We are just under 3 weeks away from Mother’s Day! With it quickly approaching, we wanted to give you some ideas for what to get your mom, grandmother, aunt, friend, any female in your life really. This gift guide is specifically for the mom that likes to be pampered, who likes to take care of herself, and enjoys a spa day… obviously at home, who has time to actually go to the spa?!
Ice Roller – depuffs, shrink pores, and helps with migraines Eye Mask – my favorite eye masks, leaves your undereyes smooth and makes you look awake! Mason Pearson Brush – obsessed with this brush! If you want a gift that will make your mom feel spoiled, this is it. Facial Steamer – this is on my list of wants for sure, talk about a luxury Eye Cream – SiO Beauty makes great skin care products and this eye cream is no joke (use code KELLY15 for a discount at checkout!) Towel Warmer – my boys love having warm towels after a shower or bath! Light Therapy Mask – I want to try this SO badly! I’ve heard great things! Self Tanning Drops – how I look alive through the sunless winter months in Chicago Candle – my absolute favorite candle brand Silk Pillowcase – good for your hair & skin, this is a win for me!
My baby is officially three and has (I feel like) grown up over night. One moment he was a little toddler and then I turned around and he is a little boy. He is so excited to be three and is taking his role as a “big boy” very seriously. This weekend we had so much fun celebrating sweet P the whole time. We started Friday night with a party with all the cousins and family. Then Saturday we continued celebrating with a fun outing to Dads Slot Cars for some car racing (actually a lot of fun!), we had an early dinner and went to Triple Scoop’d for ice cream, and ended the day with popcorn and a movie in our jammies.
Party Details Preston loves football, and specifically the Chicago Bears, so when I asked him what kind of birthday he wanted I was not surprised when he said a Bears party! I got pretty much everything from Amazon, and it was so simple to put it together. Here are the banner, candles, the bears balloons and orange balloons. Then I got this kit that included the plates, napkins, cups, and tablecloths. The polo that the boys wore is just a plain white collared shirt with a football patch that I ironed on. And the cake was (once again) from Sweet T’s Bakery. I absolutely love this bakery and highly recommend using them or stopping in for a sweet treat if you are in/near Arlington Heights.
Update on Preston Preston is the total third boy in every way, shape and form. He loves playing rough with his brothers (who he calls ‘my boys’). And he would play football all day every day if we let him. But as active as he is, he is the also so content just playing quietly by himself. He loves dinosaurs, Blippi, and dancing. He cracks me up and melts my heart all at the same time. Preston is so much fun and definitely the life of the party.
Of the three boys, Preston is (and always has been) the pickiest eater. He will not try something that looks different and would rather be hungry than eat something he doesn’t want to. His favorite things to eat are: yogurt, oatmeal, pancakes, apples, strawberries, broccoli, and any condiment. He would eat ketchup, bbq sauce, chick-fil-a sauce, etc by the spoonful with every meal if he had it his way.
Preston is in school 3 days per week and loves it so much! Other than school, Preston isn’t involved in any activities at the moment. We just finished a session of swimming lessons at CAST Water Safety in Forest Park. But now we are just waiting for the weather to get nicer to be able to play outside and spend more time at the park.
Yesterdays spring line launch with Minnow Swim made me realize how close spring break actually is! This year we are taking a trip to the beach for spring break. To say that I am excited is a complete understatement! But I am also completely unprepared.. so I started looking through the boys clothes/shoes and making a list of things I need to get them before we head south. I found items for both boys and girls and think that they are both adorable.
Swimwear – like I said, Minnow Swim is our favorite swim brand. I love that they are shorter for boys swim shorts. I picked out the same pattern for both the girls suit and the boys suit here. They have SO many different styles and patterns to be able to mix and match with siblings.
Spring break cannot get here soon enough. This family of five is ready for fun in the sun!
Last weekend I had a baby shower for one of my friends and we had the best time celebrating her and her precious little girl. I don’t know if it was the baby shower, or the fact that I am over winter, but it made me crave spring and warm temperatures even more than I typically do! Although it is still cold here in Chicago, I tried to make my winter baby shower look as springy as possible.
I wore this adorable jumper from Pink Lily with the white bodysuit underneath it (also from Pink Lily). I paired this outfit with my favorite Marc Fisher booties and an old Kate Spade handbag.
I put together an outfit option that I love for a spring baby shower (or brunch, date night, anything!). I found similar items at two different price points.
Here are the details for the items on the splurge list.
We had the best time celebrating Grayson turning 5 this past week, I cannot believe that our sweet little G-money is already 5 years old! We had family over for a little dinner party on Saturday night and spent the morning at the splash pad on Sunday. Last night we had a nice evening just the five of us with dinner, mouse trap, and of course more cake.
Sweet baby Grayson at his newborn shoot and now as a 5 year old!
Party Details Grayson wanted a Spiderman theme for his birthday this year. When I saw this backdrop on Etsy I knew it would be the perfect focal point – I loved seeing his sweet smile when he saw it for the first time! I made the little centerpiece, it was actually much easier than I anticipated. We got his spiderman cake from Sweet T’s Bakery in Arlington Heights and it was not only beautiful (can you say that about a spiderman cake?) but it was delicious! If you are local, then I highly recommend them. And no party (according to our boys) is complete without a pinata! We got the spiderman one from Party City
Update on Grayson Grayson has grown-up so much this part year. He loves learning and telling us everything he learned at school. Recently he has been all about making us cards and it is seriously the most precious thing ever. Grayson is just so sweet to Rob and I and the best little and big brother. He is a homebody and loves to be with family (I pray this never changes). He is the most particular of the three boys and knows how he wants things to be done. He is a rockstar helper at folding laundry and putting things away in their proper place (another thing I pray never changes haha).
Grayson is a little peanut, we head to the dr tomorrow but he has always trended on the smaller side. As for eating, he is a boy who knows what he likes and doesn’t want to try anything that is new. He will try almost anything we ask him to but typically the response is the same, no thank you! haha He loves oatmeal, yogurt, hotdogs, pizza, and apples.
Grayson is currently taking ski lessons up in Wisconsin for the next couple of weeks. I am so excited for him (and H is doing snowboarding) and can’t wait to take ski trips in the future! He will also start up ISR (swimming) again for 2 weeks in March. Then this summer he will start t-ball! This is such a fun age because he is now able to join leagues and really tell me what he wants to participate in.
Today we have an exciting announcement- we are thrilled to announce that we are officially a Brand Ambassador for Sarah Flint Shoes!
If you haven’t heard of Sarah Flint, we are excited to be the ones to introduce you to this amazing brand. Sarah Flint shoes are SO comfortable and SO beautiful. They are 100% certified made in Italy. Sarah makes luxury shoes at a lower cost because they are sold direct to you, she doesn’t need to offset costs of being sold in big department stores. Her shoes are absolutely stunning and when you put them on your demeanor changes instantly, you just feel good. With being Brand Ambassadors – we have a code for $50 for you when you purchase your first pair of shoes! Use the code SARAHFLINT-BATHEMERIDIANBLISS at checkout!
If you are in the market for a new pair of classic, beautiful shoes – look no further! She has every type of shoe for every occasion. These boots are perfect to take you anywhere and everywhere during the fall and winter months. And these booties (they come in leather and suede) are so stunning and would be perfect to wear from work, to dinner, to a party! Not a fan of a heel? Not to worry, the same booties (also in leather and suede) come with just the slightest lift!
The flats Sarah has are just as beautiful as her boots. These are my favorite house shoe and I love these, these, and these flats as well! For summer, I love these sandals.
Although shoes are Sarah Flint’s main focus, she loves all things beautiful – and also has some gorgeous accessories and home decor (think headbands, scarves, tablecloths, napkins).
A couple of weeks back I started trying a new brand for skin care, and I love it so far! For those that do not know, I do not have great skin at all. I have tried so many different products but haven’t found what I’ve been looking for … until now! The Inkey List is the line I have been loving.
This line is a Clean at Sephora line (which is so important to me) which means that the products are formulated without phthalates, formaldehyde, oxybenzone, parabens, sulfates, and SO much more! And they have so many different products depending on your skin type and need. If you are in the market for a new skin care routine, this one is easy, clean, and it works! Here are the products that I use…
Skin Care Routine: *Just Ingredients – Organic Face Scrub: I do not use this everyday. I use this a couple times a week as a mask, I rub it on my face and then let it sit for about 10 minutes. After, I rinse with warm water and rub in any excess oil. * Salicylic Acid Cleanser – this cleanser helps with breakouts * Hyaluronic Acid – helps with hydrating skin * Niacinamide – helps control excess oil * C-50 Blemish Night Treatment – helps reduce blemishes and breakouts * Brighten-i Eye Cream – helps with instant and long term illumination and brightening * Just Ingredients – Face and Body Serum: I use this day and night and absolutely LOVE this product
All that being said – I use these products in addition to the face wash and the topical cream that my dermatologist prescribed to me years ago.
Throughout the month of January, everyone is setting resolutions, making lifestyle changes, and just doing an overall refresh of their lives. I love a good reset, but somethings don’t need to be reset! I have been using Bondi Boost hair products for a while now and I love them just as much as I did at the beginning.
I am a once a week hair washer so these products last me a LONG time, especially the conditioner and the mask because I alternate using those two products each week. Since I wash so infrequently, I always double cleanse and only condition my tips. Once my hair is towel dried I will spray in the Growth Spray and then the Heat Protectant before drying and styling. All of these products, except the vitamins, are now sold at target too! Not all Targets have them in store, the ones closest to me do not but I am hoping that, that could change in the future!
What is your hair care routine? What products do you swear by?!
Starting a New Year always means one thing… the gyms are crowded. About 6 months ago, Rob and I swapped out our gym membership for the Tonal. Best decision! Having a gym at home means no crowds, no travel time, and I don’t have to worry about scheduling my day around a specific class I want to take. I have the ability to create my own workouts, choose a program to do over the course of a couple weeks, or do a live class.
This year, I think my fitness resolution would have to be to take the time at the end of my workout to stretch. This is not always a priority for me in the past couple of years, it is an easy part to skip over, and I can tell the difference. Whether or not you have a fitness resolution, you could probably use some new athleisure… always, am I right? Here are some of my favorite athleisure pieces to bring me into the new year and inspire my fitness resolutions.
I have been wearing this Loft sweater on repeat since I got it last month! I love the color, I adore the puff sleeves, and the buttons elevate this sweater a couple notches. I have worn this sweater to work, to church, and out to dinner. You can see here I paired it with flared jeans but it would also look adorable with skinny jeans or the spanx leather skinny pants. I also love that this sweater could easily be dressed up by pairing it with a skirt (this faux leather one would be adorable) and heels.
The best part is… this sweater is on sale right now! The lavender color I have (and the heather grey color) are both are $54.99 BUT if you us the code JOY at checkout you will get 50% off and free shipping. And they also have it in a beautiful bright blue ($60.00 and 50% off & free shipping with the code JOY) color too.
The Meridian Bliss 