Fall Family Bucket List & Giveaway

I woke up before the kids the other day……

I know gasp!

I was waiting for Carson to wake me up around 3am (per his usual) but he didn’t which is a very very tricky game babies play on their parents sometimes.

I just knew the second I fell back asleep he’s going to start screaming.

So I waited……
annnnnnd waited……
and waited some more until I was WIDE awake and there was no way I was falling back asleep.

I decided to make use of this kid free time.

Visions of drinking coffee kid free aka hot coffee danced in my head. 
Because coffee, ALWAYS! 

I opened the door to let Brady out to go potty and was hit in the face with a breeze of cool crisp air.

The equivalent of waving hot fresh donuts in the face of a police officer.

WHAT is this?
Fall is that you? 
I thought it was only September.
Fall doesn’t hit TX until January.
What’s going on?
Maybe I’m dreaming?
Oh oh oh I see the sneaky game you’re playing Texas!
You DO let fall trickle in but I guess you have to be up at the crack of dawn to enjoy it.
Ok let’s do this!

The quick sniff of crisp fall air awoke the fall lover in me and filled her heart will all things plaid and pumpkin. She was excited!
Very excited!

I took my hot coffee and my favorite fall candled (Spiced Apple Wreath by Better Homes and Garden) and ran to my office.
Quietly though. Didn’t want to wake the kids. So I guess it was more like a tiptoe hop than a run.

I settled in at my desk….
took a big whiff of my candle…….
sipped my yummy and very hot coffee…….

It was time to make a fall bucket list and quick before I was hit with the 90 degree heat and humidity that’s still very present in Texas.

And so I Pinterestd’ (Umm Pinterested? I don’t know. We’re going for a verb here), planned and crafted two fall bucket lists.

I even got out my planner and sent out some text to set some fall plans in motion!
Only with my mama friends though because they are the only ones that I can text at 5am and know I’m not waking them.

I created one fall bucket list for the family which I’m sharing with you today and another for myself; the quintessential fall lover. 

I will be sharing my Mama Fall Bucket List on our YouTube channel in more of a chit-chat form on Friday (Oct, 2nd) .

Alrighty friends here is our 2015 fall bucket list!

 

 

And because I love you so I wanted to do a little fall love giveaway!

I’m giving away my most favorite fall smell Spiced Apple Wreath (in a wax melt) and a set of precious woodland cookies cutters from Ikea.

Did you see on my list above “Bake Fall Cookies”?
Yep we’ll be using these pretties.
They were so stinking adorable I decided to pick up a set for you as well!
And the smell wellllll it’s very near and dear to my heart.
It’s my absolute most favorite fall winter scent!
You can no longer buy it at least as a wax melt.
They carried as a candle last year but I have yet to see it on the shelves this year so I’m thinking it’s not being released.
Sooooooo the fact that I’m giving this away speakers to how much I love you guys because I don’t get into my Spiced Apple Wreath stash for just anyone.

RULES:
-You must reside within the US
-You must be 18 or older
-You must love the wax melt that's included in the giveaway or you have to send it back to me. Okay just kidding about that one!

HOW TO ENTER:
- Leave a comment below telling me what you love most about fall. Just a little FYI due to spam I approve all my comments before they post. If you’re not seeing your comment pop up in the comment section it’s because I still need to approve it.
OR
- Leave a comment on our Instagram account (Instagram: Kendra_Huie) under the giveaway photo telling me what you love most about fall.

I’ll put everyone's names in a hat next Wednesday (October 7th) and let Weston pick our winner. I’ll be in touch with the winner shortly after.

Be sure to stopped by our YouTube channel on Friday to hear about my “Mama Fall Bucket List”

The One Where I Ramble

Let’s jump on in…..

Planners: Two years in a row I said I was done with Erin Condren planners and went a different direction. One year I actually tossed my new planner and went running back to Erin’s planner with my tail tucked between my legs. She’s good y’all reallllll good BUT I hate how expensive they are and I’m just kind of ready for something new ya know? So here we are again almost to the end of the year and I’m starting to think on what I want to do. Fork over the $50 for Erin’s planner goodness or give another company a try. Has she completely mastered the market?

Here are a few I’m thinking on:
Inkwell Press -  Not a cheaper option but I like the simplified look. I’m leaning towards this one but they are currently sold out POO! Hoping I can get one in Nov when they release more.
Day Designer - Another high end option. Oh these are lovely. They break down the days a little different than your typical planner, more of a list style. Y’all know I like my list!  This planner is more business geared which I’m not too sure that’s what I want this year.  
Create 365 Planner – Super cute! Love the cover options as well as the layout inside. It’s much more cost effective than other planners I’m thinking on ($24.14 and you can get it even cheaper at Hobby Lobby with a 40% off coupon) and the line has tons of fun stickers and add ones you can use in the planner. BUT I’ve actually held this one in my hands and flipped through it and I’m not so sure the quality is there. I’m worried about it lasting throughout the year. You get what you pay for I guess.

I’m still not sure which way I’m going to go but if you have a favorite planner or use one of these let me know what you think! 

Hosting a Baby Shower: I’m hosting a baby shower for my BFF this weekend. She’s really more like my sister than a friend. I’m beyond excited to be able to do this for her as I love her so! I’m looking forward to celebrating my sweet nieces. YES she had twins, identical baby girls! They joined us a little earlier than planned but are growing and doing well.  It’s been a while since I’ve hosted an actual party and let me tell ya if you need to get your house in order throw a party. It works every stinking time! We cleaned out the garage. I started the boys’ play room. Organized all my photography props. Decorated my porch for fall and this list goes on. This is all running on very little sleep. Seeing how much I can get done on 4 hours of sleep with a baby who doesn’t want to be put down is showing me I can do way more than I thought! I’m not going to be able to finish everything before the shower but I’m going to keep the momentum going no sleep and all.

Pioneer Woman's New Line at Walmart: Have you seen it? Ugh I stop and drool over the pieces each time I go in and I’m not the only one. I caught another lady doing the same thing. Of course I called her on it. We had a good chuckle then shared our love for Ree. The plates, the bowls, the glasses, the serving pieces stinking beautiful! Everyone is on a white kick these days. I’m so happy to see a stylish line that has some color to it. I would be over the moon to own her whole line! Yep it’s that pretty! I may add her stuff to my Christmas list this year.

We’re Moving: Well not us exactly but the blog is moving and y’all I am sooooo crazy excited to share all that will be going on with the blog. Nothing big will be happening until late December so you’ll still find me here for a couple months but just know that come Jan our little space on the interwebs will be be snazzy and the punctuation error in the header will be no longer! Y’all know I’m far from being a grammar or spelling queen but that flub done by my old designer kind of urks me. Be excited for the changes (better photo quality, a better platform for me to interact with you, awesome new design) I’m mixing our personal blog, my photographer work, and our DROOLZIES shop into one happy virtual house. It’s going to be lovely!

Periscope: Have you jumped on the bandwagon? Well you should. It’s fun like real fun! I love that I can jump on and easily share. There’s no editing that needs to be done and I’m crazy about the live chat feature. It’s awesome to be able to connect with others right then and there. So far I’ve shared tips for selecting clothing for fall photos (from a photographer’s point of view). We went shopping or cheap but funky pumpkins. We looked at Big Lots fall and Christmas décor (they have some cute stuff). I shared my 5 minute mama makeup routine. I’ve done a Stitch Fix haul and I’m starting a story time series. It’s more like a late night grab a beverage and let have a chat type of story time. It you want to be Periscope buddies you can find me under Kendra_Huie

I Love Fall: Don’t need to go into more detail about this one.

Annnnnd that is all for today’s ramble chit-chat! See you guys next Wednesday! 

Friday Favorites

 

 

Makeup Loves:

I’ve fallen in love with the Pixi makeup line. I’ve bought several things from them and have been so happy with everything I’ve tried out.

This lip tint is the perfect pop of soft color and shine…..not too much color just a pretty soft pink ! I’m kissing on my babies most of the day so I usually go for softer colors while I’m wearing my mama hat (hate when people kiss my babies and leave big dark lipstick stains on their skin) and this is one that I’ve been grabbing for lately. I even wear it to the gym. A little tip: It looks super light in person but it actually turns to a pretty soft pink when you apply it. 

 

 

Another Pixi product love!
I’ve never really been a brow person. I didn’t color them in or use a tinted wax to shape them. It seemed like an extra step that I didn’t need.  Oh friends I was so wrong. Pixi’s Natural Brow Duo is a super low key way to give your bows some love. It takes no time for me to use it and I love the manicured look it gives my brows. It’s one of those things where you look at yourself and think “Something looks different, good but different and I can’t quite pinpoint what the change is.” It’s the brows y’all!  I’m converted and now use this daily even when I’m applying my 5min mama makeup.

 

 

 

Mama Loves:

Oh this bag! It’s worthy of its own post but let me tell ya why I’m even more in love with it this week. During a recent road trip a bottle leaked in my bag. I didn’t noticed that it had happened until the smell set in. Oh the smell blah! Besides the awesome print another reason I was pulled towards this bag is that it claims to be machine washable.  Well stinky bottle spillage was the perfect time to test it out.  I was worried that my beloved diaper bag would come out of the dryer in pieces but you know what it didn’t . She looked just as pretty as she did when I 1st bought her and the stink was gone! Awesomesauce!

 

We love our DROOLZIES bibs. Yessss I’m the creator of them and sale them in our Esty store BUT as a mama I also love them for my boys. Their cute and they do a great job of catching all that drool and spitup. Weston wore the stink out of his when he was teething. Carson has recently become a major drool bucket so our DROOLZIES have come back out and are getting another round of baby love. I am not sponsored by the other companies that I’ve listed in this week’s faves but I do have some pull with DROOLZIES so how about a coupon code for 35% off just for my blog buddies?

Enter the code HANGINGWITHTHEHUIES at checkout for 35% off! :)

 

 

Random Love:

 

I recently bought a package LePen colored pens to use in Carson’s baby book and our family Project Life album. I was told they write beautifully. They are nice pens don’t get me wrong but you know what? I like the markers from The Dollar Tree a million times better! I bought of The Dollar Tree markers for Weston. While I was waiting for my LePen order to come in I needed a fine tipped marker pen for something I was working on so I went into our craft closet and grabbed one from this set. Oh my y’all I was pleasantly  surprised. They write beautifully! I honestly see myself grabbing for these over my nice LePens. The Dollar Tree markers have moved out of the craft closet and now have a nice spot on my desk. I used them to address baby shower invites and have been using them in my Erin Condren planner as well. Love good cheap stuff!

 

Carson’s Love:

Carson is starting to teeth aka everything goes straight to his mouth. He loves his little blue elephant! It’s easy for him to hold in his hands, there’s lots of little things he can chew on, and he loves the crinkly sound it makes while he’s playing with it. If we’re going to be out of the house for a while and I always pack this little guy in our diaper bag in case he has a melt down and needs a distraction. It’s saved several times.

Weston’s Love:

 

Weston is all about anything transportation. Trucks, cars, airplanes, construction vehicles he loves them all but lately he’s been on a train kick. I bought him these train magnets for Christmas but put them away for awhile. You know the “Oh look at this new toy trick” for rainy days when they’re bored. He loved them when he 1st played with them after Christmas but he looooves them now. He’ll play with them on his own for a good 30 min. That’s 10 hours in toddler time. He’s sitting next to me while I type this and just said “Oh my train magnets! I love train magnets. My favorite!” so there ya have it he gave it his actual stamp of approval.

 

I’m not sponsored by any of these companies and purchased these items with my own money. My reviews are honest and truthful! It’s really stuff I love!

Where you can purchase these items (clickable links)
Pixi’s Tinted Balm – Target
Pixi’s Eyebrow Duo – Target 
Ju-Ju-Be B.F.F. Legacy diaper bag in the print Queen of the Nile – This diaper bag can be purchased from various venders as well as Amazon
DROOLZIES bandana drool bibs enter code HANGINGWITHTHEHUIES for 35% off – Our Etsy store
Dollar Tree Markers – Can be purchased in store or in bulk through their site ( you have to purchase at least 4 packs to purchase  through their website). Kind of silly huh?
Bright Starts Snuggle and Teethe – Walmart  or Amazon

On the YouTube Channel This Week:
Be sure to subscribe over there so you can following along! I don’t typically post on here when we’ve posted a vlog on our YouTube channel.  
-Target Haul
-Day in the Life Vlog (it’s a cute one)
-Stitch Fix Haul

And Tomorrow He Turns 2

Tomorrow we’ll be celebrating Weston’s 2nd birthday!

Oh my gosh y’all I have a 2 year old! WHAT THE WHAT!?!

Instead of a party we’re doing the same thing we did for him last year…….
A day full of extra special fun.
Of course presents and a yummy treat will be involved.
He’s not really into cake but he loves ice cream so ice cream it is with cherries and sprinkles of course!

Tomorrow just he and I will be celebrating during the day. I have some fun car themed crafts and outings planned……..
because as we all know cars are his most favorite thing! 
Kent is taking off early so we can take him to a special dinner at Peter Piper Pizza.
In a toddlers eye’s that’s some fine dining right there!

Kent is taking the day off on Friday so we can take him for a fun outing during the day!
I’m digging this no party thing because we’re able to put what we would spend on a party towards activities, outings, and special treatment for the birthday boy but I have a feeling this will be his last birthday without an actually party. 
As soon as he’s old enough to tell us that’s what he wants then a party it is! 

I’ll be vlogging Thursday and Friday so if you want to see what we did to celebrate little dude be sure to visit our YouTube channel.

Not sure why but his 2nd birthday is hitting me a lot harder than his 1st did.
Maybe because he’s more of a little boy now.

He talks up a storm.
He plays like a little boy (which is one of my most favorite things to watch).
I can reason with him.
He asks legit questions.
I find myself staring at him and thinking………..
how did this happen?
You were my sweet chunk just days ago now you’re this little boy.

I’ve been thinking back to “pregnant Kendra”
All the emotions I was experiencing as we prepared for his arrival.
The big belly I loved so much. Feeling him kick and move around.
The anticipation of seeing him for the 1st time.
How beautiful his labor was.
How I was hit with an over powering amount of love the second they laid him in my arms.
What an amazing gift he is and how blessed I am to be his mama.

It may be sleep deprivation
(blame our new sweet chunk who hates sleep)
but I’ve been an on emotional loon this week. 
Its all the mushy gooey and all things cheesy love I have for this boy of ours makes me do wacky things.

And because I’m a bad photographer mama I just now getting around to editing some of his 1st birthday pictures.
That’s what happens when photography is your job.
Your kids stuff gets pushed to the backburner and I’m talking the backburner at the house 5 cities over.
Oh well now we can look at them and be like…..
“Awwww look how little he was.”
When you wait a whole year to edit photos they take on a whole new meaning!

And because they are just too cute not to share here are  few of Weston’s 1st year photos……
a year late.

 

I was pregnant with Carson here but we were still keeping it hush hush!

PS…I posted 2 new vlogs on our YouTube channel this week (Fall Target Haul & and a Day in the Life Vlog).
I’ll back on the blog Friday with some Friday Favorites!

How I Style My Naturally Curly Hair

 

1. Hair Dryer and Diffuser – The one above is the one I actually use but the main thing you need is a diffuser attachment for your hair dryer. The diffuser helps to add volume and keep your curl intact while blow drying. The more curly hair is fussed with the more frizz you open yourself up to. A gentle blow dry is best! Air drying is of course an option but I love the extra volume I get when drying with a diffuser.

Style Tip: I flip my head over and blow dry without the diffuser for about 3 minutes. During this step I’ll scrunch my hair in my hand to help create more curl.  I then add the diffuser attachment and finish it off with my head still flipped over. Having your head flipped over while drying adds volume! You’ll want to scoop your curls into the diffuser and hold it in place for a few seconds. After most of my hair is dried I flip my head upright and use the diffuser to add a little volume around the crown. Do you see the trend here? Volume…..volume…… and more volume!

2. Styling Gel – I’ve been using Biosilk’s Glazing Gel for years. Every now and then I’ll try something else just to see what’s out there but I have yet to find a gel that works as well as this does with my hair. It’s a thin gel which is one of the things I love about it. The thin consistency makes it easy to work through my hair and it holds my curl in place without making it look wet and crunchy. You that wet crunchy look I’m talking about!

Style Tip: I put a little in the palm of my hands and apply it throughout my hair in sections making sure that it gets in the areas where I tend to get more frizz and have tighter curls. I also make sure not to apply too much around the crown to keep it from weighing my curl down. Just a nice light even application is what you’re looking for. Once it’s applied I flipped my head over and use my hands to scrunch my my curls all over making sure to focus on the crown, again I want that volume and lift in the crown. This step bring the curls back to life after being flattened out from applying the gel. After this step I apply the frizz serim (look below) start the blow drying process.

3. Frizz Serium – This is not something that everyone will need. It really depends on your curl type. My curls are all over the place, tight, wavy, frizzy. I have a mix bag of curls if you will. Love this product to help define my curls, kick the frizz, and help with flyways. A little goes a loooooong way so be sure not to get carried away.

Style Tip: After I’ve blow dried my hair I’ll apply a little drop on my fingers and twist it around the curls that are frizzy and need a little extra love. It’s not something that I have to do each time I style my hair but it helps if I notice extra frizz . I only wash my hair a couple times a week so when it’s getting close to wash time and frizz is starting to creep in I’ll take a little in my hands and apply it to areas I need a little help.

4. Aerosol Hairspray – Nexxus Maxximum Hold aerosol does a great job of holding my curl and giving me that volume I love while keeping my hair from getting crunchy! 

Style Tip: After I’m done blow drying my hair I flip my head over lift my curls with my hand and give my hair a light spray. I then flip my head back over again lifting my curls with my hand and spray at the roots. This step locks in all that volume I’ve worked so hard to achieve.

And well most of the time I keep it pulled back, little fingers like to pull it ya know but sometime I do fix it the way I used to wear it before I had kids and when I do it looks like this…….

Where you can purchase these items (clickable links)
Revlon Perfect Heat Volumizing Hair Dryer , can also be found at Target
Biosilk Glazing Gel 
Garner Fructis Sleek & Shine Anti Frizz Serum , can also be found at Target
Nexxus Maxximum Hold Finishing Mist , can also be found at Target

I could go on and on about hair……
-The different ways I fix/style my hair
-Finding the right stylist
-Where I buy my hair accessories from (that’s one I get asked a lot)
-How I style it when I want less tight curl and more beach wave
-How I’m combating postpartum hair loss. I have it friends and let me tell ya the 2nd time around is way worse…. at least it is for me.

I’ve looked high and low and there’s not a ton of style help out there for the gals with naturally curly hair. If you want to see more post on hair perhaps one of the topics above please let me know here or on one of our social media accounts! 

YouTube / Instagram: Kendra.Huie / Facebook

The One Where I Ramble About Many Things……

I missed this week’s Wednesday post. We got back from our annual trip to Colorado Tuesday evening and I just didn’t have it in me to throw a post or vlog together. It’s okay to miss one week sometimes, right?

I’ll have a Colorado round up post on the blog soon! I have TONS to share!
I recorded a couple vlogs while we were there as well as a cabin tour and took tons of photos.

Okay now onto the rambling………

I was listing to the Pandora workout station during my workout today and I swear I heard a song with the lyrics “Hotter than a baby in a microwave”.
Ummm disturbing much?
Has anyone else heard this song? 
It could have been the lack of oxygen to my brain during my stair climbing session but I’m pretty sure that’s what the song said.

I’m thinking long and hard about getting into trail running.
Yes the girl who HAAAAATES to run and has bad knees but tail running sounds fun to me.
I blame CO and all its beautiful crunchiness.
It makes me want to hug trees and walk around in ugly sandals. 
It’s going to take some time to work up to it. Maybe a fitness goal?
I wrote it in on my focus list with a bunch of question marks around it.  
I’m deathly afraid of snakes and being attacked by stray dogs.
As long as the 2 go into hiding while I’m running we’ll be all good! Do they make steal toe running shoes?

I started reading a book this week.
I know I’m shocked too!
I passed buy it in the library. It had a hiking shoe on the cover which totally caught my eye (again blame my CO obsession). 
Why yes I do judge a book by its cover. Don’t lie you know you do too.  
I love the idea of reading but with self diagnosed ADD and sleep deprivation (blame the sweet infant of ours) reading has been pushed to the wayside (side note: I used to think it was waste side, totally made sense to me). Anyway I digress……..I’m the queen of starting and not finishing books. They have to be super awesome to keep my attention but like I said I love the idea of reading so I added “Read a Freaking Book” to my focus list. When I saw the hiking boot book (it’s called Wild) I went for it. Kent was very impressed to see me reading last night. So basically what I’m trying to say here is that reading makes you look good so if you’re not reading a book at the moment maybe you should add “Read a Freaking Book” to your focus list!

Joking aside
!!!!I need some good book suggestions!!!!

If you have a favorite lay it on me! Remember self diagnosed ADD here so it needs to be one that grabs your attention and holds on tight! Let me know your suggestions here or on Instagram!

Toddlers do this but no one warns you about it……..
They like to toot in public and they don’t care how many people are around. The SBDs (silent but deadly) ones are the most embarrassing because it could have totally been you that cut the cheese. We were at Nordstrom Rack shopping for shoes the other day. Weston and I were sitting on the floor trying on different shoes. There was a mother with her daughter right next to us and II  mean riiiight next to us. Perfect sniffing distance. Well Weston just let em’ rip. As soon as the smell from one went away he let another one out. I felt like I should apologize to the mom but if I did that it would have come off like I crop dusted but was blaming my kid so I said nothing and just laughed. Which I‘m sure made me look even more guilty. Weston laughed too but he had no idea why we were laughing. Oh to be so free.

While we were playing at the library which was quiet enough for all around to hear Weston lifted my maxi skirt up and said “Where’s your underwears mama?” Again I had to laugh. This kid! Thankfully I was wearing “underwears”

My work schedule is about to kick up and I’m a little nervous about it.
I’m officially off maternity leave in October. 
I tried really really hard to keep my fall shooting schedule to a minimal but there were just some shoots I could not turn down. Before I knew it I had doubled what I said I would take on.
It’s still a lighter load than I would typically shoot in the fall (high season for photographers) but I’m nervous.
With Carson getting up all night I just can’t pull those crazy work hours like I used to.
My MIL is an awesome support but she doesn’t love having both boys at the same time (I don’t blame her) so it’s going to be a challenge figuring out how to make it all work. 
I’m pumped to get back to shooting but it will be a challenging to figure out how to manage the boys, the house, my work load, oh and Droolzies (btw I’ll soon be running a massive sale to clear our innovatory as we restock for fall/winter be on the look out).
Good thing I love a challenge!
I’m sure it will work out just fine but please send coffee hugs. I’ll need them!

Halloween is coming up! As any mom with more than 1 kid would I’m looking forward to dressing my boys in themed costumes. They can hate me when they're older! I motioned to Kent that I thought it would be cute to dress Weston as a fireman (he loves fire trucks) and dress Carson as a Dalmatian. Adorable right? Kent was shocked that I would even suggest that. He said “That’s not fair. You can’t make Carson Weston’s dog. Weston gets to be a fireman but Carson has to be a dog? NO WAY!” Ummm totally didn’t think of it like that and I still think it would be adorable. Don’t you?       

That’s enough rambling for today! Be sure to leave a book suggestion! 

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