5 Minute Makeup

As a stay at home mom I find that our best days start when I feel good about myself. Days where I enjoy wearing the clothes I picked out, fixing my hair and putting on makeup. I feel much more put together, my confidence rises, and I feel ready to face whatever challenges the day has in store. When you look good, you feel good. 
Looking good doesn’t have to break the bank. I do believe in spending a little extra money to get quality products like a great eye shadow palette & a good matte bronzer. Yet, the majority of my favorite makeup essentials are drugstore brands. Without further ado, here are my top choices for the busy mom:


1. Wet-n-wild Balm Stain: this stuff is amazing. It’s smooth, it’s moisturizing, and it lasts all day long. I loved it so much for my lips, that I started using it as a tinted blush as well. Works great, and takes literally a few seconds to apply. Forget about reapplying, one swipe and you’re good to go!
2. Sephora’s Pro Bent Liner Brush: I use this brush for lining my eyes, and also for filling in my brows. It’s easy for my brows to get lost in the frames of my glasses. A well defined brow helps fix that. Using the two darkest shadows in my Naked Basic palette and this brush, it’s a cinch to get a polished look in minutes. 
3. Elf’s Small Tapered Brush: At 3 dollars a brush, this is one of my favorite cheapy, but oh so good, items. I use this every single day when applying my bronzer. It’s small enough to really help contour my face. 
4. Tarte’s Amazonian Clay Bronzer: this bronzer is amazing. I am always pretty pale, but this is the perfect matte shade for contouring. 
5. Urban Decay’s Naked Basics Palette: the only eye shadows you ever need, all in a convenient palette. I use this palette for my everyday look. I not only use it to create my eye shadow looks, but I also use the black to line my eyes, and the dark brown to fill in my brows. 
6: Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer:This is magic for your eyes. It’s so good, I went out and bought the foundation, which is equally amazing. It’s like smearing silk on your face, if silk could take you from looking tired/having been beat up since your bags are so extreme you look like you’re walking around with black eyes….. to looking fresh faced and dewy. It’s unique sponge applicator makes it super fast and easy to swipe on in the morning. You need this in your life. 
7. Mascara: This is my backup mascara. I typically use whatever high end samples my sister gifts to me, but when I’m out of those, I always choose this one. Fuller lashes without clumping.
These 7 things are just about the only things I use everyday. It takes just about 5 minutes to put on a “full face” of makeup. Being busy doesn’t mean I have to be frumpy or messy. With these simple makeup essentials I can put myself together before Emmie has time to pull out everything from the sock drawer. 
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Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

You may have noticed some changes happening around here on the blog! Besides working my hardest to learn some new CSS coding (aye aye aye!) and some bigger, better pictures…. you’ll start to notice some content change as well. 
When I first started this blog, it was mainly to keep family updated throughout my pregnancy. Now that that time has come and gone, I’m looking to take the blog in a new direction. I’m slowly going to be adding in more posts that you’d find in a generalized lifestyle blog. Recipes, fashion, and home decor just to name a few. Don’t worry, Emerson will still be making plenty of appearances. 
I  hope you still follow along, and I thank you for your patience as we work out the kinks of the site. 
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Capsule Wardrobes and Summer’s End.

The end of summer snuck up on me and I find myself catching moments of panic, where I fast forward to what winter will be like with a bored toddler on my hands. You know it’s close when Target clears out it’s summer gear in favor of fall scented candles, Halloween decorations, and chunky knit sweaters. Even writing this I can feel my palms begin to sweat.

Cue the self pep-talk:

Don’t be upset, you knew this was coming. Here, let’s take it one step at a time and think of all the nice things about fall…
okay. I mean, it sounds like a good plan.


It is! Just think of all the fun activities Emerson can enjoy this year: hayrides, apple picking, fall hiking, possibly fall camping! 

hmmm… that does sound like a lot of fun. I bet Emerson would love Weber’s farm with the rubber duck races, hayrides, and pumpkin activities. She could even do some sensory activities with pumpkins. 


Yes! And you know what else we love about fall? All the warm, cinnamon spiced scented candles. Let’s not forget scarves and weather warm enough not to need a coat but cool enough for cozy sweaters!

Well, that’s about 75 degrees for me, but I get your point. I do like a good fall wardrobe. Plus, toddler Emerson is going to look way too cute in big cozy sweaters.


Okay okay, so maybe you’ve convinced me Fall isn’t so bad after all! And speaking of wardrobes I think there’s something I’d like to try this fall. Maybe you’ve heard of it? The capsule wardrobe. The idea behind a capsule wardrobe is to eliminate all the work of putting yourself together in the morning, by limited the selection from which you do so. Basically, besides PJs and workout gear, your entire wardrobe for 3 months (or a particular season) is no more than 33 items. Although, truthfully this item limit varies person to person. Some choose less, some choose more. I’m not sure the exact number of piece I’ll choose, but I want it to be reasonable. My wardrobe is already pretty tiny, so it will be interesting to see just how many pieces I end up with. I’m hoping this challenges me to further understand my personal style. What do I prefer? What works well for my body and what doesn’t? And most importantly, what keeps me warm?! Because, and I’m just keepin’ it real, I’m a total baby about the cold. Yet, like it or not, fall has begun!

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Hiking Fail

As our weather has gotten cooler, so have our weekends! We pack up our snacks, harness up the pup, and off we go for some outdoor adventures. We’ve been hiking these past few weekends. Perfect hiking weather; cloudy, cool and slightly breezy.
This past trip was somewhat of a doozy.  Emmie was content to hang out in the back-pack and commune in her own special way with nature, and Oliver was thrilled to be zipping in and out of bushes.  We snacked on Cliff bars, and sipped our waters. We ventured on the off-beaten paths for hours, literally! 
Finally exhausted, and way past nap time, we head back towards the car. We let Emerson out so she can hike and stretch her legs, and while we were stopped took a picture or two. I then simply passed her off to her Daddy so I could fiddle with the camera when it happened! My decades of bragging, “I have only ever been stung by a bee once,” ended. 

At first I through I accidentally smacked a thorn bush, but as the intense pain started radiating through my hand I realized what had happened.

Me: “I was stung! Something got me! OH MY GOSH I WAS STUNG BY A BEE!”

Hubby: “I see it. It’s a little bee… it’s flying towards me. Oh sh*t it’s on my faaaa—” And then there were a few f bombs as the bee proceeded to sting the hubster on the chin.

Me: “Save the baby! Don’t let her get stung! oh, my god, it hurts so much! Run! Run! Keep Emmie safe!!!”

The shouting and swearing (hubby should’ve been a sailor) continued as our hands and faces throbbed and we sprinted down the rocky trail. And what was our dear, dear daughter doing all this time? Oh, that sly devil was laughing hysterically! I mean, full on roaring. We were quite the sight when we stumbled back onto the main path. We hadn’t realized how close we were when we started all the racket. I mean, I might have been a little bit quieter when I shouted out behind me, “The poop! The poop! GRAB THE POOP!” Because in the mess of it all, the poop bag had been dropped. 
We got quite a few looks as we stumbled out cursing, waving our hands filled with poop bags, as our off leash dog padded about and our child, hidden almost completely (good job Daddy!), laughed like a maniac.

I may not be able to brag that I haven’t been stung in two decades, but at least my bee sting came with a good story. That’s all we can hope for in life, good stories. Although, I wouldn’t mind waiting another 2 decades for my next sting, those little buggers hurt! 

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A Girl and Her Pup

There are some days where nothing in the world seems to be exactly what Emmie wants. I’m talking whiny, push me away, throw everything on the floor kinda days. This can be applied to almost anything; food, drinks, toys, and sometimes even books. I know, throwing books makes me cringe too. Toddlers, am I right?

It’s these days that I am so thankful for the big animal books we have (and can readily check out from the library). Cranky baby? Animal time. My girl is definitely following in her Daddy’s footsteps. She loves  animals. Loves. Her first real sound made on purpose? An elephant sound. I kid you not! Of all the sounds and words to say, she chose the elephant. ‘Atta girl. 
She’s quick to point out any picture or advertisement that includes the furry little things, and our animal books are on constant repeat. For a while though, she didn’t seem to pay Oliver, her very own live dog, any mind. He was nothing more than a nuisance trying to steal her crackers right outta her hands… until one day. One day recently it clicked. Oliver is a dog! I love doggies… therefore, I love Oliver!

Oliver now gets daily hugs, pats and snuggles. And if we’re being honest, the wide open mouth kisses still happen. And I still shudder every. single. time. Claire-bear will still steal his toys out of his mouth, or happily toss a ball for him, but her newest thing? It’s pretty darn cute. Out of the blue, Emerson will approach Oliver and rub his back, hug his neck, or stroke an ear. Every time, I find myself needing to mop up the puddle that is my heart. Oh, you sweet girl you, I hope your love for animals continues a very, very long time. 
For now, Oliver is both, a nuisance and a joy. One thing you can count on? These two are always close to one another. Just a girl, and her pup.
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Rainy Days

We had, what I assume to be, our last big summer storm. It was one of those sticky, hot, sweltering afternoons when the dark masses of clouds rolled in. Big fat drops fell. Sure, the basement was flooded in a second, but this storm will stand out for years to come. Why, you ask? Our street.

Have I told you about our street? It’s a little dead end, tucked in a cute neighborhood, and we’re surrounded by the best neighbors. Seriously, the best. Every nice night in the summer you can find all the neighborhood kids playing together. We’re all so close that it’s common to find they’ve just wandered into so and so’s house to play. We hang out together while they play, sipping our 5 o’clock beer & wine, enjoying the summer air.

But back to the storm. Big fat drops, pelting the earth, flooding basements across the region, providing endless entertainment for the kids on our street. Since it was such a warm rain, kids donned their swim suits and out they went. A little rain was not going to stop their fun. The little ones were stripped down to diapers and puddles were jumped in, eyes were wide with amazement, and hair was quickly drenched. Yet, the whole time was nothing but smiles, laughs and screams of sheer delight. Adults huddled together on the porch. Magic. This storm was magic. Oh, summer, we will miss you.

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Post-Nap Rituals

Over the course of the last month or so we’ve made the transition to one nap. We get our mornings and our afternoons and in between I sew/eat/guzzle coffee/fold laundry/blog while Emerson has a nice 2-3 hour siesta. When nap time comes to an end it goes a little something like this:
1.See Mom and immediately chuck your pacifier and slam down lovie or Big Bunny in an excited frenzy.

2. Run over to the side of the crib next to your book shelf and sign “book” repeatedly. Don’t forget the huge grin since we’re proud that we’re communicating!

3. Reach for books, just in case Mom didn’t catch the ten times you signed “book.”

4. Stare Mom down because you know she saw the signing and the reaching for the books, but you still don’t have a book! Wait patiently until Mom chooses a book for you.

5. Finally! A book! Run to the other side of the crib with your book, that you recieved through thorough communication, and carefully turn each page. This one is a favorite with all the flaps to lift. Meticulously lift all the flaps. Remember, no smiling, reading is serious business. When you’re done reading it’s time to head downstairs so Mom can fix you up a snack.

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