Holiday Gifting: Accessories For Every Woman

Can you believe that they are already playing Christmas movies on TV? Like, really? Many of the stores have started displaying trees, decorations and everything else you would need to make your holiday season merry and bright.

Since many of you are probably already putting together your gift list for friends and family I thought it would be fun to share some easy gift ideas for the women in your life.

Accessories are absolutely necessary to complete any look. Today I am going to share my faves with you.



Watch

Every woman needs a nice watch that can be worn everyday. Something that goes easily from day to night. The Jord Wood Watch that I have been crushing on lately goes perfectly with my wardrobe. Visit their site to check out their other styles for men and women. Jord is currently giving away a $20 e-gift code to all my readers when you enter to win a $75 voucher to buy a timepiece of your choice. Everyone wins!

Statement Necklace

Statement necklaces will never go out of style. They can be worn day or night with just about anything. I love the berry color necklace featured in the pic above. It's perfect for this time of year.

Ear Rings

Leaving the house without ear rings is an instant buzz kill. Ear rings take ANY look to the next level. Even if you're having a tee and jeans sort of day you can still rock some hoop ear rings or some beautiful statement ear rings. Love. Love. Love ear rings.

Sunglasses

My black aviator sunglasses are quite possibly one of the best purchases I made this year. They're prescription (cause I'm blind as a bat), affordable and super cute. I always feel so chic in them. These sunglasses also keep me looking stylish on the days when applying eye makeup seems like a ridiculous idea.

Favorite Lippie

So, this isn't exactly an accessory but it's still a very important part of any look. Every woman needs a go-to lip color. There are so many shades out there to choose from. Find one that looks good on you. Consider gifting a friend or sister a gift card to their favorite makeup counter. 

These are my everyday must-wear accessories. What's on your list? Don't forget to enter for your chance to win a $75 voucher from Jord Wood Watches. All of my readers will receive a $20 e-gift code for entering! Happy Shopping!

This post was sponsored by Jord Wood Watches.

Cool Watches

Fall Style: Cargo Vest & Rain Boots

You guys. Fall is here. I have been doing my happy Fall dance for a few weeks. All of the Fall fashion pieces I purchased recently have been slowly making their debuts and I am going to share them with you today and tomorrow.

It's not a huge fashion haul but they are my fave Fall staples that can be mixed and matched over and over. As a busy Mom it's super important to me that I'm able to quickly put outfits together on a budget.

Savannah and I at The Washington State Fair on Labor Day...

Like many of you, I get outfit inspiration from Pinterest, Instagram and magazines. I saw a cargo vest in the Costco (you read that right) magazine and instantly wanted one. I found the one I'm wearing on Amazon.

I like that it has a zipper, buttons, drawstring waist and a hood. Hoods are important. Hoods are bae.

Have you ever tried to hold a baby, wrangle a three year old and hold an umbrella?

It's not happening.



My splurge for this outfit are my rain boots. Yes, you could find an inexpensive option that does the job but I'd been eyeing Hunter rain boots for years and decided to finally treat myself.

Honestly, we've never lived anywhere that truly justified the purchase but we do now so I got m'boots!



What makes this outfit special to me are the earrings. They are so unexpected with this look. I got to pair a lot of things I really like here - all black, a functioning layering piece (because the pockets on this vest are also bae) and something sparkly.

Like my earrings? I figured you would so I'm giving away a gift card to Versona to a lucky reader to buy a pair (or something else)! Versona has tons of cute stuff for Fall, check them out.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

What have you been wearing now that the weather is cooler? What are your favorite Fall staples?

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Carter's Back-to-School

“I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Carter’s. I received a complimentary gift card to facilitate my review and thank me for my participation.”

Today is the big day for our family! It's the official start of the school year! The Summer has come and gone and we are gearing up for all things Fall. Over the Summer Savannah and I had so much fun shopping for her back-to-school wardrobe. Her size hasn't changed much since last year but her legs are getting longer by the minute.

One of my favorite places to shop for the kids (all of them) is Carter's. We headed there to get started on our wardrobe update. Carter's now offers sizes up to a size 8 so I knew we would have no problem finding pants that fit her long legs. Adjustable waist bands help keep her pants up and that's another reason I love Carter's.

Carter's has a cute and colorful variety of easy outfit sets. The Fall collection was full of well coordinated outfits that I know my PreK kid will have no problem putting together on her own. She loves picking out her clothes in the morning before school. That's one of the fun things about going back-to-school. I remember being so hype about my back-to-school clothes as a kid and teen!

As a Mom, these days I'm more excited about the value I'm getting for my money. Quality is important to me and it feels good knowing that the items we get from Carter's will wash and wear over and over again with no problem. Savannah plays hard so I need clothes that can hold up.

I would describe Savannah's style as fresh, happy and modern. We were both so happy to see that the Fall collection matched our style. She loves leggings, dresses and floral prints and that's exactly what we got during our trip.

Here she is in some of the new items we picked for back-to-school...

This blue dress was her favorite item from our shopping trip. She loves a dress!

Floral print leggings are adorable on her. When I saw these as part of the doorbuster sale I had to get her some. They are so cute with the matching lace inset tee.

Another school wardrobe staple for us is a super cute warm-up suit. I absolutely love this one. 

How cute is she? I know her first day of school is going to be filled with so much learning and fun! It makes me feel good when I know she feels good about herself. Confidence is key when going back-to-school and I know she has that.

Now what kind of friend would I be if I didn't help you save money while shopping too? I know you guys love Carter's just as me! Their doorbuster deals make getting ready-to-play outfits so easy. Use this coupon to save while you shop!

Save BIG during these upcoming sales!

Count Me In Preschool Sale (Up to 50% Off): 8/5 - 8/31:

- Doorbuster 2 or more: $6 leggings, long sleeve tees, boys terry pants & slogans

Labor Day Weekend 50% off Entire Store or More: 9/1 – 9/7:

-Doorbuster $12 5-pack bodysuit, $9 2 pack pants, $10 turn me around sets (9/3 -9/7 only)

How was back-to-school shopping for you? Share your little ones Carter's Back-To-School style online using the hashtag #CountMeInCarters. 

Birthday Part Two: Date Night

Ugh. My computer has run out of memory and has been tripping. I apologize for the infrequency of posts but I hope to have my little situation resolved soon. Jesus be a terabyte.

Anyway. My birthday celebration continued on Saturday. My Mom and I (with the kids) went shopping during the day. We had a blast. I don't get girlfriend time like that often and I thoroughly enjoyed going from store to store and out to lunch. There's something about beautiful weather, a clean car with a full tank of gas and time out and about that makes me happy.

After shoe shopping the day away we headed back home. I opened all of my gifts before getting ready for our night out. Savannah and Little Mike gave me a card with a single one dollar bill in it, so sweet.

Since I didn't know exactly what my husband had planned for the evening I decided to wear a tuxedo blouse that I scored on sale years ago from Black House White Market. I paired it with some leather leggings and some of those strappy lace up booties that are in style right now.


We started off at dinner. I had been wanting to try out a japanese restaurant here so we headed there first. The food was okay and the service was slow. Luckily, my date was handsome and full of fun conversation.

Our next stop was to the SoHo Wine & Martini bar. There aren't enough good things to say about that place. There was live music, attentive and talented bartenders and pretty drinks. The drink below tasted just like a spiked Oreo cookie, yum!


I also really liked their mojito and the chocolate strawberry shortcake martini. I would go back there in a heartbeat. We ended the night dancing at a riverwalk hotspot before grabbing cake and more drinks at another popular place downtown. 
I had so much fun. I'm looking forward to our next adventure out. We already have a couple places in mind that we want to visit.
Happy Birthday to me. Cheers to 31!

Chic Mom Style: Leather Leggings

A while back I did a post about Fall Fashion that included some of my fashion staples. One of the items included in that post was faux leather leggings. I could never quite bring myself to take the plunge and buy them. Mainly because I was afraid that they would look more like pleather and less like faux leather.

There is a big difference between the two.

leather pants by stacy-gustin featuring black gloves

I am drawn to them because they can be dressed up or down. You can go from day to night in these by changing your shoes and accessories and I love that. Not that my life requires me to go from day to night on a whim BUT  if it did these would be the perfect pants for that.

Olivia Palermo! by cheymbabe featuring a leather trousers

Yesterday I received an early birthday present in the mail from one of my favorite stores. After doing a bit of looking around online I see that their faux leather leggings have great reviews. Today I'm going to finally take my butt to the actual mall (I shop online) and try on these pants. 

I have so many plans for them thanks to Pinterest. Visions of outfits are dancing in my head and I am beyond excited. I think I'll wear them for my birthday this weekend if the fit is as good as I expect it to be. Have you tried the faux leather legging trend?

Chic Mom Style: Fall Fashion

Living in Texas doesn't allow me to really dive as deep into Fall fashion as I would like. The mornings and evenings are pleasantly cool but the afternoons are like an east coast summer day.

During the Fall I tend to wear my Fall stuff and I layer up when it's cool enough. I also like wearing black. A lot of it. I could probably wear black everyday and never get tired of it.

My Fall fashion vibe is still all black everything. This is the Mom I want to be everyday…

Nothing extremely fussy. Very chill.

Mommy's Morning Out Part One by thechicsahm featuring black plastic sunglasses

When I am in the mood to wear color I normally go for a print. I love big bold prints. Printed dresses are my go-to when I feel like stepping it up a bit. 

Into FALL by giginicole featuring heel booties

Free Falling by moomoofan1972 featuring MICHAEL Michael Kors

I have determined that my style is a mix of two different women. Part of me is the woman that wears lots of denim with neutral colored blouses and graphic tees. Very safe. The other part of me is a woman who is drawn to prints, color and lots of dresses. I love a good sheath or shirtdress.

Moto jackets, blazers, cardigans, denim - touches of leopard. Those are my Fall staples. What are your's?

30th Birthday Countdown: Airport Attire

I originally planned this post to share an idea that I had for an airport outfit. I always like to be comfortable while I'm traveling. It's so much walking and sometimes rushing that I'm not normally decked out in an airport. So. I was originally planning to wear the outfit you see below. That was before we switched our flight time.

Now that we'll have to be up and out before it's cute to be up and out I don't know what I'll look like, LOL! Cause honestly five AM doesn't look good on anybody. Anyway. Should I decide to not wear sweatpants this is what I'll probably be wearing. (But no. Really. I'll probably have on some cute sweats that early. Judge if you must…)

Airport Ready by thechicsahm featuring blue jackets

If we weren't going so early I was thinking of wearing something like this below. My grey sweater coat is much cuter (if I do say so myself *in my Jay-Z voice*) than the one here. I like this look. Very cute and casual. The heels might be a stretch that early in the morning. We'll see how I'm feeling when I wake up…

Airport Ready by thechicsahm featuring hobo handbags

What do you wear on travel day? Do you try to do it up or do you rock sweats and sneakers?

30th Birthday Countdown: What I'm Wearing in Vegas

I have finally narrowed down my options for my trip to Vegas. I didn't want to spend a lot of money shopping before our trip. Mama wants to make sure she has money to spend in Vegas you know what I mean?

Just when I thought I was going to have buy one of the dresses I showed you before Jesus smiled down on me with a 50% off sale at Express. While checking out the sale I saw that they had restocked my initial birthday outfit that was previously sold out. So happy that I'll get to wear sequins on my birthday and it cost less than dinner for two at a Vegas buffet. Win.

Party Looks by thechicsahm featuring a blue dress

Now y'all know I love black. I have said that many many many times here on the blog. So it's no wonder that almost all of my night looks are black. I can't help it. To switch things up a bit I am taking this blue dress with me. It's cute, comfortable and it has an exposed back zipper which I love. I'll be pairing the leather skirt with a sheer black top. So cute and sexy. 

I have this whole strategy for packing and doing a carry-on bag. It can be done. (i hope) What do you think about these looks?

Mommy Style: 12232013

Since this pic got a such a nice response on IG & FB I figured I'd share the details of what I'm wearing.   The hat is from Target. The sunglasses are Tommy Hilfiger. The scarf is from Express and I'm wearing a burgundy Express dolman sleeve sweater.

The weather here has been so nice. It's been in the upper 50s to low 60s. Loving it.

30th Birthday Countdown: What to Wear

In an effort to get more excited about my upcoming Flirty30 celebration I decided to start pulling (yes, pulling. cause i'm stylist for myself and all the other people that live here lol) looks. I'm not too worried about what to wear during the day but I wanted to go ahead and start putting some thought behind what I'll wear at night.

I haven't been to a nightclub since college and I've never been to Vegas so I want to have some fun with my style during this trip. The black skater dress is currently hanging in my closet. I plan to wear it with my black booties and some accessories that will make it pop more. That outfit will take care of night one.

Birthday Looks for Night by thechicsahm featuring a reversible dress

Our second night there will be my actual birthday. For some reason I feel like sequins are the way to go for that night. I just want to sparkle and shine that night. I'm looking for the perfect dress. Asos had several that I love but I just want to make sure it's thee dress before pulling the trigger. If I can't find one that I like enough then I'll probably go with a LBD. The one with the cutout back is cute.

And for our last night I am going to wear a leather mini skirt. I already have the skirt so I'm currently looking for the perfect top to pair it with. So what do you think of my options so far? Let me know if I'm headed in the right direction in the comments!

Chic Mom Style: A Tee and Jeans

Today we went out to run a couple errands and grab lunch. The typical family Saturday outing. I wanted to wear something relaxed, casual and cute. I decided to wear a cute tee and some skinny jeans. I scored the tee shirt during the big Labor Day sale that Express had. My sneakers are the Steve Madden wedge sneakers that I've been wanting since last year. I was able to get them at half the price during the Nordstrom Labor Day sale. The jeans are my favorite skinny jeans. They're probably six years old by now and they have the best fit. Skinny but not skin tight. 

Oh. And I wore my hair up in a top knot. It's so rare that my hair is straight and I'm loving wearing it up. I bought some of the marley hair I need to make twists so I'm thinking about attempting that this coming week. We're having our family portraits done tomorrow so I may start them after that.

What do you think of my easy Saturday style?

Chic Mom Style

Alright. I said that I was going to share when I wore the Pinterest inspired denim cut off shorts outfit. I feel like this pic isn't really doing the outfit justice, haha! It looked great! Instead of the Tory Burch leopard print shoes from the inspiration pic I paired my outfit with my gold spiked toe Sam Edelman flats.

Since I was planning on getting matched up for some new makeup my face is fresh.

Here I am trying on some booties. (That are now living in my closet!) Check out my husband wearing the ergo and photo bombing me in the background, haha!

Shirt - Express (The Portofino Shirt) Shorts - H&M Booties - Steve Madden Flats - Sam Edelman Watch - Michael Kors Bangle - a gift

eShakti Fall Collection

I wanted to quickly share a promo offer that just hit my inbox! You all know how much I love eShakti. Well, their Fall Collection is now available and it's full of feminine classic modern items. Remember eShakti always has your size because you can provide your measurements and have the items customized to fit you. It's like having a personal seamstress and tailor via the web and I love it! 

You know I've been doing a lot of online shopping lately and any time I find out about a great sale I spread the word on my Facebook page. Here is another offer. Take 20% off while you shop eShakti's Fall Collection. They have everything from the very now menswear inspired look to the very pretty cobalt blue. I can not wait to start scrolling through their new line. Check me out in some of my past favorite eShakti looks.

Hello September...

I can not believe it is already September. This is a very fun month for our family. I spent the majority of Labor Day weekend laying in bed fighting sinus pressure and shopping online. I got some great deals! Very excited about getting all those shipments this week. 

All of Savannah's activities start back up this month and I could not be more excited. It is going to feel so good to have a scheduled activity every day. We'll be out and about Tuesday thru Thursday. On Mondays and Fridays we'll do more "Preschool at Home" activities, run errands, clean and do whatever else the house needs. Savannah will also be turning three in a couple weeks. This year she wanted a trip to the beach for her birthday so we'll be having a family party/getaway. I'm not even mad or sad about her not wanting a party. That's one less thing for me to plan...

We'll probably at least have cake and ice cream with her girlfriends though, but that's it.

I've been trying to gather things for our beach trip and plan my outfits. I found a cute outfit on Pinterest that seemed really easy and comfy. Since it was repinned over 200 times I decided to recreate the look. Cute, right? Can't wait to share my finished look!

I also want to try something different with my hair. I'm not sure if I want to put in some marley twists or if I should invest in a good flat iron and wear my hair straight or blown out. I would really love to do the twists but from the reviews I've read they don't really last that long. We'll see.

I'm so ready for this much needed break. My husband's birthday is at the end of the month so we'll be celebrating all month long. As I've said before Fall is my favorite season. I'm looking forward to this season and all the changes that will come with it!

How Nature Celebrates...

Summer is finally coming to a close. (Oh. Wait. I live in Texas and it's still going to be hot here.) Finally. My favorite season is Fall. I love it. I love the smell of Autumn, the changing leaves and the cooler temps. As I have mentioned before on the blog I am planning to have quite the style transformation this season. I plan to celebrate the end of summer the way nature does during Fall and change up my look. 

I find it so extremely cool that the beautiful green trees that line the streets of our neighborhood will go from being vibrantly green to a multitude of colors. I figure if the trees can have a seasonal makeover so can I. Ever since I decided to really try to get back in touch with who I am since becoming a Mom the one thing that seemed natural to me is the color black. As I've said before black outfits are like second nature to me.

Mommy's Morning Out Part One by thechicsahm featuring dog boots

Some may find this collection boring but I feel inspired. I see myself toting these babies to play dates, lifting them in and out of the car in style. Looking and feeling my best. Don't get me wrong I love prints and color (and you'll see that in parts two and three) but my love for black is close to my heart. It's simple and easy. Just like my parenting style. I see lots of comfy tops, black blouses and red lipstick in my future and I'm excited about it. Celebrating the beginning of a new season and a new me.

Every Friday, Deer Park® Nature's Blends™ Fruit Flavored Beverages is sharing beautiful ways that nature celebrates with a reminder to treat yourself to a celebration, too. Head over to the Deer Park® Facebook page every Friday for inspiration to celebrate naturally and share your own story on their page.

 Thank you for supporting the brands that allow me to be a Chic Stay at Home Mom.

This is a sponsored post. All opinions express are my own.

Chic DIY: Maternity Cut Off Shorts

Hey y'all!! This is a quick late night post I wanted to do to show my DIY maternity jean cut offs. I initially wanted to just buy some shorts but after losing several eBay auctions I decided to try something else. Over the weekend I went to Target to find some shorts while my Liz Lange coupon is still good but I didn't like what those shorts did to my butt.

Today I ventured out to Goodwill. After trying on several jeans (and some cute overalls) I finally found a pair that I liked. They fit perfectly. I knew it was meant to be when I realized they were going to get marked down an additional dollar due to their pink tag. So for $3 I'll have some super cute cut offs to take me to the end of my pregnancy. Love that!

This is what I used. You can always use chalk or a marker to mark your jeans but I already had this white pencil in my sewing bag. 

I measured 6 inches down my the inseam. You could always go shorter or longer if you want. I did 6 inches because I wanted to make sure that I didn't cut too much off on my first cut. I was very happy with the length after cutting.

Can you see the white line I used for my guide?

Voila! I haven't decided if I am going to cuff them or wear them as real cutoffs. We'll see. I tossed them in the wash after taking these pics. I plan to wear them tomorrow for a play date to the splash pad.

Just to give you an idea of the length... I could probably go shorter but I don't think I will. I think the shorts that are being sold right now at Motherhood have a 4 inch inseam. The additional two inches make me feel like I could bend over, sit down and stand up without pulling at my shorts. No one wants to see a pregnant woman's cheeks.

And these are the overalls that I just couldn't make work. They were so cute until you saw me from the side or from the back. I couldn't get them to fit both my stomach and my butt properly. It was weird. If I was pregnant during the Fall I probably would have gotten them. I just didn't think I would be happy with the results had I turned these into cutoffs. 

I hope y'all enjoyed this little mini project. I'll try to Instagram a pic of me tomorrow. Goodnight!

- posted from my chic iPhone

Chic Celeb Mom: Kim Kardashian

I know the title on this alone is going to make some of you roll your eyes. It's okay. Roll away. Since I have been pregnant during the same time as some of the most famous women in the world I've been doing a lot of style watching. I've been watching everyone from Princess Kate to Kim Kardashian. Everyone has their own since of style and I've enjoyed watching all the celeb bumps hit the red carpet.

Credit

Kim Kardashian has been getting it from all sides during her pregnancy and I feel bad for her. Mainly because when you're pregnant you never know how your body will respond. You don't know how you're going to physically change. I think all women want to still feel like themselves while pregnant and one of the ways to do that is by your personal style. With that being said many people would argue that she can afford to dress a different way. Critics and tabloid magazines would say that she should be wearing more maternity friendly outfits.

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For the record. Unless you are in Kim K.'s body how do you know what is comfortable to her. If you watch her on her show or in the press you know that her look is one that embraces her curvy body. Did you really think that would change? Did you really think she was going to wear flats every single day? You're an idiot if you did. As someone who is pregnant right now I can tell you that I've still been wearing heels and non-maternity clothes that hug my growing bump. 

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The media has been having a field day with her. If she's comfortable with the way she looks then what is the big deal. Not to mention that some of her looks really haven't been that bad. If she wasn't pregnant there would be no story. I'm so over hearing about what this woman should and should not be wearing. I'll be so glad when she has her baby so that the focus can be shifted to something else. And can I remind these tabloids that you guys will be the same media outlets clamoring for the rights to the first pics of her baby. So. Choose your insults wisely because I'm pretty sure Kris Jenner is going to charge an extra milli for every negative story you write about her main money maker.