Versatile Blogger Award No 2

Hello, lovelies. I have another award post for you today! It's my second Versatile Blogger Award. I was nominated by Kasey. She has a fantastic blog about beauty, lifestyle, and her fantastic photography. She's seriously so talented. She has amazing content. I absolutely love her, and I'm sure you will too so go give her a look. Thank you so much for nominating me, Kasey!!!

Rules! 
1. Thank the person who nominated you. 
2. Nominate and link 10 bloggers for the award and let them know they are nominated! 
3. Reveal 7 facts about yourself your follows do not know!  

7 facts about me! 
1. I am a certified trainer at my job.
2. I like my showers to be scalding.
3. I am so sensitive. I feel like I feel everything so deeply.
4. I used to have almost everything pierced. Yes, everything.
5. My favorite genre of music by far is country.
6. I have 5 tattoos and want more. Like a lot more.
7. I'm allergic to blackberries.

I nominate! 
1.Anne
2. Pamela
3.Little Mayfly
4.Lee
5.Fleur
6.Siyana
7.Sarah
8.Smiling Dreamer
9.Carol
10.GlamwithPlatinumm

This little note was Kasey's, I'm just leaving it in because I agree with it and like it:

 You are not obligated to respond to this as this is just for fun and to help you meet new people and possibly grow your followers! I hope you all have a great evening and good luck! 

I hope you guys liked this award post! Thank you again, Kasey, for nominating me. It was so much fun to write. Thank you all so much for reading. See you tomorrow!!

Surrogacy Saturday No 11

Hello, beautiful people. Today is my 11th installment of Surrogacy Saturday! So my last post was pretty boring. This one gets more exciting. When I left off I decided to start matching for my second journey.

Getting Back Into It + Bringing You Up To Speed

Once I told TPI I was ready to match again, I updated my profile and they started looking for matches. They matched me with a heterosexual couple. We had a conference call and had dinner. We all liked each other so we moved forward and signed contracts. I was on my way to my first appointment with the doctor and I found out that they backed out. Then I went to the TPI office one day and they handed me a profile. It was an older couple so I had my reservations, but I wasn't close minded. We eventually had a conference call. We had a few hiccups there too, but eventually we agreed on some things and had dinner. I liked them. Especially the IM (intended mother) because I related the most to her. I looked in her eyes and saw the desperation. She needed a baby. Her soul needed it. I decided this was it. So we moved forward. We signed contracts and started psych and medical clearance. I got those done and we started cycling. We transferred April 12 of this year. It was a failed transfer. I didn't get pregnant. They had one embryo left so we decided to try again. A couple months ago we decided to try to cycle again. I started meds and a nurse made a mistake. I ended up not having a full cycle. I went in for an ultrasound and blood work. I had two "cysts" on one ovary and my lining was too thick. I put cysts in quotations because they were probably eggs I was about to ovulate but we can't know for sure if they were actual cysts or follicles. So I stopped my medication and started birth control again. I was on that for 4 consecutive weeks and started meds again to overlap that with my birth control. I had my endometrial scratch done then stopped my birth control and now I'm CD 3 as I'm writing this. I am writing this in advance though. It's August 9th today. Tomorrow I go in for another ultrasound and blood work to make sure my lining is thin enough and the "cysts" are gone. I'll get the results tomorrow afternoon. If all is well then we will move forward and I will start estrogen this weekend I think and I will get the rest of my protocol and my transfer date! (EEEEKKKKK YAYYYYYYY!!!) If my lining isn't thin enough or the "cysts" are still there then this cycle will also be cancelled and I'll stop meds. I'm not sure what the next steps will be. But I'll be sure to keep you guys up to date as much as I can. (You guys are seeing this probably around transfer day if everything looks good tomorrow. But I'll update you guys as fast as I can.)

That's all for today you guys. I know I used a lot of confusing lingo in this post. I'm sorry. I'll try to re read through here and give you guys a quick little lesson in surro language. But that will be another post because there's so much to explain. For now, just use google please. Lol. I hope you guys enjoyed this. I'll see you tomorrow!

Unique Blog Award No 2

Hello, pretties! I was nominated by the amazing Elsie for this award. Thank you so much for nominating me, Elsie! It's an honor. Every single person reading this needs to go follow Elsie. She has an amazing lifestyle blog with great content and amazing photos. Plus she's funny! Every time I read her posts I crack up. So everyone please go check her out! 

Rules:
 1. Share the link of the blogger who has shown love to you by nominating you.

 2. Answer the questions.

 3. In the spirit of sharing love and solidarity with our blogging family, nominate 8-13 people for the same award.

 4. Ask them 3 questions.

Elsie’s questions:

1. Would you speak to someone who could predict your future? (Or have you already?) Why/why not? Hm. That's a hard question. I don't think I would want to know everything but maybe some certain things. For example, "Should I take this job offer or stay at the job I'm at?" Things like that. I wouldn't want to know everything because I feel like that's part of the beauty of life. That's how we feel the things we feel. For instance I wouldn't have been overjoyed when I found out I was pregnant if I already knew it was going to happen. I think not knowing keeps us humble and in touch with reality. 

2. What kind of music did you like when you were younger and what do you think of it now? When I was a lot younger I liked hip hop only. I still think it's okay. I'll listen to it, but I prefer country now.

3. What do you like more: hot drinks(coffee/hot chocolate/tea) or cold drinks (smoothies, milkshakes, fizzy drinks (not sure what they’re actually called 😂). I like them both! I have to have a cold drink with food, but I love having hot tea in the morning. I have a sensitive stomach so I don't drink coffee daily, but I do enjoy tea. 🙂

Nominations:

Jade
Tiffy
Preppy Pink Piglet
Bay Area Beauty Blogger
The Purple Panda
Abigail
The Blogging Brunette
Victoria
Kali
Very Punny

And anyone else who would like to do this award and answer my questions! 

My questions for nominees:

1. Where would you go for your dream vacation? 

2. Is there any concerts you want to go to this year?

3. What was the best day of your life so far? 

That's it for today's post. Thank you again for nominating me, Elsie! I had so much fun writing this. Everyone go look at the blogs I linked above to read their posts of this award. I can't wait to read them! Thank you all so much for reading! I'll see you tomorrow!

My Halo Eye Look

Hello, lovelies! I sat down today to play with my new ColourPop Birthday Collection. When I swatched the yellow duochrome shade, Rager, I immediately thought of this look I saw on Instagram from Christen Dominique probably 2 years ago. 

When I saw this look I immediately fell in love with it and always wanted to recreate it. I still have this screen shot saved in my phone. Rager reminded me of the shade she used in the middle of that halo eye she did. (She used Telepathy from the ColourPop x Kathleenlights Where The Night Is collection.) I decided to finally try to recreate this look I have adored for years. I was getting ready for work though, do I couldn't do colors as bright as she did. I just made the look a little more acceptable by my boss. (Even though I'd rock this look every day of the week if my boss wouldn't care.) okay so here's what I came up with:

Face:

• Tarte Shape Tape Concealer in Fair 
• RCMA No Color Powder 
• Too Faced Cocoa Contour Kit
• Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer in Light 
• Tarte 12 Hour Amazonian Clay Blush in Paaarty 
• ColourPop Highlight in Blow Me Out

Eyes: 

• ABH Dipbrow Pomade in Medium Brown 
• Ulta Brow Gel 

This is the Morphe x KathleenLights palette. I used some shades from this palette.

• I used the second shade on the top row to set the concealer on my lid. 
• Next I used the third shade in the top row for my crease and the outer parts of the halo. I also took this on my lower lash line after I did my concealer and baked. 
• Then I used the Fourth shade in the second row to go over what I just did, only not bringing it as high as I took the other shade. 
• I dipped into the fifth shade in the second row ever so slightly, just to warm up the outside of the halo a little more
• Next I took Rager from ColourPop's Birthday Collection and put it in the middle of the halo. 
• I wanted a little more warmth and intensity, so I took a little bit of Party Favors and went over Rager. 
• And for highlighting, I took the first shade on the top row from the Morphe x KathleenLights palette onto my brow bone and inner corner. That's my favorite highlight shade for the eyes!
• I used Physicians Formula Eye Booster Liner for the top liner and wings.
• MUFE XL Aqua Liner for tight and water lining
• And L'Oréal's Lash Paradise Mascara to finish the eyes

Lips:

• RSVP Ultra Glossy Lip from ColourPop's Birthday Bundle

I had so much fun playing with these new products and making this look. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Thank you all so much for reading! See you tomorrow! 

The Beautiful Is Tag No 1

Hey, beauties. Today's post is the Beautiful Is Tag. I was tagged by Thegeckoonline. Thank you so much for tagging me! I'm so excited to do this tag. I think it's a wonderful idea and such a great way for us to love ourselves a little bit. Everyone go check out Thegeckoonline! She has a great blog that I would describe as lifestyle. She's so active with her followers and people that she follows. (I always get likes and sweet comments from her!) And she has amazing content. So everyone go give her a follow!

The following intro from the original launch is a lovely way to get into this tag:

We often feel ugly. 

 

Because we’re too diverse, too unique, too incredible to be conformed to societies constructions of beautiful. 

 

And it shouldn’t be that way.

 

We shouldn’t feel ugly about who we are as an individual. 

 

We shouldn’t identify as ugly because we aren’t a mirror reflection of social norm. 

 

We shouldn’t try to be beautiful. Try to tick off all the criteria for what others define as beautiful.

 

Fitting ourselves into a box created by the media, or what is glorified by famous people, or the internet or even peers takes away the beauty from life. We all become robots clambering to mould into one stereotype of beautiful. 

 

Everyone has beauty within them.

 

It just takes people with an open heart to see it within you. People who don’t allow superficial ideas to cloud judgement. 

 

I see art as a metaphor for beauty. To me art is about perception. People either fall in love with it or not. They appreciate it or not. Try to understand it or see a blank. However, we should all try and be part of a society where our perception isn’t skewed by appearance. But by morals, and character.  

 

That’s why you are beautiful.

 

I see beauty within you for who you are as an individual. 

 

Beauty shouldn’t be restrained and tied down to physical appearance. Ever. 

 

You’re all beautiful to me.

 

Full stop. 

Rules:

1) Link back to this post in your introduction so nominees can get a brief context of the tag. In particular the opening of this post.
2) Thank your nominee.
3) Answer the questions (these are some difficult questions)
4) Tag anyone and let them know – no limit on numbers
5) Oooh tag it as beautifulistag so I can read them all!
6) Comment I am beautiful at the end of your post
7) SMILE BEAUTIFUL

Questions:

1) what is your definition of beautiful
To me, beautiful can mean a lot of different things. It can be aesthetically pleasing, it could be strength or courage or grace or anything really. I don't believe that there's is a concrete definition of beautiful, because so many things can be beautiful: an item, a person, an action, or even an idea. I don't want to say everything is beautiful because it's not. There are some horrendous things in this world. But I prefer to try to find the beauty.

2) what do you find beauty in (abstract or concrete ideas)
Like I said before, I find beauty in so much that I don't think I could limit the idea of beauty as a whole to either abstract or concrete. For instance, I find my daughter beautiful, that's concrete, but I also find the idea of surrogacy beautiful, which is abstract.

3) when you think of beautiful, what are the first four things or words that come to mind? 
Strong, grace, love, and brave.

4) a song, quote or lyric that you think sums up beauty perfectly
It's no secret that I love Sam Hunt. He writes his own songs, mostly about his wife. I find his lyrics breathtakingly beautiful, because he wrote them about his wife. His lyrics just ooze passion and it's beautiful to me that he feels that way and that much for her. I can relate to that so much. With that being said, some of my favorite lyrics of his are,

"She don't laugh at everything, but when she does the planets swing around her."

The idea that she means so much to him and he loves her so much that when she laughs, she's the center of his universe. That's amazing and so beautiful to me.

5) tell us seven reasons why you are beautiful

1. I love to help people
2. I love myself
3. I love my family
4. I'm hard working
5. I'm happy

6) tell us about a time someone made you feel beautiful. how did it make you feel?
Nick does this a lot, so it isn't an isolated incident, but when he's holding my hand in the car and lifts it up and kisses it. I'm not sure why but it makes me feel beautiful and important. I'm so crazy in love with him.

7) if you had to draw beautiful, how would it look?
It would probably be an abstract painting because I'm not artistically blessed. I would probably use watercolors and pastel shades to create some kind of whirlwind of dainty color.

8) when was the last time you highlighted someone’s beauty to them?
I tel Bella that she's beautiful everyday. But other than that, I can't remember. I'm sure it was one of my coworkers, or someone on Facebook.

Who I am tagging:

Brittney Ross

Brooke Clarke

Angela

Jade Mayhead

Lee

I am beautiful!

That's all for today's post. I absolutely loved doing this tag! Thank you again for tagging me, Thegeckoonline! I hope you guys liked this tag. Y'all know I'm all about self positivity and stuff. Thank you so much for reading. I'll see you tomorrow!!

Play! By Sephora August 2017

Hey, pretties! I got my August Play! box yesterday! I usually always write my post for this series the day I get my box which is usually around the 15th, (I'm being generous, it's usually like the 10th) and I'm usually one of the first people to get them. Like I don't usually see any unboxings on YouTube yet and I usually get my box before my mom gets hers. This month it was the opposite. I saw everyone else get theirs and finally, today, I got mine. So let's dig into what I got.

First things first, the bag. It's cute. Not the ugliest I've seen but not particularly the cutest.

The perfume is Dolce & Gabanna Light Blue. I was REALLY hoping to get KVDs Saint and Sinner combo, but this smells pretty good.

I also got the Hourglass Vanish Seamless Finish Foundation Stick. I was kinda bummed I got this product because I just knew they wouldn't have sent the right shade for my oh so ghostly skin tone. I was right. This is too yellow for me. I also think it oxidized a bit while it was sitting there. I suppose I'll give it to my mom.

I was excited to see this Micro Mini Beauty Blender. As all of you know, I'm a Beauty Blender type of girl. I haven't tried a micro mini before but I bet it would apply CP highlighters beautifully.

Next I pulled out this Erborian Korean Skin Therapy Glow Creme. It's basically an illuminating moisturizer, similar to the Glam Glow one we got a couple months ago, but this one is a different shade of illumination of that makes sense. It's like a pinky duochrome shift almost. You can only really see that when you first start to rub the product in. It reminds me of the NYX Duochromatic highlight in Lavender Steel. It was a nice smell to it as well. I think it'll enjoy this!

Then out came the Clinique 2 in 1 Lash Primer and High Impact Mascara. I had no previous knowledge of this product, so I tried it out. I didn't think I would like the brush, but after applying, I have to say I enjoyed the brush.
This is a photo with the primer on. It's purpose is hydration. I find it also kind of acts as a pomade, getting the lashes in place for the mascara application.And this is after one coat of the mascara. (Top lashes only.) I was pleasantly surprised. I liked this! Usually I curl my lashes which I didn't do today. I bet this would look amazing with a good curl!

And lastly, the Caviar Anti-Aging Miracle Multiplying Volume Mist. I haven't tried this yet because I haven't washed my hair yet. (I try to wash my hair the least amount of times I have to because it fades the color.) I did smell it though and it smelled fantastic!

And that's all that came in my bag this month. I was a little disappointed. I really wanted some of the other products I saw other people getting, but overall, I'm happy with what I got. What did you guys get this month? How did you feel about the products? I hope you guys liked this post! Thank you all so much for reading. I'll see you tomorrow!

How To Blog No 1

Hello, pretties. Today I thought I would do my take on a post I've seen other bloggers do: a how to blog kind of post. Obviously I not the best blogger ever, but I have been blogging for a few months now and I think I'm getting the hang of it. I'm going to make this a series, each post containing one piece of advice. It won't be regularly posted, just when I feel like it basically. Okay. So here's some of my advice.

Don't force yourself to write

I think one of the most important things you can do as a blogger is not force yourself to write. When you make yourself sit down and write, the content isn't the greatest. Readers can tell when you're really excited and want to tell them what you're telling them and when you're like, "ugh. What else can I put in here to get this post over with?" I think you can almost see the passion in writing. When you write about things that spark your soul and when you're in a good mood, you create amazing posts that readers enjoy reading. Because they see how great that post was, they give you a like and follow and maybe comment on the post as well. So long story short, if you don't like cars, don't post about cars, and don't write a post when you just got into a fight with your best friend. You should be writing because it makes you happy, not because a post needs to go up.

That's all for the very first how to blog post! I really hope you guys liked it. What do you think about today's topic? What are some of your pieces of advice for bloggers? (Be warned, I might steal them and use them in one of these posts! 😉) Thank you all so much for reading. I'll see you tomorrow!

Burgundy Makeup Look- Collab with Auras Makeup Box!

Hiya, darlings! I have another collaboration for you guys today. This collab is with Aura from Aurasmakeupbox.com! She has a fantastic beauty blog where she's posts about all kinds of products and looks. She's done some beautiful makeup looks! She's also as sweet as can be, so everyone please be sure to check her out.

The theme of this collab is a burgundy-maroon-mauve themed look. I was excited for that kind of look because those are colors I've used in the post but recently I've been more into bronze and orange shades. So I was excited to venture out of my norm and use some makeup I haven't used in a while. This is what I finished with.

Brows:
–Anastasia Beverly Hills dipbrow pomade in Medium Brown
–Ulta Clear Brow Gel

I used the Morphe x KathleenLights palette for the shadow. Here's a picture of it so you can follow along with the shades I used.

Eyes:
– I primed my eyes with some Tarte Shape Tape Concealer in Fair
– I used the second shade from the left on the top row all over the lid. It's a matte cream shade that gives a good, blank, smooth canvas for the rest of the shadows to blend as well as set the concealer-primer.
– I used the creamsicle shade on the top row, third from the left as my first transition shade.
– Next I went into the crease with the shade on the second row, fourth from the left. I didn't take this shade as high as the first shade to create a gradient effect.
– Then I took the last shade on the right in the second row and packed that on the outer 1/3 of my lid. I blended it slightly into the crease, making sure to not cover the other shades I put down previously. This is slightly more of a berry color than maroon but I liked the dimension it gave the look.
– I cleaned up with a little Shape Tape to make sure I didn't look like I had black eyes. That tended to happen with my skin tone. Especially with the colors I was working with, it's easy for it to look bruised.
– I sprayed my brush with a little water and dipped into the second shade from the left on the second row and put that on the inner 2/3 of my lid. I liked that this was a cool toned shade. I liked how that looked with the other shades I chose. I made sure to blend it with the darker shade on the outer portion of my lid.
– I used KVD Tattoo Liner in Trooper for the top liner and wings and Urban Decay 24/7 Water Line in Legend for the water and tight lines.

Face:
– As per usual, I used Tarte Shape Tape in Fair, baked with RCMA No Color Powder, and set the rest of the face with ELF Illuminating Translucent.
– I contoured with Too Faced Cocoa Contour Kit, Tarte Blush in Paaarty and Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer.
– I used NYX Duochromatic Highlighter in Lavender Steel as my highlight to keep the maroon trend.

Back To The Eyes:
– After dusting away the bake, I took some of the first transition shade I used, that creamsicle shade on the lower lash line, then some of the second transition shade closer to the lash line, still on the lower lash line.
– I took some of the first shade on the left on the top row to my inner corner and brow bone.
– I used Covergirl Lashblast mascara

Lips:
– Texas Toast Lip Paint from the Tarte x Grav3yardgirl collection. I love the way this looks with colors like this on my eyes.

And that's all I did for this look! I hope you guys enjoyed it. I really loved it. I like the way the shades looked with my new hair color. Texas Toast is also one of my favorite lippies. Everyone go check out Aura's blog to see what look she did! Thank you guys so much for reading. I'll see you tomorrow!

Surrogacy Saturday No 10

Hey, pretties. Today is the tenth installment of my Surrogacy Saturday series. I really hope you guys are enjoying these posts. I mean I am getting good feedback, so that's good. So my last post was the birth story. Not much happened between then and the next part so I'll just do some highlighting of that part.

The Boring Months

So I had Ava and got discharged from the hospital the next day. I pumped for A & D for about a month and a half or so. Then I went back on birth control and supply basically vanished. The first few weeks were a rollercoaster of emotion as my hormones were getting back to normal. This is completely normal. I remember 3 days after Ava was born, Nick went back to work and the kids were with his mom. It was my first time alone at home since she was born. I got in the shower and started sobbing. That scared me because I had to check myself. Was I crying now because of hormones or did I miss the baby? I asked myself if I wanted Ava there and to take care of her. The answer was no. I was happy about that. I mean I didn't think I would have that kind of reaction but then again I had never experienced it before, so I was kind of nervous. But all went well. I still talk to A & D and get pictures of Ava about once a month or so. She's almost 18 months old now and so adorable. So that's how my first journey went.

At my postpartum appointment I asked my doctor about my belly button. It had been hurting like right above my belly button for a while and I didn't know what was going on. I thought it was just my muscles getting back to normal after pregnancy, but I figured it should have been back to normal by then. My doctor said I had an umbilical hernia and referred me to a general surgeon. I made an appointment with him and he said it could be fixed. It was caused from my abdomen stretching too much when I was pregnant with Ava. I had surgery in mid May of 2016 and all is well on that front now. Recovery was horrible but I got through it.

A few weeks after Ava was born I started thinking about getting pregnant again. At about 3 months postpartum my agency called me and asked if I wanted to do another journey. I told them I would talk to Nick and get back to them. I wanted to do another surrogacy and wanted another of my own, so it was just a matter of which to do first. (All of that had some talking with Nick obviously. He's half of my decision.) Nick and I agreed that I would do another surrogacy and then we would try for a keeper baby. I called TPI back and let them know I was ready to start the process.

That's where I'll stop for today. I'm sorry this post was a little all over the place. I skipped back and forth through the timeline. Thank you all so much for reading. Tune in next week for some more exciting stuff. See you tomorrow!