A Father's day idea

I've been trying to think of a gift to give John for his second Father's day.  I had the best Mother's day which involved me cooking brunch for my Mom, a nap and a trip to Barnes & Noble complete with coffee! (I realize I have been on a bit of a blogging hiatus, but I have had things going on that I couldn't share here and I am a bit of a blabber mouth so I had to refrain from posting...)

John is just as simple as I am and has a few loves (beyond his family) that include vintage episodes of Star Trek, new music and ice cream(!)  So when I saw the Father's day menu pop up on emeals this week complete with this recipe for caramel brownie milkshakes I knew I found his Father's day gift.  I think a couple of uninterrupted hours of Star Trek and this milkshake will make a great Father's day for him!

Ingredients: Milk, good quality vanilla ice cream, your favorite brownies, and caramel for drizzling.

If you haven't tried emeals, now is the time.  Use the code DADS for 15% off- and if you sign-up now you will get access to the special Father's Day menu. I use emeals to plan out our weekly eats and since I started I have gotten our grocery budget down to about $80 a week for my family of three. We eat the Paleo plan and have lots of fresh produce and meats to work with.  Share your thoughts about this recipe on twitter with #emeals or join us on at facebook.com/emealz for more conversation!

//disclaimer- This post contains affiliate links, but the honest opinions are my own. 

A day in life

Welcome to "Blog Everyday in month of May!" Today's theme is a moment in your day.  I decided to share a recent project I did on Instagram called #adayinthelife. I was a neat way to document a typical day for me and I will be doing these seasonally.  Lost of people on IG participate and the project usually happens on the first of a month.  I will be sure to post here a few days before the next project or you can just join in with the hashtag #dayinthelife on the first of every month!
 
PS. If you follow me on IG I am sorry for the second time around photos and if you don't follow me, please do!

Morning (left to right)- in the Starbucks drive-thru, logging in and checking email, coffee refill, snacktime

Afternoon (left to right)- preparing for a meeting, meeting doodles, leaving work (!), picking up my bug!

Evening (left to right)- snack time & walking Bella, dinner for the bug, prepping blog post, & nightly rituals.

A piece of advice

Welcome to "Blog Everyday in month of May!"

The theme that Jenni offered today was a piece of advice we would like to share with our readers and this is mine! The act of smiling itself makes you feel joyful inside, but when you smile at a stranger you may be the ONE thing that day that provides hope and lightness.  I say this because on a couple of recent occasions when I have been feeling down,  a stranger (one man and one women) offered a smile and said, "hello!" It was a welcome change in the moment and made the rest of my day lighter.  




*edited to add: this was supposed to publish yesterday, May 8th but there were issues so you get two post today.

uncomfortably comfortable

Today's theme in "Blog Everyday in month of May!" is to talk about something that makes you uncomfortable.  There are only a handful of things that make me uncomfortable like clowns, wet hair stuck to objects (think school bus windows- ugh!), and those character/mascots with their big giant hands.  I don't know what I am going to do when Eleanor gets older and wants to run up and hug those things. Shudder. So with all this talk and thought about being uncomfortable it seemed like this would best time to share a new bra review with you. I did it, I said bra on my blog - sheesh talk about uncomfortable! 

I was given a chance to test out a new bra from Playtex called, the Playtex Secrets Balconette bra and it was actually a really comfortable bra which is hard to come by if you have a ahem larger chest! The Playtex Secrets bra is designed to fit and flatter every curve and figure! It has wide-set straps, a deep V which is perfect for open necklines, and seamless, contoured cups for a smooth look under clothes.  It also has a very supportive underwire and is available in cup sizes B through DDD (bonus!) 

I found the band fit to be accurate and was comfortable enough that I wore it on a trail hike with my family.  I do suggest going down a cup size as I felt compared to other bras I own the cups ran large. Playtex is really stepping up their game and releasing several new styles & COLORS Fall 2013.  The new colors are all hue based to give more variety.  I normally don't buy my bras at department store retailers like Kohl's, but I was pleasantly surprised with the fit and have already bought another (in a smaller cup size) to add to my rotation.  After several washings the bra still looks good as new.  I tend to wash my bras in the washing machine and then hang them to dry I know its not the preferred method, but its what works for my lifestyle.  For 37.99 this bra is equal to the quality of my more expensive bras and you can also usually find Playtex bras BOGO.  I would suggest trying them on if you can or visiting the Playtex website to find your fit as I do think the cup size is off.  So there you have it,  this bra made my normally uncomfortable end of the day a little more comfortable.  Let's be real though...nothing feels as good as pajamas at the end of the day. Am I right?

If you are interested in trying this bra for your self leave me a comment I have several $5 off coupons from Playtex and I would love to share.  Do you look for comfort in a bra or looks? I am all comfort. No shame!  

If you are a new reader from, " blog everyday in May" hello + welcome! Please consider following me on bloglovin- I don't always talk about bras!

//disclaimer- There are NO affiliate links in the post, but I did receive this product from BzzAgent to review. The honest opinions are my own. 

Everyday make-up brushes every women should have

Welcome to "Blog Everyday in month of May!" Very excited to join Jenni in this challenge. You should join in also!

I am no beauty guru, but I have a passion for make-up and love to experiment.  Over time I have developed a "kit" of brushes that are an essential part of my everyday make-up routine.  These are ten brushes that every women should have and most can be purchased at your local Target/Wal-Mart. Synthetic hair brushes are best for wet products like foundation, cream eyeshadow, cream blush and I find synthetic brushes are easier to use when blending out eye shadows.  They are also super easy to clean. Which brings me to my next point- brush maintenance is a must.  You can use brush cleaner between uses or if you are switching a color out, but at least twice a month you should give them a good shampoo. I use baby shampoo and then run water over them until it runs clear, reshape and lay them flat to dry on a towel.  With proper care a good brush can last you a few years. So let's take a look at the top ten everyday make-up brushes.

1.  Spooley Brush- This brush is a must for shaping and defining your eyebrows.  I usually give mine a comb through, apply my eyebrow pencil and then comb through again to remove any extra product.

2. bareMinerals Heavenly liner blending brush- Having a way to smudge your eyeliner makes applying it fool-proof, but this brush does double work under the lower lash line too.  

3. MAC #213- If you only can purchase one brush for your kit, this is it.  This brush is multi-purpose for applying color to the lid, crease, brow bone  and it can even be used for blending.  The soft dome shape makes it very versatile.  This is my favorite brush!

4. Smashbox #30*- I use this brush for applying my cream shadows   It almost has a pencil tip that allows you to really get into the crease and work the cream shadow.  I usually follow up this brush with a swipe of my finger to blend out. * Linked brush is similar.

5. Blending brush- This is part of a kit of brushes I got from Walmart called, "Essential Tools Ultimate Hi-Def Face Set." This brush is the mini powder brush, but it is just the right size for blending.  Plus the synthetic hair is super soft, dense and makes quick work of blending away shadow lines.

6. Foundation brush- This brush is also part of the, "Essential Tools Ultimate Hi-Def Face Set." I use this brush to set my under eye concealer with a powder.  The brush is flat and dense and it allows me to pat the powder under my eyes and the pointed tip gets right under my lower lash line.  

7. bareMinerals Heavenly Blush brush- This isn't your traditional blush brush but the perfectly flat top makes applying blush to the apples of your cheeks super easy.  It usually only takes one or two swipes and you have full blush coverage.

8. Angled brush- Part of the, "Essential Tools Ultimate Hi-Def Face Set" this brush is best used for contour work with bronzer.  The angle is just right to get into the hollows of your cheeks while the brush is thin enough to deliver a fairly precision contour line.  I love this brush and think I will be purchasing another to use for blush as well.

9. e.l.f studio Stipple brush- This brush can be used wet or dry and gives you the most flawless finish when you apply your finishing powder.  Using circular motions buff on your powder and the finish is light to medium coverage. It looks amazing.

10. e.l.f studio kabuki brush- The kabuki brush is a final step brush for me.  I run it along the perimeter of my face to blur any foundation or powder lines and work inward. It will remove any eyeshadow fall out or built up powder.  The synthetic hairs are so soft and with some work you can almost get an airbrush finish from kabuki brushes.

So that's it- my ten essential everyday brushes! Do you see any in here that you will be adding to your brush kit? In the next couple of weeks I will be doing my foundation (bb cream), blush, bronzer routine so you will get to see these brushes in action.

If you are a new reader from, " blog everyday in May" hello + welcome! Please consider following me on bloglovin!

Story of my life in 250 words

Welcome to "Blog Everyday in month of May!" Very excited to join Jenni in this challenge. You should join in also!

I was born late summer in Alexandria Virginia to my Mom (from maine) and Dad (from virginia.) Apparently I was precocious and talked early.  I didn't crawl just went from scooting to walking.  I wanted to be a teacher or solid gold dancer before entering school.  My sister was born! I didn't really love her then and asked my parents to return her, but man I love her now! I struggled in school.  I had to go see a visual doctor to learn how to tie my shoe, skip, bounce a ball and other things.  I loved learning and reading, but enjoyed it on my "own" terms (still do!) I used to create recipe cards in my room with colored pencils and fell right in love with art.  Middle school was painful- but it's an awkward time for everyone.  I found my stride with yearbook and my love for design and journalism was born. Off to high school. Creative writing and journalism dominated my time.  I loved dance and singing (secretly wanted to sing on Broadway- still do!) but couldn't seem to get a break into high school dancing or singing.  So I stuck with journalism and eventually became editor-in-cheif of my award winning high school paper.

This is me & john in high school!

I liked highschool, but was ready to leave.  I didn't apply for college, because I didn't know what I wanted to do or be so I stayed at home- worked at a local record store (so freaking awesome) and went to community college.  I did really well in community college and focused a good bit of my time on my English class and designing store displays.  Really wanted to go to art school, but stuck with a liberal arts school and transfered to College of Charleston- didn't love it.  I found a really good job as a help desk support specialist and moved back to Washington, DC. I dated, broke-up, dated, got promoted, dated, made a sorta bad decision to get married, moved to a new job, traveled around the world, lost my Dad to alcoholism, got promoted to IT Manager with a global organization, got divorced and traveled some more. Then I reconnected with my now husband a high school friend and moved to Richmond, VA to be with him (I also got a really good job there.) After awhile, I wanted to move back to Charleston so we did in 2008.  We bought a house- I FINALLY went to art school while working full time as a Senior System Engineer (still am.) I graduated cum laude- got married, had a baby E and now....here I am.

engagement picture

First family photo

OK! So I bet that was more than 250 words, but it was a good exercise to try and tell my life story with limited space. If you join in the challenge please let me know!

Where I've been - Where I'm going (hint: no idea!)

When you have a small readership (hello crickets!) you have the luxury of time to research, journal and do more to find your blog voice. I have been blogging since early 2005 and in that time I have shared quite a bit about my art, going back to school, my engagement, wedding and now my love of product reviews.  The fact is I love art, crafting, make-up, music, product reviews, graphic design, homemaking and motherhood.  I want to share all those things, but I don't want to confuse my current and/or future readers.  I have always marched to my own drummer so I am struggling to find the balance of uniqueness and familiarity.  I have come to a decision that I think its more important for me to blog myself- and less important that I try to be something that I am not.  So here I am going to work to "create" authenticity. That means I won't like everything I review, my photos won't be perfect, and my online life will reflect my offline life.

Authenticity

So... like a billion other women worldwide I am working 40+ hours a week, taking care of my home, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, taking care of my growing and silly little bug, nurturing my marriage, and my spiritual life.  That leaves exactly -15% for myself.  Here is where the authenticity comes in- how in the world are all the other blog women out here able to do it all?!? Seriously.  Is everyone living in a perfectly designed, easy to manage world?  I am living in a world where sometimes I drive through the guard gate at work and I'm actually surprised I'm there because I don't remember getting in my car and driving.  Real talk. Anyway, I recently read an article about blogging and it said if your gone for a couple of weeks you should address it.  So while I am not apologizing for my absence I am laying it all out- I'm living in my own mini tornado and I don't see my feet touching the ground for sometime. Not exactly earth shattering blog material, but there has to be someone else out there that blogs and doesn't have their shit together...anyone?