Real Housewives of New Jersey boots

Tonight's episode was full of cute boots, bags and outfits like I had expected. I love the rain boots Melissa Gorga and Jacqueline Laurita wore on tonight's episode. It is rainy season here in Florida and I have some cute boots I got my girls when we went camping but I would love a pair of Burberry boots. I checked out eBay and found a few pairs for under 80 that were used and around $125-190 new. Super cute and since I am done growing I would invest in a cute fashionable pair for myself. I don't like to buy worn shoes just kind of brings out my germ a phobia lol but I would consider buying a pair online that we're new. Below are some photos similar in brown and black to the ones worn by Melissa and then black equestrian boots similar to ones Jacqueline wore when talking to Caroline.

I will have some posts of purses and love the sweater Melissa wore to meet Theresa on the play date with the girls. Stay tuned and hope everyone enjoyed the season premiere tonight:).


Photos I found on google images from Burberry.

Two rainbows tonight in South Florida

It has been raining like crazy here this passed week but this evening saw a gorgeous treat before sunset, this amazing double rainbow. I managed to click a few pics with my camera and phone here are two from my phone and going to play on my edit programs with photos I got with my camera. Times like these I love having a camera to take amazing shots with. Enjoy and hope everyone had a great weekend.

Melissa

Return of the Real Housewives of New Jersey tonight on Bravo

Tonight is the much anticipated return of the Real Housewives of New Jersey.  I like most of the series of Housewives, the only one I have never really gotten into is New York.  I enjoy the Orange County and New Jersey season's the most, but also like Beverly Hills, Atlanta and since I live in South Florida, Miami.  I got to watch the sneak peek last night of the New Jersey opener that airs tonight.  It starts out showing how hurricane Sandy hit New Jersey and then goes around with the wives as they check out their vacation homes on the shore of Jersey.  I think Theresa's husband is loving the fact he now is able to get work doing what he use to, construction.  I noticed he was wearing shirts with company name and plugging the company last night when I watched the sneak peek.

They then went on to roll the opening credits and then show Theresa at home with her daughter's cleaning out their closets and rooms.  It appears as though they are getting items together to donate to those who lost everything in the hurricane.  Tonight the full episode airs in a few minutes at 9 p.m.  I hope they wear some cute clothes so I can write up a fashion post.  If I know one of my favorite set of housewives like I think I do they should be wearing a lot of super cute things.  Usually everything is last season, since they tape these shows so far in advance, but this season must be from passed 5-6 months since it started before the holidays and I know they just closed taping not that long ago.  Fingers crossed.  Hope everyone enjoys the opening, I loved Melissa Gorga's Burberry rain boots.  Adorable.  Let me know if there is anything the ladies wore that you love.

Melissa

Photo from Bravo tv website.

Nail Polish clean out

I am going thru my polish collection this week, I have some doubles, dupes and colors I never used that I am preparing to get rid of.  I need to clean out my area that I store them plus I could use the extra cash for the summer.  We are going on vacation and I would love to have all the extra cash I can save up before we go.  I have a lot of brands from Indie polish, designer and drug store brands.  I have a Lynnderella polish, called I can Afford it in a green glitter formula that is gorgeous.  I listed it on Ebay but didn't get a huge response.  I remember when these polishes were hard to get and selling for a ridiculous amount of money.  I am thinking of doing a little make me an offer type of thing.   I will list all the polishes and put a date when I will close the sale, then everyone who is interested can message or email me, then I will send invoices for the people who win or make the best offer.   I also am thinking of doing another contest to get more followers for my blog.   I will giveaway a couple of goodie boxes with unused polishes, crack hair fix samples and other beauty samples=).  Let me know if anyone is interested in this.  I know I have seen a few blog sales before so going to check out how they did them, then I will be reposting more details.  If you are interested in getting a few polishes from my collection I have a list of some of my polishes, never got around to finishing it cause I have way too many lol.  I have over 400 nail polishes.  I started my collection a couple years ago and last year I got really into painting and reviewing polishes.  I still buy and paint my nails a lot, just not as much because I was damaging my natural nails with over polishing.  They had started to peel.

Please let any of your followers that collect nail polish or post swatches so they can check out my collection and let me know if there are any colors they need or are looking for.  I won't be asking ridiculous amounts for them, most will be below retail unless it is a discontinued hard to find color, then those will be more like up for bid.  Who ever offers the best price will get the color=).  I will again be posting a post soon with the colors I have that I am getting rid of then you can contact me unless I discover a better, easier way to go about this=).  Also check out my EBay store if you haven't already, so far all my feedback has been positive and everyone loves their Miss Me, True Religion, Guess, Lucky brand items as well as the Ralph Lauren bedding and other misc. items I have listed.  This week going to be listing some more designer jeans brand new with the tags and much more.  If you are looking for something email me I may be able to get it or already have it.  This week will be my lasting listing till after I get back from North Carolina.

Everyone have a great evening,

Melissa

When your teen daughter get's her period

My daughter is 13 almost 14 and for awhile all of her friends have been growing up super fast.  She cheers and I can remember from back when she was 10 her friends getting their periods.  I was amazed how young girls start now, when I was younger 13-15 was the average, now it seems as though 9-12 is average.  My daughter was the last of the group of girls she is friends with to start, she would be mad if she knew I was posting about this but wanted to provide some websites and helpful information for other mom's who are going thru this time.

I have always been super open with my daughters, even my five year old knows about getting your period and what it is some what, because she is always using the restroom with me and I had to explain what was up when I had mine.  I have always had an open door policy with my girls, we talk about everything, I never lock my door when I am in bathroom or showering.  My older daughter comes in when I shower and we talk about her day, they have always been raised to feel comfortable with themselves and with mom about everything.  I feel this is so important, my mom never talked to me about my period or anything about puberty, when I got my first period I was at school and went to the nurse to get a pad, I later was freaked out all day and almost embarrassed to go home and tell my mom, so I went home and when she left I stole pads, I did this for awhile before she busted me and asked, that is how I told her and this was months later.

My daughter and I have been talking about it on and off for a few years since her first friend got her period when my daughter was 10.  She had started to feel she was never going to get her period and I told her be happy, you don't want it lol, it isn't something fun, I remember because I was afraid of tampons up till I gave birth to my first daughter, I would miss the beach, pool days and water parks when I had my period.  I really wanted things to be different with my daughter, I didn't want her to feel awkward to talk about it or feel like anything really changes, it is a big deal, my little girl is growing up and changing before my eyes, but it is also just part of life, we all get it.  When she started hers this week she texted me from school, I had her carrying a little bag in her book bag with a change of underwear, pads and wipes that way she would not have to feel shy going to the school nurse or office to ask for anything.  We had started doing this in 5th grade when the health teacher had a class and the girls all talked about puberty, getting their periods and what to expect.  Over the years we changed the bag up, when we started it was a small ziploc bag that I lined with a paper towel so you could not see what was inside, we used products they gave them at school, samples that Kotex had provided the school with, these samples were amazing, they gave them a little started kit with informative little booklet, wipes and panty liners, then regular pads.

There are a few sites that offer samples, my favorite is the Kotex site, they have pads, liners and tampons, there little sample kit comes with a couple items and not just one sample.  They also have a great site the girls can sign up for and read about other girls experiences, along with reading reviews on products.  I think this is great for young girls who are unsure of what to do, think etc.  Some girls are super shy and won't want to talk to their friends or even maybe their family.  I made sure if I told anyone they knew not to bring it up in front of her, I picked her up from school that day and we went alone together to walmart to grab some essentials.  After our walmart trip we went to eat so we could talk and if she had any questions I could answer them, but because we are so open and talk often she didn't have to many questions or concerns.  So what did we get on our trip you may wonder, if you are going thru this yourself?  I was going to go with out her and grab several small packs of pads in different brands, sizes and absorbencies so she had a selection to try in the beginning, then some comfy cotton panties, snacks, and a magazine.  I ended up figuring this was something she should be a part of and that I would have loved to pick out what I wanted when I was her age so I would bring her with me.

When we got to the store I could see she was a little freaked, almost shy, like wow is my mom making this a special shopping trip, then felt like everyone was watching us.  I made a point to not talk about it and just pretend like we were there to grab what we needed, so I didn't make her feel uncomfortable.  We went to the aisle and I let her browse.  When we were alone on the aisle I asked her what she was drawn to and what she wanted to try, she grabbed the boxes that were bright and colorful, targeted towards teens.  We ended up trying the teen made ones by Kotex, Always regular, some wipes they make by Kotex, that way she can feel clean when she has to be at school all day or has cheer or basketball.  We also got some Motrin, chocolate, new cotton panties so she doesn't have to wear her favorites and also some aren't really made to be worn with pads, she opted against tampons or even trying anything like that, till she feels she is ready and when she needs to if she is going to the beach.  I had read online that you should be sure to make tampons an option for your daughter so she doesn't feel she has to miss out on swimming or beach with her friends.

I get Birchbox and they sent me these cute little Ziploc bags with prints on them awhile back, I used these to put together her latest bag she was carrying in her book bag up until she started, it had a change of panties, a small packet of wipes and 3 pads.  Now she carries change of panties, two wipe packets and three pads every day.  I think this is the first step as a mom you should take, is making sure around the time her friends start getting their periods, which is about 4th and 5th grade now, I know it sounds young but they are starting this time.  Make sure you talk to her about it and let her know it isn't anything to be freaked out about and explain everything you can think of.  You can even ask your pediatrician for information, I know my daughter's doctor had informative pamphlets in the office that she had read when we went for her year check up.  Then put together a little bag so she is ready, something that isn't big, is private and won't stand out if she needs to make a run to the restroom.  I used a plastic bag at first and lined it with a paper towel so you could not see what was inside.  I think it is important they have their own little kit so that way they don't have to feel embarrassed going to the school nurse or teacher to let them know they started, I had major anxiety when I had to let my schoool guidance counselor know when I started mine, I was so scared to say it, but I went to christian school and was raised in a home where stuff like that wasn't talked about and was almost taboo.

I have put together a couple of informative sites, sites that offer samples and more.  Please feel free to comment or contact me too, if you have any questions or anything I can add here for other moms.

Make sure to check out the Kotex site, they have lots of samples of their products as well as a lot of informative info for yourself and your tween/teen daughter.  I love this site and can't express how much info and samples we got that we loved.

Kotex Tween products

Kotex, Get the facts

Always Website

Will have more added sites and links to come.  Hope this was helpful and informative for all mom's of tweens/teens.  This is a time your daughter is really going to need her mom to talk to and it is also a great bonding time.

General Hospital catch up and preview

Hello fellow GH fans, I wanted to take a moment to write a post since I haven't posted much since Franco returned last week. I still am amazed but kinda thought this was who it would be. When I last posted I think they were still on the haunted star, since he has been arrested and is in the holding cell at the Pt. Charles PD. Carly paid him a visit and we left off Friday with Ava, Kiki's mom paying him a visit. Sounds like Franco will stop at nothing to locate his daughter and I have a feeling Ms. Kiki will be rushing to meet him once she discovers he is alive and at the station.

Lulu got her memory back and was I relieved that she was not pregnant by Stavros. I really didn't want to hear that story line. I am sure Maxie has been hoping Lulu wouldn't get her memory back since the baby she is carrying is Spinelli's and hers. I am curious where the writers are going to go with this story line. I still think we will discover Dr. Brit Westbourne's baby is Dante and Lulu's other embryo. I think Ellie is going to be snooping and find this out which will lead to her eventually telling Maxie that will lead to Maxie unveiling the truth about her own baby.

I have read that this week Dr. Drake and Sabrina will have a date which will lead to her and Patrick getting together physically finally. I also read Dr. Drake will get into a fight and he will be diagnosing Samantha Morgan's baby Danny with a illness this month as well. Then the new Dr. Who is fighting Sam got custody of Raffe will help her with Danny once he is diagnosed.

I will continue to post on what I think is coming up and I am working on a fashion post for GH also:). Always love the ladies of Pt. Charles fashion. If you haven't read my previous posts I go more in depth on the Lulu baby story, Dr. Drake and Westbourne baby and the Alexis revealing Samantha's father possibly a Jerome family member? Keep reading and be sure to follow me. If you have a blog let me know I love to follow my readers back. Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Pravana Purple hair dye

I have been coloring my hair cool funky colors for awhile. Back when my oldest daughter was two I decided I needed a change from my blonde plain hair and when I was younger had been red, black, blue and pink, decided to dye the underneath black and then the top was chunky high and low lights of white and black, I wore this for a year and a half then everyone was doing it so decided to do red and blonde. Then I ended up deciding to have another baby so spent a few months removing the red and went with a low maintainer blonde close to my natural color.

Once my youngest was born I went back to dying my own hair again, I was dark, all bleach blonde, then did some pink, purple, teal and even did it rainbow on top for Halloween. Looked like rainbow bright for a month lol. All I did was streak in every other foil using five different fun colors then let it wash out gradually. I had really put my hair thru a beating so decided it was time to look for a new hair lady.

My hair lady had moved to Texas when I was pregnant and after I had my daughter I couldn't afford to pay high prices for highlights and I had started doing the Brazilian Keratin to my hair so I would just color it myself. When bleaching it is hard to do your own hair and not cause damage, you can't tell if you are over lapping areas that have already been bleached and since I was coloring crazy colors I was getting a lot of bleeding of colors and damage. I finally met a lady while doing an event for my baking and party planning business. I was called to do an event for Halloween at a local bar and met the lady who was doing hair and makeup for the fashion show. She is amazing and super talented with coloring. I started going to her and a couple times I threw in a cool accent color or streak, did some cool colors underneath and last season that just passes rocked the purple ombré. I decided this time I wanted to do the entire underneath dark purple and magenta. Kept my light blonde on top and actually had her throw in some extra foils to make it a little lighter for the summer.

My hair isn't damaged as bad as it should be probably but it is dry, I been trying to wear it curly more so I don't have to use blow dryer and flat iron as much, deep condition more and every trip to stylist I get a trim. Trying to grow out my hair so only have her take off a little.

Love my hair, looks amazing, right now the underneath is so dark it almost looks black but as I wash it will look more and more purple then you see chunks of magenta here and there. Love these two colors together and love pravana hair dye, lasts so much longer and is so much brighter then any colors I have ever used:). Love dying my hair different colors, get a lot of remarks and I am sure some people think I'm crazy specially being a mom a lot of other moms judge and talk about you, but I don't really care about what other people think. It's my hair and I love bright colors and changing it up:).

I will warn you when dying your hair like this to be prepared, the color runs and it will stain you, your clothes and your pillows. I have black and purple pillowcases on right now, use a dark towel for my hair when showering and wear a lot of black. A few helpful hints I have learned over the years, shout stain remover and warm water will remove the dye if you get it on your pillow cases, sheets and clothes. Be sure when washing it to use cold water, non sulfate shampoo and dark towels, always make sure the colored or dyed hair is dry before laying in bed, when dyed hair is wet it will stain. Some of you reading are probably like why when it's wet and then why does it run when it is dry, I will tell you the first couple weeks this color runs off in almost everything. My hands are purple my nails, my neck, my ears lol. Every day I have to clean my ears and neck. I have been sick since a few days after getting it colored and had a fever plus been sweating a lot due to being sick, this has made it run even more.

I have white bedding and remove it when I have my hair done till it has been washed several times. I also soak all my brushes and combs in alcohol between uses. My nails were getting purple stains and didn't want to waste my times polishing them only to get all stained up but was embarrassed by the purple stains so I used my Julep polish from last months julep maven box that is a glitter polish. It is Paris by Julep and has gold, multi color glitter that camouflages the purple very good:).

I had a issue last season when I did the ombré with staining my white pillowcase with the purple but warm wash, cold rinse and shout took it right out. I only stained a towel from the beach and two tank tops I sleep in around the collar. You really want to try to use dark towels, dark older pillowcases and wear tops that are black, purple or that you don't love. I also wrap my hair in a scarf if I am wearing a shirt I really love or if it is raining out. You also want to be careful washing your hair, especially if you have light blonde hair like I do, that is why being blonde I only dye tips or underneath, you can not wash your hair in sink or run it all together when it is dyed like this. Color bleeds. When I shower I wear a shower cap that is dark colored and on the days I wash it I usually keep it up till the end of my shower then turn water to cold rinse, shampoo with it sectioned off doing bottom first then blonde last, ring out and towel dry, trying not to wrap purple up on top of the lighter blonde. I know sounds like a pain, and it can be but it is well worth it. Once you get a couple weeks into the color and it has been rinsed a few times the color doesn't rub off as much, it is that first week or two that makes me crazy, being OCD I hate seeing dye all over me and my clothes or pillows, but I just make sure so take precautions and be prepared:).

Below is a photo from the back of my hair taken by my hair dresser. I hope to get the Brazilian keratin done before vacation if not when we get back:). Love not having to worry about frizz and taking an hour to blow dry my thick curly hair. If you wear cool colors in your hair or use pravana dye would love to hear some feed back on your color. Have you experienced running of your color and have any tips to share?

Julep maven box for June 2012

My julep maven box arrived yesterday for June. I added on and changed my box this month. Last month they sent out lipstick and I was sad I didn't change my box from "it girl" to another one because I got my three polishes but no lipstick:(. This month I made sure to preview all the boxes first an glad I made the change. I got two polishes I love, a DD cream and some taffy align with Lexie an add on yellow polish that looks amazing with my two colors in my box this month.

So this month I went with "Bombshell" box and I love the two polish colors I received. Going to paint my nails this week using the colors:). I added on Lexie a gorgeous yellow that is awesome for summer and super bright. I also got Raegan which is a gorgeous bright pink shade and Payton which is a bright green. All three colors are perfect for summer. I got the new Julep DD cream and had a hard time deciding whether to pick light or medium color, since it is summer I tend to be darker then usual but went with light cause I have picked medium before and even with a tan it tends to be too dark for me. Rather it be light then too dark and have a mask face lol.

This box also came with three salt water taffy's. I ate the chocolate as soon as I opened the box so it is missing from the photos lol. I also got lime and strawberry. They are delicious I love salt water taffy reminds me of our vacation over spring break when we were in Daytona Beach:). We are prepping for a summer vacation which is right around the corner. Can't wait to go to North Carolina for a week. Going to be amazing and I love going to the smoky mountains.

Did you get a Julep box this month? If so which one did you receive. I love to hear from other bloggers:). Please comment below and be sure to follow me. For the summer I think I may cancel my julep box since I have so many nail polishes and try out some of the other beauty boxes out there. I currently get julep, Birchbox and Ipsy beauty bag. Love them all but I think since Julep is my most expensive one I may take a little break, I could get two boxes or try the new Boxy charm for the same price. Going to look into it, that is why I added on a polish this month so I could use my Jules points from Julep. Used my points I had been stashing since Christmas and got my box for free. During the holidays I got my daughter a gift set of polishes using my Jules:). Nice reward that adds up every month and you can cash in for items.

Enjoy my Julep box photos below and have a great weekend.