My mom didn’t let me get my ears pieced until I was 18 years old.  So I feel like waiting that long really helped me to appreciate getting to wear earrings.  Now I wear them all the time!  Basically, if I’m leaving the house I wear earrings.

However, within the past year my ears started to get really sensitive.  I was super sad because even the earrings for sensitive ears started bugging me.  I kind of stumbled upon this little trick by accident and it has worked like a charm!  Now I wear whatever kind of earrings I want.

Just use vaseline.  Dip the pointy part of your earrings in the vaseline.  Then put them in your ears like normal.  The vaseline seems to coat the earrings and will prevent your ears from getting sore.

Awesome.

Hope you enjoy this trick as much as I do!

Am I the only one that has had a horrible haircut? In fact, I’ve had quite a few. For example, in high school I was getting ready for my senior pictures and went to get a trim. She just kept cutting and cutting and before you knew it I had chin length hair. She had chopped it all off. I was devastated. UGH! And don’t even mention color. I went out to eat right after a color and a few people commented on how my hair looked PURPLE. WHAT?! I wanted to die.

Here’s where my favorite salon in all of Utah comes in. I was convinced that I would do major, and I mean major research before I ever got my hair cut or colored again. I found this beautiful salon, Studio Enizio and I was willing to take a chance. They were/are amazing. Each stylist is highly trained and is mostly interested in making you look beautiful and comfortable in your own hair. My particular stylist, Morgan Smith (seriously, book with her. Tell her Carrian sent you) is amazing. She’s a colorist which means she has further training on making my hair color look amazing. The salon uses high quality products that you won’t find in other salons, and will make your hair even better than it was.
Alex telling us about the Salon, the makeup artistry etc.

Recently we headed over to the salon to learn about makeup and headshots and I cannot wait to share the info with you.

Makeup

These are a few products you MUST put on your makeup list. I especially love the moisturizer. It’s the bomb. My face felt moisturized the next day!

Embroylise: Moisturizer and Primer; a must for every day. You’ll thank us later.
Mac Paint Pots: Soft Ochre or Painterly; primer for eyes so makeup lasts.
Eve Pearl Trio Eye Concealer; Don’t be scared of this trio. You need all of the colors. tip: go darker and then gradually blend to lighter in order to lighten under the eye and conceal dark circles.
Makeup Forever HD Foundations: Finally a foundation that feels light, but lasts better all day and has perfect coverage.
Makeup Forever HD Setting Powder; helps your makeup last all day, especially through a photo session.

Tips

When you are doing your makeup, consider starting with your eyes and then move on to foundation etc. This was you wont have little sparkles from eyeshadow etc on your face.

Contouring will create the jawline, cheekbones etc that you want and it’s super easy. Here’s a video on how to Contour. It’s awesome.

Highlight with a lighter shadow under your eyebrow and in the corner of your eye. Try to avoid lining your entire eye as it actually makes them look smaller.

Headshots tips by Heidi Ann Photography in Utah

Never face the camera full front. Always angle away from the camera with your weight on your back leg.

Avoid white and black; choose colors that make you look good and feel good.

Don’t stick your chin/neck out no matter what the photographer says.

Use darker pigments (makeup), not MORE makeup.

Tell the photographer what you want. If you hate the urban look but your photographer loves it and you don’t say anything, you won’t like a single photo.

Studio Enizio has become a top choice for hair and makeup for Utah, Weddings, film, television and ad campaigns. They are an exclusive provider of Kerastase products which are amazing.

You can like them on Facebook

or Follow on Twitter

Make sure you call now to book your appointment. You will never feel better about your look.

And make sure you give a little love to, The Chocolate who has the yummiest treats. They providing everything delicious for us that night

This year, I shopped online a lot — looking for deals. I got some especially good deals from Macys.com during a sale. One day we hit the  sale racks of the 5 women’s/girls’ stores in town — DownEast Outfitters, Maurices, Rue 21, and Crown Couture and Christensen’s. Yep that is the limit of our tween shopping options in Cedar. Only two of those stores carry a limited amount of kids clothes for 7 year old girls or clothes for teen boys.

These limited options led me to St. George for an 8 hour marathon of shopping at outlets and our little mall. And now I am done and my pockets feel a lot emptier. In my mad dash I forgot to set a budget. However, I am pretty strict about what I will spend per item. I told my kids  that I refused to spend more than $15 to $20 on each clothing item, with $20 being for pants or one or two special items. (Shoes get a bigger limit). Somewhere in the back of my head I had a mental tally of what we needed. But I definitely bought a few items not on the list.

What was on our list? Lots of leggings for both the 10 year old and the 7 year old.

OshKosh B’Gosh leggings from the outlet. (They have the cutest leggings this year. These are currently $9 on their website.

Old Navy has cute girl leggings for $5.

Next Year’s Plan?

Next year I am thinking of giving each kid a monetary limit, possibly a prepaid debit card for my two older kids.  Anything over the limit has to be bought from their own earnings.

So my question for you is what is your M.O. for shopping? Do you have a per item limit? Does each kid get a budgeted amount? Do you spread it out or make a big shopping trip event? Do you have favorite stores you hit up first? We love Ross and T.J. Maxx for teen boys and men’s clothing. Aeropostale is usually our go-to store for hoodie fall jackets and I love Famous Footware for shoes.

This Christmas I really wanted to handmake a lot of my Christmas gifts. There’s something about handmade gifts that just make my heart smile

The fact that someone put forth so much thought and effort really makes me feel special. So, I put on my little thinking elf hat and started knitting, sewing, glueing, cutting, ripping, knotting, and stuffing….everything from little stuffed monsters to these cute t-shirt scarves which are so easy to make!

I’m not going to get into the details because the instructions are very easy and all over the internet. Instead I wanted to showcase a few to inspire you to make some. All you need is an old cotton t-shirt, a pair of scissors, and your im-a-gi-na-tion!

They can be scarves OR in my case, necklaces for those loved ones who are lucky enough to reside in tropical environments all year round.

Be sure to add different colors, embelish them with flowers/beads/buttons. I added some little gift tags I printed out on brown paper bags to stay with the Up-cycled/Re-cycled theme

HAVE FUN AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

First pregnancy, hardly needed anything until the last trimester. I stayed at home and made do with stretchy waistbands and I was HAPPY. Second time around, I was like a ticking time bomb….that could explode over and over again and suck all the happiness out of people around me. Besides the fact that I couldn’t button anything by my 12th week, I was also working in an office full time and I needed slacks. Well thank goodness for Belly Bands because that’s how I made it through the rest of my pregnancy and then some!

So, first off, those of you that know me know that I own a used maternity store in Utah called Honey Bump Maternity. The inspiration for opening this awesome business is obvious if you read the above paragraphs. I like to think of myself as happy, easy going, creative, trendy, and yes CHEAP!!!! I wanted to create a place where I could put all of these characteristics to work….but instead of cheap I like to think money smart and great deals My husband still says cheap. ANYWAY…If you want to dress cute for less and find the best selection then come and visit me. If you have things that you no longer need or want, then come and visit me. If you are looking for information on mommy topics such as breastfeeding and chldbirth….COME AND VISIT ME!

Honey Bump Maternity-Recycled fashion for the kid in you!

If a visit is not possible then here are some great tips to create that maternity wardrobe that will be used so frequently for a very short amount of time. You WILL need some maternity items and there are so many cute styles that you can get your hands on with a little bit of hunting.

1) Dig through your friends/sisters closet. They may have something that you can borrow! Be sure to find out if it needs to be returned or if you can keep it.

2) Hunt the thrift stores. This may sometimes be a hit/miss situation. Make sure that you are in the mood for some walking and trying things on. Leave the kids with a sitter, it makes things much easier.

3) Check the clearance rack! Many stores are doing away with their maternity sections, but the few that still carry them can sometimes have awesome deals. I loved to search through target.

4) Check the classifieds. There are tons of moms trying to clear out their closets every day so help them out and help yourself Hit up garage sales too!

5) Ebay BABY! You can find great deals on Ebay, there are just a few things that you need to look out for. ALWAYS check the sellers feedback. Read the description very carefully to see if there are damages to the clothing. Be sure to check that shipping charges are reasonable.

6) I almost forgot to mention ROSS! Ross sometimes has great stuff and then sometimes the maternity rack is bare but it’s worth a try and why not visit the shoe section while your at it.

7) Then there are hundreds of online retailers with some pretty awesome deals. The only down side to that- You can’t try anything on. I always recommend trying everything on when our expecting!

HAPPY HUNTING….don’t worry pregnancy doesn’t last forever. Like my mom kept telling me “Enjoy it!” And in my head I would say ”Shut up and you be pregnant” I still love her though

More from me

Read about Belly Bands Here: The Correct Way to Wear a Belly Band 

Fidn out how a simple belt can finish off that Maternity outfit!: Belts are a maternity Must Have!

So for starters I am SUPER careful with my money. My husband calls it cheap…I say careful. I don’t know if there is a difference but who cares, money doesn’t grow on trees! I could never spend $40 on a hair cut sorry. My husband says you get what you pay for, I say I want a haircut the way I want it to be no matter what I pay. Right now I pay $10 for my hair cuts and I couldn’t be happier. I also jump around to different stylists because it HAS to fit into MY schedule, not theirs. Since I own a business and am always on the go, it gets really hard to find openings for the same person each time. There was a time when I would NEVER settle for another stylist, but I learned a couple things on my hairy journey to get me the haircut I want every single time…here goes.

I’m not saying any hairstylists are bad although SOME are horrible, but being that they are artists, they may interpret your new hairstyle as something totally different than what you had in mind.

1) Never TELL them how much you want trimmed off the bottom! NO NO You should visually SHOW them! My aunt is a hairstylist and used to always trim my hair when I was younger. I would tell her 1 inch and she would take three.Now I hold up the ends and tell them “This is how much I want gone”

2) Do it in little steps. In between steps pause and take a minute to review the work and then proceed.

3) Do your research and know exactly what it is that you want done. If you leave it up to the hairstylist then you might realize that you weren’t on the same page. I think pixie, she thinks Sinead O’conner. Not always the case but you get the idea.

4) If you’re unsure about how short to go, start out long and work your way up a little at a time.

5) Always ask politely what they are doing, what equipment they are using and why. This really helps in case you have to book with another stylist in the future.

6) Take your time and don’t be rushed. You don’t want to feel a little unhappy and then get home and absolutely HATE IT. Take you time looking over the whole thing and have the stylist make any adjustments. I do this every time…thin some more out here….this side looks a little longer than the other….can you make my bangs more choppy.

2009 do

2010 DO chopped it off

You’re the one that has to wear it on your head every day…make it work for you And when they listen and you look great…TIP GOOD!!!

You can still use some of those looser dresses and tunics and just wrap a cute belt around your rib cage just above the belly. It not only makes you look thinner in the right places, but it pushes up the chest area if you know what I mean You can also do this with a little ribbon or tie, just place the bow on the side for a  super cute and trendy look. Who says maternity clothes should be bulky and boring?!

I think that when we’re pregnant so much attention is on the person CARRYING the baby (and it should be) but we sometimes forget about the other half that participated in the act of creating this wonderful miracle. Yes, I’m talking about Dad. I found the BEST gift for Dads, Grandpa’s, Uncles….any guy that wears a tie! Now I have bought my dad many ties in my lifetime but none were as cool or useful as this one.

Babe Magnet Ties

So aside from having an awesome tie to wear to church or to work, you have a way to distract baby. And they’re not as noisy as you think! The rattler is just a small toy rattler and the squeaky toy is not easily squeezed by a baby so it’s rather something you could squeak at them when you decide it’s ok to be noisy. Either way, it’s so cool. And I love the patterns, super mod!

Perfect for Father's Day!

Come by my shop in Layton to check ‘em out! We’ve ordered more for Father’s Day but we always carry them in stock.

www.HoneyBumpMaternity.com

ANYWHOO, nursing bras have become my everyday lingerie attire and I have to say that there are some really cute styles now that are really comfortable. I wouldn’t recommend using any under wire bras in the first couple weeks that you start breastfeeding. It just gets really uncomfortable once your milk comes in and it may cause problems such as clogging and infection *OUCH*

A bra extender is something you may want to buy if the fit around your ribcage is too tight. You can find these at Motherhood maternity. If you find that you’re cup size is just not fitting then I would suggest buying another bra. Better to have something that fits properly rather than deal with the discomfort.

The first bra that I say you MUST have before you even have that baby is a SLEEPING BRA!!! Doesn’t it just sound like the stupidest idea ever and a huge waste of $$? Well I have to say I felt that way when the Motherhood gal tried to sell it to me. It took me a couple weeks of being really uncomfortable in bed to finally give it a try. Now I own three. Let me tell you why they’re so great:

1-It’s very lightweight and provides just enough support without being restricting

2-The criss cross front makes it easy to pull down quickly (Even in the dark!)

3-You can still wear your nursing pads at night…who wants milk stains on their matress? NOT ME!

When you’re milk comes in it can be very uncomfortable and yes, painful. Going bra-less makes it worse, under wire hurts like hell, and a sports bra is a no no. If you use a sports bra and pull the elastic up to nurse, then the pressure from the band is right on the milk glads *OUCH AGAIN*

They are really inexpensive, I promise you’ll love it!

Sleeping bra

There are a number of companies that sell nursing bras from Motherhood Maternity to Walmart and Target. You can find comfy and stylish bras at these stores such as the one below.

And for those of you with a taste for something more elegant you have to check out Cake Lingerie. They make lingerie and sleepwear just for those expecting and nursing moms looking for something fancy! This bra is to die for!

Turkish delight by Cake Lingerie

Look at this cute dress and the way it can be worn during and after pregnancy!