a lovely living

Monthly Archives for January 2025

January 13, 2025

Beauty Basics

I’m not one to constantly overhaul my beauty routine. I tend to stay pretty consistent with products once I find things that I love. I’ll play around with eyeshadows and lip colors a bit, but for the most part, my daily routine remains relatively consistent. Below you’ll find six of my everyday go-to products, most of which I can’t go without.

Under-Eye Brightening Corrector: I can’t even recall how long I’ve been using this product. With genetically dark under eye circles, this color corrector is the first thing I apply following my skincare routine. It is pure magic erasing dark circles and hydrating my skin at the same time.

Creamy Contour Stick: I think I’m on my fourth or fifth purchase of this product at this point. I’m much more into a soft, dewy look as opposed to a matte finish these days and this creamy stick makes contouring a breeze. I use the shade Biscuit.

Mascara: I admit that I have tried other mascaras for the fun of it over the years, but this is the one that I continuously return to. The brush is what wins me over. I have yet to find another one that lengthens and separates the way this one does.

Cheek/Lip Combos: I do bounce around between a few of these lip/cheek combos depending on the shade I’m after on any particular day, but the Ilia (in At Last and Tenderly) and Westman Atelier (in Petal) are two of my favorites. Not only do you have the benefit of the lip/cheek combo but I find them very easy to apply and blend for a soft, natural look.

Anti-aging Tinted Moisturizer: This is the most recent product that I’ve been using for the past few months. After a friend convinced me to try it, I quickly realized why it’s so popular. It’s a daily anti-aging tinted moisturizer with SPF 45 that corrects, protects, conceals, brightens and hydrates skin. There’s also no need to waste time finding your correct shade as their Intellishade blends into your skin tone.

Full Coverage Concealer: A final workhorse product that has been a longtime favorite is this concealer. It’s full coverage, doesn’t crease and lasts all day long. I rarely go without it.

January 10, 2025

Family Room (featuring the Crate & Barrel Lounge Sectional and Pottery Barn Flannery Rug)

The holidays have come and gone and our home is back to feeling like its normal self. Our family room is one of the most used rooms in our home and over the years it has gradually evolved as I’ve pieced certain elements together. No room is ever ‘finished’ in my mind, but for the moment, I can’t figure out what the next change will be ;)

The last time I shared this room on the blog, I was sharing my thoughts on our sectional. We’ve had our Crate & Barrel Lounge sectional for over six years now and we absolutely love it. At the time that we purchased ours, C&B only offered a regular and petite version. They now carry three sizing options; classic, regular and deep to ensure everyone is able to find the perfect fit for their space and needs. Our sectional is closest in size to the deep. As per the name, it is the perfect sofa to lounge in and my feet do not come close to hitting the floor when I’m sitting against the back cushions. If this isn’t what you’re after, the classic and regular sizes may be worth exploring.

It has had a ton of use by our family and friends and with regular care (vacuuming, rotating cushions and spot cleaning as needed) and is holding up beautifully. If it ever does show enough wear, chances are we’d order the same thing again! It’s the perfect place to cozy up and watch movies, play games or hang out. The fabric we selected is the Taft in Cement.

I had always felt this room could use an accent chair, but it wasn’t until I spotted this swivel chair at our local HomeGoods that I knew it was what we needed. At first the kids were annoyed that I was filling up more of their free space, but it quickly became a highly used piece. I’m not able to link this exact chair, but i did find another similar option here.

A few years ago I hired a local friend of mine to make cushions for our window seats. The exact fabric is no longer available, but there’s a similar option here. These seats provide extra seating which comes in handy when we have large groups of people visiting.

Since this room backs up to the woods, there isn’t a need for window coverings. Cinnamon, our dog, loves tracking down and threatening all the squirrels from the window seats!

This rug was a more recent purchase that I ordered from Pottery Barn a few months ago. I had ordered quite a number of rug samples and am so pleased that we landed on the Flannery Performance Rug in 9×12. It did have a decent amount of shedding the first few months, but that was to be expected. It is so soft and cozy and perfect for this room. I love the neutrality of the rug as well as the striped texture. It would also work really well underfoot in a bedroom.

I love playing around with accent pillows, throw blankets etc. With the large components of the room being neutral, it allows me the flexibility to change up accent pieces and decor as I feel led. Many of the items in this room are no longer available, but I’ve done some digging to find similar pieces that I will link below. As I mentioned at the beginning, homes are ever evolving as tastes, needs and family dynamics change. So although it may not always feel complete you can work towards feeling content in your home sweet home.

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