This year was going to be one tough cookie. We had to do so much and yet be so far from our loved ones. It was an adventure itself with just my two boys. Scary yet extremely exciting. My first year as a mother and I wouldn't have my mom near me! Really meant a lot of growing up to do.

My baby's first birthday is vastly approaching. One of the things I always wanted to do was his smash cake session. It was originally supposed to be done in England before our trip but due to the cake making lady I wanted not being available for the date I needed I figured I'd be better off doing it myself and with help of my best friend we pulled it off! The night before I got baking and created this beautiful giant cupcake! (thank you YouTube for the tutorials) It was funfetti of course and the bottom was chocolate. The tent was a prop I created myself because I just couldn't seem to find the right type I was looking for without it costing a fortune. Especially for a shoot, it wasn't worth it! If you're interested in buying this teepee it is up for sale on my Etsy account here. The rest of the props were thanks to ebay and the (ugly) number 1 balloon is from Party City. I say ugly because I originally had this gorgeous gold 40" number one balloon (not shaped like a penis) when I went to get it inflated as soon as I walked out it just flew away... the genius that worked at the balloon department didn't tie it right! I was furious! Anyway this one did the job I guess. I may sound so stupid to get annoyed at this but you have to understand that I'm a perfectionist to my vision. One little detail can ruin everything for me. I'll deal with it though. Guess I can't have my cake and eat it to (hehe get it?) I still loved the shoot and that Jax loved his cake. These are pictures I will forever cherish.

Music wise I left it all up to my sister and her pandora stations of some good mix of current music. I couldn't be more than grateful to my family for doing all this for us and helping us create one of Jaxs biggest memory in his life. My sister for cooking most of the food and making such delicious cheddar burgers, my second family (my best friend) for coming early to help me decorate, clean up and even grill the burgers! I couldn't be more thankful. 

Jax got so many gifts he literally took up both my suitcases plus carry on! Good thing I didn't shop for myself on this trip, he's got toys galore! He definitely won't be getting any more toys for Christmas, maybe some more useful things instead like books. Here are a good amount of pictures taken, I didn't want to overfill it with pictures. Enjoy!

If you have any questions regarding where I got certain things please feel free to email me here!

Just wanted to share these family pictures by the amazing Meg Dreyfus!

I found similar crib sheets online that I was dying over to have for Jaxs nursery, however they were $65. That's a little ridiculous for crib sheets, that's almost as much as the actual mattress. I decided to give it a try and do them myself. I had recently made the stamps which you can find how to do them yourselves here, all that was left was the crib sheet and paint! I spent a total of $12 (not counting the stamp since it depends whether you make it or buy one) on this DIY. Easiest and cheapest project! With the $65 I would've spent on that one sheet I can make 5 different crib sheets! Any color and style I want. Hope you enjoy it!

I've been having such an obsession with carnivals lately. We've gone to a couple in the last month. I just love the brightness in the lights, the vintage, the fun and of course all the junk food! I'm about 4 months away from Jaxs 1st birthday but as other moms have recommended, not too early to start planning. So I decided to go with the 'Vintage Carnival' theme idea. I'm not doing a huge party, just family and it will be in Florida so I'm mostly concentrating in the main pieces for decor and food than to rent a huge tent. I put together some pieces that have inspired me. I'm hoping to create some of these project as DIYs so I don't break the budget. Besides his actual birthday party I'm also planning his photoshoot which if its too expensive, I'll be taking myself. I always take his pictures but I would love to have these professionally taken for memory keep sake. I will start purchasing a few things each month and have them delivered to Florida so I don't have to bring it all back with me and run the risk of having something ruined. 

I can't believe how fast time is going by and I will be having a one year old in less than half a year... I think every mom would agree that it goes by too fast. I'm excited to celebrate but so sad that my baby will be becoming a toddler soon. I want him to look back on all of his pictures and see how he had a fun childhood and that we tried to provide nothing but the best for him. 

Working out is tough, you need so much motivation to get your butt up and moving. I know the struggle and I'm sure I'm not the only one. For me my motivation is getting dressed in workout clothes and always either reading or watching something that makes me go 'thats it, I gotta get to the gym right now'. Of course the number one motivation is music! Nothing will get you up and moving like a perfect playlist. Whether is for cardio or lifting weights. Anything from 'Eye of the Tiger' to 'Rhythm of the Night'. I always try to separate my playlist, one for cardio, yoga and leg workouts (the way the beats sounds helps keep a steady pace). I decided to share some of my very favorites and hope these motivates you too!

There's times I've come across a project I want to make but can't seem to find the right stamp for it. Even after hours of searching ETSY and seeing one personalized stamp for $20? No thank you. I came across the idea of creating my own, and after having one too many project that will require a stamp, I decided to give it a go. I can honestly say I'm obsessed and I will be making so many more! 

Here is my tutorial to make your own hand carved stamp...

If you know me, you know I am a huge Harry Potter fan. Ive been addicted to the books ever since I can remember. I used to stay up late at night in my bathroom floor reading for hours and hours at a time. I had heard about this tour but never saw it as a possibility since it is here in the UK. Well not anymore, I can finally check this off my bucket list! Pictures don't do justice to this amazing magical place. Everything from the sets, props, hair and makeup, to architecture and engineering. Visual effects, and so much more! I even got to have some butterbeer. Way better than Disney World! I took way too many pictures to even fit in a blog post. I just decided to share a few of my favorites. If you're ever in the UK and you're a fan of the franchise, I can't recommend visiting here enough! You will fall in love all over again. I'm currently back to reading these amazing books! 

// Bag: Bath & Body Works (sold out) similar: here //

It's officially summer time and it's the perfect time to start tanning and changing up our look a little bit. As well as let our skin breath more after the cold weather has been through it. This is my summer make up bag! The must haves in my purse for the warm weather. I also got a new bag to put everything in so I can keep my purse more organized than just throwing it all in and making it a huge mess.

1. MAC Studio Fix || I use this mainly because my skin is a horrible mix of both dry and oily, so when my skin gets oily and shimmery I always have this to pat down and mattify my face so it's not so shiny and clearly oily. It's also perfect to set your concealer.

2. MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural || I don't like to wear concealer during the hot summer because you can't help but sweat and it blocks your pores causing your skin to break out more. I just make it a priority to hydrate my skin a lot with night and day creams as well as drink plenty of water. This powder is very light and you don't need much! Apply it all over and it still provides a great coverage. 

3. Nars Blush || This is by far my favorite of all blushes. This particular color (Super Orgasm) has a nice peachy pink tone with gold shimmer. It helps add a lovely glow without it being too heavy.

4. Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Gel || I have pretty thick brows, to keep them in control this gel is wonderful! It doesn't flake or anything and it also doesn't make them look wet. They keep in perfect place and that's how you want your brows, on point!

5. EcoTools Large Powder Brush || This brush is so soft! I can't even explain how perfect this is. I haven't had any problems with losing fibers either which temps to happen to a lot of least expensive brushes. It's perfect to apply the mineral finish or hold the brush down with your fingers to flatten out and it works for countering and blush.

6. Benefit They're Real Mascara || I have a mini and a full size, I always carry this with me. Without it being waterproof, it's by far one of the best mascaras I've used, it adds volume and thickness without it weighing down your lashes. 

7. Urban Decay Brow Box || Sometimes I fill in my brows with powder sometimes with pencil, this honey pot color is the best powders I've used on them, a lot of the others I've tried are too red or orangy or way too blonde. I like to use the lighter on the center and use the darker towards the ends, it's not a huge drastic difference and blends in really nicely!

8. Femme Couture Eyebrow Pencil || I own this in every color except auburn because when I go lighter for summer, I like to brighten up my brows a bit, it stays so well even with the gel, doesn't smear off until I take it off.

9. Philosophy Kiss Me lipgloss || I just want to eat this. It's so soft, not sticky (ew) and it taste so good. The color so also not dark it's very light perfect for the summer time!

10. ELF Shimmering Facia Whip || It's a perfect and the cheapest highlighter for your face or body. This color is Lilac Petal. Just dab and smooth out on the bridge of your nose and the highest part of your cheekbones even on your Cupid's bow. It brightens up your face and gives you the perfect glow!

11. Physicians Formula Bronze Booster || It's summer so we all need that wonderful tan glow, even if you're faking it. This bronzed comes in little balls in different tones with a hint of shimmer, it's not heavy! Apply it to countur your face and necklines.

12. Lancôme Eyelash Curler || Am I the only one that has such bad luck with eyelash curlers? All the ones I buy always break and stop working. So I decided to invest and let me tell you, it's been well over a year and a half since I bought it and still the second strip is in and the curler works just as it did when I bought it. Well worth the money! I have straight lashes so I need a curler in my life, even if I don't wear makeup. I need to curl my eyelashes.

13. Baby Lips || Everyone has to have Chapstick but everyone has to at least try the baby lips line by maybelline. It's by far along with Burt's bees and eos my favorite if chapsticks! This one is pretty clear you can use it and add gloss on top or just by itself. Highly recommend them!

This is by far my favorite breakfast meal to make. I'm not a breakfast person, so cooking so early was always a drag. Until I found this, now I want one for every morning! It's so delicious and healthy, the fun part is you can change it around. I made mine very basic to try it for the first time but once I did, I already started imagining to make some of blueberries and cranberries. Yum! You must give this a try! Heres how I made mine...

It's only been a month since we moved to England, but by now it feels much longer than that. You truly appreciate everything you took for granted! Like our futniture per say, or even just a decent wifi signal. Still our stuff won't be getting here for a few more weeks but at least I can finally have time to organize and update my blog! It's been a while since I've taken time to post as often so I'm trying to catch up on everything we've been living these days. We've been living out of suitcases, for me a lot longer than just this past month (since Florida) but thankfully it's not for much longer. We've been through 2 hotels but finally got our house! It's still European but much more Americanized, so the bedrooms are actually a decent size. However still no A/C of course, which I don't mind it at all, it's so nice and chilly outside that it's not needed. Their warmest day (so far) has been 74 degrees and it's beyond beautiful! 

So for the first 2-3 weeks we lived in a couple hotels, one on base and the other outside of base. What a difference! The one on base is more americanized but still with heaters and what not, also a livingroom, kitchen, and a whole lot more room. The one off base has the old style key, heaters, british tv, british tea! Tiny bedroom, just one full sized bed, one couch, one small tv and one bathroom. However it did have the spectacular view!

Since it rains a lot and it's not blazing hot, it's so green everywhere! One of my favorite things is how many farms there is... My grandpa had a farm as I was a child so it's something we always loved to enjoy going to and seeing the animals. So for me to drive by here and see cows, horses, pigs, lambs and even bunnies! It's wonderful compared to the things I saw in North Carolina... Trucks with poor pigs and chickens stuffed in cages with barely any room to move in. It's horrifying. Here you truly know they're all cage free animals, and you can buy the meats, or eggs right there on the farm. Fresh and healthy! (Even the McDonalds has good healthier foods).

Finally after these long weeks we got the keys to our new home! We were so happy to finally find one and it was perfect. It had everything we needed and a big yard for our girls when they get here!

So now we're at just getting our furniture in and unpacking away. The house feels much more homelike now that we set up our bed. Still thats one thing down, 700 more to go! The hubs did get a british car meanwhile my car just arrived a few days ago. At least my car still has the drivers side on the left and its automatic, I had the worse time learning stick with the rental (I almost broke the car). Well this has been my experience so far in living in a new country. I still have a lot more to learn and experience but I'll keep updating as often as possible!