BOOK REVIEW!

I have always always been a big reader. I was one of those people that waited in line for the new Harry Potter books, the Twilight Saga...and the Hunger Games. I love to get lost in a good book and read all the time!! I get asked all the time from family and friends for a book recommendations so I thought why not do a blog post every once in a while on what I have read recently!!

JOGGERS 

On another note...these leopard joggers are the softest things EVER. I have been living in them!!

So here you are! The last 8 books I have read! In no particular order EXCEPT for where the Crawdads sing which was my absolute favorite. 

1. Where the Crawdads sing
I cannot say enough good things about this book. I completely fell in love with the main character Kya.YOU WILL TOO!!  She is a super intelligent girl who lives in a Marsh on the North Carolina coast. The story is actually a murder mystery but you will just be so intigued by Kyas life you will never want this book to end.

2.The Perfect Nanny
I am actually reading this book right now and even though I have not finished it I knew it had to make the list. This book is beyond disturbing and I almost had to put it down after the first couple pages....but I made it through and now I cannot put it down. The book starts with the family nanny killing the two small children. GULP as a new mom this is why I almost didn't get through it....It is definitely an unusual story but a great book so far!!

3. The Woman in Cabin 10
This is about a journelist who gets to go on a luxury cruise in exchange for her review. Lo the main character witnesses a murder while out at sea but nobody believes her becuase all passengers are accounted for.... I really did enjoy this book but I disliked the main character so much! She annoyed me with her overly anxious personality....but the storyline was good and I didn't expect the ending!

4. The Woman in the Window
Another title with " the woman in.." I had to check the book to make sure I wasn't confusing this with the one above. haha! I just saw that they are turning this book into a movie also...so make sure you read it quick because we all know the book is ALWAYS better. This book is about a woman who spends all of her time in her house...drinking too much wine and spying on her neighbors. She witnesses a murder and much like the above book...nobody believes her. I DID NOT expect the ending of this one and stayed up until 2am reading!!

5. Little Fires Everywhere
This was SUCH a good book!! The story is about a Cleveland picture perfect subburb and the people who live there that also try to appear perfect. This illusion is disturbed when Mia an artist and single mother moves into town with her daughter. The story follows how Mia disrupts the typical way of life in this area. I loved it!!

6. The couple next door
The characters in this book really annoyed me. Typically if I do not like the female protagonist in the book... I am not going to like the book as a whole. This is a story about a wealthy couple who have plans to attend a dinner party at their neighbors home...last minute their babysitter cancels on them and the husband convinces the wife that the baby will be fine if they check on her every thirty minutes. The baby of course (eyeroll) gets kidnapped and the story unfolds from there.

7. A stranger in the House
This book was great and totally had me on the edge of my seat. It takes a completely unexpected turn and is super suspenseful. The husband in the book Tom comes home from work one day to find that his wife is not home and seems to have left in a hurry. The police then show up and tell him his wife has been in an accident...she wakes up in the hospital aparentely unable to remember anything.. The story unfolds from there and is SO suspenseful!

8. Behind Closed Doors
AHH! Ok so I have such mixed feelings about this book. It's another one that is just dark and disturbing but once you are into it you can't stop. I read this on our babymoon in Hawaii and it just kind of left me feeling icky every time I would stop reading it. That could be a sign of how much it can suck you in though!! This is the story of a seemingly perfect couple...they are the envy of all of their friends but there is something super creepy that is going on behind closed doors....

XOXO 

CAIT

Valentine's Day Bar Cart

Heart Tank // Jeans // Earrings // Heels (similar)

Bar Cart: Pink Roses // XO: Target // Champagne Toast Candle: Bath & Body Works // Champagne Coupes // Bar Cart

I love Valentines Day!!! The decorations, the outfits and celebrating the people you love!! Oh I also really really love chocolate!! 

I decorate our condo to the nines with valentines decor but my favorite part to decorate is always our bar cart. I love adding seasonal flair and its just so easy to make cute with just a few pieces...ones you can even get in the dollar section at your local Target! I always find such good stuff there, some of it is cheesy but most of it can look really cute when styled on a bar cart. I bought the XO from that section..I think it was $3 and it looks so cute! 

This tiny heart tank is so cute for Valentines day but definitely has life beyond just the day. It is so perfect for a date night or can be worn more casually with jeans a black cardigan sweater!

XOXOX,

CAIT

Flattering Black Jeans

Sweater // Black Denim // Handbag: Chanel Boy Bag // Booties  // Lipcolor: Beetroot

Good Morning!!! 

It is so freezing cold in Chicago right now so give me all the cozy sweaters!! Sometimes I don't want all the bulk of a sweater, but still need the warmth, this off the shoulder sweater is perfect for that! These black jeans are also super flattering!! I love love love them! They sold out so fast from nordstrom but I found them here for 25% off today with code THANX25. I have washed them a couple of times now too and they have not faded which is usually a problem I have with black jeans! These are super comfy because of the stretch..I couldn't reccommend them more!

XOXO,

CAIT

SNOW DAY

Coat // Leggings // Boots // Similar Hat 

Lila: Bunting 

Happy Monday!!

 Hopefully most of you are reading this snuggled up on your sofa in you PJ's on your day off for MLK!

We had the most beautiful snowfall in Chicago this weekend! I cannot believe that is so late in January and we have hardly had any snow! We took Lila out to a park right by our condo, she was way more interested in the puppies playing in the snow! 

I have a super busy week planned with visitors almost every single day (which I love!!), one of my best friends visiting this weekend and then heading somewhere sunny on Sunday...be sure to follow me on Instagram to see where we are headed!

XOXO,

CAIT

Winter Skin Remedy

Hi all!

Today I wanted to share with you four of the items I have been using to help combat the dry winter and it's effects on my skin. My skin...my entire body actually does not like winter. I get nose bleeds about once a week because of the dry air and my skin just definitely needs some extra TLC.  These four products have helped me so much and are such an important part of my daily regimine.

1. Vitamin C Serum: Every morning after I wash my face I start with this Vitamin C serum, this is more of an anti aging product...I love it and notice such a difference when I don't use it!! It smoothes your skin and helps to minimize pores. This is a product I could not live without!

2. Moisture Surge Intense: This is my favorite lotion of all time. I do not like my face to feel greasy after applying lotion, this is a gel like consistency and hydrates my skin better than anything else I have ever used. If you have followed me for a while you know I always rave about this! I use the Moisture surge INTENSE during the winter months and the regular moisture surge during summer!

3. Eye Cream: This eye cream is super moisturizing! I actually use this morning and night, especially now that I have a baby...I feel like it helps with my dark circles too! I keep it in the fridge and it feels SO good to apply!

4. Night Cream: I use this every single night for two reasons; it is super hydrating and is great for anti-aging! This is a great product for those of you with sensitive skin as well, Cereve is a brand that is very gentle!

XOXO,

CAIT

Tried & True - My FAVORITE baby items!

 ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE SIX SEVEN EIGHT NINE TEN ELEVEN TWELVE THIRTEEN FOURTEEN FIFTEEN SIXTEEN SEVENTEEN EIGHTEEN 

I could talk baby items all day long. Things I've loved, things that work amazing for us, things we bought and NEVER used...so on and so on. But this list is the items that immediately came to mind as some of our favorite items these past five months. I broke the items apart into sections and will review them like that as well!

Travel: 

Nuna Pipa Car Seat: We were deciding between this car seat and the Uppababy Mesa. We finally ended on the Nuna Pipa becuase it had slightly better safety ratings...but the huge factor for us was that this car seat has the European lap belt. What that means is that you can take this car seat in taxis, cars etc. without the base. This has been awesome for city living as we can pop the car seat into a taxi and also on my recent trip to the carribean. I was able to quickly put it in and out of the rental car we had. 

Skip Hop Diaper Bag: I knew I wanted a backpack style diaper bag right off the bat. So much easier to be able to have your hands free! I love this one because the material is so easy to wipe clean and all the pockets help to keep me organized!

Uppababy Vista: This stroller is THE.GREATEST.THING.EVER. It's so beautiful for starters!! It comes in tons of colors but I am a huge fan of clean white so we chose the Loic! This stroller is also incredibly light, I have no issue popping it in and out of my trunk and with one clip it is ready to use. I also love how verstatile the seats are, it is so simply to clip in the car seat, the bassinet or the toddler seat. I loved having the bassinet when Lila was so tiny!! The basket on this stroller is also HUGE which is so amazing for city living. I can run all my errands and everything will fit in the bottom basket!

Solly Baby Wrap: We chose the Solly Baby Wrap as the wrap of choice for Lila 0-8 months. I used it a lot around the house when she was a newborn because she loved being held close to my chest and I was able to get so much done! I also used it at 4 months for our trip to the carribean. I could not have gotten through the airport alone with a baby without this thing!! You are able to go through security wearing this instead of having to hand off your baby and walk through. I will admit there is a little bit of learning curve to figure out how to wear it, I watched the video on their website a couple of times before mastering it!

Feeding:

Bottles; We chose two different types of bottles and lucky for us Lila loves both of them!! I use the Dr. Browns Glass bottles mainly at home because they are heavier. I chose the glass bottles because they are better for baby (instead of drinking out of plastic) and you can put them in the dishwasher! I use the comotomo bottles for traveling and Lila loves these to, she can pretty much hold these by herself already.

Burpcloths; Let me prefice this by saying not all burp cloths are created equal!! I have some that I just do not like to use because they are so small and akwardly shaped. I love the Burts Bees organic cotton burp cloths, they are a thick cotton and wash up so nice time after time! I also LOVE the gerber flannel burp cloths, these are basically the size of a small blanket and are so helpful!

Siesta High Chair: I did a lot of research before landing on this high chair but so far we absolutely love it! I chose it because it can collapse flat and be stored in a pantry for example. This was important to use becuase in the condo I do not always want to have all our baby items out on display! It also has a fully reclining seat, so even if you baby can't sit up yet she can lay in this while you are prepping dinner!

Sleep:

Magnificent Me: Oh these magnetic jammies are a game changer. These make late night diaper changes sooo much easier. We also had a couple of the gowns that were perfect for the first couple Dr. Appointments. When you take your newborn to the Dr. you always have to strip them down to their diaper...we used these gowns without a onesie underneath so that we could easily dress and undress her in the office. 

Halo Swaddles: Is there a class that the labor and delivery nurses take on how to swaddle a baby? For the life of me I could not swaddle Lila in a way that she couldn't break free in less than 5 minutes. We had one of these halo velcro swaddles and it made everything so much easier...we got home and immdietely ordered two more. She slept in these every night for the first two months. 

Sound Machine: I never leave for a trip without this! It blocks out so much of the noise and Lila sleeps amazing with it!

Dock A Tot: This was one of the items I almost removed from my registry. First of all its expensive...like stupid expensive for what it is and I just wasn't sure what made it so special. Well now I will tell you it was worth every single penny. Lila has slept in this every single day, naps and nighttime. It keeps her snug and secure and she just loves it. I would advise to buy a color other than white though...I don't know if Lila is just oily or sweaty or...who knows but there is a yellow mark where her head lays and I cannot get it out!

MOM HACK: When traveling via airport put the dock a tot inside the case with your carseat....saves you a bag to carry!

Diaper Care:

I have used about 7 different diaper creams in Lilas five months on earth and this one is my favorite. It smells really good and is really thick and seems to work the quickest! I buy it at Whole foods but you can also get it on amazon!

Diaper Cream Applicator: This may seem frivolous but I promise you it is worth it. Diaper cream is not that easy to wash off and ALWAYS gets under your finger nails. 

Play: 

Pehr Baskets: I love these baskets for storing toys. I keep one in our living room and love that it still looks cute and not super babyish!

O Ball: This has been the first toy that Lila has really enjoyed. She loves to grasp it, shake and of course try to eat it!

Activity Table: I wanted to get one of these activity gyms for Lila but was getting so discouraged because most of these things are just MASSIVE. I didn't want something that took up tons of space so I was so happy when I found this one. It has the smallest footprint of any that I have seen and the colors aren't extremely offensive like so many of them are. It also turns into a table for when the baby outgrows the balance/bounce feature. 

XOXO,

CAIT