The truth about leggings

Exploring Portland's Japanese Garden :)

When I see styles I love, I react in a few ways. Screams of joy, a happy dance and the outfits, oh the outfits y'all. Mama see's all the many ways one can wear this peice and how I can bring a fresh take on rocking it. Leggings, I will admit, I wasn't a huge fan. However, never say never ;) Leggings can go bad real fast worn the wrong way. I won't harp on the unsavory details of what not to do whilst wearing leggings but Mama will certainly give you my tips to rocking them in oh so cute ways.  

When I wear leggings it's all about finding that balance between comfort and looking pulled together. With that said, my first go to tip is to elevate your look by wearing something a little dressier with your leggings. In this case I'm rocking my gold oxfords. I know I'll be buried in something gold, I just LOVEEE!! I mean, rocking it certainly ups my swagger ( which we all need, right :) Ok, I digressed from the legging situation. 

Proportion matters. Leggings for me is that style where the butt check happens on a regular when being worn. As in, can you see my butt? Is my shirt long enough to cover said butt :) The shirt should be long enough to cover your derriere but not so long that if you raised your hands in a "raise the roof" manner and we still don't see your booty, that means the top is too long. The top should cover the front assets completely. So if you want to wear a crop top layer it with a longer shirt, left open in a jacket like style. I mean this one ;)

If it's too thin, feed it! Your leggings that is. Fabrics that have a bit more substance make your leggings fit better ( no bagging out) and holds all the goodness in ( looks fabulous). We like that! This particular one is a moto style and has a great mix of mostly Rayon, some Nylon and a bit of Lycra. It's a few years old and still works great. I couldn't find this brand to feature but I've provided my other loves. I'm a fan of this one and these.  The price is great and you can wear the JCrew ones with boots come winter.  Yes please :)

I believe in a lot of things, a little magic never hurts" Maddie, 10 years old

I have a bonus post coming your way tomorrow. It's all about my Portland work and play adventure with my girl Karen of Karen E Photography. If you want to learn how to hug in Portland I suggest you visit me tomorrow :) Cool as hell places to stay, pretty pretty photos and oh yeah, the food!! Need I say more. The love is real!! MUAH!

Lessons learned from Mama #MamaKnowsBest

So let me explain my Mom to you just a bit. She is 5’4” maybe, on a good day, full of energy and doesn’t mind telling me what she thinks (with or without request). She’s my favorite person and she drives me crazy. It’s the most wonderful and maddening love ever :)

Growing up, my Mom was a bit of a hard ass ( yah I said it, sorry Mom but you were). Ugh, those days where I just wanted to scream at you and slam the door because I thought you were trying to make my life a living hell. I realized, eventually, how thankful I was for those moments. I’m so happy that you demanded more from me than I did myself. 

Mama lesson learned: TRY HARDER

When I did poorly on something my Mom would ask me in her very thick Jamaican accent “How hard did you try? Did you prepare yourself so that you could produce the best result? If you tell me yes, then I know you tried.”
Yep…I just wanted to yell at her because she was right (grrr)  and my poor performance was usually the result of being ill-prepared or really not being interested whatsoever. 
So now,  I work towards trying to be better on whatever job I take on. I learn something new after every project and I ask myself, what can I do better for my clients. I’ve noticed that there is always something to improve upon. Better isn’t about perfection, to me it's about allowing meaningful progress. Experience is a good teacher. 

Mama lesson learned: BE YOUR OWN CHEERLEADER

I actually learned this from a few of my "Mamas" - amazing women whom I love and admire a great deal. I'm grateful to have each of them in my world. They've provided amazing support,  love and pushed me to see my value in so many ways. 

You know that little voice that creeps up inside your head that says "babe, you've got this" or that moment ( visualize hands on your hips, legs apart, superwoman stance, cape blowing in the wind) YES THAT! Mama wants you to  hold on to that with all your might and believe in yourself like the champion you are. Yes, I have my moments when I'm dropping f-bombs (privately) because something is not vibing the way it should ( it's life). I take a breather and then work to see how I can kick the problems booty. Having my own back, keeps me accountable for my actions and inactions. It also let's me acknowledge that things will be okay because I've got my back.

Mama lesson learned: LOVE BIG OR GO HOME

When I visit my Mom, she has a menu laid out of all my favorite meals because as she puts it "baby, they don't feed you enough food in Idaho"...such a  Mom thing right!!! That's the best kind of loving, Mom's home cooking ( insert happy dance here and here). 

What does all this home cooking chatter mean?? If you're going to love, love fully. My Mom shows me her love in the biggest and best way she knows how by taking care of what fills me body and soul. I had to learn this love big thang the hard way a few times because loves great but sometimes it hurts bad, real bad.  So why love big Laura?? Well my awesome peeps, it made me appreciate how awesome it feels when this full love came my way. Not just from my hubby but from the people who care about me in the deepest way. It filters all the other mess out. It's amazing. Having that in my world allowed me to be grateful and appreciate what love means in the realest way. Loving big for me is a all-in commitment not naivety, understanding and being your loves sound board. It's hard, easy and everything in between but so worth it. 

I always thought I would get to this point where I would have this "stuff" figured out or least most of it. Nope, not the case for me. I'm learning all along the way with more clarity as I go. Mama does know best and she's trying to share it in her own way. Some of those lessons go over a bit smoother than others, some I learned in my own way. 

To quote my wonderful stepdaughter Maddie..."Moms are pretty awesome." I couldn't agree more :)