Giveaway: $129 Petunia Pickle Bottom Weekender Bag (Diapers Optional)

Picture 33

When Mazzy was born, a friend's gift to me was a plain cotton shirt with easy boob access and a pair of drawstring pants. These awesome items of clothing could be worn during the day and then *magically* repurposed as pajamas at night. This meant that throughout my maternity leave, I almost never had to take them off. Which was really convenient considering I wasn't showering anyway.

In my experience, unless you are Angelina Jolie or Melania Trump, the first few months after you have a baby, you look like a big hot mess. Your hair goes unwashed, your shirt smells like sour milk and every pair of pants you wear involve elastic.

At some point though, you rejoin society. You go back to work or you take the baby to the playground or maybe you make a failed attempt to befriend someone at a Mommy & Me class. You then have to make a decision— are you going to take your style cues from Rachel Zoe ("I die for fashion") or George Costanza ("I give up")?

For me, clothing options have been much more limited post-baby. Heels seem ridiculous during the day, dresses make playing on the floor impossible, and any material besides cotton has to be sent to the dry cleaner if Mazzy so much as wipes her nose on my shoulder. If there was ever anything "fun" or "flirty" in my closet, they seem to have taken a backseat to pieces that scream "practical" or "I bet if it's black and solid nobody will notice if I wear it three days in a row."

Needless to say, it's been a slow transition back to the somewhat stylish person I used to be. 

But I am ready to step it up.

The easiest thing to do would be to ditch my dad-friendly messenger-style diaper bag and get a bag that makes more of a fashion statement. Something like the adorbable Wistful Weekender from Petunia Pickle Bottom (pictured below). It says— "I provide the perfect distraction from the puke stain on your pants!"

Picture 34The Petunia Pickle Bottom Weekender has two exterior pockets, four interior bottle pockets, seven organizational pockets and a key clip. (How's that for keeping your hot mess in check?) Plus, with a choice of five fabulous patterns (pictured below), your "practical" outfit will instantly seem 1000X cuter.

Petuniapicklebottom

Thanks to Sarah from NewDayNewDeals, today I am giving away a Petunia Pickle Bottom Weekender Bag (value $129) for free. (The winner will be able to select the pattern of her choice, as long as the pattern is instock at the conclusion of the contest.)

NewDayNewDeal posts a daily listing of the best baby sales online. It's not a cheap freebie site— Sarah scours the web for bargain prices on boutique brands and only showcases the higher-end items she would buy herself. Plus she posts listings of all the private sales from sites like Gilt Kids, Zullily and Hautelook the night before they happen… SO, if you're like me and receive 50 emails a day from private sale sites, you can click "unsubscribe" and check them all in one place. (Freeing, isn't it?)

GIVEAWAY RULES:

1) You must be a Mommy Shorts Facebook Fan to enter. If you are not already a fan, you can easily become one by clicking "like" on my right sidebar or clicking here.

2) Tell me your "hot mess" moment in the comment section below. Example: Mine is the time I walked out of the office "lactation room" after a pumping session with my dress tucked into my tights like I was wearing a shirt and pants. (That really happened.)

3) For a second entry, follow NewDayNewDeals on facebook or @NewDayNewDeals on twitter and then leave a second comment below.

Winner will be chosen at random and announced on July 22nd. Good luck!