I can introduce myself to you with this story: As a mostly stay at home mom on a newly reduced budget (more on this later), I find myself longing for my former days of fabulousness. I recently had a job interview that forced me to dust off my old Laboutins and kick my accessories up a notch. The interview was a bust but the shoes were epic.
It reminded me of the way accessories and putting a look together used to make me feel. I needed that back in my life. One night after bedtime and some wine I had a full out run through and went “shopping in my closet” (you know it’s a recession when…) with a fresh eye. Stringing old baubles, pairing them with earrings and my all-important gloss I realized I still had it in me and vowed to not only shower more often but to put the bags and shoes I’d spent a lifetime collecting to good use.
That week my husband and I were invited to a breakfast welcoming the incoming parents of my daughter’s soon-to-be fancy pre-school. I’ve wanted Jade to go to this school since before she was born – I knew this moment called for glamour.
I consulted with a friend: Is a statement necklace too eager for 9am? On the heels of the amazing season finale of Gossip Girl, we cackled over the possibility of adding a headband and cementing my place as alpha mom.
Alas, my husband banned the bold baubles and I went delicate but still noticeable for the jewels.
That night we had some good friends over for a bbq. I told myself: I no longer do casual after 7pm. It was the perfect opportunity to debut the necklace. Think gold beading, oversized teardrop ivory beads and some grey roping. Fab.
Our guests included just the right fashionista to show off my goods. She approached me and her eyes made a bee-line for the necklace. I secretly beamed. She reached out for it and I silently prepared for the gush, the barrage of inquiries as to where I got it. “Is that a cheerio?” she asked as she removed a soggy honey nut particle from the large teardrop bead.
I could have cried but instead we laughed hysterically.
So I’m doing what all the other hard working mamas are doing: trying to integrate who I am now with who I was. And I think it might not be as complicated as I once feared. I’m an insanely chic necklace that occasionally has baby food somewhere on it. Most of the time I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I came to Brooklyn like most Manhattanites do—kicking and screaming. I’d heard all the hype about the hipsters and the artists but this borough was as foreign to me as any non-English speaking country I’d been to before. What was fairtrade coffee and why was it so important? Who would teach me proper stroller etiquette? What if my husband didn’t own an ironic t-shirt?
In the end, I’m an utter convert. Happier here than I’ve ever been before.
All of my life, being a mother is really all I ever wanted to be. More than to rise the masthead of any magazine. No matter how many times, ad nauseam, you’re told how hard it is, I just wasn’t prepared for the utter sacrifice of self that’s really, truly required.
So this blog will be about me finding work, a sense of myself, some great accessories…plus an occasional hair treatment on a budget, without a babysitter and, more likely than not, with a cheerio.
