As a (still sort of) new mama, there are a lot of things from my old life that I no longer have (make?) time for these days. Getting together with friends has become more complicated, attending work happy hours requires a lot of planning and maneuvering, and my in-person shopping trips tend to revolve around returning things I’ve ordered online and/or purchasing new stuff for P (that girl’s long legs grow out of her pants like every week!), rather than trying things on at a leisurely pace and sussing out the latest trends.

Despite these adjustments, there are a few things I’ve found that make my life a little easier, and make me feel like I’m still me (and not just a mom):

1. The Skimm: I read The Skimm every morning during the week (either while I’m commuting on BART, or usually while breastfeeding Prim if I’m working from home that day). Since becoming a mom, I’ve found that I don’t have as much time for browsing the news sites like I used to, but more than that — I kind of just can’t anymore. Anytime I see a headline about a crime committed against a child, I have to shut down my browser. Since these headlines apparently show up on news sites daily, I’ve decided to just stop scrolling altogether and stick to The Skimm — it keeps me updated and informed, and doesn’t make me burst into tears while on public transit. (And if you’re not a mom and you think I’m totally silly for avoiding news sites, that’s ok. I didn’t understand it either until I gave birth — and now I’m a sensitive, weepy mess about everything.)
2. Capsule/Muted Wardrobe: I don’t have as much time in the morning to put myself together, and since I’m still nursing, a lot of clothing options are just out of the question right now (because, um, a lot of dresses require getting fully undressed in order to nurse or pump. Nothankyou.) Also, since Prim is moving and into everything, she’s not always the cleanest creature — and do I really want to spend time losing it over the fact that she just put an avocado-handprint on my dry-clean-only shirt? Not really. So, while it may not be the most fashionable or glamorous, I’ve adopted a bit of a uniform for mom-hood: high waist skinnies + basic short or long sleeved tee (usually in white, grey, or black) + comfortable shoes.
3. Accessories!: While I may go basic (boring?) on my daily outfits, the things I add to my outfits help me from feeling like I look like some sort of garbage person who’s given up on life. Things like an adorable coat, punchy lipstick, or statement necklace help me feel like I haven’t completely fallen into the pit of I-have-so-little-time-for-myself despair.
4. Online Shopping: Since I don’t have much time to go out and shop on my own these days, I’ve taken up online shopping (something I did very little of before giving birth!) I used to hate shopping online because I felt like I had to try something on first before committing to buying it. Now I totally see the beauty of buying online — I order a bunch of stuff (with free shipping of course), try it all on once P’s in bed (no keeping her calm in the stroller while I frantically race through a pile in the dressing room! Hallelujah), and then bundle up what I’m going to return. So the time spend in-store ends up being like 5-10 minutes, rather than 30+ minutes of browsing, attempting to try on items while P gets annoyed, and then stressing while waiting for the stupid line to move faster because can’t you see that she’s about to lose it here? Should I just leave? I mean, probably. (See? Shopping with a kid — totally not stressful at all.) I love ordering from Nordstrom, Gap, Old Navy, and Athleta online — free shipping and free returns (in store OR by mail!)
5. Portable Video Services: One of the things I miss a lot about my “old” life is the downtime. Don’t get me wrong — I still get some downtime these days; I mean, Prim does sleep. But there’s very little time that I get where I’m actually alone and have time to relax and decompress. One of the things that I really love right now is stealing some time to watch something on my laptop or my phone. HBO Go, Amazon Prime Instant Video, Netflix, and Hulu all have apps where you can stream from multiple devices if you subscribe to their services. One of the perks of my stupidly long commute these days has been sneaking in a show on my phone while on BART. (Right now I’m unashamedly obsessed with Outlander, which is available through the Starz add-on subscription on Amazon Prime Instant Video.)

What are you loving right now? And totally random question — do you have a mascara you can’t live without? I swear I’ve been searching for the best mascara for YEARS and still have yet to find one I can be loyal to. Ugh, problems.