Baby Faves: 2 Years

The time has come.

Clara is two years old.  And before you say anything, I fully realize and accept that she is no longer a baby. But like Mariah reminds us, she will always be my baby.

The following are a few items that we have found useful. We have also discovered several items that we thought would be useful, but turned out not to be useful at all. Because at the ripe old age of two, this human has a full-blown personality and has developed likes and dislikes (the horror!). Subsequently, one or two of her favorites are most certainly not mine. These include opening and closing drawers and cabinet doors. Dumping out the contents of my makeup drawers onto the carpet and selecting the brightest shade of hot pink lip stain to smear across her face.

Let’s move on to the things that we all agree work well.

First off, sleep – arguably the most important thing in both her and our lives.

You might know that we utilize the sleep sack as not only a wearable blanket, but it kinda sets the tone. We put that sucker on her, and she knows it is time for bed. And now that she is giant, the little versions for 24 months and under just won’t cut it. Enter Kyte baby!

This is the Kyte Baby Sleep Bag Walker in the color cloud. It is some of the softest material I have ever felt. I would easily wear this myself. All Kyte Baby items are made from buttery soft bamboo rayon fabric and it seriously feels cloud-like.

This sleep sack is labeled for sizes 18-26 months and is in the mid-weight option. I feel like this will fit her forever, due to the fact that it has legs! She still has mobility but due to the tapered leg, it keeps her warm and cozy.

It is also worth noting that Kyte Baby has sleep sacks for the little guys too. I MEAN.

And the color options, come onnn!

Onto the next category – potty training!

We got this little pink toilet for Clara when she was maybe 18 months old. It also “flushes”, i.e. makes the flushing noise and she loves it.

We are still not using this in any regular way. Per discussions with our pediatrician, we are aiming to keep potty encounters fun, light-hearted and positive. We have some successes and plan to get serious once she is ready.

We have also been using a portable potty and training timer. The Potette Plus is pretty cool – a collapsible, portable toilet with liners that folds flat. The 3 in 1 Potty Training Timer is a nightlight and it also plays soft music. You can set it for 30, 60 or 90 minutes and it will light up and play music when it’s time to try using the bathroom. We have been using it as a timer for all kinds of things, and we love it!

And now let’s address bathing!

We have been loving Earth Baby products on our sensitive-skinned little one! Their bubble bath is so great, because it is all-natural, organic and safe for sensitive skin. We also love their shampoo + body wash and conditioner + conditioner.

After her bath, we slather her in CeraVe Baby Lotion. In my experience, the more boring the lotion, the better when it comes to her skin.

 

Next up we have miscellaneous faves, which change week to week and range from K-cups  to ball point pen art installations on the side of my desk.

Also, the kid does love her some literature. Here are some of her faves:

No, David! by David Shannon books are everything. First of all, the main character…need I say more? And the mischief he creates is just so Clara.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She is also very obsessed with Time to Pee! by Mo Willems. We can all recite it by now and the illustrations are too good!

We are also entering the phase of life when characters suddenly become their favorites. She LOVES Elmo, J.J from Cocomelon and most of all – Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

She requests “Hah-Dog TV” (Hot Dog TV) every morning, which translates to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (they sing a song called “Hot Dog!” at the end, hence the request).

So that’s it. We are in full-blown toddler mode and I do love almost every moment. The almost moments come and we try to take them in stride. Pretty easy when she lets me hold her like this:

*The products from Kyte Baby, KalenCom and Earth Baby were sent to me for review. All opinions are my own.

2020 Holiday Gift Guide

Happiest of holidays to you all!

This year has brought with it many a crappy thing.  Corona, Charli D’Amelio, wildfires. I am sure you are all aware. Today I would like to provide a list of what Martha calls “good things”. Items that warrant perpetuating good ol’ fashioned consumer-driven materialism. Sure to provide the giver with all the warm fuzzies  and the recipient with some quality goods.

Here we go!

Makeup/Beauty

Casablanca Eyelashes & Adhesive – $20, $15

  • Perfect for: That person who loves a false lash! This is a small brand and you are sure to impress.
  • My description: Lashes that are comfortable, fluffy and gorgeous and idiot-proof glue.

Formula 10.0.06 Soak It In Vitamin C Revitalizing Lip Balm – $4

  • Perfect for: A person living in a cold climate with lips!
  • My description:  It’s like a blanket for your lips, with a very subtle sweet orange scent.

L’Occitane Almond Shower Oil – $25

  • Perfect for: Anyone with dry skin.
  • My Description: This is the ultimate in moisturization for the bath/shower.

Lyda BeautyLydLyda Beauty Cleopatra Cat Eye Stamp – $25

  • Perfect for: The person on your list with chronic uneven winged liquid liner.
  • My Description: This eyeliner glides on like a dream and the cat-eye stamp on one end makes achieving the perfect wing a CINCH. I did my liner in the above photo in approx. 20 seconds.

Home

David Rose Travel Mug/Mug – $18, $11

  • Perfect for: The rampant Schitt’s Creek fan or someone named David or (in my case) someone married to David.
  • My Description: I hear Moira and Alexis’ voice every time I see this.

First Edition Little Women Framed Cover Art – $65

  • Perfect for: The literary!
  • My Description: How cute would this be in a lil’ reading nook? They also have Pride & Prejudice, The Secret Garden and several others. The site Uncommon Goods has some really neat stuff (yes, I just said neat).

Oster Cordless Wine Opener – $17

  • Perfect for: The budding wino (read: all of us).
  • My description: Sadly this might be my most used household gadget. It also comes  with a handy dandy foil cutter.

SOi Alluring Amber Shimmer Candle – $18

  • Perfect for: Just about anyone who appreciates a good smellin’ home with a feminine touch!
  • My Description: A candle that smells amazing and doubles as a very nice Q-tip holder afterwards.

Kids

Scenties Hair Ties & Scrunchies – $7, $11

  • Perfect for – The scrunchie or hair accessory obsessed pre-tween.
  • My description – These are stretch and sniff hair ties y’all. A kid with some Scenties around their wrist is definitely going to MAD COOL.

Rainbow Suitcase Set – $33

  • Perfect for: Any child like mine who enjoys, wait for it… opening and closing things. And also…putting things inside of other things.
  • My Description: These are cute and functional! A gift that would please both the child and their parent.

Sleeping Beauty Replica Journal –  $30

  • Perfect for: The emotional, die-hard Disney enthusiast.
  • My Description: I audibly gasped when I saw this at the Disney Store. It is as stunning as it appears. And yes, it is a journal. Could there be a more majesty place to write down your T&F?

Hess Trucks – Prices Range

  • Perfect for: Any little kid (or big!) who appreciates trucks or cars or things that go!
  • My Description: These are top of the line toy trucks. So realistic and detailed.

Clothing/Accessories

Minnetonka Men’s Moose Hide Fleece Moccasins – $77

  • Perfect for: The man with huge-ass feet.
  • My Description: My husband wears a 15. Any shoes is hard to come by for him, but especially slippers. These go up to a 16X and he absolutely loves them.

Nordstrom Frosted Plush Robe – $79

  • Perfect for: Anyone who is ALWAYS cold.
  • My description: This is the the warmest, most buttery soft piece of robe I have ever felt.

Cath Kidston Pajamas – $54 (on sale)

  • Perfect for: Your mom
  • My description: The cutest printed pajamas I have ever seen. And they’re from the UK, cheerio!

Men’s Patagonia Nano-Puff Jacket – $199

  • Perfect for: Any male living in the PNW.
  • My Description: A wardrobe staple, this jacket is lightweight, warm and waterproof!

My Holiday Decor

Happy Christmas! And Hanukkah! And everything else!

And also – pretty please understand the reasons I share these photos of my holiday decor:

  1.  I friggen’ LOVE decorating for the holidays.
  2. I am very proud of the fact that mostly everything was purchased used, deeply discounted or was free from my mom.
  3. Nothing makes me happier than photographing my tree.

So without further adieu, here we go!

Here is our entry table. I would love to do more with this and put down a layer of that pillow-fluff fake snow but Clara can easily reach everything. She has already pulled down all the trees she can get her mitts on and it is a miracle she hasn’t scratched her cornea with all the glitter.

I got the big, realistic looking tree from a yard sale last summer for $2 and the other larger white tree from my favorite local boutique, Roger and Ives for $7 during their after Christmas sale. The two other gold trees were given to me by Nan and the smaller ones were Target Dollar Spot finds. Oh! And the little light-up sign is from Walgreens just a couple of weeks ago.

I was so excited to decorate our living room this year. I got the happy holidays pillow on the couch at Goodwill for $4 and is originally from Pier 1. Yes, I thoroughly cleaned and sanitized it.

My mom told me to add a pop of red this year and I am still working on it. I found the flocked garland at Goodwill for $5 and the two trees were yard sale finds for $2 apiece. The stockings are from Hobby Lobby for 50% off and the four angel stocking holders cost $5.50 TOTAL from Oriental Trading Company. They are ceramic and meant to be painted but I like how they look as they are! The candles stay out year-round, as do the mirrors.

The red snowflakes, as well as the two prints on either side of the mirrors are from good ol’ Joann Fabrics! The store that gives my little sister PTSD.

I happened to stumble in there when they had their 1-day 70% off holiday decor sale and I really cleaned up. I got the two red snowflakes and these two large prints for $30 total.

And let’s go ahead and call me out for breaking my own decorating rule of only having one or two “quote” pictures in the house. Because apparently for the holidays, all bets are off. I have at least three now but damn, I love em!

I added more red to this little chiavari-style end table and had to follow this year’s trend of gnomes (they are everywhere!). I got this little guy at Target for $5 and just swapped out the photos in the frames for holiday ones.

And finally, our tree!

I am still working on getting more red in there…I know I need more. The snowflakes and poinsettia clips are from Dollar Tree. Mostly every other ornament is a Nancy cast-off.

I did not do much with this little table where E does her homework. The “Noel” bunting was $6 from Amazon and our menorah is another Goodwill find! These magnolias stay out year-round and are from Target. I got them for $1.50 a stem!

Here is my final Joann’s quote print. I HAD to. It is so pretty!

I put out a few little items on our buffet, including this Nutcracker from Hobby Lobby that we got for Clara’s birthday last year (it was a Nutcracker theme!). The gold harp is from Goodwill for $2 and they had several more. I am kicking myself for not getting at least two of them.

I decided that our family room would be devoted to Hanukkah. It works perfect because I already have some blue going on in there. The dreidel garland and Happy Hanukkah sign were purchased at full-price from Target because they were too cute to pass up.

Yes, I put a tree in our Hanukkah room but I love the glow when we watch TV! We have lots of family ornaments here and I have some star of David ornaments on the way.

That wraps up (get it!) our holiday decor for this year! So very excited to say goodbye to 2020 🙂

My 2020 Christmas List

DING DONG MERRILY ON HIGH!

Alright, let’s see it! Who has put up their Christmas decor? Don’t be shy! Ours is going up this weekend and I am personally very proud of myself for holding off this long. I MEAN…(insert any 2020 meme here).

We need you, Christmas. We need you so bad.

To do my part, I will be sharing my 2020 Christmas list with you today. A time-honored tradition that, at the very least, will get me in the holiday spirit! Stay tuned for a holiday gift guide I plan to put together in the coming weeks.

And yes, this is my actual Christmas list. These are items I truly love.

 

  1. Elle and Emm Troop Beverly Hills Tee Shirt – Size Medium

Give me all things Troop Beverly Hills. It is my aesthetic. Or really, give me any clothing item from Elle and Emm because all their things are right up my alley.

2. Scentsy Cinderella Carriage Warmer

I want to put this in my bedroom and look at it everyday. It really is that simple. Also you can put wax melts inside to make your place smell nice. If you need to get any Scentsy products, you can buy them from my pal Ashlee, here!

3. Donna Karen Deodorant

 

Yes I have deodorant on my Christmas list. I have never tried this due to the price tag but always wanted to. Figured I would ask my loved ones for it instead!

4. AE High-Waisted Jogger – Size 8 XL

I love these joggers from American Eagle but need to order them in an extra long. They are really comfortable and I do not own anything like them.

5. Davines Oi Shampoo

This is a super bougie shampoo my sister-in-law Shannon got me hooked on. It smells amazing and there is just nothing like it. You can really only buy it at salons or order it from their website, but I promise it is worth every penny!

6. Old Navy Sweater – Size Medium Tall (light or dark gray)

I have had my eye on this quarter-zip sweater from Old Navy for awhile now. It comes in a tall version but must be special ordered. Love it SO much!

7. Target Candle Stick Holders

My sister Megan has convinced me that every mantle must have these skinny black candle holders. I do what my sister tells me.

8. Maison de L’Amour Sweatshirt – Size M/L

LOVE this sweatshirt and several others from Elle and Emm. Translates to “House of Love”!

Fall Home Decor

Happy October friends!

Today I am bringing a little fall fun your way and if you think I have had these decorations out since September 1, you would be correct. I personally do not understand the gripe with decorating for holidays too early. Especially in the time of the COVID because wtf else are we going to do? But really, think of it this way:

Baseball season lasts approximately 39048453 days and yet it is considered perfectly normal to attend and watch preseason games. Nobody says anything about that. But I put out my Christmas decor a few weeks before Thanksgiving and people are up in arms?! Sorry that I need more than 30 days basking in the joy of holiday decor! That I would like more than a month to light my Christmas cookie candles and continually adjust the ornaments on the tree. FIGHT ME.

oksorry back to the fall stuff.

DECOR

I really wanted to find a pretty fall garland to put on my fireplace mantel, but everything was SO orangey. Maybe I will try to make something?

I also spray painted fake leaves from Michales to be more my aesthetic.

I recently made the earth-shattering decision on dark blues and pops of mustard yellow in our family room. Check out these prints I nabbed for 50% off at Hobby Lobby.

Also cannot wait to tie this little sucker to something next time we have people over. It smells like those cinnamon pinecones and was only $1 from Trader Joes.

HOME/BODY CARE

Lately I have been buying up all fall hand soaps I can find. Here is one I found at Target, which smells great!

And I had to get this one from Trader Joes as well.

In terms of wax melts, my new preferred home fragrance method – here are three scents I am obsessed with. All purchased from Walmart for $2. If anyone wants a more in-depth review just lemme know!

Also recently tried out this pumpkin spice CBD bathbomb and had myself the coziest lil fall evening ever! Thanks so much to the folks at CBD Living for sending me this and a handful of others to try. This bathbomb smelled amazing and is chalked full of skin-moisturizing oils and of course, 100 mg of CBD. So impressed!!

And lastly, these pumpkin spice “batons” from Trader Joes – so good with coffee you guys.

All for now – happy fall!

CocoOil Review

Hi friends!

Before I begin, I wanted to say that I hope everyone is safe and sound amid these horrible fires. The smoke is supposed to start clearing in our neck of the woods and I am more than ready for it. An at-home 4th grader, a busy toddler and 2 adults trying to work from home has shown us just how much we appreciate the freaking outdoors. Walking around the block, or through the nature park next to our house after a long day of chaos is such a welcome reprieve. Being totally sequestered inside is the pits, man.

Who feels me?

Luckily for me, the wonderful folks at CocoOil sent me their lineup of products to try out!

I mean, how aesthetically pleasing is this?

While I will be saving some of these products until next summer to take for a proper spin, I have been able to try out a couple items.

CocoOil Ocean Spray

I tried this texturizing coconut and sea salt spray one morning after taking a shower and applying it while my hair was still damp. I used a t-shirt to scrunch it up (thanks TikTok!) and then threw it up in a headband. If you have never tried headband curls, check out this amazingly professional video I made on YouTube where I show you how!

I left the headband curls in for only about 45 minutes, just long enough to let my hair completely dry. Then I took out the headband and BAM.

Not bad for no heat! The CocoOil Ocean Spray totally gave this ‘do the extra umph it needed. It provided amazing, subtle texture and truly made it feel kissed with sea salt. My hair did not feel weighed down (which is the case with so many other sea salt sprays) and best of all, this stuff smells AMAZING. I mean, alllll the beachy vibes.

I am so happy I was able to try out this product because finding a good sea salt spray has been quite the challenge and this one is definitely going into the ol’ lineup! Especially with headband curls.

CocoOil After Sun

A couple of weeks ago, David got a little too much sun on his shoulders and back. I was sad for him, but very pumped to bust out this LIME coconut oil. This stuff also contains aloe vera and smells absolutely delicious. Coconut lime just happens to be one of my favorite scent combinations and this does not disappoint! David said his back immediately felt better, soothed and moisturized.

I also want to mention that CocoOil is a pretty stellar brand. Made in Australia, all the products are organic, fair-trade and cruelty-free. They also make a baby oil with lavender which I may have to order for Miss CJ.

All in all, I am totally impressed with CocoOil! Both of the products we have tried are stellar and smell amazing. I cannot wait to try out the SPF products next summer when we see the sun again – so stay tuned for my thoughts on that!

My Little Mascara Club Review

Greetings friends and happy summer!

Today I bring you another review and this time we’re talkin’ my all-time favorite makeup product…MASCARA! I feel like putting mascara on is one life’s real, honest to goodness pleasures. Seeing those lashes go from drab to fab…I mean, what is better?

And also, I don’t know about you guys but now more than ever, I have been appreciating the small things in life. You know? The beautiful, picture-perfect rose in my neighbor’s yard. The new bath mat that fit perfectly in front our sink. Someone at the store telling me they like my tie-dye sweatshirt. You get it.

It is abundantly apparent that the folks at My Little Mascara Club appreciate the small things, because the attention to detail in their products is unrivaled. These wonderful folks sent me the Lovely Gift Set to try out and well, just feast your eyes.

First of all, can we just admire this packaging for a sec? Everything from the mailer…

To the boxes…

(Which btw, what a great company slogan) And inside, they send a FORTUNE COOKIE!

I MEAN!

Included in this gift set is:

The Best Little Mascara Ever – Length + Definition

Fresh Micellar Water with Cucumber

Erase Reusable Mascara Remover Wipes

 

The mascara features natural bristles and did a great job of lengthening and separating. I find small wands SO much easier to control than the full-size bulky wands. Here’s how it looks on me:

The micellar water + erase wipes however, might be my absolute favorite from the set. The micellar water smells like cucumbers and virtually eliminated every stitch of mascara with EASE. I was honestly kinda shocked. Plus, the reusable mascara wipes are super soft and you can just throw them in the laundry. I am seriously hooked.

Overall, I cannot believe how much I loved all the products from My Little Mascara Club. Even more crazy, they are all vegan and cruelty-free! I would definitely recommend this brand and will definitely keep en eye on them for new products!