Sephora Sale Must Haves

It's time for Sephora Annual Sale! Every year a few weeks before my birthday, Sephora throws me a birthday party by offering 10 to 15% off their entire store. You can join in on the party with the following Sephora Sale Codes: 

BINOTE for 10% off for all customers

15% off with code VIBNOTE for VIB members

15% off with code ROUGENOTE for VIB Rouge members

Below are some of my must haves and all time favorites:  

1. Dr. Brandt Pores No More Refiner/Primer 

- amazing primer that hides your pores and other skin imperfections.

2. Ole Henriksen Invigorating Night Treatment

 - my favorite night cream

3. Peter Thomas Roth Mini Mask Collection 

- a trio of masks including Cucumber gel, 24K Gold and Irish Moor Mud masks.

4. Origins Clear Improvement Charcoal Mask 

- the best charcoal mask to cleanse your skin

5. Perricone MD Intensive Pore Minimizer 

- this treatment works wonders on cleansing and shrinking my pores! The difference was visible after just a few uses.

6. Becca Beach Tint Lips/Cheeks 

- my favorite lip tint which I also use in lieu of blush 

7. Diorshow Mascara 

- I tried a sample of this mascara and went for the size. It does wonder for my eyelashes!

8. Becca Champagne Pop Skin Perfector

 - One of the top recommended highlighter on the market

9. Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation 

- The best foundation I have tried. It doesn't feel heavy or cakey on the skin, yet provides full coverage and lasts all day.

10. Living Proof Full Volume Shampoo 

- My go-to volumizing shampoo for many years 

11. Ole Henriksen Truth Serum Vitamin C Collagen Booster 

- A nourishing treatment to perfect your skin and maintain your youth.

12. Origins Out of Trouble 10 Minute Quick Fix Mask 

- A troubleshooter for my skin, clears up any pimples and cleanses at the same time.

How To Dress Baby for Spring

Nicky's Varsity jacket, Sweatpants, Sunglasses and Adidas Sneakers

It is very challenging to keep your little ones warm and stylish during the spring months with the weather constantly changing. When we leave the house in the morning, it's cold. By the time we get to the playground the sun comes out and it gets much warmer. On the way home it starts to rain and then the wind picks up. I always have a back up outfit with me in case Nicky will get too hot or too cold. Finally, after a few weeks of these up and down temperatures, I feel like I've mastered getting my son dressed for any sort of weather. Below I listed our outfits by temperatures along with some suggestions for your stylish kids for spring:

Sleep Workshop - Achieve with Carolina, the Pediatric Sleep Consultant

Last week I got a chance to attend a sleep workshop held by Carolina Kolik-Romanyuk, a certified pediatric sleep consultant at Achieve with  Carolina and author of Goodnight Melanie! Good Morning Cory!, a kids' book about sleep. Carolina shared with her audience the science behind making a full night of sleep a reality. Turns out using a specific method is only a small part of it. Sleep training is mainly about syncing the body's internal sleeping clock (circadian rhythm) with an age-appropriate schedule. Figuring out how to tweak the child's routine during the day is what actually helps form a healthy sleep behavior at night. After the workshop I got to chat with our host and find out a few things about her.

Carolina is a mom of two beautiful boys who left a career in finance to pursue her passion in helping parents. She shared with me that whenever she had company over, she would put her children down at bedtime and return to the living room after just a few minutes to amazed glances of her friends. "Why are you here?" - they would ask, expecting her to stay in the kids' bedrooms for hours to get them down, a scene so familiar to many moms at bedtime. Carolina began by sharing her techniques with friends, then quickly realized her expertise was needed in many households, as her friends began to refer her to other sleep-deprived parents. That's how her corporation was born.

Favorite Toys 12-18 Months

When Nicky was a newborn, I couldn't wait till he gets older and learns to hold thing in his hands so that we can play with the myriad of toys I began to accumulate for him since I found out I was pregnant. It took a long time coming, but after he turned one the real fun started. Here are some of our current favorite toys at 16 months:

The Imperfect Mom

Wearing:

Me: Old Navy Sweater (similar here and here), Jeans,

Adidas sneakers, INC bag (similar here and here)

Nicky: Sweater, Jeans, Nike Sneakers, Hat 

I'm not the perfect mom I always though I'd be.

My house is very often a mess. 

My kid doesn't always have a freshly made soup for dinner. 

My nails aren't polished. My hair is in a bun. And, in this moment, as I am writing this, I am wearing the dreaded sweatpants.  

I haven't lost the pregnancy weight (oh my god, still!!!!) 

But I did write a post about all the ways not to loose those pounds.

Earlier today I caught Nicky running around the house with four baby carrots and a screw driver.

I've confessed to my cat that actually, she's my favorite child (this was after Nicky threw my phone into the bath tub)