My story starts back as far as I can remember. I have always been obsessed with beauty but at some point I didn’t know myself anymore, losing sight of who I was, and what I loved, but I got to know me again, and it’s a beautiful thing.
My Youth
I was the middle schooler sneaking my mom’s makeup, persuading her to buy me a self-tanner, and sneaking her razor to shave my legs for the first time.
I wanted to read all of the glamour magazines and do all the “glamorous” things. I’ll never forget the day I got a hold of a pair of tweezers and my very bold eyebrows were stripped from my forehead. I literally thought my mother was going to kill me.
Fifteen years later and they still haven’t fully recovered. Woopsie!
High School & Beyond
I went through high school experimenting with more and more makeup and hair products. By then, I was wearing clip-in extensions and a full face of makeup every single day.
After high school, I ended up starting cosmetology school and that’s where my story starts to change into what it is today.
About a quarter of the way through, my now husband & I got a positive pregnancy test. We were shocked, scared, and excited.
Shocked that our contraceptive had obviously, majorly failed, sacred that I was barely through beauty school and having a baby, but also excited that we would get to meet our son or daughter and raise him or her sooner than we had planned.
Babies & More
I continued with cosmetology school as long as I could but knew I wouldn’t be taking my state boards by the time our little bundle arrived. So I ended up taking some short makeup artist training courses and started working as a freelance makeup artist doing makeup for weddings, proms, and pageants.
Fast forward nine months and we welcomed our 8-pound 2-ounce baby girl, Ellie Claire.
Ellie Claire beams with joy. From the moment she was born, we knew she was special. She excels in everything she does and was the best thing to ever happen to us.
A bigger house, a bigger family vehicle, and two years later, we welcomed our sweet Annabelle.
Annabelle is as equally amazing as Ellie Claire. We are infinitely blessed with our girls. They are all I ever dreamed of as daughters and I could not imagine our life with one less tutu.
Getting to Know Me Again
After having the girls, I lost touch with my passion for beauty. I still LOVED it, but I felt everything but beautiful. There was a sixty (yes, SIXTY) pound weight gain during my pregnancy with Ellie Claire, and only got about half of it off before getting pregnant with Annabelle.
I was covered in stretch marks and had a squishy belly, devoted all of my time to styling the girls and spending all of my money on them and their extravagant wardrobes and parties, and not investing anything in myself.
I fully believe you must invest in yourself to be able to be the very best version of yourself. In January of 2018, I decided enough was enough and went on a mission to get the remaining forty pounds off.
I basically starved, but by gosh that weight was coming off. By July, all forty pounds were gone, which I maintained for about a year, but then I lost track again, which speeds us up to now.
Twenty of those dang pounds have crept back. I don’t know how, these kids keep me on my toes 24/7. I guess it’s the “thank God they’re asleep solo ice cream party I have with myself every night”. 😉
Aaaaaand the fact that my husband is the ultimate chef of all chefs and chooses to cook us, gourmet, five-star meals on a nightly basis. Why would I choose rabbit food over a crab-topped filet?
Fun fact: When I was hardcore dieting, I tried replacing all of our normal staple items in the house. You know, plain non-fat greek yogurt as sour cream, Beanitos bean “corn chips” in place of our On the Border Cantina Style corn chips, sugar-free barbeque sauce, etc… He was like PLEASE MAKE IT STOP. Haha!
Anyways, feeling the “I’m not good enough” thoughts creep back in, just as they did in 2018, I decided now was the time to take back control, but this time, with a different approach.
Knowing Me is Loving ALL of ME
This time is not about weight loss. This time it’s about turning the tables and accepting myself as I am. The way God made Kristen. Because I believe that we are ALL fearfully and wonderfully made.
Ya with me?! I am not against losing weight. In fact, I am still going to try to do better. But for the health of my body, not the looks.
I hate that the world has given an image of how our bodies are supposed to look as women. Don’t let that stop you from living your best life, ladies! Because I let it stop me for so long… it is not worth it!
There are people out there that are going to critique every single inch of me. I could probably name a few of them right this minute. But at some point, you just have to accept that there are mean people in this world and forget about it.
They’re usually just jealous and insecure themselves.
Lifestyle Blog
I have been told that I needed to start a blog for years by a number of different people. I cannot count the number of questions I have been asked about the girl’s attire or my makeup or the “how do you do your eyes like that??”. Literally hundreds of times.
I say this not to boast. I say this because that same number of times, I have also said no to myself. “No, I am not good enough to start a blog.” or “No, I am not confident enough to get on social media and post a mirror shot of an outfit.”
Your inner self and the other things that make you, you, define your beauty. My girls and my creations and my skills and my heart define me.
I want to get on here and inspire women with beauty tips I have spent my entire life learning, outfits that I find adorable, hair tips, mom hacks, girl clothing, maybe a little home décor, sale finds, and everything in between!
And there’s a lot that happens in between!
This is a lifestyle blog. I want this to be a page of fun styles for moms and daughters and beauty tips but also a place of laughter and safety and community.
Let’s do hair and makeup together, let’s laugh together, let’s eat together, and let’s shop together. I want a tribe of women that build each other up and share amazing things together!
So, this time, I will say YES to myself and do the dang thing.
Join me as I share my life with you; the darling and the not-so-darling moments.
