Fly Me to the Moon

I do love a good graphic tee - but I don't wear one very often. Honestly, I find I'm drawn to solid brights, a funky pattern or even just a neutral (hello - how many black tee-shirts does one girl need?). But a couple of years ago we were in Florida on a family vacation and visited Kennedy Space station - and when I saw this tee, I had. to. have. it.

Garden Party

Recently I attended a "garden party" themed bridal shower for a family friend.

The decor was lovely and it was nice to see ladies in a lot of flowy, floral dresses.

Comfort

Sometimes you just need to be comfortable!

Want you back, want you back, want you back for good....

It's been an interesting time for me readers - I know, I know - I've been away for quite a while - and some of you have even taken to writing messages to me reminding me to get back at it (Thanks for the push Judith!) and I have been taking some time to think.

Double Duty

So - spoiler alert - this is not a purple skirt - it's a purple dress!

Went overboard

Sometimes you think "I'll dress a little festive for church this week" and then you do.

Black and Blue Outfit Rework

I actually wore pretty much this exact outfit once in the summer for the blog.

Plaid Pencil

This asymmetric plaid skirt is a new addition to my wardrobe and it's so perfectly "fall" and will transition well into the winter months.

 

Tee-skirt

When I was in Buffalo with my sisters I saw this skirt at a Forever 21 for a whopping $6. Six bucks!

Shades of Green

Green is not usually my colour. I mean, occasionally I venture into the green side of teal, and I have a few forest green items in my wardrobe, but there is a serious lack of green compared to the other colours of the rainbow.

Date Night

As you know, Wednesday was my 9th wedding anniversary with the hubs. My mom kindly consented to watch our kiddos and we had a nice dinner out.

These are my Stripes

I've been loving the all-white trend I keep seeing these days - but let's be honest, all white with 2 kids, my nephew, a dog, a cake business... it's just not a good combo

 

Flowers & Sunshine - and a Giveaway!

Yay for long weekends! This was a crazy busy weekend for me as my sister and I had 2 wedding cake orders due for delivery on the Saturday, but once we got past that madness.... yay for sunshine and flowers!

Peach and Plaid

Wearing skirts in the winter can be tricky up here in Canada. Tights or not there are days when you still need a rather thick layer of fabric between your skin and the cold.

Sweat-skirt

I've finally worked myself up to wearing a graphic tee with a skirt. I just couldn't go all the way to fancy skirt with graphic tee though - so in my sewing this week I decided to use up some of this super-soft grey sweat-shirt knit material. I thought about doing a classic pencil skirt shape but when with a slight a-line, paper-bag waist, mild hi/low hem instead. Wow - that was a complicated description for a comfy grey skirt.

Fab-Friday! :: Laurel

I'm so excited to start this new feature here on What Mama Wears! Twice a month (every other Friday) I will be featuring a real-life, fabulous femme! I'll be calling it Fab-Friday, and if you're interested in participating - please let me know.

These ladies are either Moms, Step-moms, Grandmas, Aunts, Teachers, Professors, or basically anyone who deals with children (small, grown or otherwise) on a regular basis. They're all shapes and sizes and they're all beautiful - obviously.

I love how these wonderful ladies have chosen outfits that make them feel beautiful and let their gorgeousness shine through.

Enjoy!
Tea.


Introducing Laurel!
Laurel is a professor who deals with "grown up" kids day in and day out. She has a beautiful, classic style that I'm excited to share with you today, and to let you get to know her a bit better.

Lace & Plaid

I know it's really starting to feel like fall when I need to put tights on under my skirts... of course, the morning I got dressed in this is was cool and pouring rain and by halfway through the day it had gone up about 10 degrees and was sunny. End of summer weather just can't make up it's mind!

In any case - I love this brown plaid skirt. I thrifted it last year and had never gotten around to wearing it. It's a really classic shape, a mild kind of a-line, and I actually love that the plaid doesn't quite meet up at each panel, it's ever so slightly "off"... kind of like me.
I wore it with my lace yoke top that you've already seen several times this summer, but I tucked it in to take advantage of the belly hiding high waist of this skirt. Purple tights give this outfit a bit of fun and it slightly less school-marm-ish. My flat knee high boots and some funky peacock style earrings and necklace.

 

Cowboy hat & Aztec print

So sometimes an outfit just kind of comes together of it's own accord. This was one of those days. We were heading across the city to stay at my in-laws for a couple of days, so I knew I wanted to wear something comfortable for riding in the car and lounging around at a friend's pool, plus the hubs had made some crack about me not wearing enough skirts or something, so I grabbed this aztec print skirt out of the closet and threw it on with a classic black v-neck t-shirt.

Then we did actually go to a friend's house to swim and lounge and I knew I needed to wear a hat (so I didn't look like Bob the Tomato for the rest of the weekend) and I put on my straw cowboy hat that I picked up when we visited the Calgary stampede earlier this summer. And then I did swim and my hair was all kind of beachy and such and I thought - hey - I look pretty good right now - Hubs! Take my picture.

And that's all there is to it. Voila.

It's my birthday, I'll wear hot pink if I want to

Hey there Blogees! It's my birthday! I'm 32! I don't know why I'm writing that with an exclamation point!

Okay, I'll stop.

Seriously though - something about birthdays after a certain age losing their lustre makes me want to wear hot pink and/or other freakishly bright and annoying colours. Kind of like, hey, I'm 32 and I'm gonna wear whatever the hell I want... or something.

Also - I love this skirt.

Anywho - this morning I went to the park with my BFF and her kiddos (and my kiddos, obvs) to hang out and be outside in the sunshine and have celebratory birthday timbits. And this is what I wore. Yay for birthday outfits (NOT to be confused with birthday suits - no one wants to see that, trust me).

Chambray and Floral

Sometimes when it's grey and rainy outside I like to wear the brightest possible colours. It sort of acts as a pick-me-up when the weather is crummy. This chambray shirt was the first one I ever picked up (and now I have 3 in various washes and sleeve lengths) and started my love for this amazing neutral.  To address something really quickly: chambray is not denim. It is denim-like. It comes in washes (like denim) and has a kind of blue, brushed cotton feel... but it is NOT a denim shirt. It's much lighter and more wearable. So if you're looking for a chambray, look for something that has a little bit of texture or weave to the fabric, but still flows and moves nicely. A good chambray can act as a neutral with basically any colour, but is more casual than a white button down, can also act as a great neutral layer. Okay - enough chambray talk.

I found this fabric on sale at a fabric store and I knew it was destined to be a skirt. I loved the slightly watercolour feel of the print and the colours are so bright and saturated. I paired it with a bright pink chemise and my chambray to hang out around my house, do laundry and walk the dog. It's cool, comfy and looks nice enough that if I were to go out later I wouldn't have to change.