Month: December 2017

The 12 Days of Christmas Cleaning Schedule

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It’s Christmas time! Which means you are probably going to be super, super busy for the next few weeks. J and I switch our holidays between our families.  One year we’re with my family for Thanksgiving and then the next year we’re with them for Christmas.  And J’s family is on the opposite schedule.  That way we aren’t having to drive back and forth for each holiday.  This year we’re with J’s family for Christmas.  So we’ll be headed out of town to celebrate with them for the long Christmas weekend.

There are lots to do between now and Christmas, like buying gifts, wrapping them, visiting with family as they come into town, friends coming over, and so on.  So your household is going to be buzzing.  You might think it’s going to be hard to keep on top of everything, but with a little planning you can make it happen.  

One of the things that always seems to fall to the side during those busy weeks is cleaning. It’s just so easy to put off sweeping and dusting when you have more pressing things to get done.  But who doesn’t want a cleaner house during the holidays? 

It’s hard having dogs, a baby and a busy schedule to keep the house under control. You try to break it up so you do a little each night, but when you don’t get home until late after a long day the last thing you want to do is scrub the toilets (am I right?). So then you’re left with cleaning the whole house, catching up on laundry and running errands during the weekend.

This year, it’s going to be different.  Let’s vow to take the stress off our weekends.  ‘Let’s spend 15 minutes or less night for the next 12 nights to have your house and your Christmas gifts ready for the big day.

Are you ready for the plan? Start the 12 Days of Christmas Cleaning tonight and then each weeknight work on the assigned tasks.  This schedule should have you finished with everything on Friday, December 22nd. Perfect.

12 days of Christmas cleaning schedule

You’ll notice each day focuses on one room in your house.  So you don’t have to feel scattered going from room-to-room.  Just stick to your assigned room, get everything done on your list and then relax the rest of the night. You’ll notice the closer you get to Christmas is when you’re start working on the rooms where guests will be in.  For us, we want to make sure we clean our kitchen and family room last since that’s where people tend to congregate while there over. You can download your 12 Days of Christmas Schedule or click the image above.

Bonus Tip: Make a reminder in your calendar so you don’t forget after the little one goes to bed.

Upgrading To A Big Boy Room | Starlight Baby Giveaway

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At what age do you change the theme of your baby’s nursery? When we first decorated Dent’s room, we made a very big effort to make sure we didn’t have to completely re-do every choice as he grew.  We made a few changes here and there to make the room easier to use and better for playtime. For instance, the perfect area rug was not quite perfect. No matter what anti-slider mats, stickers, glue, whatever we bought the darn thing slid everywhere.  It was such a hassle and a trip hazard on those late night feedings. 

We quickly took out the rug and never replaced it.  We also added room darkening curtains for those mid-day naps. A while back I created some wall art for his room. Do you know what’s great about making my own pieces?  When it’s time to change them out then it’s really simple.

Recently I’ve been thinking we need to upgrade a few pieces to make it more of a big boy room and instead of a baby room.  Now don’t get me wrong I am no where near ready to switch out for a toddler bed… and neither is Dent.  But I think we could do a few things to the walls to help the room grow with our boy.  I found these whimsical dinosaur vinyl wall decals from Starlight Baby and just fell in love.  They are absolutely perfect for our son’s room.

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You can watch the video of my first thoughts on the vinyl wall decals and what his new big boy looks like below or online:

James from Starlight Baby reached out to me and offered one of my readers a chance for a $60 store credit.  I couldn’t believe it. I love the idea of bringing such a great giveaway to you just in time for Christmas.  They have so many great decals, clothes, and more for your little one.  Starlight Baby offers something rare on their wall decals – they will customize the color for you.  If you have a color code from a paint color, wall art or any item then they can custom print your decals to match.  You just send the color code or color idea to them and they will work with you to make it happen.  How cool?! I love their customer service!

Enter the giveaway below. If you want to go ahead and check out Starlight Baby’s store, head on over.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I did receive the wall decals for free in exchange for my review.  However, the opinions are 100% my own.

My Thoughts on ShadowSense and MakeSense | Are They Worth the Price?

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Now don’t get too excited – it’s not everyday you get two posts from me in such a short time period. I was just too eager to share my latest reviews with you and didn’t want to wait until after the weekend.  Earlier today, I shared my review of LipSense that my friend Heather let me try out.

Well, the good news is she also let me try ShadowSense and MakeSense foundation, too.  Yep! I got to try it all.  In all transparency, I did receive a tester of each product to try; however, I gave the testers back to Heather since she uses those in demos and at parties.  I did not receive compensation for this review or even free product.  I was simply asked to try it, which is what I have done.

Let’s start off with ShadowSense.

It’s a liquid cream to powder eyeshadow from SeneGence (the makers of LipSense).  It claims to be long lasting and their site talks about how you can blend with other colors before it sets.  I was given the Pink Opal Shimmer to try out.  

You can watch my application and review online or down below:

Have you tried ShadowSense?  What did you think?  I really liked it.  I typically use drugstore and Morphe products, which I love.  The last time I used a cream shadow, it dried and started to look flaky.  ShadowSense wasn’t like that at all.  Once it was dried, it felt nice and my eyelids didn’t feel tight – if that makes sense.  The cost is $22.00 for one tube and I could see a tube lasting quite awhile.  I barely applied any and my lids were covered. 

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Do I think it’s worth the investment? 

This is a tough one.  Back in the day before kids, before marriage and before budgeting I would have easily spent the money.  I would have totally thought it was worth it too.  Nowadays when bills are more expensive and money is more tight it would be hard to justify the cost.  However, if I could catch a good sale from Heather then I may jump at the chance to buy one.  

Next, let’s talk about MakeSense their foundation.

Again, I was given a tester to try (not even a full-sized bottle) and give my thoughts on it.  Since it was a tester, I was a little lighter on my application.  Basically I had a bare spot on my side and chin to try it on.  My chin and nose always seems to be a little more red tinted than the rest of my face so I thought it would be a good place to try.  I was given the tester in Fawn, which ended up being perfect for me.  

I was a little nervous since it looked darker in the tube and I am so, so pale, but it worked out great.  I will say that $50.00 for one foundation is a little steep for me.  Again, back in the day I wouldn’t have blinked an eye at the cost, but these days I have to be more careful.  I liked the coverage and to me it was more of a medium-coverage than full.  I prefer full coverage like my Covergirl and Maybelline are; however, this one went on so much smoother than my everyday foundation.  

You can watch my review of MakeSense online or down below:

What foundation do you use? Would you be willing to try MakeSense?

 

My First Attempt At LipSense and My Honest Review

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Lipstick hasn’t always been a huge part of my everyday makeup routine until recently. I found some great nude colors that I have fallen in love with. The only problem is how it just doesn’t last very long. I put it on at 7 in the morning and by my first appointment at 9 I’m already having to reapply. It’s kind of a hassle.

I even tried a few extra steps to help make it last longer, but to no avail. You know the extra steps – liner, concealer around the lips, powder over the lips, and gloss. It just didn’t help. It just added more time to my morning, time that I didn’t really need to be spending in the bathroom.  But I love the look of lipstick.  

Have you tried LipSense before? It’s a two-step long lasting lip color. It’s supposedly waterproof, kiss-proof and smudge proof.

I have wanted to try it SOOOOO bad! My friend Heather of Mermaid Kisses is an avid fan of LipSense and asked if I would be willing to give it a try. Of course I said yes. I have been eyeing this supposedly smudge-proof, long lasting lipstick for awhile. I’m going to be honest though the price tag kind of threw me off a bit. But I kept thinking about it, wondering how well it worked and if it was actually worth the price.  

So when Heather asked me if I would be willing to give it a try – I jumped!  You can watch the video of my first attempt at LipSense and my review of what I think of it.  

Watch online or down below:

If you would like to give LipSense a try – feel free to check out Heather’s Facebook page.  She runs some great deals.

What is LipSense?

It’s a liquid lipstick from SeneGence, which is a multi-level marketing company.  It boasts long wear capability – 18 hours through drinking, eating, kissing, etc.

The cost is $25 for color, $20 for a gloss (which you need to make it long lasting), and $10 remover.  Most of the consultants run specials and deals on a regular basis, so you can probably shop around for a pretty good price.

The company also sells a line of other makeup products – like eyeshadows, blushes and more.  They also have skincare items, too.

Does it last all day?

Not really.  It did last close to 10 hours with eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner, kissing our little boy (a lot), talking to clients, and running errands. I wasn’t even disappointed that it didn’t last 18 hours like they said it would.  If I think about my average day, I don’t need my makeup to last 18 hours. My typical day is about 10 hours from the time I’m out the door until I get back home, so by the end of the day my lips have lost some of the color. If I would have religiously applied the gloss then I might have gotten longer wear out of it, but after dinner out I was ready to go home and put on sweats.

How did it make my lips feel?

It actually made my lips feel amazing. This time of year is the worst for dry, cracked lips that seem to last until Spring. After wearing LipSense, my lips started feeling smoother. 

Is LipSense worth the price tag?

… This one I’m torn on. I am someone who doesn’t shy away from makeup and love a simple routine that lasts all day. I would love to have maybe 2 or 3 more colors for those long days of meetings and needing to look more put together. Since they seem to last for quite awhile, I don’t think I would need more than that to switch up my look from day-to-day.  I’m pretty sure one of these tubes will last me a long time. 

Sure there are other long lasting lipsticks out there and I’ve tried a lot of them. Some are great and some … not so much. Maybe I’ll work on a post reviewing my favorite ones and the ones that didn’t make the cut.  So if the price tag scares you, wait around for some good deals from a local distributor like Heather.

I took pictures from the day to show you how it lasted:

7am – put it on about 30 minutes earlier.

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9am – getting ready to go into my first meeting and I have not re-applied the gloss.

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11am – Finishing up some reports and I re-applied the gloss about 30 minutes earlier.

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1pm – Just finished lunch and re-applied after eating.  The color is still staying strong!

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5pm – Re-applied the gloss again before meeting people for dinner.  After dinner I headed home so I no longer cared what it looked like.

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I was also able to try out their ShadowSense and MakeSense foundation, too.  Read my review on those two products to see if I think they are worth the investment.

I received a LipSense color and gloss free to try, but did not keep the testers. This post is 100% my own opinion.