Handwriting

Ashley @ Eisy Morgan tagged me in this little handwriting thing.  I love love love her blog, super cute and inspirational.  So I thought I would play along!  Here ya go!

I didn't have room on my tiny sheet of paper to tag anyone, so I am doing it here!

Meri @ Meri-Goes-Round
Erica @ Fashion meets Food
Megan @ Across the Pond

Come play along!!

Okay, next, I need ya'lls help.  I made this sort of make shift book wreath and I can't think how to finish it!  I need help ladies!  What should I put in the middle?  I was thinking the letter S (our last name) backed with black.  But I don't have a printer and my writing isn't that great. (see above!)  So what do you think?  How should I finish it?  I am super limited with supplies, so get creative ladies!  Thanks!

Bises!

Oscar Party!

You are all probably watching the Oscar's right now, or gearing up to!  But since I live in France, I can't watch the Oscar's live.  I have to wait and download the next day.  Which is fine, because I don't have to watch commercials!  But if I was in the states, I would love to throw an Oscar's party/girls night!  How fun would that be? And an excuse to dress up. :)  So we would have to start with some pretty cute invites.  I like the idea of making it a glamorous night, so I whipped these up real quick:

I just did these myself, and obviously used iStock photo without paying.  But if I was really gonna do it, I would get the ladies at The Pomegranate Basket to do my invites.  They are super creative and would come up with something awesome!

Then we would have to have some awesome drinks, I liked this one:

• 2 bottles sparkling wine
• Mango liquor, try Hiram Walker Fruja

Fill flutes with the sparkling wine and add a splash of the liquor.

via

Then we would have to have some killer appetizers.  I love bruschetta, so I would have to throw that in there.  I also love this baked brie.  I have made it many times to awesome reviews.  Here is a recipe.



via (this one has peaches, I have made it with strawberry jam. I'm sure both are ymmuy)

 Then we would have to have some pre-viewing games.  Maybe something like sceneit, Oscar style.  We would do voting ballots passing out ahead of time and see who wins in 'our' Oscar's.  We would definitely take pictures of all of our Oscar outfits and talk about who and what we are wearing. :)

Then, of course, I would love to have my guests leave with little party bags!  It's a must!  This is what it would have in it:

• CD of the Oscar nominated songs, and some more, just for fun
• Homemade frames to put the Oscar photos in
• Lip gloss
• Nail polish
• Cutely packaged bag of candy
• Scented lotion



Not this much, but you get the picture! (via)


And this is what I would wear, hair and everything:

I would maybe like a different color, because I am not as tan as Jessica.  But I think it is a beautiful dress and fits nicely.  I guess I would wear this to the real Oscars if I ever went.  I wouldn't wear this to a party, just to be clear.  I might choose something from this set:

Casual Chic- Cocktail Attire by Greta Guide on Polyvore.com


So, what do you think?  Would you come to my Oscar party?  What else would you add to the party?  Did anyone out there actually have an Oscar party??  I would love to hear about it!  I will take notes for my future planning needs! :)

Blog Lovin'

I joined BlogLovin' today!  Come check me out and follow me!!  Thanks so much lovelies!  I mean, seriously, how fun is this bloggy world?!? I love it!

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Inspiration from the Postman

I got a little inspiration in the mail today.  And it was wonderful.  Letters are always wonderful to receive, and it helps when you live thousands of miles away from most family and friends.  Today my mom sent me a clipping from Better Homes and Gardens March 2011 issue.  It was a little article about Nina Restieri.  She is the creater of something called the MomAgenda. Super cute planners and papers and such made for mom's.  I am pretty sure you don't have to be a mom, but that is part of the point.  Here is what it says for the front caption of the article

"Functional fashion?  It's high on Nina Restieri's to-do list.  The creator of mom Agenda, a line of modern colorful day planners made speciafically for moms believes that - with a little organization and know-how - any busy woman can look and feel perfectly put together."

Suggestions?  Here is how Nina does it.  A couple times a year she puts together about 50 outfits and takes pictures of them.  Then she prints them out and puts them in a binder so when it comes time to get dressed, she whips out the binder and chooses from there.  Crazy, huh?  I don't think that would work for me, becuase I would go to get those items out of the closet and see something else cute I wanted to wear and get sidetracked and who knows from there.  The main point I got from this article is that is what worked for her.  That is what keeps her cute in her super busy world.  There are no excuses!

I am learning that my style is probably going to be a little more casual, and that is okay.  I can be casual and be cute!  So thanks mom and Nina for a little something to brighten my day!

Oh and, I want this one...

Love the Caribbean blue, they also have pink, zebra, purple. So cute!

Week view including room for up to 4 kids.

Month view

This kinda turned into a review.  I have seen the products and like them, but was not compensated (I wish!) for my opinion. 

First Outfit Post!

I decided to go for it!  I just did it.  Feeling silly and I, I just did it!  So here is my first outfit post, hopefully one of many.  Pictures courtesy of my three-year-old.  That is why I am ducking in most, he is tall, but not that tall!

Tae, you have to get me in the picture!

"Okay, mommy, now my turn."

Aaaand, we're out.

Leggings - Target, Shirt w/ belt -7 euros, long sleeve shirt - Gap, gift, shoes - Payless.

Oh and the boys lost their game last night.  TOTAL BUMMER.  It was soooooo close and the refs sucked.  And I could only yell at them in English, which isn't nearly as effective.  Stinkin' refs.  ugh.

Hope all is well, Happy Saturday! 

Waiting for warm weather!

I am ready for summer.  Can you tell?  I decided since I can't buy anything right now, I will put together little ideas of what I would like to buy when the chance comes.  I put this together between Old Navy, Gap, and Bbanana Republic.  Now I can't really afford the last one, but hey, a girl could dream.

So whaddya think?

Date Night

Last night I got to go on a date with my husband.  I was exciting on many levels.  One, it had been too long since our kids were sick.  Two, I wanted to have a good reason to wear a cute outfit (not just walking to the post office).  Three, I wanted to have a reason to try to do something different with my hair.  So here is what I came up with. 



My husband is cute, I promise, he just loves to make weird faces in my pictures!





A picture of my eye makeup

 I love playing around with hair, although I often don't have a lot of time.  Well I made it a point yesterday to do something different with my hair.  I had seen this on the Amazing Race (Like, my favorite show ever!) one of the girls had the front up like this and I wanted to try it. 



Excuse the face, I didn't want to smile and I didn't want to try to look sexy, so I made a face. Just dorky!

 For the hair, I just teased it right in front and pinned the Snooki-poof back.  Then the side I took just in the front and twisted them up and pinned them with the poof.  I liked it because I hate my ears, and it didn't show how bad they usually stick out!  I think this pic is after my son was grabbing something and messed with the poof a little bit. But oh well, I am sure you could do better!

Here is my outfit.  Please ignore the weird pose and picture.  My husband was hungry and not interested in taking a long time taking pics.  I didn't even get the jacket and scarf off.  Oh well.  I am wearing Target leggings, Payless shoes, european dress I got for 40% off! belt that came with another shirt, and the scarf was a gift from my mom.  The jacket is also european, like 40 euros I think.

We walked down little streets like this to get to the restaurant.  I love little French streets, they are so pretty and old.  We don't really have anything like it in America.  It was a little rainy, but thankfully, not too cold. 

And I ate this.  It was a buffet, gotta have buffet with the husband, and it was good.  I are almost everything on the plate plus dessert of course.  mmmm  I want to do it again tonight!

Inspiration

Today was a tough one.  I got a little discouraged (ok, I broke down and cried a bit) with this whole life-makeover thing.  I was inspired by some creative stuff that I had seen on a few blogs and thought 'I want to do something creative!'  I searched around the house and searched.  Now, I only have a hot glue gun to be crafty with, so anything I did was probably gonna be a little ghetto.  But hey, I was determined.  I couldn't find I thing. {Depression} kick in.  I know if anyone is reading this, you are probably thinking 'already? It's been like 2 days!'  Well, welcome to my world.  I am a weird perfectionist.  Like, I want to be perfect, but can't.  Which is kinda a bummer for a perfectionist.  So after a little cry and call to my mom (I might have been a tad bit tired too) I decided it is in my hands to fix it.  Not to give up, but to find a way around it.  So instead of showing you something I have done because right now I don't have the means, I am going to showcase some things that inspire me!  How you like me now, depression!

1.  My Husband.  He puts up with me and tries to understand my insane head.  God bless 'em. 
2.  This super cute clutch made from a shirt over at Eisy Morgan.  I mean seriously!  It inspired me!

3.  My talk with my mom.  Trying to keep my eyes open for opportunities to be creative. Love my mom.
4. Knowing that I am in God's hands.  He has a plan for me.
5.  I was inspired by this post from A Blonde Ambition about embracing messy hair.  I always have messy hair, so this is good news for me!  I think I will try this one tomorrow.

6. Last but most certainly not least, date night tomorrow night with my husband.  It has been toooo long.  That isn't really inspiration as much as it is just excited to get out of the house and dress up! 

New 'lil sumpin' sumpin'

Well, since I have been inspired lately to have a new sense of style, a new sense of me, I thought I would allow it to carry over to my home as well!  I am funny, becuase I can be creative, but sometimes, I just can't see past what is in front of me.  As my husband tells me 'you just can't see the vision!'  He is very stylish.

The thing is, we live in an apartment that we most likely will not live in next year.  We cannot paint it and I have to think through every purchase and if it would be joining us the following year.  How I would love to paint.  Our white walls are seriously, like, stark white.  And boring.  And really hard to fill and make look cute.  So all that to say I added a few things around the house.  Nothing to call home about (I actually did call home and tell my mom though, HAHA)  Take a look!

Before

After. I added some of my colorful towels in the bins because I can't keep flowers alive. :(



My mom sent me these. We dont' have a Target here :(  But another way to add a little something



The only one I could do right now, above our pantry

In the process

End result! I am def happy with it!

So, seriously, tell me what you think.  I realize it is nothing crafty or anything, but I am super limited.  But that is where all you awesome woman who know how and can do all these things!  Please, please, comment some advice, I would love it!

My daily makeup routine

Ok, I am slight embarressed to post pictures of myself like this on the internet, but I did it!  Here is my makeup routine, if I choose to bother with it! :)

My makeup

For my makeup I use Makeup Forever for foundation, {love it!}.  For concealer, which is a must have for me now-a-days, I use Mary Kay.  This is kinda an accident.  I was at a wedding and I was doing makeup for people and someone left it in my makeup bag.  I didn't know who's it was, so I couldn't return it!  Poor me, I kept it and I use it.  I am not a bad person, I promise!  Shadows I use a blend that I bought in downtown LA at Namies or Friends, I can't remember.  But I got the whole palette for cheap, so if you live in LA or are in the area, I really suggest heading down there for some good quality, inexpensive makeup.  If you're interested.  Liner is just l'Oreal brown.  I don't know I bought it here in France.  Mascara I usually use DiorShow.  Hands down the best mascara on the market.  It costs like 30 bucks I think, but soooo worth it.  Or I think so at least.  But I bought my last one in Italy over Christmas and it isn't the same.  I am wondering if it is Italy or just this one or what, but normally, the best out there.  I also got the other mascara in the picture for free at Yves Rocher because I have a loyalty program type thing with them.  Gotta love free!  And lip gloss is eyeslipsface or e.l.f.  Love that place!  And they always have good promotions.  I once got 10 mineral shadows for free!  And their stuff is super cheap.  Neeways....  here ya go

Just lotion and something for my puffy eyes.  not sure it's working...

Simple shadow, just for the day. {why so serious?!? (In my best joker voice)}

Once again, simple. I don't like too much for the day.  eyes still puffy. I think I need my money back

concealer, so pretty!

foundation. I put it on like this and then just rub it in with my hands

concealer and foundation all rubbed in

Little brown eyeliner

Mascara.

let your hair down!

my boo-boo was crying

precious

me posing, Eli "what the heck, mom?"

I had a little fun in Picassa with this one :)

So there you have it.  Few things about my regime...
1.) I put my eyes on first ~ I don't like it when te shadow falls on my foundation and then I have to try to fix it.  So I just do it first!
2.) It also helps your face to soak up all the lotion before the foundation so it isn't soaking up the foundation too.

Few things I learned about today by doing this
1.) When I schedule my time well, I am happier, and I get more done.
2.) I make priorities and I stick to them, it helps me to get things done.
3.) It is okay to take a few minutes to myself while the kids are awake.  It isn't gonna kill them to play by themselves for a few minutes.
4.) Even though I am doing this for me, it benefits everyone!  Happy wife, happy life! 

I am so thankful I did this, it is giving me a new perspective on why I get ready and it makes me feel better about myself.  baby steps!!  This is a good one!

Oh and link up here to see all the other lovely ladies who showcased their makeup routines!

Cleaning out my closet

So part of the reason I am doing this blog is to get back confidence in myself and relearn how to dress for myself'.  Since having my first son, I kinda fell off the wagon.  Since I was/am a stay at home mom, it was hard to feel the need to look cute.  I know this doesn't apply to every mom, but hey, we all got issues.  So anyway, after having my second AND FINAL son I have been thinking.  I need to be cute!!  There is no good reason why I shouldn't.  I owe it to my husband, to have a cute wife.  I owe it to my boys to have a mom that is put together.  And most importantly, I owe it to myself.  So hold on ladies, or gents, or whatever, I am gonna go on a ride.  A fashion ride!

So here is my eensie teensie dilema... My closet, it is eensie teensie.  Like, close your eyes, don't look.  You might break down crying out of sheer pity for me.  Then send me money to get a new one.  Thanks!  But see, since we travel a lot and move every year, we have to have what is available to us.  I have to make due.

I know.  I am in tears just looking at it.  And the worst part, (I know your thinking 'it can get worse?') is that my 'section' is the top left.  Yes, I have a section of this eensie teensie closet.

So herein lies my problem.  Or part of my problem.  I don't have a proper closet, I don't have a ton of clothes, the clothes I have a pretty boring, and we don't have a ton of money to be shopping for new ones!  Bummer!! 

But here is my answer.  I am going to take the 30x30 challenge.  If you don't know about it, check it out.  I am going to pick 30 pieces of clothing {which might be my entire closet} and remix them for a month.  I think this will help my fashion sense, to see what I like, it will help me be creative, it will definitely help me shop smart when it is over because I will know what I need in my wardrobe.  I am super duper excited about this adventure.  It is a long time comin'!!!  Please, join me, I would love to get advice or feedback!

*Can I just add that I am super embarressed to put this picture up.  It was next on my to-do list, clean the closet.  But then I totally sterilized te upstairs.  So Sorry!*

New Hairstyle

I am in desprate need of a new haircut.  A new style.  I have been growing my hair out now for almost 2 years.  It grows pretty fast so it is pretty long.  I am finally to the point where I don't have bangs that can't fit into a ponytail, which is nice because I can just throw my hair up, no bobypins, and go.  But lately I've been thinking {Oh lawdy!} that it is time for something new.  I usually do this and then BAM! my hair's chopped of or I'm blonde.  In high school I had been a blonde for years, not naturally of course, and then one day I decided I didn't want to be blonde anymore, made an appointment and BAM! brunette.  This was partly due to the fact that I broke up with my boyfriend who's sister was a hairdresser... :(  no more free hair!  I couldn't afford to keep up the blonde!  Anywho, I am thinking again that I need a change.  I have long brown hair which is relatively thick, in definite need of a trim, not curly or straight, just frizzy.  I was thinking maybe bangs... But then I just got down growing out my bangs!  So I am totally undecided.  Here are some pictures of what I am thinking about...

I like Reese's bangs, kinda side swept, looks like you could do more than just in front.

I like the layers on her. I love layers.  I would definitely need more layers.

But then I am thinking, if I don't have bangs, I could maybe do long waves like this...

So, what do ya think?  Should I do it? Yikes, I'm nervous and I don't even have an appointment!!  DORK.