(Meaning, with the JEWELRY. Not me, sickos.)

-- wearing the Pink & Gold Layered Necklace --

T+J is owned by the sweet and gorgeous Tiffany from one of my all-time favorite fashion blogs, I Am Style-ish. Tiffany and her sister Jen have serious style and an obvious talent in designing jewelry. I’m incredibly thrilled I was able to get my little grubby paws on three pieces from their collection.

-- wearing the Light Blue Pyramid Bracelet --

-- wearing Pink Teardrop earrings --

For someone who is accustomed to the poostank grade Forever21 stuff, I have to say what a thrill it is to wear truly nice jewelry. Nothing is falling apart, chipping or fading and you can just feel the difference in the quality. On top of everything else I love about T+J, their prices are incredibly reasonable. You guys will love their stuff, trust me.

Go check them out!

Interested in owning your own fabulous jewelry from T+J Designs? My readers get 15% off non-sale items by using the code MRSPRISS. 

Our Christmas gift from my parents was a trip to Disneyland! Of the 20 or so times I’ve been there, this one was the most special by far. Kids just make it better.

Anyway, as I was watching the following clip from a new show on TLC called Virgin Diaries, I realized how glad I am that I didn’t save my first kiss for all of my friends and family to witness. That might sound bad, but these things take practice, yo.

(And practice, Justin and I did. THANK GOD.)

Watch this and just try not to laugh. And please note the butterfly and eskimo kisses.

For realsies though, this is my absolute favorite time of year. Not because of pumpkin spice lattes or the scarves and boots or the gourds of all shapes and sizes. Nonono… it’s because I can now dedicate 3 hours of each weeknight to sitting on my butt, eating something dippable and watching my stories.

I’m getting all sentimental just thinking about it.

What are my stories, you ask? Let’s dive right into the magnificently murderous world of…

Oh, Dextah. You devilish brute. This show is SERIOUSLY CREEPY, but oh man is it good. I’m sure everyone knows the basic plot, but he’s a serial killer who kills serial killers. Mindbottling, isn’t it?

Next up, Parks and Recreation, or how I lovingly refer to it: Parks and Recre-aysh. Shaving off that one syllable makes it so much more simple. Anyway, I hated this show before I even watched an episode because I thought it was a ripoff of The Office, but I’m glad I got over myself. I’m going to go all wild and declare that it is “LITERALLY” funnier than The Office.

Tom Haverford. That’s all I have to say.

Revenge is a new show that I just happened to stumble upon one night. Justin makes fun of me for getting so into it, but I can’t help it… it’s addictive. I hope it sticks!

Of course, anyone who’s been around this blog for more than a minute can tell I’m pretty much obsessed with The Vampire Diaries. For a show that’s supposed to be for teens, I have to give it props. I don’t think it’s predictable at all (again, Justin makes fun). The only thing wrong is that Ian Somerhalder isn’t in every scene. Amirite or amirite?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Sons of Anarchy may have the cast with the greasiest hair on television, but it’s still great. Jax Teller is a biker after my own heart or something like that.

My list goes on and on, really. Modern Family, Fringe, The Walking Dead and Being Human… all fantastical. I have a feeling I would watch pretty much everything if there were 6 more hours in the day. Except Glee. No Glee for mee.

What are your fall favorites?

Thanks to my favorite time wasting site, Pinterest (seriously, don’t even join if you don’t plan on getting sucked in for hours), I’ve found some really great tutorials I want to share with you guys. I’m sure we’ve all seen them used to store homemade jams and jellies or to drink beverages from, so here are a few other ideas. Enjoy!

1. An adorable way to upcycle a plain glass mason jar. I love the way she used the twine!
2. Make giving a gift card more personal with a snow globe.
3. Such a cute time capsule idea!
4. If I could keep a plant alive for more than a week, I would totally do this.
5. A soap dispenser!
6. Use jars to serve individual portions of ice cream at a party. Dying over this.

I know you creative little things have some ideas of your own. Care to share them with the class?

Enter Disney Cuddly Bodysuits. Recently, I was able to try out these onesies on Jack and I absolutely LOVED them!

Look at the vintage-looking Winnie the Pooh pattern. Did you just die? Because I died. And then Jack stuck his own foot in his mouth and I died again…

The most awesome thing about these onesies is that they have an extra row of snaps that allow your baby to wear them even longer.

Hulk Baby issue solved. Money saved. Win.

(Is it wrong I kind of want something like this for myself for fat days?)

(Yes, yes it is very wrong. You don’t even have to answer.)

You’ll love them, your cheapskate husband will love them, and your baby’s fat little thighs will just jiggle joyfully with all that extra room. :)

• A shop called Wee Little Stitches. Cross stitch patterns for Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Pretty in Pink and The Princess Bride?

I don’t care if it makes me a geek, I want dem.

• Sons of Anarchy. Justin and I started watching on Netflix a few weeks ago and immediately became addicted.

What? Doesn’t a show about a biker gang seem like something I’d be into? By the way, Justin wants a motorcycle all of a sudden. Don’t even get me started.

• Hair tutorials, specifically ones involving braids.

(via …love Maegan)

• Essie nail polish. Okay, you guys. After this post I took your advice and went out and bought Nice is Nice. My life has been changed foreva. This polish is the best!

• Having a little extra time for craftiness.

• Last, but not least, my sweet babies.

Maddie with her cousins on Easter. Such a big girl.

Always sleepy Jack with always sleepy mama.

(I omitted my vampire books and shows for the sake of not looking like a complete crazy person. But yeah, those too.)

What are you loving lately?

Okay, for one week I will take a normal belly photo in good light and without looking ridiculously depressed. But don’t get used to this special stuff because we’re back to our regularly scheduled work bathroom photos next week. :)

Last Saturday, an incredibly sweet group of girls threw me a baby shower. I feel so blessed to have friends who would coordinate such an event during the holidays, while working AND while living in different cities. Thank you Steph, Alyssa, Sarah, Jimaie & Shea! I love and appreciate you all so much!

It’s no secret Justin and I are huge baseball fans (GO GIANTS!), so that’s what the girls chose as the theme!

The invitations were designed to look like game tickets! So AWESOME. Thank you for designing these, Sarah and Johnny!

Cracker Jacks were given as party favors (I took home like, 5 boxes… not gonna lie). Guests were invited to leave a note for me on little slips of paper, and when I got home and read them I was cracking up. All my friends who have sons gave some seriously wise advice: “Make sure to point it down.”

Steph made some adorable centerpieces with old baseballs and Alyssa made the tissue poms and had them hanging up around the place. So cute! We’ll just pretend that blue hat is orange and black. :)

My favorite part had to be what was served to eat… NACHOS and cupcakes! These girls know me.

Jack has clothes now, thank goodness.

Jimaie recently announced that she’s expecting too! Baby #3 is coming this July, eee!

And Kristy, another dear friend of mine since high school, is due in just a few weeks. This girl and I meet for regular Chipotle lunch dates. Hey, our sons make the rules… we just follow them.

Maddie Jo came too, of course. I still don’t know if she fully grasps the concept of there ACTUALLY being a baby in my belly, but she does know that Baby Jack is around here somewhere. Everyone keeps talking to her about him and she’s probably wondering where he is so they can play already.

You can check out more photos from the shower here! Thank you again to all my girls who threw the shower and the ones who came as guests! Maddie and Jack are lucky to have such sweet aunties. :)

Right. So my makeup routine didn’t seem all that complicated to me until I actually dumped out everything I use on a regular basis and tried to make some sort of sense out of it in order to take a photo and explain to you all what I actually go through each morning. After basically sitting and staring at the pile of stuff for a full ten minutes, my conclusion was this: I put a crap-ton of crap on my face.

Well, okay, let me take that back. I do use several products, but I try my best not to overdo it to the point where  I resemble A) a clown, B) myself from my secretive Spice Girl bedroom makeup sessions of yesteryear or C) any cast member of Jerseylicious. (No, I did not just make that word up and yes, you absolutely should watch the show. It’s a mess and I love it.)

She knows the true meaning of subtle.

I don’t know who is truly interested in hearing about The Crap I Put on My Face, but since I happen to love reading about what everyone’s favorite brands and products are, I took a picture for you…

I will now dissect said photo into extreme and quite annoying detail… for your convenience, of course. Keep in mind I don’t use every single one of these all at once, but tend to alternate them according to how skanked-up I prefer to look that day.

Just kidding. Enjoy. (Prices are approximate)

1. Smashbox Photo Finish Light Primer – $16: When I first heard of skin primers, I thought it was the biggest waste of time and money EVER. Why add an extra step to your makeup routine in the morning when you’re already so busy? Then I was given a sample of this Smashbox primer at Sephora and was completely converted. It’s really quick and easy to apply and you don’t have to be precise with a brush or anything like that, but it makes your foundation stay-freaking-put. It’s probably my favorite thing in the photo.
2. Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse – $8: I always try out different foundations, but just keep coming back to this one. It goes on smooth and covers really well. Two chubby pregnant thumbs up.
3. Sonia Kashuk Bronzer – $10: This brand is actually pretty inexpensive and you can find it at Target. I don’t wear bronzer very often and am honestly trying my best to embrace my God-given whiteness. However, when I do feel too pale in the face and just can’t take it any more, this helps a ton.
4. Benefit Cosmetics Boi-ing Concealer – $18: Ashley from Our Little Apartment turned me on to this stuff a few weeks ago. THANK YOU, ASHLEYYYY! I have major dark circle issues under my eyes and this stuff works like magic and feels like buttah.
5. Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Double Face Perfector – $7: The name is a mouthful, but it’s basically just a 2 in 1 concealer for blemishes and a highlight. On my particularly haggard days (meaning, every day since June), a little bit of the highlight strategically placed makes my skin look so much brighter. Not sparkly, just brighter.
6. NARS Blush in Super Orgasm – $26: Their plain old “Orgasm” is a great shade too. Obviously.
7. Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in Peach – $22: Cream blushes are really natural and look more dewy than powder does. I don’t use this every single day (more so in the summer), but the color is great.
8. Sephora Matifying Foundation – $20: Again, I don’t use this every day or with all the other skin products I’ve mentioned so far, but when I’m in a hurry, this stuff is perfect. It has great coverage and comes with a sponge, so it applies like a compact powder.
9. Maybelline Colossal Volum’ Express Mascara – $5: My eyes water like no one’s business, so waterproof it is. This mascara doesn’t clump up on me at all. I like.
10. (Three of my favorite lip products right now) Maybelline Color Sensational Pearl Lipstick in Pearly Pink – $5, MAC Lipgelee in Bubble Lounge – $14.50, & MAC Lipglass in Nymphette – $14.50. Sometimes I wear them alone and other times I layer two of them at once. Love love love.
11. MAC Eyeshadows in Mystery, Woodwinked, Club, Gleam, Shale & Sable – $14.50 each. It was hard to choose my favorites because all MAC eyeshadows are amazing. They stay in place all day and are really pigmented. Just talking about them makes me want to go back to the mall and get another one or five. I have issues.
12. MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack – $15: I know this sounds stupidly dramatic, but gel eyeliner has changed my life. I used to use a pencil, but it would melt off in a few hours and I’d end up reapplying over and over again throughout the day. Not a fan of the maintenance. With gels, you apply it with a small angled brush (I use this one from Sephora) and it seriously is not as much work as it sounds. Okay, maybe at first while you get the hang of using the brush, but it is totally worth it because IT STAYS. 
    

Okay, DONE. Now have you tried any of these and loved them as well? Hated any? What are your go-to products? If you happen to do a post on your own blog about your makeup routine, please feel free to link to it in the comments. I’d love to know that I’m not the only one with a ridiculous makeup obsession.

It doesn’t matter if I have a grumpy toddler in tow or if I’m so hungry I could gnaw off my own arm; that is one stop I just can’t pass up. Don’t get me wrong, the lipsticks are fantastic and the glosses make me swoon pretty hard as well. I don’t discriminate, yo. It’s just all those eyeshadows… they really do a number on me.

One of the great things about MAC is that you can bring in 6 empty containers and trade them in for a lipstick/gloss/shadow. No joke, I just traded in 12 old eyeshadow pots and 6 lipgloss tubes for some new FREE stuff. It’s truly an amazing thing.

After I cleared out the empty containers, I saw that I didn't have nearly as much stuff as I thought. Must fix this immediately.

One of the first memories where I can recall being a little crazy about makeup was in 7th grade, when I actually wasn’t even allowed to wear any yet. I had this box of Avon stuff that my great-grandma had given me and I kept it hidden under my bed. When I was done with my homework I’d sneak into my room, close my bedroom door, turn on The Spice Girls and paint the living crap out of my face. (Do you love how creepily secretive I was about it? You’d think I was popping pills or something. ISSUES.) Glitter may have been involved. And since we’re being honest, there was usually about 3lbs of icy blue eyeshadow on each eye. Hot mess.

One time I even managed to sneak out of the house and make it to youth group with purple sparkles all over my eyes and cheeks, clumpy mascara on my lashes and frosty pink lipgloss. My mom noticed when I got home and proceeded to ground me from my box of sparkly makeup happiness. I never saw it again.

Thanks a lot, Mom. No, I’m serious.

Recently, I’ve become quite addicted to watching hair and makeup tutorials on Youtube, with Pixiwoo being one of my absolute favorites. You have to check these sisters out. They have the most adorable accents in the world and do such amazing makeup tutorials. I’ll seriously sit and watch them for hours with my giant bag of hot cheetos while soaking up all the info because I’m THAT big of a weirdo.

…ANYWAY. Breaking up the awkward silence. That’s just a glimpse into my weirdness. In Part 2, I’ll show you guys the products I use nearly every day. I use a good mix of drugstore brands and some higher end stuff and omg I’ll stop talking now before you all run away in fear.