Friday Favorites

Hey Fam!

Just wanted to do a fun post today reviewing some of my favorite beauty items. First, I have not been sent these products nor compensated in any way. (psh, I'm not cool enough to be an IG famous influencer, let's be honest. ha)

BUT I do love the shizzz outta these products and need to share with those who I feel will appreciate it. So let's get started.

First we have the Image Skin Care Vital C hydrating anti-aging serum. Holy crap this stuff is amazeballs. It is so hydrating, a little goes a long way, and it smells so good! Plus, my skin really does seem brighter and with less visible fine lines. Buy it here.

We also have a mascara and a bronzer from Thrive Causemetics. The mascara is some of my fave I've ever used. It's a fiber mascara, but unlike some versions, is an all-in-one, so you don't end up with any stray fibers floating around on your face or in your eyes. I love the 3D mascara by Younique, but I feel like this one is just as great and I love that it's a one-step process. I do pair it with a regular mascara (currently just using an Elf one) first to give me some extra volume because the Thrive one is more about length.

The bronzer is my fave. I am super fair skinned so I have a hard time with bronzers making me look muddy. Or too many bronzers I've tried have shimmer. This is a matte and it goes on so smoothly (I apply with a big fluffy brush) to help contour my face.

Buy them here.

The new Coulour Pop "Gimme More" highlight palette is so pigmented, smooth and applies beautifully. I have been eyeballing some of the Anastasia Beverly Hills glow kits for a while but could never justify the cost. But man, this one is way cheaper and same quality. It sells out quickly every time CP releases a new batch though so follow them on IG to get the next release dates. Colourpop products can be purchased here.

And lastly, we have the Overtone color-depositing conditioners. These are so fun! If you have super light blonde hair and want to add a pop of non-permanent color, try these out! As some of you may have noticed I did a fun magenta color recently after having been blonde balayaged for the past year. The red was so fun. I used the purple and red Overtone conditioners (mixed) in the shower so I didn't have to wash my hair with cold water and to help the color last longer, which it totally did. I just recently went back to my natural color though because my roots were coming in and I didn't feel like dealing with it. BUT I've still got some Overtone product left, so when I inevitably get bored with my hair in the future, I'll probably add some pops of red and purple here and there. Buy these conditioners here.

Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend!

On 30

Oh.

Well.

Hello there, 30.

You kinda snuck up on me, didn't you?

That's okay. I've been waiting for you for a long time.

Oddly, I've had mixed feelings of eagerness and anticipation to turn 30 years old. It's been a while since I've had a milestone birthday, but here we are. So let's read a short story, shall we?

Once upon a time, 16 year old me was introduced to the oh-so-sexy Mark Ruffalo in a movie called "13 Going on 30."  From this Rom-Com classic, I learned that 30 isn't so bad! You can totally be thirty, flirty and thriving and really have all your shit together, even if it doesn't always feel like it.

And you know what?

I am 30 (today) and flirty (to mah hubs anyway) and thriving. I most certainly am thriving.

I was just telling Daniel the other day how life has been really good to me. Ask me on a bad mental health day and I will swear up and down I never said that. But it has been. I'm healthy. I've got all my needs met, most of my wants. I have the two best kiddos ever. I'm married to the coolest best friend a girl could ask for and I have a lot of people in my life who love and support me.

I've lost a lot of friends over the years. You know, as life takes you apart from those you once loved and cared about and shared so many interests, fun times and inside jokes. It's wild to think back to when turning 30 seemed so far away in the general scope of my life, how much has changed since then. So many different people are in that close space I reserve for those who mean the most to me. But so many are the same. My mom. (Thanks for giving me life, ma!) My dad. (Thanks to you too, dad. Guess you helped a little with the life thing.) and my siblings. But now I am so lucky to include their significant others and offspring (some with fur, some not) into that close space now too.

I've cut a lot of people out of that space over the years. And some have cut me out of theirs.

The best and absolutely most significant part about turning 30 years old is that I can say with 100 percent honesty is that I've never felt so confident and sure of myself in my entire life. My teen years were rough, ya'll. I'm sure some of you can relate. I was awkward and chubby and bullied and had terrible self-esteem. I worked too hard and didn't enjoy life enough. I was too hard on myself, too mean. My heart breaks a little bit for that girl I used to be.

And then I got into my 20s. The early part of that decade was awful. So freaking terribly awful. But then it started to get better and better, and then a little worse, but even better yet again after that. Life is a roller coaster and that is a cliche phrase for a reason.

29, you were one of the harder ones I've had yet. Not bad. Not terrible. Just hard. Lots of growth happened this year. I learned so much about myself, my life and what I hope for myself going forward.

I'm grateful for all of the experiences I've had. Even the wretched, horrible, nightmare ones. Because without them, I wouldn't be me. And I really like me, 30 years old, a few more fine lines, wrinkles, gray hairs...but I feel more beautiful in my own skin than I ever have. It took me 30 years to really, truly love myself. Flaws and all. Inside and outside. But here were are.

So let's wrap these ramblings of a blog post with a little gratitude. Thanks so much for all the birthday wishes. Thanks to all of you who have always been there for me, supported me, made an effort to be in my life and my kids' lives. Thank you to everyone who puts up with my overshares, selfies and too-many political posts on social media.

But most of all, thank you to those who love me. And work hard to make sure I know you love me. Those acts do not go unnoticed even if I sometimes take them for granted. I am incredibly lucky to have you all in my life.

Thank you.

Fitness update!

Hey readers!

I've been meaning to do an update on how my fitness stuff is all going. For those of you who are interested in what I've been up to to shed some weight, this is basically the gist of it:

• Low-carb diet 
• Chasing around burgeoning toddler and four year old. 

The other thing I've been trying as of late is a new app I found out about through my blog. It's called Aaptiv and is an app that works to combine fitness trainer guidance with a kick-ass play list. The app and especially its new workouts are specifically geared toward moms and those looking for great maternity-style workouts. I've been taking mine on walks with me. So much fun and a great way to get the kids out of the house while I also get to get fitness guidance and tips from some of the best in the industry like Kira Kohrherr of FitBump as well as yoga instructor Kristen McGee. These trainers are trained in both pre and postnatal exercise.

So if you're looking for a work out method to go along with your busy mom sched, I highly recommend Aaptiv. This fitness app offers short, quick workouts if you're like me and don't have a schedule that allows you to dedicate so much time to work out. From stretching exercises to yoga, walking, meditation, 5K training and more, Aaptiv offers a seriously good work out. The best thing about having a fitness app like this on your phone is that you can do it anywhere. At home,outside, at work, even at the gym (without the high price of an actual trainer!)

I did get to try the app for free, but so can you! *they are offering free for 7 days!* It's only $9.99 a month after that and you can cancel anytime.  Check Aaptiv out today. Seriously. I don't recommend products I don't absolutely love and believe in.

My favorite part about this fitness app is that you can filter work outs by intensity and you can also set reminders and alerts so you remember when you need to work out. As someone who really struggles to stay motivated to working out, this has been super helpful!

I typically set up a stroller workout for the morning, an afternoon meditation session and yoga in the evening after I get Luna to bed. (but before Jack hits the pillow because we all know he's a little night owl) plus he likes to do Yoga with me sometimes. lol.

I'm only 5 lbs from my goal weight and I've been slacking on the low-carb diet a little bit lately, so I really need to get back into that. As someone with PCOS, carbs are my ultimate enemy. Fortunately Daniel doing the Ketosis diet has been helping me stay on track with mine. Keto is a little too hard core for me especially since it encourages you to rely a lot on high-fat foods and fiber. Since I no longer have a gallbladder a lot of extra fat and fiber makes me really sick, so I have found a way to balance low-carb with foods I can eat easily. I just don't go quite as low carb as Daniel. I try to stick to under 75 carbs a day and it's been a lot easier than I expected. I feel healthier and more in shape than I have in a long time.

I'm wearing shorts this summer, you guys. SHORTS. IDGAF if my white legs are blinding. I'm able to wear shorts. WOOOOT.

Anyway, I'd love to hear any feedback if any of you end up trying Aaptiv too. Keep me posted! It's really fun.