Need a rainy day activity? Baking with your kids is a fun way to spend time together, learn life skills, and end up with a yummy treat! This *may* have counted as math, science, and home economics today for e-learning 🤣✅🤣 Thanks @hersheys for my FAVORITE chocolate chip cookie recipe ever! First of all, let’s talk about some benefits of rosewater:
Rosewater can bring benefits to all skin types, it can help soothe and cool sensitive and irritated skin, balance and cleanse oily skin, rejuvenate, soften and tone mature skin, revitalize and add a beautiful glow to the normal skin. Rosewater is filled with anti-oxidants and various vitamins, therefore, it can help prevent the signs of aging and nourish the skin.
Rosewater also has natural antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-bacterial properties. The bottom line is it’s awesome and a daily must! One of Ash & Mel’s favs is @traderjoes Rose Water for $3.99!
Quarantine field trip to the strawberry patch. Fresh from the farm…yummy strawberry shortcake – with homemade strawberry sauce! Melissa Bogardus (aka Makeup Mel) has been working in the hair and makeup industry since she was 15. She says that makeup, style and beauty are her elements. She is a dreamer that loves to mentor others and teach them how to create and feel good about themselves. She is wife to Scott, mom to Jack, and stepmom to twins, Lilly & Jolie, and her fur baby, Ginger the Golden. In her spare time, you will find her enjoying Friday night dinners with her family, working out or learning to shoot fashion photos on her iPhone. Don’t repress your feelings in an attempt to be strong. Emotions are normal and apart of being human.
GRATEFULNESS: Dealing with trauma isn’t always a bad thing. Learning to cope with negative emotions strengthens the mind and leaves more room for positive ones. One of @make_up_mel favorite beauty products – Lindo Beauty Cloth. Ash & Mel use these every night and have for years. It erases your makeup right off, including waterproof mascara and lash glue, with just water. They are reusable and machine washable. Mel just got another shipment into the studio (she can barely keep them in stock) $13 for one or $22 for two cloths. DM if you want one. Porch pickup or add $3 for shipping. Happy early Easter! With bad weather coming Sunday, we’re calling an audible and changing up celebration plans. I feel like I am continually learning about being flexible to most everything these days. We will be enjoying Good Friday services, spending time outside tomorrow and Saturday, having fun hiding eggs, soaking up the beautiful weather and most importantly being present. Sunday after celebrating Easter with online church service, I am preparing some fun inside activities while the weather is bad and everyone is cooped up. We’re trying an indoor scavenger hunt and silly Easter games I’m attempting to make up. What a special time to soak up with our loved ones! Wishing you many Easter blessings friends!
Guess who?!? The #icecreambandit and her daughter, Brooklyn, were in the kitchen baking her grandmother’s famous red velvet cake today. Be sure to include Home Economics in your E-learning too! Sweet memories made in the kitchen today! Need a quick and healthy dinner idea? Roasted veggie pasta is a BIG hit at my house. It’s super quick, easy and can be modified to whatever you have on hand. Plus it’s a great way to sneak in a TON of veggies. Be sure to check out our website for all of our recipes. Spend a few minutes this week writing cards to drop in the mail. This is a great way to connect with others during this time of social distancing to say hi and spread some cheer! What a great way to show someone you’re thinking of them! @traderjoes always has a great selection and they’re only $1!
Like everyone else, we are a little stir crazy and trying to figure out our new normal. New schedule with E-learning…how to get up, get ready and excited to tackle the day…juggling kids, work, conference calls and zoom meetings…managing the 27+ snack times throughout the day…finding time and motivation for workout…the list could go on and on! Tune in to our podcast to see how we’re managing our days, trying to stay sane and living out our life’s motto to “Wing It”! It’s no secret I absolutely love fresh flowers in my house. We both buy fresh flowers every week and make simple arrangements. Today I cut some fresh steams of hydrangeas from our yard and added to my Easter decorations. I love how they can brightening up a space and your mood. Candles can instantly change the ambiance of a setting, whether indoors or outside. The practical side of adding light to an area, without the harshness of a bright, electric bulb. The soft flickering of the light can create a relaxing atmosphere and add a sense of warmth. Scented candles can have a huge impact on mood and bring a sense of zen. Be sure to follow along as we will show you what we do with all of our “leftover” candles!
Ivy League Pros favorite product alert‼️ We absolutely ❤️ @bareminerals Well Rested! It’s one of our favorite go to products that helps us hide dark circles, brightens our eyes to seem like we are bright eyed and bushy tailed, fully rested 😴 and ready to take on the day or night 🎉. It’s a must have for your makeup bag! @make_up_mel will be doing a quick tutorial to show you a few pro tips on how she uses Well Rested – be sure to tune in! Everyday we are given choices/options/decisions/alternatives/whatever you want to call them. During my quiet time this morning, I realized I had some very important decisions to make during this time of uncertainty. I could choose to let fear set in with all the unknowns or I could choose HOPE just as easily. During this season, let’s allow hope to be just as contagious as fear could possibly be. So today will you join me and choose hope?
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isiah 41:10approved! It’s the perfect sweet and salty treat and we love making this with our kiddos. The beauty of this is you can add or take away whatever suits your tastes (and whatever you have on hand).
With all the craziness, turn shower time into a spa experience! A couple of sprays can help alleviate stress, clear up congestion and provide a sense of calm. Get @spaatrossbridge to ship you a bottle! An inexpensive way for you to have your at home spa experience! While decorating for Easter I realized I had WAY too many plastic Easter eggs floating around our house…so with all the extra time and extra eggs, we made an egg wreath! Break out the hot glue gun, a scrap of cute ribbon to hang it from and design your own masterpiece! Life seems to literally be turned upside down for all of us. Although most days we yearn for down time you might have already had your fill. One way to combat “cabin fever” is to workout. Janet recommends doing 10 of each exercise or 30 seconds of each exercise. Most importantly do what you can with the beautiful body you have.
Dollar Tree can’t be beat for $1 balloons – use them for parties, birthdays, get well, or simply a happy!
Adding olive oil to any cheap store brand pizza jazzes it up and makes it taste restaurant quality! Life skills laundry day! Today we’re working on teaching some life skills to our kiddos while we are social distancing. This can be a great activity for all ages to help with this never-ending chore. Some items we covered: 1. How to sort dirty clothes, 2. Checking for stains (treating if necessary) and checking pockets for any items left, 3. How to use washing machine (we went through settings/buttons and what they mean), 4. How much detergent to use and where it goes, 5. Teaching how to use dryer (we went through settings/buttons and what they mean), 6. Cleaning lint trap with each load, 7. How to fold clothes and towels (my way🤣), 8. Showing them how to put clothes away properly. Today’s activity went surprisingly well! I learned to let go of some of my Type A tendencies and not to underestimate my little ones – they CAN be huge helpers if I let them be!
One of our favorite #ILprotips! Place your raw onion in the freezer to minimize the tears while chopping onions! There are some easy things you can do to keep the germs down and keep yourself well. We like Airshield and Elderberry. Don’t forget rest, hydration, hand washing, fresh air and probiotics! This facial spray can be used as a primer, setting spray or re-energizing spray after long day or flight. Brings back moisture and glow to your skin. Depending on which variety you choose, it’s infused with Aloe Vera, Gardenia, Rose, Cucumber and Green Tea – all are calming to the skin, reduces redness and a staple in our beauty kits. Retails for about $7. Since we are getting *ahem* older, we’ve added collagen to our diet to help age gracefully. Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body and is a key constituent of all connective tissues. Our bodies cannot synthesize enough collagen on their own and our diets today contain minimal collagen. So join us and add a packet to your morning routine (1 serving has like 20 grams of protein)! We’re given one body so we have to take care of it! Game changer product alert! We both LOVE this product and use daily. We know it’s hard to get your water in daily but even harder on the weekends. Make it a point when you first wake up to drink a glass. Another glass with every meal, especially if you have a cocktail/wine with dinner. Also attempting to drink on the hour is a helpful way to continue to hydrate. Make it part of your morning routine to fill your bottle up in morning and keep with you. We love our Ivy League Water Bottles – keeps us hydrated and plastic out of the landfills.
