Mommin' It Up!

October 18, 2013

What I Wore: Fun Fall Fashion

This week, I had the chance to be whisked to far-away Cincinnati for a meeting with a new group I’m thrilled to have joined, the Pampers Baby Board. I’ll tell you a little bit more about my trip next week, but first things first: what did I wear!??!? Since I rarely have the occasion to really dress up at home, I had a great time putting some outfits together. Happily, I just had a birthday, so I had some great things available to wear, and my friends at Lands’ End stepped into offer me a few more. Here’s how I put some outfits together with things I already owned as well as some fabulous new fall Lands’ End items.

Here I am at home getting ready to head to Cincy. I had on something new – this gorgeous Lands’ End corduroy tunic and scarf, with something old – jeans and Lands’ End leather boots I already owned. I absolutely love the look and feel of the tunic. It has a really cute keyhole neck and the color and fit are really flattering.

The first night out we had a fancy dinner to attend, and I love the chance to dress up! I decided to add something to the pink dress and shoes I wore to Mom 2.0 to make it appropriate for fall. This polka dot supima cardigan was just what I needed! It’s so soft and comfy, but looks dressy, too. Plus I can wear it with jeans, cords, or anything else in addition to this dress! I wore with with some Lands’ End pearls I’ve had for a couple of years and I love the way it all came together!

I absolutely looooove Lands’ End cords, so I wanted to get a pair to dress up for this trip in a style I hadn’t tried before. I got these fit 1 corduroy ankle pants and I of course LOVE them. They are so comfy and warm, and they look really sharp. They paired perfectly with yet another Supima cardigan. This time I went for leopard so I could wear it with these fab leopard Lands’ End flats I already owned. (I couldn’t get them in the picture, I didn’t have anyone to be my photographer!) I finished the outfit up with a patent Lands’ End belt I’ve had for awhile, too. I really felt great in this outfit!

Finally, it was time to go home. I was ready to go home comfy but still stylin’ of course! I wore all Lands’ End items I already had or had gotten for my birthday, including this fabulous print scarf, jeans, and tee. (These are my favorite tees and I have a bazillion of them!) The cardigan is from last year and I wish I had gotten it in more colors because I wear the HECK out of it!

I had so much fun putting outfits together for the trip! Thanks, Lands’ End for allowing me to pick out a few new things to mix with the old!

What’s your favorite thing I wore? Do you get the chance to dress up often?

October 18, 2013October 21, 2013

It’s National School Lunch Week!

lunchday — This post is sponsored by the School Nutrition Association, but was written by me alone.

When my Sophie started kindergarten, she was slightly obsessed with lunch. I guess it was the novelty of chowing down with a group of her peers, or perhaps the excitement of the free time to socialize. Even though she’s not a huge eater, it is still definitely her favorite part of the school day. She came home those first couple of weeks excited to tell me who was a “packer” and who was a “buyer”, how much lunch cost, what you did with your lunch money when you got to school, and which teacher had been on lunch duty that day. And of course, she also filled me in on the menu.

As parents, we are of course all concerned that our kids have healthy lunch options available to them at school. When Jonah starts preschool in January at our local public school, he will be eating breakfast there because he will be in morning preschool, but if he were in the afternoon class he’d be eating lunch – and either way, since he has food allergies, I’m obviously going to have questions and concerns to go over with the school nutrition staff when he starts school. It’s important to have a dialogue between parents and school staff when it comes to the food our kids are being served there. That’s why the School Nutrition Association and Kiwi Magazine are once again partnering on National Take Your Parents to Lunch Day during National School Lunch Week this year.

Mom & daughter enjoying Take Your Parents to Lunch Day at Sayler Park Elementary in Cincinnati

Take Your Parents to Lunch Day is a day where parents can not only eat lunch with their kids at school, but a chance for them to learn about what goes into making their kids’ school lunch healthy, and it’s a great chance for them to talk to their kids about healthy eating habits at every meal. It’s also the perfect time for parents to ask questions and learn from their kids’ school lunch providers and take time to learn about the government standards for school lunches (which underwent big changes in 2012).

Yesterday, Cincinnati public schools participated in National Take Your Parents to Lunch Day in every single one of their elementary schools. Parents from all over the district got the chance to spend some time with their kids and with the people who work to give them a healthy lunch each school day. But it wasn’t just about the food – these families also got the chance to talk to each other and to school officials about what goes into a healthy school lunch and why it’s important to make healthy choices in every meal of the day, and snacks, too!

Roberts Academy Elementary in Cincinnati

More parents checking out lunch at Roberts Academy Elementary

Even if your child’s school isn’t hosting a Take Your Parents to Lunch Day, it’s still important for you to be informed about what’s going into their lunches and why. Do you have questions? There’s an awesome Lunch Day Toolkit you can download at MyHealthySchool.com. It’s packed full of information on what the requirements are for a healthy school meal, and has great conversation starters to facilitate dialogue between you and your school’s food service provider. And since your food service provider isn’t the only one you need to talk to about healthy eating, there are conversation starters for you and your kiddos, too.

Sayler Park Elementary 1 — A fun family lunch at Salyer Park Elementary

If you want your school to host a Take Your Parents to Lunch Day next year, check out these great tips for getting your school involved!

Did your kids school participate in Take Your Parents to Lunch Day? What are your biggest concerns about the lunches they are served at school, and have you talked to school officials about them? I’d love to hear your experiences in the comment.

October 14, 2013October 14, 2013

#doyourmakeup: The Best and Worst Drugstore Eye Shadow

What’s up makeup lovers? Since my Great Mascara Compara-thon was such a success, I’ve decided to move on to the other main makeup essentials as well and tell you what’s hot and what’s not at the drugstore. Today’s edition, as you might have guessed from the snappy title of this post: eye shadow!

Just like I did with the mascaras, I’ll rate these drugstore divas on an A-F school scale. Here we go!

Almay intense i-color™ trios

These babies come in three different incarnations: smoky-i, shimmer-i, and bold nudes, and the palettes are grouped by eye color. I’ve tried a couple of different sets (and not just for my eye color, either) and I think they’re great. You can use them as shown (eye shadow for dummies! Yay!) or go crazy and apply the color any place on your eye that you please. I’ve also used some shades from these palettes to mix with other eye shadows to get just the look I want. Bottom line – they are excellent. They are very pigmented, but not so much that it’s easy to over-do it, and they blend really nicely and stay on well. I give these Almay shadows an A!

Almay intense i-color™ shadow stick

Like their powdery siblings, these shadow sticks are marketed in different combos for blue, brown, green, and hazel eyes. I only have the one pictured above, for blues, but I loo-oo-ooove it. This is perfect for someone who doesn’t want to fuss a lot with their makeup or needs to get out the door quick. Because it’s a creamy shadow, you don’t need to wear primer with it. You just apply the lighter color all over the lid and the darker color in the crease and you’re done! It’s easy to blend with your finger and it stays put all day. I haven’t had any creasing problems with this one, either. This is so easy and looks so nice it’s tempting to wear every day. I give it an A+! My only caveat is that I don’t particularly care for the other color combos – they’re not bad, but they wouldn’t be good for every day wear like the one for blues is.

Revlon PhotoReady Shadow + Primer

I have two of these kits, and I’m kind of on the fence about them. There are pros and cons. The pros: built-in primer which works well and sparkle top coat which is fun to have as an option. It is a lot of product in one little palette. It also blends very well, and also has the “for dummies” setup which tells you how to apply it. The real con of these sets is that they are a little too powdery – a little goes a loooong way, and it’s hard to get just the right amount so that you don’t have excess everywhere. They stay on well, though so with a little practice and figuring out how much you need, you might find these sets to be a keeper. I like mine but I probably won’t go out of my way to buy more. I give this a solid B.

Revlon ColorStay 16-hour eye shadow

I have two of these palettes, the one pictured above (which has some shimmer) and another set that is matte. I absolutely LOVE them both *but* the shimmery one is much easier to blend. I’d have to try more mattes and shimmers to see if that’s the case across the board, but even then, it’s not a big enough deal to keep me from recommending these. The color really does STAY, and the shades are really true-to-color, the pigment is just right, and it holds up great after hours of wear. Revlon is always on sale at CVS so if you’re in the market for some new shadows I really recommend these when they’re on sale – you can get a few and be set! I give them an A.

/4/” target=”_blank”>Milani Cosmetics Shadow Eyez 12 hour wear shadow pencil

I have a weird relationship with these eye pencils. I love their highly pigmented, creamy color, but I hate that there’s just ONE color for the money! I guess I’m just cheap like that. Nevertheless, this is a good product. (I don’t like the name though. Eyez? Come on.) The color is really bright and intense and it definitely stays on well and blends well with your finger. I can definitely live without it, though, so I’m going to give it an B+.

CoverGirl Flamed Out Shadow Pencil

When it come to this eye shadow pencil, I take back what I said about being bummed that it’s only one color for the $$. This is a great product! It’s more like a cream-gel combo and it works well as a liner too – it stays put well enough to be used as liner. Plus, it feels good on. It has a cooling effect or something. I love it. I will definitely be buying more. I give it an A+.

CoverGirl Smoky ShadowBlast

I really wanted to love this as much as I loved the Almay shadow stick, but…I don’t. It’s just a little too…goopy. It doesn’t stay put, the darker color bleeds onto the lighter color, etc. I don’t mind wearing the lighter color on its own, (it has a lovely shimmer) but I don’t think I’ll be buying another one of these. I give it a C.

CoverGirl Eye Enhancers

These CoverGirl shadows, though they just have one color, are reasonably priced, which I appreciate. Grab a couple in some neutral colors and you’re set! They aren’t quite as pigmented as I’d like, and they aren’t as smooth, either – but they blend well stay put, and they’re a good value for the money. I give them a solid B.

L’Oreal Colour Riche Eye shadow

Ooh la la, I love these L’Oreal Paris Colour Riche eyeshadow quads! The colors are shimmery and go on smooth and blend really well. They stay on great, too. My only beef with L’Oreal is that it is pricier than other brands and although I love this, I don’t love it enough to buy it over the Revlon ColorStay, so what I’m saying is, bust out some more coupons and sales, L’Oreal! But, great job on the eye shadow. It gets an A.

Wet ‘n Wild Coloricon™ Eyeshadow Trio

I have two of these and one of the larger sets and they are fantastic. They are not my #1 fave, but for the price, they might as well be! You can get 2-3 of these for the cost of some of the other sets, and the quality is fab. They stay on great, go on smooth, blend well, etc. I have a very neutral set called “Walking on Eggshells” and I could get away with wearing it every day for the rest of my life, and it’s only $2.99. Fer realz! It gets an A!

And finally…

Physicians’ Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Eye-Enhancing Shadow & Liner Palettes

This, my friends, is the palette I would take with me to a desert island if I could only take one eye makeup item. I have the Nude Eyes (pictured above) and the Smoky Eyes palettes and they are both faaaaabulous! There are 9 different shades in each one from which you can create tons of looks. And, the shadow really does stay on well if you use it as liner. These shades are shimmery and blend well and stay on well. They really just glow. They are my absolute favorite! They are a little pricey so watch out for a sale! I got mine BOGO free at Rite Aid plus there were $2 coupons attached to them, so I majorly scored. These are wonderful palettes, if you don’t want to own a trunkful of eye shadow like ahem, some people, go buy one of these and you’ll be set for a long time. I can’t even express how much I love these! They get an A+! Belle of the eye shadow ball!

Well, that’s IT – if you can believe it! I’ll make sure and update this post as I try new product. Have you tried any of these before? Which is your favorite? What are some other eye shadows you recommend that I try?

Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram to see all my #doyourmakeup looks every single day!