If you’re a mom and into fashion, you’ve probably heard of The Mom Edit by now and if you haven’t yet, well, you’re missing out. I’ve mentioned my love for Shana, the site’s creator, before and shared some of the art collaborations we have done together for The Mom Edit. Last month, we were talking about what direction we should head in this year for our monthly art/style collaborations when Shana suggested doing a mini shoot featuring both my style and my art. We were already at the beach, and a few glasses deep into our bottle of white wine so we figured why the heck not?! And then last night I got a text from my best friend who said she just spotted my feature on The Mom Edit, so I thought I would share some of the photos here too!
I am a child of the late 80’s/early 90’s and I loved every wacky, bodacious second of it. Although as we reflect back on those years, it is undeniable that an overwhelming majority of our most painfully awkward and embarrassing pop culture moments occurred in the 80’s. It was a decade that produced some of the most memorable cringeworthy style fads of all time, such as: Acid wash jeans, scrunchies, hairspray and perms, neon colored wind suits and of course harem pants. Inspired by the greats of the era, MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice.
(I still firmly believe those were the greatest fashion years of my life. Sometimes I wonder if it was growing up in the late 80’s early 90’s that gave me my flare for the dramatic when it comes to clothes (hence wearing an oversized jumper in 2015 and loving it))
Just recently I saw a picture of everyone’s favorite overgrown man child, Justin Beiber, wearing some serious harem pants and I literally said outloud: “Hammer did it better.” Bc. how could anyone forget this:
or this:
and while we’re at it, this:
unfortantly, hammer pants were one of the few fashion items my parents refused to purchase for me (along with glittery pink, fringed cowboy boots). I see now that my parents were doing me a favor because i have a feeling my hammer pants wouldn’t have gone over very well with all the kids at my school in West Texas. So, thanks guys for that.
But that doesn’t mean I can’t fulfill my Hammer Time fantasy as an adult! I am free to make my own bad decisions! Sometimes being an adult IS great, because no one can tell you “no” if you want to buy an oversized diaper jumper and wear it in public!
I was pleasantly surprised with how it fit, although it’s a very thin jersey knit fabric so it attaches its self to unappealing areas (the crutch and the butt). I did wear it on a really windy day which didn’t help with that though. It is really comfortable and I actually really like the styling and draping of the fabric. I had to be careful when I walked because this particular jumper always ended up giving me a wedgie. The jumpsuit I purchased was the cheap version (as usual) which may speak to the thinness of the fabric. Shopbop has a designer brand option which is undoubtably better quality in their Basic Terrain Harem Jumpsuit, for $158.00:
to wear or not to wear:
It’s not an item I will be wearing very often but it’s really fun to have in my closet for days when I am feeling bored with everything else in my closet and also because I like to put it on and do the Hammer Time dance in the mirror when I need a quick trip down memory lane. Plus, I bought mine on Amazon for less than $15.00
Hi everyone, this is my first attempt at creating wallpaper designs of my own, using my own art. .This has definitely been a learning experience for me, the wide world of graphic designing is a bit overwhelming but I figure, I have to start somewhere.
I did three different designs and made two different pixel size versions of each….there are so many different display screen sizes out there (including the screen on the mockup photo I used…I still don’t know what size that is supposed to be) so if any of the sizes don’t fit for your screen, feel free to email me at thiswildpreciouslifeblog@gmail.com and I will add one for you.
My next task is to figure out how to link a google doc or dropbox account directly to my blog so you can download from there but for now, just click on each individual image to save the wallpaper designs to your computer.
i don’t know if technically I could call these boyfriend jeans since my boyfriend wouldn’t be caught dead in these and also because he’s smaller than me. But I’m okay with that because that means I get them all to myself. And the last time I bought a pair of Diesel jeans was in college over 10 years ago because I wanted to be cool like my friend David Mata. I have been searching for the perfect pair of boyfriend jeans for me because I don’t have a skinny frame (tree trunk legs) and any pair of boyfriend jeans I tried on always ended up looking like a bad pair bootleg skinny leg jeans on me. I remember when I tried on “mom jeans” at H&M, ha! I love the fit of these jeans because they are super baggy, especially in the crotch (yeah, I already psychoanalyzed myself about this). Also, I love the wash and the color and I’m sold.
Working on learning from my friend Shana at the MomEdit and trying to simplify and minimills my outfits which is really really hard for me. But if I can control my urge to through on something bright orange, I do like the way the minimalist casual style looks.
I highly recommend my jeans if you like this type of style, although they are pretty pricey- I don’t think I could find a pair I love more. They are Women’s Diesel FAYZA Boyfriend Denim
Today when I stepped outside, I smelt spring and was about as happy as this baby and her camel:
I was outside in a dress, with bare legs and I was starting to believe this day would never come. I swear if I see a single snowflake before Christmas next year, I will walk all the way back to California.
Anyways, after a few hours doing this:
I was excited to bust out all the spring/summer clothes I’ve been daydreaming about and this is what I came up with:
She is an architect and urban designer with a passion for vibrant colors and a sense of style that is one of a kind. I first discovered her via Instagram @monlinglee fell instantly in love with every single one of her photos. She combines her unique and brilliantly colored personal style in perfectly coordinated urban environments.
By following her instagram account, I found out that she was teaming up with J. Crew to “Test-drive” Their new spring accessories on their blog: hello.jcrew.com. And was inspired to try to create my own color blocked outfit with my skirt I bought for a penny at Nordstroms Rack. JCrew and Monling Lee are having an instagram contest on how where you wear (and pair, and pile on) your J.Crew accessories with the hashtags #ACCESSORYFIX and #JCREWCONTEST for a chance to win one of three $1,500 shopping sprees. And although I don’t have a new spring accessory to actually join in…here are my outfits:
Today, the birds were chirping and the sun was out and the snow is melting into muddy lakes, but if that means spring is on it’s way…I’ll take it.
Some much needed refreshing of my studio walls and work space. I’d like to try and change my art wall at least once a month but we’ll see how that goes!
This one day of sunny weather has got me feeling all sorts of alive again.
Hallelujah! Finally, a shoe trend I can really get behind. Comfy? check. Stylish? Check. Versatile? Check. Fun? Check.
I’m a sucker for all things colorful and loud (It’s a problem I’m working on). so while scrolling through Free Peoples’ amazing online shoe collection, I stumbled across these bad boys:
and got about as excited as a guniea pig getting a special carrot treat:
So, I guess you could I got pretty excited. And because there was no way I was letting those suckers get away, I added them to my little shopping cart and kept scrolling and immediately saw these Asics trainers (also on free people):
It’s like they were made for me..kind of tacky and bright blue. So you can imagine how excited I was at this point:
happy otter level of excitement.
I figured since I found two pair of sneakers I loved by just looking at Free People, there were probably more I might love even more available to me on the world wide web….
Fast forward to about 4 hours later where I had roughly 20 different sneakers in 10 different shopping carts. Here are some of my favorites I found:
After my evening of scouring the internet for the best and the brightest sneakers, I had to narrow down my options. I told myself I would only get one pair but my materialistic impulses won out in the end and I got two pairs and Interestingly enough, I ended up buying the first two pairs I saw on Free People. I really like idea of pairing white jeans with the Asics but of course it snowed the day I got them in the mail and the the ground was covered in over 6 inches of fresh snow, but not one to give up easy, I jumped!
And although I found dry ground when I was trying out my OTHER new pair, I liked how the first picture turned out so I jumped again!
But here’s to hoping this trend sticks around for a bit so I can justify getting another pair…maybe purple? Or Turquoise?? The possibilities are endless.
it’s that time of the year when I begin to feel even more crazy than usual.I like winter but, a Midwest winter is a different kind of beast. There has been snow on the ground basically since Thanksgiving and by Mid-February the temperatures average below freezing and that doesn’t even include the windchill.
Going outside means putting on every single warm-ish item I can find in my closet and looking like Joey from the Friends episode where he puts on all of Chandler’s clothes:
and then on top of that, there’s the robber face masks, scarves, gloves and beanies to cover any exposed extremities, like kitty:
I like hunkering down and having an excuse to do nothing, and a snow storm is the ultimate laziness excuse but even that is has gotten old by now and I’ve developed a serious case of cabin fever, going nuts, shuffling around the house, pacing in circles, starting out at the snow for long periods of time, and murmuring unhappily to myself (even more than usual). My boyfriend took a picture of me while I was peeking in on him just yesterday:
har. har.
all that just to say that my already questionable fashion taste is even more questionable than usual, given the previously stated circumstances. But, this led me to mixing prints and layering in a way that I otherwise wouldn’t have out of boredom, coldness, or craziness….
I put together a little Holiday Themed Art Journal Idea List, some of the ideas are a bit simple but fun.
I always find myself journaling and sketching a lot over the Christmas and New Years breaks. I think it’s my way of reflecting on everything that happened over the past year as well as gearing up for the new year ahead (also because I usually like to start the new new calendar year off with a fresh journal so I try to fill up the remaining pages in the old one). Also, I am one of those people who religiously comes up with New Years Resolutions every year…The older I get, the more it’s becoming a bucket list and a reminder for me that life is moving fast. I am a big list person too…I just feel better about my lack of organizational skills when I can cross off even the most mundane tasks.
I also rounded up some of my favorite journal pages from this year….they are nothing like some of the pages I see of other artists on pinterest or tumblr…but they make me happy 🙂 Some of them can fit as examples for the Winter themed list so Ill note them if they do…
e e cummings mixed media art journal collage page
One of my favorite things to do is write down inspiring quotes, passages, poems r song lyrics I come across and then create some sort of art around it.
ink and mixed media watercolor shape collage with quotewatercolor flower bouquet and vasesucculent and cacti plantersfloral watercolor artist sketchbook page
I really, really love the midi dress look and I emphasis the word look because the way a midi dress looks on a model (stunning) is not how a midi LOOKS on me. The models’ curves (or lack of them) are perfectly highlighted in the form fitting style of a midi and the length accentuates their slim legs. I don’t know if I really thought that I would look the same as the 100 pound 5ft 9 model did in the same midi.
Here is the midi dress I purchased:
Asos Midi Cami Body Conscious Dress
but…SURPRISE! I didn’t look anything like the model. It accentuated my curves alright, every friggin nook and cranny was on display. It probably didn’t help that the midi I bought was thin jersey fabric, which is probably one of the least forgiving fabrics there is. So I buried the dress in the back of my closet and tried to forget I ever thought I could pull the look off.
The thing is…I’ve never liked my body, but I also think most women in America have struggled with loving and accepting their bodies at some point. I’ve been working up to writing about the journey I am on to loving myself and it’s been a long, bloody battle for me but….(and I swear all this has to it has to do with the midi dress!)
But since I turning 30 this year, it really hit me how much of life I have wasted and how many experiences I missed out on because I’ve been to busy disliking myself and caring to much what people think.Doing these self-absorbed, materialistic Personal Style posts was a coconscious decision of mine to do what makes me happy and to (try) not to worry about whether or not people like it. Also, it’s nice to actually start caring about myself again 🙂
So, when cleaning up my closet, I stumbling on the crumpled up midi dress of disappointment and gave it another go (outfitted in my spanx body armor) and decided to give it another try and I came up with a few different ways to wear a form fitting midi with more confidence.
#1 Oversized Cardigans like this one from Revolve Clothing, are your friends.
Wearing a big, drapey cardigan helps me feel like I have a layer of protection and it keeps all my lumpy areas that I am self-conscious about covered. But the open front still shows off the cute length and style of the midi.
#2 Wearing shoes with heels (booties are my favorite for winter) add much needed length to your frame.
Here are a few pair of booties that give me the warm fuzzies and that I think would look good with a a casual style midi dress:
Most midis cut off at around calf-level (depending on height) which I love but also has the tendency to make legs look shorter and bulkier.
#3 Layer it up to create different looks.
A midi is fun to play around with different looks and is a versatile dress that can be simple and classic or fun and trendy. Adding colorful layers, like my favorite crazy plaid pants, creates lines, and helps to “distract” the eye from those worry areas.
A split sided basic top is perfect to throw over a midi because it covers my least favorite areas (my tummy and the booty) and I like the look it creates.
#4: Spanx is also your friend.
Good ole trusty spanx, instilling confidence into the self-conscious since the dawning of time.
for less than $15.00
, $79.00 on 
$120.00
, might be my new favorite dress for spring. Surprisingly, I found it on 
also found on Amazon and bought specifically for all the outdoor activities I told myself I would be doing this summer:
This one day of sunny weather has got me feeling all sorts of alive again. 
, available on Amazon for $85.00
for $119.00 on 
also available on 
available on 
jessbobess 
