Styles of the week?

I got a little busy so here are my outfits for the week.  

It's beginning to look a lot like fall!  Cooler weather which means bring out the sweaters!! 

Always representing my team! Seahawk Sunday outfit! 

I adore this outfit but I didn't venture away from wearing black.  In my efforts to wear more color it is definitely a work on progress. 

I managed to find a teal cardigan to pair with my Phillip Lim for target top that makes me love this outfit even more.  The picture really doesn't do it justice. 

 And we are caught up.  Today I'm wearing one of my MOM STYLE nursing tops with a black cardigan and rocking my fave toms. 

Style of the day

I'm wearing: Michael kors top, skinnies, ugg loafers, and Dooney and Bourke hobo.

Review of Phillip Lim for target

I was unable to take the trip to target when the collection came out on Sunday, but I am glad I waited. The bags had been picked over but I did snag one of the ones I wanted.

I tried on most of the things available at my target. The green top I ended up liking more than I thought I would. It was a loose fit which I liked. They didn't have my size so I am not sure how it would look and fit if it was in my size. It might have been too loose for my liking. The shoulders are a bit bigger than I would have liked. I loved the color and the sleeves.

As for the skirt, I tried on both the navy and the animal print. I was not a fan of the animal print but did like the navy. It would be a great basic for any closet. I very rarely wear skirts so I decided not to add it to my collection.

The dress with embellishment left a lot to be desired. I wanted to like them, and I liked the blue color, but the fit was just awful. The top part fit great but once you got past the chest it was like an oversized sheet. It was not flattering at all.

The navy top I loved. Sorry the picture isn't the best, my hubby and son were waiting for me and I could hear them outside of the fitting room. So I was trying to hurry. It's going to be great for layering.

Overall I was much happier with the Phillip Lim collection than the Neiman Marcus collection. For the most part the materials looked to be decent quality for the price.

Adventures in Photoshop

So i'm sure many of you have seen the amazing posters that you can order on etsy.  There are some very creative people out there, and I thank them so much for giving me the inspiration to make my own.  While looking on pinterest I found an awesome chalkboard poster with stats.  Of course the going rate for one of these ranged from $13-$30.  For people who don't have the knowledge to make one I can say that the prices are reasonable. For me with knowledge in both photoshop and illustrator it definitely was something I knew I could recreate.  So after a little google search for diy chalkboard print I found the background below.  I honestly can't remember where I found it, but if you do a google search for it you will be able to easily find the background.

 This project was one of the most time consuming projects I've done.  I spent over seven hours just finding the fonts, and figuring out what I wanted to put on it.

I adore the home is where the heart is posters but since we love two areas I had to show that.

Can't wait to print off this Seattle picture for my travel family room.

I created a cover for my photo book using a drop cap letter.  I can't remember who I got the letter from but I'm so thankful because it is perfect.

My goal is to have a picture of every place we have traveled.  I'll be working on a Hawaii picture soon enough. 

So forgive me for the vagueness with this post.  I had typed out an entire post and it didn't publish or save and I lost it.  I am working on my little boys birthday invite.   

Inspiration is everywhere all you have to so is open your eyes. 

Style of the Day

I have been working toward taking time to get myself dressed in more than just yoga pants and a tshirt.  For a few months I had we shall say trouble adjusting to taking care of my son and finding the time to take care of me.  My ultimate goal is to have a style of the day post at least 5 days out of the week.  I'm not sure it will happen though since the hubby has days off during the week and on the weekends little man and I often spend time with his grandma.  Today we got to both sleep in and had time to get as my hubby would say dressed up and ready to go. My style of the day included cheetah print uggs, and Betsy Johnson jewelry.

J's Fall Faves

Fall is one of my favorite seasons.  The leaves change colors, the weather gets cooler, the boots, scarves and coats come out.  Fall is one of my favorite seasons for fashion because it's not so hot that all you want to wear are shorts, tank top and flip flops.  Texture, cheetah print and leather is big this fall, so when i went shopping I made sure to look for a few key pieces to add to my wardrobe.
Tried out a few nail polishes but i'm still in search of that perfect fall colour.  The gradient below is one I will be doing this fall.

 Shopping for fall is amazing.  New jeans, new jersey, new shoes and new bags.  I had to splurge on the Ugg flats and since I couldn't decide on the black ones and the cheetah print, so I got both at the Nordys anniversary sale which I ordered online and got free shipping!  They are so comfortable and fit perfect this fall.  Also picked up a vintage coach bag to give my marc jacobs bag a break since I had been carrying it since Christmas.  Also grabbed a seahawks jersey so I have something to wear for seahawk sundays!

I adore sales and finding clothes with deep discounts so when I found out macys was having a sale I had to stop by and check it out.  I managed to nab a Ralph Lauren top for under $20, a Betsey Johnson bag for $30, and some new flats for $13!!

I picked up a leather peplum when I was hunting for a leather piece to add to my wardrobe.  I ended up wearing it to a birthday dinner, and even though I could have paired it with some red pants I opted for the more subtle look with jeans.  

 When I spied this red coat I knew it had to belong in my closet.  A colored coat is huge this fall, and I was not about to miss out on adding this amazing red to my coat collection.  I love coats, and have a few to go with different outfits.  When it comes to coats I suggest owning at least one pea coat.  Nothing kills an outfit more than the wrong coat.  I have seen women all dressed up only to be wearing a coat that doesn't' match their outfit.  A winter coat that is often worn to play in the snow should not be worn over any outfit that includes a dress, skirt, or slacks.  Especially if you are wearing nice shoes.  Investing in a great coat is the best thing you can do for your wardrobe.  I started out with a black pea coat, followed by a white short coat, a black cape, grey pea coat, a burgundy pea coat and finally my red military style coat.  That doesn't include my snow coat, light jackets, trench coats, or leather jackets.

I'm headed to Target tomorrow to check out the Phillip Lim collection.  I'm hoping to add a new bag to my collection, so hopefully they are not sold out.  There was a few other tops I want to try on as well as a trench and maybe the sweater dress.  I'll let you know if I add any more pieces to my wardrobe!

Figuring Out Your Mom Style

No, I'm not talking about changing out all of your trendy jeans for yoga pants.  Although I can see where some moms easily slip into what I like to call the stay at home mom style.  You aren't going anywhere and so you think that eh I can just wear some sweats and a tshirt, I mean who do I really have to impress.  Obviously when you have young children they aren't going to care what you are wearing.  You should want to dress for you.  By slipping into the mom style you are letting the fact that you are a mom define your style.  If you are a new mom you are often too tired to even care what you look like, but I am here to tell you that it does get easier and yes you can allow yourself to sometimes wear those yoga pants and t-shirt.  Just don't get into the habit of making it a daily thing.  I encourage you to read my back story because I promise I am not trying to make you feel badly about yourself.

It can be so frustrating when you are unable to fit into your pre-baby clothes.  I was definitely frustrated, I had read all of those articles and mom personal stories saying they lost all of the baby weight when they were breast feeding.  While I did lose a good chunk of weight before my son came home from his hospital stay I got stuck.  It didn't seem to matter what I did or how much i exercised I could not lose a pound.  I was easily fitting into my favorite pair of jeans two weeks after having my son, but the rest of my jeans, and shirts just didn't fit right.  Now I don't know about the rest of you but I ended up going up two cup sizes, so a good chunk of my regular tops did not come close to fitting.  I also did what any other new mom does, I went out and bought a handful of nursing tops.  I didn't buy much since I didn't want to spend tons on them.  I also got basic nursing tops so that I could throw a sweater on to mix it up.  Let me tell you though, after almost 11 months of wearing those same tops I can not wait until my son is at least done breast feeding during the day.  While I stay home I have begun to wear more tops that are not just my boring nursing tops, but since I am uncomfortable with my abs I don't feel comfortable wearing a top that doesn't give my son easy access.  The idea of someone seeing my untoned stomach terrifies me.  I like many other moms (i'm sure) listened to the doctor when they said to give your body time to heal, while I did light exercises, I did not feel that I had fully healed until my son was seven months.  I definitely kicked my body into overdrive.  I was walking 3-4 miles with hills a few times a week, and trying to do some exercises.  Every time I looked in the mirror and stood on the scale I felt I looked the same and the scale never changed.  It wasn't until my son started eating more solids that I actually started to lose weight  Not much but at least something.

What can be more frustrating than finally getting into a decent workout routine and winding up with pneumonia?  I imagine not a lot.  At least for me it was an extremely frustrating thing.  I ended up losing more weight from being sick, which was one of the good things in addition to my son not getting pneumonia and only having  a slight cold.  The downside was coughing a rib out of place and due to all of the coughing my rib still hurts and will take awhile to heal.  So what does that mean for me you ask?  Well that means that I can not do my ab workout routine, so I shall have to continue to call my untoned tummy Flabby.  So it's time to get creative and find other exercises that I can do.  Running is out, walking is a tad iffy since it depends on the day.  I can do squats, lots of squats!  Which I have been doing tons of each day.  I also figured on my good days I can do plank, but some days that is just not an option for me.  It has taken me awhile, but I did realize that while I was sick I felt better on the days I got myself up and dressed for the day.  I still felt horrible, but I felt better about myself.  Every person needs "me time" and focusing on dressing yourself gives you just a little bit of that time.  Where you will be excited to go out in public just so you can be seen dressing so fabulous.  So now that you have hopefully read my back story you will realize I am only trying to help you, and not just telling you off for wearing yoga pants and shirt.  I have a few style tips.

J's tips for figuring out your mom style!

You know what you don't even have to be a mom.

1.  Get yourself a good bra(correct size too)!  It seriously makes a huge difference on your entire look.  I suggest measuring yourself, but I know some stores offer fit specialists who will help you.  I had someone help me and they were wrong, so I like to measure myself so I know that it's right.  It is very easy to do.  Although if you are like me and decide, while at VS, that you want to get a new bra since none of your bras fit particularly well, and you have a decent jumping off point, by all means just try on a few to find the best fitting one.  I guessed my size and ended up having to go back out for a bigger size, I grabbed both a band size bigger and a cup size bigger so I could try them both.  Make sure it fits you the correct way.  There are many women out there that are not wearing the correct bra.  It is important that you never just settle for a bra that is close enough to fitting.  Below I have listed my fitting tips, and just remember it is always important to try on the bra and find one that fits you perfectly.     

a.) The band should sit flat and level all the way around. 

The band should not be up higher in the back than in the front.

b.)  Make sure when buying the bra, the band fits on the loosest clasp. 

 This allows you to get longer use of the bra. 

c.) The center panel should fit against your sternum. 

I had a fit stylist tell me that it was supposed to not fit against your sternum.  I learned later on she had me in the wrong cup.  

d.) Make sure there isn't any boob spillage or wrinkles on the cups.  

If so you are in the wrong cup size.

e.) If your straps fall down this is a huge indicator you are in the wrong bra, or the elastic has worn out.

2. Dress your age!!  I have worked retail and I have also seen while shopping many different women shopping in the juniors section.  At the time I was shopping in the juniors section and was seriously disturbed by women in their 40's or 50's shopping in the same section.  If they had anything that I had picked out I immediately put it back.  This is one thing that I do not understand.  I'm not sure if women think that buying clothes in the junior section will make them look younger, but I do know the argument that they can't find anything stylish for their age group is indeed false.  I have been in a bit of a transition I occasionally look at things in the juniors sections, but more often than not I find nothing.  The clothing just seems too young and childish.  This is probably due to the fact I am a hop skip and a jump away from being thirty.  That doesn't mean my wardrobe has to die it just means I can wear clothing that makes me look like the adult that I am.  I will tell you that it is alright to shop in the juniors section at Target, but please, please, please make sure that it is something an adult can wear.  No you can not wear highlighter colors and please if you choose to wear leggings make sure you are wearing a tunic.  

3. Get clothes that flatter your body shape.  Don't just buy something because it's trending at the moment.  What looks great on one body type does not always look good on another.  Now if you don't know your body shape I encourage you to stand in front of your full length mirror with as little on as possible and take a good long look, and follow these tips to determine your shape. 

Hourglass: A narrow waist, while the hips and bust are proportionate.  This creates the ever popular hourglass figure that is important to emulate.  

Apple:  Hips and legs tend to be slender while the upper body is larger.

Pear: Wide hips and rear end and small waist and bust.

Stick: Also known as rectangular.The shoulders, bust, hips, waist are all similar in size.

Wedge of Cheese:  Similar to the apple shape but has a flat waist.  Has broad shoulders and large bust.

You may find that you are a couple different shapes.  This does happen and it is normal.  While you're looking in the mirror why don't you tell yourself you are B-E-A-Utiful.  Now onto getting clothes that flatter your shape.  I am hoping you have figured out what shape you are, but if you are struggling I suggest asking your mom or best friend.  Those are also the two people I suggest shopping with but more on that later. First things first Sizing!!! Sizing is very important.  If you hate the number in the pant or top just cut it out but please get the size that fits you best.  

If you are trying to squeeze into a smaller size you are going to end up looking much larger than you are, and the same goes for wearing overly large clothes.  Your mission should you choose to accept it, is to buy clothing that fits you perfectly.  If it does not fit perfectly but you can take it to a tailor to get it hemmed, than by all means go for it.  No matter your size or shape what you want to try to create is an hourglass figure.   Even those with hourglass figures can have them completely lost by the wrong type of clothing.  By creating an hourglass figure it also creates a slimmer appearance.  Look at accentuating your waist.    

4.  Best people to go shopping with and why.  As I mentioned earlier the best people to go shopping with are your mom or best friend.  The reasoning behind this is they will tell you honestly if something looks good on you or not.  I can not stress this enough, if you think that shopping with your friends is fun and they always tell you that you look great in something, you have to think of the many reasons they could be telling you this.  These reasons range anywhere from they don't want to hurt your feelings to they want you to look bad compared to them.  The last one I would say goes more toward a frienemie, and as an adult you probably wont deal with any of those since you will have weeded them out.  I shop with 3 people and only listen to them.  My mom, who often says I look great in anything, but that I know was because I was young and skinny. My BFF H, even though we live away from each other we still shop together via text.  Last but not least my hubby, not because I need his approval, but because he is one of my best friends and will tell me if something doesn't look good.  He even goes shopping for me and does an amazing job because he knows my taste and also knows what looks good on me.  It is true I have gone shopping with other friends, but I usually go with my gut feeling on what I am going to purchase.  I have what I like to call "J" style.  If something is "J" I will get it, otherwise I don't bother.  Something may be cute and look great on, but unless it screams me I will not buy it.  Another tip for when you go shopping is to make sure you have eaten before going, it has been proven, and I should go find the study to link to but it's late so I wont, that shopping while hungry creates impulse buys that often lead to buyers remorse.  Also get dressed up and do your makeup when you go shopping, you will feel fabulous!

5. Layers!! No outfit is complete without layers. You can take a basic white T and with the right sweater/jacket and accessories get a stop traffic look.  I often suggest dark denim preferably without holes.  Leave the holy jeans for the younger crowd.  Plus if you are a mom with a moving baby/child there is a good chance you will end up with worn jeans so save yourself some money and buy jeans without the holes.  I absolutely adore fall and winter because it is so much easier for me to layer.  I love throwing on a tshirt with my jeans and throwing on one of my sweaters, and you can't forget the jewelry or fabulous shoes.  

6. Neutrals vs. Colors

When creating your wardrobe it is important you find a balance between the neutrals and the colors. many people tend to lean one way or the other, but by wearing a neutral pant and jacket with a top for the pop of color tends to create a better overall look than wearing all neutrals or colors with no neutrals.  If you tend to wear a lot of neutrals the next time you go shopping look for a few things with color, and if you wear a lot of color make sure you check to see if it's too much and make sure it looks good.  

7. Figuring out where to splurge and where to save.  I feel that there are many people out there who think that because they don't have a lot of money they can't dress stylishly.  The truth of the matter is that the best stylist know how to mix high and low end.  I rarely spend more than $20 on a top, and jeans I always look for good deals, but I know that a good fit is important too.  My current pair of jeans cost me $20 and I love them.  I often look at stores like Burlington Coat Factory and TJMaxx.  I love finding deals at discount stores.  I found a Michael Kors suit jeacket on clearance for $10.  It amazes me sometimes the markup on things.   I also love finding clothes at Target.  I can usually find trendy pieces for less than $20.  I love to splurge on handbags and shoes.  More so on the handbags, I tend to not cringe at the price of designer bags where shoes it depends on the shoe.  I would rather spend more money on something with good quality than buy a lot of different handbags.  Some bags I have had since 2004 and will have them much longer.  The beauty of a well made bag or shoe is that they are not about to fall apart just because you wear them a lot.   One tip I have when splurging on an item, make sure you take time to think about the purchase.  You need to make sure that you do in fact really want the item.

One of my biggest pet peeves are when people want something just because it's some popular brand/designer.  I once was attempting to sell some handbags.  I listed the designers but did not specify which ones belonged to which bag.  I had someone so obsessed with getting a coach bag that they said they wanted it, and then asked me which one it was.  If you can't afford some "it" brand it really isn't that big of a deal.  More likely than not it will just be a trend and if you don't love it you will end up with something you spent a lot of money on that you don't care about.

8. Find designers you love that are geared toward you.  With so many designers out there it's easy to get overwhelmed. 

     I strongly suggest finding designers that you love, not because they are popular but because you love the designs or the product.  I love my bag collection and even though I don't rotate them like I used too, they will always hold a special place in my heart.  I loved Dooney and Bourke and Louis Vuitton while I was in high school.  Of course I couldn't afford a Louis so I stuck with Dooney and Bourke bags.  Once I entered college I fell in love with Coach.  I still liked some of the bags from Dooney and Bourke, but not as much.  After getting my first bag I was hooked, I bought a few from a department store but mostly bought them from the outlet store.  After about 3 years of having a coach obsession that ended.  I had a newfound love for Chanel.  I had loved Chanel since my last year at the first University I attended.  Once I moved to the city and saw all the pretty bags and pearls I dreamed of owning a bag.  My hubby got me a wallet for our first valentines day together.  It was a really good fake but from that moment on I decided I would one day own a real version of the Chanel cambon wallet.  During this same time period I visited New York and once I returned home I went shopping for a new bag.  I ended up falling in love with Marc Jacobs bags.  I throw in some Betsey bags here and there if I find one that I have to have.  Of course my current obsession has looped back around to getting myself a Louis or rather my hubby getting me a Louis.  There are other bags or shoes from designers I like, such as a bag from the Phillip Lim for target collection(you all know the one).  

9.  Figure out your style.  I tend to go for more classic looks but I do enjoy throwing in other vibes, such as rocker chic, boho, urban, and vintage.  Mix them all up and you get the style of J.  Finding your own style takes time, you can't just ask others if it looks good on you because you have to figure out if it screams you!  This means finding what you feel comfortable in, and also what looks good.  If you feel comfortable and confident in an outfit you will looks tons better than if you buy something you are not comfortable in.

10. Oh the fashion industry would be mad at me if they knew I was discouraging impulse buys, but I'm doing it anyway.  Make sure you love something before you buy it since it will be taking up valuable closet space once it comes home with you.

It may have taken me months to figure out my new mom style, and honestly i'm still working on it.  I do know I'm in the right direction and will continue to dress up, do my hair and makeup every day.  It lifts my mood up even higher, especially when the hubby says how good I look.  When you invest a small amount of time for yourself you will feel a ton better about tackling everything you have going on each day.  As a mom you can sometimes feel lost as an individual, and that's easy to do since you are required to put yourself last.  The needs of your little ones will always come in first, but put the pause button on to make sure you take time for yourself.  I am here to tell you that if you take just a little bit of time each day and do something for you, you will start to feel less lost and much more like you. 

Be You, Be Fabulous