September 2015 | The Glam Mom

Jessica Monzalvo - The Glam Mom Street Style Feature #2

2 comments
Hi there!

I'm so excited to bring you my 2nd Glam Mom Street Style Feature! This time around, I wanted to introduce you to Jessical Monzalvo.


I met Jessica on September 23rd at a casting we both brought our kids to for a print ad.  My kids sat on a staircase that her BEAUTIFUL son was sitting on, and my daughter was trying to force him to share his mama's phone with her so she could see what he was watching.  (My #2 is not shy and a liiiiitle bit pushy.)


It took me a while to get the courage to ask Jessica if I could feature her, but I just had to because she looked so damn FLY!  She had on a funky black outfit and her makeup was amazing! I just loved her berry lip color.  When I finally worked up the courage to talk to her, she told me she was a makeup artist.  A girl after my own heart!!!



This is Jessica the day I met her at the casting.  How beautiful is she?!?! I asked her to take 
the 2nd photo to show her cute furry bag.

We exchanged cards and I checked out her website.  Jessica is a makeup artist with SERIOUS talent!!!  From reading her website bio, I learned that she trained at the Makeup Forever Academy in NYC (amazing!) and now runs an education program called Makeup Fix by JEM.

Jessica was kind enough to complete The Glam Mom Street Style questionnaire to tell you all about herself in her own words.  Here ya go!


Name
Jessica Monzalvo

Age
23

Location
Plainfield, IL

Occupation
Makeup Artist + Hair Stylist, Educator

Number of Children
1

Favorite item you are wearing today (the day we met)
Nightmoth lip liner 

Favorite Clothing Brand
H&M & All Saints

Favorite Handbag Brand
YSL

Favorite Shoe Brand
Vera Wang

Favorite Makeup Brand
This is a hard question! Inglot USA and Makeup Forever

Favorite colors to wear (makeup and/or clothing)
Anything that resembles black ! It's in my DNA!

Your Signature Style (Or Your Go-To Clothing Items For Casual Days)
Vera Wang boots, Zara jeggings, basic tee, gypsy belt and a felt Panama hat .... Oh and lipstick !

Must Have Beauty Products for Every Day
Mist & fix, Bobbi Brown moisturizer, L'Oreal mascara, uplift concealer, lipstick!!

How long does it take you to get ready each morning?
30 minutes

Celebrity's Style You Admire
My style inspo starts with Zoe Kravitz & ends with Zoe Saldana!

Your Personal Beauty/Fashion Philosophy
Have fun with your makeup and wardrobe, get into character!


Why You Love Being a Glam Mom
Who knew you could be edgy and a Mom!!!!


I'm so glad to have met this beautiful mama that day! I love that she is following her passion and helping others along the way.  Check out Jessica's website - www.JessicaMonzalvo.com to see her beautiful Beauty and Fashion work and be sure to follow her on Instagram HERE!  Her bio has a link to her Makeup Fix by JEM events.  I'll be keeping an eye out for her next class!!!

Thanks for reading!

Until next time,

xoxo





SHARE:
2 comments

Super Simple Keepsake Boxes

2 comments
Hi there!

I will be the first to tell you that I am NOT a crafty mama!  I don't make a habit of creating things, but in this case I couldn't find a better option.

I've been so terrible about keeping my littles' keepsakes organized.  They all have partially filled-out baby books, that are leaking with extra papers shoved inside - first plane tickets, certificates from baseball games, random photos, first crayon scribbles, umbilical cords in ziplock bags (seriously), etc.  I've been wanting to get keepsake boxes for each child for a long time, but kept putting it off.  Well, blogging was my motivation to finally do it!  But...I couldn't find a box that I liked!!!  So, I decided to create one on my own.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED - 
Storage boxes of your desired size
Wood or foam letters to spell your child's name
Wooden letter for the first initial
Wooded or foam shapes that your child will enjoy (I chose 2 wooded animals for each child's box)
Puffy Paint
Hot glue gun

HOW I MADE THEM - 
I found these simple boxes on Amazon (LINK)


I didn't want anything TOO big, but big enough that their baby books and other little keepsakes could easily fit inside. These are definitely the perfect size.

Then, I went to Michael's.  I rarely venture into this store, but man! Is it fun!!!  I ended up buying way too much stuff totally unrelated to this project, but...oh well.

Here's a snap of all the things I ended up using for these boxes - 


Very basic - foam, letters, wooden letters, wooden animals and puffy paint.

First things first, I pulled the letters for each kid's name.  The PROBLEM - I bought 2 bags of foam letter because my first 2 kids have long names and I wanted to make sure I had enough A's and S's.  But, even this plan didn't work, because these particular letters don't have every letter in every color.  So, I had to do some improvising.  I ended up doing a patter for #3's name, I could only do #2 and #3's nick names and #3, well...I made an "L" out of two "I's", because I couldn't make it work any other way!  But in the end, that all worked out.


The letters had peel-and-stick backs, and then I added hot glue for extra sticking power.


After I gathered the correct letters in the correct colors, I centered them on the lip of the box and hot glued them down.  I started with the middle letter to make sure the name was centered properly.

Then I moved on to the top of the box.  I chose the wooden initial for the box I was working on and simply applied it to the top of the box with hot glue.  Then I chose the animals I wanted to go with the box.  For #3, I chose a turtle and a monkey, just because they are cute like him!  

These were $2 each and super cute!

After I glued on the on the initial and animals, I used the puffy paint to add polka dots to the wooden letter. 


And, DONE.  Here's the final product!


This was SUPER SIMPLE and didn't take much time at all.  Besides the hassle of finding the correct letters in the correct color, each box took less than 10 minutes to complete.  And, as you can see, there is PLENTY of room for keepsakes to be added over the years.  The baby book only takes up a small amount of space.  


These will fit perfectly on a shelf in each kid's closet.  I'm glad I decided to do this on my own instead of paying for a pre-made box.  I also think when the kids are older, I'll let them add their own touches to their boxes because there is plenty of space on the sides to add things.  

So that's it!  Let me know if you have any questions!

Until next time, 

xoxo










SHARE:
2 comments

Faith Jackson - The Glam Mom Street Style Feature #1

Leave a Comment
Hi there!

I've been SO EXCITED to finally get this feature rolling!  A little background:

One day I was at the zoo with my kiddos and a friend, thinking I looked super cute, and I saw this mom that BLEW. ME. AWAY.  From head to toe, she looked AMAZING!  A bit over the top for the zoo, but nonetheless, her look was on point.  And I absolutely regretted walking by her and not stopping her to ask every detail about her look and her life.

So, I decided, in my car on the way home, to not let moments like these pass me by anymore.  Thus "The Glam Mom - Street Style" was born!

However, this first feature won't introduce you to a mom I actually met on the street, but a cousin that I've never met.

Faith Jackson is married to my 2nd cousin Marius (Mark), and we've never met in person, but have interacted on FaceBook.  And from what I've seen on her page, this mama is FIERCE!

Mark is the Mayor of their town, so Faith is the First Lady!  Besides her duties as First Lady, Faith has 2 children and works at the local school. She's a busy mama, but she manages to keep it GLAM!

So Faith is going to tell you a bit about herself in her own words and I'm going to share some favorite looks I've seen her wear.

So here you go!




This was the photo that pushed me to ask 
Faith to be my first Glam Mom feature!

Name
Faith Jackson

Age
36

Location
Centreville, IL

Occupation
Director of Student Development and Activities 

Number of Children
2

Favorite item you are wearing today
Rose Color Leather Sleeveless Dress

Favorite Clothing Brand
Ann Taylor Loft

Favorite Handbag Brand
Gucci

Favorite Shoe Brand
Vince Camuto

Favorite Makeup Brand
M.A.C.

Favorite Colors to Wear (makeup and/or clothing)
I love dark colors but natural colors make my skin glow

Your Signature Style 
(Or Your Go-To Clothing Items for Casual Days)
Distressed jeans and tanks & simple jewelry

Must-Have Beauty Products for Every Day
Pro Longwear Concealer by M.A.C., Lip gloss and eyebrow filler

How long does it take you to get ready each morning?
45 minutes

Celebrity's Style You Admire
The Character Style of Olivia Pope "Scandal"

Your Personal Beauty/Fashion Philosophy
"Dress to impress you never know who you may meet." "Always look like you have someplace to go, because you're headed to the top."

Why you love being a Glam Mom
I get to teach/show my daughter how to be sexy/classy without being trashy!


I pulled a few photos from Faith's Facebook profile 
that will show you why she is a Glam Mom!






I love Faith's style and these looks are amazing!

Well, that's it!  I hope you enjoyed the first installment of The Glam Mom Street Style.  THANK YOU FAITH for agreeing to do this!!!  I hope you had fun filling out the survey!  

I'm already on the lookout for my next Glam Mom.  I can't wait to do one of these again soon!

Until next time,

xoxo









SHARE:
0 comments

#StyleMeSeptember Instagram Challenge - Week 2 (Week 1 for me)

Leave a Comment
Hi there!

While trying to network for my blog, I stumbled upon a September Fashion Challenge on Hillary Rushford's Instagram Page.  I tend to pull the same pieces to wear during the week, so I figured I'd give it a try!  I've done an Instagram makeup challenge and photo challenge before and had a lot of fun with them.  This has been no different!

I found the challenge a week after it had started, so I just jumped in on Day 8 - #GoldenGirl Goddess.

My "gold" pieces were this necklace that I bought months ago from Torrid and never wore and my Saffron Celine Phantom.  I love the multi-strand necklace look, minus the tangling.  It took way too long to get this necklace untangled, and I'd never even worn it before.  But it's really pretty, so I'll wear it again.  My baby loved it too! LOL!  And my bag, well, it speaks for itself.  It's one of my favorites, for sure.  This day, husband took a break from work to have lunch with me, so we went downtown with baby #3 to eat at RPM Steak (which is totally kid friendly - we asked when we went for our Anniversary Dinner).

Dress - Forever 21+ (from almost 3 years ago)
Necklace - Torrid
Bag - Celine Phantom
Shoes - Dyann loftier from Aldo (LINK).

Pardon the loafers.  We were in a hurry and the heels 
I was wearing were too uncomfortable, so I grabbed 
the most "gold" shoes I had waiting by the front door - 
my loves, the Dyane loafer from Aldo.

The bathroom at RPM Steak is amazing.  I'm sure 
Guiliana imagined how many girls would be taking 
selfies in there, so there are several full-length mirrors 
and great lighting. I took advantage! Loved my lip that day - 
Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick in Pure 
Hollywood with MAC's Ruby Woo layered on top.  
Pure Hollywood is too "milky" for my complexion, 
so I have to mix it with other colors.  This ended up a 
great, matte pink shade.

Day 9 of the challenge was #PolkaDotsandAnimalSpots.  I don't own a lot of either pattern, so I dug out a top I haven't worn in God knows how long and my favorite pair of Crocs. I don't care, call me unfashionable. Crocs are So. Damn. Comfortable!!!  I used to wear them every single day, because they just felt so good.  I've broken the habit, but slipping these on might have been a bad idea...This day husband took another lunch break with me and we went to Olive Garden with the baby.  Have you noticed I tag a lot of my clothing pictures with "plus size" hashtags??? Well, now you know why.

Top - Banana Republic (several years ago)
Belt - Aldo
Skirt - Forever 21+
Shoes - Crocs

Day 10 of the challenge was #AboutABlazer.  At first I was thinking "I don't even own a blazer!!!" But, I dug into the deepest darkest corner of my closet (literally) and found a few that I'd held on to.  I haven't worn this particular blazer since I was 4 months pregnant with #2.  I remember, because I wore it to a friend's baby shower and then wasn't able to fit it anymore.  I'm glad I kept this!  It's a cheapy from Forever 21+ (shocker!), but I love the lacy-ness of it. It's very girly and, like any blazer, can be dressed up or down.  I dressed it down, pairing it with some ripped up jeans and open-toed booties from JustFab (which I'll show and blog about later).

Lace Blazer - Forever 21+
V-Neck Tee - Merona from Target
Ripped Boyfriend Jeans - Forever 21+

Day 11 of the challenge was #AllBlackLikeASpy.  This was my favorite look for the week!  I started the day out in a black tunic with black skinny jeans, because I was running errands and needed to be comfy.  I had plans to go see Allelujah - The Devils Carnival that night with a friend and knew I was going to change and re-do makeup so I didn't put much effort in to getting ready during the day.  While I was out running errands (aka shopping) I stopped into Forever 21 and picked up a few cute new items, including my first pair of shoes ever purchased from there.  I wear a 10.5-11 usually, and they only go up to a 10, but they had so many cute booties, I couldn't stop myself from trying a few.  And I found a pair that FIT!!!  Not only did they fit, but they are COMFORTABLE!!!  They are super padded inside.  I felt like I could wear them all day!  I might actually try.  Aren't they so cute??!!?  LOVE THEM!!!

Shoes - Forever 21 (LINK)

I had to run to Target for more errands, and I always pass by the Women's Clothing section. This dress caught my eye so fast!  Super comfortable, stretchy fabric and a funky faux-leather cap sleeve.  Love at first sight! You all NEED this dress!  

Dress - Mossimo from Target (It's not available online
 right now.  I'll keep an eye out for a link, because 
it's so cute and this picture doesn't do it justice!)

"All Black Like A Spy" was a great theme for my outing that evening as The Devil's Carnival is about, well, the Devil.  And God.  And a lot of nonsense in between.  And one of my all-time FAVORITE artists Emilie Autumn is the star.  Never heard of her?  That is unfortunate. Check her out HERE.  She's AMAZING!!!  A favorite for well over a decade.  LOVE her!!!  

Day 12's theme was #BrightAndBoldBetty.  This was Saturday and after not getting to bed until 1am the night before, kids that wake up at 7am, and a baby that still nurses several times through the night, I was just plain exhausted.  It was just me and the kids all morning.  I got nothing accomplished before nap time.  Not one thing, except having fun with my kids. And, really, that's all that matters.  I had grand plans for nap time, but they were thwarted when #2 woke from her nap early and I realized she had a fever.  Thankfully, my parents decided to visit and bring dinner, so that took a load off.  I still got nothing done, but at least I wasn't all by myself with my army of kids.  I managed the remember to throw on this neon sweater after I showered so I could keep up with the challenge.  I'm still obsessed with neon these days! (It doesn't look neon in this cell phone photo, but it is.)  Husband took this picture at 11pm.  I look like 11pm.

Cardigan - Forever 21+
Black Tank - Forever 21+
Flared Jean (which you can't see) - Gap 

Today was day 13 and the theme was #SmitteninStripes.  Since I knew it was going to be a cooler day, I dressed us all in long sleeves and pants (except #2, who is still in tank tops because of her cast).  I opted for a simple sweater and skinny jeans with Chuck Taylors.  Easy and comfortable for a day at an amusement park with my brood.  We had a great time!  It's always a fun day when your kids can talk to Santa Clause!



Sweater - Forever 21+
Jeans - Forever 21+
Shoes - Converse All Stars with a double tongue


What I love so far about doing this challenge, is that it's gotten me looking at pieces in my closet that I've overlooked for so long!  YEARS! My weight has been so up and down with so many babies in such a short time, that I've gotten used to just pulling the same pieces because I know they fit.  But I have A LOT of clothes that need some love.  So, I'm looking forward to next weeks' challenges and hoping it has me looking even further into my wardrobe.  I haven't looked ahead, so I don't know what's coming!  But I'll post everything again next Sunday night.  And if you want to join me in this, follow me on Instagram HERE! The challenge is in my feed.  Just jump in on whatever day it is and tag me in your photos!  

Until next time,

xoxo




SHARE:
0 comments
Next PostNewer Posts Previous PostOlder Posts Home
BLOG TEMPLATE CREATED BY pipdig