a simple outfit for a simple day

 sandals: don't recall. shorts: gap cutoffs. shirt: thrifted. bracelet: burntsiena designs.

Today I pulled mom-duty and instigated a morning chores regimen for my children. I was anticipating much resistance, but it backfired in a glorious way. Exhibit A: my 7-year-old son, who randomly selected "vacuum the stairs" from the chores jar, started shrieking with delight. "THIS IS THE BEST CHORE EVER! THE BEST DAY EVER! HOW DID I GET SO LUCKY?!?!?!!!!"

Sweet. The kid likes to vacuum. Note to self...

Today I really didn't want to get dressed. In fact, it wasn't until about 4 p.m. that I actually did get dressed. PJs for most of the day, because I needed to shower but didn't want to shower until I had worked out but didn't want to work out. I finally busted out some sort of sweat-provoking moves around 3 p.m. Which is sad and embarrassing but, I'm going to be brutally honest here folks, kind of awesome to do every once in a while.

Speaking of PJs...once in college I babysat a bunch of my nephews for about a week. They were young, and I became pretty engrossed in the world of diapers and spaghetti-o's. [Editor's note: Ew on those things.] Fast-forward to a conversation I was having with my roommate on the night I got back to my apartment, wherein I said something to the effect of, "I'm in for watching a movie, just let me get my jammies on first."

I'll never forget the one-raised-eyebrow she gave me. "'Jammies,' huh." Yep. Jammies. Or jammers, if you're so inclined. I was just that cool in college. Makes you wish you roomed with me, doesn't it. 

Happy Monday. 

p.s. Don't forget to contact me if you're interested in advertising on this site in the coming month! brittneynsmart [at] yahoo [dot] com  C'mon, it's fun. And everybody's doing it. Kind of. Minus the "everybody" part...

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More Paige...

a plaid skirt and a long-winded bit o' nothing

 shoes: cato brand. skirt: american eagle. belt: husband's. shirt: vintage/gift. bracelet: forever21. watch: target. earrings: hawaii.

I feel like I have nothing to say lately. 'Cept late at night, when my husband's trying to sleep, and I remember everything that ever happened to me...ever...and it comes bursting out of the dam we call my mouth. THEN I have stuff to say. And, lucky for him, it's suuuuper interesting and funny and insightful. Like play-by-plays of how each kid reacted at the dentist's, or how many packs of gum our toddler threw in the grocery cart, or how I finally lost that one toenail I knew I was going to lose.

As you can imagine, he's riveted to my every word during the course of such conversational fodder and probably bemoans the fact that in just a few short hours I'll run out of stuff to say and we'll have to go to sleep.

And if you can't see the sarcasmic slime oozing out from your computer screen, I just don't know what to tell you. Until 11 p.m., that is. Then I'll give you an earful.

Happy Friday!

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More Roberta Chiarella...

a mom in the 'burbs... and also, a vow to never use the word "burbs" again

 

 sandals & belt: forever21. shorts: american eagle. denim shirt: thrifted (gap). hairclips: gift.

We're baaaaack! Didja miss me? Huh? Huh? Didja?

Couldn't've started out this post in a more annoying vein, could I? But let's not dwell on that. Let's instead talk about what is a perfect ensemble for a day that consists of mowing the lawn, doing the "travel laundry" (translation: washing every item that touched a suitcase over the past week because, let's face it, even if it went unworn, it's still not "clean"), trimming the one surviving rose bush, flaunting some uber-white legs (I prefer to call them "ivory"), visiting the library, checking your toddler into InstaCare, and making dinner. Specifically, tacos.

You're looking at it. The outfit that does all that, I mean. This one totally fits the bill. And I officially love sandals that zip up the back. So easy! Know what I officially don't love? Mosquitos and cold sores. I've been trying for years to think of a benefit to either one of those guys, and I got nothin'.

Either way, I heart Disneyland and family vacations.

Happy Tuesday, everyone.

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More Lauren Ralph Lauren...

What, this old thing? Yeah...it really is, actually.

 shoes: unionbay brand. pants: gap. shirt: somewhere in germany. cardigan: old navy. belt & necklace: downeast basics.

There's something pretty liberating about wearing a fancy cluster necklace with an industrial nylon belt. I feel like I could do anything today, if I'm being honest with you. Anything at all. Fly, see through walls, lasso bad guys with a magical lariat, call the public library to see if I accidentally returned my son's schoolbook there...ANYthing. You name it.

[Editor's note: I tried make the library phone call sound cooler by associating it with those other super-activities. Did it work? Does it sound like a way awesome thing to do? No? Drat. Well, the good news is that I actually DID take that book to the public library on accident, which means my son will be able to graduate 1st grade. *phew*]

[Assistant Editor's note: What Editor is failing to tell you all is that, embarrassing as this most recent book/library mixup might sound, it's not NEARLY as embarrassing as the time we "returned" library books into a local video rental return slot...and then accused the library of screwing up their record-keeping because we specifically remembered returning them into a drop box. HEH.]

 Want more embarrassing dirt on me? Here. Outtakes.

Can someone please remind me why I blog? Is it to publicly humiliate myself as much as possible, and since I don't see that many people during the course of my real life, turning to the Internet was the only viable solution? No? Well then...I have no response to that.

Happy Monday.

p.s. Don't forget to enter the GIVEAWAY -- it ends tonight!

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More Gap...

sometimes there's no method...it's just madness...

 shoes: steve madden. maxi dress: forever21. sash: off a shirt from kohl's. denim jacket: gap. flower clip: gift. watch: target. bracelet: don't recall.

Today I'm wearing a belt sash from off a shirt as a neck-thingy. No reason, really. I just felt like doing something crazy today. My Plan A of Craziness actually involved a baby grand piano, an old VW beetle, and 3 bottles of ketchup. Unfortunately, I only could track down 2 ketchup bottles. So. Plan B: sash as neck-thingy it is.

Is anyone getting tired of stripes? Yeah, me either. I can't really get enough of them, to be honest. Never mind the fact that, worn horizontally from neck to ankle like in this dress, they're not the most elongating and slimming pattern I could dream up for my already boxy body shape. But I just love them so that I can't help myself. Which is partly why I added the denim jacket and long neck-thingy. Well, that and the ketchup dilemma, as described above. 

I was hoping those two additions would help cut down the striped-stumpiness that my body becomes in this dress. I don't think it really worked. But I'm dressed and super comfortable and ready to roll today. Stump it up, buttercup.

Happy Tuesday.

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More Madden-Girl...

H is for high-waist and hypocrite. meh.

 shoes: steve madden. pants & shirt: thrifted. belt: forever21. turquoise bracelet: Burntsiena Designs. all other jewelry: don't recall. flower hairclip: downeast basics.

Photos taken by my 6- and 5-year-old kids. Enough said. 

High-waist it up, dudes. And pleats to boot. Two things I deplore in mens pantswear, yet I throw these babies on with gusto and wear them happily. Some would call that hypocritical. Some also say that p-nut m&ms shouldn't be consumed on the daily and that getting four Jane Austen movies from the library would be borderline "obsessive." Ooops. Stitch me up a red-letter H, I guess.

So. Jumping-off point for today's ensemble was these pants, which I haven't worn since I thrifted them a couple of months ago in a fit of glee and a dance of joy in the aisle of D.I. (taking my chances that the security cameras, if any, were turned away from that particular spot in the store at that particular moment). Needed a fitted shirt to balance the voluminous-ness of the pants. Throw on some wedges (because it's spring...kind of) and random jewelry. Done and done.

As for the hair you see above: I dunno, guys. Not sold on it, although it was pretty easy to do, and it's off my neck without being in a ponytail. Man, I need a haircut. Bad. For every hair root in my scalp, there are about 18 split ends. Which is so pretty, I know. What can I say, I'm that kind of girl.

Know what else kinda girl I am? The kind who makes her kids eat their vegetables at dinner then sneaks ice cream with her husband after said kids' bedtime. Heh. Judge me.

Happy Thursday.

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More The Limited...

spring has sprung...okay, it hasn't, but it will...you hear me, spring? you WILL.

 shoes: mudd brand. skirt: american eagle. shirt: forever21. belt: thrifted. necklace & flower clip: downeast basics.

Someone commented the other day how tired they were of seeing people in winter scarves and tights and boots. I hadn't really thought about it until now, but...me too! Sick sick sick of wearing them. So. In a fit of "in-your-face-Old-Man-Winter" (which could, in a pinch, also double as "whose-legs-are-whiter-Old-Man-Winter's-or-mine") I'm treating you all to a delightful view of my non-tighted (and alarmingly colorless) legs. You're welcome.

Today's jumping-off point was this springy floral shirt. (I don't know if the universe is susceptible to subliminal messages, but, hey, it's worth a shot.) Paired, and I don't know why, with this mini-plaid skirt. That's "mini" as in the plaid pattern itself, NOT "mini" as in the skirt. Again, you're welcome. Some days my benevolance-ness is just overwhelming, I know.

I was absolutely digging the combo...until this polka-dotted belt flew out of my closet and landed at my ankles. Obviously, a belt around one's ankles will never ever do, but...dared I add a third print to this already jarring-ly busy ensemble?

(Here's where, if this were a TV show, we'd cut to commercial, and you'd spend the next 2.4 minutes discussing the options before me, the pros and cons of each, and how your sister's-best-friend's-niece once faced a similar dilemma and what she did about it. However, circumstances being as they are, I'll just take this moment to say: don't forget to check out this week's giveaway!)

Annnnnd, we're back. And, oh yes. I dared. A trifecta of mixed-pattern spring-y-ness, and legs that glow in and of themselves like the very sun in the sky. It's a win-win-WIN. Flowers will be sprouting forth wherever I walk today, I daresay.

Happy Wednesday.

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More Biviel...

L is for Loco & Lassie & Laundry. Impressed? There's more where that came from, baby.

 shoes & overshirt: american eagle outfitters. tights: don't recall. skirt: sam's club. (sam's??? i know...i don't know...) shirt & earrings: gift. watch: target.

 Leprechauns wreaked havoc in our living room last night but, thankfully, left behind some chocolate gold coins. I think the sheer wealth of the shiny gold foil went to my head...apparently I thought it would be a good idea to blow my nose into the gold (see below...or don't). This, my friends, is why I should never become a millionaire...which is good to realize now, because I was on the verge...

Please forgive the lightheartedness of this post...and these photos. (And by "lighthearted" I of course mean "lame, immature, juvenile, and all things probably beneath you.") I think the fumes of about 10 gallons of green food coloring used for breakfast has gone to my head.

For those of you without kids, St. Patrick's Day is probably not a big deal. For me and mine, it's huge. My kids demand that every article of clothing be green (they're worried about my welfare, what with my leggings choice, but I assured them I could out-pinch any leprechaun should the need arise). Add to that some green pancakes and green milk for breakfast, and we should be squared away for the day...at least until dinnertime.

Ooooh, tangent: my mom is a firm believer in eating all things green on this day; in fact, in the spirit of St. Pat's one year, she tried boiling hot dogs in green water. May I please please pretty please recommend that that little experiment never be attempted by anyone, anywhere, ever? Thanks.

So. This outfit and post brought to you by the color green and the letter L. (For "lucky," you guys, and most assuredly not the L-on-your-forehead word.)

Happy Thursday!

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More Fox...

mix & match...then realize it doesn't look cool...THEN realize "who cares? I'm too old to be cool anyway"

shoes: cato brand. pants & cardigan: gap. shirt: forever21. belt: pocket's. watch: citizen brand. flower brooch: don't recall. 

(Yes, I'm aware that these shoes today are all wrong for these pants...they put the cuff at an uncomfortably lame height. Buuuuut...meh. Whatchagonnado.)

Something reminded me today of my 5th grade school "talent" show. Some friends and I thought we were super good singers and not-too-shabby choreographers, so we performed not one but two numbers at our school's (soon-to-be non)talent show: "Barbara Ann" (beach boys) to give the audience some pep and "Greatest Love of All" (whitney houston) to deeply move them. (...and, yes, in case you're wondering, I do want to cry of embarrassment. Thanks for asking.)

Of course Surprisingly, we sucked. And even that's putting it mildly.

Post-performance, even my mother could hardly come up with words that were equally positive and true. I think she finally choked out something like "brave" and "you tried." We were the laughingstock.

You know how any publicity is supposed to be good publicity? Yeah, well, I found out that's a total lie when the news (a) centers around the fact that you and your four buddies are untalented, uncoordinated fools and (b) ushers in your junior high years.

Hmmm...Not sure how this glorious memory ties into my ensemble today. Other than I kind of feel like it's Mom-wear, and as a mom, I want my kids to skip their junior high/middle school years. I don't think I'm man enough to live through their emotional coming-of-ages, because look how adorable and confident they are at 4 years old:

 

(Her finale pose? Kills me.)

Happy Friday.

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More Forever 21...

he's got plans...and he might just maybe figure out how to use 'em

boots: target. tights & faux pearls: don't recall. skirt: gap. shirt: thrifted. cardigan: rue21. flower clip & polka dot sash: downeast outfitters.

Every week, my son's 1st grade teacher sends home his past week's completed schoolwork. Last night's was a typical compilation of oversized jaggedy penmanship and sloppy abstract coloring.

[Editor's note: My son's strengths are many, but fine-motor-skills-requiring schoolwork is not one of them. Which is fine. I have a brilliant, successful 41-year-old brother whose current handwriting looks like a 9-year-old's, so I'm not losing sleep over here.]

So. Glancing through the schoolwork, I come across a page that made me laugh. Out loud. It started with the printed words, "I need my teeth..." followed by three lines for the student to fill in the blanks about why they do, indeed, need their teeth. My son's reasons were as follows: (ahem)

(1) to smile. (yep)

(2) to chew. (absolutely)

(3) to atrakt a mate.

There you have it, folks. A 6-year-old on the fast-track to dental-dom and wedded bliss.

Happy Tuesday!

p.s. It's polka dot day on everybody, everywhere. I forgot and wore polka dots yesterday. Heh. Silly me. So today's look featured the sash that came with yesterday's shirt. Nice save, right? (Answer: Yes. Very nice.)

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More Asos...

I'd never have made a good hippie...

shoes: cato brand. jeans & shirt: old navy. (Amendment: Crap. It's actually Downeast Outfitters. Sorry.) belt: forever21. bracelet: hawaii. flower clips: gift.

I don't usually style my tops to be poofier in the stomach area, mainly because I'm blessed with enough natural, ah, "poof" that I don't need/want to build upon it. It'd be like pouring extra sugar into those fun-dip packets, or putting marshmallows into already sugary cereal. Like, who would DO that, right? (*blush* ehhh...me, I guess. Poof-ified the stomach and fed my kids lucky charms for breakfast. Two for two. Awesome.)

Dah well. Inspired by E., I decided to flounce it up a bit today. But I wanted to keep myself from floating off (into the great white yonder), so I maintained a very structured leg-line. Add my favorite crochet-peeptoe-wedges (a trifecta of yumminess, if you ask me), a side braid with a hint of hippie in the flower pins, and a turquoise bracelet for contrast.

I wasn't sure about the bracelet, to be honest. The shirt is bold enough, I don't know if a contrast was actually necessary. But red + turquoise just happens to be one of my favorite color combos, so I ran with it today. Which would be awesome if I did, in fact, run. With anything, anywhere. Unfortunately, the closest thing I've done to that these past few months has been to plod to the cupboard for a cadbury mini egg or eight. (Whereupon, I stop and gasp for about an hour to restock ye ol' oxygen supply... C'mon, spring. This girl needs to exercise!)

Happy Monday.

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More Forever 21...

cookies bring Inception to life...

Baby steps for three more days of doing those numbers... Will someone remind me next time that I'm just too old and creaky? Pretty please?

booties: steve madden. jeans: american eagle. polka dot top & blazer: thrifted (but...old navy & the limited). belt: forever21. flower pin: downeast outfitters. watch: target.

Sometimes my world moves verrrrry slooooowly. Like right now. I'm sitting here in the kitchen, listening to my puppy snore, my 2-year-old talk about how pretty she'll look at her wedding (??? and again I say ???), and my 4-year-old and her BFF giggling adorably over their newly created play-doh Ice Cream Flower Garden. It's like time has stopped for a few minutes, because I'm fully invested in the moment called Now.

Of course, one can always take that time-stand-still mindset to an uncomfortable extreme. Like I did, when I (again) thought I could pull off double braids. C'mon, though. A blazer totally cancels out the juvenility (yep, made that one up...I think...), and then I've still got on heels, so I figure I'm 1 point in the positive for dressing my age. Two points if you count the watch, which means I could've actually tied ribbons around the braids, too. Next time.

Speaking of Now, there are some leftover snickerdoodles sitting on the counter that won't be here Later. And if that kind of time-manipulation speak confuses you, I don't recommend watching Inception. Or riding in elevators. Just in case.

Happy Monday.

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More Steve Madden...