Tips – awkward vodka

My favorite people to follow on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter

Like most 30-somethings, I’m obsessed with social media – especially Instagram and Instagram stories lately. I find myself watching stories for way too long before I get out of bed in the morning, in the middle of the night, while waiting in line for coffee. I can’t stop. Here’s who you should be following!

Here are some of my favorite people to follow…

1. @emilyschuman at Cupcakes and Cashmere

Emily is the founder of Cupcakes & Cashmere, an adorable lifestyle blog that I’ve been obsessed with for a couple of years. She posts about fashion, food, beauty and more. There is even a Cupcakes & Cashmere shop. It’s a little on the pricey side, but I’m sure I’ll cave and buy something eventually. The earrings she’s wearing in her insta-stories are always absolutely beautiful and sold in the shop so I’m guessing that’ll be what I buy first…

2. Chrissy Teigen

If you don’t know that Chrissy Theigen is a must-follow celeb on twitter by now, then you must be living under a rock. She’s hilarious and always interacting with her followers (see example above). From her cooking on her Insta-stories to her witty banter on Twitter, she’s sure to entertain you on any social media platform.

3. @busyphilipps

So I really only watched Busy Philipps on Cougar Town (I know…), but I somehow ended up following her on Instagram, and I’m not mad about it. I have this same conversation with friends on a weekly basis:

Do you follow Busy Philipps on Instagram?

YES! She posts things that I would never imagine posting about myself.

Right? I love her.

She shares real life things like sweaty workouts, skin problems and days drunk on vacation. But then you also get to see her getting ready for fancy events and hanging out on the red carpet. I might have to go watch all of Dawson’s Creek on Netflix now…

4. Ali at @Inspiralized

Ali is the inventor of the spiralizer, a super cool tool that turns zucchini and other veggies into noodles for easy meal prep. She has a couple different instagram accounts: alissandrab, inspiralized and inspiralizedkids. All of them have great healthy eating and lifestyle content. She has a little boy only a month younger than Baby B, so I love being able to follow along what she’s going through at the same time as me.

5. bravoandy

When I started writing this post, RC recommended that I add Andy Cohen. I don’t watch Bravo so I thought “nah.” But then followed him, and he’s great. Super funny! Even if you don’t watch Bravo shows, he’s worth a follow.

6. @catandnat

Cat & Nat are moms who started an online community of moms who go live on Facebook daily to rant and joke about their lives as moms. As they say on their website, they dismantle the unrealistic portrayals of motherhood that are often presented throughout social and traditional media. And they are so funny, you guys. If you’re a mom (or even if you aren’t), you have to follow them!

7. @buzzfeed

If you’re anything like me, you spent literally hours every day on Buzzfeed in around 2010-2013. I’ve rediscovered my love for Buzzfeed via Instagram in the last year or so. Go follow them to get a daily dose of laughs in your feed.

8. Ria and Fran at @chicksintheoffice

My brother got me hooked on Bar Stool Sports in the past year. A couple months ago they made an amazing choice and gave Chicks in the Office their own show. While I don’t get to listen to it that often, I need too more because I love their Instagram videos on pop culture news. I feel like they’re my besties.

9. Gina Homolka at @skinnytaste

I’ve been using SkinnyTaste as my go-to for meal prep for years. Gina’s recipes are delicious and healthy. I love following her on Facebook and Instagram. Her Instagram stories are always a fun look into her personal life, as well as her cooking.

10. @vancityreynolds

He’s hot and funny. What’s there not to love?

Who else should I be following? Anyone on this list you love? Or hate?

Bachelorette party in Temecula

If you’re planning a trip to Temecula, for a bachelorette party or anything else, here are a couple must-stop places I would recommend visiting.

Last week, I was lucky enough to travel to southern California wine country for my future sister-in-law’s bachelorette party. If you’ve never been to Temecula, I recommend planning a trip! Old Temecula was adorable, the vineyards were beautiful and the weather was amaaaazing.

If you’re planning a trip, here are are a couple must-stop places we visited during our long weekend:

Gershon Bachus Vintners

This vineyard had the most beautiful view. I liked the wine, but it wasn’t my favorite. However, their wine crackers for in between tasting were super yummy. #Important

Robert Renzoni Vineyards & Winery

Robert Renzoni was the vineyard with my favorite wine and food. Their red wines were all delicious – loved their port. Their moscato d’asti was also really good! I would have bought a bottle if I wasn’t worried about packing for the flight back. My mom, sister and I ordered artichokes and a meat and cheese plate to share, and the bachelorette ordered a cheese pizza that was arguably one of the best cheese pizzas I’ve ever tried. This is a must-stop vineyard in Temecula!

Leoness Cellars

Our favorite part of this vineyard was hot Greg who did our tasting. The wine was also super good, but, I’ll be honest, we were distracted by Greg and had drank a lot at the last two vineyards…

Hart Winery

Honestly, by this time I was pretty full of wine so it’s hard to know exactly how good this vineyard was… 🙂 It was a really unique location. It seemed a bit like a barn or garage in a wooded area, which I didn’t love because the other views in Temecula are so beautiful. However, you wouldn’t have found me complaining as I was slurring my speech, FaceTiming my husband and baby B back at home, and chugging rosé outside on the porch area.

The Goat and Vine

We hung out in Old Temecula on our last night, which is an adorable area with little shops, bars and restaurants. For dinner, we went to The Goat and Vine. They had sandwiches, salads and pizzas that all sounded so good it felt impossible to pick something to order. My mom and I shared a pizza and salad, and they were delicious! The salad had spinach, bacon, spicy almonds, feta cheese, grape tomatoes, green onion and champagne vinaigrette. I would try making it at home, but I feel like salads never taste as good when you make them yourself… I don’t think anyone in our group had a bad thing to say about their meal – so good!

Because of all the snow in the Midwest over the weekend, our flight was cancelled and we were stranded in San Diego for an extra two days. After getting our flight rebooked, we spent a couple hours walking around downtown San Diego looking for a hotel to stay in for two nights. We finally found one, and the guy at the front desk was the best – shout out to the Westin San Diego! He recommended we try a restaurant down the street for brunch: Queenstown Public House. The little restaurant screamed “take my photo and put it on instagram!” …So I did.

The drinks bright, fun colors, and the food was so good. I would definitely recommend making a stop there if you’re ever stranded in San Diego.

Overall, the trip was awesome! Can’t wait to go back again someday.

-SM

How to hide it when you are exhausted!

Whether you had too many cocktails at a happy hour, your child won’t sleep for more than two hours at a time or you stayed up too late binge watching your latest Netflix obsession, waking up and looking exhausted is the worst.

Here are some ways to try and hide the tired-eyes look:

Coffee. Obviously.
Water, too. Try drinking a huge glass of water right when you get up. I’ve gotten this advice in the past, and always thought it was bullshit. Well, it’s not. I try to have a big glass of water every morning before doing anything else, and it actually helps.
Shop for a great eye cream: Origins Eye Cream is my favorite. Origins products show up multiple times on this list because they are the best! I use this eye cream every day and love it.
Find a good moisturizer that works for your skin type: Like Origins Ginzing Energy-Boosting Gel Moisturizer. I’m obsessed. My face can get greasy, and I love this because it moisturizes without causing the oily look.
MASCARA! Buxom mascara is my new favorite mascara. It’s really light so it doesn’t weigh down your eyelids when you’re already exhausted.
Color correctors are your friend. I’ve developed some pretty nasty under-eye circle after having a baby. I love the coverfx yellow color corrector for under my eyes.
Find time to pamper yourself with a clay mask. Origins Original Skin™ Retexturizing Mask with Rose Clay is my favorite. I try to use this at least once a week. It keeps skin looking smooth and youthful looking! Side note: My skin isn’t looking so smooth and youthful lately since I’ve been using it more like once a month instead of once a week…
Only have a couple minutes for makeup because you snoozed a few too many times? Try a colorful lipstick to distract from your trouble spots caused by a lack of zzzs.

What are your tips and tricks for looking alive when you’d rather be snuggled up in bed?

Hangover tips for new parents

Since having my little guy back in August, I’ve had a couple of hangovers. Having a hangover with an infant is tough. And, I don’t know about you, but I still have occasions in my life where I want to indulge in a couple (or more than a couple) cocktails. So here are my tips for being a new mom and dealing with the dreaded hangover…

Since having my little guy back in August, I’ve had a couple of hangovers. Having a hangover with an infant is tough. TOUGH! You can’t just nap all day long. And, I don’t know about you, but I still have occasions in my life where I want to indulge in a couple (or more than a couple) cocktails. Weddings. Bachelorette Parties. St. Patrick’s Day. Football Games. Random Nights Out!

The amount of times I go out has definitely decreased, but hangovers are still not fun. Here are my tips for being a new mom and dealing with the dreaded hangover…

Drink less and avoid the hangover all together.

LOL – not going to happen. But it feels like a responsible thing to say… Here’s my real list:

Day drink – For St. Patty’s Day, we had Grandma watch B and went out with friends during the day. I was home by 8 p.m., had my Domino’s pizza and woke up oddly refreshed.
Week day drinks and happy hours are your friend – It’s easier being hungover at work than at home with an infant. You can throw your hair up in a messy bun, grab your coffee and greasy breakfast sandwich on your way to work and recover in peace at your desk.
Eat these – #YUM
Overnight childcare is key – If you have family close by who can watch baby while you’re out and then keep them until later in the morning the next day, that’s perfect.
Avoid annoying kid TV shows – It may be tempting to just turn on the TV for baby, but you do not want that headache-inducing music to be playing when you already feel like your head is going to explode.
Nap when baby naps – Everyone told me to do this while on maternity leave, but I didn’t listen. I had to shower, do laundry, make food. When you’re hungover, nap when baby naps!
Split up the duties – Order some breakfast on Door Dash or Bite Squad and invite your friends over to recover with you. The more people around, the more people to play with your little one.
Plan ahead – Have snacks ready because leaving the house is hard enough when you’re hungover – try being hungover and getting baby ready and out the door.
Pedialyte – Honestly, I’ve never tried this one, but have heard good things. Plus, if you’re a parent, you might already have it laying around the house.
Reminisce! – Watch Insta-stories and look at pics from the night before. Because if you don’t remember how much fun you had, you’ll find yourself swearing off drinking, and we all know that’s not actually going to happen…

Anyone else have a baby at home that has made everyday life so happy, but hungover days the absolute worst? Let me know you’re fave tips for handling baby + hangover!

-SM