Dollhouse Fiasco

I am not a do it your-selfer, a craft-loving person, patient...These are all things I should have considered when I purchased a very large unfinished Victorian dollhouse for my girls. I was so overwhelmed with the deal I got, that it never occurred to me to stop and think, "man it's going to take hours and hours to finish the interior of this thing AND I still need to buy furniture." My poor husband went and picked up this massive house early on Saturday morning in September. I remember him saying something along the lines of, "when the hell are you going to finish this thing? and where do you buy rugs for dollhouses?"  I laughed and thought to myself, I got this.

So flash forward to December 15th...I'm staring at the monster dollhouse. I have spent $150 on furniture, $200 on crafting supplies and I still have not touched it. I started to cry. My lovely husband standing in front of me says, "why don't we just order one done."  I seriously would have done anything for him at that moment.  If he wanted me to run naked around the house screaming, "my husband is a golden god," I would have done it.

That night I ordered a dollhouse. The Kidkraft Chelsea Dollhouse.  I thought I was in the clear!!!! Sweet!!!  Next morning I get a message saying my order has been cancelled. I order another one from a site that says they have 25 in stock. Next day, my order is cancelled they are sold out. I panic. I call 20 toy stores and finally Kidkraft and sure enough, the Chelsea is sold out till February. Shit.

So meanwhile my mom and dad are also frantically calling to find this dollhouse, because you know, this is what families do............right?  Finally my dad says, "cut the shit, order the biggest one on amazon."  He orders the Majestic Dollhouse for my twin 3 year olds. They won't be able to see the top floor but whatever...

Now my husband chimes in with, "where did you order from? Is it an amazon vendor or Amazon?" I'm like, shit.  So he says to order another one from Walmart in case the 1st one doesn't arrive in time.

December 20th. I'm sitting with 2 massive dollhouses. Have to return one and have to put one of these bad boys together.  I guess my husband is going to have a loooong Christmas Eve because God knows, I'm NOT crafty;)

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Kids and Fashion

I have pretty strong opinions on things in case you haven't noticed.  I absolutely LOATHE Disney princesses and wish they would all disappear.  I hate hearing my girls say, "mommy, I want to dress like a princess."  No, you're not going to do that. You are not going to put on a polyester mixed with toxic chemicals piece of crap and look ridiculous. Nope...not gonna happen. And I'm certainly NOT going to take pictures of you in said dresses and post them on social media. I don't understand these people who do this!  Do they think it's cute? Do they think I'm looking at that image thinking wow I really need to get my kid crap clothes that's bad for them?

On the topic of kiddie fashion, I dress my kids like I would dress myself. I get told at least once a day how amazing my kids always look and asking where I get their clothing. People ask my husband, they ask me on social media to start kiddie fashion blogs and to help dress their kids. I'm flattered but I have to say, I don't spend a ton of money of my kids clothing. Most things I buy at consignment shops because I believe that recycling clothing is important and also, things made 3-5 years ago were just made better, with better cotton and construction.  I also buy the basics; jeans, cords, leggings and solid shirts and GAP and Old Navy and H&M on sale. I buy dresses and pretty things from smaller designers on Zulily.com. I don't do tons of prints because they tend to look cheap and dated. I also NEVER do character shirts or logos...yuck.  I buy clothes that fit my kids and are current with the styles that I wear. For example, you would not catch me wearing boot cut or flare jeans, so why would I force my 3 year old to wear that. I'm also not afraid of layering and colors like white, black and navy. I buy my kids shoes at target, along with the Nordstrom shoes sale.  I take the time to look at the washes on the jeans and see which one looks better on which kid.  None of this is time consuming or rocket science, but what has become clear is some parents either don't know how to dress themselves or just don't give a shit about what their kids wear.  And that's fine!  I'm not judging you...listen we all have our "things."  There's only one thing I will judge with regards to clothing and children...........
SMOCKING

This specific style of smocking I just can't wrap my head around. Kids look absolutely insane to me wearing these long dresses that have some kind of smocking at the top with some frilly arms...I don't know. I just don't get it. How can you look at your child in this horrible mess of an outfit and think, "wow, she looks so cute."  I'm telling you, you are blind and she doesn't.  And this idea of putting a 2 year old in a long dress....I can't deal.

Made My Day

If you haven't been to this website yet, you're welcome:
http://www.tamponcrafts.com/

I laughed so hard I almost peed...OK so this isn't really new since I've had kids, but still, it was SUPER funny.

My Crazy Kids

I’m pumped Christmas this year. The girls are SO into it!!! Our elf landed on Sunday night. Her name is Abby and she is tearing it up at the Miller house. The girls are in total awe of her. Went to see Santa…that was funny. They were so excited to see him and then something went wrong and after some whispering they got pissed. I wish I knew what it was, but we got a funny photo out of it.

But they are killing me with the list of stuff they want.  I mean I fight against all things princess on a daily basis and the ONE thing Aston wants and won’t stop talking about is this freakin ugly ass pink dress she saw in a toy store at our mall. She calls it her Birthday dress and tells every one who asks that’s what she wants for Christmas. I’m dying inside.   Meanwhile, I spent 2 months putting together this awesome dress up box filled with non toxic materials…sewing crowns and making wands.  And she wants this hideous dress.  I give up.  

AND they are insistent on dressing themselves now, which you also know just tears my heart out because sometimes they look insane. All of a sudden it’s all about summer dresses and tights…who does that?????  I fight to make them wear a sweater!  Thanks GOD I have control over shoes at least.  I don’t care if they wear their awesome Nike high tops with everything…at least they’re cool.  I let them pick out shoes ONCE…ONCE. They picked Camouflage pink sneakers. Let’s just say I had tears falling and Ken had to convince me to let them have them. They are so ugly it hurts. But I let them wear them and I think Sloan noticed I didn’t like them, because she asked me if I liked them, and I said no. So then for 2 weeks she tortured me by waving them in front of my face every time she got dressed. But lately I haven’t seen them so I’m thinking we’re past that phase now.  I know it’s only going to get worse but I’m fighting man, I’m really fighting.

The Jackpot

I felt like I hit the jackpot when I purchased this makeup base...seriously it was life changing.  Make Up Forever HD Invisible Cover foundation is the best base I've ever used. I'm trying to remember where I even got the idea to purchase it...oh yes, now I remember...SO embarrassing but whatever. I was watching the Real Housewives of NJ and Jacqueline always talks about how she's a makeup junkie and her face always looks pretty damn good. I decided to check out some of her tips and she recommended this base. Wait, no, she RAVED about this base. I went and bought it and holy shit it's amazing. It's not drying, but also not greasy. It stays on all day and blends well with your skin tone...none of that streaky stuff. The colors also match skin tones very well. I'm a bit olive, which translates to I turn grey in the winter, so I'm always nervous about bases. This one does a great job. I top it with bronzer and some blush and it looks great.  Since I purchased this base I jumped on the Make Up Forever train. I now own the primer and blush and I couldn't be happier.

Let's talk for a minute about makeup base. It's one of those funny things that as you get older you need more, but can also make you look like shit if you don't match it right. I can't tell you how many girls I see with orange faces and white necks!!! What is that all about?  I know these lovely girls own mirrors and I know they take time to apply their makeup so why why why not blend down a little bit! Ugh. Kills me. And what am I supposed to do? Be like, "oh hey there hot girl, you're really working those pants and boots and your hair is awesome, but you look ridiculous because your makeup doesn't match your neck?" I feel like moms everywhere should tell their daughters about this problem AND if you don't see your mom everyday, then you friends should hook you up.

Marc Jacobs Mascara

I purchased this Marc Jacobs Lash Lifter Gel Mascara the other day at Sephora. It wasn't cheap ($26), but it also didn't push me over the edge so it stayed in my basket.  I'm one of those people who is simply obsessed with mascara. I think I've tried almost every mascara in Sephora, along with tons of drug store options. I've only ever felt serious butterflies for Fiberwig, Dior Show Iconic and Rimmel Volume Flash.  The Marc Jacobs is decent. I'm not falling all over myself but I do love how it really separates my lashes. It's like the perfect finisher... use your favorite volume boosting mascara and then swipe this through at the end while they are still wet and this will separate all your lashes and make them soft and shiny.  Good Luck!

New Beginnings!

Oh hi there! It's been a while since I've written on this fun blog, but I've finally come to a place where my kids don't occupy 100% of my time and work is inspiring rather than tiring so I'M BACK!!!  I have so many great products to share with you and silly side stories as well...Lot's happened in the past, oh I don't know, 5 years!!!!! 

I delivered twins girls, moved apartments and finally into a house! Opened up another office in a different state and still have fab hair!  Oh yes, the hair has held up through babies, hard water and stress, so I must be doing something right. I'm still a mascara junkie and have been through countless make-up foundations in search of the PERFECT smoothing miracle. And I think I've found it. I'll share...don't worry.

In addition to the many products I'll review, you'll also be hearing about my motherhood journey. When I say motherhood, I mean this INSANE daily process that involves me working full time and raising two absolutely gorgeous twin girls, while making sure my husband I are still connected and dinner is on the table! I hope you  enjoy the journey!