Best of the month - April

 Best of the month for April - the colder weather has set in so the pants and jeans are out in force!

Black pants teamed up with the great dress up / dress down white jumper. Also loving the pop of blue the shoes add to it!

Casual look of jeans and white T-shirt with this great nit vest over the top and my new brown boots (sooo comfy!). Think this is April's favourite for me as I like the way it gives me shape with the layering.

Another casual look with my jeans and a simple vest top and cardie. Teamed with super comfy sneakers.

Let me know what you think.

Colour - it's a beautiful thing (part 2)

As I've told you before - I love adding colour to my outfits. For those of you not so brave but willing to try a little blast of colour, another way of doing it is with SHOES!

I'm a bit of a shoe lover myself and love to add colour to outfits by sticking on a pair of funky flats or some fabulous heels. Take a look at some of my collection below:

I'm always on the look out for bright and cheerful shoes, that way - even if I'm wearing just a basic black dress, there's still something that makes me stand out a little from the crowd.

Give it a try - wearing just a little bit of colour is guaranteed to add a smile to your day, and don't forget to let me know how you get on! I love hearing your stories and how you're being inspired by my posts to embrace a little colour!

ENJOY!

Best of the month - March

Here's the best of the month for March - let me know what you think!

I live in my jeans in the winter - going to have to buy a few new pairs for different looks I think. I love this cardi / cape that I picked up from Kmart, light weight but keeps the chill off and goes with almost anything. Dress up or dress down it's perfect.

Back in those black pants from the op shop again. Tucked in my black and white top for a corporate look (big stripes so not as unflattering as small sideways stripes) - don't think I'm going to get away with wearing no sleeves for much longer though. I also adore these heels - fake snake skin in a beautiful cream - perfect!

Where it all started (part 2)

When I was a teenager I used to love going shopping for clothes with my friends but as the years went by and I became less and less secure with my body image I found it much harder to find clothes that I liked so I stuck to shoes and accessories most of the time (can't go wrong with shoes!).

I remember back to a time when I was in my early 20's and I was in the process of dragging my boyfriend Ben, now my hubbie, around Cambridge in the uk, looking for some new clothes. I went in to all of my normal shops but couldn't find anything that I liked the look of. It was then that Ben pointed out to me all of the shops that I had walked past.

Something he said to me that day has stuck with me ever since. Ben pointed out that I had walked past all of the shops who's target audience was late teens to early 20's and I was in fact shopping at those that catered for a much broader age group (about 30-60) - I hadn't even glanced in to the shops that were directly catering for my age range specifically.

Ben convinced me that I should take a look in some of the 'younger' shops just to see. By the end of the trip I came away with bags full of clothes and a massive smile on my face as I'd found so many new outfits that I loved and that I thought looked great on me (no mean feat for someone with low body image).

I realised that I thought that I couldn't shop in the 'younger' shops because I wasn't 'fashionable' enough and wasn't a size 8-10. When in fact it was the opposite - because I didn't shop in those shops, I was actually dressing older than my age, and you know what - all the 'younger' shops did larger clothing too - and it tended to sell out the quickest so I must be 'normal' after all!

Ever since that day, I have never walked past a 'younger' shop again and will always take a look in them (even now I'm in my 30's). I regularly find the 'perfect' outfit in those shops and I'm very grateful to my hubbie for pushing me out of my comfort zone that day.

Try it - push yourself out of your comfort zone and take a look - it can't hurt you and you never know what you'll find!

Chop it all off

How good does a new haircut make you feel!?

Often as a mum to a little one it's hard to fit in things we took for granted previously - like going to the hairdresser and getting your hair cut! My daughter has a melt down every time I take her to get her haircut and I never seem to find the time at the weekends to go on my own.

Well - we had a break through last weekend when my little one asked if mummy and her could go to get their haircut together. Jumping on the opportunity we went the very next day and here's the result...

So happy that I finally had time to chop it and the additional win was that my daughter actually let the hairdresser cut her hair without screaming once - RESULT!!!!

As always - let me know what you think of my new 'funki' hairdo.

Best of the month - February

Yes - I know, I'm changing the title but seriously - did you ever think I would have enough clothes to do Best of the Week forever? This blog is about going from frumpy to funky in a practical (e.g. child resilient!) way ON A BUDGET! So you'll have to put up with monthly best of's from now on.

So here's February's Best Of's - let me know what you think!

P.s sorry for the delay and the photo quality - technical issues (in other words - I've lost my memory card somewhere so I'm using my point and shoot instead!)

Black pants are always a winner. Matched with this great top for a smart / casual look. Top's from the UK and pants were $10 from an Op Shop (I love a bargain!). I love these shoes too - will give you a closer look soon!

Black pants again with a spotty top (again from the UK thanks to my mother in law!)

And for my casual look - a grey cotton V-neck dress which shows off my tan (and my boobs!) but which i've had for years! Put together with these cream T-bars from Ruby Shoes - and check out my funky nails - love the matt look.

So there you have it - feb's best of. Let me know what you think of the outfits and any suggestions for improvements by commenting below!

layers, layers, layers

I'm starting to come to terms with the fact that layers are my best friend! And here's why:

1. They add depth to every outfit - even some simple jeans can be jazzed up by layering two vest tops

2. They hide a multitude of sins - Layer a couple of tops and lumps and bumps seem to magically disappear

3. They're perfect for containing big boobs - many tops and dresses are just not made for big boobs but layering a vest top underneath them means everything (well - nearly everything) is accessible.

4. They are mum friendly! Spills and snot seem to be a permenant feature on most of my outfits but with layers I can strip off the top one and look sparkly and clean once again (for all of 30 seconds anyway!)

So embrace the layers - layers are a girls (or certainly this girls) best friend!