mama style....

Hearts Outside Ourselves....

2012-02-10T14:55:00.000-05:00

Hello mamaSTYLE fanatics!!

I'm over at ModaMama today doing a guest piece for Joanna's MamaHood Exposed feature...please check us out!! Hearts Outside Ourselves....

xo,

melissa

January Luxe Box....

2012-02-02T12:14:00.003-05:00

blogging has fallen to the side these past few weeks. I really thought that I would have more time to blog after the Holidays, but it seems like life has gotten busier! I'll have to blame work being so busy + a boy who is now a two year old who WANTS.EVERYTHING.NOW. And also his father, who showed said two year old that computers can be used to watch BIKES.GO.FAST.MOM on you tube.

featured in this super dark picture are about 5-6 perfume samples that I received, as well as a sample of seattles best coffee, a trial sample of biosilk hair serum and a Yves Rocher lipstick

Alas, here are some quick shots of my January Luxe Box by Loose Button. High fives for me being quick on the draw and reserving one of their full-sized products this month. I got Benefit's Powda Wowza, which contains two blush samples, a bronzer and a brush. I had already tried the bronzer (which I love), and I'm equally loving the blushes, especially Coralista....so perfectly pretty! Looks great layered over the bronzer as well.

If it weren't for scoring the full sized benefit product I wouldn't be overly excited about this months box at all. I will use the hair serum, oh, and in the white box was also a Shick Hydro Silk razor and a shampoo/conditioner sample. That will get some use too!!!

xo,

melissa

(be)lated gift...

2012-01-25T08:27:00.003-05:00

with the birthday cash i received from my parents, i decided to purchase this cute little coach purse...and it just arrived!! i wanted more of a 'date night' purse, so i zoned in on a small, black one.

while it's not something i'd normally pick, i think it's perfect for a nice out!

now i just have to convince someone to take me on a date!

jana? :)

xo,

melissa

favorite things:

2012-01-22T12:56:00.000-05:00

two of my favorite things right now are chevron prints and the color gold. I got this dress in the mail on Friday and knew it would pair perfectly with some gold accessories. When I opened my birthday gift from Jana last night containing these gold-colored Michael Kors sunnies, I knew I wanted to do an outfit post like this!

I'm so happy that I splurged on this Threadsence dress considering I had already spent my weekly spending budge and it was only a tuesday...haha, the dress has since sold out, so I'm really happy that I snatched it up in time!!

Jana was worried that I wouldn't like the sunglasses, but I am absolutely in love with them!! They make me feel so glam!! Thanks Jana!!

xo,

melissa

post-birthday celebration!!!

2012-01-22T12:46:00.002-05:00

last night we went out for a little belated birthday celebration!
here's a little instagram feed of my night! for some reason i didn't take pictures of anyone else who was there but jana! ooops!! my family was there too....we had a fun time! and maybe one too many martini's!

rad Michael Kors sunnies from jana...she's such a spoiler!!

i may not like getting older, but I do love celebrating the fact that i'm still on earth!!

xo,

melissa

day of birth...

2012-01-18T14:25:00.000-05:00

hello strangers!
popping in to shamefully say it's my birthday today, and hopefully you all leave me birthday wishes...
:)
today is a bittersweet birthday, avery has the stomach flu so I had to call in sick to take care of him.
BUT at least we get to spend the whole day together!

pants/blouse/shoes: ruche

blouse borrowed from jana.

xo,

melissa

imaginary birthday wish list....

2012-01-09T08:14:00.001-05:00

In case you haven't checked your calendar lately, my birthday is in nine days!! I've compiled a little imaginary birthday wish list...i say imaginary because i usually receive birthday cash, except from jana, but she bought me a prezzie already! so maybe my birthday cash could go towards one of these pretties?

lola

ring

bracelet

Chanel sunglasses style 5205 (how cute are the bows on the sides?)

purse

happy birthday to me!!

xo,

melissa

NYE...

2012-01-06T07:35:00.001-05:00

NYE 2011 was spent with a mix of laughter and martini's...great way to ring in the new year!!

lets get naked....

2012-01-05T08:02:00.003-05:00

It was only just last month that I finally purchased the original naked palette from urban decay. A few days later Naked 2 appeared for sale in the US. At first I thought, I don't need the 2nd edition since the palette in the 1st edition looks like it be perfect for the looks that I like. I thought of myself as more of a 'warm' color person. I received the original naked palette and I love it, so much more than just seeing the swatches online, in person it's beautiful. However, I, as you know, has zero self control. If I could love one palette, I must have room in my heart for another...right? I couldn't even wait for it to come out in Canada. I begged a friend, who lives in the US, to sign up for restock notification at Urban Decay, and when it came in she purchased it and then shipped it to me in Canada.

The picture above does not do the beauty inside this palette justice. It contains 12 full sized shadows in a mix of frosty and matte shades; this palette is much cooler than the original featuring taupe and brown shades, which as it turns out I love so much more. Also included in the palette is a dual ended shadow brush and a small lip gloss (not shown). I don't even think I could pick a favorite color out of them all, I have tried every one and love them. On my eyes here I am wearing verve in my corner, then YDK and busted to smoke out my eye and then black out as a liner. I absolutely love black out, it's also in the 15th anniversary palette, but I like not having to take out two palettes to get to my favorite black shade.

For a more detailed review, stop by and see what amarixe has to say about the palette! She has some really great photos....

xo,

melissa

happy (belated) holidays!

2012-01-04T08:06:00.000-05:00

xmas eve tradition: opening presents with auntie j

auntie j surprised avery and i with our very own record players

hope you had a wonderful holiday!!

xo,

melissa

December Luxe Box...

2011-12-21T07:16:00.001-05:00

It's here! My December Luxe Box from Loose Button has finally arrived!

love the personalization

featured samples from left to right: DDF Advanced Firming Cream, Nina Ricci L'Air perfume, Nina Ricci Nina perfume, China Glaze polish in Material Girl (full size!), Kerastase Elixir Ultime, and a foil chocolate with the loose button logo.

I tried out the Kerastase Elixir this morning and my hair feels like absolute butter right now. I've been wanting to try out Morrocan Oil, but now I'm tempted to get the full size of this.

I'm really happy with my first luxe box and I'm excited to receive one every month! Christmas in a box! So fun!!

xo,

melissa

sephora haul...

2011-12-15T18:15:00.002-05:00

whilst christmas shopping online, i got distracted and before i knew it, these goodies arrived in my mail box. Oooopsie. honest mistake right? i guess i'll just have to keep them! :)

ok fine, i went on sephora to buy some falsh eyelashes and then lost complete control!!

benefit's tan about town (i always get sucked into the value products)

UD falsies in black velvet

Urban Decay's Naked Palette

the colors are ah.maz.ing

also picked up this fun little palette from urban decay (feminine palette)

absolutely love the colors in this one too!

completely forgot to grab outfit shots when i got home from work and only realized after i put on my pj's....however i did snag two shots on my iphone this morning!

(blouse: ruche (borrowed from jana)//pants and shoes also from ruche

november favorites...

2011-12-15T08:09:00.000-05:00

could i BE any later with this post??

here are a few of my favorite things from november in a couple of different categories...

mac eyeshadow in satin taupe (makes a lovely smoke!)

too faced shadow brushes from sephora

Uglies series...SO GOOD

amarixe

You tube beauty bloggers, i've watched way more beauty videos that i should be admitting to last month!

a few more of my fav utube beauty gals...

and two of my favorite tunes!

xo,

melissa

all buttered up...

2011-12-14T17:00:00.000-05:00

revlon lip butters (creme brulee, cherry tart, strawberry shortcake)

finally! i got my hands on some of the much anticipated revlon lip butters!! it's seriously a huge bummer when things are released in the US (and raved about online), but then are not due to be released in canada until a month or more later....TORTURE!

i think these aren't due to hit canadian stores until January, or at least they haven't hit any of my local stores, but thanks to well.ca i was able to snag up three of them (for now). i'm in love, i have never been a lipstick wearer (slowly getting into that), so to have something that feels like a gloss yet looks like a stick well, i'm in LOVE. and i can see quite a few of these hitting up my make up bag in the future.

wearing: creme brulee

xo,

melissa

surgery #2...

2011-12-14T07:18:00.000-05:00

hi all!
i'm BACK! if you remember from this post, i had my second reconstructive surgery last wednesday. i went into the hospital with a mix of emotions. excitement because my journey would be coming to an end and hesitant because my first surgery was just seven weeks earlier and i was still a bit traumatized over it all. at one point, while i was waiting for the anesthesiologist, i thought about running out of the hospital. i had a little panic attack, but i stuck it out, i knew i was doing the right thing.

recovery has been interesting this time around, i was a lot more stomach sick, even three days post op so i had to stop my pain meds to help out my stomach. i rather pain, then feeling sick...once that went away i felt almost human. just a stiff one with a mild case of t-rex arms and frankenboob.

i got my stitches removed yesterday and don't see my doctor for another three weeks so i guess it's just me and the twins, gotta take care of them to make sure everything goes well.

through all the pain this entire process has definitely been worth it. if obviously isn't for everyone, but it was the right decision for me...i regained what i once lost and so far, it's awesome.

xo,

melissa

the post of christmases past...

2011-12-10T18:40:00.001-05:00

hey all! i'm jana, from randomness at it's finest! i'm doing a little guest post while our lovely melissa is a little under the weather.

cliff-notes version of our friendship to get to our post:

we met in grade 7, when melissa's class graduated from their elementary school and moved to my junior high school. we hit it off right away! well, after a while... in the spring actually. because for some reason, when we met, and our two groups of friends merged as one, we each thought the other was a complete snob, and didn't talk to each other. go figure.

lo and behold, some 18 years later, we're still BFF's.

enter our topic: christmas.

since the dawn of time, or junior high, we started the tradition of our gift exchange on christmas eve. melissa comes to my family home every christmas eve and we open our prezzies together, before she heads to mass with her family, and all of my mom's family comes over.

enter 2007:

here we are, showing off our new purses.

(mandatory photo in front of the tree)

2008:

melissa buys me awesome vintage teacups, and an amy butler apron.

then proceeds to call me 'sally homemaker'.

i think she planned these gifts purposely so she could tease me!

2009... oh wait, we skipped photos that year, as melissa was 3 days post-natal from having cutie pie Avery (my amazing godson).

2010...

we tend to purchase each other similar items/themes every year...

and our classiest to date: my tacky christmas party in 2008.

we be stylin.

stay tuned to melissa's blog for our 2011 christmas eve exchange!!

swappies!!

2011-12-05T21:10:00.001-05:00

another round of clothes swapping with jana!!
finally i got to borrow her arrowhead dress from ruche! it's a little longer than i would generally go for in a dress since i don't have the longest legs on the blog but the pattern simply makes up for it! i just love it!

and of course i had to try and match my eye shadow to the dress incorporating some browns and navy blue. i used all shadows from my Urban Decay 15th Anniversary Collection from the neutral side i started (from inner corner out) with vanilla (shimmery white gold) then midnight 15 (oyster pearl with silver glitter) and midnight rodeo (medium metallic brown with silver and gold glitter) finishing off with ace (dark gunmetal shimmer) on the outer corner to smoke it out a bit. lined my upper and lower lashes with black out (darkest, most saturated black). i'm seriously having way too much fun with smoking my eyes lately!

(on the phone w/ my mama)

AND! did ya see that Urban Decay released the new palette NAKED2?? I don't even own naked 1 yet (but i ordered it!) but naked 2 looks pretty fun too....i may or may not have put my name down on a waiting list.....what? i like shadows....and i looooove neutrals....i think i can do some pretty sweet 'smoked' looks with that palette that will be great for the office!

yes, i realize that is just way too much excitement to have posted about eyeshadow....

xo my lovelies!

melissa

what i wore: on friday

2011-12-05T05:42:00.001-05:00

took these shots but forgot to post (apologies)
this is what i wore on friday, usually i got more casual (as in pants), but Jana and I were planning a clothing swap for Saturday and she wanted this dress so I wanted to wear it one more time!
today I'm wearing one of jana's swapped dresses, so stay tuned to this afternoon to see that outfit!!

dress//cardi: ruche

xo,

melissa

honey do....

2011-11-30T16:48:00.001-05:00

it's 8:24 am, thursday...i sat down to write this blog post yesterday afternoon, but i couldn't think of anything to write. every time i sit to think, all that comes across my mind is a list of things i need to do this month! with Christmas, Avery's 2nd birthday and my surgery next week, i have a million things to do! but that list is so daunting that i'm trying to sweep it under the rug and forget about it.

i need to quit burying my head and face this list head on! mainly, i need to get all of the decorations together for avery's birthday party and start wrapping presents so that when i'm feeling better after surgery i won't have a ton of things to do in the short period of time before christmas!

eeeeek! i better get started.....

dress & shoes//asos

tights//ruche

xo,

melissa

easy eye....

2011-11-29T07:48:00.001-05:00

hello lovers! pardon my absence...i've been a busy/tired lady! when is the last time i blogged? i have no idea, my brain is fuzzy into last week! i went on a shopping extravaganza on the weekend with my mom, sister in law, my bff's mama, and my two aunts....seriously, as the youngest of the group, i'm the most played out! i was in bed before all of them (at 1:30 am) and slept in later than them (7:30 am)...seriously, am I a loser or what? they definitely kept me on my toes over the weekend.

i'm still tired today, even after catching eight hours of sleep last night...hence this post where i did an 'easy eye' look this morning because i just can't focus on anything else, i'm liking it though, i think it's a new fav!

very simple, easy and will match whatever i'm wearing.

cast of characters on the eye: i forgot my primer (too faced shadow insurance), so this look might not last, but lets just pretend i put some on. i put mac's shroom in from the inner corner to about 3/4 of the way across my eye, and then put mac's satin taupe on my outer lid and into the crease to try and get a smokey eye going on....blended them together to soften and for a touch of highlight i put some mac's phloof! in the very corner of my eye....easy peasy, took me no time at all! to finish it off i took too faced sexpresso (from my natural eye palette) to line my upper and lower lid.

if you want to try this look....feel free to come over and raid my make up case

:D

xo,

melissa

autumn eyes...

2011-11-23T07:13:00.001-05:00

I don't think there is a shadow palette i'm loving right now more than my 15th Anniversary Urban Decay palette. It's serious awesome-sauce. I haven't ventured to much into the brights yet, but I'm always reaching for the neutrals. Particularly vanilla, chase, deeper and my all time ever favorite, flow. Which is the exact combo I put on my eyes today (apologies for the crappy iphone shots). I think my favorite thing about these shadows is the metallic feel, yet they are so soft, creamy and extremely blendable. I find matte shadows tend to get 'stuck' on my lid and look splotchy (although that may just be me need more make up practice)....

happy hump day!

xo,

melissa

baby, it's cold outside...

2011-11-21T17:18:00.001-05:00

no seriously, it's cold...and it's only -6C! how am i going to survive when it's -40C :(

and also, why didn't i get anti-glare on my glasses? i look like i have daggers through my eyes...

that's the end of this post, today was too much monday madness for me!

dress:coat//ruche

tights//american apparel

boots//urbanog

xo,

melissa

thirty by thirty...

2011-11-17T07:24:00.000-05:00

Kendi, the brainchild of thirty for thirty remix (where you take 30 clothing items to create 30 looks) themed up with Fossil to great a thirty by thirty look book. Talk about style inspiration....i'm loving so many of the looks and immediately want a party skirt, chambray shirt, chunky sweaters/cardi's/vest....and the list goes on.

Here are a some of my favorite looks from the lookbook....

i die for this look!

seriously...all of these looks are going in my style folder. now if i could only remember to look at it when i have no idea what to wear.

xo,

melissa

getting crafty...

2011-11-16T07:26:00.001-05:00

otherwise known as, yesterday's outfit pictures turned out pretty bad, so what else can i blog about today?
what started out as an urge to make a snowflake garland turned into a doily garland when this mama got way too lazy to actually cut out some snowflakes. i found a package of doilies in my craft supplies, add some thread and low and behold a little garland to bring a sort-of wintery feeling to the living room.

pretty cute and it only cost me like fifty cents...i'm already counting down the days until december so i can get started on my holiday mini book that i purchased from the awesome elise joy. My plan is to take at least one (or more) pictures each day in december to fully capture the holiday season. I may need to rethink my plan to not decorate for the holidays until avery's birthday party on the 18th....

so exciting!

what are you excited about this holiday season?

xo,

melissa

glitter & ice....MAC 2011

2011-11-15T07:26:00.001-05:00

MAC Glitter and Ice Mineralize Shadow

Holiday Collection 2011

When did I become so obsessed with make up? Definitely in time to take advantage of the limited edition Holiday Collection from MAC. Okay, buying two shadows isn't exactly taking advantage, but coming from someone who never really bought much make up in her life, I'm pretty excited about it.

I was a little hesistant to order the mineralize shadows because they seem to get all around iffy reviews online in regards to pigmentation, but thank goodness for you tube beauty guru's (i'll list my fav's below) I've watched some really great reviews on this collection.

Also, thanks to watching reviews and seeing swatches on you tube I got a better idea of what the colors are actually like because on the MAC website they look uber dark and not really flattering. I purchased Winterized, which looks like a navy blue online, but is actually more of a silvery purple and is what i'm wearing as my main color on my eyes today. I put a base of MAC paint pot in painterly, then a highlight of vanilla from Urban Decay's 15th anniversary collection palette and also from that same palette I used flow in the corners of my eyes and swept a little inwards. On top of that and to help blend out my outer eye, I used my second mineralize shadow in Hold That Pose, which is a pale mauve but has a bit of creamy silver in it. It looks dark in the pan, but it nice and light and sheer.

I really like the wintery effect you get from both shadows, highly impressed!

xo,

melissa

you tube favs:

amarixe

makeuptia

makeupbyalli

a new fav...

2011-11-13T13:20:00.001-05:00

lush: lemony flutter cuticle butter

my newest fav, even though i've owned this product for about two years now? i just forgot i had it, and it looks (and works) as great as the day i bought it. this luscious lemony butter is the thickest cream that lush makes and is an excellent cuticle cream. my nails are super soft and smooth, i seriously can not stop touching them. but this isn't just great for nails, it's also good for you hair (just rub a tiny bit on your ends to prevent splits) and also use it on any dry body part (elbows and toes) and for some extra sheen to your ink, rub on your tattoo(s)!!

lots of uses for this sweet, lemony cream....i'm so pumped that i took time yesterday to dig through my lush stash and unearth this treat!

what have you been loving lately?

xo,

melissa

randos...

2011-11-10T19:39:00.001-05:00

a few internet randos that i'm likin' lately...

candles

crosley record player

pillow

measuring spoons

silk creme foundation

window shopping makes me happy.

xo,

melissa

lookie here!!

2011-11-09T19:59:00.001-05:00

an outfit post! something i haven't done in awhile! finally got a pic of my new winter coat that i purchased with the help of a 50$ credit i won from ruche! lookin' a little frumpy in this pic, but i love this coat!

head to toe outfit all from ruche...cardi//dress//belt//shoes//tights

it's clearly not hard to tell where i like to shop!

ruche girl @ heart!!

xo,

melissa

ebew: colored tights....

2011-11-09T07:24:00.000-05:00

navy

November's feature over at Every Body, Every Wear is Colored Tights...the gist of the site is that everyone, everywhere owns the same or similar items but styles that item differently than everyone else. This month, they picked colored tights, here are some ways that I have worn my colored tights so far this year...

smokey grey

floral

pumpkin

khaki

rust

how have you been styling your colored tights?

if you want to share them, don't forget to link your blog post over at EBEW!!

xo,

melissa

bits & pieces...

2011-11-08T20:04:00.000-05:00

of today's outfit...all from Ruche.

xo,

melissa

fall haul...

2011-11-07T20:18:00.001-05:00

as i mentioned in my previous post i went a little crazy with the make up orders lately and the goodies have started to trickle in! so far no buyers regret as these products seem pretty awesome!

above: nyx mega shine lip gloss, highly recommended by Ashley from That is All...and I must say, it really it super awesome, in love already!!! Thanks Ashley!

awesome collection of stila lip glazes, i'm loving every color, and the product itself is great. super shiney, nice and thick feeling on my lips and not drying. impressed!

since my surgery i haven't been able to work out, which has totally wrecked my sleep schedule. it's back to sleeping pills for me and that is totally reflected in my face in the morning. This EmphasEYES™ Inner Rim Brightener from tarte is hopefully going to give me that '8 hours sleep' effect!

jumbo and slim eye pencils from NYX (also recommended by Ashley)

pretty shadows and a blush from NYX...

and something i really needed the most....shadow brushes!!! i've been living on the same two walmart brand brushes that have been such a pain for work with!! already loving this little set from two faced.

i picked up an organizer for my make up on the weekend, of course thinking that I would never have enough product to fill it, but now i need another one!!

obsessed much??

xo,

melissa

luxe box...

2011-11-04T09:17:00.000-04:00

Lately, I've been on a make up and beauty kick that is just plain harmful for my wallet. Between Sephora, Bath and Body Works (x2), Well.ca, Nail Polish Canada, NYX Cosmetics, MAC and now Luxe Box, I realize that I am losing my damn mind and need a serious intervention. I guess I'm making up for the passed 30 years where I had zero interest at all in make up/beauty products. Now I'm all about the prettiness. I guess it's about time that I get a little girly.

Craziness aside, I'm super excited to have discovered Luxe Box last night. If you are familiar for Birchbox, it's basically the same idea. Each month, for 12$ and free shipping, you receive a deluxe luxury sized box of goodies (4-5 samples) in a chic box that have been hand selected by beauty experts. The samples can be anything from make up, skin care, hair care, fragrances, etc. I looked at some you tube videos where a full sized bottle of Essie was included, at 12$ a pop in stores, that makes the whole subscription amount totally worth it!

Another perk is that if you can get three friends to sign up also, you can get one month for free! I'm not telling you to sign up, but I think it's a pretty exciting box to receive each month!!

Sign up here!!!

xo,

melissa

my bestie turns 30...

2011-11-04T08:31:00.005-04:00

belated bd post about my bestie's thirtieth birthday (which we celebrated twice).
welcome to the dark side j beans...muhahahahahaa!!

for my thirtieth, jana (as awesome as she is) wanted to get me something special, which she did by getting me this beautiful tiffany bracelet that i absolutely love and cherish. it was a total surprise, and all of my birthday pics are pretty bad because my jaw in hanging open in shock for most of them.

for jana, i wanted to get her something special as well. i couldn't just get her some regulatory old tiffany item since she already has a few tiffany pieces. i wanted to find something special and unique, just like jana herself!

one day she mentioned how she'd love to have a cameo and i knew that was it. i had to find one for her, luckily Etsy makes things so easy these days to find great vintage pieces! after some scouring i came across this beautiful 1940's 12k gold cameo pendant and chain. i was drawn to it right away and the girl in the cameo actually reminds me of jana. perfect piece for her...and luckily, she loves it just as much as i had hoped!

for the eleventh time...happy birthday jana!
love ya!

xo,

melissa

drug store haul...

2011-10-30T14:53:00.001-04:00

living in the boonies of canada means buying your make up and girlies necessities at the drug store or ordering online (which can sometimes be pricy). i guess this can be a positive thing anyways, because if lived anywhere in the general area of a sephora i would be in deep, deep trouble.

that said, i still manage to do a little bit of damage at the drug store so i thought i would share a couple of my recent purchases.

Revlon Photo Ready Foundation and Concealer...I just picked this up today and I'm really excited to try it out. I have terrible skin so finding a good foundation is frustrating.

Getting a little excited over fall and the darker colors for lips and nail polishes that are popping up.
Left to right: Sally Hansen Diamond Strength polish in Tyin' the Knot; Essie Lacquer in It's Genius; and Joe Fresh polish in Cloud.

Tried this out this morning and I love it. It's a Revlon Colorburst Lipgloss in Bordeaux. It's really more of a deep plum, it looks really pink in that photo.

Another new lipgloss, this is Moisture Renew Cream Lipgloss by Rimmel in Red Action (it was on sale, bonus!) Haven't tried this one yet but color looks amazing in person, red with a bit of plum.

Something I was excited to find in the drug store, a gel liner! With the brush included. This one is by Maybeline Eye Studio. I'm hoping this one works out because at 13.99, it's a lot more cost effective than ordering the liner and a separate brush from Sephora.

My last new product is an all-in-one base and top coat from Essie, and it also claims to grow your nails faster...we shall see!

A lot of new girlie goodies that this Mama surely needed.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

xo,

Melissa

this week in cell phone land....

2011-10-25T19:08:00.001-04:00

things have been quiet here in blog land since I got operated...but I still managed to take some pics with my cell phone.....

avery playing with sippy cups

my office door last week when i was super busy

new tights

4 am, surgery day

day after surgery

little monkey came to visit (he's with my parents while mama recovers)

new cell phone

boot lust!! (american eagle)

fall @ the beach

my luvs

lazy bloggie pics, pay no attention to my unmade bed

new ruche coat!

putting together outfits with new ruche clothes

xo,

melissa

Live from my couch...

2011-10-21T13:16:00.001-04:00

http://instagr.am/p/Q6gOh/Two thumbs up for recovery mode, which is going a lot better then I anticipated. I actually want to get out of the house, but where can one go when dragging surgical drains? So indoors I stay. I'm missing Avery like crazy, he was able to stop by for minute today but it's hard when he wants to be in mama's arms but can't. *soul crush*I'm schedule to have my stitches and drains removed on Sunday, that is exciting news. As for returning to work, my goal is on Tuesday but we shall see. Until later my blogger buddies!Xo, Melissa

i heart this today....

2011-10-18T08:45:00.000-04:00

uber drooling over this ah-mazing chevon printed shift dress from shop sosie. it's a little embarrassing how many times it's been in my cart and i chicken out at check out time.

another reason why i loathe shipping prices/duty to canada.

but i'll still drool over pretties like this,

xo,

melissa

happy tuesday!

2011-10-18T05:42:00.000-04:00

today is actually my 'friday' since it's my last day of work for the week!! my surgery is tomorrow am...i'm anxious and excited...i've never been put to sleep before so this will be a brad new experience. i hope i don't say anything crazy while i'm 'high', but jamie promised that if i do, he'll take a video.

now that's true love people!

blouse/pants: ruche

shoes: threadsence

xo,

melissa

last week in instagram...

2011-10-17T06:01:00.003-04:00

1. bubs in his halloween costume. 2. avery's line up of cans. 3. new floral tights. 4. new boots 5. new camera! 6. dyed my hair 7. cuppa-cakes for my bosses

xo,

melissa

bosses day...

2011-10-16T18:51:00.001-04:00

tomorrow is bosses day!! i baked up this yummy treat to give to both of my bosses tomorrow, i hope they enjoy!

xo,

melissa

well hello.

2011-10-15T20:53:00.001-04:00

fall is here!! last weekend avery came home from a nine day trip camping with my parents, grandparents, brother, and niece in the woods. if he could talk, he would surely say he had a fantastic time running around with ella, going to bed late + getting up early and going for four wheeler drives with grandpa.

...while mama and dada enjoyed a whole week of alone time!

xo,

melissa

pretties

2011-10-11T18:04:00.000-04:00

in this outfit, i got a serious case of the pretties.

dress//tights//shoes//ruche

xo,

melissa

go to pants...

2011-10-10T17:38:00.000-04:00

i used to be a jeans only person...gradually that moved into skirts, then dresses, and now pants!
ok, i know i only have one pair of pants, but i just happen to LOVE these changing corduroy pants from ruche. i was hesistant to order them because they were cord's, which i wasn't really in love with, but i'm glad i went ahead and ordered them anyways, because they are an absolute fave! i love how they are stylish, but super comfortable and they are my 'go to' pants whether i just want to be stylish, comfortable, or whatever...they look great no matter what!! i am super bummed i missed out on grabbing their navy velvet ones!

pants//ruche

top//ruche

shoes//aldo

watch//michael kors

xo,

melissa

mama makeover....

2011-10-06T18:57:00.000-04:00

this is a post that is hard to write without coming across as a superficial, shallow and a shell of a human being.

or a failure as a woman, someone who should be a role model to other women and young girls. a person who should be praising all body types because as a woman, i should love myself as much i think other women should embrace their own beings...

but as much as i try and drill that into my semi-educated brain, the shallow gal fights through, with her low self-confidence. and she doesn't like her body all that much...

i always knew i was doomed for some damage to my breasts after having a baby...i could just tell, and my doctor always joked, during that yearly breast exam, that i 'will know what a lump feels like after i have a baby and lose all of my muscle'....errr thanks doc! i'm not worried about that at all!

as i knew it would, after giving birth and six months of breast feeding made my once, if i may say so myself, nice boobies develop into what i refer to them lovingly as 'sip sacks'. boobies that no semi-okay looking, thirty year old mama should be forced to look at in the mirror.

i, obviously, won't go into the horrid details of their ugliness at the moment. we don't need any vomit on our keyboards now do we? okay, they aren't gross, but they are definitely NOT attractive. I always found it weird to see women on tv or movies having sex with their bra on, but that totally makes sense now as I want to hide my own during intimate moments.

contrary to a lot of belief and opinions i'm sure my friends and family have of me, i don't want to have a breast augmentation so that I can have porn star boobs, or because my husband wants me to get them, or so that i can flaunt myself or any other silly reason. i don't need this, i definitely look fine in a bra/clothing. but when i'm naked, i'm the only one that matters. and when you hate a part of your body so much, you can't help but want to change it.

bravo to all of you better people out there who love yourself no matter what. i'm not one of those people. i don't think plastic surgery is a crime, if done for the right reasons and as long as you still look like a human being..

that said, in 13 days i will be receiving a bilateral mastopexy with periareolar incisions and well as a bilateral breast augmentation. and because i won't be in enough post op pain i will also be receiving an 'internal bra' that will keep my newly lifted breasts from sagging.

and i couldn't be more excited about it.

i'm alive....

2011-10-06T17:45:00.004-04:00

just a lame blogger at the moment.
and i forgot my memory card at work, so behold some fancy iphone shots, sans shoes.

xo,

melissa

snappies...numero unknown

2011-09-23T12:59:00.000-04:00

some of my latest iphone snaps, but they are all pretty much of avers!
enjoy your weekend!

xo,

melissa

anti-blogger...

2011-09-21T17:48:00.000-04:00

dress/bralette/shoes: ruche

i haven't been around much in the past week.

life has got me busy, even though it feels like i got nothing done.

as i look around my house that can never seem to stay clean lately.
saw my doc yesterday, 28 days until i go under the knife...more on that later
but i'm pretty excited about it.
and as if i needed more reasons to shop, i won 50$ at ruche today!
should i save it or spend it!?

xo,

melissa

true life mamahood

2011-09-15T05:07:00.000-04:00

dress: asos; belt: ruche; boots: spring

being a mama means that you can sometimes do something (like start a blog post), and you're toddler will pull you away (literally) from the computer to do something very import (go outside) and you will do that plus a million other things and forget (until the next morning) that you didn't finish.

real life.

xo,

melissa

mama brain...

2011-09-13T17:13:00.000-04:00

dress: c/o ruche (borrowed from jana); knee socks: ruche; shoes: aldo; watch: michael kors

me so silly....so last week (with a credit from ruche) i ordered three dresses. do i need three dresses? no. does my wardrobe need some bottoms? yes. do i have lots of tops sitting unworn because i'm constantly wearing dresses: yes again. so, i slapped myself on the wrist and vowed to jana that 'i wasn't buying anymore dresses' or maybe it was 'don't let me buy more dresses, something to that affect, but you get the idea right? fast forward to today whilst i'm window shopping at ruche again, in the bottoms section at least, i discover that two skirts that i love have magically appeared in my size. in an hurried blur i tossed them in my cart and checked out.....except i also had a dress in my cart too...so yea, i bought a dress...like barely a week after my declaration. mama brain fail...

i love goldddddddd (i love goldmember!)

xo,

melissa

fall trends....

2011-09-13T08:00:00.001-04:00

while window shopping at piperlime this evening i came across their top 11 trends for fall. i thought it would be fun to find my favorites based on their trends.

1. pendants

i love this 'in the air compass' necklace from ruche. i have been loving the feather look lately, i can't quite pull off the real feather look, so i'm really drawn to this metal feather.

2. midi skirts and dress

liberty dress by ella moss
midi dress in a chevron pattern? yes please!

3. chunky heeled boots

Marrs chunky boot, wouldn't mind these joining my fall wardrobe

4. 70's platforms

lovin' these dolce vita's

5. capes and ponchos

i was just saying to jana yesterday how much i love this red cape via mod cloth

6. bell bottom flares

everyone needs a little 7 for all mankind in their life

7. spicy tones

burgundy corduroy pants from ruche, which i'm awaiting delivery of!

8. hiker booties

i'd totally rock these very volatile twain boots

9. tie neck blouses

tie bow blouse from asos

10. faux fur

no one can rock fur like rachel zoe, and i'm no rachel zoe, but i do like the look!

11. ladylike bags

okay, maybe this purse isn't that lady like, but it's rust color, with gold accents and birds!

totally lovin' it

what are you loving for fall? what have you added to your wardrobe already, or what are you planning to add? any of these trends?

xo,

melissa

today....

2011-09-11T20:47:00.000-04:00

watching the footage from that faithful day was just as shocking, heart wrenching and devastating as it was ten years ago. as we pray for those who have been lost, and those who are continually affected, my hope is that avery never has to experience a day like 9/11.

xo,

melissa

numbers game + gym essentials

2011-09-09T07:58:00.000-04:00

some numbers:

-currently, i weigh 60 lbs less than when i walked into the hospital to give birth

-15 lbs lost since november

-14 lbs less than what i was when i found out i was pregnant

now, some of my gym essentials, without which not a pound would be lost.

i swears.

a high pony, i can't exercise with my hair in any other formation

reading material//netflix material. love to get my mad men on, but i am savouring the last few episodes

lululemon, i do believe the material helps melt away fat.

comfy kicks; i would also include my nike+ sensor in this post, but the battery is dead and therefore it's dead to me.

miss jillian and her 30 day shred. currently on day 4. currently still hating all exercises.

a treadmill since i'm not a good out door runner

walking away the pounds!

awkward & awesome + awesome snaps

2011-09-08T21:10:00.000-04:00

awkward: these photos.
who takes photos at 4 pm in the blazing sun? us two crazy parents who are in a rush. photo fail.

failing to get the wind to catch my skirt on camera.

hiding indoor but still catching a reflection in my glasses.
we suck.

things that are awesome: baby in the fridge

glitter nails

new books

curly hair

new shoes

chillin' in hoodies

babies w/ tools

more glitter nails

this picture should probably be filed under awkward, right j?

xo,

melissa

how i wore it....

2011-09-07T17:17:00.000-04:00

also known as, how i plainly wore it....today was one of those rushed mornings when even though i was awake at 5:30 am, i still had a hard time getting out the door by 8am...no time to accessorize this outfit!!

dress: another great ruche piece borrowed from jana; tights: walmart; shoes: aldo

now, check out how jana fantastically accessorized this dress!

xo,

melissa

anniversary weekend...

2011-09-05T19:11:00.000-04:00

shots of the two of us!

going for a walk through the city

at lunch on day 2

stopping for a tasty treat!

walking though historical properties

at the hotel

five years ago....

2011-09-02T16:01:00.001-04:00

happy love love day!!

xo,

melissa

i heart this today.....

2011-09-02T16:00:00.000-04:00

i guess if i left it in the i hear this spot long enough, i would eventually order it!
i'm in love with this asos galloping horses dress!

xo,

melissa

dress swap number three

2011-09-01T20:12:00.000-04:00

dress: ruch; tights: american apparel; shoes: asos

little monkey wanted in on self timer pics!

jana stopped in after supper so that we could swap back and re-swap some clothes. it was like heaven in a bag. i have so many new pretties in my closet now that i am really stumped on what i will wear to work tomorrow! so excited to wear each and every one of these!!

ruche

similar dress: ruche

ruche (no longer online)

my dress from asos that i didn't blog yet, but i had loaned to j

ASOS (just received today!)

super excited about my 'new' clothes

hump day...

2011-08-31T19:10:00.001-04:00

dress: ruche; tights: american apparel; cardi: costa blanca; shoes: aldo

and thank goodness for that. this week has been pretty blah thus far, here's to hoping it gets better. especially since jamie and i celebrate our 5th year of marriage on friday (technically 13 years together tomorrow).

things that make me angry this week:
-work stress and having to put my office on lock down since it has become a free for all for anything and a huge distraction for my work.
-my scale NOT MOVING
-lack of sleep

things that make me fist pump into the weekend:
-the fact that i did lost five pounds, so what i am bitching about
-a weekend away with my love, plus a date night on friday night as a long weekend warm up
-getting more ink on saturday

xo,

melissa

the industry...

2011-08-29T17:58:00.000-04:00

ruche has done it again with their latest look book, the industry, which you can view here.
their looks well put together and inspiring, i'm excited to add some of their new pieces to my closet.
hey, i didn't toss out two garbage bags full of clothes on the weekend for no reason did i??

once i added this entire look: blouse, blazer, pants and shoes to my cart, i just had to 'check out', right? right guys??

i really wanted the glasses too, but i'd be walking around blind with those things.

for good measure, i also added this blouse to my fall collection

and this fun bird scarf

i'm super excited for these pretties....

the color, the t-strap, the bow?
so much to love.

xo,

melissa

too early for thoughts of christmas??

2011-08-27T12:45:00.000-04:00

because this

EVOKE Mio Radio by Orla Kiely

is at the top of my list.

shoes of the week...

2011-08-25T09:58:00.000-04:00

monday: ibanez from aldo shoes

tuesday: wedges from threadsence

tuesday take two: jessica

wednesday: ibanez from aldo shoes

latest snappies....

2011-08-25T08:56:00.000-04:00

longggg hair

black & white sunset

avery in a doggie bed!

latest tight obsession

WANT this entire outfit...darn h&m and their lack of sizes!

proud i'm not a first time garden failure

*heart heart*

hello jello

kid is obsessed w/ shoes

lil' helper, minus the rest of the vacuum

dress swap...

2011-08-24T17:35:00.001-04:00

dress/necklace/belt: ruche, tights: american apparel, shoes: aldo

have i mentioned how much i love the fact that i dropped a dress size and can now fit into jana's clothes? hello double wardrobe! i borrowed this dress off of her a few weeks ago, but only managed to get some photos in it today (slacker). i'm happy to finally share it, and i bet jana is happy she will soon be getting her dress back! continuing my love affair with my colored tights from american apparel, i paired this ruche dress with their forest green pretties.

i've been thinking a lot lately about getting a second tattoo, picture of my first above. i definitely never thought i'd be a double tattoo person, but i guess it's true when they say you get addicted. jamie and i are headed away for labor day weekend and i'm trying to arrange an appointment with an artist in the city where we are going. i'm thinking a flock of birds on my hip. thoughts?

fake it til you make it

2011-08-23T16:58:00.000-04:00

dress/cardi: ruche, tights: american apparel, shoes: threadsence

did you know that if you blast the A/C in your office alllllll day long, you can trick yourself into thinking it's cold outside so your decision to wear tights and a cardigan to work today you won't feel so foolish when you look at the weather and see that it's 25 degrees out.

i know i should be savouring any hot or even sunny days that we have left of summer, but i really, really love to wear tights!

shoe change! (jessica simpsons)

i love frilly details

really wish i could sport these puppies at work and not feel so guilty for spending so much money on them.

2011-08-22T19:26:00.000-04:00

dress/belt: ruche, shoes: aldo, cardi: costa blanca, tights: american apparel

The wind was a little wild this afternoon, but it made for some good 'twirl without the twirl' pics!

We had a busy weekend around here. We went to the big city, which is about 2.5 hours away from us on Friday. We hit up the water park and did lots of shopping. We stayed overnight, which was Avery's first night in a hotel and boy this his constant 'mama's echo in that hotel room'....i can almost still hear it....oh wait, that's him yelling mama in my ears yet again!!!

me in my 'regular' clothes, comfy for traveling....trying on a cheap bathing suit before hitting up the water park!

avery knocked out in the cart at homesense. perfect spot for his saturday afternoon nap!

me and mr. avers at the water park (in my new cheap bikini and cover up)

hope y'all had a fantastico weekend!

xo,

melissa

newness....

2011-08-17T21:23:00.003-04:00

a couple of new things...

new hair cut/color...got some blonde in there even though it's hard to see....i think next time i will go blonder baby! and finally, new nails!!! a little glitter obsessed as of late. an old outfit, but at least it's an outfit pic right?

xo,

melissa

i heart this today....

2011-08-16T08:14:00.000-04:00

source

I'm finding it VERY HARD....not to order this awesome dress. Not sure how much longer I can hold out.

snappies numero dos...

2011-08-16T08:02:00.001-04:00

life seems so hectic lately!! i've added a second work out to my day and jamie has been working an insane amount of hours, including all weekend so i'm basically solo parenting at the moment. please forgive my lack of blogging while i share some of my latest iPhone snappies! above: my little cousin isabella feeding avery his bubba last night....he's 11 months younger than her, and twice her size.

yummy wildberry wine and a great mag!

fresh eats.

wedge love

my babes!

prettiest shoes of life.

self-portrait

sp on a different day.

running along the bay @ 6 am

Mmmmmmmmargarita

chandra and i at her wedding

shoppin' ya'll

totally regret not buying.

avery in an antique car

latest obession.

my name's lugi!!!!!!

lovin' this outfit, too many cat calls while wearing this at work though...prob. won't happen again

long hair!

vintage birdies i snapped up on the wknd

avery has this thing of snatching up something an carrying it around, either falling asleep with it or bringing it with him to daycare. on sunday it was diaper cream for nap time!

(please excuse his pillow case-less pillow...it was in the wash)

xo, melissa

2011-08-11T17:41:00.001-04:00

This was me this evening. Sort of. Picture this face in a rainy parking lot after I realized I locked avery IN the truck (jana and i were meeting for supper). The two of us stood in the rain, dumb founded, wondering what to do. Thankfully it was rainy and cool, so I didn't have to worry about Avery getting over heated in there. Jana had her rain coat (score) so she stood in the rain, next to the truck while I jumped in her car and raced home PRAYING there was a spare key here. Luckily, I had left the door of the house unlocked and there was a key in the basket by the door. It only took ten minutes total for this all to go down but it was stressful!! It's probably a good thing that I locked my cell phone in the truck too so that I wasn't able to text jamie and be all 'OMFG I LOCKED AVERY IN THE TRUCK AND WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE!!!!!!!!'

All was resolved and we had a yummy supper together! THANKS AUNTIE J!!!!!!

dress//borrowed from j (but i think lulu's?)

tights//walmart

shoes//threadsence

xo,

melissa

hello rain...

2011-08-10T16:58:00.000-04:00

bringing back the indoor photos today since mother nature is drenching us yet again with more of the liquidy stuff. i promise i do have new clothes, i just never seem to get a blog picture as of late. like yesterday when i was wearing a new (to the blog) dress and i ended up going to my parents place after work and then was too lazy to take one when i got home....ya....really got to work on that!

dress/belt/necklace: ruche

ps. sporting tights today (because of the rain), which i managed to get a run in (of course), but no fear, jana and i went on a tights shopping spree today at american apparel....we each got, what, five pairs j? yes we are officially crazy to be spending that amount of money on tights, but have you seen their yummy colors??

neverfield park

2011-08-04T16:43:00.001-04:00

(total cheese pose)

dress/shoes: ruche
watch: michael kors

a few snaps...

2011-08-04T13:17:00.000-04:00

i'm still unwinding from vacation...spent last evening unpacking my suitcases...no time to upload any pictures that i took with my 'real' camera, so i'll share a few iphone pics on here....

first sight of the rockies!

hot ass ruche dress i wore to the wedding

equally hot ass michael kors watch which i have been dying to own

huge bulldog margarita that may or may not have given me enough of a buzz that i didn't mind smacking down the cash to purchase above watch.

xo,

melissa

hello my ppl's!!!!

2011-08-03T12:19:00.000-04:00

flying high

i'm back yo! arrived on my doorstep yesterday at seven am. a whopping seven hours after i had originally thought i'd get home. a very sleepy mama indeed, but i had to haul ass and get ready for work at eight. zonk.

sorry for the lack of blogging while i was away, i couldn't figure out how to get pics from my ipad into blog and well, a blog post without pictures just isn't right. i had a fantabulous time and i will provide some shopping, wedding and my first flight experience shortly!!!!!!!!

miss the blog big time.

somewhere over lake michigan

xo, melissa

crying, lovin' or leavin'

2011-07-25T20:55:00.000-04:00

either or, i'm boarding a plane tomorrow. for the first time ever. i'm anxious, nervous and excited. i will miss my fam jam mega big time. but i am very excited to see Chandra and to watch her get married. i will try to blog 'from the road'....have a great week everyone!! send me some first time flyer good vibes!!

xo,

melissa

feeling minty....

2011-07-22T16:46:00.000-04:00

in preparation for my big trip out west i've been doing a bit of shopping.
who shops before a trip?
considering i'm a hard core ruche fan and it's only available online...that would be me! i don't know how much clothing shopping i will do in an actual mall, so i'll treat myself early. plus, it's nice to have some new clothes for my trip. and perfect time to take outfit posts!!
i received more goodies from ruche yesterday and i'm in love with this pairing of top, shorts and ring.
i was secretly hoping that this outfit would force the sun out today, but that didn't happen and i ended up being chilly in my office, but i sure looked cute!

i will have a busy weekend getting ready for my trip (how on earth will i fit everything in one suitcase?)

wish me luck!

xo,

melissa

the boy who lived....

2011-07-21T05:32:00.000-04:00

top: ruche; shorts: eclipse; shoes: aldo
**editing pics at 6:30 am means i look like i'm wearing pantyhose when i'm not....

last night i went to see harry potter and the deathly hallows part II
#ah-mazing
#book come to life
#life is now complete

xo,

melissa

busy, busy

2011-07-19T21:05:00.000-04:00

busy weekend + family visiting + doc appointments + trying to organize my life before heading on vacation next week makes for some scarce posting.

sorry my loves! i should be back to it tomorrow.

for now i left you the cutest picture ever of avery.

he's so dreamy.

xo,

melissa

you're my one and only...

2011-07-13T16:40:00.001-04:00

alongside my shoe addiction is my floral addiction...three days into the work week and my third day wearing a floral dress....shall i make it 5/5? also, how cute are these threadsence wedges? my first order from threadsence and i am loving it! another store i will become obsessed with i'm sure. look, i've already found something else from there i'd like to purchase. (romper)

what are you obsessed with this summer??

xo,

melissa

for the love of shoes...

2011-07-12T20:20:00.000-04:00

Aldo

Threadsence

Urbanog

clearly, i have no self control

i bought all of them

xo,

melissa

family day...

2011-07-11T20:16:00.000-04:00

i really need to learn how to take more pictures on the weekends...even the few i took here are missing most of the people at our family day! these were all taken at my brother and sister in law's beach property, located about twenty-five minutes south of here. even though i could walk five minutes down the road and be at the beach, going to their property is like being a million miles away. especially when you get to hang out with family whom we haven't seen in a while, it was a lot of fun.

back to taking more pictures....i should really get on that...i get into the moment, forget i have a camera and then get bummed later when i see my lack of pictures. i remembered to take these shots, but then avery had a melt down because i wouldn't let him climb the boulders, after that i put the camera down to drag him back up to the grassy area. ps. the boulders make it look like the beach ends there, but the sand continues behind the boulders, he had them placed there to protect the beach from washed away during the freaky storms we get here. after spending six hours in the sun, we came home sandy and exhausted, but we all can't wait to do it again!

happy things...

2011-07-10T19:53:00.000-04:00

do you know kal?

in a word, she's rad. a rad mama/designer/photographer/writer...and she's canadian

basically, she's awesome with awesome sauce on top.

sometimes, being so rad comes with a few negatives points and kal experienced that when she found one of her graphic designs being piggy backed around the internet without permission or credit.

you can read about it here: kal then went on to establish link with love, which is to raise awareness to those using the internet as a sharing vessel...

if you are wondering about my shirt featured above, it's from guitees.

a company who did right. they contacted kal for permission to use her graphic on their t-shirts and when she featured them on her blog, i had to snatch one up immediately. they were having a shipping glitch at the time, so then i received a few personal emails clearing everything right up and then more emails over the process of getting it shipped. talk about customer service. high five guitees.

living in such a rural area has made me a big online shopper....but sometimes to get what you want, you have to put up with crappy service, so it's awesome when you find companies that do you right, and bloggers who will spread that gold around creating loyal customers. i guess the whole link with love thing is on it's way to great things.

be true to who you are!!

xo,

melissa

dress swap!!

2011-07-08T17:07:00.000-04:00

dress: c/o jana (from ruche), shoes: aldo

now that i finally lost some chub (har har) i can now fit into jana's clothes so we wasted no time swapping some items. okay, so we swapped two and then jana put two more dresses in my pile so i have three of hers...so lots more swapping to come! i wish i had a picture of jana in this dress so i could show how we each styled it....but i guess, who am i kidding, i didn't even style this outfit. kept things super simple and just added these awesome sandals and my sparrow necklace. i'm going to have a hard time giving this dress back, i love how stylish and cool it is for warm summer days.

xo,

melissa

visit w/ auntie

2011-07-08T12:04:00.000-04:00

the rain may have spoiled our beach plans but we still got to have a nice visit with auntie j on wednesday!!

avery enjoyed all of the hugs, kisses, fountains and of course, the doggies!

up//down...

2011-07-04T20:52:00.000-04:00

me @ 37 weeks

anything over 38 weeks is roughly too embarrassing for this blog!

at this moment i was topping the scales at 187 pounds, and yes i gained more before giving birth.

so, where did i start out? i guess it's the same story for anyone else who was a 'skinny teenager', always small during high school (115 lbs) and then steadily staying the same and creeping up as i got older. i always used to say 'i'll never see the scale hit 130', then one day i got on and i weighed 140 lbs...oops!!

that was about the year i got married, which was great motivation. i ordered my wedding dress one size too small so i had no choice but to get my butt in gear and lose some weight. during the spring and summer before i got married i dropped 15 pounds...140 down to 125.

of course, what else happens afterwards? yep...i crept back up. this time to my heaviest (at that point) to 150 lbs... in april '09 i kicked myself in the ass again, and quickly dropped 5 pounds before i found out that i was pregnant. i stayed at 145 for six weeks when things went on their way up and nine months later i had baby boy and 46 pounds to my name! thankfully, my weight dropped quickly. 27 lbs in the first few days, then dropped until i plateaued at 160 lbs....over the months that dropped a bit more. i was in frumpy mom mode, too tired to exercise, too 'fat' to care...luckily breastfeeding helped me drop some more and i stayed at 150 for awhile.

right now i'm down to 136 lbs...my goal is to get to 130, which i am hoping to get to by the time i go to a wedding at the end of the month. what kicked me into gear?

running

i started in november 2010 but took a few breaks here and there until about May 2011....running steadily has really helped me slim out....i was getting a little discouraged having the scale not moving, but my clothes getting looser...now it looks like that scale is and will hopefully continue to move.

as long as i can keep my motivation up there

hopefully by putting this 'out there', it will help me stay on track

i've been running six days a week (trying to run over 6K with each work out) and over the weekend i added weights to my regime.

i'll keep you updated on how that goes.

for now, i'm just trying my best to say bye bye to frumpy mamaSTYLE!

xo,

melissa

another find...

2011-06-30T21:13:00.000-04:00

dress: ruche, stockings: AE, shoes: Aldo

these pretty stockings were kicking around in my sock drawer for the past two years. when i bought them i was on a knee sock kick...but not for fashionable purposes, for warmth purposes....when they came in the mail i was all surprised that they were crocheted (obviously didn't read the description), so i rolled them in a ball and they sat in my drawer. digging around for my bikini unearth these and i put them on today because it was rainy and cloudy this morning. they did indeed keep me warm after all!!

xo,

melissa

finders keepers...

2011-06-29T15:43:00.001-04:00

dress: AE, belt: ruche, shoes: aldo

yesterday evening i found myself face first down into the depths of my closet searching for my elusive skinny jeans. most people have a pair of ~~fat~~ loose jeans hanging around but since oh, about '02-03 i've kept a pair of 'skinny' jeans....jeans that i do a happy dance in when i can button them (comfortably) and in which i let out a big sigh whenever i can barely fit a leg in them. these old clunkers are mavi's, size 29....which i'm not even sure are even sized correctly or because sizes of jeans vary so much that they are just stamped with whatever number...sidenote i bought two pair of silver jeans a few weeks ago size 28 so maybe they really are just stamped with a number that you may find yourself happy about....or not.

back to where i started, i like to try these jeans on when i'm trying to drop some poundage because no matter what the scale says, if i can wear these puppies, i know i'm good to go! the last time i wore them for any amount of time was pre-post wedding (when i had lost 15 lbs***).

today's update: they are about 2" from being able to wear them comfortably.

but while my butt was up in there searching for these jeans i came across this maxi dress that i purchased two? years ago and then completely forgot about. i think the last time i wore it i was preggers for avery. luckily for me maxi dresses are back in style and i have yet to add one to my wardrobe, but now i don't need to! even though the sun was in hiding today i sported this one to work and was oh some comfy all day long...finders keepers indeed

***going to add a little post on my one going weight loss shortly.

xo,

melissa

shorty...

2011-06-28T17:11:00.000-04:00

top: h&m, shorts: eclipse, shoes: aldo, belt: ruche

another sunny day here today (which i should be outdoor soaking up since it's now calling for rain until sunday). i broke out a pair of my shorty shorts today...a little too shorty, and not high waist like i would like...in other news, didja hear that the strike is over?? that's right, canada post is back to work peoples! that means i can start stalking the mail box again as i wait for goodies....including 3 dresses from ruche, a rocking kal barteski designed tee from guitees and i'm sure a few other goodies that i'm not remembering...

if you need me, i'll be at the mail box.

xo,

melissa

i heart this today...ruche edition...

2011-06-28T12:04:00.000-04:00

it's been awhile since I did an I heart this edition, so I thought that since I ordered yet another dress from Ruche last night (still waiting on three to come in @ the post), I thought I would do a Ruche edition.

All photo's below can be found at Ruche...the only place you will ever need to shop....EVER.

it's that good kids!

let the drooling commence (the first dress shown is the one that I ordered last night...)

wishful thinking that i had an event in which to wear that gorgeous emerald green maxi dress above...i'd order it in a heart beat.

hope you had a good feast!

xo,

melissa

the one where i can't think of a title

2011-06-27T19:39:00.000-04:00

also the one where i stand REALLY close to the camera....

cardi: pseudio, dress: ruche (last summer), shoes: aldo

it turned out to be a really warm day today, so i was a bit overdressed. however, i didn't want to take off my cardi at work and just sport a strapless dress. while the dress code there is beyond casual that is just a bit too bare for me. but as soon as i got home the cardi hit the bricks (and then my cam battery died so i only got one shot of it)...after that i also dumped the tights and the belt and avery and i went to the beach for 1.5 hours...he had so much fun exploring!

hope your monday was just as balmy!

xo,

melissa

best things about best friends

2011-06-23T19:16:00.000-04:00

dress/tights/shoes: where else but ruche?

why haven't jana and i thought about this before? swapping shoes? yes please!! last night, i gave her my chelsea crew brown heels from ruche and took these pretty bow peep toe pumps (also from ruche) off of her hands. now if i can just get my ass skinny enough i will bug her to trade some dresses!! although i guess i will have to trade my shoes for her dresses since mine are all too big for her! i enjoyed my day in jana's shoes and got lots of compliments on them.

thanks j!

xo,

melissa

mellow...

2011-06-22T15:41:00.000-04:00

top: joe fresh, jeans: gap, shoes/necklace: ruche

this weather is mellowing me right out.

i dislike the dewy, sunless mornings

and the cloudy days. the black flies buzzing around and the time spent indoors.

lazy days of summer really mean that considering summer doesn't want to come at all.

it's bumming me out.

this next photo is for jana since she wanted to see a picture of these shoes!

here you go j beans!

xo,

melissa

beach nails!!

2011-06-22T13:03:00.000-04:00

that's what my new nails remind me of...they make me want to jig work, force the sun out of hiding, drive up the temps, put on a bikini and hit up a sandy beach with a frosty drink.

sadly, i can't see that happening anytime soon...but at least my nails are pretty!

xo,

melissa

the one where i'm selfishly annoyed...

2011-06-21T17:13:00.000-04:00

top/skirt:ruche, shoes: aldo

i understand the point of unions. my husband belongs to one, i get the benefits and protection that come with them, and yada yada yada, but doesn't canada post know that their strike right now is causing a serious hold up in me doing the happy dance at the mail box over new goodies??? i don't think they realize this because the strike still continues....i have three dresses on their way and i am VERY impatient here. serious shoppers should not have to put up with this injustice am i right??

ps. i'm getting my nails done tonight!! a reward since i stopped chewing them.....i hope they turn out pretty!

xo,

melissa

grocery getter...

2011-06-20T19:06:00.000-04:00

didn't i just blow your mind with this incredibly inspiring outfit?

i did, didn't i? that's part of what i do here at mamaSTYLE...i put outfits together like nobody's bizness. ah, indeed....or at least that's what i try and tell myself. no, really, i know this is a sucky outfit.

but it's a monday evening, and i had to go get groceries and i really, really wanted to get out of my dress and tights that i wore to work today. i did manage to debut the cross body purse i picked up at spring shoes when i was in freddy town in april. surprisingly, jamie likes it. as you probably already know he kind of has a dislike for my vintagey, ruffly sorta style. however, when he saw this he said 'you finally got a small purse! i don't care how many flowers it has (zero), as long as it's small'. is that a compliment? i guess i'll take it!! i also got a comment on it at the grocery store. then i bought some hubba bubba and let my coolness flow all.the.way.home

doesn't my arm look massive? i tried to crop it into normalcy but it didn't happen.

xo,

melissa

happy father's day....

2011-06-19T19:28:00.000-04:00

to the sweetest dad any 18 month old boy could ever ask for.

thanks to all of the cuddles, the tickles, the car playing, the drives on the 4-wheeler or races up and down the walkway. thanks for letting me tear apart the house when mommy is away and for the good morning hugs.....thanks for being my daddy.

xo,

avery

new hair....

2011-06-16T15:27:00.000-04:00

i got new hair today!

this is just a quick post because i have to get my butt out the door and pick up the little man from daycare....

details: i wasn't sure what new do to get, so i went for some ombre hightlights, darker brown fading to light......the hairstylist curled it for mine since it's a look i NEVER do....i like it, but i can't wait to see what the highlights look like with straight hair. also, next time i will had more (and lighter) blonde pieces!

xo,

melissa

can shoes give you butterflies?

2011-06-14T16:36:00.000-04:00

because my new ones totally did today!

Shoes!!!

on sale and fast shipping, what's not to love?

plus i'm completely in love with the cork heel, the bone color and the strappy detail (especially when wearing tights). i wavered on these shoes for a few weeks but i'm so glad that i finally took the plunge and bought them. the bad thing about getting new shoes? the shoe high that comes with them that i immediately want to replace with, you guessed it.....new shoes!! such an obsession!

dress: where else: ruche!

shoes: aldo

tights: walmart

now i want all of your blog readers to go out and buy new shoes!!

xo,

melissa

oh, sunny day!!!

2011-06-11T12:43:00.000-04:00

it's sunny, it's saturday, and i got to wear my new dress!

i'll admit, it's rather difficult to wear this dress AND be a mama. good thing i had jamie along to deal with baby things, because there is no bending over to buckle a baby in a stroller with this dress on!

dress: a gift from jamie (from eclipse)

shoes: aldo

hope you are all out having an awesome saturday!