Jay Miranda

Good Taste, Mom Life, Homeschooling

Garden Party with Express

By

Express floral dress

Floral Midi Dress, White Mules, Gold Tassel Earrings, Sunglasses

You know how I feel about a romantic dress… This midi is the perfect length and comes in a moody floral. It feels like a sundress that wants to be worn at night. Like meandering through a garden at night. Fragrant. Sultry. Dreamlike.

I found the dress at Express, which has so many beautiful, modern styles. The fabric is sort of like linen, but without linen’s usual wrinkles. I gave it a light steam before I went out and it still looked about the same when I got home. It’s super comfy—you guys know I’m pregnant and this one has a stretchy inner slip that fit my baby bump and should be loose on anyone else. I found the dress ran a little big. Sizing on this dress runs through XL. If you’re like me (at about a 16), definitely take a look in-store and if you see a size L, try it!

Shop with this Express Promo Code!

Oh! Can we talk about these shoes?! I’ve wanted a pair of white mules for a while, but all the ones I’d found were either super spendy or not quite right. These are pointy, sculptural, and so easy to walk in! I’m in love and think they look so pretty with midi-length dresses or skirts.

Add some tassel earrings and you’re ready for any garden party!

 

In collaboration with Express
Jessica Castro Photography

 

Life is Sweeter With You

By

Mauve dress, (Plus-Size version here), pink sunglasses

Happy Mother’s Day to all the wonderful mamas out there! Now that I have a few Mother’s Days under my belt, I can say my experience of motherhood has only grown more honeyed and wonderful.

When I was first expecting, I was so nervous about this new role. (Will I be good at it? How do I take care of a baby?!) But you learn so much about your child and yourself over the years. Julia makes my life sweeter. She’s kind, smart, and brave. She makes me laugh all the time. She asks me questions that make me to stop and reflect. As she learns about the world, I feel like we’re on this exploratory journey together with me as a guide but with her as the lead. I get to watch her grow up and—OK let me get REALLY emotional for a sec—as much as raising her is my responsibility, it is also a gift bestowed on me.

As I look forward to welcoming out second baby, I feel much more confident about my abilities as a mom (though I know we’ll have plenty of new things to learn as parents-of-two.)

So much is written about balancing motherhood with other aspects of life. Or about talking about the real life challenges every mom faces. But today I just want to soak in the sweet parts. Dancing with mommy and daddy in the kitchen. Watering her plants in the garden. Theatre performances before bedtime. Ice cream melting and smiles. Wildflowers picked.

These rosy moments are what I’ll hold onto when she’s off being an astronaut or veterinarian or princess (she hasn’t decided yet.)

I’m very much into wearing my mood so OF COURSE I had to wear this rose colored dress from LOFT. I got us matching pink sunglasses because she’s always taking mine. Now we can walk hand in hand together and enjoy the pink landscape together.

If you’re feeling a similar mood, check out this floral flutter dress or this medallion printed dress—two lovely, relaxed options for weekend brunch. This tiered halter dress is so fun for warm weather, as is this candy striped dress. Rounding out my list of mom-approved must-haves with this eyelet blouse, sunshine top, and ruffle skirt.

In collaboration with LOFT
Jessica Castro Photography

 

Motherhood in Bloom

By

Motherhood is vibrant and vulnerable. It’s not for the faint of heart. Moms need to love wholeheartedly. They need patience made of steel. They need to be nose wipers and philosophers and chocolate chip pancake makers. They need be able to hold tiny hands and little by little, let go.

There’s the thicket of day-to-day mom life. Then there’s the blooms; the moments of joy that make you think “I’m part of something wonderful.” This Mother’s Day, I’ll be pregnant with my second baby and I feel so incredulously blessed. My husband and I always look back on our daughter’s infancy with nostalgia, but we eventually made peace with the idea that our family’s baby days were behind us. Then life—quite literally—happens.

Mother’s Day might just be my favorite holiday. I picked this dress from Chaps because it’s perfect for Mother’s Day celebrations: vibrant, beautiful, and in full bloom. Bougainvillea pink makes me happy and I’ve never met a flutter sleeve I didn’t like. Not to mention it’s got stretch and it’s on sale!

There’s nothing like a dress that captures a mood (or highlights a growing baby bump.)

Share this look with a mom who loves classic, feminine style, or pick this dress up for yourself!

Happy Mother’s Day!

In collaboration with Chaps
Photos by Jessica Castro

 

 

Sunshine Dress

By

Spring’s pop colors are cherry red, lilac, pink, and yellow. All through winter I wore a lot of black and gray. But the prospect of days warming up made me want to try something new for spring. So I decided to aim for a sunny shade of yellow! Here’s how my search went.

First, I thought of a style inspiration: Solange. Her style is modern, color saturated, often wearing simple shapes but with interesting prints, textures, or dimensions. Next, I went to eBay and searched my size + some of my usual favorite brands. So maybe, “ASOS dress US 16” or “Torrid dress 1” depending on the brand’s sizing system. That’s how I came across this bright yellow animal print dress.

Please let me keep it real: I LOVE eBay. Just recently I’ve used it to buy things as varied as leather cowgirl boots (for my daughter,) a replacement Blu-Ray of Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (for my husband and me because we were marathoning all the movies; highly recommend,) out-of-print books, and this dress.

I know a lot of us associate eBay with bidding (which is fun) but it turns out 88% of items sold are Buy-It-Now. That’s how I got my dress: one click and straight to check out. Here are a few more favorites for your sunny days ahead:

 

In partnership with eBay Fashion

Photos by Jessica Castro

 

 

Popular Posts