Time to start shopping for a new diaper bag!

... Because I officially need a diaper bag for two children! :)

Natalie Elizabeth arrived at 6:26pm on Friday November 18th, and we are both doing great! Although I don't know that it will be her "permanent" nickname, an appropriate name for her right now is Peanut - because she was a tiny thing (relatively, compared to her 8lb, 6oz & 21 inch older sister) at 6lbs, 11oz & 19 inches!

We're hoping to be home later today. I opted to stay the extra day to not have to rush through the tons of appointments that you have to do before you can leave all in one day - but of course the downside to that is that I was up early today since I'm feeling good, am now sitting here in full makeup & hair done, and will spend the rest of my day just sitting around waiting for people to pop in... wondering when we will be able to leave!

(Tip that I learned this morning: You know you're in good enough health to leave the hospital, when you take your hair straightener into the bathroom to plug it in... only to realize, duh. There are no plug-ins in this bathroom because you're in a hospital - and if you're feeling well enough to primp, it's probably time to go home.)

For the mommy blogging crowd out there (but keeping it G-rated for those more interested in beauty & handbags than mommyhood, ha ha!) - delivery went exceptionally well, in my opinion. Instead of having to be induced as planned for Friday morning at 9am, I ended up starting to have contractions on Thursday night and started going into labor on my own! (Which after my previous induction, is more exciting than it sounds.) I, of course, am a wuss and not a huge fan of being in pain - so I opted for the epidural mid-day on Thursday and by dinner time she was ready to arrive! She came really quickly after I was ready to push and either due to her small size/sheer luck/or just knowing what I was doing this time around - I was surprised at how great I felt afterwards. Even with minimal sleep for two days, I felt energized and way more perky than last time around!

So now the real adventure begins... mommyhood times two. Reality will set in once I get home, Cupcake will realize that cute little "squawk-y cat" that she visited yesterday isn't going anywhere... and that will be our new norm. Toys will be nabbed, fights will ensue, temper tantrums will be thrown - but all in all, I'm thinking it could be fun. I will be sure to keep you posted. ;)

Auntie Deb showing Cupcake her new sister

Cupcake has grown by Leaps & Bounds

The past few months have brought moving... Halloween... and Cupcake, most definitely, turning into a toddler. She's grown before my eyes, and I've been amazed how you can reflect on some weeks to realize that she's gained so many new skills or words in only 7 days time. 

September 2011 - Playing at the Chrysler Museum
(She's totally getting one of these toddler tables for Christmas! Shhh...)

September 2011 - One of the first pictures taken at our new house.

October 2011 - Visiting the pumpkin patch.

October 2011 - Wearing some Halloween gear to start getting in the spirit!

October 31, 2011 - Our little monkey was a monkey for Halloween... and her favorite little stuffed animal, Monkey, dressed up as HER for Halloween! (Did you get all of that?)

October 31, 2011 - Cupcake as a monkey with Mommy

November 2011 - Showing off one of her new toddler skills that is essential for every girl, talking on the phone. ;)

I will admit, I'm looking forward to her becoming even MORE verbal - because we're in that kind of awkward stage that brings on a lot of temper tantrums, where she can't quite communicate what she's feeling or wanting... so a meltdown ensues. That gets frustrating at times for Mommy, but I'm just glad to know that it should hopefully only be a short while longer before she gains a more useful vocabulary to (hopefully?) cut down on some of the meltdowns.

For now though, I'm enjoying the new words that she's learning every day... and hearing the occasional, "Cowwww... Mooooo...." coming from the back seat. :)

Beauty: Things I'm loving right now!

Well, while I've been away moving and stuff - my focus has stayed on beauty items as my main source of enjoyment while shopping. I think I get fixated on beauty items when I'm pregnant because it helps me to retain some sense of self - having the time to put on my makeup and do my hair every day - as well as just generally helping you feel like a human being again on those days when you feel like your body has been taken over by someone else! (Oh yeah, it has.)

I've been really into pinks & neutrals, and have kept my makeup palette fairly tame these past few months. This has actually allowed me to try some new products that I believe will become mainstays in my makeup collection!

Here are some products that I'm loving right now:

Philosophy 3 in 1 in Pink Layered Cake; MAC  Lip glasses in Cultured,  Nymphette, & Prrr;  Diorshow  Waterproof Mascara; MAC Blankety lip stick; NARS Cruising lip stick, Urban Decay shadow in Sin; and NARS blush in Douceur

I'd been using Too Faced lipstick in Free Love forever, so I decided it was time to branch out and find some other neutral lip colors that worked well... I tried MAC Blankety and NARS Cruising - these two lipsticks are absolutely going into my permanent rotation! I love them! Especially NARS Cruising, it is the perfect pink nude lip color and matches my natural lips perfectly.

MAC Blankety lip stick & NARS Crusing lip stick

Keeping with my pink & neutral theme... I also tried a few new MAC Lip Glass colors - Cultured, Nymphette, and Prrrr. They all look fantastic on and are forgiving colors that you can just swipe on in the car on-the-go if needed. (Which is important in my life!) I've been wearing Cultured layered over the NARS Cruising lipstick, and Prrr was actually a color that I hadn't anticipated purchasing until I was in the store looking at colors - but when paired with Blankety lipstick, it gives a beautiful nude lip.

NARS Douceur blush is also a hit for me, the perfect neutral cheek look for Fall & Winter. It is subtle when on and you can build it up for a bigger effect. The color is a pink-ish neutral brown tone and I wear it with Too Faced's leopard bronzer underneath to add a bit of punch.

NARS Orgasm Blush compared to NARS Douceur Blush

Here's a horrible swatch on my arm of NARS Orgasm blush compared to NARS Douceur. I have a hard time getting swatches to show up on my arm...

So I haven't forgotten to take a bit of time to focus on myself while all of this move stuff has been going on. I'm looking forward to getting back into a predictable life routine though, and that includes not having to carry all of my makeup around in travel makeup bags!

Happy Halloween!!

Whew! So it's been over a month since we embarked on our move and I've been able to update the blog... apparently I'm only capable of focusing on one thing at a time! I've obviously got a lot of catching up to do... and I've also found some great products over the past month that I want to share with ya'll - but for now... the my thoughts on the highlights!

- We moved from Michigan to Illinois and are still in the process of getting settled in at the new house. I was able to at least get the girls' rooms to a minimal level of "done" and have a few pictures to share at the end of this blog post of my start on them!

- Adjusting to a new area has been a lot harder with this move than I ever anticipated. Moving with children is a totally different ball game than our previous between states move that we did before we had kids... You get so into a routine as a Stay-at-Home Mom and develop such a support system (no matter how big or small) - that it really is a shock to the system when you not only have to deal with a cranky kiddo in the middle of Target, but then also have to use up energy trying to figure out where the darned Ziploc bags are placed in the store too!

- Baby Bean (still no permanent nickname! still a girl!) is still cooking and seems to be doing well. We did have a slight scare after we moved over here when my new doctor ordered a growth ultrasound (since all of my previous ones had been done in Michigan) and the results came back that they thought the baby wasn't growing enough/too small. (10th percentile) Thus started a whirlwind schedule of twice weekly appointments to the regular doctor's office, additional appointments with the maternal fetal medicine doctor, and the like... Currently, the conclusion is that they are thinking that Baby Bean is just meant to be a smaller child - but are keeping a close eye on me none the less.

- I'm currently 38 weeks, so we're in the home stretch!

- We still love hair bows, but have taken to also occasionally putting Cupcake's hair into a pony tail out of necessity... sometimes it is the only hair style she will leave alone!

- Our new location doesn't have neeeear the shop-portunities that our previous location did. This is leading to a LOT of online ordering. I may become a pro at finding deals online while we are here, and also have some exciting cashback tips too!

- I've gotten a few new handbags that I'll share with you in a future blog post... some that I think will work great, others that I've decided aren't going to work for my lifestyle. So I'll share a review of all of those at some point and also still on my "to do" list is the Best Mommy Bags video - I haven't forgotten! (Here's a sneak peak... the Balenciaga Work unfortunately is not going to make the list!)

Here are some pictures of the girls' work in progress rooms!

The jungle animal themed room...

And the beginnings of our cupcake tea party room...

I know... a lot of work yet to be done. 

So I hope everyone is having a Happy Halloween!! Cupcake is dressing up as a monkey this evening, and then her little stuffed monkey that she carries around everywhere with her is dressing up as... her! (Bow in hair, wearing a onesie, etc.) I'm looking forward to sharing some pictures and having a fun Halloween! It's one of our favorite holidays, right after Christmas & Thanksgiving! Be safe everyone!

Ugh... moving!

So here's what is going on in my life right now... moving!!

And let me tell you, when you have a 15 month old, 2 cats, and you're pregnant - it's not for sissies.

The hubby got a new job in Illinois, so we are making the move from Michigan next week. It's taken about a month for things to fall into place for the move, but it seems like now that things have gotten started... they are going in hyper speed!

Our house here in Michigan was listed on the market and received an offer that we accepted less than a week later, our closing date on the sale of our house is in less than a month. I"m thankful that it happened that quickly, because driving two cats and a toddler in the car to be out of the house for showings was starting to get to me - and that was with only a few days of having to do it! After having an offer that we placed on a house to buy in Illinois fall through after the property we were looking to buy failed the radon test, we had to scramble to find some place to live - especially considering our house here in Michigan had "sold" at that point, and we no longer had time to wait around to find something! As luck would have it, we found a fabulous house to rent (since we no longer had the time to close on a property) and it had the same specifications as houses we were looking to buy - 4 bedroom, 2+ bath, & 3 car garage (a MUST for hubby now, apparently...), BUT the kicker is... it is a house that the builders built as a model/office show house and never filled. So we are going to be living in a BRAND NEW house for the first time! Kind of a stroke of luck there, so we'll see how we like it!

So other than just trying to keep up with whether we are going to have some place to live or are not going to have some place to live on that particular day... my main focus lately has been getting holiday gear for the GIRLS (that's right, girls!! I had to order doubles of bows for the first time ever on this last order, very surreal!!) and stocking up on holiday bows. I'll be sure to share pictures of all of the adorable holiday bows I found and also pictures of their new rooms after we move.

I'm trying to keep my shopping to a minium at this point, since everything I buy will have to be moved by the movers or I stand a chance of missing in the mail at this point if I have to order it... so I've attempted to put a few week hold on ordering anything that has to be shipped. That shouldn't be too hard... right? RIGHT?!?!? ;)

Still no nick name for the new baby, but I have a feeling that will come along after she arrives... for now it's just Cupcake and the new baby. Speaking of those two though, I have to share the adorable wall letters that I ordered from Cute Kid Creations - which as you know is one of my favorite stores to get room decor for kids! She did a fabulous job on them, and I can't wait to put these up in the girls' new rooms!

Cupcake's wall letters, cupcake themed - of course...

And the new baby's wall letters - her room is being done in jungle animal theme...

I'll be sure to update about our move as I can and I'm really hoping this craziness lessens at some point. I feel like I haven't even been able to focus on being pregnant AT ALL this time around! This pregnancy has been so different from my pregnancy with Cupcake!

New Sephora & MAC purchases!

I've been on a bit of a makeup binge lately, it's so fun though. Some fun purchases I wanted to share are the Urban Decay 15th Anniversary eyeshadow palette, that I ordered from Sephora to also get the Dolce & Gabbana perfume VIB freebie... and a few fun lip colors from MAC. I was super excited to receive the Urban Decay palette, because the Naked palette was such a hit for me!

The palette arrived yesterday, and I was pleasantly surprised when I opened it to see the colors. I'd ordered the palette only after seeing the colors online, and I wasn't sure if some of them would be as wearable or good looking in real life as they came across in promotional pictures. However after I opened my palette, I was happy to find that a number of the colors jumped out at me as very wearable and great for daytime looks.

The packaging was also fantastic, it's a very weighty palette and comes with the cutest velvet lining - with a little storage compartment underneath the shadows. (Note: Be careful trying to open the storage compartment, I nicked the shadow in the bottom right corner trying to get it open after I took these pictures... and eventually devised a successful plan to open it with a chop stick. So I'm not sure how useful the compartment would be in the long run until the shadow is all gone.)

Upon first glance, my favorite colors in the 15th anniversary palette are: Omen, Midnight 15, Vanilla, Flow, Deeper, and MIA. We'll see if those are still favorites once I get a chance to try them out! I'm planning on trying to swatch the colors tonight, so I'll try to upload some photos tomorrow of how they look against my fair skin.

Also included in my box from Sephora was a freebie available to VIBS - a deluxe size spray of Dolce & Gabbana's Light Blue fragrance. I'm excited to try it out, as I posted in my previous blgo post - because it seems to be reviewed as a universally flattering perfume. (And I've also heard that almost all males love it on women, so we'll see if my husband takes notice at all!)

And just because it arrived in the mail at the same time that my Sephora box arrived... here are a few items that I ordered from MAC while they were having their free shipping promotion. Blankety lipstick and Evolution Revolution lipglass.

Here's a quick swatch of what they look like on, great neutrals for everyday!

MAC Blankety lipstick on left; MAC Evolution Revolution lipglass on right

Finishing off the summer by trying out some new perfumes...

I've been kind of finding myself in beauty related "themes", trying out new eye products, then new lip products, then going onto things related to hair. (Really loving some products by Alterna and Ojon, which I'll do a review on in the future.) My most recent interest though has been changing up my perfumes, trying to rotate some new choices into my typical "go-to" choices.

The perfumes that I keep on hand and that I wear year round are light, playful fragrances - that can be worn daily and adapt to a number of situations. I've worn Vera Wang Princess for years and it's one of my go-to perfumes that I don't hesitate to use for daily wear. It's flirty and has a slight floral undertone, but isn't overpowering because I hate feeling like I'm walking around in a perfume wall.

www.sephora.com, 1.7 oz. size, $60

Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy is another one of my favorites that I keep on hand, also light and not overpowering. It's a sweet smelling perfume with slight floral undertones and has staying power that really only lasts for a few hours, so it's better for short trips out of the house to run errands or something to that effect.

www.sephora.com, 1.7 oz. size, $69

One of the heavier perfumes that I rotate in to my routine occasionally, but don't use on a daily basis is Chanel's Chance. It has more of a musky undertone that my other more daily use perfumes - but is nice when I want to be a bit dressier or I'm going to dinner.

www.sephora.com, 1.7 oz, $68

Onto the perfumes that I'm planning on trying to rotate into my usual choices. I received a small sample of Dolce & Gabbana's Light Blue from Sephora and then read reviews on it that said it was universally flattering. I have a deluxe sample on the way to me from Sephora to try out and if all goes well it might be brought into the rotation. It has a light scent that is nice enough for every day, but is different enough from my other staple perfumes that it should be a nice  option for something different to wear.

www.sephora.com, 1.6 oz. size, $64

Okay, this next one... I admit, I just want because of the pretty, pretty packaging. Ha! I've been eyeing the Hello Kitty perfume sold exclusively at Sephora ever since it was first released, and I think it might be time to try it. From the reviews and also a deluxe sample that I've been using at home - it does smell a lot like a watered down version of Juicy Couture's Viva La Juicy. However, I think it *might* be just different enough to justify the purchase of the adorable Hello Kitty atomizer perfume bottle... because after all, that's an investment too, right?

www.sephora.com, 1.7 oz size, $55

One last perfume that I've been thinking of trying, for I admit - reasons of marketing more than anything - is Escada's Taj Sunset. Sephora has a deal going on right now when you spend $25 online, you can receive a free deluxe sample of this perfume. It's supposed to have a fruity scent and sounds like it would be the perfect perfume to round out the summer on...

www.sephora.com, 1.6 oz. size, $55

So what perfumes will I end up choosing to add into the collection to end summer with? It's anyone's guess, but I'm planning on heading over to Sephora this week to compare some of the previously mentioned perfumes and to also test a few perfumes, like Marc Jacobs' Oh, Lola. I'll be sure to do a review on the ones I choose!