Ain't No Mom Jeans

Gorgeous Work-Out Gear You'll Want to Live In

I've been a long-time fan of the Stella McCartney for Adidas line.  It's gorgeous, and so many of her pieces are stylish enough to just wear.  Which, as a new mom, is much appreciated.  I often felt that getting out of the house was hard enough...once we were out (even just for a power-walk around the park)...I wanted to stay out.  So workout gear that was also stylish and cute?  Key. 

However, Adidas has another line that is similar to Stella in that it's stylish enough to work beyond a work-out, but at a lower price-point.  Interested?  Keep reading.

First, here are my favs from the gorgeous Stella line (her jackets make my heart beat fast, and you'll wear them for years to come):

Cool Ideas for Displaying Your Kid's Artwork

I am an art mom.  I am very definitely not a crafty mom, but art?  Art, I can do. 

What, exactly, is the distinction? In my mind, crafting makes a finished product and often requires some amount of skill (sewing, stitching, cutting in straight lines - all things I am incapable of), while art...well, art is messy.  And making a huge mess is something I have no problem with.  And something my husband (bless him) has learned to live with.

So it follows that we have tons and tons of artwork, in various phases of "finished"  floating about our small apartment.  And since Jackson Pollock is one of my very favorite artists....I obviously don't need a recognizable shape to love the art.  But, given the size of our space, we did need a cool way to display! My old method of scotch-taping-to-the-wall (see it in my previous post on easy Montessori-style shelves) just wasn't cutting it.  After much research, we decided on Ikea's Dignitet Curtain Wire System ($14.99) plus hooks ($4.99).  

NOTE:  Denver still doesn't have an Ikea, but we found the entire Dignitet system on Ebay for $30, including shipping.  Done and done.

But depending on your space (or the type of artwork to display)...you might want to check out some of these other cool methods for displaying your kiddo's work: 

 

What Moms Wear: New Mom Amber's Faux-Fur Jacket & Heels

  Readers, this is my dear friend Amber.  Some of you may remember her from this article where she chastised me for my original position on over-the-knee boots. 

"Let your moms be hot!  Tell your moms they have a RIGHT to be hot!"

Yes.  And now Amber is a hot-mom herself, of the crazy-adorable baby Harlow.  And when we met up with Amber & the fam recently, her outfit made me a bit nostalgic.

I remember after R was born, when the weekend came I would gleefully don my high, high heels and get all glammed up, knowing that my husband was there to do the baby lifting.  Even if we were just going to Target.  As R got bigger, our weekends started to be less baby-focused and more toddler focused (key difference:  chasing) and I stopped rocking my sky-high heels.

I miss those heels.

So if you can tear your eyes off of Harlow and her insanely cute flower headband (reason enough to try for a third child, right?)...let's chat about Amber's outfit.

A Must-Not Read

 I don’t need to tell you that there are countless books on babies, parenting and motherhood lining the bookshelves of your local Barnes and Noble. You could read non-stop until your child graduates from college and still you would have barely scratched the surface of all the reading material there is on the topic.

How To Wear Plaid Part 5 - Inspiration From Around the Web

 

Ummmm...yeah.  We love plaid.  For the last month, we've done a weekly feature on the various ways to rock a plaid shirt.  If you missed it, check out these articles:

How To Wear Plaid Part 1 - Holiday Style

How To Wear Plaid Part 2 - Girly Details Plus a Jacket

How To Wear Plaid Part 3 - Date Night

How To Wear Plaid Part 4 - With High-Waisted Denim

But we're not the only ones loving the plaid.  To finish up this series, I found some great sources of inspiration from a few very talented fashion bloggers.  Not only are their looks totally fresh and fun, but they are all mom-friendly.

Easy Make-Up Trick to Distract From Tired Eyes

Warning:  I hate this picture.  I'm wearing the wrong color foundation, my eyes are rimmed in red from being up all night, and I need some lip balm.  [Go ahead and look.  I'll wait.  Ok.]  Now let me put this in context:

Me (on phone):  M, I need some makeup advice.

M:  I hate my makeup.

Me:  I need something new...something more flattering.  Do you have any ideas?

M:  I hate all of my makeup.

Me:  Do you have a lipstick you like...maybe some mascara?

M:  Currently, I hate everything I put on my face.

Me:  Hunh.  Me too.

M:  Hunh. Yeah.

Aaaaaannnnd now you know why we need Scotti.

After this *super-helpful* conversation with M, I wandered into Sephora, intent on complaining about my makeup.  The foundation was too light, and the highlighter pen wasn't making my dark circles and bags disappear, I didn't look refreshed, or more awake or happier or younger or skinnier or....(um, new mom hormones may have been playing a role here).

An Easy Method To Determine Your Personal Style

It's funny how early our own concept of cool starts.  My sister bought R those sweatbands (pictured) last summer...and he insisted on wearing them everywhere.  Even to bed.  And still sometimes pulls them out, over 6 months later.  For some reason, R thinks those sweatbands are Just. So. Cool.  To match his cool sweatbands, he'll add a swagger to his step.  I don't know why he decided that Target sweatbands [with sports motif, groan] are cool...but far be it from me to burst his cool bubble.  The concept of cool is a very personal one...and one that can start as young as two!

I bring this up because I believe that understanding what you think is cool [not what you're told is cool] is the most critical step when attempting to define your personal style. 

Personal style is nothing more than your concept of cool + the realities of your daily life.

Yes?  Ok.  Now why do we care?

Hello, We've Had Some Work Done.

But just a little.  Nothing dramatic, just a little...tightening.  We'd love to know what you think of our new look.  And we've been adding some new categories.  Hopefully, if you need some inspiration on how to wear...say...your old khaki pants, we want you to be able to find some easily.  Let us know how it goes.

Also...we've finally figured out how to add Facebook "like" buttons to our articles.  Soooo...if you like what you're reading, we'd like it if you'd like us. 

xo,

Shana & Molly

What Moms Wear: Rebekah's Geek Chic

  Reader Jacci sent us a query, asking about our Mom Street Style articles...which we haven't done, in...hunh.  A year?  To be honest, I had stopped posting them for a couple of reasons - the main one being that I was too pregnant and uncomfortable to be walking around...and the other reason being that my photography skills are quite terrible.  The Sartorialist I am not. (snort.  I think that goes without saying.)

While my husband can take a good pic (he takes all of the ones of me)...the pics I take usually end up blurry in odd places, and either under/over-exposed.  BUT...we're not really about perfection, here at Ain't No Mom Jeans, and inspiration is still inspiration (even if it's a bit blurry)....so I'll get over myself.

Go Buy Now! Splendid Littles for Target

My heart skipped a beat today on a Target excursion for toilet bowl cleaner and graham crackers.  I'm a long time fan of the Splendid brand for kids (we have a striped long sleeve waffle tee I've forced both boys to wear until it reached crop top proportions, for example), but I only buy Splendid on deep discount because spending $50-$80 on single items of clothing for my rapidly growing kids makes me want to either a.) vomit, or b.) have another boy to make my outrageous clothing purchases more cost effective.  Which is, of course, outrageous.  Now, happy day, they have a new line called Splendid Littles for Target, and it is quite nearly as splendid as their full-priced line, with buttery soft fabrics and classic styles--at a price point that's about 75% less.  Click here to see Target's online offering, but there was plenty more at my local store, including hoodies, baseball tees, pants and dresses .  I snapped up two adorable, super soft striped hoodies for the brothers for $17.99 each, about $60 less than I would spend on this fab little number from the full priced line.  I totally saved $120. Right?

Splendid saving to you,

M.