As I’ve said before here on the blog, when it comes down to seasonal wardrobe shopping and Christmas shopping, I am a BIG fan of outlet hauling.

Ok. Ok. I admit that there isn’t actually ever a time that I’m not a big fan of outlet shopping– BUT…. Back-To-School and Holiday are always my two favorites.

This week, I hosted a fun Back-To-School Fashion Find at my favorite indoor outlet mall, The Mills At Jersey Gardens in Elizabeth, NJ (home of Alexander Hamilton and city “where you can eat around the world without a passport“)

Over 200 outlet stores, 13 fab Jersey bloggers, 1 mission:  To hunt down some of the hottest deals and styles for students returning to the classroom this fall– and I’m happy to say mission accomplished!

You can get the a sneak peek into the event via the Twitter widget below
#mills2schoolstyles Tweets

You may have seen my Insta-takeovers with The Mills At Jersey Gardens, if you follow us on Instagram.  I love sharing my favorite deals and the latest styles and deals from there. When I go I usually spend the day because it is HUGE– and?? they’re planning a huge expansion for 2018 that will include 80 stores and restaurants! I may have to start making it a weekend getaway spot! ha!

Kate Spade is actually opening up an outlet there next week (Aug 5th to be exact!) and there is also going to be a huge “For The Love Of Shoes” event going on September 3rd – 30th!

So you know when you’ll be able to fine me there again, right?

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2016 Back To School Style Trends

Let me start by saying that “90’s throwback” continues to be an over arching theme to school style this year. Everything old is new again, and this list is going to make you wish you held on to your favorite styles from middle school.

Distressed Denim & Patches

Distressed denim is definitely a hot trend (that I personally hope never goes away), but it can be a bit of a dress code faux pax at school. Luckily, this year patches are making a come back, so kids can wear their denim and not have to worry about getting detention for hole-y jeans.

Choker Necklaces and Fall Florals

I told you, the 90’s are taking over! Stores like Garage, H&M and Forever 21 are your go-tos for these trendy pieces at affordable prices. Fall florals with a grungy-vibe are all the rage for back to school. While I must admit that choker necklaces were a trend I was hoping would stay at bay, the kids over ruled this 30-something.  Tattoo necklace-fans rejoice!

Adidas Superstars

In the 90’s everyone I know had a pair of these classic Adidas sneakers, and now they are back in demand. These are shoes that will be worn-to-death– they’re stylish comfy and go with ev.er.y.thing! The Mills At Jersey Gardens has an Adidas outlet that is currently running a sale of Buy1, Get 1 50% off! Does it get better than that?

Bomber Jackets

When we think of fall jackets, we usually think denim– which of course is still in style– but bomber jackets are huge this season for both boys and girls. The beauty of these jackets are that they are they can keep warm in chilly weather– without feeling overly bulky!

Ballerina Tops & Bodysuits

I remember wearing bodysuits all.the.time. in middle school– and yep! they too, are back! A sister to the body suit is the ballerina top, which is also soft and fitted like a body suit. As you start to peruse the isles for your back to school shopping you’ll see that you can find these tops in florals, stripes and even with graphic prints.

Emoji- EV.ER.Y.THING.

Emojis are every where you look – from lunch boxes, to patches, leggings and shirts… and who can blame kids, these little faces are pretty adorable. This trend is obviously not from the 90s BUT, had emoji’s been around– I would put money on kids rocking them with their cross color jeans (<– which, nope! Those are NOT– i repeat are NOT back– whew!)

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Tell me, have your kids started campaigning for any of these must-have styles?

The post 2016 Back-To-School Trends To Hunt Down! | #FoundAtSimon #Mills2SchoolStyles appeared first on Complicated Mama.

No experience stunting, jumping and barely able to do a forward roll, she arrived at the doorstep of her cheer team completely green, was welcomed with open arms– and for the first time in her 6 years of life– she was more than a little nervous.

I remember her coming over to me crying during the water break at her first practice. When I asked what was wrong she confided in me, through tears “I don’t know how to do the things the other girls can do. I keep messing up.”

My heart sank a little. When she played soccer, she never cried that she couldn’t play as well as the other kids. In fact, I’m not sure she even cared enough to notice- but this was different- this was something she wanted to do but was scared she couldn’t.

Her coach noticed she was upset, took her aside and explained to her that every one of those girls started where she was and that with hard work and practice, she could learn to do what they were doing also.

She mustered up the courage to continue and ended up having a year full of great memories with new friends, team work, a few medals… and just like that she fell in love with cheer.

Now at the beginning of a new season, my once intimidated little girl came to me confidently with a goal– to get her back walk-over by the end of summer–a relatively basic step for some, but for her tumbling has been a challenge.

So in addition to her weekly cheer practices, we set up some private lessons and every time we enter the car to a practice she energetically says, “I’m going to get it today, Mom! I know I can do it!”

She continues to say this –enthusiastically– even after she doesn’t “get it”.

She sounds like the poster child for goal-digging.

She works hard but doesn’t get discouraged or hung up on failure.

Every day for her is a like fresh page.

Basically, the polar opposite of me as a child.

Whose child is this? Are we sure she’s mine?

Can you imagine how refreshing each day would be if we all had that attitude toward our own challenges and goals?

“I’m going to get it today! I know I can do it!”

Fast forward 3 weeks, and this happened….

Technically this is considered a “kick over”– not a walk over…

Technically she still doesn’t nail it every time– or most times…

And Technically, in the tumbling world, this is somewhat of a baby step to her end goals…

BUT she is growing stronger, more determined and closer to her goal every day.

Don’t Limit Your Challenges. Challenge Your Limits.

Inspirational Jewelry company, Endorphin Warriors recently teamed up with Muscular Dystrophy Association for their  “Live Unlimited” campaign to help kids and adults with muscular dystrophy, ALS and related diseases live longer and grow stronger and and also remind people that no matter what limits life may bring, you have the inner strength to defy them.

This tumbling “milestone”, if you will, happened the same week I signed on to team up with MDA and Endorphin Warrior to raise awareness for their Live Unlimited campaign.

So, after a long day of tumbling – one where she did not nail her new kick over skill for her coaches as she had hoped– I popped into her room and gave her a #LiveUnlimited bracelet and let her know how proud I was of her hard work, determination and positive outlook towards a goal that has been challenging for her.

Sometimes Inspiration is completely unexpected.

When we think of people who inspire us, we usually think of people who have gained years of life-experience beyond our own– parents, grandparents, teachers,  mentors– but sometimes inspiration comes in unexpected ways, at unexpected times, from unexpected people.

At only 7 years old, this little girl’s determination to overcome challenges, can-do attitude and enthusiasm for her dreams inspire me in ways she may never know. 

Who or what inspires you to #LiveUnlimited?

Share your Live Unlimited moment or inspiration on social media. Throughout the end of July, $1 (up to $30,000!) will be donated to the Muscular Dystrophy Association for every #LiveUnlimited image created and shared via the web tool.

Want to purchase a bracelet of your own?

You can purchase one here. $6 from the sale of each LIVE UNLIMITED bracelet goes directly to MDA to support groundbreaking research, clinical care for kids and adults from day one and services and support for families in hometowns across America.

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About Live Unlimited:

Live Unlimited is MDA’s campaign to inspire all of us to transform our perceived limits into unlimited possibilities. It was inspired by the strength and courage of MDA families who do remarkable things every day despite the physical and societal limits diseases like muscular dystrophy and ALS often create. Their unyielding resolve is a reminder to be relentless in our pursuit to defy limits while giving kids and adults living with muscle-debilitating diseases more Live Unlimited moments. To learn more about MDA’s Live Unlimited campaign, visit: mda.org/LiveUnlimited

The post #LiveUnlimited: Sometimes Inspiration Comes In Unexpected Ways, From Unexpected People appeared first on Complicated Mama.

If you struggle with this type of dilemma, it turns out you may suffer from FORO– also known as the Fear Of Running Out.

 {  {  Read on…  }  }

When it comes to your home, you want to feel confident that you are always making the best choices for you and your family, especially when it comes to health.

In our house we don’t keep a very wide variety of beverages. In fact, a quick peek into our fridge will show you that our daily choices are usually water, milk … or … water.

This is intentional.

You see, a few years ago, I found that our family had developed a bad habit of reaching for the sweet stuff before even glancing at water, and with active, growing kids I knew this had to change.

Fun fact: Did you know? Replacing a single 12-ounce, 140 calorie sugar sweetened beverage with water each day for a year can cut more than 50,000 calories from one’s diet.

Well I took it one step further.  I replaced ALL of the sugary beverages in the house with water.

Cold turkey.

It was the only way to truly ensure we cut back and upped our water intake. It was tough at first, but now 3 or 4 years later? It’s become our norm.

The new challenge at hand? Keeping the water stocked!

With Laina at cheer and tumble 4 days a week, Ryan at basketball 3 days (in the off season!), we go through bottles of water like… well?… water!

The need to run to the store to restock the heavy cases and even heavier jugs of water is at minimum a weekly occurrence and very honestly, sometimes? We just don’t have the time!

So what do we do? We ration our last bottles – #FORO!

So even though we are exclusively drinking water (yay!) we are no longer drinking enough of it (boo!)

Enter ReadyRefresh by Nestlé – a business built on the belief that your hydration should never hinge on the inconvenience of restocking your bottled water supply. Having your favorite bottled water on hand, without hassle, keeps you in control of what you drink, and when. Because when you’re thirsty, you should get to drink your beverage of choice—not fall victim to Fear of Running Out.

ReadyRefresh FORO Experiment:

Did you watch that video like I did and shout “OMG! That’s us too!! We do that all.the.time.” ???

ReadyRefresh also conducted a survey of 4,000 individuals across the United States to collect statistics around water consumption habits and the FORO phenomenon. Here are few fun facts they found:

• More than half of all surveyed (52%) experience FORO at least once a week.
• 69% of those surveyed experience feelings such as stress, anxiety and worry when household items start to run low.
• 69% of survey respondents run low on everyday household items at least once a week.
• Nearly half of all full-time working parents (46%) surveyed say they ration or replace everyday household items with a less desirable alternative at least once per week, in order to avoid running out completely.
• Of those surveyed, three out of four (75%) working parents would buy more household items in bulk if it was more convenient.
• According to the survey, more than half of full-time working parents (55%) say that daily errands keep them from spending quality time with friends and family.

Our FORO Experiment:

Convinced that we definitely suffered from FORO, I decided to do a little experiment of my own.

Last week I logged onto the ReadyRefresh website for the first time and ordered jugs of water, a variety of our favorite bottled waters– including Nestle Splash–in lemon and berry– and 48 hours later, while the kiddos were at camp I got a visit from “Dan The Water Man”.  No. I didn’t make that up. That is how he introduced himself.

Dan was upbeat, friendly, delivered all the water into our garage storage area and rattled off a bunch of other houses (Not kidding. Probably about 10) in our development who were already regular ReadyRefresh customers.

How could I be so late to the party? 

Anywho.

The kids came home and found a fully stocked refrigerator of water and I’m not kidding you, their reaction was like Christmas morning (Oh, hello, FORO kids!)

I encouraged them to drink all the water bottles they wanted (so I could easily keep track), to which they said “Even the flavored waters???”  …. Yep. Even the flavored waters!

That day (starting at 2pm), between the 2 big kids who had practices, my husband and myself…. we went through… wait for it… S I X T E E N bottles of water.

I couldn’t believe my eyes.

ReadyRefresh made staying hydrated easy and convenient. They even offer expanded delivery hours, flexible frequency options (weekly, biweekly, monthly, bimonthly, every 3 months or even one-time ordering) for any product delivered and increased communication (pre-delivery and post-delivery notifications). Which is invaluable to on-the-go people like us.

The kids are already putting in their requests for an order next month– though we will miss “Dan the water man” who kindly let me know he will be on vacation for our next scheduled delivery date.

Interested in giving ReadyRefresh a try?

All new members receive $50 off their first order!

Tell me, have you and your family ever experienced FORO? Let me know and join in the conversation on  Facebook and Twitter by using hashtag #NoMoreFORO

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Thank you to ReadyRefresh℠ by Nestlé ® for sponsoring this blog post. All opinions are my own.

The post Do You Suffer From FORO? ReadyRefresh By Nestlé Can Help! appeared first on Complicated Mama.

credit:flickr

Lip balms can be a serious addiction. A quick peek into my every day you can find lip balm in every handbag I own, on my nightstand, in my car... ev.er.y.where.

I know I’m not along in my addiction. In fact, if you were ever about to be stranded on an island and could only take with you 3 beauty items, I’m going to guess that your favorite lip balm is probably on that list. I mean– on a hot, dry, island? It’s a no-brainer… BUT did you know that, that lip balm may just come in handy for a variety of other uses on that island and in your every day life?

Below are a few lip balm hacks that may or may not save your life

Tame fly-aways

Fly-aways are THE. WORST.  I personally have these teeny tiny baby hairs right up front that do not grow… they just exist for the simple purpose to torture me on the daily.  Much to their dismay though, I’ve found that a little dab of lip balm put’s them in their place.

Give A Little TLC to Dead Ends

The summer sun, salty ocean and pool chlorine can really do damage to our locks, leaving ends brittle and dead. Putting a little lip balm on the ends of your hair can soften them up a bit. You can even apply it to your ends before you head out to the pool or beach for a little added protection.

Hair-dye Helper

We’ve all had to touch up our own roots or turned to good ol’ box dye at one time or another. Adding a little lip balm around the frame of your face before you start will save you from getting stuck scrubbing dye off your skin!
Perfect That Mani

Lip balm is ultimately a moisturizer, yea? Well turns out it moisturizes your cuticles just as well as it moisturizes your pout! This can also come in handy when prepping for a DIY Mani. The lip balm will keep paint off your your skin!
Extend Your Fragrance

Ever put on your favorite perfume in the morning, only to find the scent completely vanished by noon? Adding a little lip balm can help; just add a little to your wrist or neck before spritzing your favorite perfume will extend the scent.

Pin It!

The post 4 Uses For Lip Balm You’ve Probably Never Tried But Totally Should! appeared first on Complicated Mama.

This is especially dangerous for those of us that have the unique ability to lather up in SPF 1000 and STILL get burnt in under 25 minutes.

So here I am, sitting indoors at the pool club (where it is too breezy to get an umbrella) researching and sharing cute sun hats… the very-necessary-accessory that is so easily forgotten … until we need it so desperately.

 | RetroJunkie, $42 |

| ASOS, $30 |

| Express, $35 |

|ASOS, $35|

OK! This one is the BONUS hat because it’s not under $50.

But I cannot get enough of these floppy hats with sequin sayings!  A bit of an investment but sure to create a buzz whether you are beach or pool side.

| Etsy, $86 |

The Floppy Visor

So the thing with floppy hats is that as insanely cute as they are (and they are!), as much as they provide us some very necessary shade (and they do!)… when its a breezy day, they are easily gone with the wind….

Visors are not my personal favorite when it comes to shading from the sun, BUT the floppy visor? Kinda genius!

… and currently on SUPER DUPER sale at Saks Off 5th.

| Saks Off Fifth, $14.99 (marked down from $48!) |

| Etsy, $20 |

The post 7 Stylish Beach Hats to For Extra Sun Protection appeared first on Complicated Mama.