Mom Hacks 101; the Art of the Fashion Repeat.

As a busy mom, time is at a premium for me. While I don't consider myself a mommy blogger, I am a mommy and a blogger. I've been lucky enough to be a stay at home mom for my kids and fortunate that I've been able to find blogging as an outlet to maintain my sanity, thou some might argue that calling myself sane or any mom for that matter is debatable. There's this concept that women can have it all but I'm here to tell you that you can't. There is no such thing as having it all. Everything comes at a cost. If you have an amazing career, chances are you have a nanny raising your children. If you stay at home with your kids, you probably won't have money to afford that Chanel or even cleaning help. I've long given up on having a tidy house. And that's OK. The first lesson as a mom is to learn is that it's okay to be perfectly imperfect and you just gotta do whatever it takes to make it through the day.

I recently wore this look to New York Fashion Week. I never plan out my outfits in advance (it stresses me out - plus I'm local so it's not like I have to pack) so when I woke up in the morning I decided to repeat. And not just repeat and re-accessorize, a full head to toe repeat. I've spoken to other moms who have confessed to me that they too wear outfits for several days in a row. Like I said, you do what you gotta do. I did visit the Bauble Bar showroom earlier that day thanks to @sequinloveaffair who took me as her plus one. They gifted me these adorable furry earrings - so at least there was one new element to this look from the last time I wore it when I went to meet Sophia Webster.

From head to toe:

• Sunglasses: Moschino, Century 21, free after rewards (they were selling them for $59.99), RV $295
• Earrings, Bauble Bar c/o
• Jacket: Marshalls, $24.99
• Dress: Shop Tobi c/o (also seen here)
• Bag: Jimmy Choo Lockett, sample sale, $350 (RV $2,895)
• Fringed belt: Zadig & Voltaire, sample sale, $40
• Shoes: Sophia Webster Keira Doiley sandals, sample sale, $95 (RV $750)

I was wearing my favorite MAC Miley Cyrus Viva Glam lipstick and it drove me nuts that I didn't have my Urban Decay Menace with me, which is the perfect pink for these earrings. Another note, these earrings come in blush pink too! This little furry touch is such a great way to add some color to your look - and they are super light and comfortable. So good!

Shop my style here:

To create some balance in my life, several days a week I'll go out sans makeup and in mommy-mode so chances are even if you bumped into me, you may not recognize me. I'll confess that some days I run out without even washing my face. I think women in general put waaaaay to much pressure on themselves to look perfect. You don't need to put on a full face of makeup and have your hair done to hit the supermarket. If I'm lucky enough to have 5 minutes to get ready, I'll grab a lipstick, some tinted moisturizer or BB cream, sunglasses and head out the door.

I take pride in knowing I'm physically and emotionally available to my children. My cost is that I've long given up any hopes of having a power career as a lawyer or fashion editor. And my dream Birkin is still out there waiting for me. Luckily I can sate my fashion itch with sample sale scores, thrift stores and the occasional Nordstrom Rack or TJ Maxx find. Speaking of thrifting, I recently put together a few tips on thrifting for thredUP - check them out here.

If you're a mom, what are some of your hacks to make your life easier? How do you deal with the mom guilt of trying to have it all?

Photos were taken by the amazing @littlefashionstylist. Thank you Belle for your endless patience :)

As for sample sales, I just got notification that Rebecca Minkoff is back! While it hasn't been as epic as the good old days (see past sale reports and hauls here, here and here), you can still find some good deals throughout the sale. I always go for the first day, at least one day in the middle and last day for markdowns. Also, there is an amazing fur sale by my adorable friend Shirelle, for those of you willing to travel to Brooklyn. And last but not least, Oscar de la Renta will be back - hopefully with amazing shoes for less than $100 again!

Fur Event
October 21-22
Sat 8pm-11pm, Sun 11-6
1393 Carroll Street, Brooklyn

Rebecca Minkoff
October 23-29
M 11-8, T-F 10-8, Sat 10-7, Sun 10-4
260 Fifth Avenue

Oscar de la Renta
October 24-29
T 10-8, W-Sat 11-7, Sun 11-4
151 Wooster Street

Happy shopping!

XO
Michelle

Wynwood Walls

Despite running camp mom for my three kids this summer, I've been sneaking in some me-time (work and shopping!) where I can. I FINALLY got around to editing more of my pictures from my Miami trip. One of my biggest blogger problems is that I always overshoot so I end up with thousands of pictures - and it takes me hours (sometimes days) to edit through them. My photos from my trip to Wynwood Walls was particularly difficult because there were so many beautiful, colorful walls. It's literally an Instagramer's dream. I also made a rookie mistake and only had the one bargainista look I was wearing. Ella on the other hand had just picked up a few pieces at Goodwill for $.99 so she put together a second look in the car. The apprentice surpasses the master LOL.

We got there in the afternoon so I had to choose my walls based on the lighting. If you plan a trip there be sure to go for several hours so you can get all the walls! You can see a mini-tour on Ella's Insta here.

Everything in this look is head to toe favorites, all on repeat:

• Sunglasses: Moschino, Century 21, free after rewards (they were selling them for $59.99), RV $295
• Dress: Shein (sold out), RV $22, gifted
• Bag Strap: Rebecca Minkoff, sample sale, $10 - see other scores here!
• Bag: Chanel, Neiman Marcus, 75% off - read about it here.
• Bracelet: Eddie Borgo, sample sale, $10 (closure was damaged so they discounted it)
• Shoes: Sophia Webster Lacey heels, sample sale, $95 - read about that epic sale here.

You can shop my style here:

We had done some thrift shopping in Florida and Ava was particularly excited about her two new Baby Alive dolls. She's a little obsessed and has a collection of about 15 right now. She can watch those YouTube videos of grown women pretending to be kids playing with dolls all day. I told her to just make her own videos already. She's wearing a thrifted Lilly Pulitzer dress that's a hand me down from Ella. I thrift Lilly left and right for the girls - even used, their colors hold up beautifully.

Ella is the queen of handstands and cartwheels so you know this shot was coming. There's a reason she always has a pair of biker shorts under her dresses.

And now a quick shout out to my super talented 12 year old son, Akiva, my photographer. He found these walls in the streets and insisted on a picture. When he was little I used to dress him to the nines. These days he has a basic formula of tee + shorts = outfit.

As a Justice, Girls With Heart brand ambassador, Ella was toting around Charlie the Dog for most of that trip LOL. Truthfully she didn't wear a lot of Justice until she signed on because so much of her wardrobe is thrifted and penny finds, but lately we've been hitting the Justice sale rack and doing pretty well. Her fringed bag here is Justice and was around $4. Her striped dress was a TJ Maxx $3 yellow sticker find. Anyone else looking forward to the next yellow sticker sale?

It seems in Florida, Goodwill only charges $1.99 for kids items so Ella loaded up her cart. In the NY/NJ area kids stuff starts at $4.99 which is insane for used kids stuff so I don't even bother stepping in to local Goodwills anymore. She snapped up this cute Lilly for Target top and paired it with this colorful pleated skirt. Her sunglasses were $1 Dollar Tree finds - she picked them up on the trip because the ones she brought with her broke. When we got to Wynwood she rifled through her bag which was in the car and put this look together. She did swipe my Jimmy Choo clutch (scored for just $25 at the sample sale a while back!!) which I had in the car as a backup for my Chanel.

As they say in Yiddish, I was totally shepping nachas (loosely translated as taking pleasure) when I was looking these over. I know I'm biased but my kids are pretty awesome.

It's been a while since I shared sample sale picks but the summer tends to be pretty quiet. This week is Altuzarra and I confess I splurged and got myself a birthday bag. Stay tuned for my new pretty. My only other pick is Adam Lippes next week just because I like his stuff but I'm not sure about pricing. I also popped in to Century yesterday to check out the status of the sale and it's terrible. I checked out the sale bags and even with a second cut, most bags were over $1,000 and overpriced. I'm currently waiting for Zara to have another cut before I hit that sale hard. So for now I'm in holding, waiting for the good stuff to start already!

Altuzarra*
July 19-21, 8:30-7
233 Broadway, 14th Fl

* I shared pics in my Insta stories that may still be up. Bags were $300-750, runway shoes (Sz 39,40) were $100, most clothing was under $200. No samples this round.

Adam Lippes
July 25-27, 8:30-7
1133 Broadway, Suite 426

Happy shopping!

XO
Michelle

Bargainista City Style; New Years American Girl Adventure :)

Happy New Years Everyone! 

My husband dropped me and the kids off at American Girl Doll in NYC for their annual celebration to welcome the newest doll of the year. As a doll lover myself, I happily took them while my husband disappeared to brunch with his City friends uptown.

My look from head to toe:

• Hat: Carolina Amato, sample sale, $19
• Coat: H&M, $24
• Bag: Chloe Drew, Nordstrom Rack, $509.98 (retail $2,050!)
• Bracelet: Rebecca Minkoff, sample sale, $10
• Gloves: Carolina Amato, sample sale, $15
• Top: Forever 21, $5.50
• Dress: American Apparel, $7.50 (Yes, I wore this the day before LOL.)
• Jeans: Chip Forster, Nordstrom Rack, $19.98 (retail $220)
• Shoes: Rebecca Minkoff metallic rosegold Carla oxford flats, sample sale, $25 (retail $275)

I forgot to take off my jacket so you could see the rest of the outfit but I have a feeling this top will make another appearance at Fashion Week.

Ella thought it would be funny to shoot me while I was on the phone with my husband.

In what may be my 8 year old's best picture of the year, my Chloe Drew looks pretty darn cute.

I'm linking some of these pieces (and similar) for you to shop my look :)

She was too cool for school to bring her own hat and gloves ("but mom, I don't need them today") so I have her mine after she froze shooting me in the cold. She already told me I'm not getting them back LOL.

We forgot to shoot my shoes so my awesome 10 year old son lay down on the subway platform to get this shot. I really have the best kids ever. But I totally take credit for training them. Who needs an Instagram husband when you have Instagram kids :)

Ella insisted I shoot her footwear too. I thrifted those Sketchers for $3 a while back and she's been waiting for them to finally fit. Always buy ahead! If you're an American Girl fan you'll recognize her Pretty In Plaid dress (also thrifted) that she had to wear to coordinate with her doll and little sister. She matched up the floral tights herself (a 90% off Century find). Both girls have on $1 H&M tops, and Ava has $5 Joe's jeans from the Rack with thrifted Lelli Kellys.

Instead of perfectly accessorizing my kids from head to toe (like I did for the first few years of their lives), I try to encourage them to live colorfully and develop their own sense on style. However, Ella is the mastermind behind most of my girls' looks these days.

This year the AG celebration was far less exciting than previous years. I've been taking them yearly since 2010. They introduced the latest doll of the year, Lea Clark. She reminds me a lot of their popular Kanani doll from 2011 - both gorgeous dolls. Lea has long brown hair with green eyes and it was hard to walk away but only once did I pay retail and I'll never do that again. We have well over 50 American girl dolls but 95% were thrifted. They only had one craft (the turtle) and gave out a coloring poster and doll-sized sarong - that's it. They usually have a performance and multiple crafts, and they used to raffle away free dolls.

My SIL sprung for her girls' dolls to get their hair styled at the doll salon and spent more than I do on my hair LOL.

Figured out how to do the best nine on Instagram. Very pleased with my 39,851 likes this year. Hoping to double that number next year. I think it's funny that my EOS lipgloss picture had the most likes.

And that's all folks! I still owe you a 2015 round up of my favorite finds. Last year was a pretty good year for me - excited to see what comes with 2016!

XOXO
Shoppinggal