Friday Favorites

Happy Friday friends! Welcome to the final edition of Friday Favorites from Arkansas -- unless by some chance I actually find time next Thursday evening or Friday morning to sit down and do this on the last day of school/the day before we officially leave the Land-o-Hogs behind!

Who knows?1 Maybe I'll have a last second burst of energy!

If by chance I don't (😂), I will return to you from my parent's office space in Manhattan, Kansas, where we will be bunking out until our housing situation finally situates itself in Illinois.

Can we just get some extra prayers and fingers and toes crossed that that will happen soon? Not because I'm not excited about living with my parents again. If I were going to choose who to hang out with, it would probably be them.

But I do not want them to get sick of us. Which I feel like could happen rather quickly!

Anyway... Friday Favorites, here we go!

It is that time of year. Pool season! I think we officially kicked it off last Sunday by going to the Splash Pad the day it opened! 

Pool season for us the last few years has been an almost daily occurrence. In our old neighborhood, they have the most legit pool that we lived at during the summer months! And I snagged some Target swim coverups and I have one from Old Navy that does the trick.

But then I saw this coverup on Brickyard Buffalo and had to share! It's so cute, especially if you have a suit that either has no straps, or small straps like this. It's so cute and will for sure make you the talk of the  pool! :) It's only available through the weekend for $21.90 so make your purchase soon!

I'm not sure if you all know this.

But I love JCrew Factory. 😜 For those that really don't know, I will just save you the hassle of reading past blog posts, but I spend a lot of time talking about this store. 

But for good reason!

The clothes are classic, good quality and good prices. 

And this dress is a great example of all three of those things! I LOVE this color during summer. It's a mix between a tomato red and a coral. It's so pretty and I'm trying to think of who this would look bad on... and I'm drawing a blank. 

It also comes in black ... and did I mention it's only $36.50?! 

And to go with your cute new pool coverup or new shirtdress is this adorable beach bag from Sole Society! 

It comes in an off-white as well, which I loved, but I know that my little grubby-handed adorable children would want to touch and so off-white just isn't in the cards for me at this time in my life.

This bag is definitely big enough to fit books, extra change of clothes, towel, etc. 

Free shipping over $50 at Sole Society. A definite must have! 

I came across these sandals on a bloggers Instagram page the other day and had to do a little digging to find them.

But I found them -- Dolce Vita's Para Slides. Love them. 

Love them, love them, love them! I think its just a cute and maybe edgier sandal - and by edgy, I mean as edgy as this anti-edgy person can get! They come in four different colors and the straps transition to a different color.

They ARE pricey at $120, but if you haven't shopped on Dolce Vita's site, then you can enter you email address and get an additional 15 percent off.

I haven't blogged about this yet, but... I started working out at Burn Bootcamp about two weeks ago. It was recommended to me by one of my former Chapman Cheerleaders (Go Irish!) who is about to open one up in Overland Park (for all my KC girls)! 

You guys... it's awesome. It's a 45 minute class and I leave sweating and out of breath. Which is the greatest feeling! 

If you are in the hunt for something to get you in shape and kick your rear, find your nearest Burn Bootcamp! 

ANYWAY -- the last thing the instructor always says before we leave the class is to remember to drink LOTS of water and try and eat 30 grams of protein shortly after class is over. I'm such a picky eater that it's hard for me to find much! 

I was at Wal-Mart though and found these little packets - almost like Lunchables - that have a meat, cheese, almonds and cranberries in them which are perfect for me to snack on and eat right after class.

But I found one that had a small thing of chocolate covered pretzels. Yeah. I'm not going to say much except to say YUMMMMM!!!!! It's a quick and tasty treat, as long as you don't eat the entire bag! :) 

And I'm going to call it a wrap today! I'm going to post about my new facial cream from SeneGence that I tried and really like, but right now, I need to wrap it up! :) 

Everyone have a fantastic weekend! 

XXOO,

Allyson

Friday Favorites

Man, oh man... I did contemplate not doing a Friday Favorites because... well. Because of life.

But I'm in this! I'm here! And we are doing this!

Despite the very chilly temperatures happening today in Arkansas, I still felt the need to share these adorable Sole Society sandals.

They come in this blue suede, camel suede and crackled gold. I would normally gravitate towards the gold because that would go with everything. But I'm LOVING this blue... as well as the camel. Not sure which way to go on this one, but I believe that there is not a wrong way.

I'm not sure if I have ever mentioned my extreme despise of swimsuits and swimsuit season. The only time swimsuit shopping was fun for me was from the ages of 0-13. After that, bleh.

And now, I'm at the age that I have to be more careful on the type of swimsuit I wear. Can't be too young, but I'm not old, so it can't be too old. It's a fine line.

So this one from Boden came across in an email this last week and I actually clicked on it and looked at the color options. There are few with prints and a few with solid colors. I feel like this one could be good for me... or hit me in a funny spot where it would look bad on me.

Only way to find that out...

Facebook is kind of killing me because all of a sudden, these really cute, inexpensive online boutiques are popping up with way cute clothes and forcing me to click and check it out (hmm... disregard... please shop online boutiques)!

This one popped up on Sunday and I have looked at it at least 10 times since then. I'm loving the pop of color and am on the hunt for a nice Easter dress... that will probably end up being my Easter dress for the next five years).

Thoughts?

I find myself throwing on t-shirts and shorts/jeans when the weather starts warming up and to avoid throwing on a Dri-fit or another K-State shirt, I love these t-shirts from JCrew Factory! They are very comfortable as well as a good fit -- not too tight, not too lightweight. Just easy to wear.

They have tons of classic colors as well as some fun colors. This tee specifically is from their Collector Tee collection - I bought one last year that had some flamingoes on it - Sloane's favorite! ;)

If you didn't see my Instagram video about my extreme obsession with sunglasses, I have to tell you... I have a new extreme obsession with sunglasses.

I saw these on a blogger I love to follow on Instagram. She had these on in a picture I saw last week, I found they were from JCrew Factory (of course) and then I just happened to be in Wichita where they have a JCrew Mercantile (same thing as Factory). I ran in (not really), perused the store, couldn't find the glasses, was about to give up, when I looked up and low and behold, one last pair was up on a display. Ahhhhleluia! :)

I made the poor store boy climb the ladder to grab them for me (as well as the polka dot shirt above), I tried them, I loved them, I left with them.

They are still only $20 -- if you need some cute sunglasses, get these!

So instead of a lip color this week, I'm going with a ShadowSense. Because not only does SeneGence sell LipSense, they sell makeup and skincare.

I'm slowly diving into the makeup and this is one of them. BUT ... I don't use it on my eyelids. I use it to brighten up under my eyes, after I've put on my primer, but before I put on my tinted moisturizer.

Today was the first day I have put it on and felt like I had put the right amount on and that it looked good!

I'll get a live Facebook video of this sometime soon for you all!

But if you need some help under your eyes due to dark circles... this might be the trick!


Everyone have a wonderful weekend! Sloane and Reece begin their soccer careers on Saturday. I'd love to tell you I can't wait, but that would be a bit of a lie. I can't wait to watch THEM, but soccer in general has never been my thing.

So... we shall see!

XXOO,
Allyson

Friday Favorites

We made it to Friday! Everyone pat yourselves on the back!!! :)

Ladies, I cannot begin to tell you how long this bag has been on my Amazon Wish List. What I can tell you is that it has been on there long enough for cool version of the Amazon Wish List (that you could add any item from any site on the World Wide Web) to not exist anymore!

I love this Sole Society 'Mason' Weekender Bag! I don't know if it's the cool factor, the "Hey, look at me! I'm trying to be Jennifer Aniston with my cool bag and my aviator sunglasses!"or if that the price point is legit (less than $80). But I love it. And I am telling you this bag will be mine!

Before Amazon Wish List totally disappears!

I literally just saw this Sigma Brush Cleaning Mat on Facebook earlier and watched the video, which was strange (not gonna lie) so I dismissed it and moved on.

Then I found it on Nordstrom and it immediately moved back up to the 'Worth Listing' category. Nordstrom has that strange effect on me.

This mat is only $25, has suction cups on the bottom to stay in place and has only great reviews for easy makeup brush cleaning! It has seven different textures for all of your different types of brushes.

Yes, please!

I have mentioned these flats by JCrew Factory before and I'm going to do it again!

These Anya Ballet Flats are my very, very, very favorite ballet flats! They are beyond comfy and the color selection is great! I own the tan and bright pink. In fact, I wore the bright pink to Chicago when Lauren and I went to market for Two Dots and was stopped by a very flamboyant gentleman who asked me if my shop sold my shoes. I wish, flamboyant gentleman. I wish.

But now they are selling them in metallic! OOOOOH yes... yes they are! And I can't pass up on metallic. It's a great pop if you are wearing a simple outfit.

So please do me a favor and try these flats out!

Gals, I just bought this sweater at Gap for my weekend trip to Chicago and wearing it as we speak. It's SO soft and comfortable and comes in five other colors! Great transition sweater for winter to spring! Check it out!

Speaking of bags (see my first favorite), I need to give a shout out to Thirty-One Bags. My mom started buying them for me probably six or seven years ago and since then, I have accumulated quite the collection. It also helps that my best friend Jenna sells it so I get bags from her as well.

They are so fantastic though! There are so many options from backpacks to coolers to large utility totes, which are my personal favorites. I love the large tote and the deluxe utility tote, which has pockets on the sides!

I take these with me when we travel - throw coats, hats, mittens in some, pillows and kids blankets and stuffed animals in another, diapers and wipes and anything baby-related in another, baby bottles and snacks in a cooler, etc.

The quality is fantastic - I've had ZERO issues with any of mine since I started receiving them!

Designs change from season to season and you can get bags monogrammed. They are great gifts to give and great gifts to receive! If you are interested in them, comment below and I can send you Jenna's e-mail and she can help you out!

This week's color of the week is Caramel Apple! I tried it for the first time last weekend and it's so pretty! It's not too bright, but just enough color to notice. Everyone that tried it on, loved it and wanted it! I finally was able to get my hands on some and will be shipping them out as soon they arrive on my doorstep!


Everyone have a wonderful weekend! Matt and I will be in Chicago house-hunting slash enjoying time away slash not giving baths to children. Best of luck to my parents who WILL be doing that. :)

XXOO,
Allyson

Friday Favorites

Another Friday is here and another week we have survived! Pat yourselves on the back! :)

I'm trying to switch up the style on this week's Friday Favorites - we will see how you like it!

1) Because I'm obviously obsessed with booties (and cannot for the life of me find the exact pair that I must have)... I have found YET another pair to show you! This is the Sole Society 'Ines' Chelsea Boot and it's available at Nordstrom. There are three color options: black, cognac and taupe and they are under $100. Yet another reason I need to get to a Nordstrom ASAP!


2) This is me. Showing off my french braid I did on myself (all the thanks to Emily Cramer for years of staring at her beautiful french braids). Wearing my new Buffalo Check Shirt Jacket that I got on clearance sale at JCrew Factory (boom). And introducing my new favorite lipstick that I didn't want to like!

Welcome to the world of LipSense, friends! It's for real. And it's almost for real that I am considering selling it. They have TONS of colors - a color for everyone - and this stuff does not come off. I repeat. It. Does. Not. Come. Off. I have had this for four days now and for four days, I've stuffed my face with food and it never comes off!

I bought mine from a cousin of mine who just recently started selling it. And is adorable. And can wear ALL the shades and look awesome.

When you buy your first lipstick, I recommend getting the gloss -- you put on your lipcolor, let it dry for a second, then put on the gloss and that's it! Carry the gloss with you if you want to apply throughout the day, but I've worn mine without reapplying the gloss and have been fine! But once you buy the gloss, you don't have to buy it again and just can have fun buying lip colors (for reference, my color is Honey Rose -- I'm excited to get a brighter berry color next time)!

If you have questions, comment below. If I don't know the answer, I can find out for you and I can also direct you to Melissa if you want to try!


3) I can't tell you how I started following this person on Instagram. BUT I am. And as I was scrolling through the other day, I stopped to see what she was holding and what it said.

The bottle reads "Kids Immunity". She says she rolls it on the wrists of her kids before they go to school and it has truly helped to keep her kids from getting sick during "sick season".  Now, I'm not naive enough to believe that just by doing this, no one will get sick. But I'm OK with trying!

The little roller bottle consists of frankincense, lemon and tea tree for immune support, respiratory support and cleansing.

I'm 100 percent NOT an oil expert so I know there are much better brands out there. I just don't want to spend a fortune on them! I did find a pack of eight oils on Amazon that I think would help us through for only $17.


4) Tess and I made a stop at The Loft yesterday before picking Reece up from school. They were having a HUGE sale - 40 percent off everything in the store and an additional 60 percent off clearance items. I made my way around the store and found some cute things, but wanted to point out this Plaid Tab Sleeve Peplum Blouse to you all. It would be cute on so many body types! It's a little baggy, which its meant to be so I would order true to size. It's $54.50 but 40 percent off!


5) And last but not least, I saw this quote on Facebook the other day and made sure to snap a picture of it. Sloane has been having a little harder time in kindergarten - she takes a little longer to process some things, which is fine! We just want to make sure we are able to help her however we can. But I saw this quote and it made me think of her. And Matt and I. And how we kind of look at each other and wonder what have we done to our kids! In the end... I'm just thrilled that they are kind. :)


Everyone have a great weekend! We are hoping the weather allows us to get to KC to meet our nephew/cousin!

XXOO,
Allyson

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!