you better shop around | mostefinitely

May 3, 2021May 3, 2021

I’m breaking up with my Apple Watch rings

I’ve had it. I’m breaking the cycle.

I have decided that I will not live and die by my Apple Watch any longer.

On October 9th, 2020, I unwittingly started a Move streak that would carry on for 187 days. Once the streak started, it was hard to let go of it. So much so that I’d spend some (okay, several) evenings walking around my family room while we watched a show, go for extra walks with our dogs, anything to keep my streak alive before the clock struck midnight. But on April 13th, 2021, I went to bed thinking that I had *just* met my goal. The ring looked closed to me. Reader, I actually missed it by a few steps.

At first I was mad and disappointed in myself. I thought I might make it to a full year if I kept the streak going. It even took me a couple of days to notice that it had ended in such a frustrating and unintentional way.

But now, I feel free. And I’m going to try like hell not to let it suck me in again.

March 12, 2021March 12, 2021

Lift up local: Lansing’s Stellableu Designs makes whimsical creations

I first learned about Stellableu Designs from their posts in a local Lansing Facebook group, Not Your Mother’s Networking Group. The name caught my attention because of my daughter’s name, but also their photos of bright and happy balloon arrangements.

Stella was feeling a little sad about her birthday this month, particularly because her birthday party last year was one of the first big things we had to cancel due to COVID. I knew that I wanted to do something to surprise her, so I reached out to Stellableu on Facebook about their prices and design options.

I received a quick reply, and within minutes I was able to place my balloon “BOUQ” order, which included a table arrangement for $35 and their taller single digit BOUQ for $55. The balloons could be picked up the day before from my choice of two Lansing-area locations, and would last for two-three weeks. Considering the cost and longevity of flowers, this seemed like a great alternative.

Stella’s balloon BOUQs were exactly what I asked for and such a great way to surprise her. They made for really fun photos to commemorate her eighth birthday.

This week, I reached out to Stellableu Designs‘ owners, Jenna and Domonique, to learn more about their business. I was amazed to find out they began their balloon, floral, and event rental business during the pandemic! Learn more about these fun women and how their creative vision came to life.

October 18, 2020October 18, 2020

Coping with COVID: My favorite masks for all tasks

Hello! It’s me, your delinquent blogger. My last post was in the springtime, and since then I’ve completely fallen off the writing wagon. In some ways it feels like I’ve had all of the time in the world and no time at all, or maybe no bandwidth to think about sitting down and writing. Maybe it has felt like anything I could write about is supremely trivial compared to the hellscape we’re all experiencing in 2020.

Either way, with an encouraging push from my favorite Whitmer comms team women, here I am. I’m going to have to skip past the post I planned to write over the summer about our long weekend away to the west side of Michigan and why it was the best staycation we could have asked for, because that’s a post for another day. Instead, I’m going to focus on a topic that I feel I’ve become pretty well-versed in over the course of 2020 COVID times: MASKS.

Masks are so important to our own safety and the safety of our friends, family, and local community. Unfortunately they’ve become a source of debate and frustration. There’s the battle to get people to wear them in the first place. The next part is getting people to wear them properly (OVER THE NOSE AND MOUTH PLEASE AND THANK YOU).

Back in March, my in-laws gave us each a disposable mask to have on hand, just in case. That fact feels sort of quaint now. I also ordered a few handmade masks from our friend Shana for myself and the girls, so we’d have another option. Who could have anticipated that months later, I’d have stacks of different kinds and brands of masks at home. It’s been a lot of trial and error, figuring out which masks work best for which tasks. There’s the additional challenge of finding masks my kids will wear without complaining. I honestly wish there could be a safe way of trying on masks before buying them.

Still, it’s worth it to me to have a stockpile of masks, particularly as we are all accepting the fact that we will be masking up in public for the foreseeable future.

Here are some of the favorite, tried-and-true face masks I’ve bought this year.

November 15, 2019

SnowStoppers, my new favorite children’s snow mittens

My holiday decor inside our house would suggest that it’s fall, but looking outside there are some serious winter vibes happening. We got our first big dose of winter in Michigan earlier this week, with several inches of snow falling on Monday and very chilly temperatures.

We had our first big snow play session with the girls after school on Monday, and it gave me a major revelation: we needed a better solution for winter gloves, especially for Margot. Her hands are still so small that most gloves slip off easily, making for very cold and wet hands very quickly. When we were at Target the next day, I tried to scope out a better option, but wasn’t finding what I was looking for.

Thankfully, my cousin Liz started a thread on her Facebook page the other day asking for recommendations about snowsuits. In that thread, our family photographer master Annmarie posted about her favorite snowsuits, but also included a recommendation for her favorite winter mittens/gloves: SnowStoppers.

June 28, 2019

Referral time: Fantastic Alterations by Kelly Wheaton

When you have lived in a community for awhile, this kind of question often comes up among friends and family: “Hey, do you know of a good ___?” There’s power in the referral. It feels great when you find someone who is great at what he or she does, and it feels even better when you refer friends and family to that person and they also have a great experience.

Whether it’s writing about a children’s hair stylist or piercer, I’ve always been happy to help promote a really great person/service. That’s why I need to write about Kelly Wheaton of Fantastic Alterations in Haslett!

June 14, 2019June 14, 2019

Baby Foot: The good, the bad, and the peely

It has been two weeks since I tried out Baby Foot, the cult favorite exfoliation foot peel that can make people feel either disgusted or delighted by their shedding feet, depending on their personalities. I’m a peeler/picker/Dr. Pimple Popper watcher, so this process didn’t scare me away at all.

I’ve been wanting to try this out for awhile, especially as the weather is (sort of?) getting nicer out finally and my dry feet are on display in my Birks. But the process does involve a lot of different components, so I wanted to make sure I was ready to commit.

Here’s the good, the bad, and the peely with Baby Foot. Fair warning: photos of peeling feet are on the way!

May 29, 2019May 29, 2019

My favorite vintage shops for timeless treasures

People say that fashions always come back around, and that is absolutely true. Look at any women’s clothing department lately, and it’s like a Delia’s catalog exploded onto the shelves. If you didn’t already know by the series reboots and reunion concert tours, the 90s are back, babe.

Recently, I’ve been wearing my vintage, acid-washed cropped Levis jacket to barre class and getting a lot of compliments. I still remember the day I bought it at one of my favorite vintage stores, Lost and Found Vintage in Royal Oak. It was about eight or nine years ago, and I was shopping with my husband and cousin when I spotted it and fell in love.

Zack likes to joke whenever I wear it that he told me I should buy it, when in reality both he and my cousin were iffy on the purchase. I called it my Kelly Kapowski jean jacket. And this past weekend, I saw brand new Levi’s jean jackets in a variety of light washes at Nordstrom. Everything comes back around.

Pregnant Kelly Kapowski vibes
Meeting Colin Hay

I’ve been a vintage clothing fan for the last decade or so, and have amassed a small collection of vintage dresses over the years. I love the thrill of finding a treasure of a dress buried in a clothing rack, waiting for a new lease on life. I am also especially excited when I find things that fit well. There’s something very special about wearing an outfit that can’t be found just anywhere.

I have a few go-tos when it comes to finding vintage treasures, so I wanted to highlight some of my favorite vintage shops.

March 5, 2019March 5, 2019

Review: Revlon One-Step Hair Dryer & Volumizer

Some things are just worth the hype. When so many people love and talk about them, you know there’s gotta be a reason. Around the holidays, so many women in a local mommy Facebook group were raving, RAVING, about this Revlon hair brush/dryer. Could not stop posting about it.

And the truth is, there is power in the mommyhood. Any product recommendation or piece of advice that proves to make life easier spreads like wildfire. There’s nothing like it.

Then, mere months later, two of my good friends Ellen and Linda were also raving about it. And these girls know their stuff.

Despite the amazing reviews, I hesitated buying yet another hair appliance when there’s a basket under my bathroom sink that has a hair straightening brush, a ceramic straightener, a blow dryer, a curling wand, and hot rollers. As it is, I only use those items every now and then.

It also costs $60, which isn’t as expensive as some of the higher quality straighteners but is more than the typical impulse buy. But when it saw it at Target this week on sale for $53.99, I decided to give it a try.

And now… I get the hype.

December 17, 2018December 17, 2018

Rent the Runway: A success story

This past weekend, I had my first experience with Rent the Runway. And let me say, I am a changed woman.

I own more than my fair share of dresses, but as I began to consider what I might want to wear to my friend Jen’s mid-December wedding, I realized that much of what I own is for warmer seasons. Rent the Runway to the rescue!

Rent the Runway allows you to borrow designer clothing and accessories for any type of occasion for a fraction of the cost of buying the clothing in a store. Think a $95 rental fee on a Monique Lhuillier dress that retails for close to $700. The outfits are shipped to your home, you wear the one that works best, and send everything back through UPS when you’re done.

Over a Black Friday weekend full of online promotions, Rent the Runway was offering some great deals, including a percentage off a rental and a free back-up outfit. I decided to give it a try and browsed through the dresses that would be available in my size for the wedding weekend.

June 7, 2018

Etsy spotlight: Tundra and Taiga

I wouldn’t be my mother’s daughter if I didn’t love jewelry. And despite wearing the same simple things each and every day, I love when a fun piece of jewelry can really add something colorful and fun to an outfit.

I recently received some handmade jewelry pieces from Clare Corcoran of Lansing; Clare is the owner of the Tundra and Taiga Etsy shop and specializes in jewelry, as well as sun catchers, mixed media artwork, and sculptures.

I told Clare that I particularly loved her wire work on her jewelry pieces, and that I like a variety of colors. She sent me several fun pieces that showcase her work with beads and fun combinations. Continue reading “Etsy spotlight: Tundra and Taiga”