Baby Blanket for Our Little One on the Way

In about 2 months, we'll be welcoming a little one into our family. I had a few things I needed to get made before she arrives, and I started with this blanket. The middle patterned fabric is some I got at Walmart awhile ago. If your Walmart looks anything like the ones here, the fabric section is almost empty thanks to the pandemic. The blue dotted, orange dotted, and solid pink fabric is from Hobby Lobby, and I got it a couple weeks ago.

We don't have the nursery set up yet (working on that this week!), so here's the blanket laid out on our guest bed.

I didn't create a tutorial for this project since I'm just focused on getting things done right now and checked off the list before I go into labor! Here's a rough sketch with rough measurements in case you want to make a similar blanket. I did a 1/2 seam allowance, and that's included in the measurements. You might want to ignore the three measurements at the very top and just focus on the measurements on the actual sketch.

After finishing the blanket, I completed a few more nursery projects. Now we just need to put together the crib and set up the nursery!

Video: Mask Makeup: Rosy, No Foundation Look Using Julep Products

I've been going foundation free quite a bit this summer since I've been wearing a mask (isn't 2020 weird?!). Here's a simple look I've been doing using Julep makeup products. Julep Products Used: ✹Blank Canvas Mattifying Treatment Primer ✹It’s Balm Full-Coverage Lip Crayon in Shades Sepia Mauve Creme and Blossom Pink Creme ✹It’s Whipped Matte Lip Mousse in Shade: Pillow Talk ✹Cushion Complexion Foundation + Concealer in Shade ✹Skip the Brush Blush Crème-to-Powder Blush Stick in Shades: Passionfruit and Sheer Glow ✹When Pencil Met Gel Eyeliner in Shade: Rich Brown ✹Finishing Brush

 

Video: Little Red River at JFK Campground | Heber Springs, Arkansas

Last week we went with my parents for a day and a half to the Little Red River at the John F. Kennedy Campground in Heber Springs, Arkansas. This video shows just a snippet of the area. In addition to the campground and river, there’s a visitor center, dam, fish hatchery, and Collins Creek you can visit at this location. There's also a swimming area nearby on Greers Ferry Lake. On this trip we took my parents' small camper to have a place to relax, eat, and use the restroom. There are public restrooms and picnic areas available. We didn't sleep overnight as we wouldn't all fit in the camper. My parents have a house in Greers Ferry which is nearby so we drove back there for the night. My parents have a discount to all U.S. Corps of Engineers campgrounds, so they reserved a camping space so we could all really enjoy our two days at the river and relax. I'm six months pregnant, so it was nice to have air conditioning available in the camper when I started swelling and to have a place to sit and nap when we got a rainstorm on the second day. My parents brought our daughter camping here last month, and she absolutely loved it. Info on JFK Park (and why it's named after JFK): https://www.arkansas.com/heber-springs/sports-recreation/john-f-kennedy-recreation-area-campground JFK Campground: https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/232613?q=John%20F%20Kennedy Collins Creek: https://www.arkansas.com/heber-springs/sports-recreation/collins-creek

Video: Quarantine Complexion Using Wet n Wild Makeup

I haven't been wearing much makeup since COVID19 hit the United States. I haven't left the house much, and when I do, I wear a mask. This is one of the looks I've been sporting when I do wear makeup. I haven't been wearing mascara, since the steam (ha!) from my mask makes my mascara melt. In this video I used five makeup products from Wet n Wild and one of their brushes. Wet n Wild is extremely affordable and makes so many products I love to use. What are your favorite Wet n Wild products? Products Used: -Wet n Wild Photofocus Stick Foundation in Shell Ivory -Wet n Wild Megaglo Makeup Stick Contour in Where's Walnut? -Wet n Wild Flat Top Brush -Wet n Wild Megalast Lip Color in Spiked with Rum -Wet n Wild Coloricon Brow Pencil in Blonde Moments -Wet n Wild Megalast Liquid Catsuit Matte Lipstick in Rebel Rose

Family Vacation in St. Louis (with video)

Back in October, we went to St. Louis for a few days for a little family vacation and to celebrate Harlow turning five a few days later.

What we did (in order in the video):

--Grant's Farm: It's technically free, but you have to pay for parking (sooo, it's not really free). It was cool to see the horses, but most of our time was spent waiting in line to get in and waiting in line to get out. You can't just walk in and out like a theme park. You have to ride a tram through woods, which means you get to see wild animals, but we felt a little trapped once we got in. The food choices weren't great for people with food allergies or children, and it was very crowded. We probably won't be back.

--St. Louis Zoo: We loved it and spent a full day there! We have a Little Rock zoo membership, so we got a discount to the things that cost money (children's zoo, train, pet stingrays, ride carousel), but entry to the rest of the zoo is free for all. Check to see if your hometown zoo membership gets you perks to other zoos like St. Louis. We would definitely go back.

--Fozzie's Sandwich Shop: I got the Club Veg sandwich, and it was one of the best things I've ever eaten.

--St. Louis Science Center: Admission is free, and we parked for free on the planetarium side. We explored that side first then walked the sky bridge over to the other side. There's so much to do, and I couldn't believe it was free. The food was expensive and terrible and they didn't get our order right. We were starving and had to have lunch here, but I would try to plan around not being here during a meal.

--Gateway Arch National Park: We went into the basement to see the museums and visit the shop. We didn't go up into the Arch, because it was pricey, and I wasn't sure how we would do in the little pods. We might try it when she's older. There was still a lot to see, and it was free. We got yummy snacks while we were here.

--We drove over the state line to say that we had been in Illinois..haha. There wasn't anything on that side of town, and it was sadly pretty rundown.

--Trattoria Marcella: Colin got lasagna and loved it. I got fried chicken livers on risotto, and I still dream about that meal. It was a cozy atmosphere, and our waitress was incredible. I want to go back to St. Louis just for this meal.

--The City Museum: This was the most we spent on an activity (since the rest were free or discounted!) on this trip. It was so fun! We could have spent more time there. We were there more than half a day, and it wasn't enough, but we had to drive back home. We should have dressed in clothes that we didn't care messing up and should have brought knee pads and gloves (they sell them but we didn't buy them). We would definitely go back. We didn't pay extra for the roof, because we were told it was for kids that were a little older, and it turned out we wouldn't have had time.

There weren't any baseball games when we went, but that would be a fun thing to add to a trip. They were also about to open the new aquarium right after our trip. We had a hotel room with a fridge and microwave so some of our meals could be had there (leftovers and trip to grocery store) to save a little money. I also brought snacks and bottled water to keep in my backpack/purse to have at all of our outings. We would 100% go back for another family vacation to St. Louis.