My Challenging Skirt

Wore this Saturday as we headed to visit my in-laws north of LA.

I have tried so hard to find the right combination for this skirt and I feel even though this outfit is OK it is still not a winner. It is like the red tights (which I finally did get it right), this skirt has been such a challange for me. I am too lazy to get it altered first of all so I simply use a safety pin to make it fit.

You can see close-up it is a pretty skirt but just never looked right with any top. Here I was going for mixing print and stripes. The tops's colors go pretty well with black and grey... 

My husband continued to shoot as I was changing posing spots...

These are the new earings from F21. Aren't the mint green/blueish earings pretty? 

My only pop color here was the pink watch.  

Top - H&M

Tank - Delia's

Skirt - Anthropologie

Earings - Forever 21

Watch - from Mom

Ankle cuff ballet flats - BP Nordstroms

P.S. Don't forget to check out the Inspiration Monday oufit for this monday if you want to participate...

Today's Activities: Tough to wake up this morning after a late night of  Royal Wedding watching with my mom. After breakfast my husband took the kids out while I got the hosue ready and packed our bags. We met up so I could take my daughter to her gym class. Her strength is just amazing me. I think she might have stronger bicep and tricep muscles than me. She is getting so good and loving every minute of her gym class. We fed the kids lunch and got ourselves take out and got the on the road towards Los Angeles. Hit major traffic and the trip was very long. My son took a nice nap but my daughter slept very little which was unusual. We finally arrived at my in-laws house which is north of LA. Kids were happy to be out of the car and went nuts playing in their backyard. We spent the afternoon home and had a nice dinner with them.

My son having fun tackling mommy during the very very short and quick photo shoot... 

My Father-in-law caught such a great photo of my daughter waving to us from the other side of the yard... 

Hubby throwing my son up in the air... 

Playing 'mulbery bush' dance with Grammie and Grandpa... 

Clown Chic

So, I was excited to put together a crazy combo like this but I can't say I liked it that much. A bit clownish, hence the title.  But I like to stay committed to what I put on so it stayed.

The inspiration came from the Lucky's January issue: 

I put a white tank under the blouse to bring out the polka dots. I actually own overalls but wasn't willing to go that far for this outfit.

These are my new Bass b/w oxfords. 

Plaid Blouse - Gap

Polka Dot Blouse & Flower pin - Forever 21

Boyfriend Jeans - Newport News

Oxfords - Bass (from amazon.com)

Today's Activities: We went to the indoor play area in the morning. As soon as the kids went down for their naps my mom came over so we could start watching the DVR'd wedding ceremonies. Of course we only got through half the wedding and they woke up and it was impossible to watch between bouncing and jumping kids.

Tonight was a preschool family movie night. My dad came over and we met my husband at a Baja Fresh by the school for a very early dinner at 5:15 pm. Due to no afternoon snack they were able to eat that early. Then my sister and her boyfriend joines us at the school. Every parent brought a treat or popcorn to share. Mommies were popping pocorn in the back while the teacher read stories than the kids did an art project. Afterwards they got a bag of pop corn then got to pick up from a wide variety of treats to add to the popcorn bag. Ate their snack outside, then watched 3 short movies (which they had the stories read to earlier) on a big movie screen in the main part of the class room. Most kids were in PJs and people had brought their pillows and blankets (I must have missed that part of the announcement but people shared with my kids). It was a fun but late night. Good thing we came in two cars cause my daughter only lasted 1 movie and told me 'mommy lets go to sleep' so my dad and I took her home. My husband and son came afterwards. My mom came back again so we could wath the rest of the wedding and the lifetime movie. It was fun. We said good night in a courtrsy motion!

 With two other Mommies using sandwich bags as gloves, ready to serve kids treats...

Our Teacher with the kids during outdoor snack time... 

Watching the movie... 

This little girl who is 5.5 loves my daughter and took her under her blanket. They watched a whole movie like this... 

My son sharing his buddy's 'cars' pillow and watching pure focus...

Here we are in the back, from left to right my husband and I, my sister and her boyfriend and my dad...

Friend Friday Post - Fitness and Fashion

Today's Friend Friday post hosted by Katy at Modly Chic is about Fitness and Fashion

1. Do you keep some kind of fitness routine? Why?
Unfortunately I don't. I used before kids and when I had an office job. However I realized I am in more shape being an active (ok, may be hyper active) SAHM then I was when I went to gym 3 times a week. It does help we live in a city where the weather is good year round and everything we do is pretty much outdoor spanning over large areas. This means a lot of walking and it is resistance walking since you are pushing a double stroller or carrying kids. I am used to now being on my feet for very long periods of time and lifthing heavy weights. But of course I would love to do some more disciplined weight trainning and some fun dance type gym classes for fun.

2. Has working out, maybe training for a marathon or something of that nature, helped with your own perception of body image?
I wouldn't say my body image but definitely my mental state of health. When I met my husband (who is a 2 times ironman and 3 times half iron man) it was a bit intimidating. But he assured me he was not looking for an athlete (good cause I definitely was not one). But, I have always been into trainning for something where they give you a schedule to follow (anal I know). So, together we signed up with a group and trained for the San Diego Rock'n'roll marathon. I had never run before in my life. I did a snail pace of run for 7 minutes walk for 3 routine and followed the regimen to the 't' (which if you know me is not surprising). I absolutely love the way I felt after finishing a long run. It was exhilirating. However, I did not like how I lost excessive weight. It was nice to loose some extra pounds at first but then I starting loosing all my curves. I am already boyish built so I became a stick figure. I ate a lot to make up though. At the end unfortunately I only got up to running 16 miles. Then I had a stress fracture and not sure if I have told before but I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and my Dr said this was probably pushing my body to much and told me to stick with 5 and 10K distances. But I am glad that I tried and pushed my body to see how far I can go.

3. When you are hitting the gym or just going out for a long walk what do you wear? Is it about functionality or fashion?
Of course it is about both. I have always invested in gym fashion that provides all the functionality but also looks good. Having cute gym clothes has always motivated me to work out more. Any reason to shop and wear new things right?
For lower impact exercise (like pilates, weight trainning etc...) I usually wear long or capri yoga pants, a supportive long workout tank top and either a thin running jacket or a crop like and very thin material tee's. Yes, I have tee's bought just for working out. You are not surprised.
For high impact (Kick boxing, cardio, running) I wear boy shorts or capri exercise pants that have a tighter elastic waist. I find yoga pants slide down in cardio. For top I would wear a very supportive like level 3 workout bra top possibly topped with a lower level bustier style work out tank top topped with a cardi or a tee depending on the season.
For Dance (hip hip) I go with my thin nylon capri cargo style safari pants and a normal tank top over a workout bra for a more street look.
Not that I do it anymore but I even have a small box of clothes for ballet classes that include schiffon skirts, pink, cream, black tights, leg warmers, navy and black leotards, very thin and pretty cropped tops in sugar pink or floral patterns.

4. Do you feel there is a cultural perception of what you ‘should’ be doing for your own physical fitness?
In southern CA, heck yes! I didn't realize the difference until I lived in both coasts (San Diego and NYC). When I was going to college if you happen to buy junk food like chips or brownies, you would get looks. Everyone was working out and being fit was the fashion. When you go to beaches here it is intimidating. Locals look like they have just stepped out of a sports illustrated magazine. And I don't mean just thin and pretty. I mean rock hard bodies with muscles. We now stick to more family beaches to feel normal.
In NYC the culture was more about 'good food' weather it was healthy or not mattered less. And the city sure had the best food. Even though I walked so much more when living in NYC I still managed to gain weight (probaby due to the really 'good' food).
In Turkey, even tough I would say majority of the middle aged population is 'curvy' or 'got some meat on their bones' the culture expects the younger generation to be thin. But apparently not too thin as I was teased all through  middle and high school about my skinny legs. The other weird thing is when I went back one summer and had gained some weight everyone commented on it. And none of these people were thin. It made me so self concious. I wanted to talk back and say 'look at yourself' but of course I was not brought up that way and held my tounge.

5. Dream big… what would be your ultimate fitness goal.
I would love to be able to finish a marathon. I would love to hike grand canyon and do the 2nd big hike at yosemite. I love hiking. My husband always calls me the 'lead hiker' cause I like to lead even tough I am horrible with directions and twice got us lost in the middle of rain forests but found our way back thank goodness. I just don't like to stare in anyone's back when hiking. I like to be one with nature and only see nature.
 

To see how others responded to these questions click HERE!

A small note to my (growing) Turkish readers:

P.S. Cok sevgili Turk takipcilerim. Sizlerin yorumlarinizi okumaya bayiliyorum. Farkettim cogunuz Ingilizce yaziyor. Ister Ingilizce ister Turkce yazabilirsiniz. Soyliyim dedim.

Sevgilerle,

Defne.

White Maxi

Starting to wear some of my 'transition' outfits which are great combos that allow for cold to warmer weather. They have a second layer for the chilly mornings and afternoons and a much much lighter layer underneath for the summer like warmth during midday.

My inspiration cam from the following promotional page in In Style Magazine: 

I could have worn my trench too but the utility shirt that acts like a jacket was more practical. 

The outside shots had some weird shadows going so moved it inside... 

I wish I had a pink floral scarf (will search for one now) but in its absence I used my very pastel floral scarf instead.

My rugged looking (but totally bought this year) boots were perfect under the girly maxi dress... 

Added the mother of pearl bangles I had bought at a bazaar in Turkey and my real mother of pearl and silver square ring which was a perfect match which normally I wouldn't like but today I did. 

This dress was such a great buy last year in Turkey for $20 from a street vendor (in Alsancak) for $24!

I see now Forever 21 brought a few similar styles you can check out...

Crochet Dress (right) and Eyelet Dress (left)

I must say I still like my dress better though cause it uses ton and ton of material which makes it so easy to move in with kids. It is fully lined. And the crochet details are very pretty. The key thing is knowing how to dry it after washing it though. You have to twist and twist and let dry in that fashion to maintain that crinkled look. 

Maxi Dress, bangles and ring - from Turkey

Utility shirt - Gap

Scarf - H&M

Boots - Steve Madden

Today's Activities: Preschool in the morning. Recently my little girl has started sitting through the morning circle time which makes me so happy. The contend is quite above her age level (where they do alphabet, weather, days of the week and months of the year) but she still hangs through. There have been couple older girls (5-6 yrs) that have taken an interest in her and their friendship I think what keeps here there.

The construction in my backyard by the way is going full force. Just nothing photo worthy since irrigation, drainage pipes and de-weeding are not that all that exciting.  The construction talks are causing me to be late every morning but that is just the way it goes. Very soon we'll have to decide on our pool re-surface color and our concerete color.

We went to the indoor play area after naps where my son did the fun 'super hero trainning' acticity in their gymnastics area. My daughter was not happy about being left behind but my mom showed up just in time to disract and play with her.

Oh, couldn't help but share the outcome of the ceramic painting mommy's night out event I had last week with the preschool mommies. I chose a tissue box cover so it would be something I would use. Putting this on the entry table right by our door.

I did two sides with a leaf design and the other two in red and yellow scrolly design.

These are stamp designs. Of course after I had already painted the whole thing 3 coats of this dark blue did I find out light colors will now show over the dark color. So, I had to do a stamp then with a toothpick scrape off the blue paint then paint it with the light color. In the end it came out cool but just was more steps than I anticipated. 

When they announced we had 10 minutes to finish our project I was still painting. So the writing on top was written super fast and it shows. I wrote all the family member names with a dot in between. Not very legible for sure... 

Ugg Fashion?

So, the reason for the weird pose is my attempt at imitating the inspiration photo below. But for some reason my mouth or my hair makes my face look all skewed. Did not realize that when I viewed the photo in the lense. Oh well...

This was an 'ugg' ad in a magazine: 

Why did I pick it? Cause any idea where I can create fashion around uggs is a winner in my book. Uggs have got to be the ugliest but also the most comfortable shoes on earth. They feel like slippsers you get to walk on the street with. And this model I have on is a tighter one with a zipper closure so they stay put better than the classic model. 

It is an odd combination since the top is all summery but yet you have uggs on your feet. The good thing is it works for me cause my feet are always cold. I did pack flip flops in my diaper bag today just in case but never felt too hot to do the switch.

I have (for some odd reason) 3 shrugs in this style! This is gold mettalic, I also have teal metallic one and a super colorful crochet floral one. Initially I was going to wear the crochet pair but felt too colorful. This gold one captures the inspiration look perfectly complimenting the cognac boots.

I added these beaded gold thin long necklaces which went great. I did take out the longer one cause it always breaks into pieces. And it is guess but the loops are too loose or something.

Since I am indoor bound with the contractors outside, I decided to try something new and use my stair case as a backdrop. Not the easiest with a tripod. Might try it again if I can ever have my husband take the photos next time...

Do you know that when we first bought our house these stairs were covered in white carpet but in a horrible manner where they folded the carpet around the steps and stapled it. The banister was cream painted wood. We got some astronomical quotes to achieve this look which we could not afford. So, we cut out the thin wood pieces of the rail but kept the frame and posts. Then stripped the paint by rough sanding it. Painted it a coat of metallic bronze then a brownish glaze finish on top with a brush and wipe technique to give it this stained wood look. Then I put I kid you not 4 coats of clear high gloss glaze on top. My step dad used construction paper to cut out the pattern within the frame and we took it to Mexico (you know SD is on the border and it takes 20 minutes to enter Mexico) and got these wrought iron panels made for fraction of the cost. I hand drew this scrolly design and with no Spanish they got what I was talking about. The panels had holes where my step dad used to nail it to the frame. 

We got the tiling idea from a visit to Santa Barbara. Bought the tiles again from Mexico and had these great Polish tilers lay it out. I have to do a photo of the steps so you can see the tiles on the risers too. A lot of work but totally looks like what we wanted it to look!

And I hand stained everything you see that is wood around this area, the bathroom door, the base boards everything. I think I was stainning for an entire month! 

Shrug - Forever 21

Tee - Express (from a bazaar in Turkey for $1)

Cargo Pants - J Crew

Winter Boots - Ugg

Necklaces - Guess and from a trip to somewhere?

Today's Activities: Did the outdoor class today and once again the kids played their hearts out for 3.5 hours at the park. It was warm and sunny too which was nice.

After naps my mom and step dad came over to take the kids so I can go to my Dr's appt.

We had dinner together at our house while my husband worked late.

I am sure some of you have noticed the Cure Preeclampsia button on the top right side of my blog!

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