2015 Goals

2014 has come to an end and what a great year it was! 

In true goal format form, lets recap, SHALLLL WE!

We started off the year beginning our never ending house hunting search and finally landed on an amazing house! We moved in 2 days before Jereks birthday and started the remodeling right away! I spent my first weekend away from all the boys at a little getaway scrapbooking with my mom right after mothers day. July was here before we knew it and while I turned 28 little baby Skylor turned the big O-N-E. In September we took our first family of four photos {finally!} and this little blogspace of mine saw it's first birthday. On October 10th Jerek surprised me by proposing just shy of 11 years together! December is almost over and Tracen just turned four?! How is it possible, I just remember finding out I was pregnant! 2015 is upon us and I'm making some big goals for myself. 

It's been a full year since I wrote this post and started posting my monthly goals. To be honest I thought I was going to be a mega flake every month and not continue them. But to my surprise I really kept them up! There were months that were better than others but over all I usually accomplished 75% of them every month. I decided I'm going to keep up the monthly goals as they really hold me accountable through out the days, months and year. I'm going to do a little something different this year though and  do three yearly goals in addition to my monthly goals. These three yearly goals are something I can work on throughout the year and not just for a month. 

Recapping December goals:

1. Drink more water- I haven't been drinking crazy amounts but I've been getting my daily intake that I should be.

2. Deep clean the house-This was half accomplished. Since we had people over for Tracen's birthday and for Christmas morning we deep cleaned the main floor but I can't vouch for the upstairs!

3. Make a growth chart-I'm currently off to the hardware store right now to get everything I need! I'll have a separate post on it in this next week!


YEAR GOALS:
1. Reduce debt: Basically I want to pay down debt. I mean who doesn't but I want this to be a BIG focus this year. I think they recommend you to have no more than 40% of your available credit used. This has always been an issue for me, especially in college and unfortunately I carried over this bad habit and haven't done that much to stop it until recently. I want to really focus on getting rid of my credit card debt and just having them for emergency. It's never a good idea to cancel cards because then your debt to income ratio lowers and it can show up as a negative on your credit report. 

2. Volunteer my time: Jer and I are so lucky to have great jobs, own a house, drive nice cars, etc etc that I want to do more for others. While I always am donating things around the house and giving money to different charities it's just not enough. I would love to get Tracen involved as well because monkey see monkey do ya know! These can range from delivering meals to people in need, donating to kids, volunteering at schools or at women's shelters. Whatever it is I just want to do more and hopefully I can do something every month no matter how "busy" life gets.

3. Buy & learn final cut pro: This will probably come later on if I upgrade my computer because as of right now my Mac Air will not be able hold Final Cut pro due to lack of space. This is one goal that if it doesn't happen this year I'm okay with it as it holds a big price tag on it but something I want so badly!

4. Work on German: I've been taking German classes since 8th grade and even have a degree in it but I've been loosing it as I rarely speak it at work or daily anymore. My company offers free Rosette Stone and I signed up for it this past year I didn't do a damn thing with it, bad, I know! This year I'm going to try and make it a priority. This can be done through the program at work or watching Youtube videos, learning new vocab, etc.

5. Live healthier: I started back up at the gym last month and while that's great n' all I fully believe that 80% of what your body looks like is based on what you put into it. While I'm all about indulging in that fountain coke or food baby Chipotle burritos I really need to get a grip! I want to start counting my macro's, choosing to eat out less and really diving in on eating healthier. I know it will take a good few months to figure things out as we grocery shop for four people and on a budget but this needs to be a priority for all of us and as they say, if the kids see you eating veggies, they will eat veggies or hopefully eat veggies!


1. Run 10 miles a week: I have been pretty good about making it to the gym a good 3 times a week so this shouldn't be too hard. I want to increase the amount every month in preparation for running some 10k's and the half marathon this year. 

2. Print pictures: I take a ton of pictures and either post them on my social media accounts or throw them on my external hard drive and they sit there for a while. Jerek made a gallery wall in the corner of our family room but the frames either have old pictures or are blank and I'm sick of hearing Jerek's nagging voice 'are we ever going to fill these things?' 

3. Learn how to fly/video with my drone: Jerek was a real babe this Christmas and remembered I kept talking about wanting a drone! I have dreams of video footage for the vlogs and he surprised me with one for Christmas! Although the weather is going to be garbage come January I'm sure, I want to really figure it out! Keep your eyes peeled in future videos!

I hope you all had a great year and remember if 2014 wasn't a year you want to remember or times were exceptionally tough you always have another day, month and year to do better and change things. This is your life and you are living it. Love you guys and happy new year!!!

20 Questions: 4 years old

Hey, it's me, Chelsea...I've fell off my blog/vlogmas for a bit as things have been a bit harry around these bits of blogland and I'm up to my tits in toys from Christmas and Tracen's birthday. While I'm off till January 5th I have it planned out that we will be going through all books, toys and clothes and purging some more, I seriously can't get enough of this lately!

This past Sunday was Tracen's 4th birthday and as I said in my December goals we had a fun little party planned! The theme was PJ's & Pancakes, and yes, I came up with the idea. We are a big breakfast/brunch family and tend to live in our PJ's on the weekends {slash right when we get home from work.} If you haven't seen the video I made for Tracen here it is again. I cried about a bajillion times while making it, so you've been warned!

I pin a lot of things but I also tend to forget about things until months or in this case a year later. I pinned this last year thinking, 'I need to do this, I really hope I remember when Tracen turns three.' I remembered the pin about 6 months ago and figured I would just wait till he's four. Since it's been 6 days post fourth birthday, it is time for the 20 Q & A to begin!

This idea is strictly taken from the amazing blog Reaves, Party of Three so I can't take any credit for thinking of this on my own. If you are anything like me, here is your reminder for all those pins you keep forgetting about and maybe you pinned this one last year too!

December 21, 2014 || 4 years old
1. What's your favorite color? RED
2. What's your favorite toy? CHOO CHOO'S & TOY PHONES
3. What's your favorite fruit? BANANAS, CAUSE I'M A MONEKY
4. What's your favorite TV show? KAI LAN, BUT SHE'S ON VACATION
5. What's your favorite thing to eat for lunch? LUNCHABLES (yes, I give in a few times a week!)
6. What's your favorite outfit? JAMMIES! {HENCE THE THEMED BIRTHDAY PARTY!}
7. What's your favorite game? IPAD GAMES
8. What's your favorite snack? WATERMELON & STRAWBERRIES {MAKES UP FOR THE LUNCHABLES RIGHT?}
9. What's your favorite animal? MONKEYS, CAUSE THEY CLIMB & MAKE CUTE NOISES
10. What's your favorite song? TWINKLE TWINKLE
11. What's your favorite book? A NIGHT TIME BOOK AT MIA'S {UHH JENNY??}
12. Who's your best friend? GWIFFIN!
13. What's your favorite cereal? CHERRIOS, BUT WITH NO MILK
14. What's your favorite thing to do outside? PLAY ON OUR PLAYGROUND IN OUR BACKYARD
15. What's your favorite drink? APPLE JUICE 
16. What's your favorite holiday? EASTER BECAUSE OF THE EGG HUNTS!
17. What do you take to bed with you at night? WITTLE BLANKIE & GEORGE THE MONEKY
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? BACON & STRAWBERRIES
19. What do you want to eat for dinner for your birthday? CUPCAKES WITH NO FROSTING OR SPRINKLES 
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A RACE CAR DRIVER WITH A SWOARD ON TOP OF THE ROOF BUT NOT ON MY HEAD.

Well there ya go! Some of these I already knew but some I was pretty surprised when he answered to be honest! I hope you all had an amazing holiday spent with family and/or friends and I'm stoked to start 2015...mainly because of my new gold planner, SWOON!

Things I'm Sick of Saying

Last week I posted about shit my toddler says. While most of you probably nodded your heads and realized these damn toddlers are all the same some of you were probably saying 'Chelsea, what about us, what about the shit WE say!'

Don't worry, I didn't forget about you, ohhh I promise I didn't forget about you! If I told you I felt like I was turning into my mother would you believe me? Probably. Because I am. Sometimes under my breath I mutter, because I said so! Or because I'm the mom Tracen, OKAYYYYY!' Lately I've been busting out the old 'go ask your dad' card! If I got paid every time I said the following things I would probably be as rich as Kelsey Zachow.



"We don't hug Skylor's neck, you're going to hurt him"
"Stop screaming. You're inside, if you want to scream go outside" 
"It's time to go read books and go to bed"
"No, you've watched enough Peppa Pig"
"We don't stick our head in the potty, it's yucky in there"
"Stop touching your wiener."
"Tracen, put clothes on"
"Did you just bootay toot?"
"There's no way your're still hungry!?'
"You ate all the fruit dude, sorry!"
"We don't eat dog food Skylor"
"No, you had enough ice cream."
"Please stop jumping on the couch"  x7357456078247325756745
"Honestly, what more could you possibly eat right now Tracen!?"
"Don't touch mommy's makeup"
"Stop whipping your face on my clothes"
"We don't play in the trash Skylor"
"We don't throw blocks"
"We don't throw books"
"We don't throw anything"
"Put it down please, I don't want glitter everywhere"
"The park is closed"
"The Slurpee store is closed"
"Kai Lan is on vacation...still"
"Can I have my pillow back?"
"Give Trey his sippy back Sky"
"Put the cushions back on the couch"
"Can everyone just leave me alone for two seconds!!!!!!"
"Can I pee alone pleaseeeee!"
"I'm sorry but I can't hold you both, get milk and peel a banana guys."
"Flush the toilet"
"Put the seat down when you're done."
"You sure do poop a lot."
"Sky, how did you blow your pants out...AGAIN!"
"NOT IT!"
"Whats for dinner" (haha)
"There's no where to get married"
"I wish we had more money"
"I'm sick of doing dishes"
"Do we haveeee to watch Ancient Aliens..."
"All you boys drive me insane! Yes Ducati, even you!"
"Stop kicking my chair"

This post might be 100 pages long if I continue so I'm going to stop there! While all these boys drive me crazy on the daily I wouldn't have it any other way! I know one day its going to be me and Jerek and we're going to be bored as hell driving to colleges and different cities trying BEGGING our kids to hang out with us. So for now I'll just complain on here until the time comes and ya'll can tell me that you told me so!

Younique Mascara First Impression Review

If you follow me on Instagram you know I'm not afraid to take a selfie and post it when I'm feelin fly, aint no shame in my game, nooooo sir! Today I wanted to give you a very real and unbiased first impression/review of the Younique 3D fiber lash mascara that has been flooding Facebook and Instagram lately, at least it has all over my news feed!




Just a little or big side note, I bought this mascara on my own and I'm not getting paid to review this nor am I helping anyone out that sells it. You may wonder why I'm saying this but I just don't want anyone thinking I'm giving you  this review because I personally sell it, am making money off of it or talking it up to help another seller out. If you know me, you know that I love reading reviews and I also love talking my face off, soo, I figured I would combine the two and make a video for you!

I won't go into detail on here as that's the whole point I made the video but I wanted to include some before and after photos on here as some prefer photos over video.





We're all one big family here so what may work for one person may not work for the other but I always love hearing other peoples thoughts and comments or tips and tricks so comment away friends!

Stocking Stuffers for Men

Yesterday it was all about me the ladies but today it's all about you guys. I'm talking to the guys that read this {uhhh if that's even a thing. Okay I know my friend Alex and Nick do so kudos to you gentleman!} Really though its for the women in your life that can't think of anything besides condoms and cigars to get you. Too much? 


Well as I stated yesterday Jerek and I don't get gifts for each other now that we have little humans and a lot of family to buy for. Jer is always complaining that I am so great {toot toot!} at finding things for his stocking so I figured I share the wealth for you girlfriends, moms or partners that may be a little stuck.






While I usually get Jerek his favorite cologne it is sadly discontinued, so while he figures out what who he wants to smell like picking up a body spray by Axe is very easy and affordable and the scent he already likes! If your man is in need of a new wallet but wants to skip the huge bulky scene this time around, Zara men does some great little card holders. Hair spray may seem silly but we go through a lot in our house and I'm rather sick of Jerek walking into my dressing room and asking 'where da snookie spray at!' Tresemme hair spray is our favorite drugstore hair spray hands down.

Jerek is a skinny tie lover and I always try and sneak a new one in when I can. This one from Forever 21 is simple and classic and will match his eyes! From button downs to scarfs I just love all things plaid and this scarf ties in so many different colors you can wear it with anything.

Coffee. There really isn't much more to say but we RUN on it! They converted someones office at work into a coffee shop {true story} so I figured some K-cups for his desk could be a nice gesture for that new Kurig they just got. Jereks ALL time favorite candy are these weirdo Ferrero things! The guy will sit in bed and watch ancient aliens and eat a whole container. This is the one thing he always knows will show up in his stocking from me! Shaving cream can irritate mens faces but this one from EOS is fragrance free and is loaded with moisture. Last but not least are scratch offs. My dad started these with me when I was little and I always like throwing them in stockings or birthday cards. There's nothing like winning a few bucks that can really change your mood!

If you missed yesterday's post on what to stuff in the your ladies stocking you can check it out here. Hope you all are getting your holiday shopping done and scoring some great deals! If you have any other ides on what to get the men in your life leave them below! I'm not done with Jerek's stocking yet and could use a few extra ideas!

Stocking Stuffers for the Ladies

13 days guys, 13 days!!!
The holidays are right around the corner and I have about negative 2 gifts bought. Yup. I'm one of those people. The one that waits till the week of and then gets all pissy because I'm at Target on the 23rd and so is everyone in southeast Michigan. RUDE!

If you are anything like me and love stuffing stockings, seriously I loveeeee stocking shopping, then keep reading. Jerek always complains around this time and it usually goes something like this:

J: 'ughhhh, it's not fair, you always do good stockings. 
I never know what to get you'
C: dude, you're nuts, I like EVERYTHING! 
Go to the dollar section at Target or Old Navy.
Find a cute piece of jewelry at Forever 21.
Or Victoria Secrets if you don't want me 
wearing granny panties errday.
J: you're so annoying, I'm not buying you underwear
C: but I NEED it. I also need chocolate, coffee 
and fireball, water my beach angel!
J: fine, I'll just get everything you said but it's not
going to be a surprise now. You're seriously so hard to buy for.


With that being said, we also try and keep it under $100 {or less!} and we don't buy each other any gifts. We buy things for ourselves through out the year and get gift cards for birthday's and Christmas that we really don't see it necessary to spend money on each other. Plus we like going shopping the day after Christmas and dropping some hard earned cash while scoring those major 40-60% off the store deals that everyone has! 

So if you are like Jerek and need ideas to fill up those stocking for the ladies in your life, here ya go friends! 
So everything you see are products that I already own or wouldn't mind owning and would love to open on Christmas morning {hint hint hintttttt} The bath and body works candles are my go to candles but ONLY and I repeat ONLY when they are 2 for $22 because $22 for ONE candle is nonsense to me! These gloves from Forever 21 have that faux leather on the palms with a tweed looking top, real dreamy grown up if you ask me! Tea oh tea how I love the! The sugar cookie sleigh ride tea is only available at the holidays and I'm already running  out! This tea is MEGA affordable so buy a box or three while you're at it guys!

I love a good black snood but this one from Forever 21 has a hood! Like what could be cuter, NOTHING that's what! I never buy a full bottle of perfume because A. that shit is expensive! and B. I am always changing it up. My girlfriend bathes in Angel and it's something I'm never sick of and have been dying to snag this up but a full size bad boy can cost you some extra mula! This travel size fella is perfect and fits right into our stocking budget {real subtle Chelsea}. Face masks are my quality pleasure and this one by Freeman is one I just ran out of. The charcoal & black sugar scrub gives off just the right amount of exfoliation without irritating my sensitive skin. 

For the makeup lovers like myself, the Naked 2 basic palette has been a lust item for me as I own the original Naked palette and use it every day. It's great for beginners to advance makeup users and everyone in between. You can't go wrong with EOS lip balm. It's a staple item that anyone can throw in a stocking and know the receiver will love it. With so many flavors to choose from you may want to pick up one for yourself {or you will, whoops.} Last but most definitely not least is candy and specifically these mini cadbury holiday eggs! I have only seen these during Easter and when I spotted these the other day at Target in someone else's cart I went on a hunt! Sadly I came out empty handed because the shelf was wiped clean! 

Welp Jerek, I hope you took a snapshot of this post or clicked on the links and shopped online. Now you have ZERO reason to have the above conversation with me next week! If you ladies want to get some ideas for the men in your life, stay tuned for tomorrow where I share what I may be getting Jerek in his stocking ;)

Now to get the toddler who "isn't good at sleeping" {so he says} to bed. TOODLES!

Shit My Toddler Says

When I was younger I always wondered why my mom said the things she said. Didn't she ever get tired of telling me no? Didn't she get sick of me always being home because she grounded me...AGAIN! Didn't she get tired of explaining things to me when I asked why, or because, or how come? The answer is yes, yes she probably did. That's also probably why the words 'because I said so/I'm the mom' were muttered very often. I always swore I would 'never say those things when I'M a mom!'

I never understood why though. Why not just explain to me why I can't watch TV till midnight or why I can't have ice cream for dinner or why I was always grounded for talking too much in school {because I always was!}

Now I get it.
I really get it.

Over the past mmmmmmm 6 months I have to say, I've been compiling a list in my phone of the lovely shit that pours out of Tracen's mouth on the reg. I want to preface here and let you know that I've never told him to shut up, although I'm dying to, bad right. I must be some horrible mom for wanting to just yell 'shut the hell up! Can't you just stop talking for ONE minute!!!' Really though, if you've never thought these things than you're not a mom of a toddler. Or you're a saint, one of the two.

So if he gets his looks from his dad he must get his mouth from me, because he really doesn't ever shut up! It's hard to question the things that come out of his mouth, he's his mothers son after all!


'I'm going to sleep in my bed tonight'

'How did I get in your belly, there are no doors?'

'do you have a wiener?

'I want dat'

'wanna see my dupa?'
'wanna see my dupa?'
'wanna see my dupa?'
{drops pants to the ground and spreads his buttcheeks
and LAUGHS!- NOOOO idea who taught him that-SWEAR!!!}

'I'm hungry.
what can I eat.
I'm done.
what else can I eat.
still hungry mom.
mom
mom
moooooommmm!!!

'can I have some water?
'can I have some juice?
'can I have some milk?'

'Sky hit me'

'I didn't push him, I promise!'

'but do I get a prize if I listen?'

'I'm gonna toot on you!'

"Sky took that from me, I had it fwist'

'where are you going?'

'I'm going to close my eyes now and go to bed.
Don't go in your room with daddy, it's not fair he gets
to snuggle you'

{next morning}

'why did you leave my room, you didn't wisten to me moommmm'

'I GOTTA PEEEEEE, PAUSE MY SHOWWWWWW!!!'

'how much is dat?
do you got any moneies
can we buy it?'

'can we ride sandy?
{not today buddy}
you don't have a penny??'
{SCREAMSSSSSS}
{cashier gives us pennies}

'we don't say hate mommy, we say we don't like'

'i wanna see Mia'
'i wanna see Gwiffin'
'i wanna see Mimi'
'i wanna see Amy'
'i wanna see Grammy'

'what are we doing today?'

'is is sucker day?
is it pizza party Friday?'

'why do I have to go to school?'

'can you stay home and play today?'

'can we go to Target?
do we have to go to the coffee store first?'

'awww you're a sweetie'

'you're my best mommy I ever did have!'

While some of this is usually caught on camera a lot of it isn't and if you know Tracen personally you can probably hear him screaming saying most of these things in your head. Some days I want to tell him to shut it and stop asking me another question or I'm going to loose my mind, but I refrain because if you see this sweet face everyday, how could you stay mad at him for more than 30 seconds!


16 Month Update



WEIGHT: 22 lbs {50%}

HEIGHT: 32.5" {85%}

HEAD CIRC: 19 {90%} I added this because I thought it was funny, like holy dome yo?!

SLEEPING: better! MUCH better! I fully believe he was waking up every few hours the last few months because he had about 8 molars coming in! It was INSANE! He had 2 sets of back molars coming in but not his 'fangs' so it basically looked like he's an old man with missing teeth.


EATING: Sky still follows Tracen around the house eating any crumbs the kid drops! He has to have something in BOTH hands 90% of the time. If you watch any of my vlogs you will see he is always eating. The other day Jerek stopped and got a whole bushel {is that the right word?} of bananas and a quart of strawberries, costing close to $10 might I add, and the boys ate all of it in 48 hours. It's sickening how much they eat! On Mondays and Fridays when they are at daycare it makes me almost happy because they eat two meals and have 2 snacks there, meaning something we don't have to provide! How sad is it that that makes me happy?!


FAVORITE MOMENTS: How easy things are getting! Yes, don't get me wrong, Sky is into EVERYTHING but since he's walking now he can follow Tracen around and interact with him in ways that he couldn't before! This is the stuff I dreamed about, the reason I have always wanted more than one child {and still want more ha!}

LEAST FAVORITE MOMENTS: The mobility. It's a catch 22 really. He can run and play with Tracen but he can also get into everything faster than he could when crawling.

{Jer took the pic when he was at the store and had to pee! How Great is this!}

FIRSTS: He's saying a lot more 'words' than he was 2 months ago. The usual {mama, dada, baba, no, yes, more} He's waving when people say 'hi' and 'bye' and even smiling when I'm filming or taking pictures.
{school picture of the boys! I. DIE!!!}

LIFE CURRENTLY : With the holidays coming up I'm so excited to see Sky open gifts this year and just participate in everything since last year he was only 5/6 months old and was still in blob format. I've also gotten an 'Elf' which I've dubbed 'Tiny'. Since I work in the auto industry we have a mandatory shut down from Dec 24-Jan 2 this December and because I had far too many vacation days to use I also took off Dec 22 & 23. So in a nutshell my last day of work this year is Dec 19th and I don't go back until January 5th. BOOM SAUCE. I'm so excited to be at home with the boys because Jerek has most of those days off as well! We need to get this Christmas shopping done because between that and trying to find a wedding venue I still don't sleep. That's a lie. I sleep but not that much since Tracen always crawls in and takes up ALL the room! With Tracen's birthday coming up and Christmas all in the next month it's going to be cray cray!

Thred Up Review

I'm a big advocate of purging random crap that takes up space in your closet, house and life. I try to donate or sell things when I bring new beauties into the house so we don't end up on Hoarders. A few months back I was reading my girlfriend Stef's post on Thred up vs. Twice and I realized I had no idea what either of them were, how is this possible!?

I'm an avid Plato's closet, eBay, Amazon, and Facebook seller {yeah that's a thing.} I really try to get rid of things we no longer have use for while making some money. When things don't sell and we still want to get rid of them we swing by our local Salvation army and donate away {or leave them out on the curb and they are snatch up from those weird pickers by dusk.} After reading Stef's review on the two sites I decided to check out Thred Up for myself.

With Stef's link I signed up and requested my first bag be delivered to me pronto! I received it within a few days and it was MUCH bigger than I thought it would be! I had a lot of clothes, shoes, purses and accessories I wanted to shove in the bag but since not everything would fit I kept out things I knew they wouldn't take. I knew this because when I received the bag it also came with a card that gave me an idea of brands they were looking for. Therefore my Target tee didn't stand a chance but my Anthropology jacket, that would split in half if I tried wearing it, that was going in the bag.

{While Plato's never buys any of my Forever 21 & Express items that seemed to be what Thred Up loved, memory bank!}

Once I stuffed the bag and left it on my doorstep, the postman picked that baby up and it was back to San Fran it went {Free might I add as THEY pay for the return shipping!} After the bag is picked up you can track the bag online and follow it's progress. It takes about 2 weeks from the time I sent the bag out to the time I got an email letting me know what they accepted from my bag and how much I got paid for. 

While I only made $24.43 I was happy because these were all items I had already tried selling at Plato's closet and they didn't accept them! {I'm convinced they buy stained, dirty, garbage!} After I got the email with what I made I also got one giving me a coupon code for 40% off my first order placed. Sooooo ya know, I did what any normal girl with a clothing credit does...I shopped...

About a week later my items arrived in a cute box waiting for me on my doorstep. Here is the breakdown of what I bought, how much it was and how much I saved off the original price. 75% savings for like new clothes to me is grrrrreat! I only paid $10.04 out of pocket for all 5 items as I used my credit and the 40% off for the rest of it.

{Black Byer Cardigan & Epilogue Dress}
{Express jeans-already knew my size! & the best white tee from Theory}
{Not pictured, currently in wash is dark gray 'Alternative Apparel short sleeve t-shirt'-$6.49}

Since selling and buying my clothe,s Thred Up has rolled out two new programs and they now buy and sell baby clothes and designer handbags, like get out of town! If you want to see what Thred Up is all about and make some space in your closet for some Christmaka items you can also do so by saving $10 off your first bag placed, here ya go folks

Flake Free Lips

Ever discover something that wasn't meant to be discovered, or was it?

I have very sensitive, dry skin. In the winter it's about 10 times worse than normal. Just when I think I've figured out the perfect skin care routine to keep my face hydrated, Michigan weather changes and I'm back to looking like a flakey croissant.  

My lips fall into this category as well.

I hate nothing more than putting on a good lipstick and having my lips a hot, pealing mess! Sometimes it seems that no matter what I do, no matter how much I moisturize they can never stay smooth and flake free. With this Michigan winter approaching at an ungodly speed I've been scrubbing my lips like a mad man!

Introducing my flake free lip routine.


I think it was around Christmas time last year when I finally stumbled my way into LUSH after I had passed by it for quite some time. I never understood the hype to be honest. All of my preconceived thoughts were thrown out the window when I started talking to the staff. They were honestly THE nicest employees I had come across in a while. I've worked in retail through high school and college so I'm pretty particular when it comes to employees actually being nice and not just for a quick sale. I wish I could have remembered the girls names but any time I've gone into LUSH the employees have been great really! While there picking up a roots and full of grace I snagged a Lip Scrub in Mint Julip while at the register. 

This little lip scrub has lasted a long ass time! At first I used this just on its own until one night I used my Oral B Orabrush and my life was forever changed! I picked up this little tongue brush on a whim as I had a 2 for 1 coupon. Jerek thought I was mega weird and didn't want to use one I picked up for him. {fine then!} One night while I was letting my lip scrub soak in I started 'brushing my tongue.' The whole concept felt so odd to me that I washed the brush off, stared at my lips and a damn lightbulb hovered over my head. Just. Like. That.

Slowly, in circular motions I started buffing the scrub into my lips. It felt invigorating and I was obsessed with the feeling but more so the LOOK! My lips had never felt THIS soft and never looked THIS smooth or plump! Afterwards I followed up my CVS brand knock off Aquafor 'ultra healing lip treatment'. This stuff is Ahhh mazing. Although if you don't have this, Vaseline is great to use as well! Ever since that lonely night in the bathroom I can't stop this sick obsession. 

Like all things in life I'm the happiest when I find a great product but is also affordable! The total for all three items is $19.41 + tax. Now some of you may think $20 to scrub your lips is pricey but I'm telling you, I've tried TONS of low to high end scrubs and moisturizers and NOTHING has left my lips the way they are today. I'm also still using my original brush and lip scrub since last December so $20 for almost a full year of kissable lips is totally fine with me! 

As always, if you have any recommendations on products I might like or that you personally like, I'd love to hear about them in the comments below! 

Pucker up ladies!

I recently caved and started a Facebook page for all things East Willow Grove. So if you want to stay up to date on dumb shit that I think is interesting, guest posts, giveaways and pictures of food than come on over!

December Goals


Let me start off by saying last month I must had grown a pair because uhh what, 5 goals with the holidays and Tracens birthday rapidly approaching, yeah I'm a physco. Do I even have to tell you that things didn't get done, because they didn't. I swear I either rock this shit or forget the whole 30 days even happen. Welp, here we go friends!



The dreaded recap of last months goals:

1. Gym Schedule- I planned a schedule, yes this is true. It's full of classes, Kayla workouts, cardio and weight days but I'd Pinocchio if I even whispered that I followed the schedule to you!- #failllll

2. Plan Tracen's 4th birthday- Okay, so I did this one! I even made the invites {just like I had done for Sky's} and am dropping them off at the post in the morning! I don't want to spill what the theme is but it's real cute {tooting my own horn, TOOT TOOT!}-MOM POINTS!

3. Plan "vlog/blogcember"- Welcome to day 2! So far so good huh! Most of it is planned out, that's what matters right! Yesterday was day one and I posted our long Thanksgiving weekend video on my YouTube channel. You can watch it here if you haven't :) PS. yes, I did barf all day Sunday and look like utter shit and still got on camera. Things like that need to be documented so I never drink that much again! #classreunionsforthewin


4. Book a wedding venue- Fail. Uhh did you read my last hump day confessions, this wedding stuff man.

5. Get engagement pictures done- This is a half fail. They were scheduled for November 23 but after having breakfast with our friends {one was the photographer, Jenny, from our family photos} we left and I called her {in a pissy mood might I add} and said very dramatically 'I'm calling this shit off. The snow melted, there's everywhere and I haven't even showered' We both agreed it wasn't ideal so I'm kinda just waiting to see what this lovely Michigan weather brings us to re-schedule. I've only pinned a bajillion snowing engagement pictures...come on Alan Longstreet, I am requesting some snow here!


Lets get down to business here and be honest with each other. Since it's the holidays and Tracen's birthday is the 21st I'm hella busy. I'm being SUPER realistic for these goals this month and only setting three, here we go!

1. Drink more water- I've made this goal before and did well at it. Then I fell off, like barely drinking 12 ounces a day fall off! {Embarrassing!} I'm going to try and drink half my body weight, so about 50 ounces {KIDDING!!!} more like 63.25 if you're going to do the math ;)

2. Deep clean the house-No really, this needs to happen. I mean not JUST because were hosting one of the family Christmas dinners but because we have two crazy boys and a dog and the floors are never clean and the fridge has seen better days and the bath tub still has "washable" kids crayons on it and the carpets need cleaning and the list honestly goes on! We 'pick' up every day/night but I'm talking about a Molly Maid or whatever it's called cleaning!

3. Make a growth chart- I've had the supplies in my notes section of my phone to buy for some time now. We've kept marks on the wall where the kids are but I want to make this cute ruler to use instead of the side of pantry cabinet. Plus it's almost a dummy proof Pinterest project!

Easy right? Well, we can talk again come January 1st. In the meantime, Happy Holidays and see you tomorrow for day 3 of Vlog/Blogmas!