Those are my fat pants

Ok.

So, as most of you know, my husband and I are expecting our third child!

Well today a friend of the family said "congrats" to us and rubbed my belly. 

AWKWARD!

If I had a big ol' protruding gut and it's obvious that a child will be joining our family within weeks, I believe it's appropriate and even cute to rub a friends beer-gut. 

I sort of just look a little bloated at this point. 

Like maybe I ate too much at lunch. 

The first trimester predicament!

I think my baby is the size of an olive. 

And I think when she rubbed the belly, she probably just felt a few fat rolls from my Easter dinner last night. 

No baby, that's fo' sho!

So I've been researching what to wear to cover this "little extra tum" up while still looking "un-pregnant"!

So I decided to compile a list of sorts. 

If you've ever been pregnant or just had a baby, you know that weird awkward phase between "I've had too much dessert so I need to unbutton my pants after dinner" and "yes there is a human being inside my shirt". 

Here are my picks....in no particular order!

1.) Peplums. This adorable trend not only looks cute in the form of a skirt, top, or dress, it also flatters your figure. A peplum cinches in at the waist, so it keeps your upper body looking little while hiding a not-so-flat tummy. See. Awesome right? Now let's just hope my toddler doesn't run up to me and pull that little peplum ruffle up! 

Surprise!

"Pay no attention to the man gut behind the curtain."

2.) Someone once told me to accentuate what you DO love about your bod. And I will say, I have a killer set of legs. So skirts are my thing right now. Accentuate the legs. What better way to do that, than to make your legs look longer and leaner?! 

Heels!!

Choose heels that lengthen your legs. And if you are in the market to give those legs some length, stay away from heels with an ankle strap. Straps at the ankle create a horizontal line that chops up the leg, making your leg look shorter than it is. Instead, choose heels in nude or flesh-tone shades to create the illusion of longer, leaner legs.

3.) Wear the right undergarments. We all underestimate the importance of wearing the correct size bra and underwear. In general, undergarments are an often-overlooked category of clothing. If a bra is too tight, it can create bulges around your torso. Nobody looks good with back-fat. (JUST SAYIN'!)

Same goes for panty lines, ladies. Wear undergarments that are the correct size! This will keep your body smooth and bulge-free. 

4.) Two words: DRAPY BLOUSES!

I am obsessed. And these are a huge staple in fashion right now so you can find an adorable drapy blouse anywhere. My suggestion when buying one is to check on its "wrinkle factor" before the purchase. I literally go around the store crumpling the blouse up in between my fingers to see if they leave a wrinkle. If so, I know that it will look like wrinkly poo after wearing it for a few hours. If not, I'm good to go!

5.) Skinny belt the smallest part of your waist. It draws the eyes toward your smallest area and away from your non-smallest-areas. 

6.) Chunky sweaters paired with skinny jeans. This will give the grand illusion that you're as small as your lower parts are appearing to be! When in reality, your pants button is probably undone and you're seriously letting it all out. Shhhh... Don't tell!

7.) Ruffles have ridges. But no one can tell! 

8.) Size DOES matter. 

In jewelry!

The bigger the earrings, the skinnier your face looks. True story. 

9.) This next tip is for the girls AND the boys. Layer layer layer! 

A blazer over almost anything can hide a LOT! 

Ladies, this is your chance to steal your mans comfy flannel button down and sport it over a casual t-shirt and some yoga pants. Cause let's be honest...who doesn't love wearing yoga pants?!

And for the men, the layers works too!

So put on that old t-shirt (please either make sure the neck is tight or go the v-neck route. Or else, it just looks like the neck of your t-shirt is stretched out and that looks sloppy and makes you look chubby.) Layer that with a button down and roll up the sleeves or a cool vintage jacket or blazer is really hip now too. 

10.) Another way to accentuate what you love about yourself is an off-the-shoulder top. Most people have a relatively skinny shoulder. Show that puppy off!

11.) Summer's coming up and that means it's time to pull out that dreaded......

TANK TOP! EEK!!!

But have no fear chicas! A racerback is going to be your way to go. These tank tops show more length in the shoulder sector, and by not cutting off that area you are making it appear thinner. The further into your neck region, the better.

And that's about it. 

If you have any good suggestions too, I wanna hear them! 

Thanks for listenin'. 

CHEERS!

PIN-FACT-CHECKER: Microwaving Popcorn Kernels

When I saw this pin I couldn't believe we'd be doing it wrong all this time!

My kids are total snackers. 

They wanna snack while doing an art project. 

They wanna snack in the car.

They wanna snack outside.

And they usually ask for chips, goldfish, cereal, candy, juice, cookies....etc.

So when they ask for popcorn, I'm all over that!

We buy microwave bags of popcorn like crazy.

But I had gotten a big jug of popcorn kernels from my neighbor and always wondered how they made it.

Mystery solved! 

This is my 3yr old, Shylo with his very excited face!

STEP 1: I put just enough popcorn in the bottom of a glass microwave-safe bowl to cover the bottom (For this particular bowl next time, I'd use less. I had left over kernels and there was so much popcorn that I think it crushed my popped popcorn and made my popcorn pieces smaller and less fluffy

 Step 2: Put a small plate over the top and put it in the microwave for 2 minutes and 45 seconds. (Next time, I'll put it in for 2:15-2:30. I had a few little burned guys in the end.

Step 3: Season. I'm obsessed (OBSESSED!!) with Accent. Don't tell my husband that I'm telling our secret. It tastes better than salt and we don't use butter or anything else. There are hardly any calories, almost no sodium and tastes like gold!

Step 4: ENJOY!

And there you have it! Cheap, easy, works!

CHEERS!

PIN-FACT-CHECKER: fixing broken makeup

I pinned this pin several months ago and knew I'd need it someday!

Yesterday, I left my makeup bag on the kitchen island and went to the bathroom for like 30 seconds.

And while I'd like to say that my children are always sitting quietly in some corner, reading books nicely.... 

That is NOT the case.

It's usually more like this:

or this:

or sometimes this:

So as you can imagine, when I came out and freaked out noticed that Mason, my almost 2 year old had finger poked all over my favorite blush.

BOOOO HOOOOO!!!

So this was the perfect chance for me to put the Pin to the test!

Here are the results.

It was relatively easy and I added some blush from another almost gone blush from MAC.
After my little experiment, it was like brand new.

Step 1: add any amount of other blush to the broken pieces.

Step 2: pour about 1/2 tsp of rubbing alcohol into the lid of the rubbing alcohol and pour it slowly into the broken makeup.

Step 3: mix it around. I used a chopstick but you can probably use anything you want that's relatively that size and probably disposable or washable.

Step 4: once you have the consistency of a paste, stop mixing and let it sit for 10-15 minutes.

Step 5: blot it with a Kleenex to remove the excess moisture. From here, I used the tissue to smooth it out. That seemed to work really well. Looks brand new!

CHEERS! 

Organizing My Jewelry

Ok.
So I searched on Pinterest and Amazon for months on the best way to organize my jewelry. I had a major jewelry issue.

This Christmas, I got one of the coolest gifts I could ever imagine!
My husband's grandma gave me a huge bag of probably >75 pieces of jewelry; costume jewelry from the 60's and 70's real gold bracelets, chunky necklaces, 10 or 15 bangle bracelets, big earrings, huge sunglasses with gold along the outsides of the frame.... And more.
You name it.
The coolest and most personal gift I'd gotten in years.
As I pillaged through the lot, I realized I had NO place for all my new pieces.
So I went on a search for the best solution.
And here it is:

I bought a combination of hooks I found at thrift stores.
I got an old frame and put a plastic screen thing inside it. I think it's normally used for yarn weaving projects for kids. Got that at Hobby Lobby. But be creative.
Organizing can be really fun!

This is a work in progress but it holds SO MUCH!
Gives me an excuse to go flea marketing and get MORE!

(Please excuse the child's toy car in the "before". Obviously my house isn't my own.)

CHEERS!

The "GREATEST MASCARA ALIVE"!

Ok, so not "alive alive" but whatev.

I don't know about you, but I've been searching for the best mascara since I started using my big sisters' hand-me-down makeup when I was 12.

Too many years of clumps, spider webby, flaking onto my face, running under my eyes mascara.

So I set out on a hunt for "THE GREATEST MASCARA ALIVE".

And I'm happy to tell you...

I found it!

Meet MAC ZOOM WATERFAST LASH

It was just released a few months ago and frankly has changed my life!

I was looking for a mascara that:
*went on smoothly
*didn't take 20 minutes to apply it
*didn't require 45 layers
*didn't run if I got weepy from watching 'Grey's Anatomy' or my kids play nicely together
*stayed on all day
*didn't look like Tammy Faye Baker (God bless her)


Is that too much to ask for?
I say NO!

Well, this mascara does all of that!
Plus it gives you a foot rub at the end of a hard day.

Ok. Well everything except that last part.

I've tried $50 & $5 mascara and everything in between.

Here's a link to buy it:

http://www.maccosmetics.com/product/shaded/152/832/Zoom-Lash/index.tmpl

CHEERS!

PIN-FACT-CHECKER: Teeth whitenin'

This is my first of many "PIN-FACT-CHECKERs".

I've decided to put some of the more popular Pins to the test. So here we go!

I saw this pin recently and instantly peaked my p interest. 

I'd seen it pinned several times before and always freaked me out.

The thought of putting hydrogen peroxide in my mouth sort of sounded crazy.

Needless to say, I'm uber into home remedies and doing things a "better" way so I thought I'd give it a try.

AND tada.........

It WORKED!

Here's my before and afters. I tried to find pictures with similar lighting so they would be as accurate as possible.

I saw a very noticeable difference in shade after only about 2 brushings.

Now I'm no dentist, so don't sue me if your teeth fall out or you die...

That being said....beauty has it's risks and "MAMA, I'M A RISKY GIRL!"

CHEERS

Pinnin' Like A One Night Stand!

Pinterest....
Like a dirty one night stand. 
I pin.
And I forget it.
It never calls or Facebooks me.
Never to be seen or heard from again.

Well that's ALL ABOUT TO CHANGE.

When I was thinking about what I wanted to be reading as a "blog audience", I kept coming back to Pinterest.
That Pinterest has taken over my life. 

I've decided once a week, I will put one of my pins to the test...
I'm going to be a PIN-FACT-CHECKER.

I'll test the goods, the bads and the uglys of some of the most popular pins on Pinterest.

Please comment or email me if you want to see any particular pin "put to the test".

CHEERS!

Goin' Out!

Sometimes it takes a momentous event to get me out of my pajamas in a day.

Some of which include (but are not limited to):

* Someone wiped a booger on me,

* I’ve been in them for 2 days already and about to wash a load,

* Had to clean baby spit up with my shirt,

etc...you get the point.

BUT then there are those times when I have PLANS!

...Plans to actually GO SOMEWHERE!

I’ll be seen and let’s face it, probably judged (whether by other moms or by 20 year olds...equally as nerve-wracking) and need to look like I have my sh*t together.

These are the times I live for. Nothing better than calling a babysitter to come early so I can actually bathe and GET READY!

So call your babysitter and grab a bottle of your favorite vino.

We’re Goin’ Out!

This is the REAL SUGAR AND SPICE.

CHEERS!