Mother's Day Gift Idea From Thymes

Mother’s Day is coming up and I know that I’m definitely looking forward to our little ritual around here -  breakfast in bed, complete with lots of bacon and mimosas, followed by an afternoon of snuggles and the kids on their best behavior. It is one day out of the year that I feel completely spoiled and I love it.

I know that not all moms are as lucky as I am though, for various reasons – and I don’t ever want to forget about those moms who may be by themselves on that special day, so I try to think about doing something a little special for them – one mom in particular – and I've found Thymes.  

I was given the opportunity to gift some products to another Momma that may need some extra love this Mother’s Day and I picked some products from Thyme’s Aqua Coralline line. The scent is a mixture of pure water lily, dewy white cyclamen, crisp driftwood, brilliant lemon pulp and intriguing bamboo. 

The Aqua Coralline Body Scrub is also Allure’s 2014 Best of Beauty Award Winner.

"Thymes is known for creating beautiful, one-of-a-kind fragrances. They take pride in thoughtfully curating every product and infusing touches of charm to make them truly special and uniquely Thymes."

About Thymes:

Nearly 30 years ago, Thymes was founded by two friends with a mutual curiosity and a common desire to make something meaningful and beautiful. Since then, the company has flourished thanks to a shared passion for creativity, botanical ingenuity, beauty and friendship. 

Today, they’re an independent company committed to artisan craftsmanship and dedicated to deepening connections through a love of fragrance — and, most of all, to creating fragrances that enrich the quality of your daily experience.

Thymes fragrances are crafted in their on-site fragrance studio,

where chemists and perfumers blend nature, art and science to create outstanding products.

They strive to design fragrances that balance familiarity and

intrigue, rooted in botanical perfumery — nature, refined with

a sophisticated air. They are dreamers and doers, dedicated

artisans driven to create beautiful things for others to discover, appreciate and share. 

Thymes has always formulated fragrances with the utmost of care. Drawn from nature, their unique formulations are artfully crafted to create products that are skin-compatible, environmentally friendly, effective and a pleasure to use.

Thymes opts for natural, high quality, plant-based ingredients instead of chemical ingredients whenever possible. They use botanical extracts with health enhancing nutrients, vitamins and vital antioxidants.

Mother’s Day should be a special day for all moms, and Thyme’s has a large variety of products and scents that will make any moms heart melt!

Right now if you buy $25 or more through Thymes you can receive a free Fragrance Studio Sample kit (includes 15 fragrances)!

~Melissa

Little girl growing up.

I made it through my crazy month of work! Today is my first day at home, with no schedules; no deadlines (until tomorrow!) and Wayne took the two little ones up to the Ag Fest in Portland so it was just Anika and I for a few hours. We made some delicious red velvet brownies that I’ll be sharing on here tomorrow and then I helped her pick out an outfit for a middle school dance she’s going to attend this evening.

She wanted me to take her over to her best friend’s house for a couple of hours before the dance so they could “hang out” (aka get ready and gossip!) and even though I was enjoying time with just the two of us I caved in and let her go over – but not without a couple of pictures first.

After I dropped her off and arrived back home I sat down for a moment and thought. It’s been so busy lately that I haven’t had much opportunity to do that, and I couldn’t help but think on how fast the kids are all growing – they’ll all be in school full time this fall – and how much my little girl is turning into a young lady.

She’s just finished up her first semester in middle school along with her first experience having finals in each class. She’s only a year and a half away from becoming a teenager. Where did the time go?

I’m glad I took those photos of her, and even though it was more of a twirl, a smile, and a “Can we go now?” moment at the time – she’ll thank me someday for capturing these moments that she can pass down to her daughters, and she’ll understand what a huge milestone it is – for the both of us – as I watch this little girl growing up. 

~Melissa

How to Style Your Hair and Create Perfect Curls

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CollectiveBias #HeartMyHair 

Good morning everyone! I hope your weekend went well! I had a bunch of fun Saturday night with my friend at the food festival for a girl’s night out (I’ll share pictures soon!) and enjoyed having the opportunity to dress up and do my hair. Most of the time I’m finding myself wearing yoga pants more and more, and even though I do my makeup most mornings, not much happens to my hair. Having a reason to fix my hair was really nice, and I decided to throw some curls in it and enhance my wild-child look. It’s a funny thing – for so many years when I was younger I tried so hard to be someone I wasn't. I’d dye my hair colors that weren't even close to my natural color, or I’d cut or always have to change my hair styles or straighten my hair which is naturally pretty big an wavy. Luckily I've grown to embrace who I am and how I look and am not trying to visually be someone I’m not.

To be completely honest, even though I feel like I’m sort of a closest beauty junkie (I seriously have way too many products covering my bathroom ) I hadn't updated a couple of the most import beauty tools – my hairdryer and curling irons! Then I found these new Conair products, first the InfinitiPro by Conair® 3Q™ Brushless Motor Dryer which is AMAZING! I hadn't updated my hairdryer in like…..a decade (really) and when I switched I realized just how much time I wasted trying to get my hair dry! This dried my hair so fast and it didn't frizz as much as it normally does when I blow dry it. 

The second item is The Infiniti Pro by Conair® Curl Secret. All I can say is it’s an amazing new product that gave the curls I wanted incredibly fast!

First thing I always do is gently towel dry my hair, then add any products that I want. This is generally a good leave-in conditioner and a root lifter if I’m really styling it. Next I will dry it and will use the Conair Professional Round Brush to lift and dry my roots and bangs, then will use the Conair Velvet Paddle Brush to dry the rest of my hair in a downward position

After my hair is dry I then section it off…in other words I’ll clip all but one section of it up so I only work on one part at a time. I then use The Infiniti Pro by Conair® Curl Secret – all you have to do is take a small section of hair (about ½-1 inch width) and clamp the Curl Secret on. It draws the hair to it and curls it incredibly fast. I continue to do this throughout my hair, letting more pieces down as needed until I have the curls I want all over. I then always finish up with a strong hairspray.

I have this crazy cowlick up by my bangs, so 99% of the time you’ll see my hair parted just off the side a little, and I normally will always have side bangs. When I curl my hair I’ll often pin my bangs back with a couple of Conair Bobby Pins – I always buy the 90 pack because I always seem to lose them! Please tell me I’m not the only one? 

And there you have it – how I created my girl’s night out curls in just a few minutes with some amazing salon quality products! You can find them in the hair care aisle in Walmart.

So, the question is – which do you prefer for a night out, silky and straight or crazy and curly? ;)

~Melissa

#ThatsMyKid and This is Their Style

Yesterday we did it. We went down and registered Anika for Jr. High. I can't believe that my baby girl is now officially in middle school. She has always been strong willed and a self starter, but I know that the thought of middle school is scary for her right now. She's not sure what to expect and it's a big change.

Last week we got a letter from the grade school letting us know who Emma's new teacher will be. She about jumped through the roof when she found out that her first grade teacher will be the same teacher she had in Kindergarten. I knew that her teacher would be switching grades, but I thought she was moving to second grade, not first. Emma is so happy to have her for one more year and so am I - my little sweet and shy girl takes a long time to open up and get comfortable in situations, and I knew that first grade was going to be scary for her because this is the first year she will be gone for the entire school day - in Kindergarten she just did half days. Having the same teacher will hopefully put her nerves at ease a bit.

And then there's Noah - my little man. He's excited about going back to preschool again and getting to have out with his buddies. He's such an easy going little boy, so happy and carefree. He always has a smile on his face and is obsessed with anything that is orange or has wheels. He's at that age where he still wants to snuggle his momma in the mornings and I cherish them, because I know those days are numbered.

These are my kids. Their personalities are so different and I love that about them. Their individuality is sometimes difficult for me though because there isn't one way that is better than the other when it comes to raising kids - each one truly is unique.

The one thing I can do though is let them express themselves through their wardrobe. The girls and I recently did some school clothes shopping at JCPenny and I let them pick out the outfits they loved. As long as it's age appropriate I don't mind the colors or patterns that they wear, because it's giving them control over something - it's allowing them to make their own decisions. 

Anika fell in love with this blue dress and I was surprised because she's never really been much of a girly girl, but I think it looks absolutely adorable on her. Emma is still in the phases of all things pink, sparkly and princess, and she pulls it off nicely. She picked out this shirt not even knowing that is says "Wonder"... perhaps she'll be her own little Wonder Woman someday.

I took a few pictures of the girls outside of our grade school before school begins as it's sort of a big year, one daughter leaving grade school behind as the other one enters. It makes me happy and sad at the same time. 

As different as they are, there are still times when these silly kids get a long really well and I hope that their relationship always stays like that. I hope that they can appreciate their differences and love each other no matter what. 

These guys have all their clothes ready to start school off feeling independent and happy. These are my kids - and I love them more than anything else on earth.

When It Fits, You Feel It.        

 www.jcpenney.com/backtoschool

                                                                                            ~Melissa

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by JCPenney via Mode Media.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of JCPenney.

Mint Green for Spring

Today I had a much needed lazy day. I don't know if it's just me or not, but it seems to be the days when I finally slow down that I realize how tired I am, and I feel so much more exhausted trying to relax! This weekend though we don't have any plans really, other than working a little at home and such - besides Anika. My little lady is a lucky girl because one of my friend's ended up with an extra ticket to the Seattle Mariners game Sunday and she invited her to ride up with their whole family. Needless to say Anika hasn't slept well the past two nights because she is so excited! I'm so happy she gets to have this experience.

About this dress - I bought it a couple months ago on a whim from some little store in the mall because I just fell in love with the mint green color. I'm also loving the maxi dress + jean jacket look and it's so comfortable as well.

PS. Love that little tree in the background? Haha! It's been in the pot forever, and just recently broke the pot and began toppling over. We need to dig it up and either replant it or get rid of it... just one more little thing on my to-do list. ;)

~Melissa