SHOPPING

Little Pink Blazer of Love

I have a few "issues" of late. 

Who am I kidding, I have many issues, but there are two I'm going to specifically talk about here. My addiction to H&M and little jackets. These two things go hand in hand. Without one, I may not have the other, but they definately work together to overcome me. 

I've been doing The Dailey Method workout now for a few months. I can't say enough wonderful things about the workout and the owners of the studio in the Carlsbad Forum shops. But its fabulous location does have its downfall - it's right upstairs from one of the most wonderful H&M's in the United States. 

Two stories of cheap Scandinavian clothes goodness. Womens! Mens! Kids! Even an escalator up to a second floor of shopping heaven. There is nothing more magical than wandering around an empty store right after they open because you managed to get your booty to the mall for an 8:45 workout. Knowing that after 60 minutes of squeezing my ass tighter than I thought possible and hoisting my leg up in ways that are really unnatural, but does amazing things for the side of your booty, that my perfect, clean and uncrowded H&M is waiting for me is inspiration enough. 

Now onto jackets. I love me some little blazers. And thanks to H&M I now have seemed to amass a bit of a collection of adorable little blazers. Black. Gray. Beige. And now? HOT PINK.

It called to me from across the store. One look and I had to have it. But could I pull it off? And HOW would I pull it off? If you abide to the Rachel Zoe style, you always style your outfit around one, fabulous jacket/vest/scarf. The first time I dared to don the pink was out to dinner on a GNO. For this adventure I paired it with a slouchy black T, black skinny jeans and black wedges.

For the Bel Bambini We Heart Mom Bloggers event a few days later, I recycled the outfit but since I was with Zoe, opted for easy to walk in boots. While I had recieved positive feedback on the jacket, I was still a little unsure... that's why I was actually pretty pleased with how well the color photographed in this picture. 

It also pairs well with the Zebra stripes of the Baby Mat we won, huh? 

The next hurdle was work. Could I wear it in a professional casual environment? And how? For this, I one to my beloved Pinterest. 

Apparently I needed a new stripped t-shirt. And for summer a white dress (like this one from Nordstrom?). While I wore black under before, white is obviously the color of choice under the hot pink. But since we had a week of 70-80 degree temps last week, I opted to pair the striped shirt look with white pants and brown wedges. 

I must say that I'm loving the pink blazer. While you can't really tell in this photo, I also (inadvertantly) painted my toes the same color as the jacket. I have such a sweet spot for pink. 

The moral of this story is really simple. Take a fashion risk this spring. Get something that calls to you even if you think it *may* be ridiculous. And WORK IT, Mama. 

 

Team Cyber Monday!

I have to say that I was astonished by the amount of people I knew that got themselves out of the house and to the stores by 4 AM the day after Thanksgiving. I'm a shopper, I'm a deal hunter, but SLEEP takes precedent over it all. Also, I'm not so much interested in risking my life to save $5 on a Barbie doll. 

I take gift giving very seriously. While the old adage states that it's the "thought that counts," that is only true IF there really is thought put into the gift. We are in a recession, everyone has pulled back and budgeted and is thinking about how much they are spending - but are they actually thinking of WHAT they are spending money on? To me, a good present is one that matches a person perfectly - from personality to color to likes. When you see it, you know that present was meant for that person. Can that really be accomplished at 3 AM when you are bum-rushing a Wal-Mart and trying not to get trampled in the process?

To me shopping is an art. It takes time, patience and you need to know where to go and what to look for. But I guess that doesn't matter when you have kids and all they care about is the Fashion Fairy Tale Barbie and a Fushigi ball.  But I too love a good deal, and that's why I'm planning on hitting up the Internets tomorrow in search of some deals.  

That is, after my TV appearance...

Theresa from RockOnMommies and I are going to be on San Diego Fox 5 sometime between 8:30-9:00 AM talking about where we'll be shopping online tomorrow. Lauren from Buy With Me set it up, and just a hint, if you are looking for the PERFECT gift for me anyone who loves pampering, check out BWM tomorrow for their steal of the day. 

Now, I need to figure out what I'm going to wear. 

Shut up and put your money where your mouth is...

T minus 2 days until Jason and I hit Vegas for Blog World Expo 2010. To say we are excited would be putting it lightly - we are elated. In desperate need of a kid-free weekend, we are looking forward to networking, meeting our online friends face-to-face and some good old-fashioned VEGAS time. 

Of course, when packing for any trip, I'm going through the WHAT THE HELL AM I GOING TO WEAR issue. Here is the challenge: It's Vegas, it's a professional trip (casual and fun, but these are people I want to impress) and I kinda have to live up to my pseudonym...

Let's backtrack a bit...to a sunny San Diego day about 5 years ago. There was this under 30 newish mom putting together her first online journal on Blogspot. I needed a name and somehow HipMamaB was born. It's pretty tongue-in-cheek - as you know the "Hip" part is more of a desperate attempt than an actual true statement. But it's me, it's my brand, and I own it. But meeting people in real life, I often feel I should really try and live up to it and be, well, hip. 

So there is the criteria for my Vegas wardrobe: Hip, Professional and Vegas appropriate.

Do you see my conundrum?

After a few weeks of deliberation, I've come up with these 5 categories of things to bring:

1. The Skinnies

Currently waiting to be packed are 3 pairs of skinny pants - jeans, black pants and my new edition of skinny cargos. Between these three options, I think I'm pretty well covered for day and night. 

The thing I love about skinny pants is that it doesn't matter what height shoe you wear with them. They look good with flats, flip flops, heels or platforms. Unlike a boot cut jean, where the are tailored to a specific length, limiting the height of your shoe choice, skinnies are more flexible. Great for when you need to do a mid-Las Vegas Blvd shoe swap out of those painful 6 inch wedges to the mushy pair of Haviannas hiding in your bag. 

2. Speaking of shoes...

 Yes, I will pack too many shoes. It's a given. I don't even fight it even more.

All I can say is that I'm really happy we are driving so that I don't need to squeeze my shoes into every pocket of my suitcase. I can even pack them all in their OWN bag!

So multiple ballet flats, black and gold wedges, black pumps, gladiators and Haviannas. I think I'm pretty covered.

Oh wait, I forgot my boots... shoot... hmmm..

 3 & 4 To Top it off

 

The shrunken blazer with a tank under can go day or night... sparkly and black at night, white and navy for the day. A variety of shirts from t's to tanks. I'm also currently in love the with a Tunic shirt. I have a few at the moment in purple and blue. I love the look with the skinny pants and the blazer.

And last but not least, 

5. LBDs

It is Vegas after all.. you never know where you will end up or what you will end up doing. A Little Black Dress, or, 3, is the perfect option for dinner and drinks or a show or a club. Gold hoops and a bracelet and you can be sophisticated and still Vegas fun. Hopefully. 

 

 

There is my list and my game plan. So tell me - what am I forgetting?!