Closet Organizing Ninja.

I didn't die, I promise.  But when life gets busy, my Mom Uniform blog posts are the first things to suffer.  

But I LOVE the few days right after deadlines.  You take a day to relax, NOT shower and stay in your jammies all day.  Like a sick day.  Except that you spend the whole day working on projects that you finally have time for.  The next day you get tired of living in your own filth and clean the WHOLE house top to bottom and then take a blissfully long shower.  And get dressed up, curls and all.  

Cardigan: Downeast

Tank: Forever 21

Jeans: Downeast

Shoes: Forever 21...this is getting weird....

Oh and guess what else I did?

Yep.  I organized my closet.  I haven't done this in years!  Who has time to organize their closet, let alone put away the basket of folded laundry that's been sitting in the hallway all week?  But my closet has been looking abominable for awhile now and I just couldn't take it anymore. 

Just look at that!  All the skirts and dresses are on the far left.  Next are jackets and sweaters.  Next to that are collared shirts, then long-sleeved, then short-sleeved, then tanks, then belts.  And all sections are organized according to color.  Everyone needs to do this once in awhile!  It really helps you to evaluate your closet.  And discover stuff you forgot about!  And discover stuff that you now fit into because you haven't cheated on your diet in two weeks!  

And while I was on a roll, I just went across the closet and organized Hubcaps closet too!  He thanked me.  Right before he passed out on the recliner because he pulled another all-nighter.  

Shoes-Ties-Belts-Scrubs-Short Sleeved Button Ups-Long Sleeved Button Ups-Polos-Jeans-Shorts-Scout Stuff-Jackets.  And of course all organized by color.  Yeah, I'm awesome.  

Life is good, my friends.  Life is good. 

Dress For Your Body Type: Spoon Figure

According to the Shop Your Shape Website,

"As a Spoon Body type (sometimes called figure 8), your hips are larger than your bust and you have a defined to somewhat defined waist. Your hips have a “shelf” appearance and you are prone to gaining weight in your tummy and have a tendency towards love-handles. While you may gain weight in your upper thighs and upper arms, your lower legs and arms are shapely and your best assets."

 Hmm...Wide hips?  Flabby tummy?  Love handles?  This body shape should be called "The Mom Shape"  because anyone who has given birth to a baby probably has all of these problems.  Let me add in: "stretch marks and saggy breasts" and it's the whole package.

Lucky me, this is MY body shape!  So how do we Spoons best dress to disguise our problem areas?
Also from Shop Your Shape:

"The key to dressing a Spoon body type is to draw attention to your upper body while deemphasizing your tummy and hips to create a more balanced appearance and create the illusion of an hourglass figure. Your legs are your best asset, so feel free to play with skirt lengths and show them off!"

Let's not forget that I'm a Mormon.  This means that I dress modestly.  My skirts generally should not be shorter than knee length, unless I'm wearing leggings underneath.  And I don't wear sleeveless shirts unless they also are layered.  (So my less-than-modest suggestions I would wear with something under or over.)  Here are my suggestions:

From Left to Right, Top to Bottom:

Downeast Sweetheart Top

Anthropologie Fairy Dance Top

Old Navy Jersey Blazer

Downeast Corduroy Skirt 

Gap Wide Leg Trouser Jeans

Gap Chambrey Tie Neck Blouse

Old Navy Dolman Sleeve Cardigan

Target Red Maxi Dress

Gap Perfect Khaki Pants

RULES:  

1. Wear tops that have details around the chest and arm area, which will draw attention away from the middle.  
2. Look for empire waists, as long as they drape close to the body (so you don't look pregnant.)  
3. Tie belts above the 'shelf' to draw the eye away from the tummy.  
4. Wear jackets that are tailored to fit snugly around the narrowest part of your waist to create the hourglass appearance.  
5. Wear skirts that are A-line or straight, nothing that will add bulk to the hips.  
6. Show off your legs by experimenting with different skirt lengths.  
7. Wear pants that fit well on the top, are boot cut, straight leg, or even wide leg.  (I love skinny jeans with loose flowy tops, but they aren't for everyone.) 

For more details, check out Shop Your Shape!

What's Your Body Shape?

This week we'll be talking about the different body shapes and how you can dress for your particular body shape that will best flatter you.  Note:  I am no expert in this topic, I am still learning.  I just thought that some of you might be interested as well!  Dressing for your body type REALLY changes things.  

First up, have you checked out the site "Shop Your Shape"?  It's a pretty cool website.  You can enter in your measurements and then figure out what your body shape is and they'll even give you recommendations on what kinds of clothes would work for your figure!  (I'm a spoon, just so ya know.)  Anyway, my body shape definitions are going to be straight from their site, and I recommend you spend a few minutes over there to figure out your shape type!  During the next couple of weeks I'll do designated posts on each shape and find outfits that flatter them.  

Without further ado...meet the 8!!

STRAIGHT

PEAR

SPOON

HOURGLASS

TOP HOURGLASS

INVERTED TRIANGLE

OVAL

DIAMOND

Okay!!  I just so you know I have yet ANOTHER cold so I'm not so much into the 'getting dressed' business just now.  I seriously NEED to get better.  Grrr....

You Can Look Good In Clothes!

Wow, sorry about the delay.  I am totally in over my head with projects.  I wish there were 20 more hours in the day (and that they come after my kids go to bed.)  I signed up for 30 in 30 but I don't think I can do it.  I've barely even showered this week.  Life is just crazy right now!  Not to mention that I sliced my finger open last night and it's making typing blog posts tricky.  

I fully intend to keep doing the posts I wanted to do, but I hope you'll bear with me if I don't post every day.  And I did the survey in a stupid non-calculatable format so I have to tally those results by hand.  Yay me.  

Dress:  Forever 21; $22

Tank: Old Navy; $4

Skirt: Gap, Thrifted; $5

Boots: Famous Footwear; $50

Scarf: Walmart; $5

I was watching "What Not to Wear" tonight and this Dolly Parton reincarnated girl was on the show.  After her makeover she looked SO much better (as they always do) but she hated her new look.  She wanted to go back to the over-madeup face, the huge bumped up platinum blonde hair, and her teeny bopper style.  You know why she did this?  Here's my theory:

You get used to a certain idea of what looks good.  For me, for a very long time, the only way I thought I could look good in anything was if I lost 10 lbs.  And even now that I'm dressing more for my body type which is helping so much, I still have to push away that idea about myself.  I will always want to lose that last 10 lbs, and I'm always trying to.  But if you are anything like me or the Barbie girl, you have to open up your mind to the possibility that you could actually look good in clothes how you are (without loads of make up, without Spanx, without huge bleached hair, without losing weight.)  You CAN look good in clothes, but you have to figure out how.   

That's my Soap Box for the night.  Good night y'all.   

Dressing For Your Confidence

If you didn't read my post over at Momma Go Round, you should.  Otherwise you'll just be completely lost.  Lost as in starting to watch LOST during the middle of season three, lost. 

Just kidding.  It's pretty self-explanatory. 

Dressing For Your Body Type
Sad as it is, our bodies don't stay the way they were when we were 18.  But really who can expect that with all the drastic changes we make throughout our lives?  Seriously, if your body is the same when you're 80 as it was when you were a teenager, take a good long look at your life. 

I remember the first time I had the realization that I needed to change the way I dressed.  I was in my first year of marriage, and as you know, marriage comes with at least a few comfort pounds.  I had been wearing tight jeans and shirts for a long time and then I realized I was sucking in my belly a little more frequently and looking, well...fat. 

Source

 But the weird thing was that I hadn't gained more than five pounds.  It's like the entire composition of my body just changed.  I could have had super powers for all I knew. 

So I went shopping.  But this time, I shopped in the LADIES area (I think this was a department store) instead of the MISSES area.  I was totally embarrassed to be shopping with all the frumpy old ladies in there who wear pants up to their chest.  But I actually found some clothes that didn't make me look like a teeny bopper.  And then I went to Charlotte Russe and bought jeans that were in a bigger size.  That made me sad, to be buying a bigger size.  But I needed it.  I just wasn't cutting it in the jeans I had. 

The clothes were revolutionary for me.  I realized that there was a whole world of clothes that I could wear that would make me look like a woman rather than a high school student whose love handles look like a Play Dough fat factory.  I looked good in clothes again, and I gained back so much confidence that I'd lost.  And I actually came to terms that maybe my body wasn't so much 'fat' as it was just a woman's body, rather than a girl's.  

Kudos to you if you are skinny.  Seriously, everyone loves to hate you for your body.  :)  But the majority of us have a few extra pounds that we would love to ditch but it just ain't happenin'.  And it's really easy to get depressed about it.  But guess what?  Maybe you just aren't dressing for your current shape.  And I don't just mean buying clothes that actually FIT (but that helps loads.)  I mean dressing to flatter your lumps.  

It's important to me, ladies.  It's important to me that you all recognize the beauty that you have, obviously INSIDE of you, and that you can radiate that beauty outwardly as well.  You may have forgotten how good you can feel about yourself when you actually feel beautiful.  Looking good always makes me feel so much more confident, and I hope that I can inspire you to do the same. 

Source

So without further ado, I bring you the new series "Dressing For Your Body Type."  I will discuss the different body types there are, what these types need to emphasize and de-emphasize, and then find clothes for that body type.  Get ready to assess. 

I'm Visiting Nina Today...

Welcome to everyone visiting from 

Momma Go Round!! 

 

I'm not posting here today, but I'm visiting the sweet Nina at her fun blog Momma Go Round!  I'm writing about Dressing For Your Body Type.  Please go check it out and feel free to follow Nina's blog because she is pretty much awesome.  She also has a great series on vamping up your blog, so if you need help, check her out! 

I will be starting a series called "Dressing For Your Body Type" where I investigate all the different body types and find the best outfits for that type, as well as being in a good price range.  

I'm so excited about all the survey results so far and I'm going to close up the survey really soon so get your answers in ASAP!!

Take the Survey

How to Wear Skinny Jeans

Top: F21, $14

Tank: Old Navy, $4

Jeans: Downeast, $15

Shoes: F21, $11 (Buy HERE)

Headband: F21, gift

This whole outfit cost me $44.  (Not as impressive as yesterday, but still!)  

How to Wear Skinny Jeans

Skinny Jeans have been around for awhile now.  And it usually takes me a few years to adopt a new trend.  I like to make sure that it's sticking around, long enough to make it worth my time to try it out.  

"Skinny" is actually kind of a misnomer.  I thought you had to be skinny to wear skinny jeans.  And I'm not so much skinny anymore.  But I read somewhere that the key to skinny jeans is wearing loose, flowy tops with skinny jeans.  And that makes perfect sense!  Because unless you are 14 or a supermodel, you really shouldn't be wearing all skin-tight clothes.  

So go find some skinny jeans you like, find your size in the waist, try out a few pairs until you find one that fits you well.  Then wear your looser, more flowy tops with  them.  For shoes, wear flats without socks, boots, or high heels.  (Or flip flops, who cares?!) 

Skinny jeans are a better way to show off your cute, cute shoes.

And these shoes are a great way to show how much you need a pedicure.  

Wearing Red and Pink Together

I think one of the settings is off on my camera...my photos are coming out blurry.  Any advice on that?  

Shirt: Forever 21, $10

Skirt: Thrifted, Gap, $5

Shoes: Forever 21, $5

Belt: Thrifted, $2

Wow, this whole outfit was $22!

I'm linking up today in Elaine's Rule Breaking Monday:   

I'm wearing pink and red together.  

When I was growing up I HATED pink and red together.  I thought anyone who wore them together had absolutely NO fashion sense.  And now look at me.  Would my 13-year-old self slap me in the face?  I loved this outfit.  And wanna know something seriously weird?

It was too cold today for it!

In the three years that I've lived in Arizona, the winters have all been super warm.  I've never worn a winter coat here and usually can only wear sweaters and long sleeves for the month of December.  But this is a serious winter here. I think it even snowed one night (didn't stick.)

Look for posts this week on:

My Survey Results!

Dressing for Your Body Type

Fabulous Finds for Less than $30

So make sure to come back and read!

Have a great week!

How to Wear a Bib Necklace

I got an email today from Downeast Basics, 50% off all their accessories (use the code BLING at checkout!)  

So I checked them out.  

And they had a bib necklace that I thought, "I could make that!"

So I sat down with all my jewelry makins' and got to work.  

And I made a pretty decent bib necklace!  

Next step, find something to wear with the bib necklace.

I was inspired by Elaine who always wears bib necklaces and wears them well. 

  I wanted a big flowy white shirt to wear with the black leggings but I didn't have that, so this is what I came up with.  And I loved it! 

Black Lumberjack Shirt: F21, $19 (Buy it HERE)
Cardigan:  Honestly, no clue.  I've had it forever and can't remember where I bought it!
Skinny Belt:  F21 (came with the shirt)
Leggings: Charlotte Russe, $6
Shoes: Target, $4 (one of yesterday's bargain purchases)
Necklace:  Didn't you just read?  I made it!

 

P.S. I'm going to post a tutorial How To Make a Bib Necklace on my Honeybear Lane blog next week!

Cutest Shoes Ever

Cutest. Shoes. Ever.

The shoes were the cutest thing about this outfit today.  I developed yet another illness (just a head cold) but it still leaves me uninspired. 

Snap up white shirt: Thrifted for $6, Gap
Pink lace tank: Old Navy, $4
Brown layering tee: Downeast Basics, $10
Jeans: Gap, $30 (special sale)
Belt: I bought it in Chinatown in NYC...pretty sure it was super cheap.
Shoes: Forever 21, $23:  Buy them HERE
Bracelet: I made it...Make yours HERE

I do like my feet.  

I don't like my toenails, but if I get a pedicure they are do-able.  One time in college this guy told my roommate that he thought I was cute but I had big feet.  

What?! 

I have average woman sized feet!  

Anyway, despite that, I still like my feet.  

And want to wear cute shoes on them.

Good thing, cuz I went to Target today and they were having a massive clearance on their shoes.  I got four pairs for $15!  

Serious score.  

Okay I really need to stop buying stuff.  

And if you haven't already, fill out this survey HERE!!!

I'll Give You Hugs For Filling Out This Survey!

Thank you SO much everyone who commented yesterday and introduced themselves! I really hope that this blog can be a place where we can help each other and most of all, be a place to inspire you to have the confidence to be the people you really are!  Motherhood is a wonderful, wonderful thing, but we shouldn't lose ourselves and self-confidence in spite of it! 

(PS I know you're not all mothers, but this blog is called "The Mom Uniform" so it's mostly geared towards mommas.) 

Okay so the next step for me is to figure out what you are really like!  I created a survey that I hope you'll take five seconds to fill out.  Your answers will help me when I design the "What I Would Wear" look books so that I'm finding things that you would actually buy!  

P.S. It is completely anonymous so don't worry about a thing!

I Want To Get To Know You.

Jennifer, a faithful commenter, told me that I could stop doing this blog because I've accomplished my goal.  First of all, thank you! (giggle!) 

I think I need to re-evaluate my purpose and goal of this blog, because like that one actor said on that "Social Network" movie, "Fashion is never finished."  

I am a mom.  Fashion is certainly not my first priority.  But I'd have to say that feeling good about myself is up there. 

And for me, looking good has a lot to do with feeling good about myself.   

(Shallow?  Hmm...maybe...don't care.)  

Going along with figuring out my mommyhood is adjusting to a new body shape.  My body will never again be the slender prepubescent body it once was (cuz I've always been a bit flat-chested.)  I have give birth in two different ways to two baby boys.  And I'm going to be doing it a few more times, if all goes according to plan. 

You all know how that goes...get married, gain weight.  Get pregnant, gain weight.  Have a baby, lose a little bit of weight.  But not that much.  Spend the next year or two trying to lose weight.  Get pregnant again, gain weight.  And the cycle continues. 

So we must figure out how to dress for our body type!!

It is crucial to our mommy fashion, to figure out the tricks of disguising our problem areas and emphasizing our other great body parts. 

Don't you agree?  We can't always be waiting for that magical day when we 'lose the baby weight.'  

So my new goal for this blog is to inspire the other moms out there to figure out how to dress for their body type, within a reasonable budget. 

(The majority of you are moms with a small clothes budget, right?  Speak up, speak up!) 

This community is important to me, and I value each and all of your comments.  They have already helped me so much and it's only January. 

So answer these questions:

1. What is your name/blog address?
2. What would you like to see on this blog?  
3. What do you need help with?
4. What is your main fashion goal?

I'll go first:

1. My name is Heidi from themomuniform.blogspot.com.
2. I would like to see posts that are geared towards helping moms dress better for themselves and finding their own fashion sense again.
3. I need help with knowing what things look the best on my body type.
4. My main fashion goal is to dress in outfits that look good on me, make me feel good about myself, and don't cost very much money.

Now it's YOUR turn! 

The Pediatrician.

If you've been reading my Honeybear Lane Facebook page, you'll know that my two-year-old has had a bad cough lately.  Like barking seal bad.  I finally took him to the pediatrician today.  

I arrived late, at 10:10.  My appointment was at 10.  

Guess what time I left?  

10:30.  

White shirt: Walmart; Yellow dress top: Target; Jeans: Downeast; Scarf: Walmart; Boots: Old Navy; Headband: Forever 21

 My pediatrician is super weird.  He's this really big guy, like 6'5" and probably 250 pounds.  He always wears super tight tapered jeans and a polo shirt tucked in.  He has a big chin and nose like Leno and he kinda sounds like him too.  

But he's not a jokester.  

He's actually really intimidating.  He talks very fast and loudly and always says, "Okay?!!?" after everything.  The first time we visited him and I told him about my old doctor, he was disgusted at the things she'd prescribed.  

"What an idiot!" he'd said.  

So weird, I know.  

 So why do I go to him?  

Like I said, I left after 20 minutes.  

When you have two kids, quick doctors appointments are essential. 

I didn't switch to him because of that, it was a blind switch.  And I've often thought of leaving since he's kind of a jerk.  

"Hey, the jerk store called...they're running out of you!"

But the appointments are so fast that I barely even remember we went to the doctor. 

That's a win.

Picture yourself on a beautiful day.

Ahhh....Arizona in January. 
Just look at that lush, green grass and the swaying palm trees. 
Don't you all wish you were here? 
It's the perfect time of year for jackets and boots rather than coats and...boots. 

For some reason this time of year reminds me of fall. 
The fall that I don't get here in 'zona. 
I grew up in Utah which has the most gorgeous autumns. 
Fall here in Arizona means a slight cool down. 
Like as in going from 115 to 99. 
Not ideal.

But right now the weather is in the 70's and the leaves that don't quite make it to the stage of falling OFF the tree are a pretty golden color.
I like to pretend that it's October. 

Dress: Thrifted from Savers; Cardigan: Forever 21; Belt: Thrifted from Savers; Boots: Famous Footwear; Earrings: Made by me!  Are you getting so sick of seeing these boots yet??  Don't worry, I bought some spring shoes online.

And my husband said 'don't post these!'
So shh, don't tell. 
Because I'm 100% sure he doesn't read this blog. 
So here is my handsome photographer. 

He's hot. 
I have a little crush on him. 

So what do you think...enough with the belt already?  I tend to love this now.

Now I See Why Van Gogh Cut Off His Ear.

Van Gogh was the king of self portraits, no?  

Ashley taught us all how to do self-portraits.  I've done them with a tripod and timer, but never in front of a mirror with camera in hand.  It's kinda hard.  No wait, it's easy--if you don't care how much of an idiot you look like.

I don't have too fancy of a camera.  It's not a dSLR, it's a nicer point and shoot.  Me and Hub decided to compromise to save some money...although I totally wish we'd sprung another couple hundred for an SLR.  We both needed it a lot this year!

And one more thing before getting to the million pictures of me...I had more fun editing the photos than taking them!  So get ready for some weird effects, courtesy of me and PS actions.  They're just fun.

My outfit (tho you can't see it all, the bottom was just flared jeans from Charlotte Russe and I wore my boots under them.)  Shirt is Forever 21, Belt is thrifted from Savers, and Necklace is something I WON from a giveaway by Camille's Closet. 

This was the best I could do inside my apartment and without moving any furniture.  Not too shabby, eh?  And wow, my hair needs help.

By the way, I'm linking up this post to Ashley's Self-Portrait Linky Party!

The Thrift Shop.

Striped shirt: Gap; Cardigan: Forever 21; Belt: Forever 21; Jeans: Downeast; Boots: Famous Footwear

It's really bugging me that the picture on the left is more yellow than the one on the right.  Hubcap got home pretty late and couldn't take good outdoor pictures today.  I was sad because I liked this outfit and wanted to show it, so here are my self-portraits taken with a timer and a tri-pod.  A tiny tri-pod.  So that's why it looks like my two-year-old took these.  

This was just for fun...playing with some Photoshop actions

 Today was my first clothes-thrifting experience.  I've been to thrift stores tons of times before, for Halloween costumes, old frames and furniture, refashioning, and clothes for my kids.  But I never really shopped for myself.  Aaaaand I didn't find much.  But I still think I got some good items.

Pink Corduroy Skirt: Gap; White snap-down: Gap; Brown dress: Some random brand called Courtany; and two braided belts

Here's something funny:  I've always wanted a pink corduroy skirt.  Two years ago when I got back into sewing, that was one of the first things I tried to make.  I still have the pieces to prove it.  See, the patterns kind of lie about sizing and make you think that since it's labeled size 4,6,8 you could probably fit in it (since your normal dress size varies somewhere in there.)  But no, patterns have their own sadistic sizing and I was about halfway through making it when I realized there was no way in HADES that skirt was gonna fit.  And I stopped working on it.  

But now I have that pink corduroy skirt.  Yay!   

Hooray for thrifting! 

Standing in a Pile of Cat Turds

Top:  Forever 21; Skinny Belt:  Forever 21; Skirt: Forever 21; Leggings: Charlotte Russe; Boots: Famous Footwear

 Yep.  I'm writing about poo today.  

I was ranting to my two-year-old today about apartments.  (He's sometimes a good listener.)  There are so many things I loathe about living in an apartment.  And while this isn't my #1 complaint, per se, it's certainly up there.  

Animal Feces EVERYWHERE.  Seriously.  EVERYWHERE.  

I live in a very large apartment complex and it is surrounded by lakes and and beautiful landscaping...from afar.  Up close you can see duck poo, dog poo, bird poo, and cat poo covering pretty much every square inch of grass and gravel. 

The grass is where the dogs poop, the sidewalk is where the birds and ducks poop, and the gravel (aka giant litterbox) is where the cats poop.  

Can you imagine this scenario?  

W (my kid):  I wanna go outside!

Me:  Okay let's go for a walk!

Me:  Don't walk in the rocks, there's poo!  Don't walk on the grass, there's poo!  Oh watch out right there and there for more poo!  

These aren't great pictures.  What do you expect...I was standing in a pile of poo.

Back on the Horse

I'm back, baby!  It was a rough week, filled with lots of ups and downs of nausea and not-so-much.  It was the flu that wouldn't die.  And when I'm feeling queasy, the last thing in the world I want to do is get dressed.  Even when I finally got my new clothes in the mail!

White shirt: Walmart; Pink Tank: Forever 21; Jeans: Gap; Boots: Famous Footwear; Necklace: Macys

Why has 2011 started off so badly?  Seems like everywhere I turn something is going wrong with someone.  So much sickness and misfortune.  It's discouraging.  But here's what I say:

It helps us be thankful for when things are normal.

And it shouldn't prevent us from accomplishing our New Year's Resolutions.  I've been doing about 50% so far, which is pretty good!  I have all year though right? 

In other news, my baby (nearly 9 months now) is waking up 4 times a night and rejecting his second nap.  I think I'm gonna try to move him to one nap a day.  And as funny as this sounds, I'm looking forward to it.  Because he's a happy baby and that way I can do stuff in the morning!