love, life & babies

2014-06-23T11:08:00.000-04:00

if you recently stumbled upon love. life. babies. we want to let you know that we've moved!

love. life. babies. is now wild saints. it's a whole new site based around our new youtube

show and we have a lot of fun things in store. come hang with us!

new specs:

2014-04-03T20:36:00.000-04:00

denim jacket: 77 kids >> t-shirt: geekie >> hat: h&m >> glasses: jonas paul eyewear

pais got some new specs today. we're absolutely lovin' them. jonas paul eyewear is putting out some

amazing optical wear for kids! so glad we got a pair {the paige frame} for our little birdie.

m-i-c-k-e-y

2013-12-02T03:00:00.000-05:00

we're at disney!

see ya real soon!!

mickey mouse party: sneak peek

2013-11-25T03:00:00.000-05:00

yesterday we celebrated my sweet nephews 1st birthday. he just LOVES mickey mouse so naturally he

had a mickey mouse themed party. these are just a few sneak peek pics of the festivities snapped

by my iphone, i look forward to sharing better ones with you when we get them! my sister-in-law

did such a great job coming up with the theme and decor ides, and i was just honored to help.

happy monday!

leopard + plaid:

2013-11-18T00:00:00.000-05:00

sweatshirt & pants: c/o fabkids >> shoes: h&m >> faux fur coat: h&m {last year}

i find it comical that i'm often jealous of my 4 year olds closet. i've been searching for a fur coat like
this for two years with no luck {unless i want to pay $300, and i most certainly don't.} so instead i live
through my daughters style. ha. we love this look from fabkids london calling line. tartan leggings and
a leather ruffle sleeve graphic top. i mean, come on, they nailed it! pair it with some knock off chucks
from h&m for {$12 hello!} and a faux fury coat and it's just...perfect.

check out fabkids and their newest holiday collection here.

xo

famous hair:

2013-11-11T13:38:00.000-05:00

photos c/o hollie marie photography {thank you hol you're the best!}

i had a friend text me a few months back to tell me "steph! your hair is famous!". she had spotted my
hair on the popular page of pinterest and turns out images of my hair have been pinned hundreds of
times. i was like what?!? cool! i have famous hair! lol {thanks to my super great hair stylist katie.} a
week or so after my friend let me know my hair had gone "viral" i started getting regular emails from
sweet ladies who had stumbled on my images on pinterest and had
some questions about my short tresses.

so, even though my hair isn't this short any longer, i thought i would share a few more
pics here today and answer some of these commonly asked questions!

1. what pictures did you take to your stylist for your cut? these are the pics! i took these three, and a
couple others that i unfortunately can't seem to find now, but these three were the main photos that we
went from. and my hair stylist just kind of came up with a great combination of the three.

2. is your hair asymmetrical? yes! it was more drastic when it was first cut and as i grew it out we
evened it a little each time. it was fun to have everything a little off balance.

3. how do you style it? i have super crazy curly hair. so round brushing it out was a must. i would put
some smoothing serum in my ends and a root lifter at my roots, then round brush the heck out of it!
after that i would use a combination of a straightener and curling iron to get the desired look. i know
using so much heat on your hair isn't the best idea but when you have an afro like me it must be done.
just make sure you're using a great heat protecting spray like this.

4. do you color your hair? i don't! i know it's probably rare to find people these days who don't but
i don't have any grays yet {thank you jesus} and as much as i damage my hair with heat i figure
i should hold off on color damage as long as possible.

5. is it hard to style? ok being totally honest, i actually think long hair is a bit easier to work with then
short. there is no getting around styling your hair every. single. day. when it's short. other wise you look
like a boy or like you just stuck your head in an outlet. when my hair is long, since i only wash it a
couple times a week styling is way WAY less maintenance.

6. overall do you like short or long hair better? long. every day all day. long. my short hair was super
fun and cut so well. but after about a month i was over it. i think i'm just a long haired girl at heart!

twiggy christmas:

2013-11-04T13:56:00.001-05:00

1 >> 2 >> 3 >> 4 >> 5 >> 6

pais and i were walking through one of our favorite stores to spend pointless hours in the other day
{aka target},when i noticed that halloween wasn't even officially over yet, but the christmas
decorations were already beginning to make their appearance. and i thought to myself "if stores and
restaurants can already be decorating and advertising for christmas then why can't i? why can't i!? i
can. and so i will." i decided we will enjoy the beauty of christmas the entire month of november and
december this year. for all the time and effort it takes to put it up we might as well enjoy it an extra
month longer! am i right? some of these pics above have such a great feel about them, i love it! this
year i think i'm going for a "twiggy" christmas feel. check out my pinterest holiday board
for more pretty finds, have a great week and put up your decorations! ; )

girly grunge:

2013-10-30T00:00:00.000-04:00

dress + leggings + scrunchies c/o: fabkids >> boots: target

i'm pretty sure i rocked this same exact dress somewhere between 1st and 3rd grade. i'm also pretty
sure it looks a lot cuter on my birdie then it ever did on me. and can we just be real here for a sec?
sometimes us bloggers can portray our lives in a very "perfect" sort of way, when i hope we all
realize that's definitely not the case. even though we are all mostly sharing our amazingly delicious
recipes, our super creative diy's and our perfectly styled outfits we all have faults and flaws and days
when we don't make it out of our sweatpants, and our houses look like tornado alley, and our kids
make us wonder if we were ever cut out to be parents in the first place.

case in point, focus your attention to the second photo down. while at first glance it might look as if
pais is laughing or smiling she was actually balling her eye balls out and telling me she didn't want to
take pictures anymore and that she wanted to get back in the car. {it was pretty cold that day}. i finally
got her to perk up once we put her coat on and it ended up being a fun shoot. but, this is what happens
in blog world occasionally not everything goes perfect all. the. time. just thought we could all use a
little dose of reality. ha! it's not all rainbows and butterflies and perfect smiles all the time.

make sure to check out fabkids to see their new grunge fun line. it's full of of fun patterns, plaids and
tutu's. thanks fabkids for the darling outfit! even if it did take us a while to get some good pics. ; )

savory breakfast quinoa:

2013-10-28T00:38:00.000-04:00

i have a sad, sad confession. i haven't cooked "routinely" since our second year of marriage...gasp!

ok, now that you're done judging me, i decided the other day i'm going to get back at it. i finally

purchased gwyeneth pawltrow's book "it's all good" and have mentally committed to start making

fresh and healthy meals for my fam. this was the first recipe that i tried and it seriously was amazing.

unfortunately i was the only one home to eat it ha, but i'm super excited to start experimenting this week

with some of these killer recipes. snag up gwyeneth's book here and check out page 33 for this recipe!

hope you have a great week!

paisley's bedroom: feature

2013-10-22T16:59:00.000-04:00

my sweet friend mandi from making nice in the midwest featured paisley's bedroom on
her lovely blog today! head here to check it out. big thanks to mandi!
hope you're having a great week!

princess belle & time travel:

2013-10-21T00:00:00.000-04:00

dress & shoes c/o: jc penney's

my little birdie had a birthday just over a week ago, and she is now 4. there's nothing i can do to
turn back the clock of life, even though i've sat for hours thinking about how i could conjure up some
amazing time traveling machine. i just have to deal with it. even though i don't really want her to grow
up, every new stage we enter is just so much fun. i think 4 years old might be my favorite age yet!

for her birthday pais wanted this princess belle dress and shoes from jc penney's so very bad. i was
sneaky with her just like my mom was with us when we were kids and told her i wasn't sure i was
going to get it for her, even though i had it shoved in the bottom of the stroller. she was beyond
thrilled when she opened it on her birthday.

thank you jc penney's for collaborating with us again! they have a few new children's lines that
recently launched including the disney line that paisley's dress is from. they have every princess
dress you can imagine. make sure to check them out and even pick up your little ones
halloween costume!

{ps don't mind the tattoos on pais, those little buggers are so hard to get off!}

paisley's room:

2013-10-14T01:31:00.000-04:00

duvet: ikea // bed: ikea // whale poster: boom boom prints

last year around paisley's 3rd birthday i re-designed her room. i took pics and just realized the other

day that i never shared them! so here it be, my cutey girls sweet little bedroom.

birthday week:

2013-10-07T00:00:00.000-04:00

panda dress: c/o lé marchand d'é toiles // boots: kohls

this week my little birdie turns four. four. four. i can't believe it. i'm trying to think of fun little

things we can do all week to make it super special for her. one of my favorite things about my

childhood was the way my parents would make a big deal out of our birthday's.

i love this sweet panda dress via lé marchand d'é toiles. it's the perfect little fall birthday outfit and

pais just loved being in it. the dress is ridiculously soft and cozy and so well made. if i could wear

it i would. for realz. one of my favorite things about it is the little thumb slits in the sleeves. so

adorable. check out all the super precious things from lé marchand d'é toiles for girls, boys

and little babes here. these are a few of my other favorites! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

new:

2013-10-03T13:38:00.000-04:00

"then he who sat on the throne said, 'behold, i make all things new.'

and he said to me 'write, for these words are true and faithful.'"

revelation 21:5

#thankful

sunuva:

2013-09-30T00:00:00.000-04:00

jammies: c/o sunuva

i love jammies. l.o.v.e. them. if we're home, we're in our jams. my little birdie loves them just as much

as me and she was so pumped when she got her jammie set from the darling company sunuva. i know

i'm her momma but come on, she looks so stinking cute in them!

sunuva is mainly known for their adorable and skin protecting children's swimwear line but they also

have a collection of super cute dresses, trousers, tops, pajamas and more for little guys and gals. sunuva

has been seen on the kiddos of victoria beckham, madona, gwyneth paltrow and now the one and only

paisley grace. ha.

check out their amazing collections including their new cruise collection here.

makeup favs:

2013-09-23T00:00:00.000-04:00

1. tarte: waterproof clay eye liner

2. smashbox: be legendary lipstick {in nylon nude}

3. tarte: tinted bb cream

4. makeup forever: sens'eyes makeup remover

5. bobbie brown: long wear eye pencil

i can't seriously can't get enough of these goodies. they are all my favs right now!

fabkids:

2013-09-16T00:00:00.000-04:00

paisley's outfit c/o fabkids

dress >> leggings >> headband

this is the second time i've had the opportunity to work with fabkids and they are just wonderful.

i so appreciate well made clothes and the quality of their pieces and the attention to detail are so great.

fabkids is a company started by a group of moms including mom and actress christina applegate.

it's an outfit club, so it's a super convenient way for busy parents to shop. you'll get monthly selections

of adorable and affordable outfits for your kiddos that again are high quality and even personalized
for your kid. every outfit comes with 3 pieces for just $39.95 so you can get an adorable top, funky
leggings and a hair accessory or how ever you want to pair the items up!

here are some more of my favorite picks!

fabkids recently launched their boys line as well so check them out asap!

fall favs:

2013-09-09T00:00:00.000-04:00

1>> 2>> 3>>

three things {definitely not the only things} i'm loving this fall!

fur anything, kimono's and graphic tee's {my new obsession} and the perfect bootie.

i'm not a huge fan of fall because it means winter is on the way and i'm pretty sure i'm

allergic to the cold {ha} but fall fashion helps make it a little more bearable!

mountains:

2013-09-03T23:39:00.002-04:00

top: jc penney // leggings: jc penney // sneakers: h&m

this is one of my favorite quotes, i have a print of it right above paisley's bed.

have a great second half of the week!

first day look:

2013-08-19T00:00:00.000-04:00

paisley's first day look: top// leggings// flats

in two weeks my baby will be staring preschool. cue the waterworks. i know it's overstated

but seriously where did the time go? where's my tiny toothless, bald, paci-sucking babe? i guess

there's just no way around it, littles grow up and mine has too.

thankfully paisley is all set for school in the wardrobe department props to jc penney's. one thing i've

been on the hunt for since pais was born is black clothing. it's seriously so hard to find! i might find a
piece here or there but overall it was like looking for water in a desert. when i saw the new joe fresh

line that jc penny's was carrying i was thrilled. they had so many little black numbers full of personality

just like my girl. with paisley's help we picked out some amazingly trendy and versatile pieces with the

sweetest little details and she is super pumped to wear it all.

we were so happy to collaborate with jc penney on paisley's back to school wardrobe and if you're

still on the hunt for some stylish yet affordable clothing for your littles, check them out! you might

be surprised what you find.

save your samples diy:

2013-04-04T10:00:00.003-04:00

i love sephora. one of my favorite things about going there is the endless pile of samples they drown

you with if you just ask! i always leave with a nice stash in my cute little black and white striped bag.

the only downside is they only last about two days tops before they completely crust out and you

have to toss them, inevitably wasting most of the product in the pouch, boo.

here's a simple way to prolong the life of your precious samples:

take a travel sized cotton round container, remove the product sticker and cover the same area with

some cute washi tape. i get mine here, or use some of the colorful masking tape, that's been popping

up everywhere even target! and that's it, boom. probably the easiest d.i.y. you'll ever do.

and now you're samples will last a few days longer!

new things and fresh starts:

2013-04-02T00:00:00.000-04:00

photo c/o michael cameneti

as we are desperately waiting for spring to...spring here in ohio, i was thinking today about how

excited i am for a new season. for a fresh start, a time when things are awakening and coming alive all

around us. and as exciting as this is in nature, it is even more so spiritually. i'm thankful the God i serve

is a God of the new, a God of fresh starts, and second chances. no matter how many "springs" i need

in my life, he's there, ready to cause the barren places in me to bloom, to come alive and give me that

new beginning. and today i'm just thankful for that. for his grace and mercy and never ending love.

guest post:

2013-03-19T03:00:00.000-04:00

hi friends! i'm blogging over at my sweet friend alissa's blog today,

on being bold with you're style, i'd love for you to stop by and say hello!!

3 things:

2013-03-18T00:00:00.000-04:00

three things i want to be better at:

1. laughing more 2. loving more 3. being confident

we all have areas we can grow in, recently these three areas really struck a chord with me.

i'm thankful that i don't have to figure out how to get better at these things on my own

but that God is right here with me guiding my steps and helping me along the way.

you don't have to share them with me but any areas you've been feeling challenged

in lately? area's that you're really striving to grow in? well, i'm trusting that you also

find help and direction from God.

photo c/o hollie marie photography

skincare fav:

2013-03-05T00:00:00.000-05:00

sorry for the blog slack going on around here lately!

today i wanted to share one of my favorite skin care products. ever. over christmas i was blessed

to get a clarisonic from my mom and pops. best. gift. ever. seriously. i've mentioned on here before

that i've always struggled a bit with breakouts and until recently was never able to find an adequate

solution for it. i recently shared this post about how much coconut oil has helped my skin over

the last several months but my other go to product is definitely the clarisonic.

i have noticed a HUGE {yes, that required all caps} difference in my skin since i started using it.

friends, strangers and even my husband have commented to me on how much better it looks. there

are a few different models at all different price ranges but i have the mia 2 and i use the acne brush

attachment. they have different brushes for the different needs you have that just pop right on the

handheld base. if you've tried everything and just haven't been able to see much change, whether

its acne, wrinkles, large pores, i encourage you to give the clarisonic a try! i'm not getting paid

for this post either. ha! i just really love it and want you all to know about it!
check out their site to learn more about it.

{photo c/o hollie marie photography}