Month: July 2010

by Allison

what’s in your purse series: week nine.

This weeks’ What’s In Your Purse is from Maria of The Vintageholic Frog.  Thanks Maria!

If you want to play along send me two photos of your purse, the outside and the contents therein with a detailed explanation of what I’m looking at.  Can’t wait!  allisonATpetitelefantDOTcom

hobo bag
bag

1. Wallet

2. Rewetting eye drops

3. Lipglosses

4. Powder compact w/ mirror

5. Nail file

6. Sunglasses

7. Museum ticket stub (there is a survey you can fill out to enter to win an Amazon gift card- so I’m holding on to it until I get around to doing it)

8. Small notebook

9. Three pens

10. Bracelet (I took it off one day and keep forgetting to put it back in my jewelry box)

11. Hand sanitizer

12. Lotion (need new bottle)

13. Umbrella

14. Body Boost spray (LOVE this stuff. They need to make a travel size. Are you reading this Garnier? )

15. Keys w/ coin purse

16. Headband

17. Two hair bands

18. A bunch of hair pins

19. My trusty Samsung Moment phone (face down because the screen is dirty!)

20. A pistachio shell and a pistachio (I like pistachios)

21. I never leave my house without … >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

Bananas, party of 1?

crazy face

This is how I feel right now, only minus the makeup and styled hair.

1. I haven’t slept a full night in, um, well it’s been a while

2. I’m not showered right now and my hair and makeup are not super hot.

3. My house?  You don’t even want to know what my house looks like.  And I don’t mean that in a cute hyperbole type way, I mean that in a *the police are on their way over to pick up your children* kind of way.

4. My lawn is dead.  I’ve been a little too distracted to keep up on the watering.

5. My SocialLuxe Lounge party?  The one in 8 days?  It’s going to be awesome but man, the work.  Oh, the work is enough to put down a full team of horses.

6. I say that because I own a horse, and they’re strong creatures, but they’ve never planned an event in NYC for 350 bloggers before.

7. Horses have it easy.

8. Maybe I can be a horse in my next life.  But only if I get to live on Ree’s ranch.

9. Do horses get to drink Diet Dr. Pepper?  Maybe … >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

frozen grape snack.

frozen grape

Have you ever frozen grapes for a quick little snack?  Honestly, in the heat of the summer it’s one of the best things out there.

Wash your grapes, put them in a gallon Ziploc freezer bag {you know how I love the Ziploc} and pop them in the freezer.  They make little morsels of tasty frozen-ness.

frozen grape snacks

If you want to get crazy and take it to a whole new level of yum, soak the grapes in 7-UP, Sprite, or something equally bubbly and delicious for about an hour before you freeze.

Delicious!… >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

volumizing mascaras.

I have a bit of a thing for makeup, in case you haven’t noticed.  If my house were on fire and all the kids and family heirlooms made it out alright, the next thing I’d grab would be my Maybelline mascara.  You know the stuff in the pink tube with the green lid?  Yes, that one.  It’s less than $5 at the grocery store and I can get it off easily at night with makeup remover wipes.  I love everything about it.

maybelline mascaras

So when I was at the grocery store last week and I saw two different Maybelline volumizing mascaras on sale for less than $5 each, I snatched them up so I could do a little experiment.  It’s called: which Maybelline mascara makes my eyelashes look like a p0rn star?

Not really, it’s which Maybelline mascara will give me the best volume for the price of a cheap lunch?


makeup free

Here’s my face in all its unedited, large pore glory.  No judging.  The point is that I’m not wearing mascara.

mascara wand

Now here are the mascara contenders:

#1 The Colossal Volume Express Mascara

#2 XXL Pro Volume Washable Mascara

#3 Great Lash Mascara {this is … >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

beautiful womens clothing

A little while ago a company called William Riera sent me some dresses to check out, along with the most beautiful turquoise necklace you’ve ever seen.  I try on a lot of clothes, it’s part of my genetic makeup.  Sometimes I change outfits more than twice a day.  I’d apologize, but it’s just who I am.  I own a lot of dresses too.  I’m not sure where I think I’ll wear all these dresses, aside from church every Sunday, but I have them in my closet just in case.

womens dresses

Anyway, my point of this whole story is the dresses from William Riera not only look hot on the page, they look hot on.  I haven’t had so many compliments on a dress since I don’t know when.  They’re well constructed, they fit someone with my chest size and stature {which is no small feat, I tell you} and I have no doubt in my mind they’ll last me for years to come.  Really.

The Athena, the grey dress on the right in this photo is stunning.  It cuts across the body right at the slimmest part, making it the most flattering dress in my closet right now.  And isn’t … >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

what’s in your beach bag?

Stay with me here, I know there’s been a lot of looking inside purses lately, but this one is perfect for summer, so I had to do it.  I’m actually headed to the pool today, like I’m supposed to be walking out the door rightthissecond and I wanted to show you what I carry with me because I’m curious what YOU carry to the pool or beach.  Ready?

what's in your beach bag

beach bag

  • great big beach towel from Costco
  • cell phone
  • $10 for snacks
  • silver hoop earrings to make me gorgeous
  • iPod
  • Skullcandy headphones {speaker swag from EVO, bless them}
  • ALDO sunglasses
  • hair elastics {always, always, always}
  • lip-gloss {ditto the always}

contents of a beach bag

  • three kinds of sunscreen
  • granola bars & raisins for snacks
  • trucker hat to keep off the sun {I know no one wears them anymore, but I don’t care}
  • People Magazine {bless the trash that keeps me sane}
  • Lands’ End swag bag from Mom 2.0 is my actual pool bag

reef sandals

  • swimsuit cover up
  • Reef sandals {I LIVE in these in the summer}
  • Diet Dr. Pepper {always}

Do you carry this much awesome when you go to the pool?… >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

what’s in your purse series: week eight.

This week’s what’s in your purse is from a good friend of mine, Ciaran Blumenfeld of Momfluential fame.

I want this purse, I need this purse, I might have to go find a purse just like this one.

yellow purse

inside a purse

Here is what we have in there:

  • Flip Cam and Kodak Cam (because at least one of my kids always also wants to shoot video)
  • Sony Cam (used mostly by my kids, but guess who carries it around?)
  • Some random happy meal toy from our last road trip to Evo
  • A lucky di from my last trip to Vegas. I have no idea why  it is lucky. I just leave it in my purse
  • A lucky $2 bill I found. Hmmm… could I be superstitious?
  • Benadryl. Allergies happen. A lot. To me.
  • “Just in Case” Case. Funny story. This is a condom case. But it’s also an excellent pill case. No condoms in mine. I have tums, Tylenol, Sudafed and Tylenol pm which is really in case I can’t find my Benadryl in an emergency.
  • iPad – with lots of little sticky fingerprints on the screen protector. My son thinks he owns this. I love it so. I won it in a

    • … >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

cucumber couscous salad recipe

Cucumber couscous salad is one of my favorite summer salad recipes.  It’s easy and delicious and sometimes I can get both the cucumbers and tomatoes out of my summer garden, which I don’t have to tell you, is 10 kinds of fabulous.

couscous salad

Ingredients for Cucumber Couscous Salad:

  • 1 cup couscous {it cooks up to make a lot of couscous}
  • 1/4 cup vinegar
  • 2 cucumbers, diced
  • 2 tomatoes, diced
  • 1/4 cup sliced red onion {I chose not to use this}
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced {mine was very garlic-y, even with one}
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese {I was out, so I used mozzarella instead}

couscous salad ingredients

Peel, wash, and dice up your cucumbers.

chopped cucumbers

Then move onto your tomatoes.  Mine were juicy little buggers so it was a slippery affair.

dice tomatoes

Chop up everything else  and throw it into a bowl.

tomato couscous salad

In a separate container {I just used a measuring cup since it was already dirty} mix together your oil, vinegar, salt, and garlic, and mix the liquid into your chopped up vegetables.

vinegar dressing

While you’re slicing vegetables, boil your water for couscous.  Follow the directions on the couscous package.  Mine took less than … >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

by Allison

what to wear to a conference.

If you’re wondering what on earth to wear to BlogHer this year, I have a couple of suggestions for you.

What are YOU wearing?… >> find out more…

Allison

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.