What Mama Wears: Ankle Boot love

Do you have a shoe-wish-list? I can't be the only one. I will willingly admit to regularly "window shopping" shoe websites and dreaming about owning different pairs of shoes. The hubs will attest to the fact that when we got married and moved into our first apartment together he insisted on counting as we unpacked the boxes I had labelled "shoes". I tried to insist that flip-flops do NOT count as pairs of shoes, nor do slippers, and I even tried to slip moccasins into that non-count list as well. He disagreed and counted every single pair of footwear that I owned... over 200 pairs later, he tried to make me admit that I had a problem. I did not. I said: "The only one with a problem here - is you. Obviously."

After being pregnant, my feet widened out and I had to reluctantly give up several of my beloved pairs of shoes and I'm now down to a much more manageable no. of pairs of footwear though I'm slowly trying to build up my collection... I figure if I go slow enough, the hubs won't notice.

Back to this post: the reasoning behind this little back story is: 1) I desperately wanted these boots the moment I saw them but they were $25 and I rarely if ever pay that much for shoes and 2) When I finally bought them they were on sale for $9. Yeah, $9. NINE. The hubs could not refuse me - ha ha!

Make it! T-shirt Refashion

Don't you love the comfort of a great t-shirt? I know I do. But I can't stand to wear a big, shapeless sack of a t-shirt. I picked up a couple of shirts and refashioned one into a semi-peplum style top. It's so easy, you could do it too!
So, I've included a random paint tutorial, and I'll intersperse real pics where I can, though the paint pics do a better job of showing how to do this.

What mama wears: Graphic Print Shirt

Warning: This post is graphic!

Okay - not graphic like GRAPHIC more like graphics. Like prints and stuff.

You know what I mean.

Just wanted to share this outfit that I rocked for our church directory photos. Oh yeah - you know it.

Nothing like a bold graphic blouse to say - Hey church peeps! Here I am!

So here it is:

Also - seriously rockin the pink socks... you know it! Not that you could see my feet for the pic, but I wore my boots to the church. Duh.

What mama Wears: 50s Housewife?

SO - I got this great fabric from Ikea a while back... and it didn't know what it wanted to be for a while... but then one day when I was browsing a pin-up clothing website (because, honestly, what curvy girl doesn't dream of looking like a pin-up girl from the 40s/50s/60s? really...) I realized that this gingham fabric wanted to be a circle skirt. It desperately wanted to. So much so that it needed to be sewn RIGHT. THEN.

So I did.

And then I wore it with killer heels, a white tee, pearls, fun rose cab. earrings and a swirly side updo thingamajig style for my hair.

I said to The Hubs - look at me. I'm June Frickin' Cleaver here! All I need is an apron... and a casserole or something.

I loved it.

So I'm sharing it with you.
Also - I've decided I'm going to post the WMW photos a little differently. I'm tired of doing all the photoshopping of the pics into one file, so I'm just going to put them up. Okay, the truth is, I'm lazy when it comes to PS. There, I said it.

Anyway - here's my 50s housewife look. And just so you know - I baked cookies that afternoon... but not in this skirt. Priorities!

 

Me: aka June Cleaver.

5 years of furry love - it's Copper-Dopper Day!

In our household there is another super-important day that immediately follows Valentine's Day. We call it Copper-Dopper Day. Feb 15, 2008 the Hubs drove me up to a dog shelter called "Paws Awhile" and we picked up my first baby, my furbaby - Copper. Or as we called him in the early months we had him, the Copper-Dopper.

Copp is a redbone coonhound, we figure he's around 9 years old now, and while he definitely has his issues (being born in a puppy mill, used as a stud-dog - that'll do some damage to a dog psyche) he's also an incredibly sweet, patient, loving dog. He loves to snuggle, and while he's not very "lick-y", he will rub his head against you, and 'snuffle' you (smell your face) if he likes you. He's a sweetheart.

So, every Feb 15 we celebrate the day that our little family grew. He's our .5 (y'know, white picket fence, 2.5 kids... still waiting on that fence tho'). And we love him.

 

He made himself comfortable pretty soon after we got him.

Valentine.............

Ah, Valentine's Day. A day where some embrace the cheesy, lovey quality of an admittedly corporately created holiday, and some rail against the proclamations of love and hearts and flowers and chocolate and all that's sweet.

I had a friend on FB remind everyone this morning that St. Valentine is actually the patron saint of bees, epilepsy and plagues. I wished him many plagues of seizing bees. I do what I can.

Lenten Photo a Day challenge

So I saw this compelling pin come up today on a friend's pinboard... and while I'm not affiliated with the United Methodist church, I followed the link and read through an interesting project that I'm going to take on during this Lenten season.

 The concept is simple: each day take/post a picture that represents the word for the day. It should help me to consider many aspects of my life during Lent. I don't generally "give anything up" for Lent as I've never found it to be especially meaningful to me - but I feel like this speaks to who I am and will help me to "rethink" Lent. 

Let's Talk, Shall we?

For Canadians - today is one day a year that we all know what the phrase "Let's Talk" is about. Bell, the phone company, has decided that on February 12 they will be donating money towards mental health awareness, research and care for every text or long distance call sent on their network, as well as every tweet with the hashtag #BellLetsTalk. It's the one day of the year that I'm sorry I'm not with Bell as my cell provider because I'd be texting the HE-double hockey sticks out of their network today.

I've heard over and over again that the #1 lie everyone tells is this: "I'm fine." and I honestly believe that's true. So often we smile, lie and move on because we either don't believe that anyone else wants to know our issues or problems, or that they don't really care. Maybe that's true in some cases, but let's stop lying to each other and especially to ourselves.

What Mama Wears: Creature Comforts

Sometimes you have a day when you just want to surround yourself with creature comforts. For me, those things are: tea, baked goods, and every now and again I have a day where I need to wear something that's comforting in more ways than just warmth and ease of wearing.

Cake!

A while ago I posted about the aprons that I made for a cake decorating class I was taking with my sister. I thought I would post a bit about what we've learned now that we've completed 2 courses, and are 'certified' in the basic arts of buttercream, gumpaste and fondant cake decorating. That's certified.... not certifiable.


So the first course we took was on buttercream decorating. Admittedly, I had a hard time with the class's version of "buttercream" as the recipe they specified didn't actually have any butter in it.... but hey - you learn the techniques and then stick with what you know, right?

By the end of the class we had created several different piped decorations, flowers, etc and here are a couple of cakes using those techniques, but my own (IMHO, superior) recipes.

What Mama Wears - Print Mash-up for the subtle

I love prints, and if no-one cared what I wore everyday I'd probably be walking around with a mix-mash of crazy prints on a regular basis. But as the hubs and the kiddos have to be seen with me in public, usually I'm required to tone it down a bit.

In any case, when I saw this bold print skirt at Walmart for only $8 (8 bucks!?) I had to snatch it up because I knew I could get away with some print mixing a little more subtly and wouldn't get any weird looks from the hubs or the littl'un (who I like to call my little fashionisto - seriously - everything has to "match" or he won't wear it.... picky kid).

I had some funky cable-esque tights that I picked up from Ricki's on a whim and mixed those up with this bold print skirt, a fun, slightly more than basic ruffled blouse, and the ever present see-I-still-have-a-waist belt to cinch everything in. Voila!

Skirt: Walmart / Tights: Ricki's / Blouse: Ricki's/ Shoes: Walmart (old) / Belt: Ricki's

What Mama Wears: Stripes and Solids

Who doesn't love a good cardigan. Seriously - I can't think of one person who doesn't. They're wonderful sweater creatures: warm enough to keep you toasty with several options for styling and level of warmth. Sleeves rolled up or pulled down, completely buttoned up, tucked in, belted - the possibilities!

I have to admit though, for a long time I unconsciously subscribed to the twinset version of wearing a cardigan. I don't precisely know why... but I'm telling you, if that sucker had buttons down the front I always gravitated towards wearing a matching solid shirt underneath it. But recently I've seen quite a few fashion blogs with a very simple stripe/solid mix with a cardigan. I know, I know, you're thinking - seriously Tea? You didn't think of this by yourself? Are you getting enough sleep? And the answers to those questions are yes, no and no.

But here it is - a lovely boatneck striped tea underneath my new fave boyfriend style button down cardi from the big W. Wearing a funky wrap bead bracelet ups the fun factor a teeny bit, but I felt put together and a teeny bit stylish in this little ensemble. Wearing a belt over a cardigan is a new thing for me, as well and I got to try out one of those fancy skinny belt knot things that all the cool kids do.

Cardigan: Walmart / Striped tee: Old Navy / Pants: Ricki's / Belt: Giant Tiger / Bracelet: gift

So, what do you think? Do you like the belted cardigan look? Or is it all a little too prep-school for you? I like it... you might even see it a little more often!

Tea

What Mama Wears: Tea Party

I was invited a tea-party at my best friend's neighbour's house recently. First of all - obviously I couldn't pass up a tea-party! I mean, who would I be?!  Secondly - I got to find out about a great, Canadian loose-leaf tea company based in Hamilton called Steeped Teas.*

The consultant who gave the presentation was super-friendly and she had lots of great teas, including my all-time favourite tea blend: Monk's Blend. It's a black tea with vanilla and grenadine flavours - fabulous! And since Teaopia got bought out by Teavana (and they stopped carrying Monk's Blend and stopped actually educating their staff about tea - more about THAT in another post) and I've been more than disappointed in them lately, I was psyched to find out about another tea company that was Canadian!

In any case - what does Mama wear to a tea party with a lot of people she doesn't know? Well, it was a Saturday afternoon, so I felt safe wearing jeans, but I wanted to dress it up just a little bit. Add a really pretty lace inspired cardi, my fave white tee, and some fun accessories and I was ready to go!

Cardigan: Ricki's / T-shirt: Joe Fresh / Jeans: Reitman's / Belt: Giant Tiger / Necklace: Designs ...By Patricia / Earrings: Designs ...By Patricia

What Mama Wears: Dance Practice

For some of you it may be a surprise to hear that I am actually an avid dancer. I've taken quite a few classes over the years, and even took tap dance all the way through my first pregnancy (some of the fam jokes that that's why the big'un is so wild and crazy - I shook him up in utero too much), but I've actually been dancing with a liturgical dance group at my church for almost 11 years now. I love worship dance, it's one of my great passions - and while I'm certainly not a very graceful person in my everyday life (walk into walls much? yeesh!) I find I have some measure of grace when I'm dancing in praise that I don't have any other time. 

So how does a Mama go from running errands to making dinner to dance practice without multiple wardrobe changes? Jeggings! Okay okay, I actually HATE that word, but they're SO comfy and if you get a decent pair you can go out in public without feeling like you forgot to put a piece of clothing on. That said: I have a personal rule: Leggings are NOT pants. That means you do NOT wear leggings of any form without also wearing something that covers your rear end. I don't care if you're 16 and super-fit, 6 and super-cute or 60 and you don't care - just don't do it. Leggings are not pants.

Soul-weary

Maybe it's the weather...

I can't tell you how many times someone has said that to me recently. After a while of friends and family dealing with the fact of my depression and anxiety, it's inevitable that someone, well meaning or not, will say something like "Maybe it's the weather." Or, even better, "Well, it being winter doesn't help." And those things may well be true. In fact, many people deal with higher than average levels of depression and sadness and just feeling "down" at this time of year simply because we don't get enough sunlight, and vitamin D. But, I'm pretty sure that taking a vitamin isn't going to make much difference here.

I wish it were that simple.

But a vitamin isn't going to stop that horrible, nagging voice in my head when I'm alone, or trying to sleep, or in the shower. That voice that reminds me of how I'm a terrible mother, a useless wife, a bad friend. That voice that tells me that I don't deserve my children, my husband, my family. That maybe those people would be better off without me around.

A vitamin isn't going to make me stop checking.... EVERYTHING. Compulsively making lists and checking them, and re-writing them because they're not in order, or they don't read correctly, or it's just easier to go to the computer, type them all out, make bullet points, so that I can cross them off, or check them off, or check the list 10,000 times a day.

But what IS going to help those things? I don't know. And I'm tired. My soul is tired. I'm soul-weary.

Lunchtime glimpse...

Just for laughs, I thought I'd share this little glimpse into our lunchtime conversation today.

*Our littl'un calls 'Ninga Turtles' 'Engine Turtles' which led to this...

Me (singing): Teenage Mutant Engine Turtles, Teenage Mutant Engine Turtles...

The Hubs: Why do they have be teenagers? Or even mutants?

Me (singing): Old Guy Normal Engine Turtles...

The Hubs: Well, I didn't say they had to be OLD, and they wouldn't be normal if they were half turtle and half engine

Me (singing): Middle-aged Cyborg Engine Turtles, Middle-aged Cyborg Engine Turtles...

The Hubs: ....

Me: Seriously. I can do this all day.


Hope that made you laugh! Now go have some tea. I'm off to a tea-party this afternoon!

Tea

What Mama Wears: Menswear inspired

There's something about menswear. I love a man in a suit. I always think the hubs looks especially dashing when he dons a shirt and tie, a nice jacket, shined up shoes. It's just... polished. Put-together.

I find that menswear and menswear styles inspire a bit of confidence, strength and assuredness. And those are all things I'm lacking lately - so why not inspire a bit in myself with my own wardrobe.

Now, I'm not talking about going all suit and tie here, though it has been done. But just adding a bit of menswear inspired style into my regular clothes is a quick and easy style change.

Vest: Ricki's (similar) / Collared shirt: Ricki's (similar)  / Jeans: Contrast / Necklace: Designs ...By Patricia / Earrings: old / Hair: rolled with hair sponge by Goody

Winnah!

Just a quick note to say: I'm a Craftster Best of 2012 winner! Yay!

I'm sure I've mentioned before how much I adore the website craftster.org
It's awesome. There's every single kind of craft or project you can imagine, and some you never would have dreamed of on there.

And my big 'ol purse has made it into the best of for 2012!

I'm totally thrilled. And if you're interested, you can check out all the other UH-mazing best ofs here.

Tea.

What Mama Wears - one t-shirt, 3 ways

As a Mom, sometimes my most major concern for clothing is comfort, and then multi-wear potential. I LOVE a good piece that can be worn with many many different items. Obviously a classic white t-shirt is one of those items. Now, that said, I like something that tweaks the classic just a little bit. So when I found this shirt at Joe Fresh a couple of years ago - I should've bought 10 of them, because I never could have known how often this sweet little pintuck tee would find it's way into my wardrobe.


A Little Bit Country...

When I wore this outfit to church, a friend cheekily asked me if my horse was parked outside... So yeah, I can see how it's a little bit country, but it's still totally wearable. This great chiffon pleated skirt is the right length to wear with either boots or heels without looking uncomfortably short. Paired with my favourite white tee and a cute purple jacket makes this outfit church-worthy and comfortable to wear.

 

Skirt: Ricki's (similar) / Tee: Joe Fresh (similar) / Jacket: Ricki's (similar) / Boots: Famous Footwear / 

Necklace: Kohl's (similar)/ Watch: Caravelle (similar) / Bracelet: Designs ...By Patricia

Seeking Comfort

What comforts you?
Snuggly, comfy clothes?
Warm blankets?
Bad TV movies?

I think that during January and February, when we're all dealing a little bit with the lack of sunshine, having to pack away all the joy of Christmas, making some (sometimes unrealistic) new year's resolutions, going back to school or work after the holidays that we're all in need of a little comfort. I know I am.