color

Ripple Street: Apply to host a Color, Craft & Unwind House Party!

Abby H.Leave a comment

Y’all know I love Ripple Street (Formerly House Party).

Check out this new event they just posted-

Color, Craft & Unwind is all about bringing friends together for a relaxing night of creativity — no pressure, no perfection required. Just good conversation and something fun to show for it at the end of the night.

200 hosts will be selected to host a Color, Craft & Unwind House Party and explore creative projects inspired by an activity booklet filled with ideas—from colorful journaling and personalized décor to crafts designed to help you unwind and enjoy the moment.

Selected hosts will receive a Party Pack with a Target GiftCard™ plus products from Newell Brands, including Paper Mate, Sharpie, Elmer’s, Ball, and Chesapeake Bay Candle — all available at Target.

After the party, hosts share photos and social content from the experience and write reviews!

Ready to get creative? Apply now through September 16. 

I’ve already applied. Fingers crossed I get it- it would make a great theme for a fall potluck!

Tryazon: Host a Hues & Cues Game Night!

Abby H.

We’ve been participating in Tryazon events for three+ years. We’ve gotten to try all sorts of fun toys, games, and food. You can learn more about Tryazon here.

The creators of Telestrations and Blank Slate introduce Hues & Cues in this new Tryazon Featured Party opportunity, sponsored by The OP! What hue do you think of when someone says “apple”? Hues & Cues is a colorful game of communication where players are challenged to make connections to colors with one and two-word cues. Players try to guess the specific hue from 480 colors on the game board. The closer the guesses, the more points you earn! It’s great for families and parties!

Tryazon has 300 hosting spots open for this opportunity! Those selected get to receive a party pack with two copies of Hues & Cues, one to enjoy and one to give out as a door prize! Learn more and apply here: https://www.tryazon.com/hues-and-cues-game-night/ 

Fun Hair Colors from Sally Beauty!

Abby H.

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

One of the ways that we’ve combated boredom through the stay at home orders over the past 11 months is by coloring our hair bright, fun colors! Little Bit has had various shades of pink, and I even did “mermaid” hair for her. I wasn’t sure exactly what she meant, so we did pink, purple, and teal. Pink was the all-over color and she had highlights of purple and teal. It was a hit!

We rely a lot on Sally Beauty for bright colored dye. For the Kids, I use Color Jamz Semi-Permanent Color. They have a lot of great colors (19), and they last about 2-3 weeks.

One bottle is usually good for 2-3 all over colorings, but you may get more or less usage depending on the length, thickness, and texture of your hair.

For myself, I prefer Inspired By Nature from Ion (Also available at Sally). It’s a permanent color, so you will need a developer too. I’ve been using Medium Plum, and it’s unlike any other purple hair color I’ve ever used. It has minimal fade, and leaves my hair so soft and manageable!

If you are looking for more short term color, Check out color sprays or hair chalk.

If you are new to coloring your hair, Sally beauty has step by step tutorials to achieve salon-quality results at home.

 

 

10 Practical Self-Care Tips

Abby H.

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There are tons of articles about Self-Care on Pinterest and mommy blogs. Having read a bunch of them, I’m lead to believe that all of these people have kids that go to bed on time, never wake up for water, cry out in the night, or may possibly be robots.  Why? Because facials, manicures, pedicures, private yoga sessions, and taking a long quiet bath are usually recommended. I can seldom do any of these after my kids are in bed.

Remember, self-care is more than slapping on a mud masque and shotgunning wine from a can (yes, it exists) on Sunday night while you hide in the bathroom and pray the kids stay in bed. My top ten list is stuff that is practical that will help “refill your cup”- and not with wine from a can.

  1. Go to bed early. Like 9:30pm instead of 11:30pm. It’s all about baby steps.
  2. Drink a glass of water in the morning. Yeah, you are supposed to drink 7 more after that, but, you’ve got at least 10 more waking hours to get that accomplished.
  3. Take your vitamins. They are doing no good in your medicine cabinet. To remind yourself, get an “old person pill case“. My husband and I each have one, and so does Henry. I refill them on Saturday night. I’m such the party animal.
  4. When you are alone in the car each day, do some deep breathing.  I like the Alternate Nostril Breathing (I learned it in yoga- pre-kids). It’s easy to do and just two minutes of it can really help you relax. Bonus: It’s free.
  5. Indulge in a guilty pleasure. Take 30 minutes and do something that you wouldn’t Facebook about- Take a couple Buzzfeed Quizzes, Watch Dr. Pimplepopper videos on YouTube, watch the Kardashians on Hulu. Just disconnect and do something mindless.
  6. Color! I have a bunch of coloring books for adults, but I also like to print off coloring pages too. I have some pinned on my 100 Days of Art Pinterest Board.  Color with what you’ve got on-hand. Crayons, markers, colored pencils. Heck, it’s ok to steal your kids coloring books.
  7. Do a Social Media Purge. I did this at the beginning of January. I unfollowed/unfriended anyone that caused me stress, pain, anxiety, or jealousy. You don’t need to be surrounded with Keeping Up with the Joneses all the time. Your time and family are great the way they are.  Removing these emotions from your daily life will give you relief. It’s liberating.
  8. Enjoy something to eat or drink that brings you joy or is nostalgic. Bonus if it’s something that your kids don’t like/won’t eat. Then there will be no sharing.
  9. Go for a ten minute walk. Outside is best, but a few laps around your office building is ok too. If you are home, grab the kids, the dog, and go outside. Investigate your neighborhood. It doesn’t have to be an Instagram-worthy sunset walk, just get out and stretch your legs!
  10. Power Down- Put down your phone, tablet, turn off the computer for an hour and take a break/nap/shower/bath.

Most of these things can be done with little to no cost. Anyone can do them. How do you make sure that you get enough self-care?