I Work Out

                             

                               

 Here are my workouts from the rest of this week! I'm loving the new regime - switching things up is so good for the body - you don't want to get too comfortable in your routine or your body won't improve.

Stay fit babes!

Spaghetti Squash Lasagna

Although it may not look very appetizing in this photo, this recipe is delicious!

My hubby loves lasagna, but it's not very healthy so we rarely (never) have it. 

I found a healthy recipe and tweaked it for us.

You'll Need:

1 large spaghetti squash - cooked

 turkey meatballs - sliced and cooked

1/4 c low fat cottage cheese

1/4 c skim mozzarella 

1/4 c skim parmesan

1 c tomato sauce

Mix all ingredients together, throw in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes! 

Outfit of the Day

One of my fave outfits!

I got it all at Old Navy - I'm loving their casual basics lately!

The necklace was from Forever 21 and I've had it for years. It's a multicolored fish that matches so many outfits. Definitely a fave of mine. 

Chicken Noodle Soup

Well, Mama is sick. As is hubby, and three out of five kiddos. 

I threw this compilation into the crock pot without paying much attention, and it turned out really good! Perfect for when you're feeling sick and the family still needs to eat ;)

Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

Frozen chicken tenders - I used about ten

3 carrots - chopped

3 stalks of celery - chopped

1 onion - chopped

1 box of chicken broth

Parsley flakes

Basic seasoning mixture

1 box pasta of your choice

Put all ingredients into the crockpot, pour chicken broth on top. Set on high for 6 hours. 

Prepare pasta according to box and mix with other ingredients before serving. 

Et Voilà!

Maddie's Room Inspiration

Since Maddie is getting so big and growing up so fast, I've been thinking of redoing her room. She's had a pink and green theme since she was born, which I love, but who doesn't love a room makeover?
Here's my current inspo! Let me know if you guys see anything gold and pink that would work!

Maddie's Room Inspo by ashleygomes featuring Xhilaration

Go Follow Me on Facebook!

Going to start updating the Facebook soon - go follow for special updates, discounts, and special news :)

Polka Dots & Pirates Facebook  

New Fitness

If you know me, you know I'm a fitness junkie. Which also comes with a desire to try new workouts and mix up the lifting schedule!

For the next indeterminate amount of time, I'll be doing my new thing, and you can follow along if you like!

Stay fit babes!

Big Exciting News!

Hello my loves!
I have some amazing news for you all - DRUM ROLL PLEASE.......

 I am starting my own line of baby/kid clothes, accessories for mom and baby, and other fun items!

I'm so very excited to share this with you all! I've been whipping up some fun stuff to show you all and we will be launching in ONE WEEK!

During this time, you'll probably see a new tab at the top of the blog - labeled "Shop". It will come and go as we get kinks worked out, but that is where you will find my products!

Don't forget to come back and check it out!

Mommy & Me Matching Outfits

Check out the updated outfit post! Click Here

I love matching outfits with my daughter, Maddison. She's a little mini me in looks and fashion sense! In a house with four boys and my husband, we need to capitalize on girlyness together.

Here are some examples for you all!

Maddie's outfit: sweater Poof found at Marshalls, white tank by Carters, dark skinnies by Genuine Kids at Target, shoes by Anna at Zulily. 

Mommy's outfit: sweater from Hollister, shirt from American Eagle, skinnies from Old Navy, shoes by Report found at Ross. 

Maddie's outfit: scarf from Amazon, black sweater by Cherokee from Target, white tank by Cherokee from Target, skinnies Genuine Kids at Target, shoes by Anna found on Zulily. 

Mommy's outfit: scarf from Amazon, sweater from Old Navy, white tank from Charlotte Russe, skinnies from Old Navy, shoes by Report found at Ross. 

Maddie's outfit: sweater that I can't remember where I got, jeans from H&M kids, shoes by Anna found on Zulily.

Mommy's outfit: sweater from Old Navy, jeans from American Eagle, shoes from Old Navy. 

E.L.F. Beauty Steals

Who doesn't love a good product for cheap? I've been trying out the E.L.F. beauty products over the last few months. Here is my work in progress list of what's good and what's not.

Pictured about are as follows: lip exfoliator, small stipple brush, eye blending brush, and powder brush. 

The lip exfoliator is phenomenal! I LOVE it! My lips get dry and peel very easily, which makes wearing lipstick hard. Using this stuff once or twice makes lips so soft and smooth, ready for lipstick. Go get it NOW!

Small Stipple Brush: I use this brush to apply MAC Emphasize highlighting powder - under my eyes/cheeks, nose, etc. It applies evenly, and precisely, with this brush. 

Eye Blending Brush: I use this brush to blend my upper crease shadow into my brow bone highlighter. 

Powder Brush: I use this to blend my contouring on my cheeks and forehead. It helps my make up have that seamless look. 

The upside to these brushes: they are $1 and they work decently well. 

The downside: the top becomes disconnected from the base pretty easily, they shed a little. 

A FEW ELF DONTS:

The blushes: they do not stay on. 

The primer: does not work well at all. 

The eyelashes: do not stay well. 

This is a work in progress so keep an eye out for more E.L.F. posts :)

January Birchbox & Ipsy

Birchbox:

In this months box: anti-aging serum, Fekkai hair creme, tea, organic mascara, Nail Rock sequin manicure. 

First impression: I'm using the anti-aging creme even though I clearly don't need it just to see if there is a difference of any kind, I like the smell of the Fekkai creme, who doesn't love tea, the organic mascara smells HORRIBLE, and I haven't tried the Nail Rock yet. 

Ipsy:

Yaby foundation, lip balm, Benefit Porefessional, lip balm, make up remover cloths. 

First impression: I haven't tried the foundation yet, I like the lip balm okay, I've always been a huge fan of Porefessional, the other lip balm I haven't tried yet, and I like the cloths so far!

Look for full reviews in a week or so!

Too Faced Jingle all the Way

 Too Faced Jingle all the Way is a limited edition palette for the holiday season. It comes with a cute little iPhone 5 case too.

The colors in this palette are pretty and easy to work with. I'd recommend this palette to beginners for sure since the colors aren't too bold and they are very easy to blend.

Smashbox The Master Class Palette 2

I am absolutely obsessed with my Smashbox Master Class Palette 2. It has amazing, very pigmented eyeshadows, blushes, eyeliners, and highlighters.

The only downside I experienced was the packaging. Mine was cracked when it arrived, which I read happened to many others as well.

Most of these colors will compliments any skin tone and eye color, which makes this palette universal in use. They have all of the basic neutral colors with a few pops of color thrown in. This palette is heaven!

The beautiful eyeshadows on my very pale arm HA.

The blushes and highlighters                                         The creme liners

 

Ipsy

December was my first month getting the Ipsy Glam Bag! 

I love love this bag. My first one was a HIT. It came with a small eyeshadow palette by Pop Beauty, a lip pencil by J. Cat, a gorgeous red nail polish, and (not pictured) eyelashes and a The One Stick. 

This is a swatch of the palette by Pop Beauty. I generally have not been pleased with their products, but this one was pretty good. The colors weren't very pigmented, but they were easy to work with and seemed appropriate for a casual day. 

Here is a swatch of the VERY pigmented J. Cat lip pencil (top) and The One Stick lip and cheek stick. 

First off, I must say that the J Cat lip pencil is the best lip color I have ever tried. It was phenomenal. It has a suede finish, gorgeous pigmentation, and stayed on ALL day through every meal and snack with NO reapplications. I'll be getting one in every color!

The One Stick is decent. I haven't tried it as a creme blush yet, but it's a moderately okay lip color. It does come off relatively easy though. 

The nail polish (whose brand escapes me right now) is a beautiful classic red color. Perfect for all the seasons, and has a decent life. 

So glad I decided to sign up for the Ipsy bags! 

Birchbox December

It was another bummer of a Birchbox in December. 

This box came with a fragrance, a hairspray, a lotion, a nail polish, and a hair tie. 

The Good: The fragrance was light and citrusy, a very pleasant scent. I'd wear this in the spring. The hair tie was very cute - silver and sparkly, no crease hair band. 

The Bad: the hairspray had decent hold but smelled atrocious! The lotion could be multipurposed for other things, such as a shave cream, but it also smelled awful and I couldn't get past that. 

The nail polish was Color Club, which I knew was going to be dreadful before I even tried it. 

Looking forward to next month?

Birchbox November

I've gotta say, I've been pretty disappointed in the Birchbox the last couple months. There has been maybe one or two things out of every box that I actually like and use. Here's hoping they step up their game in 2014. 

So we have here Eyeka mascara, Stainiac lip and cheek stain, Sheaterra black facial soap, and Tocca lotion. 

The mascara is nothing to rave about. It's a bit too wet and doesn't curl as promised. 

The Stainiac is terrible! It leaves a weird tint on your lips that looks like you've been drinking Koolaid. 

The facial soap clogged my pores with the BLACKNESS of it. Drove me nuts! It did have a nice tingly sensation during the cleansing though.

And I love LOVE the Tocca lotion. It's Grapefruit and Cucumber - so soft and silky, smells fabulous!