Exhibit #1:  When the Oklahoma City bombing happened, Katie Couric did not pick a nice “normal” looking person.  Instead, she ineterview the person that doesn’t use correct grammar, is missing teeth and wearing overalls.  Not ...]]> I hope this segment isn’t “wearing” you out, but I’m having a great time snapping pictures of strangers across this great nation of ours.  Today I was in the great state of Oklahoma.  I feel since this is my home state that I can talk to you honestly about it.  We Okies cringe at certain things. 

Exhibit #1:  When the Oklahoma City bombing happened, Katie Couric did not pick a nice “normal” looking person.  Instead, she ineterview the person that doesn’t use correct grammar, is missing teeth and wearing overalls.  Not that there is anything wrong with any of these things, but it just doesn’t help us further our cause that Oklahoma is a civilized state.

Exhibit #2:  I remember when I was a teenager on vacation to Florida.  My sister and I met up with some other teenagers on the beach and they asked us if we lived in teepees and rode mechanical bulls.  Seriously? 

Exhibit #3:  This woman at the local drugstore picking up her prescription. 

In case you can’t make this out SHE’S WEARING PJS AND A ROBE!!!!  Only in Oklahoma?  Or do you see this where you live too?  I guess she might qualify for the ultimate Lazy Mom!!!

Ok, his face is not shown to protect the innocent. (But not his “cheeks”!)  So, what do you think?  Did it make you laugh?  Do you think I am mean?  Does your husband own this suit?  I couldn’t resist…I apologize Mr. Grafiti Free-Spirit Speedo.

We tried to provide you with as many pictures as possible.  Unfortunately, some of the websites have their photos displayed in a way that we couldn’t copy them, but we provided the link ...]]>

Today our guest blogger is Katy Snow.  Katy is the author of the fabulous blog Staying Cheap In a Chic World.  She is young, cool and hip and has lots of great pointers.  Katy is a wife and mother and just so happens to be the daughter of our fabulous agent, David Dunham!  Thanks for blogging today, Katy!

We tried to provide you with as many pictures as possible.  Unfortunately, some of the websites have their photos displayed in a way that we couldn’t copy them, but we provided the link so you can go and check them out!

Spring is finally, here and you always get that feeling of wanting get rid of your winter clothes FOREVER and bring on the summer wardrobe, and maybe even add on to last years drab selection that you’re staring at in your closet! I know you’re probably saying, “I can’t FIT into any of last years clothes”, or “I don’t have money or time to shop for anything new!” blah blah blah..
Don’t worry you pretty heads ladies, I’ve put together some categories of fabulous finds that you can actually afford!

1. Pretty Dresses:
I know it sounds vague, but nothing says Spring/Summer to me more than a fabulous dress! Wear it with sandals, or dress it up with heels.. its such a go to for me all year long. And I always tell people if you’re not crazy about your arms and wearing a sleeveless/short-sleeve dress, cardigans (*cardi’s) are so huge this season too, so throw one on top and you’re instantly adorable, and you’ll be the only one that knows your hiding some extra “cushion” there!

Love this from Newport-News, and its only $39!

photo: http://www.newport-news.com

Or this from Target.. SO CUTE!:
$29!

2.Florals:
Floral patterns are big this season too. A cute floral dress, top, jewelry, bag.. possibilities are endless ladies!
How fabulous is this necklace from Forever 21, and only $12.80! WHAT??

photo: http://www.forever21.com/

Love, love, love these “Flower Sandals” by Payless (they have amazing shoes this season btw) and only $22.99!

photo: www.payless.com

3. Crisp White:
Always in style, such a classic that goes every season. Nothing says Spring like crisp white!
Love this from Walmart, and HELLO $10!

photo: www.walmart.com

I don’t even have words for how precious this dress is from JCPenney:

4. Ruffles:
Ruffles are everywhere this season. So feminine and so stinkin’ adorable!

I’m a little obsessed with Jcrew, but they definitely can be pricey, but here’s an adorable top that has the ruffle look, and not over the top if you’re not quite ready to go swimming in ruffles yet! And it comes in lots of cute colors for only $29.50!
Loving this dress from Alloy for $44.50. So cute and SO flattering, the wrap dress is fabulous on everyone!:

So Ladies, don’t start your fretting or freaking out about this years fashion trends, or your lack of fashion, you can always look fabulous on a budget, no matter your size, shape, or income.
Be sure to check my blog for what to wear, and what looks good on you, and always “staying cheap in a chic world!”

Don’t forget to go vote in our poll for the best money saving tip! You can find it by clicking on the link or scrolling down.

Now don’t get me wrong. My parents gave me everything I needed. In fact, they gave me more than I needed or deserved. I had all the cool stuff, but you know kids, they always want more.

I had jelly shoes (uncomfortable). I had Polo ...]]> What kind of memories do you have regarding clothing from your childhood? I grew up in the ’80s. Enough said. There seems to be a recurring theme to my childhood clothing memories. Wanting something, waiting for something or not getting something because it was too much money.

Now don’t get me wrong. My parents gave me everything I needed. In fact, they gave me more than I needed or deserved. I had all the cool stuff, but you know kids, they always want more.

I had jelly shoes (uncomfortable). I had Polo shirts (still popular). I had izod shirts (huge come back). I had Gloria Vanderbilt jeans (remember the swan?). I had Luv It jeans (with a Stop sign on one pocket and a Go sign on the other). I had Calvin Klein jeans (nothing comes between me and my Calvins). I had a Member’s Only jacket (it was maroon). I had a Liz Claiborne purse (babysitting money paid for it). I had Top Siders (another huge come back) I had Guess jeans (that I zipped by lying on my back and using a coat hanger).

You get my point. I definitely had all the cool stuff. But, I didn’t have parachute pants (thank goodness!). I didn’t have Units (I borrowed my friends). I didn’t have Reebok hightops (I wanted them so bad!) I didn’t have vans (my son does now though!). The list of the things I had was much longer than the list of what I didn’t. I was very lucky and have wonderful parents who understood a teenagers need to belong.

One of the big memories surrounding my clothing growing up was my mom always leading me to the sales rack first. It used to drive me crazy! And those Polo shirts I had? They came from Marshalls. So did my Member’s Only jacket and izod shirts. The Gloria Vanderbilt jeans? They were purchased two sizes too big so I could get my $40 dollars out of them. I remember wearing them to school in 5th grade rolled up at the cuff. Not cool! But the swan on my hip helped overcome the not cool factor.

I’m sure this won’t come as a surprise to any of you (especially my mom) but mom knew what she was doing! If we didn’t buy the Polos and izods at Marshalls, I wouldn’t have had them. If I didn’t find those Guess jeans on the sales rack? I wouldn’t have had them either. And that Liz Claiborne purse? Mom taught me to set a goal and strive to reach it. It took me three months of babysitting to save up enough for that purse. But I did it!

I am now trying to pass down the same pearls of wisdom to my daughter. Sure you can have Hollister t-shirts. But, we are buying them off the sale rack. Those abercrombie jeans you want that never go on sale? They can be your big Christmas gift.

I’m sure I will annoy her with this when she is a teenager, that’s what moms do right? But for now, she is getting it. She would rather get two t-shirts off the sales rack than none at all. She realized that she would have to give up two DS games to get those jeans at Christmas.

How about you? Are you passing your love of shopping on to your kids? If you are, are you also teaching them to check the sales rack first and go to Marshalls?

Look in our sidebar for the Submit a Tip box. Be sure and submit your money saving tips! You could be the big winner this week! Thanks to Spa Time Baby for donating a Cozy Care Cape of the winner’s choice!

 On the subject of Beauty Tips, this is my favorite solution to shiny, oily skin. My makeup is fresh looking for only a few hours in the morning, then the oil slick T-zone starts to appear. I used to just keep powdering from a compact, but by the end of the day my face looked like ...]]> You ladies loved talking about beauty & fashion.  Not only did we receive lots of wonderful tips, but you all came to cast your vote for your favorite.  The most popular tip was:

 On the subject of Beauty Tips, this is my favorite solution to shiny, oily skin. My makeup is fresh looking for only a few hours in the morning, then the oil slick T-zone starts to appear. I used to just keep powdering from a compact, but by the end of the day my face looked like fondant on a wedding cake! I bought some of those little tissue papers from a department store that have powder on them, but realized the powder was still too much and the papers were very expensive! Then I found the perfect solution: Perm wrap papers from any beauty supply store! A box of 1000 papers will only set you back a couple of bucks. Just press one paper to your shiny skin, and watch that paper absorb all the excess oil! You can do this all day long without caking up your face! submitted by Lisa M.

Congratulations Lisa.  You are the winner of the wonderful assortment of beauty products compliments of Kiss My Face.  Please e-mail the Lazy Moms your contact info and we will get it to you.

The topic for this week is parenting. Remember to submit your tips for a chance to win a fabulous Lazy Mom prize.  Tomorrow, LML will be sharing one of her deep, dark Lazy Mom Confessions and you can play along.  Mr. Linky will be up bright and early for you to link back to your blog. 

Also, we are only one week away from Mother’s Day Madness.  On Monday, May 11, we will have Mr. Linky up for us to all share our Mother’s Day stories.  You can share how you spent the day, your favorite Mother’s Day, your most memorible Mother’s Day, or even your worst Mother’s Day.  We can’t wait to see what you come up with.

I will never forgive her for not making me her plus one the night she ...]]> I have this fabulous friend named Heather. We met at church several years ago and have been friends ever since! Not only is Heather fabulous, she has a fabulous job. Some of you might know her as Shop Girl. She is the fashion writer for the Houston Chronicle. Heather also freelances for People magazine and many other publications. This means that Heather gets to go to some great parties and meet and interview some fun people.

I will never forgive her for not making me her plus one the night she got to meet Harry Connick Jr.! Her lame excuse was something along the lines of her husband being a huge fan. Whatever.

A few weeks ago Heather called and asked if I would like to go to a spring fashion show and party at the Neiman Marcus in the Houston Galleria. Would I!? After telling asking Philip if he could handle all the kids’ activities that night and buying something new agonizing over what to wear I was ready to go! Heather said she would pick me up at 6:30. One thing you should know about Heather, she is always late. It’s just one of those things with her. We all have friends like this and we love them anyway. Just like Heather loves me anyway even though I can tend to be a little uptight.

I get a text around 6:20 saying she’s going to be a little late. Her husband was stuck at work and she was waiting for him to get home. After a few more texts back and forth Heather pulls into my driveway around 7:15. No problem. I am not in charge of anyone but myself. I looked great and so did she. We were going to spend time together. I was excited to have been invited and we were on our way!

Heather and I can both talk underwater if it was necessary. So when we get together, the time seems to fly by. We arrived at the Galleria and found parking in what seemed like minutes. Probably because the conversation was so stimulating! To us, at least, it was! What kind of shoes are going to be popular this spring? Yellow really does seem to be the hot color this year. Yes, our daughters are going to be adorable and so fun to watch in their upcoming dance recital. You know, all the important, earth shattering stuff you talk about with good friends.

We are walking up to the door that leads into the shoe department at Neimans. Did I mention that they had shut down their shoe and jewelry departments for the event? It was a big deal! A DJ with speakers all over and music blaring, waiters passing beautiful food, a bar stocked with all the Cosmos a girl could drink. As we get closer to the doors I can hear the music, I can see all the fashionably dressed people, and I can also see a troop of amazons walking behind a display.

Those amazons were the models. Those models were walking to the dressing room. They were going to the dressing room because they were done. Yup, you heard me, they were done. We missed the entire show! Well not really, we got our own personal and up close show in fast forward as they glided past. Yes, amazons glide.

Heather and I had a good laugh and proceeded to work the event. She knows everyone so I got to meet some PR people, a producer for a local morning show, a few other journalists, her favorite hair dresser, all kinds of people I would not normally meet at the Little League fields in my little suburb. We had a couple of cosmos and talked up a storm. After that we went over to a close by restaurant and talked some more!

We ordered fancy appetizers and a bottle of wine and talked, and talked, and talked. When I finally got home sometime after midnight my husband had a hard time understanding what took so long if the show was over before we even got there. Men, they just don’t understand fashion.

So yesterday was a day that every girl dreams of. No, not my wedding day. Although that was pretty dreamy. LMA and I should do a post about our wedding days. We looked so young! No, I was not alone in a clean house all day with nothing to do but nap, eat and read. That might be a slice of Heaven were it true. No, I did not step on the ...]]>

Don’t forget to vote for you favorite fashion and beauty tip. You can do so here. Thanks Lazy Moms!

So yesterday was a day that every girl dreams of. No, not my wedding day. Although that was pretty dreamy. LMA and I should do a post about our wedding days. We looked so young! No, I was not alone in a clean house all day with nothing to do but nap, eat and read. That might be a slice of Heaven were it true. No, I did not step on the scale and finally lose those ten pounds that have been following me around.

I just went back and read that last paragraph and it made me laugh. Maybe those ten pounds have been following me around because my idea of Heaven is having nothing to do all day but eat? Would Oprah call that a light bulb moment? Or is that just sad (and funny at the same time!)?

Anna Valle

Yesterday was a day that every girl dreams of because I had make up artist Anna Valle all to myself for a couple of hours. Anna was so generous and came over to my house and gave me a makeover. What girl wouldn’t love to have her makeup done, get to pick the brain of an expert regarding all things make up, and all in the comfort and privacy of her own home? I even had my mom here with me to help take pictures and video. That’s right, I said video.

Don’t get too excited though. I had grand plans of making a video of Anna doing my make up (check) and then editing it on my computer. You know, speeding it up so you can see the transformation in about 60 seconds. Wouldn’t that be cool! Just one problem. I really only know how to check my email. It’s amazing that I’ve figured out how to do the little I can do on our site. Jen, our web master, will attest to that! So, I will continue to work on that video, but for now you get to enjoy before and after pictures.

Here I am with no make up at all.

You can see that I have redness in my cheeks and some shadows around my eyes. The first thing Anna did was color match me. She tested some foundation on the inside of my wrist and one seemed to disappear. That means it’s the right color. She also tested it along my jawline. After finding the right color it was time to put on some concealer. The concealer went under my eyes to cover some of the darkness there. The older you get, the more important concealer will become. Anna suggests putting the concealer under the eye, up to the inside corner of your eye near your nose and even down to very top of your cheeks. The skin at the inside corner of our eyes tends to get dark as well so you want to cover that up. If you have redness in your cheeks like I do, putting the concealer right at the top of your cheekbone will help the makeup stay longer and cover that redness. Anna says the concealer gives the make up something to grab on to.

Remember when putting anything on or around your eyes that you NEVER want to pull the skin there. You want to dot the concealer on and then just glide your finger over your skin and tap it into place. You always want to use your ring finger as it is the weakest finger on your hand and will therefore apply the least pressure. The skin under our eyes is very delicate and pulling on it or rubbing it vigorously will only cause us to form wrinkles faster. Who needs that?

Anna then started with my foundation. She used my own foundation which is the Clinique pressed powder. I usually put it on with a big powder brush. However Anna used one of those wedge sponges. She likes using those as they give her more control over where the make up goes and she can get more even coverage that way. She put the foundation on in layers. A light layer first and then you can go back and add a little more where you think you need it. She does suggest blending the make up down over your jawline so you don’t get that “mask” look. She also put the foundation on my eyelids. It is skin after all. That way your eye shadow will stay longer and go on more evenly. Anna also reminded me that when you are blending your makeup you should always blend with upward motions. Gravity pulls our skin down, so we want to remind it to stay up where it belongs!

One HUGE point here. Make sure that your concealer is very close in color to your make up base. You do not want white circles around your eyes. After you have your foundation on you might want to dust some translucent powder over the top. It will help keep your foundation in place, and it will also help keep the shine down on your face. Here in TX we tend to sweat in the summer. So anything that helps with shine is a good thing!

Next were the eyes. I wish I had some detail pictures of this. That is what the video was for. Hopefully I’ll figure out how to come back and add it. Just for the record, my video camera and my computer aren’t getting along. It’s not that I don’t know how to insert the video. OK, back to eyes. You want to start with a lighter highlight color right up under your eyebrows. For a daytime look you don’t want to add too much color. Since I have dark eyes and tan skin Anna decided to use golds and browns.

She started with the brown at the outside corner of my eye and dusted it into the natural crease of my eye. The older you get the higher up you will want to go with the darker color. As we age and our skin droops we lose that natrual crease, so you want to help it along and create that crease with the darker color. Anna then used a gold color blended with the lighter shell highlight color to fill below the crease down to my lash line.

Next was eyeliner. You want to start at the outside of your eye, from your natural line and carry it straight across the eye. Anna prefers a thin line for a daytime look. We used my personal eyeliner which is a pot of creme liner from MAC. I apply it with a small pointy brush that I bought with it from MAC. I really like the brush and eyeliner. Clinique also sells the pot of creme liner and I really like theirs as well. It lasts forever, doesn’t smudge and is much easier to apply than liquid eyeliner.

Right before apllying my blush Anna used my new favorite product! It’s called Magic from Perscriptives. She used it to highlight the top of my cheekbones. It is a loose powder with no color but just a litlte bit of shimmer. The cool part about this stuff is that it makes your skin feel cool right when you put it on. I thought that the brush was a little damp at first but it was actually the cool feeling from the powder. It’s a great thing for those of us with ruddy skin as it will cool that redness down.

Next was blush. We used my own blush, which is a Bare Minerals loose powder. I usually use a contour blush brush to apply it. Anna used my powder brush instead.

You can see that my powder brush has a big head on it but the bristles are flat on the top. Anna prefers this to the contour brush that I normally use.

The powder brush will allow you to cover the area much faster. When I use the contour brush I sometimes feel as if I have a streak of blush along my cheekbone and I have to go back and blend in out. The powder brush allows you to cover the apple of your cheek up along your cheekbone much faster and smoother. Great tip!

The last thing we did was lips. Anna always uses a lip liner. I don’t always use one as it reminded me of an older look. I think that was because I visualized someone in the ’80s with a really dark liner and lighter lipstick. Remember that? The lipstick would wear off and then you would just see this dark red liner.

Anna uses a more natural color of liner. It helps you keep the lipstick within the confines of your lips. It also prevents the color of the lipstick from bleeding out into the lines (wrinkles) that we get around our lips as we get older. Most people’s lips are asymmetrical. You can use the lip liner ot even them out. If you have thin lips you can line them on the outside edge of your lip line. If you have very full lips you can line them on the inside edge of your lip line. For my lips Anna lined them right on the natural lip line.

We used a pinkish lip color that Anna brought with her. You want to cover the lip liner with the lipstick. Again, we don’t want that old lady look of two different colors of liner and lipstick.

Before applying mascara Anna used a lash lengthener from Perscriptives. It really made my lashes look longer without the added clump of mascara. She only used the lengthener on my lashes from the center of my eye to the outside edge. By highlighting those lashes it made my eyes look larger. Think Bambi doe eyed look. You can then apply just one coat of mascara and get all the length without the extra clump.

Here I am all done with a daytime look.

Didn’t she do a great job?! I then asked Anna how she would change this into more of an evening look. The first thing she did was highlight my cheekbones. She used the contour blush brush pictured above. With a darker blush or even brown eyeshadow, which is what Anna used on me, she highlighted the hollow of my cheek to make my cheekbones look even higher.

Anna then intensified my eye color a little bit. She added a darker brown to the contour of my eyes. Another thing she did to my eyes was use black liquid liner to make the line on my top lid a little bit thicker and darker. She then used a black pencil to lightly add some eyeliner under my eyes.

The final step to take my look from day to night was to intensify my lip color. Anna added some more of the same color of lipstick just to make it more intense and then went over it with a darker gloss. Here I am! Ready for a night out on the town. Or at the ballfields, whatever works for you.

I learned so much from Anna! She spent about an hour working with me and she talked about what she was doing the entire time. It was great! I could ask her questions about products, techniques etc. I mentioned earlier that my mom was here with me, and Mom got to ask her questions as well. My daughter came home from school during our time together and Grace was thrilled to watch an expert in action!

Here are some more of Anna’s tips and favorite products that I didn’t mention above.

• Always wash off your makeup at night.
• Always use eye cream. You do not want an eye cream that contains petroleum jelly. You want soothing ingredients like aloe and chamomile.
• You need to be consistent with your skin care. It is hard for your skin to reap the benefits of products if you do not use them consistently.
• Anna uses the Ahava line of skin care products from Dead Sea Cosmetics. I am going to try some of them. Anna’s skin looks amazing! I would have guessed she was ten years younger than she is.
• After you put on your moisturizer in the morning you should wait a few minutes before applying your makeup. This allows the moisturizer to absorb into your skin first and your makeup will stay on longer.
• Perscriptives is Anna’s favorite brand of makeup. They have lots of options for foundations with varying levels of coverage. She has never had anyone have any kind of reaction to it.
• Perscriptives has a good concealer. It is in a pen like tube with a brush on the end. You twist the tube and the concealer will fill up the brush. It goes on smoothly without pulling at the skin under your eyes.
• Perscriptives has really great makeup brushes.
• Ben Nye is a company known for their stage makeup. The translucent powder she uses is from them. It really helped with my shine problem.
• Ben Nye also has a product called Set that you can dust over your makeup that does just what it says. It sets everything into place and allows it to wear much longer.
• Anna really likes the wedge sponges. They smell funny when you buy them so pull them out of the package and put them in the sink to wash them with anti-bacterial soap or shampoo. Once they are completely dry they are ready to use. You can wash them over and over.
• You should have two different pencil sharpeners. One for your eye liners and one for lip liners. The products are different and you don’t want the oils of one getting into the other. You also need to keep your pencils very sharp.
• Anna currently likes the L’oreal lip color Nature’s Blush.

One more time ladies…..Before and After. Just a quick sidenote. My face did not look as light as it appears in the after photo. It really looked like my natural color, just without all the redness you see in the before photo. I think that the flash didn’t go off on the first picture, and did on the second.

Before

After

I think that’s all I have. Was that enough information for you? Are you on overload? I really enjoyed my time with Anna and learned so much from her! I am planning on picking up some of the L’oreal lipstick, the Ahava face care products, Perscriptives Magic, and some translucent powder. I hope you learned something too!

Thank you so much Anna! It was a lovely afternoon and your personality is just as beautiful as you are!

Don’t forget Lazy Moms to pick up our Mother’s Day Madness button. We want to hear all about your Mother’s Day on Monday May 11th!!

Girls, we don’t care how cute your fanny is, we don’t want to see your panty lines.  If you are like me, and allergic to the “thong”, try seamless panties.  They work great, stay in place and voila, no lines!  My favorites are the Vanishing Edge from Soma.

We think the highlight of the week was our What Not to Wear post! From all the comments we received, we think you would agree. So, what do you think girls, should it be a recurring post? Would you be willing to be our roving photographers and submit pictures? You have to promise to be inconspicuous when you ...]]> This has been an eventful week in Lazy Land! We tried on (and found) the perfect pair of jeans, we were fitted for bras, and we even managed to post a few recipes.

We think the highlight of the week was our What Not to Wear post! From all the comments we received, we think you would agree. So, what do you think girls, should it be a recurring post? Would you be willing to be our roving photographers and submit pictures? You have to promise to be inconspicuous when you take a picture though. We don’t want to embarrass anyone, We promise to always blur faces to protect the fashionably challenged.

It was such a busy week we may have received a record number of tips this week. It must be that prize from Kiss My Face that you girls are angling to win!

Here are our top five tips in no certain order. Vote for your favorite, vote for yourself and recruit your friends and families to vote as well. The poll will be up until noon Central on Sunday. We will announce the winner and our new topic on Monday.

Be sure and come back tomorrow. We will have make up artist Anna Valle visiting us sharing some tips and ideas. And I get a makeover! Thanks Anna!!

On Friday May 8th, the Lazy Moms will be guests of Tamara Hancock, author of Confessions of a Stay at Home Mom, on Blog Talk Radio. Yikes! Are we ready for this? You’ll be able to listen live here or download it as a podcast afterwards. You can even call in and talk to us! So check out the link to get the phone number. That would totally make our day!

Our Mother’s Day Madness party is getting closer! Blog about your Mother’s Day on Monday May 11th and link back to us so we all can share. You can pick up the button in our sidebar. If you want to mention next week on your blog that you are planning to join us on Monday we would love that. The more the merrier!

See you tomorrow! Come check out my fabulous makeup, I’m sure Anna will make me look ten years younger. That cute checker at Kroger is going to card me when I buy my next bottle of wine! (that would mean Anna made me look 18 years younger. Stop trying to do the math in your head!!)

photo: http://www.blisstree.com