I've got a thing for blue...

Flutter-Sleeve Chambray Dress / Jersey Leggings/ Printed slip-on sneakers / Crisscross cork sandals / Printed bubble shorts / Short-sleeve graphic Tshirt / Striped & Polka DotSwimsuit

The weather here has been so awful lately that I've been taking to a lot of online browsing.  It seems everywhere I looked is of course promoting spring clothes in their new arrivals which is really more of a mean joke than anything for those of us in states like me (in Minnesota).  We have another good couple months of winter left before we can even think about spring clothes.  Oh well,  I couldn't help but make a list of a few things that are on my list for Veronica.  If it wasn't already apparent, I have a thing for the color blue!

Have any of you been doing any shopping for the warmer weather?

Abby

Current Makeup Favorites.

I've always really liked makeup and enjoy following beauty bloggers but my makeup routine has always been really simple and natural.  Since having Veronica my makeup routine hasn't changed too much, but I will say that I do it much quicker than I used to.  I've pretty much mastered the 5 minute face.  (Sometimes even quicker when Veronica is pulling a Stewie moment,  "Mommy, mommy, mommy, momma, mommy, momma...you get the picture).   These products are the perfect combination for quick and easy every day makeup:

MAC Warm Soul Blush

NARS Lhasa Eyeshadow

Real Technique Makeup Brushes: This one is the powder brush and is one of my favorites.  The bristles are so soft and it picks up just the right amount of product.

Makeup Forever Mat Velvet Plus:  Like the powders I try something else here and there, but this is definitely my favorite.  I have oily/combination skin and the consistency of this foundation couldn't be more perfect.  It's not too thick, but not so sheer that you feel like it isn't giving enough coverage.  It leaves a nice satin like finish and has really nice lasting power.  A couple of other foundations that have made it into my makeup favorites at one time or another are the Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation and the Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation.

MAC Blot Powder:  This has been a long time favorite of mine.  Occasionally I'll venture off and try something new but I always come back to this one.  A couple of others that I really like the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder and the Clinique Loose Setting Powder.

Almay Clear Complexion Concealer:  I have re-purchased this a couple of times but am always looking for the next best thing.  I like this one because it's great for under eyes as well as spots and blemishes.  It has a nice creamy consistency and blends out really nicely.  The best part about this one is that it's under $10 at the drugstore!

Garnier Skin Renew Anti-Dark Circle Eye Roller:  I only use this when I'm going for the full 5 minutes face ;) but I do really like it.  I think I make the effort to use it even when I'm in a hurry because I love the cooling sensation it gives under the eyes as you roll it on.  Again, this is affordable and totally worth the money in my opinion.

MAC Mineralize Blush in Warm Soul:  I love this blush.  It's so easy to use and it looks like a natural flush on my olive tone skin.  Blush is one of my favorite make up products to buy and so I have a lot of other favorites too, but this one is one I know I can use in a hurry without too much effort.

Clinique Quickliner for Eyes in 03 Roast Coffee:  A nice classic brown liner.  I like that it's a twist up pencil because although I like a nice sharp pencil, whenever I do it the tip always seems to break off.  For an amateur like me a twist up is perfect.  The other end is smudge tip and works really well to smoke out or even just "messy up" your eyeliner.  I can never get that perfect straight line so being able to look like I tried to "smoke it out" on purpose is right up my alley.

NARS eyeshadow in Lhasa:  The perfect greyish taupe color.  It's easy to sweep right across the lid without giving too much thought.  It has really nice payoff and is very buildable.  It looks great paired with the Clinique Roast Coffee liner too.

Buxom Lash Mascara:  This was a sample I received from a Sephora order at some point and I love it.  I never thought I was picky about mascaras but the more you use the more you realize what you like and don't like.  I like this one in particular because it's not clumpy and it gives nice length.  It doesn't transfer and is easy to remove.  I'll be buying this in a full size once the sample runs out!

I don't really do too much in the way of lipstick or gloss - for some reason or another I cannot stand the feeling of anything on my lips and always end up just wiping it off.  

What are some of your makeup favorites?  Any suggestions or recommendations?

Abby

"Organizing & Re-arranging"

Hi Everyone!  So last night I was going through the tons and tons of pictures on my cell phone trying to clear it out a bit and I came across a few of these pictures.  *(Side note - I'm not the only mommy who has way too many pictures of their little one on their phone am I?)  Anyway, there are a couple that made me laugh out loud and I decided they're too funny not to share!
When Veronica first got her big girl bed, nap-time really became hit or miss.  Naps were pretty much non existent for a good week or so when she realized that she had free rein of her room.  By free rein of her room, this is what I mean....

She would completely unload the dresser drawers that she could reach (which happened to be her pants drawers) and lay them out all over the floor.  Apparently she loves "arranging" things because another time I came up to this...

Every one of her diapers from the basket beneath her changing table lined up in little stacks right along side one another.
I can always hear her on the monitor when she wakes up playing around and chatting with her babies. Sometimes I go up there and she is just sitting on the floor reading her books or playing in her bed and everything in it's place. I always figure even if she doesn't actually nap it's good for her to at least have some quiet time and just maybe she will fall asleep - and now, most often she does.  But just every once in awhile I go up there and find her room in a similar state to the pictures above.  The funniest part is that when I open the door and ask her what she's doing she always says..."This is mess!"  "This is mess momma..." as if someone else came in and did it.

Luckily for me these post-nap "re-arranging" sessions seem to have lost their luster.  Re-folding pants nap after nap gets old!

Does anyone else have little ones who like to get into things during nap-time?

Happy Friday!
Abby

On the Wishlist...

Hi Everyone!  I hope you're all having a nice start to your week.  As per usual we started out our week here in Minnesota with another dumping of snow which is a big eye roll.  On top of that both Veronica and I were battling some sort of flu last week so overall we were feeling like just one big blehhh (if that even makes sense) at our house.  

Anyway, on a less debbie-downer note I thought I would share my current wish-list with you all.  I love doing online "shopping".  I put it in quotes because one of my favorite past-times at night after Veronica goes to bed is to fill my shopping cart with all of the things I'd love to buy and often times the total is jaw-dropping.  Not to worry, only a couple of those items make it to actual purchases from time to time.  It's fun past-time anyway and here are a few of the things that have had their turn in my shopping cart.

1.  I saw this Suzette the Fox doll initially on the Little Baby Garvin blog and I instantly fell in love with it.  Not only are fox one of my favorite animals, but this one couldn't be cuter.  This is definitely next on the list of gifts for Veronica.  (Don't worry...I'll come up with an occasion ;)

2.  How cute is this pink garland from Etsy?  If you've read any of my previous posts you'll know that I'm kind of in the process of an update on Veronica's room.  This pink garland would be a perfect addition.  I'm not exactly sure how I want to use it yet, but it's so versatile I know I'll find a spot for it. The best part is that it's really reasonably priced!

3.  One of my favorite shops is Anthropologie.  I happened to have a browse on their site last night and of course had a cart with a total of a bajillion dollars by the time I was through...but if I only could pick a couple of things it would be the Alphabet Canvas Bags and the Sewing Basket Kid's Apron.  The Alphabet Storage Bags would be perfect for attempting to hide Veronica's ever growing toy collection.  *(Side note - I always swore I wouldn't be one of those mom's who had their childrens toys out everywhere.  Yeah, I take that back...there are toys all over this place!) But I do think that these bags would be perfect to "hide" them from time to time.  

The apron isn't really a necessity by any means but how adorable is it?  I think Veronica would look adorable in it and I certainly can't sew to make her one myself...so this one seems perfect right?

4.  Okay, the last one is something for me.  Not that that happens that often once you're a mommy right?  But I love these bangle bracelets from Etsy.  They're fairly simple and understated - just the type of jewelry that I love.  I especially like the one that can be personalized.  

So there's the list for now...maybe a couple of these things will make it as actual purchases! Ha!  In the mean time I'm working on getting my little sickie feeling better and hopefully we'll be in for a heat wave in MN to melt some of this snow.

Happy Tuesday!

Abby

Veronica VanGogh

One of Veronica's favorite things to do is make a mess ;)  -  so you can imagine "painting" is right up her alley.  She loves digging right in and getting her fingers dirty so needless to say the brush doesn't last long.

One of her favorite things about painting is that she gets to wear her painting "smock" which is conveniently one of momma's old shirts - and I have to say it looks pretty darn cute on her.

"Look momma, look, look momma..."

The best part is now I have a great new piece of fridge art!

I hope everyone is having a good start to their week ~

Abby

Valentine Making!

It's just Veronica and I at home today on this gloomy Saturday, so it seemed like a good day to break out the arts and crafts things that I bought to make Valentine's!  Last year we didn't really do too much in the way of Valentine making, but this year Veronica is going to be exchanging Valentine's with her classmates at daycare.  So I thought, why not make this into a full on art project?  Veronica LOVES coloring.  Her absolute favorite things among all of her toys are her paper, markers and crayons.  (In fact, when we visited Santa this year for Christmas, she literally asked him for paper and crayons).   I added some heart stickers and glue sticks to the mix, and she had a great time.  She was slightly obsessed with the glue sticks once she figured out what they were for and was literally gluing e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g in sight...but what can I say, she had fun!

(This is right about the time she discovered the glue sticks ;)

We even had enough to make a few for family and friends so hopefully they'll enjoy the little surprise in the mail this week.
Have a great rest of the weekend!

Abby

Veronica's Room Tour

I've been giving a lot of thought lately to making some small updates to Veronica's room.  Nothing too drastic, I just want to make it a little less nursery like, and a little more of a "big-girl" room. You'll notice in the pictures that we made the switch from a crib to a toddler bed already. Veronica was climbing out of her crib so we made the switch right around when she turned two (last November).  It's the IKEA Sundvik toddler bed which I just love, however...I was NOT pleased when I got it home and realized that it doesn't fit a standard toddler mattress.  Apparently their toddler beds are European sized, so you also have to buy the mattress at IKEA instead of just using the crib mattress you already have.  I was less than impressed with this because - not only did I not want to have to buy another mattress, but I didn't want to be stuck using only IKEA bedding.  Luckily I have a handy husband and he literally cut the bed down to fit the mattress we had.

These two pictures are kind of the overview of the room.  The prints above her bed were really the inspiration for the nursery.  All of them are from a Russian childrens' book that I took apart.  They are watercolor prints and I fell in love with them instantly. I knew that eventually I'd like to somehow incorporate them as decor in our house.  When I found out I was pregnant and having a girl I knew right away that these were the perfect start to a beautiful nursery.  Here are a couple more views and a close up of one of the prints.

One of the things that I really treasure in Veronica's room, are the little details that make the room unique, beautiful and most importantly special to Veronica.

This paperweight was made by my aunt Barbie out of Veronica's birth announcement.  It also has other pictures that are interchangeable that are beautiful.  I just love this!

This flower print was from my mom and is special because it is the "Veronica" flower.  I absolutely love oval frames and so my mom found this one and painted it silver to match the watercolor print frames and I think it looks beautiful.

So that was a little sneak peek (well...a long sneak peek) of Veronica's room before any changes have been made.  The things I'm looking to tackle first are: creating more of a play area for Veronica, filling the empty space between the frames that hold the watercolor prints and her bed and probably some new curtains.  

In my first post I shared bedroom inspiration for her room, one of which featured a harlequin design.  My mom is incredibly artistic and creative so I'm hoping I can persuade her to do some sort of a play on the harlequin design in that space.  We'll see!

I hope you've enjoyed taking a look into Veronica's room and I'm looking forward to sharing the updates we make a long the way!

Abby

Veronica's Favorite Tub Toys!

Bath time has quickly become one of Veronica's favorite night time activities before bed.  The minute we bring it up she's already on her way up the stairs singing, "baaath-time, baaath-time, baaath-time...".  She is obsessed with her tub toys! She makes a point to head into the bathroom to make sure they're all in order before even thinking about getting in.  Here are a few of her favorites!

Draw & Splash Markers / Tub Fish / Color Bath Dropz

We've tried one other brand of tub crayons from Target (I don't remember the brand), but they didn't work at all.  These tub markers are great!  They're easy for little hands and the colors really show up well.  (The clean up is super simple too - it just wipes right off!)
The tub fish are meant to be a game, but Veronica just loves sticking them against the wall - and let's be honest...if it keeps her entertained I'm happy.
One of my favorites is the color Bath Dropz.  They really color the water!  I bought these as a stocking stuffer for Veronica over the Holidays and they're great!  I kinda thought they would just tint the water at best, but the colors really turn out deep and pretty!

So there it is!  Let me know if any of you check out these bath time favorites for your little ones!

Happy Friday!

Abby

Big-girl room Inspiration!

Hello!  Thanks for visiting my brand new blog!  I thought for my first post I would talk about what I'm hoping to accomplish in the next month or two in terms of updating my daughter Veronica's room.  I'm not completely re-doing it,  just updating it into more of a toddler friendly room,  rather than the nursery feel that it tends to have now.

Here are a couple of images from my Pinterest board that I'm pulling bits and pieces from as inspiration:

I love how this one still has a girly feel to it but doesn't look too "done-up".  It incorporates the table for a place to play or do arts and crafts - and it actually looks lived in by a toddler.  I really like this one!

{Pinterest image}

I've always been a fan of a harlequin design and this room showcases it perfectly.  Although I probably won't do a whole wall of it, I would love to incorporate it as an accent.  Since Veronica made the switch to a toddler bed from her crib, the walls seem so much larger now for some reason.  The crib was taller and the bed seems just so miniature in comparison.  I need something to break up the space so this harlequin design might be just the right thing!

{Pinterest image}

These are just a few images to get the ball rolling.  I have a whole board dedicated to Veronica's room update inspiration on Pinterest.  Feel free to check them out here!  

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Abby