Share the Love: The Perfect Jeans #LeeLooks

Jeans shopping has always been kinda like going to the dentist; I know it's not gonna kill me, but often times its uncomfortable and a few times it's been downright painful.

Turns out that doesn't have to be the case.

I went to a Lee Looks party last weekend where the kind people from Lee Jeans showed us the latest styles and helped us find our perfect fits!

Having a stylist there who eyed me up and had me in three rockin' pairs if jeans in about two minutes flat definitely took the pain out of finding the perfect fit -- there was no guess work and no crying in the bathroom and no trying to stuff myself into the wrong cut despite the right size. 

But you don't need a stylist to make jeans shopping less painful thanks to the Lee Style Guide.

Doesn't this seriously need to be a fold up to carry around in your wallet? 

This little handy sheet makes jeans shopping way more fun! 

I have a curvy shape that most closely resembles the pear shape, so it was no surprise that I loved the very first pair the stylist sent me off with.

The boot cut jeans I'm wearing here have a mid rise and a slight flare that the stylist said was making a huge resurgence beginning this fall.

I loved the pretty dark wash and the shape of the pockets because they were flattering to the bum.

While the dark washed boot cut jeans that were equal parts stylish and comfortable were keepers, I was seriously drooling over the beautiful array of colors from the new Lee Premieum Line, which is now available at Macy's. 

When the stylist asked me if I liked color I said totally, but I voiced concern about whether a pear shape could necessarily sport a pair of vibrant skinny jeans. 

Feeling confident from the first success, I decided to be bold and gave them a whirl anyway.

So can a pear shape rock burgundy? 

(Burgandy, by the way, is going to continue to be extremely in style through out the next several seasons.)

We thought yes! {Especially when they are not paired with white socks!} And thinking "yes?" Well, that's a huge part of the battle in the war on finding the perfect jeans. 

I wore my new jeans with the special stretch interlock that helps hold shape while also giving a bit when sitting to a conference this weekend, and I really loved them. They didn't get stretched out nor were they too tight.

Despite never having liked Lee jeans fit in the past, I'm now a convert to the Lee Premium Line. The styles are flattering; the quality is good and the price is so right (under $75!). 

What are your jeans buying secrets? What's the biggest issue you run into with finding that jeans that fit?

Disclosure: The Little Style Files, Peanut Butter in my Hair and Lee invited me to a jeans party and gifted me with two pairs of jeans for attending the party because they are super nice like that. This post is a sponsored post, and I received compensation for the time it took to write and review the jeans. 

Share the Love: It's about to get Hot{ter} this Spring

Now that mother nature has been busy redecorating the trees with lovely bursts of color and the prevailing winds have shifted toward sweeping in milder temperatures, I decided it was time to pack away the thick, cozy winter boots, coats and hats and do some redecorating of my own with a new spring wardrobe.

Because it's been such a tough winter for our family, I have been more than ready to welcome a new season filled with warmth and pretty colors both outside our front door and inside my closet.

Normally, I don't give myself permission to welcome a new season with a new wardrobe, but John and I decided it was necessary for me to buy new clothes if I want to go out into public, you know, clothed. Having lost around 25 pounds during this the past year, most of my old clothes now hang on my frame.

So we went shopping, and to say I had fun picking out new threads is an understatement. While I was super excited to offer a new home to these new clothes, I realized also that during my weight loss my feet scaled down a size, so new shoes were in order, too.

Oh, darn. I'd said to John, trying to disguise a sly smile. I guess new shoes are in order, too.


After having fallen in love last fall with a pair of soft gray Pixie boots from Hotter Comfort Concept Shoes, I headed straight to the Hotter site and began drooling over the spring line of shoes, searching for a pair that would easily carry me from an afternoon spent at the park straight into date night with just the quick change of a shirt and jewelry.

Because I know from experience that Hotter shoes are extremely comfortable, I browsed all different styles, not shying away from heels. {I broke up with hellish-on-the-feet shoes last fall after discovering Hotter and finding shoes could be stylish and comfortable.} But once I spotted Damson Bliss Shoe, I knew I'd found a chic shoe that could easily transition from day-time to night-time wear.






When the Bliss shoes arrived, I immediately tried the pair on and found that my hunch was right; these lovely ladies could rock both the daytime t-shirts and the evening-wear knit sweaters in my spring wardrobe all while putting a little spring in my step.





Overall, I love my Hotter Bliss shoes; they definitely live up to both names. The quality is superb, and I love the intricate detail of the embroidered flower on the straps.

I do have to mention, though, that because these lovely ladies are worn without socks, I did spend an evening transitioning my feet into these warmer-weather shoes.

There were no killer blisters nor was there limping involved, but I had a tender spot by my heel and near my toes during that first jaunt out in the Bliss. After that initial wear, however, the Bliss have provided the comfort level I expect from Hotter shoes.

Do you need hotter shoes than what you're currently sporting for your spring wardrobe?

Hotter Comfort Concept Shoes has graciously has offered to give away one pair of shoes to one of my friends here AND to one person who matches a pair of Hotter shoes to our favorite spring outfits posted daily on the Hotter Facebook page this week! {How awesome is that?!} 


CHECK OUT TODAY'S OUTFIT AND MATCH A PAIR OF HOTTER SHOES by simply placing a link with your shoe choice beneath the outfit on their facebook page!

 And to be entered into the contest here, simply click on the Rafflecopter entry form below! a Rafflecopter giveaway Trust my review and just want to order a pair of Hotter shoes {or provide hubby with a highly appealing Christmas hint}? Here's a 10 percent off coupon code provided by Hotter for new customers and free p&p on the first order valid through April 23, 2012: PFAUSB



Disclosure: I only work with brands I absolutely love and respect; it's a pleasure to review my second pair of high-quality Hotter Comfort Concept Shoes. Hotter provided me with the Bliss shoes for review. As always, all opinions are my own, and I only share products that we actually use in our own home.

Dress Like a Girl: In the Bedroom

There's no place I need more encouragement to dress like a girl than when it comes to the bedroom.

If John were to weigh in, he'd probably agree. I mean, one of my most frequented pajama shirts is from 1991. I know because the faded date of the festival from which the shirt hails is still miraculously readable. Relatedly, last year, I had to thrust a pair of frayed and tattered pajama pants in John's unsuspecting face, turn my head {dramatically} and exclaim for him to take them away to the donation bag before I changed my mind.

To which he replied, "Honey, you cannot donate those. They will probably disintegrate on the drive to the thirft store."

So, um, yeah; I needed help.

In my defense, it makes sense -- I mean, these worn clothes are the most comfortable threads I own; totally soft to the touch and thin, they are perfect sleeping wear.

While favorites are comfy and cozy, that's most certainly where the appeal ends. Honestly, come night time, my wears are anything but pretty, and that kind of rubs off on the way a girl feels, you know? {And the way we feel when we enter the bedroom shouldn't always just be pooped and ready to sack out, you know?}

So I resigned to retire some of my rattiest pajamas and trade them in for some new threads that are as cozy and comfortable as they are lovely.

And, thus far, I'm feeling pretty good about this decision and just plain pretty, too.

Why yes there are wildly half-dressed littles jumping on my bed behind me!

Cute, comfy Hotter slippers coupled with flannel pants.

You're seeing that right; there IS lace on my tank! :)

What about you? How's your bedtime dress? If you need some motivation, you still have time to Dress Like a Girl in the bedroom and link up! Pop over to Melissa's for some inspiration and a the linky.

Dress Like a Girl: Get outta the jeans, woman!

So I SWORE that I'd nevereverever wear mom jeans.

And I've kept good on that promise.

But I do wear jeans. Almost every day.

It's admittedly really, really hard for me to break out of my jeans rotation and slip on a dress or a skirt.

Because about five minute into wearing a dress or skirt, I begin the self-talk process that ends with me wearing jeans out of the house again:

Why are you wearing a skirt? You're going to end up crawling through a tunnel tube at the park in a dress after two rowdy boys who've become shell-shocked. You'll feel so restricted in a dress.

But, honestly, I don't want to fall into the mom wardrobe cycle, so when Erin and Melissa issued the Dress Like a Girl challenge, I jumped on board.

And I wore a skirt all.day.long.

Unfortunately, this half-picture is all I have to show for that day.



But let me tell you -- it felt good to wear something pretty, something lovely for a day. John even complimented my efforts, which made it all the sweeter.

I have to admit John was one of my top motivating factors for this challenge; he never says anything negative about my jeans wardrobe, but he almost always notices and appreciates when I'm dressed up. And I fully believe in taking the time to make my outer appearance appealing to hubby because, you know, that's important for a marriage.

For the challenge, I was wearing a Indian-silk saris converted into a wrap dress/skirt from a little boutique I came across {like this one} while I was in Southern California a few years ago. I wrapped it into a long skirt for the day. The sandals are compliments of the Target collection, and my shirt was a pinkish-purple tank top edged with lace from Banana Republic -- all very feminine!

I promise better visual documentation for next month's challenge, which is donning cute beach wear like sunglasses, hats, sandals, swimsuit cover-ups; I hope to sport all of those accessories this weekend during our first visit to the cottage {!!}.

Want to dress like a girl, too? Visit visit Melissa or Erin for details.