Eager Favorites

Here are a few things I love. Keep checking back as I think of more items.

My BabyHawk mei tai. I have the reversible Carnival/Pink Stripe print with Espresso straps. This would make a great baby shower gift for any new mom.

My Baby Kaed diaper bag. I have the Sanya in Copper/Pink. Cute without being cutesy. Amazon frequently runs deals on these, I don’t think I spent any more than $40 on mine and they retail for $118. I also have a Bumble Bag in a really cool pink pucci print, but I don’t use it as much.

Oka B. spa and club thong shoes. I live in flip flops. I hate to wear normal shoes. I was wearing Old Navy and Reefs until my mom introduced me to Oka B. Love, love, love these. Need them in every color. My wide feet don’t like the slides, only the flip flops however.

M.A.C. “O” and Plastique lipstick. Normally I carry around a mini lipstick purse inside my big purse that carries at least 15 MAC lipsticks, but if I could only have two, these would be the two I’d pick. “O” is a berry with copper/gold frost. It looks reddish on me. Plastique is harder to describe… tan/peachy frost maybe. My all time favorite gloss which looks fierce with “O” is Delux Beauty Norris, which unfortunately has been discontinued. Boooo..

M.A.C. Pigments in Tan, Vanilla and Melon. Every woman on the face of the planet should own a MAC pigment. Ok, that’s an exaggeration, but I love these!!! I use them primarily for eye shadow. Just a tiny bit on your brush is all you need. I also have Rose pigment which I’ve used in clear gloss on my lips. They are very versatile. MAC always has a holiday set with minis and it’s a great way to try out the pigments. I use my Vanilla mini pigment (from the 2003 holiday set) and still haven’t made a dent in it.

Another M.A.C. beauty product I can’t live without, Paints in Bare Canvas and Stilife. Put one of these on as an eye makeup primer and your eye shadow won’t budge all day.

The perfect pedicure- a basecoat of Orly Bonder, a coat of OPI I’m Not Really A Waitress, topped with two coats of China Glaze Ruby Pumps, while the Ruby Pumps is still wet apply a generous coat of Seche Vite topcoat. The Seche Vite is a fricking miracle product. It dries your polish so fast and so completely that I can do my nails and then go to bed and not sorry about sheet marks on my nails. I also really like dark pedis- like Essie Wicked or OPI Espresso Your Style. Chris hates it, but I do it anyway.

Land’s End zip top canvas tote bag, monogrammed. I’m a bag lady. When I worked I always took a large tote bag into the office which usually contained my lunch, workout clothes, purse, aspirin, snacks, emergency hair and makeup kit, magazine.. you know, all the necessities of life. When I was pregnant it got worse and I added even more stuff into the bag. I swear I needed a sherpa to carry it for me. Currently I have the Super Grande, which I don’t recommend. It’s HUGE!!! Chris bought me a replacement after my original bag (a medium) somehow got gasoline on it. I’m not exactly sure how that happened.

Any cookbook by Ina Garten (The Barefoot Contessa). Every recipe I’ve made from her has turned out perfectly and has become an instant favorite. We make her Asian Grilled Salmon recipe at least once a week. Another cookbook I adore is The Tex-Mex Cookbook: A History in Recipes and Photos by Robb Walsh. We can’t get good Tex-Mex in Birmingham and this cookbook is absolutely amazing. Not only are the recipes great, but the stories and photos truly document the history of Tex-Mex cooking.

My favorite cheap wine, Cristalino Brut cava. Wine & Spirits rated it 91 out of 100. I love bubbly and this is good enough to enjoy and cheap enough to drink often. Makes great bellinis and mimosas too. Costco carries it for under $7. World Market usually has it for $7.99. If we had room in the car I’d pick up a case from Specs the next time we are in Houston, I like it that much.

My favorite beverage when I can’t drink alcohol? A Whole Foods cranberry juice spritzer. 40% Whole Foods 365 cranberry raspberry juice/%60 seltzer. I drank this all the time while pregnant. It’s refreshing and fruity and since you are diluting the juice you cut down on the amount of sugar. Favorite beverage when I can drink? Margaritas!!!

My favorite TV show, Arrested Development. No matter how many times I watch it I always laugh hysterically. I even brought seasons 1 & 2 to the hospital when I was having Daphne. But my labor progressed so quickly we didn’t get a chance to watch it. Sadly it was canceled after 3 seasons.

Tyler candles, especially Original, French Vanilla Oak & Goldleaves… oh and I can’t forget about PMS, Vanilla Rumba, Texan… just buy them all.  I haven’t been able to find these outside of Texas, so buy online from The English Rose.  Great selection, prices and customer service.

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