{violet's first birthday}

My daughter Violet turned one last week!  It has been such a fun year that has flown by.  She is learning so much and becoming just a fun little girl who has us all wrapped around her little fingers.  

When Grant turned one we had a big birthday party for him which was a total blast.  This time around I opted not to have a birthday party for Violet (this year!)…second child problems I guess?? Ha! I made sure though that we did our traditional "birthday balloons" (sneaking balloons into the birthday boy/girl's room the night before) and of course, a smash cake.  

Even though most of these pictures don't show it (except for the last two), she tore into her cake!  We had to pick her up off the floor and strap her into her high chair half way through since she was getting frosting on our walls!  Regardless of where she was, it didn't damper her excitement.  

I still have Grant's race car party pictures I plan on sharing, so stay tuned for that coming up soon!

Thanks for reading!

xo, Sara

{mom life makeup}

Hello lovelies!  

Today I wanted to share a few of my current makeup faves with you.  Since becoming a mom I have come to appreciate little things, like showers, miracle working eye creams, and time to myself.  If I'm trying to get out of the house before nap time and I want to look any kind of put together, I have a short window of time before my kids require a playtime referee or the house goes quiet and I know they're up to no good. As much as I would like to have more time to do my hair and makeup before I leave the house in the mornings, it just isn't happening for now.  So I have come to rely on a few key (mostly drugstore!) makeup products to get an everyday look quickly.  So whether you're a mama like me or a gal on the go, these products are worth checking out and won't cost you a whole lot to try for yourself.

Also, most of these links are to Ulta, and a lot of the products I shared below are part of a buy one get one half off deal!  I'm not sure how long that promotion lasts, but I thought I'd pass that information along in case you're on the fence about buying something :)

Primer There are a few options with this primer, but I am using the Blur + Smooth version currently.  I notice a difference immediately when I put it on, and my liquid foundation/tinted moisturizer goes over it really smoothly.  

Tinted Moisturizer This is not a drugstore product, but for the quality and how long I have had it (a little goes a long way for me), it's been totally worth it!  During the warmer months I don't like to wear a ton of face makeup, but this gives my face a little coverage while moisturizing and protecting it.  It makes my face look natural in a even toned, well-rested way.  And who doesn't want to look like they just woke up like this? (#flawless…??) Anyway…lately I've been dealing with some hormonal acne and need a little extra coverage, so once this bottle runs out I will most likely replace it with a BB/CC cream.  This has been wonderful for lightly evening out my skin tone and I would buy it again once my baby/milk making hormones settle down and leave my face alone.

Concealer I learned about this concealer a little while ago from a favorite beauty vlogger I follow, and I use the brightener shade so it has been my multi use tool for concealing and highlighting my eyes.  I have noticed I have to set it with a little bit of powder when I use it under my eyes, but it doesn't require as much like the fan favorite NYX concealer does (for me), so this helps me hide blemishes/sleep deprivation a little more quickly.  I also use this before applying concealer under my eyes and together they help keep the "you look so tired" comments from strangers/friends/spouse away.  

Highlight and Contour Wonder Stick I started to dabble with highlighting and contouring when I realized it could disguise my swelling face as I neared the end of my pregnancy. While I may still need to learn a thing or two, this stick is super helpful for amateurs like myself.  It also makes it possible for me to quickly highlight/contour my face, which before would take me twice as long when using different powders to do the same thing.  I will say that I prefer to use my beauty blender (another favorite!) to blend it in, since I have noticed that it can be easily absorbed/rubbed away when I use just my fingers to blend it in.  

Eyeliner I have been using this brand of eyeliner pencil since my high school days.  I buy it and use it so much, I think even my husband knows what eyeliner I use since I've asked him to pick it up from the store fairly often (and for a man to know makeup?! Right?!)  I haven't really felt the need to find another eyeliner for my every day look, because this one just works so well for me.  In a pinch I will use it to fill in my brows too, which helps me save time.  

Mascara This is a recent find for me, and I really like how quickly and effectively it lengthens and thickens my lashes.  I have found that because the brush tapers in size, I can use it for my bottom lashes as well by using the smaller end of the brush. For a long time I was using this mascara and it's not that it isn't great anymore, I just wanted to try something new (or at least that's what I told myself while at Target…) and I'm glad I did.

What are your favorite time saving makeup products? If you try these ones out, I hope they work as well for you as they have for me!

Have a fabulous weekend!

xo, Sara

{three years into motherhood}

It is a happy Monday indeed!

My little boy is three years old today! I am celebrating with him all day, doing all of the fun things he likes to do and eating all of the foods he likes to eat.  Thankfully since he is still little and easy to please,  he is having an amazing birthday.  His excitement for everything is super contagious, and this is why being his mama is awesome.  

Sometimes it still boggles my mind that I am a mother, and that I have two kids now!  Not because I didn't think motherhood wouldn't work out for me or because it wasn't in my original life plan, but time has just flown by…watching my kids grow up makes me feel old and I don't feel old at all!  I've always known that I wanted to have children, and because I had children when it was the right time for me, I have no regrets about it.  But…parenthood is hard.  The struggle is real!  I know that's totally cliche, but should something be a cliche when it's actually a fact of life? Parenthood is one of the hardest jobs in the world, and everyone seems to have a different opinion about it (including myself).  I have friends with kids that mention every now and then that they can't imagine life without their children, or that they didn't know what life was until their littles came into the world.  I'm going to honest, I can't really relate to those sentiments because I totally remember how my life was kid-free, and I CAN imagine what my life would be like without them.  That sounds horrible, but I can explain.  

The few years when it was just my husband and I, we were living it up as two full-time college students and part-time job holders.  For the most part we managed our time well to where we didn't always work crazy hours, every night was basically date night since we were together almost every night, and we were financially comfortable.  We would go on vacations, spontaneous weekend trips, and try new local restaurants with such ease.  We both had time for our own hobbies, and lived pretty well-rounded lives.  I love having that time with my hubby as just the two of us, even when it wasn't always easy (sometimes it was hard in its own ways).  With kids added into our mix, it has added a few steps of complication to all of those things.  I'm not saying we don't or can't do those things anymore because of kids.  Now it takes a bit more planning, money, energy, and forethought...whereas before we wouldn't have to worry about babysitters, how many toys to pack, and/or future college savings.  With how much we spend just on diapers alone we could visit any exotic place in the world (or buy me some really amazing shoes)!

So yeah, I'd say that I remember life without kids and I can imagine what life would be like…especially on those nights when my little girl decides to not sleep through the night and on days where my now three year old pushes all of my buttons and throws epic terrible two tantrums (which I'm told don't magically disappear by age three and that they get worse…what?!).  BUT!  I love my children.  SO MUCH.  I would never not have them in my life.  Just like all of the other parents I personally know would say the same thing about their kids.  And maybe the phrase "can't imagine life without them" is how they express that their children are irreplaceable and worth all of the sacrifices they have made.  Whether having babies in the first place was a cake walk or a refiner's fire through Hell and back, I think it's safe to say that all parents struggle with parenthood every now and then and can remember their life as it was before kids.  And those I know personally never quit on their children no matter how rough it is.  Because regardless of how tough it may be, there are moments that parenting wins and successes are made of and they are worth everything…and my daydreams of vacations and designer shoes can't even begin to compete with that.  

xo, Sara

{baby food storage and organization}

Happy Monday (and MLK day)!

So since this is a lifestyle blog, and my life currently consists of two little ones, some of my posts will include them or things relating to them.  This particular post was originally on my family's blog, but as I am in the process of making that a private blog, I wanted to share this post here as well.  We no longer live in the original home that is featured in these pictures, but I was inspired to share this post because my little daughter is now in the thick of the baby food stages.  So here for my first Motherhood Monday post: a simple and budget friendly way to store baby food.  

Aaron and I love anything related to food.  Cooking, baking, eating, food festivals, you name it.  So of course our humble condo kitchen is full to capacity with food, pots, pans, dishes, and all sorts of contraptions that help process/mix/grill/cook food.  Before Grant was born we had already purchased an extra pantry unit and chest freezer to help store our food and kitchen equipment because all of it wouldn't fit in our kitchen's built-in cabinets and freezer.  When Grant started eating baby food, some awesome fellow parent friends of ours gave us a ton of their extra unused baby food...but we could not possibly make any more room for his food in our kitchen.

We don't have a ton of storage space in our home (if any really), but we make the best use of what we've got.  So we resorted to our water heater/storage closet (it's meant to be part storage closet if the landlords installed carpet in it, right?)...and all we needed was a hanging shoe organizer.

This has been such a space saver!  Our water heater closet isn't too far from our kitchen, so it's a quick trip to grab something from it before Grant gets hangry (like mother, like son).  It has really helped us keep Grant's baby food organized and we can see what we have thanks to the clear pockets (and, knock on wood, if the water heater leaks the food is not on the ground).  I highly recommend using this method of baby food storage if you are a parent with little to no available cabinet/pantry space.  A few of my girlfriends that are also mothers noticed this storage solution when they've come over recently and commented on what a great idea it is.  So I felt this idea was deemed worthy to share with others who may be looking for storage solutions :) It's super easy and budget friendly, and no one will really ever see it unless you show it to them.  

So help another mother out and pass this easy mama life hack along to them :)

xo, Sara