certificate from my in-laws. But, I was good and bought mostly bottoms that will be worn all seasons and mostly spring/summer. The H&M store was also a very nice one. Bought the cutest blouse with the prettiest colors for spring. Bought a few other pieces that I have to think about. Might return some. Also stopped by Charlotte Russe but it was a tiny one in this mall and not so good.

That was it. Came home after the mall was closed.

Penguin Friendly

I got the inspiration for this outfit from the recent ugg advertisement:

I liked it cause it had a leather vest. I took this from my mom's closet the other day and had not figured out what to wear it with yet.  I also own a grey t-neck but felt the colors were a bit too monotone. So I decided go with a teal t-neck instead. I won a thin one with 3/4 sleeves but today's weather woul have required a coat on top if I wore that top so instead went with my thick and chunky teal t-neck sweater instead. Again something I haven't worn in years. I do love this sweater though as it is very cheery and soft. Usually though too heavy for our weather.

I also own black uggs as you know but wanted to switch it up a bit with my cognac colored ones. Plus I like the style of these a lot more. 

I like this concept of wearing a watch over the clothing idea which i got from the inspiration photo the other day.

Random accessories of my leather rose ring and the peacock feather earings. The earings I think go really nicely with the sweater. The ring matches too much but I wanted to wear it anyway. I also added a headband for fun.

Teal Sweater - Roxy (from Nordstrom Rack)

Black leather crop vest - Mom's (tag says BP Nordstroms)

Skinny Jeans - Forever 21

Winter boots - Uggs

Earings - Forever 21

Ring - from Turkey

Today's Activities: Finally got a good night of sleep and had enough energy to get kids ready and lunch packed and left the house by 9:30 AM to be at Sea World right when they opened. We had a great time just me and the kids. The park was pretty much dead. Every exhibit was nice and quiet and peaceful. At the end we saw the new dolphin show (blue horizons) ate our packed lunch while waiting and watching. The kids acted so good never begging to be carried, not running away and having fun at all times. Came home for naps. Trevor did not sleep but he did play quietly for 3 hours (the duration of little sis's nap) in his room. When a lot of noise started coming I went up to look and he was actually putting his toys away! Not normal behaviour for him by any means but I will take it. To reward such good manners we took them for a round of mini golf than met our friends (with kids) for dinner at soup plantation. We love it there as the food is ready and instant and healthy. My daughter still manages to only eat the pasta but will tolerate peas and corn (the least healthy veggies) while my crazy son tastes anything from red cabbage to beets to beans. We came home and met my dad and cousins for a short visit before they went out to dinner at a grown up hour. Great day overall.

Here are the kids posing with me during my photo shoot...They always have snack cups in their hands in these photos because I always give their morning snack as we are leaving the house to eat in the car! Also keeps them busy while I do my photo shoot!

Here are a couple Sea World Photos....

Other than the indoor penguin exhibit they have these guys actually living outside in our Southern CA weather!