{Kestrel StJames} Real Vintage Mama Profile part 3/3

I hope you ladies enjoyed the first 2 posts about Kestrels beauty and fashion. She's an amazing vintage mama isn't she? Well we're not done yet. In this post we'll learn how she keeps her amazing body "pin-up" ready after 3 babies.

Nutrition

Kestrel calculated her dress size to be 12-14 according to this calculator, though she looks like an 8 to me. This breastfeeding mama admits that her diet really isn't the best and says she really wouldn't reccomend it to anyone (I don't think it's that bad. I've eaten worse...way worse).

I eat the same thing pretty much every day.  Quakes mini rice cakes in ranch flavor, Boston Organics roasted red pepper and tomato soup, and Uramaki sushi rolls from the kiosk at the grocery store.

She also suggests not eating what you feed your kids since their foods are more calorie dense. Growing kids need more calories after all!  (Hmm, never though of that. Great tip!)

Fitness

Trying to fit exercise in when your a mama can be an incredible challenge. Kestrel manages her exercise by doing it all day! I love this, it's genius.

I put my exercises into my life.  When I’m on the computer, I’m using the thigh master.  When I get up in the morning I lift the baby over my head twenty times.  Every time I sit down in the computer chair I lift a basketball up over my head twenty times with my ankles.  When I watch tv I lay on the floor with a soccer ball under the small of my back and do crunches and pelvic tilts.  I do what some have called ‘wacky-jacks’ because I get really bored with onsie twosies.  I also do twenty lunges a day on each side holding the 20lb baby.

Now I have no excuse! Starting tomorrow I'm going to start my day doing lunges with my 17lb baby! Here's a video showing those wacky-jacks Kestrel does.

Kestrel really knows how to get that baby weight off. She's already down to 140 lbs, 10lbs less then before baby and only 5 lbs away from her high school weight! Great job mama!

One last motivational tip from Kestrel...

It’s mental.  It really is.  The only thing that stops people from getting serious, getting on a diet, staying on a diet and making a point of exercising is telling themselves that it doesn’t really matter if they do because… what ever reason they are currently using.  Too tired, too old, too this that or the other thing.

Thank you so much Kestrel for letting me and my readers take a peek into your beauty, fashion and fitness. You are one amazing mama and a gorgeous woman.

To learn more about Kestrel StJames or to hire her for your next shoot, please visit her on Model Mayhem, Deviant Art, and Pin Up Lifestyle.

If you are a vintage mama and would like to be profiled, please email me or leave a comment.

So Long 28, Hello 29!

Dear 28,
We had a good run 28. Yes, indeed. We had many good times, and few bad ones as well. This year together sure has been a crazy one...


Remember when I found out that I was pregnant only 10 months after Jack-Jack. Gosh that was scary! I wasn't sure if I could handle 3 boys. But you were there, every step of the way. Even when I drove myself to the hospital in labor.


What about the time when I drove with the parking brake on which made my rear brakes give out and I didn't realize it until I was going down a hill.That was pretty scary wasn't it? Ah, good times...good times.


And then there was that time when I told my family about my new blogging adventure. Boy that was one uncomfortable blank stare! But you believed in me. 


Yeah, you were there for me the whole year through. But now it's time to part ways. There is someone else in my life. Her name is 29, Lucky 29.


29 is actually alot like you. She pretty, fun to be with, sweet and quite witty (if I do say so myself), but she's also different. She's wiser, more resourceful, and willing to take more risks. Sure she's a little older then what I'm used to (I still miss '25'), but I think Lucky 29 suites me better. 


So as much as I hate breakups, I must. 


So long 28.


Hello 29!


Yours, 
Vintage Mama

{Kestrel StJames} Real Vintage Mama Profile part 2/3

My last post focused on Kestrel's skin and hair care. Today we'll be taking a peek at her fashion and makeup must-haves.


Makeup

Day to day, I don’t usually wear much.  When I’m shooting, I wear TONS.  I look like a two dollar trollop, because in order to not have all your work get washed out by the bright lights photographers use, you have to use a heavier hand.  It never fails that after a shoot I end up having to stop by the school for some reason, and I’m sure they think I must always look like that.  False lashes, Raggedy Anne cheeks and all!

 When Kestrel does wear makeup, she relies on her old faithfuls: MAC's Fluidline, Urban Decay's Eyeshadows (without glitter), and Smashbox for concealer and powder (she raved about their Halo Perfecting Powder).


Currently Kestrel mostly uses Revlon Lip Colors (in the black tubes), but says she's in the process of upgrading her lipsticks.

You really do get what you pay for when it comes to make up.  I used to say oh yeah, I can get the same looks with drug store product, but once I started upgrading to the good stuff, I found I could get those looks quicker, easier [using less product]

Here are a couple of shots of her perfumes Angel by Thierry Mugler and Woman by Versace . 

Here's her dresser, complete with the baby Tylenol, an essential to any vintage mama!

Fashion
Kestrel admits tat she's a bit of an "oddball" housewife. She's tattooed, with large holes in her earlobes, and loves her some killer high heels (sounds about right to me!). She's the kind of gal that just knows what she likes and wears just that, what she likes. Here are some pieces that she currently likey:

• cardigans
• Victoria Secret Skinny Jeans
• Shoes! 

 Shoes are my latest indulgence, and I’ve been going shoe crazy in every color! Red satin, black patent leather, purple patent leather, pink patent leather, leopard,  black and white, pink sequined… 

Kestrel likes to shop at Pinup Girl Clothing, Francescas Collection, JC Penny and Hannah D’s, a local boutique. Check out her closet! I don't know that that black ruffly thing is but I want to play dress up with it! 

Her biggest fashion challenge after kids?

Not self sabotaging.  For YEARS after having my second and when the kids started school I was on this dress down kick.  I think I was hiding from people.  I thought by doing this, I would be ‘taken seriously’ or ‘liked’ but what it really resulted in was making me into a watered down version of myself and breaking down my identity for the sake of fitting in.

Tomorrows post will feature her fitness tips!

For more info on Kestrel StJames go to Model Mayhem, Deviant Art,  and Pin Up Lifestyle.

{Kestrel StJames} Real Vintage Mama Profile part 1/3

This is my week honey. My week! Not only is Thursday my 29th birthday...not only did my Hunny give me my birthday present early (a laptop! sweet!)...not only am I going to be a regular mama blogger on OC Family...but I'm also posting my very first Real Vintage Mama Profile!

Meet Kestrel StJames...

Kestrel currently lives in Austin, Tx, where she lives with her hubby of 10 years, and their children, Bubba Hammerstein (9 yrs),  Boomer Blue (7 yrs), and Roo (9 mos). Besides being in the business of making babies, Kestrel is a pin up model (yowza!).

I had freshly retired from dance, because it wasn’t working for my marriage and was kind of moping, feeling sorry for myself, gaining weight and otherwise kind of bummed out and depressed feeling like ‘just a mom’.  A friend asked if I’d like to do some photography stuff, ...I would hang out and take some pictures with him but when I was pregnant it really took off.

 I came to the Pin Up genre by accident.  A photographer asked me if I could recreate some vintage drawings he had seen, and I came to realize, if you don’t do the hair and the make up, then the pin up poses are just pretentious knee lifting.  After figuring out how to back comb and how to roll hair – not an easy task with waist length hair, then I was hooked.

Skin and Hair Care

Kestrel describes her skin as very dry, therefore avoids using soaps. Instead, she wipes her skin clean with lotion (like using a light cold cream), and finishes it off with Eucerin Q10 Moisturizer or Roc Retinol Daily Moisturizer SPF 30 on her face and Twist & Pout Lip Balm SPF 20 for her lips.

Vintage Beauty Tip- Dry skin (lacking oil) ages faster than  normal or oily skin. Using a creamy cleanser, like Kestrel does, helps to replace oils and slows down the aging process.


Her favorite body care items are Nivea Creme(the one that comes in a tub not a bottle), Sally Hansen 18 Hour Hand Repair (used everywhere, leaves her skin feeling dewy for hours), and Tree Hut Shea Body Butter.



As you can see from her pictures, Kestrel has a ton of gorgeous hair (so jealous...). She had many tips to share about how she keeps her mane so healthy.

• She avoids heat styling as much as possible
• She uses hair pins, which she keeps neatly in a cup for easy access
• She uses jaw clips instead of hair bands to prevent rolling and breaking of hair
• She NEVER combs her hair while it's wet

Never ever ever brush your hair wet if you are looking to have any length.  If you must, get a wide toothed comb and comb it while you rinse your conditioner.  Get a good leave in conditioner, and when you get out of the shower, finger comb it through.  When hair is wet it’s at its most fragile.

Kestrel doesn't have a particular brand of shampoo she's loyal to, she instead focuses on conditioning and reconstructing her hair. She's a big fan of Joico's K-Pak , a protien reconstructor,   Nexxus Humectress Conditioner for extra moisture and Ellin Lavar Textures Penetrating Balm  also for moisture.

Vintage Beauty Tip - Washing your hair daily washes out protective oils and can cause breakage. Kestrel washes her hair just about once a week.

Here's a cute styling tip she had to share:

A fun look for really long hair that looks like you worked really hard but actually didn’t is to put a Bumpits (yup, those things!) at the crown, pull it back in a ponytail, braid the ponytail and then wrap the braid around the ponytail base like a bun.  Wrap and pin it so it lays flat against the back of your head and tuck the end under and pin it.  It looks like a very complex hair weaving, and takes less than five minutes.

 If you have a fringe, either pomp it, or roll it and you look like you’re going out someplace important and worked on your hair for hours instead of about ten minutes!

Kestrals biggest beauty challenge after children?

Finding the time to get it together.  That and the baby ripping out my hair.  She uses [my hair as] a combo blanket/napkin/bungee cord.

 Tomorrows post will feature Kestrel's makeup and fashion.

Meanwhile you can check out her modeling portfolio on Model Mayhem, Deviant Art, and Pin Up Lifestyle.

Vintage Mama's Are Like Fine China...

You know that fine china that you have tucked away? I'm talking about the set with the fancy silver scrolls that is supposed to be for special occasions but instead sits there collecting dust because you have yet to find an occasion special enough to use it. And when a special occasion does arise you still don't bring it out because that means you have to wash all the china before and after you use it so instead you pull out the paper plates.

We mama's often treat ourselves the same way we treat our fine china, waiting for special occasions to get all dolled up or maybe not putting forth the effort when the occasion does rise. But like the fine china example, if you don't put forth the effort you're just gonna collect dust.

So let's take out that gorgeous fine china, clean it up with your most luxurious cleanser, polish it 'til it's true beauty shines through, make it even more gorgeous by adorning it with your unique flair, share your new beautiful creation with the world, and do this everyday.

Sure it take some work, but you are...I mean your china is... so worth it!