August 2015 | The Glam Mom

Anniversary Weekend, Portrait Session and a few Glam Mom #OOTDs!

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   Sneaky Peek of what's coming! 

Hi there!

In my post on Friday (see HERE) I shared that was our 5 year wedding anniversary. Thanks so much to everyone that left kind comments on the post and the photos I shared!  Our wedding day was truly an awesome day and our celebration weekend was fairly low key and relaxing.

My husband had to work on Friday and I'd scheduled a photo shoot for the day.  I totally didn't connect the date when I scheduled the shoot, but it ended up working out ok.

My favorite photographer, Teresa Dalbera, (visit her site HERE) asked me to model for her so she could work on beauty photography and posing, and since I love having my photo taken, I was more than happy to oblige!  

This shoot was a full on portrait session and so fun!  Here are a few photos from the process:

 #NOTD!!  LOVE these press-ons from Kiss.  I applied them Thursday night, and now it's Sunday night and they are still perfect.  
 Here is Teresa playing stylist in my closet. 
 My dad came to watch the baby so we could shoot un-interrupted.  He snapped this photo for me. And baby slept almost the whole time. Thank goodness!
 One of the MANY final products!  Headband is from Aldo. 
Another final product!  Maxi dress is by Vince Camuto from Macy's.

This was SO fun!!!  I will blog more about it and more photos when Teresa is done editing.  These are just a few teasers she'd posted to her Facebook page.  Follow her!!!  And if you're in the Chicago area, USE HER!!!  She's awesome!

She was kind enough to snap a few blog photos for me!  I'd planned on having my husband take photos of my anniversary dinner outfit, but Teresa obviously did a much better job that he and I could have done.

 This dress is by Massimo from Target.  I LOVE this print!!!  They have this style in several colors, but this was my favorite.  
 Baby woke up and just wanted mommy.  Not a problem.  He's used to having his photo taken, too :)  
I posted these shoes on my Instagram.  A TOTAL KNOCKOFF of the super popular Valentino Rockstud  pump.  Husband wouldn't let me buy the real thing, so these will do.  $35.99 and BOGO 50%, so I bought them in black also.  They are by Wild Diva shoes and purchased from Milan Shoes (link) at Lincolnwood Towncenter.
My bag is my newest high-end acquisition.  A Givenchy Antigona satchel.  OMG do I LOVE this bag!!!  And I got an AMAZING deal on it by purchasing through Beyond The Rack.  Not sure what that is?  Click the link and thank me later.

Husband and I went to RPM Steak for our anniversary dinner.  It is owned by Guiliana and Bill Rancic, who I love as a couple and greatly admire their style and taste.  I was excited to go.  Husband wasn't quite as sure.  But he ended up LOVING it and wants to go back this coming week!  The food was so good!  I am a super picky eater, but I went in with an open mind and a ready palette, and wasn't disappointed.  I don't usually take photos of my food, but I couldn't help it here.

Husband got the beef tartar.  No, I did not taste it.  But he said it was amazing, and he couldn't stop himself from nibbling it most of the evening.  The king crab was "cole roasted" and he loved it so much, he ordered a second.  He ate the second even before the served knew it had been delivered to our table!  The bread on the right is 3 cheese fondue with garlic bread.  I don't eat cheese, but the bread was delicious! 
I ate an 8oz filet and he had "The Cowboy" - a 28-day dry aged steak. For sides, we got fries, papas bravas, brussel sprouts, spinach, corn and mushrooms.  So, basically everything they offered LOL!  Husband also enjoyed a few neat Laphroig scotches and I had cherry coke (breastfeeding mama here!)
The valet guy was nice enough to snap our photo :) 

We got home near midnight.  That's a super late night for us old-fogie parents!  Thankfully, my parents agreed to spend the night at our house so we had some help in the morning when we woke up super exhausted.  Husband had to work so the kids and I lounged around the house all day with my parents waiting on a mattress delivery.

Sunday we had a birthday party to attend.  I was excited to wear my brand new LuLaRoe Cassie skirt.  I can't get enough of neon these days.  Look at this neon yellow amazingness!!!

I paired it was my black LuLaRoe Perfect Tee.  I'm a mom of 3 and I'm not in shape, so let's be real. I have a pooch.  And this body-con skirt is not flattering with a belly.  So I need to wear it with something that's going to hide the flaw.  I love this top - it's easy to throw on and a flattering cut. My simple sandals are by Sam and Libby from Target.

My makeup was low-key.  Bronzer, bronzer, bronzer and highlight on FLEEK. 

Our babes had a great time at the birthday party.  They got balloon animals and basically ate cupcakes for dinner.  
 She's kissing her new giraffe friend.
 He named his balloon tiger "Tigey-Tigey."  If you know my #1, this is not a surprise at all.  Just ask "Diney Diney."
 My #3 is a walker!  He's so tiny, so it's a surprise to most people that he already walks.  Most people think he's only 6 or 7 months old.  But, he's well over 11 months now.
Overall a very good weekend for my little family. 

So, this was the longest blog ever.  But listen guys, I have some very fun things coming up in the next  week or so, so keep checking back!  And let me know if there's anything you want to see.  I'm LOVING working on this blog.  So nice to do something for myself these days.  

Until next time,

xoxo




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Bringing Back My YouTube Channel

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Hi There!

Did you guys know I used to YouTube???  Well, I did.  I started way back in 2008 and had a great time with it! I used to do makeup tutorials, makeup hauls, hair videos and also the occasional song. YouTube-ing takes SO MUCH TIME!  So, I kind of gave it up.  But I think I'm going to bring it back!

I think blogging and YouTubing go hand-in-hand these days. So, I'm thinking of set up and lighting and new videos I can record to integrate into my blog.  And I'm excited about it!  The kids are getting older, and can entertain themselves for short stretches of time, so I think I can squeeze in a video here and there.  I'll be sure to share everything I record on YouTube here on the blog.

In the meantime, I decided to share some of my older videos occasionally so you can see the types of things I used to do.  I have actually deleted MOST of my videos, as the more recent ones featured my kids heavily and I wasn't super comfortable with that. My older videos had music copyright issues or I just plain didn't like them anymore. The videos I post from now on will more often than not NOT include my children in anyway, if I can help it.

So here is one of my more popular, older videos.  I was never "guru" level, but if you check my channel you'll see I do have a small following.  I'd love to build on it.  So if you're on YouTube, be sure to hit that red SUBSCRIBE button so you don't miss any updates.

Hope you enjoy this video - a classic "Super Simple Smokey Eye."  This was recorded back in 2009.



I haven't worn this look in a long time.  It might be time to bring it back!  

Let me know what you think in the comments!

Thanks all! And until next time,

xoxo,





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5 Years Ago Today

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Hi there!

Today is our 5 year wedding anniversary.  5 years went by in a FLASH!!!  We seriously talk about our wedding all the time like it was just yesterday.  My dad watches our video regularly.  In my opinion, it was the best wedding in history.  And I'm not exaggerating.  It was great!  Ask anyone who was there, they will tell you!  So. Much. Fun.

Our wedding was a long time coming.  We'd been together 9 years when we finally tied the knot.  There was a lot of planning and a lot of stress, but in the end it was worth it.

We had some major hiccups during the planning, and a LOT of tears were shed.  There was some fighting.  There were some broken relationships. But, after being married for 5 years, there's very little I would change about how everything played out.

Looking back through the photos is so nice. There are 1900, so it took some time! But, it's beautiful to see all of our closest family and friends all together in one place.  Some of those family members and friends are no longer with us, so it's nice to bring back memories of those who have passed and see smiles on their faces surrounded by loved ones.

It's been a busy 5 years for us!!!  I left my teaching job, we've had 3 children, bought a house, Andrew's business is doing amazing.  We have truly been blessed, and I don't usually say that as I'm not super religious so it seems inappropriate. But, it's true.  Blessed is the right word.  I'm so grateful for my husband and these last, not just 5 but, 14 years.  It's been full of excitement and love and I'm extremely lucky.

I just wanted to share a few of my favorite photos from our day 5 years ago.  Like I said, I have 1900 professional photos, plus my own personal photos, so it's hard to choose just a few!  But here is a random selection.


 My shoes and bouquet. The shoes are by Calvin Klein
 I couldn't decide on jewelry, so I just brought it all!  I ended up with the crystal set since the theme of the wedding was rhinestones.
I did my own makeup because all the makeup artists who did trials for me couldn't do it any better than I could myself.  Best decision I could have made!
 Lauren is using a crochet hook to do my buttons.
 We stayed at the Intercontinental in Rosemont (now Lowes) and they had art all throughout the hotel, so we did some shots in front of the bigger pieces.

 I love this shot.
 My handsome hubby!
 Before the ceremony.
 So fun walking in and seeing all my family.
 My daddy is giving me away.
 Holy Resurrection is a beautiful church.  
 These crowns were my biggest fear. But it worked out just fine.  My hair stayed in tact!












 I love our cake!  It was delicious!

 Not sure whose speech this was but it was obviously funny.
 Love my daddy so much!


Happy Anniversary Husband.  You are amazing and I love you and our little family to Pluto and back.

Until next time,

xoxo


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