As a mom, you’ve probably watched movies like Home Again or Cheaper By The Dozen or really any rom-com where the protagonist is a career-driven, highly-focused beauty queen. You know the woman I’m talking about. She has kids, she works all the time, she preps the meals and helps with homework. She’s a referee, a coach, a cheerleader, a nurse, a chef, the reader of stories at bedtime, a chauffeur, and she’s probably exhausted, but you wouldn’t know it from looking at her.

Her makeup, hair, and clothes are always impeccable regardless of how tired she is or how early she got up or what she’s been doing that day. I’ve watched SO MANY of those movies and for years I always thought that those outward appearances were not even the slightest bit realistic. How do you juggle children and a job and managing a household and STILL manage to look that perfect? It’s impossible. For most of those years, actually, I was perfectly content just looking like your average Hobbit most days. Who had time for anything else?

At some point, though, I started to realize something. It is possible if you make it possible. I remember going to job interviews throughout my 20s, hoping to land a great job making great money and hoping that success would just happen. For all of those interviews, I usually brushed my hair, threw on whatever I had in my closet, and hoped for the best. My wardrobe consisted of things that your average teenager would wear. That’s right. I was 20-something years old going to job interviews dressed like I was still in high school. I can see why I didn’t get those jobs.

Not only was my body language and way of speaking completely awkward, but I didn’t dress the part, so no one took me seriously. I was 29-years-old when I finally began to really understand that if I didn’t take myself seriously, there was no way I could expect anyone else to do so. That was a huge turning point for me! I needed to start taking myself seriously. It’s kind of like really understanding what it means to “act your age”. I know plenty of women around my age who have always seemed more put-together, more mature than me. Being young at heart is never a bad thing but, in a lot of situations, you have to put the most mature version of yourself forward. That’s where all of this started.

First things first, I needed to act the part. I’ve gotten better at staying focused, being less chatty, and not participating in the rumor mill. It’s not a 100% improvement, but I’m getting there. Next, I needed to start looking the part. Outside of my work wardrobe consisting of a plain t-shirt or button-up blouse and jeans, I switched up my band shirts and Vans for skirts, dresses, cardigans, tons of jackets, lots of heels, a myriad of accessories, pants made of something other than denim, and even blazers. I decided that, if I wasn’t headed to my job, then I wanted to feel like a model when I stepped out of my home.

I’ve started taking care of my hair and skin, which I had let go for way too long. I even got into a routine with my skincare and started shaving my legs regularly. I get up an hour ahead of my boyfriend on days where we both work and make sure that my makeup is done to perfection. Even on days when I’m sick, I don’t want to leave the house looking like I’m sick. I found inspiration in those women whom I envied, the women that I thought it was impossible to become, and started really showing myself the love that I hadn’t in so very long.

That’s when I stopped being a mombie and started working on being someone I’m proud of. I still have a LONG way to go, but it’s better late than never. The crazy thing is that I’ve even inspired my 11-year-old daughter to start putting together outfits that look like something out of a catalog instead of something my 6-year-old would put together if she were unsupervised.

We all have to find inspiration somewhere. For me, it was the glamorous, put-together moms in Hollywood and in the town I live in that inspired me.