review (and giveaway)!! sibu beauty!

i am so sorry i have been behind with blogging lately- ian runs around like crazy + i've been doing a lot of work from home + i've been reading the hunger games... so, you know.  i'm back though and i have a really exciting review and giveaway for you!!

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about sea-buckthorn:  i'll admit that i didn't know what a sea-buckthorn was.  so, a botany lesson- sea-buckthorn is a shrub that grows mainly in china/tibet.  from this shrub grow sea-buckthorn berries.  these berries are full of bioactive compounds, a good source of omegas 3, 6, 9 & 7.  what this means for you is good news for your skin, nails and hair!  this tiny little berry is packed with power!!  you can read more about sea-buckthorn here.

about sibu beauty:  sibu beauty was founded in 2009 with the sea-buckthorn as the foundation of all sibu's products.  sibu carries 2 types of products- topical (soaps, lotions) and ingestible (gel caps & liquid supplements).  i think my favorite thing is that their products are very pure:  sibu is certified organic, 100% natural and contains no dairy, wheat, gluten, sodium, or yeast.  everything in sibu's line is also paraben free and cruelty free, and all products are sourced through fair trade. 

i got a chance to sample and review sibu beauty's repair & protect daytime facial cream.  the highlights:

• promotes tissue recover & healing
• rejuvenates sun-damaged skin
• protects against environmental stress
• preserves healthy skin tone & texture
• boosts collagen production.  

 i normally use a moisturizer with a sunscreen in it- which this doesn't have- but since i use a foundation containing sunscreen, it wasn't really a big deal to me.  right away i liked the scent- it's citrusy, but at the same time almost a little woodsy- i can't really put my finger on it.  just in the 2 short weeks that i've been using repair & protect- my skin already feels softer- which is saying a lot when you're living in illinois in the winter.  it doesn't feel greasy like other moisturizers i've used in the past- when i put it on- i don't have to play the "wait until my moisturizer is dry to put on my makeup" game.  it absorbs into my skin immediately- and makes my skin feel really supple!  i've enjoyed the daytime facial cream so much- i'm even using it on any dry spots that may show up after i wash my face- and once i put it on, they're immediately gone.  i really like the packaging too!  i've been looking for a line to make an investment in and if the rest of sibu's product line is half as good as the facial cream- i think i'm set!

want to win sibu beauty's repair & protect facial cream for yourself?  yes?  here's how to enter:

please leave a separate comment for each additional entry in order for it to be counted!

1.  you must be a follower of my blog via google friend connect- and don't just follow to enter and then un-follow later.  that would be not nice and give me the sadz.  comment with your gfc name.

2.  "like" sibu beauty on facebook!  (i hear they give out samples sometimes).  let me know you did.

3.  follow @sibu_beauty on the twitters.  leave your handle. 

4.  follow me (@mcmellll) on the twitters.  leave your handle

5.  blog or facebook or tweet about this giveaway (if tweeting, make sure you use @sibu_beauty & @mcmellll) - leave your twitter link!

so you have 5 chances to win!!!  giveaway will run until 11:59 pm on Sunday, March 4th.  I'll announce the winner here and on twitter Monday, March 5th!!!

good luck!! 

I received a sample of the above product to try for free and keep in exchange for a review.  I received no further compensation.

steppin' out saturday - he shoots, he scores

blazer- loft, tee- loft, jeans- old navy, shoes- toms.

on ian: top- old navy, jeans- old navy, shoes- nike

we were supposed to have a big family get-together this weekend, but my poor nieces got sick, so we had a little mini get-together.  we took ian to my in-law's house to hang out with his cousins.  the boys had so much fun playing with cars and super heroes.  we got home late, but  ian still wanted to play hockey since he's been away from his net and sticks all day long.  

ian's favorite thing to say when he plays hockey is "he shoots, he scores!"  he runs around shooting little balls into the net shouting his little catchphrase.  it's a pretty cute sight to see!  i wanted to upload a video of him playing and shouting it... but... guess what?  blogger won't let me.  what. a. surprise.

i'm linking up with mandy from the haps for sos.

steppin' out saturday- valentine's date

dave & i decided to have our valentine's date on saturday- grammy and grampy were available to watch the little beans boy, so we made a date of it.  we started out our evening by going to see dave ramsey speak.  it wasn't the cut up your credit cards now fest that i was expecting, but i still really enjoyed it.  we followed that up with dinner in the cute little downtown area by where we live.  we started off with a wonderful appetizer and then i had a delicious heart-shaped pizza topped with artichokes, prosciutto, tomatoes, arugula, mozzerella, lemon- delightful.  dave had a fabulous pasta dish with italian sausage & goat cheese.... nom.  our plan was to go across the street afterward for dessert & drinks- but we stuffed ourselves silly, so we took a trip to target to walk dinner off a bit.  after we had settled down- we headed back for an appetizer, dessert & drinks at what's becoming my favorite restaurant in the area (and i've only had apps and dessert from there).

dress: modcloth, tights: target, shoes: swapped

big valentine's day plans?  i'm pretty excited about tomorrow- it is my favorite holiday! 

wishlist friday: valentine's day date duds

like i need an excuse for getting dressed up, but valentine's day (my favorite holiday) is just around the corner.  i also don't need an excuse to wear red or pink, or red and pink together for that matter...  i already have a cute little outfit planned for valentine's day... but i could always go for something sweet... 

1.  linger a little longer dress - modcloth

2.  wheel be there soon dress - modcloth

3.  polite & day dress - modcloth

4.  baked with love dress - modcloth

5.  how amore-able shorts - modcloth

6.  radiant ruby dress - modcloth

7.  cherry tomato salad dress - modcloth

8.  beauty counter browsing romper - modcloth

9.  red-y for fun top - modcloth

10.  the red queen dress - shabby apple

11.  open your heart sweater - modcloth

12.  tea party dress - francesca's collections

13.  hearts and crafts dress- modcloth

14.  strawberry pavlova top - modcloth

15.  dessert date dress - modcloth

happy valentine's day loves.  what are you wearing?

ian month by month- year 2

ian turns 2

ian turned 2 on january 20th, and we celebrated by throwing a little party, or 2, or 3, or....  we had a small party at my mom & dad's house while we were visiting for christmas b\c it's a good chance for us to see our friends, and ian to see his friends.  we also had a party at our house the weekend after ian's birthday with family & a few friends.

i went with a yo gabba gabba themed party for celebrate birthday number 2.  gabba is the favorite show around here these days. he loves the characters, the songs, books, etc.  plus, they're so fun and colorful- and i wanted the colors to be my inspiration for the party.  both parties differed a little- the 1st party was a little more on the theme- with themed foods, etc.  the second party was a little more about the food.  yum.

the dj lance cake!!  i wanted a rainbow cake, but when i saw the dj lance cake- i wanted a rainbow dj lance cake!!  making  rainbow cake is easy- just use a white cake mix and mix according to package directions.  take 6 bowls and fill them with mix, gradually adding more mix to each bowl.  put red dye in the smallest and work your way up to violet in the largest mixing the color in to your preference (rinse the whisk between each mix).  with this cake, i did a 9x13, with the second cake i did 2- 9".  starting with the largest- pour into the middle (don't forget to split if you do a layer cake) and give the pan a spin.  then do blue, green, yellow, orange & red- spinning after each color addition.  tent the pan with foil to prevent browning and bake according to the package directions (although you may want to take off 5-10 min. and then go from there).  you can see what it looks like below.  after i let this cake cool completely, i used the dj lance template to cut the cake.  i iced the hat portion with vanilla frosting and i iced his face w\ milk chocolate. i dyed shredded coconut orange for the hat.  i used chocolate twizzlers (i couldn't find licorice) for the glasses and i dyed vanilla frosting red for the mouth since i accidentally bought rainbow fruit roll-ups. turned out pretty nice!

we had some themed snacks at this party "plex" mix, foofa's animal friends (annie's bunnies) & dazzle berry lemonade.  dave & i even painted a brobee game- help all the food to the party in brobee's tummy!  

i also made a muno shirt using nick jr's iron on transfers (wish i had put the name on the back), and muno pretzels (turned out much better at the second party).

 ian had tons of fun running around with his buddies and opening presents!  

 and cake of course (my parents have the brightest kitchen ever)

i can't leave out that ian had a mini-party the night before with his grammie, grampie & great-grammie (they were leaving for arizona in the morning).  ian got a really cool bike- so excited for him to be a rider too!

 

mmm pie, and a cool bike!

 opening presents with mommy and getting just a little bit comfy with uncle bear.

saturday we had our big party- and since it was mostly adults, i focused more on the food than the theme.  i got most of the ideas for our spread from pinterest- seriously, i love pinterest.  such good ideas!  

top (l-r):  the spread, zippy green chile dip, 7-layer greek dip, pizza bites, pimiento cheese sandwiches

bottom (l-r): feta dip, cilantro-lime chickpea salad, italian beef sandwiches, the much improved muno pretzels and baked potato dip. 

so. much. delicious. food.  we still have leftovers- it's been 2 weeks, and that's probably gross, but it's soooo good.  and seriously- look how much better my 2nd batch of muno pretzels turned out!

aren't they so cute.  i had seen the idea for the pretzels here and thought they'd be pretty easy to re-create.  the original recipe calls for candy melts- which is what i used the first time around, but i could never get it red enough, no matter how much i dyed it.  then, when i did the candy melts this time- it burned (maybe b\c of my gas stove?)...  so we scrapped that completely and went with white baker's chocolate.  not only was it yummier, but it colored better and coated better.  the candy eyes were in the baking aisle at the grocery store- dip and dry on wax paper.  so yummy!

the rainbow cake!!

 this cake was so yummy!  since ian has permission from his allergist to eat eggs in baked form- i decided not to do any substitutions in the cake.  i did cotton candy ice cream for extra color (my no-dairy boy got blood orange & pomegranate sorbet)!

that face?  i die.

happy birthday sweet pea!

24 months

ian turned 2 on january 20th.  i can't believe it's been 2 years since that sweet baby boy came into our lives.  life has become so exciting in our house.  it's giggles one minute and seizing on the floor screaming the next minute...  ::sigh::

ian talks my ear off most of the day.  mostly one word at a time.  cars, ga-ba, color, hockey, snacks (which these days is beginning to sound more like "socks" or "sex"), pwease, hiiiii, ma-ma, stories...  those are the most popular ones.  he also loves singing songs all day long- from whatever is playing on the ygg pandora station, to a little bit of mumford and sons.  my favorites are dancing machine by the jackson 5 and rock star by the fresh beat band.  so stinkin' cute. 

ian loves his cars still- he got lots of hot wheels for christmas.  in fact, he got so much for christmas, we decided to pack a few away for later- maybe potty training rewards.  he got a lot of stuff that we ended up packing away and saving for later- looks like potty training will be fun!  ian also got a hockey goal for his birthday- so he loves playing hockey and shooting the balls into the net.  he's basically into anything & everything.  the favorite show right now is yo gabba gabba...  we had been watching a nice variety, but now it's only gabba.  i have almost 25 episodes on the dvr and i feel like i saw all of them yesterday...  oi. 

i guessed ian's weight perfectly from last month- he's exactly 25 lbs.  that means he's finally moved from being off the bottom of the chart to in the 25th% for weight.  he's now 34" tall, which is in the 50-75th%.  so he's gained 5 lbs and grown 2" in the last 6 months.  wow!  18 month clothes are finally getting a little snug (mostly too short).  i packed all the 12 month stuff up finally.  he could probably fit fine into some 24 month and 2T clothes, so i'll probably be pulling those out soon. 

so i have a "terrible 2" year old.  it's a little crazy from time to time.  there are crazy tantrums and this weird "NOOOOO" thing that came out of nowhere.  he's pretty good most of the time, although it can be a little frustrating.  i've definitely learned that sometimes just walking away is the best thing to do- and it's normally when he gets up and, surprise, isn't crying anymore... 

food is always an adventure- what he'll eat today he won't even look at tomorrow.  "sketchup" is a favorite, and yes, i have been known to dip a blueberry in sketchup to get my child to eat it.  i'll also put food on a chip- it serves the same purpose.  gotta do what i gotta do... word.

being 2 is huge.  it's such a big step.  most kids potty train, move out of a crib, out of a high chair, have to give up the binky and also possibly gain a sibling during the crucial 2nd year.  i can't imagine how hard it is to go through all of that at once.  i'm waiting out the crib thing until ian starts to attempt crib escapes- so for now, we're safe.  the sibling thing- it's at least another year away.  the high chair move- not needed right now.  so my focus is on potty training & giving up the binky.  i'm really not sure when i want to start the binky thing- he only uses it for naps and bedtime, so it's not a problem- but learning to sleep without is something he's going to have to do- i'm just not sure he even can comprehend what that means though. 

we are working on potty training however.  i have been collecting random stickers, and i printed a special yo gabba gabba chart.  i just need to come up with a little treat for him- i think we decided on raisinettes.  i also told him if he fills up his charts he'll get a little prize too (a christmas gift, perhaps..)  lately, ian has been into sitting on the potty- he started this just last saturday night- now i'm not sure if it's a "let's delay bedtime" tactic (seriously, manipulation, already?!) or if he really wants to go- either way, sitting on the potty is sitting on the potty, regardless of when it happens.  i'm not going to go into a lot of detail about it because no one wants/needs to know all that, but i'll definitely share some of the funnier stories and when everything's been accomplished.

i'll share more this week about ian's parties and all the fun we had, but now, photos from the 24th month, including the last monthly picture.  :(

 opening gifts with mommy

 tears on christmas morning b\c he had to open other gifts (with uncle bear)

 reading with daddy

 saying bye to pop & gigi (my grandparents)

 working the shipyard.

 books and hockey in his new robe

 bowl game day.

 eating a frozen choco-banana treat

 and when the treat is done?

 balloons make me happy

 car without wheels

 grampy's bike helmet

 bedtime cheese

 cakes?

 big smiles

i'm 2!!!