Stuff Parents Need

Easing the chaos in the nest, one find at a time.

My Holiday Eye Makeup Look: A Little Lengthening Help from Julep

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I’m excited to share with you some mascara that I have really been enjoying over the past few weeks, and that has been adding great length and volume to my lashes without leaving them feeling all clumpy, as I find many mascaras to do.

The source of this mascara? Julep! This is a company I reviewed a while back that is known for their on-trend and eco-friendly nail polish. But they have so much more to offer!

According to Julep’s style profile, I’m an American Beauty in terms of my preferences. I was sent the American Beauty Volumizing Mascara in Jet Black and I opted to try it first. I was impressed to read that this product contains lash grown enhancement ingredients. It also has an applicator designed to give special attention to every lash to ensure they each look thick and gorgeous.

The Lengthening Mascara, which is from the Boho Glam collection, also has those great lash growth enhancement ingredients. The shade is a very dark brown, which gave me some pause at first. I always wear jet black mascara because in my experience, brown mascara just doesn’t have enough “oomph” for me. But I actually thought this looked great! I wouldn’t choose it for a night on the town, but then again, when does that happen? It’s perfect for everyday wear and the color is really flattering. I thought that the Lengthening Mascara and the Volumizing Mascara both worked really well, and truth be told, I couldn’t really see any difference in how each one looked beyond the color.

Would you like to see how they worked? Great! Here’s some iPhone shots from me getting ready to go to a church holiday party last night. First up, a side profile of my lashes with no makeup on. I’m way overdue for an eyebrow threading, I know…

This is a shot of my lashes once I had on my eye makeup but before putting on mascara. You’ll notice that they look a bit darker than they do on the side profile. I think that they just aren’t very thick, and so when you look at them at an angle on my face, they can get a little lost.

And here’s the same angle once I applied the mascara. I think it almost looks like I’m wearing false eyelashes here!

And finally, here’s another profile shot once the mascara was applied.

I think the mascara worked great! I even got a few compliments at the party about how nice my makeup looked. I’m really pleased with both of these mascaras and would most definitely recommend them. They seem to strike the right balance between adding length and volume and they leave that Twiggy look behind. Great job, Julep!

Don’t forget, Julep is a fantastic source for all sorts of fabulous goodies. I highly recommend their Maven program, which gives you the opportunity to get a custom box of goodies every month for a low price, plus special discounts on all products in the store! Take the Quiz and see what your style profile would be. There’s no obligation to purchase each month; skipping is a breeze, or you can opt to send your monthly box to a girlfriend, which makes birthday gifts a breeze, too!

And just for you, I have a discount code! Use VIP20 at checkout and you will receive 20% off any purchase of $20 or more! Woo hoo!

Do you have a favorite mascara? I’d love to hear about it! And have you ever tried any Julep products?

I received a complimentary product for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This post contains affiliate links.

Floating BathBlocks: SO Awesome!!! Review and GIVEAWAY!!

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Isn’t bath time with kids so much fun?

Apart from getting soaking wet as they splash around, of course.

Darah’s at an age where she will take 2 or 3 baths a day if we will let her. All so she can play with her mermaids and other tub toys. It is a great source of entertainment for her. And while it gives us the opportunity to get a bit of work done while she entertains herself int he tub, the truth is that I have so much fun playing with her that I often just sit beside the tub and play right along!

But a few days ago I got to play with her newest tub toys BEFORE she did. And yeah, I totally loved it.

There’s a product on the market called BathBlocks, and I can’t think of a single kid, boy or girl, who wouldn’t absolutely love these. These are a “must have” for your gift closet, for sure!

I put together the 13 pc Ball Run set. and snapped some shots. Check them out!

With these blocks you can make a fun obstacle course for a ball to run through. I’m not going to tell you how many times I let the ball go through the course before I remembered that I needed to take some photos. It was SEVERAL. 🙂

The blocks come with a floating platform, but they also float on their own. But it gets so much better! If you put some soapy water on them, they do this:

Oh yes, they stick to the walls! Ha ha!!! I would have LOVED these when I was a kid. Good thing I have a child of my own now who will let me take a turn with them!

What I love about these blocks is that they are perfectly designed for tub time, and that they also encourage creative play. The obstacle course can be set up many different ways, or your child might just use the blocks as floating islands for a different game.

And you never know what toys will especially appeal to kids. Darah is completely smitten by the ball that comes in the set. I have no idea why, but she has slept with it for the past 3 nights. Kids are so weird…

You may be wondering if these are floating pieces of mildew just waiting to happen. They are actually made from bacteria and midew resistant EVA, and they are also free of phthalates and PVC. This company put a lot of thought into what would be the most fun and the most safe for kids. Gotta love that!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win the same set of BathBlocks as the one I reviewed. Lucky you!

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Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.

I received complimentary products for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

 

This Year Santa is Real and Candy is UNREAL (Candy Review and GIVEAWAY!!!)

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I am knee-deep in making the memories that people dream about for years before they start their families. Darah is really into Santa Claus, Rudolph, the Elves and all things Christmas.

And she believes SO fully you guys. It is nothing short of AWESOME. I love Christmas with all my heart, but I can’t remember a time that this season was even close to as fun as it has been this year. I’m guessing the last time would be maybe 1986, which was probably my last Christmas to believe in Santa.

Santa is REAL REAL REAL at our house! But let me tell you what isn’t real this year: all the candy that Santa will be leaving us in our stockings (why yes, as mom of the house I do happen to have this insider info!).

Santa is going to be filling our stockings to the brim with UNREAL candy. Have you heard of it? It’s a newish brand on the market and it DOESN’T contain much of what fills other candies.

  • No high fructose corn syrup
  • No artificial ingredients
  • No partially hydrogenated oils
  • Less sugar!

UNREAL left behind all the stuff that isn’t actually food, and produced DELICIOUS (I may or may not have had a sample or two…) chocolate candy that will have you singing!

We’re believers in this house. We believe in the magic of Santa, in the joy of giving, and in the reality that our junk food can be unjunked. Our candy this year is UNREAL.

What’s filling your stockings? Want to do what we’re doing? You can find UNREAL at a merchant near you.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win 5 bags of UNREAL candy!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.

I received complimentary products for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Candle Bark: Enjoy the Scents of a Candle Without the Flames! GIVEAWAY!!!

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I have a distinct memory of my best friend Leslie when she was a teenager, carrying around a Christmas scented candle for weeks just so she could enjoy the smell coming from the jar. She didn’t have it lit, but just toted it around with her all over the house.

That girl loved that candle. Or I guess to be more accurate, she loved the smell of that candle.

I have FINALLY tried out a product concept that has really caught fire (I guess I should say NOT caught fire) over the past few years. It’s those scented melting wax cubes that you melt in special warmers to scent your home.

Oh my gosh. No wonder they are popular! They are amazing!

Specifically, I’ve been using Candle Bark. This is an organic soy wax bark that has FANTASTIC scents. I’ve been plugging a warmer (which you can purchase at stores like Walmart) into my kitchen and it has been filling my entire downstairs with the smell of pumpkin cheesecake (which is my very favorite scent I have sampled). Oh, I’m in heaven. And it’s calorie-free!

Darah is also enjoying the wax warmer. It glows so beautifully and looks like a snowman, which makes it perfect for the holidays.

Candle Bark can be purchased for just $8 for a 3 ounce supply in the scent of your choice. Here’s a list of the available options:

  • Pumpkin Cheesecake
  • Vanilla Mint
  • New Car
  • Lavender
  • Italian Buttercream
  • Water Blossom
  • Sweet Tobacco
  • Orange Woodland
  • Coconut Lime
  • Dogwood

In addition to the Pumpkin Cheesecake, which I can’t emphasize strongly enough how amazing it is, I have also tried and really enjoyed the Vanilla Mint and Lavender. The products are high quality and the scents are fresh and delightful. I also really appreciate that Candle Bark is made in the USA,

My only suggestion for improvement to the company is to ditch the Styrofoam containers that hold the product and opt for something more eco-friendly. Other than that, keep doing what you are doing because it is working!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need winner is going to get the top 3 scents at Candle Bark and a holiday warmer! How awesome is that?!

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 I received complimentary products for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. 

Do You Prefer Jars or Pouches for Baby Food? Great Reasons to Choose Both!

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Have you ever found yourself at the baby food aisle trying to decide if you should purchase jars or pouches? I definitely have, but I find that I reach for different options based on the reason why I’m getting the food. If I’m picking up something for Darah, I obviously go for pouches because she’s way too old for baby food, but she LOVES squeeze pouches of fruit and vegetable purees.

If I’m just trying to add variety to the meal options at home for Layah, I’ll go with the jars. They are less expensive than pouches so they provide a better value for times when I’ll just be feeding her in her high chair.

Earth’s Best has a great chart that breaks down some of the key differences between jars and pouches and the reasons why you might choose one over the other:

 

As Layah gets older, I’ll gravitate more toward the pouches because the self-feeding aspect of them is one of the biggest pluses. They are also fantastic to use on the road!

What about you? What percentage of solid food for your little ones comes from a jar vs. a pouch? Do you have a favorite brand of baby food for jars and/or pouches? I’d love to hear what you are buying!

I am a blog ambassador for Earth’s Best, and as such I have received complimentary products as a thank you for my time. All thoughts and opinions express here are strictly my own.

Real World Folding Geometric Shapes from Learning Resources

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Here’s what I remember about my 8th grade geometry class: I hated it.

Here’s what I don’t remember: pretty much everything I was taught.

I had such an aversion to math growing up, and it is something I want to work very hard not to pass on to my daughters. I want math concepts to be part of their learning process early on. I’ve also learned from Montessori education that the more hands-on opportunities we can give our children to interact with math, the better suited they will be to tackle the harder concepts down the line. This is particularly true for geometry and understanding shapes in a 3 dimensional way, instead of simply in the abstract or on paper.

That’s why I was really excited to see Learning Resources offer the Real World Folding Geometric Shapes.

The set includes 3 dimensional versions of 8 common shapes:

  • cube
  • cylinder
  • hexagonal prism
  • rectangular prism
  • triangular prism
  • square pyramid
  • triangular pyramid

It also comes with 24 cut out designs that can fit inside the shapes to help children identify where these shapes can be found in everyday life. You can also cut out your own designs to put inside the shapes. Being able to see and touch a shape in this way is extremely important to muscle memory, and when that is instilled in your child at a young age, it will help tremendously by the time geometry class comes up in middle school. To be able to break a 3 dimensional shape down into something flat also helps a lot with understanding symmetry.

The kit also comes with great activity suggestions (far more than I would have come up with on my own!). I think this is a marvelous learning aid and I highly recommend it, especially if you think you might have some trouble bringing the world of math to life on your own like I do. The kit is available for $36.99.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win the Real World Folding Geometric Shapes set from Learning Resources.

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I received a complimentary product for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. 

My Own Personal Coffee Shop: #Torani Syrups at Home!

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I’ve been shouting the praises of brewing coffee at home for years now. It is a HUGE money saver. It doesn’t really take much time, either. In my case, I like iced coffee, so it does require a bit more advanced thinking to get the drink sufficiently cold. But still, it is worth it.

But there is one thing I have never been able to sufficiently replicate (despite making DIY versions!). That is the delicious flavored syrups that you can get at coffee shops or even added to a McDonald’s iced coffee. They are super yum, and that has always been a clear point of distinction between coffee made at home and coffee bought at the store.

But did you know that you can actually get those delicious Torani syrups to use at home? Oh yes, indeed!

What you are seeing in this picture are my two new Torani syrups, in Hazlenut and Pumpkin Pie, that I have been enjoying. I took this picture in our front yard. In the background of the photo is one of the most popular coffee shops in our entire city. I live just that close to it! To say it is a temptation would be an understatement.

But now I not only save money brewing my own drinks, but I get to add that special splash of great flavor at home, too. This is no longer reserved for coffee shop treats, and I love that! You can find Torani syrups at great retailers like World Market and Walmart!

This post has been sponsored by SheSpeaks and Torani. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

How I Stole Some Time For Me and Loved It: PEOPLE Magazine!

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Today is a VERY exciting day for me, friends.

Today is the day I get to take a serious break from life and flip through the pages of a magazine that has been tempting me for several days now.

Over the weekend I went to Walgreens. It was a bummer of a visit. I had to buy pricey prescriptions for my sick family and  big box of disposable diapers because I was told the medicine would make the daughter’s poop, well…extra gross. And since I was sick, too, I needed a break from cloth diaper laundry. When you don’t ever buy diapers, it can really shock your system to have to pay for them!

Anyway, my shopping cart was full of stuff I didn’t really want to buy. The imbalance was too much to bear. I knew I needed a special treat for myself! Here’s what I found:

A magazine that isn’t about parenting or saving money?! What an indulgence!!!

I’ve had this issue of PEOPLE Magazine sitting on my night stand since Saturday. I swear Brad Pitt has been whispering sweet nothings to me every time I see it, beckoning me to take 5 and have a read. But I just couldn’t. I had way to much to do before my in-laws arrived from a 4 month stint in Europe.

They arrived Tuesday night. And they were both SICK! Food poisoning was the likely culprit.

Oh, I felt so bad for them! They both tried really hard on Wednesday to play with Darah and spend time with me and with Tim, but they were still feeling terrible, so they also needed to sleep a lot. My magazine would have to wait one more day.

But no longer. This morning I woke up early just to get to relax. Can any other moms out there relate to that situation?! Ha!

I’m tucked away in the upstairs bathroom, and honestly, I’m having THE BEST TIME EVER right now reading my PEOPLE Magazine. Why do I usually only read PEOPLE Magazine at the doctor’s office? It is a great read. And it’s quick, too!

Here are the parts of the magazine I loved the very most.

1. The section about which shows are worth watching, and which aren’t. Two shows I’m currently loving got high praise here (Nashville and The Mindy Project). I was surprised that one of my new favorites, The New Normal, was listed as one to stop watching. But come to think of it, I watched the latest episode on Hulu last night while Layah was refusing to sleep, and it was really boring. They may be on to something!

2. The Brad Pitt interview. Brad Pitt, to me, is someone you don’t realize you have a crush on until you find yourself turning directly to his article before you read anything else in the whole magazine. Guilty as charged.

3. Affordable gift ideas. I’ve become a big fan of the Elf eye makeup palette I recently bought, and I’m super excited to see that they are offering 14 nail polishes for $10! Come home to mama!!!

Waking up early to read PEOPLE Magazine was completely worth it. I learned some interesting stuff, got all caught up with Mr. Pitt, and found some great stocking stuffer ideas for myself (let’s be real…I stuff my own stocking).

Do you need a little you time? If so, PEOPLE Magazine is the ideal read, I guarantee it!

This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™, but all my opinions are my own http://cmp.ly/3/KqtZiE.

The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About Christmas!

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This year for the holidays we are doing something VERY fun. I’ve created a Christmas Countdown paper chain, with one link for every day between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Every link has a special holiday activity for us to do. It has been a terrific way for us to get a daily dose of Christmas without getting completely overwhelmed.

Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About Christmas!

A few of the days on the chain are listed as “holiday movie” time. The one Darah asks for every time is The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About Christmas!. This 60 minute DVD is really quite cute (and I say that as someone who isn’t especially fond of The Cat in the Hat!). The Cat, Nick and Sally have a very fun Christmas party, and take the Thinga-ma-jigger on a trip around the world to help a lost reindeer get home in time for the big event. Along the way they make all sorts of new friends and, of course, have a lot of fun.

If your are looking for something new to watch this holiday season, or for something that might have more appeal to younger kids, this is a great choice. You can find this DVD at Target, Walmart, Kmart and Toys R Us for just $9.99.

Or…

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a copy of The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About Christmas!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.

I received a complimentary DVD for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This post contains affiliate links.