I must admit, I do remember coming home for a weekend and my mother looking at my face and saying, “Audrey – you’re using way too much foundation.” So I do know that you don’t want to cake it on… you want it to look as natural as can be, which I why I wanted to write this post today.

There are so many incredible new foundations hitting the stands this Spring, and I wanted to share some of my favorites with you. I’ve been trying and playing and working with about 10 different kinds of foundations over the last few weeks, and I’ve narrowed down my faves to 3 of them. This is what I was looking for in them: 1) I wanted something to feel lightweight. 2) I wanted something to last long on my face without having to reapply 100 times 3) I wanted something to look natural.

Here is my FAVE list:

1) Maybelline Dream Nude Airfoam

Aaaaaaaaa-mazing! Let me just say, this is like putting whipped cream on your face! It’s in a can and at first it’s a little weird putting it on, but it’s awesome! It goes on easy. It stays put for the whole day. And it’s ultra-lightweight. You’ll love it. They offer 12 different shades.

2) COVERGIRL & Olay ToneRehab 2-in-1 Foundation

I just tried this foundation while I was away in Miami and I fell in LOVE! First off – I love that it’s doing 2 things at once, for a busy mom – I appreciate anything that cuts down on my beauty regimen. The foundation is so lightweight and absolutely looks fabulously natural. COVERGIRL offers 14 different shades in this.

3) Neutrogena Healthy Skin Glow Sheers

If you’re looking for something ultra-sheer, this is it! This is FANTASTIC for skin when you just want something lightweight and amazingly natural! I love love love this!

But… I saw this dress today on ASOS and I just fell in love…

With the recent events that have happened in my family, I’m not sure when or where I’ll be able to wear something like this with my husband, but I just love it.

I’m going to bookmark the link and keep my eye on it.

You know, sometimes finding a little something extra-extra special can easily put a smile on your face. And yes, even a sexy Little Black Dress can do the same thing, too.

Find something extra special and pull it out! Embrace it and WEAR it proud!

Let’s talk about reading a poem today.

Shall we stay inside to read that poem? Or head outside?

Can we make the decision to stay all cozy inside AND head outside… at the same time?

Of course not!

But perhaps this little poem about a snail by 20th century novelist and poet Richard Wright gives us the option to do both…

Make up your mind snail!
You are half inside your house
And halfway out!

In this poem, Richard Wright experiments with the form of the traditional Japanese haiku – with its 3 lines and a specific number of syllables per line.

Wright’s poem celebrates a little wonder of life… the snail.

Read the poem with your kids or grandkids. Read it a couple of times.

Talk about the wonder of that little snail who carries its house from place to place.  Talk about how it pulls itself back into its shell when disturbed, danger threatens or to escape the weather. The snail house also protects the snail from sharp objects or vegetation as it pulls itself from here to there. That little snail house seems like a pretty good deal!

The voice, or speaker, of the poem comes along and notices the half-in, half-out snail.

This is a tiny moment of life, a sliver of time… but that moment can make us hesitate, smile, think and talk to the snail.

Hey! Make up your mind snail!

Ask your kids why that snail may be half-in and half-out. Is it feeling a bit threatened? Is it getting ready to make a move? Is it just enjoying the day? Is it finding a nice place in which to read a poem?

It’s moments like these that poets capture… wonderful moments that so many of us rush by.

It’s poems like these that teach children to notice life. It’s noticing life that counts when it comes to becoming proficient READERS.

During the rest of today, focus on finding little moments and little details, just like the snail half-in and half-out of its house. It’s great fun!

Remember that READING is all about the WORDS… Written, Spoken, Felt.

Oh. Back to the original question. Is it possible for you to be half-in and half-out of your house… at the same time?

You decide!

Thank you all for your continued prayers and love… xoxo

Oh, yes… would you wear Muscle Leggings?

Front…

Back…

I must admit, when I first saw them shock came over my face before a smile. I mean, really – these are seriously over-the-top. I don’t even know necessarily what you could wear with these to “tone them down” properly, but it seems there are some people who just love them. I’m just not one for wearing leggings that aren’t 1) a solid color 2) designed like body parts 3) a little young looking for me.

I just can’t believe the play these are getting every where and how fast these are trending on the internet.

So I’m curious…

Tell me… what’s your first reaction to these muscle leggings?

This is something I’ve wanted to do for quite some time… combine my love of grandchildren, children, education, reading, literacy, family, fitness and health as a resource for fellow Grandparents and Boomers.  We are, after all, a great force of nature!

I first posted a profile pic of me with my husband Barry and all 9 grandchildren, but it got “lost” in the Twitter space…

… and many friends and followers didn’t recognize me @SharonCouto (which I still have) as @GrandparentU.

So yesterday I asked my 6-year old grandson, Alex, to take a photo of me for @GrandparentU.  Kind of get him into this Social Media world!

I handed Alex my cell phone and he went about his work, setting up the shot, albeit laughing up a storm while he listened to my directions.  Little did I know that he was having fun VIDEOING me…

I don’t think I’ve had such at a fun photo shoot ever, and how appropriate is this for a GRANDPARENT site!?

And I don’t think I have a photo of me ever with a smile as big as the one captured through Alex’s beautiful, beautiful eyes…

Now that’s a Grandparent smile!

Join and follow me over at @GrandparentU for some lively understanding, shared wisdom and fun!

Thanks, Alex, for giving me the knowledge, great secret and love of spontaneous LIFE…

There are so many ways a blogger could answer this question and it’s one of those questions that doesn’t have a right or wrong answer… it’s a personal thing, and we all have our reasons – which is the beauty of blogging.

Well, one of the reasons I was intrigued by blogging and truly wanted to start back in 2007 was because I loved the idea of sharing information.  It wasn’t so much about sharing about my life… it was sharing fashion advice and beauty tips and product reviews.  I loved the idea of having an outlet, a corner of the world where I could put anything and everything I wanted.  I started doing just that in 2007 and have continued throughout the last 5 years.

But this past week showed me the true beauty and power and connectedness in being a blogger.

I shared something about my life that I never have had to share before… I shared that I was scared and terrified and worried about the health of my husband.

When we found out my husband had a tumor in his abdomen last Monday morning, all of a sudden life changed.  I didn’t know what to do or how to express what I was feeling.  There was not a chance in hell I could keep it bottled up inside and not share this information with someone… somewhere.  I decided to open myself up and just be 100% real and raw and honest about everything that was going on with Matt on my blog… I wasn’t sure how people would react, but I knew I needed to share it.  It’s funny – here I blog about fashion and beauty every single day, and the LAST thing on earth I felt like putting on was makeup or even caring about what I was wearing.  As a matter of fact, I think I wore the same clothes all week, just washing them as I walked in and grabbing them from the dryer as I was heading out.  I can assure you Matt didn’t care what I was wearing to the hospital.

I can’t tell you how helpful it is to share everything on my blog.  It’s the sharing and the togetherness that is so incredible to me.  It’s people I don’t know wishing Matt well and praying for him.  It’s people I do know finding out and being there for us with calls, texts and visits.  It’s people across the country whom I have met through blogging sending cards and food and Valentine’s Day packages.  It’s all because of the sharing.

I can’t quite properly express how much I appreciate everyone’s help and love and well wishes and prayers.  I’m humbled and feel completely overwhelmed by the sweetness, the kindness and the sheer beauty of people.

Thank you so much.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Thank you for allowing me to share and listening to our story.

And thank you for keeping us in your prayers and thoughts.

xo

So I thought it would be fun to do a little something on my toes to make them smile. I saw this photo on Pinterest that was published by Polished:

This photo made me smile, so I thought for sure it would make my sons. I called Alex over to my laptop this morning to show him what I wanted to do on my toenails and he smiled and said, “They look like happy toes.” I thought that was the perfect way to describe this color for my toes.

So… hopefully soon, I’ll be heading to the nail salon to pamper myself a little bit with some happy toes. In the meantime, I found the color!

OPI’s Rainbow Connection…

xo

You know, when I had this party a week and a half ago, it was before everything happened with Matt.  It’s funny how life is because after the party was over, I said to Matt how great it was being able to capture so many moments throughout the afternoon with our friends and our kids during the party.  Sometimes I get so wrapped up in my daily to-do list that I don’t take the time to just capture and savor the moments.  The moments of everyday life. The real moments.  The moments when my sons are laughing and being silly with their friends.  The moments when my girlfriends are over and we’re chatting about life and kids and girly stuff.  It’s the capturing of the moments that makes Snapfish so special to me because this is what they’re all about. It was wonderful to have this afternoon to capture the moments, the smiles, the celebration of coming together.

I’m so glad I was able to host this party for Snapfish.  I took a TON of photos throughout the day that I’m going to turn into a photo book for the boys.  The beautiful thing about Snapfish is that I can create my own personalized gifts for the boys, my parents, my in-laws… for anyone.  It’s super easy to upload the photos right in and customize my very own photo book. Snapfish offers a variety of photo book styles from professional 12×12 signature photo books (I ordered one of these!) for your coffee table to 5×7 everyday photo books you can take with you as a brag book to show off to all your friends.

Snapfish has something for everyone… and so, let me give you a little sneak peek into my Lemonade Stand party (which was fun to do since it was raining that day and I had to move everything inside for the kids!) looked like:

Everyone had fun with the Snapfish props and everyone left very excited to create their own photo books.  Thank you so much Snapfish!  We had such a wonderful, wonderful day!

Disclosure: This was part of a sponsored campaign with Snapfish.  All opinions are my own.

Hearts float around us in people, in words, in gestures and in things.

But not everyone sees them, feels them or acknowledges them.

My 6-year old grandson Alex is one of the people who has the gift to find hearts just about everywhere, and in everyone and everything.  Alex loves people.  Audrey has said from the moment Alex was born that he loves life.  He’s happy to be alive.  He finds joy, excitement, laughter and love in every single moment.

Alex finds hearts.  And hearts find him.  Hearts seem to land on him.

This past week, with Matt in the hospital and Audrey caring for him, I spent lots of time with Alex.  He attends afternoon Kindergarten, so he was home with me each morning while his 3 brothers were off to 1st grade or pre-school.  We had time to talk, to play, to build railroads, to cook, to clean, to fold laundry, to download new Apps on my cell phone, to read, to play Webkinz and to eat together.

It was in the eating that the hearts really seemed to make their magic… or where Alex found them,  saw them, felt them, acknowledged them…

A potato chip

A donut gift from Auntie Janie

A peanut butter & jelly sandwich

Yes, I think it’s a true gift to see the hearts that surround us and find absolute delight in them… and Alex’s heart is wide open to receive all the hearts that come his way.

But the best part of all is the happiness, the giving, the perfection of sharing his heart and all these hearts that come his way.   Alex was born with the lesson of sharing this great joy.  It’s deep in his own heart.

We all have this gift.  We just have to open our HEARTS to discover the magic and wonder of people, things and life itself!