$8 Magnetic Eyelashes...

I saw magnetic clip on eyelashes about a year ago and I immediately looked them up because I HAD to have them!

I always want to wear false lashes but I'm so bad at them, so, so bad.
How do people make falsies look so good and effortless??
I wore them at my wedding (applied by a makeup artist) and I still ripped them off.

Anywoo, magnetic lashes came on my radar and I was like "YES".
Then I looked into them and they were about $70...
My YES turned to "hell naw".

If its something I know I will love, I will invest the cash but something as unreliable as fake lashes, no way..
 

Then a little group called "Maritime Mom Group buys" took over my life and suddenly I'm ordering, this, that, and the other because its all cheap and interesting!

Look up the MMGB on Facebook, they're a Halifax local tribe who pull together large quantity orders so we all can reap the benefits.

They managed a buy that was magnetic lashes $8 a pair.
I could not say no to that!
 

This is what the set of lashes looks like ^
I thought they looked a little haggard but after researching other lashes and watching some youtube, I realised this is almost exactly what all the lashes look like.

Some sets were $70 and they looked exactly like this $8 pair, so that was promising.

You're going to have to watch my first impression video to get the whole effect, this blog is mainly a follow up, photo share.

 

At first I couldn't get the hang of how to apply them, I was using tweezers and the lash stuck to the tweezer, it just wasn't working.

So then I tried with my hand but I couldn't get the lash to fall close enough to my lash line, until I grabbed the bottom lash and basically snapped both the top and bottom lash on at the same time.

The pull of the magnets clasped the lashes together and they just naturally fell close to my lash line.
 

At first glance I was not loving the look but when you go your whole life without falsies it takes a minute to get use to that long of a lash on your face.

I still find it strange that the lashes are so small,  they only cover about half of my lash line and I wish they would make them a tad longer so I could just wear one lash set and have a more full look.

but I guess you can add a second lash but you may have to do some trimming and custom work to make it match your lid.. ?

Makeup artists, help me out here? is that the way it works?
 

So, by 5pm I had started to really like the look!

the lashes didn't budge, I couldn't really feel them, I felt a little like a movie star..
 

Just as a fun side by side I picked a photo of my sisters lashes vs my falsies ^

She gets lash extensions, she has to have them filled every 3 weeks and they cost $60 - yikes!

I love the look but I'm not committed enough for something like that, and I would rather by a new outfit lol

So the magnetic lashes seem to work great for my lifestyle, I only need them on occasion if I'm getting a moms night out, they would be easy enough to do for supper or a casual movie as well.
 

By the end of the day they looked better than the start.
They hadn't moved away from my lash line but the lashes themselves had fallen a bit and mixed in with my own lashes for a more realistic look.

and the best part is removal is SO easy.
you literally just picked them off your eyelid, they didn't pull at all.


I ended up leaving them on for 8 hours just to get a feel of what a work day would be like and they were great! Not an itch, pinch or irritation.

I really liked them, I would pick up another pair in a heart beat!

Have you ever tried??
what did you think??
I saw a lot of reviews that said they found them hard to apply..
did I just get lucky?
was it a fluke that I found the learning curve relatively easy or am I just use to high maintanience things??? lol

Today nearly broke me..

and it was just your average day.

I think you can tell from the look on that face ^ where this story is headed but I will start from the beginning.

I woke up at 8am (early for non morning-ers) or I should say Noelle woke up at 8am.

Her normal sleep pattern has been to wake once a night. Sometimes that once is at 3am, mostly it's at 5, if I'm really lucky it's 6, then she goes back to sleep until 8 or later.
Last night she was up at 1:30am, 4:30am AND was now awake for the day at 8.

So I knew it was going to be a rough day, one word: teething.

I am a night owl through and through, I come to you writing this post currently at 11:20pm.
Even when my eyes are burning, my soul yearns to stay up late.
(too much? LOL. well its partially my soul and partially my years spent working backshift.)

Exhausted but optimistic, I was determined to make today a good day.
I knew right a way the best place to start was Tim Hortons,
I needed coffee, I would get Elliott a bagel.

I picked out the kids matching Halloween outfits, I am dedicated to being the mom whose kids are always dressed for a holiday and/or in adorable matching outfits.

Other people don't always 'get' that, Nick doesn't really get it.
He likes when its done but he wouldn't go out of his way to do it himself, ya know?
but I do. I have to do it, its my OCD and its something I enjoy even though it can, on occasion, stress me out.

 

It took about an hour to get both kids diaper changed, clothed, teeth brushed.

10am and we're headed onto the front step, I figured a quick photo wouldn't be hard. I thought wrong, and this is the best we got. oh well.  ^

Got the caffeine, we are back home and Nick calls.
He's just calling to 'chat', see how our morning is going but Elliott is pulling at my leg, he wants Halloween music on... so I am desperately trying to start up our (piece of garbage, impossibly slow, crap) laptop.

Noelle has not let me put her down all morning, she is SO unhappy.
She screams from her swing in the background, Elliott is by my side saying "I want Halloween!", the laptop is dinging because it needs another update, Nick asks what we're up to..

Me: "WELL IT'S 11AM AND WE HAVEN'T HAD BREAKFAST"
 

Noon, Elliott has had his bagel, Halloween music on in the kitchen, I set up a paint station in the living room. My mom gave him this paint book yesterday so I wasn't getting away with no painting today, it was easiest not to fight it. I put Full House on the TV, because its the one show that Elliott and I can seem to agree on.
 

By 12:01 the living room looked like this ^

Which actually isn't bad.
Ever since the Playroom Makeover I've really hammered home the "One at a time" rule.

The 6 pack of juice boxes is out because Elliott is getting really handy at helping himself to things, and no, that's not sarcasm. It is really helpful/easy to say "get yourself a juice box. Grab a yogurt from the fridge. Get a granola bar in the pantry."

Especially in these times of teething/ not being able to look away from Noelle.
 

Its now 1:57, the baby monitor is an hour behind. ^

Elliott's nap time is around 2-3pm so I decide../I NEED to get Noelle to nap during that time.
I've been holding her in my arms, ALL DAY. And when you say you've been holding a teething baby, you're not just 'holding them'.

Oh, no, no.
You're fending off their kicks, jabs, swings, scratches, hip thrusts, all while frantically holding that sookie (soother) in their mouth for fear of the screech hiding behind the nipple.

I tried putting Noelle in her crib in her bedroom.
I really wanted to use my own room and get dressed at some point today... This was exciting to Elliott because Noelle normally sleeps in mommy's room.

So you can see Elliott in the bed to the left of the screen and Noelle in the crib to the right, 'they had to sleep together' according to El.
 

Elliott tucked his taggies into my bed and baby's bassinet.
The co-habitation in Noelle's bedroom lasted about 25 minutes of back and fourth crying/Elliott yelling at her stop.
before I said "OK. OWN ROOM TIME."

3pm.
I put Elliott into his own bed, he fought it.
I said he could stay up and read books.

3:10pm.
Noelle's screams begin again.
 

I picked her up and laid in my bed with her red, blotchy, rashy little face, her kicking and screaming.
Me, internally screaming.
We laid there for at least an hour.

At some point I had to call Nick for moral support.
I needed time to go faster.
It was only 4:30pm, he wouldn't be home until 7:30pm.
I had almost reached my breaking point, I needed to tell someone I was breaking so that I could gain a little sanity back.

Its like if you say it out loud, 'you cant take it anymore'.
The scales will tip back a bit in the direction of  'can take it'.
That's how it works for me anyway.
Sometimes I will just go in my room, close the door on the screaming kids and say out loud: I can't take it.

Its like my personal validation that, yeah you can't take it.
but its ok to admit it, because girl you have no choice but to take it.
so good job, even though you can't, you can and will.

Ya know?
was that the most confusing sentence of life.. ?

It’s like saying “I’m starving”

Are you really starving in the literal sense?

Should I call an ambulance? 

No. But it’s more satisfying than saying “I’m hungry”. 

And it’s more dramatic, I am nothing if not a tad dramatic. ;)

 

5:30pm and I go to get Elliott, Noelle is on her second Tylenol of the day but its not controlling her smacking, chewing, tongue wagging.

It's at this point I realize, I didn't feed Elliott lunch.

I'd been so consumed with Noelle's neediness and because breakfast was so late, lunch wasn't even a blip in the radar.

Oh well.
He's far from starving.

6pm.
One more hour to go.

Yell at Elliott to stop being so rough with Marley (repeat this 15 times a day, everyday.)
 

Look around at all the coffee cups, baby bottles, think how the kitchen isn't too bad for cleanliness.. then realize that's only because you forgot to make lunch and you got take out breakfast!

Literally text Nick at 10 minute intervals..

"only 30 more mins!"
"20 more mins!"
"10 more mins!"

FINALLY, at 7:30 he walks in the door.
(he should've been home at 7:20...........)

Drop Noelle in his arms, say I'm going to do laundry but really go upstairs and just lay on the bed for 15 minutes. Just lay there.

No thoughts, no one touching you, you can hear crying but you don't have to run to it, just lay there.

Watch my IG stories and realize no one would ever know how many times I had to tip the scale back to 'can take it' today.

Wonder how many times other parents had to tip their scales back today?
Wonder if they use the same method as me? (hide and say it out loud lol)
Wonder how parents do it with more kids?
Wonder if more kids would distract one another so maybe that's how they do it?
Wonder if that's the secret?
Wonder if I should have more kids to use this method?
Wonder what my future kids would look like?
Wonder if they would be boys/girls?
Remember how cute little babies are..
and they're all squishy and sleepy..
REMEMBERS THEY EVENTUALLY TEETH.
DONE WONDERING.
LIVE IN THE NOW.

Wonder what tomorrow will bring?
LOL.




 

A blog makeover costs how much???

Anddddd let's just go ahead and block Nicks IP address from reading this post...

I'm just kidding.

Look, no one ever said blogging was cheap.
It's my business, my brand, my art and to make money you've got to spend money! sorry honey!

but first things first...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
HOLLY'S HOUSEWIFE LIFE!!

3 years ago today I published my first blog post!

My First Post October 25th 2014 - Click me!

How crazy is it that I published my first blog post and 3 years to the day later I am practically in the exact same position!

I mean, we moved provinces and I'm on mat leave with baby #2 but Noelle is only a month older than Elliott was at that time. I had a dream of starting a blog to keep in contact with the outside world while I was on 'mommy duty' and little did I know what a HUGE part of my life this tiny piece of the internet would become.

Also, HELLO, no idea how much work and dedication it takes to be a 'blogger'.
All I will say about that is MUCH MORE, so much more work than you think.

Somehow I found my little niche..
and not for a lack of fumbling, tears, excitement, pride, more tears..
sometimes I make myself cry when I write about the kids, some tears come of frustration and a lot, a lot of joy.

When you put this much time and effort into something its nice to see that something bring in a little bit of income but I never want the blog to become so much of a job that I lose my voice. I'm so thankful to have found my balance, to stand out enough to keep you guys coming back and I'm more confident than ever in where the blog is going.

SO, that being said... WHERE'S THE GLITTER LETTERS?!?!?

I carved this blogspot .ca out of nothing!
literally nothing.. it was a total blank slate.
Remember my first blog designs... >

I spent hours just learning how to make the side panels a pattern/ the backround/ fonts different colours!

then 6 months in I decided it was time to sink a little cash into this puppy and I hired someone to do the layout. I hired her for custom work which was great, but knowing what I know now.. I seriously overpaid. Building a blog design takes a lot of time (and tears!) but there are easy-ish ways to do it!
 (see below!)




Look at my cute little media kit from 2015, memories! ^

I stuck with my over-priced custom lay out for the last 3 years because I really did like it!
Yes, it had gold lettering and yes, I got a lot of backlash from people wanting me to conform to a 'hot right now' minimalist blog theme. but I stood my ground! ;)

but then why change now???

I sort of feel like the blogs had her 30th birthday...
She's a wild one but she's also ready to be chic & adult.

So if you haven't already, meet the updated Housewife Life. click me.

and how much did I spend this time around?
I will break it down:

I've learned so much about blog themes but I'm still not comfortable handling that on my own so I spent some time on Etsy. There are SO many pre-made blog themes to choose from, the hardest part will be deciding which one you want! They're all so pretty and offer different things, but in true Holly fashion I basically 'eeny, meeny, miny, moe'd' it.

Worst case scenario I waste $16... yup this blog theme only cost $16!

The basic look was there but setting everything up, linking, organizing, gadgeting, sizing, replacing, that's all on you and takes some major trial and error. I'm still going to be working things out for some time to come.

As I was installing I realised some of the widgets wouldn't work and I ended up spending an extra 'one time fee' of $20 to upgrade those.

Then I needed my domain back!
I let my domain expire sometime earlier this year and what a pain...
I went with Go Daddy this time, it cost me $50 for the next 3 years, it would have been slightly cheaper but I added in some extras so it brought my price up about $20.

And that's it!
a fresh new blog at a whopping total of.. $86!

If you want to know what it cost in blood, sweat and tears though.
That's a whole other story, whole other story...
my eyes are burning from starring at the screen so long, I've got a perma frustration crease in my forehead and I can't feel the tips of my fingers anymore.. but my blog looks AMAZING!

Just like that, she's 4 months..

In true second child fashion, Noelle has barely been mentioned around these parts..

No pregnancy journal, no baby book, no printed photos, not a scrapbooked page for her yet..
I had the intention of doing all these things, I even own all the books but.. they're just blank pages.
does that make it better or worse?!?!?

I'm thinking better because I can fake fill it in maybe when she's about 4. Right before she learns to read... and she'll be none the wiser. lol

To be honest you swear to yourself you're going to be on the ball, wake up before the kids, get yourself ready, make their breakfast, have them dressed and peacefully playing by 9am.

Yeah that doesn't happen with 2 kids..
it's pure survival mode.

I'm just proud I've managed to snap her monthly photos relatively close to her monthly b-days.
see below..
 

First Impression Face Mask Friday, GlamGlow Gravitymud Firming Treatment...

I've been testing out some beauty products over on Instagram but I wanted to make sure you weren't missing out here on the bloggy so I'm popping over with the info!

I didn't think much of it when I turned to Instagram stories with a face mask sample packet in hand last week. I just thought it could be interesting to do a first impression and see if you all had any comments... turns out people commented that they really liked my 'first impression' style quick video.

so now I'm thinking every week I could try a new face mask.. I've been wanting to try a bubble face mask since forever so I will order some this week and fingers crossed they arrive.
 

Halloween food DIY...

I am SO torn guys.
I've been loving connecting with you all on Instagram (stories to be specific) so, so much that I've let the blog die a teeny, tiny, little bit.

You probably know that vlogging is my dream job (if only I could hire an editor! editing videos is sooo time consuming) and IG stories is a little micro version of vlogging so its been a fun time expanding my audience over there.

If you're not following can I recommend checking it out?
you may end up seeing too much of me over there and want to come back to the once a week blog lol but give it a try!

Problem being IG stories does not pay the bills the way the blog does..
but I was never a writer! I am a talker and have tons and tons to share but writing things down is very hard for me. I have a touch of dyslexia and mild ADHD so it is a struggle!

Alas, bills to pay!
so you'll see me try to balance the both.

It's my favorite time of year!
I have been rolling in the leaves, sucking in that brisk autumn air and wildly decorating for/anticipating HALLOWEEN.

I was super into Thanksgiving décor this year (Canadian Thanksgiving just passed last weekend) I brought out all the pumpkins, hay, grateful, blessing, blessed, thanks-full, whatever remotely related to thanksgiving was out on my front porch and all over my harvest table.

I will get some photos of that on the blog as well!
Out of order, yes.. but my USA friends haven't celebrated their turkey day yet so maybe someone can get some 2017 inspo out of it.

Now, HALLOWEEN.

I have so much to do and so little time.. a lot of my Halloween décor can't go out until Halloween day itself because it's weather sensitive.

In fact we just had a witch hat vs. wind situation that didn't pan out well for the witch hat...
but that's all info to come!

As far as costumes, its been no secret that this year is all about the superheroes!
sometimes you have to put your imagination on hold and cater to your 3 year old.
to be honest I think a family of superheroes is a classic that will never die so I was into it too :)
 

World Famous Nacho Dip

It hurts me a little bit to share this..
I've been hoarding this recipe to myself for a long, long time in the hopes of fooling people into thinking I am a homemaking master chef.

Alas, the time has come and I will reveal my famous secret recipe...
mainly because I already talked about it on Instagram and people keep messaging me for the info, so now I can just copy and paste this blog.

Here goes:
 

Overnight hair mask, buy or BYE..

So I stole that BUY OR BYE from Rachhloves because I'm too tired to think of something creative right now, so check out my girl >

She's Canadian, perky, talented and on the ball with content lately! Go Rachh!!