On Being Lazy at Being Girly

Lately I've been trying extra-hard (read: actually trying) to avoid the oft-achieved frump-tastic style of the new mother.  Auto-correct is hating me right now.


Let me clarify a little bit: I've always been the girl for whom the 'bare minimum' would totally cut it in regards to hair, makeup, style... so if you're like me and you're a new mom, I've put together some of the things that are making this goal a little bit easier for me in the present.   If you're not like me, you probably discovered all these things or their equivalent when you were fifteen or before you learned the true value of 7 hours of consecutive sleep.  To me, sleep > looking good, but when you're a new mom, you're playing a dangerous game if that's your system of operation and you're expected to appear publicly.  I'm trying this new stuff and lo! apparently, when you look good, you feel good too.  Or maybe vice versa.  I don't know.  Hmmm.  Maybe Mom was onto something in high school when she repeatedly begged me to stop buying t-shirts with writing on them and to indefinitely boycott the Sun-In brand.

1. Revlon 'Just Bitten' Lipstain  I own this in the shade of Frenzy, whatever that means.  I like lip stain because it's not messy, doesn't smudge, and instantly makes one look as if she's really put some makeup on.  I really like this wand's gloss end, too.  Buy it here for $6.74
2. Coppertone Gradual Tan Stop tanning.  Stop it now, it's soooooo bad for you.  Now that we've got that out of the way, let's be honest: there's really no substitute for the true Vitamin D's glowing effect on your poor, baked skin.  But this is close.  I'm working on about 3-4 days of applying it, and I don't look like I visited [insert sunny place here] or anything, but I am a color that isn't orange, and I like it. Buy it here for $9.49.
3. Origins Facial Brush Despite my obsessive tendencies, I'm not very good at long-term habits; i.e. face-washing, vitamin-taking, resolution-keeping.  But this brush makes me excited to wash my face.  Only $4 at Dillards!
4. Skinny Belts OMG if you don't own one yet, who are you?  Even I own one, and it took me two years to figure out who Ke$ha is.  Every morning it seems like I'm stopping myself from adding a skinny belt to my outfit.  They really help to cinch your outfit in and after childbirth, it's a glorious thing to behold.  Go crazy.
5. A Weekend Away As a new mom, this one is clutch.  A girl needs to feel like a girl, and that might just mean sitting around with peers who enjoy to an equal extent the literature of J.K. Rowling.  So do it - drive yourself somewhere for a weekend or an afternoon, and leave the tot with your (willing) husband.  Go ahead, plan on it.
6. Recycle Don't keep things in your closet that don't look good on you.  Seriously.  If they're in there and you're not wearing them, donate them to someone else.  If clothes don't fit properly but you can't bear to let them go, have them altered.  It's better than wearing things that you don't feel happy in, and it's much better than having clothes collect dust in your closet.  I sort of realized that recently and even though my closet is slimmer, I always know I'm going to feel good in what I choose to wear.
7. Get Yo Herr Did Spend some money and have your hair cut and, if coloring is your thing, colored.  I've found that spending $80 on my hair is a MEGAFAST way to get me up earlier in the mornings to actually style my costly coiffure.
8. Maybelline Stiletto Liquid Eyeliner I put this product on my list, but I'm still really bad at using it.  You'd think as an artist I'd be adept at makeup application, but you'd be wrong.  Therefore I don't know if this eyeliner is the best - it's simply the first I've used.  I don't like that it's super easy to smudge off after I finally get it put on right (mine is not waterproof) but it is a nice feature the first six times I try to apply it most mornings.  $5.99 on  this website.
9. Got 2B Fat-tastic Mousse I don't usually like hair products (sooooo much effort bla bla whine whine), but I like this one.  If your hair has some natural body, use a small amount to secure the waves after your hair has completely air-dried.  If it doesn't, use some while your hair is wet and then style it to bring out some volume.  Easy peasy lemon squeezy.  Also, I don't know why the "9" is backwards.

 And don't forget the most important route to feeling your best - strive to be purposeful in word and action.  (Proverbs 11:22)  After all, YOU and your heart are the real treasures: outward beauty is just an accessory!

Calling on my fellow clueless women, exhausted mommies - what did I forget?  Any drug-store discoveries I ought to know about? What are your favorite things?

Mythical Shopping Trip

My postpartum journey of weight loss has been fairly... uneventful. Somehow, I found myself just two pounds above my pre-pregnancy norm within about a week after Knox's birth without really 'trying' to lose the excess. (Thankful for it too! I've still got the lazies and I'm not really sure how committed I'd be to a new exercise regimen right away.) But, despite what the scale says, my clothes are NOT fitting like they used to. I'm alright with it, fully aware that it comes with the territory of motherhood. But... I'm gooshy in places that didn't used to be gooshy and I'm not sure when it'll officially go back to normal.

Until then, I've compiled a visual (and unrealistic) shopping list for that happy day when there's no longer a strange bulge peeping out from the waistband of my fat jeans.

Red for Colorado City!

A fox for Knox!

All clothing can be found at Anthropologie.com. Yes, I've included shoes, and no, my feet are not fatter than normal. But the shoes were awesome and needed to be seen.

On Those Days I'm Not Painting

Now, I like clothes/shoes/jewelry as much as the next girl who doesn't care that much about those things. I like what I like, I have boring and awesome clothes and I still buy things at Walmart because I think $3 for a shirt is rarely not worth it. But. I. Love. Anthropologie. It's almost enough that'd turn me into a girl who blogged about fashion, and not about food and fishing and fingerpainting. Anthropolgie gets me man, it GETS me. When you walk into one of their stores, it's like walking into graphic design made three-dimensional. I love it. The patterns, the textures - you're inside a magnificent painting or a photograph. LOVE it.

Anyway, on days when we're not painting or paper mache-ing or ... when I'm not around high schoolers I'd wear these things.


The Phlox and Coral Coat.


Sliced Olive Heels. Yum.


Tea House Cardi.


Cathedral Facade Tights.


Saving the best for last: the Three Part Top.

In less superficial news, school starts in T-minus three days. I arrived at my classroom today and found this goodie-filled welcome basket from the rest of the staff: I'm loving this place! Favorite goodie? Hmmmm... Scentsy room spray (which took care of a weird smell near my desk) aaaaaand a working stapler. And tape dispenser. I really like Scotch tape. Oh and a cookbook courtesy of the Home Ec. Dept. that I'm pretty excited to peruse.