Skirts of Urban

Surprise…I’m pregnant!

You’ve probably noticed I’ve been absent for some time on here as well as my social media. Well, our secret is out! Mason and I are expecting a precious little boy or girl in April 2019. We are so excited to become parents and we feel so grateful to know this baby is already so loved by our family and friends.

I’ve been out of commission from blogging basically since I found out I was pregnant due to constant morning sickness, feeling faint, and basically sleeping my first trimester away. I’m hoping the sickness will fade soon and I’ll get my energy back to start sharing more with you guys. But right now I’m busy growing a BABY (it still is surreal)!

Talk to you guys soon!

An Open Love Letter; 1 year Anniversary

It’s been a full YEAR since we said ‘I do’. It all feels like it happened 2 months ago and also feels like it’s been so much longer than a year. The past year honestly hasn’t been much different from our years of dating, but at the same time so much has changed.

Sometimes I think I’m too young or we haven’t been married long enough to speak on the topic of a happy + healthy marriage, but what I do know is our love is the most genuine and real thing that I’ve ever known. There’s sometimes I don’t know how I loved you on certain days because of anger, but because we made sure our goal is to love each other like Jesus has loved us, that’s the only way I can explain why I can say ‘I’m sorry’ or ‘I love you’. To go one day from complete strangers to being united as one takes a whole lot of love, courage, trust, and humbleness. I thank God everyday for mistakes I made when I was younger and every good decision I made, because they led me to you and my past experiences have allowed me to be the wife I need to be to you.

Even though I loved all of the days we’ve spent together in the past 3 years as a couple, I wouldn’t trade the past 365 days spent as your wife. I’ve become the best version of myself because I’ve been able to basically grow up with my best friend by my side. We both moved out of our parents house and we had to learn how to be ourselves without the help of our parents, and we added marriage on top of that. I learned that I can’t put myself first anymore. It’s not just ‘me,me,me’ it’s ‘you + me’.

Let me brag on you for a little bit:

I couldn’t have asked for a better husband. there’s so many things I could say I’m grateful for, but I would be here for another year writing that list. Here’s just a few things I’m so thankful for:

-You keep me accountable for my actions and makes me want to be a better person every day.

-You do the laundry and help with the dishes. (can I get an amen?!)

-You tell me I’m beautiful when I’m looking cute or looking like a troll.

-You always take my pictures, even when I know you’d rather be doing something else.

-You’re the most selfless and ambitious person I’ve ever met.

– You always make sure I’m happy and I have everything I need before you worry about yourself.

-Your heart and character is so genuine and beautiful and I can’t thank your parents enough for raising you to be the man that you are.

-You always fix my hair when it’s out of place. And even though you may roll your eyes when asked, you always hold my bag when I’m shopping or trying on clothes.

-Your sweet voice in the morning followed by a soft forehead kiss before we start our days and go to work.

____________________________________

It’s hard to only want to talk about the good things, and of course nobody wants to air their dirty laundry. But, if it weren’t for the bad days, we couldn’t rejoice in the growth and strength gained when we make it out to the other side of a bad situation and say “we did it together”.

I can’t say our lives have drastically changed since we got married but, the past year I’ve never laughed more, cried more (happy and sad), or loved more and I got to have my better half with me every step of the way. I can’t wait to see what the future years hold for us!

I chose you a year ago on 8/5/17 and I still choose you today. And everyday.
I love you Mason ♥

Laura Loves v.3

BEAUTY

ADORN HAIR OIL + PERFUME (Rose Quartz scent) $18
JERGEN’S WET SKIN TANNER $9.99

Perfume + Hair Oil: Fragrances are not an area I spend a lot of money on. I like subtle scents and just like a mist of body spray, unless I’m doing special then I’ll use actual perfume. I’m a sucker for multi-use products/products that are great for on the go or travel. I came across this product and thought it’d be perfect to try for summer, so I had Mason buy it for me for my birthday. The scent is so light, floral, and fresh without being artificial. I love that it doubles as a hair oil because rather than drying out my hair like sprays that have alcohol in them, it’s nourishing my strands as well as making it smell like I just got out of a bath full of roses. A must for the summer!

Tanner: I’m pretty low maintenance with my beauty routine, so that means I definitely don’t self tan. 1) because I’m lazy and 2) I suck at applying it. I’ve never been super pale, but in the summer time I do like to be a little tanner and have a glow. I went through numerous bottles of the original Jergen’s gradual tan throughout high school, and yes, I was orange and I loved it. But that’s not my vibe anymore. This in-shower version doesn’t leave me orange, super easy to apply, and not messy! Jergen’s came up with some magical science behind this product that once you’re done with your shower you just put this stuff onto your wet skin and rub in for a subtle bit of color.

PHYSICIAN’S FORMULA ‘THE HEALTHY FOUNDATION’ $12.99
MAYBELLINE FIT ME CONCEALER $6.99

Foundation: I honestly have the hardest time finding foundation that works for my skin. I love the Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation for my full coverage, but some days I don’t want a heavy full coverage foundation. I have officially found my new fave! I randomly came across this Physician’s Formula foundation one day at Ulta. It said it gave a brightening complex and the name “healthy” kind of had me scared for my oily skin because all I could think it grease city. I read some reviews about people with oily skin wearing it and loving it, so I gave it a shot. This is honestly the perfect everyday, natural, radiant, light weight foundation with amazzzzing buildable coverage. I love the buildable factor of it because I can go light when I’m having a good skin day, or layer it when my skin is goin through hell, but it never looks cakey!

Fit-me concealer: This is no new product, but it’s a rediscovery for me! I loved this concealer when it first came out, but over the years trying different concealers I forgot about it. This concealer is honestly going to be a staple in my makeup collection from now on. It does an excellent job at covering blemishes as well as dark circles without looking dry or cakey. It’s just the best multi-use and everyday kind of product.

MAC ‘MISCHIEF MINX’ PALETTE $39.50

Another b-day present from my cute husband! This is my perfect palette for the summer. I can make an intense smokey eye or just do one of the orange/bronze shades all over the lid for a simple but fun pop of color. Also another great product for traveling.

QUESTION: If I possibly made a makeup tutorial video, would that be something you guys would be interested in? Let me know!

HAIR

KITSCH COIL HAIR BANDS $6

All the thick haired girls out there need to try these!! Even if you don’t have thick hair these will probably work for you too. But, if you have thick hair, you know the struggle of getting your ponytail just right and then your hair band pops because it’s too thick. I’m also having to always tighten my ponytail or redo my bun because my hair bands can’t hold my hair up…the struggle. These were another random stumble upon I had seen in Ulta and I had heard people talk about them before. These are the only hair bands I’ll ever use again! As you can probably tell in the picture above, the left band is one I’ve been using everyday and the right is an unused one. I was skeptical about these 1) not causing creases in my hair and 2) not breaking. But, they do shrink back down to size once you take them out and they will literally hold my hair up all day long and even in a bun! Below is showing how I wore my hair in a bun with the coil band almost all afternoon, my hair was straightened before. You can see there’s only a little kink in my hair, but if I would’ve taken my hair down out of a bun with a regular band, my hair would’ve been all kinds of bent, crinkled, and knotted. Another plus is that don’t rip my hair out!

FASHION/ACCESSORIES

Kate Spade ‘One in a Million’ Necklace $58

Okay, last birthday present I’m going to mention, I promise. It’s such a sweet and dainty necklace that I’ve been wearing everyday since I got it. Perfect for layering too!

FOOD

SHEILA G’S GLUTEN FREE BROWNIE BRITTLE

Go to your local grocery store and find these right now, you need them in your life. Even if you’re not gluten free, this brand has a non-gluten free kind. But, I can only speak for this kind and let me tell you…the addiction is real. I’m a chocolate lover and I always have to have some kind of dessert. These hit the spot and are so rich and delicious. It’s basically like the crispy edge of a brownie mixed with a flat cookie made from heaven. Trust me, you need to try these but I am warning you…you might eat the whole bag in one sitting.

Thanks for reading!

Bye July, hello August!

21 things I learned being 21

When I was younger I never understood why my parents always thought time was flying by, because as a kid it seemed like waiting for my next birthday or Christmas took forever. Now I’m sitting here and I just turned 22 yesterday and I’ll be married a year in a few short weeks. Excuse me but, didn’t I just turn 21 like last week?! 22 is still young but sometimes I feel like I’m supposed to have everything figured out, but it’s okay not to. I have an amazing husband and family and can’t wait for what this year brings. Here’s 21 things I learned/realized being 21:

1. Appreciate the little things- even if just sitting down in the morning with coffee and being thankful for being woken up.

2. Appreciate my parents more. I saw a quote and it said: “after you turn 18, your parents don’t have to do anything for you. Anything your parents do for you after you turn 18 is out of pure love”. And the older I get the more I have the realization to listen to my parents, because they’ve been where I’ve been and they really do know what’s best for me.

3. It’s okay to not always be “on”. Sometimes I just need a day where I don’t put makeup on, sit in my pjs, and just let my skin breath instead of trying to cover it up. Learning to be happy in my skin is a struggle I deal with everyday.

4. “Adulting” isn’t hard but not exactly easy, I’m still figuring all this out.

5. Taking care of my mental health is more important than anything. I’m overcoming things I didn’t think I could, and I’m proud of myself for taking the necessary steps to better myself.

6. I should sleep more.

7. It’s okay to take a break. Whether it be from social media, or if it’s just simply saying “no” to something.

8. Numbers & likes don’t matter on social media.

9. Letting God lead and being open to doing things that make me uncomfortable.

10. Learning to be content.

11. It’s okay to not to obsess over eating right all of the time, fries and ice cream never hurt anybody.

12. I don’t need to have the most. It’s been refreshing getting rid of stuff and not having an over amount of things just because. Yes, I have a lot of clothes, but I’ve come to realize I don’t need things/items to make me happy.

13. It’s okay to not have my life figured out yet. Mason and I don’t own a home yet, that’s okay. We don’t know where we’ll be in a year, and that’s okay. We’re learning as we go.

14. It really is possible to love my husband more everyday, even when he gets on my nerves.

15. I still need to work on my patience.

16. Pray about everything. If it worries me or bothers me, give it to God.

17. Thank God for everything, even the most tiniest things.

18. Treating my skin well and taking time to moisturize. I do need to get better about wearing sunscreen though…

19. Taking pride in my work isn’t a bad thing, it’s what motivates me. I do need to work on not beating myself up over little mess ups.

20. It’s okay to be selfish sometimes. I can’t always fix everything and sometimes I can’t fake a smile. when I get overwhelmed it’s okay to think about myself and just chill out with a face mask or just laying in bed by myself.

21. Lastly, even though I’m not super comfortable in my skin, I shouldn’t be so hard on my body/image. Sure, I have acne, cellulite and sometimes I forget to shave my legs. But I’m healthy, and my body gets me through life and I’m thankful for that.

Summer LBD

Happy July! I may be biased to say that July is my favorite month of the year because it is my birthday month. I’ll be 22 on the 15th and I’m just sitting here thinking, “didn’t I just turn 21 a few weeks ago?”. So many good things have happened in the past year and I can’t wait to see what the next year will hold for me as a 22 year old.

In the past year I’ve been loving exploring different colors but nothing beats a simple dress, especially a LBD.

This summer version of little black dress is light and airy and can be dressed up with heels or worn more daytime with some white sneakers! The white stitched fluttery sleeves gives a soft girly touch to the dress. To make the look more than just a LBD I added my new favorite gingham bag and striped heels for some fun pattern clashing.

WHOWHATWEAR COLLECTION dress |MALIBU SKY bag | KITSCH hat (similar) | PUBLIC DESIRE heels | QUAY sunglasses

All Dressed Up

Talk about statement top! I honestly felt like a bride walking down the street in this top. It’s so glamorous and crisp. It’s actually light weight, so it’s perfect for a dramatic look in the summer.