Monday's Obsessions

Did September fly by for anyone else or was that just me? Between starting house renovations, soaking up the last of the good weather, Braxton starting school, and trying to get back into a routine we've been busy! We started redoing our kitchen at the beginning of the month. Of course it's still not done, but at least we started it, right?! Braxton has been doing wonderful at school the past couple of weeks. He loves his teachers and he especially loves swim days. Ava and I have been doing all sorts of shopping since he's been away each day and I have to say, it may get me in trouble. Brian may end up hiding my credit cards. Taking one shopping is a lot easier than taking two and we have FIVE hours, FIVE days a week, to just spend however we want. It's also been an adjustment to be dressed and ready to walk out the door each morning, five days a week. #stayathomemomproblems 

I've officially picked up a coffee habit. I'm not quite sure why it took me so long to start drinking it but I'm hooked now. I finally realize why all moms love coffee...hello extra energy! I'm still learning what I like but so far I'm noticing it's a bunch of sugar and a bunch of cream which isn't going to be the best for my "still have baby weight to lose" mentality. 

(I say that as if I don't already have a donut eating problem) 

I'm getting excited for everything that's coming in October. Brian and I get to celebrate another wedding anniversary and I have no clue what to get him this year. I've always loosely followed the anniversary yearly gifts but year four has me stumped. I mean I don't want to get him fruit/flowers and what kind of appliance could I ever get him? Technically he's been asking for a Coke vending machine, don't even ask me why, but that will never happen haha. I'm at the point where I just want to tell him no to gifts this year because I'm that stumped! After our anniversary he's also taking some vacation time so we'll be able to do more house projects, take the kids apple picking, and to the pumpkin patch. I can also start really decorating for Halloween! I'm so ready for all the fun fall stuff, just not the cooler weather...even though cooler weather means great, warmer clothes. 

I found a $175 Keurig on sale for $99.99 which means I need it! 

Pumpkin cheesecake with the easiest recipe ever.

Currently drooling over West Elm's velvet bedding. The Dusty Rose color is to die for but I'm also loving it in Slate. 

All things Wild Air & Co. 

Stylish Halloween decorations. 

Now that it's cooling down, I need black tights like these and these oh, and these too. 

I can't believe I waited so long but I finally have started using a makeup setting spray. That one is SUPER affordable and I'm impressed. 

Fall means lots and lots of plaid. 

Really, really loving the look of heavier ponchos for fall like this one, and this one, and this one. 

I love soup, especially making easy soup. 

Mary from Hayes Etc. has been a go-to read for me lately. 

Target has some perfect Halloween decorations/party supplies for cheap. I'm loving these plates/napkins and 3D bats. Garlands are my favorite, especially when you can find them in the Dollar Spot, but there are also some online like this felt spider garland, paper skeleton garland, or  this burlap trick or treat garland. I love setting out mini pumpkins or even mini ornaments in a bowl, just because. 

ColourPop's Be-Dazzled Ulta Matte Lip. 

I should really start paying attention to my sugar intake. 

A layered utility jacket would be so perfect for fall and I love the olive color. 

I really wish my husband would be more open to the idea of having a pink/purple rug in our dining room because this one would be perfect. The colors seem bright, but dull at the same time, and I love it. 

Cutest baby shower gift accessory? LexyPexy wooden teethers. 

Skeleton wine glasses. 

Lush's Dream Steam tab is on my wishlist. 

21 Cats Who Are Still Figuring Out This Whole Cat Thing.

(Because I'm crazy and adding another kitty to our household the first week of October.)

Madewell's Transport Tote for $168 or Forever21's Faux Leather Tote and Pouch for $27.90

Ready for the giveaway?
I'm extremely excited to be hosting a giveaway with Love and Lullabies! (Cue the excited face emoji) Love and Lullabies is owned by Alyssa Szentes and she makes beautiful, handmade, custom blankets.  One winner will get to customize a toddler sized blanket, including a cotton print and any in stock backing, and can pay for any additional upgrades if they choose to. (That's a $75 value!) It's perfect timing to get a cozy blanket for the upcoming cold weather. One thing that I love the most about this shop is the range of prints and styles that are already offered. Forget the typical blue or pink, traditional, blankets. Love and Lullabies is on trend and so different. For a new baby that's coming, you can pick the ever so popular Hello World map blanket that also comes in three other colors. There's plaid for fall or an update on classic black and white. I could be posting links forever with all the blankets that I'm in love with.

Ava was given a Love and Lullabies toddler blanket from a very special friend of ours and I can't begin to tell you just how soft it is. On one side, it's black cotton and on the other it's the softest striped minky fabric, edged with beautiful floral satin.

To enter, all you have to do is head over to my Instagram, make sure you're following both me and @loveandlullabies, like the latest post, and you can tag as many friends as you want on it but make sure it's one friend per comment. For 5 extra entries, you can comment on this post telling me one thing you're obsessed with lately. I'll pick a winner next Monday evening! 

Alex and Ani on Sale

There's currently a pretty good sale on Alex and Ani jewelry at Rue La La*. Haven't heard of Rue La La before? Well, they're a Boston based company that has members only prices for all sorts of desired items. There are curated boutiques for women's and men's fashion, kids, home, travel, and a lot more. Boutiques open at 11 AM and are open for 48 hours. I have personally found so many amazing finds through them, including some great Kate Spade pieces, NARS makeup, as well as some $500 Prada sunglasses for less than $150! So many designers are featured, like authentic Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Jimmy Choo, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Stella McCartney, Chloe, Alexander McQueen...the list goes on and on. 

Their Alex and Ani sale lasts for 3 more days and prices range from $15.99 to $149.99 (the highest being the bracelet pictured in the middle: the set of 6 Metallic Daze expandable bracelets which retails for $358) There's also a few 14k gold initial bracelets that are so dainty and they would make the perfect Christmas present. 

*Rue La La is a site where you must sign up first before you can browse anything. Membership is always free. For every person you invite, you receive $10 in credit once they make their first purchase. (My Rue La La invite email is crystalrosee@live.com) You pay $9.95 for shipping once and then you can ship free for 30 days. 

A DIY Project Fit For a Princess

I haven't done a good DIY project in a little while so I figured I would jump into something girly for Ava's room.

I've had this Pottery Barn Kids tulle canopy for over 5 years. It was given to me for Braxton's room, before he was born, and I just never put it up. It briefly got hung up in our play room but it never truly got any use. When I planned Ava's first birthday party, I actually had plans to decorate the canopy like I decorated these paper lanterns but I just had more important things to get done. So yeah...the canopy finally got decorated...2 years later.

The flowers are all from Ava's first birthday party. They're from Hobby Lobby, AC Moore, Marshall's, as well as a couple from The Dollar Tree. I wanted to use bigger flowers that looked more real and I'm pretty impressed with the selection I had left over. I almost wish I had some more colors, instead of 99% pink, but I still love it and Ava absolutely adores pink. 

All I did was pop the flowers off of the stem, which is super easy, and then I put some hot glue on the flower and stuck it to wherever a leaf was on the canopy. I tried to follow that instead of sticking flowers everywhere because with how big the flowers actually are I didn't want it to look tacky. Since I was working with hot glue, obviously I burned myself a few times since that's who I am as a person haha (Be careful when you're sticking hot glue onto something that's so sheer) You want to press the flower on firmly for about 30 seconds so it really holds. 

Once I got the flowers on, I added some extra leaves from the stems leftover. (You just pop those off as well) I didn't add leaves everywhere, just to some, but I may go back later and add more...who knows. The thing with this is it's all up to you and I love that! 

The whole thing took me, maybe, 30 minutes from start to finish. I wish more DIY projects were that quick and easy! 

I made this while she was napping and when she woke up and saw it, she was obsessed. She literally gasped, smiled, ran up to it, and started twirling in it. I call that a success, right?

Everyone loves a good before/after side by side picture

I seriously can't wait to show you what it looks like in Ava's room! (Side note, it'll be in tomorrow's Monday's Obsessions along with an amazing giveaway)

aden + anais Sale

Oh my goodness, Zulily has an amazing sale on aden + anais happening right now. My favorite is the toddler bed in a bag, which is marked down from $170 to $59.99-69.99! That's like insane. The prints are adorable and you can either get regular or organic. Their products are all so soft, and super breathable...I loved them for my summer baby especially. All of their stuff makes for great baby shower gifts as well! 

Currently loving: ColourPop Cosmetics + $5 off

A few weeks ago, I was in Ulta and saw a girl working there that was wearing the most amazing shade of purple on her lips. Usually I wouldn't randomly go up to someone and ask about their makeup, but I had to know what she was wearing. She introduced me to ColourPop and once I got home, I made sure I ordered some pretty new shades for fall. Their company was founded in California and all their products are made there as well. All of their Lippie Stix and Lip Liners are vegan and all of their cosmetics are 100% fur-baby friendly, bunny approved, and only tested on humans. Their color range is amazing, the shades are all current and trendy, AND they're all only $5 or $6. Win, win, right?

Shipping is a flat rate of $4.99 and if you subscribe to their emails, you can get a $5 off your next purchase! Shipping takes a little extra time, but it's not terrible, just something to keep in mind. One of my favorite things about receiving packages from them is that they come with a hand written thank you note. I think that's awesome customer service to an already awesome product.

Lippie Stix- Feminist, Feminist Pencil, Ultra Matte Lip- BeDazzled, Leather Pencil

The Ultra Matte Lip goes on really easily, and has great pigment right out of the gate. As with most matte liquid lipsticks, it's best to exfoliate your lips before putting it on. I've tried other matte liquid lipsticks and they can be really drying and not comfortable, but this one was pretty impressive. Be-Dazzled actually matches my hair almost perfectly. I love it. I lined my lips with the Leather Pencil and it was a pretty good match, as I couldn't find a Be-Dazzled pencil. (You should get on that ColourPop!) It was a little hard to take off, even with my makeup remover wipes, but that could be a good thing, right? 

The Lippie Stix in Feminist is really fun, and dark. They say it's the deepest, blackest purple, and I love it. The color is a little different than my usuals, I've never gone this dark before, but it's exactly what I thought it would be when I ordered it...amazing. It's also a matte finish, which is my favorite when it comes to actual lipsticks. My lips are a little big-ish and I feel like glossy colors don't look the best on me. The formula is a little thick but goes on easy enough and when it's used with the matching liner, it blends perfectly. I didn't notice any bleeding of the color in the time that I briefly wore it. (I tried both of these on sans makeup, right before I had to go to the grocery store, so I didn't keep them on long.)

Once I get some makeup on my face I'll update this with some pictures, I promise!

For my next order I have my eye on Midi, Guess, Nevermind, Leather, and Bichette. Which I think I may just end up ordering right now...

Too soon for a Christmas wish list? I say no because here is mine...

So I slacked a little for Labor Day sales. Our Labor Day weekend consisted of remodeling our kitchen. We aren't going full on remodel, more like a big update, but still...it's a lot of work when you're doing it yourself, with two very needy kids. Brian and I basically switched between playing with the kids and painting. Needless to say, we aren't done with the kitchen, but we're getting there! He went back to work today so I see more late nights ahead of us, working on things after the kids go to sleep. I can't wait to post pictures here once it's finished! 

Some friends of mine have been recently talking about Christmas lists already and it got me thinking, what the heck do I want this year? My birthday is December 4th so I've always been the kid that had to do the whole Christmas/birthday list together. Because of that, I start to plan early. I go in between picky and not picky when it comes to gifts, depending on the year, and thank god my husband puts up with me. It has little to do with cost, but all about the thought that goes into it, but here's what I have my eye on...

Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens + wireless remote controller 

I've had my camera coming up on 2 years and I'm guilty of not learning as much as I should have by now. I use it for pictures of the kids mostly and would love to have a new lens for portraits of them, which I hear the 50mm f/1.4 lens is pretty good for. 

Sorel's Joan of Arctic Knit II boots

Sorels always sell out so fast, it's almost ridiculous. I've held out on getting a pair for a couple years now but winters are rough here and I would love to have a pair of warm, waterproof boots for all the snow we get. I love the knit version of the Joan of Arctic boots rather than the fur, even though I love the fur as well. I'm curious to see if there will be a Black Friday deal on these because it's a little hard to justify the price tag of $170 considering Brian says I have "so many shoes." 

Rose gold amethyst/diamond ring + Rose gold diamond band

So I'm not much of a fancy jewelry person but how gorgeous are those together? Recently I had an allergic reaction to my white gold wedding/engagement/anniversary ring set and that's what got me looking at something to wear in place of it, even though I hate the idea of replacing it. I've never been much of a gold person but I tried on this Levian diamond ring with this Neil Lane diamond band and it sold me on how beautiful rose gold really is. It's so hard to choose between the look of the vintage-esque Levian ring and the bold amethyst ring but I think the amethyst is more "me"...or something like that. 

Nena & Co. Day Bag II

I have been drooling over the looks of these bags for ages now. I love the style, which reminds me of the bags my mom used to own back in the day. She brought back amazing things from her trips from all over the world and gah, I wish she held onto everything so I could just steal it all from her haha. The bags are all one of a kind, and they're actually made from recycled shirts from Guatemala called huipils and hand cut leather. This is technically my dream Nena bag but there's also mu's bags, Humble Hilo, and PourFavorShop. I love how big they are, the dark leather, and the mix of purple, red, and pink. 

Marc Jacobs Daisy perfume

I think I'll forever love this perfume. I go between using Flowerbomb and Be Delicious but there's always room for another perfume. I really like buying perfumes from The Perfume Spot because they always have promo codes and a high percentage of cash back from Ebates.

Joovy Sale for Labor Day

Make sure you don't miss this pretty good sale from Joovy.

Bed Head products for only $7.99

I'm a big fan of Bed Head products and right now, Ulta has a $9.99 sale on so many things. If you use code 305820 it will take the price down to $7.99 each! (Coupon is for 20% off your entire purchase and is valid until 9/5) Their Hard Head hairspray is what I use to curl my short hair and it holds these waves for days. 

Some other good sales worth mentioning: Buy 2, get 1 free mix and match bath brands like The Body Shop, Hempz, and Shea Moisture. 3 for $15 Stila Lip Glazes in so many colors (online only). Buy 1 get 1 half off skincare like this amazing Garnier BB Cream that is my go-to or the ever so perfect, cult classic, Olay moisturizer. 

Boutique Deals for Everyone

Jane.com is a boutique marketplace featuring the latest in women's fashion trends, home decor, and children's clothing. They have daily deals that are up to 70% off and sometimes the deals are too good to pass up on. I love looking through their emails that I'm sent because it's like a mini Pinterest board, with all the stuff they have listed. I wanted to show you all some of the deals they have going right now because they were too cute.

ABC/123 Magnets: $8.99

I always said that I wouldn't have tons of stuff on the fridge but two kids later and our fridge is filled with artwork, magnets, pictures of us...you name it. I love the look of these because they're hand painted wood. You get 36 total and shipping is $4.99 for the first set and $1.99 each additional one. They could be fun stocking stuffers and when they're originally $19.99 it's a good buy! 

Layering Bracelets: $5.99

I really like the look of layered bracelets. I even love mixing silver and gold together and with all of these styles, I have found a TON that I'm obsessing over. There are over 50 options of bracelets and they're marked down 46%. Shipping is $2.50 for the first item and $0.50 for each additional item. 

Personalized Rolling Pins: $17.99

How cute would these be for a house warming present? I know my mom would absolutely love one for Christmas and I'm already thinking of buying her one now to hold onto. The pins are laser engraved so it won't fade with use and they're dishwasher safe! The company has a money back guarantee which is always amazing. These are originally $59.99 and shipping is $7.99 for the first item and $6.99 for each additional item. 

Personalized Halloween Totes: $9.99

I love the idea of a tote bag for trick or treating rather than a traditional bucket and these are marked down 51% from $20. These bags are offered in 2 options: glow in the dark or bone initial/name and both of those have 3 different font options. Shipping is $3.99 for the first one and $1.50 each additional bag. 

Holiday Pillow Covers: $9.99

I'm really, really not ready for the holidays but when I saw these pillows, I knew I had to add them. I'm obsessed over that simple black and gold pillow. They're originally $39.99 (that's 76% off!) and shipping is $4.99 for the first item and $3.99 each additional item. I like how you can transform your regular couch pillows with these covers instead of just buying the entire pillow. 

Druzy Necklace: $12.99

I love love love the look of druzy. Marked down from $19.99, these necklaces are simple but so beautiful. You can wear one by itself or layer them. They come in either gold or silver plated and comes in 8 different colors. (Some colors are selling faster than others!) Shipping is $2.99 for the first item and $1.99 for each additional item.