hair and fashion

LuLaRoe Giveaway //

June 21, 2016 by Rachel 37 Comments

My name is Rachel and I have a confession: I am a LuLaRoe addict.

An ADDICT, friends!

Don’t know what LuLaRoe is?? I didn’t either until about 6 weeks ago. And I now own FOURTEEN LuLaRoe items. No exaggeration at all.

Here’s what LLR is all about: the founder, Deanne Stidham, had a mission to provide value-based clothing (down to the zippers!), designed to fit women of all ages, sizes, and shapes. LuLaRoe clothing is sold by independent business owners at pop-up boutiques, private online shopping groups, and other events.

LuLaRoe has styles that range from their (famous) buttery-soft Leggings, to skirts (think Cassie, Maxi, Madison, and Azure), to shirts (Irma, Perfect, and Classic), and dresses (Julia, Nicole, and Amelia!).

The awesome thing about these crazy prints is that only 1000 prints are made, TOTAL! Consultants can’t choose their prints, just the styles they carry, so they never know what they will get!

Most of the consultants operate their businesses via private Facebook Groups. They post their inventory in albums on “party dates” and people scramble to find the styles and patterns that they love! Also? LuLaRoe’s sizing is NORMAL! I’m not going to call it ‘generous,’ because it is what clothing for women should be!

The rules (on most sale pages) are the same… and simple!

You find something you love and you comment “Sold!” When you’re finished with your ‘shopping,’ you fill out a Google Form (so that the consultant has your shipping information), and then they ship your items two-day priority. It’s fantastic. And quite possibly the most addictive way to shop. No joke.

My personal favorites are the leggings (I have two pairs of plain black leggings so I can wear them “whenever”), the Irma top, the Nicole dress (which easily pulls down so I can nurse Remy), and the Azure skirt! See? Perfect for everyBODY!

OK. So now that you know all there is to know about LuLaRoe, it’s time for a BIG little giveaway! Alissa from LuLaRoe Alissa aka Mrs. Fancy Pants is giving away a $100 credit to her LuLaRoe shop!

It’s easy to enter — just use the rafflecopter widget below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
All entries will be verified. Winners will be notified via email and must respond within 24-hours or a new winner will be chosen.

Many thanks to Alissa for sponsoring this giveaway!

Disclosure: I was sent one outfit (and a pair of children’s leggings for Remy!) to host this giveaway! As always, all opinions are my own.

and don’t be surprised when you find memes like this to be hilarious…

etsy pregnancy wish list

December 1, 2015 by Rachel 1 Comment

I am so excited winter is on it’s way! I know, I know… I’ve said that a lot recently. But even saying it ONCE, for me, is completely out of character! I told Chad that the sole reason I’m so excited this winter is knowing that I won’t have to drive in winter weather often [thanks, Baby Girl + maternity leave!]. But also because that means I can stay bundled up at home, complete with hot chocolate and Netflix, on the couch. Oh, no… I know it won’t be a vacation. I realize that I’ll also be responsible for keeping TWO children alive. But still. In those moments when Moosh is asleep and I’m nursing a baby, I’m going to enjoy that Netflix and hot cocoa!

I’ve also comprised a “Holiday Etsy Maternity/Postpartum Wish Lists” of sorts… [for anyone looking to buy me something — LOL!]

A non-traditional nursing cover/infinity scarf.
Like this one from etsy shop Kismet Love Collection.
Seriously. They are adorable. And they are scarves!
Gah! I’m in love.

Baby Girls’ Coming Home Outfit.
I realize absolutely zero people will see this in real life,
but lord knows I’ll be posting it on instagram, right? Ha!
This one from Adorned Baby Boutique is adorable.
I’m not big on pink, but gold? Heck yes. Give Baby Girl all the gold!

A Birthing Gown for the hospital.
I know it seems super shallow, but I honestly got one for my L&D with Ari.
And it was way more comfortable than the hospital gown.
It was plain black, but perhaps I want to go a little bit more frilly for Baby Girl? Ha.
This one from Stork Apparel is cute, but not overly girly.

Super Comfy Warm Socks.
‘Cause January is going to be mega cold, y’all.
And even though I’ve been hot-blooded this pregnancy,
I know that as soon as this baby comes, I’ll be cold. Again.
And these socks from Fir Tree Knitwear are adorable AND wool!
Swoon!

Reusable Nursing Pads.
With Moosh I used these silicone reusable nursing pads.
They were horrible. If my boobs leaked, they would itch uncontrollably.
So this time I want fabric reusable pads.
And these handmade nursing pads from Marleys Monsters are cute and inexpensive!

A Giant Warm Robe.
Cause, winter + nursing.
And this robe from Wrapped In A Cloud looks SO warm and cozy.

An Oversized Sweater.
Do you notice a theme here? Big, comfy, and warm?
Yep. Give me all the big, comfy, and warm.
I wish I could afford this giant sweater from Rose Unique Style.

I’m just loving all of this stuff. And I know none of it is necessary to have, but gosh would it be nice to be warm and cozy after Baby Girl is born! ♥

Key to the Cure // Wrap Up

November 6, 2015 by Rachel Leave a Comment

Before I get into this wrap up I wanted to very quickly give a shout out to one of my favorite local charities, Shoes and Clothes for Kids (SC4k). The mission of SC4K is to provide disadvantaged kids in Greater Cleveland with brand new shoes and clothing. What might surprise you is that two of their most requested items are socks and underwear. It’s so easy to take simple things like these for granted, but many kids in our community are wearing hand-me-downs, giveaways, throwaways – and some just go without.

To get people to think about this topic, they created a catchy video. Take a quick minute and check it out:

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdgGqUKW9nA#t]

Right now they are running a crowdfunding campaign to help increase sock and underwear donations! Even better? They’ve received a challenge grant of up to $15k! That means your donation will be MATCHED!

If you are able, please consider donating to the campaign here.

Alright, so, a few weeks ago I had the privilege of attending another charity event, the Key To The Cure event at Saks Fifth Avenue at Beachwood Place! My girlfriend, Carli, and I decided to say buh-bye to our boys for the evening and head out for a night of fun.

Saks Fifth Avenue of Beachwood Place teams up with the Cleveland Clinic each year to host a shopping extravaganza! It’s a chance to give shoppers the opportunity to support women’s reproductive and breast research by offering a percentage of their sales go to the Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Center from October 15th to October 18th.

Guests were encouraged to purchase presale tickets to the event kickoff, which was the event we attended on October 15th, for $75 per person. Included in the event ticket was a $50 tax deductible write-off, a $25 Saks gift card, live entertainment, and food and drinks supplied by the amazing local talents from the Taste of Cleveland restaurants!

Carli and I arrived and were a tad bit overwhelmed at first. There was a LOT of food. Like, a lot. And, even though I knew I would be sick later, I wanted to eat all of it. We did a quick circle through Saks to check out all of the food offerings (duh. I’m pregnant), before diving in.

The food was amazing. Many of the offerings were from restaurants I have already been to; others I was experiencing for the first time (though we had meant to try them… that whole toddler thing keeps us home a lot as of late). Society Lounge provided cocktails for the evening (and I may have sipped on the most delicious Moscow Mule I’ve ever had), and wine was also provided for guests. I honestly can’t even remember who had the best food (but it was probably Lago).

Oh and I made sure to eat as many delicious donuts as my belly would hold, thanks to Peace, Love and Little Donuts. 🙂

At the end of the night, we waddled our way upstairs to the childrens department (because let’s be real — when a mom is given $25 bucks to spend, she chooses to spend it on her kids, not herself). I bought baby girl an adorable sleeper (that I would have normally never spent $25 on… let’s be real). So thank you, Key to the Cure, for the “free” $25!

Overall, it was an awesome night. I would love to experience the evening again, but this time not pregnant (Umm, HELLO Moscow Mules and see ya next year!)! If you missed it this year, keep an eye out for it October 2016! And see ya there!

who is using poshmark?

September 30, 2015 by Rachel 1 Comment

Is anyone using Poshmark!? I’ve been trying to ‘purge’ my closet for a while now and I really want my precious clothes to go to a good home! LOL! But seriously. I’ve been hanging on to a lot of super tiny clothes that I just need to pass on to someone new. Buh-bye, size 2 J. Crew jeans + pants! It’s been real! 😉

because it’s been a week now…

September 10, 2015 by Rachel Leave a Comment

One of the main reasons I was so anxious to find out if we were expecting another little boy or our first baby girl, was because I want to either: a. pack all of our boy stuff up (I’m not ready to part with it yet), or b. look for all new awesome girl stuff.

Sooo obviously you know what I’ve been up to over the last week. The search is on! And as much as I truly adore boy clothes (seriously they are SO cute), there are some equally adorable girl clothes. Bonus? I tore through my bins of clothes to find the baby girl clothes I hid away about 13 years ago! 🙂

But here are some things on my “Baby Girl Wish List” right now (because let’s be real… it’s going to grow).

This Hello World newborn gown.
From Etsy shop ShopVivaLaGlitter.

This Feed Me + Tell Me I’m Pretty outfit.
From Etsy Shop Three Sweet Limes.

This Personalized Name Blanket.
From Jennifer Ann.

This completely unrealistic Faux Fur Vest.
From Carters.

This Gold Leaf Headband.
From Etsy shop WildJuniper.
And pretty much everything else in this shop.

Aaaand this is just the start of my wish list. I can see it just growing and growing over the next several months.

OH, HEY WEEKEND.

April 24, 2015 by Rachel Leave a Comment

IT’S THE WEEKEND! IT’S THE WEEKEND! IT’S THE WEEKEND!

Okay, okay… I need to relax. But I am MEGA excited about this weekend.

First of all, I have my FIRST girls night in AGES scheduled for tonight. My BFF (like, BFF since we were 5) and I are going for dinner and drinks tonight. She had her first son about 6-months ago and I haven’t had a girls night in forever. WE NEED THIS. I’m excited for salad and wine. Which makes me pretty much the epitome of a mom. Ha!

Saturday is Crafty Mart — a local craft-vendor exhibition all-over downtown Akron. The most exciting part is that Chad is taking a kombucha-making class via The Bearded Buch (a local Cleveland-based company) and I am taking a terrarium workshop, from Yates Apothecary. GOD WE ARE SO NERDY. I love it. 😉 There is something spectacular about learning something new… something we can do on our own!

Last but not least, Sunday I’m headed to XHIBITION for a blogger event/fashion event (which seems funny considering I’m in no way, shape, or form a fashionista). However, visiting a new Cleveland business PLUS enjoying brunch via JackFlaps!? THE bomb.

Not included in this fabulous weekend lineup? Moosh. Well, Moosh will certainly be there… but for once, he isn’t the be-all-and-end-all of our weekend plans. This weekend is for US! 😉