New Hampshire Wedding Magazine.

I received an exciting package on my door step. Thanks to the talented Todd Thamer, our wedding made it into New Hampshire Wedding Magazine!! You can see more of his amazing photography and our wedding photos here.

The Last Week of Winter.

My Coat: JC Penny

Kalin's Coat: Old Navy

Scarlett's Coat: Gap (Second-Hand)

Weekends are what we look forward to around here lately; some time to enjoy ourselves and spend some time together. We can feel Spring trying to make it's presence. I can't say it enough: we are over winter. This winter was definitely a long one. We love boots, snow and days snuggled up on the couch watching movies but I'm yearning for a season change. I feel so lucky to be able to experience four very different seasons. Each season brings with it such beautiful changes. As much I would love to experience living in Florida or even California, my personality craves change and I think I would find myself back in the northeast sooner or later.


This weekend, we went out for breakfast and went antique hunting. We found a cute little breakfast spot on the outskirts of the city and breakfast was delicious. I have been longing for antique/thrift shops since we moved away from Massachusetts. I'm an avid thrift-shopper. A lot of things in my house are previously-owned. Mostly small furniture and decor but some clothing, too. I find it silly to pay tons of money for brand new things when you can find used things cheaper. Not to mention, the vintage stuff has so much more character. I find it intriguing to find great treasures that cost pennies.  This weekend, we discovered a small town not far away that has quite a lot of antique shops. I was pretty excited. My sister and I hunted through the town all morning. Ty put in a new wood floor in our entryway. I'm glad to be rid of the ugly, fake tile that was previously down. Speaking of which, this week, I will have a few home-improvement progress photos up. When Spring rolls around, I find myself longing to rearrange the house, finish projects and buy house plants. And COLOR! Don't forget color.  It's not long now…it's the last week of winter and I am beyond ready.

My Beauty Products.

I thought I would share some of my beauty products. I've down-sized quite a bit from previous years. I used to use a lot of make up and different face creams. I have learned that if I find a good product, you don't need a lot. Less is more. Here is what I use. (Click highlighted for links)

1. Loreal Sublime Bronzer. I am Scandinavian and with that comes fair skin. i.e.: I'm very pale. Especially in the winter. I use this spray tan on my face and upper body in the winter. It goes on fairly gradual so if you want a noticeable darker tan, you need to layer it  2 or 3 times. I am still in search of a tanner that is a bit more bronze toned. If anyone has a great face tanning product I'd love to hear it.

2. I use Jason Vitamin E 20,000 at night all over my face. It helps to lock in moisture and it's all natural.

3. Cetaphil has always been my go to face lotion/cream. I have sensitive skin and a lot of fragrances and ingredients make me break out. Not this lotion. I use this in the summer and the cream in the winter for a more moisturized look. 

4. This eyebrow pencil I picked up Sally's Beauty supply. I have light hair and my eyebrows are quite light as well. I fill them in here and there where spots look sparse with this pencil. The brush on the other side is great too.

5. I usually don't wear eyeliner. I use dark shadow as liner instead. It gives it a less severe line. It looks more blended. Clinique stays well. 

6. I use a regular old CoverGirl mascara. I have tried MANY mascaras and it really doesn't matter how much you spend on one. In my opinion, the cheaper ones work better.

7. I have larger pores and uneven skin tone so I opt for a tinted moisturizer instead of a foundation. It evens out better and it makes my face look dewy and less cakey. I found this one called Flower, a new line by Drew Barrymore and I really like it right now although I have tried many different ones including Physicians Formula Tinted Moisturizer which is another organic favorite. 

8. I rarely wear lip color. Just a coat of Vaseline lip Butter if they are dry.

9. I have heard that Organic Grape Seed Oil does wonders for aging skin. It's inexpensive and all natural. Make sure you buy Organic for skin and not for cooking. I bought this on Amazon and I use a tiny bit under my eyes and anywhere that shows signs of distress.

Balancing. Work & Motherhood.

As strange as it sounds, working has brought me a lot of joy. The busy mornings, grabbing coffee on my way out the door, the presentations, meetings and mounds of paperwork.  Deadlines, projects and going out on business calls. I know a lot of you are reading this and thinking, that doesn't sound very appealing. After 2 1/2 years of staying home with Scarlett, devoting my entire being to another human, I was ready for this. There are all types of mothers. Mothers who love staying home and raising their babies. Career mothers who need to work in order to be the best mother that they can be. Mothers who cannot afford to stay home, who cry when they miss their little one's firsts. And mothers who spend 7 days a week with their kids-who are desperate for more. There is no mother greater than the other. All of these mothers, do what is in the best interest for their families. There is no right or wrong way to raise your children. For me, I needed the first two years with Scarlett. I enjoyed it and I was lucky enough to be able to do that. But at about 2 1/2 years, the urge to go back to work hit me. AND I did just that.  Am I selfish for going back to work when I can afford to stay home? No.

I loathe when people say to me, "You can afford to stay home with your children. Why would you give that up? They are only little once."

Do they not think that I haven't thought about that a million times? Do they not realize that parts of this still guilts me? Do they not realize that it was an extremely difficult choice and I decided to do what I felt was right in my heart? I cannot dwell on the choices that I made. No one knows what's best for your family better than you.

 I found that being a stay at home mother could be very isolating. Especially if you move to a new location, which is what we did when Scarlett was less than a year old. Working with other adults and interacting is extremely satisfying to me.  That doesn't mean everyday is a walk in the park but I never expected that. Some days I get overwhelmed and sometimes I even wish I had an extra day off. It is definitely a balancing act. Most days I am glad to be knee deep in work, plugging away. One thing that stands true whether I am happily working or a little frazzled, I always miss my little Scarlett. I think about her throughout the day and imagine what she is doing. The child care's app is really helpful in posting her routine throughout the day. It makes my day when I turn my phone on and see a photo of Scarlett painting or playing with others. Or when I read that she had 2 helpings of mac and cheese with pears.


Time. When I have too much of it, it is my enemy. When I don't have enough of it, it is my enemy. I am not complaining by any means. But it is definitely an adjustment. Going from having time to do the things that I need to accomplish, doing things that I enjoy,  to not having a spare second….it's going to take some time to get used to. When I'm feeling exhausted and defeated, I always remember that this too, is just a stage in life. It won't last forever.


As you have probably noticed, I haven't blogged in awhile…….

Again, time is the reasoning there.  I am trying to find balance between being a mother, a wife and working full-time. I love work and of course I love being a mother, but it leaves little time for anything else.


The one thing that I can't seem to find time for happens to be extremely important to me.
Writing.It's been there for me longer than anyone else has. I start to lose myself when I don't write. I feel as though pieces of me start to fade. I don't like that feeling.

By the end of the day, after working 8 hours, bathing a child, cooking dinner, doing laundry, putting a little girl, who doesn't like to go to sleep to bed and taking a shower myself (if I'm lucky), I have two choices: write or go to bed. As midnight stares me in the face, I think about how quickly 6 am will come. Before I can decide what I want to do, my body reminds me that I am exhausted and I start to wonder how other working mothers do it. So…how do you all do it?

I am a perfectionist in many things that I do. I dread failure. I feel as though I am failing. I am told at work that I am a great asset and that I'm doing a wonderful job. Scarlett seems happy to go to school. Ty doesn't complain that we don't have much time together, he takes what he can get and tries to help me as much as he can. But at the end of the day, even after everything has gone according to plan, I still feel like I'm failing. I feel like I am failing myself. 

I think that when you are a mother working full time, you have to prioritize and give up/let go of some of the things that you can't do. You also have to ask for help. The other night, after working a very busy day,  I sat on the floor of the living room doing bills. I had thrown in a load of laundry and tried to pick up the house. Scarlett was laughing as she threw my papers and pushed buttons on my laptop. I kept telling her, no Scarlett, stop. She kept laughing. I thought about how much I still had to do and that it was a slim chance I would get to write before the night ended.  I thought about the fact that my hair was greasy and I hadn't gotten to shower. That I hadn't gotten to read any books with Scarlett or watch a movie with her like I used to. In that moment as I watched my bills all over the living room and a house in shambles, I had a bit of a melt down. My eyes went dewy and I yelled at Scarlett, STOP! JUST GO AWAY and leave me alone! 
I sat there looking at a little girl who was confused.  I exhaled a breath of exhaustion and regret. Ty stood over me with a look of concern. I felt defeated. He asked me what was wrong. I didn't even have an answer. I was just….overwhelmed. I started to vent, "I haven't had a minute to relax! I haven't wrote anything in days, I smell and don't have time to shower because I have to do these stupid bills that I don't even want to look at because I still have a hundred other things to do!" Ty looked at me and said, "Babe, if you need help, you have to ask. "

He's right. He's usually always right.  I need to ask for help and I have to let go of the things that I cannot accomplish in the day. It will still be there tomorrow. Despite a breakdown or two, and the moments of frustration, I know that I made the right decision and I am certain that it will all work out. I just need to keep looking forward and do the best that I can. Taking "Scarlett Days" helps. This past Saturday, Scarlett and I spent the whole day together, just her and I. We went out for breakfast, took a walk, stopped at the library and watched movies over snacks. Days like that are needed. She gets some undivided attention and I get to exhale and unwind from the busy work week. I recommend having one-on-one days to do something that you normally wouldn't do. They do wonders.

It's been a week since my melt-down and I'm feeling much better about prioritizing and letting go.

Lately.

^ Notice, the snack in her hand….always.

Cold, snowy days seem to be dominating February. It isn't so bad that we got snow, quite a lot I might add, but we haven't even been able to go out and play in it because the weather has been so cold. I don't think I've mentioned it here but my little sister, Kalin,  is staying with us for awhile. Her husband was deployed to Cuba a couple of weeks ago and while she debates on schools, jobs etc, she is keeping us company. I'm really close to my sisters so I'm pretty happy about getting to spend some time with Kalin. It feels like the old days when we were young and hung out together doing fun things. We've been cooking in the crockpot, working out together, taking trips to the library, watching movies over popcorn and wine, going for walks and shopping.

We started watching the Desperate Housewife Series from the beginning. Something fun that we've grown to look forward to watching each night. Scarlett's been running around the house for the last couple of days singing "Do You Want To Build A Snow Man?" (Frozen Soundtrack). We have over 20" of snow piled outside from the last 2 snow storms. Yesterday Ty took Scarlett outside to build a snowman and photos from their playtime melted my heart. (See those photos here.)

Today, my sister and I are took off for a couple of days. We were going to leave on Thursday but the snowstorm decided otherwise and so we left today for a fun little road trip. I hope you all had a great weekend and Happy President's Day!

$3 Valentine's For Toddlers.

I found out on Tuesday that Scarlett's class of 2 year olds are having a Valentine's Day party and that we should bring in Valentine's cards/gifts for the kids. What do you get 2 year olds? Candy is a no. And do they really care about cards at this age? With work being crazy and not much time because of travel this week, I had to think of something quick and easy. I found this awesome free PDF printable from The Nerd's Wife and I thought, BINGO! Are they the cutest thing or what?! I picked up some mini play-doh's from the dollar store and then cut out the holes to stick them in. Her valentine's cost $3 for 12-14 kids. You can find the printable here.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Scarlett Style: A Little Love.

Some things that we have learned this month....

Scarlett always has a snack in her hand.

We've learned to embrace messy hair since it isn't easy combing or detangling or getting anywhere near her hair these days....

Winter is too long & we are starting to get cabin fever.

Love is fun to share, even if that means wearing it...

Get The Look: