Stay Out of the Mom Zone

My friends have an ongoing joke about which one of us is going to get the mom-do first.  You know, the first one who decides to go for convenience over looks when you become a mom.  The first to chop their hair off like a boy.  The first to decide that it is too much trouble to have to style your hair every day.  It becomes a slippery slope...the "mom" cut, "the "mom" jeans, the "mom" wardrobe.  I am going to try my best to stay out of the "Mom Zone."

However, staying on top of trends is a daily struggle.  As you working moms know, you have a TON of new found time at home after baby bedtime.  It used to be your grocery store and boutique/mall time, but now you can't leave the house.  Online shopping has become my new best friend.  I have started ordering tons of things every time I see an online coupon from my favorite stores.  I usually end up returning 90% of it, but it is slowly filling the void in my closet where maternity clothes took over.  A second struggle I face when trying to keep up with the latest fashion is adding in the new guilt I feel buying something for myself instead of buying something for L.

So, I do not fancy myself a fashionista, but I am an excellent bargain hunter.  If I see something I like, I can almost always find a cheaper replica or the same product on a discount website.  I hope to relieve your new found guilt and lack of shopping time with a new series, "Stay Out of The Mom Zone."  Please email me looks you see and love, but want to find a cheaper version.

For example, I am in the market for some new boots and saw a picture of Kourtney Kardashian wearing these bad boys...

Since I need both brown and black boots this year, I thought I could kill two boots with one Kardashian.  Upon further research I found out she was wearing $2,000 Chanel boots...EEK! 

However, I found LOTS of similar two toned boots I love...

These range from $99-$715...they are listed from highest to lowest...

1.  Calvin Klein

2.  Stuart Weitzman

3.  Juicy Couture

4.  Hunter Boot

5.  Etienne Aigner

6.  Ciao Bella Tori

7.  Ciao Bella Tabby

I ordered #6 and LOVED them, but they were too tall...for you long-legged gals, try them out...they are SUPER comfortable! 

Which one is your favorite?

I always struggle with boots because I have the weeniest calves and ankles you have ever seen.  Too bad the teeny weeny part doesn't travel up to my thighs...They are normal size...Just picture a V-shape and that is my leg silhouette.  It is hot, I know, so don't be jeal.  Anyways, I JUST found out that Nordstroms has an option to search for a "narrow" shaft boot.  I will keep you posted on what I end up with. 

Email me your bargain shopping needs.  I am happy to be at your service.

BOO!

I love October!  The weather turns nice, I can usually bust out some fall sweaters and boots, and it is the month of HALLOWEEN!  You know what that means...costumes, costumes, costumes!  My family is a bit extreme when it comes to costumes.   We will find any excuse to dress up.  Come to think about, not sure why I classify October as a "costume" month.  After searching through photos for this post, I realized we dress up in costumes every month of the year. Please see below...

Exhibit A:  Dressed up for a Moulin Rouge party (November)

Exhibit B:  Dressed up as my mom's favorite things for her surprise birthday party (March)

Exhibit C:  Dressed up for my dad's birthday dinner (September)

Exhibit D:  Even Christmas is an excuse to dress up (December)

As you can see, Special K and the men in my family are GREAT sports!  They have come to learn that "no" is an unacceptable answer.

I am going to keep L's costume a secret until Halloween!  It is so preshrunken...However, my mom swears she will be turning on me in her teenage years.  L will accuse me of giving her a complex because of her first ever Halloween costume.  Stay tuned!

I have gathered a list of my top 10 favorite baby Halloween costumes!  I tried to find the most unique ones that I had not seen before.  No pumpkins, ghosts, or witches in this bunch.  Some are weird, some are funny, and some are too cute for words.  Enjoy!

#10 Garden Gnome  - If I had not already ordered L's costume, she would definitely be a garden gnome.  There is always next Halloween though (or Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc...).  I love this little girl!

#9  Peanut - Originally I thought this was precious, but on second look, well, never mind...I will be mature about this one ;) 

#8  Baby Chicken and Big Chicken - the big chicken might be her Easter outfit...too cute!

#7  Elephant - For all you Republicans out there...

#6  Caterpillar - This one made me laugh

#5 Snail - As did this one...

#4 Octopus - Is this not the most random thing you have ever seen?  I can't decide if I like it or not.  Could be a hit at your neighborhood carnival!

#3 Ram - I am 99% sure this is a joke because it is not for sale anywhere...strange, very, very strange!

#2 Flamingo - Um, HA-styrical, but not sure I am willing to pay $120 for it.

#1 Elvis - If L was a boy, there would be no question what she would be...This Elvis costume is the by far my favorite...please someone get it and send me a picture of your little tyke!  Also, let me know where the baby's arms go???

What is your little one dressing up as?  Did I miss any funny/unique ones?

Please send in your Halloween pictures.  I just may have a contest with a prize :)

Stokke Xplory

I saw this pic recently of Selma Blair with a great diaper bag!

Mt first thought was, "It probably is way expensive."  FALSE!  This Stokke Xplory Bag retails for around $119 and comes in multiple colors.  Check it out!

Don't forget to enter the Pint-Sized Giveaway!

Pint-Sized Giveaway

I have been waiting to announce this giveaway for a few weeks now!  Between facebook, blogs, and other social media, I have reconnected with so many old friends.  It has been so fun!  One friend, in particular, Lauren, contacted me to do a giveaway for Keeping it Simple.  I had no idea she had started a children's clothing line, Pint-Sized Clothing and Design.  As described on Facebook, "Pint-Sized is an online boutique offering items at affordable prices.  Everything is made by hand, just for you!"

I ordered L an owl onesie (applique pictured below) and was beyond excited when it came in the mail last week!  Not only was it adorable, but it was also great quality.  The only bad news is I intentionally ordered it a little big, so I have to wait for L to grow into it.  I guess I can contain myself for a few more weeks!!!  I will definitely share the pics with her wearing it when I have them.

Take a look at Lauren's fabulous designs below.  Her dresses are super cute!  I love the dress with ties on the shoulders because you can adjust the ties as your little one grows!





Here are a few of her MANY appliques for onesies including L's owl!

Are you dying to have your one-of-a-kind Pint-Sized outfit yet!?!?

Her dresses run from $38-$50 depending on the size and monogram, and her onesies run from $15-$22.  Her turn around time is around 1-3 weeks.

Today she is giving exclusively to Keeping it Simple a personalized onesie (or $22 credit toward an outfit).  We must earn Pint-Sized 50 likes to qualify for the giveaway.  If we reach the goal, I will announce the winner next Monday.

To enter...

• like Keeping it Simple on facebook, 
• like Pint Sized clothing on facebook, and
• leave a comment on this blog post. 

Good Luck!

What's in your heaven?

My sister and I like to play this game where we ask people what/who would be in their heaven?  For example, in my heaven there would be spinach artichoke dip by the bath tubs served with thin tortilla chips, Tiff's Treats chocolate chip cookies, a constant stream of new release movies, and all my favorite people!

The baby shower my friends threw for me was so thoughtfully planned out and included lots of my heavenly things!  They had a menu planned perfectly for me with spinach dip and thin chips, all of my favorite people were there, the jungle nursery theme was used for the invitation/decorations, and they bought me my diaper bag!  They knew me well enough to know I would have never purchased a fancy diaper bag for myself.  I still LOVE it and obviously use it daily!  I have to say Special K looks adorable with it too when he gets stuck toting it around ;)

My friends did such a great job with the shower!  I wanted to get them something useful, but relevant for all the thought they put into it.  It is always a challenge to find something that a handful of people will like, goes with the shower theme, and won't break the bank.  I will share with you what I gave to them and two precious hostess gifts I received last weekend to give you some ideas.


Idea #1...My gift to them...I did some research and found the cutest idea!  Get them some shower/bath essentials and write on the card, "From my shower to yours!"  I went to Pier 1 and bought them animal print bubble bath, an eye mask, and scrubbing brush to match the shower theme, but you could obviously buy whichever bath products you wanted.

Idea # 2...One of my childhood friends is having a baby in December and gave us the sassiest coolers at her shower on Sunday!  I just love it!  All of our coolers are so masculine...it is nice to have one I could tote to a tailgate.

I couldn't find this exact one, but found a couple other options for girly coolers.



Turner Tennis



Built NY

Idea # 3...On Saturday, a college friend of mine who is due in November gave us gifts and the card read...

If you are having trouble reading, "Janann, Thanks for helping me get ready for my bun in the oven.  Happy Baking!"  Inside the bag, the most adorable apron by Sugar n Spice on Etsy.

Super cute idea!!! This apron might actually get me in the kitchen!!!  Sugar n Spice has many other aprons to choose from or you could buy anything baking related...

Sprinkle Cupcake Mixing Set

Or take the literal interpretation of "bun" and give Williams Sonoma sticky buns... 

Sticky Buns

I think I may have just added a couple more things to my heaven!  Those sticky buns look yummy!  

What did you give as a hostess gift?  Also check out the Now Stylebook.  They did a great post on wedding shower hostess gifts that could work for a baby shower too.  

Now, please indulge me...What is in your heaven?

Happy Birthday to...ARE YOU JOKING?

I recently went to a baby boutique because I had credit to spend.  I was on the hunt for a 1st birthday outfit for L.  I knew it is a couple months away, but I thought I would get her something super cute with the credit.  I found one of those HUMONGO pettiskirts and a cute top with a cupcake on it to match...I fell in love with it and had to have it.  Well, until I saw the price tag..It was pretty similar to the one below.  How much would you think this outfit costs?

La Bella Flora

I am walking through the store with the outfit in hand picturing L running around it while we sing Happy Birthday to her....Then, I see the price tag...$75...Wrong!  $125...Wrong!  $175...DING, DING, DING!  We have a winner!  It seriously made my jaw drop in the middle of the store.  I am sure the sales lady saw me since I was the only one in there at the time.  I have trouble spending that much money on a pair of jeans I will wear every day for two years.  I am still in shock over it.  Even with store credit, I just could not justify it.  I have been searching for a replica of it for less.  Any ideas?

I found one almost exactly like it at Zulily, but it was sold out!  What is Zulily, you may be asking?  If you are a expecting or new mom, you MUST know about Zulily. 

It is similar to Gilt that I posted about a few weeks ago, but it is ALL about babies, kids, and maternity products.  They post weekly deals from various companies.  Subscribe immediately for some super cute things with fantastic prices.  Here is the Bella Daniella skirt ($24.99) and top ($24.99) I found for a much better deal than the whopping $175.  I am sick I missed it!

Let me know if you find anything similar for a good price or any other preshrunken birthday outfits for that matter.

Preshrunken

Don't you just love the iphone autocorrect website.  You know when your iphone autocorrects a word that you did not intend to use?    Most of the time it is pretty harmless and doesn't make much sense, but they can get you into real trouble.  Here is an example...

In honor of a family wedding coming up this weekend, I will explain a little inside joke that was derived from such an autocorrect incident.  It is not on the dirty humor train the iphone sometimes is on, so don't get your hopes up.

My college-aged sister-in-law texted my future sister-in-law that this girl was "precious," but instead texted "preshrunken."  They all assumed "preshrunken" was a cool, new college word that they must not know about.  There were many guesses on what this new term might mean.  Everyone had a good laugh when they learned it was just a mistake.  Now, preshrunken is in our family vocabulary.

So, L will be a flower girl in the previously mentioned family wedding!  She is 9.5 months now and the other flower girl is 8 weeks.  Their dad's will be carrying them down the aisle...it will be so PRESHRUNKEN!!!  I will definitely get a  picture to share.

When we were trying to find flower girl dresses, we ran into some problems.  They are all so mini-bridesmaidsy (just made that word up, but you know what I mean) and cost just as much as a bridesmaids dress.  I called in the expert...Alex, from Things That Sparkle, keeps a fantastic blog featuring interiors, fashion, and a little bit of food.

She has a weekly series about planning her upcoming wedding called, Wedding Wednesdays.  She is guest posting here for today's Wedding Wednesdays about flower girl dresses.  See her adorable picks below at a wide variety of costs...

American Apparel $48 

Annie Girl Dress Up $150-170

Nordstrom $150

J Crew $168

Thank you Alex for these preshrunken dresses!  I love them! Let me know which one you choose for your wedding!

Unfortunately, we did not have Alex's picks before we picked the dress.  The Bride decided to keep it clean and simple with a white, smocked dress like the one below...

Etsy $56

Football Friday

I am so thrilled about today's guest post!  An old camp friend of mine, Merritt, has a fantastic fashion blog called Manolos and Martinis.  Definitely bookmark her for a daily read! 

She has recently been voted Best Twitterer in Houston by the Houston Press and has launched her own marketing and design firm, Merritt Beck Media. 

She is oh-so talented and accomplished! Not to mention her amazing style!  Here is a pic of her the night she accepted her Best Twitterer award.  As the Harvard Sailing Team would say, "Supe cute outfit!"

Merritt posted a popular series recently called Football Fridays.  I invited her to create a Maternity Edition of Football Friday for Keeping it Simple to kickoff the beginning of the college football season this weekend!  She found some fab outfits for you TCU, SMU, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, and University of Texas fans!  Can you guess which on is my favorite?  Click here for a hint.

TCU, SMU, Texas Tech, A&M, Texas

Thank you Merritt for your fashion expertise! 

Happy Labor Day!  I wish I had a rocking outfit for the weekend like this little gal!

Image from kaboodle.com