I haven't posted about clothes in a while!  I guess I'm getting old.  Or mommy-ish.  Or both.  I am sooo beyond the stage in life where it's ok for my thong to show.  (And really, who can get away with that?). Besides getting older, I also keep having babies.  Well twice anyway.  Those of you with kiddos know, it's hard to wear low rise jeans and not have everything hang out.  Heck, it's hard to wear strapless, spaghetti straps, sweetheart necklines, wedges, three inch heels...Ok, I'll stop, lest I convince the childless fashionista to remain so forever!  Well anyway, this awesome pair of jeans brought me closer to my goal of...no panty peek.  Or Just say no to crack.  Or whatever you want to call it.  I am so psyched that the rise  is, well... rising.  And I love that I can be practical and stylish.  In fact I was so proud of myself for wearing high rise super skinnies with a cropped oversized tee the other day that I texted my 21 year old, edgy, cool sister to tell her.  Yes, I'm a nerd.  And even when I was 21 (you know- 8 years ago ;), I was not edgy nor was I cool.  Shocking right?  


Well if you're in the market for a pair of high rises, but don't have the dough for a pair like this:






I'd urge you to consider these!

Hi Rise Super Skinny Jean

 
They are cheap, comfy, and cute.  The three most important Cs at this stage of my life (8 years ago, it was the 4 Cs.  Thank you Joe DeLangie for getting them right).  Right now, American Eagle is having  a sale on all jeans, including free shipping.  Don't miss out!

Ok, so for an amateur photographer, I'm pretty good.  But I don't know how she does it.  How does she take a ready-for-my-nap 11 month old and a I-know-I-cuddle-kiss-and-smile-all-the-time-at-home-but-I'm-gonna-show-you-who's-boss 2 year old and turn it into wonderful family photos?!  I don't know!  Who is "she?"  Melanie of Simply Mella.  If you remember our family photos from last year, you remember that I felt like there was no way she could have gotten so many great images.  I walked away feeling the same this year but reminding myself that Simply Mella is simply amazing!  Not only is she a wonderful photographer but she's passionate about what she does.  And it shows.  She's also super mellow.  It helped while Joe and I were corralling and cajoling the kids and trying our hardest to look like a happy family (I promise you, we really are happy!) instead of a bunch of stress balls which is how we felt at that particular moment.  If you haven't had family photos in a while, I encourage you to check out her site and her facebook page.  If you can find a free date book her (I told you last year to do it and you're kicking yourself for waiting aren't you?!)

Here are a few of my favorites:

Photography courtesy of Simply Mella. Thank you Melanie! You're the best!

Wardrobe:

• Joe- Gap Polo and Gap cargos.
• Tiff- Crochet Lace Trim Top, Coral Shirt from Forever 21 (not sold online but this one is very similar and so cute!), Belt from Target forever ago, and these amazing jeans (I feel young and skinny in them.  Enough said).
• Genevieve- Old Navy T, petti romper shorts from here.  
• Nadia- Lace Petti Romper from here.  <-- check them out; there is currently a deal on lace petti rompers! Tights from here.
• Our hair flowers were from The Icing (in the mall).  I spent way more on hair jewelry than I'd care to admit! ;) The girls' pearls were from here. I paid $2 each for them years ago and have worn them so often (I also love to layer them with other necklaces).  Such a great deal! 

This is a random post...I just wanted to talk a tiny bit about being a bargainista.  I love getting a good deal and since I'm a reformed shopaholic, it's actually essential for me.  But I swear even if I won the lottery tomorrow I'd still hunt for a bargain.  And shop at thrift stores.  It's in my blood.  Now that I'm a stay at home mama, It's even more crucial that I stick to a budget.  Sometimes in blog land, it seems like everyone has a ton of money.  I don't.  And I'm not ashamed of it!  I'm actually really proud of the fact that I find 95% of what I buy on sale or clearance or a discount store.  I think I'm the only one who loves Wal-Mart.  No it's not glossy and pretty and fashionable like Target.  But it's cheap.  And I dig cheap.  But, I also like to look good (although unfortunately that's less of a priority lately) and for my kids to look good and for my home to look good.  It doesn't.  But I want it to.  [Man, this is totally a stream of consciousness. I hope you're still reading!].  So in order to accomplish that I hunt for a bargain.  I bring up Marshalls (and TJ Maxx) because I've often been asked where I got something and when I name one of those places, I always hear "Oh, I forget to go there."  So this is just a tiny bit of encouragement not to forget.  Our latest obsession is buying gifts from there.  I'll be honest- we don't typically end up spending less but we do end up buying a couple of items for what we would have spent on just one...so the giftee gets more and that's so fun!  In fact at Christmas I bought my niece a my little pony play set from there.  It was only $9.99 and I felt like that was cheap so I picked up another gift for her.  Later I looked on Amazon and Walmart.com and the exact same gift set was $24.99.  Score!  Ok, this obviously isn't a tutorial or lesson in getting a good deal.  It's just an encouragement to hunt for a bargain and not to forget Marshalls and TJ Maxx.  It's also an excuse to brag about these adorable items I scored the last time I was there: