I go through cycles where I consistently go to a salon and have my nails done but I get sick of the time and cost that it takes.  When the pandemic hit I saw sooo many people trying to do their nails at home and I loved it!  It's fun to learn a new hobby and also use it as some self care.  I've done my nails at home for years and have spent time learning how to do my own acrylics, gel, dip, and builder gel.  Through all of these I've got to say that builder gel is by far my favorite and one that I plan on continuing. 

,Acrylic can be very messy and strong at home.  And if you mess up it's a bigger hassle to fix.  Dip is great but it felt more damaging to my nails and let's be real, it's a pain in the butt to remove!  Gel was easy and felt less damaging, but with weightlifting I tend to still chip them and because it's my natural nail they would break more.  Then enters builder gel....

This little toddler loves trying to help so I made sure to include her in my baking adventures today. Today we made chocolate chip - peanut butter - banana cookies [recipe here] and had so much fun.

Toddlers can be very messy in the kitchen so here are some of my tips and tricks:

• Have a step stool to make sure they can reach everything. We just have a basic cheap step stool - but there are really nice ones made for this
• Not only are aprons on kids adorable but they cut down on the mess. I got this reversible one from a local art show!
• Measure out all the ingredients needed ​- it makes it easier for them to pour ingredients
• I love my kitchen aid - so much easier with her than a hand mixer
• Let them have fun! Did we spill some flour on the counter? Yep, but then we just teach about cleaning up messes.

Do you have any tips for letting toddlers help in the kitchen? Leave them below in the comments.

If you haven't already looked, I posted my gift guides all on a separate page, but I wanted to also create a blog post as well!  I love giving gifts and have been finding so many deals already, but I also wanted to highlight other shops - smaller and local - and figured a post would be a great way to do it!  I love personalized gifts and think they can be so meaningful.  Here are some other gift ideas along with the links for all the others on myHoliday Gift Guide Page. 

 All the sales are happening and if you're like me you like to get your holiday shopping done early.  If you didn't know Target is doing their deal days right now (great price matching to Prime day!) The sale ends tomorrow though so hurry for these online only specials! P.S if you useRakuten you can also activate 1% cash back on certain products! 
*Shopping through my link gives me a small commission at no extra cost to you*

Right now they havefurniture deals up to 50% off! I am loving all these pieces and want to add a few to our home (even though I need a little more space....) I have been dying for a fireplace and this one is so cute!  My sister has a giant bean bag in their living room that my little one loves and this one is such a great deal!  Plus all the modern style furniture is so clean it makes me want to redo my whole house! 

There are SO many kitchen sales going on right now some are too good to pass up! This indoor grill is so cool I definitely want to snag one of these. Quite a few of my friends have air fryers and this one is $40 off.  If you don't have a kitchen aid already you are missing out and this one has a glass bowl and is beautiful!  We still have our standard Keurig (we use a reusable filter not pods) and they are great for quick coffee or hot water for tea. I don't know about you but we are slowly converting all our food storage to glass and I love these containers!

There are SO many more deals so check them out below:

• 40% off select toys
• BOGO 50% off select boots
• 30% Select Hair Appliances
• BOGO 50% off Select Hair Care
• Beauty Deals - 25% off most products listed
• Kids clothes up to 30% off 

I know tons of bloggers are putting out their prime day favorites but I wanted to join the party!  I'm not actually looking for a lot for Prime Day but I wanted to share some of my favorites I already have and just some killer deals that you might be looking for! 

There are so many tech deals right now but here are a few of my faves!

I love kitchen gadgets and here are some of my faves some I have and others are on my wish list!

Here are some of my other random favorites - these hangers are the best and 100% ordering more!

I haven't talked about skincare in a while (or ever?) and that's one thing I've really been focusing on during this whole Covid stuck-at-home-thing.  When I was younger I got hormonal cystic acne and it was just horrible.  I was left with scarring, still have some deep pores, and will occasionally get cystic acne still.  I've been trying to find a skincare routine that is more natural while still being effective and in comes Derma E.  I have been using some of their products already (Vitamin E oil & Anti-wrinkle treatment oil) and was really excited to try out their Vitamin C skincare line.  Vitamin C has antioxidant properties so the idea of brighter and smoother skin sounded great to me! I got 5 items from their line so I'm going to tell you how I felt about them!
*any link you purchase from on her will give me a small commission with no extra cost to you*

Being stuck in the house all day with a toddler has made me start looking for even more ideas for ways to keep her busy without just turning on cartoons. She has been getting really into coloring so I decided to try out a paint project!  This was so easy and mess free and the final product turned out great! 

Apparently I'm on a cooking kick over here and wanted to share my zucchini enchilada recipe with you all!  I saw someone make a version of these so decided to try it myself!  The first time I made it with chicken, and then Nick requested beef so I made them again and tweaked the recipe a little. I like these better than the traditional style because although I love tortillas, I'm not a fan of the amount of them in enchiladas. 

Hey everyone hope all is well! Being at home for the past month I've been testing out and modifying recipes to get more creative at home. We have a bag of frozen tilapia in the freezer so I figured why not make something with it! We like it hot and spicy over here so I decided on blackened tilapia with roasted veggies. Here is the simple recipe below!

Hey guys, hope you're all surviving thorough this whole COVID social distancing thing! We have always cooked at home, but now because we really aren't eating out at all, I figured why not share some of my favorite recipes with you? 

To be perfectly honest I hate when you find a recipe you might want to try, but then it takes forever to scroll through the elaborately written post - props to you all for your writing abilities though! I just want to see if I have the ingredients and if I can make it easily, so here is my simple recipe for you all that I adapted to make more our style.