Let's get inspired for 2019!

There is nothing quite like a fresh start, and the New Year is the perfect time for that! One thing that helps when you are ready for a fresh start is looking to inspiration, so we wanted to give you a list of a few ladies who inspire us over here at Start Loving You!

Dear.November.Days

Kristina Williams makes motherhood look GOOD! This fashion and lifestyle blogger in Charlotte, NC isn’t just pretty pictures though, her stories are so relatable that you can’t help but love her!

Check out her blog HERE

Kristina Kuzmic

If you aren’t following this mama, RUN, don’t walk, to follow her! Kristina is a past Start Loving You speaker and mama who will help you see that parenthood has challenges and IT’S OKAY!

Check out her blog HERE

Deliciously Ella

Seriously, we dare you not to drool when you look at her blog! Ella Mills inspires us through her love of plant-based foods and her blog is rich in resources for anyone who is looking to get healthier!

Check out her blog HERE

QiQi

We just love her! What an inspiration as she shares her fitness and weight-loss journey….she is down over 60 pounds! #self-care!!

Check her out HERE

Tone It Up

I promise you, 5 minutes on this site and you will be motivated to crank up some tunes and get moving! These girls are the CUTEST as they encourage health and balance, it’s no wonder they have gained a huge following!

Check out their block HERE

Love Brown Sugar

This boss mom talks about it all, from parenting and entrepreneurship to life lessons. She’s real, she’s positive, she’s sassy and we just LOVE her!

Check out her blog HERE

Jasmine Star

She takes on the world of social media that so many of us find overwhelming, offering tips and advice on the regular, but what we love most is her upbeat reliability and constant encouragement!

Check out her blog HERE

Ashley Lemieux

This is a gal on a mission and if you haven’t heard about The Shine Project, we encourage you to check it out! We love her for rising through her own painful experience to help other women and families through her organization!

Check our her blog HERE

Jessica Honegger

Her mission is simple: to help us gain courage and move past our fears. Through her career in fashion (she is founder of Noonday Collection), she met so many women who were being held back by fear that she decided to help!

Check our her blog HERE

Joanna Gaines

We all know her, we all love her (I mean, what’s not to love?)! She inspires us to live beautifully, intentionally and to focus on family…. plus, it doesn’t hurt that everything she does is ABSOLUTELY gorgeous!

Check our her blog HERE

Our Vintage Farmhouse

For everything art, creative living and interior design, check out Sarah Elizabeth! Her style is impeccable and we seriously want to move into her house with her!

Check out her blog HERE

Merry Stress-Mas?! Use our tips to R.E.L.A.X.

The holiday season is in full swing and it’s not always

twinkling lights and hollyberries, is it?

We want to share some simple ideas to help you tame your stress over the next few weeks and they involve your 5 senses:

• SMELL Light a candle or plug in your favorite holiday scent to get you in the mood. Smell has been shown to be the most powerful and emotional of all the senses. Some of our favorites can be found here and here. You can also pick up a rollerball of essential oil or perfume that you know will ease your mind when you start to feel the holiday stress creep up on you. Keep it nearby and roll away the worries - here is our fave essential aroma, it also works well on headaches!

• SOUND Turn up the music and get in the Christmas spirit! There are so many options to choose from - on your TV through the music channel, Spotify, SiriusXM, Pandora and more! Here’s a great playlist from Spotify to put you in a festive mood! Add a jingle bell to your front door and let it remind you of the festive feelings that make the holidays so special, especially when your loved ones make it jingle as they walk through that door.

• TOUCH If you’re lucky enough to have snow nearby, grab some and toss a few snowballs or better yet, make a snow angel! It doesn’t matter how old you are - it will make you feel like a kid again and what better way to relax than playing in the soft, white clouds of winter. Another way to relax by touch is to make homemade ornaments like these - feel the dough as you have fun with some holiday cookie cutters and your imagination. Don’t live near snow? Head to the beach and use those same cookie cutters in the sand to build pretend ornaments.

• SIGHT Bundle up with a blanket and some popcorn and drive through the brightly lit-up neighborhoods in your town to enjoy the holiday lights. Find a family member or friend who has a child in school and go WATCH their holiday performance - there’s nothing sweeter than a roomful of little ones singing and acting out Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer! Another great option: whip up mugs of hot cocoa, settle in with the family and enjoy a movie like The Christmas Chronicles that will be sure to give you all the holiday feels!

• TASTE Peppermint, egg nog, gingerbread - there are so many forms of these holiday favorites to taste, whether in its original form like a peppermint candy cane or in something as simple and relaxing as a cup of gingerbread-flavored tea or eggnog latte. Take a few minutes to really savor the flavor and let it ease you into the holiday mood!

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Giftapalooza | Gift Guide + Giveaway!

December is almost upon us and this is your friendly reminder that even though you have a MILLION and one things to do in the next few weeks, it’s important to take care of YOU, too! To help you do just that, we’ve partnered with a few of our favorite brands to make holiday shopping easier with special offers on awesome gifts that can be given (or kept for ourselves!) - check out this gift guide, complete with discount codes on many items!

AND - we are giving away a HUGE bundle of gifts from all these brands worth over $1100, so be sure to click below to enter!

DETAILS ABOUT THE GIVEAWAY!
Here is a complete list of prizes included in the bundle:
Project Repat | $110 credit for a custom blanket
Go Sili | 2 cups and a bowl ($40 value)
As You Wish Jewelry | Handstamped “JOY” Necklace ($34 value)
Mama Needs Box | One curated self-care box ($39.99 value)
STARTplanner | 2019 Daily Hustle Planner ($60 value)
STARTdetoxing | One “Maintain” Box for gut health & wellness ($148 value)
Start Balancing | One copy of Start Balancing Book ($23.95 value)
Starbucks | One pound of Holiday Roast + One Coffee Mug ($33 value)
Jam Threads | $50 credit
Holy Motherpreneur | One copy of Holy Motherpreneur Cookbook ($39.99 value)
Shock Your Potential | One copy of Michael Sherlock’s book
Sarah Happ | Lip Scrub holiday set ($58 value)
Melinda Maria | Handcrafted ear cuff ($48 value)
PuraVida | Bracelet trio ($15 value)
Sarah Hamilton FACE | Set of facial products ($260 value)
Thirty One Gifts | 2 medium utility totes with 1 insert ($110)
Kristen Hewitt | One copy of the gratitude journal ($20 value)

5 Things To Do When You Are Stuck In a "Mommy-Rut"

We all have that friend who makes motherhood look effortless as she shows up to preschool drop off each morning fully dressed with her make-up and hair looking like she just stepped out of a magazine… How does she do it?! 

Even if you don’t want to get all dolled up for drop-off, (and we totally don’t blame you - you do you!) we have a few tips to help you get out of your mommy rut:

Ok, it sounds funny, but I promise you washing that baby vomit out of your hair and putting on some fresh yoga pants will make you feel like a new woman! 

Find other moms and talk about something besides your kids! Remember that woman you used to be before kids? Maybe you had a passion for fashion or were a foodie at heart? Finding other moms with similar interests outside of your kiddos can help you get your identity back!

Every day does not have to be the same! Libraries, Parks, Play Dates and Museums can all offer a free or cheap break in your schedule and give your littles something else to focus on than the fact that sister just stole their goldfish crackers.

Do you ever feel like you just can’t stay on top of it all? At Start Loving You, we are HUGE advocates of self-care. If you feel like you get lost between the cooking, chores and bedtimes and you don’t remember the last time you had a massage, saw the inside of a gym or did something just for YOU, it might be time to splurge on a cleaning service or meal prep service so that you can take some time to fill your own cup! 

Schedule some fun things to look forward to: Date Night, Book Club, Play Dates or a mommy-only trip to Starbucks.  Whatever gives you something else to focus on when you are putting your kiddo back to bed for the 895,475th time that night, sometimes just knowing there is a break in sight can really help! 

No one ever said motherhood was easy, but making small changes in your day-to-day can really help your perspective and help you feel more connected and supported!

Some of the things we use on the daily, created by WOMEN!

DID YOU KNOW??  

PAPER COFFEE FILTERS // MELITTA BENTZ

Coffee-lovers have a German housewife to thank for their grit-free cups of joe. Melitta Bentz filed a patent for a paper, disposable coffee filter in 1908. She came up with her filter after piercing holes in the bottom of a brass coffee pot and lining it with a piece of blotting paper from her son’s school notebook to catch the grounds. Prior to her invention, the only ways to get one's morning coffee fix were to make it unfiltered and scoop out the grounds, use a cloth filter and wash it after each use, or to use a brewing method that left a bitter brew—all methods which were messy and a daily hassle. After receiving her patent, Bentz began selling the filters out of a shop in Dresden with her husband and two sons. The coffee filter company Melitta still bears her name today. *

DISPOSABLE DIAPERS // MARION DONOVAN

Marion Donovan made life a lot easier for generations of parents when she revolutionized the diaper industry. By 1946, the 29-year-old former Vogue beauty editor was a Connecticut housewife and a mother of two. The cloth diapers that were ubiquitous at the time were messy, and while rubber baby pants locked in moisture, they also left nasty rashes. Exasperated with what was available, Donovan set to work creating a waterproof diaper cover on her own. The "boater" was made from nylon parachute cloth, and it kept cloth diapers from leaking without irritating babies' sensitive skin. Consumers were smitten, and in 1951 she received a patent for the invention. Her next idea was even more innovative: diapers made from durable, absorbent paper that were intended to be thrown away. After struggling for years to convince the male executives she met with that her product was useful, the idea was taken up by Victor Mills, who used the concept to found Pampers. *

LIQUID PAPER // BETTE NESMITH GRAHAM

Bette Nesmith Graham was a single mom working as an executive secretary when she invented the answer to the typo. Prior to the age of autocorrect, setting copy correctly on the first try was essential to a typist’s job. But for Graham, that was easier said than done. She came up with a solution to her sloppy typing habits after observing a man painting a sign in a storefront one day. Whenever he made a mistake she noticed he'd cover up the blooper with the same paint he used for the background coat. Feeling inspired, Graham went home to recreate the scene on a smaller scale. She ended up creating "Mistake Out," a white, water-based tempera paint solution that matched the color of paper. She started out bottling the stuff in her garage with her son (and future Monkees musician), Michael Nesmith. After changing the name to Liquid Paper, her invention grew into a patented enterprise. Despite her success as an entrepreneur, she didn’t quit her secretary job—though she was eventually fired for accidentally typing the name of her own business in a company memo. *

* http://mentalfloss.com/article/92879/10-great-things-invented-working-moms

The Dishwasher // Josephine Cochran

Is there anyone more resourceful than a mom? When Josephine Cochrane wanted a device that could wash dishes faster than her servants could, while still protecting her china, she decided to make one herself. She created the first dishwasher - a motor-powered, spinning copper boiler that had wire compartments for plates and cups. In 1893 her invention was exhibited at the Chicago World's Fair.

Tips to freshen up your face for fall and get your glow on!

Introducing Sarah of Sarah Hamilton FACE

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We have 5 of Sarah’s favorite healthy skin tips for you!

Yes! We know, you have heard it a million times, but here it is for the million and first (because it is THAT important!). Use sunscreen! 365 days a year! Non-negotiable! My favorite brand is Elta Md.  My whole family uses their products. Look for one with a minimum of 5% zinc or titanium oxide. 

Use a retinoid or retinol at night starting in your mid-twenties. It’s the best topical anti-aging product out there. Check out my Blog “For the Love of Retinoids” on why you should use them and what they do.

Wash your face every night - twice! Once to remove make-up, second to remove the last layer of dirt and oil. This gives your skin a clean slate so your products absorb better.

 Eat a diet high in Omega Fats (or a high-quality supplement - my favorite is NutriGold and Source Naturals) and low in sugar. Sugar breaks down your collagen. This anti-inflammatory diet will give your skin that healthy, beautiful glow!

Starting in our 30’s, we start to lose collagen so invest in collagen-stimulating treatments like microneedling, laser and Sculptra. They will help rebuild and boost your collagen which is the protein that gives us youthful, wrinkle-free, healthy skin.

And SMILE - there’s nothing prettier than a happy person!