Mommy Style

Next up in mommy fashion we head to J. Crew! (Or J.Crew online for the added convenience.) The chosen item is the woman’s “Boy Shirt” in Indian voile (that’s cotton!), specifically in bright emerald because it’s a universally flattering color that will carry you through into spring.

The shirt is a lightweight button down oxford with sleeves you can roll up or leave down. It’s in their classic men’s shape but with seams at the bust to keep it ladylike and fitted which is perfect for when you’re looking for comfort but don’t actually want to borrow a man’s clothing.

The shirt is sophisticated enough to wear in a formal or business situation, but since it’s a lightweight cotton it’s also an easy fit at home. Tuck it in, belt it, or leave it unbuttoned with a tank for an even more casual experience. It won’t feel stiff when you bend your arms like a traditional button down can, think more like a comfy flannel but half the weight.

It’s available in numerical sizes 00-16 and in a couple other jewel tone colors. Supposedly they run a bit large so don’t leave too much room for growth/movement, or whatever else you need space for in there. At $69.50, it’s a reasonable way to add a go-to staple to your day-to-day collection.

-By guest blogger Kate Ferguson

Keep It Pinteresting

If you haven’t already discovered the website Pinterest I highly suggest hopping on the bandwagon ASAP!

I tend to spend a great deal of my free time surfing this site and by free time I mean sitting at home on the couch, in a waiting room, in line for coffee, while returning emails, even sometimes while I’m working out. It’s become a regular craving for me!

WHAT is Pinterest? Here is their explanation: "Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.

Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests. To get started, request an invite."

WHY am I rambling about this? Well, I recently bought a house here in my hometown of Louisville, KY, and let me tell you that it has been one of the most challenging, liberating, fun, scary, long and artistic projects that I have taken on since being at FIDM. What am I getting at here? Well, almost 99% of my inspiration has come from Pinterest. It is truly an excellent source for anyone decorating a home.

Here’s how it works: You take images from other websites and pin them (save them) to the boards that you create on your Pinterest page. You can also re-pin ideas to your own boards from other people that are on Pinterest. It’s that simple and makes for and easy sharing of ideas and inspiration from all sorts of places you'd never expect!

If you’d like to check out my ideas for decorating, have a look at my Pinterest page and the board titled For the Home.  Lately I’ve been into textures, bold statement pieces and warm colors.

Two other boards well worth looking at are Mane Event (filled with amazing, easy and effortless hairstyles that I often try out) and YUM! You can gauge the latter for yourself but I’ll tell you I’ve made almost half of the goodies on that page and they are tasty!

Here's a link to Amanda's Pinterest page and don't forget to check out my recent 20 Question Tuesday on usaswimming.org. You might like #19! Swim Like A Mom!

-By guest blogger Caroline Stilwell Burckle

Fashion-Five Countdown

From sites with great deals on the latest fashion items to blogs where I find inspiration, here's a list of where I love to spend my free time on the internet:

5 - www.cupcakesandcashmere.com            

This is a very popular blog that might already be familiar to you. It’s written by “Emily” who’s a fashionista at heart but blogs about everything from her favorite recipes (there is an amazing one for cake pops right now!) to ways to re-vamp a home office or living room with cheap and easy improvements. She posts regularly about her outfits and how she pairs certain accessories with different clothing options.

4 - www.shopstyle.com

This is one of my FAVORITE shopping websites and I sometimes wonder if it’s because the site is so organized and easy to shop on (which is very important to the web customer) or if it’s the great deals; regardless, perhaps the best feature of SHOPSTYLE is that it allows you to shop in outfits so you can find deals on everything in your outfit. I think it is safe to say I have spent many, MANY hours clicking through the pages of evening and cocktail red-carpet gowns … hey, a girl can dream! 

3 - www.honestlywtf.com

Taking a different approach than the previous two, this blog has an entire section for DIY arts and crafts for different kinds of fashion pieces. Recently my friend who lives in Nashville and I simultaneously made chevron friendship bracelets from the instructions on Honestly WTF and sent them to each other. You might be thinking it seems childish but it’s the little things like getting a hand made gift from someone close to you that that can make your entire day. (YES, I am 25 and still LOVE my little girl hobby!)

2 - www.self.com

I LOVE this site! If you have ever read the magazine "Self", then you should definitely get your hands on this web-version of the popular women's health, beauty, and fitness go-to monthly read. My favorite part about this website is that it radiates positivity. I love that I can read up on every worry that a woman has about her body or lifestyle and more importantly the solutions to those worries. You can even pick up a few dry-land exercises for those rainy day indoor workouts.

1 - www.wwd.com

When I was studying at FIDM, they introduced us to the Women’s Wear Daily website and we were fortunate to have full access to it to on a regular basis for free. Normally you have to sign up and pay a small monthly fee to get access to all parts of the website. Without a membership, you can still see all the latest fashion news from all over the globe, trends for next year, recent runway shows from Paris, even careers in the fashion world but I highly recommend paying for full access. It’s such an unbelievably powerful website; one I would be absolutely lost without!

-By guest blogger Caroline Stilwell Burckle

Holiday Beauty

Ladies, for an adorable holiday nail idea from a great blog check out the beauty department. Men, pass this on to your ladies for some brownie points.

Mommy Style

If you’ve been searching for a midway point between denim and leggings, the ‘Riding Pant’ from American Apparel is a perfect choice! It has all the substance of a jean with the movement of your favorite yoga pants, but won’t ever surprise you with any sheer moments when you bend to swoop up toddlers, groceries, or both at the same time.

The Spandex/Nylon blend keeps its shape intact (and yours) with a form-fitting high waist and zipper plus dual button closure on the fly. Reminiscent of a girdle, minus the girdle. There won’t be any stretching out here so buy the size that fits you best as is, we don’t want it slipping around or stealing your breath.

Style wise we’ve got a small verticle ribbing like what you’d find on a corduroy pant and a patch on the inside of each leg like a real riding pant. The pant comes in eight colors including grey and black which are great basics, or try the village green to add some vibrancy while remaining understated and easy to match. The earthy tones are easy to pair with other neutrals in a sweater or jacket, or mix with any bright or printed tee. Awesome with a button down blouse or flannel. The leg is fitted with a tiny taper so it can stand alone with a heel, slip into a boot, or make friends with your favorite TOMS.

Sizes are available from XS-XL and a size chart on the American Apparel website makes online ordering super easy. Plus, there’s free shipping over $80 so throw on a nail polish or scarf to your $74.00 pants order and they’re as good as at your door!

P.S. You can sometimes grab discounts from being on their mailing list and every so often a great deal pops up on GROUPON!

-By guest blogger Kate Ferguson

5 Things I Love on a Lazy Sunday

1)  Influence by Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen - Okay, so I've been given many amazing birthday gifts but one I have yet to grow out of is the book Influence. Yes, if you only look at the cover, it can be mistaken for a silly little girl book filled with frou-frou pictures from Mary Kate and Ashley’s childhood but turn a few pages and you’ll realize they’re now an extremely bright minded dynamic twenty-something entrepreneurial duo. The book is an amazing collection of pictures and interviews of people who have inspired them in their design/fashion/personal life, from Diane von Fürstenberg to Alexander McQueen, and proof the girls lead an eclectic life. Mary Kate and Ashley's passions are nothing short of contagious. What I take from it: they never do what is expected. They do and create what they love, stay out of the crazy limelight and don't let what others think dictate who they are and what they love.

2)  houzz.com is a website my Aunt Wendy (an interior design genius) forwarded to me recently. I just bought a house in my hometown of Louisville, KY, and let's just say that this website has seen consecutive hours of usage by lil' ol' me. The site allows you to put together digital idea books from beautiful and amazing homes all over the world (I'm obsessed with Mediterranean style homes) in any way you want; by color, room, theme, location, etc. What I take from it: it's ADDICTING!

3)  weheartit.com is a site filled with fun photography/creative photos for any age ( it caters more to adolescent girls, but hey, to each their own). I often save my favorites and use them for fun backgrounds on my phone, computer, and iPad.

4)  Twilight: Breaking Dawn Soundtrack - Don't knock it till you try it. - ps #TeamJacob.

5)  Two Moms in the Raw make bars you can get from most any health food store (or sold individually at Starbucks now)! They’re healthy, delicious, ADDICTING, and the perfect fiber-filled, good-fat snack to sustain energy that you need throughout your Sunday!

Sunday Quote: "I am who I am, that is that. I am who I am thank God, I am". - Guru Singh

-By guest blogger Caroline Stilwell Burckle

If you have any questions please ask in the comment section below and remember this is only an opinion. When making any changes to your diet you are doing so at your own risk and should have prior approval from your physician!

High Tide Heels

Fellow blogger and SLaM reader Jackie Keane turned me on to these brilliant shoes by Belgian artist Paul Shietekat.

I can't decide if I should add them to my art collection or wear them out to the block at my next competition.

In my Closet

It's true, we ladies adorn things that serve only to beautify and our shoes are probably the epitome of that practice. I personally am guilty of cramming my feet into the wrong size of insanely expensive shoes for the sake of looking good on far too many occasions. Afterall, discomfort is temporary and being remembered as the most beautiful girl in the room lasts forever, right? Well maybe, but now that the duties of motherhood are part of my daily grind comfort goes a very, very long way.

One of my favorite pairs of shoes in my closet for both fit and function are my TOMS. Let's be honest, the original style of TOMS is a slipper and I could kiss the marketing genius and avant guard hipsters who tricked the world into believing they're appropriate to wear almost all of the time. When I bought my first pair in Venice Beach five years ago they were much, much cheaper … or maybe they seemed that way because my mortgage in Venice was so much higher … anyway, since then TOMS have come up in the world and with popularity comes a manufacturer's right to charge a little more especially since the sole has been completely redesigned for the better and the color and style options are now more numerous. They truly offer a style/color combo for every outfit of every day of the week.

Comfort and cool factor aside, my favorite reason, not excuse, to buy some new TOMS is that it's a charitable act. "With every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. One for One.™"

Just knowing that a little pair of feet will get a needed pair of shoes is enough to open up my wallet but wait, I get shoes too?

For more info check out How We Give, TOMS Giving Blog and TOMS.com/GivingPartners.

Mommy Style

There’s no denying fall now, and the chunky sweater is back and ready for it. Cozy time! This year the sweater is staying fresh with back cutouts and unique detailing on looser knits that are great for layering over tees and under jackets, which is key for any outing. The last thing you need is to be out with the kids and not have an easy way to transition between weather changes or activity level! Throw on a basic tee for the first layer and you’re good to go. 

Some stitch details on a panel of a sweater will keep it fashionable while remaining functional, like this Laguna Coast V-Neck Pullover Knit from Free People. No loose ties to get in the way or excess bagginess, and yet nothing boring about it. It comes in three earthy colors that would be perfect with leggings or denim, and can easily be dressed up thrown over a black dress with boots.

-By guest blogger Kate Ferguson