Month: November 2013
LUSH
I LOVE shopping at LUSH!!! This past weekend my mom, my daughter Sofia and myself went into LUSH and I fell in love even more! Everyone in the store is there
to make your entire shopping trip an enjoyable experience. From the moment I walked thru the door everyone was happy and excited for us to be there. They are extremely knowledgeable about the products and happy to show them to me. One of the girls 
took Sofia off to the side and let her play with any of the products she wanted. She took a fizzy bath wand and played with it in some water, played around with any of the bath soaps she wanted. She was in heaven!
I was given several mini hand facials. Every product that was used was just as amazing as the one before. I was in heaven! The hardest decision I had to make was which amazing products I was going to buy. Everything is so awesome, you can’t make a wrong choice. All of the products are all natural and made fresh, from organic fruits and veggies with the finest essential oils. Once you try one of their products, you will be obsessed!!
What I ended up getting and have been loving is-
*The Olive Branch Shower Gel
-Very cleansing to the body, and extremely moisturizing.
*Celebrate Body Lotion (limited edition for Holidays)
-Rich, creamy, luxurious and the smell is amazing! MUST HAVE!!!
*Enchanted Eye Cream
-Feels light going on, but so moisturizing to the eye area. Just after 1 night of using it my eye area looks younger :)
*Gorgeous Facial Moisturizer
-Great all day moisturizer! Keeps me moisturized without looking too dewy (oily) at 5:00.
*Honey Trap Lip Balm
-Amazing!
*Pink Fun
-This is what Sofia picked out for herself. It foams up and makes bubbles in the bath, you wash your body with it, and it feels like play dough. So it’s perfect for kids to play with in the bath tub!
They have so many amazing gift sets for the holiday! I will be getting many for my friends and family. Some of my favorite gift sets are – Jolly Hollydays, Snap and Party Time Goodies. And don’t forget about all the kids in your life, the Fun Tin- Christmas Edition is awesome! It even comes with cookie cutters to play with in the bath.
If you have ever thought about purchasing from LUSH, take the plunge! You will love their products!
Luxurious Body Butter Recipe
Sorry I’ve been away for so long, I have been sick the last 10 days. Now I’m healthy and back :)
I’m always looking for the best skin care products, especially to help with my dry skin. I was doing a lot of reading about natural products that are good for eczema. I ended up ordering organic raw shae butter. What I didn’t know about raw shae butter is it comes as a block, I have to scrape off what I want to use, warm it in my hand, then rub on this thick waxy product on my body. It’s very effective in curing dry skin, but very impractical for my life. So I found this recipe to make my own body butter. It is Amazing!!!!! It is rich, creamy and luxurious, I feel like a Queen when I’m using it. And the best part, it is inexpensive to make! Here is how to make it~
*1 Cup Organic Raw Shae Butter
*1/2 Cup Coconut Oil
*1/4 Cup Almond Oil
*1/4 Cup Vitamin E Oil
*Essential Oils for fragrance, such as Lavender, Mint, Rosemary, Lemon (optional)
1. Melt Shae Butter and Coconut Oil in a double boiler. Remove from heat and let cool for 30 minutes.
2. Stir in Almond Oil, Vitamin E Oil and essential oils (if you are using).
3. Place mixture in freezer to chill for 30-45 minutes, until partially solidified.
4. Whip up (I used my Kitchen Aid mixer) until it’s a butter-like consistency. If it is not whipping up, put it back in the freezer and cool longer.
5. Put in a clean glass jar.
6. A little goes a long way and you will notice softer skin right away!
7. Keep at room temperature. Has a shelf life of several months.
If you are looking for something more simple and easier to make, I haven’t forgotten about you ladies who don’t want to do all these steps.
*1 Cup Organic Raw Shae Butter
*1/4 Cup Oil (Almond Oil or Vitamin E Oil)
Put it in a Kitchen Aid mixer on a medium high speed for 15 minutes.
Your skin is the largest organ of the body. It will absorb anything you are putting on it, and this includes any chemicals in your lotions and scrubs. Make sure you are taking good care of your skin ladies.
Now I’m off to have a fun shopping day with my mom and my daughter!
Have a Happy Saturday xoxo
Extreme Dry Skin Remedy
I have recently found the best products for dry skin. I have extremely dry skin, actually I have eczema. So every year in October my skin starts acting really funny. My dermatologist told me if I lived in Florida I wouldn’t have any skin problems. But I don’t, I live in Chicago where the weather is brutal on my skin 6 months out of the year. If you go to a dermatologist for any dry skin issue they will give you a cortisone based cream. It may clear up the problem, but it also thins out your skin. My normal remedies were not working this year, which sent me on a search for something better. Here is what I found.
For my body I started using First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream. This stuff is like a miracle! I had red dry flaky patches up and down both arms and across my chest and shoulders. I would wake up at night to scratch my arms and legs because they were so dry and irritated. After the first application I noticed an improvement in my skin, the itchiness was gone immediately. I applied it 
morning and night, within 1 week my skin looked awesome. It’s very rich and moisturizing, but not heavy or greasy. It soaks right in and doesn’t leave any white residue on your clothing. MUST HAVE for winter dryness!!!!!
For my face, the only thing I changed is in my nightly routine. After I cleanse my skin I apply Fresh Seaberry Face Oil. Several drops on my face and I softly massage it in, I even will apply it under my eyes. This oil is so moisturizing and feels so amazing on my skin. The smell of it makes me feel like I’m in a spa set in the middle of a flower garden. It does not leave any greasy residue on my pillow case and it does not break me out. I have been using this every night for 3 weeks and my skin has never looked so awesome. My skin is glowy and even toned and baby soft. You will definitely have to wash your face in the morning. You can not apply make-up over top of this and wear it all day. The results are amazing! Another MUST HAVE!
Here are my 2 must haves for winter dryness. The winter weather can be very harsh on skin, so take extra good care of your skin! Keep yourself looking young forever!
Day in the Life With 2 Small Kids
Do you ever see your kids from a distance and think to yourself, how did I get here? are those my kids? have I lowered my standards of normal that much that I think this is ok? Eight years ago I would have looked at a woman like me and thought “Lady, control your kids!” I fear that I have become the woman I once judged.
On Tuesday I threw out my back, sending me into such pain that it left me completely helpless. I have a curve in my spine, borderline scoliosis, and this happens every couple of years. It takes about a week of heat, ice, stretching, rest to get back to normal. Since Tuesday evening I have pretty much been doing the bare minimum around the house and with the kids. Just to drive or lift my son into his crib is so much pain! So there has been a lot of tv and ipad going on in my house. Anything to keep the kids happy so I can nurse my back.
Last night the kids were so restless after dinner I thought it would be a good idea to take a family outing to Target. We needed to get a couple of things and the kids needed to get out of the house and walk off some energy. I of course left the house looking like I was run over by a truck. I haven’t washed my hair since Tuesday and I couldn’t dry it due to the pain in my back. So it’s a frizz afro with oily roots- great! I had on baggy sweat pants and sweat shirt, no make-up and ugg boots. I was a sight for sore eyes!! But we needed to get out!
The trip started off with visiting the $1 section and picking out a few Hello Kitty stickers and silly putty. Next is on to look at the toys and think about what Santa might bring us. Then we need to pick out a snack for school tomorrow. So far so good! Everyone is happy and enjoying themselves.
After check out, my husband is pushing the cart and I’m supposed to be walking with the kids towards the door. But my son Caleb, who is 2, decided to run ahead of me. He is now dangerously close to the door to the parking lot. I yell to my daughter Sofia, who is 5, to grab Caleb so he can’t run outside. I’m trying my hardest to run up to them but every step is so painful. Sofia runs and football tackles him to the ground. Caleb lets out this high pitched girls scream that sounds like he is in excruciating pain. Anyone who has heard this scream can testify, no one can scream as high pitched and ear piercing as Caleb! They continue to roll around on the ground in front of customer service as Sofia is yelling out “I’m trying to keep you safe” and Caleb is screaming high pitched and so loud the entire time. This lasted for at least a minute as I am barely moving faster than a normal walk speed. Everyone around us is looking and judging as I walk up and try to parent these crazy kids. I tried to think of something clever to say to lighten the mood. Something like “oh, I’m the nanny and this is my first day :)” But I knew I looked to frazzled for anyone to believe I was the nanny. So I just got my kids and kept moving. I find that when moments like this happen I have to focus on my kids and myself and what I think is right, forget all those faces around me judging. They don’t know what kind of week I’m having.
This is to all the kids that have hit someone else’s kid at the park. The kid that took her clothes off and went down the slide at the town picnic! The kid that dumped their crackers out and stomped on them just to piss you off. The kids that run and hide from you in a mall. It’s also to the same kids that give you that extra squeezy hug at night and tell you one more time they love you. The kids that say you are the best mom ever! The kids that get you a boo boo when you bang your knee against the table.
These kids are my favorite! They are all kinds of dramatic, emotions, creativity and think the entire world is their stage. They love and are naughty to the highest and widest degree. Here is to the kids that see life in the best way possible!
