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 ;)!

Mud Run Fun Fashion

Today's post is going to be a bit different.

For the 2nd year in a row now I've pulled up my big-girl panties and gone and done Mud Hero: a 6k mud obstacle course fun-run. It is seriously the hardest thing I do all year (and no, it's not nearly as hard as Tough Mudder, or Warrior Dash or a myriad of other mud-runs.... it's kind of like those runs goofy little brother... but hey) and I'm usually really sore and really proud of myself the next day. I'm not the most fit person around, but I manage to complete the run and do all the obstacles, so I love it. And I'm so doing it again next year.

This year, the hubs decided to join me, and our team "Muddy Mayhem" was made up of myself, the hubs, my folks, and my friend (who is way tougher than me and has done Tough Mudder approximately 18000% more times than I ever will) and I decided to share some "mud run fashion" with you.

For mud-runs, the normal fashion rules do not apply. You need to wear clothes that are fairly tight, made of wicking material, and add some wacky costume accessories to make you stand out to the photographers around the course. So here's what we wore!

 

My folks - possibly the coolest parents ever. 

 

My tough mud-run friend - this hero is ready for mud-battle!

 

Here you can see us rocking the neon yellow knee highs and yellow bandanas we chose for our team this year. Also - fluorescent shoelaces. Obviously.

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?

Tie one on

I don't spend a lot of time in a dress in the wintertime, mostly because tights and I don't seem to get along and they end up with a run in like 2.8 seconds after walking out of my bedroom. However, in the summer putting on a dress is like wearing a nightgown out the house - so simple and easy to wear. The problem I do tend to find, is that because I'm a little on the busty side I tend to have to size up to get enough coverage up top... and if I size down to fit my waist, well, lets just say that the dress becomes inappropriate for anywhere besides the bedroom - oy. I wear a lot of shrugs and cardigans. But I loved the idea of tying a button down over a dress to wear it like a skirt, and this chambray is just so darn wearable!

Oh, also - this dress has pockets, which makes it awesome. That will be all.
Tea.

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.

Playdate: Comfort to the Maxi... dress

There's something about hanging out with my best friend that makes me want to wear pjs. A little weird, I know - it's not like our whole lives have been endless slumber parties, but when you're as open and comfortable with someone as I am with my BFF I usually just want to wear something relaxed and comfy. Our kids tend to drive us fairly crazy, so we usually hang out in her livingroom while they destroy each other the playroom and chat and drink tea. See? Perfect. She totally gets me.

So this is what I wore to our "playdate". I love this maxi dress. I got it from Old Navy like a billion years ago (or, like 4, what ev's) and it's just like wearing a nightgown - only appropriate to wear outside your house. Which equals awesome. I'm not a fan of having half my bra showing which usually happens because the armholes on this maxi are abnormally large, so I usually throw a little shrug or cardigan over top. It was kind of hot and muggy this day, so I went with this cool little crocheted shrug. Just enough to hide the massive armholes, but not so much so that I was overly hot. Comfortable.

 

Market Day

One of the things I love about living in a small town (or at least, living in a fairly large, amalgamated town that still behaves and thinks it's a small town) is being able to do things like walk from our house up to the Farm Market at the Old Fire Hall in downtown. My sister and her baby joined us for a walk and some market shopping, scooping up fantastic deals like enormous radishes, 2 giant green peppers and a cucumber for only $5.00. The boys bought something from their fave vendor "the lady who sells the big pretzels" and we even walked up to the library square afterwards and had a lunch of homemade perogies and meat patties. Delish!

Considering that the route up the market and back is about 4 km I needed to wear something comfy, cool and easy to walk in. I love the ever so slight wackiness that these print pants offer, and a chambray shirt is an easy accompaniment. Throw on some sneakers that I zentangled in my free-time and this outfit was perfect for market day.

Mama Chic

I call this type of outfit "Mama Chic". It's like the Today's Parent of outfits for Moms. It's the perfect recipe for looking what my Grandmother would call "put together". Which pretty much means boring, basic, but clothed not in sweatpants and a dirty t-shirt.

So, to recap: Capri pants (with a proper waistband and fly, y'know "real" pants) + Brightly coloured T-shirt + Contrasting colour sweater/cardigan/light blazer = Mama Chic
Voila

 

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!

 

What Mama Wears

Hey Blogees.

So - this is not totally new - What Mama Wears used to show up occasionally on my other blog Talk And Tea Leaves... but I've decided that it needs a home of it's own.

For those that know me, you know that I LURVE looking on Pinterest for outfit ideas, endlessly "window shopping" online and just basically dreaming of a walk-in closet that's the size of my second floor.

However, that's not likely to happen... like... ever. And my clothing budget is basically around 0.00 each month... and I usually shop at seriously high-end stores... like Walmart. And Value Village. And sometimes I get super fed up with the options that are out there and I sew something up myself.

Also - I'm plus-sized. Yup. It's not necessarily the size I thought I would be, and it may not be the size I continue to be - but it's my body and if I want to leave the house and not be arrested, I have to wear clothes on it. However, being plus-sized often means that I'm apparently required to pay WAY more money for the same clothes that come in "standard" sizes...  which I'd be totally cool with if a size 2 and a size 8 cost different amounts (I mean, hey, obviously one uses less fabric) but they don't. So I don't see why a size 16 costs a different amount than a size 8 - ya hear me?  This blog is NOT however about body bashing in any way shape or form. People who comment and body bash will totally not be tolerated and I will mentally send a herd of angry goats to come and eat your clothes. Or wish you step on a Lego. Either or, really.

And unlike the previous What Mama Wears instalments - this blog is going to be about honesty. I can't promise I'll take pictures every single day, but I will try. EVEN on days when I'm wearing a ponytail, yoga pants and a crummy t-shirt. Because sometimes THAT is actually What Mama Wears. It's about ownership. This is my life, this is my body, I am the Mama, and this is what I wear.

I look forward to sharing it with you.

Peace, Love, and BIG closets,
Tea.