Only trust yourself. (Or an Asian.)

Those of you who know me well should know that I am a pretty laid back person. In some cases, often too relaxed, but I quite like that about myself. I tend to take life as it comes, and don't often feel the need to stress over much.

You might also know that I love being a girly girl. Not only have I always enjoyed "prettifying", but I really get into it in some circumstances. I've always had a fairly creative mind, and these two collide nicely in make-up, and nail art. When it comes to these passions...the laid back approach just doesn't work for me. I am a perfectionist in the details. I am not saying that I am amazing at either, but if I know I am capable of something more, you better believe I will start all over again!

I never did go to school for any training, and definitely wish I had, but for now, I do enjoy it as a hobby for myself. Perfectionists need the right tools though, and that is where this post is heading.

As much as I do love a good pedicure, ESPECIALLY pregnant, they are ridiculously expensive. At close to $50 a pop for a good one, it's pricey on it's own, and the keep up on them adds up FAST!

Amazon came to my rescue in cheap-o fashion. The best part about getting a pedi, are the cute designs, so I found some nail dotting tools for under $10...

A whole wheel of small rhinestones for about $6. Now they're not the BEST rhinestones ever, and stand up a little taller than maybe you'd like on your nail, but you can't beat the price and colour selection!

I have often done French Pedicure's in the past, for myself and friends. I always put the white on first, and use a brush dipped in nail polish remover to take it off the back. It makes for a much crisper line. I always used a concealer brush for this, but came across a brush actually used FOR this very purpose. It was less than $5, so I decided to give it a try. It works great. I still have no issues with the concealer brush though either.

The secret ingredient! I have tried several different top coats, and even when I have my nails professionally done, they NEVER last as long as they do at home after topping them with this. I'm actually not entirely sure if it's still readily available, but I'm sure Amazon still has some lying around! I have always had to buy it in a duo pack in the past, like this, but the top coat works as an awesome sealant over any polish.

Here is my first attempt after receiving everything! I'm pretty pleased with the dotting tools. They are easy to use with a little initial practice. A little warm water, and some lotion, and you've got yourself a $20 pedicure, that keeps on giving!

Go-to shirts

Love these shirts! I really love tight fitting basic shirts, and that is exactly what Andee Lew delivers on, only for the younger crowd.

They are cotton, with a little stretchy spandex woven in, and fit perfectly...especially if you have skinnier kiddos!

They started out just with girls tops and bodysuits, and I have picked up a couple, which I have yet to try out obviously.

Recently though, they have worked their way into the boy crowd, with some cute basics for the little men out there. I love them for Cameron. They are plain colored, and the fit is snug, but long enough to keep little torsos covered as they play. My go to plain shirts for sure!

A girl needs to accessorize!

I already have a thing for little girl hair accessories. There are a TON of great little Etsy stores, but here are the two websites I have currently purchased from, and am so in love with!

I purchased this classy set on sale with Kidsteals, from Little Lesiw;

and this cute band from Bandz By Liz;

What is your favorite baby girl hair accessory place!?

The green machine!

Yes, I was slightly impatient waiting for it's arrival today. It doesn't help one bit tracking your package, and KNOWING it's been out for delivery since 5:00am that morning. But 12 hours later, and it had arrived at my front door. Good thing I had a few other things occupying my time today.

The instructions were a little confusing at first...but my brother helped me out, and all of a sudden, it was a breeze to put together! I went over all the basics inside after setting it up. Attached the second seat, figured out how the car seat adapter fit on, figured out the handle, brakes and wheel locks, then adjusted the harness straps. Cameron's shoulders are currently right in the middle of holes 2 and 3. I put them in 3 to test it out, but think I might move them back down for a little while longer. They are super easy to adjust, with no re-threading!

We tried out the back seat first. I want him to get used to sitting back there, since that will be his seat for likely another year. (At least when the car seat adapter is used.) Then he gets to move up front to be the big dog.

So far so good though! He seemed entertained enough just walking around the front of the house.

I spent plenty of time putting it up, and folding it back down too. It's a little trickier than my old Graco, and a little heavier...but I expected that. The second seat does not fold with the stroller when it is in the behind position, but will when it's located up front. The second seat is very easy to take off, and put on though. It's a breeze so far to push, and navigate. It turns on a dime, and isn't wider than you're average single, which is exactly what I was looking for. For now, it has just been taken down the street, but so far, it's everything I hoped it would be!

Bite the bullet

You should know me by now. I LOVE to research. I get so involved in it too....it practically consumes me! I have researched every pricey item I have bought for Cameron, and because of that, I have become loyal fans of certain companies, and love their products.

I have been looking at double strollers for a while now...and by a while I mean since Cameron was born. Clark and I knew, all things permitting, that we wanted our kids to be fairly close in age, so a double stroller would likely be necessary for us at some point.

Back when I started looking, I fell in love with Phil&Ted's. I was actually tempted to get the Sport model before we had Cameron, but the one thing I didn't like about it was that when using the doubles kit, you couldn't also use a car seat...and that for me, was priority number one.

So we ended up going with the graco travel system initially, though I continued my search for a great doubles upgrade for when the time came.

I found 3 strollers that I was definitely interested in.

Baby Jogger - City Select

UppaBaby - Vista

Phil&Ted's Explorer

Since I planned on saving a little money by ordering while I was in the States, and my trip here has been cut a little short due to health insurance; I had to make a quick decision.

I had already written a post about the City Select, and really, it's the most multi-functional out of them all...but I was unimpressed by the colors, and a little unsure of the size. It ends up being a really long, hefty stroller, and for every day use, it's maybe more than I needed. With the add-ons I needed to make the stroller work for me, it would end up costing around $740 usd.

The Vista color options are much better, but the doubles seat being on the front of the stroller does make it a little longer, and potentially harder to steer. With everything I needed...the total price was around $850 usd. Though that does include a bassinet, which while adorable, is a little too much work for me, and I don't believe can be used when the doubles seat is attached.

The Explorer is the newer Phil&Ted's model that replaced the old Sport I originally looked at 2 years ago. It is basically the same stroller, with added features, and the kinks ironed out. The color options are again limited, apart from a bright green, which I happen to really like, so it works for me! The doubles seat fits underneath on the back, whch makes it a little more compact, and it can now be used along with the car seat adapter. The price ends up being the lowest at just over $600.

So my mind was made up. Though I loved the color options of the Vista, I would get little use out of the bassinet I was technically paying for. The options the City Select has are second to none, but it's still fairly pricey, and larger than I really need. The Explorer was the one for me. It was the most reasonably priced given that it has basically everything I wanted, and in a bright, fun color. I bought it online and got the doubles kit free, so it ended up costing me $525 total. No tax, and no shipping charges.

It should arrive on Tuesday or Wedneday of next week, and I'm pretty excited to actually give it a go!

Newest on the wish-list

I do love a good camera lens, and I have several of them...all for a specific purpose. Since Cameron is my main subject though, having a Prime lens is pretty much a must for great, sharp, fast shots, without breaking the bank with a zoom.

For this reason, my favorite right now is my 50mm. Seriously good, and seriously cheap if you get the 1.8. My only beef with the 50mm, is that sometimes it's just too tight. You have to physically position yourself far enough away from your subject to fit as much as you want into the frame. Outside, this is often not a big deal, but inside, space can be limited.

Enter the wider angle 28mm 1.8. I have been eyeing this baby for a little while now. It normally runs around $800, and Amazon is currently teasing me listing it at $500.

2 on the go

Well, now that the baby-on-the-way news is out, it's about time I started shopping again. Since I have chosen a great 2-baby diaper bag, it's on to the stroller.

Here are my words of advice for first time mothers to be, when it comes to the stroller. If you only plan on having one child, or plan on having a decently large age gap between children, then buying a travel system will likely work for you. I bought a Graco one, and really loved it for Cameron. They are decently priced, and you get a good stroller, with an infant car seat in one package. The whole idea of being able to keep your infant in their car seat, and attach it right onto the stroller is ingenious. I did it for a good 6 months.

But what if you find yourself with at least 2 stroller age children at the same time? I see garages filled with strollers of different kinds, and I refuse to end up storing a multitude of them! Thankfully, these days, manufacturers have heard our pleas for something much more versatile.

There doesn't seem to be much point in buying a travel system, if it only fulfills the needs of the first child. In the same breath though, You'd look pretty silly walking around the mall with a double stroller, and only one child!

If I could design the perfect stroller, it would be something that could EASILY convert from one child, to two, or maybe even three, and back again, something that could handle a car seat AND a toddler seat at the same time, and something that ISN'T a side-by-side. (They're just too bulky and wide for my liking.)

This is the result of my research. The Baby Jogger City Select. I have yet to take it for a test drive...but on paper it looks like something I've seen in my dreams. Just check out these different combinations!

The ability to put an infant car seat AND a toddler seat on one inline stroller is fairly recent, and I think Baby Jogger does it best. (Another option would be the Britax B-Ready.) It's pricey though, and unlike your basic travel system, a lot of the accessories you'd likely want, come separately. (The car seat adapter, second toddler seat, snack consoles, etc.) Another great add on, is the glider board that attaches to the back. So an older child who doesn't necessarily need to sit down, can stand up on it.

The only thing I am a little choked about so far, is the lack of color options. Though it may be menial, the choices available are slightly dull. Black, Red, Silver, and Purple. The red is a bit much for me, black is too boring, the silver doesn't seem to make much sense considering how messy children are, and while I actually do like the purple, I'm not sure it's very gender neutral! I would love to see them come out with a nice blue. Perhaps a good compromise would be to add seat liners with a cute pattern.

I plan to check it out in person soon enough, and will let you in on my findings!