If you follow along on Instagram you may have seen that I’m traveling for the weekend for my sisters’ *surprise location* bachelorette trip! We have all anxiously been looking forward to it and I can’t believe it’s already happening.
I also can’t believe her wedding is coming so soon! It’s going to be the most beautiful wedding on the planet, I’m convinced.
Cuyana was kind enough to send me a few bags that are perfect for this trip and a few other trips I have planned this summer (pictured above). They are such beautiful bags, and have made packing a little bit more fun and MUCH more effective. Honestly, for a long time I was using a gallon ziplock bag. It got the job done, but it was pretty much a disaster of everything thrown into one huge bag. I like that these smaller bags have forced me to become a bit more thoughtful about what I pack and how I pack it.
I clicked on this post about organization and subsequently clicked over to these purse organizers and ordered one in a matter of minutes. I’ll let you know if it’s as good as it seems it will be! Also this looks like a great thing to have if you do a lot of traveling!
This post was sponsored by Amazon, all opinions are my own.
I was talking to my future brother in law a few weeks ago about something and this exact sentence came out of my mouth:
“The efficiency that runs through my heart was dying a little bit.”
I can’t remember what it was about, but as soon as I actually heard those words come out of my mouth I knew I was revealing a truly strong part of my personality. I’ve always valued being on time, or usually 10 minutes early, to appointments or meetings or even casual playdates. I think part of that is my personality, and part of that is working in a very time constrained industry for about 10 years before I switched to writing the blog full time. I did hair in a private studio where I was the stylist, receptionist, assistant, cleaner, product supplier, scheduler, etc. It was only me and I ran the show. I loved it that way.
And I carefully planned out my day to work like a well oiled machine, and late clients would throw that machine off from time to time.
My life has only gotten busier and less prone to a schedule with kids, but I still value efficiency! I’ll admit there are times that I have to stop myself from multi-tasking and it takes a real pep talk! So, the more I’m typing this out the more I’m sounding like I’m obsessed with structure and planning and timeliness but the truth is that other than being on time, those other qualities do not come naturally to me!
So I need to set up specific systems that can help my day/life run smoothly so I can focus on the things I want to focus on.
Let me introduce you to the hub of our home:
The kitchen. I live here. It’s the most used room in our home and whenever the boys cannot find me, they come looking for me here. And Luke has been on a major “I need a snaaaacckkkk mamaaaaaa” kick for about a year or so, so he lives here too.
And the second hub is right outside our garage door:
This is where all the things that we need on a regular basis are stored. It’s easy to pop right out into the garage and grab something, and I love that it isn’t all piled in a dark hall closet.
My newest addition to this area are my Amazon Dash buttons. Have you heard of theses? Not only are they cool, they save so much time and make life a bit more efficient, which we all know speaks directly to my heart. Amazon Dash buttons are the fastest and easiest way to order your essentials. All you do is purchase the button, which pays for itself via a credit after the first use, link it to your amazon account, and place it in a convenient location. When you see you are running low on one of your household essentials, you can simply click the button and your products are ordered.
THAT’S ALL YOU DO!
You’ll get a notification from Amazon that an order was placed, so you don’t have to worry about any random orders going through without you noticing, and you’ll be restocking your necessities in no time.
I strategically placed mine where the kids cannot easily reach them because I can only imagine how many times they would click those buttons, but I can also pop them off the wall and let them press a button as a way to help me. They both love being given a task to do to help, especially David. And he thinks it’s pretty cool to press the Bounty button and then watch for the delivery man just a few days later arrive with a big box of paper towels.
Right now, Amazon is running a promo for $0.99 Dash buttons! You can’t beat that price! And take it from me, these buttons took at least 4 things off my mental checklist of household things to keep track of, and there are so many more to choose from too.
You can find a full list of the Dash buttons here and make sure you enter promo code “DASHMOMS” in at checkout to get them at the low price. The promotion runs from 6/19-6/26/2017.
I’ve been scrolling through all the Dash buttons to find more to stick in various parts of my home and I’d love to hear which ones you are looking at for your home too. Let me know in the comments!
I tend to go a bit lighter with my makeup in the summertime for a few reasons. It’s pretty hot and humid where I live, so a full face of makeup can feel suffocating after a few hours. Also, I don’t want to cover up the natural glow and freckles that come with being in the sun for a bit! I always wear sunscreen, but my freckles always pop out dramatically around my nose and upper lip!
The one cosmetic I never skimp on, though, is lipstick. And I thought I’d show you how any shade, bold or soft, can go with a light and neutral makeup look. Here are a few tips:
Don’t skip your eyebrows (ever). If you are going lighter around the eye area, make sure you fill in your eyebrows as needed! This looks like a great kit!
Apply a bit of eyeshadow (shade is Ashes to Ashes by NARS) under your eye instead of liner. This is my favorite way to make my eyes look bigger and rounder, without the severity of a line.
Choose a neutral blush (shade is Sex Appeal), or just pick up your bronzer! You never want your blush to compete with your lipstick, so opting for a neutral brownish or super soft pink is the easiest way to add some dimension to your face. I look back in horror at times I was wearing a ton of blush and a strong lip. Don’t be like me.
You should know by now that I love browsing the beauty section at Nordstrom. They are always great about sampling products for you if you have questions, and I love the variety of brands they offer as well.
I’m wearing one eyeshadow color all over my lid, and the same shade along my lower lash line. I picked up a tiny bit of a charcoal brown to press into my upper lash line, but otherwise that was it for the eyeshadow. I focused on mascara for bold lashes, and added an extra coat to my lower lashes as well.
The peach shade of lipstick (shade Nude Beach) is perfect for an easy daytime look. Everything is pretty neutral and warm. This makeup would look great with a bright sundress!
A bright pink works too since it’s the focal point of the face! I love this watermelon pink shade for summer.
