Black and Blue Outfit Rework

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

Crops are tops!

This early fall has had some great weather - this day was bright and sunny and just this side of cool in the morning. Pairing some cropped pants with a cropped blazer over a refashioned lace tank made for a perfect Sunday morning outfit. I wore this to church and to hang out with my little family for the day.

Back to School Shopping - a shorts story

Back to School Shopping.

4 little words that make almost any parent shudder.

Oh, the humanity!

The backpacks, the lunchbags, the pencil cases, the stuff stuff stuff... and our kids are only in JK and Grade 1 - and they don't even need any of that stuff (try telling them that).  So thankfully (thankfully?) our Back to School shopping is really only grocery - stocking up on things like juice boxes and lunchmeat and snacks for recesses. Of course - all those individually wrapped, correctly marked 'nut-free' snacks aren't exactly cheap. Thank goodness I'm pushy, handy with a pen and like bulk barn and sandwich bags. But I digress.

We were still at my in-laws this morning, so I was only able to dress from what I packed, but this outfit was comfortable for a day of hanging out, travelling back across the city, and then shopping with the hubs and the kiddos, making dinner and hanging out before wrangling our monsters into bed. You've seen these eyelet shorts and this gingham shirt before, though not together - I quite like it! It's like a very subtle print mixing type of feel.

Red & White

Every now and I then I end up dressing a little patriotically - but I can't help being Canadian and loving how much red and white go together!

These shorts are just so comfy that I've worn them a tonne this summer, and I love this lace yoke top I picked up from Walmart in the states, so this is definitely an outfit made up of pieces you've seen before.

I wore this to hang out at my in-laws, do a little shopping with my sister-in-law for decorating her classroom for this year and celebrating my birthday with my husband's family. A great day all around.

So enjoy my bit of unintentional patriotism and feast your eyes on this simple outfit - and remember - even if you're not Canadian you can still rock red & white and love Canada ;)!

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.

Mom-Date

You guys, you guys! I got to go on a date! A MOM-DATE!

What's a Mom date, you ask? Well, I'll tell you!

It's when you go out with some other Moms for dinner and drinks and you don't take your husband or your kids.

That's right, ladies. Moms. Only.

Awesome.

So since I was going on a Mom date, and I was super excited to go somewhere without having to hold anyone's hand, or bring wipes with me (I mean, for reals) I decided I would get a little teensy bit dressed up! *Because I didn't want them to think I was trying too hard ifyouknowhwatimean...... lol

I wore jeans, because well...jeans. And I put on a totally simple peplum top that's really easy to wear and makes me look so much more fashionable than I really am. So comfy wedge heels and some makeup (I know, right?!), which of course had to include my favourite mascara EVER, and I even brushed my hair. Okay - maybe I was trying too hard, but keep in mind these are ladies who have had to be subjected to me in yoga-pant-early-morning-mom-mode all school year.

We went to Marca in Whitby (which is amazingly good, so go if you're ever in Whitby. I mean, it, go.) and had really good pasta, pizza, bruschetta and wine. And we talked, and we laughed, and we didn't have to yell at anyone, and no one said "I don't like this" and pushed their plate away and it was so so nice.

So thanks, ladies! I had a fab time!
And for everyone else who didn't get to go on a Mom-date - here's what I wore.

Printy Printy Print Pants

So, I'm probably not the most subtle, sedate person you'll ever meet.
What I mean is that, most people wouldn't use the word "quiet" to describe me.
I guess I'm trying to say that I can be a bit... outgoing. Gregarious, even.

Okay, honestly - I'm pretty loud, I'm not shy, I'll say just about anything, and I love love LOVE bright colours. So these print pants are pretty freakin low-key for someone like me.

For some other people these might seem a bit wild - but to each their own.

I love the print pants trend. I was waaaay ahead of the trend because when I was like 14 I had a pair of plaid bell-bottom trousers that I wore a lot. A LOT. So, clearly I was just super fashionable... and totally not a nerd. Whatever.

I don't look like a nerd in these pants though - at least I don't think I do. You'd tell me if I was wrong, wouldn't you bloggees?

Thrifted Vest

I have been wanting a cargo/canvas/military-esque style vest for quite a while now. However, most of them are either a)stupidly expensive b)not shaped correctly for someone my shape (because I just LOVE looking like a big square... literally) or c) covered in weird/awkward/so-not-my-style blingy bedazzlement - sorry - but if you grew up in the 80s/90s anything that looks like something someone went at with a Bedazzler is not really at the top of my list.

So when I saw a short-sleeved button up shirt with pretty much all the cargo/military type styling I was looking for on VarageSale for a whopping $3.00 I had to jump on it. Picked this baby up, took it home, chopped off the sleeves - and voila! Cargo vest for $3.00!

I paired it while at the cottage with a long sleeve tee, my current fave jeans and my happy birthday to me moccasins. Super comfy, warm enough for a cool rainy day up north. I can see this vest getting a LOT of wear this fall as I'm looking forward to layering it with sweaters, button downs and hoodies. I also like the versatility that the buttons and string-tie at the waistband offers.

Boho Mama

I'm absolutely positive that I am so far from actual "boho" fashion or lifestyle or whatever, but occasionally there are days when I just want to wear a flowy scarf as a vest and braid part of my hair and walk around a farmer's market in flip-flops. This was totally one of those days.

Also - I let my two kiddos take turns taking some pics with my camera -you know, you get a really interesting perspective of a place when you see pictures from the view of a child. So I thought I'd share some of those with you too. Enjoy!
Tea.

Runnin! ..... errands.

Do you ever have one of those days where you feel just about run off your feet? Like suddenly every single errand that you've been thinking you need to do needs to happen all in one day?
This was one of those days. Aside from waking up that morning feeling seriously oppressed by the heavy storm clouds that were just hanging out, not doing anything except giving me a headache I suddenly felt the need to go to the farm market store, the grocer, the bank, and the library. And then come home and weed and harvest from the garden. I needed clothes I could "run around" in. Easy shorts, bright plain tee and some comfy sneakers and I'm set! What's your go-to errand outfit?

Fam Jam Casual

Our family takes pretty much any excuse to get together - and we love to hang out and celebrate pretty much everything with lots of food, laughs and yummy cake. Our parents birthdays are only 5 days apart in August and we generally do a family get together somewhere in between the two. I wore some seriously comfy (and very stretchy) jeggings, a great gingham button down and some bright accessories.  A great, comfortable fam-jam casual outfit.

Eyelets and Lace

All last summer I was obsessed with eyelet or lace shorts - but I can tell you that finding them in a size larger than say a 10 or a 12 was like hunting for El-freakin-Dorado. And then, suddenly - magic! These babies were sitting on a sale table in Target for a whopping $12.99. It was meant to be.

I paired these sweet eyelet shorts with a fun lace yoke top that I picked up in Walmart in the states. Again - Faded Glory brand! I just love it, they make such great basics. Navy boat shoes and a fun pop of bright pink nailpolish made this a great outfit for hanging out at home and running a few errands before the hubs and I get a kid-free weekend away! Double yippee!

Well, I think that's enough exclamation marks for one post. Do you ever have a clothing obsession that you couldn't let go of? I don't know if these shorts are still "in" but I don't really care. I love them and I think I'll be wearing them for many years to come.

 

It's Yoga Life

One of the few things that I find relaxing in my Mom life is yoga. I'm not particularly awesome at it, and I don't go to a studio to take classes because, hello - that would mean that I'd have to actually leave my house, have someone watch the monsters, pay to take a class, blah blah blah - and let's be honest - that ain't gonna happen.

I do however know a few poses, own a yoga mat and have space in my house to lay it out. So I do yoga fairly regularly, mostly because it's calming and it makes me feel good. But what does a plus-size Mama of 2 wear to do yoga. Well I'll tell you - I wear yoga pants and a tight tank top. It's not the most attractive outfit I've ever put on - but it IS conducive to doing yoga. Now I know, I know - you're like - duh, Tea - what the hell ELSE would you wear? When I'm in my own house I could do yoga in my underwear for all YOU know, but when we're up north I like to get up, make a big cuppa and go and do yoga on the dock in the morning. Outside. Where everyone else who's out sitting on their dock can see me. Yup. Out in the open. And I still wear the tight clothes. And you know what - I don't care what anyone thinks. Because I'm stretching, breathing, soaking in the sounds of the water, the birds, feeling the sun on my face and back. And it feels good.

Ice Cream Social

Okay, so I didn't really go to an ice-cream social. I don't think I have the correct type of life to go to things like ice-cream socials (do people still do that? Is it a thing? I think it should be a thing). Which is unfortunate - not really because I particularly like ice-cream (because I kind of don't) - but because it would give me a more honest reason to wear cute outfits.

In this case, however, we went into town (Dorset, Ontario - woot!) on Saturday afternoon to do a little shopping (Mama bought herself a new pair of moccasins - watch for those babies in a future post) and get some ice cream at Northern D'Lites.

I love these bright red shorts that I got from Walmart and I picked up this fun teal top in the states on our way home from Calgary and I think that red and teal is a kind of unexpected but super fun and wearable colour combo. Add my trusty flip-flops (which sadly broke the very next day and were unceremoniously chucked) and it was the perfect, comfy outfit for shopping and cool treats!

 

Standing near some amazing boats.... that are obviously not mine.

Rainy Summer Day

I love the summer. Mostly because in relation to it, I can't stand being cold. I love those long, hot, summer days where you really just want to lay down somewhere and soak it in.... however, when we get a little brief reprieve in the middle of summer, after a good long thunderstorm the night before and you wake up in the morning and the air coming in feels fresh and cool. This was one of those days. Not planning on going anywhere means being dressed in something that's comfy enough to wear around the house, play with the kids and just hang out.

Summer Sunday

Going to church in the summer can be awesome - you see people that you probably haven't seen in a few weeks, everyone is happy because it's summer, and the kids Sunday School consists mostly of games so they can hardly wait to get there.

It can also be absolutely ridiculously hot. And when you're part of the music leadership like this Mama, you can't just show up in a pair of shorts and a tee. Well, I mean, I COULD (because our church is awesome like that) but I'd probably feel bad about it later on.

So that presents the problem of how to dress up for church and be looking good without roasting. Solution: simple shift dress to the rescue!