Links + Loves
Sweat-friendly makeup
MAN it’s been a minute since I’ve rounded up some links + loves for y’all. Summer has been great! The boys are so fun, Luke is turning into a real jokester. And I love being able to have real sensible conversations with David. He’s getting more and more imaginative when we play, which is really fun to see. I spend my days with both of them, but I do love when Luke wakes up before David, or when Luke goes to bed before David because I get to spend a little bit of time with each of them one on one. Luke and I usually play downstairs when it’s just the two of us, and David and I set up camp in the playroom upstairs by all his trucks and trains. He meticulously loads as many cars as he can on his transporter truck and then there are usually a few crashes that require his tow truck.
Luke and I read books or wrestle on the floor or couch. Or we enjoy a snack–he loves to eat!
Onto the links!
Somehow I discovered Niomi Smart on YouTube and she’s just a literal delight. She’s already very popular so I’m sure I’m the last one to discover her, but I just enjoy watching her! She is vegan/vegetarian/not sure which she would call herself, and very into health, fitness and beauty! Plus she’s got the best accent. Anyway, I appreciate her tone and the conversational manner of her videos. It seems like more and more Youtube videos are just click-bait type titles, but she keeps it real.
I’ve been jonesin’ for a white mani and apparently these are 7 of the best.
I could learn a lot from this article about single-tasking.
Have you seen Starbucks’ new Granitas? I’m quite temped!
It doesn’t get more classic than this in the summertime.
BRIGHT drugstore lipstick dupes!
Well this is the prettiest blush pink watch!
Lastly, my mom found the recipe for this yummy skillet cookie a few weeks ago and you must promise me that you’ll make it this weekend. It’s so soft, so delicious, and is great for a large group to dig into after a cookout.
Have a lovely weekend!
comments
I was just asking around for a good white polish! Thanks for reading my mind Kate the great! Have you tried any of them??
Love the link for the pretty pink lipsticks!! Oh I wish I could wear them! But as a fair skinned redhead I’ve always been told pink lipstick is not on my color pallet. So does anyone have any suggestions for bright, pretty, summer lip colors for redheads?
Love the blog Kate!!
Thanks!
Hi Kate!
Just wanted to wish YOU and YOUR family lovely weekend as well! Thank you for always brightening up your reader’s day, and reminding us that life is still beautiful, and that we are still blessed, in a world full of such sadness at times.
I appreciate your work, your dedication to your readers and positive look on life.
Your faithful reader.
Ah the skillet cookie looks delish!
Hey Kate, Thanks so much for including my lipstick dupes post in your roundup! I LOVE your blog especially your makeup tutorials and advice!! 🙂
Loved the article about single-tasking! That explains why I’m so tired at the end of the day. The post also linked to another about slow parenting which is now my new goal.
I’ve been thinking about your new “athleisure” style, as that word describes my day-to-day home with kids style perfectly. Have you ever tried fabletics? I’ve thought about it so many times, but have yet to pull the trigger.
I’ve tried Fabletics once, and I was very disappointed. Their sizing is bananas. I pretty much always wear a medium bottom and small top, so I ordered that at Fabletics. The pants are uncomfortably tight, and the top is enormous. I returned the top for an extra small, and it’s still huge. I really prefer Athleta – it’s a little more expensive, but great quality and consistent sizing.
Thanks, Jennifer!
Yes, athlete is great and they also have a work out guarantee. You can wear it a couple times and if you don’t like it, still return it.
*Athleta
That watch, ooooohhhhhhh my, so pretty. I’m not huge on leather wrist watches because I’m a sweaty freak, but one could make an exception for that!
Your boys are so cute I just want to hug them!
Wouldn’t this sentence be considered clickbate?
“It doesn’t get more classic than this in the summertime.”
I do really dislike when bloggers do this. It’s bad enough when I know it’s going to be an affiliate link for a product, but at first glance, I thought this was going to be a popsicle recipe or something. In this case, it would’ve been much better if Kate had said, “It doesn’t get more classic than this linen tank in the summertime.” 1) I would know the link is an affiliate link (even though it’s not disclosed in the post) and 2) I at least have some idea of what the link goes to. I understand affiliate links, but I wish more bloggers clearly disclosed them in every post. I believe the FTC requires disclosures to be clear and located close to the triggering item (i.e. affiliate link), not on a separate disclosure page. Kate has hers on her sidebar, but it’s buried beneath a bunch of ads and her archives. You could actually read through this entire post without even getting to the disclosure. I understand bloggers should get paid, and it makes sense for them to get a cut of the proceeds if a company sells 200 shirts because people saw it on Kate’s page, I just wish the disclsoures were clearer – this goes for 99% of blogs I read, not just Kate’s btw
Your boys are adorable! Glad your enjoying summer with them! I love bright colored lipsticks and am always looking for cheaper dupes 🙂
http://www.thebeautydojo.com
I’ve been seeing white manicure’s popping up everywhere and always think they look so cute, but can imagine getting a good opaque white polish is anything but easy…thanks for the link!
Keep enjoying summer with your little dudes!
I cannot get the watch link to open 🙁 what kind is it???
A little bit off subject from your blog post ?(SORRY!!!) but my comment has to do with your Snapchat today (Friday -6/17) in response to your meal kits: It sounds like you possibly have a hard time trying to decide what to make or lack ingredients when it comes time to make dinner in the afternoons?? I’ve always been afraid to try the meal kits – what if we don’t like the meal? What if it isn’t enough to feed all of us even though the packaging said it will? What if the ingredients spoiled in transit? Too many “what ifs” for my comfort level. One trick I use to make things super simple is designate a theme for each night of the week.
M – Winter = SOUP / salad / bread
Summer = SHRIMP scampi / salad / bread (quick & easy)
T – TACOS – every single week – ground beef tacos + mexican rice + refried beans + chips & salsa ** sometimes they are pulled pork, sometimes fish, sometimes shredded chicken
W – FISH – balsamic glazed salmon (15min in the oven!!) + jasmine rice + steamed peas
R – MEAT – crockpot chicken legs / mashed potatoes / green beans
*prep in the morning, the chicken cooks all day and makes the house smell delicious, then 30 minutes before dinner, I boil potatoes, cook the green beans, and whip up a creamy gravy from the chicken drippings (an alternative would be turkey meatloaf muffins)
F – PIZZA – order a pizza from the local place + salad / carrots & celery + fresh fruit
Sat – EASY PEASY = CROCKPOT / GRILL
Sat is a busy day for us with music lessons most of the morning – I use the CROCKPOT in the Winter – pot roast, soups, chili, etc., and our GRILL in the Summer – hamburgers, hot dogs, steaks, etc.
Sun – Lunch = EAT OUT – support a local, family-owned deli
Sun – Dinner = PASTA – spaghetti & meatballs / lasagna / baked penne pasta + salad
**Yes, I know this is eating out twice in one day, but trying to meal prep and get two kids ready for Sunday School can wreck havoc on my mood. My kids are little musicians, so they need to practice a bit before we leave the house for church. Sunday school starts at 9:30. we have a 35-40 minute drive to church. Yeah. For everyone’s peace of mind, we eat out for lunch after church. I try to make lunch at home at least twice each month though – something simple – grilled cheese, chicken salad sandwiches, quesadillas.
An easy peasy meal plan that repeats every week will actually make budgeting your calories and keeping track of what you are eating easier, believe it or not. I had no idea our favorite pizza has SO many calories until I started tracking everything, or that I needed to increase the serving size for our salmon. Now, I know I need to order cheese pizza, and round that meal out with a big salad instead of tons of unhealthy toppings.
My point is: When you have little ones, don’t be afraid to simplify. They won’t know the difference if you serve the same dish every Tuesday. Your husband might ?, but in my experience, if there is a hot meal when my husband gets home, he rarely complains. Life is busy now, but it will continue to get busy in different ways as your kids grow. Toddlers are running around the house now, but soon it will be little league and soccer practice! You tell yourself when they get in school things will slow down a bit, but trust me, there are always things going on when you have kids! You could be PTA president or go back to work, or be recruited to work in your child’s classroom every afternoon – you’d be surprised how busy a “stay at home” mom is when her kids are in school – and this doesn’t include cleaning, laundry, general errands, grocery shopping, pet care, etc. etc. etc. This way of planning has helped me get dinner on the table 98% of the time. Sure, there will always be a day when you are sick, forgot an ingredient, were busy running errands and got home late, life got in the way, etc., but this is a plan that I don’t have to think about. I say to myself, “hmm, It’s Tuesday, oh yeah, tacos!”. Nine times out of ten you have most of the ingredients and they are easy basics to shop for at the grocery store. You aren’t repeating dishes over the course of the week, so they shouldn’t get too boring. When you are sick of ground beef tacos, swap to fish tacos, when you are sick of chicken legs, make meatloaf, etc. I have two kids and have been doing this since my second child was born. No one complains. Make yourself a list of 7 dishes that you can cook confidently. They should be relatively easy without too many ingredients. Choose a side or two to complement each meal. If you prefer to eat out a few nights each week, pick 5 meals or 3 meals. Pick a starting point for the number of days you plan to cook dinner and go from there. We have a little dry erase board on the fridge with 7 spaces that I use for meal planning. If one of us has a conflict, we write it in and Mom is off the hook for cooking. My husband hates leftovers, but the kids don’t mind them. If he works late, the kids and I eat leftovers or make something simple (grilled cheese & tomato soup / homemade waffles & bacon / cheese quesadillas / etc.) I grocery shop on Monday or Tuesday mornings as soon as the store opens (Tuesday is better if I need a lot of fresh produce). I do 95% of our shopping at Trader Joe’s. I have a list on my phone in Evernote of the ingredients I use every week. I copy that list and paste it onto a new “note” using the Notes app on my iphone. I delete the items I already have, add any special items or staples I’m out of, and use that list at the store. [I keep the master list in Evernote and just copy and paste each time I go to the store]. If my husband is going to the store for me, I text the list to him.
When my first child was a baby / toddler, I always tried to complicate things by fixing fancy recipes, hunting for new recipes each week, or waiting to decide what to make for dinner until the last minute, needing to run over to the grocery store, then rushing through the cooking steps, with my very patient but hungry husband breathing down my neck for his dinner and a screaming baby in the highchair = not fun. 10 years later, I’ve honed my meal management skills and just wanted to pass along a little “one Mom to the next” knowledge. Simplify it!! ? Thanks so much for sharing your life with your followers. It is nice to know we’re not in this Mom game alone!
I do something very similar. Mondays are meatless, taco Tuesdays, soup/salad/sandwiches on Wednesday, pasta Thursdays, pizza Fridays, and Saturdays and Sundays are for crockpot meals or anything that takes a lot of time. I plan my meals on Sunday mornings, grocery shop, and prep everything that day. I work during the week, so this way I just come home and throw everything together. So much easier. It’s also cut down on our eating out, which is healthier and cheaper. We did Blue Apron once (free trial), and I will saw, the ingredients were incredibly fresh. The recipes we got were ok, but it can be a good way to try new types of food or recipes you never would’ve done otherwise because they provide you with all the ingredients. That said, I think it’s way too expensive and wasteful for my family, and I takes too long to prep and cook everything during the week.
Your boys are too cute!!! I knew that cookie was from Dalky’s Baking Addiction!!!! I LOVE her recipes! Almost all I bake is from her site or cookbooks ❤️
I love your rug! Where is it from? Ive been hunting online but can’t seem to find it.
Great YouTube recommendation – thanks!
I made the skillet cookie recipe today and it was incredibly yummy to me and my family! My little boy was impressed by the size alone ? Thanks for sharing!
Love the article, you have beautiful kids 🙂 I definitely want to try that cookie recipe! Great work, thanks for sharing.
Osiarah xx
http://www.osiarah.com
I LOVE Niomi Smart- glad you discovered her too! You should also check out Anna Saccone. I think you would like her!
The ad videos on your page are making the page jump all around for me. I can’t stay in a spot because if I’m not near the video the page takes me back to the ad. I’ve already had to scroll down again a few times to the bottom just to write this. Ughgghhhhhh Please make it stop.
Off topic– just wondering what bottles you use for Luke?
Southern Curls and Pearls is one of my fave blogs!! She’s amazing!!!
Mel | http://www.thegossipdarling.com