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

What Have I Done?!

And today is the day I've lost my mind.

I'm certain I've said that many times before, but I'm pretty sure today is THE actual day.

Because...

I've decided to start doing direct sales. 😳

WHAT, you say? DIRECT SALES, you say? Those are not real and I can't believe someone convinced you to do it!

I KNOW! I KNOW!

Believe me when I say I talked myself out of this a few times. Or talked myself into waiting just a little while before jumping in.

And then my husband said "Have you signed up yet?"

So I jumped.

Well what am I selling, you ask?

I am selling lipstick. LipSense lipstick to be precise.

Listen to me when I tell you that I was the last person to jump on the LipSense bandwagon. I hem-hawed around it. I kept hearing about how legit it was and that I needed to try it. But I'm one of those that just likes to wait until the last second to try something (most of the time) OR I'm the last one to find out about it (almost ALL of the time).

The sweet gal that did our makeup for my friend Abby's wedding mentioned how great LipSense was and I said "Oh, yeah, I've heard of that!" And that was it.

And then a month later, my best friend and I stood in the back of a store at the launch party for the Northwest Arkansas Moms Blog group I write for, browsing lip color choices and what she should get. I was totally into it.

But I still didn't budge.

And then one night, I was on Facebook and saw that one of my distant cousins (who may or may not be one of the cutest people you will ever see -- besides my cute cousin Megan) had posted pictures in her LipSense and how she had decided to take the plunge and sell it and how she NEVER thought she'd do direct sales, but she had truly loved this stuff for awhile so why not?

See, what did I tell you?!

So then I had to try it. I messaged her, I browsed the really great examples of colors (they show you six different "normal" people in one LipSense color to give you a good representation of what it might look like on you) and bit the bullet. 

And now here I am. A few weeks later. I feel EXACTLY as Melissa did, but this stuff is the real deal.

Let me explain my number one reason as to why it's great and why I'm happy to sell it to everyone: it doesn't come off.

I repeat, the lipstick does not come off!

You can put it on in the morning, put on the gloss you purchase with it, and maybe carry the gloss with you if you want, but the lipstick will last up to 18 hours! I put it on, eat 10 meals, go check the mirror two hours later and it is still there!

I think back to Abby's wedding and how one person carried around one tube of the gorgeous Vitality lipstick and we all had to share it AT LEAST 60 times that day. If we would have had one tube of LipSense, we wouldn't have had to share it more than ONCE! And I LOVE the color of Vitality lipstick we used -- I went and spent $25 on it at Ulta!  ....  And I could have just spent $25 on the same LipSense color!

Also...

I started a separate Facebook page for this new adventure for a few reasons:

1. I wanted a separate space to show you all of the color options.
2. I wanted a space to show you what I have in stock.
3. And that is all. 

I am not going to bug you to join my team (but the one plug I will give is that you get a good discount on this stuff if you DO join my team -- THAT'S IT, I'M DONE!). I'm not going to share every single post on my personal Facebook page. I just wanted a separate space to show you the colors and how to buy it.

Because you all need some of it in your life, I can promise you that! And if you do have any questions, you know how to find me - comment below,  e-mail me at allyson.hills@gmail.com or hop on any of my five million Facebook pages. :)

Now for the next question you have...

No, this does not mean Two Dots will go away! Lauren and I (oh yes, Lauren is selling LipSense as well) are obviously trying to corner the clothing and makeup market. 😂

Two Dots is still kicking! We actually have a show in Kansas City in just over a week and a half at the Holy Trinity Early Education Center in Olathe for those that want to come browse! There will be a Ladies Night on Friday, January 27 from 6-9 pm. Tickets are $15 for advanced purchase or $20 at the door, which includes a raffle ticket, wine and snacks and a possibly swag bag with coupons and such to use that night!

And blogging will not be going anywhere either! You might just hear about new LipSense colors a little more, especially on Friday Favorites. But Tess and Elm is staying put.

As for the rest of my crazy life, it is literally all over the place with realtors, house hunting in Chicago, and the realization that we continue to accumulate SO MUCH STUFF that I thank God for relocation packages! 

And that's that, folks! To check out the LipSense colors and what I have in stock at the moment (it's selling so quickly that so many colors I want to have in my inventory are not available until February), go to my Facebook page and go to the 'Photos' tab.

Happy Hump Day to all!

XXOO,
Allyson

PS. IF you like what you see on my Facebook page, go ahead and 'like' it and share it with your friends -- just for fun so you can be informed on colors that arrive and new items!