Playing Dress-up

Being a mom of three boys means my days  mostly consist of bike riding, baseball, soccer, basketball,  super heroes, dirt...I think you get the picture here. 

I feel like I’m a very hands-on mom so I’m right in there with my kids running around, hiding from the bad guys, and getting dirty.
Deep down I’m girly though I love an excuse to dress up!
That’s why I was so excited when I found Castletown Lane.
Two sisters have come together to create this little boutique and share their love of fashion and class.

Everything they sell is feminine, modest, and vintage-y while still being current and on-trend, like this stunning little number.
This is the ‘Pride and Prejudice dress’

How perfect is that?!
Not only is that one of my favorite movies of all time, but that baby blue color is everything!

Cozying Up

As a busy mom there's nothing better than finding clothes that are comfortable and stylish.

It's seriously the greatest feeling!

Cute and comfy is probably my life motto at the moment...

It's practical but also helps me feel like I'm somewhat put-together.

This whole outfit is the perfect example of that!

The moment I put on this Pin Stripe Double Hooded Sweatshirt and these Black Solid Leggings  from Simple Addiction I was in heaven and wanted to just curl up on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate.

I mean come on!

 A super cute, lightweight top and the softest, most comfortable solid black leggings I've ever seen?!

It's mom heaven. 

 You know my relaxation wasn't going to last long until I needed to jump up and chase after little ones though!

My boys had some energy they needed to burn, so off to the park we went. 

All I had to do was throw on a pair of boots and I was good to go!

Let's take a closer look at some of the details on these pieces.

When I first saw this sweatshirt online I thought it was going to be thicker, which would have been totally fine, but I was pleasantly surprised that it's more lightweight. That makes it so much more versatile for me! 

Pieces that can be worn throughout the year get all the rave reviews in my book.

 If you know me, you know I'm a huge fan of a long sleeve shirt with a thumb hole!

And that pin stripe detailing is absolutely perfect.

This is not a working zipper, just an added detail, but I love the look of it.

 I love the double hood style too!

 And these incredibly soft, black solid leggings are the icing on the cake.

I got the S/M size, I'm only 5' 2" and they go just above my belly button.

You can head over to Simple Addiction and use code "michelle10" to get 10% off any order!

Hurry over there to grab some cute stuff for yourself, and so you can be as comfy as me! 

Thanks for stopping by!

LURAP Custom Clothing Review

*I received the following product for free in exchange for an honest review here on my blog.

I DO NOT receive any financial compensation if you click on the links provided or make a purchase from the company.

A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by a representative from a company called LURAP (L-ove UR  Ap-perance). They asked if I would be interested in reviewing a garment from their website,

I was thrilled with the opportunity and hopped over to their site right away to see what they were all about.
The company boasts that they have sizes 0-36w and you can customize any piece for a minimal fee so it fits you.
If you've been around the blog here for a while, you might remember last year I was contacted by a different custom clothing company and offered a garment custom made for me.
You can find that full review on my blog, but let's just say I wasn't impressed (after receiving two dresses that were too big...)
Maybe that's why I was so thrilled with another opportunity here to have something made to fit ME.
That's the problem a lot of us have is finding something that actually FITS.
Something we don't have to alter.
After searching the website for a bit I made a choice.
The dress I choose is called Draped Midi Dress (pictured below on the left, that is the stock image from their website to show you what kind of fit I was EXPECTING to receive, and on the right we have the dress I ACTUALLY received).
Disappointing.
I will get into the details on that in a second.

I had picked this dress for a couple of reasons; I know the holidays are coming up in a few short months and I will be further along in my pregnancy. I know we've got a few events to attend, and I wanted to have something pretty, comfortable, flattering, and that I can dress up.

From the waist down the dress is wrapped, and the fabric is a cotton jersey. This would give the dress a chance to stretch a little over my expanding belly.

It's also machine washable, so, you know...super plus there.

The company was easy to work with and responded to emails pretty quickly.

I also sent my EXACT measurements and I asked to make the sleeves a 3/4 length instead of full length, and I excitedly waited.

A few days later I received the following email from the compay:

"Hi Michelle

We received an update from our design and manufacturing team that the hip size given by you was 32". Is it correct? According to them it should be around 36". Please confirm asap."

I was surprised they would say my measurements 'should' be larger, but I responded to the email saying the measurements I had sent were correct. I also asked if there was a reason for that, but I never received a response.

To be honest I was a little worried, and I was right...

eShakti Clothing Company: An honest review

A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by a company called eShakti to see if I was interested in receiving an article of clothing in exchange for an honest review here on my blog.

If you have never heard of them before (don't worry, I hadn't either), it is an online clothing company for women.

They sell shirts, skirts, pants, dresses, etc. 

In my opinion they are kind of pricey, but the thing that makes them different is they will do custom sizing for an additional fee.

The word custom had me sold.

I, like pretty much everyone else on the planet, sometimes have a hard time finding clothes that fit.

It will be too loose here, too tight there, short, long, etc.

I'm sure we all know how this feels.

Here I was being offered an article of clothing that would be made to fit ME.

I was ecstatic.

Giddy.

Thrilled.

You get the point.

There were only certain articles of clothing available for review, so I scoured the list.

I wanted something to speak to me.

I saw a lot of dresses that would make my 'Fashion I love board' on Pinterest very happy.

But, due to the fact that they didn't want too many bloggers reviewing the same dress, there was a limited availability, and I quickly found out that when I would click on one it wasn't available.

Understandable though.

There are apparently a lot of us with good taste :).