Hot Man Parade

Getting Resourceful in Wrapping

“This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and Cottonelle, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #CottonelleHoliday  http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO.”

This holiday season, I have been on it! The tree is up and decorated, over half the gifts have been bought and wrapped, our stockings are hung, and I have stocked up on toilet paper for our visitors.

Random, I know, but I swear I always get stuck at parties when there's no tp and the stockpile is out. It's such a joke! This year, we've had a lot of visitors coming to see Ellie, and running errands to pick stuff up while we have guests is a no-go. So this past weekend I picked up some necessities and right now, while supplies last, at Target with the purchase of Cottonelle Triple Roll 12 pack or larger you get a FREE box of Kleenex. Just click here for the coupon. Score!

Then last night I was wrapping the last of our gifts and needed a small box for some things and didn't have anything to put them in and was looking around the house when I spotted our almost empty paper roll and had a stroke of creativeness.

I cleared off all the remaining tissue, used some double sided tape at each end and at the edge of the wrapping paper side and wrapped it around the tube.Then I added some twine and was done! It was the perfect size for my little gifts. The tubes made the perfect pillow box. 

It was so easy and I'm quite proud of my innovation, not that it's ground breaking or anything, but I'm happy with the outcome.

What creative ways have you wrapped a gift before?

Hot Man Parade

People StyleWatch and InStyle Inspirations

“This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and People StyleWatch and InStyle magazines but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #PeopleInStyle http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO” 

Whoop whoop! I am so excited right now. Two of my favorite magazines have just come out with their December issues AND at Target, if you buy both People StyleWatch and InStyle magazine you get a $5 Target gift card! I have subscribed to both magazines over the years and have bought both forever. The September issues are of course one of my favorites, but dare I say, I think I love the holiday editions more. All of the holiday fashion, glam, and gift guides really suck me in.

This weekend after picking them up, I experienced my first Christmas miracle: time to myself! Everyone was asleep and I somehow still had energy to stay up and relax. It was glorious! What's more perfect than a lit tree, your favorite magazines and snack, and your baby monitor showing your sleeping beauty. I reveled every minute of it.

People StyleWatch has a feature in their December issue highlighting wearing skirts over the holiday and I couldn't agree more! Skirts are perfect for any party, can be worn with tights for extra warmth, and you can go sexy, flirty, or edgy with them. My closet doesn't have that many flirty skirts (mostly pencils) so I immediately started looking online and fell in love with this pretty one. Here is an outfit that was inspired by that article and the skirt I found. For a night out, pair a textured skirt with an embellished top, add some glam earrings,  and metallic heels and you're ready!

In both People StyleWatch and InStyle had a lot of features for gorgeous accessories and beauty trends and since I've been on a jewelry kick since being pregnant, I had to put together some of my favorite looks inspired by the issues.

I think with any season, the extras are what make your outfit. They're a great way to jazz up what you already have in your closet, dip your foot into a new trend, and can be very budget friendly.  Jeweled headbands or pins can be worn so easily with your hair up or down. InStyle featured a deep-berry mouth and this Black Cherry shade is gorgeous! I'm on the hunt for that lipstick and have been to two Targets that have been sold out! Jeweled necklaces really are a neutral for me now and are so much easier to wear than I initially thought. Glitter polish is an absolute must for the holidays, and a staple for me.

This year, I really want to do more with my hair, I feel like I'm always wearing it the same way (down and curled) and want to really branch out in putting it up more. The darker lip is another trend I'm dying to try. I've been hunting up and down the beauty aisles trying to find the perfect pucker color. Any suggestions or favorites of yours?

What are you looking to wear over the holiday season? What are your favorite trends right now?

Baby Must Haves: 5 Months

Ellie has grown so much this past month! I’ve been looking at her newborn pictures and seeing how much she has changed is incredible. She has so much more hair, she’s so much bigger (especially longer!), and has so much personality! Her sense of humor is really apparent, she has fully belly laughs, and reacts when you make silly faces or noises. She’s sitting up unassisted and reaches for you when she wants you to hold her or pick her up. It melts my heart each day when I get home to see her big toothless grin and her chubby arms reaching for her mama. I wasn’t kidding in my previous monthly must-have posts that each month is more fun than the last! They just grow and change so much that each day is something new and it’s an amazing experience.

Baby Einstein Musical Motion 2-in-1 Stationary Jumper & Entertainer 
 I got this saucer and some other products (that we gave Matt’s parents to have at their home since it would be double for us) from a moms Facebook group I’m in and Ellie absolutely loves it! It’s so nice to put her in it while I’m doing stuff around the house. She loves exploring the different activities on each side and can completely turn herself to each side on her own. Her feet don’t quite touch the ground yet so I’ve put a blanket underneath her for now. The moment she realized how to push the buttons herself was so fun! She had been trying to figure out how to make the music and lights go off and she finally figured out how to push the button, I was so proud of her. It’s the little things in life.

Dish Drying Mats
We have a bottle rack for all of her bottles and my pump parts, but sometimes there’s just not enough room. I didn’t want to buy a 2nd drying rack for bottles and when we were at Costco a few weeks ago they had a two pack drying mat for $7.99! They’re awesome! Super absorbent, can be put in the wash, and folds up nicely to fit in a cabinet for storage when not in use. The picture and the link aren't the ones we bought, but similar to what we found.

Fleece Pajamas
It’s still pretty warm here during the day, but it dips down pretty cold during the night. I thought Ellie’s pjs alone would be fine, but one night she kept waking up and I noticed that her ears were cold and so were her feet (even though her feet are covered) so I picked up some fleece pajamas for her and I’ve noticed she’s slept better and longer in them now that she’s warmer.

Palmolive Pure and Clear Dish Soap
Since I was pregnant, we started switching over all of our products to safer ones. We started with our laundry detergent and then to this dish soap and I love this soap! It smells great and we use it for all our dishes and her Ellie's bottles and my pump items.

Bright Starts Grab and Stack Blocks
I think these are Ellie's favorite toy right now (the activity balls are a close second!). Two of the blocks jingle and the other two have that plastic scratch stuff and she loves all the details on each side and knocking them over after I stack them for her.

Baby Einstein Roller-Pillar Activity Balls
These balls are great for her motor skills and each one offers a different stimulation. When they roll away from her she reaches to far to get it, it will be so much fun when she starts crawling and gets after them.

Munchkin Fun Ice® Chewy Teether
This are such a blessing. When I can tell Ellie's gums are bothering her, I just hand her one of these teethers and she is so relieved to be chewing on them. They're cold and easy for her to hold herself and gnaw for a few minutes.

Hot Man Parade

Product Review: Easy Canvas Prints

Having pictures of Ellie and our family is really important to me, I try and have her pictures taken every three months for her first year and I want to have family pictures taken once a year (or twice if we can swing it!) for the rest of our lives to have for posterity and to cherish the memories. I love looking through old family pictures and have always enjoyed looking through pictures of my parents and their parents. The fashion, memories, stories, and photos of lost loved ones are special mementos to have.

When I was approached by Easy Canvas Prints to review a print, I jumped at the chance. I knew exactly what picture I wanted and where I was going to hang it. I headed over to their website and was very impressed. It has a nice layout, is extremely user-friendly, and had a great preview tool so you could see the scale of your picture on a wall in a faux living room. One cool feature too was the gallery wall, you can order several prints at once and it shows you how you can display the different sizes and how they would look all together once hung. Hanging pictures can be so hard to get the layout right, I thought this feature was very neat.

I definitely want to order some more canvas prints of Ellie’s newborn shots and family pictures and I know exactly where I’ll be ordering them from! I was so happy with the entire ordering process, it was so simpler and it shipped really quickly. I thought it would take longer to receive since it’s a canvas, I expected it to take at least a week and I had it in just a few days! I couldn’t believe it! I absolutely love when I get a chance to review a product and I have a great experience with the company and get to share it with everyone.

Easy Canvas Prints also has two affiliate websites that offer more custom print options and ideas- Build A Sign and Allied Shirts, be sure to check them out as well for some great options!

Fall Recent Purchases

Now that we’ve had a few cooler days (we’re still in the 80s though most of the time) I’ve bought a few items to add to my closet for the fall season. Just some basics that I can use all the time and throughout the holidays. I’m mostly buying items that I can wear for several years, transition with the seasons, or to replace an older item. Of course, some beauty items were also mixed in. Shocking, I know.

Old Navy Tweed Puff Vest
Last year I bought a solid black puff vest and loved it! I definitely wanted some more and when I saw this tweed one online I immediately added it to my cart. I just love the fabric and it’s so warm and cozy. I wore it on Halloween night and stayed the perfect temp for the cold evening.

e.l.f. Blush in Peachy Cheeky
I’ve been wanting to try e.l.f.’s baked blush for a while after reading several reviews from bloggers about them. They were available online only forever, but I found it at my local Target recently and picked it up. It’s not very pigmented and also has a bit of highlighter in it. The color is really pretty, but not very pigmented and doesn’t last the entire day.

Forever 21 Swiss Dot Top
Stripes are usually my go-to, but I’ve started to like polka dots recently. This sweater is so easy to wear and light weight, which I love. I’m really into pairing simple tops/sweaters with a bolder statement necklace. It just adds some pizzazz to my everyday work look.

Sally Hansen Polish in Black and Blue
This color is so unusual, I love how it gives off so many different colors at once depending on the angle/light. By itself, it needed too many coats to achieve the pigment I wanted so I layered it over black and it was awesome! It would look good over blue, purple, or green too.

Forever 21 Crew Neck Sweater
I have two black crew neck sweaters that have seen the end of their days so I needed a new one to replace them. This one is a looser knit and is very comfortable to wear. I definitely want to pick it up in pink too!

Old Navy Short Zip Boots
Oh my goodness! These boots are so comfortable! I didn’t have to break them in at all and I’ve worn them a million times by now because of it. I thought the hubs would think they’re fugly, you know, Girl Cute vs Guy Cute and all, but he loves the look of them.

Forever 21 Beaded Headband
Last year I bought the most gorgeous beaded headband from Nordstrom and since we moved in January I haven’t been able to find it for the life of me! This will be perfect for the holidays to add a little sparkle to my look.

This top is also from Target, but I couldn't find it online.
Target Mossimo Leopard Shoes
Another shoe that was comfortable to wear from the get go! I feel like I’ve hit the shoe jack pot with these two purchases. I saw Jenn from Perfectly Imperfect buy them on InstaGram and had to get them myself after she said they were comfortable. Best $20 I’ve spent on work shoes. I also wear these all the time, I mean leopard is the new neutral right?

Forever 21 Plaid Scarf
I’ve been mad for plaid lately. I definitely want to add some more plaid shirts to my collection as well this year.

Maybelline Volum Express The Rocket Mascara
For years and years I used Maybelline, but it was always flaking onto my cheeks so I switched over to L’Oreal and didn’t look back. I’ve been more than satisfied with L’Oreal’s mascaras, but over the weekend I didn’t have any makeup on while visiting with my family and we were going to go out so I borrowed some from my sister in law. Holy moly! This mascara made my eyelashes look so incredibly long! I went out and bought it the NEXT DAY it worked so well! So far, I’ve been really loving it too.

What have you bought recently? I'm still hunting for a bright red polish and a deep raspberry lipstick (any suggestions??). Happy Monday!