Thanks so much to everyone who sent me questions, this was a fun post to put together. I don't even think there was a duplicate question from the last time I did a post like this, which was cool. Here's my take on your questions:
About Me-
Question: You have a beautiful, natural look. Not overly made up. What's your daily make up routine?
Answer: First off, thank you! I was a manager for a makeup counter in college, so I had the opportunity to play around with a lot of different products before narrowing it down to what I really like and what works for me. I used to use all department store products, now I use a mix of that and drug store options I love. I also spend about five minutes on make up each day, so I like to keep it pretty simple.
First off, I avoid touching my face. One thing I was told years ago when I started doing makeup was that by touching your face you're taking the germs from your hands and potentially adding them to your face to cause acne. I've never had a huge issue with acne, but I can count on one hand how many pimples I've had in the last fifteen years.
I invested in brushes, which fifteen years ago were really only found in departments stores and pretty expensive. Now there are lots of inexpensive options. I can't speak to their quality, but my department store ones are still going strong. I simply use hand soap to wash my foundation one and concealer brushes daily and clean the others the same way as needed. I linked all the MAC ones I use, a few other don't seem to be available anymore, so I linked ones that looked similar. One reason to use brushes is that you use last product too and have a smoother finish. Sponges soak up extra product, so I don't use them either.
As for the BB cream I use, I've tried a few different ones, and like them all the same. I like the light coverage, the SPF, and moisturizer that are included. I also like that they don't feel like I'm wearing makeup. I have also yet to find a concealer that is anywhere as good as my MAC concealer, being I just use it under my eyes, it lasts for a good year, so it's worth the ticket price.
I've tried more expensive powders, blushes, eyeshadows, and mascaras, but honestly didn't see a big difference between the $5 and the $35 product. I've been very happy with my powder, which lasts forever and this eyeshadow is my favorite. It comes in a number of different color palettes too!
The one thing you might think is weird is that fact that after using my eyebrow pencil I use clear mascara to keep my eyebrows in place. Years back I spent $20 on a Lacome' version, but when I saw a $4 clear mascara I decided to give it a try and have used it since then. I also just use a basic mascara. I don't have long eyelashes and I've tried a ton of different ones, all with the same result. Whomp, whomp.
Here's a graphic putting it all together for you all:
Question: What body shape are you? I think it's helpful to some readers, especially those with your shape. We can get a better idea of how an outfit you're wearing may or may not work for us.
Answer: I'd consider myself to be a rectangle. That means my waist is not defined and is fairly even with my hips. I actually did a series on shape in the past, you can check it out here. I go into all the different shapes, define their qualities and share outfit ideas too.
Question: How tall are you? Most fashion bloggers are so much taller, but I thought maybe you were shorter. It's hard to tell how clothes will look on a shorter person.
Answer: I'm about 5'4" so yes I'm on the shorter side. I totally agree it can be hard to tell via the internet. Even though I'm shorter, my legs are on the longer side, so I don't wear petite sizes.
Question: How do you see your style changing once you go back to work?
Answer: For the last almost three months I've been in leggings and cozy cotton shirts most days and I've been so casual, as most of you have seen through evidence of what outfits I've posted. I've really only dressed up at all for Bible Study and church, the time times I actually leave the house during the week for more than a quick run to the store with Hannah. I'm excited to start dressing up again and wearing clothes I haven't worn in nearly a year. I'm super excited to wear these new red ankle pants and black ankle pants. #soexcited
Question: What kind of purse do you take with you and what do you carry in it? Do you match it with your outfit or not? I am big into accessorizing, but I had changes purses so much.
Answer: I do not match my purse to my outfit unless I'm dressed up for a date out with Brian or it's an outing that calls for a crossbody. I have a few purses I really like, like my black leather Coach one, similar to this. I also have a purple Kate Spade one I love. Honestly, my purse m.o. is to carry the same bag for months on end, then switch it out for another for the next few months. As long as it's big enough for all my stuff, I'm good. Here's what I'm currently carrying:
I always carry my planner and wallet, obviously. I don't like a lot of things loose in my purse, though. Back in the fall I got to work on a post with a Thirty-One Gifts consultant and got to try out a number of things. I love the mini-zipper pouch and it holds my chapstick, phone charger, mini-brush, and all the other little things I need to carry around, but don't want to dig for. I also love this zipper pouch. I'm currently using it as a mini-diaper bag. It's big enough for a few diapers, wipes, a burp rag, and an extra outfit. With Grant I carried his diaper bag everywhere, with Hannah I only take her diaper bag to church, my parents' house, or places we will be for a longer period of time. This zipper pouch is perfect for short errands.
Question: I always have a difficult time with shoes in spring. What do you wear once you're done with boots, but not ready for sandals?
Answer: I end up wearing a lot of flats in the spring, here are some I'm loving right now:
I am all over the lace up trend and just ordered the floral pair! I wear a lot of ankle pants, so shoes like this are great. If you are wearing dress pants, you might want to stick to wearing a nice heel if flats leave your pants dragging. I love flats that have some sort of special aspect to them too, like the ones above.
About Faith-
Question: Have you and your husband always gone to church together? How do you pray and worship together?
Answer: Brian and I have always gone to church together. I had started going to a church in our city shortly before we met and Brian was going to a different church. He started going with me shortly there after, and we've continued to go there since then. We got involved in small group, which helped get us connected to other Christian couples.
Nowadays with both help out with a ministry at church. Brian helps run one of the cameras, as our service is on television, and I help lead worship. Because of that, we very rarely get to sit in church as a family, either I'm with the kids while Brian is on cameras or Brian is with the kids while I am on stage. We do get to go to small group together, though, while Grant goes to Sunday School and Hannah goes to the infant room or stays with us, depending on the week.
Brian and I are both in separate Bible Studies right now too. Mine is a women's one and his is focused on raising a son. We talk about them together, but we don't currently do a study together. We have tried in the past to do that at home, but our style of reading and studying is so different it didn't work great. We do pray as a family at the dinner table, but don't pray as a couple very consistently. It's definitely something we could work on.
My advise for anyone reading who goes to church solo while your spouse stays at home is to pray for them, do your best to let your actions reflect God's love, and invite your spouse to join you, without putting on pressure or making a big deal out of it. I've heard time and time again about men who haven't been Christians becoming one. God is bigger than we are and He can do anything we consider impossible, we just need to ask.
About Family-
About Me-
Question: You have a beautiful, natural look. Not overly made up. What's your daily make up routine?
Answer: First off, thank you! I was a manager for a makeup counter in college, so I had the opportunity to play around with a lot of different products before narrowing it down to what I really like and what works for me. I used to use all department store products, now I use a mix of that and drug store options I love. I also spend about five minutes on make up each day, so I like to keep it pretty simple.
First off, I avoid touching my face. One thing I was told years ago when I started doing makeup was that by touching your face you're taking the germs from your hands and potentially adding them to your face to cause acne. I've never had a huge issue with acne, but I can count on one hand how many pimples I've had in the last fifteen years.
I invested in brushes, which fifteen years ago were really only found in departments stores and pretty expensive. Now there are lots of inexpensive options. I can't speak to their quality, but my department store ones are still going strong. I simply use hand soap to wash my foundation one and concealer brushes daily and clean the others the same way as needed. I linked all the MAC ones I use, a few other don't seem to be available anymore, so I linked ones that looked similar. One reason to use brushes is that you use last product too and have a smoother finish. Sponges soak up extra product, so I don't use them either.
As for the BB cream I use, I've tried a few different ones, and like them all the same. I like the light coverage, the SPF, and moisturizer that are included. I also like that they don't feel like I'm wearing makeup. I have also yet to find a concealer that is anywhere as good as my MAC concealer, being I just use it under my eyes, it lasts for a good year, so it's worth the ticket price.
I've tried more expensive powders, blushes, eyeshadows, and mascaras, but honestly didn't see a big difference between the $5 and the $35 product. I've been very happy with my powder, which lasts forever and this eyeshadow is my favorite. It comes in a number of different color palettes too!
The one thing you might think is weird is that fact that after using my eyebrow pencil I use clear mascara to keep my eyebrows in place. Years back I spent $20 on a Lacome' version, but when I saw a $4 clear mascara I decided to give it a try and have used it since then. I also just use a basic mascara. I don't have long eyelashes and I've tried a ton of different ones, all with the same result. Whomp, whomp.
Here's a graphic putting it all together for you all:
Answer: I'd consider myself to be a rectangle. That means my waist is not defined and is fairly even with my hips. I actually did a series on shape in the past, you can check it out here. I go into all the different shapes, define their qualities and share outfit ideas too.
Question: How tall are you? Most fashion bloggers are so much taller, but I thought maybe you were shorter. It's hard to tell how clothes will look on a shorter person.
Answer: I'm about 5'4" so yes I'm on the shorter side. I totally agree it can be hard to tell via the internet. Even though I'm shorter, my legs are on the longer side, so I don't wear petite sizes.
Answer: For the last almost three months I've been in leggings and cozy cotton shirts most days and I've been so casual, as most of you have seen through evidence of what outfits I've posted. I've really only dressed up at all for Bible Study and church, the time times I actually leave the house during the week for more than a quick run to the store with Hannah. I'm excited to start dressing up again and wearing clothes I haven't worn in nearly a year. I'm super excited to wear these new red ankle pants and black ankle pants. #soexcited
Question: What kind of purse do you take with you and what do you carry in it? Do you match it with your outfit or not? I am big into accessorizing, but I had changes purses so much.
Answer: I do not match my purse to my outfit unless I'm dressed up for a date out with Brian or it's an outing that calls for a crossbody. I have a few purses I really like, like my black leather Coach one, similar to this. I also have a purple Kate Spade one I love. Honestly, my purse m.o. is to carry the same bag for months on end, then switch it out for another for the next few months. As long as it's big enough for all my stuff, I'm good. Here's what I'm currently carrying:
Here's a look at what's inside:
I always carry my planner and wallet, obviously. I don't like a lot of things loose in my purse, though. Back in the fall I got to work on a post with a Thirty-One Gifts consultant and got to try out a number of things. I love the mini-zipper pouch and it holds my chapstick, phone charger, mini-brush, and all the other little things I need to carry around, but don't want to dig for. I also love this zipper pouch. I'm currently using it as a mini-diaper bag. It's big enough for a few diapers, wipes, a burp rag, and an extra outfit. With Grant I carried his diaper bag everywhere, with Hannah I only take her diaper bag to church, my parents' house, or places we will be for a longer period of time. This zipper pouch is perfect for short errands.
Question: I always have a difficult time with shoes in spring. What do you wear once you're done with boots, but not ready for sandals?
Answer: I end up wearing a lot of flats in the spring, here are some I'm loving right now:
I am all over the lace up trend and just ordered the floral pair! I wear a lot of ankle pants, so shoes like this are great. If you are wearing dress pants, you might want to stick to wearing a nice heel if flats leave your pants dragging. I love flats that have some sort of special aspect to them too, like the ones above.
About Faith-
Question: Have you and your husband always gone to church together? How do you pray and worship together?
Answer: Brian and I have always gone to church together. I had started going to a church in our city shortly before we met and Brian was going to a different church. He started going with me shortly there after, and we've continued to go there since then. We got involved in small group, which helped get us connected to other Christian couples.
Nowadays with both help out with a ministry at church. Brian helps run one of the cameras, as our service is on television, and I help lead worship. Because of that, we very rarely get to sit in church as a family, either I'm with the kids while Brian is on cameras or Brian is with the kids while I am on stage. We do get to go to small group together, though, while Grant goes to Sunday School and Hannah goes to the infant room or stays with us, depending on the week.
Brian and I are both in separate Bible Studies right now too. Mine is a women's one and his is focused on raising a son. We talk about them together, but we don't currently do a study together. We have tried in the past to do that at home, but our style of reading and studying is so different it didn't work great. We do pray as a family at the dinner table, but don't pray as a couple very consistently. It's definitely something we could work on.
My advise for anyone reading who goes to church solo while your spouse stays at home is to pray for them, do your best to let your actions reflect God's love, and invite your spouse to join you, without putting on pressure or making a big deal out of it. I've heard time and time again about men who haven't been Christians becoming one. God is bigger than we are and He can do anything we consider impossible, we just need to ask.
About Family-
Question: How much different is your mom life as a mother of two compared to one?
Answer: It is very different, that's for sure. I remember thinking that it was crazy hard being a mom of one when Grant was a baby. Then, as he got a bit older it became pretty easy. Especially now that he's nearly 6. We could go anywhere, do anything, etc. Now that Hannah is here, it really has limited us leaving the house to do much of anything. I think a lot of that is due to the weather. It's was just too cold to take Hannah outside. Also, if she falls asleep in the car and we come home, her nap is ruined and she wakes up. That's just annoying, so I try to avoid that. I think I definitely feel more confident this time around with Hannah, but I also am trying to navigate all the other things that I normally do: cooking, cleaning, etc. alongside taking care of Hannah and spending time with Grant and Brian in the evenings. That will all change again when I go back to work on Thursday too.
Answer: It is very different, that's for sure. I remember thinking that it was crazy hard being a mom of one when Grant was a baby. Then, as he got a bit older it became pretty easy. Especially now that he's nearly 6. We could go anywhere, do anything, etc. Now that Hannah is here, it really has limited us leaving the house to do much of anything. I think a lot of that is due to the weather. It's was just too cold to take Hannah outside. Also, if she falls asleep in the car and we come home, her nap is ruined and she wakes up. That's just annoying, so I try to avoid that. I think I definitely feel more confident this time around with Hannah, but I also am trying to navigate all the other things that I normally do: cooking, cleaning, etc. alongside taking care of Hannah and spending time with Grant and Brian in the evenings. That will all change again when I go back to work on Thursday too.
Question: Is Hannah very different from Grant as a baby? They say most siblings are opposite as babies.
Answer: Honestly, it's kind of hard to remember Grant as a baby. I feel like he was pretty easy in general and I feel like Hannah is too. We learned pretty quickly that Hannah wants to put herself to sleep and not be held, whereas it took longer for Grant to put himself to sleep. Hannah also likes the swing and will fall asleep in it, and that was something Grant would never do. Also, coming home from places Grant would often stay asleep in the carrier and Hannah usually won't- I attribute that to the noise of the house that comes with having multiple kids. It will be interesting to see how there personalities are similar and/or different as Hannah gets older.
Question: What's a typical day look like for a mother of two?
Answer: I shared this Day in the Life post back in January about what's it's like to be home with Hannah. As for with Grant on the weekends I really try to spend one-on-one time with him while Hannah naps. Grant loves to play with Hannah, so we do that too. We've gone on walks and to the library a few times, but honestly taking them both out in the cold isn't much fun. I'm looking forward to doing a lot more this summer when Hannah is down to 2-3 naps and awake for a longer amount of time. I've still gotten some "me time" while on maternity leave while Hannah is napping, but that will definitely be going by the wayside when I'm back to school. I think that will be a big adjustment. Brian is good about staying with the kids for an hour or so while I run a quick errand, but honestly in the evenings I don't feel like going anywhere most of the time.
Question: With two kiddos and soon going back to work how does dinner time go? Dinner is crazy at our house. Do you have any go to easy meal ideas?
Answer: I feel like I've kind of gotten in the groove of dinner, but I've spent Hannah's afternoon nap preppy things as needed, or it's been a pretty easy dinner I can throw together once I've put her down for a nap after we've gotten Grant from school. We tend to have a lot of the same go-to meals around here, her are some of my favorites:
Dorito Taco Salad - We mix salsa and Catalina dressing.
Chicken Parmesan - We don't use fresh Mozzarella, we're not that fancy, and we use Italian bread crumbs
BBQ Meatballs- We use Italian bread crumbs and brown the meatballs in the skillet before cooking them in the oven. I also make my on BBQ sauce - 1 C ketchup, 1/2 BBQ of choice, 2 TBS liquid smoke, 2 TBS Worcestershire, and 4 TBS brown sugar (we like it sweet)
Pull Apart Pizza Muffins - just made these and added olives- so good!
Other this these, we do a lot of basics like meatloaf, sloppy joes (with homemade sauce), skillet chicken breasts, burgers, tacos, fajitas, green bean casserole, tater tot casserole, homemade pizza (we have a Rotella outlet close by with the best dough for less than $1), etc. Usually the sides are frozen vegetables, a baked potato, mac-n-cheese, or homemade mashed potatoes and some kind of fruit. I am definitely not a great cook- that's more my husbands skill set. He usually cooks on the weekends and it's always delicious!
Thanks again to all who sent me questions, this was fun!
Answer: Honestly, it's kind of hard to remember Grant as a baby. I feel like he was pretty easy in general and I feel like Hannah is too. We learned pretty quickly that Hannah wants to put herself to sleep and not be held, whereas it took longer for Grant to put himself to sleep. Hannah also likes the swing and will fall asleep in it, and that was something Grant would never do. Also, coming home from places Grant would often stay asleep in the carrier and Hannah usually won't- I attribute that to the noise of the house that comes with having multiple kids. It will be interesting to see how there personalities are similar and/or different as Hannah gets older.
Question: What's a typical day look like for a mother of two?
Answer: I shared this Day in the Life post back in January about what's it's like to be home with Hannah. As for with Grant on the weekends I really try to spend one-on-one time with him while Hannah naps. Grant loves to play with Hannah, so we do that too. We've gone on walks and to the library a few times, but honestly taking them both out in the cold isn't much fun. I'm looking forward to doing a lot more this summer when Hannah is down to 2-3 naps and awake for a longer amount of time. I've still gotten some "me time" while on maternity leave while Hannah is napping, but that will definitely be going by the wayside when I'm back to school. I think that will be a big adjustment. Brian is good about staying with the kids for an hour or so while I run a quick errand, but honestly in the evenings I don't feel like going anywhere most of the time.
Question: With two kiddos and soon going back to work how does dinner time go? Dinner is crazy at our house. Do you have any go to easy meal ideas?
Answer: I feel like I've kind of gotten in the groove of dinner, but I've spent Hannah's afternoon nap preppy things as needed, or it's been a pretty easy dinner I can throw together once I've put her down for a nap after we've gotten Grant from school. We tend to have a lot of the same go-to meals around here, her are some of my favorites:
Dorito Taco Salad - We mix salsa and Catalina dressing.
Chicken Parmesan - We don't use fresh Mozzarella, we're not that fancy, and we use Italian bread crumbs
BBQ Meatballs- We use Italian bread crumbs and brown the meatballs in the skillet before cooking them in the oven. I also make my on BBQ sauce - 1 C ketchup, 1/2 BBQ of choice, 2 TBS liquid smoke, 2 TBS Worcestershire, and 4 TBS brown sugar (we like it sweet)
Pull Apart Pizza Muffins - just made these and added olives- so good!
Other this these, we do a lot of basics like meatloaf, sloppy joes (with homemade sauce), skillet chicken breasts, burgers, tacos, fajitas, green bean casserole, tater tot casserole, homemade pizza (we have a Rotella outlet close by with the best dough for less than $1), etc. Usually the sides are frozen vegetables, a baked potato, mac-n-cheese, or homemade mashed potatoes and some kind of fruit. I am definitely not a great cook- that's more my husbands skill set. He usually cooks on the weekends and it's always delicious!
Thanks again to all who sent me questions, this was fun!
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