What's Up Wednesday

Happy Hump Day, friends! I just realized that a) it's the last Wednesday of the month (woah January, hello February) and b) I haven't done one of these in awhile!

So let's get to it!

What We're Eating This Week...
It was our week to host the Stacey's so I attempt to make them something that they haven't already had at our house. The last time they came over, I made them the Mississippi Roast in the crockpot and mashed potatoes in the pressure cooker and it was SO good! 

This time, I made taco salad - a recipe from my aunt Sherron's cookbook (one that she put together with recipes from her, my grandma, my aunts and many of her friends - they are classics that I love and it's my go-to cookbook) and as always, it was yummy! It's SO easy to make.

I also have a few recipes tagged from Shay Shull's cookbook 'Mix-n-Match Mama Eats'.




 
What I'm Reminiscing About...

I blogged about this yesterday, but Matt's granddad Jim passed away last Thursday night so I've definitely spent some time thinking about him, his life and his legacy he will leave behind. My husband grew up on a farm, half a mile from his grandparents house. Memories of growing up there will be treasured and that place will always hold a special place in his heart and so much of it traces back to his granddad and gramma. 


What I'm Loving...

You know I couldn't get away from this... but I'm loving my LipSense! Yet again, I blogged about this new opportunity that I decided to partake in this month. I became a LipSense distributor and vowed to not bug everyone about it 24/7 because I just can't be that person! I feel like bugging you about Two Dots is completely different. How, I don't know, but I'm OK with that!

Here's what I will tell you about LipSense.

It is lipstick that doesn't come off. 

It. Doesn't. Come. Off. 

I LOVE my Mac lipsticks and my Clinique Chubby Sticks but I put them on and five minutes later, they have come off because I have eaten or drank or just walked around. LipSense does not come off - yes, you need to use the gloss throughout the day to help it not come off, but I just was discussing with Jenna that I almost never put the gloss on throughout the day (because let's be real, I forget to bring it with me and I just forget about it), but what's amazing is that I can get to the end of the day and STILL have lipstick on. 

Me in Honey Rose and Glossy Gloss (yes, that's the name... 😐)

The color options are gorgeous... and endless. If you want to try, just let me know! I have a growing list of people that want to try it and I have only personally contacted a few of them (because they are lipstick lovers and all lipstick lovers need this in their possession)! If you haven't joined my Facebook page to see all the colors and what I'll have in stock, just click here. 




 
What We've Been Up To...

 Oh... you know... just searching for a house in Chicago for us to live in that is not an hour commute for Matt and won't take him 20 minutes to walk from our house to the train station (though he blows it off like it won't be a big deal -- ask me how he's feeling after his fifth day of walking in negative temperatures with blowing snow in his face -- which I said to him), meeting with realtors to get our house on the market, going room to room to decide what needs to be hidden when people walk through our house, etc. 

This will be our life until the summer I believe!
 
What I'm Dreading...

See above! I'm dreading all of it! Talk to me in the summer when it's over!


What I'm Working On...

My life kind of revolves around my kids (making sure they have been fed, bathed, get them where they need to go, etc.), trying to have dinner for a hungry husband, house-hunting, Two Dots, blogging and now LipSense. There literally are not enough hours in the day! Realistically one of those should probably go away, but I can't pick which one it should be, so instead, I will just go crazy and try and get it all done! :) 
 
What I'm Excited About...

Well... I was very excited about a trip to Chicago next weekend to go look at houses and be kid-less for two days. But that trip is now postponed so... I'm looking forward to a Two Dots trunk show in Sedan instead! I love doing shows there because I get to see people I don't see very often anymore and I might get to go eat at Bucks BBQ. And hopefully go to church and see my St. Roberts peeps.


What I'm Watching/Reading...

I'm not sure if this tells you much about me.

But my favorite show of the moment is Ladies of London on Bravo TV.

And my book of the moment is 'Superficial' by Andy Cohen, the brains behind Bravo TV.

 If you think that I'm wishing to be a crazy, materialistic, rich witch... you might be right.


What I'm Listening To...

Matt got the Amazon Echo Dot for Christmas from my sister and we use it alot to play music while in the kitchen.

The kids ask only for Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars and anything by the Chipmunks.

I recently asked for it to play Harry Connick, Jr., while I made dinner. And let me tell you, it made dinner-making much more delightful! I recommend a little Harry the next time you are prepping/cooking/baking.


What I'm Wearing...

Right now, our weather is spring like. Which annoys the crap out of me. Give me winter. Then give me spring. Not two weeks of winter, five months of spring, six months of summer, two weeks of fall.

So my attire is all up in the air. But a constant are my JCrew Factory Jeans.

They are so comfortable because they have a decent amount of stretch in them. Plus they come in a good variety of colors! AND they are less than $50 always!

What I'm Doing This Weekend...

This weekend, we will be back at the farm for Matt's granddad's funeral service. He was well-known across the area so I expect it to be a large crowd. Lots of talking. Totally my thing. 


What I'm Looking Forward to This Next Month...



I just looked at my February calendar today and it's filling up!

We've got things almost every weekend, birthday parties for friends, and then a big birthday party for Ms. Tess who turns one year old on February 24! That same weekend we are going to Wichita to Matt's alma mater to watch his college basketball coach coach his last home game as he is retiring after this season. 

In between all of that, Matt and I are suppose to go see Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt at the Walton Arts Center on February 21. Who wants to babysit?!




What Else is New...
I literally can't think of anything else going on in my life except that our sweet nephew/cousin Anderson is growing and will be a month old on February 8 - where did that month go?!


Everyone have a

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!