Snowy Saturday and Must Haves!

Happy Saturday to you all! Up in Northern Massachusetts we are getting some beautiful, light snow! I wish we had this snow during Christmas, instead of rainy 50 degree weather, but I digress. Why does snow make me think back to Christmas?! I am still sad that the season is over. I love love love summer and fall, but I REALLY love winter. Spring isn't my favorite-- if you live in New England, you know that we have "spring" but it is usually either rainy and gloomy, still too cold, or way too hot way too early. I absolutely love winter and the snow and cold that comes with it. It is a good thing I don't mind it- in New England, this could last us anywhere from November til the end of March. I can't believe we have to wait another year for all of the garland (which is still on my mantle), Christmas trees, decorations, cocoa, Christmas music, and amazing food.

Currently, I am preparing for second semester classes (we have block scheduling so I teach three full classes in the fall and then three full classes in the spring). It is set-up similar to how college works. We just had finals last week, and I will get a new set of kids on Monday. The feeling is bittersweet-- I so enjoyed the group I had last semester (for the most part), and I will be sad to see them go. However, there is something refreshing with getting a new group, and getting the chance to start fresh! Wish me luck!

The past few days I have been thinking about what my staples are for beauty and home. I know many of you have must have lists, and I think it is so fun to compare. I would love it if you shared some of your must haves in the comments section below! Maybe some will become my own must haves!


1. COFFEE!

As sad as it is to say, I cannot forgo coffee. I absolutely love it! From Dunkin Donuts, to Starbucks, to home brewed, to the Keurig, I need coffee. Yes, I need coffee. It is not just the caffeine, albeit that it an extremely important part, it is the flavor and warmth, especially on snowy days like today.





2. Mascara and Eyelash Curler
                   

       Shiseido Sephora Eyelash Curler               Maybelline Volum' Express The Rocket
       Source: Sephora website {1}                            Source: Maybelline Website {2}

Anyone who knows me, knows that my dream job is becoming a make-up artist for weddings and special events. I love doing make-up so much, that I even did make-up for my mom and bridesmaids for my wedding. So many people have asked me if I was stressed about having to do that for all of them-- to be honest, it kept me calm and relaxed! It was so nice to focus on something other than all of the small details the day of my wedding. My basic make-up routine, is a little bit of eye shadow, blush, lipgloss and my two staples: mascara and eye lash curler. I have been known to wear too many sparkles (love you Jim! ;)), but other than that, I keep my beauty routine fairly simple. You will rarely find me without my eyelashes curled (I have a thing about my eyes and how they look without my eyelashes curled), and I have to say that after purchasing many eyelash curlers, I find that this one from Sephora is one of the best! The Rocket Maybelline mascara is also one of my favorites (although I love all of Maybelline's products). It doesn't clump, it goes on my eyelashes smoothly, it isn't heavy, and it is generally easy to remove.

3. UGGs


Classic Short and Pierce
Source: UGG Official website {3}

As my husband likes to point out, UGGS are probably the ugliest shoes on the planet. While I do not necessarily disagree with him, they are without a doubt, the most comfortable shoes I own. And let's face it, comfortable shoes are EXTREMELY important to me. I have been known to wear shoes for decades-- I still have shoes from my high school days that I refuse to throw away. They are comfortable, "clunky", far from being stylish, but match multiple outfits. My family has tried to get me to throw all of those shoes away, but I just can't bring myself to do it! I stand firm on the fact that I am terrible with heels-- breaking the little bones in my foot can support my detest (another story for another day), so I resort to comfort. I am perfectly okay with admitting that I have four pairs of UGGs-- yes four. And I wear all of the them! My husband has been on the UGGs website recently-- trying to pick out manly boots- we will see what he ends up getting. What are your favorite, comfortable shoes? Are you a heels person? Flats person? If I need to be comfortable, but want to attempt being stylish, what shoes should I look into?

4. Yankee Candles:
                    
Harvest Welcome, Home for the Holidays, Clean Cotton
Source: Yankee Candle Website {4, 5, 6}

You can guarantee that right now I have a Yankee candle burning (it may be Home for the Holidays ;)). I LOVE Yankee Candles. My mom always had a candle burning while I was growing up, whether it was a Home Sweet Home,one of the many cinnamon flavors she always bought, or a Christmas flavor during the holidays. While Jim and I were first dating, one of our favorite past-times was going to the Yankee Candle Company store at the Burlington Mall-- well let's be honest, it still is one of our favorite pastimes. We were dating long-distance for most of our relationship, and one of the middle points for us was the Burlington Mall. We could spend hours smelling all of the wonderful scents in that store. Occasionally, if I was lucky enough, Jim would let me buy a candle. By the time we moved into our house, we had probably about 10 candles. Some of my favorites include: Harvest Welcome (a limited edition one), Holiday Plum (limited edition), Home for the Holidays,  and Clean Cotton. What are your favorite scents for Spring? Summer? I mostly have Fall and Christmas scents, but I would love to change it up for the other seasons!



What are some of your favorite and staple products?! Make sure to comment below!