Okay, there's not really a new plus-size model at Macy's – Just me trying on some of the awesome Steve Madden coats on SALE at Macy's. My excursion today began with a little  e-mail from Macy's about their big coat sale 50-75% off – which is amazing. SO time to shop (even though I need a new coat kinda like I need a new purse or new shoes. WELL, things do wear out, get aged looking.)

Flipping through their online stash, I see this coat (pictured below) and think – OH, HOW CUTE and only $54.99 plus whatever in shipping (since FREE shipping is for THOSE people buying $125 or more.) 

And, then I tweet this:

Now, that's cute: Steve Madden Coat, Plaid Shawl Collar Belted – Coats – Women's – Macy's http://ow.ly/11kW1

To which, I get from @SteveMaddnLaura: (my tweet retweeted followed by) "~sure is! "

And I respond:

@SteveMaddnLaura Thanks for the RT! I may have to go get that coat now.

Who then says:

RT @GenMom: @SteveMaddnLaura Thanks for the RT! I may have to go get that coat now. ~if u do…then I want a twitpic!

Sooooo, not one to back down from a potential adventure,  I head down to the mall with my camera tucked into my purse to see if the coat is on the rack b/c I just needed to be surrounded by clothes – new ones – today (after being home-bound with a horrible cold all week). I needed to see the variety of textures, smell the multi-colored newness, feel the soft furs and eyeball the colorful new leather purses in lime, purple, Coach . . . Okay, back on track here. . . .

Unfortunately, the coat in question was not there, BUT I did try on these shown below. (Forgive the lack of make-up or hair job for this particular photography shoot which was obviously self-taken. I am the modern convergent media model – I wear the clothes and take the pictures of myself – which is why I think the "fashion" category on this blog has only been used once before.)

What do you think? Which one – if I go back? They are normally just over $200 now selling for $79.99 and I bet I can find a coupon in the paper this weekend. I like a little color but I'm thinking the black is truly the most flattering.

Just so ya know,

ONE, I can't believe I caved to buying Coach shoes for my pre-teen.

TWO, I can't believe how cheap I got them at Marshall's.

THREE, still can't believe we bought her 10s!!! (Yes, her feet are bigger than MINE now.)

FOUR, I can believe that women my age wouldn't find fuzzy purple shoes fitting in their wardrobe which is why they were PERFECT for a growing 12 yr old and why they were at such a reduced rate –which I will NOT reveal at this time unless someone twists my arm. Not couth to talk prices, right? — (This coming from a frugal lifer who blogs pretty much everything else.)

My other daughter wanted the silver Coach hightops. I did refrain and say NO to those. That daughter is still growing. I really hope my eldest, owner of the new purple shoes will never grow bigger feet because she is wearing these EVERYWHERE FOR YEARS TO COME.

And so there you have it. True Fashion Confessions and the other reason why I don't have the latest technology in little phone gadgets. My daughters sap my wallet dry BUT once in a while, I love finding exactly what makes them the happiest!

I haven't participated in meme in AGES so when Jo-Lynne tagged me, I figured it was about time. It appears the originators of this meme are fellow Philly gals Theresa from Elebelly who tagged Jo-Lynne and Beth from Total Mom Haircut who came up with the idea.

TOPIC: HANDBAGS
RULES (as designated by Beth):

1) Post a picture of whatever bag you are carrying as of late. No, you cannot go up to your closet and pull out that cute little purse you used back before you had kids. I want to know what you carried today.

2) I want to know how much it cost:) And this is not to judge, because I’m honestly telling you I was ready to put down some cash; I just got lucky. This is for entertainment purposes only. So spill it. And if there is a story to go along with how you obtained it, I’d love to hear it.

3) Tag some chicks. And link back to this post so people know why the heck you’re showing everyone your diaper bag/non-diaper bag.

So, here it is as classic, stable and sturdy as I was born to be. I like plain leather bags in the winter and I've tried the trendy ones and they just don't work for me. (The fun prints come out in the summer time.)

WHEN:       This Fall
WHERE:      Bass Outlet
WHY:         75% Off!
HOW MUCH: $25 (or at least close.)

I'm just too easy to please I guess.

I am tagging the following gals who hopefully have a cuter purse to share!

1. Grace (Blackbelt Oma)

2. Denise (Denitra's Den)

3. Val (Stinky John's Jones)

4. Amy (Occupation Mommy)

5. Shannon (You Ott to Know)

Have fun and let me know when you post your purse so I can come check it out!!

For those of you still going on museum field trips, please note that there is appropriate foot-ware and then there is non-appropriate Mommy foot-ware.

While this may seem the most appropriate:

a Man's Steel Toed Boot.

Most women seem to wear: Your every day normal tennis shoe in all shapes and sizes.

And then there are mom's like me who make the HUGE mistake of wearing: Leather Sandals with no backs. Look close for shoe marks on the tops of my feet because I think I was the target of the day.

Other than that, it was a nice day and I was glad to be there with my sweet daughter who still loves to have Mom around.

See more Works for Me Wednesday posts at Rocks in My Dryer.

Today is not only the start of the Ultimate Blog Party (see my last post), it is also FIGHT THE FRUMP Friday. Check out many entries over at Fussypants and/or add your own!

Today, I am listing when to make Frump work for you. Now, this might seem sacrilegious to those of you creating the wonderful posts about hair, make-up, heels and hemlines but be patient and keep reading.

1) YMCA Workout: One incredibly freeing experience recently was dropping my kids off at school and heading straight to the Y, sans make-up. Yikes! I never go anywhere without a little make-up. But who cares at the Y? Presumably, you are all there for the same goal, looking good when it does matter. If you are not there for that reason, I don't want you looking at me anyway.

Also at the Y, when the trainer told me to jog between sets to really get the heart pumping and whittle the weight, I was like – no way. How silly does that look? Well, today my weight was back up and you can believe I was jogging between sets and didn't care what anyone thought. This is my personal battle. They don't have to get into my pants. Again, if they are trying to get into my pants, I don't want them around anyway.

2) Spring Cleaning: If fighting the frump is keeping you from getting your house clean, put on the old sweats, call off the shopping trip to the mall. Get those buckets and brooms, throw open those windows and pitch it, toss it. Clean, clean, clean. FYI, Your friendly drill sergeant here is talking to herself more than anyone.

When a friend stops by, you and your house can be looking as good as any frump fighter's should. No pain, no gain. Same goes for the car now that the weather is getting warmer! Time to deglue the lollipops sticks and  cough drop wrappers!

3) On a Mission Trip: Little different but when I was writing this post, my mother sent an e-mail of a cousin who has just gone to live in Mongolia. Yes, Mongolia — where high heels are used to keep out of the mud.

She writes: As I clomp around in my Dickie boots, suitable for motorcycling (or so the report on Zappos said) I marvel at the women wearing their spiked heeled boots.  No one seems to slip or slide and it is a total mystery to me how they do it.  They walk rapidly on the packed snow and ice without any trouble at all while I am being so very careful since I did fall once while here on a pack of ice in my motorcycle boots.  One good thing- my boots are heavy and I'm sure they are developing muscles in my legs as I clomp along.

She also adds: I'm learning that hair does not have to washed everyday, in fact all of the hairspray and goop is making my hair appear quite thick.  It is too hard to fix my hair everyday- the only rollers I have are the kind with a clip across them and they don't stay in.  The water seems to make my hair react strangely, so I'm adjusting to a new hairdo and since nobody knows me, they don't know the difference. I'm letting it have as much natural curls as it wants, spraying it, teasing the curls into place, spraying it.  It really looks good, if you don't know how it should look.  DONNA- I should have let you cut the spike look you tried to convince me to do. My apartment is just too cold to wash my hair everyday and I bath body parts a few at a time- it is too cold to take a shower or bath.  Maybe I'll go to the hotel one day and take a real shower.  I have a beautiful shower curtain and hooks, but no rod or anything to attach them to.

Wow – fighting the frump in Mongolia. Makes you stop and think. I admire from afar as I go enjoy my hot shower and velcro rollers! Maybe someday I'll go visit her. Maybe.

Go enjoy your day – looking good and feeling better!

Caught in My Curlers: Its amazing what we are willing to do for our blog fodder.

I was caught this morning in my new Velcro rollers by my shocked and horrified little girls on break for President's Day!

I totally love them. I was told both by the hairstylist and the Quick and Simple Magazine that letting my hair dry in rollers would definitely cut down on the frizzies I am fighting big time — not to mention the instant body (not mine – the hair)!

I am working hard to get my hair and body in shape and I am amazed at the steps you can take before you even get to products to turn your hair healthy and bouncy.

Some steps include:

1) Washing every couple of days instead of every day.
2) Using a bristle brush instead of the old hair damaging vent brushes.
3) Let your hair dry partially in rollers.

I feel that I have gone back in time but if you look at pictures, there is something to be said for the lovely do's my grandmother and mother had and maintained back in yester year. My mom is still looking good. My years of straight hair back in a ponytail have finally come to an end. I have to say I enjoyed those years but now I need a little more help!

Some product help I have incorporated is mousse (though I was told recently is "drying" to the hair) and serum. I love hair serum. It really smooths the rough ends.

Musings of a Housewife suggests a deep cleaner weekly so I am working on getting that too. Today she has a wonderful post on body shapes and colors, etc.

As important as all this outer stuff is to looking good and feeling good about myself, I have to constantly remind myself of the most important thing to keep clean and bouncy – my spiritual walk and life in Christ.  You don't need any other "products" except the Holy Scriptures when it comes keeping clean in God's Word. I do enjoy the occasional devotional but I must know that when I want to get rid of the "dryness" — there is one true beauty routine – praying and reading God's word and applying it with generous proportions to my heart.

"Your lips are gone!"
My dear daughter replied, "Look at my white lipstick."
Roaring with laughter and falling over into the bed on top of my other daughter, I howled, "That's cover-up. Go get that off! That's to cover zits not lips."

Needless to say, I had a thing or two to teach my daughter about make-up and all its uses.

So, in the interest of mommy education, I decided to get my own TOTAL MOMMY MAKEOVER last Friday (or maybe it was a mid-life crisis). Here's what I did:

1. WAXING: Off to Toppers Spa and Salon where while waiting on my new hairdo, I decide to get my eyebrows waxed. Great – just a little pain. I can handle it.

Warm, soothing, wax . . .then RIPPPPP. Ouch, that kinda hurt. "Do you want your upper lip waxed too?" Well, okay. On goes the warm soothing wax, then, RIPPPPPPPPPP. That hurt a bit more but at least it was quick. Two days later, it is still healing. Apparently, my skin is a little more sensitive than I thought. No more upper lip waxings. Eyebrows though — I'll be back.

2. HAIRCUT & HIGHLIGHTS: Longer than I planned to spend my day, this was definitely the "highlight" (no pun intended) of the makeover. Two shades of blonde and one shade of red later, I was headed out the door with the "Long Posh" – a bob with an overall longer cut – not as long as the real Posh Spice. (See previous post on 15 Steps for before and after shots!)

3. MAKEUP: Two more hours until the girls get home, time to head to the mall. Sephora, here I come. Okay, so you want to know what a complete facial consultation includes, here goes:
  Eyes First:
   a.     Eye Primer
   b.     Eye Con Benefit (eye moisturizer)
   c.     Eye Depuffing Gel
   d.     Eye Concealor balm (under the eye)
   e.     Eye Shadow Trio – light all over; medium on the lid and darkest in the crease.
   f.      Eyeliner
   g.     Eyebrow Pencil
   h.     Mascara – long lash, lasting
  Skin Next:
    i.      Skin Primer/ color corrector   
    j.     Foundation
    k.    Blush
    l.     Bronzing Powder
   m.    Lite Face Powder
  Lips Last:
    n.    Lipliner
    o.    Lipstick
    p.    Lipgloss

Now, tell me I wasn't looking hot to trot. The green needed toning down but I was pretty happy overall but tell me now, who the heck wears all this stuff?

If you do, no offense, but my word! I can tell you I won't be putting this on everyday and for the small fortune I paid, I will be savoring it like gold for the special occasions! (I did add in some volumizing spray for my new bob and nice eyebrow tweezers to save on the waxing- See Moments for a lesson on eyebrow tweezing!)

Good luck out there and let me know if you go for your own midlife crisis mommy makeover like me! God bless you however He made you! He'll take you any old way – makeup or not!

Check out Musings of a Housewife for thoughts on the Miss America pagent! Perfect follow-up for this makeover segment!

Penatus pulchre rides mea, Zoile, trita. Sunt haec trita quidem, Zoile, sed mea sunt.
Martial, Epigrammata, II, 58

Let me translate: In your fine clothes, you mock my scruffy toga. It may be scruffy, Zoilus, but its paid for.

Wow, what words to live by from so long ago. I am constantly battling how to dress my family. Which brings me to my point today – Microfiber! Did you know it is the new polyester? In fact, it is just another word for polyester. Why does this matter?

I received a generous gift certificate from my sister for the outlet malls near us and off I went. I left here with a crazy "I'm free" look on my face and a ever-so-slight worry in the back of my brain that I hadn't turned off the boiled eggs but I kept on going. At times like this, I usually call back to my husband and say something like, "Honey, I was headed to the grocery store and somehow ended up at the outlets. So, what size pants do you wear?"

I found an awesome deal at the Van Huesen store and got my husband two pairs of dress pants and myself a nice cable knit sweater, spending only $3 more than the gift card. I came home with the smug satisfaction that I had spent the bulk on my husband (since I had just spent a Kohl's gift card almost completely on me!) and wanted all the validation a wife wants who gives up a coveted pair of shoes.

"Honey, I don't like the feel of them." Microfiber. I loved the feel. They were stain resistant AND machine washable! BUT, if he isn't going to wear them. . . . Back to get the light weight wool (2 pair microfiber=1pair light wool but at least the one will get worn).

Now, I could have sent my husband to do the exchange but shopping for me is a cathartic experience. Yes, I did leave the eggs on and yes, my children snacked on brown eggs wondering who's mother burns boiled eggs. My mother-in-law did share that there is a stage at which they are beyond browned and actually explode. Whew, I am not alone. Back to the outlets!