There are some new and exciting things coming to the SWS Etsy Shop!  I've been making my own paper garlands for just about every holiday for months now, and I finally decided to add some to the Etsy shop.  So hop on over there (by clicking here) and check them out.



There will be more designs added soon, including St. Louis Cardinals garland (gasp!).  Stay tuned.....

I love Easter.  It's one of my favorite holidays, and we couldn't have asked for better weather this Easter.

On Saturday, we met the Easter Bunny for the very first time.  She had the same reaction to the Fred Bird four months ago.

We finished the afternoon with a little Easter egg hunting in the park, and browsing through the Tower Grove Farmer's Market.  \







I spent the rest of the afternoon baking Easter treats like a crazy person getting ready for our big Easter lunch the next day.



On Sunday, my little Funny Bunny loved her Easter basket.  She promptly removed the books from her basket first.  This kid loves books.




After church we had a big family Easter lunch, followed by more Easter goodies for Katherine.  I successfully made my first big holiday meal, with only a few minor mishaps.  All in all, I call it a success.  


I hope everyone had a great Easter Sunday filled with family, love, and yummy goodies!  

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned my favorite make-up products (link to that post here).  I mentioned how a comment made in high school led to my interest in make-up and hair styling.

Let me start off by saying that I have very very thick hair.  For years, no hair care products worked on my thick hair.  When I straightened my hair, it wouldn't stay straight.  When I curled my hair, it wouldn't stay curled.  I was introduced to Big Sexy Hair by a college roommate and I've never looked back.  I LOVE Big Sexy Hairspray.  I can't say it enough.  It works so great on my hair.  I can keep any style for days with Big Sexy.  Love.

I got some Paul Mitchell products for Christmas and I'm still using them.  I love the shampoo and moisturizer.  Dove Leave-In Foam and Moroccan oil leave my hair super soft, and in between shampoos I love Dove dry shampoo.    

Again, I'm not a professional hair stylist/expert.  These are just my favorite products that work really well for me.  

1.  Paul Mitchell Clarifying Shampoo
2.  Paul Mitchell Moisture Super-Charged Moisturizer
3.  Organix Moroccan Argan Oil
4.  Big Sexy Hair Mousse
5.  Dove Oxygen Moisture Leave-In Foam
6.  Dove Invigorating Dry Shampoo
7.  Big Sexy Hairspray

As far as hair tools go, I once again have to turn to the higher end salon brands to style my thick hard-to-manage hair.

1.  Hot Tools 1-1/2" Curling Iron
2.  Hot Tools 1" Curling Iron
3.  Chi Flat Iron

For more ideas on skin and hair care, I love this blog.

I love trying new beauty products and hearing other people's favorite products.  What are your favorite beauty products?

Yesterday we took Katherine to the zoo for the very first time.  It was the first stop of a long list of places in St. Louis that Katherine will visit this summer.  We live in a great city with lots of awesome stuff to do and see and I'm embarrassed to say that we rarely take advantage of such opportunities.

{"Impressed zoo face"}

Easter is one of my favorite holidays.  I love the bright colors and warmer weather (hopefully!).  Our house is finally looking springy (that's a word right?) and ready for Easter.

I made another glitter paper garland with spring colors, and I scored some awesome finds on my last trip to Dollar General.







I found the awesome glitter Easter eggs and egg tree at Dollar General (random!) while on a storage bin run.  They were a great find and at only $1, I couldn't get them in my basket fast enough!  Putting them in glass vases with a little green paper "grass" was an easy and inexpensive way to decorate for Easter.  The egg tree was only $3!

I made yet another wreath for the front door.  This time, I went with a simple spring wreath.  Everything for the wreath came from Hobby Lobby (at half off!).  I love the simplicity of this wreath.
I'm so ready for Easter and all things spring!  

My love of resale began years ago.  I remember my mom taking me to consignment shops where I would find the name brands of clothing that everyone at my school wore.  My mom would buy them for me and I'd keep it a secret where I bought them.  I didn't want to be labeled for shopping resale.

When I got to college, I discovered thrift shops.  I would shop at Goodwill and the Salvation Army for random things that you couldn't find just anywhere.  I even dabbled in vintage shops.  My interest in resale didn't go much farther than that. 

It wasn't until I moved to St. Louis that my interest became something more.  I was looking for a job after college and randomly answered a job posting for a consignment shop (learn more about that here).  It wasn't until I started working there, that I realized what a big industry the resale business actually is.  I learned from my boss and co-workers about other resale shops in St. Louis.  Before too long I was visiting them all on a regular basis.  I could honestly say I had visited a vast majority of the resale shops in St. Louis.  I was able to go to a NARTS (Association of Resale Professionals...I know right?) workshop, where I learned even more about this bumming industry.  Before too long, I was on to bigger and better things (read about that here), and found myself working for a non for profit resale shop.  I feel like I became a real "resale professional" at this job.  I even got to attend a NARTS conference, where I spent three days learning about the resale/consignment/NFP business.  I really saw this as my career and I feel like it could've been, but that's another story for another time.

One of the things I love about resale (besides it's affordability) is that you can find very nice things at very low prices.  I especially love NFP (non for profit) stores.  When you spend money at these shops, the money goes to help a certain organization or cause.

St. Louis has so many resale shops, that I can't even count them or visit all of them (although that is a tempting challenge).  If you live in St. Louis or are planning to visit, here are some awesome resale shops to visit (I'll link each shop with their website):

Children's Resale
Kangaroo Kids Favorite! You can also find breastfeeding support groups here!
Purple Cow You can get lots of designer and higher end items here!
Sprung Favorite! This is a non-profit store full of awesomeness.

Women's Resale
Rung Favorite! This is a non-profit connected to Sprung.  Perfect for mother-daughter/son shopping!
Upscale Resale Higher end items with a higher price tag.
Women's Closet Exchange Get your designer items here!

Teen's Resale
Dos Favorite! Love this little gem in the heart of Clayton! Great prices too!
Clique Find higher end and designer brands here.
Refresh  Another awesome non-profit.

Furniture Resale
Second Sitting If you see it here, buy it!  It may not be there tomorrow.
Consign and Design Favorite! If Pinterest had a store, this would be it!
Garvey Decor Allow plenty of time to shop this store!  They've got lots of stuff!

A Little Bit of Everything
The Scholar Shop Favorite! And this shop has TWO locations! Also a non-profit.
Ditto This non-profit has everything!  Women's, men's, children's, teen's furniture, home decor!
The Resale Shop Another non-profit!


Here are some national chain stores that are also full of great finds:

Goodwill Everything!
Plato's Closet Teen's
Once Upon a Child Kid's
Avalon Exchange Teen's, Women's, Men's, Vintage
Hut No. 8 Teen's
Red Racks Everything!

Again, there are so many resale shops in St. Louis that there are lots of awesome shops that I haven't even visited yet.  This list doesn't even cover all of the great vintage shops in St. Louis.  I'll save that list for another day....

What are your favorite resale shops?

In high school, someone once told me I'd "look a lot better if I put on make-up once in a while and learned to fix my hair."  True story.  At the time I thought I looked fine.  The truth is, I didn't wear a lot of make-up.  I did fix my hair.  That comment has stuck with me for years.  I still remember who said it and I remember where I was when it was said.

When I went to college, I started experimenting with make-up a little more.  As an adult, I got into the higher end cosmetic products.  Now that I'm a stay at home mom, I don't want to fall into the habit of not wearing any make-up products at all.  If I do, I hear those words from high school in my head.

These days, I use a "cost per wear" excuse when buying my favorite products.  The more expensive brands are items I don't wear every day so they, in turn, last longer.  (Or so I'm telling myself and my husband.)    

I am not a beauty expert or consultant, I'm just sharing what products I like and what works for me.

These items are my everyday products.  I use these products almost every single day whether I'm out running errands or just hanging around the house.  I always feel a little better about myself if I have some kind of make-up on my face.

1.  Clinique stay-matte sheer pressed powder I love pressed powder for quick coverage.
2.  Nars bronzer I apply bronzer every single day of the year.  This one is my favorite, but it is a little on the pricey side.  I try to make it last as long as possible.
3.  mark. blush I like this blush from Avon.  It also comes in a magnet reusable compact.
4.  Nivea A Kiss of Shimmer lip balm I bought this to have in the hospital after I had Katherine.  I wanted a lip balm that also had a tiny hint of color.  I love this one for every day.
5.  Maybelline the Rocket Volum' Express mascara I've tried lots of different mascaras over the years, from drugstore brands to expensive brands.  My favorite always has been and always will be Maybelline.

I also use Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream every day instead of moisturizer.

For days (or nights) when I want to wear a full face of make-up, these are my go-to products.    

1.  Urban Decay Naked Basics  Love.  That's all I have to say.  This pallet is a little more expensive, but I don't use it every day so it's lasting a long time.  
2.  Yves Saint Laurent Pop Stick Blush I got this blush stick as a gift a while back, and thank goodness.  It's expensive!  But I love the color, it lasts all day and night, and the pop up stick is super convenient.
3.  Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3 in 1 Foundation I'm not a foundation person.  I've never really worn it.  I didn't like the way it made my skin feel heavy.  I had read lots of great reviews about this foundation, so I tried it.  It's a primer, concealer, and foundation in one and it has SPF 20.  I absolutely love it.  You don't need a primer or concealer and it feels so light.  You can't beat the price either.
4.  Benefit Watt's Up highlighter I'm new to the world of "highlighters," but I love this product.  I don't use this product every day either, so the higher price tag is worth it.
5.  Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick I love a good old fashion lipstick.  Nothing fancy or that stays on for days, just normal lipstick.  This one is one of my favorites, and because the price it awesome I can buy them in almost every color!  Almost.
6.  Sonia Kashuk Barely There Loose Powder I use this if I'm setting my foundation, but because the Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous Foundation is awesome, I don't use this powder as much as I used to.

I've recently switched to Nars blush (I got a Sephora giftcard for Christmas) and I love it!  This blush is awesome and stays in place all day.
My favorite places to buy make-up are Sephora and Ulta.  I could live in either store, I love them so much.  I have membership cards to both places, allowing me to rake in points for each purchase.

I love trying new products and hearing how other people like certain products.  A great way to find out if a product is worth buying is searching for reviews on YouTube or Pinterest!

I'm going to try to continue to "look better" by "putting on make-up" and "fixing my hair."

I haven't done a "What I'm Loving" post in a looooong time.  Now that Spring is finally here (sort of), my Winter Blahs are finally gone and I'm feeling so much more productive.

**I'm loving the springish weather.  I say that as the snow that fell this week is melting.  Lately we've had a day of beautiful warm weather, followed by several days of cold temps, wind, and snow.  I'm hoping we've seen the last of winter, but I'm not holding my breath.  For now, we'll take any warm days we can get!

**Speaking of Spring, I'm loving spring cleaning.  After a brutal winter of staying inside looking at all of the stuff we've accumulated, it was time to clean.  I spent the weekend cleaning the basement.  After two days of cleaning and purging unwanted and unneeded items, I feel a sense of accomplishment.  I hauled off a carload of clothes to Rung, and household items to Goodwill.  There's just something about Spring that makes me want to clean and get rid of stuff.  See this post for helpful tips and hints on donating and consigning your unwanted items.

**I'm loving our new couch.  After ten years, two dogs, and a baby, it was time to say goodbye to our old tired couch.  We finally found the perfect couch for our living room and I couldn't be happier.

**And finally, I'm loving these Ball Mason Jar Sip and Straw Lids.  I loved straws and  Mason Jars before it was cool.  Everything tastes better in a Mason Jar.  I was browsing through the kitchen department at Target the other day when I stumbled upon these little gems.  I love them.  It's the perfect way to drink out of my trusty Mason Jar with a lid and straw.  Not to mention they were in a pack of 4 for only $5 at Target!

Happy Wednesday!