Wednesday, July 20, 2016

My Favorite MAC Lipsticks

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As a self-proclaimed beauty junkie, my two areas of weakness are eyeshadows and lipsticks. I’ve been buying a ton of lipstick lately and during a late night nursing sesh I’ve found two more I just have to add to my collection- MAC Pure Zen and Crème D'nude. Late at night when I can’t sleep, I love to browse shops, Instagrams, and Pinterest and always seem to find more beauty items to check out. I have an ongoing list in my phone’s notes of specific products and colors I want to see in person and that list is just ongoing and revolving.

I recently tried and attempted to clean out my makeup drawer and purse and every time I do that, I’m amazed at just how many lipsticks I own. How could I ever use all of them completely? How could I ever rationalize buying another one? Do I really need another pink lipstick? Yes. The answer is always yes. So, to justify buying those two I found during the late night sesh, I’ve challenged myself to wear a new lipstick every day during my work week. It’s been an easy challenge to do and I’ve loved re-discovering some old favorites. Hello MAC Pink Nouveau, why haven’t I been living in your sweet pink glory??? There were even a few I just didn’t love anymore and tossed out or put aside for Back to MAC. I thought it would be fun to share my favorites, starting with MAC and will do a future post with my drugstore favorites.

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Here are my absolute, favorite MAC ones, left to right:

Angel (the lipglass is also my fave!), Creme Cup, Snob, Pink Nouveau, Hue, Silly, Brave, Long Legged & Fabulous, and Lickable

What are your favorite colors? After cleaning out my drawer, I've realized I'm in need of a true nude and a great red. Any suggestions?

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Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Currently Craving- My Nordstrom Sale Picks!

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Blush (Lovecloud) // Palette // Lipstick (Pure Zen) // Lipglass (Signs of Spring)

Unless you’re living under a rock, the Nordstrom sale is going on right now. It's blowing up my email, my Instagram, Snapchat, everything! I’ve browsed through everything and there’s a few things that have caught my eye, but nothing that I just had to have. A lot of the items look like things from last year (hello Lush Tunic) and I’m underwhelmed with the beauty exclusives. The only beauty item I'm loving is this one, otherwise I feel a bit eh about it all. I have a few things in my cart ready to check out with some stuff that isn’t included in the sale as well.

This striped top is on everyone's list, but I couldn't help but not also fall in love with it. I LOVE stripes and this would be perfect right in my closet. I need another pair of jeans and these torn ones are so cute. I absolutely love the undone hem at the bottom, that's what won me over on them. Veronika ordered some gorgeous pink sunnies and then I found these sunnies for even less, so adorable! A few years ago I snagged the best booties ever from Old Navy and I wear them all the time, but told myself I want to get a new pair this for fall. I'm also obsessing over this pair, these, and this pair too. I've had my eye on these MAC beauty items forever and I'm finally gonna bite the bullet on them.

Are you shopping the sale this year? What do you have your eye on? Did you score anything great?

Friday, July 15, 2016

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday! This week has flown by for me and I'm ready to relax with the family this weekend. Work has been busy and getting home is always a big shuffle and our nights slip right through my fingers. The girls have been so cute playing together and Emma heads for the stairs as soon as we put her down to get up there. She is so fast and just laughs and laughs as she climbs each step. She hasn't figured how to get down them so we have to watch her like a hawk.

I've been super busy planning her birthday party this week and getting things together and shopping for it. I still have a lot to buy and I need to nail down the menu, but I'm so excited with the direction it's going. I'm working with some really awesome shops and I'm excited to share everything soon. I've been driving myself crazy with what to get her too for her first birthday, what are some of your favorite items? So far we've bought her a chair and a latch puzzle and I don't know what else! Please share some ideas with me!

This week's Friday Favorites is a mix of beauty and fashion pieces, just a few things I've been wanting to share and review with you guys!

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I’m not sure if you remember my Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette review (btw, it’s on sale for $25 now here and here!), but I was in the market for a new shadow palette and was looking at the Tarte Tartelette and Tartelette 2 In Bloom palettes and decided to instead get the UDxGwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette (which I LOVE). Even though I’m thrilled about the UD Palette, I still had the Tarte palettes on my mind. When Matt and I went to Vegas for our anniversary, I picked up this little Tarte Tease set (along with this highlighter) to test out their shadows. I love the colors in this palette, they’re beautiful and it has a great mix of matte and shimmer shades. It also has a slight vanilla scent to it as well, which I was surprised by, but like. This was my first experience with Tarte shadows so here’s a quick review: I get very little fallout from the shadows and the pigmentation is great, but they can be a touch chalky. They’re lasting power is so-so, with primer I get about 8-9 hours of wear. I’ve been loving using this palette, the size is great and I love the versatility of the colors. The shadows are true to color and work great for everyday wear. I’m still thinking about getting the Tartelette 2 In Bloom palette, it was on sale a few weeks ago and I didn’t get it and regret it now!

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When it comes to my skin, I swear by Image Skincare and I was running low on my cleanser so I picked up this daily cleanser on a whim. My skin can be sensitive and is prone to drying, so I’m always worried when I try new face washes… and I freaking love it. It has only the slightest scent, removes my makeup, cleanses my skin, and is super mild. I’ve been using it for several weeks now and it’s really great! It doesn’t leave any residue and has a great consistency. It doesn’t foam when using my fingers, but foams nicely with my face brush. I typically shower at night and will use their makeup remover cleanser first to remove the majority of my makeup and follow up with this cleanser. After using both together, I rarely have any makeup residue. I’m pretty surprised by how well of a cleanser it is considering it’s available at drugstores. I will definitely continue to use this cleanser and would recommend it for anyone with sensitive skin.

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I’ve included these shorts in some weekend post or another, but I had to include them in a Friday Favorites. I tried them on several times before biting the bullet and purchasing them and I’m so glad I did. They are super comfortable and the fabric is extra soft. Between being pregnant, postpartum, nursing, and weaning, my sizing has been all across the board. I’m so thankful for elastic waist everything right now!

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I posted this pic on IG (kristen_lawler) a bit ago and I am just loving this Alex and Ani bracelet. A girlfriend gave it to me and I've worn it every day since. It was so sweet of her and I love how it looks with my watch, I picked up this L'Oreal Julianne's Nude thinking it was the Doutzen one, rookie mistake not to double check, but I'm loving it! It's the perfect pinky nude and very natural. This is my first L'Oreal lipstick and the formula is so creamy and moisturizing that I also bought Blake's Pink. The pink collection is matte and super dry, I much prefer the nude collection's formula over it. Influenster also sent me this Marc Jacobs Glow Stick and it's pretty on it's own, but I've been using it as a base for powder highlighters and it makes your cheeks pop!!

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We also received the sweetest bonnet from Little Sun Hat for Emma (it actually fits Ellie too!). It's adorable and reversible so we get twice the use from it. I love that it has a bill to keep forward to protect her from the sun, but that it can also be folded back. It's absolutely adorable and I love the sweet prints.

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I've been living in this hat since it came in, it fits so perfect! I typically don't wear baseball caps, my head is kind of small, but this one is more shallow and it fits just right on my dome. If you've been on the hunt for one, check it out, I've been looking forward to the weekend all week just so I could wear it again!

Hope you all have a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Bookroo Subscription Review!

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Today I’m really excited to be sharing a fun and unique subscription box for your littles- Bookroo! Starting at $16.99,  you can choose three board books (ages 0-3) or two picture books (ages 3 and up), individually wrapped for your child! I thought that was such a cool detail, I know children love opening gifts and the excitement that comes from unwrapping a surprise to see what it is! Each one is wrapped in different paper too and we had a little note written on the inside of our box as well, which I thought was sweet. I love when companies put so much detail and thought into their products, it really warms my heart.

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Growing up, I was an avid reader and still love to read today. It’s something I want my children to enjoy and we often visit the library together, read several books every night as a family, and we love to add new books to our library. We add books to our library every birthday and holiday, it's such a great way to teach kids lessons and prepare them for life changes (i.e. sibling books when a new baby is coming soon, potty books when potty training). I went back and forth about which box to order, but decided to go with the board books so we could get Emma’s library growing and I knew that Ellie would still enjoy them. Emma didn’t have much of an attention span when we opened ours, but Ellie dove right in! She was so thrilled with opening each book and kept showing Emma what book they received.

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In our first box, we received Sassy's Zoom! Things That Go, a simple book with a single picture, what it is and the sound it makes. It's really cute, more of a "boy" book, but Ellie loves trucks and planes so we enjoyed it all the same. It's a great starter book for things and sounds. The second book was Sam Williams' Art Barn, the pictures were really cute, but we didn't care for the story. The third book was my favorite! I Love You Night and Day by Smriti Prasadam-Halls. The pictures were beautiful and I loved the rhyming story. Ellie and Emma enjoyed it too and I know we'll be reading it for a long time!

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I really love this idea and being able to add to the girls' library every month. I think it's a genius idea and the books are reviewed by several families before being chosen for a box. The subscription is meant to find special books for your littles rather than classics. Bookroo also offers the ability to switch between board books and picture books so you can get a nice mix. Thank you Bookroo for our first box, we loved it! If you're interested in trying a box for your family use KRILAW at checkout for $10 off!

Monday, July 11, 2016

Our Weekend

This weekend was amazing for us. We did nothing! It was awesome not having somewhere to be or go (besides regular errands and swim class). We're always on the go, go, go, and I'm so happy to be busy with loved ones, but we've been needing a weekend just at home. The days seemed long and we napped both Saturday and Sunday (not long naps, but a quick cat nap that I'll take any day). They were long in the sense that we didn't feel like they just slipped between our fingers with a blink of an eye. We played and played with the girls, did some weeding outside, went on a Costco run, and caught up on Big Brother.

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Hat // Top // Shorts (on sale!)

This hat is a lifesaver! I've been wanting a baseball hat forever and it's just one of those things for me that I don't really go out and buy, it's something that I just kind of come across. Does that make sense? Since we moved into our house, I seem to have lost all of my hats except for two- a floppy felt hat and a straw panama one. Well, I've been on the lookout for baseball cap that I like and I couldn't pass this one up. Matt and I are Dodger fans, it's a soft fabric, and it's small so it fits perfectly. I've basically lived in this exact outfit all weekend long. Here, I had just washed and blow dried my hair (just flipping it over, no time for a real blow out) and threw it on to run a few errands. I think I'll be wearing this hat all the time!

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Ellie has been doing so great in her swim lessons! She goes just once a week for 30 minutes, but we swim a lot on the weekends with family and friends. She's been working really hard on a few skills and this past week she's moved up in her class. We're so proud of her and her accomplishments! I really look forward to every Saturday because I love watching her in the water. She's such a natural and it's so fun to see what she's learned and how far she's come from when she started.

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Romper // Bonnet (c/o Little Sun Hat)

Last week I realized I never gave a full update on Emma and her broken finger, so sorry to be so late on it! Emma had her cast removed a few weeks ago and her finger is healed!! Originally, the doctor had said we would need to follow up every three months and that surgery could still be a possibility. I was worried that it wouldn't heal correctly and afraid that she would have to have surgery. When the doctors removed her cast and took new x-rays, her finger had healed so well that no follow ups will be needed! I'm so incredibly thankful! Thank you everyone for your sweet words, prayers, and thoughts. It means so much to me and the family!

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Are these not the cutest bows you've ever seen? I'm just in love with them! They're from Rain & Honey Bows and the colors, prints, and shapes are just to die for. I seriously want every single one in every single color and shape. Ugh, they're so cute. 

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We've lived in our house now for just over two years and it's slowly coming together. One room that is just the bane of my existence is our dining room. We've been wanting a buffet since we moved in and last weekend I finally found one! It was a total score at HomeGoods and it was so funny because when we had just bought the house I found a similar one there and by the time I decided to buy it, it was already sold! In a matter of 15 minutes or less! So this time, my mother-in-law and I guarded it with our lives until a worker came by to help us out. Now that we have it set up in the room (we finally busted out our China set from our wedding!), we just need to style it, paint the room, get a mirror, art work, a new dining table and the room will be complete! LOL. The room looks so much better though now and we finally have a direction of what we're looking for and where we want the room to go. 

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Sheets // Ruffled Comforter and Pillow Set (Target, similar here)
Square Pillows (HomeGoods)

Last weekend, I took advantage of a bedding and bath sale at Target and I just love how a fresh made, clean sheet bed feels. I love these sheets because their have an extra elastic on them that keeps them from coming up on the corners- a problem we always had before! We've bought so many different brands and types of sheets (deep pocket ones for example) and these are our favorite! I love this taupe and gray print too, it looks so pretty against our headboard.

That's exactly where I am right now too- in my nice cozy bed, finishing tonight's Big Brother, with my little Ellie belly snoring next to me (thanks to a bedtime meltdown, she's in ours for the night). Hope you're ready for the work week! May your Monday go by quickly tomorrow!