Resolutions…and figuring it out.

It’s that time of year we all make resolutions, regardless how formal or informal they are. However, over the past few years I’ve morphed how I define my resolutions. If I want to be in better health, I simply make that my goal – not to join the gym. I try different things throughout the year to see what will fit for me. This way, I keep my goal for the year and I don’t really fail unless at the end I haven’t found a way to improve.

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For 2019, I have a few resolutions going:

• Become more eco-friendly where I can
• Become more active
• Spend more time doing kid activities

Sure, there are plenty other things I want to do, but these are my three top ones.

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Becoming more eco-friendly isn’t to say I’m going “crunchy” as so may refer to. I want to be smart about what I’m buying, what I’m using and how I’m impacting the planet. There are areas where I can make changes that better our planet and really don’t effect me much. For example, using reusable cleaning cloths instead of paper towel…using dishclothes instead of sponges…bees wax wraps and reusable baggies instead of one-time use ones. There’s more, plenty more. These are all areas I hope to address this year on Love and Life.

My second goal of becoming more active is general, I realize that. But I know I won’t go to the gym, I’ve been a member for a year and I haven’t been yet. I always had an excuse…I’m pregnant, I’m too tired, I don’t have a babysitter, etc. So, instead of failing that over and over again, maybe I’ll be more motivated to do strengthening exercises at home or going for a walk at lunch, etc. Maybe I won’t be running a 5k in March, but if I’ve made any improvement to my current activity level then I am OK with that, as long as it continues into 2020!

Lastly, spending more time doing kid activities. I often find that I have my daughter do arts and crafts while I clean up, make lunch, etc. But in the end I don’t spend the time with her that I want to, at least not the quality time. However, when I do, it’s relaxing. So, this year I want to make it a point. I know school days are going to be hard, we’re up early and home late and have to have dinner, bath and books in there somehow before bed. But, I’m going to have to find a way. Quality time, relaxation, less stress and memories are all things that mean a lot to me. And honestly, I can’t think of a better thing to put my energy into than enjoying my toddler!

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Each of us are different. Very. What makes me happy may not mean anything to you. That doesn’t mean either of us are right or wrong…it’s finding a balance and serenity internally for yourself. That’s when your resolution is truly accomplished and successful.

So, what are your goals? How do you plan on identifying a way to tackle them and make it stick? Tips from years before that you want to share – good or bad? No goals…why not?

Goodbye ’18, Hello ’19!

2018 seems like it started forever ago. A new baby and a very active toddler result in a LOT of mess 😂. Then again, I wasn’t neat before kids so why expect it now? BUT, as I get older (ssshhh) I crave organization and bettering the place we live.

Last year around this time my daughter and I were driving to school and I noticed the amount of recycling vs trash being out out was insanely sad. Notice it next time you’re driving around. Right then we decided to reduce trash and increase recycling. I went out and got a new trash can and two recycling containers, as ours were literally falling apart and from the previous owners so at least a decade old…

We started buying things with less packaging off Amazon. We started paying attention to what we were throwing out. We bought reusable things like cleaning cloths. Together this accomplished our goal. Except the boxes.

So, this Christmas season I have been very aware. Boxes are piling up, could use a recycling can of their own, probably employ a single UPS, FedEx and USPS guy each. 🤮

Where am I going with this? 2019. This will be the greener year of reduction. I will ship less. I will buy less. I will still need my bargains, I will still use Amazon and other delivery services, I will still buy things…but I will make improvements.

Will you be with me? Or at least follow my journey and see if you would benefit from any of the improvements for the earth? My way may not work for you, but I’m hoping maybe to help reduce stress, help the earth and make life easier for myself and maybe you too!

Coming up, my thoughts on:

-Swedish dish cloths

-Microfiber cleaning cloths

-Wool dryer balls

Until then, check out an older post on dishcloths…which may have unknowingly started this all.

Re-emerge with a purpose

Hello everyone! I’m finally re-emerging after a long hiatus. This year I’ve been working on making life better, making it easier, making it more enjoyable. It’s been a tough year, but as the end approaches I am realizing I have learned a lot and come far from where I started. I’ll fill you in on all the details over time, but for now I am reflecting on 2018 and looking forward to 2019 and how I can continue to make life more enjoyable.

Until next time, my challenge to you is to identify 3 things in life that cause you anxiety or stress. For me it’s technology (always being on the phone), a messy house and always being over scheduled/late.

I’ll explain how I’ve tackled each of these lately and how they have contributed to making life more enjoyable and hopefully something I have encountered can help you make your life even better too… because honestly, who doesn’t want life to be the best it can be all the time!

A quick spring pasta salad

Salads…we have a love hate relationship. Pasta too. But this past week I realized I need a little grain or pasta in my salads to make me satisfied. I don’t need a lot, but I do need some.

Searching the internet I stumbled upon a recipe that seemed simple. Then lost it. So I did what I imagined would work and boy did it. My husband even ate it all up. It never made it past the weekend for my weekday work salads. Woops. But I will say the basil and tomatoes really make this pop. I will be making it again this week.

Also…you can do this all in the time it takes the pasta to cook. It’s that easy. This made enough for 2 full bowls for lunch and 3 side dishes for our dinner and a side bowl for my LO.

Ingredients:

• Pasta, I used mini farfalle (bowties!), 1/3 a box
• Olive oil, about 4T or until pasta is coated
• Goat cheese, 1c (crumbled or separated into chunks…will melt so broken up to evenly blend in)
• Sundried tomatoes (bag or jar), 1c chopped
• Fresh basil, 3/4 a bunch
• Asparagus, 1/2 bunch
• S&P

Directions:

• Boil water and cook pasta
• Cut asparagus into bite size pieces, keeping the tips intact and blanch or steam until desired tenderness
• Chop or tear basil into strips
• Cut sundried tomatoes into strips
• Combine all together and add the goat cheese
• Add the olive oil to coat the pasta lightly (this may be more or less based on your pasta and personal preference. You just dont want dry pasta that sticks together)
• Add freshly ground salt and pepper to your liking. I do about 15 turns of our horrible grater for each.

You can eat this hot or cold folks. And for those with kids…you’re making pasta which almost every kid will eat so boil a little extra and if they like any of these ingredients make them a side bowl. My LO loved pasta with cheese and asparagus! 3 meals, 7 minutes. Score!

The week of the balsamic chicken

The only thing better than an easy, quick (literally 5 minutes to assemble and 20ish to cook), delicious and inexpensive meal is one that also continues to feed for multiple meals!

This weeks recipe is Balsamic Chicken. Note that you can make this with chicken breasts, thighs, etc. The amounts are guestimates as well, add or reduce an item or swap out with something similar if you don’t like one. Cooking should be creative!

You can also add potatoes into this dish, just use a large baking dish and add a little extra of everything aside from the chicken. Sometimes I do this and even add a little onion, because who doesn’t love gorgeous roasted onion slices!

It looks basic but it’s delicious. I am NOT a huge chicken fan unless it is hidden or cooked perfectly. So many times it is dry and bland and I just can’t have that. This recipe has yet to fail me (even if I overcook it by accident…come on I have a 1 and 2 year old, it happens).

Ingredients:

• 6 chicken thighs
• Balsamic vinegar reduction (you can also use regular but I like how the reduction is less acidic and a mlre rich flavor)
• Seeded mustard (works with anything but I like the texture of the seeds)
• Fig jam (honey could also be used)
• Minced garlic, aprox 6 cloves (make life easy, buy it minced)
• Rosemary, dried
• Salt and pepper

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 bake
• Put your chicken in an oven safe casserole pan and sprinkle it heavily with rosemary

• Drizzle balsamic vinegar over the top

• Add the mustard and fig jam equally and then add the garlic. You should be adding enough to spread over all the chicken.

• Add salt and pepper and bake about 20 minutes or until the chicken is done. I use a meat thermometer.

The last picture is blurry and I apoligize, I just couldn’t wait to dig in.

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Leftovers!

This week we had leftovers (I always make leftovers) but that is about all we had. I wanted it for lunch but it felt more dinner like, so…

Invention 1: Roast chicken and spinach tortilla. I added Simply Mayo Mustard Dressing as well. Amazing. Ignore that the spinach is on top, it was an after thought!

Invention 2: Roast chicken and cheese tortilla with the same mustard dressing. I ran out of spinach or I probably would have used that too.

I cannot stress how much I love this chicken. The possibilites are endless and you cannot mess it up. I tried several pinterest recipes and adapted them eventually to use my favorite combination of ingrediets, which I now pass to you. I hope you like this quick, inexpensive, simple and delicious dish too!

Reuse

I am loving decluttering, loving it. But, I cringe everytime I throw out a paper towel or kitchen sponge. I have a thing about germs and surfaces not having marks (when I finally get the clutter off), but I HATE buying paper towels. With a 2yo I go through a LOT.

So, I decided to go old school and obtained some good ol’ fashion dish cloths. I also bought a big pack of reusable cleaning cloths. Not only do I feel SO much better about going through a boatload a day but I am enjoying the different colors and patterns! And…they are super easy to store…unlike those jumbo rolls of paper towel that seem to always fly out of the closet at my head.

You can see a sampling here as I prepare them for storage. Luckily, I have a wonderful aunt who likes to make dish cloths so I have some really pretty ones. I also bought some on etsy with hearts and flowers.

Between the colors, patterns and different textures I really enjoy these more than the sponges which I felt just grew bacteria despite a good dishwasher so-called sanitize.

So while some of mine have had better days and faded, they have probably been through 100 washes in the machine, smell great, are soft and best yet are thrown in the laundry daily. 

The cleaning clothes are no where near as fun or pretty as the dish cloths…although of you search on amazon you can find other fabrics, colors and probably patterns too. I chose white so I could easily bleach them though. They are nothing fancy but they work. I can clean the whole kitchen with just 1 or 2,  but if I need more I dont care because I just wash them with the next load and they are back!

So while this seems silly, this switch has really made a difference in my life. I no longer buy a TON of paper towel, I no longer get clocked with rolls when I open the utility closet and I can spend the money on something else or salt it away. Also, I know that my dishes are being cleaned without any bacteria harboring in a sponge. Now that makes me happy and makes me feel better. Simple.

Consider joining me in saving the planet, money and killing bacteria. If interested I can find links for the etsy and amazon purchases, just leave me a note!

Simplicity

My goal this year (sort of a new years resolution) is to simplify. My primary goal is the house but it doesn’t stop there. I not only want to become more minimalist in the home but also learn to live with less clothes, less food in the cupboard, etc. My only problem is that I love to try new things…makeup, soaps, cleaners, etc. So, this isn’t am easy task. But I feel less stressed when things are simple and that makes me happy.
So, a handful of goals for the short term to try to achieve simplicity and a stress free happiness are:

1. Begin clearing out my house. 1 trash bag a week of stuff. 

2. Clean out our dining room so that it is no longer the off season decoration zone, the kid art storage center or the land where everything that ‘I dint know what to do with’ dies. Keep an eye out on this one, a friend and I are going to do a challenge!

3. Streamline my closets. Yes, closets. My room has 2 mini closets instead of a real one. Is so odd. This also applies to those damn underwear and sock drawers that always drive me crazy. 

4. Hang pictures on the walls in the bedroom and hallway and get the frames out of the dining room! Oh, and put pictures in the frames too, haha.

5. Learn as many easy, semi healthy, very tasty plus quick meals that I can in prep to go back to work. These must be loved by both myself and my husband, bonus if my daughter will eat them too (if they aren’t too spicy)!

So, that’s just a few things to come in the upcoming weeks. Please join along in simplifying…share any tips or questions you have and come on this journey with me!

Side note…if there are any products you want me to try and review please leave a comment to request!

Soap cleans…

Having had a baby with a very rare syndrome I have learned I need outlets to stay sane. While everyone is at work and my baby is asleep (something he does a lot of somedays) I decided it was time to fix up this house we moved into 5 years ago. Reality is we will need to move, but I don’t want to do that before we ever move in. So, clean out, organize and decorate were my plans. I’m still in all stages 😂

I also decided to get back into products and reviews. I was on a lucky streak and found some great products but I also fell prey to some too recently. Im starting the blog again so I will start positive.

About 2 years ago one of my SILs gave me some Chegrin Valley Soap and Salve products for Christmas. I ended up researching the company a bit and decided I could support them (aka I didnt feel like it was a scam or sketchy…sophisticated eh?).

So far (and I haven’t tried many yet) my absolute favorite is the Lavender Oatmeal Spice bar soap.

I use this as a facial soap and have never been happier. It not only smells *amazing* but it cleans away all makeup in seconds and doesn’t dry my skin out at all. And if the makeup removal wasnt already awesome it also lasts forever (I am going to guess 6 months) and I have NEVER had such clear skin…even when i was going to a dermatologist on a regular basis.

I cannot wait to order more products from Chegrin Valley Soap and Salve. Shipping deters me so when my husband goes back to Ohio I am going to have him pick me up some more products. I will say my least favorite item so far was a pumpkin lip balm, I just didnt like the taste and felt it disappeared too quickly. Hopefully that was a one off!

Back in the game…of critiquing, that is

This morning I considered closing my account…then saw that folks are still reading, especially reviews. So…I’m back! Now… recently, after becoming a mom and realizing I still need to really watch the products that I use, I started to try to pick products that were cleaner. Below is a very random assortment of reviews!

Novena Maternity Organic Fruit Facial Cleanser

I picked this product because it’s developed for pregnant women and therefore I figured it would be most clean of any products I could find in the store. The product is 88% Organic, 99% Natural and 100% Vegan. It also states that it removes makeup as well.

I ordered this and was excited to receive it. The product, for me, gets 3 stars.

Price: $19.99

Look: OK, look doesn’t really apply here but I am going to twist this category. The bottle is a plastic bottle with a label wrapped around it. The silver top is simply a silver piece around the stem of the bottle, which came off as soon as I took it out of the package. Does this affect the product? No. Does it annoy me? Yes.

Performance: Good. It states you only need a very small amount, but this was not the case for me. I had to use about a silver dollar amount in order to get the makeup off. I’m OK with this, but not at the price of $19.99 for 3.5oz. My face is clean afterwards though, and this is a very gentle cleanser.

Overall: Because I have to use so much and go through the bottle so quickly, I have to take away 2 stars. If I were one of the celebrities using this product and had unlimited funds, sure, I’d keep buying. But, I just don’t know if I will go back. I may stick with the Willa wash that I loved, which is half the price and lasts about 3x as long.

Side note – do not buy the sampler. The sampler was $3 and included enough product to try each item once. To me, that doesn’t give me anything more than an allergy test… you get better samples at Sephora, which I’m sure you can find a product just as good there.

whipping coconut oil?!

Enjoy the use of coconut oil but hate that you have to scoop it out of a jar, warm it up in your hands and then apply it? Or, balance it on the shelf of the tub or in the corner of the shower so you can let it warm up and melt before applying it? Well, let me rock your world with Whipped Coconut Oil.

Recently, when I ran out of coconut oil that I previously put in the jar in my bathroom I decided I’d give whipping it a try. I had read that you could do it and people liked it, but never actually wanted to put the effort in. My skeptical husband and his brother watched me as I scooped out the oil and put it in the mini food processor. I turned it on and let it go for a minute and poof – creamy goodness! Even they made comment on how it whipped!

The consistency is very smooth after whipping – very light and fluffy. It isn’t liquidy but it isn’t solid either. I thought after it cooled down from the whipping process it may solidify a little more but I was wrong. This stayed light and fluffy even after I transferred it to my jar and put it back in the bathroom. I will say that it has more of an oily consistency but then again, it’s oil. It immediately melts in your hand and makes applying extremely easy. The only downside is I need to scoop more often as when you put some in your hand it’s very liquidy so you don’t get as much. Bottom line – I’ll continue to whip it, it just makes it easier!

 

hot or not

A few weeks ago a friend made some delicious kale chips which even my husband raved about – and to date he “doesn’t like kale”. Well, I guess it was more like he didn’t like when I made kale. So, I decided to peruse the website which these were made from, A Spicy Perspective. As I did this I became addicted and found about a dozen meals that I wanted to make for dinner right then and there.

Today, a friend introduced me to Popsugar, where I’ve been addicted to reading the latest and greatest on entertainment news, mom stuff, food, etc. I became addicted to this quickly too and downloaded the iPhone app.

So, this post is to do nothing more than rave and share these new favorite sites with you. But, after all look at some of these recipes from both sites and tell me you don’t want to go check out more?! Yup, I didn’t think you could… Now I have to run off and read all about Kate Middleton and the royal baby!

Quinoa Burrito Bites

Yogurt & Vanilla Bean Waffles

One great, one not so great, product

Browsing through Sephora I decided to ask the rep about their more “natural” products as I knew I needed to replace my beloved Clinique Even Better Moisturizer (which I must say that I LOVE!) solely due to baby and my not being able to use the active ingredient. I have been using Coconut Oil, which is great for a moisturizer, but unfortunately if it gets near my mascara it makes it smudge too easily. So, the venture for a new lotion was started.

Call me skeptical, a pain in the butt, whatever you want but I grabbed a few samples based on the rep’s advice and then researched them. The one I ended up thinking would be the best to try was Caudalie Vinosource Moisturizing Mattifying Fluid:

This stuff uses Organic Grape Water…which apparently is filtered rain water which then goes through the grape plant. It supposedly decreases skin sensitivity and improves hydration. I don’t know if this is true, nor do I really care, because the lotion is great. It’s not a heavy winter moisturizer at all but it’s great for skin that is a little dry or tight but not flaking or cracking. I haven’t broken out at all, I don’t get shiny and it smells great and spreads super easy like water (go figure). I typically use this during the day, then the coconut oil at night (if needed).

On the flip side, I found one product that I will recommend you stay away from if you use makeup. Avalon Organics Vitamin C Renewal Cleansing Milk seemed like a great idea. It’s a milk, which is usually more moisturizing, it smelled fantastic (I have a thing for citrus smells!) and it was organic and inexpensive.

I will start by saying this is gentle, smells great and does leave your skin more moisturized than a lot of cleansers I’ve used. But, this doesn’t take off makeup very well at all. Each night I end up with raccoon eyes and I get my towel marked with mascara and then need a tissue to wipe the circles off of my face. Product fail. Maybe that’s the trade off for it’s benefits but I’ll finish this up as a morning cleanser in the shower and will continue on my search for a new cleanser…after I scold Target for discontinuing to carry my favorite facial wash. And fantastik. The nerve…

 

Winter style blues

In the last 7 months of pregnancy I’ve missed a few things – sushi, wine and shopping. But, I think most of all, shopping and fashion. Yes, maternity clothes have come a long way and can be cute but lets admit it, the variety will never rival my pre-prego closet. And while I’ve tried to fulfill my desire to shop with updating costume jewelry, handbags and shoes, it’s just not the same.

If you follow me on Pinterest you may be aware, I haven’t pinned anything maternity, but I have plugged on pinning clothes for post baby 🙂 Yes, some may not be realistic right away but here are some of my favorite style pins from the past few months.

I can’t wait to get back into real clothes! I also can’t wait to get into a bathing suite – yes, bathing suit. Although this summer I think I may opt for a one-piece!

 

Checklist Challenge Recap and lessons learned

Finding time to do the items on a ‘to do’ list can be a challenge in it’s own. The list I set out to accomplish earlier last year has had it’s up’s and down’s. Here’s a recap on the projects, the progress made, challenges encountered and most importantly…lessons learned for the pending 2014 list!

List of success!

1. Make a shower curtain to fit my very odd sized shower.

This fell to the bottom of my list as the bathroom wasn’t painted and I lost those pesky sewing machine instructions. I eventually ended up making this and it was quite easy! Accomplishing this did require me to take a day out of work, but it was worth it. I felt like I not only accomplished something, but also learned!! Now you’re probably asking what I could have learned from making a shower curtain? I learned to plan a project every other month that required the sewing machine. This will eliminate the stupid mistakes and reduce my project frustration!

2. Paint the master suite. All of it – bedroom, walk in closer/sewing room, bathroom and hallway.

Yeha, we went from yellow sponge paint and a pinkish brown wall to a serene gray palate. I was worried that gray was going to be blah, but I learned to accessorize for color, which conveniently is a very easy and cheap change to make when I get off of my aqua whim and move onto something else…

5. Make a beautiful twist/braided pearl necklace for summer.

OK, I did this but I didn’t realize how hard it was going to be. I thought you threaded a few strands, attached those to the clasp and poof, necklace! This required measuring strands for the beads, determining how many beads were needed for each strand based on the mm size of the bead, and then getting my husband to help me do the “twist” part to put it all together. In the end, I didn’t any $ and definitely did not save any time!

6. Read more blogs, a newspaper or watch the news for at least an hour during the week and an hour on the weekends.

Ding ding ding, I accomplished this one! Making a conscious effort to get home earlier I get to turn the news on. I have discovered that the news repeats over and over and over again though. Boring. But thanks for all my fellow bloggers, I’ve had a delightful time reading blogs this year!

7. Building myself a shoe closet.

My husband bought a saw and I came home to a shoe closet ! Yes, it still needs to be painted but at least I’ve got shelves!

9. Create some sort of a picture or piece of wall art for the dining room.

Hm, we didn’t do this but we did get a huge Dell’s Lemonade canvas for the kitchen. That wasn’t anticipated but extremely needed so I’m going to allow for the swap 🙂 Plus, my in-laws bought us a pretty cool fish sculpture so that filled the need!

10. Create a “regular post” of something.

I did this with my bedroom makeover but unfortunately the challenge I picked I found not to work at all. I did learn that I just need to plan out my projects and spend some time at home to accomplish them. Home sweet home!

List of ‘I didn’t do so well’:

3. Make a piece of clothing for myself.

Well, this didn’t happen. I did hem/fix a bunch of clothes that I already own though, so now I can actually wear them. Maybe in 2014 I’ll aim to make something for baby!

4. Gut and design a new half bath/laundry area.

Designed yes, started the project, no. I realized that projects involve a lot of think ahead planning and coordination! I never realized you had to order sinks and toilets 6-8 weeks before the contractor needed them! But… item’s are ordered and on their way, so that’s a plus!

8. Make pillows for the living room.

Um, no. I actually found some really cool ones at Home Goods so I’m crossing this off the list!

11. Make curtains for the living room.

OK we haven’t gotten to the living room yet. It needs paint first, but my husband insists this is after the baby’s room is done so we’re looking at late 2014, hah!

12. Make curtains for the office.

See #11.

13. Redo the guest room.

In progress. As I learned with the bedroom makeover, plan plan plan. Step 1: Convince hubby as to what needs to go to the donation center! (done). Step 2: Somehow convince husband to paint the room when he paints the baby’s room. Hm…

so my biggest takeaway from 2013 is to make realistic projects and plans, plans, plans! Also, take more pictures and be better at posting updates. Maybe the posting of 2013 projects will be a 2015 goal!

A whole new batch of January product reviews!

Why is it that you always want what you can’t have? These past few months have been interesting. Being a first time mommy-to-be but no one else knowing, it’s been hard to switch products or try new products without letting on. It’s also been interesting trying to find ‘healthy’ product options and giving up tried, true and oh so loved products that I’ve used for years! But, I will admit sometime nature needs to take a backseat for happiness…so not all these are ‘healthy’!

Maybelline Soft and Full Waterproof Mascara

This past Thanksgiving, I found myself laying down at my in-laws thinking of my pending trip to the Bahamas. At that moment I realized I didn’t have waterproof mascara thanks to the failure of a ‘waterproof’ mascara I tried when I went to St. Lucia. So, I began googling. I then began pulling up website recommendations on Amazon to read buyer reviews. I settled on a few, depending on what Target had in stock. I bought the Maybelline Soft and Full Waterproof Mascara.

Having used the regular version of this in the past, I knew I liked the product just didn’t love it. But as long as it was waterproof and I wouldn’t look tired on my entire vacation, I was game. I bought it the next day. Fast forward a few days and I was in the Bahamas, contemplating if I should wear it on a snorkel/swim catamaran trip. I tried it on, washed my face, rubbed my eyes. So far so good. I decided to try it, but tell my husband he had to tell me if I looked like raccoon eyes! I put on oil free sunscreen, swam, rubbed my eyes, etc. It never budged. In fact, the only time I had mini-raccoon eyes was after washing it off with soap, which a second application of soap fixed. Verdict? Great buy!

Price: $5-8 depending on store

Look: Mainly darkening. It didn’t add much length but with the fat brush it did reach all of my lashes! I only found this in Black, but I didn’t find it to be harsh.

Performance: Really good. Lasted through swimming, needed a double soap application to remove. Left lashes soft.

Overall: I will use this as my summertime mascara when going to the beach.

Palmers Body Butter

After I told people I was expecting, I received a lot of comments about stretch marks. Now, I’ve read that they’re hereditary so no cream will really save you but I a) didn’t want to take a chance and b) was experiencing the New England beginning of winter itchy, dry and tight skin. So, I bought the butter. I slather this stuff on like it’s going out of style, but it lasts a long time.

Price: $6 for the 3.5oz jar

Feel: In the jar, this is tough to get out…especially the first ‘scoop’. It’s a solid (not a cream) and very thick. It requires you to scoop some into your hands and then rub your hands to melt it. Once on your body it creates a very silky, almost oily look. It’s smooth as butta 😉

Performance: Works so well to keep your skin hydrated. I could get away with applying once a day, but I love it too much that I do morning and evening. Instantly your skin feels hydrated and soft, even if before you applied the butter it felt like alligator skin. If I could I would melt this and take a bath in it. Seriously.

Overall: Love it for a moisturizing agent, not just for pregnancy. It does smell like a burnt coconut which I have a love/hate relationship with (love coconuts, hate burnt) but it works so well and the scent isn’t overpowering that I just don’t care. I’ll buy this again and again…especially now that they have a paraben free one (works just as well, I have that too)!

Shea Moisture Body Wash: Olive & Green Tea

Price: $8.99 for the 13oz size at Target

Consistency: A liquidy gel and yes, it really is a green/yellow color, very similar to olive oil color!

Performance: This stuff suds up like a kids bubble bath! I drizzle it over my body pouf similar to how they drizzle caramel sauce on top of my Starbucks latte and it’s plenty for a shower! It’s very light feeling and the suds wash off very easily. It really does seem to be hydrating though, which I noticed after using a while that one of the first ingredients is coconut related – and you may know how I back coconuts!

Smell: This is a very mild smelling product. It doesn’t smell like olive, green tea or avocados, it actually doesn’t have much of a smell at all. This is the only dislike I really have for the product as I really love a great fresh smell in the morning.

Overall: Really good product. It’s natural (woohoo!) and works really well from lathering to cleaning/hydrating and it’s cheaper than many other natural products. I wish the smell was a little more fresh (maybe more green tea?) but in no way shape or form will that keep me from buying another bottle! It will replace my Cetaphil bar (sorry Cetaphil, I loved you as a winter soap for a couple years but this is natural!).

Maybelline: Color show #300 (Fuchsia Fever)

Price: $4.29 from CVS

Color: The color in the bottle is great. It looks glossy and is a bright purple. I was excited to try this as a fall/winter/early spring color.

Performance: Awful. I didn’t expect a flat color. I want to know where the shine went as soon as I put it on my nails?! Also, the color isn’t incredibly thick so it takes a couple of coats. I would have been OK with the extra coats if there was a shine to the product.

Misc: This is formaldehyde, DBP and Toluene free.

Overall: Extremely disappointed. I haven’t used this again and won’t buy another in any other colors. While I love that it’s formaldehyde, dbp and toluene free I can’t get past the horrible lack of a sheen in the finish or the fact that it was so thin.

NOW…I know I already did a post on Coconut Oil, BUT, I keep falling in love with this product more and more so I have to mention it again.

I’m truly amazed by this product. Yes, it started as a search for a facial moisturizer but it quickly amounted to more. The hydrating powers of this stuff is amazing, really. I got pneumonia a week or so ago and could barely stand up so a lot of things were pushed by the wayside. I continued to use the coconut oil on my face but that was all I could muster the energy for. Two days ago my hands were red and scaly, like a poor fish fin. I finally sucked it up enough to get to the bathroom and get the oil. One application overnight and no more redness. Another application this morning and boom, almost back to normal. I’ve also noticed (because there’s not much else to do when you lay in bed 24 hours a day) that my nails are in the best shape ever, including cuticles. My husband even comments on how soft my skin is… a first in the 6 years I’ve known him (and at my oldest!). I don’t understand the magic of this stuff but love it. And if you google it you can even read on WedMD or other websites the many different uses such as diaper rashes, for your hair, psoriasis, mouth cleanser, etc.