Pregnancy Beauty Favs

As some of you know, i'm a total beauty junkie... i love me some products. i read reviews on all kinds of beauty products and have spent way too much money at Ulta, Sephora and the drugstores trying out new skincare, make up, hair care and nail polish.

Anyway, i thought i'd let you girls know what some of my tried and true favorites are that i've switched to throughout pregnancy. It's mostly skincare, but a few other goodies too!

Trader Joe's Refresh Body Wash
Guys, this stuff is great. It's citrusy, cheap and natural... cleans and lathers well and isn't tested on animals. Total win in my book! If you don't have a Trader Joe's nearby, you can order on Amazon.

La Roche Posay Anthelios SX Daily Moisturizer with SPF 15

OK, so this is my go-to moisturizer. It was recommended by my dermatologist before pregnancy and even though its not all natural, i believe the protection it provides with the SPF is worth it. You really only need the smallest drop to cover your entire face. This stuff lasts me forever! I buy it at CVS when I have a decent coupon.

The Balm Time Balm Cucumber Face Toner
I found this on Hautelook and decided to try it out. It's on the pricier side for toner ($12.50 for 6 fl oz) but so far I am really liking it. I wanted something that was more natural and alcohol-free. I started using this in the winter and it has lasted me a really long time! I would definitely consider purchasing this again.

Philosophy Purity Face Wash
This is such a great face wash for all skin types. I used this even before I got pregnant and it has been a staple in my routine for a very long time. I like to use this with my Clarisonic a few times a week for a deeper cleaning. Pre-pregnancy I used a wash with a salicylic acid in it, but since they say to stay away from that with pregnancy, I just use this or Simple Cleanser. I also picked up a Neutrogena Naturals cleanser/make up remover this past weekend that i've been trying and liking. There are so many options for pregnancy friendly cleansers out there.

Bio Oil
I've been using a few different oils for my belly/boob area to try to prevent stretch marks and this is one of them. It has a nice fragrance and has so far (knock on wood) kept the stretch marks away! I like the bottle, you can pour the oil out pretty easily, unlike some of the others I 've tried that have an annoying pump (50 pumps later, you finally have a decent amount).

Zoya Nail Polish
Ah! Finally, a non-skincare pick! One of my favorite brands of nail polish, though its hard to find these in stores. I've found a few at Ulta, the rest I bite the bullet and order online. These are touted as pregnancy safe. They don't contain any of the 5 dangerous chemicals that are supposedly bad for pregnant gals. I love the Pixie Dust line and the polishes are really nice consistency. I also love Zoya's polish remover. If you do your nails a lot, definitely try this brand out!

Fekkai Brilliant Glossing Creme
This next one isn't so much pregnancy friendly in terms of health, but it is a staple in my hair care routine. Pregnancy makes you tired. And tired girls like to get away with washing their hair not as often as pre-pregnancy. Or maybe I am just lazy. That is a totally legit statement as well. But, i only wash my hair 2, maybe 3 times a week. I curl my hair on certain days and run this stuff through it and the curls really stay put. I love it, though I do NOT love the price.

OK so that's it for today's edition of some of my favorite beauty products... of course I have a TON more... let me know in the comments if you'd be interested in seeing more!

Bumpdate 26 Weeks

Hi friends! Oh my word... was the last time i blogged really back in July?
The shit hit the proverbial fan at work, and i've just been a busy busy bee.
Which is a good thing, i suppose... job security right?

Anyhoo... since i'm way too busy lazy to go back and find my usual bumpdate topics, i'm just going to do this bulleted style for you today!

• Today I am exactly 26 weeks along. Baby is the size of a head of lettuce? OK... don't get me started on these weird fruit/veggie comparisons... they are just bizarre.
• Kick kick kick... this kid is going to be a soccer player for sure! Active is quite the understatement for this little one! Wonder if he'll kick this much OUTSIDE of the womb as he does on the inside.
• Hubby has only felt 1 or 2 kicks so far on the outside... i think he's a little impatient with waiting to feel anything... i mean, he expects the baby to kick on command? not gonna happen daddy-o! LOL
• Everything is planned for this little guy's shower... invites went out, so i'm super excited to see all my friends and family in about 6 weeks
• Registry is DONE! Yippee! After endless hours in Babies R Us, and finding the cutest little loafers for little man to wear for Christmas, i don't plan on setting foot in that store for at least the next couple of months
• Pregnancy symptoms: nasal rhinitis (snoring like a 300 lb man), tailbone pain (ouch! i sit on an inflatable donut at work like an 80 year old), WRIST pain (this is a new one, and i don't know whether i sprained something or if this is truly pregnancy related), indigestion, the beginnings of constipation (which i've heard is going to get worse, eek! benefiber is my bff), peeing 8,000x a day (i think baby is low and pretty much on my bladder)
• Next week is my 1 hr glucose test, wish me luck
• I have yet to open the exercise DVDs but am SWEARING i will do one tonight. definitely. maybe. probably... the excuses continue.

Think that's it for now since i'm getting slammed with more work... here are some pics from the last few weeks that i've been MIA! (sorry if some are recycled from Instagram).

At the Jets game (25 weeks, 1 day)

Someone stole the Boppy!

24 weeks

Selfie before a girls day out...

Cutest little loafers!!!

Jets slippers! I'm a sucker for cute shoes!

Ceiling fan and light installed, thanks hubby!

Some fun onesies from Old Navy

Have a great week and i hope to be back sooner rather than later!

*s

The Sweetest Surprise!

This weekend we got a lot done for Baby C's room. I taped up all the walls, hubby did the painting. We picked out a ceiling fan and bought curtains... everything is coming along so perfectly, we'll be ready for this little guy with lots of time to spare!

The MOST exciting thing we've gotten for the room so far though...

This ADORABLE mobile from my BOFF Jenn! This was seriously the sweetest surprise that showed up at my doorstep on Friday afternoon. I had 2 boxes waiting for me when I came home from my pre-natal massage (if you're preggers, go get one, it's heavenly); my organic fruit/veggie box and another box... i racked my brain trying to think of what, if anything i had ordered. And once I opened said box, i was just so super surprised i could not stop smiling... i may have even teared up at Jenn's sweet message. Of course I immediately had to snap a pic and put it on Instagram and Facebook.

After all, i just finished making the registry this past week and it's the very first gift we've received off of it! Good job Jenn, #winning! (And yes, I will make sure your thank you card is in the mail ASAP! LOL!) I'm so excited for the nursery to be ready so I can hang this baby up!

Jenn - thank you SO much for your sweet, thoughtful surprise. I'm so so happy we've become such good friends over the past couple of years. People come in and out of our lives, but I sure am glad you came into mine.

And here's a pic of the bump from the weekend... I'll be back soon with a bumpdate and some pics!

Bumpdate: 20 Weeks

Hi Friends! Happy 20 weeks to me! Yes, we are finally half way there!

We also had our anatomy scan on Monday and everything is looking absolutely great, thank you Jesus! Baby boy was moving and shaking all over the place and it was so surreal to see all his little body parts in such detail!

Here are some pics!

chillaxin'

cutest little foot!

hehehe, little boy parts!

How far along: 20 weeks exactly. HALF WAY THERE!

Baby size: Baby is the size of a banana! Our official weight was 13 oz, which is a bit ahead of the average. And he was measuring 4 days ahead in size.

Weight gain: Still holding steady at 10-12 lbs. haven't got on the scale in a while and that's A-ok with me!

Stretch marks: none yet, hoping they stay away!

Mood: Pretty good, motivated to get stuff done so i am organized and prepared for the fall.

Sleep: UGH. Still waking average of 3x per night to pee. And also being woken up by hubby because apparently i snore like an old man! #oops. thanks pregnancy rhinitis!

Gender: B-O-Y!

Movement:  Lots and lots and lots. This guy decided he was going to have a major dance party in my belly for the past two days now! Lots of kicking and flipping all over the place! Feels totally weird and cool and freaky! Love knowing he's actually in there and wiggling around!

Best moment this week: The anatomy scan of course! Also picking out paint colors for the nursery was great too.

Looking forward to:  4th of July weekend and having a 3-day weekend.

Food cravings: Hot dogs. And that craving was satisfied today thanks to an awesome co-worker! He brought me a chilli cheese dog AND a hot dog with mashed potato, bacon and ranch dressing. It was like i died and went to hot dog heaven.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope. Just the gagging, which I have a feeling will just stay with me for the entire pregnancy. 

Labor Signs: Stay away labor signs! At least for another 15 weeks please!

What I miss: Ice. cold. BEER. Summer = blue moons & coronas.

Symptoms: Dance parties in my belly, constant hunger, constant peeing, stuffy nose, some round ligament pain, oh and leg cramps. Lord help me they are bad! They strike in the middle of the night and hurt like hell.

Workouts: Um, next week maybe? Maybe?

Oh and for your viewing pleasure, taken in my office this morning... don't mind my face, i look a little crazy, but i was trying to set the timer to take the picture without anyone seeing me! LOL

Bumpin' along at 20 weeks

Have a great 4th of July! If you're on the East Coast, stay dry! We've got a tropical storm coming our way!

The Long Forgotten Blog...

Hi anyone out there that still follows me! Anyone? Anyone?

Well, if you DO still happen to read, I know. I've been gone forever...

I can't promise I'm going to get back to "regular" blogging. 

With a baby on the way, I'll be busier than ever. What? What baby? 

Yes, you heard right...

I'm pretty darn excited. It's been 2.5 years in the making and finally our little miracle is slated to enter the world in November.

So without further ado, a quick "bumpdate" to get you all up to speed!

How far along: 18 weeks, 6 days - big 19 weeks tomorrow!

Baby size: Baby is the size of a mango! About 6" from head to rump.

Weight gain: i think we're in the 10-11lb range. To be honest, i'm trying not to focus on weight gain, and just try and enjoy the ride and eat what i want when i want without being a total glutton. Luckily i'm into lots of fruit for the summer, so i'm making some good healthy choices.

Stretch marks: haven't seen any yet, i've been slathering on the bio oil!

Mood: My mood has been GREAT. I'm finally feeling good and my energy levels are up. We are planning the nursery and i've bought a few things for this little bambino! I've also more than popped so it's definitely fun dressing my bump.

Sleep: Bah.... i can't complain too much... getting up so much to pee in the middle of the night is annoying, but i can usually fall back asleep right away. Crazy vivid dreams are off the charts right now (including lots of sex dreams, mmmmmm). My Snoogle pillow has been a lifesaver!

Gender: BOY!! Still trying to figure out a name... good thing we have months to decide!

Movement:  YES!!! started feeling the first little blips last friday, wasn't quite sure it was bambino moving around... but now i still feel the same little bubbles/muscle spasm feeling right where my uterus is so i'm pretty sure its him. I can only feel them intermittently and when i am very still. He is very active at night after 9pm, and yesterday morning, i got 2 distinct pops when i first woke up and was still lying in bed. I think it was his way of telling me to get up and eat some breakfast!

Best moment this week: Well, feeling little boy moving is totally great, but so is finally agreeing on and picking out his furniture and bedding! And we ordered the glider!

Munire Jefferson Collection

Little Castel Madison Glider (ours is in beige)

Lambs and Ivy Bow Wow Buddies

Looking forward to:  Our anatomy scan next Monday! And getting to the halfway mark!

Food cravings: Fruit! Lots and lots of fruit... nectarines, watermelon, plums, strawberries and cherries. Glad i'm craving healthy stuff and the fruit is helping to keep me regular (TMI?). Oh and even though i can't have it, totally craving a giant italian sub. Hubby knows he is to go straight to the deli and get me a huge one once baby boy makes his appearance.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not too much anymore. Though a random bite of anything at anytime can still make me gag. And brushing my teeth in the morning is still somewhat of a challenge.

Labor Signs: Nooooooooo. No time soon! I still have to take the child birth class at the hospital so i know what i'm doing!

What I miss: Italian subs and sushi this week.

Symptoms: Lots of pressure in my lower abdomen, its not helping that my pants and seatbelt press right on this area... pregnancy rhinitis combined with seasonal allergies... emotional roller coasters (aka crying at pampers commercials)... hunger every 2 hrs on the dot... and lots and lots of peeing.... i was in BRU the other day and HAD drop everything and RUN to use the facilities, only to have about a teaspoon of pee come out. it was annoying.

Workouts: Let's not even talk about this. I live in a 3rd floor condo, does climbing the stairs everyday count? Let's pretend it does. One of these days i will unwrap the dvds. Maybe. I have at least been taking the dog out for walks outside so i'm not a TOTAL bum.

Anyhoo. That's it for me. I PROMISE i'll be back next week with an update from our anatomy scan, and some bump pics. I'm also going to be researching stuff for our registry this week and next so maybe i'll try to do a post on some of that stuff. We'll see. Or i might just be lazy. Because work sucks the life out of me.

so yeah. i'm back bitches! (lol just kidding, it sounded too good not to say it!)

Meaningful Beauty Crème de Serum Review

Hi beauties!

Remember last week when I got a sample of the
Meaningful Beauty Creme de Serum
in the mail from Influenster?

Buy it here

Yup, that's the stuff right there.

You all PROBABLY know the gorgeous woman who promotes this product?

Mmm hmm, Yup, that's her.

Well, I mean, who doesn't want supermodel GORGEOUS skin?

I certainly do.

So I was super excited to get this free from Influenster to review since
I had already been wanting to try this out.

Final verdict?

Love it.

This serum has a great consistency. It sort of reminds me a bit of a primer. Its silky and not greasy. You only need a small pump to cover your face. After all it is a serum, not a moisturizer.

I've been applying both morning and night. For day, I follow up with a moisturizer with sunscreen in it. For night, a heavier night cream. The scent is pleasant. And after a week of using it, though I can't really see any "visible" results, my skin feels really nice and really soft. It also didn't break me out at all, which is always a bonus.

This serum is a win for me and I'd definitely consider purchasing this in the future as well as trying out other products from the Meaningful Beauty line.

Have you tried Meaningful Beauty?

Thankful Thursday

Linking up today with my cyber bestie Jenn for

November is the perfect time of year to give thanks for all we have,

though, we should give thanks all the time.

Here are a few things i'm thankful for this year.

{1}

my hubby.

this man is so hard-working. the sacrifices he makes for our little family are amazing.

he is my rock and i am so thankful to have found a really good man.

(even though he's gotten 4 parking tickets this year...)

{2}

my job.

yes, i know i bitch about work more times than not. but i am really thankful to have such a good job. i bring home a paycheck, have decent medical insurance and have a ton of flexibility here.

{3}

my pup.

earlier this year we had quite a scare where we thought we were going to lose this little guy.

now i don't take a moment for granted with him because i know his little life is substantially shorter than a human. as a result, yes, he's a bit spoiled. #oops

{4}

my hair.

ok ok, i know this one's a little vain... but seriously, how can you not be thankful when you wake up in the morning, don't even bother to run a brush thru your hair and it automatically looks decent?

#goodasiangenes

{5}

all of you(s) - sorry... the s is a jersey thing

all the girls i've met and have yet to meet (jenn, karly and katy) thru blogging,

these friendships are the best! and i hope to be a better blogger and get to know more of you out there!

{bonus}

Chipotle.

yup, i had to throw it in there.

you know you all agree.

:)

What are you thankful for?

It's been a while...

Work and life just have a way of distracting me from this lil ol' blog,
but i'm still here and truckin' along (possibly with a glass of wine in hand).

Here are the fun (and not so fun) things I've been up to these past few weeks:

We got new appliances! (and i convinced mr grinch to exchange small christmas gifts, so yay!)
 

don't mind all the crap on the counter...

Scooter and Rio's annual trip to the vet cost me an arm and a leg...

but look at those cute faces... totally worth it.

Eating way too much of this yummy brownie brittle

And cooking some yummy soup for the cold weather ahead

Copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana

Spending some QT with my bestie who gave me an adorable belated belated bday gift

fill 'er up!

Hubby's obsession with dolls (we get them from going to the football games)

yes, these guys are in the room i do my make up checking me out everyday!

Wearing this beauty!

 love me some baublebar...

I got my glam bag, my fabfitfun box AND a meaningfulbeauty sample (free from influenster)

Leave me a comment if you'd like links for any of these services!

What have you been up to lately? 

 

How the Hubby Stole Christmas...

So, our diswasher broke. For the 4th time. The past 3 times G has put his handy man skills to good use and has repaired it/unclogged it/cast a spell on it and made it work again.

Also, I should mention while googling to find that image, i also found this:

Ummmmm... that pic is soon to be my MTV "True Life" story people. Because this time, according to G, le dishwasher is done. "For good". #ripdishwasher #theregoesmymanicure

Soooo, last night, in discussing whether or not we should a) just replace said dishwasher or b) spend the money and replace all the appliances with stainless steel #sochic the following conversation ensued.

me: Let's try to hold out til Black Friday to get the appliances. It's only a few weeks. Maybe we'll get a better deal.
G: OK, and I know what I want for my birthday, a microwave. And we can get the fridge and stove as our Christmas presents to each other.
me: (insert sad face). OK, i guess that's the smart thing to do...
G: Ok, so NO other presents to each other then.
me: What?! Not even like a $20 something so we can open something on Christmas??? --- said in the most whiny pathetic voice possible.

And here is the piece de resistance.

G: You will be opening the new refrigerator everyday, you don't need to open anything else.


Well played sir, well. played.

And that my friends is how the grinch hubby grinch-hubby stole Christmas.