Mom’s First Day Of School…

During this summer, I discovered that blogging is a lot like exercising. At first, it’s awesome. You have a lot of determination. You are totally into it. You set a schedule and stick to it. You work hard, you see changes in yourself, and you thrive off the positive feedback. Then, you miss a day. Then two. Then three. Then a week. You begin to lose your motivation. You find it becomes more of a chore than an escape. You evolve into the game of “creative avoidance” finding every excuse in the world not to do it. Eventually, the inevitable happens: you mumble those final words of defeat—“Ah, screw it.” That is exactly what happened with my blog over the past three months.

Of course, like any good determined exerciser can relate to, I had very good reasons for my abstinence. There were some health issues that went on. The kids took up a lot of my time. I had appointments that I could not reschedule. The cat got sick. The weather was bad. The weather was good. You know, the usual things. But it wasn’t like I didn’t think about getting back into the glamour and fashion side of life. It just got a little more challenging when my only fashion decisions for the day consisted of choosing between a t-shirt and tank top, and the glamour challenge was deciding on whether it was humid enough for waterproof eyeliner. Not a lot to focus on there, if you get my drift.

Now, for the past seven days, I have spent the majority of my time getting my two teenage children ready to go back to high school next week. This, I will admit, has put me right back in the role of soccer-mom fashionista. With the seasons changing, the yellow buses running and juice box consumption tripling, I’m getting the fad fever once again. This is good. This is very, very good in regards to my blog! It is not so good, however, for
my summer-subdued shopping habits. With the discovery of new styles, colors, fashions, and makeup items, I find myself falling right back into my old Sassy ways!

So what have I found while shopping with my two munchkins (son, age 16 going on 4—daughter, age 14 going on 22) so far this preseason? LOTS! Let’s start with the first day of school, for example. We are spending all this time making sure our kids will start the school year off with a bang in the right clothes and accessories. Why can’t we do the same for ourselves??? For us SAH-moms, there are lots of ways to be comfortable while still looking jazzy and together while driving the kids to campus in the MILFmobile. Just because it is 7 am in the morning and the coffee hasn’t entered the blood stream doesn’t mean you have to look like the leading character from “Morning of the Living Dead—The Preschool Days” while going through the Dunkin Donuts drive-thru. There are ways to appear several notches above “barely conscious” without spending too much time on getting foof’ed up. Here’s how I am going to approach the beginning of the school year:
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1. Get a super-comfy yet super-stylish jacket. Better yet, get two. The joys of having a variety of jackets is you honestly can put them over anything and still look totally together. With animal prints as well as bold colors in the forefront this season, you can find a nice trench or even a nice yoga jacket in styles that will stand out. Wear them over any casual type of stylish jeans or lounge pants, a t-shirt or cami (please don’t forget a bra—no matter how tired you are!) SASSY’S PICKS: Zebra Print Fleece Jacket, $29.99, Metrostyle.com; INC Belted Python Print Trench Coat, $74.25, Macys.com

2. Embrace and love the throw-back 70’s style distressed jeans. Hello?…McFly? They look ragged already! So it doesn’t matter if you are just throwing them on right out of the hamper or out of the laundry basket. However they look, people think that’s the way they are supposed to look! Ink stains, extra holes, spilled bleach. It’s all good.  Spaghetti stains, grass stains, splotches of pureed baby peaches, That’s not good. Leave those in the hamper. Stick to the bootcut and flared-legged styles as well. Last thing you want to do in the morning is have to lay on the bed and wiggle into a pair of skinny jeans. Those will definitely work in your favor at the crack of dawn. SASSY’S PICKS: Dollhouse Destroyed Stretch Bootcut Jeans, $34.90, Alloy.com; Grane Destructed Turbo Bootcut Jeans, $24.98, Macys.com

3. Pick up a cute pair of go-with-anything sneakers and a pair of flat shoes. No one needs to be thinking heels at sunrise. If your feet are like mine, they are always achy in the morning. Find a pair of sneakers that aren’t necessarily an athletic kind. There are great styles made by designers like Marc Ecko, Sketchers and Roxy that look great but are still solid and casual. Same goes for flats. Avoid getting a pair of pointed-toe patent leather slip-ons for the morning shuttle service. Find a nice pair of soft-leather, suede or fabric ones that match anything and everything and can be worn with jeans, yoga pants or even shorts if the weather is hot. SASSY’S PICKS: Ecko Red “Phundamental”, $66, Zappos.com; “Yammy” Buckle Moccasins, $19.99, Dollhouse.com

4. Find a fashionable “mom tote” that matches everything. This season’s styles work in everyone’s favor because solid black, brown or metallics are all in! You don’t have to change purses every morning, but you want to be able to keep your tote stocked for the morning kiddie commute in case someone forgets something (and they will!) Stock your tote with things like extra pens, extra pencils, head- and tummy-ache remedies, mini packs of tissues, a wad of singles (for back up snack/lunch money), some nibbles like packages of peanut butter crackers and granola bars, and a small pad of paper for emergency gym notes or nurses excuses. That’s just for the kids. For you, make sure you have: your credit/debit card (a second card is best—then you can leave it in there), your Dunkin Donuts Perks card, your Starbucks card, gum or breath mints, a neutral lipstick, a lip balm, a mini hand cream and a concealer pen to hide any dark circles under the eyes that may appear between the driveway and the school carport. SASSY’S PICKS: marc “On The Fringe Bag”, $32, Avon.com; any flashy tote bag by Betsy Johnson, from $25, local TJ Maxx stores

5. Keep a simple, fast, neutral makeup look in the bathroom next to the toothbrush. As soon as you are done brushing the pearly whites, give your face a fast wash with a simple one-step cleanser and then apply a moisturizer with an SPF. Lightly dust on a little translucent powder to even your skin tone. Lightly pinch the skin on right under your cheekbones and hold for the count of 5 to make them naturally pink. If you can’t live without your eyeliner, throw on a quick sharp line (don’t smudge—it makes your eyes look tired too early in the morning) and throw on a coat of extra-thickening black mascara to make them pop. Find a nice one-coat liquid lip gloss or lip color and sweep it over your lips. Finish off your look with a lightly scented body mist that is awakening and lifts your spirits! SASSY’S PICKS: AVEENO Ultra-Calming Foaming Cleanser, $8, CVS stores; Make Up For Ever HD Microfinish Powder, $30, Sephora.com; Styli-Style Line & Seal 24 Hour Eyeliner, $6, CVS stores; Liplicious Lip Gloss, $7, Bath and Body Works retail stores and bathandbodyworks.com
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After you’ve dropped everyone off at the academic institution of choice, the time is now your own! Hit your local java drive through or better yet, go inside with your favorite magazine or even your laptop. At least you’ll know your favorite blog will have some hot, interesting things to talk about. That’s because I’ll be at my local java place writing them. If you look across the cafe and see a redhead with a stylin’ bag, reapplying her lip gloss after drinking a mochachino, you never know…it just might be me!!!