Thursday, April 28, 2016

A Nautically Inspired Spring by Wayfair


As we've just celebrated my family's second spring in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, I'm still feeling as though we're on some type of coastal vacation living here. It's a gorgeous town that I can't help Instagramming, and this spring while our trees have yet to fully blossom, I'm feeling inspired by the warm sun that fills our fishbowl windows and the brightly painted buildings in downtown Portsmouth.


Help Transform Lives This Mother's Day with Vera Bradley

Disclosure: I received a sample to facilitate this review; all opinions expressed are my own.


Do you have dedicated tote bags in your home like I do? Our entryway closet has specific tote bags filled and ready to grab for specific tasks: the swimming lessons bag, library bag, donation items bag, the tote bag to hold the tote bags etc. One of my favorite bags is a Vera Bradley overnight bag that's my go-to for weekend trips so when I learned about Vera Bradley's partnership with Macy's to offer an exclusive tote for Mother's Day I was excited to learn more.

Friday, April 22, 2016

Clean Out with Polarn O. Pyret & thredUP

Disclosure: I received a gift card from Polarn O. Pyret to facilitate this review; all opinions expressed are my own. 


We are a family of secondhand clothing, and we're proud of it! It's a thrifty tip I watched my mom use for me and my three siblings growing up and now with the online store thredUP I'm sure it's something my mom would've used had it existed. This Earth Day Polarn O. Pyret, the Swedish children's clothing brand, has teamed up with thredUP creating special mailers so you can receive credit when you shop. Polarn O. Pyret's clothing is very sturdy - out of all of the leggings Nia owns theirs last the longest - and with their bright colors and playful, gender-neutral prints it's a brand that gets fantastic resale value on thredUP. 

Never used thredUP? Here's all you have to do:

Happy Earth Day (& a Winner!)

Grayson insisted on feeding my face me!


I got outside with the kids for a few hours yesterday to enjoy ice cream the incredible weather and to lift my spirits after hearing about Prince's passing. I didn't grow up listening to his music, but was inspired by his passion when I was in my 20s and got to see him in concert. I have never seen someone so in their element!

Thursday, April 21, 2016

How Norwex is Breaking My Paper Towels Addiction

Disclosure: I received products to facilitate this review; all opinions expressed are my own.



I'm so excited for this Earth Day giveaway post today because it involves my BFF of 25 years and a solution to a household issue that I have! Before kids I rarely purchased paper towels, but now I admit I'm a bit too dependent on them - we buy them in bulk and use them in the kitchen mostly but also for guests in our 2nd bathroom. We have cotton hand towels always on hand, but I find myself ripping off a strip of paper towel to handle most messes. And there are MANY. I have paper towel guilt and in the same way I refuse to purchase disposable plastic water bottles I'm determined to break my paper towel addiction.

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

SeabuckWonders for Your Skin (& Giveaway!)

Disclosure: I received samples to facilitate this review; all opinions expressed are my own. 



My skin. Sigh. It was its best when I was pregnant both times (slightly better with Grayson) and now it's at its worst. I recently mentioned the health challenges I've been having the past few months, and my skin is the one that's bothered me the most, although it's the least serious of them all. I feel most confident with clear, healthy skin and while I've experienced brief periods of this throughout my life as I try to get things situated on the medical end, selecting natural skin care is important to me. 

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Celebrate Earth Day with Robin Wilson Clean (& a Giveaway!)

Disclosure: I am a compensated brand ambassador for Robin Wilson Clean and received products to facilitate this review; all opinions expressed are my own.



Has spring cleaning happened in your home yet? We had a major deep clean a couple weeks ago, but with two small kids I feel like I'm back at square one already! With Earth Day approaching this Friday I've partnered up with Robin Wilson Clean to share a few tips, and I have a special giveaway at the end. 

Friday, April 15, 2016

Star Wars Giveaway WINNER!


What a week! Anyone else felt like this during the week? We finally got a bit of sun here at last, and I'm feeling good. I was hoping to get the winner of my Star Wars giveaway posted a couple hours ago, but this was happening. I know he's small for only so long so I'll take it!


Anyway, here's the winner:


Thursday, April 14, 2016

Help! I'm Caught Between Hot Mess Mom and Organized Mom

At any given moment I have about 50 tabs up on two different browsers much to the chagrin of Mr. Lovebird. "You're destroying your Mac!" he tells me constantly. I try to explain it's a function of how my mind works, but he just doesn't get it. 

Anyway...


As I was browsing through my tabs, I saw I had two diametrically opposed tabs open:





Wednesday, April 13, 2016

The Best Lipstick for Non-Lipstick Wearers

Disclosure: I received a sample as a complimentary gift from BITE; all opinions expressed are my own. 



I was back at Wellesley College over the weekend for a 2-day event, and I figured it'd be the perfect time to crack open my BITE lipstick samples I received from Influenster. I've received many samples from Influenster over the years, and I had a bit of trepidation about this one. First, I've never really been an avid lipstick fan - I feel like you have to be committed to reapplying and as I've aged and become busier with the kids it's been simpler to just throw on lip balm and go. Second, as a brown-skinned woman I was unsure that the colors would work for my skin tone. I've received lipstick samples in gift bags before and most often the colors provided are not for dark-skinned women. 


Well Amuse Bouche Lipstick from BITE Beauty has officially changed my mind! Influenster didn't require a blog post for this sample, but I was so impressed I decided to do one anyway



Monday, April 11, 2016

A Star Wars Giveaway (& Grayson's Piano Debut)

It seems like this Monday is DRAAAAGING so I thought it'd be fun to shake things up with a belated Star Wars giveaway. I mean, The Force Awakens just came out on DVD, and I hear there's a Star Wars influenced money grubbing film coming out in December so why not? 


Thursday, April 7, 2016

On the Go with Robeez Shoes

Disclosure: I received a complimentary pair of Robeez to facilitate this review; all opinions expressed are my own.



In Grayson's last fashion post did you see those adorable shoes he had on?  They're Robeez. Our first Robeez experience was a hand-me-down pair from a friend and I purchased our second pair from a flash sale site - I instantly became a fan!


Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Wordless Wednesday: Scratches & Scrapes Edition



 


Monday, April 4, 2016

My Timeless Monica Rich Kosann Locket


Disclosure: I received a Monica Rich Kosann locket to facilitate this review; all options expressed are my own.



With spring in full swing, it's the perfect time to think ahead to Mother's Day and now that Grayson's getting past the grabbing phase I'm starting to wear jewelry more frequently (remember my jewelry woes here?). When I was introduced to fine jewelry designer Monica Rich Kosann's line of gorgeous lockets I knew it'd be the perfect keepsake to celebrate my journey through motherhood.

Mr. Lovebird: Back on the Court


What a weekend! We woke up to snow yesterday (and yes, it's still snowing, but I'm just gonna ignore that fact for now), but the highlight of our weekend was getting to see Uka play basketball for a good cause: the local elementary schools got together with the Harlem Wizards for a fundraiser. Excitement had been building about it over the past few months and Friday night we joined a packed gym for a fun family evening. It was also Grayson's first time seeing Uka play (more on how that went over below!)...

Friday, April 1, 2016

No Joke! CoCo Key Water Park is My Family's Favorite Local Getaway

Disclosure: I received a complimentary overnight stay and admission to CoCo Key Boston to facilitate this review; all opinions expressed are my own. 



This time last year it was still pretty cold here in New Hampshire, and we still had snow - crazy, right? Thankfully, today it's in the 60s - I almost thought it was indeed an April Fools joke! The warmer temperatures are making me think of spring break and with it coming up for families here in the northeast a trip to CoCo Key Boston makes the perfect local getaway.