Curls & Twirls

 Before & After

As much as I love fashion, hair is not really my thing. I love it. I wish I could do it. I love having it done for me by other people. But when it comes to doing it myself, I usually end up falling short. I end up taking the easy route and just flat ironing it straight for lack of a better option. Even worse, now that I am a busy mom, I let it air dry or throw it up into a messy top knot. The days of actually “doing” my hair are few and far between, but I still long for a fancy do when I have a special event to go to. I just have trouble making it happen myself. I have tried multiple tools, curling irons, etc., and I always end up in a sweaty huff and unhappy with the results. Until now.

After trying their fabulous hair extensions back in September, I decided to give Irresistible Me’s Sapphire 8-in-1 Curling Wand a whirl. Ladies and gentlemen (all three of you gentlemen that read this blog), I am happy to say that I HAVE FOUND THE CURLING IRON OF MY DREAMS!  Not only are there tons of options for different type of curls, but it was EASY, and I could do it MYSELF!  I actually liked the results, I wasn’t a sweaty huffy mess afterwards…and the best part is that my curls stayed from 10 in the morning when I did my hair until well after I went to bed for the night! As someone who struggles to do their hair normally, this tool has totally changed my mindset on prepping for a fancy night out.  I am so happy to finally find something that works for me, and works SO well. Thank you Irresistible Me!

More BEFORE photos:

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And now for the AFTER:

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Sapphire 8-in-1 Curling Wand: c/o Irresistible Me / Top: Express / Eyes: Sonia Kashuk / Lip: MAC Up the Amp

What do you think? Not bad for my first go at it huh?

Used this curling wand for the first time for a beautiful bridal shower in upstate NY for a lovely bride!  It was a lot of fun and a gorgeous affair.  I loved how fancy I felt, so I decided to go for round 2 of the curling iron this past weekend at my cousin’s baby shower in MD. Happy to say it wasn’t just beginner’s luck! I’m still obsessed with the tool, and plan to use it for many more events in the future.

Had a nice little girl’s weekend with my mom, family, and close friends…although I did miss my boys while away!

Yesterday wasn’t feeling so great, but hoping today will bring sunshine and happiness my way.

Hope today will bring the same for you!

XO,

Gina

Tulum Diary

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Happy Hump Day everyone!  These cold temperatures are still lingering here in NYC, and it’s making me miss the weather from our trip to Tulum, Mexico. I’m excited to share these photos and a little bit about our adventures down there.  It was honestly one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. Boho hippie chic in style, completely relaxing, but adventures around the corner for those who want to partake. Unfortunately, I spent a lot of the trip sick (from the food I’m guessing? God only knows), so we didn’t get to do as much as originally planned, but we still had an amazing time and at least enjoyed the warm weather!  We stayed in Tulum for a week and then ventured to the town of Akumal for three nights.  We also explored around to different areas to visit Mayan ruins, cenotes, and Playa del Carmen. The first photo is from the Mayan ruins in Tulum. Simply gorgeous!

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This photo is also from our trip to the Tulum ruins.

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My little monkey hanging out in the carrier!  He is such a good traveler!

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Pool at our condo in Tulum. We rented it off airbnb.

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This was taken before our private dinner right on the beach at Momo Hoja.  Never thought the most romantic dinner of my life with be with a toddler in tow, but this place took the cake!

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Doesn’t get any more amazing than this.  It’s basically paradise at Papaya Playa Project.  They are welcome to outside guests, free parking, and fabulous beds as long as you place an order for food or drinks.  Done and done.

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Decided to drive out to Coba for the day to explore the Mayan Ruins.  I definitely recommend getting a tour guide here as it was extremely helpful to understand what we were looking at and we learned so much about the ancient history, language, and culture of the Mayans.  They allow you to climb to the top of one of the pyramids here.  I climbed it with a baby in my belly and baby on my back.  A little steep and a little scary, but pretty awesome!

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Crystal clear blue waters of Tulum = heaven.

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Spelunking at Aktun Chen. This was really fun and kid friendly.  We toured the spectacular cave, saw lots of animals, and then went swimming in the underground river cenote.  Pretty amazing.

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Lounging for the day at El Paraiso.  Zack also took a boat off the beach here to do a snorkeling tour and had a great time!

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Sopes for lunch at the incredible Le Zebra beach club.  This place was absolutely gorgeous, and I would recommend people stay here!  Fabulous food, rooms, and scenery.

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They had BEDS in the restaurant!  I meeeean…it doesn’t get any better than this!  Haha.

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View from our Villa in Akumal – Villas Flamingo

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Didn’t get fancy at all in Tulum, so decided to glam it up a bit in Akumal for dinner on the beach.

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Day trip to Cenote Azul for some fabulous swimming and snorkeling!  What a gorgeous place!

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Don’t want to leave!!!

Ahhh, I am craving this warm weather right about now!  Take me back!

It’s been a busy week here in NY, working away with fitness challenge groups, freelance writing, and running around with my Nico.  We had so much fun over the weekend capturing our gender reveal and we are so pumped for Nico to have a little bro!

Hoping warmer weather is in our future.  We are ready to play outside again! How about you? What are you most looking forward to for the spring season?

XO,

Gina

Nico’s Little _______ !!!

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Happy Monday everyone!!! I know I have been driving you all crazy with the anticipation of our gender reveal for Baby Notes #2!  The photographs are in, and today is finally the day!  Zack, Nico and I went to the doctor on Thursday for our monthly appointment.  First things first, everything is looking good so far for a HEALTHY baby, which is most important!  We are so very lucky and blessed.  While at the doc, we opted not to find out the sex of the baby in the office, rather as you may remember from Nico’s reveal two years ago, we had the doc write the gender along with a sonogram pic in a sealed envelope.  Let me tell you how difficult it was not to rip open that envelope for those two agonizing days!!!

We purchased a pull-string piñata in both pink and blue confetti in advance.  Our trusted neighbor, Tammy, stepped in to help us with our operation, and she was actually the first to know the baby’s gender before anyone, including us!  She opened the card in secret and filled the piñata for us with the correct color confetti.  She also placed the sonogram photo inside so we could have it for later.  We headed to Prospect Park on Saturday early evening with our other neighbor and photographer, Cara Kantrowitz George, to document the big reveal.  We pulled the string and SURPRISE!!!!!!  Take a look at what unfolded below. 🙂

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Photography by: Cara Kantrowitz George

Piñata by: LaLa’s Party

What a special moment in our lives!  We are so excited for Nico to have a little brother!  Little boys are so much fun, and I’m hoping they will be the best of buds, just like Zack and his brother are.  I still sometimes can’t believe that our family is growing so quickly, but this moment definitely made it feel like a reality!  We are so grateful to have such amazing neighbors to help us creatively document this wonderful surprise.  We thank you Tammy and Cara for taking the time to make this day so special!

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend!

XO,

Gina

{31} Lately…

Nico St. Patricks Day

Lately I’ve been…

reading  Still reading The Goldfinch.  Didn’t realize how long the book was!  I am actually enjoying it, but I have been pretty sidetracked with reading business development books and other things.  I will eventually finish it!  

writing  I recently started freelance writing for the new parenting blog started by Mom365. They are a newborn photography company who specializes in hospital photos.  Their blog has tons of parenting tips and advice from moms across the country and is an excellent resource, especially for new parents.  I am so excited to be included in this new venture!  Here is one of the more recent posts I wrote about taking baby outside in the cold.

listening  Went to brunch over the weekend at a piano bar and heard amazing music from Dylan Meek.  We ended up getting his CD and have been playing it while cooking dinner this week. So relaxing!

thinking  How much I miss Nico’s curls.  I held off getting his hair cut for SO long. People thought I was crazy as his hair was growing into his eyes and all, but I just thought it was adorable.  I did have to admit, things started getting out of control, so we finally decided to go for a haircut.  I’m definitely missing those baby curls on my little boy!

smelling  The chicken dinner my husband prepared for us last night lingering in the kitchen.

watching  Just watched 127 Hours, which was nominated for an Academy Award a few years ago.  What an incredible survival story.  It was tough to watch at times, but I’m so glad we watched this amazing account of a man’s will to live.

wishing  We were back in Mexico enjoying that warmth & sunshine once again!  Although my stomach probably wishes otherwise haha.

hoping  For a good doctor’s appointment this week.  We are going on Thursday to check on our little baby for an anatomy scan to make sure he or she is healthy.  Please send us love, prayers, and good vibes!  We will also be able to find out baby’s gender VERY soon!  We are hoping to do a fun reveal in the next week or two (not only for you, but for ourselves as well!), so stay tuned!

wearing  GREEN!  In honor of my Irish heritage.  Yes, I know it’s hard to believe, but I’m actually 50% Irish.  As you can see from above, Nico is celebrating too. Happy St. Paddy’s Day to all!

loving  Nico uttered these words this week… “I love you Mama.” I meeeeeaaannnn this pretty much just made my entire life!  I think every mom waits to hear those three little words from their child. I admit, I prompted him to say it, and right now he loves parroting everything I say, but it was absolutely amazing all the same. 🙂 

wanting  One of these amazingly cool cartoon bags.

needing  Support for my Lenten service project! My sorority sister, Brielle, and I decided to join together to run a family supply drive for the Thorpe Residences in the Bronx, NY. They provide food & shelter to families in transition. They are in need of everything from diapers, wipes, formula, baby food, to board games & toys for family game night. We created an Amazon Wish List that will be up until April 12th for donations, and we can also accept donations in person. Brielle and I will be hand delivering the items to Thorpe after the drive. We appreciate anything you are able to donate!

feeling  How proud of how productive I was yesterday.  I normally hate waking up early, but decided to force myself to stay awake (and not go back to sleep), get my workout in early, eat breakfast and get a jump start on my work for the day.  I have to admit, it felt amazing, and I felt like I had so much energy to get things done.

craving  A green smoothie…because it is St. Patrick’s Day afterall.

clicking  Through beautiful houses in Deep Creek Lake, MD.  Planning a bachelorette getaway for my bestie, Meg, and should be making a final selection on a place tonight!  Whoo hoo!

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On a final note, I would like to wish a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my niece, Brittany!  Hope you have a great day!

What have you been up to lately?

XO,

Gina

***I was inspired by Tina of Like Ordinary Life to create this post, and she was inspired by Lauren of siddathornton, who started The Sunday Currently.