As Orange As The Summer Sun

As part of BlogHer's Life Well lived series, I was asked to answer the question- What are your favorite summer staples? How do you bring the summer sun to your wardrobe? 

Since I am now 9 months pregnant, my wardrobe is limited to maxi dresses and lounge clothes. Ask my husband... he hates what I wear lately! If you see me in about a month, you will see me in short, brightly colored dresses and fun sandals, my usual summer staples.

There is one change that I have made in the past month. Usually, I am not one for painting my toenails with anything other than clear polish or a french pedicure. I think because I wear bright colored shoes in the summer, I don't want my toes to stick out or clash.

However, since a lot of my maternity wardrobe is classic black, I actually have been painting my toes a perfect shade of orange I recently found at Gap, of all places. The color's name is POPPY, which is exactly what it does to my toes... makes 'em pop! And it reminds me of a blazing summer sunset over the Gulf Of Mexico... hopefully I can get some pool time and sunsets in this weekend before Baby D arrives!.

Even though my toes are a little swollen in this picture, they're still rockin' the heels!

How do you incorporate the summer sun into your wardrobe? And what are your favorite summer staples? Go here to tell me, and enter to win an iPod Touch!

Let There Be Color

As part of BlogHer's Life Well lived series, I was asked to answer the question- How do you incorporate color into your look? There is rarely a day that I don't have some kind of color in my wardrobe, even 8 months pregnant. For example, here is what I wore yesterday:

Black low-rise skinny jeans (non-maternity)
Black Pea-In-The-Pod cami
Black and White striped oversized tank from TJMaxx
Gold Michael Kors watch
Yellow vintage wooden bead necklace

I know stripes are not really what pregnant women should be wearing, but I kind of love this top and it is one of the few separates in my closet that still fits! And for the record, I promised no belly shots, but photos from the front don't really count!

I showed this example, because color is so easy to incorporate by just using accessories. You could easily substitute big, bold earrings, or really fun shoes. Speaking of shoes, these also could have worked with my outfit yesterday:

I picked these up at  H&M the other day for $15. Really comfy flats in pink satin.... its a win, win. I was thisclose to going home with these green H&M wedges for $25:

Any of my friends will tell you I have a vast collection of shoes and jewelry. The reason is because they are the easiest accessories to add a punch of color to any black dress or jeans and a white t-shirt. Not to mention, can be found for a heck of a lot less money than a fabulous purse. And a bonus, can be thrown on in the 20 seconds you are running out the door. Great places for inexpensive shoes in great colors are Target, H&M, and often your local TJMaxx and Ross. By spending less money on colorful accessories, you can't feel too bad about giving them away in a year when the color is not in style, or out of season.

Most of my jewelry is actually vintage, that I have purchased at garage sales, vintage stores, and places around the world. Also a few "shopping trips" through my grandmother's jewelry box have produced some excellent colored enamel earrings and brooches from the 60's.  However, if you aren't comfortable with buying second hand, stores like H&M, Forever XXI, and online vendors like Etsy are a great place to find that fun piece for little money.

I love bright prints and clothing pieces, but I have to say that colorful shoes and jewelry are my favorite ways to incorporate color into my daily wardrobe. Even on a gloomy day, or one in which I feel large and uncomfortable, a pop of color seems to liven my spirit and make me feel cute at the least. Try it for yourself, and if you don't agree, check into the BlogHer Life Well Lived site for more ideas on how to incorporate color into your look. Stop by and enter their sweepstakes too for an iPod Touch and $50 iTunes gift card!

What is your favorite way to incorporate color?

My Favorite Cleaning Tips and Blogiversary Giveaway

The Reviewer Badge:

As a member of the BlogHer community, I was asked to write a post on my favorite cleaning tips as part of their Life Well Lived - Getting Organized feature. After yesterday's announcement that we are moving, there is so much organizing and cleaning that has been done these past two weeks, that it is the perfect time for me to share my quick tips!


My five quick tips for cleaning in 10 minutes or less when company is on the way:

1. Using an All Purpose spray and a paper towel, spray down your kitchen counter tops, sink and faucet, and stove top. Wipe up and voila! You are done. Why is this one thing I always do? Because guests always come in and stand in the kitchen. There may be dinner cooking with many plates and pots, but as long as everything is clean, no one will notice the chaos. Bonus time: wipe down the handles on your refrigerator or the inside of your microwave. I usually just go straight to the bathroom...

2. And using All Purpose Anti-Bacterial Wipes, wipe down the sink, faucet, and toilet. Don't worry about the shower/tub, as most guests either don't notice, or they have also not cleaned their shower/tub in over a week. But as long as you have a clean toilet and clean sink where they can wash their hands, the rest of the bathroom will look just as clean. Bonus time: using the same wipe, quickly run it over the tile floor to pick up any hair that may be lurking from your last blow dry, especially behind the toilet where it likes to hide.

3. Dust surfaces using a paper towel sprayed with an All Purpose spray, and turn on ceiling fans. Dust surfaces in the rooms in which you know guests will most likely be during their visit, and leave the other rooms for another day. I will be the first to tell you that I don't dust often enough. Usually the evidence is found on our ceiling fans, so once you quickly wipe down dusty surfaces, turn on the ceiling fan so that the newly cleaned areas will dry quickly, and guests won't notice a dirty fan.

4. If the house is a wreck, and you have to chose between cleaning some surfaces or putting away piles of mail, clothes, and other house clutter, ALWAYS take the 10 minutes or so to clean the surfaces being used most. These are what guests notice, not the pile of mail sitting by the front door - they probably have a similar pile at their house. The other clutter can be thrown in drawers, closets, and rooms that you can close off so guests won't notice.

5. Fluff or straighten pillows on the way to answer the door. It makes it look like you were always expecting them.

Those are my five quick tips, and the secrets to why my house always looks ready for guests (just don't peek in our closets- I love to stash!). Now, be sure to check out BlogHer's Life Well Lived Spring Cleaning Tips and share your favorite cleaning tips here to win a Kindle Fire and $50 Amazon gift certificate.

And, today a cleaning kit to be used with my Five Quick Tips is up for grabs as part of the 3rd Blogiversary Giveaways. Go here for more information and to enter!

Happy Weekend!

This is what life is like....

The blog has been lacking a bit lately, between being almost 7 months pregnant and some other major developments going on! My feature for BlogHer's Life Well Lived post next week will talk all about this chaos!

In the meantime, today is my 3 year Blogiversary, which means that next week will be filled with some giveaways too! Stay tuned for a packed week- literally!

Hope you have a great weekend!

appSmitten

A quick post for Friday that I couldn't wait to share! I came across a great new site called appSmitten, in which you can sign up for a free daily or weekly e-mail list that highlights a few of the millions of new apps coming to the market for your iPhone, Android, and iPad. By signing up, you can tailor your preferences on the types of apps you are looking for. Then, when you get an e-mail from appSmitten, it will highlight new apps in the categories you like most! You can also search their website for new apps or reviews of existing apps by their contributors. I already received my weekly e-mail, and downloaded some of the apps they recommended!

Click here to subscribe to become appSmitten!

My Favorite Beauty Tools

As a member of the BlogHer community, I was asked to write a post on my favorite beauty tools as park of their Life Well Lived - Looking Your Best feature. As a pregnant mom-to-be, I have worked harder on my skin prep work than on my makeup itself due to the natural changes with my body, and consider some of these items my best beauty "tools" to help me feel and look my best.


One of my favorite beauty tools is the Clarisonic Mia. My good friend turned me on to this after we both battled stages on adult acne in our mid-twenties. I use it daily with their Sensitive cleansing head and my Cetaphil Gentle Skin cleanser, and my skin has dramatically improved. It really helps take off makeup and get your skin clean. It is certainly one of the more expensive tools, but in the first month of using it, I found it to be worth every penny.

As any mother knows, the baby is constantly sucking the moisture out of your skin and body. A few times a week, I use this Laura Mercier Flawless Skin Face Polish on my face to remove any dry skin. It makes my face feel as smooth as a baby's bottom, and does not dry me out like many other scrubs.For extra exfoliation, I put it on my Clarisonic and scrub away!


Another "tool" I use daily is Kiehls Facial Fuel Eye De-Puffer. Since the age of 18, I have used eye cream to prevent wrinkles and keep my eyes looking fresh all day. While I try to use heavier stuff at before going to bed, I found I was in desperate need of something I could use before putting on my makeup that was light, but would get rid of the effects of a restless night's sleep. This Facial Fuel is light and easy to use, and does not clump up when I top it with some under eye concealer for those really rough mornings. It is so good that I have stocked up on this product so that I will not be without it when the baby comes!

As a pregnant momma-to-be, I have been using Palmer's Cocoa Butter Lotion to prevent stretch marks on my expanding belly. However, I have been a longtime fan of Bobbi Brown's beach line of products. Being a Florida girl born and raised, Bobbi nailed it on the scent of the beach... it smells like the sand, surf, and sunscreen in the best of ways. I use the Bobbi Brown beach spray for balmy summer date nights, but have lately been using the beach Body Oil to calm my dry skin after a shower. The beach is not just for the summer months anymore!


So those are my go-to beauty tools for keeping my skin fresh and hydrated. Check out other beauty tips at BlogHer and join me in their Life Well Lived series. And for a bonus, visit their Sweepstakes and enter your Life Well Lived Moment to win a Kindle Fire and $50 Amazon gift certificate! What are your favorite beauty go-to tools? Share with me in the comments below, I may just have to try them for myself!