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. 

If you would like us in your inbox each Monday then pop your email address in the Subscribe box over on the right hand side.

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.

If you haven't already, pop your email address in to the 'subscribe' box on the right hand side to make sure you get us in your inbox each Monday.

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.

If you want to receive us in your inbox every Monday pop your email address in the 'Subscribe' box over on the right hand side.

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.

Subscribe to our blog to receive the posts straight to your inbox.

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

The Scarf Debunked!

{Dan} I for one love scarves but I never wear them because I usually put it on and it flops around and looks wrong...ha ha!!  I didn't realise it was all to do with my body shape, (bust and shoulders).

Flick has put together this BRILLIANT video on how to wear scarves several different ways and what to be mindful of when wearing them.

She has also compiled some of her favourite scarves out in stores at the moment.

Some great scarf looks

Left to Right; Mix Apparel $12, Karen Walker $79.95, Country Road $69.95, Warehouse from ASOS $35.29, Sportsgirl $29.95

Keep an eye out for the winner of the Subscribe competition from last week.  We will announce it later today on the blog and via email.

If you are enjoying what you are reading then pop in your email address over on the right of the page to subscribe to our blog.

Have a great Monday.

Competition Time - Subscribe for a chance to WIN

We are overwhelmed and feeling loved for all the amazing feedback we have received from our lovely readers of our blog and we just want to say...

THANK YOU....and WE THINK YOU ARE GREAT!

So it's COMPETITION TIME!!

We know that all women love to be spoilt so we are hoping we can spoil you a little.
We are giving away one Nude By Nature -  Bright, Nude & Cheeky Complexion Collection Kit valued at $120! (There are 8 different beautiful products in there).

All we ask you to do is subscribe to our blog (over on the right side) and follow us on either Facebook (click HERE) or Instagram. (search Made_for_mondays) for your chance to win.

Here's how to enter (every step must be completed):

1. Subscribe to our blog (over on the right)
2. Follow us on Facebook or Instagram or both.
3. Leave a comment on the bottom of this post telling us what you love so far or what you would love to see more of.
4. And if you share our "competition pic" on Instagram it will be an extra entry for you to win.

What you can win - 8 beautiful products:
- Airbrush mineral primer
- Natural mineral cover
- Mineral bronzer
- Mineral finishing veil
- Cream blush
- Lemon sugar lip scrub
- Mineral lip gloss
- Kabuki brush

The winner will be drawn at random next Monday 07th July, 2014 and announced on the blog.

Terms & Conditions

• Competition runs from Monday 30th June - Midnight Sunday 6th July, 2014
• Prize drawn at random by randomorg.com
• Prize valued at $120 plus postage costs
• Made for Mondays will cover the costs for tracked post with Australia Post
• Winner announced via blog post and email
• Prize posted within 7 days of claiming
• Prize will be posted with tracking but we will not hold responsibility if prize is misplaced by Australia Post and cannot be claimed for cash.

Good luck.  Have a great Monday and the rest will follow.

I have a wardrobe FULL of clothes BUT NOTHING TO WEAR!

We all fall prey to the age old problem – ‘I have a wardrobe full of clothes, but nothing to wear’.

Day in, day out we jump out of the shower and head to our wardrobes with hope in our heart that today THE perfect outfit will jump out at us.....but still nothing to wear!

 

I promise you when I say this – you DO have great outfits in your wardrobe, you just need to look at your clothing in a new light.

Last week I was talking to Dan (for a change) on Skype and we decided to get into her wardrobe and have a play around.   I took a dress Dan typically wears in summer and layered it up for the winter season both casually and a dressier option which gives her THREE DIFFERENT outfits from the one dress.

 

The summer dress waiting patiently for warmer weather.

For the casual outfit I made sure to lighten the dress by using grey marl, tan leather flat ankle boots and layer the dress so it appeared to look more like a skirt.

*TIP – A crop cardi or jacket is key when layering an outfit as it finishes at the waist (the smallest part of the torso).

 

 

A casual winter look.

To dress this bad boy up so Dan can look effortlessly amazing when her hubby takes her out for dinner (hint hint if he is reading this hehe), instead of using lots of necklaces I decided to bling the dress up with the sequined jacket. The jacket on its own was a little too much with the pattern of the dress and as it is a bomber style jacket, combined with the dress it wasn't overly flattering so I put the crop black jacket over the top which not only breaks up the sequins but it brings Dan in at the sides and as a result is far more flattering.  Teamed with full tights and heels to complete the look.

*TIP – When using a piece like the sequin jacket, keep everything else simple.

 

All dressed up for a night out.

So there you are ladies, Dan now has a dress she can throw on in summer, layer up in winter and glam up for a night out. 

What dresses do you have in your wardrobe that you thought you would only wear in summer? Pull out your dresses, your winter basics and a crop jacket or cardigan and you have a look you can wear  for the cooler months.  Let us know when you try it out. :)

You can follow Flick over at Wright Style on Facebook.  Click HERE to head over.

Inspired by little people & a chocolate milkshake even the big people will love

We are both extremely blessed to have our lives full of precious little ones and it is those little people that have inspired our post today.

Also, given that there are quite a few sales on at the moment (and who can't go past a good sale) Flick put together some beautiful little outfits on a budget and Danika is sharing a healthy Chocolate milkshake recipe for fussy little eaters....which also doubles as a whole meal and is great for breakfast.

Mix knit $15, Cotton On Kids Jean $20, Pumpkin Patch beanie $18, Target boots $21

Cotton On Kids cardi $10, Target skirt $7, Cotton On Kids tights $12.95, Target shoes $10

Target currently have a SALE on.  Here are a few of my favourite pics all $10 or under.

Shirt $7, Dress $10, Vest $10, Bomber jacket $10, Skirt $10

Jeans $10, Shirt $5, Jumper $10, Chinos $10, Cardi $10, Hoodie $7

Super Speedy Chocolate Breakfast Shake

{Dan} I have just discovered Alexx Stuart online (I'm probably a bit slow).  She has some amazing recipes that I am already starting to try out and I'm loving them.  

I have a 5 year old that is a pretty good eater but when it comes to breakfast time he is super fussy.

So when I saw the Super Speedy Chocolate Breakfast Shake by Alexx Stuart this morning I thought I would give it a try.  How could I go wrong given he loves chocolate (a little too much!!). And it sure beats giving in to the sugary cereals in the supermarket.  {Take a look at Alexx's blog to compare it to a popular children's drink that has been given the green light in school canteen's which is choc full of sugar.}

The verdict was that he drunk the lot....there were a few yums and he was very full.  My husband also enjoyed it and given he is a fussy breakfast eater too I think we are on to a winner.  

Recipe

1/2 c frozen berries or 1/2 banana

1 1/2 teaspoons cacao powder

2 teaspoons raw honey (you can use organic maple syrup, rice syrup..you can gradually reduce the amount of honey etc that you use as they get used to it)

150mls of your milk of choice.  Rice milk, nut milks, or an A2 milk if you prefer full dairy

50mls coconut cream

1 whole egg

2 teaspoons chia seeds

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon (optional - I didn't add it, only because it was one more thing I had to pull out of the cupboard)

**Alexx also suggests adding 1/2 avocado and a tablespoon of coconut oil (melted) to keep you fuller for longer.  I am definitely going to try it with the avocado tomorrow.

Directions

Stick it all in a high speed blender and whizz it until blended (about 15-20 seconds).  And you are done.

Tips - Next time I will probably add a little less milk to thicken it up, although if you add the avocado this should do that.  

Check out Alexx's full recipe HERE which is such a wholesome and nutrient rich alternative to the sugary drinks available in our supermarkets.

Here's the cheeky chops drinking his shake.

Grocery Shopping has never been more fun..and guess what?? Double Denim is your new friend.

{FLICK} I have never been a huge fan of grocery shopping and if someone else in the house would offer to do it I definitely wouldn't stand in their way.

Then about 2 years ago someone informed me that Coles has a clothing label called MIX and that they were crazy affordable and great quality...............wellllllllllll I couldn't grab my shopping list, car keys and grocery bags quick enough!! Needless to say the love affair has been going strong ever since. I now work my way through the shopping list like a champion because, you see, the quicker I get the groceries out of the way the more time I have to spend on more important things, like pretty clothing.

The thing I love about MIX - yep I have to write a list!

1. The sizes range from a 6 – 18, which isn't very common these days.

2. It is so easy to mix and match.

3. They are on trend without trying too hard or compromising quality.

4. They have EVERYTHING from womens casual, basics, denim, sportswear, sleepwear and accessories then they have mens clothing, boys, girls and bubs so no one misses out.

5. If it isn't stocked at a Coles near you there is always the online option AND its free shipping if you spend over $50 (which is very easy to do).

Here are a few "items" on my "shopping" list hehe.  And happy grocery shopping to YOU!

All MIX clothing can be purchased online HERE

So, MIX have just launched a new Denim range.  The quality is great and here's something that I bet you thought you wouldn't see in your lifetime (ha ha), yep double denim is back!!!  So it's time to get confident and go for it.

They are also running a competition where you can upload yourself wearing something from their new denim range and win a $5000 shopping spree.  So Danika and I thought we would get involved and enter their competition. You can also enter HERE.

I chose 2 items that I knew would look good on Danika (and that she liked of course) and she purchased them online for a total of $54 with free postage.  We then had a bit of fun styling it up and sent her on her Saturday morning routine.

We would love, love, love for you to vote for us if you have time.  Just click HERE.

We had better mention that by no means is this a paid for or sponsored post.  It's a little gem that Flick discovered whilst complaining about her weekly grocery shop :) and we wanted to show you how easy it is to shop, purchase online, wear and not break the bank.

BRIGHT Pink lipstick - can you tell she's not used to it!

The dress and knit jumper that we purchased online.

Nope it's Chai not coffee!

Spuds and corn honesty system.

MIX - Basket Stripe Jumper $25

MIX - Denim Drawstring Dress $29

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