Yes, it's neon green!!

Brush with fame...I'll Be...excited to meet you!!

M&M and Edwin McCain. There were many, MANY discussions about our outfits....

Hard Candy Crush on Amethyst: Summer Nails

I've never bought the Hard Candy brand and saw this really cool sparkly purple at Target. Loving the coverage and the price of about $4!! Definitely thinking of trying a few other colors!

Triumphant on Mother's Day

My son wanted a Nerf gun fight with the family on Mother's Day. Our family complied and I think I won!

I'm mixing up peach and pink here, with orange shoes. The ribbon in my hair is from a gift from my oldest son. A nice way to celebrate, a game with all the family.

Have Blanket Will Travel

I used to travel a lot for work. Seems like a life time ago, and given it was pre kiddos, I never fully appreciated having several hours of solitude on a plane to read/work/think etc. One thing I did appreciate though was my blanket shawl. I never use those (maybe washed) airplane blankets. I bought my blanket shawl 10+ years ago at Filene's Basement in Chicago, and it has served me well! *Note - I took this picture yesterday specifically for this post. I don't typically do selfies in airport bathrooms.

M&M

First time seeing each other in nearly 5 years!!!

Business conference

Does anyone think 13 pairs of shoes are egregious for a 5 day conference? I didn't think so.

Bippity, Boppity Ballgown

I'm the other M, and I have been MIA. I do have a good excuse: I have been focused on getting ready for the ball. For real-sy. My husband is in the Army JAG Corps and tomorrow evening I get to attend the annual  ball. My 5 year old is beyond excited, and even designed a dress for me. Time wasn't on our side though, so I settled on this Adrianna Pappelle:

I feel very “Downton Abbey” in it, although Lady Mary would have likely just worn it to dinner on a Tuesday. Maybe I’ll do that after the ball. In addition, I’ve been obsessing about my make-up. Even though I make a point in doing my make-up every day, this week I have been DOING my make-up. I feel like I’m doing the walk-of-shame at kindergarten drop-off.  I promise to post pics in my gown and make-up. I also promise to be better at posting. I get to see the other M next week so I know I’ll be on my fashion toes!  

DOTS, readers, DOTS!

$16.80! Green, canvas, studs. A summer staple!

Scored again at DOTS: my summer statement jewelry!

Seriously, their jewelry is crazy fashionable and inexpensive. $10 for necklaces plus BOGO 50% off! Earrings only $6. My summer statement!!

#dotsforsummer

Straw black fedora

It took me a week but I finally wore my straw, black Fedora. I definitely felt a little self-conscious, and I really had to work at not messing with it.

I did get compliments on it which made me feel better, but it's definitely a strong look. Let's hope I get more comfortable wearing it.

Bought this one at Target, $10.

Disney: how to do it wrong!

I read all the Pinterest, blogs and Disney specific Websites I could find. And I STILL did Disney wrong.

We arrived at 8:15am with stroller, water, snacks, and 3 boys aged 3, 5 and 7. We saw their favorite Snow White upon entering the park. And NO one Wanted a picture with her. And that seemed to set the tone of our day.

As my husband and I plotted our course and ran around the park Getting fast passes and Trying to think of awesome things to do, the boys were indifferent.

They had a good time, but it wasn't the time I thought they would have. They weren't gaga crazy.

But I couldn't control how they felt About their day.

Here is what we did wrong. We should have paid more attention to what the kids wanted. We should have gone to One land and stayed there until it was done. We spent too much time traversing the park for fast passes.

My recommendations are:
Go to a land and max it out.
If your kid wants to ride the same ride again, Do it. There isn't some magical ride somewhere else in the park. If they're happy where they are, stay.
Respect the kids limits. We stayed all day and they were wiped out. That wasn't fun for anyone.

We thought we Would go to Disney at least three times. We went once. We ask the boys every day if they wanted to go back and they always said no.

On the plus side we were glad we did not buy a multi-day pass.

DOTS: Stylish, HIGHLY affordable

I am almost afraid to write this post. I don't want to let my secret out.

If you are in the Chicagoland area, there's a store called DOTS. It is dirt cheap and has HIGHLY affordable, fashionable clothes. These aren't clothes you keep for the ages....you keep for the season. Many of the fun items in my closet come from Dots. Like this scarf ($12). Fresh colors for Spring, a little twist to lighten it up with the attached necklace.

And these shoes ($22.80)....I've already worn them twice! (Ironically, not with the necklace, yet!)

If you ever see the store DOTS, I recommend you take a few minutes and drop in.

They also just launched an online store http://www.dots.com/   $6.99 shipping and lots of sales and specials via email. Sign up.

Ban Yoga Pants--unless you are AT yoga!

Yoga pants are leading to the demise of the style of the American woman. Yes, that's a broad statement, but we think it's TRUE!

We KNOW that yoga pants are ridiculously comfortable. But if your "regular" clothes are so uncomfortable that you don't wear them, then you need different clothes. It takes just as much effort to find clean yoga pants as it does to find jeans, or khakis or a skirt. Or better yet, a dress! 

We say: don't give up! Make the effort! 

PS: And if you have yoga pants on because you just came from yoga or are going to yoga: mea culpa. 

Lancome gift with purchase at Lord and Taylor

Yesterday I went to Lord and Taylor at Old Orchard. I've been unhappy with my makeup routine as we move into Spring (if it ever comes). I've never worn "base" or "foundation" and recently tried the L'Oreal BB cream, which I liked. But I've been feeling very "matte."

To make a long story short: I ended up buying two items but GETTING TWELVE items plus samples:

LANCÔME Star Bronzer Long Lasting Bronzing Powder for $35 (less 10% sale)

LANCÔME Hypnose Star Drama (sale of full size mascara, mini Bifacil, mini CILS Booster AND full size Le Crayon KHOL eyeliner) for $32 (less 10% sale)


SAMPLES:  10 day supply of foundation (TEINT IDOLE FRESH WEAR)
3 samples of GÉNIFIQUE Youth Activating Concentrate

http://www.lordandtaylor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/en/lord-and-taylor/content-view/033113-Lancome-GWP-Details


I'm using most of the products in the picture below, including the PRIMER, foundation and bronzer. It is still a lot of makeup for ME, but I think it blended pretty nicely...

Hats for summer..

So we've been on an accessories for summer discussion....I just bought this hat...from Target...$12.00. Multi-function color-wise. We'll see if it "really" works....

http://www.target.com/p/mossimo-supply-co-cloche-with-bead-string-multi/-/A-14320373#prodSlot=medium_1_11&term=cloche

Our hearts go out to the families in Boston.

Transitioning scarves....

Accessories can make an outfit. We both liked the scarf situation that happened this winter and added several beauties to our collections.

But how can you make scarves work for summer?  Here's how!