Mom Shoe Mission // TOMS

I realize that this is going to sound ridiculous, but for me, one of the hardest adjustments to life as a stay-at-home mom is figuring out what to wear every day. I know I will feel better if I change out of my pajamas/sweats but figuring out what to change into can be unnecessarily frustrating.

My go-to lately has just been a casual version of what I used to wear every day for work. So instead of skirts and slacks, I've been wearing jeans or ponte leggings with casual button-ups or sweaters, but the shoe thing has thrown me for a loop. I would normally wear boots through the fall and winter, but they seem too dressy and not so practical for my list of daily activities, which includes spending a lot of time on the floor and being covered in spit up. Before Will was born, I invested in a version of these Nike tennis shoes (but wish I would have bought this polka dot version) that I thought might do the trick, but I hated wearing tennis shoes for anything other than working out before I got pregnant, and my feelings haven't changed even though they might be the reasonable choice.

So when I saw that TOMS made a pair of their classic shoe with a fleece lining, I decided to try out a pair.  I know so many people that love TOMS, and I was excited to have a reason to jump on the band wagon of casual comfortable shoes. And after about a month, ordering three different pairs, selling one to my mom, sending one back, and breaking one in, I have finally grown to like (not love) my pair of TOMS.

My issues were all about the fit.  First, even though I did extensive research, my sizing was off. When I ordered two pairs in different colors a half size down, I realized why.  The light-colored (which were actually purple not light grey like I thought) eight and a half was much bigger than the dark-colored eight and a half.  I went with the dark-colored one because it was the only pair that I had ordered that wasn't too big, but it was so tight that it was uncomfortable.  I wore it around the house for a few hours and they stretched, but they were still uncomfortable for about a week.  Now, after breaking them in, I think they might do the trick. They are comfortable and warm and seem to go with my daily mom outfits, but I am still on the lookout for other acceptable mom shoes...

Also, I do like that Will and I can wear the same shoe. Now, if I could just get Jason in a pair.

Embracing a Trend

I will admit that I had still been wearing sandals out and about up until last week.  We've just had such warm weather, and sandals are so easy.  But over the weekend, I embraced boots.  Ankle boots to be exact. I had been seeing them on beautiful ladies all around the web (here, here, here, and here) and at Target (on sale for $29.99 this past weekend!), so I took the plunge and purchased two pairs to try out this year before I decide if I need to make a big investment. (Luckily, my birthday is in the Spring, right in time for the investment pairs to be going on sale.) Below are the two pairs I purchased to try out (as well as at third I considered) along with their more expensive doppelgangers. 

Top // Middle //  Bottom               Top // Middle // Bottom

Have you embraced this trend yet?  So far, I'm loving it! I've been wearing my boots with my skinny jeans rolled twice so that a bit of skin shows between the top of the boot and the bottom of my jeans, but I ordered some new ankle length and short length jeans from American Eagle (with a gift card I "borrowed" from Jason) to see if I can wear the boots without having to roll my jeans.  If the jeans I ordered aren't short enough, I think I am going to try Sydney's tip.

Also, I tried wearing my ankle boots with those no-show ankle socks, but you could still see the sock. Then, I tried wearing them without socks, but that just felt weird. So I invested in some of these, and that did the trick.