4 ways to wear Denim

The denim jean is bound to be a staple (and a trusty friend) in most women's wardrobe's.

It is very easy to wear your jeans the same way day in & day out.  Here is some inspiration to help you think outside the box when it comes to your jeans.

Layer up your jeans with a chambray shirt and a chunky knit for a warm winter casual look

Raid your husbands wardrobe for an oversized shirt & cinch it in with a long cardigan.

Dress your denim up with a black cropped jacket, heels & a statement necklace

Play around with pattern, colour & texture to dress your jeans up and give them a unique look

We hope you get some inspiration from the outfits.  Jump in your wardrobe (and your husbands) and have a play around.  We would love to see your photos on Instagram @Made_For_Mondays and Facebook. 

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Have a great Monday and the rest of the week will follow.

Simple stretch for your back

Lately I have found that with breast feeding and picking up toys, carrying heavy bags, getting the pram in and out of the car that my upper back and across my shoulders gets very tight and sore.
It got me thinking that while I run around all day there are others that probably sit at a desk in front of a computer that suffer from the same stiffness and soreness.

We have put together a short video for you to watch on how to stretch out your shoulders and chest area as well as a nice spinal stretch.  You can watch the video HERE.

We would love to hear what you think and if you have any other suggestions for upcoming posts and videos.

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Have a great Monday and the rest of the week will follow.

Get Packing!

{Dan} So I am off on holidays soon and the thought of packing my bag (along with two kids) makes me want to sit down and have another cup of tea!!! :)

I tend to pack the night before and shove everything that I can into the suitcase and hope for the best when I get there.  As long as I have my purse and passport I figure I can buy whatever it is I forgot!! (Naughty).   Well, Flick taught me a thing or two this week...AND, my bag is packed a week early!!

{Flick} Here are my 5 tips for packing a holiday travel bag.

1. A week before you leave, pull out everything you are considering taking and make sure it is clean and ironed. So when it comes time to pack, this simplifies the process.

2. Consider what kind of holiday you are going on and plan your outfits accordingly.  Eg will you be doing a lot of walking?, chasing after and organising kids, or is it more of a relaxing holiday for two by the beach. (Half your luck) :)

3. Keep your staple items (ie jeans, skirts & dresses) plain.  So then you can mix and match with either patterned accessories or key items such as striped tanks, leopard print flats, floral blouse etc.

4. Keep it simple.  You don't need 6 pairs of jeans and 8 dresses.  An efficient way to pack is to take two of each staple item (jeans, skirts, dresses) and then mix and match with your key items (tanks, shoes etc.)

5. A good item to always travel with is a light weight shirt as this can be worn open as a jacket to keep your skin out of the sun or layered up with a jumper for warmth.

Here are some examples in Dan's case.  She will be doing a lot of walking and getting kids sorted, carrying babies and pushing prams.  Her outfits need to be comfortable, practical yet stylish.  

Outfit for the plane journey.  Comfortable and layered up so easy to adjust to temperatures.  The scarf is extra wide so it can double as an extra blanket around the shoulders. (And good for breastfeeding)

This skirt is great for travelling as it has a lot of stretch & is a good length which will allow Dan to  do "mum stuff" modestly.

This dress is great as it's a whole outfit in one.  Comes in at the waist for definition & a shirt dress in the current season's colours is an easy & classic way to look stylish.

A light weight patterned harem pant can be worn with a basic tee for a simple yet stylish outfit.

Black is a great colour to travel in as it is versatile.  it goes with everything and it can easily be dressed up or down. 

Packing some statement pieces such as the coloured jeans & vest can help bring your more basic pieces together and can create more outfits from what you have.

A light weight shirt is useful for using as a jacket or layered up for warmth.

Happy packing and we look forward to seeing some holiday pics soon.

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Have a great Monday and the rest of the week will follow.

The Chambray Shirt 4 different ways

The Chambray shirt is a MUST HAVE in everyone's wardrobe for this season and the next.

To ensure you get the most out of your shirt Flick has created 4 different ways to style it.

Layer your shirt up for a more individual look. 

Wear your shirt buttoned up to give it more of a tailored look and wear with a relaxed casual pant.

Wear your shirt open over your favourite dress as this doubles as a lightweight jacket.

Wear your shirt tucked in to a pencil skirt and unbutton the collar for a relaxed feel.

We hope you get some inspiration from the outfits.   We would love to see your photos on Instagram @Made_For_Mondays and Facebook.

Have a great Monday and the rest of the week will follow.

Get your stretch on

{Dan} Yay, this week I have Flick up visiting me 'face to face' rather than via skype.  So while we have been trying to focus on our blog we have been talking..A...LOT!!!!

She's arrived a little worse for wear with a fairly serious back problem at the moment.  We had a little chat about how some simple stretches and strengthening exercises can be done each day to help prevent injury or soreness.  So we thought it would be a great time to share one simple stretch with you that can be done each morning or night.

Another video for you to take a peek at.  We would love to know what you think and if you have any requests for further videos.  Pop over to YouTube and watch the video HERE.

Watch video HERE

Have a great Monday and the rest of the week will follow.

Back to school simple lunch idea

School holidays are always great for sleep in's, no having to think up ideas for lunches each day, screaming at the kids to get in the car :)...and where on EARTH is your HAT????

Now we are a few weeks back in to term 3, in order to ease the pain a little we have shared a super dooper simple savory snack idea which can be made a few days before and put in the freezer for when needed.  These would also be great as an after school snack.  It does contain egg though which may not make it suitable for everyone. (allergies and all.)

Egg & Bacon Cups

6 eggs

6 rashers of short cut bacon

3 sheets store bought puff pastry

Parsley to garnish

salt and pepper to taste

Recipe

1. Set oven to 180 degrees

2. Whisk eggs together

3. Finely chop the bacon and add to egg mixture

4. Salt and pepper to taste

5. Cut puff pastry sheet into 9 squares

6. Grease small muffin tins (with butter or spray oil) and mould pastry into each cup

7. Fill with egg mixture and garnish with parsley

8. Brush outside of pastry with a small amount of the egg mixture.

9. Pop in to oven for 15 minutes or until egg mixture and pastry browns.

10. Cool on rack and place in to freezer bags and into the freezer or place in tupperware container for up to 5 days in fridge.

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Have a great Monday and the rest of the week will follow.

Nude By Nature Competition Winner

Thank you to all that entered our Nude By Nature competition and subscribed to our blog, liked us on Facebook or Instagram...or both!! :)

The winner was randomly selected through Random.org and the winner is......

Steph Blizzard

Congratulations Steph, we look forward to hearing what you think of the Nude By Nature products.

We will keep you posted on our next competition and we look forward to all your feedback on our upcoming blogs.

If you haven't had a chance to see our latest Blog post on Scarves, scroll down to have a read.

Have a great Monday