April 2020 – The Hustlin’ Homemaker

April Beauty Faves

Hello! I’m gonna be honest, I don’t have a lot to write about right now, or a lot of time to write. My kids are with me 24/7 and I’ve gotta entertain them! But, they are asleep right now, so I figured I would work on my April Beauty Faves!

Here they are!

The faves this month were mostly skincare. I haven’t tried any new makeup and I haven’t been wearing a lot of makeup, to be honest.

So first off is this huge bottle of Dr. Teals Pink Himalayan Foaming Bath. For some reason, it’s hard to find bubble bath, so I always buy this from my local grocery store. I love the smell of it, and one capful makes a TON of bubbles. I like to take baths at night sometimes and this makes my skin really soft. It’s also really affordable and it comes in other scents.

Next is this Aveeno Skin Relief Overnight Cream aka MY FOOT CREAM. I walk around barefoot pretty much all the time, my home has stained concrete flooring, and I just don’t like wearing shoes. So, you can imagine that my feet get dry and rough on the bottom. I apply this to my heels and the bottom of my feet every night and it really helps. It helps with any dry skin. I buy this from Amazon in a 3-pack.

For my face, I have been using this Cerave Skin Renewing Night Cream. This is thick and moisturizing, just what my dry skin needs. Even though it is thick, it doesn’t feel greasy, and my skin looks so soft in the morning. I also like that it is fragrance free, and Cerave never breaks me out.

Lastly for skin is this retinol eye cream from The Inkey List. This is an affordable newish brand from Sephora that has a bunch of different skincare products. I love eye cream in a little tube like this (as opposed to a jar). You just need the teeniest amount under your eyes and my eyes look brighter and it also helps with the fine lines because of the retinol. I use this in the morning and also at night and I’ve seen a difference!

A few weeks ago, I did a full blog post on this lip combo, but I am still loving it! I haven’t been wearing full makeup, but a little lipstick and mascara just makes me feel good. This is the Clinique Chubby Stick in Whole Lotta Honey and the Marc Jacobs lip liner in Slow Burn. These two together are moisturizing lip perfection. My lips but better paradise.

I also haven’t given up on my nails (I could never!). I’ve been loving the Essie Expressie Quick Dry Nail Color in In The Time Zone. I have a full blog post on it here. It dries super quick, and I love this neutral pink!

Lastly for the hair, I had this sample sized Alterna Caviar CC Cream that I am almost out of. Even though it was a sample, it’s lasted me pretty much all month! It is a leave in conditioning cream that helps with 10 different things, including smoothing and protecting your hair from heat. I love the citrusy smell and it really makes my hair so smooth! I can’t wait to buy the full size.

Alright, well that does it for the April Faves this month. Hope you guys enjoyed it!

Thanks for reading!

EAT | Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hello! If there’s one thing I love to do, it’s bake cookies! I have a ton of cookie recipes here on my blog, but I realized that I didn’t have my oatmeal cookie recipe posted. Today I am making the oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips, but I really prefer raisins. I love raisins, but wanted to try them with chocolate chips since I had some. Here’s how to make them.

What you need:

1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
2 cups oats
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (or raisins)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Cream together your butter and sugars.

Add in your eggs and mix together.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, oats, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.

Mix this together really good, and then add it in slowly to wet mixture 1/2 at a time.

Continue to mix until it’s all combined, and then remove bowl from mixer and gently fold in your chocolate chips (or raisins!).

Roll into about 1 inch balls and place on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until ever so slightly browned on the edges. We want soft and chewy cookies!

Perfect!

Are you team chocolate chip or team raisin? Let me know in the comments below!

MORE COOKIE RECIPES!

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

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How To: At Home Manicure!

Hello! Since nail salons are closed, I thought I would share how to do an at-home manicure! I prefer to do my own nails, so this is what I do every week (sometimes twice a week) when I change my nail color.

What you need:

Nail clippers

Nail file
Cuticle tool
Nail buffer
Nail polish remover
Nail color
Top coat
Cuticle oil or cream

The first thing you want to do is clip and file your nails. You want to make sure they are all the same shape and length, and get rid of any jagged edges.

Next, you will use your cuticle tool (or orange stick) to gently push back your cuticles. I don’t trim my cuticles(ouch), I just push them back.

Then I use my buffing tool to gently buff them. I use the harshest side to smooth them out and get rid of any ridges or tears.

Ok, now it’s time to swipe the nails with remover. I use acetone because it works the best. I take a q-tip and quickly swipe over the nails. This dehydrates the nail and helps the nail polish to adhere better and avoid chipping.

Ready to paint!

I don’t typically use a base coat. I know, probably bad, but I just don’t feel like it makes that big of a difference.

I start with my left hand, and then so my right. I am using Essie Bikini So Teeny, a periwinkle blue with a subtle glitter. A summer classic. I usually do 2-3 coats on each nail, letting each coat dry in between for a few minutes.

After that is dry, I finish off with my top coat, and let dry for a solid hour. I usually do this at night after the girls go to bed, so I don’t have to touch anything (JJ is in charge of getting me snacks during this time, haha).

After they are very dry, I always apply a hand cream or lotion because the acetone dries out the skin around my nails.

And that’s it! It’s pretty easy, and with practice, you’ll be a pro!

Thanks for reading! xx

My Lockdown Lip Combo

Hi from day 31 of “social distancing”.

Even though we are home, I still like to get dressed, do my hair, and put on makeup. I don’t do it everyday, but it really does make me feel better and somewhat normal!

I’ve been loving these two lip products combined so much I just wanted to share them!

So first is this lip pencil from Marc Jacobs called Slow Burn. Love the packaging, love the name, and LOVE the color!

It is so creamy and smooth, and the color lasts ALL DAY! It is the perfect “my lips but better” matte rosy mauve color.

I like to line my lips with the pencil, and then fill them in with this Clinique Chubby Stick in Whole Lotta Honey. I love lip products that are a twist up crayon shape like this. This one is a shiny rose brown color, and is so moisturizing and shiny! It looks great over the liner.

Here are the swatches:

What lip products have you been loving lately?

Thanks for reading!

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Easter | Traditions + Basket Ideas

Hello! This Sunday is already Easter, and even though we won’t be able to go visit with our families like we normally do, we are still planning a fun Easter celebration.

When the girls get up in the morning, they open up their baskets, and I usually make a fun breakfast for them, like cinnamon rolls with pastel colored icing, or waffles with sprinkles inside.

This Easter, since we have time, I will be making my Baked Donuts. Instead of using nutmeg and cinnamon, and dipping them into cinnamon sugar like I did here, I will be making a pastel colored glaze out of powdered sugar and milk to go over the top of them. Here’s the recipe.

We always do an Easter egg hunt for them, putting little chocolates, stickers, erasers, stamps, coins, dollar bills…just anything we can fit into the little plastic eggs. We hide them in the front and back yards, and they love to run around and find them. We have about 75 eggs.

I also do a “mystery egg” for each of them, where I give little clues like a word jumble or a riddle. This is like a scavenger hunt that leads to toy or fun surprise.

Here are the clues I have for this year! Feel free to use them for your kids! I cannot take credit for them, I found them online.

I will cut each of these out and hide them. I tape the first clue to their basket. Keep in mind that the last clue is where you will hide the surprise.

At the end of the mystery egg hunt, I have a big surprise for them. I got them each one of these LOL dolls that they have REALLY been wanting. They’re going to flip when they see these.

We are also planning to barbecue and dye these little plastic eggs I found (since it’s hard to find REAL eggs to dye).

Now onto the baskets! I always go overboard, but my little princesses deserve it. They are my sweet girls!

Here’s what I got them this year.

I got them each these books that teach you how to draw things. Both girls love to draw, so they will love these. Ashley will get the Cute Stuff one and Allie will get the Animal one.

Next, I got them each a chapter book. Phoebe and Her Unicorn for Ashley, Candy Fairies for Allie.

Next, just some little notepads. They love to put these in their bags or take them into the car so that they have something to do.

Next, a new toothbrush. The girls love to get a new one, so I thought they would like these since they are OBSESSED with LOL dolls. These have timers too so they help with brushing long enough.