About Me
Hello! I'm Hannah ; a 29 year old wife & mama!
I have a passion for all things makeup, play dates, traveling & taking pictures of my sassy girl. I love sweet things, spend way too much time (and money) in TJ Maxx and on Jane.com, and I love a good Marcia Lynn McClure romance novel. I was born in Utah, but grew up moving around A LOT! I attended college at East Carolina University where I graduated with a Bachelors degree in Elementary Education. I taught 1st grade for two years and absolutely loved it! I started dating the "Mr." when I was 19 and immediately fell head over heels! We were married in July of 2011 in the Mt. Timpanogos LDS Temple.
Meet my husband Steven.
He was also born in Utah, but was primarily raised on Little Rock, Arkansas. He's obsessed with personal fitness and working out, duck hunting, and all thing sports - watching & playing!
He also attended East Carolina University with me, and graduated in Exercise Physiology.
Close to a year after graduating college, we were blessed with our first baby girl! -- Brooklyn
Brooklyn is currently 3 1/2 years old.
She's a sassy, super funny little girl who is obsessed with dancing & singing, baby dolls, dogs, and playing in Mommy's makeup. She definitely keeps us on our toes and we can't wait to see her become a big sister THIS JUNE!!
I'm a stay at home mama to this sassy girl and while the first 3 years of her life hasn't always been the way I thought it would be, I'm obsessed with her and feel SO blessed to be her mom. We're also expecting our 2nd child, a baby BOY due June 2020. We are so excited and can't wait to for Brooklyn to have a sibling!
In this blog, I hope to share a little bit of everything I love with you.
From family life & motherhood, to makeup products I'm obsessed with, yummy recipes, occasional home decor, and traveling, my goal is to share the things that make me happy with you.
I really appreciate all the love and kind words, so THANK YOU!
-XO
My Struggle with Postpartum Acne & the Holy Grail Product that's Helped Fade My Scarring!
Hi Friends!
Hope your all having a wonderful weekend!
After posting my before & afters pictures on my Instagram yesterday, I received tons of questions so I thought I would do a blog post about it to help answer them and to share a little bit more about my experience.
A little bit of my background for you:
I never really struggled with acne & scarring much growing up. Sure, I have breakouts here and there, but nothing so bad to where it seriously scarred my skin. Fast forward to getting pregnant & having my first baby 2 1/2 years ago. Suddenly the skin on my face became super sensitive, and I would literally breakout like crazy. I had bumps all over my cheeks and my pores were super clogged.
^^ This was my face, freshly washed with nothing on it. ^^
In June of 2018 I decided to go see my local dermatologist and she thought it would be beneficial to put me on the prescription drug Spironolactone.
Spironolactone is a medication that is said to block androgen receptors and reduce the production of oil the sebaceous glands.
I took the pills faithfully everyday, but still struggled. By October/November of 2018, I decided that it just wasn't working for me, and stopped taking them. After months of trying so many different products & prescriptions, I was so frustrated and just about ready to give up.
Right around that time, Ole Henriksen was in the middle of launching a new product, the Glow2Oh! toner.
I was intrigued, so I did some research to find out more about it.
The toner claimed to help with "Dark Spots, Fine Lines, Wrinkles, and Uneven texture." I've used many of Ole Henriksen's products before, and have loved the results I've gotten from them.
I was so desperate, I decided to give this a try too and I ordered it from Sephora.
I knew that I needed to take some pictures before using the toner so that I could see if my skin was changing at all while using it. I also decided to take new pictures once a month on the same day so that I could compare the progress.
** I will note that all of the pictures I had taken were in the same room, with the same lighting, and were taken at the same time of day! **
^^ 1 Month Update ^^
After the first month of using the toner, I was a little bummed that I hadn't seen much change. I did notice that some spots looked lighter, and my skin was definitely brighter looking. But I thought there would've been more of a "dramatic" difference.
I still had half the bottle left, so I decided not to give up and to continue using up the rest of the bottle!
^^ 2nd Month Update ^^
After the second full month of using the Glow2Oh! toner, I was definitely starting to see more improvements in the dark spots/acne scarring on my cheeks. They definitely weren't as purple-y red as they had been when I first started using the toner in December! At this point, my toner bottle was empty, and I decided to repurchase another one and keep going.
^^ 3rd Month Update ^^
Wow!! Do you see that difference?
Month 3 of using the Glow2Oh! toner was definitely the month that I saw the most improvement with my scarring! This past month, I've also started to notice that my scars don't look as "deep" (if that makes any sense lol). The tone & texture of the skin on my cheeks definitely seems to be improving and everything is starting to look more even toned! I feel like I can even get away with wearing a more sheer foundation when going out too!
So what's the verdict? And what are my future plans you ask?
I definitely plan on continuing to use this toner. I would say it has DEFINITELY brightened my skin and makes it look healthy. I'm also so happy with the dark spots & acne scar fading that it has helped with. Yes... it was slow going when I first started using the toner. It took also 2 months for me to start to notice a drastic change in my skin. But I am so happy that I didn't give up and stop using it.
I recommend using this product if you are someone who is looking to brighten your skin, and fade any dark spots & acne scarring you might have.
Is this product 100% guaranteed to work for you? Sadly, no.
Everyone's skin is different, and everyone's skin will react differently to various products. So keep that in mind when trying new things.
Also, TAKE BEFORE PICTURES! I am SO glad that I did this. It really helped me to gage where I was at, and if the toner was working for me. Without pictures, I might have just quit after the first
30-45 days.
I hope y'all enjoyed this post and found it helpful!
Have any of you tried this toner from Ole Henriksen before?
Let me know what you think about it in the comment section below, or if you have any other products that you just LOVE and have had a great experience with. I love skincare products and love to try new things!
- Xo, Hannah
^^ A few on my FAVORITE Ole Henriksen products ^^
Birth Story - Brooklyn Marie Andrews
Brooklyn's birth story is one I never honestly imagined would happen the entire 9 months of my pregnancy. I never once thought that we would be evacuated from our house just 4 days before her arriving.
Hurricane Matthew swept through Eastern North Carolina (where we live) the evening of Saturday, October 8th, and morning of Sunday, October 9th.
Being that we live on the coast, we're used to Hurricane's coming through every now and then, and this was just another one; we didn't give it any thought. We woke up Sunday morning, the 9th, and went to church like any other Sunday. We came home, ate lunch, and went for a walk on the golf course. It was just a normal day for us.
It wasn't until we had gotten back to our house from our walk that things started to escalate.
We had just gotten back inside, and decided to watch some Tv. Within 10 minutes, we had heard a Police Siren, and then heard someone talking over a loud speaker.
(This is not normal in our area of town. We live on the outskirts of Greenville in a quiet neighborhood)
Steven got up to go outside to see what was going on, and I followed him. Sure enough, there was a cop car that was stopped in front of our house, slowly making his way down our street. I honestly couldn't believe what I heard next.
"This neighborhood is under mandatory evacuation. You have 2 hours to gather together any belongings that you can and leave. Plan to be out of your homes for at least 5-7 days."
I remember thinking, "um, what? Does he know that my baby is due in 4 days? Where on Earth does he expect us to go?"
I immediately started panicking and -hysterically- crying. The rain had stopped. It was sunny outside. Why were we being evacuated? Come to find out, they expected major flash-flooding in our area that would begin within 24 hours. Great.
Luckily my parents live an hour and a half from us, so I got my Dad on the phone and asked if he could bring his trailer over so that we could load up as much as possible and get everything off of the floors. My brother called a few friends, and an hour later they all showed up.
We had as much possible loaded into the trailer within 30 minutes (mainly furniture we didn't want to risk getting ruined). Everyone was moving so fast and rushing to grab whatever they could before the Cops came back to forcefully remove us.
And on we went to Raleigh.... Not knowing what we were going to do if Brooklyn decided to come before we could get back into our home.
The next few days were slow and boring. We had no idea if our house was flooded, and couldn't find anyone to talk to get any updates about anything. Steven remembered he had our neighbors cell phone number, so he decided to text him to find out if they had any information on when we could get back in.
He sent Steven these pictures and said, "Probably not anytime soon."
↓↓ Our house is the first one at the top of the street ↓↓
↑↑ Our house is the first one at the top of the street ↑↑
My heart sank. I thought for sure that water would be getting into our house within a few days.
Brooklyn's due date was Thursday, October 13th. I had a doctors appointment scheduled for that same day, so Steven and I woke up early to make the drive back to Greenville to meet with my OBGYN.
I was scheduled for a few blood tests, and an ultrasound to make sure that Brooklyn was in position and was ready to come.
We loved getting to see our little girl one more time on the ultrasound! Before we left, the nurse came in and said that my Doctor wanted to speak with us before we left. I thought it was odd, but figured it was just going to be about my birth plan and what we wanted to do in the event that I went into labor before getting back into our house.
Boy, was I wrong.
She sat us down, and then started talking about how big Brooklyn appeared to be on my ultrasound. She appeared to measure between 10.5-11 lbs. and that worried them. I personally didn't think it was a big deal because Steven was a little bigger than 10 lbs. when he was born.
She started explaining the risks that would be involved if I let Brooklyn stay inside longer. She was also worried that Brooklyn was so big that I wouldn't be able to push her out without her getting stuck. We went back and forth with the options for about 45 minutes, and finally decided to schedule me to have a c-section the next day. My heart was broken because I absolutely did not want to have a c-section, but I knew that the health of my baby was more important that my owns wants.
I tried to relax once we were back at my parents house, but that entire night I just tossed and turned. I was SO nervous!
The next morning we woke up around 6:00am and headed back to Greenville. We got to the hospital, filled out a bunch of paper work, and then we were finally checked into a room. They came in to start an IV line, and get me hooked up to a bunch of machines.
^^ Last picture with my big ole' belly ^^
At one point one of the nurses came in, looked at the papers a machine was printing out, and said,"so tell me bout these contractions you're feeling."
I was just like, "I'm not having any contractions, I'm scheduled for a c-section."
I guess I really was starting to have some though! At least that' what the machine was saying. I just think I was super nervous, so I couldn't feel them.
After an hour of waiting and waiting, they finally came in to take me back to the Operating Room. Steven wasn't allowed to be there while they got me prepped for surgery, so they had him just wait in the room until they were ready.
The nice thing about having to schedule this c-section was the fact that my OB. was on call at the hospital that same day. We just scheduled her to perform the operation, which I was SO thankful for. I had seen her throughout my entire pregnancy, and both Steven and I really liked her.
My anesthesiologist was super nice made me feel comfortable and calm while he was giving me the epidural. It honestly didn't hurt as much as I thought it would have, but I probably built it up in my mind so much before having it done.
They quickly laid me down before I was too numb, and it all went pretty quickly from there. My doctor got started, and after a minute I was like, "uh is anyone going to go and get my husband?" They had completely forgotten to go get Steven!
One of the nurses went to go and get him, and brought him back pretty quickly. He came in, with a camera in tow, and within 2-3 minutes they were getting ready to pull Brooklyn out.
A nurse was SO nice and took most of the pictures for us.
** Get ready for a picture overload.... Some might be a little graphic of Brooklyn **
^^ When my doctor was getting ready to pull her out she said, "oh Hannah! She's a big girl. You definitely made the right decision by doing this c-section." ^^
^^ When they weighted her, I felt a little annoyed. She was only 8.11 lbs. I totally could've pushed her out! ^^
^^ Giving Mommy kisses ^^
When the nurse put her face next to mine, I couldn't believe how warm she was. I don't know why, but that really stood out to me and was surprising.
The entire c-section process went pretty quickly. I remember feeling very calm and at ease. I was so thankful for that. Steven asked me about a million times if I was okay because I wasn't talking a ton. I just remember trying to keep my cool and really soak in everything that was happening. I wanted to remember every little detail for as long as I could.
Brooklyn was so perfect. She was born at 2:22pm and weighed 8 pounds, 11 ounces.
After the procedure they wheeled my down to a recovery room, where we were able to stay together, just us 3, for several hours. We were able to really hold her and get to spend that special time together. I'm so grateful for that time. It was such a special feeling that I will never forget.
My Heart ๐
After 2 hours (I think) in the recovery room, we were taken back to our actual room, and my family was finally allowed to come in and meet our newest addition.
It was super special being able to have my family so close so that they could be there to celebrate with us.
The first night with her was a LONG one. This girl has a set of lungs! I felt so bad because Steven got up with her the most, but I couldn't really stand because of my incision.
I wasn't really hurting a ton from the c-section until I tried to walk. Then it hurt SO BAD and I couldn't stand up straight. I had a horrible nurse the first night, who literally woke me up several hours during the night to try to walk. It got to the point where I told Steven to get her out of my face, or I was going to freak out. The next morning we asked for a different nurse, and she was a lot nicer and more understanding.
The next day my Dad, brother and Steven went to go see if the roads had cleared enough for us to be able to go home. Nope ๐ฅ
They got about a mile from our home, and the road blockades were still there. Steven had borrowed a pair of hunting wadders from someone and decided to walk across the flooded golf course by our home to see how far he could get. These are the pictures he sent me....
^^ He said the water came all the way up to his chest at one point ^^
He was able to get inside our house, and everything was okay. The water had came within a few feet of our house, but luckily had not gotten inside. He grabbed a few more things we needed and came back to the hospital.
We were able to be discharged on the 2nd day, but since we were able to get back into our house, we drove back to my parents' home in Raleigh where we stayed for another week and a half.
** Side note.... How cute is she in her "going home" outfit?! **
She was So teeny tiny in her carseat!
Although the entire experience was super stressful, and wasn't at all what I thought it was going to be, it was SO worth it! We had created this perfect little girl; she was a part of me and a part of Steven. It still seems so surreal when I think about it. I can't even remember what our lives were like before her. She has such a sweet spirit and brings so much joy and happiness into our family.
(Even though now she's a total diva ๐ More on that another time)
