Now Hair This Instead?

A little more modern than the Jessica styles, don't you think? I'll post "after" photos tomorrow.

Many Looks for Muhlhan

In anticipation of doing a bridal makeup demo with Erin in January, I started perusing some photos of Amy Adams, another beautiful ocean-eyed redhead. Here are some options I came up with, and the accompanying notes. Erin is an...opinionated person, and I'm sure she will make up her own mind (and look gorgeous in doing so), but your thoughts--though they may well go unused--are welcome.

This is tbe most natural look of the four. The hair is in an updo, but only a semi-formal one. Amy's wearing thin black eyeliner on her top and bottom lids, and her lip is nude, which puts her blue eyes and the tendrils framing her face that much more in the spotlight. It's definitely pretty, but I don't know that there's much else to say about it.

Amy's hair is half-up in this photo, which is a look I adore on Erin. She looks a bit more Hollywood here: bronzed skin, sheer pink gloss on her lips, and a more defined eye with extra liner and mascara on the outside. My favorite part of this makeup is the mascara on upper and lower lashes for a truly glamorous--without being too dramatic--set of peepers.

The first word that comes to mind: dewy. It looks as if Amy's makeup artist may have forgone the matte foundation on this particular night. On the eyes, we see a more muted liner/mascara combo--see how Amy's lashes go out rather than flip up? She's rocking the ingenue image with peachy blush and lip color and a full-on porcelain base tone. The gathered side 'do is actually one of my most adored hairstyles, but it's probably more fit for a bridesmaid than a bride.

If I had straight-up, no-bones-about-it red hair and light eyes (and this hairstyle went with my dress), I would choose this as my bridal look. There is an appropriate balance between matte and shine on the face; the cheeks and forehead are tinted barely with a peachy bronze, but the outer cheeks and jawline are accentuated with a blush that has just the right amount of orange in it to complement the hair. Her eyes scream DRAMA, but with only black liner and mascara and a brown-based shadow that work with the pink-brown mouth to tie the whole look together. Finally, her eyebrows are so well-groomed here, and nicely shaped brows are the classy icing on every va-va-voom cupcake.

So...Erin and everyone else, what do you think?

Guess Who's Wearing Size 3 Diapers?

My eleven-week-old son, that's who. I had to switch from Size 2 after there was a bit of an explosion down under this morning. We are now using chlorine-free Seventh Generation brand because we got such a good deal at Diapers.com, and because I never miss an opportunity to "do good" (for the planet and for Will, at least theoretically) without paying extra cash.

So now young William is in diapers meant for children weighing 16 to 28 pounds. This hefty range blows my mind a little bit, but I will try to ignore it and pretend I am not worried that my son will someday be the subject of a Discovery Health channel documentary on giantism. (Just kidding, I'm really not worried. Most of the time.)

I know it is ridiculous to even mention this, but I don't get anything for talking about any products or websites here. My only reasons for writing about what I like and don't like are to have a record for my own purposes, and to offer suggestions to friends and family who are interested. I would have zero problems making extra money via those reviews, but I doubt that my objectivity will ever be compromised in such a welcome way. ;-)

The Shape of Things to Come

I made it to my first gym class in a year on Thursday night. It was an incredibly fun PowerStep class, and I'm so out of practice that I forgot a water bottle and left with a face flushed crimson (and a body filled with endorphins, which made the pain so worth it). On top of that, this gym is about .4 miles away from us on our very own street, and they have a fabulous baby-sitting program for babies as young as eight weeks, so Will already qualifies. I don't think I'll ever get back to my pre-pregnancy weight without the motivation and peer pressure that comes with group exercise classes, so all of this is extremely good news.

One of the blogs I follow has a new fitness website that I'll also be using for inspiration, called http://www.bodiesinmotivation.com/. I'd like to be back to my old weight by January 1, 2009 and in fantastic shape by the time Erin and Matt get married at the end of April. And then I'd like to maintain that shape for Amy and Dave's wedding in August. After all, both brides-to-be looked so beautiful in my wedding photos:

Massachusetts, the State of Emergency

We knew it was supposed to rain. This morning we woke up with a couple inches of water in our basement, but we found out we were lucky when we watched Governor Patrick's press conference and learned that 350,000 homes are without power--so far--across Massachusetts. Those who experienced the worst of the ice storm have lost heat and have to seek shelter, which I absolutely can't imagine, with or without a two-month-old baby.

Meanwhile, our living room cable box, which has been on the fritz, has miraculously corrected itself since the overnight storm. Hm.

Dave is working from home until the pump starts to make a dent in the basement (metaphorically speaking), and even though all Will-related things are my responsibility, it's very nice to simply have another adult around for the illusion of socialization!

Growth Spurt Much?

7 pm: Falls asleep on Dad
9:30 pm: Mom and Dad wake him up to feed him 5.5 ounces, after which he falls asleep immediately
3:45 am: Wakes up and eats 4 ounces, goes right back to sleep 15 minutes later
8 am: Cheerfully wakes up and consumes another 5
9-10 am: Takes a nice little nap before we head to our last moms' group of the newborn phase (!!)
11 am: Another nap, this time in the carseat as class begins
11:30 am: Wakes up to glug 3.5 ounces, play with his little friends, and practice standing (his favorite thing to do)
1:30 pm: Fussing for another feeding...two bottles later, he's sent another 7 ounces down the hatch

Put another way: in the last 17 hours, Will has ingested 25 ounces, more than his usual 24-hour intake. And yes, he is sleeping again.

PS: In the interest of avoiding a jinx, let me add that I hope he is growing outlandishly and not coming down with yet another cold...

Fairy Godmom

Aren't they a cute duo:

Oops! I meant to say, aren't they a cute duo:

(Will was about eight weeks old at this here photo shoot.)