What Mama Wears: Animal Print

I always love when I see someone in animal print. It's all over pinterest, leopard print, zebra print... and then I go into a store, fall in love with a piece... try it on - and look like I'm in a hallowe'en costume. I don't know what it is about animal prints, but half the time it just doesn't look right on me. So a couple of years ago when I found this giraffe-esque print sheath dress, I loved it, and for once, actually loved how it looked on me.

What Mama Wears: Comfy Boho? Or An outfit in progress...

Generally I tend to share with you the outfits that I think I look decent in. But today, the hubs actually said "Hey, you look nice!" and I thought, huh - well, I guess I'd better put this on the blog. Usually, the outfits I share are for a specific purpose, like going to church, performing, outings with people who aren't my family (I mean, if you can wear sweatpants around anyone, it's your fam) but this is more of a "hey, it's Tuesday and this is clean" kind of outfit... that picked up accessories as the day went on.

For example: this morning I knew I wanted to wear this skirt - sometimes I just feel like wearing a skirt, and I LOVE this one because a)I got it at V-V Boutique for less than $5 and b) it has pockets. Yeah... pockets!
I had it on with a white long sleeve tee, which lasted about 20 minutes until I was putting juice in a drink cup for the big'un's lunchbag, had a random hand spasm and ended up wearing most of it. So... the white tee went the way of the dodo and I put this pinky-purplish henley on instead... which I actually like better. Then as I was putting shoes away in the closet I found this belt on the floor which I bought at the Ex like a billion years ago (or like 6 years, whatever), so I put it on. Then I took it off and put it on backwards because I love the beads. Then I noticed I had left these earrings and necklace in the bathroom the last time I wore them, so instead of putting them away, I put them on... and well, here we are.

So - I'm questioning whether or not this qualifies as "boho"? The belt and the jewellery feel a little boho to me... but I don't know about the skirt and henley. In any case, it's comfy and it was clean. So - this is what Mama wears on days like that.

Emotional rollercoaster

So, when I was young, we did a youth musical at our church (actually, we did a bunch of them, but this one sticks out right now) and one had a song that went like this "This rollercoaster ride of life, lifts you up and lets you down. This rollercoaster ride of life, spins you round and round and round. Heaven knows, wherever you go, He will be there by your side. On this rollercoaster ride, of life."

Now, obviously, as teens,  we all totally related to this. I mean, when in your life are your more on an emotional rollercoaster than when you're a teenager. But this past year has been as much of an emotional rollercoaster as any time in my life.

Right now, I'm in the process of switching to a new medication. Fun, wow - right? ugh.

What Mama Wears: Easter Morning

Easter Morning! I sing in the praise team at our church, and on Easter Sunday we were asked to wear "dark coloured bottoms, light tops, and a splash of spring colour"... well, I would say technically this Mama stuck to the dress code ;) Plus it was exciting to get a chance to wear these great shoes again. They're so fun and springy!

Bauble Desire - What Mama would wear

So part 2 of Mama's window(s) shopping is accessories. I love spring and summer, all the stores start to embrace bright bold colours and prints and fun patterns... I get so down in the winter when apparently we're all supposed to wear pastels and neutrals... I mean honestly, it should be switched, when do we need colour more? When it's drab and cold and dreary? Or when it's warm and bright? Okay, I need colour year round, or Mama gets grouchy... but I digress.

Back to window shopping. Here are the shoes and accessories that I would love to add to my wardrobe this fashion season.

Mama's Wardrobe Wishlist

Confession time: I'm kind of a cheapskate.

Well, to be fair, I'm willing to spend cash on things if I think they're a good deal, truly, but most of the time, paying full price for something just makes me a little crazy. I love shopping at second hand stores, discount department stores, clearance racks often call my name... usually I end up buying something from "V-V boutique" (aka Value Village) and refashioning it into something similar to what I'm longing for in stores.

To that end, I am a prolific window shopper... and thanks to the internet, when I say window, I mean windows... I love looking through clothing websites, copying pics of items that I like and then looking for things to re-create at home for a fraction of the price. Yay cheapskates!

So I thought I'd share my current wardrobe wishlist with you, and tell you why I'm looking for these items.

What Mama Wears... to a weddin'!

As mentioned in a previous post, my sister-in-law recently got married. She was a beautiful bride and the day was lovely, everything we could have hoped for. I was not in the wedding party, however, I did read scripture at the ceremony, and the boys were her ring-bearers. Too cute! The hubs played trumpet with his brother as their sister came down the aisle, and it was a beautiful ceremony. This means that my outfit needed to be slightly more than "average wedding guest" and slightly less than "in the bridal party". I think I found my happy medium.

I wore a great dress that I picked up when shopping in Buffalo with my Mom and sisters. Some funky accessories and it was a lovely springy outfit perfect for a day of celebrating. Let me know what you think!

I'll start by sharing a pic of my gorgeous sister-in-law... see?