Mommy and Bella

My daughter and I getting ready to go to a pancakes with a princess breakfast to raise money for our local theater.

Income Tax Loot

Well I finally got delivery of almost everything I ordered with my left over return money. The first thing I ordered was a mannequin head and clamp so that I can practice vintage hairstyles on another persons head. I have plenty of friends who have volunteered to be my guinea pig but I wanted something I could practice on at the weird hours of the night when inspiration strikes me. I haven't had the chance to use it as of yet (I keep forgetting to buy more pin curl clips and bobby pins) But I am satisfied with the quality I have seen so far.  One of the other items I purchased was the Coastal Scents 88 original palette  for only $18.95 and so far I am really impressed with it. I am already planning on buying the other palettes, and unlike with pricier eye shadows I won't have to save up forever to be able to afford them. I have been able to pull off everything from fun bright crazy makeup to regular everyday subdued looks. It has all the shades I need to do the classic pinup look that I have been favoring as of late. The matte shadows aren't as pigment rich as the shimmers but they are better than many I have gotten for much more money. So until I can afford to buy the really high end eye shadows like Urban Decay (my favorite) these will be my go to brand. For the cost of 4 or 5 drugstore eye shadows or less than the cost of one high end shadow I have 88 great eye shadows, what could be better than that? To go with my new eye shadows I wanted to buy a professional makeup brush set. I was originally going to get the Sigma pro brush set for around 79 dollars. But I decided to see if I could find something comparable for even less. I still plan on getting the Sigma brushes eventually but I was really trying to stretch my tax loot and get the most goodies for my buck. I found the Sedona Lace 12 piece professional makeup brush set  in black. I am very happy with these brushes. They cost me $59.99 and I have been having a blast with them doing different looks and just playing around. They are very soft and so far I have had minimal loss of the hairs which I expect a little of that when I first get a new brush. The case that they came with was a little off putting. I think that it has that weird new plastic shower curtain smell and it has a rubbery feel to it. My boyfriend insists that it is my pregnant nose acting up again and says that he cannot smell anything. Either way the case is now under my sink and I will pull it back out in a few months when I am no longer pregnant and see how it is then. The next thing I purchased was a bottle of Demeter cologne in Peach scent. I had watched the episode of CSI with Dita Von Teese in it and the mention of her smelling like peaches reminded me that I used to have a peach fragrance that I absolutely loved and always received compliments on. I couldn't find the brand that I had used in the past so I decided to try Demeter as I have heard great things about their ability to capture scents. Normally I would never purchase a perfume without smelling it first but they also have a great 30 day return policy no questions asked so you do have the option of swapping it out if you just cannot stand the scent. I am relatively happy with my purchase. I really wanted the perfume to have a fresh peach smell and I find that it has a bit more of a peach candy smell. It might just be my pregnant nose though so I have decided to hold on to it as it's not a horrible smell just not what I was hoping for. I do regret the size that I ordered (4 oz) as I am wondering if I will ever use up that entire bottle, on the other hand the fragrance is not too long lasting so it does take some reapplication throughout the day. One thing I LOVE is the free "sample" I got with my order. I may have missed it in the checkout but I was totally surprised to receive a 1oz sized bottle of the freesia scent. It is a wonderful sweet floral scent with a but of a honey smell. Very very authentic. It is perfect layered with the peach scent or on it's own and is not a smell I would have normally thought of ordering on my own. The cost of a 1oz bottle is $20 so that is quite a sample!!!! All in all I would definitely recommend ordering from Demeter. It really is no risk with the great return policy. The last item I ordered was a bag from Dungaree Dolly. I haven't received it yet as she custom makes the bags to order so it will take about 3 to 4 weeks to get it. Once I do I will post lots of pics and a review. :)

That's all for now folks. This was definitely a longer post than I normally do so if you made it through bravo!!!! I just wanted to make sure I gave an honest and thorough account of my opinions on these products. 

Thanks for reading :) 

I Hate Valentines Day

Not really ;) But this post is in honor of all my friends who could care less about the "holiday of looooove" I came up with an anti love ensemble that I have rather fallen for haha.

I started off with the green dress (1). I considered black but I felt this lovely wicked green really encapsulates the evil queen vibe I was going for. I added in a basic black clasp style handbag  (2) and mirrored the silver bow on the bag with the Silver bowed headband (4) because even if you hate love you like to look cute ;) The Iron fist booties have a slight witchy feel that I just loved and a spiked heel perfect for walking over broken hearts. Top it all off with minimal jewelry, a hand stamped Heart with the perfect sentiments displayed for all to see. All in all a very wicked and fun outfit that I would love to be seen sporting around town. Hope you enjoyed it and hope it inspires.

I love Valentine's Day

I Love Love

Actually I don't really care much about it one way or another. I love the idea of a day devoted to getting dressed up and going out and being fancy.....and of course presents. Honestly who doesn't love presents? On the other hand though I am a bit uncomfortable when the spotlight is on me, I always feel a bit uncomfortable on my birthday when all eyes are on me and Valentines day has a similar feel though on a much more one on one level. Be that as it may I still like the sentiment behind the holiday. This year we will not be doing anything extravagant as we are saving up for the arrival of the new family member in only 2 1/2 very short months. That didn't stop me from putting together my ideal outfit for going out on the town and of course what is the good of a fabulous outfit if you don't share it. I made sure to save all the links as well so that if some lucky lady would like to buy these fun items she can.

1.Pretty Marilyn style dress in a fun classy red
2.What better way to celibrate the day than to wear love around your neck
3.Sky high champagne heels with glittering jewels adorning the toes
4 , 5 , 6 : Ladylike undies from Lucy B (Click the numbers for the links)
7.  A leopard print bag adds an animalistic touch ;)
8. Top it all off with a BIG statement making rose in your hair

Well thats what I would dream of wearing out on a Valentines date. Or any special date for that matter. Tomorrow I am thinking of making the anti V-day ensemble. The I Hate Love outfit :) Because we have all been there too.

Makeup Essentials

Well it's that time of year again. The wonderful world of tax returns. Which means that I have some money to spend!!!! Now My first priority is to buy some furniture for my apartment. I am in desperate need of shelves and book cases. But I also feel I deserve to buy something that is just for me. So I have decided to replenish my sad sad makeup kit. I headed on over to youtube and checked out my favorite gurus videos on the subject. Lisafreemontstreet is by far my favorite person to go to for beauty advice. I have made my list and now I am armed with an idea of what I want. I shall be heading over to Ulta as soon as that pretty pretty check hits my bank YAY!!!!! I will be sure to post details on all my purchases as soon as I get em :)



Now if only I could manage to get my hospital bag packed and ready to go. *sigh* that's next on the list....the endless list, of things to do.

Retro-vintage style maternity outfit

Ok so this time I did remember to save the links :) yay me!!!!! This outfit idea was inspired by my frustration at being unable to find a cute yet retro maternity outfit. Unfortunately when you try to go authentic you can end up wearing a circus tent (not the most fabulous look) So when I found this amazing shirt (1) for only $20 I was inspired to create an ensemble that has the retro feel of the 40's. That led me to searching for a nice maternity pencil skirt (2) and these beautiful rose colored t strap shoes (5) add in a cute pink necklace (4) a fun spooky cameo ring (7) and a pretty hair flower (3) I topped it all off with an amazing lux gold purse (8) and a perfect red lipstick (6) and you are all set with a fabulous vintage feel outfit that captures the style of the 40's without sacrificing the sexyiness of the modern day momma to be.

Fairytale childrens bedroom

Today I decided to have some fun and create some inspiration boards. The first one is a Fairytale bedroom for my daughter. I love the idea of fun fairies and princesses but not in a corporate overdone kind of way. Unfortunately I didn't keep track of the links for the items on the board. However it should not be too difficult to find similar items. I just searched on Amazon.com for all the items I have on the board. The whole idea behind the room theme is to create a forest like atmosphere with beautiful colors like peat moss green and loam brown and then integrate some beautiful flowers and whimsical mushrooms. The textures would be those of medieval velvets and soft tapestry. I also pulled in some purple and pink color accents just to give a punch of brightness to the room like flowers peeking through the foliage of an enchanted forest. Twinkle lights hung from the ceiling and the posts of the bed give the illusion of fireflies or pixies flying through the air. On the walls I like the idea of some framed posters of impressionist paintings which already have a sort of surreal fairytale quality to them. All in all I think I succeeded in making a plan for a very feminine and fantastical room without having it drenched in pink (not that I don't love pink but it's been done) I can't wait until my daughter is old enough to move out of the nursery and I can put this plan into action.