Showing posts with label Birthday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Birthday. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Weekend in Review



I had already planned to be in Kansas City the weekend of my birthday because I had high hopes that my nephew would make his appearance by then! We booked my flight and I didn't think twice about it.

Until the week arrives I'm suppose to fly out to meet him and he still hasn't arrived. And then they decide to set an induction date for my sister on Friday. The day I arrive. 

So... I started making new plans that included me getting my niece to her grandma's, hanging out at the hospital, remembering to bring my computer so when I'm hanging out at the hospital, I can torture Lauren with Two Dots stuff.

And then on Wednesday night, Cohen Alsbrooks decided that was the day... and also decided he was ready to be out in the world rather quickly. So my sister got to the hospital and delivered him all in under 2.5 hours. 

Back to plan A! 

My mom picked me up at the airport on Friday mid-morning, we went and had lunch and did a quick shopping trip at the Legends and then we picked up my niece from her daycare to take her home to see her mom and dad and meet her new baby brother. 

Little does she know her world is about to get flipped upside down!


We got to the house, Perry was SO happy to see her parents (especially her mom) and then gave a little head nod to Cohen and went on with her life.

Must be nice to be a two year old! :)


The rest of the weekend included celebrating my birthday, a Wildcat win, and eating a lot of food with the people I love (minus my own children and husband who stayed behind in Chicago).

K-State Watch Party slash Allyson's Birthday Crew
Sweet Anderson

Can I tell you the greatest thing about this weekend? I got to hold all of my babies (aka niece and nephews) and just sit and enjoy them! Being an aunt is one of the greatest gifts I have ever been given and I don't see these little ones near enough so when I do, and I get the chance to just sit with them, I do it.


On Sunday, Cohen had to go get some blood drawn to make sure that he wasn't jaundice (for anyone curious about jaundice, please contact my brother-in-law who can give you every detail you need to know -- love you, Sam). He was the MOST content 3.5 day unclothed baby ever ... basking under the rays of the heat lamp! His tests came back fine and he is good to go, so we took him to McDonald's for a drink, QuikTrip for a donut and Rally House for K-State gear.


And just like that, my trip came to a close with my parents and sister dropping me off at the airport, followed by me crying... because that's what I do. 


Luckily I came back to these smiling faces (I'm not sure who was more excited - Matt or the kids?) and this view...


And am back in the groove of life.

But for two days, I did nothing but celebrate turning 35, hold babies, drink McDonald's Coke and soak in some family time.

Ohhhh... I also got a quick visit from the Stacey's who were in town to watch the Royals play. So a squeeze from my favorite Max and Anna and Jenna and Josh before I headed out.

This is what I call a Winning Weekend, people!

XXOO,
Allyson

Friday, September 30, 2016

Friday Favorites



First off, I'd like to wish a very special someone a Happy Birthday today...


It's my birthday and nothing can possibly go wrong on this day (knock on wood repeatedly 10,000 times)!

This day will be spent dropping kids off at school, working out, hanging out with my Tess-a-roo, spoiling myself with a LARGE coke at McDonald's today, picking kids up from school, and a high school football game where Sloane is performing a dance at halftime.

Take that, 34! :)
CONGRATULATIONS to my first Etsy Gift Card Giveaway winner (insert drumroll........ ) .............

BECCA SWEANEY!

Thank you all for entering the giveaway and I'll make sure to keep up with these - everyone deserves a chance to try and win something.

Since I never do.

Ever. 

I never win these things! 

Anyway -- Becca, email me at allyson.hills@gmail.com and I'll get you your gift card details! 

I have been hunting for the perfect non-running/workout sneaker for awhile now. I have had my eyes set on these bad boys for awhile ....

New Balance for JCrew 620 Sneakers



Then I tried them on and was so-so on them. I love the look of them - that's what I'm wanting - but they weren't super comfy. And for $80, I expected a little comfort.
Saucony Women's Bullet
I tried on these Saucony's at DSW and didn't hate them. But don't necessarily like the bottom of the shoe as much as the New Balance. But they were around $40-45 at DSW.
Saucony Shadow Original Running Shoe


I saw these at Nordstrom Rack and again, I don't hat ethem! I like the bottom of this a little more than the Saucony, but not as much as the New Balance. I know most people can't see a difference between this pair and the NB pair.

But I also have a chemical imbalance that allows me to see the difference and be THAT picky.
Athleta Exclusive DXN Trainer by Saucony

Lastly, I got my Athleta catalog in the mail yesterday and was flipping through and saw a gal in what appeared to me to my magical sneakers, a light tanish beige color with cream soles. I hopped on the site and can't find them except in black. 

I want so badly to be one of those people that can pull of black sneakers.

But I tried it in seventh grade when it was a trend back then and believe me, it didn't look good on me. Yes, they might have been high tops for basketball. Or skater girl Sketchers. But either way, they didn't look good.

I can't imagine much has changed in 20 years!  

So this is where I'm at. Still hunting. Still going back to the New Balances. Maybe I need to try them on with some good socks and things will change?

Anyone have some cute sneaker options I don't know about?!

Totally switching gears on you because we are going to talk about our new highchair! 

When we had Sloane, we had registered and received the Chicco Polly Highchair, something similar to the below picture:
Chicco Polly Highchair

I think everyone was getting this highchair and for good reason. It folds up, it's semi-cute (why are highchairs so atrocious looking? Nothing in my house blends in with a pale yellow covered in animals!) and just seemed like a good/only option! 

After Reece got his turn in it and it made a move to Arkansas, I stared at it and told Matt that if we had another baby, I could not, with good conscience, put it in it without knowing the child would end up with a deadly disease. This highchair was DISGUSTING! There was food in places I can't figure out how it even got there! 

So... we tossed it (thanks for the memories, Chicco Polly) and waited a year and half to have another baby and some months until we needed a highchair again.

I didn't want to spend tons of money, wanted it to be easy to clean, wanted wheels and something that had seat adjustment (up and down and to lean back).

I randomly came across the OXO Seedling Highchair at HomeGoods one day and was so mad I didn't just snatch it up then because it was $70! But we found it on Amazon for $98 and with Prime, had it in a few days with free shipping!
Oxo Seedling Highchair
People - I'm SO happy with this option! If you are hunting for a highchair definitely check this one out. The seat moves all the way to the ground, it rolls around (and all over our house as Sloane drags Tess in it), the tray pulls out easily and also comes off for easy washing, the seat cushion just got its first wash and it was super easy to take off (which was part of the problem with the Chicco version). 

The only con is that it doesn't fold up to put away, but so far, I'm OK with it. For one reason: this thing isn't hideous! The seat cushion comes in a variety of colors and I chose... mocha. Mocha goes with my stuff. 

Thank you Mocha! Thank you OXO! So happy with this highchair purchase! 

Tess loves it, too!
I am not a makeup connoisseur, but I wish I was. It would make things so much easier and my face look so much better! It's just not my thing... I love it, but am not good at it!

But thankfully for other bloggers and their blogs about their favorite things, they were able to point me the direction of what is now one of my favorite makeup tools.

The beautyblender.
the original beautyblender


I always would blend my foundation in with my fingers. And yes, I had been told not to do that. But I didn't listen, it was what I was used to and it was easy.

Then Sheaffer Told Me To blogged about discovering this and how it was a game-changer. So I went to Sephora in search of new foundation... and this game-changing sponge.

And she was right! Game-changer! You get it wet, then squeeze out the water, give it a good squeeze into a hand towel, then apply your foundation to it then to your face. The water is suppose to help keep the foundation on your face longer.

And I love it!

There are lots of other replicas out there - I see them at Marshall's and TJ Maxx all the time. And I do swipe them up from time to time because they are $4 compared to $20. But you can tell a difference.

So if you're wanting to splurge on something fun, test this puppy out (I got mine at Sephora)!

I'm not sure if it's just me, but I'm always on the hunt for a good bootie. The only pair I own are from Old Navy. And though they've done the trick for when I've needed them, you can start to tell they are Old Navy quality.

I LOVE Sole Society. I love everything about it. The shoes, the bags, how when you click on a shoe, they show it to you on a model dressed in normal clothes.

And I'm pretty much love ALL of their bootie options. Including this one.

Natasha Slip-On Bootie

They look really cute and comfy, so they are an option.

But then another blogger, Megan from Honey We're Home, showed these Caslon Addison Wedge Booties on her Instagram the other day and the key word was COMFORTABLE. I want a cute bootie that is comfy, which is hard to come by!



Addison Wedge Bootie

That's definitely one I'd have to try on -- I don't absolutely love the look at first glance (because I'm insane), but I feel like it might look different on (like it does on Megan) and like she said, they're comfortable, which is key.


So, there you have it friends! My Friday Favorites -- or my Friday "I have alot of Favorites but can't make a decision, so help me!" Favorites.


Everyone have a great Friday (because it's my birthday) and have an even better weekend! Hope the weather stays cool on you!


XXOO,
Allyson

PS. Two Dots is having a nice sale going on through Sunday -- everything in the sale section is an extra 20% off. And there are some items in there you can wear NOW! Use code FALL20 at checkout to get the deal!








Monday, September 26, 2016

Birthday Giveaway












 
Well my friends, you are lucky I have gone this long without bringing up the fact that my favorite day of the year is almost upon us.

My birthday.

September 30 is my favorite holiday because it is mine. All mine. Yes, other people celebrate their birthdays on the same day, but in my head, it is my day.

But a quick shoutout to all those last day of September babies! You know who you are! :)

In honor of my birthday, I'm doing an Etsy Gift Card giveaway!

In honor of my birthday, that gift card will be for $34 to any Etsy seller that takes gift cards!

And it's $34 because I'm turning 34. And I'm OK with it. It's another year that I'm still alive and kicking and another year that I get to celebrate the greatest day of the year.

To enter the giveaway, just follow the Rafflecopter instructions at the end of this post and you are entered! Make sure to share the post on social media to get extra points!

The giveaway begins today and I'll announce the winner on Friday with my Friday Favorites!

Best of luck and may the odds be ever in your favor!

XXOO,

Allyson

PS. I started a 'Tess and Elm' Facebook page to keep my posts and other blog-related items to that page. So make sure you 'like' that page to keep up with the blog and also to get extra points in the giveaway below!


a Rafflecopter giveaway
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