Coffee & Concealer

December 2, 2014January 29, 2015 / LeopardandGrace

I’m still a rookie new mom – barely seven months in! – and there are lots of things about parenting a little person that I don’t know, but I will tell you that I know plenty about how to look like I’ve got it altogether

1. Coffee – well, caffeine in general. I gave up soda shortly after she was born, and unless I’m sick and craving tea, coffee it is! My standard order depends on where I am getting coffee from, or if I am making it myself (which I rarely do!).

Starbucks: white chocolate mocha latte OR peppermint mocha latte (made with skim milk) if it’s in season. Love those red cups!!

Dunkin Donuts: french vanilla (iced or hot depending on the weather) with cream & sugar. During the fall, I love their pumpkin spice and during winter, peppermint mocha again!

Heav’nly Donuts: this is a local mom’n’pop coffee place in town but they have over 20 brewed (not flavor shots) flavors. My go-to is the chocolate cappuccino, with cream & sugar. Heav’nly is my #1 go-to spot!

I find that I can handle pretty much any meltdown, dirty diaper or my “no-nap ninja” much better if I’ve got a coffee in hand.

2. Concealer – and LOTS of it. As most new (ok any) mama can attest to, sleep is …. wait, what IS sleep again? I haven’t slept through the night in well over a year and with a little one who fights bedtime, I am in serious sleep deprivation mode. Not that you could ever tell, because I use lots of concealer. Fake it til you make it!

Mac Prep’n’Prime Highlighter - get this in radiant rose, it’s the best stuff!

MAC Studio Finish Concealer

Maybelline Age Rewind Under-Eye Concealer

It! Cosmetics Eye Lift in a Tube (this one is my favorite, hands down!)

On a daily basis I do wear 2-3 of these concealers, which sounds crazy but you would never know how tired I am by looking at my face

So if you have a friend who’s a new mom, do her a favor – get her a Starbucks giftcard and a Sephora giftcard. She will love you forever.

Our Weekend & Thanksgiving

December 1, 2014January 29, 2015 / LeopardandGrace

Man, do I love long holiday weekends! I love them even more now that I got a new job so I actually get time off around the holidays.

We had originally planned to host Thanksgiving this year, but the week we went to South Carolina we had some work done on the house.

A whole in the wall where there once was a coat closet!

The contractor finished up on the night before I left, or I should say, didn‘t finish up! This is how they left our new room:

View from the opposite side – there used to be two closets here!

When I called him to ask why they didn’t fill in the walls, he told me that it was “extra” and they left that part for the painters (us). I was furious, but since I was also getting on a plane ten hours later, I couldn’t argue with him.

So needless to say, our house was pretty much in shambles and it was impossible to host Thanksgiving dinner so we decided to head to my mother-in-law’s.

I made homemade cranberry sauce in the crockpot, a traditional green bean casserole and a not-so-traditional brussels sprout salad. It was all SO yummy!

Yummmmmm

Thanksgiving was such a relaxing day – watching football, drinking wine and spending time with our family. The holidays are already so much more fun with Gracie around.

Her first Thanksgiving

I am most thankful for them!

Keith spent the next three days working on that room. By Sunday night, it still wasn’t done but he’s made a ton of progress. I give him so much credit – he was not very handy before we bought this house and he’s slowly learning, one job at a time

Friday, I very successfully completed almost all of our Christmas shopping – you can find our Black Friday recap here.

Saturday, we were up early and ventured to the mall as soon as they opened so that Gracie could take her photo with Santa! I was so glad we went at 10:30, there was only four families in line ahead of us and she was so good.


I can’t even with this face!

Headband // Fur Vest (old, H&M) // Tutu & Onesie set // Tights (Instagram purchase)

The rest of the day was spent just hanging around the house, and starting to put up our Christmas decorations. It’s the most wonderful time of the year!!

Her first tree!

A little sneak peek of our decor

On Sunday, my father-in-law and his wife came over to visit with us for a couple of hours, and after they left we headed out to our town’s annual tree lighting event. Gracie and I went with our neighbors and their little boy Jake, and my girlfriend Tara came with her family. It was sunny and 50 degrees, the perfect day to be outdoors!

Mmm cookies!

My little boo-bear

She makes the most ridiculous(ly) cute faces!

With my friend/neighbor Julie and her little boy

We ate cookies, went on a hayride, got some hot cocoa and toured some historic buildings.

Gotta love small town living

We wrapped our very long and busy weekend watching the Patriots game – and little miss even nodded off during the game.

Check out the sock she almost pulled off her foot

And that’s a wrap! I can’t believe December is finally here. Linking up with Biana & Meghan.

Be sure to check back later this week for some exciting Holiday stuff … hint, it includes a giveaway!

Our Black Friday

November 29, 2014January 29, 2015 / LeopardandGrace

I hope y’all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Now that Thanksgiving is over, it means that it is officially time for CHRISTMAS! I even made Keith listen to Michael Buble’s Christmas album on our way home from my mother-in-law’s house

I’m not one for big “black friday” shopping madness. It’s cold, it’s dark, and I really just want to be sleeping than fighting lines.

So Friday morning, I decided to just stay in my pjs, drink coffee, hang with the nugget and do our shopping online.

I scored crazy good deals at Amazon, Kohl’s, Gap, Old Navy, Easy Canvas Prints, SnapBibs, PotteryBarn, Alex & Ani and River Babe Threads.

As always, I didn’t do any shopping without first going through ebates.com and I just got an email that I have almost $50 in cashback after today’s shopping!!

Here is a little sneak peek of some of the items I purchased:

Water Bottle / T-shirt / Bibs / Parka – Pjs – Puzzle / Stocking

Later in the afternoon, Gracie and I decided to venture to the new Target that is five minutes from our house. I got front row parking, and there was almost no one in the store! We perused the clothing and toy section, then picked up some new wrapping paper, before deciding to check out electronics. I figured all the good deals were gone, but since we are re-doing our living room, we need a new TV. After texting with Keith frantically over a deal I found, I walked out with a brand new Samsung flat screen TV — saving over $400 on the regular price! My husband was so excited to put his new toy to use that evening

Today is Shop Small Business Saturday! I follow some amazingly talented Instagram shops and many of them are offering great sales all weekend long. Don’t forget to support small businesses this weekend! You can find a few of my favorites here, here and here

I am happy to say that I have very little left to buy for Christmas gifts. A few things for my father-in-law, Gracie’s teachers and we are all set. Next up is ordering our Christmas cards and putting up the tree!!

Be sure to check back in early next week for a holiday series I’m participating in that also includes a cash giveaway!