Beauty & Fashion Archives - Page 9 of 15

Create your holiday look effortlessly with the KISS InstaWave automatic curler

I love a good curly hairstyle every once in a while, especially this time of year with holiday parties and birthdays galore, but I swear that every year I get worse and worse at styling a good curly ‘do. I’m fine for the first few curls and then out of nowhere I clip the iron and accidentally turn it the wrong way. Anyone who has ever done this knows that you then end up with that awful crimped piece at the bottom where the clip was holding that no amount of recurling can ever fix. That, my friends, is pretty much my signature “curly” look.

Or, at least it was. I was recently introduced to the KISS InstaWave and it’s changed the way I style hair forever. Not only is it clipless so there’s no chance of ending up with crimped hair, it’s also automatic so all I need to do is rest the hair on the barrel and press a button. There’s literally no way to mess up your hair!

Back to School shopping with Northgate Mall in Seattle

Can you believe fall is just around the corner? It seems like just last week I was walking the kids to and from school each day, packing lunches, and taking them to and from extra curricular activities, but here we are again ready to start a new school year. While I don't love the idea of summer ending and sending my kids to school, I do really love going back to school shopping.

Last week we headed out to Northgate Mall in Seattle to shop our favorite stores and check out all the new stores they have added this summer. With great clothing and gear for all ages, it just makes shopping for everyone so easy.

It truly is a one-stop shop, which is why it's one of our absolute favorite places to shop. And, with back to school sales signs in nearly every window, now is a great time to hit the mall!

Summer project: Making a switch to natural ingredients

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. {#CollectiveBias} and its advertiser. All opinions on #FreshNaturally are mine alone. Like most people, now more than ever I’m paying a whole lot more attention to the brands I purchase for my family. It’s really surprising when you start reading what’s in the things that you buy, and it’s even more surprising when over half of those ingredients are virtually unrecognizable. Making a switch to natural ingredients has been a goal of mine and I’ve recently made a huge effort to make it happen.

While I’ve still got a ways to go before I’m completely done with the transformation, I’ve made some huge progress in ridding my household of items with artificial colors and flavors, unnecessary fragrances, and preservatives. And, it really wasn’t that difficult at all, in fact, it was actually quite fun.

Find your perfect fit for summer at Figleaves.com {with coupon code}

I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Figleaves.com. I received product samples to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation.I hate shopping for swimsuits with a passion. Sometimes it feels like there is absolutely nothing in between skimpy bikinis and swimsuits with layers and layers of fabric. I’ve worn both in the past, and while they both have their pluses they are just not right for me right now.

With small kids that I’m bending over to help, lifting, and swimming with, I need something I don’t have to mess with, tug at, or worry is showing too much. And, if it could also be stylish, that would be awesome, too.

Mother’s Day: A day for mom to Indulge at Northgate Mall in Seattle

We go to a lot of events at Northgate Mall in Seattle, our local Simon Mall. We’ve been to story time, to Girls Night Out events, to an event with live bunnies and goats for the kids to hold, to holiday events, and even to Seahawks events, but the one event I look forward to all year long is the Mother’s Day event.

If you’ve never been to a Northgate event, then you’re probably picturing a few tables running down the middle of the mall selling you siding and giving you pamphlets about having parties in your home. I know that’s what I was picturing the first few times I saw a note on Facebook about one of Northgate’s parties. But, since we had a mall trip planned anyway, I figured I would swing by the event at some point while we were there to check it out. And, I’m oh so glad we did. Since that day, we’ve gotten our faces painted, got free henna tattoos, colored our hair pink and green and blue {but not all at the same time} and we’ve been introduced to so many companies and services in the Northgate Mall and surrounding areas.

I’ve now learned something very important: When Northgate throws a party, you should show up.

Spin into Spring with TwirlyGirl dresses and skirts {with coupon code}

My daughter will only wear dresses. Not shorts, not pants, not even skirts most days. All she wants is dresses. She’s clearly a little fashionista, but even with her eye for fashion, she won’t compromise with clothing that is uncomfortable and isn’t fun and girly. So, of course she fell in love with TwirlyGirl when she saw they carried cute dresses for girls like these, which just so happened to speak to her fashion side as well as her inner dancer. When I was growing up, my sister and I had a special spot in our closet where we kept dresses that were “spinny” {AKA cut so that they flare out when you spin}. Those dresses were the ones we returned to over and over again and I can still vividly remember the details in both dresses. Sadly, we only ever owned two of these dresses as spinny dresses are hard to come by. Apparently, boring and flat is the norm for clothing.

But, once I saw TwirlyGirl, I realized I was looking at what I would have designed back when I was a girl, you know, if I was any good at designing. Oh, what we would have given to have a dress from TwirlyGirl, a company designed to make cute dresses for girls that would put all of our spinny dresses to shame.

Cherishing the small moments with Gymboree

In some ways, parenting is exactly the way I thought it would be, but in some ways I can’t believe how different it is than I imagined. Sometimes I am overwhelmed by the never-ending to-do lists and the days that fly by, and sometimes I look at my kids and wonder how on Earth I have a five year old and a three year old. Nothing could have prepared me for how quickly my babies would grow into full-fledged kids and how much I would reminisce about days gone by.

Find the perfect Mother’s Day present at ReCollected Pieces

What does every mom want for Mother’s Day? The answer is something personal and from the heart.

This is easy if you happen to have crafty kids or love macaroni necklaces, but what about for the rest of us? We can turn to Re:Collected Pieces, a Portland-based company that makes custom jewelry and more that any mother would love.

We’re not talking silver jewelry with personalized messages like anyone with a hand stamping set can make – what Tabitha at Re:Collected Pieces does is even more personal than that. Photo pendants, repurposed items, and artwork all become statement pieces to be adored and each custom work can be personalized in many levels. After checking out the ReCollected Pieces Etsy shop, I was smitten and knew I just had to have a custom piece. Starting the process was easy, I merely sent over pictures {one of my littles and one of hubby and I} to Tabitha with the instructions that she should have fun with them and show all that she can do.

You might wonder why I didn’t give specifics on what shapes I would like, sizes I would prefer, and baubles to add, but after looking at the Re:Collected Etsy shop, I knew it wasn’t necessary. There wasn’t a pendant or design I wouldn’t love to wear in the collection, and I trusted that Tabitha would make me something awesome.

And, I was blown away by what she sent back. Just look at how amazing these pendants look.

Karmin G3 Salon Pro hair dryer makes styling quick and easy

While some people complain about how their hair takes forever to dry, I’ve always held the record for the fastest hair drying, ever. We’re talking less than a minute and my hair goes from dripping wet to perfectly dry and I’m ready to style. Of course, this is awesome on the days that I don’t have time to spend drying my hair but don’t want my hair dripping for the walk to school with my daughter, but I never really thought about what all this super high heat did to my hair until I tried to grow it out.

My hair is now longer than my shoulders for the first time since elementary school, and now I’m seeing all the effects of years of high heat – damaged, frizzy hair, split ends, and flyaways galore – that make me want to drip dry my hair every single day. Or at least I did until I got my hands on this:

The Karmin Professional G3 Salon Pro Hair Dryer makes me ridiculously happy. And, not because it cut down the time to dry my hair… but because it now takes longer.

Say what?

Corolle dolls offer a best friend for every age and stage

My daughter is a hard-core doll fan. She spends nearly all day with her Corolle dolls, and they have quickly become more than just mere dolls; they are friends.

But, while my son is still very much into baby dolls, my daughter alternates between playing mommy and playing with her more grown-up dolls, like the Corolle Les Cheries dolls. These beauties have become my daughter's new favorite toy and she is on a mission to collect every single one Corolle makes.