My Maternity Must Haves

Last week when I finally got around to posting something for the first time in months I alluded to some reasons why I was so m.i.a. Well, another main reason for my disappearance is because I am pregnant! We are expecting our first baby, a girl, in April! Which might seem like a strange reason to drop off the earth, but I'll explain. At first I was literally too tired to do anything but work, eat, and sleep. I am talking full out exhaustion. I kept a yoga mat in my office and as soon as 12pm hit I turned the lights out, set an alarm, and snoozed on the floor for 45 mins every. single. day. For weeks. Thank god I share my office with an angel who let me do this and quietly sat at her desk while I got much needed rest.

Then it was time for my temp job to be made permanent, so even after we were "safe" to announce it my husband and I decided to keep it hush until I got my job figured out and just last week it finallly got made permanent and I couldn't be so more excited to have an awesome career to return to after maternity leave! So while all that was going on it was pretty heartbreaking to hide my growing bump and it seemed impossible to write a lifestyle blog while keeping the most exciting thing in my life a secret. BUT it did give me plenty of time, as in 6 months worth, to research all my other fav blogger momma favorites and read countless reviews, so today I've come up with a list of purchases I've made so far some I've tried and some I'll really only be able to try once our little gal gets here in April!

1. Legacy BFF Diaper Bag // 2. Bump Nest Pregnancy Pillow // 3. Woombie // 4. Ingrid & Isabel Maternity Leggings // 5. Aden + Anais swaddle blankets // 6. Solly Baby Wrap // 7. Baby Jogger City Select // 8. Maxi Cosi Mico AP Car Seat

Legacy BFF diaper bag
I scoured online for ever trying to find out what the fav bags were out there and when I found this one I knew I had to have it. It's a bit on the pricey side, but I love that the straps can be adjusted to be worn as a back pack because I know I'll be doing lots of traveling with the little duffer and from what I hear this bag is the best for traveling mommas. I already have it all packed and it fits so much stuff in it and I love the pull out changing pad!

Bump Nest Pillow
I bought this as soon as I found out I was pregnant and it has become a god send. I keep reading I should lay on my left side which isn't my natural sleeping position, so this pillow keeps me so snuggled in and I love having one side longer to sleep between my knees. It is so awesome!

Woombies
I knew I had to have some of these. Every testimonial and review ravs about how much better babies sleep in woombies, so although I haven't tested it myself yet I'm trusting all you other mommas out there and the name alone is too cute not to have!

Ingrid & Isabel leggings
I saw these on one of my fav bloggers and decided to get a pair and lemme tell you.. I wear them on the daily. They are thick enough to wear with long sweaters or dresses and are so comfy on my ever growing body & belly.

Aden + Anais swaddle blankets
Again, haven't tried to swaddle with these yet, but pretty much every mom out there ravs about them and the designs alone are just so cute, so when they went on sale on Amazon I scooped some up and they are thee softest blankets ever I can't wait to wrap her all up in these!!

Solly Baby Wrap
I love the idea of wearing the baby without the hard shell of the styles in most stores, so when I saw other bloggers on Instagram wearing and loving this wrap I knew it was going to be a must have for me. Shipping to Canada makes them more pricey, but they've been working on making it better and I waited til they had a sale and got one, so keep your eye on them!

Baby Jogger City Select Stroller
I knew I wanted a stroller that I could add seats to as more babies join our family, so I kept that in mind and read countless reviews and ended up getting this stroller and it's awesome. There is nothing worse than pushing a stroller that doesn't turn well and is a nuisance to use, so although this one is on the pricier side I think it will be worth every penny!

Maxi Cosi Mico Car Seat
Again lots of research went into this one. I wanted to get a car seat that had high safety ratings, didn't make the baby too hot and sweaty (I've read some do) but was still soft and cozy, and was super light and this one is perfect!

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A couple other things I picked up was a night light for the bathroom from Ikea and it's so handy. It turns off when it gets light out and saves me from having to turn a bright light on and waking myself up when I need to pee what sometimes feels like a gazillion times in a night.

I also read mixed reviews about bottle warmers except for this Orb one that I picked up from Amazon to have on hand when Kyle is able to get up in the night and feed the little duffer. I plan on breastfeeding, but it will be nice for Kyle to be able to feed her sometimes too!

And even though our baby is still very far away from teething I got some Hyland Teething Tablets also on amazon because every online mother swears by them, so I feel good knowing they will be in my cupboard and I'm prepared for those early teething days!

Camera Ready Make Up Make Over: Elly

I took these pictures in the summer when my sister was visiting. She has the best skin ever and is just so gorgeous that she rarely wears much make up, so I thought it would be fun to do the real deal and do a camera ready make over to do her up and talk a little bit about the differences of day to day make up and make up for when you will be taking pictures. 

Picture make up Do's: The general rule is that you need to apply a bit more contours and blush to make the contour of your face show up on camera. So add more contour in the hallows of your cheekbones, your temples, under your chin, and around your forehead, as well as in the creases of your eyeshadow. Make sure you apply just a tiny bit more blush than normal to make your apples really pop and you will definitely want lots of lashes, so either triple coat those bad boys, or apply some falsies. 

Don'ts: You will want to avoid shine and too much shimmer, as well as SPF which can cause a glare on camera. Don't overdo the eyeliner just because you overdid everything else, unless you're going for that look of course. 

 First I primed her skin with my all time favorite primer, Hourglass Veil Primer

Then I used a light and dark contour foundation pen to darken under the cheekbones, temples and forehead and lighten the chin, under the eyes, and above the brows

Next I used a Quo sponge to stipple the light and dark contour colors in blending with a bit of foundation being careful to not spread the contour colors to other places other than where I put them to begin with. Then I used Anastasia contour kit to set under the eyes with the yellow powder and the sandy color to further contour.

I used gel liner to line her upper and lower lashes and did a triple threat coat of L'Oreal mascara.

I added a peach blush to the apples of her cheeks as well as highlighter on the highest points of her cheekbones.

Then I filled in her brows with make up forever aqua brow and some powder and lined her lips with an aqua liner and a plumping lipgloss!

What's been happening on my blog..

It's been months since I blogged and even though it crosses my mind at least a few times a week I just didn't have the energy. It all started when I wanted to re vamp the look of my blog and dealt with a frustrating situation with the company that I used for the template..  it still isn't working great and doesn't do what I need it to do, but I figured I would just do some posts anyways because I did a huge outfit clothing haul shoot with my sister when she came to visit me this summer and the pics are too cute not to share! So expect a make up tutorial, some outfit posts, and some product reviews coming up!

To the companies that have sent me stuff to review, I have not forgotten about you! I will be creating posts asap for the awesome stuff I have been trying over the last couple months that I have fallen in love with.

Thanks for all your patience,

xoxo