Our youngest cut her own hair when she was 3 years-old (the only one of our four to ever do that, by the way), because being the youngest can be really hard, you know? Unless you have (and know how to rock) a pair of pink cowgirl boots, of course! Garth (not his real name) and I have always tried really hard to help our kids cultivate their own sense of style (i.e., point them toward the clearance racks and just get out of their way), however, Hope had fully-grasped her sense of...um...uniqueness at a very young age. Still, it's... Read more →

It's springtime here in Jersey...wait, let me look out the window...YEP!...today, anyway. So, I thought it would be fun to break out with the light and airy scarves, until I tried to tie one around my neck and, well, that's an accident...just waiting to happen. There are about a bazillion online tutorials on how to wear scarves and they are all great, until I actually try to tie one around my neck and, well, see previous paragraph. You know, what?!? It would be a whole lot easier if someone showed us fashionably-dorky-types what [k]NOT to do...and...HEY!!!!...wait a minute...I CAN DO... Read more →

As a mom of 3 girls -- oh, and a boy who understands the correlation between the changing phases of the moon and its affect on female behavior as more than just a survival tactic -- I believe in the restorative powers of comfort food, especially in the wintertime. This same line of reasoning, however, does NOT always translate well with clothes. For example: my husband hates, Hates, HAtes, HATes, HATEs, HATES it when I try to explain away my wearing distressed jeans, most especially when I am super stressed. Aaaaaand, if these back-to-back snowstorms don't quit it soon, I... Read more →

I've been crocheting for exactly a week -- here's my first project, it's a slouchy hat, which my middle girl borrowed and then forgot to give back, accidentally on purpose -- and I've crocheted a total of six hats, two of which don't really count, because they were either too big or too small and I had to unravel the whole gosh-darned thing, but I didn't realize that they didn't fit until I was finished crocheting them, so I guess they really do count, right?!? Ugh, this using both hands at the same time thing...to make something that someone would... Read more →

My grandmother taught me to crochet, but we never followed a written pattern (it was ALL in Nagy Mama's head) and, although I know the difference between a single crochet and a double crochet, I am a very visual thinker: my brain is like Google images and Pinterest speaks to me. Crochet patterns, not so much. Long story, short (you're welcome!): yesterday my borked-up back decided to remind me just how borked-up it could get, but being laid up with a borked-up back frustrates me more than not being able to read a crocheting pattern. I tried to follow the... Read more →

photo credit: my 17yo soon-to-be college student (HOLD ME!) I never thought of getting dressed as being all that difficult, really. Aaaaand, then I had kids!!!! Let's just say the fashion police have got NOTHING on a couple of teen-aged girls insisting, "OH NO, you are NOT going out looking like that, are you?!?" Trust me, it's complicated. So, as you can imagine, I was very excited to be invited to partner with the J.Jill brand in helping to introduce their new collection of "uncomplicated" clothing. That's right, even a dork (like me) can strive to be stylish and I... Read more →

Working in social media, I get to watch a lot of "how to" videos (YES, it's a job!) and I have learned some really interesting stuff along the way: like, how some beauty bloggers can make putting on their make up look soooooo easy. So, I was over-tweezing my eyebrows the other day and started thinking to myself; you know, maybe it would be a whole lot easier if someone showed me what NOT to do...and...HEY!!!!...wait a minute...I can do that!!! So, I present to you, the first in a series of "how NOT to" vlogs. A few post-production notes:... Read more →