How To Branch Out Your Style

There are times when I am shopping and have to stop and remember a piece of my own advice:  always try on one article of clothing that you usually wouldn't like or "isn't your style".  I have told this to people before but I tend to forget to follow it myself!  The few times that I have remembered, however, I have scored some great things that I love.  If you want to branch out your style or just want help picking things out, that's my greatest piece of advice.

 ALWAYS try on something that you wouldn't think to normally.  

I found my leather leggings all because I forced myself to try them on (and they are something that I used a lot during the beginning of this last pregnancy!).

 I also found that cute, chambray dress from Target.  When I initially saw it hanging on the rack I thought, "eh, not me". But then I remembered that I needed to take my own advice and was surprised when I liked it on.

Have a lovely day and go try on something risky!  =)

Cheers!

Joy

Style Rage: T-Shirts

Okay, I might be late to the party on this style but I had to share it with you girls.  I am usually not a big t-shirt person but so many people are wearing them lately in new ways that I figured I had to give it a try.  Let me say, these t-shirts are NOT the t-shirts I grew up wearing.  These are super soft,  comfy and flattering!  They're probably more flattering because of the way in which they are worn, but hey, I'll take it.

I've been seeing a ton of t-shirts paired with skirts so I bought a couple and tried it out.  I definitely loved what I saw.

What about you all?  Are you into the t-shirt rage?  I want to hear your favorite way to wear them!

Cheers!

Joy

Latest Ipsy finds!

Okay, if you guys have not heard of or tried Ipsy, let me tell you a little bit about it.  For $10 a month, you receive an Ipsy bag (every month) full of fun makeup/hair/skin samples.  I figured I could give it a try and always cancel if it wasn't worth it.
  It has totally been worth it!  I always at least try all of the products they send me and I have yet to be disappointed!  I know that I have blogged about some fun finds before but I wanted to share a couple more with you.  I'll give you links so that you can find the product if you want to try it.


It Cosmetics CC Cream:
  I am loving this CC cream as a great summer substitute for foundation.  It is light, quick and easy plus it makes my skin look great without a lot of product on my face.  It won't clog up your face during the summer heat which I love and I use it all the time on days where I'm just running errands with my kids and need something quick. The medium color is what was sent to me and it has worked great.




Briogeo Rosarco Milk Leave in Conditioner:
 This leave in conditioner is perfect for those days when I don't wash my hair but I do want to rinse it.  I never usually put in products after that because I feel like I still have some in my hair from before so this is really nice to have.  It doesn't make your hair feel dirty or greasy and it helps with the tangles for sure. (click the name for the link)

Bellapierre Gel Eyeliner

Meet my new go-to for eyeliner!  It goes on so smooth and it's easy to achieve a nice, thin line or a thicker, smoky one.  Bonus (for me at least), it doesn't totally wash off all the way so you have a good base for a rocker look the next day.

(click the name for the link)

Klorane Dry Shampoo

Dry shampoo is one of those things that I am constantly on the hunt for.  I am pretty particular about it and most of the ones I have tried leave my hair feeling greasy which I hate.  This dry shampoo has been actually pretty nice.  I have not felt greasy or like my hair is weighed down with product.  It gives some nice volume and definitely gives my hair life for an extra day or two.  =)  The color tint is very subtle because I actually didn't realize mine was tinted for brunettes until I looked at it closely to get the right link.  ;)

I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Cheers!

Joy

Chambray: OOTD

I have found that my post-partum outfits (this time around) have been a lot of dresses and/or skirts.  I think my dresses (only some of them) are what fit me the best right now so I definitely gravitate toward those.  Skirts and dresses are a great way to hide that extra tummy plus they are usually pretty accessible when it comes to nursing.
This chambray dress is really comfy and easy to wear dressed up or down.  I have a feeling I will be using it a lot this summer as I run after my toddler. =)

Dress:  Target

Shoes:  Target

Watch:  Charming Charlie

Cheers!

Joy

30 and Flirty and Thriving!

You guys, I am turning 30!  I remember when I first watched 13 Going On 30 and thought that 30 sounded so far off and yet here I am.  That is life, huh?  I have to say that I am actually excited to be turning 30.  I really am looking forward to my 30's and can't wait to see where this adventure takes me.
I looked at Peter the other day and said "You know what?  Only half of my 20's were great."  Let me explain.  For the first half of my 20's I was:
-Working a job (that I did love but knew that I ultimately wanted to be a wife and mom)
-Single and/or dating Peter (there is nothing wrong with being single but it wasn't my preferred status ;)).
-Insecure about who I was and the decisions I was faced with and therefore much like the ship that James describes in the Bible as being tossed about on the sea.  I wish I could go back and re-live those decisions as the person I am now because I am much more confident.
-Unsure about my future - wanting to meet someone and marry but at the same time, not wanting to wait to live my life until I did....it was hard to balance that or know how to navigate it.

Early 20's

I did have a lot of fun in my early 20's, don't get me wrong.  I just prefer where I am now.  =)

2 weeks after I turned 25, we got married.  In a lot of ways, it feels like that's when my life really started because I moved to Boise and started a whole new life with Peter.  Not that there was anything wrong with my life before, but I was a girl living in a smaller town (with hardly any singles) and in close proximity to the life and family that I had always known.  When I married Peter, I essentially started over somewhere completely new and as a wife - a whole new identity.

It's hard to believe that I've only had 5 years of marriage with him.  In some ways, it feels like so much longer.  Things have changed so much.  I have changed so much! Going on this journey with Peter and experiencing Jesus's amazing redemption in our lives and marriage has been the best thing that has ever happened to me.  The grace that I have been shown by Jesus and Peter has transformed the person that I am and made me much more confident and secure (and therefore content/ joy-filled).

Becoming a mama (twice) gave me an anchor and a new role which adds a huge element of purpose, joy, fulfillment, reward etc to my life.  These two are the biggest blessings that have ever come to me.

We have been able to experience living in 3 different states as a married couple (although not very long yet in this 3rd one!) and we have made so many good friends and memories along the way.  It is amazing to see God's faithful hand in our lives through it all and to watch Him carefully navigating each move at a specific time/season in our lives. 

 Life has not ever been dull or boring to say the least.  =)

God has been very, very, abundantly good to me and I am humbled as I reflect on it.  My 20's were about experiencing singleness, marriage, moves, God's redemption in my life and marriage, and becoming a mama and a family.  It was a great decade.  

Come on 30's, show me what you got!  

-Joy

Introducing: Scarlett Lola Harrington

She is here and we can't believe she is all ours!   Anyone who knows me knows that I was shocked to have a girl - I have only ever pictured myself with all boys.  Wow, what a surprise we were in for. =) I am already noticing differences in having a girl versus a boy and I have to say, I am really enjoying it.  She is definitely more attached to me already than Simon ever was and it actually feels kind of nice. I can't wait to see the journey that our relationship takes.

  Once again, the amazingly talented Christa Taylor did these photos - we did a package with her where we got maternity and newborn shots.  It was so nice having her come to us so that we didn't have to travel out for these.  She came when Scarlett was 6 days old.  I probably would have waited a little longer had we not been moving right away but I'm so glad that we got them!

Love,

JOY

Beauty Tip: Ditch the Dirty Look

Have you tried to get the perfect, contoured, flawless look only to have it end up looking dirty or caked on?  I definitely have.
My intentions are good and the goal is usually something like this:

And instead ends up looking like this:

I mean, let's be honest.  No one wants to get caught in makeup like this!  I will be the first to admit that I have and it's not fun.

In the past I have assumed it was because I was using the wrong products.  But I have good products and they should be able to produce the correct look so then I assumed it was because I was needing too much product to fake a more tan look on the cheeks.  So the solution for that is a more tan face right?  But a tan still left me wanting because it's the contrast that is the goal, not the overall color.

I began to try other things in my quest to figure out how others could achieve this look when I struggled so.  In digging around my makeup box, I pulled out my tried and true Beauty Blender Original Blender Sponge - 0.15 oz.  I know, I know, I have already done a post on this tool and how much I love it.  For some reason, I had stopped using it and gone back to using mostly brushes.  I gave it a whirl and instantly remembered why I love it so much.  The flawlessness it gives your face is incomparable to other tools.

The best part?  When it comes to blending a contoured look, you can definitely achieve the first picture without it looking caked on or dirty.  I found that this formula of brushes plus the beauty blender seems to produce the best look:

-Begin with a clean, moisturized face and applied primer

-Apply your foundation with a moist beauty blender (go light on coverage)
-Apply powder to your eyes and eyebrows with a quick sweep of a brush so that you can apply your eye makeup while letting your foundation set.
-Apply eyebrow and eye makeup
-Using a brush, apply your contour color to your cheeks and follow up by blending with the moist beauty blender
-Give cheeks a minute to dry (you want to make sure there is no moistness left) and then do a quick sweep of bronzer over them again followed by blending with the beauty blender.
-Apply your concealer and blend with beauty blender
-Finish the whole look with a light sweep of powder to set everything (you can also add a touch of blush if you prefer).  You can also do a once over with the beauty blender just to make sure it's all even and the excess is gone.

This seems to be the perfect formula (that I've found) for achieving the best contoured look.  The beauty blender will remove any excess while giving the best overall blended look.  I really can't praise it enough.  I promise you won't be disappointed!

Happy Contouring!

-Joy