Costume

I found Daphne’s Halloween costume. Now I just have to find it in stock somewhere (it ships in 2-6 weeks at Target.com).

And since the average high in October is 82 degrees, I don’t have to worry about it not being warm enough. While I’m on the subject of Target and Halloween, they have some adorable Circo Halloween t-shirts and leggings for little girls. I’ll try and take a picture of Daphne’s set tomorrow.

Girl’s Day Out

Today my mom treated me to a makeover for my birthday. I got my hair cut and styled, then we went to MAC for a makeup application. I had so much fun!! I think this is going to be my new birthday tradition. And after a year of looking like a tired new mommy, it was really great to get all dolled up.

The MAC experience was fabulous. Really. Everyone at the counter was so nice (we went to the MAC counter at the First Colony Mall Macy’s in Sugar Land). After I sat in the chair the makeup artist, Elaine, asked what I wanted. I told her I didn’t care. Just an everyday look or something for a casual date with my husband. She decided to do a subtle smoky eye, which I was thrilled about. With my non-existent eyelids and lack of crease I’ve never felt I could pull off a smoky eye. When I mentioned that to Elaine she laughed and said, “Hey, you are talking to an Asian girl. I’ll show you how to make it work!” And she did. She used a reddish brown, almost a mahogany shade for the lid (limited edition Glamour Check! shade from the Starflash collection), blended out with Bisque and highlighted with Gleam (Wow, why have I not bought that shade before? beautiful!!). She used a violet/plum liner. Let me just say I never would have picked out a mahogany eyeshadow with a plum liner, but it looked amazing!!! My eyes looked so green and vibrant. And the best part?? She used a concealer on my brow line and used Cork eyeshadow to fill in my pathetically sparse eyebrows (You’d think with dark brown, thick hair I’d have decent eyebrows. I don’t.). I left the counter with Studio Fix foundation, 2 different concealers, 4 eyeshadows and an eyeliner. And I’m seriously thinking I need their 187 foundation brush. And the Mineralize Blush in Nuance. And Viva Glam V lipstick.

Now I just need a mani/pedi and I’ll be set.

Hot Date

We just got back from our date. I have to admit it was nice to have a few hours away from Daphne and be able to leave the house with just my wallet, lipstick and keys and not half the contents of Daphne’s room. Of course we might need a refresher course on what constitutes a “date.” We had dinner at Saltgrass then went shopping at IKEA and Costco for Daphne stuff. We had planned to get some frozen custard but pooped out and went home. Terribly exciting. It was really nice to sit and talk to my husband. We’ve had so many distractions lately and haven’t made time to have meaningful conversations.

As usual, the items we were interested in at IKEA were junky looking in real life. Chris thought the Trofast system looked like garbage pails so I guess we will either do the Expedit system, or look for something completely different for Daphne’s room. But we somehow managed to spend $113 so it wasn’t a total bust.

Toy Storage

I think after Daphne’s birthday we are definitely going to need a better toy storage system. I’ve been going through all the storage posts on Ohdeedoh and their “Now you see it, now you don’t” contest entries, as well as IKEAhacker trying to get ideas. Currently, I’m thinking of using under the bed bins for her larger toys (put under her crib so she has easy access to them) and maybe the Trofast system from IKEA or another unit with cubbies and baskets. Like this Trofast unit, but I’d paint it and do pink and white bins:

We’d secure it to the wall for safety purposes, but do you think this would be a climbing hazard? The tallest point is 36″. This would be another option, but I probably wouldn’t put so many units together. I don’t think we’d have the space for something quite so long:

Chris & I are going out on a date tomorrow night and I’m thinking about having him drive me over to IKEA so I can check them out. I also want to look at the Expedit series after seeing so many people use them for toy storage. Target also has a few options, but I like how IKEA’s systems are more customizable with different sized bins.

Or should I just get a toy box? But it seems like things get so jumbled up in them. Anyone have any tips/suggestions??

Crazy 8

I’m officially done with Crazy 8. For those of you not familiar with the company it’s Gymboree’s lower priced sister store. Like Old Navy is to Gap. Anyway, apparently they only make children’s clothes for freakishly tall anorexic children. I bought this t-shirt for Daphne in a size 12-18 months (supposed to fit 22 to 27 lbs, my child is probably 17.5 lbs):

It’s really snug around the middle, but if I sized up to a 18-24 months, then she could wear it as a dress and the neck would be big and weird. I really don’t get their sizing. Daphne is average for height and below average for weight… she should fit into one of their sizes. But she doesn’t. Too bad.

Mpix

I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned this before, but Chris & I use Mpix for our photo printing. They have really great customer service and lightning fast shipping. In fact, I ordered Daphne’s invitations yesterday morning (I created the invitation in Photoshop and had it printed as a 5×7 matte photo) and received them around 2:00pm today. Which is great until I realized I bought 4×6 envelopes at Michael’s. Crap, off to find new envelopes. Anyway, here’s the invitation (minus the important details like the address, etc. which has been blurred out. Sorry interwebs, I love ya and we are making a ton of cake, but everyone is not invited.)

I’m absolutely no graphic designer, but I’m happy with the end result. I can’t wait for the party.

Cute Chicks

This is totally me:

You might not be able to read the caption, but it says “Jenny spent many a pregnant night dreaming of breast-feeding, washing hemp diapers, and handcrafting education toys from pieces of twine. And then she had the baby.”

I was one of those people who said my kid won’t watch TV until she’s much older, and even then in moderation. Then I had the baby. And if 5 minutes of Noggin will snap her out of a fussy time and allow me to regain my sanity, then let’s watch Oswald, baby! I’m still on the fence about cloth diapers. I swear my child poops more than I thought possible. I should have started back when it was all breastmilk poop and not as offensive as real food poop. Yucko. Oh yeah, I also wanted her to play with handmade, organic toys, not loud obnoxious plastic stuff. Unfortunately she only likes loud, plastic stuff that requires batteries. She doesn’t even touch her stuffed animals.

I love Sloane Tanen’s work. She is so funny and I love those little chickens. A few years ago I had one of her calendars in my office, but my boss at the time was a little offended by the lesbian reference in Paige, so I took it down. Recently, I put her Hatched book on my Amazon wishlist without seeing any of the images and now that I’ve looked at a few of the prints I realize I must have this book. In Placenta, the chicken is babywearing!! (There’s a phrase you probably don’t see often, “the chicken is babywearing”) Only my fellow babywearing mamas probably find that as hilarious as I do. And Ned’s bedtime,
Goodnight Moon and Polygamist are pretty funny too. I think the book would make a really cute gift for a new mom.

Custom Photo M&Ms

What a cute idea! You can now put a small image on your custom M&Ms. I did the regular customs for our 10th anniversary, but with my complete inability to keep a secret Chris managed to find out about them weeks before our trip. I need to do all my shopping for him about 5 minutes before I need to give him a gift.

New Top

A few posts back I detailed my problems finding a few casual tops. While we were at Belk I saw an embroidered peasant top and thought it looked really cute on the hanger, but would end up looking like a potato sack on me. But in true What Not To Wear fashion, I tried it on anyway. I mean, you never know, right? Here’s the top, but I bought it in black with white embroidery:

Once I got home I tried it on and told Chris to tell me the truth, “Does this make me look like a grandma getting ready for a cruise to Mexico?” He laughed (because he thinks it’s funny I’m always so descriptive) and told me, “No, you just look like you are from Texas, and it’s very flattering.” So I asked a follow-up question, “You mean like I’m getting ready to go out for margaritas?” Yes. Good, so I didn’t have to go back to Belk and return it. Today I wore it with a denim skirt and black sandals to Daphne’s Dr. appt. The shoulders were already falling down on me a bit, so I used some Hollywood Tape to stick the top edge of the sleeve to my bra strap. What I didn’t think about was wearing a really wide, stretchy neckline and carrying a grabby 9 month old. Perhaps I need to think about wearing a tank underneath the top, otherwise I’ll need figure out how to Hollywood Tape the entire neckline. I can’t be flashing everyone and unfortunately all Daphne wanted to do was pull on it. Since I’m probably a foot shorter than the model above (ok, probably not a foot) it looks more like an off the shoulder top and the neckline is a whole lot lower. I still like it though.

No Luck

Hopefully I’m not the only woman out there who is ready for the empire waist/babydoll top trend to die. Any extra fabric or gathering at the waist just makes me look pregnant. And I don’t think I’m alone. I’ve seen many women in similar tops and thought they were pregnant. Nope, just an unfortunate shirt.

Today I was scouring the mall for outfits to wear to Chicago later this month. I wanted some bermuda length shorts and some cute but casual tops. I actually had no problem finding shorts. I bought three pairs, and a black skirt. Go Jenny!! I tried on a million tops and nothing looked right. Normally I have the opposite problem… easy to find tops, but impossible to find bottoms I like. I’m going to blame breastfeeding. I have no idea how extended breastfeeders do it. I’m so ready to be back to my normal size. So, so, so, so, so ready.

Anyway, I even tried on stuff that I wouldn’t normally pick out. Which works for people on What Not To Wear, but not so much for me. And to help matters, Daphne was fussy the whole time we were at the mall. I didn’t bring my Ergo or BabyHawk, just the stroller, and Daphne wanted to be held the whole time. I should have just left, but I made the effort to drive all the way over to Hoover and wanted to get some shopping done. Later we met Chris at our favorite cheapie Mexican place for Happy Hour, and after a margarita I was ready to hit the mall again, this time without Daphne. Still didn’t find anything, but I did go to Sephora and bought a LORAC Croc palette. So freaking pretty:

Why have I never tried a LORAC shadow or blush before? Really nice!! The blush is super pigmented and the shadows are gorgeous. I’ve been wearing LORAC Lip Polish in Kiss for a few years, but never gave the rest of the line a second look. I used to be a major makeup junkie, but since having Daphne I admit I very rarely put on a full face of makeup. Why bother when it’s usually just Daph & I at home. I do love playing with makeup though. I’ll probably be wearing a basic Old Navy v-neck t-shirt in Chicago, but my eyes will look fierce!