Happy Mother's Day, LFB'ers!
"It's all changed now...I have to actually 'Mother'!" Mother's Day.
Of course I'm excited. There's presents, there's appreciation....another whole day of appreciation and who doesn't want to feel appreciated?! And then there's the presents.... From the age of nineteen, Mother's Day was always tinged with sadness for me. Filled with loss and even sometimes a little resentment. Having lost my own Mother, whom I was extremely close to after nursing her through cancer at such a young age, the celebration kinda turned a little sour and I found myself increasingly resenting this 'day of commercialism'... There were, of course deeper things at play here, I knew that, but it was a good excuse to massage my feeling of loss and loneliness I was still harbouring.
And then came Sassy ...
My little crazy girl who I'm sure most of you are familiar with from past blogs and my very public displays of affection... (She's already got her own hashtag #saskimo and shops at SoSi in Maylands!) Saskia Coco has absolutely filled my Motherless void. It's a fact....but I'm not quite sure I've got the Mummy thing down pat yet...
One hot, summer's day I hauled myself into work, five minutes late, my make-,up melting off, hauling behind me a massive hand-bag of 'who-knows-what', knowing I needed a to loose the maternity bra and invest in new, post-baby under-garments, hoist the 'girls' back up to prime possie to pull off the frock I was rocking. Did I mention I'm a Stylist?! And in I swept like a cyclone. "Hi! How's that little Sassy?" CJ chirped, completely disregarding my misdemeanours. With a heartfelt sigh... "Oh, it's all changed! Now I have to ACTUALLY Mother!" I exclaimed.
And on this particular afternoon, I felt like I deserved a medal. CJ's peal of laughter (which is a decibel unto itself) is still ringing in my ears! And it's been this way for the last few months. One step in front, 2 steps behind. Working Mum, Late for play dates, planning play dates which coincide with naps, and paying the consequences...dearly! Trying to survive in a jumble of nappies and red lippy! Rushing, planning, rushing, sighing.....dressing my kid in skinny jeans for baby gym, hence hampering her flexibility (even though she looks super-stylish) And so it goes....
Don't get me wrong, I love it (as does Sarah pictured above), I'm just still trying to master it! So here are my thoughts on Mother's Day;
- It's HARD being a Mum. It's hard being everything to a tiny being who relies on you COMPLETELY!
- It's hard finding time to wash, let alone curl your hair! I have mastered make-up application with very little mirror time, however!
- Without my group of ladies spread far and wide, the LFB Community particularly, I'm sure I could not have got this far!
So on my first Mothers Day I would like to say THANK YOU to you all for your advice, laughter, sympathy and empathy. For your stories and sometimes glazed looks (so I can cut it short and get back to reality).
Whether you have children, nieces, nephews, 'fur babies' ... its a day to reflect, give love and receive love ...
We at LFB like to support each other in humour, silly anecdotes and dress-ups! Oh, and champagne, of course with a hint of Vinatgeous style! Back to the lippy and bad underwear... We thought it would be fitting and fun to get together two new Mums (I'm in it), their babies and a dog for a Mothers Day shoot. How hot does Sarah McKeig look above with baby dog, Gidget?
This calls for a celebration, we thought! What's that thing they say? "Don't ever work with babies or animals..!" Well, we did and here is the glamorous evidence above and watch out on our social media pages over the month ...
Yet, it is not all about us we want you to play too!
How, we hear you ask? Follow this link to find out more (or scroll down) and see how you could win prizes in the month of May, Mothers Day Festival. #mothersdayLFBstyle
Happy Mother's Day to you all!
And to those, who like me have lost their Mum, let's sincerely celebrate the woman she created in you and me.
With a smile ...
Le'V & Team LFB xxx
PS: This is a little note from CJ just to say how very proud I am to have Le'V and Sarah (thank you Sarah for dressing up with us) along with all the other Mums in the LFB community in my life and the world of LFB. Thank you for the lessons you give me while I can still hand back your kids! And to the Mums like me who have dogs, cats or a menagerie, play to in our celebration. x
PPS: This blog was written by Vanessa Foynes not CJ as our silly system suggests #ITDEPTcouldnotfixFIRECJ
Final PPPS: Enter here ...
Feeling vulnerable is something most of us seek to avoid. On joining forces with Songy Knox who so kindly donated her time to capture my Worlds Greatest Shave experience, she set me the challenge of doing an Autumn Winter fashion shoot with me as the bald model.
It all sounded fab up front however this very 'un model' was having regrets. Note: We had agreed, no photoshopping. Heightened anxiety set in ...
I wasnt nervous about going pink, nor the shave (well maybe a bit) or the reaction of others ... No I was regretting committing to a photo shoot.
Well, there was no backing out now!
With Le'V on hand to style this ol girl up, I had fake eye lashes applied for the first time ever and a quick blow dry (just kidding) ... together Le'V and I headed to the Design Merchant studio, where Songy, Juliet and Molly were on hand to meet us for an afternoon that was fun, fabulous and for a good purpose.
Molly was keen to join in, she asserted herself into a number of activities on the day.
Juliet from Design Merchants happens to be a longtime LFB'er who loved having a sneak peek at new season garments selected for the day.
Our purpose today, was to show that bald is beautiful and unite with women who are currently doing it bald. You be the judge...
Songy had her work cut out for her directing un model me however we loved her straight to the point approach which stretched me well beyond my comfort zone.
Molly just loved the company and so did I ...
I loved learning about angles and lighting while being told to stand this way or that ...
Climbing ladders in heels (yep) I pick my lemons like this often...
Couldn't resist getting a shot in my favourite undies, you know the ones? We swear by them, seamless and remember to go up 2 sizes. This merino wool vest is delightful ... A lust have, must have!
The above; is one dress every women needs in her wardrobe! The sunnies make you feel like a rock star and are available at our friend, Alice's ... Hunter Store.
With extra lipstick added, the above is my fave shot ... You can pre order the dress online. I've got it back to front - you can wear this at least 3 ways. I am smiling albeit you can't see it!!!
We are still raising money, so please share our message with the links as it can all be done simply online or in store at Look Feel Be.
We have until the end of June to help the good folk at the Leukaemia Foundation, help others.
A super shout out of love to contributors;
- Songy Knox for her generosity and art
- Le'V for her styling, make up & coaching skills at Look Feel Be
- Juliet Borshoff for allowing us to use her Design Merchants studio and her assistant Miss Molly for keeping us all real & bringing us extra joy
- Leukaemia Foundation for helping millions of people in the past, in the now & tomorrow
To all the friends, family, LFB'er fam, suppliers, business associates, the postie ... who gave or when they couldn't in dollars, they shared the message in the hope that someone would. It all makes a difference.
In signing off ... here are 10 things I like about being bald:
- No bed hair, ever
- Feeling of being truly clean
- Time saving
- Feeling the elements
- Sensory bonus when head massaged
- Others reaction
- Raising money
- Minimised fear 'just in case' ... lets be honest with 1 in 3 of us having the potential ...
- Greater love of what I do have (my lashes and brows are so appreciated)
- One more thing off my list
With a smile ...
CJ & Team LFB xxx
Two years ago on September 1 we opened the doors of little Look Feel Be Maylands as highlighted in a recent mailer out to loyal LFB'ers and to mark the occasion we went dancing!
Joining forces with great neighbours Estudio Nuevo we hosted a night of fun, fashion and dancing ...
Guests arrived on the trademark LFB red carpet sporting their Look Feel Be best ...
We all enjoyed fine wines from our friends at Sittella's Winery (delicious) which helped limber us up for the dance moves to follow...
Someone say Flamenco? With a variety of LFB'ers performing it was not only entertaining, it was inspiring ...
In between our dance workshop (which was not only a work out it was a crack up!) some of our LFB'ers put their hand up to show us their talent and we must say, they put us to shame (well some of us - wink wink) ... Check out Crystal doing her thing!
In between the dance floor moves, three of our finest LFB'ers debuted their modelling career in a... shall we say, 'fringe format - freestyle' way ... boasting new season garments, just in!
The LFB models did a fantastic job and were welcomed back for an encore! It was actually quite hard to get them off the Birthday stage. Pop in this weekend to see the pieces! They will be on line in next week or so (if they last that long!)
With a few magical moves across the dance floor by guests spontaneously moving their hips (male and female) there was a terrific vibe in the room ...
And then with a surprise out came LFB'er Gemma with her partner wearing a sizzling new season dress (hot!) ...
Thank you to all who came along and to the many beautiful LFB'ers who wrote to us to acknowledge our event that could not join us in this instance and the difference we have made to them. It means a lot to us.
Let the music continue in store (wish we could fit Tim into our little LFB everyday) - we look forward to dancing with you soon and don't forget we have many offers in our Birthday month ...
With a smile and a big thank you ... CJ & Le'V along with Team LFB x
PS: To see more pics from the party go to our facebook page!
