Wednesday, December 29, 2010

OMG I have fallen off the face of the planet!!!!




Seriously-I suck! I haven't been returning phone calls or emails, I haven't been on facebook in ages, I have no clue whats going on in any of my magazines or fav shows (except Top Chef All Stars and Housewives of Beverly Hills-those I've managed to keep up with!). I have been very busy being mama/wife/holiday hostess/business owner. It is insane! I'm typing one handed w/ a sleeping baby on me while the cleaners are cleaning up the last of the pine needles on our floor :) BUT, my sweet product-loving friends, I have also been trying TONS of new goodies and have lots of great new finds to share! So-honestly I probably wont be blogging quite as much as before, but I will make an effort to get on at least a few times a week! In cute baby news: Tanner is smiling up a storm and slept last night from 9pm-ish to 4am!!! I think I may have actually gotten into REM! I'm headed to my OB for my 6 week check up and hopefully she will green light my exercising (I started taking Dailey Method classes again this past week) and green light sexy time w/ Kevin!!! Products that I'll be blogging about soon: this AMAZING under eye illuminator, fabulously fresh smelling body butter, nipple cream that rocks my world, a new fav lip balm, and much, much more!!! Ohhhh and I'll also share my new year's resolutions w/ you(so I feel like I have to keep them!). Hope you all had a fab holiday! Above is a pic of Kevin, Tanner in his Bjorn and me on xmas morning and a couple of me and Tanner by our tree :)

Monday, December 13, 2010

Delicious!


Happy Monday Bloggers!! I hope you all had a fab weekend! I went to the mall yesterday with my mom and we got a bunch of x-mas shopping done. Now I just need to wrap the gifts and I'll be very close to being done :) Even though it was 87 degrees yesterday-I was definitely put in the holiday spirit by shopping! There are so many things I love about this time of year and I thought this week I would share some of them with you. So first thing first is this amazing tea! It is soooooo good-like seriously yummy!! It is Celestial Seasonings Holiday Teas Candy Cane Lane Decaffeinated Green Holiday Tea and I am obsessed with it! I have been trying to get into drinking hot tea ever since I heard Cindy Crawford tell Oprah that she prefers tea lattes to espresso lattes (for those of you who don't know Cindy Crawford is my hero). But a lot of times hot tea just tastes so tea-ish. Well this stuff has a wonderful flavor: an irresistible blend of peppermint, creamy vanilla and just a touch of cinnamon and sweet blackberry leaves. AND its decaf. AND its green tea and we all know how healthy that is. So chug a lug Product Junkies, this stuff is tasty and healthy and its screams Merry Christmas :)

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Do Your Pups Have Expensive Taste?




Mine do!! Bella and Romeo are picky pups and love the finer things in life (and this should not surprise anyone because look who raised these little munchkins!). They are fanatical about their Greenies. We give them one Greenie everyday when we leave the house. They expect it. As soon as I put shoes on, Romeo is waiting by the front door for his "goodbye treat". Well Greenies are expensive! Like ridiculous! And there are lots of cheap imitations-but none that ever appealed to my little snob Romeo (Bella btw will eat anything to be polite...such a lady!), until now...Nylabone Nutri Dent Original Minichews seems to pass the test! The minichews are for dogs up to 10 lbs (Bella, like her mommy, is a few lbs over weight right now, but we still give her the minichews) and both dogs seem to really like them! They are less than half the price of Greenies! Bone Appetite! Get it "Bone" instead of "Bon", yep this is the kind of humour sleep deprivation elicits :)

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

OK I suck as a blogger!!!


Ahhhh why is it so hard to get ANYTHING done right now? I am used to being very efficient and let me tell you, I still write out lofty to-do lists daily and get to about 2 of the tasks. It is hard bc all I want to do is spend time w/ my little love!! Good news is that Baby Tanner is gaining weight like a mad man! 2 lbs 2oz in 2 weeks! The pediatrician was shocked! And impressed (and he said "well obviously you are tired bc you must be feeding him all of the time", which is true!)! Great news about the little man getting a bit bigger is that he can sleep longer now and I can (try to) space out his feedings so I can get some stuff done!

So today I'm posting about one of the easiest ways to look better quickly...whiten your teeth!! I didn't do it while preggo and actually I didn't think I touched up these pearly whites since our wedding (Oct 08). So as part of my "extreme make over post-baby edition", I will get these teeth pearly and white again asap! I have teeth trays that the dentist made (2 sets actually), but truth be told-I prefer the good old fashion Crest White Strips. They really work! And they don't irritate my gums or cause tooth sensitivity the way my trays do. So that's my product for the day! Happy Bleaching :)

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Goodbye Dark Circles!


So last night Kevin and I had our 1st night out away from Tanner. It was Kevin's 32ND birthday and since my mom is staying w/ us to help w/ the baby-we thought we would have a little date night. So I tried to get pretty, and my 1st order of business was covering up these dark circles!! Enter Physicians Formula Concealer Twins® 2-in-1 Correct & Cover Cream Concealer in Light/Yellow. This stuff is pretty great! It has 2 wands: one w/ a yellow color that you put on 1st to counter act the purple circles, then there is a skin colored concealer that you use on top. Here is the info from the manufacturer:

Conveniently joins together a color corrective and a light, flesh-tone cream concealer to help you achieve flawless-looking skin.
Yellow hides dark under-eye circles and other bluish skin discolorations.
Green color corrects red blemishes and scars.
Light covers yellow and any minor skin imperfections.
Gentle creamy formula, transfer-resistant, water-resistant and glides on smoothly to a velvety finish.
Hypoallergenic. Fragrance-free. Non-comedogenic. Recommended by dermatologists and plastic surgeons. SPF 10.

I must say that it made me look only kind of totally exhausted :) It is only $6.99 at Target and worth every penny! Date night was nice-we went out to a fancy dinner and it was nice to just be the 2 of us (although I did cry when we left baby T!). Ok-time to shower and apply my concealer :)

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Post Baby Bod


My sweet little man is 2 weeks old today!! He has already grown a bunch and as quickly as he is putting on weight-I'm trying to take it off!! I gained 33lbs during my pregnancy-but I started it 7 lbs higher than my ideal weight. So today I am down 20 lbs and have 13 more to get back to pre baby weight, although I'm going to try to lose 20 lbs to get to my skinny weight. I'm hoping my skin will shrink too! Today I'm headed out to buy an abdominal binder to shrink everything up. I wore one for the 1st week after Tanner was born-but I stopped bc it was bothering my c-section incision. Well now that the incision is almost healed, I'm going to get back into it!! I am very excited to get the green light to exercise (I see my OB tomorrow) so that I can start toning up!! Above is a pic of me the morning Tanner was born-we were just leaving for the hospital. I was very puffy-the pic doesn't do a great job of showing just how huge my tummy got, but trust me-it was huge. People would say "well, I bet you are having a really big baby!" or "must be twins"-gosh people are so rude!!This post was kind of jumbled and all over the place-sorry, not a lot of sleep last night and I'm trying to be quick! I'm starting my healthy-eating plan today so hopefully that will keep the scale moving in the right direction too!

Monday, November 29, 2010

Operation Eye Cream Continues!!!


Alright Product Junkies-I made a promise to find the best under eye cream and I am still on the hunt! I bought and am currently using Patricia Wexler M.D. Dermatology Intensive 3-in-1 Eye Cream: Lifting, Firming, Anti-Wrinkle Formula. I read about it in a magazine and they gave it top ratings. I got it at Bath & Body Works and it was $32 (but they have all sorts of holiday coupons going on so I'm sure you can get it for cheaper if you are coupon savvy). It is pretty good: goes on smooth, not too greasy, no irritation. Here is what the product info says about it:

Winner: Shape Magazine’s Best of Beauty, September 2008
Firms skin for a tighter appearance and visibly lifts skin around the eye and brow area
Dramatically reduces the look of lines and wrinkles
Gives the eye area a smoother, more youthful appearance

So I like it but I don't think its "the one"...its kind of like when I was single and would meet a guy who was "almost" perfect, and I would try my hardest to see if he could be my future hubby, but in reality it would never have worked out. So that is how I feel about this eye cream. It is firming-but I want something that is richer (ha! just like when I was on the dating scene!) and more moisturizing. BUT I have only been using it for 3 weeks and I will continue to use it and who knows-maybe it will win me over :)

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Im back! And I'd like to introduce Tanner Charles


Ahhhhh so much has happened since I last signed off on the 15Th. I have fallen madly in love with this sweet baby. I have also fallen more in love with my supportive, wonderful, best-dad-in-the-world husband. I have never been happier or more tired. One of the products I need to find asap is hard core under eye concealer bc I'm not sleeping much at all and the bags are giving me away! The c-section was fairly easy. Breast feeding was harder than the c-section at first-now I'm getting the hang of it. I have lots and lots of baby products to review already (some things I love-some are truly pointless), I'll get to those soon. This blog will not turn into a baby blog. We will still cover all products, but I'm sure I'll have more baby stuff to talk about than before. Also I will keep you all in the loop as I try to lose these baby lbs and get back in shape :) Tanner had his 1st photo shoot with the most fabulous and talented Christina Dely http://www.christinadelyphotographyblog.com/ . The pictures are wonderful!! It makes me want to do another photo shoot right away (I think I'll hold out until he is 6 months if I can!) Above is the pic that we are using for our birth announcement. Speaking of that-I need to order those! Glad to be off blogging-maternity leave!

Monday, November 15, 2010

Hollywood's Latest Product Craze and I'm Having My Baby Tomorrow!!!!


AHHHHHHHH There is a lot going on right now!! All fabulous and exciting-but there aren't enough hours in the day!! Soooooo, remember when I was living in a hotel 2 weeks ago? Well, I was watching one of the gossip shows (probably Extra or Access Hollywood) and there was a segment RAVING about this Anti-Aging Face Serum from a UK company called Boots. It seems like just about everyone who walks a red carpet uses this stuff! So of course I was intrigued. Then I heard them say that you can get this incredible stuff at Target! I was sold. So the next morning I went to my local Target and found what they were talking about. It is No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Beauty Serum. Here is what the company says about it:
"Anti Aging is getting Intense...
No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Beauty Serum has been tested like no other cosmetic anti aging product in an independent 12 month trial. The findings clearly show that it has genuine, long term anti aging benefits. 70% of the volunteers using the product showed a marked improvement in the appearance of photo-aged skin after 12 months of use. This study is the latest step on Boots journey to provide further compelling proof of the performance of its products.
How to use
Smooth into your face and neck after cleansing and toning, morning and night. Follow with your favorite No7 moisturizer."
It was about $22 and I had to choose between the regular and the "Intense" stuff. Duh-of course I got the Intense! So I have been using it morning and night (1 use about 4 pumps-that covers my full face) and I love it! It is a nice extra step and it does make my face very soft and smooth.

Alright now onto fun stuff: I AM HAVING A BABY TOMORROW!!!!! I can't believe this day is finally here!!!! I am so excited to meet this sweet little baby boy who I already love more than I thought possible! I am dying to see what he looks like (Kevin had white blond hair and I had a mop of dark brown), will he be a big baby like everyone says? This is seriously the most excited I have ever been! My mom is coming into town today and will stay for up to a month depending on how long I need her. I feel ready-his room is the cutest nursery I have ever seen (I'll post pics at some point) and I feel like we have everything we need. I'm a little scared of the whole recovery from the c-section-but I'm a pretty tough cookie :) I'll be in the hospital from tomorrow (c/s is at 7:30am pacific) until Friday or Saturday depending on how I feel. Sooooooo take care and I'll be back next week with updates galore!!!

Friday, November 12, 2010

100th Post! And a Wonderful Announcement!

I can't belive I have posted 100 times! Time is flying! My little hobby of finding, using and reviewing products has been so fun and I love writing this blog! Thank you so much to those of you who read/follow it!
Sooooo I am so happy and excited to announce that my business partner and I will be opening our very own exercise studio in February 2011!! It is called The Dailey Method and it is the best workout Ive ever done (and we all know Ive tried every single workout out there!). It is a barre based class (which are all the rage right now) and it is fabulous! I have wanted to open my own studio for the past couple of years and now that we are doing it and it is official, it all seems so surreal. It is located in Calabasas, CA (Home of a ton of celebs! Hopefully we will get some fab clients-I would love to train Jessica Simpson!) Please become a fan on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Calabasas-CA/The-Dailey-Method-Calabasas/160499737321359
So I know life is going to be crazy: I will be opening my own business with a 10 week old, but I think that with the support of my wonderful hubby, business partner and friends, that it will all work out! I will post more in the future about exactly what The Dailey Method is and why it is so unique! Alright-Im a crazy person trying to get ready for my sweet little boy (coming tuesday!). I just had my pre-baby bikini wax and everything is clean and organized (except my office) so Im really just doing last minute errands. Have a wonderful weekend!!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Oh Yum


Bloggers these are the type of thing I simply can not keep in my house! I don't have the willpower for it!!! To most of you this is a great little treat/snack that should be easy to not over-indulge in, but I apparently have lost all personal restraint :) They are Trader Joe's Mini Mint Ice Cream Mouthfuls and they are sooooo delish!! I love the chocolate/mint combo! They are about the size of a Reece's Peanut Butter Cup (the big ones, not the mini ones). 2 of these has 120 calories-which isn't bad at all!! My problem-yesterday I ate 7 of them. Yes 7 of them, so that makes them 420 calories which isn't quite so good. So I'm deciding that I love them too much to have in my freezer, but for those of you with self control, these are a great little portioned out treat! Enjoy!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Darling, Comfy Sleepwear



While doing my daily trip to Target I found this supercute nightshirt/nightgown type thing and I had to share!! It is Gilligan & O'Malley and it is wonderful!!! Only $17.99 and made of jersey. I need some nightgowns that I can wear post c-section and I wanted some that were modest enough that it wouldn't be too weird if guests saw me in them and this one fits the bill! The lace part up top is not scratchy at all and the material is so nice and soft! Once again Target-you never let me down :) Oh yeah-and it comes in a great deep red color (perfect for the holidays) too!

Monday, November 8, 2010

My New Fav!!


Hi Bloggers!!! I have missed you! This past week has been crazy but now we are back home, house looks amazing and I am ready for this baby!! I think I probably did 20 loads of laundry on Saturday and Sunday-but it was all baby stuff and folding cute, soft baby blankets and darling little onsies is so much fun!!! While we were "hotel living" for the past week I stumbled upon some FANTASTIC new products that I am in love with!! I cant wait to share them and see if you guys love them too!
Okay-I think I may have a new favorite!! It is Origins VitaZing SPF 15 Energy-boosting Moisturizer with Mangosteen. Ha try saying that 5 times! It is a mouthful-but it is fabulous!!! It is this wonderful, yummy smelling moisturizer that changes its tone to match your skin...it is sheer coverage but the little kick of color it gives is awesome! I bought it on Thursday and wore it Friday-Sunday and every single day got compliments on my "glowing" skin. It is this VitaZing! My only gripe (because alas nothing is perfect!) is that SPF 15 is not high enough for daily use. So I still use my La Roche Posay SPF 60 underneath...I wish the VitaZing had at least a SPF 30, but oh well. Here is what Origins says about this brilliant product:
'This energising multi-tasking moisturizer gives skin instant vitality and vibrance with the zing of vitamin-rich Mangosteen energy Complex. Magically transforms to create even, flawless skin.'

-designed to release colour pigments which adapts to your skin tone
-paraben, PABA, mineral oil, petroleum, paraffin, synthetic fragrance free

I think this will be a great addition to my "daily use" products, especially once this baby is here and I'm looking and feeling pretty tired!

Monday, November 1, 2010

I'll be back next week



Hope you all had a fab Halloween!!! I'll be on blogging vacay since we won't be living at home for the week. My plans for the week are to read, read and read! I never made it through my gigantic summer reading list-so a week in a hotel sounds like the perfect place to catch up :) We didn't dress up for Halloween but here are a couple of pics from a past year just to be festive :) My handome Larry Bird and me being a pumpikn :)

Saturday, October 30, 2010

My Pup is going to be fine!!!!!!!





Just a quick update on my sweet Romeo. The vet called and his tumor was benign!!! The vet said that he was positive it was a sarcoma and he is shocked that the pathology report came back and said it wasn't!! I'm so happy and feel so much relief. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers!! I posted some pics of Romy's favorite thing-going on our boat! These were taken in Sept (I was about 32 weeks-so excuse my largeness!) when we were up visiting my parents in Lake Tahoe. The top pic is w/ my mom, then under that it's Romy and Bella w/ their uncle Adam, then Romy by himself and lastly our little family: Me, Kevin Romy and Bella. I have never seen our pups smile as much as they did on the boat-it was the cutest thing :)

Friday, October 29, 2010

The Nail Polish We Should All Own


Happy Friday Bloggers! I have no fancy/fun plans for this weekend, I'm just going to try to get my house ready for the upcoming week of demo/construction that I hope and pray only takes the promised 5 days to complete!! Kevin knows I'm stressed and sheepishly asked if I would mind if he goes golfing and I say golf now sweetie!! Life is about to get very busy(w/ Baby and other things!). So today's product is a oldie but a goodie. It is a must have nail color that works on everyone: Essie Ballet Slippers. It is the perfect pinky-nude that is so subtle and I love it on my fingers or toes (it looks better on tan toes though fyi). Every celeb always lists this as their fav nail color and it is for good reason-it just is easy to wear and looks, well, it looks polished!

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Perfect Timing



Hello! I was at Bath & Body Works buying my holiday hand soaps(yum!), and they had some promo deal where if you buy a certain amount of stuff you get one item for free (I think it had to be less than $15). So I searched the store and one of the sales girls suggested trying the Sudsing Scrub. I love me a good scrub so I got it. She didn't ask me what flavor-but I guess I looked high stress bc she gave me the Eucalyptus Spearmint Stress Relief Aromatherapy one. So I hadn't used it until yesturday when I got bad news after bad news. Most of the new involves my sweet baby boy Romeo (who isn't really a baby anymore-he is 10) who had surgery and the vet suspects that he has cancer :( That thought devastates me more than I can explain-but I'm hoping and praying that the vet will be wrong (we are now waiting until the pathology report comes in). Other bad news is more annoying than anything-we have to move out of our house for a week starting Monday bc a pipe burst in our kitchen and long story short we are doing major demo/construction and cant live at home during it. Normally Id say-no biggie lets go stay w/ Kevin's mom in San Diego-but I'm 37 weeks preggo and cant travel. So its a dog friendly hotel for us. Which is fine-but I need to do some nesting and get ready for this baby (I haven't washed any of his stuff, haven't set everything up, etc)! Okay-back to the sudsing scrub. So yesterday-would have been a great day for either a stiff martini or a large glass of wine-but I'm not into drinking while preggo (I know some say its safe-but for me, its a no go). So I turned to this stress relief scrub and I have to say it was pretty nice! Its got a herb-y smell that I wouldn't want to use daily-but it did seem to calm be down a bit. AND a scrub that gets sudsy is fantastic in my book :) Above is a picture of Romeo and me 2 Halloweens ago as matching pumpkins :)

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Meet My New BFF


Bloggers I am such an alarmist! I mean it is ridiculous! I was getting into the shower about 2 weeks ago and peeked in the mirror and there it was. Staring at me. Right on my tummy: A large red stretch mark. I was sooooooooooooo sad. After I showered, I called some of my usual suspects to try and calm myself down. Then I went straight for the computer to search for cute one piece bathing suits bc that was what I was sad about: if I have stretchmarks then I wont want to wear bikinis anymore and I tend to think bikinis are the cutest swimwear and I am going to Hawaii this June and Cabo next Fall and we live in Southern CA so we are at the beach all of the time and I got myself in such a panicked state about this damn stretch mark. After coming to terms w/ one pieces (there are some cute ones: Trina Turk once again never lets me down as far as swimwear is concerned!) I did the next rational thing: went to target to buy every anti-stretch mark product ever made. I came home-raced up to my bathroom, stripped so I could lube my growing body up and looked in the mirror...where had that stretch mark gone? I searched and couldn't find it. It wasn't a stretch mark-it was an indent on my swollen tummy from the seam of my workout pants. I am officially an idiot. Not just an idiot-but an alarmist idiot!
So that brings me to this new product that I decided to use daily to keep real stretchmarks away: Bio Oil. I really like it! I use it every time I get out of the shower and it is nice and not too oily. I just use it on my stomach and use regular lotion for everywhere else. It does take a few minutes to absorb into the body-so don't make the rookie mistake of getting dressed too quickly after applying it! It is a tad expensive bc I use quite a bit of it-but oh well, I'm almost at the finish line and if it allows me to wear my beloved bikinis-then it is worth every penny ;)

Monday, October 25, 2010

Yuck!


Happy Monday Product Junkies!! I hope you all had fantastic weekends. Ours was mellow, but productive! We cleaned, shopped, ate, watched movies and snuggled (it was nice and chilly here!). Kevin also golfed and I think he is going to try to get out as much as possible since he won't have as many free weekends for long :) 3 weekends left people! This is crazy!!!!!!! So I normally don't like to bash products on here(if you don't have something nice to say...) but this one recently made it onto a magazine's best of list and I couldn't disagree more! By now you all know that I am fiber obsessed and I also really believe in the health/diet rule of combining fiber and protein at every meal (when possible). Needless to say when I saw that Fiber One was making cottage cheese with added fiber in it, I was super excited!! I had about 2 bites before I realized that this was disgusting and tasted chemical-y. Blech. Gross. Yuck. So I'm back to my old cottage cheese (Knudson brand the l/f one) and I just make sure I get fiber w/ it back adding either strawberries, raspberries or blueberries-yum!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Baby Soft & Whiskey?


Ok, my new hobby is wondering around Target/Babies R Us/the mall/Costco/etc looking for any possible baby item that I need and still don't have...I think I'm all set. Along the way I found a new product that I doubt I'll use on Baby B but have been using it on myself and love it!! It is Johnson's Baby Cocoa and Shea Butter Creamy Oil. It is nice and moisturizing and it isn't sticky or oily at all. It leaves my skin soooooooo soft and who doesn't love that. Im not in love w/ the scent-it smells like Cocoa and Shea Butter (shocking), and those aren't my fav scents-but it doesn't smell bad either. Funny enough the first time I used it and crawled into bed w/ Kevin, he asked me if I had been drinking whiskey. This is funny for a couple of reasons: #1. I'm pregnant and don't drink while preggo and #2. I have never even tasted whiskey in my whole life and he knows this (I prefer wine and champagne thank you very much!). So it was hilarious to me that he asked that! I asked him to smell the bottle of lotion to see if that was what he was smelling and sure enough-he thinks it smells like whiskey :) So there you go, I have super soft skin but I smell like a drunk :)

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Love this Conditioner


Alright Bloggers, I have a confession: for as green as I try to be, there is one instance where I'm a big waster...I'm a conditioner over-user. The bottles always say to use a "quarter size" amount of conditioner and I like to use about $2.00 worth of quarters :) I just like to use it all over my hair (except not my scalp obvi) and use a lot so I can detangle and make sure that every last strand/inch got covered. So this leads me to my issue with very expensive conditioners-I can't justify using a smallish bottle of $40+ conditioner, it just wouldn't make sense. It would last me 2 weeks tops and that is just ridiculous. Sooooo I was at my salon (Bravo Salon and Spa in Pasadena-they are amazing!!!) and was asking what are good, not too spendy conditioners? At first they stuck to their guns and just recommended what they sell there (Kerastase and Bumble) and after some pleading on my part, I got a certain stylist to whisper that the Sleek Line by Matrix is great and is WAY cheaper than Kerastase. So I tried it and I LOVE IT!! It makes my hair so soft and shiny and ahhhhhh it just is wonderful :) AND a big huge bottle is between $25-$30 so I can continue to use and huge amount w/out feeling guilty!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Busy, Busy

Hello!! Sorry I haven't been posting as much as I 'd like-I have been a crazy woman. I just got back from a trip to San Francisco for some training (more on that soon!). It was me, my business partner Van, Kevin and the pups. We drove up and it was quite a road trip (6-7 hours each way). I would not suggest such long road trips to people when they are this preggo (35 weeks)-I had not had much swelling this entire pregnancy and after sitting in the car for so long-I was all bloat :( Huge :( Oh well-we had a great trip and I am SOOOOOOOOO EXCITED for what the new year has in store for my business partner and I :) I feel like I am living a dream :)
Now I'm home and in the home stretch. I have 28 days to go unless baby B decides to come earlier than scheduled. It is insane to think that life will be so different in less than a month. I have lots to do (get the carseat installed, wash his clothes and bedding, hang the curtains in his room, set up the monitor, pack our hospital bags, etc.) and am excited to get it all done. We took our first baby class last Thursday night and I loved it!! It was based on "The Happiest Baby on The Block" book-it was so cute and we practiced swaddling (Kevin is a very good swaddler!!). We have one more this week mainly on infant care and a breast feeding class next week. After that I think we are all set! I'm not taking a birthing class bc we are having a scheduled c-section (for medical reasons-its a long story). So good news is no more trips for me until 2011!! I'll be back tomorrow w/ a fantastic conditioner!!

Thursday, October 14, 2010

This Feels Soooooo Good!


Bloggers, Im not much of a workout dvd kind of gal. I love classes (barre classes to be specific, and the best barre class is The Dailey Method to be even more specific!), I think I feed of the energy and music in class and just cant recreate that at home. BUT I have to say that this prenatal pilates video is fantastic!! Its called "10 Minute Solution: Prenatal Pilates" and it is great! The instructor, Lizbeth Garcia, is very preggo herself (I'm guessing about 8 months) and she isn't annoying like most video instructors. The video is in 10 minute segments and is great for beginners and more advanced preggos. I like it bc it just feels really good to do it AND when I don't feel like exercising-I can say-"ok I'm just going to do one 10 minute segment" and I normally feel so great after the 1st 10 minutes that I end up doing at couple more segments too! I ordered it on Amazon and it will be a gift I give to my friends when they get preggo(along w/ some books that I really like!). Alright-I'm going to go do it right now!

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Operation Eye Cream


Bloggers, the product I get asked the most about is eye cream. I have tried several (probably close to 30) different types/brands/formulations. So it is shocking to me that I don't have an easy answer when someone asks me which eye cream is best. I think the problem is that as I'm getting older (yes 30 is the new 24, but still my eye wrinkles seem to know how old they are) I need more from an eye cream than before. Before, anything that was nice and moisturizing would do they trick. Now I need tightening, plumping, moisturizing, line filling, and the list goes on. So I will make it my personal mission in the next few months to try and review as many eye creams as possible in order to bring you guys my final answer!!! In the meantime, above is a picture of an old favorite of mine. It is great if you are in your 20s and don't need the heavy duty eye cream yet. It is Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado and this is a beauty favorite for a lot of people. It is nice and thick and you actually should rub it between two fingers before you apply it in order to warm it up and thin it out so it goes on nicely. It is moisturizing and feels great. It isn't therapeutic enough for me and these smile lines-but if you are young and don't need the big guns then it is an awesome choice! It is $25 for a little pot-but it lasts a long time bc you don't need much. You can get it where ever the sell Kiehl's (Nordies is easiest for me) and the nice think about Kiehl's is they tend to give samples so you may be able to try this product before you invest in it!

Monday, October 11, 2010

Great Smelling Body Wash and Some Major Water Retention


Good Morning!! I hope you all had a fantastico weekend! We did-we basically were professional eaters ;) What I mean is we had dinner plans every night this weekend and I ate and ate and ate! It was great to catch up with some of our favorite people! This is no joke-Sunday morning I woke up and weighed myself (I do this every morning preggo or not), and I gained 2.5 lbs in ONE DAY!!!! AHHHHH crazy! I'm sure some of that was water weight (fingers crossed!) bc the night before I did eat a lot of savory and salty (and delicious!) food. Bacon wrapped dates stuffed w/ blue cheese? Yep I had a bunch. Bruscetta? Yes ma'am I ate about 10 pieces of it. Baked Bree? The most delicious/moist roasted chicken (that was salted 2 days earlier)? Mashed potatoes? Bread salad? Bread Pudding for desert? Well I guess you get the point. I think I had a food hang over on Sunday...Seriously! So this week I'm going to try my hardest to go low sodium and eat reallllllly healthy. I'll keep you posted :)

As for my product post for the day, this one is affordable and smells divine! Its Softsoap Moisturizing Body Wash in Pomegranate and Mango and I looooove the scent! So does Kevin! It really is just a yummy, fruity wash that smells great and it suds up nicely when used with a shower puff or washcloth. AND did I mention is cheap? I get it at Target and I think its about $3-$4 for a bottle of it. Love it!

Friday, October 8, 2010

I Must Be Nesting....


Happy Friday Bloggers! I am on a humongous cleaning frenzy...I heard that this happens when you are preggo and getting close to your due date. I love it and can't stop! I want to be able to eat of every surface in my house by the time this little one gets here :) Soooooo that leads me to Swiffer Dust & Shine Furniture Spray in Lavender Vanilla. I love it! I use it all the time! It smells so nice and it really does a nice job of repelling dust. Alright-I have to go organize some drawers now :)

Thursday, October 7, 2010

A Great Suggestion



"I love looking at your blog! Hahaha..I've had to curb my desire for products cuz I never use them all.... Have you ever tried Cerave lotion? Its amazing. I put it under my make up and its water based and doesn't make foundation all weird."

Bloggers-this was sent to me from a friend on BabyCenter. For those of you who don't know what BabyCenter is, it is my favorite website where I spend and bunch of time and have made some great/supportive friendships :) It is the reason I neglect Facebook :) This was from Sammy-who is expecting her 1st baby next spring-Congrats Sammy!!! AND thank you for the product suggestion!!
I actually have used CeraVe before and was very impressed...back when I was a drug rep-I would call on Dermatologists and they always had samples of CeraVe in their offices (so of course I helped myself!). It is gentle yet moisturizing (think of it as a better formulation of Cetaphil) and it comes in cream or lotion. I like to use a light/gentle moisturizer for my face in the morning(bc I always put sunscreen on after it) and this is the perfect product for that!! I like to use something more heavy duty and therapeutic at night (got to fight these darn wrinkles!) so I probable wouldn't use it as a night cream-but its a great daytime option :)

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Check Out My New Ride


Oh Bloggers, I have a confession to make...I am a tad bit stroller obsessed...Always have been and probably always will be. It got really bad when I used to walk along the strand (the "strand" is a walkway that is next to the beach and stretches from Redondo Beach all the way through Manhattan Beach-it is always packed full of healthy families/people walking/running/pushing strollers and walking dogs-great for people watching!). This is the creepy part-I actually used to wear my darkest glasses during my daily walks so I could check out people and their strollers w/out it being super obvious! I know it's sick. BUT it allowed me to find the BEST stroller!!! It is the UPPAbaby 2010 Vista Stroller. I got it in black although it comes in some really great colors if you like colored strollers (the green and the silver were close contenders for me!). It is basically a better/more modern/more hip version of the Bugaboo Cameleon. It is organic and very well made-not too heavy and it folds up super easily. It has a really nice big basket underneath for shopping trips and also comes w/ a bassinet! I LOVE IT and cant stop strolling the pups around in it!! (So yes that officially makes me the crazy woman in the neighborhood who pushes her dogs in a stroller :) When choosing I was looking at the UPPA, the Bugaboo and the Orbit-but after test driving them and having Kevin give it a whirl-there was no comparison!!! Now I just need Baby B to get here so he can share in the fun!!!!

Monday, October 4, 2010

Happy 2 Year Anniversary to My Sweet Hubby!!



















I can't believe that it has been 2 years. In some ways it feels like we just got married yesterday, in other ways it feels like we have been married for much longer. All weekend we celebrated with each other and played the game "2 years ago today we were doing _______". Our wedding festivities started on the 2nd of October bc we got married in Mexico and that's when most of our guests (the fun ones anyways!) got down there. It was the best weekend of my life and I wouldn't have changed a thing about it (Ok, maybe I would have had a tad less to drink so the trip home wouldn't have been so rough!). I love you Kevin, you are my best friend and my soul mate. I am so excited that we are starting our family together and can't wait to meet this baby boy. Everyday with you is fun and funny and I am so lucky that I have you. Thank you for all that you are, that you do and for all of the support that you give. We have an exciting year ahead of us (baby, lots of trips and opening my 1st studio) and I couldn't have done any of it with out you. I love you so much! xoxoxoxo