BARBARA ANN STYLE BLOG |

Has style became secondary

Posted on July 7, 2019July 8, 2019 by barbara solomon

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Motherhood has changed me in ways I never expected.

I never thought that I’d live in jeans for the simple fact that I spend most of my day on the floor (and they have pockets). But life with a one-and-a-half year old and an active dog has made practical fashion seems to be winning day-in and day-out.

And that’s not to say that I’m not following trends and playing with colours, prints and patterns like I always do. But dare I say, my outfits do seem to be “toned-down” this year vs. years past.

I also find myself shooting content more regularly, but not often sharing the details or styling choices behind it. Because in my mind the choices have been, “we were going to the park, it was hot, and I only had one clean bra.”

And thus the title of the post: has style (as a subject matter) become secondary (for me)?

I truthfully hope not, as the reason I’m in this blogging game is to share my passion for fashion and styling, but we’ll see, as the summer season is made for shooting, hopefully I’ll get more quality time to spending sharing my thoughts and takes on the current trends.

Here is a great spontaneous shoot we did in the early spring. To stay up to date with what I’m wearing make sure to be following me on Insta.

Some thoughts about this look
Since early spring, I’ve been living for beige and tonal neutrals. There is something lovely about the natural hue that matches so well with my predominately pastel wardrobe (and hair).

Sterling and I have both lived in our denim coats last season. Mine, gifted to me from Joe Fresh, is oversized, pastel and basically made out of dreams. Sterling’s jacket was found at a maker’s market last year, during the very early days of Baby Shark, and was hand-painted on the back of an up-cycled coat by artist Natalie Daye of Big Blue Denim. I instantly fell in love and predicted how much Sterling would love sharks.

So until I’m back spending my days in an office, I think my style will have a touch of “practical motherhood” sprinkled throughout.

On Sterling: Jacket: Natalie Daye, Romper: Gap, Shoes: Minimoc
On Barbara: Jacket: c/o Joe Fresh, Shirt: Target, Pants: Topshop, Shoes: Coach, Sunglasses: c/o Clearly, Necklaces: Van Der Hout Jewelry

Make Memories

Posted on May 30, 2019May 30, 2019 by barbara solomon

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My biggest fear, is simple. I’m afraid of forgetting. Always have been. It’s maybe why I’ve been documenting my life through pictures since I was a kid.

Now, I often say that my memory is photographic, but what I mean is that if there is a picture of it, I can pull the memory.

I’ll never forget one summer, while away at overnight camp, I used 17 disposable cameras. I currently have boxes, hard-drives and over 30 000 photos on my phone and there is nothing I like better than going through them and looking back on the memories and moments.

The process of documentation has been been a critical part of my life and as I’ve gotten older I find myself investing in creative ways to capture moments.

At our wedding, I invested in an amazing photographer from Mango Studios, an inspiring cinematographer from Elle & Be Films and an illustrator Danielle Final, who live-painted the ceremony, reception and photography session. The combination of these three methods of documentation have kept the memory of this special day vivid for me.

By Danielle Final

Since Sterling’s arrival, my world has exploded with pictures, but I’m not complaining. I find myself often picking a month, from the past 17 and reviewing the special moments I captured. With Trevor and I both photographers ( 2Boo Studio) we are always with a camera on-hand.

When Sterling was first born we invested and took photos at about 6 weeks with the insanely talented Scarlett O’Neill. With these shots, we’ve printed giant poster size wall art and created hardcover books for our families to remember this quick moment in Sterling’s life.

So during our recent trip to Miami, we decided to invest in memories and capture this moment in time, Sterling at one. So we began to arrange for our second session of family photos. I found Emily Prada, a Miami local known for her breathtaking wedding photography, who uses nature to highlight her subjects via Instagram and fell in love with her aesthetic. Because she shoots locally, she had lots of recommendations for locations and we picked John U. Lloyd Beach State Park as it’s filled numerous scenic backdrops. Check out some of the photo session below.

I cannot wait to print these photos out and put them on display. I’ve already gifted a set of family ones to my grandparents for their hospitality and love during our trip to Miami.

If you are a Toronto local and looking to capture memories with your children, check out my photography business 2Boo Studio. I’d love to create special moments for you that you’ll cherish for a lifetime.

Toddler Toys

Posted on May 6, 2019May 8, 2019 by barbara solomon

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Since becoming a mother in January 2018, there are a few things that have consistently blown my mind. The biggest being how quickly time moves. It was just earlier this week, when it dawned on me, that I was pregnant two years ago.

TWO YEARS AGO. How is that possible?

Sterling is 16 months now, taking about 10-15 steps on his own and ready to explore new things each day. He and I spend our days together and are currently exploring options of childcare, but in the meantime, Trevor and I have prioritized him having a growing library of books, toys, tools and crafts to engage and stimulate his developing mind.

So when buybuy BABY reached out to share their amazing assortment of indoor, outdoor, creative, and educational (STEM) toys and activities from our favourite brands (at every budget) I jumped at the opportunity to spoil Sterling. Although this post is sponsored by buybuy BABY all opinions are 100% my own.

Sterling: Bébé Fête jumper and Zara Shoes. Barbara: Danier Leather (old AF) A.L.C knit, Jeans: Target, Sneakers: Stan Smiths, Hat: Lack of Color, Frames: Clearly

Having Sterling born so early in the year (January 4^th), I find his developmental stages change with the season. As we approach spring, he’s all about moving and being outside, which is convenient because I am as well. The Little Tikes Cozy Coupe Sports Car has definitely been a winner as the weather has been warming up. We’ve gone cruising around our neighbourhood thanks to the push handle allowing me to have full control. Sterling absolutely loves playing with this stylish car in our home too, and practices getting in and out. I love that this toy can also grow with him as there is a removable floor to give him control once he’s ready.

We also picked up the Happy Trails Walk and Ride-On Giraffe to encourage movement around our home. I love to watch Sterling’s development, coordination and balance while pushing and scooting on this adorable wooden toy. Sterling is currently mastering backing up and navigating around Taco.

As a designer myself, sparking Sterling’s interests in the different types of art is one of my favourite parts of parenting. He’s been drawn to music since day one, probably because I walked around singing every day of his life and my entire pregnancy.

The Hey! Play! Acoustic Toy Guitar has been fun for the whole family to play with, Trevor “tuned” it and I’ve been walking around playing everything from The Beatles to Baby Shark. Sterling likes to pick the cords while hitting the base to a beat. Instruments as toys, introduced at an early age will hopefully ignite a life-long passion for music and the preforming arts.

As Trevor and I are photographers, our collection of cameras is pretty big and growing. Knowing that Sterling will grow up around cameras, we started his collection of toy versions pretty early. Again, hoping to spark interest.

I love the nostalgic feeling of this Fisher Price Classics Changeable Disc Camera, that is an updated version of the 1968 original. So far Sterling has only figured out the pressing of the button, and has yet to discover the adorable pictures that can be seen through the viewfinder. The camera comes with three discs, which are filled with images from animals to nursery rhymes to stories.

TSkirt: Bébé Fête

We also picked up the Hey! Play! Montessori Wooden Math Game, which teaches STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) basics. With wooden pegs and colour tiles and stacking rings, the game teaches children to count, sort and stack. This is another toy that will continue to grow with Sterling and so far, he’s at the stage where he’s arbitrarily stacking the rings and sorting them across the pegs.

Probably Sterling’s favourite and most used item we picked up from buybuy BABY was his new Sweet Seats Shark Chair. His face lit up the first time he sat down in it. He can usually be found lounging in it while flipping through his books, cuddling with a stuffed animal or snacking on Cheerios. I think he really likes having a spot just him.

Over these next few months as we move into the warmer weather of spring and summer, I can’t wait to see how much more Sterling learns and develops. These toys and activities from buybuy BABY should ignite his interests, creativity and thirst for discovery. Each day as he takes his tiny steps forward, it feels like leaps and bounds as he discovers the world around him.