Tarte SEA Hydrocealer Concealer

My goal over the past few months has been to slowly replace my tried and true makeup products with something clean but still effective. This has involved a lot of trial and error. I do really want clean products, but I don’t want to have to sacrifice quality. The struggle has been real.

Well, it was real, until a discovered Clean certified products at Sephora. These products are made without the use of over 50 ingredients, including sulfates (SLS and SLES), parabens, phthalates, and more. This has honestly given me so much more confidence in choosing products!

One of my best finds so far from Sephora has been the Tarte SEA Hydrocealer concealer. This concealer contains marine plant extracts, which help reduce the appearance of fine lines and ultimately smooth and soften the skin. It also contains Vitamin B3, which helps reduce the appearance of pores, fine lines, wrinkles, and dull looking skin.

It is sweatproof, waterproof, and is formulated with Hydroflex Technology so it moves with your face as you smile, laugh, etc.

Hydrocealer is also vegan and cruelty-free!

I use shade fair neutral and I’m amazed at how awesome the coverage is without having that heavy, cakey feel.

I’m linking some other Tarte SEA products below. I will be trying more in the coming weeks and sharing thoughts!

Thank you so much, friends, for reading today’s post and thank you to Sephora for sponsoring today’s post.

LOFT Sale

Hey, friends! Now is a super time to shop at LOFT. Not only are the new arrivals BOMB but they’re all on sale! We’re talking 50% off. Insert praise hands.

I’ve rounded up some of my favorites from their new arrivals along with sizing info under each photo. Remember that LOFT is offering free shipping AND free returns so there’s no risk to try some new cuties styles.

These shorts are absolutely darling! They are flowy yet flattering and the color is beautiful. I am wearing the size small. I sized down to the extra small in this sweet eyelet ruffle top. It has a swiss dot detail all over the bodice and the length is great for a front or full tuck.

The floral jumpsuit is super comfy! I’m wearing the size small for reference. The straps are wide enough to where you can wear a normal bra with it, too!

It’s no secret that I love a ruffle, but I really love a ruffle on a chambray dress! I would suggest sizing down in this one. I’m wearing the extra small.

The print on this dress is really feminine and beautiful but it was that smocked off the shoulder detail that I was most drawn to. I got the size extra small.

Yep, these shorts again! Just love them so much. Also love this crochet sleeve top. It’s got the feel of a tee shirt but just really elevates that style of it. I’m wearing the extra small.

This dress sold like crazy and has very limited sizing available now but I’m hoping for a restock! Will let y’all know if it does come back. So perfect for a beach vacation! Wearing the extra small.

Thank you to LOFT for sponsoring today’s post! It’s such an honor to work with a brand I’ve worn and loved for so many years. Thank YOU, dear friend, for taking the time to come to my blog! So grateful for your presence here.

Bark Box!

It’s official. I am now a dog person. Honestly I’ve waited my entire life to say that and now that we’re here, it just feels SO GOOD.

Now that I’m fully committed to my dog mom duties, I was absolutely beside myself to be asked to partner with Bark Box to share their monthly gift box!

Bark Box has been around since 2011 and they are maybe even more obsessed with dogs than I am. They create a monthly gift that comes with two toys, two full-size bags of treats, and a chew (unless you upgrade or customize). Each box has a theme that changes monthly. When I say it’s thoughtful and darling, I mean it really is! Our first box them was “The Barkies”, which is an award show theme! Bailey LOVED his “The Lammy’s” treat and has been playing with his “The Barkie Award” toy non-stop.

The treats in the box are all-natural, made in the US, and never contain wheat, soy, or corn. The toys are designed in-house so they’re unlike anything you’ll see anywhere else! Each box contains over $40 worth of toys and treats so it’s an incredible value.

So here’s how it works! You will let Bark Box know your dog’s size and breed, and then you’ll choose a plan. Options are 1 month, 6 month, or 12 month. The cost of each plan will drop as you extend the length of your plan. Shipping is always free in the contiguous United States.

When you order your first Bark Box, it ships right away! Each month after that, your box will ship on the 15th.

One of the best parts of using Bark Box is that their customer service team is PHENOMENAL. They are always ready and willing to help if you need to make changes to your box.

If you don’t have a dog yourself but have loved ones that do, Bark Box makes a great gift! You can also send a Bark Box gift card!

I’m SO excited to be able to share that Bark Box gave me a coupon code to get your first box for $10 when you select a 6 or 12 month plan! Use code LAURA10 to get this deal on your first box!

HUGE thank you to Bark Box for sponsoring today’s post! Thanks for reading, friends!

Family Date Night

I shared just a little bit the other day in stories about how we do family date night. We typically take the girls out to dinner once a week and have found that it’s our favorite time to be together as a family because it’s focused and intentional. I wanted tp share a few of the ideas that have helped shape our time together and honestly taken it from a frustrating experience to something that we genuinely look forward to! While most of I’m sharing applies to eating dinner out as a family, a lot of it also applies to having dinner at home around the dinner table, too!

1. Eating out is a great opportunity to teach our kids how to act in public. This takes LOTS of practice and patience but it’s so worth it. Within the past few years, we have started letting Reese and Rowen order for themselves (after we talk about the fact that they can’t just eat a plate of cheese for dinner). They have to start by looking at the waiter/waitress in the eyes and say “May I please have vegetables and grilled meat”… if only… I kid, I kid ;-) This is helping them to gain confidence when talking to adults and strangers while we are right there with them.

2. We put our phones down. We don’t bring i pads, phones, or hand held games. We do color and play family games like tic-tac-toe, hang man, etc. I know this is probably a trigger point for a lot of people, but this is what we do as a family so please hear me on this… I’m not saying this is the only way. I’m saying this is our way. You do you, boo. One of the reasons we don’t do phones is because this is our most intentional time as a family. If we were to be on our phones or i pads, we are telling our company that we’d rather be somewhere else than with them. We want our kids to know that their presence is valuable to us and we want to really be there with them.

3. We ask questions. This is something that Matt and I love to do on our date nights and we’ve started doing it with the girls, too. Asking questions is a great way to get to know your kids and your spouse and you’ll be AMAZED at what you’ll learn if you just ask. An example of some of the questions we ask would be “If someone gave you $100, what would you do with it?” Or “If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?” Or even something as simple as “What’s your favorite color combination?” A lot of times either I will go first or Matt will so they’ll understand the questions. Then a lot of times, they will start coming up with their own questions to ask. It’s SO much fun!

4. My final tip and probably the most important one is to let go of expectations. Your kids are in training. They’re still learning. They’re still KIDS. Allow them a safe place to be who they are while you teach them how they can grow and learn different ways of doing things. Reese was very nervous to order at first and asked Rowen to order for her. We encouraged Reese to order for herself and would help her along if she forgot or got uncomfortable. Now Reese is a pro at ordering! All three of our girls sometimes act CRAZY in restaurants but we find that happens more often when they get bored. When they’re engaged in table games and conversation, their behavior is normally incredible!

The acronym OPEN can help you remember some of these ideas we use:

O - Order your own food

P - Put down the phones

E- Engage in conversation by asking questions

N - No Expectations

I hope this is helpful to y’all! Family time is so important and our best time to be together is around the table. We don’t always do this perfectly but we always try and that’s what matters!

Contentment

One of my prayers over the last few years has been that God would help me to stop believing lies….

I’ve been A M A Z E D by how comfy some straight up lies have gotten inside my head. So comfy that I didn’t even recognize them as lies. Asking God to clear things up has been a game changer.

A lot of different ideas have been exposed recently but maybe the most obvious was the idea of contentment.

I’ll start out telling you the lie I believed about it and then the truth that God revealed about it…

The L I E: “Contentment is something you have because you have something you want”

The T R U T H: “Contentment is a fight to see what you HAVE as ENOUGH”.

Let’s take that a step further. The order of events here is important. You fight for contentment regardless of what you have and therefore you become content regardless of what you have. Most of us get that pretty wrong. We think once we get “fill in the blank”, THEN we will be content. But if contentment isn’t gained before you ever get “fill in the blank”, then it never will be gained. Once you get what you want, you’ll always be looking for what’s next. When what’s next arrives, you’ll follow the same mode.

It’s a vicious cycle. But when you DO get the order right and determine in your heart to be content regardless of your circumstances, then you aren’t dependent on outside forces to rest with a happy heart.

So besides just willing yourself to try harder, what’s the move? How do you find true contentment? Especially when things SUCK.

Let’s ask Paul. Here’s a guy in the Bible who wrote a letter to a church as he was literally sitting in the belly of a jail. He was living in the worst possible case scenario when he wrote these words:

“I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:11-13

We love using that verse when we are trying to finish a half marathon or monograming a gym bag, but MAN. When you consider that context it’s mind blowing.

Here he is with nothing and he says he’s content because He’s learned to be that way because of God’s strength in him.

So, yes, are there things we can do to altar our perspective? Absolutely! Speaking life over your family, your home, and your trials and joys. But the real power comes when we learn to depend on God’s strength to meet us where we are and help us to be content in our plenty and in our want.

Contentment is for right now, not just for someday when… start fighting for it, friends. Remember that God is our strength and with Him, all things are possible… even a content heart.

Love y’all!