Sephora Haul

Hey ya'll!!

I FINALLY paid Sephora a lovely little visit! It's been so long since I've set foot in one due to my September No Buy. According to my "Purchases" on my Sephora account, the last time I shopped there was August 3. Two months for me not shopping at Sephora is crazy!! I'm a very frequent Sephora shopper, and normally I'm in there about every two weeks. I'm really proud of myself for that accomplishment! Not only did I pick up goodies from Sephora, but a Nordstrom just opened up in one of the mall's in my area, so I picked up a couple of products from there as well.

The first thing I picked up is the Benefit Gimme Brow in the shade Medium/Dark. I recently finished up the Anastasia Tinted Brow Gel in the shade Brunette and was in the market for a new one. I didn't repurchase the Anastasia Brow Gel because I really didn't care for it that much and wanted to try something new. I wanted a brow product that would be great for my minimal makeup days. The Gimme Brow has little fibers in it that make you look like you have fuller brows than you actually do. I've got high hopes for this product and am looking forward to testing it out.

Sticking with the brows, I've been using Benefit's Brow Zing for forever now, and have been wanting to try something new. I decided to go with Anastasia's Dip Brow in the shade Soft Brown. I've heard lots of great things about this product. I have used it once, and when I first applied it I was shocked by how bold and dark my brows looked. I'm so used to using and working with powder, that this mousse formula threw me for a loop. When I first applied it, I thought they looked way too dark. After it dried and the day went on, it started to look normal again. I'm going to wear it for a few more days, and if I still feel like it's too dark then I'm going to exchange it for a lighter shade.

I cannot tell you how happy I am to have this next product back in my life. In August I used up the last little bit of the Dior Addict Lip Glow and have missed it terribly. This lip balm works with the warmth in your skin to give your lips their very own perfect shade of pink. I finally repurchased it and am excited to have it back in my collection. This balm lives in my purse and goes everywhere with me. It gives me the perfect shade of pink and is super moisturizing. I absolutely love it.

This next product I did not intend to buy. It wasn't anywhere on my radar. As I was browsing through Sephora, I stopped by the Marc Jacobs section and remembered seeing a couple beauty bloggers talk about this bronzer. It's definitely not widely talked about, so I honestly never really thought about it. I went back to it about three times before finally caving in a putting it in my bag. I don't self tan as much in the Fall and Winter, so I wanted a lighter, more natural looking bronzer. This is really smooth in texture, and the color is very natural with just a little bit of an orange tone in it. I have only used it once so I can't say too much about it just yet, but I will keep you updated on it.

After Sephora, I popped into Nordstrom. I have been eyeing this brush for months now and finally decided it was time to buy it. I am so happy I got it. It is super easy to use, the bristles are really soft, and it cut the time it usually takes for me to contour in half. It is a pricey brush, but I've been really thinking about it for a long time and decided it was a must have. 

I have been hearing a lot of buzz about this color and decided to finally check it out for myself. This is M.A.C.'s Velvet Teddy. Apparently this is the exact lipstick Kyle Jenner uses. It's really pretty, and is a comfortable matte lipstick. I see myself getting a lot of use out of this in the next couple of months. This is a matte shade that you could easily rock all year long.

I hope ya'll enjoyed today's post! Let me know in the comments below what beauty products you're lusting over, and what products you've recently purchased.

xoxo,

Casey

Beauty And The Books: Books I've Read Recently

Hey ya'll!!

Today I introduced my Beauty And The Books series to my YouTube channel! I talk about the last four books I've read and give mini reviews on each.

The first book I talk about is Born At Midnight by C.C. Hunter. I totally forgot I already did a Book Review on it at the end of August. For some reason I thought I had finished it in the beginning of September, but really it was the very end of August, oops! The other three books mentioned in this video are Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, If I Stay by Gayle Forman, and Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor. Watch the video below for a mini review on each of these books.

I hope ya'll enjoyed this video. Have a great weekend!

xoxo,

Casey

Mommy Minute: Kason's 9 Month Update

Hey ya'll!!

Kason is 9 MONTHS OLD! I can't even believe how fast his first year is going by. We went to the doctor today for his 9 Month Well Check and I have a big boy on my hands. He weighs 21 lbs. 3 oz. (75%), is 29.5 inches long (90%), and has a head circumference of 18.9 inches (99%).

I'm not going to lie, this month was a rough one! I love my boy more than anything, but he sure has put me through the ringer these past few weeks. He's been super fussy, all day every day. I talked to the doctor, and we've summed it up to two things. One, he's still teething. He has his two bottom teeth, and is working on the top teeth. His two bottom teeth came in pretty much a week or two apart so I have a feeling both of his top teeth are trying to come in at the same time. The second reason, I think this is the main reason, is that he gets really frustrated with himself. He hasn't started crawling yet, but he wants to SO BAD! He has been trying really hard, but he just hasn't gotten the hang of it yet. He can roll over both ways, and can move from a sitting position onto his belly, but he can't get up from that belly position which results in a full blow melt down. He's reaching for everything, and is constantly throwing every toy in sight, which make him mad when he can't reach for them and get them back on his own. At this point, I will be throwing a full blown celebration the day he learns to crawl, because I think that will solve a lot of his fussy problems.

He's been really into exploring what his voice can do. He's been making a lot more sounds, and he loves to experiment. Right now, his favorite sound to make is a high pitched scream. He screams so loud! And he doesn't discriminate where or when these screams occur. He will do it at 7am when he decides he doesn't want to sleep in, he will do it in the car, he will even do it in the check out line at Target in the middle of the day when there's only a handful of people around so that they all turn and stare at the same time. He likes to have squealing matches too. We've started the "Battle of the Squeals". He does it, I copy him, he does it back, and thinks it's the funniest thing ever.

He also really, really loves iPhone's & iPad's. Pretty much anything that lights up and makes noise he believes is fair game. He's like a mosquito to a bug zapper. He could be having a full blown mental breakdown until you pull out an iPhone. He immediately shuts up, his eyes get really big, and his mouth makes an "O" shape all while reaching as far as he can with both hands. This boy is something else. It's absolutely hilarious, but can get annoying when we are sitting on the couch and I'm trying to beat a level of Pet Rescue, and he's messing me up by reaching over me to get to the phone and falling into my lap.

His latest toy has been his V-Tech Sit to Stand and he really enjoys it. It has a ton of buttons that he can press that light up and make a ton of different sounds and noises. It can lay flat and sit next to him on the floor, or it can stand up on wheels, which is how we set it up. It will be good for when he starts to walk because he can hold the handle and push it. His favorite thing about it is the little purple telephone that detaches from it. Every time I turn the toy on, the first thing he does is take the phone off. I will put it back on and as soon as my hand moves away he's taking it off again.

He's definitely in the "Separation Anxiety" faze. He freaks out when I leave the room. Screams, kicks, cries, the whole nine yards. I will poke my head from around the corner to let him know I'm still there, or I will talk to him from the other room to let him know I'm close by, and he starts to laugh. But once I think he's ok, I turn back to leave again and the crying ensues.  He doesn't do it every single time I leave the room, but it is a daily occurrence. I know this is just a faze that he will soon grow out of. Again, I will be happy when he can crawl, because if he wants to see me he can just follow me from room to room.

He learned how to drink from a straw this month and I was super excited about it. If you've been keeping up with my Mommy Minute's then you know that I was trying to find a sippy cup that worked for him. He did finally learn how to drink from a regular sippy cup, and shortly after figured out how to use a straw. I really prefer the cups with a straw because they are much easier for him to drink from while sitting up. I mix his cup with half water, half apple juice, and he sips on that through out the day. I also introduced Mesh Feeder's to him at the beginning of the month and we have had a lot of success with them. He's getting a lot of practice with those on how to feed himself, and I've already seen improvements in his ability to feed himself in the last couple of weeks. He doesn't have the "pincer grasp" down quite yet, but he is able to pick things up with his hand and bring his hand to his mouth. He has about a 50% success rate of actually getting the food into his mouth, but it's getting a lot better! Next week I will be doing another update on his Daily Schedule and his eating routine, so I will talk more about that then.

Even though we had a tough month, it was still a good one. Little man is growing like a weed and is learning and doing new things every day. I can't believe it's almost time for me to plan his First Birthday Party. I already have some ideas and am getting pretty excited about it. Poor guy's birthday is four days after Christmas. After I had him I told Kevin that I wondered if it was going to be a bummer for him to have his birthday so close to Christmas. It may not be that big of a deal because he won't ever know any different. If any of you have kid's with birthday's close to Christmas, I'd love to know how it is for you!

If you have any Mommy Minute discussion suggestions, please let me know in the comments below.

xoxo,
Casey