10/28/16

Eyebrows - A Love Story

Once upon a time I had the saddest eyebrows on earth. 

Not only were they so blonde you could barely see them, they were also basically non-existent. 


I have not plucked my eyebrows since HIGH SCHOOL people, and yet hair just refuses to grow.

(I know I could really use some eyelash extensions, too. But they are so high maintenance!)


Enter... McCall Perkinson and her microblading magic!





Isn't she amazing!?!?

Look at those brows!! Don't mind my nasty pores and red face. (While we're there, any solutions for a red face?? I don't have much acne, I'm just sooo red without makeup!) But anyways, brows! It seriously looks like a hundred little hairs! I have no idea how it works - something to do with cutting the skin and adding color - but it's magic. I am so happy with the results! Everything looks a little more red in these pictures since I had just got the procedure done, but now a couple days out they look awesome.

Also, you can't get them wet for 10 days and you have to keep putting this gel on them to help the skin heal - HA! So I'm the makeup-less, smelly, shiny-eyebrow girl walking around Target ;).

Thank you McCall!!! She is down in Provo for all those interested and her number is 480-225-1912. She is a DOLL! McCall is a certified esthetician and the cutest human, so it's basically like a chance to just talk with your most adorable best friend for an hour and a half. AND you walk out with eyebrows! AND she'll probably give you a diet coke if you want one! Wins all around in my book :).



And a makeup-less selfie for y'all because I was just feelin really brave with these bold brows ;).

10/26/16

A Day in the Life 05

I haven't done one of these in forever! (My first ever A Day in the Life post was back in April here and my last one was all the way in June here! I need to do these more!) Here's a few snapshots into our day last Saturday. It turned out to be such a fun day since Lydia slept in and Michael had the afternoon off, so we actually got to hang out! 

7:54am
8:03am
8:35am
9:12am (Candy for the baby, of course ;) )
9:22am
9:46am
10:09am
10:21am
10:28am
11:01am
11:14am
12:00pm Farmer's Market finds!
12:14pm
12:37pm
12:46pm
1:50pm
2:29pm
3:44pm
4:16pm
4:54pm
5:42pm
6:10pm
6:11pm Laughing at our lame date night dinner. We had all these fun places in mind but everywhere we went was packed! So we settled on Carls Jr - HA! ;)
7:04pm
7:25pm
9:41pm

10/25/16

Simple Candied Nuts

I love candied nuts. They're perfect to throw on a salad or to throw in the garbage so you don't eat them all ;). We used to make candied almonds every Christmas and give them to neighbors! Then the list of "neighbors" started getting too long so we switched to giving yummy bakery-bought bread - way easier haha. 

The great thing about this is you can use basically any combination of nuts you have (almonds are always great, cashews, pictured here are pecans), and you can totally customize the flavors! We've tried and loved lemon, orange, spiced cinnamon, coconut - you can really go any direction you'd like.

For this simple candied nuts recipe I'll just give the basic steps I followed when I made these a few nights ago, and then adjust as desired for flavor experimenting!


Simple Candied Nuts

Ingredients: 

- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup white sugar 
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon 
- 1 teaspoon vanilla 
- 2 cups nuts (pecans here)

Directions: 

- Spread out wax paper, set aside
- Combine water, sugar and cinnamon in a large saucepan, stir
- Bring to a boil, stir
- Turn down heat slightly (little bubbles) add vanilla and nuts 
- Stir constantly for about 10 minutes until all liquid evaporates
- STIR AND WATCH - just as nuts are getting coated in a thick sugary cover, immediately spread onto wax paper and cool
- Enjoy and give them all away before you gain 10 pounds!

10/24/16

Heber Valley Pumpkin Train


Last week some friends invited us to the most adorable pumpkin train ride!!


We've been on the Heber Valley train a few times before, but never at Halloween. It really is worth the drive and money! You get a 40 minute ride on an actual train where they tell jokes, zombies dance, free (included in ticket price) pumpkin cookies are served, and then at the end you get to pick out a pumpkin! Which was of course Lydia's favorite part - she is obsessed with them. Every morning when she wakes up the first thing she wants to do is hold the mini pumpkins on our kitchen table. And every time we go out back she wants to touch the new pumpkins we just picked out from this train ride, ha. It makes getting in the car a very slow experience ;). Can't wait to carve pumpkins this year with Lydia - kids really do make holidays pretty magical!


This DARLING train boy made our night - he was so cute and totally Heber-ish!


And no one told me my jacket was falling off as we proceeded to take like 10 family pictures ;).




Lydia and Lyla





This picture makes me laugh so hard! Lyla is stoked out of her mind and Lydia looks like she's pooping - HA! :)


And I couldn't resist throwing in this shot of my model husband - he was actually just looking for me to hand me the pumpkin. Little did he know I was sneakily right in front of him taking pictures, hehe.

So many fun fall things to do in Utah, so little time! I've never been to Cornbelly's, so that's definitely on our list. I still need to get some hot chocolate at some point and tonight I want to figure out all the free trick-or-treating spots around town! I know there are lots of little events for kids at libraries, shopping centers, etc. So I need to do my research. Anything else that's a must in fall in Utah??

10/22/16

How to Kick a Toddler Cold

I am fairly liberal when it comes to medicine. My philosophy is why suffer if there's something that fixes it? Obviously with a 14-month-old I am way more cautious, which is why when Lydia had a cold for a few days I didn't do anything at first. But after four days of a runny nose and nonstop coughing sleepless nights (saddest thing ever), we took action! And literally over night 90% of her cold was gone, and by day two she was all back to normal. Yay medicine! Here's what we did: 

*Disclaimer: I am not claiming to be a doctor. Please don't sue me.

1. Humidifier & Snot Sucker

Bust the humidifier out during naps and at night. Also the Nosa Frida is hands down the grossest and best aspirator out there.

2. Baby Vapor Rub


I've actually used this stuff last year as well when Lydia was just a few months old. I like that it's normal ingredients (coconut oil, lavender, etc) so I didn't feel terrible putting it on a baby. I rub it on her chest and on her feet (and cover with socks) before bed, and sometimes if I'm feeling frisky I dab a tiiiiny bit under her nose. It noticeably helps her breathe better when I do that.

3. Hyland's 4Kids Cold 'n Cough Syrup


So a nurse friend of mine told me I could use child cough syrup as long as I gave Lydia half the amount of a two year old, since she's one. I scoured the medicine aisle for seriously 15 minutes before settling on this one. I like that it's for ages two and up (a lot are for six and up), and I like that Hyland's brand is known for being slightly more natural (I think?). I am SO GLAD I went with this one!! Of all the different things I tried, this made the immediate difference! I just halved the dosage for a two year old - I only ended up giving her like half a teaspoon or something - and after about 12 hours her cold was pretty much gone.  

4. Fancy and Expensive Oil I Got Talked Into at Sprouts 


Though I sound bitter I'm actually really glad I got this! I just put one drop into Lydia's bottle at night and she immediately got healthy (combined with the medicine above) and has stayed healthy! Apparently the Sprouts lady gives a drop or two to everyone in her family (cats included) every day during the winter. 

5. Infant Probiotic


Now that Lydia is one my doctor wants her to take a probiotic. Originally I bought gummy ones at Target but Lydia shockingly didn't like them. I went to Sprouts and this is supposedly a really good brand and it's awesome because it's a flavorless mix-in to drinks! So I just sprinkle it in her water. Any good toddler probiotics you guys are liking? I think this is great, just a little pricey. But I do know that brands make a huge difference in vitamins/probiotics since a lot of the cheaper brands don't even work! So I'm willing to pay a little more if it's actually doing something.

And honorable mention goes to Hyland's Tiny Cold Tablets


I also used these last winter with Lydia since she was too young for anything else. They may work? Haha who knows. I just felt a little better about myself giving her something than just listening a 5-month-old cough all night.

So those are the steps we took with Lydia that really made a difference! Like I was shocked how quickly she got better. Anything you would add to the list that has worked in your home?
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