March 2015 – The Hustlin’ Homemaker

My Favorite “Healthy” Night Snacks

Well, I guess you’re getting two posts today instead of just one. I totally forgot I had this post scheduled for upload today. Enjoy! 🙂

Before I begin this post, let me just say that cupcakes, chips, and ice cream are my favorite snacks, ok? A Snickers bar is a snack. An apple? Not a snack. A punishment. LOL…I’m just kidding. I actually really love eating fruit for a snack. But, eating these bad snacks every night is not good – so I have been trying to choose healthier options for myself when digging for a snack.

I have received a couple of questions and requests on how I lost my baby weight and what I eat to maintain my weight, so I thought I would share. What has worked for me is portion control and not eating (a lot) late at night. I try to stick to 100 calories or less after 6 pm.

So while my husband eats his 8 Oreos at night next to me on the couch (the man does not gain weight) I resist the urge to say yes when he asks me if I want one, and try to find something healthier. He doesn’t have to wear a swimsuit. Haha.

Be strong.

Here are some better options.

So first I’ll start off with these La Croix “sodas”. I call them “soda” to make myself happy. I love soda, but it is ridiculously bad for you. These are delicious and I am totally addicted. My friend Caty got me hooked when I had the lemon one at her house! The lemon, lime, and grapefruit are my favorite flavors. So what makes these “sodas” so great is that they are just carbonated water, and natural flavoring. Nothing else. No calories, no artificial sugar, nothing. It tastes as if you took some bubbly water, and squirted some fruit in there. That’s all it is. So, it tastes like a treat, but it’s really a lot better than having a soda.

So another thing I like to eat are bars. I like LUNA and Kind bars, and also these Fiber One bars help you feel full. These three kinds are actually really good (not TWIX bar good tho) and they satisfy my urge for a candy bar. I know they do contain sugar and calories, but they are a healthier option.

Does anyone love popcorn as much as me? I eat so much popcorn! I love Skinny Pop, and also these 100 calorie packs of popcorn. I mean, do I really need to eat an entire big bag of popcorn? No. These little packs give me my popcorn fix.

I also like to eat some yogurt with granola, and sometimes I even eat one of my daughters squeezie fruit pouches. This mixed berry kind is so good and tastes like berry Skittles.

Ok, so these are my healthier snack options! What do you like to snack on?

Thanks for reading! xx

Must Have Beauty Products for Spring

Spring is herrrreeeee and I am so ready for warm weather, dewy skin, bright nail polish, and coral lips! Here are my must haves this spring!

BRIGHT NAILS

On my nails: Essie Mint Candy Apple

I love pastels and also bright colors for spring and summer. A bright pop of color on my nails brings out a summer tan and looks so cute with summery outfits.

FAKE TAN

Everyone knows that laying out in the sun is bad, and nowadays you don’t have to with all of these self-tanning options. I’ve got three kinds here, a spray, a mousse, and a gradual tan lotion. All of these are really good, and not orange!

LIGHTWEIGHT FOUNDATION W SPF

I don’t know about you, but living in Texas in 100+ degree weather, the last thing I want on my face is a thick, full coverage, heavy foundation. These three foundations are super lightweight, last all day, and contain SPF.

MOISTURIZERS

Warmer weather means skirts, shorts, dresses, and open toes, so you don’t want to have dry skin! Just because it’s not dry winter anymore doesn’t mean to forget your facial moisturizer and eye cream! Toss these creams in the fridge to give a nice cooling, refreshing feeling to your skin in the morning before you apply your makeup.

Always use a body lotion to make your skin soft and smooth, and show off those legs! I have been obsessed with Original Jergens my entire life! I love the scent of it. Also, don’t forget to moisturize your feet! Dry skin and sandals are no good! This super thick foot cream gives a tingling and cooling effect.

A CORAL LIP

Oh, do I love a coral lip. Bright corals, sheer corals, give me all the corals! Coral lips are pretty much universally flattering, and so springy!

DEWY SKIN

I love any kind of highlight or illuminizer. I have started mixing a liquid illuminizer with my foundation and I LOVE the result! My sweet friend Gillian of A Pretty Trippy Blog sent me this one by Becca in Pearl and it is seriously beautiful!!! #palegirlsforlife

Cream bronzers, highlighters, and blushes will give you a fresh glow and give the skin some luminosity. If cream products aren’t your thing, use a powder highlight on the tops of your cheekbones for that “jlo glow”.

Setting my makeup with a setting spray or something like MAC Fix + really helps with making my face look fresh and dewy.

What are your must haves for spring?

xo, Amy

How I Clean My Makeup Brushes

So…it’s a dirty job, but somebody’s gotta do it. Unless you want a broken out face and bacteria-infested (ugh that sounds so gross!) brushes, then you have to wash them. You know who you are out there 🙂

So, the way that I clean my brushes is really simple. I actually don’t mind cleaning my brushes because I love how they feel after, and I get a weird satisfaction when I see the beige and pink colors wash off the face brushes…anyone else? Haha

Ok, so there are two ways to clean. Spot clean, and deep clean. I only use my spot cleaner on eye brushes. It contains alcohol, and I just feel like it would make me breakout if I used it on my face brushes. I use the Cinema Secrets Quick Drying Brush Cleaner. This comes in a little spray bottle and you just spray some on your brush and then rub it around on a paper towel. The colors magically come off really fast and you have a fresh brush to use almost immediately. It’s good for when you are doing a multi-color look and you only have one brush to use. You can clean it real quick and then move on to the next color. Great for traveling.

So I try to deep clean my brushes at least once a week. I said try. I have a toddler and a baby, so cleaning my makeup brushes isn’t really at the top of my to-do list. lol. But, the way that I clean them is super simple. I like to use Johnson’s Baby Shampoo, because it is very gentle, it smells good, and works great to get all of the colors out quickly. The one pictured is the lavender bedtime soap, but any Johnson’s soap will do. If you’re a mom, there is a good chance you have some!

I take all of my brushes to the sink, and turn on the warm water. I first wet my makeup brush (just the bristles), by just running it under the water. I then will squirt some soap in the palm of my hand, and swirl the brush all around in the palm of my hand. You’ll see all of the color come out, give it a quick rinse, and ring out the excess water. I lay mine down on a towel to dry after I’ve finished all of them. That’s it! It’s super easy, and doesn’t take too long…unless all of your brushes are dirty. Then it will take forever. Haha.

So fresh and so clean, clean.

How do you clean your brushes? Share some tips with me!

Thanks for reading! xx

5 Spring Fashion Trends to Try

1. Saddlebags

I am seeing these bags everywhere in spring/summer collections. They give an outfit a cute “southwestern” look that I love. This brown one by Dailylook was sold out for soo long last year before I finally got my little hands on it. I love the crossbody strap, and it is big enough to use for everyday. The gold detailing and tassels on the front give it that little something extra.

2. Pastel Colored Jeans

I LOVE colored jeans. White jeans are my favorite, but these distressed, pastel pink jeans are everything. They have just the right amount of “rips” to where they don’t look completely destroyed (I am very particular about the amount of “rippage” in my jeans). These jeans, a white tank, some wedges and some gold jewelry…basically my uniform for spring!

3. Gladiator Sandals

These seem to always be on trend for spring/summer every year. The strappy design on these is perfection, and the gold detailing makes them look dressy, but still casual. Bye, bye, flip flop. Hello brown and gold gladiator sandal.

4. FRINGE

I’ll admit it, I love me some fringe. This cute pink summer scarf is so lightweight you can pair it with your favorite tee or tank for spring, and it has just the right amount of fringe on the edges. Love. This brown bag by Steve Madden is COVERED in fringe, and just gives such a cool and interesting edge to any outfit. I also love fringed tops and this top is amazing. It is a mesh top covered in cream colored fringe. This looks great with jeggings and would also look really cool with distressed denim or white shorts for spring.

5. GEMSTONE JEWELRY

Add a good pop of color to any outfit with some gemstone jewelry. My favorite type of jewelry to wear is earrings, especially earrings with colored gems. The blue and light pink chalcedony drop pairs (see a few pics above) really make an outfit pop. Now, I find when wearing gemstone jewelry, that it works best when you don’t try to match it to your outfit. It’s unexpected to pair a pink dress or top with some teal colored earrings. It looks really feminine and pretty.

Do you like these trends? I don’t know about y’all, but spring and summer clothes are DEFINITELY my favorite! I’m a sundress and sandal kind of girl.

Are yall excited for spring fashion? What trends have you been loving?

Thanks for reading! xx

Must Have Lip Balms

I know you guys love lip balm. I love lip balm, we all love lip balm. Do you guys like those little ball EOS balms? They’re terrible! They feel like wax to me. Why does everyone like those? Maybe I got a bad one? Just wondering.

Lip balm is a necessity because dry, chapped lips just aren’t very cute. Lip balm moisturizes and helps lipsticks to go on smoother. I love both clear and tinted lip balms. I tend to use clear lip balms at night and when I am hanging around the house, and tinted lip balms when I am going somewhere.

I’m a fan of a bold lip…sometimes. Not all the time. You know, play dates and hanging around at kid places…you feel kinda weird rockin a bold lip. For date night, you know, rock that lip.

Anyway.

I like to wear tinted balms. Tinted balms and sheer lipsticks are my favorite. Dior makes this product called Lipglow that I love. It looks pretty sheer in the tube, like a clear pink, but it actually is like a “mood” lipstick kind of and transforms into a pink on your lips that is so flattering. It’s really moisturizing, and duh, it’s Dior. I also love Maybelline Baby Lips. They have a ton of colors and these give a great shiny color while really moisturizing your lips.

Can we take a moment to appreciate the Fresh Sugar Lip Treatments? If you have not tried these, you have to. The smell of them is like lemon cake, and they are just amazing. They come in different colors, and make your lips really smooth and soft. Have y’all heard of MAC’s Tendertones? They release these like every couple of years, and they are these tinted lip balms in pots that are awesome. I stocked up last time and I still have one left. There’s something about using a lip balm in a pot that I just really love. I know most people don’t, but I like it.

Ok, so like I said, I like clear balms too. Is that a Lip Smacker? Uh, yeah. Totally a Lip Smacker. I actually traded my three year old daughter a NYX Butter Gloss for this Lip Smacker in Confetti Sprinkles. True story. This Lip Smacker smells like straight up cake and I wanted it. lol. But Lip Smackers have always been a good, moisturizing lip balm. She likes the glosses better anyway.

Burts Bees is a great lip balm also. This one doesn’t give much shine, but it gives that minty feel and really helps repair chapped lips. My husband JJ is addicted to this. Guys can use it too! It also comes in different colors and flavors. So, I also love the Dior Creme de Rose. I wish I didn’t, but alas, it is amazing. Slather this on before bed, and wake up to the softest smoothest lips ever. I love the retro pot packaging, and hello? It smells just like fresh roses. I’m a sucker for anything rose scented.

So there you have it! My must have balms. What about you? What lip balms are your favorite?

Thanks for reading! xx