Friday Favorites

Friends!

It's Friday!

Maybe next week I'll return to regularly-scheduled blogging?! Ughhh... my life is basically Two Dots, momming, Target, Amazon, shower, momming, Two Dots, momming, bed. Maybe if I replaced Target and Amazon with blogging, this could all go back to normal.

But then we would have no food to eat or diapers for the baby. Or Glade Christmas candles.

This week is more great ideas for gifts. Big to small.

Guys... I would tell you that you were crazy if you told me there was a pillow you could SLEEP on that would actually make your face look better and keep your hair pristine.

But you guys... I'm telling you... there is a pillow that actually makes your face look better and keeps your hair pristine and you don't have to do anything but SLEEP on it!

It's called the Glow Beauty Boosting Sleep Duo and it includes a pillowcase and eye mask. Each thread of the pillowcase and mask are infused with copper, which is an essential mineral known to enhance skin appearance for a healthy, youthful glow. Who knew!!

I read the reviews, read a bloggers reviews... I'm in. Who else is?!!

I know I have shown a version of this Sigma Makeup Brush Cleaner before, but I believe the last one was a mat. This one is a glove. And I think I like the idea of the glove more! 

I am AWFUL about cleaning my makeup brushes. If this was in eyesight, I feel like it would not slip my mind as easily. 

It's on the Christmas list! 

It went from 60 degrees to 12 in less than 24 hours this week here in Chicago. Luckily, our Marmot coats came in just in time (this is the NICEST coat I have ever owned and now I know why it's best not to skimp when it's 12 degrees outside and you're standing in a line, waiting to pick up your kids from school... skimpy coats leave you frostbitten. Nice coats leave you wishing you were inside, but you've got a nice, down coat on so you can last five minutes)! 

I saw this Pompom beanie on one my favorite new bloggers (Beth at Seersuckle and Saddles) and that evening, my mom and I walked down to Michigan Avenue, into TopShop, tried on the four different beanie options and walked out with this one (but I would have liked to take them all home). It's so cute, super warm and just fun with the big PomPom! ;) 

Reece and I stopped at the Madewell store near us to pick up a Christmas gift I had shipped there (silly me, I thought it would just be smart to not pay shipping and just run down to pick it up... yet we drove around trying to find a free parking spot for 15 minutes... should have just paid the shipping). Oh Madewell... you have my heart!

Seriously, I want everything in that store. And if you have not been to a Madewell store, make it a priority -- or at least browse their website!

Since we spent forever trying to find a parking spot, we had to at least spend five minutes in the store. So I went to the shoes and Reece went to the clothes (and found many things that he said, "Hmmm... mom, this would look nice on you!" ... God love him!). My eyes went straight to these booties and my feet immediately went into them.

The Jillian Boot is on the Christmas list. It's on the part of the list that I know won't make it under the tree, but it has to go on the list! These booties were super comfortable and hit at the right part of the ankle. Perfect with ankle-length jeans and the color of suede is the perfect shade.

In. Love.

I shared this coat on my Facebook page a week or so ago. They have sold out of a lot of colors because the color I had originally wanted doesn't exist anymore! 

Then I found this coat ... very similar, but much less expensive. Big fan. (Sidenote: If you haven't browsed The Loft website in awhile, it would be in your best interest to do that -- the sweater options are A-MAZING and they are ALWAYS having a sale!)

But then I found this coat. This coat is from Macy's and doesn't have the fur collar, but what draws me to it is the stand-up collar, the big pockets and the BRIGHT color! I absolutely love a big, bright pop of color in the dead of winter. And this blue is just that! 

And there are just a few more gift options for you... for your friends... for your mom, your sister, your neighbor... anyone that needs something great in your life, these will do. :)

Have a great weekend, friends! Like I said... my goal is to return to blogging next week. ONE CAN DREAM! :)

XXOO,
Allyson

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday everyone!

My weekend is going to be interesting. Matt is taking Sloane and Reece on a work camping trip from Saturday morning until Sunday morning... so it will be just Tess and I holding down the fort.

With no car.

Matt's taking the van with him and since we sold the truck when we moved to Chicago (because we only had one parking spot!), we will have no vehicle. So. We shall see what kinds of shenanigans Tess and I can get into carless.

Maybe just a lot of football watching... we'll see!

I went to Benefit Cosmetics to get my eyebrows waxed last weekend and I am happy to report they were awesome and I will be going back!

I asked the gal if she had any recommendations for brow fillers since brows are all the rage these days and of course, she had a few things to show me, but this was her favorite.

It's called 'Gimme Brow Volumizing Fiber Gel' and it is da bomb, ladies! I have used my Elf creme to fill in my brows and definitely have loved it and loved the $3 price tag.

But this stuff is just that much better and quicker to use... with a $24 price tag.

It's shaped like a mini mascara brush and comes in different shades. You just swipe it on, as much as you'd like, and you can rub it back and forth to really fill in. And boom! Brows look SO much better!

This is NOT me, but a great picture to show you the before and after difference! So if your'e in the market for a new brow pencil or brow gel, give this one a shot!

I love a good graphic tee. For many reasons. But the most important being that you can dress them up and dress them down so easily!

Pair it with jeans and sneakers and a baseball cap. Or put a blazer on over it, top knot that hair, a pair of heels and it's totally transitioned into an evening look.

So when JCrew debuted their Horoscope shirts, yep... they had me.

They have all of the signs and they are ALL really cute, so go check for yours (PS. My birthday is in nine days so I love this shirt even more right now)!

I love InsaStories. For many reasons, but mostly because usually as soon as someone I am following - a store, a blogger, etc. - announces something that they love and I must have, I immediately go and usually buy it. Not ALL the time but with very specific bloggers, I tend to be that way.

Not the best way to live, but it's fun.

So I've blogged about my former roommate/Wichita State media relations workhorse friend Brittany and her and her sister's adorable monogram shop, Southern Trademark. I LOVE their InstaStories and just their social media presence in general because they are KILLING it. They have super-motivated me and getting Two Dots back to legit-status. So... thank you to Brittany and Brooke! :)

Today they posted new items they got in and holy cuteness! Is this bag not amazing for fall and winter?! I can name five people off the top of my head who would love to rock this bag.

So... if you're an early Christmas shopper or are birthday present-hunting, hunt no more! Check out their shop!

Speaking of InstaStories... I did one the other day on this incredible cheese that I just started eating. And I started eating it BECAUSE of an InstaStory? See, it brings great things to one's life!

The cheese AND InstaStories!

So as I said in the story, I've been trying to eat better. Don't kid yourself, I'm not going to do anything crazy and give up McDonald's coke (though I know I should). But I've just tried to find things that I can eat at the correct times of day (not lunch at 2:45 pm) that aren't going to enhance my gut.

This cheese comes in atleast eight different flavors and they are small wedges, which one might think wouldn't be very much. But it actually is! I coat a flat out sandwich wrap in it with some rotisserie chicken and spinach and still have 3/4 of a wedge left. So I either put it away, or swipe the rest on my plate and dip carrots in it... or pretzel thins.

Sadly, Amazon Prime Now only has two flavors so they don't give me a good variety but Target is on point and has MANY to choose from!

How many of you out there are chapstick users? 🙋

I was an avid Burts Bees chapstick user. Until I started using LipSense. And because Burts Bees is a wax-based chapstick, that was not helping my lips with the exfoliation process it has to go through to get your lips perfect for LipSense.

And then finally, the LipSense Lip Balm came back in stock and it did it without me having to sit at my computer for hours on end staring at the screen and refreshing repeatedly in hopes that it would come back!

I got my hands on a few and it came at the right time because my lips were starting to get dry. I had been using our Lip Volumizer, which I loved and truly felt like it gave my lips a nicer, more plump look without being over the top, but I felt like I hit a limit and my lips were like ... "We need a break from volume and just need balm!"

I tried the lip balm and boom, dry lips no more!

It feels SO nice and applies easily. So if you're a chapstick-aholic, but love your LipSense, stop. Drop (the Carmex) and roll on over to The Lips Shop on Facebook and I will hook you up!

PS. I need to shout it out on more time, but I gained another gal on my LipSense team this week - Christine was one of my cheerleaders I coached when she was at Chapman High and I was a senior at K-State. Lots of life lessons learned by moi... like maybe a 22 year old shouldn't be coaching 17 and 18 year olds.

That's neither here nor there.

Anyway, super pumped she's joined my team and if anyone in Manhattan or Junction City is looking for a LipSense gal, message me and I'll direct you to her!!


Everyone have an awesome weekend! I'll let you know how Tess and I handle our day without a car...

XXOO,
Allyson

A Few Reviews

Hello friends!

I've got a few reviews for you of items I have talked about purchasing (some a little incessantly) and finally did. Good news is that I have positive reviews of these three items and am sorry to say you will want to buy all three. :)

Here we go...

I literally agonized over this decision for atleast six months before finally biting the bullet. I went back and forth between this pair, and then some from Zappos, then a pair from Nordstrom. I had tried these on in a store once and didn't feel they were very comfy. And if I'm going to spend $80 on a shoe that is going to be seeing a lot of pavement, I felt like comfort was important.

When Matt and I went to Chicago and he told me we wouldn't be doing much walking (and I believed him), I cursed myself repeatedly for not having a good pair of CUTE walking shoes to walk around the city (because we did A LOT of walking... I did mine in wedge over-the-knee boots). So when Lauren and I decided to go to NYC, I knew I needed to make a decision between these or these.

In the end, price won. I ordered them and had them a few days before our trip to New York. 

I did a day or two of walking around in them and immediately regretted my purchasing decision. The back heel went up rather high and was KILLING my ankles. There weren't enough bandaids to help my pain! 

Luckily, the early pain was worth it because I wore them in by day three and was VERY happy with my choice! They are really cute with everything and are now comfy to me! So if you're looking for this type of sneaker, I recommend. Just get past day three! 

I am not a manicure gal. I can paint my own nails fairly well so I save $30 and just do it myself. But when we were in Manhattan for the kids spring break, I decided to take Sloane to go get her nails painted. And I got mine done, too.

And I'm now afraid that I've become a manicure convert! DANGIT! 

I had them shellacked, which I had never had done before and of course was screwing up the process as I went along. But we are now two weeks from when I had them done and they still look like I just got them done! 

I don't love the nail growth that you can see and how long my nails are getting (I assume I can cut them and that won't affect anything?) but I will definitely be doing this again, especially if I can get to three weeks with zero scuffs!

Last week on my Friday Favorites, I talked about how I loved the Snow ShadowSense sold by Senegence (how also sells LipSense... all of which I sell)! Today, I showed a video on my The Lips Shop Facebook page, showing how to wear the Snow under your eyes to cover dark circles and brighten up your eyes (and face). 

These pics are the after pics. I'm wearing concealer, primer, Snow ShadowSense under my eyes, Tinted Moisturizer (by SeneGence), my favorite Nars blush, Honey Rose LipSense and LashSense with UnderSense by SeneGence (which is a lash strengthener AND lengthener that I'm testing out). Happy with the results! If you need brighter (under) eyes, lemme know! 

And that's that for today. Happy Hump Day all!

XXOO,

Allyson

Pinteresting

Happy Thursday friends! Decided to go with some Pinterest action today for your Thursday dose of Tess and Elm. And as always, if you want to find all of these pins and past pins, look no further than right here!

 I got a pressure cooker for Christmas which means I have been pressure cooking and slow cooking like crazy lately! I needed to have a meal for our weekly Stacey/Clark dinner and I found this SUPER easy roast recipe and then made mashed potatoes in my pressure cooker (that took six minutes to make) and BOOM! Easy and delicious meal!

I love looking for simple ways to make an outfit just a smidge cuter. And I was browsing Pinterest for specific ideas on how to wear my new Buffalo Check Shirt Jacket from JCrew Factory, I came across this adorable outfit. The jeans I have, the shirt I have, I have many plaid scarves. Now to invest in a camel blazer and I'm good to go!

As Matt and I are house-hunting in Chicago, we are coming to the realization that we might have to make some (major) updates to our future house. Because it seems that everything in our price range was built in the 1960s. And the insides look like it came straight from the 1960s.

So now I'm hunting for inexpensive ways to update rooms.

And then I found a ship-lapped bathroom wall. Damn you, Fixer Upper! I love this! 

Speaking of Pressure Cooker (also known as an Instant Pot if you were really confused like I was), here are a good chunk of recipes to help you into your pressure cooker glory days!

We took my dad to our very favorite Italian restaurant in Bentonville for his birthday (Tavola for you locals) and we ordered the Farm Board as an appetizer (otherwise known as a cheese tray).

HOLY COW! It was awesome -- it wasn't huge like this one, but it was the perfect size for five adults. And inspired me to try this on my own. When we have people over. Which is never.

So maybe just for Matt and I... but a great idea for an "adult party"!


Yay for Pinterest and Yay for Thursdays! Finish the week strong, friends!

XXOO,
Allyson