New year, fresh start!

Now that it's that time of year again, which is so hard to believe, I figured it would be a good time to make  a post about my goals/resolutions for the new year. I have a good feeling that 2014 is going to be pretty awesome. 

1.  I think everyone says this every January 1st but getting back into shape is a big priority for me this year. I was having such a good year last year from January to May, I had lost about 13 pounds and close to 30 inches and was feeling really good.I was developing good eating habits and getting a lot stronger. I've gained a large amount of weight with this pregnancy, which looking back even though I was unable to exercise I made a lot of poor decisions with food. There's nothing I can do about it now, and my due date is in 2 weeks so after that I'll be able to get back into it full force.

I want to be back to my pre pregnancy weight by the summer, and then hopefully be down an additional 10-15 before the year is done. Weight isn't the number one factor for me, I like to go by inches lost and how I look/feel so those are really just some loose guidelines.

2.  I want to really put more effort into my photography this year. About 1.5 years ago I decided I wanted photography to be more then an occasional hobby for me, I invested in a fairly decent camera and a couple lens and started doing some shoots here and there. Unfortunately my actual job and life got in the way and I wasn't able to put the time or effort into improving into like I wanted to. This year since I'll be on maternity leave and will have an adorable new subject to shoot at home I want to really work on the more technical parts to it and get back into what I love.

3.  This isn't really a resolution more so a pact with myself but I want to make sure I'm a good parent. When I was growing up my parents weren't the most hands on, do activities together sort of people. I want to have a good close relationship with my children. I want to spend time outside and together as a family doing fun activities and just making sure I am there for him.

What are your resolutions/goals for the new year? Id love to hear about them

Maybelline Master Hi-light blush

Hey everyone, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! I had wanted to get this post up before the holidays but we were just too busy so here it is now instead.

I picked the Maybelline Master Hi-light blush in nude up about 10 days ago, and I've been using it pretty well everyday since just to get a good feel for what I thought about it. I wanted to get more shades of these to try but they were pretty expensive for a drugstore product I though, I paid $12.99. I'm sure more will make its way into my collection at some point though.

The packaging is pretty standard, the product is on top and underneath there is a mirror and a little brush which could come in handy for travel. I'm personally not a fan of the brush it comes with but it could do if you were in a pinch.

I was actually pretty impressed with this product.I went with the shade nude because I figured it would be the most versatile and easiest to work with especially if I ended up not liking it. It does as it says it is a highlighting blush, it leaves a very obvious sheen to your cheeks. You definitely would not want to use a separate highlighter with this product. I do however find it a little sheer when it comes to the blush application, you needs couple well blended layers for it to be really noticeable. a good way to use it is put a little but of a matte colored blush on your cheeks first then top up with this and it gives a beautiful look to your cheeks.

Overall I'd recommend trying this product, and I look forward to trying another color.

Look at the Nursery!

Hey everyone, I thought for today I would post a few pictures of the baby's nursery. Its still a bit of a work in progress as I always seem to change little things around but it's basically set up the way it will stay. I took these pictures after our second baby shower and a few days before our third and final one. We we very fortunate and got a lot of great stuff from our family and friends, almost to the point where we got too much, the room is quite cluttered for the most part. Thankfully I got these pictures taken before it got extra cluttered. The room is on the smaller side unfortunately but these pictures make it look even smaller just because of how its layed out its really had to get decent pictures.


Here's a little before picture just to give you an idea what it looked like before we found out we were having a baby.

Here are a couple after shots:

We have his name put above his crib and also a train set of block letters spelling out his name on top of his dresser but I blocked them out of these pictures because we aren't announcing his name until after he is born, well with the exception of a few family members. Also were still looking for curtains that we like so these old not so pretty ones are just temporary. I didn't take a picture of the closet because thats where I'm keeping some extra clutter right now. 

Pregnancy update

Here's a quick little update on my pregnancy, I'm currently 35w4d along which is so crazy, my due date is exactly 1 month from today. I kind of hope to go a week or two early though because quite frankly I'm tired of being pregnant, which I know is bad to say, I know how lucky I am to have been pregnant and have things have gone fairly smooth so far. I basically live off naps now, longest stretch I can sleep is about 90 minutes. When I'm awake if I make it 45 minutes between pees then I'm doing good. my back pain has also gotten extremely bad, to the point I can't even sweep my living room without being in severe pain. Also the past two weeks I've been having severe groin aches/soreness, which basically makes walking/bending/moving nearly impossible. All in all I am in pretty rough shape haha, I also look like a small whale so as I said I'm pretty excited to meet my little guy and no longer be pregnant.

Heres the newest picture of the belly that I have, being so large doesn't make me want to take pictures much anymore, this was takes about 2 weeks ago.

Avon Mega effects mascara

Hello everyone, long time no speak! I apologize for the long unexpected hiatus, we had some computer and internet issues so all I had was my phone and thats not the best way to write blog posts. I have a couple pre written posts so over the next few days I'll get those put up and caught up with everything thats been going on.

Today's post is about a beauty product, I received this in my Topbox  couple months ago but never touched it until today. I have heard and seen this around for quite some time and while it always intrigued me because of how different it was I really was in no hurry to actually try it myself because I was quite skeptical about it.

Today was a very simple makeup day basically foundation and mascara so I figured it would be as good a day as any to give this product a try, and I'm glad I waited for a day like today.

 I found the formulation to be very wet which therefore meant I ended up with a decent amount of product on my eyelids, it was easy to clean up but definitely would have been a pain if I had done full eye makeup. the bush its self does a good job of coating your lashes in basically one sweep over them, I basically just held it up close to my eyelash base and blinked and it pretty well had them covered.

It does a decent job of holding my curl, I've only been wearing it a few hours but it seems to hold up better then some other non waterproof mascaras that I have tried. All in all I don't mind this product, it could get better after a few more uses when it starts to dry up a bit because the messy ness to it was really the main downfall.

Baby bump & Puppy birthday!

Yesterday, October 21st, was our wonderful dogs second birthday. I kind of make a big deal out of it for him, I know he has no idea why its any different from any other day, but he's my baby and I like to spoil him any chance I can. I had the day off yesterday so I picked him up a few new treats and made sure he got to play outside lots and just generally have a good day. I also made sure to snap a few pictures so I'll add them in here.

Isn't he just precious <3

Yesterday also marked my 28th week, which is crazy! I know I say that all the time but it really is amazing and scary how quickly the weeks are flying by now. As each week progresses I get more and more uncomfortable, which I know is to be expected. I officially have a little less then 3 weeks left of work which excites me. Getting little or no sleep when I don;t need to be at work by 7:30 in the morning will be slightly more manageable.

I predict that we will have a soccer player because boy does he ever like to kick now! Its such a cool an amazing thing to be able to feel him moving around in there all the time. There's really hasn't been too many more things going on this past week, just lots of the same. People are also predicting a fairly large sized baby, which I can't help but agree with!

27 week update!

Being pregnant really makes you realize how quickly time really goes by, we only have 13 more weeks until we get to meet our little man! Were into the double digits in out countdown, 94 to be exact, and getting to that point where were getting anxious for him to get here.

Nothing too much has changed or happened since my last update, just a lot of the same. I think some swelling is starting to set in, I took off my rings as a precaution because they were starting to get snug. I also wore a pair of flats today that I haven't wore in a few months and they felt a bit more snug as well.  I also find lots of little everyday chores becoming more difficult as each day passes, as well as I get more tired and sore it seems as each day goes by.

I also had originally planned on working until the first week into December but that plan has now changed,I think November 1st is going to be my last day. I'm on my feet all day and have some physical tasks I need to do so its just getting to be too tough especially when I hardly get any sleep at night, so I don't have much time left until I'll be home a lot more.

As usual to finish this little post off a new belly picture, I'm still expending quite a bit!

October Topbox!

Hey everyone, sorry I'm a couple days lagte with this one but here is what I recieved for my October topbox:

Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micelle Solution- Gently cleanses face and eyes and removes water resistant makeup in one simple step.

Caudalie Hand and nail cream- Moisturization, softness and youth all combined in this anti-oxidant cream made from orange pulp for silky-smooth and protected hands. Leaves no greasy film.

L'Occitane Immortal precious eye balm- A light daily balm with proven firming benefits for the eye contour. Dark circles and puffiness are less visible.

Skyn Iceland Pure cloud cream with Arctic berries and Peptides- Light as air daily moisturizing cream to hydrate,soothe and protect severely dry, sensitive skin.


I'll admit the only product here I knew about before hand was the Bioderma, and it is amazing. It's a bit pricey so it's not something I have around all the time but it truely does work wonders and worth the price tag!  The other products here all seem like they could be really good. I have heard of Caudalie products before and a lot of people seem to love them so excited to try the hand cream. What did you all get?

September favorites!

Alright it's that time again, September favorites! I had my camera around this time so the pictures are better!

Rimmel Wake me up & Revlon Nearly naked foundation: These are my 2 go to foundations for everyday use, I can use them separately or sometimes will mix them together depending on what sort of finish I am going for. This is my second bottle of the Nearly Naked in less then a year ans for me that says a lot as I hardly ever actually finish a foundation.

Maybelline Dream Lumi touch concealer: I go through phases with this mainly because its not something I use all the time but it works wonders for brightening up the under eye area. I don't get much sleep these days so I reach for this product more often and love it, blends great too.

Hard Candy bronzer in Tiki: This is a bronzer but I personally use it as an all over the cheek highlighter for days where I want to skip the blush and just give my face more of a glow. In the summer when I have more of a tan I will just use it as a regular highlighter. It just you a nice warm golden look to your face and really helps brighten your whole face up.

Dior Shimmer powder in Rose Diamond: The picture doesn't do this product justice the is more of a color range from a highlight shade to a deeper pink/rose color. I find myself reaching for this product a lot lately, its a perfect one step product, it works are your blush and highlighter. I take my brush and swirl all the colors together usually to get a lovely pink/rose colors glow on the cheeks.

Wet N Wild eye shadow palette in Comfort Zone: This is a perfect no fuss palette for everyday use, has a lot of great variety and the colors are super pigmented and its really cheap, you can't go wrong!

Smiths Rosebud salve: This is my favorite go to lip balm, I always make sure to use it at night before bed and it keeps your lips super moisturized!

Lastly a random favorite, Slatkin & Co candle in Leaves: This is my absolute favorite fall candle, it smells amazing! Its described as "rich blend of golden nectar, red apple and spiced berries". I love a lot of Slatkin & Co candles but I love when the weather starts to cool down and I can whip this one out, makes the house feel so cozy!

Thanks for reading, what were some of your favorites?

25 week update!

Hey everyone, its that time again! New baby bump picture:

I'm now at 25 weeks and only 15 more to go! It's crazy how quickly the weeks are going by now! As the weeks go on the sleep disappears more and more, on average most nights I'm up 4-6 times to use the washroom, and I also find it insanely hot basically every night even when I shouldn't be so that also makes sleep more difficult. The back pain is also getting  a lot more frequent which definitely sucks too. On the brighter side of things he's getting quite active in there, he was a late bloomer as far as movement and kicking went but he does it a lot more now which is pretty awesome to experience.

Definitely starting to notice the weight gain more and more though, I would say within the next day or so I'll have to take off my wedding rings as they are starting to get pretty snug, that saddens me, in almost 2 years I've never had them off longer then to clean them. I can also notice it in my face as well, it's starting to get a bit chubby

And a final little note, I went to do some shopping with the hubby and my mom today and came home with some goodies for the little fella, can't wait to get the room all put together!

*Maternity* shopping

Ever since I started showing the one thing I wasn't looking forward to doing was going maternity clothes shopping. We have very little selection here, basically to get anything that looks half decently nice it's going to cost you an arm and a leg. To this day I only own 2 items that are actually maternity, one shirt and one pair of jeans. My every day attire is usually some yoga pants and a shirt, its comfy and most importantly affordable. All my pants from before, that aren't jeans, still fit so I've just had to get some new shirt. I usually wear a medium or sometimes large in shirt just depending on the material so now I'm just buying larges or extra larges and its been working just fine.

I'm currently on the hunt for a nice sweater and jacket for fall and winter and am having no luck finding anything I like that is at least some what affordable. Today I stopped in at Old Navy to have another peek around and while I didn't find what I was looking for I did grab a couple more shirts that I liked and I think they were all on sale which was a nice bonus too!

I got all 4 of these for a little under $40 Canadian, so I think I did pretty well today! I\m excited to have a bit more variety now with my everyday shirts.  If you guys have any favorite places for maternity shopping please let me know! 

24 week update!

I can't believe how fast the time is going by, I thought for sure when we first found out that it would take forever  for January to get here but I'm already 24 weeks! I can't believe in just under 4 months I get to meet my little man.

I've been feeling pretty good since my last update, been doing less physical stuff at work which has been helping with my back pain. It's definitely still there almost all the time but it's much more manageable. I still hardly sleep at night, I get 1-2 nights a week where I sleep semi-decent but thats about it. It makes for a lot of napping now, its about the only way I can continue to function. I also am curious as to how I'll ever be able to go anywhere in a few weeks time because all I do is pee! I'm hoping it doesn't get a whole lot worse it i'll have to move into my bathroom haha. Oh and the most exciting this is he's finally getting active! Compared to what I've heard from other and read he definitely is still on the calm and quiet side I only get a few random kicks a few times a day, and today was the first time he kicked hard enough for Ryan to feel, that was pretty exciting!

To finish up the belly shot, as you can see I'm growing quite a bit, I'm scared to see how big i'll be at the end!

"Chatelaine" Topbox!

Hey guys! Today's post is going to be an "unboxing" of sorts, I received this months Topbox last night and figured I would write a post about that today. This month was a special edition "Chatelaine" box. The actual tube its self was so pretty, I loved it.

These are the contents of the tube:

As you can see I received a Chatelaine magazine, Zyderma HS skin cleanser, Redken diamond oil shampoo and conditioner, Katy Perry's perfume "Killer Queen", Cover FX matte setting powder in light and Benefit the porefessional primer. 

Zyderma HS antimicrobial skin Cleanser: A skin stabilizing formula for blemished and sensitive skin that helps to promote the skin’s own natural healing process, regulate skin flora, reduce harmful bacteria and relieve dry skin

Redken Diamond oil Shampoo and Conditioner: Redken's Diamond Oil Shampoo/Conditioner is oil enriched care for dull/damaged hair. Rich, nourishing foam gently cleanses, helps strengthen strands to help prevent breakage, and provides durable shine that lasts until the next wash.

Katy Perry's perfume "Killer Queen" : Top notes include wild berries, dark plum and bergamot accords. The main note of the heart is velvety red flower (Celosia), but there are also Sambac jasmine and rainbow plumeria. The base contains cashmere, patchouli and liquid praline.

Cover FX matte setting powder: This loose setting powder is rich in healthy ingredients that soothe, minimize shine, and extend foundation wear to last all day

Benefit Porefessional primer: Quickly minimize the appearance of pores and fine lines and help makeup stay put with this priming phenomenon. The silky and lightweight formula can be worn under makeup to create a smoother-than-smooth canvas or used throughout the day to mattify shine and touch up problem areas. It’s so translucent, no one will know you’re wearing anything


The only product in this tube I had previously tried was Benefits porefessional, I have had a sample size tube of this before and I do really like the results, I usually only put a bit around my nose area and chin because thats where I have the most visible pores and it definitely helps to hide them. Since receiving this I have also worn the perfume twice and I must say I do really like this scent, something I would definitely consider purchasing. 

Bump update

Today marks 22 weeks! It's hard to believe I only have 18 weeks left, theres some days it feels like Ive already been pregnant forever but when I actually stop to think about it, there not much time left. I'm definitely getting to this almost everything is uncomfortable and hard to do stage. Sleeping is mostly non existent already, I wake up about 3-5 times to pee and I was always a stomach sleeper so sleeping on my sides is not very comfortable and I wake up sore and stuff.  I pretty much spend about 85% of the day sore and in pain, and even worse when I've worked all day. Oh well, I really shouldn't be complaining too much, this really the worst it's been so far so thats not bad at all.

Other side note, I definitely need to invest in some new clothes, I only bought about 4 new shirts that were 1 size larger since I started getting the bump and needless to day that just isn't cutting it even more haha. Even my yoga pants are starting to get tight. I'm going to have my work cut out for me when it comes to loosing the baby weight!

Throw back Thursday

Today I wanted to squeeze in a little blog post so I figured I would do a quick little throw back Thursday. These are posts you mainly see on instagram and I love posting them and looking at other peoples.

This picture was taken in November 2009, it was only a month after Ryan and I became an official couple, we were going out to a dinner with some friends to celebrate my 20th birthday. I love looking back to this picture and remember what it was like to be newly in love, yes we had said I love you to each other by this point, it was just such a happy and wonderful feeling. It;s funny to look back to almost 4 years ago and see how much we've changed and how much our relationship has grown. 

A side note to this picture as well is this is basically my goal weight for after I have the baby. I was nearly back to it before I found out I was pregnant and am now obviously far away from it haha. This is pretty close to my lowest weight I ever was and would love to be back in that range by this time next year. 

August favorites!

Just wanted to make a quick beauty related post! This is a quick and simple favorites type post, a lot of beauty guru's on youtube make monthly videos and talk about their favorite products of the month, so I'm just going to post a picture of my favorites and talk a little about each one.
 
-Benefit 15 hour primer. This is a stick form primer and has because quite popular these past few months. I bought mine at the beginning of August and use it any day that I'm going to be wearing make up for an extensive period of time. It really does work well, even during some of the hottest days when I've sweated more then I like to admit it held up really good. 
 
-Revlon nearly naked foundation. This isn't a new product, I've been using it and loving it for months now and am just getting ready to start my second bottle of it. It is the perfect light weight foundation that still provides a good medium coverage without feeling cakey. 

-Rimmel apocalips in celestial & Rimmel Kate Moss lipstick in #17. These two lip products paired together give me the perfect my lips but better look! The lipstick is nice and smooth and isn't drying and the lip gloss is so pigmented and not sticky, I love them together. 

-Sigma F82. The round kabuki brush is definitely my go to foundation brush, has been for months since I got it.

- Milani shadow eyez in champagne toast, love this as my eye shadow base. Its the perfect champagne color and so pigmented, my go to base if I want something with shimmer for a neutral look.

-Wet n wild eye shadow trio in walking on egg shells, love this trio for a quick look, the colors look and blend together flawlessly. For how cheap these are it never ceases to amaze me how amazing these eye shadows are. 

-Kat Von D blush in por vida. This is a warm bright pink blush. It has amazing pigment and pay off, you only need a little bit to go a long way. It is a very long wearing blush and I find myself reaching for it quite frequently. 

I apologize for the poor picture quality, don't have my camera with me today and had to make do with my phone in poor lighting. 

Struggle to stay fit

Today I'm going to write about something that I've definitely been struggling with these past couple months,  trying to stay active and fit while pregnant. I've always been the type to kind of go through phases with my exercising, however before I found out I was pregnant I was doing really well, I was doing a bootcamp which I usually do a couple times a year and had dropped about 12 pounds and twenty some inches the 2 months prior and was feeling really good.  I then found out I was pregnant and within about two weeks all the fun symptoms began. I had bad nausea all the time and was extremely tired ALL the time with no energy needless to day after spending  hours a day at a pretty physically demanding job I  had no extra energy for exercising.

This left me to focus on my eating as a way to slow down with the weight gain, because I gain weight extremely easy and quickly and I usually gain it all in my hips/stomach area. I did really well with this until about my third month, then the cravings really kicked in and I found I would get hungry quicker then before even after eating meals,so while I definitely tried to snack in healthier options it just didn't always happen, up until month 3 I was only at about 8-10 pound gain.

 Now at 21 weeks things have changed severely, well it's not that bad but feel like it sometimes. My energy levels are still pretty well the same but I'm slowly just making myself be more active and eat better, up until recently my only exercise was walking the dog and I hated how I lost nearly all my muscle definition in mt arms and upper legs from no weight training. I found a couple different 10 minute workout videos designed for pregnant women, my favorite being this one here. I also have a 10 pound free weight and kettlebell and am slowly doing little bits of moderate weight training to not only make myself feel better and hopefully get more energy but to also look better.

Do any of you hare this struggle? If so please feel free to share things that helped or worked for you Id love more ideas!

Up to date..

I'm currently 20 weeks and 4 days pregnant so I'm not going to go all the way back to the beginning and fill you in on every little detail because I would be here forever and no one would want to read that all in one sitting haha, I will however fill you in on the main points up to this date.

May 8th- This marks the day we found out we were expecting, putting me around the 4.5 week mark. We had discussed having children pretty well since we had gotten married, in October 2011, but in September 2012 I really got baby fever and decided I wanted them sooner then later. November 2012 was when we stopped using birth control and we were honestly expecting it to take anywhere from 6-12 months for us to conceive so when we found out it only took about 4.5 months it left us a little shocked but very excited.

June 10th- This is when everyone started finding out we had told our parents and close friends and family mostly within a week of finding out but didn't want everyone to know just yet so after we had our first doctors appointment and everything was confirmed we felt more comfortable with putting it out there. I was very fortunate with morning sickness, while I felt like crap and had some major nausea I never threw up and was able to go about normal day to day life pretty well.

 August 21st- This was a special day for us, this was our 20 week scan where we got to find our the gender of our little baby. Getting to lay there for about 20-30 minutes and just watch our baby was honestly one of the best moments ever it was so unbelievable just to see everything so clear and all themovements was so special. We got a pretty clear shot for gender reveal and were happy to see it was a little boy, this was what I had thought from the beginning. During the scan he was sucking this fingers and also had the hiccups and he was weighing in at 11 ounces. Unfortunately I have yet to really feel any movements but it should be any time now so I'm anxiously awaiting the day!

That pretty well takes us up to now, I am currently starting to have trouble sleeping, starting to have to pee ALL the time and am getting back and hip pains, oh the joys eh. Anyways I will end this post off with a few pictures, thanks for reading!

I usually take belly shots every week or second week, this is just a little recap!

Welcome to my blog!

Hey there everyone! Just wanted to make a (hopefully) quick introduction post. I've attempted blogging before and needless to say it never really panned out for me, I had always picked one specific topic for my blog and that would be all I would write about, and as new interests turned up and old ones faded out so did my interest in blogging about the topic. This is going to be a lifestyle type blog where I post about the goings on of my life right now as its a pretty exciting time for me and the things I am currently enjoying.

I'm 23, soon to be 24 wife and currently pregnant with our first child. I am a huge animal lover, we have an almost 2 year old golden retriever and a 4.5 year old cat and my little family means the world to me and we live on a little island in eastern Canada. Other then my family my main interests consist of make-up and beauty related products, photography and reading.

As stated I'm currently pregnant with our first child and am due the second week of January 2014, a large portion of the content here will be pregnancy related from how my pregnancy is going, progression of our nursery, reviews on products we have bought and tried etc. I want to incorporate my other interests here as well so there will be some variety I will post reviews on books and maybe even some movies I've recently read/watched as well as make-up reviews, I am a huge makeup lover/hoarder and love talking about it. I've also been recently dabbling into photography on a more semi-serious note so I'm sure that will find its way onto here as well.

Thank you for reading this and sorry if it was a little all over the place, hopefully you will find something on here that you like/enjoy and will keep coming back and subscribe to my blog, that is all until next time.