Welcome to the Bauer Spa

One thing that my husband and I try to do, is make everyday things fun. We love to find teachable moments in casual conversations and create experiences our kids will remember. Today, on a lazy Sunday, we went to the pool for playtime with friends and had lunch, but then it began to rain. We planned to give the kids haircuts because the boys were looking pretty shaggy and Amaya hasn't had a haircut in 2 years. I'm always coming up with hair brained schemes, so I said to Jesse, "let's give the kids a day at the salon! Our OWN salon! A Bauer Spa day!" The hubs was on board, so we made it happen. Here are some pictures of our afternoon. The boys got cuts by Daddy the Barber. Mommy gave Amaya a trim and every kid got their nails cut and trimmed. Amaya picked a pretty pink for her toes. I think the Bauer Spa is open for business going forward!

Andy and Amaya after their haircuts. 

Jackson's temporary mohawk.

All finished!

Time for nails

Now that summer is here, I will share my ideas of how to make the most of your everyday chores and make them fun for your kids. Stay tuned for more of our Summer Series!

always,

astreia

Fashion Friday 05.09.14 (on a Sunday)

Hi Everyone! I have been celebrating Mother's Day weekend with my family, so FF is coming a couple days late. Hope you had a great week :)

This week's look is a little "risky" for me and I stepped out of my comfort zone. I took a chance with the top, but it's really cute and could be substituted for something that's a little bit longer.

Check it out: Maxi skirt, jean jacket, and cropped leopard tank.

The red maxi is from Body Central Red Maxi. The jacket is from Old Navy (my favorite jean jacket ever) Denim Jacket and the tank is from Forever 21 and it was $13.80. I couldn't find it on their website, but almost any printed top would work to provide a bit a visual interest. I like the idea of it being a bit flowly so if you have a smaller bust and are self conscious about it, the top distracts from that. Crop tops are popular now but I know not everyone loves them. Here are a few other options:

Tribal Print Tank
Peasant Top
Mixed Print Tank
Zigzag Tank
Dandelion Tank

The shoes are new and are from DSW. They are Carlos Santana and similar to the sandals in last Friday's post. Wedge Sandal. They come in camel and black and I like both colors. I'm trying to push myself to not buy black sandals, because I always buy black sandals. These are pretty cool and can be causal or dressy. The sunglasses are super cute and super cheap from Forever 21. Quite often, inventory moves fast online, but you can find the items in the store or similar items online. Here are a similar pair, but the same low price! Sunnies

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend and an awesome Mother's Day!

always,
astreia

Fashion Friday 05.02.2014

Hi Ladies! It's the First Fashion Friday of May!

Today's look (as always) is simple and ready for summer. Maxi dress, jean jacket, cute sandals and a few accessories. Check it!

There's a little bit of back story with this dress. It's from Body Central and I think it's about $25. When I received the catalog in February, this dress was on the cover, and I really wanted it, but I resisted the urge to splurge, so I waited.

Body Central catalog cover

 

It's a beautiful kelly green color and looked so comfy. There are so many occasions you could wear it: running errands, hanging out with the family or even dress it up for a date night. I waited about 2 weeks before ordering it but the website said it was on back order until early March, but that didn't bother me. A week or two into March, I hadn't received any correspondence about it being in stock or a delivery date, so I put in a call about it. I was told the dress was completely sold out and there were no plans to get any more dresses in. WHAT?!? I was so disappointed because I had my heart set on it. Each time I went to the mall or Target, I was looking for something in the same color or same style, but never found anything comparable. Total bummer.

Cut to a month later, I was just browsing through Body Central at the mall with the twins, and I stumbled across the dress in 3 different colors; green, plum and orange. It was the best day! I purchased the green one and the plum one. The website doesn't carry it, but I'm sure you can still find it in store. But quite frankly, any maxi dress will work, and you can find them everywhere!

I bought the sandals about 3-4 years ago from Bakers. They are still pretty popular and they come in a few different varieties. Here is a link for the pair that Bakers is currently carrying and a pair from Aldo. Sandals from Bakers and Sandals from Aldo

The scarf is from Thirty One, and I bought it in 2012 when I was an Independent Consultant for them. The yellow isn't available any more, but they have a few others right now. It retails for $10, however, any cute, colorful scarf would work. Turquoise Scarf 

Each of the other pieces have been featured in past blogs. The jean jacket was featured in past blogs and it's from Old Navy. Denim Jacket. The sunglasses are from Forever 21. Sunnies

The bag is from the Nine West Outlet and it's no longer available. I found one similar on the Nine West website. It's a bit out of my price range (the one I bought was less than $20) but I wanted to give you a general idea. Clutch The necklace is from the Banana Republic outlet, but I found a super cute one in coral and yellow on the Forever 21 website. Necklaces

This might be one of my favorite looks for the busy mommy (or busy woman) on the go. Let me know what you think. If you make a comment, I will do my best to answer you quickly.

Have a fantastic weekend everyone!

always,

astreia

Spring Gardening Project

My thumbs are brown, not green. Just as most plants that are left in my care. I'm excited that I can keep my kids alive each day, so keeping plants alive is a whole other challenge. 

We've only been in our new house for about 7 months and my mother and aunt brought over three rose bushes as a housewarming gift; one representing each of our children. Very sweet and very thoughtful. However, my palms begin to sweat as I think of what it will take to maintain these guys. So instead of fighting it, I decided to embrace it and use this as a new challenge. My mom and aunt offered to help plant them and they wanted the twins to help. The kids LOVED being helpers! To get ready, my mom (whom they affectionately call "G-Ma") told them they needed to help clean the mulch beds by finding "mean greens" and getting them out. She made pulling weeds a game and I tell ya, my kids are competitive, just like me. They were racing around trying to find as many "mean greens" as they could.

After all the weeds were pulled, we had to rake the mulch and dig holes ("homes", as the kids called it) for the roses. Amaya surprised me! That girl really got into it! She wanted to dig, rake, and she didn't mind getting dirty at all.

I have to say, this project was so much fun. Not only was I spending the morning with my mom, my aunt, and the twins, we now have something special and sentimental for the house. The kids help me water them, and bring them in the house when I prune them. I still have a lot to learn, but it's an ongoing project that gets the whole family involved.... and it brought me closer to my mom and aunt Cynthia :)

We will probably plant a few more flowers and Jesse wants to plant some citrus trees. First I want to make sure I can keep these bad boys alive before we move to something bigger.

 

Spring has sprung, so get out in your yard and get planting! If the weather isn't ideal in your area or you don't have a yard, get a couple house plants and turn your brown thumbs green!

always,

astreia

What goes around, comes around

Jesse and I believe that if you put good things out into the world, you'll get good things in return. We try to teach the kids to do random acts of kindness. Just yesterday, we had the kids bring up the neighbors trash cans from the curb.

"Why?" Jackson asked. 
"Because it's okay to do nice things for others just to be nice".

This is the first blog I'm writing in real time because of what happened to me today. Don't worry.... it wasn't anything tragic; just an unfortunate series of events.

I honestly hadn't planned on leaving the house today, but the twins had been couped up inside all day, so I decided to run to the bank, and then we'd grab a quick bite to eat. When I started the van this morning, it was a little sluggish, but it got us to the bank and to Panera, so I didn't think anything of it. When it was time to leave Panera, the van wouldn't start. I didn't panic, but I did have a dilemma. I decided to call AAA, but they said it could take up to two hours for the tow truck to arrive. AAA was my plan A, but I needed a plan B. (Always have a plan B). I figured, I could just get a jump. Although I had jumper cables in the back, I was parked between two cars with a curb in front of me, so I wouldn't be able to get jumped unless it was by one of those two cars. So the twins and I waited, hoping one of the owners would come out. Well, today was the hottest day of the year, and that plan didn't last long. I went inside and talked to a couple employees to see if they knew who the cars belonged to. No one was really that helpful. Then I saw a lady come from the back and I got a glimpse of "manager" on her name tag. I explained my problem and she was very sympathetic. She knew it wasn't one of the regular customers, so she basically went around to every table and asked if they drove a blue F-150. When she found the guy, we had to wait for him to finish a phone call, but she gave the twins cups of water and offered one to me. She even offered to stay with the twins while the guy helped me get the van started.

I wish that was the end of the story. The jump didn't work. I went inside to check on the kids, and by the time I came out, the tow truck arrived. I thanked the Panera manager, scooped up the kids, thanked the guy who tried to help, and figured he would get the van started, right? 

Wrong. He says it's the starter. Really, dude? He says he has to tow me. Where? I don't know what's around here. Once he and I decide where to go, he tells me the tow truck can't carry the car seats. "Not enough room". I tell him to just go ahead and tow the van and I'll work on a ride.

Keep in mind, I haven't called my husband because I don't want to bother him at work. But now I feel obligated to let him know what's going on. He insists on driving down to pick us up. I say no because I still need transportation. I tell him I have this handled and I'll call him back in a bit. So where do we end up? Back inside Panera.  I looked for that same manager, but I felt terrible because she was on her lunch break. I asked her if she could watch the twins while I haul out all the car seats and "gear" we need from the van. She happily agrees. Once I got back, she brought markers and paper for the twins to color on and even helped me look up rent a car places on her phone. I know I thanked her a million times and she kept saying it was no problem. 

The rest isn't exciting. Went to the Nissan dealership (and had an interesting talk with the driver about God and marriage), got a Quest, and came home. Turns out, we just needed a new battery for the van.

I'm telling this whole long story just to say this: don't underestimate the kindness of strangers. Ms. Tony didn't have to help me. She didn't have to go the extra mile talking to all those customers and bringing us water and giving the kids the markers and watching the kids when I was outside. But she made the choice to go above and beyond to help me. I was so grateful.

That's my story. Be kind. Be a good person. Make someone's day.

If you happened to visit the Panera in St. Augustine on 312, be sure to say hi to Tony :)

Fashion Friday 04.25.14

Hey, hey, hey! New Fashion Fri-day! This week's outfit is easy peasy breezy! Jeans, white T, scarf and nude heels. Let's get right to it...

The think I bought the tee shirt from Sears a while back and they still sell it. Less than $6! White T. Almost any white t-shirt could work with this outfit. 

The jeans are from Old Navy and they are regularly $37. ON runs specials all the time, so you catch them on sale. Right now, they are $20. I tried the Flirt and Diva style of jeans and they weren't my favorite. I tried on the Sweetheart style and I'm in love. The waist is higher and they aren't super stretchy. Jeans.

The shoes are Jessica Simpson patent leather heels from Dillard's and I bought them about a year or so ago. Pumps. They are surprisingly comfortable because of the platform, but it took a few "wears" to break them in. 

The scarf is from my favorite place to shop, Target. Scarf. Scarves are super popular now and dress up an outfit instantly. This one has cute little poufs on the end for a bit of visual interest.

The clutch was featured in a few past blogs and it's from DSW. Clutch. I checked the website and they don't carry the white one anymore, but any neutral colored bag would work. 

The sunglasses are from Forever 21 and are a steal! $5.80! What?!? Get outta town! Let's get two pair! Sunnies.

There you have it! Easy outfit for lunch with friends or a casual dinner with the hubs. Or throw on some cute flats and run errands. Let me know what you think. Leave me a note in the comments and I'll respond as soon as I can.

Have a great weekend!

always,

astreia

Spring and Easter Fun

Happy Easter

&

Happy Passover to our Jewish friends!

Yesterday, as we celebrated our Lord and Savior, I am reminded how blessed we are that we don't have to pay the price for our sins. Jesus paid it all! We celebrated by going to church and we all had a great time being in fellowship with our family and friends.

In our home, we have chosen not buy "Easter" baskets and we don't visit the "Easter" bunny. Our children are very aware that the Easter bunny is simply a character, and is not associated with the resurrection of Christ. However, we still have fun, we just don't call them "Easter" games and activities. We colored eggs and had an egg hunt a few weeks ago, but we tell our kids that those things are representative of the arrival of spring and of a new beginning. We continue to teach and preach the gospel to our children so they understand the true meaning of Easter and can rejoice knowing that Jesus is alive!

We invited two families over for the egg hunt a few weeks ago and another family for egg dyeing. The kids were so excited and I must say, I was pretty excited to dye eggs because I haven't done it since I was a kid. We had eggs and vinegar on hand, so all I needed to buy was the food coloring. Here are a few photos of our fun!

Hope you all had a great time with your friends and family :)

always,
astreia

Egg hunting is about to begin

Concentrating on perfecting their colors

Ta-dah! Beautiful colored eggs

Easter 2014