Fashion Files :: Fashion Forward Mommy (It's all about the sheath dress)

Yesterday, I was running on 3 hrs of sleep – this week, I’m averaging a combined total of about  9 hrs.  I came up with this look in less than 15 minutes. The sheath dress was already pressed, the jacket was cotton & spandex, so I didn’t have any ironing to worry about and I just pulled the look together with a pair of boots and a multi-colored necklace.

Looking fabulous as a new mom doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice time – It’s a matter of creativity.

Remember to share your new mom fashion wisdom.

Fashion Files :: Dresses and accessories—a new moms best friend (Day 2)

As I expressed here, now that I’m a mom of two, my personal time is limited and at the mercy of my little ones.

However, this is no excuse to trade in your pumps and pencil skirts for the PTO and mom-jeans (disclaimer : I have NOTHING against the PTO – I’m actually on one).  Having returned to corporate America yesterday and very little time to lend to styling myself, I’ve found that dresses and accessories are a moms best friend.

Today, I was dressed in less than 10 minutes and achieved a fashion forward look.

Here I wore a simple dress, but I layered it with a long cardigan, thick black tights and knee boots.

For my hair, I took about 15 minutes to spiral curl a few beach waves and my makeup only consisted of face powder and a eye shadow. All in all, I spent about 30 minutes (post shower) to pull a look together and get out of the door with two kids and tons of bags – smile.

For this mom of two – dresses and accessories have become my fashion lifesaver.  

Fashion Files :: My Very Important Baby's (VIB) first day of school debut.

Thanks for returning :). My 2mos old baby girl looked quite adorable yesterday and can you believe that her entire outfit cost less than $25 -- including shoes and accessories.

I wanted to go for a more fashion forward yet comfortable look for her first day entering an early learning center, so I went with option #2 from Saturdays post which can be found here.

Here's the skinny (well, in my baby's case, "the chunky") on my baby girl's first day of school outfit. 

• Dark chocolate cardigan is by Carters (caught it a bargain department store for about $8);
• Dark denim *jeggings are from the Children's Place  (purchased on sale online for about $9)  
• White fitted t-shirt (not featured here) found at TJ Maxx for around $4
• Leopard booties (the outfits statement piece) are handmade and designed just for my baby by her grandmother (my mother) who is hands down AMAZING on the sewing machine. The cost of fabric and supplies for the booties exclusively was nothing as leftover fabric was used from another project.
• Featured here are two headbands because the morning of dressing my baby, I wasn't sure which one worked best, but I ended up going with the crochet headband as I felt the color of the brown paired better with the overall look and not too mention, the flower headband is one that my little girl will wear often.  The crochet headband was purchased from Amazon.com for about $1.50. 

So, what do you think? Did my 2month VIB (Very Important Baby) rock the infant room on her first day of school or what? Please share your fashion wisdom.
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*Jeggings: A cross between a pair of jeans and leggings. In short, they look like jeans, but are soft and stretchy like leggings. Jeggings are perfect for babies -- always remember comfort when dressing babies and children.

Sunday Post: Adjusting To Post Baby Body!

After giving birth to my daughter 11 weeks ago, I'm learning to adjust to my post pregnancy body.

Last week, I went to Target in search of Christmas socks for the kids and I stumbled into the women's clothing area. While there, I came across this adorable black and white checkered skirt by Merona (seen here - poor lighting from my smart phone). It was a size 4 and we all know I haven't seen a size four since I was in the 8th grade, but miraculously it fit. A little snug, but doable with a pair of black tights.

My post pregnancy body this time around has been easy to adjust to - my hips have expanded, but I accept them as a badge of honor for being a carrier of life (this is the ONLY way I can truly accept them -- chuckles).

After giving birth to my son six years ago, I had a very hard time getting used to my post pregnancy body. During my pregnancy, I'd gone from an approximate weight of 140lbs to a near 200lbs and my son only attributed to 7 of those pounds. Needless to say that after giving birth, I was still very much overweight (I'm 5'5 1/2 feet tall) and I had a hard time adjusting.

What I've learned from being a 20something mom adjusting to a new body and a now 30something mom is that life isn't always perfect, but the key is to see beyond the imperfections and to be happy. Wide hips and all, I'm happy because in the end, the pros outweigh the cons.

I'd like to hear from you. After giving birth, how did you accept your post pregnancy body? Please share.