looking forward to 2015

This year has been the slowest and fastest year ever. 

Looking back on a few highlights...

Feb: I saw Britney Spears in Vegas for my birthday

March: went to Maui

April: Babe turned 5

June: Our little Princess was born

Dec: Our first family vacation to Reno

Between June and December I was busy adjusting to being a mom of two and working full time and so I was really excited about our trip to Reno. It definitely got me thinking about goals for 2015. 

I want to get outdoors more often with my little family. Kids grow so fast! I love seeing the look on babes face when he experiences something new, it is just priceless and I don't want to take those moments for granted. 

I also want to visit my parents and brother more often then I have the past few years. As I have gotten older and had a family of my own, it has become more difficult to take the time to drive 1 hour every other weekend to visit, but the truth is we are getting older and I really NEED to take that time.

And lastly I want to "try" to not stress so much about everything. I think the less stress I have the more likely I am to "get outdoors" and visit my parents & brother. 

I hope everyone had a great year and has an even better 2015!

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citrus lane, great gift for kids

This past summer while I was on Maternity leave I became a "little" obsessed with on-line shopping. I never cared for it before because I didn't understand how people could buy something without physically holding it or trying it on first. But then I realized how convenient it is when you have a newborn and don't have time to take a shower, let alone go shopping. So on-line shopping is amazing! 

 

One of my purchases came from Citrus Lane. If you haven't heard of Citrus Lane it's a monthly subscription box for kids. I decided to try it out when they were offering the 1st box for $7. I was so excited to sign up our baby girl... a birchbox for babies, um yup! 

They have 4 different options: monthly, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months... ranging from $29 to $22 a month. I have to say that I was actually impressed with the first box.

The variety in the box is great, we got a lotion, paper owl mobile, glass containers and how cute is the skip hop chime ball. They also included a discount for care.com, which I probably won't take advantage of but should, because I could use a date night you know.

There are 2 things I'm not too crazy about though... 1. as much as I like the box we got, I'm not sure it's worth $29 a month (cheaper if you are on a longer subscription)! plus... 2. tax! I like that my birchbox is a flat $10... no tax.

With that being said though, I think this is a great gift option. Once you sign up, you can skip a month, (or 3) and then order a box when you want. I have skipped every month since receiving the first box but decided to get one for our little princess for Christmas. I probably won't order another one until her birthday. 

What do you think about kid subscription boxes and is there a better one that I should try?

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winter mani

When I think of winter I definitely think "white" like snow. But for my nails, I like darker colors. Which is why I like that most of the "it" colors right now are darker toned. I already shared some of my new colors from Butter London in a previous post but Julep has some great nail polish color choices as well... a few of my favorites are Fiore, Beverly, and Chloe. 

Before the color though, it's important to prep your hands and nails. I like to first use a cuticle remover, let it soak in for a few minutes and then scrub with a nail brush or use a cuticle pusher and wipe off the excess. Next I like to use a hand scrub. I own 2 different ones that are both amazing. If my hands are extra dry I use the Mary Kay Satin hands set, it comes with the best hand softener that really works. For not so dry hands I use Julep glycolic hand scrub. I like that it says "facial for hands". 

After hands are nice and soft, prep nails with a base coat. I think this step is especially important when using darker colors, it definitely helps protect the nail from staining. And then add Color. For my winter manicure I'm using Butter London Royal Navy, Julep Felicity on my ring finger and Essie As Gold As It Gets as a top coat on my pinky and thumb. 

And even though I ALWAYS forget, I added a topcoat so that my manicure lasts a little longer. 

What are some of your favorite colors for winter?

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