Monday, January 18, 2016

Bump Date | 29 Weeks with Sophia

I decided to document our pregnancy as a way to get all my feelings and emotions out and to later look and remember this beautiful time in our lives. I hope you enjoy if you decide to follow along on this life changing journey.

Gosh, how are we here already?

29 weeks.

It honestly feels like yesterday I was sitting on the floor looking at the positive pregnancy test in disbelief and now here I am staring at my belly moving around like an alien is inside of me. Speaking of, this little girl loves to move around, she is either practicing her tumbling or martial arts but I wouldn't trade it for the world. Even those little kicks in my ribs that are quite uncomfortable. I am just lucky enough to be able to go through this amazing experience. Little Love's movements overpower all the discomfort (but who knows I may feel different further along as I hear the discomfort gets worse). It is no secret Little Love enjoys being on my left side as my tummy is always lopsided and if I lay on my left side, she will throw a tantrum or so it feels like it. Our doctor said it is quite normal for babies to favor one side over the other which is something we never knew and thought was cool.

We attended our second Bradley Method Birthing class (I will do a separate post of our experience after we completed the entire course) and continued to work on our relaxing techniques. We have kinda made it into a ritual of completing our exercises/relaxing technique between shower-time and bedtime most nights. We also had our maternity pictures taken by our friend Nick and I will be doing a separate post soon sharing the photos (if you follow me on Instagram than you already got a peek at a few of the photos).

Striped Drop-Shoulder 3/4 Sleeve T-Shirt (similar) |Maternity Jeans

Striped Maternity Shirt | Maternity Jeans |

Sperry's | Puffer Vest

Side Note: I got my puffer vest as a Christmas present years and years ago and I cannot find it online nor can I find a similar one for a reasonable price range therefore I didn't link anything. If I come across one that I think will match for a decent price, I will add the link or if you can find one let me know so I can link up to it!

Maternity Blouse (similar) | Maternity Jeans (similar) |
Cardigan (similar) | Flats (similar)

Maternity Shirt (similar) | Maternity Jeans (similar) |
Knit Sweater (similar) | Sperry's

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Hair

Big Loose Wavy Curls using the Curling Wand

Posted by stormieariel

Hey guys! So today we are gonna chat about a totally new topic: hair. Now I have no expertise in this area what so ever but I thought I would share my experience in searching for the solution to create the perfect loose wavy curls in case anyone is struggling with figuring it out like I was.

Now that I am older, my hair has a natural wave to it. Sometimes it looks amazing and other times not so much. My current hair routine is daily shampoo and conditioner (I am a super oily person so if I don't wash my hair daily, it gets disgusting quick), I also apply Mac V Oil from ends to roots while my hair is still wet, combing through and air drying. If my hair is a hot mess after drying, I just throw it into a bun most days but if it comes out looking amazing I will wear it down.

Natural Hair

My hair coming out looking like that is far and few in between so if I want to make my hair look amazing, I use hot styling tools to create the curls/waves I want but again, sometimes it comes out beautiful and other times a hot mess because I am not hair stylist. I have tried learning the flat iron curling technique and I suck. It has only came out the way I like it once or twice in the two years I have tried to master it so I gave up on that technique (my wrist just won't do the twisting thing) and now I have been trying to experiment with the curling wand. However, I did not want to spend the money on a wand so I just turned my old Conair curling iron into a curling wand by simply removing the clip:

So the iron I have been using, is a 1 inch barrel and while it does the job of creating wavy curls, I feel it is too similar to my natural hair.

Conair Iron

I want more of the big loose wavy curls, they just look more natural to me although the small barrel actually matches my natural hair. Anywho, I just prefer the big look. The first tutorial I watched to try to achieve the look I was aiming for was Jaclyn Hill's Big Voluminous Waves hair tutorial. I loved the loose look she has and one thing I noticed she mentioned in her tutorial that she does that I don't is alternating the direction of how you wrap your hair around the wand with every piece. A tutorial I watched a few months ago when I first started trying my make shift wand only said to curl the left side of your hair over the wand and your right side under the wand. I also noticed the difference in the size of the barrel Jaclyn was using compared to mine and she did mention the iron she uses which is the Bellami 6-in-1 Curler Set. I really wanted to purchase it but umm, $300? No, thanks. So I was back at square one kinda, I knew I needed to try this technique of alternating the direction but I needed a bigger barrel. I decided to check out the Small Things Blog because, well, she is a professional hair stylist and probably knows more than Jaclyn when it comes to hair (no offense Jaclyn, I just can't fork out $300 or even $140 with your discount) and Kate might have better recommendations for which irons to use.

I went to Kate's YouTube channel and watched her Curling Wand Waves tutorial:

While the wand Kate uses in this tutorial is expensive as well, she does give a more affordable option. Which luckily, I got an Ulta gift card for Christmas and used that to purchase the Hot Tools 1.25 inch Curling Wand. I have only used it once and my hair came out perfect plus it only took less than 30 mins. I got the exact look I have been wanting for years. #winning

Hot Tools Wand

I will say that I think the results have to do more than just the size of the barrel although that was the biggest factor. The Hot Tools wand allows my hair to easily glide around the iron whereas with the Conair Iron wasn't as smooth during the styling process and my hair wasn't as smooth afterwards either. So all in all, you do not have to spend a huge chunk of money on a curling wand to get those perfect curls you want. You can still buy a budget friendly option just keep in mind the barrel size and barrel surface.

Read the rest of the story »

stormieariel

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Monday, January 11, 2016

Pregnancy stormieariel style

Bump Date | 28 Weeks with Sophia

Posted by stormieariel

I decided to document our pregnancy as a way to get all my feelings and emotions out and to later look and remember this beautiful time in our lives. I hope you enjoy if you decide to follow along on this life changing journey.

Well, hello 3rd Trimester. It definitely is a pleasure to finally be at the finish line. I cannot believe Little Love will be here in about 12 weeks. AHhh. So excited and nervous and joyful all at the same time. As I doubt I will want to post when the third trimester is over because, well, Little Love will be here and I plan on soaking up all her beauty and enjoying her. So here we are, I will start doing weekly bump date post that will include my everyday bump style as well.

After a two week vacation, it has been difficult getting back into the work routine but it helps keep me busy so time can fly. This week has just sped by, we went to our first Bradley Method class (hubby didn't enjoy the birth video part, it was kinda gross not gonna lie) but I enjoyed learning new relaxing techniques and exercises. I have already been doing pregnancy yoga poses although I didn't do them during my vacation because lets get real, vacation is about relaxing. Anywho, I can now incorporate both to help my body get ready to deliver this baby and now Anthony joins me during my exercise/relaxation time so it is a great bonding experience for us. I think it is safe to say, I am still enjoying pregnancy, if not more.

Maternity Shirt (similar) | Maternity Crop Jeans