My 2019 Lifestyle Favorites

Well I’ve already tackled my baby & toddler favorites in the last post for 2019, but I wanted to also touch on my personal favorites for the past year!

Last year was hard. Every part of it was a struggle. Among other things, we had a house flood, and were displaced from our home for about a month. Then moving back in, we lived in a construction zone. It took approximately 4 months to get everything finished and put back. We also lost my mother-in-law suddenly right before the holidays. There were certainly happy moments and new beginnings, but that’s just how it goes, right?

I spent the majority of my year as a part time legal assistant and part time stay at home mom. I also threw myself into vegetable gardening and learned a lot from that experience. I also started my current job, working from home as an English teacher. What a whirlwind that has been so far: working on Beijing time, while also being present for a full 12 hour day with the babies. There are not enough hours in the day it seems.

With all that said though, there were a lot of things that made life easier, and/or brought inspiration to me in some way. I’d like to share those with you now! So let’s do this!

Fashion

• Signature by Levi Strauss Pull-On Skinny Jeans (My fellow post-partum Sister-in-law told me about these jeans. They are amazingly comfortable post partum. The band is stretchy and high-waisted and they look and act like real jeans just with a lot of comfy stretch.)
• Women’s Long Hooded Rain Jacket (Everyone loves an army green utility jacket, but this is a legit rain jacket that helps you to feel cute and put-together when the weather is awful. Here in Georgia a rain jacket is pretty necessary.)
• I pair that jacket with these Chelsea Rain Boots from Target. (I so prefer these to the traditional swampers that come up to the knee. Unless I’m going wading, I really don’t need that much coverage. These are also easier to drive in.)
• Also from Target, I fell in love with this Auden Padded Bralette. (If you’re more endowed in the chest area, this offers a lot of support for something without underwire. Running around the house and quick errands really doesn’t merit a full underwire situation, so these are super comfortable and cute for everyday wear.)

Beauty

A category near and dear to my heart, I have really dialed in my quick makeup routine and a lot of these products have factored into that. I personally don’t believe there should be any shame in going full-face, contour and highlight for a quick daytime look. Whatever makes you feel like yourself and fabulous I support.

Foundation: I’ve had this foundation for awhile, but being sleep deprived, this foundation really gave me back some “glow” – Loreal Infallible Pro-Glow Foundation.

Mascara: I’ve been using this Loreal Voluminous Mascara for a long time and it just lasts forever and really gives a lot of volume.

Blush: I was obsessed with matte blushes this year, and more specifically dark matte blushes. I felt like it gave a little more depth to my contour while adding the life back. I really enjoyed this blush from Bare Minerals Gen Nude line: You Had Me At Merlot.

Contour: Still using this Elf Contour Palette in light/medium. Blends out easily, completely matte and I like to mix the warm and cool tones together. I also use the highlight powder on mornings when I need to put on makeup fast.

Highlighter: Speaking of Bare Minerals, I also really liked this Bare Minerals Endless Glow Highlighter

Setting Powder: I remember my Mom introducing this powder to me when I was having to learn stage makeup for Dance performances. It’s so cool that this powder has had a big renaissance in the last few years. It leaves my skin matte but not cakey. Check out Coty Airspun Powder in translucent extra coverage next time you’re at the drug store.

Concealer: I’ve used my standards now for a few years, Pixi Peach Corrector, Maybeliline Fit Me, and Maybelline Instant Age Rewind. But this year my bff Kiersten gave me this concealer to try from Elf and I love it! Elf Camo Concealer. A little goes a long way and the coverage is amazing.

Eye Shadow Palette: I’ve been obsessed with this Eye Shadow palette from Emily on Beauty Broadcast – Makeup Revolution X The Emily Edit The Wants Palette. I love the color choices and they were perfect for Fall. I also find that they’re not annoyingly pigmented to the point where I have to tap off and lose a lot of product just to get to a workable concentration.

Makeup Setting Spray: I’ve always loved this Maybelline Lasting Fix Setting Spray for every day use, but this year I discovered the Wet N Wild Photo Focus Primer Water and I really like the Coconut and Rose scents. I felt it did the same thing as the Maybelline setting spray, but the Wet N Wild did a better job at moisturizing and taking away the powdery look of my skin.

Recipe

I think we made this One Pan Chicken Dinner recipe from Natasha’s Kitchen at least twice a month for the majority of the year. So fast and easy.

Blogs

• My favorite blog/website this year was probably my friend Becky’s blog Love Rebecca Elizabeth – I love her recipes and she has been absolutely nailing capsule wardrobes. I like to live vicariously through her closet since mine consists of oversized t-shirts and sweatpants on a normal day! She is also really fun to follow on Instagram, and her stories are my favorite when they pop up.

• I also really enjoyed the parenting blog/website: Whole Family Rhythms. Meagan does a wonderful job mapping out the traditions and rhythms of Waldorf family life. She has all of her e-guides currently for free and I have followed along with the Fall and Winter guides with great interest. When the girls get a little bigger it will be a wonderful resource for our daily life.

Gadget

Seriously what was I thinking? I had my laptop connected to my TV and I used a wireless mouse as a remote control. That quickly became a bad idea as soon as the girls got mobile. I thought my only option was very expensive Apple TV or a PS2 or something along those lines. Well enter the Roku Express HD! This takes your regular TV and turns it into a smart TV. You download your various streaming channels along with being introduced to some new ones, and then go about your life as usual. Very easy remote, very easy set-up and I have access to the Apple TV app as well! This retails at around $30.00 and since we don’t have cable or satellite it’s really helped us to step up our streaming game.

Music

• My very good friend and musician, Cole, introduced me to Sister Sparrow and their song “Mama Knows” and I instantly vibed with it. As a singer I am always trying to find inspiration and modern female vocalists that are writing bluesy r&b music that I can relate to. This meets that need for sure.

• Okay and I also oddly discovered Linda Ronstadt’s mariachi albums, specifically “Canciones de mi Padre” and I LOVE IT. I had a lot of time in the car to listen to podcasts and music, and this came up on Spotify radio. If you haven’t checked this out, just do it. It’s epic.

Favorite Shows That I Binged:

• V-Wars on Netflix. If you’re a fan of the Vampire Diaries, or Ian Somerhalder in general…which I DEFINITELY am…then you will love seeing him in this role. He plays a very different character than his famous Damon Salvatore character. He is completely believable as a father and all-around moral person. This show is a post-apocalyptic almost zombie-like take on the vampire theme we know and love. Also, if you love Canadian shows, this series has every well-known Canadian actor in the sci-fi world I swear.
• I also caught up on Schitt’s Creek, Sabrina and finished The Originals on Netflix.
• Mandalorian on Disney+ of course! I know everyone is already talking about this, but I put off watching this until recently and I can’t believe I didn’t jump on the band wagon earlier. I’m a huge fan of Star Wars, but not so much about Disney taking it over. They’re doing great work with this show, and they totally got me with Baby Yoda. He’s just so smallllll!
• On Prime Video, I watched the entire first season of Legacies – a spin off of the Originals. It’s different, very X-men, but if you’re a fan of the Vampire Diaries universe, you’ve got to watch it.
• Also on Prime Video I was obsessed with Jack Ryan! Omg Jim is a secret agent man?! Yes please. Super thrilling moments and awesome story lines.
• On Hulu, I was obsessed with Brooklyn 99 and Letterkenny officially. Both of these shows are amazing in different ways. If you have a hole in your heart where Parks & Recreation and The Office used to be, watch Brooklyn 99. This is feel-good, witty and hilarious writing. Letterkenny is also a fast and witty show, but it’s raunchy in a very Canadian way…you’ll see what I mean.
• Unofficially on Hulu, I was WAY too into the BBC Love Island series…I watched it out of boredom one day and got completely hooked. How do these couples live in one house for that long?!

That’s all I have for now! I definitely spent more mental energy and shopping time on the girls this year, and we had a very simple and fun Christmas. I’d love to know some of your favorites!

-Eva

Disclosure: Bear in mind that some of the links in this post are affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase I will earn a commission. Please know that I link these companies and their products because of their quality and not because of the commission I receive from your purchases. The decision is yours, and whether or not you decide to buy something is completely up to you.