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I’m really excited to share this month’s best beauty finds under $10 because you can get all of them at your local drugstore and they are quality products for under 10 bucks!

When I think of leather jackets, I think edgy, rocker chick. I love this look because they paired an ultra-feminine skirt and blouse with the biker jacket and ankle-wrapped pointed toe heels. I really love the hard and the soft together because it’s less expected and creates an interesting balance.

Cinco De Mayo is an excellent excuse for a Mexican-inspired cocktail, if you need such a thing, with tequila being the signature spirit of Mexico. However, if you’re not drinking tequila as a shot, your options are shamefully limited.

My new job requires me to dress up a lot more than previous jobs. My go-to work uniform tends to be slim-fitting cropped pants, booties, and some blouse/cardigan combination. When I saw these cropped black and white printed pants, I knew the fit would work (as I already own two pairs of the same pants in other colors), but was unsure about the print.

My husband gives me the hardest time about my peanut butter consumption. As I began making these peanut butter and jelly scones, he moaned about the fact that I’m constantly making peanut butter recipes (I’m not).

I mentioned I’ve been traveling a lot for work lately. I have my go-to Balenciaga day bag that I bring on all my trips, but she’s getting worn out. Crossbody bags are the best option for travel because you can sling across your body and still manage to pull your carry-on bag and your laptop bag easily.

One of my favorite parts about spring is getting to wear light weight jackets. One of my favorites is this airy green trench coat. Phoenix weather doesn’t usually allow me to wear many coats, but I’ve been traveling a lot for work, so I’m glad I get to bring along some of my favorite jackets to layer when the weather is a bit iffy.

I’ve been traveling a lot for work lately (my favorite travel pics on Instagram). I love that I get to visit some pretty cool cities, but having to pack up my stuff every other week feels annoying at times. To make packing more.

Since today is Earth Day, I wanted to share with you why I love to shop resale. There are three main reasons I shop pre-loved clothes, shoes and accessories — it’s good for the environment, for my finances, and allows me to get designer duds at a deep discount.

If there is one fashion trend that I’ve seen on nearly every fashion blogger, it is ripped skinny jeans—black, white, blue, you pick. Scrolling through my Instagram feed, it seems like all I see is ripped jeans. I thought the trend would die out by now.

I’m really proud of my Italian heritage. Since today is Ellis Island Family History Day, I wanted to share just a little bit of history about my own family.

Cinco de Mayo is just a couple weeks away. I’m getting my margarita recipes ready, and scouting out the best guacamole recipe. But those are so obvious. I mean, I always have those things on Cinco de Mayo. I wanted to add something else fun to my menu, so I searched for interesting churro recipes. Mostly, I found what you’d expect–homemade versions of churros you’d find at a theme park.

One of my favorite wardrobe essentials is this ultra-soft, collarless, chambray shirt. I love it because it’s light-weight, doesn’t wrinkle, and goes with everything. I like layer it over dark jeans or a dress, almost like I would a jean jacket or cardigan.

One of spring’s hottest shoe trends is high heel leather mules. Unlike the mules of the past, this spring, mules are youthful and fun (look at these Sophia Webster’s). Mules for spring come in lots of different shapes, colors, and heel heights and widths.

Today is National Siblings Day. I feel very lucky to have a sibling that I also consider my friend. Things didn’t start out that way though.

When we moved to Phoenix, we bought a new couch that came with two retro-70’s print throw pillows. Not my favorite, but we’ve used them for the last several months since we had them.

One of my all-time favorite pieces of clothing is a black and white striped blouse from J. Crew. I’ve owned it for years, but it’s one of those pieces that never goes out of style. Even better, black and white goes with everything.

Enjoying a nice glass of wine with a meal is one of life’s great pleasures, but sometimes it’s hard to know what to order. I’ve come up with six tips to help make the ordering process easier.

What do you think of railroad stripe jeans? Initially, they reminded me of my childhood—I’m pretty sure I had a train conductor’s hat, with the same railroad stripes, at some point. But I kind of like the youthful flare railroad stripe jeans have to them.

Flare jeans are synonymous with the 70s. I always imagine a hippie chick with a flower wreath around her head and ultra wide, light washed, high waisted jeans. But flare jeans aren’t just retro, they are totally on-trend for spring.

Have you dyed your eggs yet? It’s something I’ve been thinking about doing with Rocco, but then I remember how not into cookie decorating he was at Christmas. I’m thinking egg dying might have to wait until next year.

Do you do meatless Mondays? This asparagus farro risotto with sweet peas is a great choice. Farro is my new favorite grain.

Am I too old to wear high tops? I recently texted this question to my husband, as I was browsing the abundant sneaker selection at Nordstrom. I was immediately drawn to all the brightly colored, fashion forward sneakers for women.

Most work days, I don’t overthink my outfit. I choose basics with a bit of flare, either a graphic print, fun jewelry, or sassy shoes. But when there’s a big meeting, I try a bit harder to look extra put together.

To be honest, most of my home decor has been acquired out of necessity, not with as much thought as I would like. A lot of it is disposable — stuff I bought in my early-mid twenties to fill space.

I’ve been searching for a powder with SPF for awhile. I’d heard great things about Peter Thomas Roth’s SPF powder, but I didn’t like the applicator brush and prefer a pressed powder. I was pretty happy when I spotted this Physician’s Formula SPF pressed powder for under $15.

Asparagus was 88 cents a pound at the grocery store last weekend. Yay! Seriously, I was really excited. Sometimes, it’s the small things in life.

I’m so excited to introduce you to our newest Model Mom, Aimee. I met Aimee through one of our previous model moms, Andrea. Aimee was kind enough to let us shoot at her gorgeous, newly remodeled home. The moment she opened her large wooden front door, I felt an immense warmth and kindness radiating from Aimee.

My favorite nail art trend is the negative space manicure. So what is negative space? In the art world, negative space is the space around and between objects that make interesting shapes, not the shape of the object itself.

Jade heard on NPR that the poppies were going to be in full bloom this past weekend because of all the rain and warmer temperatures we’ve had this spring. So, we took a quick road trip to see the Pichacho Peak poppies on Saturday.

My husband, Jade, heard about using a cast iron skillet to make deep dish pizza while listening to the Splendid Table. We finally got a cast iron skillet last fall to make honey sage cornbread, but we haven’t used it all that much. Jade was interested to see how a pizza would turn out in a cast iron skillet, so he decided to give it a try.

You know when you reach that point with trying to grow out your hair where you just can’t take it anymore? I reached that breaking point last week. I was tired of trying to grow out my bangs, layers, and blondish highlights. My hair looked so limp, so lifeless, just so blah.

Paint splattered clothing made a major come back this past fall. I say “come back” because I can remember this intentionally messy trend from way back in the 80’s. I personally wouldn’t wear it on my clothes, but I’m really loving paint splatter purses, shoes and accessories (look at these Manolos!).

My new office gives us unlimited hot drinks. Most days, I stick with my favorite earl gray, but the past couple afternoons, I’ve indulged by sipping a couple pre-packaged hot chocolates. Those little packets bring back memories of building snow forts and giant snowmen in my front yard.

I’m going to attend the Oscars someday. I don’t have grand plans to take up acting, I just want to hang out on the red carpet in a really fabulous gown. Since I’m not going this year, I thought it would be fun to put together a look I’d wear on the Oscars red carpet if I were invited.

So I’m a little late on the national wear red day, but it’s never too late to wear a red dress. Wearing red shows you are confident and bold. Red is actually one of my favorite colors to wear when I need a little pick me up or I have an important meeting. I immediately feel a boost of energy and confidence.

My baby girl turned one recently. Happy Birthday Gigi! To celebrate, I wanted to decorate a bit, but didn’t want to do anything too time-consuming (like Rocco’s fire truck party).

For my daughter’s first birthday, I decided to make a homemade funfetti birthday cake for a couple reason. First, it’s cute and looks pretty. Second, I made a low-sugar healthy smash cake for my son’s first birthday, and he didn’t dig into it like I had hoped.

Heart fashion accessories aren’t just for Valentine’s day. Heart shapes are a fashion staple. I love heart prints, as much on clothes as I do on accessories. Remember those popular J.Crew sweaters with the giant hearts on the chest from a couple years back (Kate Spade makes a cute one now)?

I’ve been on a soup kick lately. Maybe it’s because it’s winter (but it’s like 80 in Phoenix today, so cold weather isn’t the motivator). Really, I think it’s because soup is so comforting.

I was as skeptical as you. I definitely thought oil face cleansers would make my combination skin oilier, shinier, and make me break out. I had no real basis for my beliefs, other than I just thought it seemed wrong to add oil when I’m trying to remove oil. You know what I mean?

One of the ways I relax after a long day of work and parenting is to browse internet retailers to see what’s new. When I saw this look that Nordstrom put together, the striking cobalt blue coat immediately caught my eye. I am also impressed with their expert layering.

My daughter turns one next month. So, I’ve been digging around on Pinterest, looking for cute first birthday ideas. I found so many cute baby girl birthday themes, it was hard to narrow them down.

I love cooking in our crock pot, especially on the weekends. You throw everything in first thing in the morning, and by dinner time, you have a hot and hearty dish. Crock pots dishes are just so easy to make and not at all fussy.

Lately, I’ve been in an accessories funk. I have tons of fun statement necklaces, but hardly any cool earrings. I admit I get really lazy with changing out my classic diamond studs. The ear crawlers and earring jackets I’ve seen lately have sparked my interest enough that I think I’m ready to retire my studs, for now.

Over the holidays, along with sugar cookies, I made some of my childhood favorites — puppy chow and special k bars. If you haven’t tried these no-oven-required recipes before, you should. They are ridiculously easy to make and really yummy. The perfect chocolate and peanut butter desserts recipes ring in the new year and a new year of life.

For our third Model Mom Style, Andrea agreed to share her style tips and let us use her house as our backdrop. When I first met Andrea (and went through her closet), I was impressed with her choice and use of prints in her wardrobe.

As I write this, I’m wrapped in an old North Face fleece, because my office is freezing. Yes, I live in the valley of the sun. But lately, it’s been really cold here (ok, in the 30’s at night and 50’s during the day, but still very cold for the dessert!).

Did you get an ugly Christmas sweater? Another pair of flannel pajamas? A really ugly set of dishes? Despite your family and friends’ thoughtfulness and spirit of giving, I’m sure you got something you don’t like, don’t have space for, or can’t use.

Merry Christmas! Tomorrow, we’re planning a low-key day with our little family. Our kids are still so young to really ‘get’ Christmas, but Rocco is starting to catch on.

New Years Eve is one of those special occasions where I think it’s totally acceptable to splurge a little bit on your look. You should buy something that makes you feel incredibly special, at least every now and then. If budget is your worry, there are tons of great party dresses out there at reasonable prices.

When it comes to makeup, I shy away from lipstick, but I’ve always been into playing up my eyes. I’m terrible at accepting compliments, but there is one that’s stuck with me for years. A friend in high school told me she loved my eye makeup, the way my lashes fanned out and how they were lined in a dark purple pencil.

A couple weeks ago, I started a new series called model mom style, to show you how working moms can look stylish and cool.

I’m always looking for new ways to connect with my Italian heritage—most of the time, that involves trying a new recipe. I first heard of Florentine lace cookies, while watching America’s Test Kitchen.

I’m a rule follower by nature. When Rocco turned one, I immediately switched him to whole milk, per the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and others’ suggestion. But when he turned two in October, I broke the rules. For once, their advice just didn’t make sense to me.

My Christmas wish list almost wrote itself this year. I’ve been eyeing most of these items for awhile now. One of my favorite things about being a blogger is discovering brands and sharing what I love with my readers. It makes me feel like all my internet window shopping serves a purpose. Of all the things I’ve loved this year, here are the eight things at the very top of my Christmas wish list.

For me to choose a favorite Christmas cookie is nearly impossible, but one of my absolute favorite Christmas flavors is ginger. Gingerbread men and ginger snaps would rank up there near the top of my Christmas cookie list.

If you asked me to wear snakeskin or animal print clothing, I’d scoff at you. I just don’t like it (my reasons why are for another post). I don’t like it in clothing, but I do like it in accessories. I am absolutely smitten with snakeskin shoes and handbags.

I love holiday parties because they gave me an excuse to wear a glittery, shimmery, ultra feminine dress. I hardly ever suggest buying clothes that aren’t versatile, but holiday party dresses do not apply. This is the one time of year where I think it’s totally OK to buy a dress you might only wear once or twice because it’s the holidays.

Whatever you call them, snowballs, Russian tea cakes, Italian wedding cookies, or even Italian Wedding Christmas cookies, these powdery nutty cookies are a mainstay on most Christmas cookie platters. Despite their popularity, I had never made them before. My mom didn’t make these at Christmas, and I only had them a few times when we received cookies from other holiday bakers.

I’m so excited about our new series: Model Mom Style. I wanted to feature real women to show you how they dress for their busy, everyday lives and still manage to look stylish.

For me, the day after Thanksgiving isn’t just about scoring deals at the mall, it’s about getting out the Christmas decorations. I tend to put up the tree first because it just makes me happy. There’s just something about staring at the white lights and back-lit ornaments that gives me pure joy. So much joy in fact, that as a kid, I begged my mom to keep the tree up until my birthday in early January.

I don’t do my nails that often, but the holidays always entice me to try something a little shiny or sparkly. Last year, I wore this winter sparkle french manicure during the holidays. When I saw this half moon manicure tutorial, I thought it would be fun to try for the holidays this year.

Last week, our friends at Toyota invited us to the Phoenix Zoo to get a preview of ZooLights, and also check out a few of their new cars for 2015. During the day, Jade put a ton of miles on a sporty 2015 Camry. The kids and I joined him later to see ZooLights, pretty much by ourselves.

As a kid, my Thanksgiving plate was basically white — turkey breast, mashed potatoes, and a dinner roll. It’s not that my family didn’t have more choices on the table, it’s that my midwestern palate just never got very developed. I never ate the cranberries, the gravy or the stuffing. Being the baby of the family, my parents never forced me to try things I didn’t want to try, so my experience with food was limited, at best.

With Thanksgiving only a little over a week away, most of us are planning what dish we’re going to bring or who’s going to host this year. I’m sure the last thing on your mind is what you’re going to wear to your Thanksgiving dinner. Rightly, you are thinking about the food and the people.

Every November, I bust out a couple of recipes that I only make once a year—my pumpkin cookies, and my pumpkin pancakes. Jade loves them both so much that he looks forward to me making them all month long.

Thanksgiving and Christmas are only weeks away and I’m sure many of you will be traveling to visit family and friends. When we are with our loved-ones we often get comfortable (or not) and sometimes may abuse our host’s kindness. To avoid that pitfall, I wanted to share with you my 8 tips for how to be a good house guest.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure I liked the menswear inspired oxford trend for women. At first, I thought they were just too masculine, too clunky. The majority of the oxfords I’d seen in my Pinterest and Instagram fashion feeds were more traditional. They looked like a shoe my husband would actually wear.

Rocco is obsessed with two things right now—trucks and basketball. He especially loves fire trucks. So for his second birthday, we decided to throw him a DIY fire truck birthday party.

My baby boy, Rocco, turned two last month. For Rocco’s first birthday, I made him a low sugar smash cake decorated with cheerios. The cheerios were the dangling carrot to get him to try the cake. It worked, sort of.

On Halloween night, our friend invited us over for crockpot chili before we wrangled our toddlers into a wagon to go trick-or-treating. I asked my friend Amy what I should bring, and she said whatever I’d be baking for the blog next week. I didn’t have an idea in mind, so I decided to make the perfect side dish for chili— a honey sage cornbread.

Probably my current favorite trend is track pants. You can find them in all sorts of prints, patterns and textures, like those used in this sequin track pants look. I’m so in love with this trend because the track pants I’ve been wearing look lux, are dressy enough for work, but are super comfortable without looking sloppy.

It’s Rocco’s first Halloween where he will go out trick-or-treating. He doesn’t understand what Halloween is, but we are excited to bring him to our friends’ house to go out for the first time with their two kids who are a bit older than Rocco.

The dull pain in my head throbbed in time with my vibrating rear view mirror. Lil’ Wayne blurred the asphalt behind me in syncopated rhythm. It was afternoon and I was still burping up the prior night’s fun. I was flying through the swamplands of Louisiana behind the wheel of a yet-to-be-released, iridescent infrared 2015 Lexus RC F-Sport, when I came to the sublime realization that I was on a de facto vacation, doing actual guy stuff for a change.

In many cultures, an evil eye ring is an amulet, a symbol meant to protect it’s wearer. Whether you believe in the curse of the evil eye or not, these eyes have become a staple fashion trend popping up on all sorts of accessories.

Halloween is just a week away. I searched Pinterest to find totally fun Halloween desserts that I think both kids and adults would love. There are so many cute desserts out there. I’m always so impressed with other bloggers’ creativity and craftsmanship when it comes to fun desserts.

Last week, I tried out 15 different lipstick shades attempting to find my perfect lipstick color. I asked for reader feedback and many of you left me comments on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and here in the comments section.

Halloween symbols like spider webs, bats, and black cats are not just for October 31st anymore. Halloween inspires fashion works year round. Last year, I showed some of my favorite Halloween-inspired items, like this baby vamp ring I still want. With this story idea in mind, I set out to find Halloween-inspired fashion that I would wear regardless of the season.

One of my favorite fall trends is the long vests I’ve seen from Dior, Givenchy and others. I love the long vest trend because it can be worn so many ways. Buttoned up and worn alone as a pseudo-dress, belted tightly at the waist with long flowing pants, paired with shorts for a fun going-out look.

I’m a busy mom of two under two and a lot of times it’s a challenge fitting in a proper meal. My husband was out of town recently, and the only time I ate a full meal was when the kids were both napping, which I think happened, like once. During busy times, I sometimes grab an energy bar to tide me over to the next meal. The downfall of these convenience snacks is their price and (sometimes) their artificial ingredients. I decided it was time to try a homemade version, so I chose to make pumpkin spice granola bars.

I recently read this article talking about how women should know which lipsticks work for them by the age 30. Oops. I guess I missed that ‘something you’re supposed to do in your 20’s’ memo. I’m going to be 35 this January and I still haven’t really gotten my proverbial feet wet in the world of lipsticks.

Do parents treat their high needs babies differently when they are older? Do the early years with a difficult baby affect how you see or treat them moving forward? Do parents grow to resent their high needs child?

I didn’t try Nutella for the first time until about a year ago. Gasp. This is even more shocking because I’m a true peanut butter and chocolate lover. There is no better food flavor combination, in my humble, baked-good-obsessed opinion.

With so many trendy fall coats under $300, it’s hard to decided on which style to buy. Whether you’re into capes, military-inspired, mixed media, or robe coats, almost any style goes. If you’re searching for the hottest trend, then you’ll get a robe style coat, which is extra popular this fall. If you like classic, you might opt for a trench, a car coat or a lady-like style.

Besides a ripped seam or a missing button, I haven’t sewn anything since I was a teenager. Despite my hesitation, I’ve decided to make Rocco’s Halloween costume this year. I turned to Etsy and DIY blogs for inspiration. Per usual, I was impressed with what I found on Etsy. The selection of Etsy Baby Halloween Costumes was better than I imagined.

The minute October (actually September) hits, it’s pumpkin everything. My Pinterest feed is flooded with pumpkin recipes and pumpkin decorating ideas. I’ve also posted my fair share of pumpkin recipes—pumpkin scones with pumpkin butter, and cranberry pecan pumpkin cookies.

It’s no secret that I’m a midi skirt fan. Midi skirts are feminine and flirty. Their longer length is more conservative, but midi skirts can easily be made sexy with a crop top or fitted sleeveless blouse and sky-high heels.

Yesterday, I posted part 1 of our free Bahamas vacation. I shared my favorite pictures we captured on our journey to Nassau and a few we took while at the resort. The resort was nice, but we wanted to explore the real Nassau—outside of the gated confines of a lux resort.

Ya mon! After six sun-filled days on our free Bahamas vacation, we’re home. I already miss the crystal clear turquoise water. My husband won us an all-inclusive trip to the Bahamas last year on the Price is Right. In case you missed my post about it, here’s the video link. Watch closely and you’ll see me jumping up and down after he wins.

Military inspired clothing is a mainstay in the fashion world. Nearly every season, you can find touches of military inspiration. Military styles were all over the spring 2015 runways, but you can get this style now.

One of my favorite bakeries in Phoenix makes the most delicious apple oatmeal cookies. I love that they use dried apples, so the texture is even chewier than your standard oatmeal cookies.

You’re thinking, “wow, so original, knits for fall”. But I’m not talking about your favorite go-to cashmere sweater, I’m talking about every kind of knit you can imagine—oversized, with extreme turtle necks, chunky, and with prints. No knit is forgotten this fall, but chunky knit sweaters are definitely a must-have fashion trend.

Rocco’s second birthday is next month, so I’ve been tossing around toddler boy birthday party ideas. For his first birthday, we kept it very basic—with the healthy smash cake as the main event.

Awhile back, my husband showed me the instructions for no ice cream maker homemade vanilla ice cream using ice cube trays and a food processor. It all seemed simple (and ingenious!), so I bought the ingredients to try it for myself.

My sweet natured son constantly amazes me. Of course there are many toddler tantrums, when he flings himself to the ground with his crocodile tears streaming down his full cheeks. But what has surprised me the most about his growth and development is his goodness, his sweetness, and how he radiates love, especially the love he shows his baby sister.

The thing I look forward to most about fall is getting to break out my boots and light coats. Now that we are back in Phoenix, it may be a few more months before I get to wear my fall short boots. But that’s besides the point.

My kids aren’t in school yet, but my toddler son already loves snacks. He especially loves those animal-shaped crackery snacks. Even the the whole grain organic versions I buy are still more processed than I’d like and his snack selection is seriously lacking at this point. He will eat most fruits, an occasional string cheese, dry cereal, and yogurt. Most of the time, the crackers win the snack selection battle.

With two kids under two, I don’t have many opportunities to wear sexy heels, like these black crystal caged booties. When I saw the Sergio Rossi pair, I was drawn to the striking scalloped cutouts encrusted with strass crystals. The high thin black heel and gold back zip add sexiness to these heels.

After five years away, we are making our new home in Phoenix (again). I recently realized it is also the only city, (besides my hometown of Green Bay, WI), that feels like home.