This is one of my favorite blogs, because I got to film it with my mom! We seriously have the most fun when we are together! I hope you enjoy us rambling while we get ready to absolutely no where!

Mom’s Products:

Skincare: Climate Control + SeneSerum C - Neck Cream - Daytime Moisturizer

Face: Light Concealer - Medium CCTM and/or Tan Foundation - Natural Powder - Pink Posey (blush)

Eyes: Mulberry - Mauve Shimmer - Indigo (lower lash line) - Navy Liner - Lash Primer - VolumeIntense Black Regular Mascara

Lips: Blush LipSense - Glossy Gloss

My Products:

Skincare: Daytime Moisturizer - Silk

Face: Light Concealer - Creme Beige Foundation - Rustic Brown ShadowSense (brows) - Light Concealer + Whisper Pink ShadowSense (under eye highlight) - Pouty Pink BlushSense

Eyes: Natural Tan - Pewter Shimmer - Smoke Shimmer - Black Liner (upper waterline) - Lash Primer - VolumeIntense Black Mascara (Regular&Waterproof)

Lips: Blush LipSense - Glossy Gloss

I have been working from home for a little over a year now, so I thought I would shed a little light into how I do it. It is probably one of the harder jobs I have done, because I am my own boss and able to take entire day to do laundry or scroll Pinterest for home decor ideas if I want to..

So about 2 months into working from home, I realized that even though I was my own boss (and maybe especially because I was..) I needed to create a daily schedule for myself. Every day didn’t have to look the same and it’s so important to keep it “loose”. I didn’t want to feel bad for not doing one thing on Tuesday if a friend or customer called and wanted to have lunch. Here is how I laid out my basic schedule.

9am: Coffee & me time ( reading, journaling, etc.)

9:30-11:30am: work ( this changed depending on what day it was. Monday this looked like sending out emails, and catching up from the weekend. Thursday this could be used for posting the blog and marketing.)

11:30-12:30: Lunch

12:30-2:30: Anything I want ( house work, target, layout and read, take a nap, etc.)

2:30-4:30: work (customer follow up, team training, create content, etc.)

The key for me was to not put so much on my list that I didn’t feel like I could take time out of the day if I wanted to do something not specifically “work” related.

I used that system for 6 months or more. It helped my realize how long certain tasks would take me and which ones made the most sense to group together. In the fall of last year, I switched up a little by removing the time slots in each day. I knew what needed to be done each day, usually 3-4 tasks. I have a tendency to become more anxious and not so much myself in the fall/winter months, so I felt like this was a good time to change up how I worked. I would take the 3-4 tasks that needed to be completed each day, do them, and then when those were done I could either continue to work if it was a good day or take the rest of the day to do things away from the computer. This way, I knew I was getting my work done and didn't need to feel bad if I took the rest of the day to hang pictures or clean baseboards.

The key to working at home, at least for me, is to create a balance that makes you feel like you were productive and like your heart is happy at the end of each day. That’s the perk of working for yourself at your house in your sweatpants!

A lot of things have changed in the past few months for so many of us. Many are now working from home and feeling the pressure to do it all everyday. My advice is to set a schedule that allows you to get what needs to be done done, but to also allow flexibility for those days that life throws you a curve ball.

Okay, another month means another eye look brought to you by the Rainbow Collection SeneGence came out with last year! This month I did a wearable purple eyelook featuring our Violet and Indigo ShadowSense shades! I love this look for anyone with green/hazel eyes!

PRODUCTS USED

FACE

Light Concealer - Creme Beige Foundation - Light Concealer+Whisper Pink ShadowSense (under eye) Candied Cocoa Shimmer ShadowSense (blush)

EYES

Rustic Brown ShadowSense (brows) Candied Cocoa ShadowSense - Violet ShadowSense - Indigo ShadowSense (top & bottom smudged liner) - Whisper Pink ShadowSense (inner corner highlight) Black EyeLiner Pencil - Lash Primer - Regular Black VolumeIntense Mascara - Waterproof Black VolumeIntense Mascara

LIPS

1 layer B. Ruby - 1 layer Precious Topaz - 1 layer Plum

Okay, I’m going to start this post with total honesty.

I have anxiety. I have dealt with it since I was small. We always just called it a nervous stomach. Then I went to college and we realized that it was pretty serious. I went to the doctor and took medication for it for a few years. I decided a couple years ago that I didn’t want to be on the medicine any longer. I didn’t feel like I needed it. I didn’t feel like I was stressed. I didn’t want to have to depend on it. We were trying to get pregnant and I didn’t want to be on medication.

I finally realized that no matter what I do, the anxiety is still there. I have to find a way to decipher what triggers it and how to handle that before I let it take control. I thought I would share some of the ways I get ahead of my anxiety and destress. (especially right now, when everything is up in the air and so scary)

Self-care day: This can look like so many things. Time outside planting flowers or pulling weeds. Baking. Reading a book and not brushing my hair. Doing an hour with of pampering and taking a warm bubble bath. Literally anything that makes your heart happy at the time.

Listen to your body: This one is important. No-one is on all the time. Listen to your body. If you wake up and feel like you can take on the world and have all of the motivation to clean the baseboards, do it! If you get through the morning and have stared out the window half the time, take a break. Anything that you are doing is enough, I promise. This was a hard one for me to realize, especially since I started working from home. Somedays I tackle all the work tasks. Somedays I do laundry and take a nap. One of the perks of working for yourself is the ability to control your schedule. Listen to your body. It knows more than you do.

Read a book: Obviously, this one is a given for me! Did you see the blog post with my reading list in it for this year? If you love books, check it out and leave your recommendations in the comments!

Take a walk/Yoga: As Rachel Hollis preaches, “move your body!” It is amazing how moving your body for even 30 minutes can change your mindset. It’s a change of scenery, a change of pace, and a way to distract your mind.

Brain dump: This is one that I reach for most days. If I am feeling especially overwhelmed or anxious about something or all of the things that I feel like are closing in around me, I legit sit down and get everything out of my head. Take your notebook and favorite pen and write it all down. Don’t think about it. It doesn’t have to make sense at all. I will write down things that are on my to do list, things I want to look up, songs that are stuck in my head, things I’m grateful for, things that bothered me that day, wins and loses. All. The. Things. The whole point is to get everything on paper so you can take it and prioritize things you need to do and have a way to reflect on the things that have been floating around in there all day. Try it. I promise you, if you feel like you struggle with constant moving thoughts, this will change your life.

Stay off social media/news channels: 100% yes. I rarely watch the news. If there is something that I absolutely need to know about, usually my mom or husband will let me know. I feel like there is too much negativity on there that I just do not need to let in. I am easily derailed by sad/negative things. This is one of my triggers that I have identified, so I stay away from those things as much as I can. The social media that I consume is positive and happy things. I try my hardest to be real on my socials, but keep it positive 99.9% of the time, because I know how even just one post can effect someones day.

Make a list of things I’m grateful for: This is another practice that I have implemented since following The Hollis Co. If you are watching for things throughout the day that you are grateful for, you will find them. The key is to find small things that make your soul happy. That first sip of coffee that touches your soul. The dogs snuggling on the floor beside you. The baby kicks that remind me of the amazing things to come. The most beautiful weather. These are things that I am grateful for right here in this exact moment. If you look for these moments all day long, it will totally change your mindset. If you have a gratitude mindset, it is much harder for the negative and anxious thoughts to make their way in.

I know every has different kinds of anxiety, but mine is usually either driven from thinking I have hurt someone else’s feelings/bothered them in some way or feeling stressed over things I cannot necessarily control. These few things either help me to escape for a little bit allowing me to calm my mind and think about the situation rationally or actively get out what is on my mind.

One of the things that I have been super focused on with being pregnant and staying safely tucked away in my home has been my self care. For me, this looks like reading a good book (check out my book list for 2020 in the last blog post), binging movies, and at home spa appointments!

One of my favorite things about our new home is the super giant tub in the master! I never knew what I was missing before. At least once a week, I fill it up and have a full mini facial session courtesy of yours truly! For me, this includes exfoliation, face masks, and some sort of facial hair removal! This gives me something to look forward to, plus it always me some major me time since I have been in a house full of people for over a month!

Here are the products I used and discussed in the video below!

Remove Makeup

Cleanse face

Exfoliator

Eye Mask - I bought mine from Target!

Face Mask

Razor - I love the Tinkle Razors and get mine from Amazon!

Face Moisturizer

Body lotion - Here are the ingredients of the Whipped Body Butter I created: 1/2 a tub of Shea Butter Body Cream, 4 squirts of Advanced Body Lotion, 3-4 drops of Nangia Oil, 4-5 squirts of Climate Control. Mix it together in the Shea Butter tub and be AMAZED!!

I hope you are finding ways to love on yourself and to fill your cup through all of the challenges we are facing each day! Know someone that would love this video or some of the products used?? Share this with them!

Well, it has been a really strange and hectic month and a half..

We have been social distancing for 4+ weeks here at home. Pregnancy has made us super cautious. On top of all of that crazy, we packed, moved, and unpacked a whole house! I slept for so many hours when I unpacked the last essential box. We are completely moved in now and living as normal of a life as possible, and I thought I’d jump on and let you know what is on my reading list for 2020!

Reading, puzzles, and Tiger King have kept us pretty entertained for the past couple weeks. Plus, obviously eating everything we can! So here is my list! Prepare yourself because the list is from all genres.

Relationship

Memory Making Mom - Jessica Smartt

The 5 Love Languages - Gary Chapman

Self Development

Find your Path - Carrie Underwood

Get out of Your Own Way - Dave Hollis

Fierce Free Fire - Jen Hatmaker

Mindset - Carol Dweck

Atomic Habits - James Clear

Becoming - Michelle Obama

Big Magic - Elizabeth Gilbert

Business

Think and Grow rich - Napoleon Hill

High Performance Habits - Brendon Bruchard

Fiction/Romance

The perfect couple - Elin Hilderbrand

Winter in Paradise - Elin Hilderbrand

(Basically all of Elin Hilderbrand books..)

The Scent Keeper - Erica Bauermeister

The Sinner - J.R. Ward

Where the crawdads sing - Delia Owens

Young Adult

Ash Princess series - Laura Sebastian

Shatter me Series - There Mafi

Red Queen series - Victoria Aveyard

Harry Potter series - J.K. Rowling

A Court of Thorns and Roses series - Sarah j Maas

That’s my list for now! I’m sure it’s going to grow depending on how much time we are going to be stuck in this house! Plus, it makes for a great anxiety relief for me which is great in this time and allows me to get away!I will keep this list updated as I read and add more!

I decided to take on each shadow from the Rainbow Collection one at a time this year! This month I did a wearable green eyelook featuring our Green ShadowSense for St. Patricks Day! I took a simple every day eyeshadow look and amped it up a little bit! I hope you love it as much as I did!

PRODUCTS USED

FACE

Light Concealer - Creme Beige Foundation - Light Concealer+Whisper Pink ShadowSense (under eye) Pink Posey ShadowSense (blush)

EYES

Rustic Brown ShadowSense (brows) Natural Tan ShadowSense - Pewter Shimmer ShadowSense - Smoke Shimmer ShadowSense Green ShadowSense (Lower Lash line) Sandstone Pearl ShadowSense (inner corner highlight) Black EyeLiner Pencil - Lash Primer - Regular Black/Brown VolumeIntense Mascara - Waterproof Black VolumeIntense Mascara

LIPS

1 layer Honey Rose - 2 layer Bella

This is one of my favorite types of videos to watch on YouTube. I love to watch how people can have such different routines and products that they love so much. So I thought I would share my favorite products and my routine.

I love our makeup. But my favorite thing, is that I don’t have to put a ton of layers on to cover up because of how amazing our skincare is! So my routine is definitely more simple than some.

The products I use:

Silk Pore & Wrinkle Minimizer

Light Concealer

Creme Beige Foundation

Light Concealer + Whisper Pink ShadowSense

Check out the video below and let me know if you have any questions about the products or techniques I used!!

We have been keeping a pretty big secret for the past few months and I have been bursting at the seams!

We are having a baby!

Holy moly this has been the hardest and most amazing secret of my whole life! We are beyond excited and so grateful!

Grateful because this has been quite the journey for us. Grateful that we have made it this far. Grateful for how much joy this has already brought our families!

Most people know that Rhett and I have been together for half of our lives. We are major planners. Sooo long story short, we went to school, graduated, got jobs, bought a house, got married. All the things. In May of 2018, we decided we were ready to grow our little family. Little did we know that it wasn’t going to be that easy for us. When you are as serious about planning as we are, you assume that when you decide to do something that it will just fall into place and happen. We tried the old fashioned way for a year before we decided to get some professional help. Another thing you probably know if you know me at all, I am not the most patient person in the world, so this had already taken a year longer than I wanted. When we started talking to our infertility specialist, we were so glad to know that we were in control. We told him how anxious we were. He walked us through all of the options and how those would change as we went through the process.

And then the process actually began. And y’all, I am here to tell you that it is hard. It was hard on us, on our emotions, and our hope. I know that sounds horrible because some people go through this for so much longer than we did. It was hard because we watched so many of our close friends get pregnant and have babies. It was hard because it was terribly unfair to be upset when all I wanted to do was share in their happiness. But I would see a post or see their sweet families and fall deeper into this sadness. So I decided to completely separate the two experiences. I told myself “you can be happy with them, while still working through our own fertility challenges”. So I focused on what I could control. I read so many articles about what to eat, drink, do to help with fertility. Took so many ovulation tests. Sat in that doctors office 3-4 times a month.

I have struggled with anxiety for many years. Then when you are going through something like this and you have no control over your body, your emotions, it flares up big time. The stress of unknowing and wanting so badly for each month to be our month was hard. People told us to be patient. That it would happen when it was the right time. Just to have faith and be still. Let me be the one to tell you. That’s is much easier said than done. They say it all out of love and out of wanting to protect you. When you look back on it, you will eventually realize that the likely hood that they or someone else they are close to went through infertility or miscarriage. They know how hard this can be. This is one of those things that people don’t talk about. It has bad juju surrounding it. That’s why I am writing our entire journey down. Not just the perfect post saying that we are pregnant. I know how hard it can be to see those posts when you are trying. Then when you are on the “other side” of this journey, you realize how many people you are close to have gone through this privately. I can guarantee you that it is what more than you would ever know.

So onto one of the happiest days of my life. I was a week late for my period. This wasn’t unusual. Before starting our fertility treatments, my periods had been abnormal since getting off birth control. I had been late before, taken the pregnancy test, and was broken when it had come back negative. So I waited. One morning before Rhett had left for work, I just knew. I took the test and could tell that it was positive before I even sat it down to wait those three agonizing minutes. We squealed like little girls for a solid 5 minutes! I called the doctor, took the blood tests, and confirmed that we had finally done it!

We started plotting the most fun ways to tell our families! We got our first ultrasound at just 6 weeks on December 23rd. It was unreal. We listened to the heartbeat and got to see our little peanut for the first time. That day the doctor told us that he felt comfortable with us telling our families even though it was early. We decided to tell our families by putting the sweetest pair of booties and our ultrasound picture in a box. We made it the final gift in one of those super fun Christmas games where you wrap a whole bunch of layers of gifts and each person has to unwrap with oven mitts while on a timer. It was so stinking fun. My sister in law was the one to open the box. It took about 1.75 seconds for everyone at the table to realize what was happening. Cue the water works for all of us. We have all been waiting and praying for this for so many years. It was one of the most special moments of my life.

We are expecting our little peanut in August of 2020 and literally cannot wait. And just to add to the craziness of all of this, we aren’t finding out the gender. Why start now trying to control or plan? It will all happen in the right timing. It will always turn out the way it’s supposed to. And until then, find someone you can talk to. Spouse, doctor, friend, it doesn’t matter. Someone that will understand and help you through the bad days and cry with you on the good days.

Y'all.  Where did January go?? I cannot believe it is already February and Valentine's Day!

Rhett and I aren't super big Valentine's Day celebrators, so we usually choose to keep things low key!  We have been together for one full eternity, so we have done the fancy dinners, the big gifts, and everything in between!  I do feel like it is important to say that be you single, dating, married, Valentine's Day can be fun! But that fun doesn't have to be lame or mushy! 

Here are some of my favorite ideas! No matter what type of relationship you are in these are perfect!  

Stay in and watch a movie, read a book, or play a game

Who doesn't love a good evening in in your jammies and some wine or hot chocolate?!  This is the perfect way to save money and get in some great quality time! If you are in a relationship, I love playing these question games! No matter how long you have been in said relationship, there is always things to learn!

Go to dinner with a group of friends

Make it a double date! Make it a girls night! However you do it, take some of the pressure off and just have fun! This is one of those strange holidays that feels like you have to be in a "relationship" to enjoy it! Wrong-o! It's a day for love!  That means your besties, your family, or anyone else that is down for some dinner and bowling! 

Get dressed up and go watch a show

I love a good show!  And I love getting dressed up!  The great thing, too, is that it doesn't have to cost a ton!  There are so many great local theaters or even the high seats in your music hall! It doesn't matter where you sit, it's the company and the experience that matter!

Do a cookie exchange

This one might sound weird, but go with me!  I know people do these at Christmas, but who says cookies are only for 1 holiday?! Invite friends, have them make cookies, drink Valentine themed cocktails! Boom! Super fun and easy!  I mean it's not like we need an excuse to eat our weight in cookies, but at least we can be social while doing so, right??

Have a staycation or go on a vacation

Take the weekend to celebrate! Get a hotel room in your city so you can order room service and not have the laundry looming over you! Plus, a staycation is the perfect way to get to know your city completely! 

OR

Get of town for a couple days! Find a place an easy travel distance from you and Pinterest all of the fun things to do there.  I love a good weekend getaway! 

Soo what are your plans for Valentine's Day??