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Eleanora At Play

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This girl is full of so much fun and life. It’s so sweet watching her play. Her personality and vocabulary have exploded lately! Here are a few of my favorite “Eleanora-isms” lately:

  • “What’s that Mommy?” (we ask about everything!) I answer. “Yeah, you’re right!” (as if she knew and was testing me! ha!)
  • “You are my BEST FRIEND! I love you.” (singing song from Little Einsteins.)
  • Mommy, can I have a quarter? (errrrry day…because quarters mean a token for the Carousel at the mall.)
  • Walks out of the room. Closes door. Door swings open. “I’m BAAACK!!!”
  • In princess shoes: “Introducing Princess Eleanora Rose Blair!!!”
  • “What’s daddy’s whole name? Jofanin Morgin Bwair! What’s mommy’s whole name? Jifnah Christine Bwair!”
  • Person asks, how are you today? “I’m two.”
  • My hair is in a braid. “Ah! Mommy, your hair is like Elsa!”
  • “I wear a scarf like Jesus mommy!”
  • Takes off crown, makes sad face. “I’m not a princess anymore.”
  • Pitches fit about leaving the park. We get in the car and she’s still crying. “Mommy, I need Jesus! Let’s pray!”
  • On a walk around the neighborhood: “Mommy, I go Jesus’ house now.”
  • Me: Elle I’m so proud of you for ____. “Mommy, I’m so proud of you too.” (mimicking my tone)
  • Pulls up to church and she exclaims: “PIZZA!!!!” (we might hang around youth/college kids a lot! haha!)
  • Grabs my mic as I’m setting up for sound check, takes center stage: “Let it go! Let it go! Can’t hold it back anymore!”
  • “Mommy, I made a mess” (at least she tells me when she gets in trouble! eek!)
  • “I cuddle couch.” (she loves cuddling.)
  • “I need to read my Bible story right now.” (when I ask her to clean her room! ha!)
  • While sweeping: “Mommy, don’t step in my piles!”
  • Looks around the living room. “Pillows are ALL AROUND US!” Haha! (It’s true though – I like pillows!)
  • Out shopping looking at clothes or something else at Target: “Nope, not cute. Mm mm.” Shakes head.

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Elle’s Bohemian 2nd Birthday Bash!

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This girl! We loved celebrating her birthday with family and friends, 3 times in fact! Ha! We ended up breaking up the celebrations into 3 small parties. It was perfect. She’s certainly a little girl, not a baby anymore. She is a free-spirit, lively and full of light. Doing a boho party just felt right for this spunk! My favorite thing about this stage is how much she’s learning every day. She is a little parrot and pickup on on things so quickly – from learning the ABC’s to all of our full names. I love helping her explore the world! Mostly, we are working on learning to be kind and gracious. She has so much potential to be such a light to those around her. She’s so outgoing and loves people (except when she’s just not in the mood) and I see how she could be the one to reach out to those who are on the outskirts. We’re praying these things over her life this year. Now to lead by example! That’s the hard part. We love you Elle!

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Summer in the Smokies

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We love our getaway with Jonathan’s family to the mountains every Summer. I am so behind on images from our travels! I obviously don’t photography much of anything else besides Elle when we go on personal trips. She’s my favorite subject! These are sweet memories, we’ll cherish forever.

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Simplified Life | Skincare…I’ve gone oily

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Ok so, it feels a bit strange to write about skincare since I’m no beauty or fashion blogger and usually stick to photography or heart things. However, I have been trying to simplify my life and create a healthier lifestyle on all fronts lately. One of those areas is skincare. Let me start by saying that I have NEVER had clear skin. Things got really bad for me when I was pregnant with Eleanora – all those hormones wreaked havoc on my face for the first few months and I wasn’t comfortable using any harsh topical products. So…I started researching and found oil cleansing. I didn’t stick with it for long though because I wasn’t using the right oils, but came back to it last year.

Now, my entire skin care regimen and almost all of my makeup is entirely natural! Plus, my skin has never felt healthier. I have naturally oily skin, but using oils has made less of a sweaty-face look and more of subtle glow. Do I still break out? Yes, but it is much less often and goes away much more quickly. (I’m 27 and still hoping it will stop!) The best part? I’ve basically stopped wearing much makeup because my skin has more “glow” than ever. Going natural has helped me own my own skin in a good way. I have spots, blemishes, fine lines and a bunch of other things I could nit-pick, but knowing that I’m putting good IN and OUT makes me much more ok with the things I can’t change.

So how does it all work? Let’s start at the beginning!

Coconut Oil (pictured in the small amber jar) – I use this as a face wash substitute. I put it all over my face, soak a washcloth in hot water and set on my face to steam for 30 seconds. Then rinse. Not all of the oil comes off, but the gunk gets out – which is the point! Then I follow up with a Rosewater/witch hazel toner…sorry not pictured! I forgot. I use coconut oil for everything from cooking to moisturizer! It’s especially lovely with some lavender essential oil mixed in too! Just make sure it’s pure and organic.


Argan Oil  & Vitamin E Oil – I have to stay I am obsessed with Argan oil. I use this as my moisturizer after washing my face 2x per day. I’ll alternate with Vitamin E oil as well, but it’s quite a bit thicker and doesn’t soak in as quickly. Argan Oil is non-greasy and feels so smooth going on. Vitamin E oil helps combat aging and wrinkles too. Both make my skin feel so firm and moisturized when I wake up. It does take a while to soak in before makeup, so I only use a little in the morning. These two are also great for hair! My ends have never loved me more! If you know me at all, you know I hate washing my hair – so these 2 are amazing for letting my ends get the moisture they need in-between washes. I also put loads of oil (whatever I’m feeling) on my ends before washing to make sure they stay nice and luscious! Argan oil is wonderful for hair growth as well – although my hair grows quickly so I don’t use it for that purpose.


Tea Tree Oil – I use this as a topical solution for breakouts. It works, but it’s just part of what I do to combat those pesky blemishes that seem to never go away for me. I usually use it at night on bad spots after my oil moisturizer.


Organic Raw Honey – THIS STUFF IS AMAZING! I usually do a honey mask 2x per week, more if I remember. It’s just kind of inconvenient to have a sticky face for 10-30 minutes. It’s super easy – just spread a teaspoon on a clean face and let it work it’s magic. Honey is antibacterial, so it’s amazing for acne treatment and prevention. It’s full of antioxidants and is AMAZING for completion. My skin feel like a million little angels singing the hallelujah chorus post-honey mask. If I have lots of redness and breakouts, they are SMALLER and less agitated afterwards. Want a bad spot GONE by morning? Leave the honey on overnight under a bandage. (This always entails honey on my pillow, so I have only done it once – but it worked!) Just google some before and after shots if you don’t believe me on this account. Who would have thought right?

Last but not least, make up! I haven’t done enough research to make sure everything is natural – but the most important part, my foundation is entirely paraben and sulfate free! (Why does that matter? Parabens and sulfates are used as preservatives and have been linked to cancer, and are overall not the healthiest choice.) I love using Dr. Jart BB creams and have several. The best part is that you can order on amazon, which is my jam!  (Actually you can oder all of this on amazon! Yay!) Besides filling in my bows, a bit of blush and a hint of mascara, I don’t do much anymore. I never did the “no-makeup” look before because my skin was bleh, but now it’s much healthier and looks 10x better on it’s own!

Going natural for my skincare also keeps me motivated to make healthier choices in other areas. Getting away from “fast fashion” is another area of growth for me. (Basically, fast fashion propitiates a feeling of “need” from consumers and is overall, a very dirty industry.) I’m no where near close to getting away from the fast fashion brands, and it hurts so bad that Zara is one of the leading fast fashion brands! Regardless, I am trying to buy with intention, choose things that fit my lifestyle criteria and will last. We hear a lot more about food choices (which is also very important) but everything we consume can be clean, healthy and natural as possible. At least, that is my goal for our family! 

(Image to show you my “no-makeup” look, no filter, no edits face! There are a few blemishes that my BB cream covers that are hard to see. Just BB cream, a hint of blush and brow fill in! That’s it! Seriously – using oils has brought my skin back to life from dull-land.)

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