Mother's Day Gift Guide

Now that I'm actually a mom, I feel even more qualified to put together a Mother's Day gift guide. Four months in, I'm still in the early stages, and the adjustment has been exhausting, exciting and full of growth and realizations. All this growing and realizing and being tired in such a short period of time has made me really think about how I want to be treated on my first Mother's Day.

In addition to needing something that make me feel pretty or just helps me unwind, I think I would also appreciate something to make life a little easier amidst all the chaos. And I'm sure that's the general consensus among all moms at any stage of motherhood. Based on this, here are a few gift ideas to help your treat your mom, wife, aunt, friend - just any deserving mom this Sunday. This is basically my Mother's Day wish list.

1. For the multicultural mom, or the mom who just wants to wear the title with pride in any language. | Riley & Co Madre Tee, $35

2. For the new mom, adjusting to new mom life and routines while a million and one other things are going on around her. | Cleaning services from Handy, $100

3. For the mom who likes to un(wine)d. | New York Times Wine Club, $49.99 - $180.00

4. For the mom who cares as much about what she puts on her skin as she does for her own children. | Olive & M Face Oil, $65

5. For the self-indulgent mom, and she deserves to be. | Laura Mercier Almond Coconut Milk Scrub, $50

6. For the mom with too many things to carry. | Madewell Transport Tote, $168

7. For the mom with the great hair, despite the fact that her baby's sticky hands are always in it. | Mason Pearson Brush, $105 - $150

8. For a mom who cherishes her Zzz's. | Aromatherapy Associates Silk Relax Eye Mask, $80

9. For the hostess mom, who knows scent makes her home that much more inviting. | Jonathan Adler Champagne Pop Candle, $42

10. For the glamorous mom. | NARS Pure Matte Lipstick in Vesuvio, $28

Shopping Online for Baby

Oliver in June & January. Photos by Happy Alpaca Photography.

While babies are cute all on their own, as a new mom who over consumes social media, it's difficult not to get swept away by all the beautiful baby apparel, accessories and gear the online world has to offer. And when dropping things into a cart is so simple, it could get dangerous. More often than not, I find myself checking my bank accounts and resorting to making responsible decisions - goodbye, hand-knit, eighty-eight dollar, organic cotton woodland creature hats - and buying Oliver things he needs (my definition of "needs" differs from day to day), items on sale, and bookmarking those dream acquisitions for a very special occasion. In my three and a half months as a mom, these are some of the online stores and brands I've discovered and fallen in love with, affordable or not.

June and January | $5 - $30
Affordable, but still cool enough for Kourtney Kardashian's kids. J&J sells simple clothes and accessories in bright colors and super soft fabrics.

Oeuf | $20 - $2,000
Oeuf is apparently French for egg. Most of these items definitely end up on the "dream acquisitions" list. Eco-friendly furniture, decor, bedding and knit clothing including animal hoodies and accessories, that are basically straight out of a storybook.

Rags to Raches | $25 – $50
This girl was just on Shark Tank and her rompers are fun, have a little bit of an edge and look super soft. I bookmarked this site. 

Hazel Village | $10 – $50
Hand-made organic stuffed toys with hand-stitched features, and organic apparel. These make great baby shower gifts and keepsakes for years to come.

Tea Collection | $20 = $150
Clothing inspired by all parts of the globe, Tea Collection’s signature prints and patterns are adorable mixed and matched. And they have a buy-one-give-one initiative with several of their items.

Diapers.com | All price ranges
I love this site for everything from clothing to must-haves like strollers and car seats. They have tons of clothing brands and designers from the affordable to the not-so-affordable-but-necessary and consistently have great deals and promotions. 

Zara | $10 - $60 
Technically a physical store, but you can just shop online. It's much easier and babies look great in anything without fit being a concern. Zara has the sweetest baby and kids clothes. Everything is super classic, and almost adult like, but in the way that you would want your babies to look like little grown-ups. 

How I Survived the Newborn Phase as a Beauty Addict

I had a baby. He's now three months old and it's been too long since I've been on the blog. First, here is Oliver Francisco Figueroa in his meaty sweetness.

Alright. I knew it wouldn't be easy to navigate the newborn phase, in so many ways. But particularly in terms of beauty and self-care, I was worried. I heard many horror stories. Moms said I would find no time to shower, no time to care for myself, and no desire to wear nice clothing because it would just end up covered in baby vomit. A few even said I would have no time to brush my teeth. That just seemed like crazy talk. Guys, I brushed my teeth. Often. Still, I feared for my sanity.

So, I set some goals for myself: Shower daily, make time for manicures, make skincare a priority. These goals were not always easy to meet, but I have done my best and managed to feel relatively undisgusting. Here's what has happened:

• I showered! Every. Single. Day. Take that, all you moms who tried to scare me. Still, this was a challenge some days. I managed to bathe, more often than not, the second Oliver went down for his first nap of the day, and many times in under five minutes. Should I have been doing laundry? Dishes? Cleaning up? Maybe. All that got done, too. Sort of. But I bathed, and if I had not, I know it would have led to some (more) serious post-baby blues. 
• I made time for at-home manicures. Again, usually these got done with seconds to spare before Oliver woke up from his naps. But I made it happen, and the entire time I was on maternity leave (and even now after having gone back to work), I only went one week without polish on my nails. But I quickly got my shit together. The Essie Gel Setter top coat was a crucial part of all those manicures. It dries quickly, and stands up to diaper changes, bottle washing, baby baths, mountains of baby laundry and everything else that comes with the territory.
• Because I spent so much time at home with a sleeping baby, my skin was on its best behavior. Still, I washed my face daily, applied moisturizer for day and night and masked at least once every two weeks. That's not as often as I would like, but I like to think I'll do it more regularly once I really get the hang of the mom routine. 
• I mastered an express makeup routine. With a baby that ate every 1.5 to 2 hours for more than two months, every activity in my life got an express version. I mastered quick makeup for outings, and for now that I am back at work, which includes some kind of tinted moisturizer or CC cream, blush, gel eyeliner, mascara and bronzer to contour and as eyeshadow for depth. On occasion, I'll add concealer and fill in my eyebrows. 
• The best thing I could have done for myself, especially now that I'm a mom, is having trained my hair to go days without shampooing. I wash every four to five days, and give myself blowouts (thank you, infant naps) that go the distance. My two best friends are currently my silk pillowcase and dry shampoo.
• To help keep my usual beauty-focused mind set right into motherhood, before Oliver even arrived, I packed my hospital bag with Kevin Murphy hair products and my most luxe skincare to treat myself after going through what ended up being a pretty long labor. I even gave myself a much-needed blowout right in my post-delivery room.  

This isn't to say that everything went smoothly. I repeat: I had. A baby. Here are a few things that didn't go well.

• I gained weight. Of course, right? Contouring is more important than ever. 
• I look tired. My first day back at work, someone told me I looked refreshed. And honestly, thus far Oliver has been a decent sleeper, so I get my rest. But exhaustion from not being able to physically stop has taken over and it shows. 
• My eyebrows suffered. In the beginning, I was scared to leave the baby for more than 30 minutes, so I ignored any part of my regimen that I could not do myself in my home. And tweezing is just not for me. I started threading my eyebrows regularly again a few weeks into having a baby. But even to this day, I haven't quite gotten a regular schedule for this. 
• I need a haircut. My hair grew a lot, and I'm not sure why. I continued taking prenatal vitamins, but for whatever reason, after having my baby my hair grew much faster than before. My ends are dry and split, my hair has no shape or body. I'm making an appointment soon. 
• I can no longer do smoked-out, winged eyeliner on myself. Or pay attention to any other details like this for the matter. There's just less time.
• I ignored the blog. That's just a (sad) given. But here I am.

Frankly, the changes were far less shocking than I expected. And I'm okay with them. Having express routines means I can spend more time with my son which ultimately makes me happiest. And isn't happiness beautiful? That, and not being able to mask every tiny flaw is making me much more comfortable with myself, even though I'm the heaviest I've ever been and I'm the face of exhaustion. I'm also trying to making something good out of this. With my new routine and approach, I will be focusing on products that simplify my life and regimen, giving me more time to enjoy with Oliver. More to come.