beauty – the Whitney Michaels blog

Summer Weekend Recap

August 28, 2017August 28, 2017kids, motherhood, UncategorizedLeave a Comment

A full weekend brings with it so many memories – friends, laughs, and the occasional tired kid meltdown. Last weekend we had two birthday parties for the girls’ friends, one birthday BBQ for my dad, ran some errands, and got to spend Sunday afternoon swimming and having dinner with family.

Before all of the festivities, I started off on Friday afternoon with my amazingly talented friend Meadow (@MeadowStarLA) getting the prettiest set of lash extensions. I don’t often wear a full face of makeup, but it is rare that I leave the house without mascara. It just makes me feel like I look alive and awake! No need anymore! I literally woke up Saturday morning feeling like I was ready for the day. I literally cannot feel anything different on my eyes, but I look in the mirror and have so much volume and curl. Honestly amazing!!

We got to experience a fun kids place on Friday night for a friends’ birthday. Scooters Jungle was so fun and SO exhausting! My kids LOVED to jump, climb, and go down the incredibly fast slide! We were out a bit late but they slept soooo good that night! Despite Aubrey’s pouty face in this photo she literally had the time of her life!

Saturday morning was spent at Underwood Farms celebrating another toddler friend. The farm is a place that we love on any day, but add in a horse drawn wagon ride and some barnyard animal cake pops and we got ourselves a winning destination!

Saturday afternoon we had my parents over to celebrate my dad’s birthday. The girls looked adorable in their new June & January outfits…I cannot wait for their fall line to come out!

Now that Aubrey’s been doing swimming lessons, afternoons in the pool are so much fun! She loves to show us the new things she is learning and practice her new skills! This is how Blake spent the majority of her Sunday. Double fisting sweet watermelon and making a juicy mess!

Hope you all had a fun filled weekend. For those being affected by Hurricane Harvey we are thinking about you all.

Happy Monday! Have a great week!

xoxo

Whitney

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things {stocking stuffers}

November 25, 2014June 29, 2017favorites, Uncategorized2 Comments

we are one week closer to Christmas and its Thanksgiving in 2 days! the time is flying and I’ve already done some shopping! what’s next on the list? filling my hubby’s stocking! he always does such a good job finding my favorite little things at target and even sneaks in some awesome gifts! I’m already excited to buy a new stocking for our little miss for next year and fill it with goodies, so I’m trying to put some extra thought into Todd’s this year before the little girl take-over in 2015!

this is week 2 of {My Favorite Things}, a linkup with April, Elise, Katie, & Zelle.

Start {here} if you missed week 1: My Favorite Things {my list}

{for her}

one. state wine bottle stopper

I’m really loving the apparel and items geared towards your home state! this would go perfect with a state shaped cutting board for the hostess or a shirt from the Home T!

two. monogram necklace

monograms are everywhere. gold is everywhere. and what girl doesn’t love Kate Spade?! this necklace is cute on its own, or layered with longer ones!

three. iPhone case

although I didn’t jump on the iPhone 6 bandwagon just yet, I’m sure there are many many people that have and a new case {especially an adorable one with gold polka dots} is sure to

four. lipgloss

holiday lipgloss sets are so fun and useful for all those holiday parties! this Smashbox “on the rocks” set is even on sale at Nordstrom!

not pictured. the favorites

like chapstick, yummy candy, nail polish, bobby pins and small amount gift cards! it’s always fun to know that special person notices all the everyday items that you use and love! I can never have too much chapstick or too many bobby pins! a $5 Starbucks gift card never hurts either to buy your fave holiday drink!

{for him}

one. whiskey cubes

something to add to the bar collection of a whiskey drinker! I know my dad would be all over these!

two. iPhone case

same as for her. new. phones. everywhere.

three. bottle opener

fun for the guy with a man cave, backyard patio or just enjoys a cold beer on the weekends! Williams-Sonoma has a few cute novelty mounted bottle openers like the mustache {pictured}, a bulldog, a skull or an anchor.

four. cologne

cologne is something my husband wouldn’t go out on his own and buy himself. we’ve shopped the counters before and he’s given opinions, but I typically try to make notes and buy it for him later! a new scent is appropriate for the holiday parties and a fresh start to the new year!

not pictured. the favorites

again, just like us gals, guys have those fun little things that make it easy to personalize and fill the empty spaces in their stocking! chapstick, scratchers or lotto tickets, a cigar or my husband’s addiction, gum!

head over to one of these gal’s blogs to join the link-up!

week 2 of the linkup series with April, Elise, Katie, & Zelle!

First & Second Trimester Favorites

November 19, 2014June 29, 2017favorites, pregnancy, UncategorizedLeave a Comment

the first 27 weeks of pregnancy have flown by! as quickly as it has come and gone, there are a few things that have gotten me through the uncomfortable, yucky feeling moments of pregnancy {so far}! I know I’m not the only one to experience these things, so I figured I’d share my favorites {even though they are pretty predictable}.

1 {Contigo water bottle}

I always have a bottle of water with me, and these 24 oz bottles by Contigo are awesome! refillable, dishwasher safe and the perfect size {not too heavy but you don’t have to fill it up every 5 minutes}!

2 {Bumpnest pregnancy pillow}

I will admit, it was a love hate relationship with the bump nest at first! I’m used to sleeping on a very flat pillow, so for me it was a little too much cushion to have under my head! I spent the first couple weeks figuring out where my neck pain was coming from…but once I realized that was the only thing that changed, I flipped it over {so the curve where you would normally put your head is at the bottom of the bed} and it was AMAZING! I still use my regular pillow under my head, but I have the bump next curved around my front and back and it is wonderful! it makes it so much easier for this tummy sleeper to get used to sleeping on my sides!

3 {Mustela stretch mark creme}

I bought this after reading the pregnancy recommendations of Jessica from Little Baby Garvin and so far I really like it! I’ll notice some itching in the afternoons and evenings and a quick shower and a layer of this cream feels so good on my stretching tummy! I know they say its hereditary, but let’s hope this keeps the stretch marks away!

4 {maternity leggings from the Gap}

these are by far the best item of clothing ever! you would think my regular yoga pants or leggings would do just fine – I mean they’re stretchy, right? wrong. when sitting, my pre-pregnancy yoga pants {mostly Pink by VS}, put pressure on my lower belly and were super uncomfortable! these are the softest, coziest leggings and sit perfectly below the belly! I even wore 2 pairs layered the other night when we were going to an outdoor party and they kept me perfectly warm and didn’t bunch up or anything! definitely something I’m going to keep in my closet after this little girl comes for as long as possible!

5 {mini cans of ginger ale}

you guessed it – morning sickness {or all day sickness, really}! especially in my first trimester, getting up to get ready in the morning was a chore. I felt lazy, nauseous and just all around yucky – especially if I started the whole shower/get ready routing without having something in my tummy! these little guys were the perfect pairing to go with my delicious crackers {haha}! crisp and straight from the fridge cold, the smaller size can was the perfect pick-me-up when I couldn’t get going!

6 {saltine crackers}

goes along with the not feeling so great fixes. I had baggies of these crackers everywhere {my night stand, my purse, my car, my desk at work} so they would always be within reach. it was so much better for me to eat a couple crackers before I got up, on my way to work, or between breakfast and lunch instead of waiting until it was too late and feeling sick. these were definitely life savers!

well those were just a couple of things that helped me get through – along with lots of rest, a very hardworking and patient husband, takeout food and other helpful friends and family that were always willing to chip in when I didn’t feel 100%! I am so grateful to have had an easy, healthy pregnancy so far and am looking forward to the excitement of the third trimester {hello nursery plans and baby shower} and bringing this little miss into our world!

{whitney}