Sofia Vergara shines at the Emmys!

Suave gave me the opportunity of a lifetime... head to LA, interview Sofia Vergara and attend the Emmys. OK. Absolutely. When do I leave?

As I mentioned yesterday, Sofia worked with Suave Professionals and allowed her fans to vote for her Emmy hair style. Sofia would have looked stunning heading to the Emmys with a ponytail, jeans and a tee... that's the kind of beauty she exudes. But she did get glamour-ized head-to-toe for the night...



Sparkling in a Carolina Herrera gown and dazzling with her Suave Professionals Glamorous Waves, she perfected the red carpet with style, elegance and old-school Hollywood glamour.

I was honored that Suave allowed me some time (only 3 hours previous to her red carpet walk!) to chat with Sofia about working with Suave, being a working mom and how she makes it all work and look gorgeous at the same time!



Stay tuned... I have some more Emmy fashion and beauty coverage coming!

Creating the Perfect Ponytail

If you were at our Getting Gorgeous Event in NYC on August 6th, you had the pleasure of meeting the amazing Sarah Potempa!



Sarah is a celebrity hair stylist who has worked with celebs like Tiny Fey, Julianne Moore, Anne Hathaway, Brooke Shields, Faith Hill, Patrick Dempsey, Ryan Reynolds and so many, many more! She truly is incredible at hair - she did my hair and Vera's hair for Getting Gorgeous (seriously) in 45 minutes. What I love even more about Sarah is are her personal hair videos on her blog... they are PERFECT for every woman! She gives self-tutorials on different hair styles... I love them!

Today I wanted to share the "Perfect Ponytail" by Sarah (since this is all I have been sporting for the last 4 days!).

Carnival Cruise Recap

I just wanted to thank all of you for tweeting me and Facebook messaging me and emailing me to see how my trip went! I appreciate it so very much! As promised, here is a recap of our long-awaited family trip!

Beauty Advice: Getting Rid of Hang Nails

If you're anything like me, manicures aren't something that happen everyday. I have tried (once) to take 2 of the boys with me while I get my nails done. Let's just put it this way, I will never do that again. Even though it actually only took about 30 minutes to get my nails done... it felt like 4 hours for the boys.

Since I need to make solo trips, I usually try to go at least once a month to get my nails done. It doesn't always happen... but when it does - ahh... perfection! For one week, perfect nails. The other 3 weeks, it's all me.

The one thing that drives me crazy about nail/hand maintenance are hang nails. Oh, man... I hate them. About 6 weeks ago a friend of mine (thank you, Jill!) recommended I try Melt Away Cuticle Eliminator.



I had been complaining of hang nails long enough, so I figured - what do I have to lose? The only drawback was that the bottle was $20... so, I was hoping (really hoping) it would work.

Well, let me just say. The stuff is incredible! All you have to do is apply a coat to dry nails and you're done! Melt Away breaks down and softens all of the dead skin cells for gentle cuticle removal... which means there's no need at all to rip (cringe!). A huge bonus for me - no formaldehyde, no toluene, no DBP and not animal tested.

We don't have time to get manicured all the time... so if you're looking for a quick, pick-me-up - definitely worth investing in Melt Away. Your nails will look fresh and clean. And for moms... that's about all we want.

The Western Style Blouse

With back-to-school shopping in full-swing right now, trends and styles are popping up everywhere. I love this time of year because every store is bursting with new clothes.

One hot trend right now is the Western Style Blouse.

[caption id="attachment_7842" align="aligncenter" width="420" caption="Western Style Blouse"][/caption]

I this trend because it's an easy one to pull off. You can pair the blouse with jeans, capris, skirts, shorts and skorts. You can also use it as a cover-up... very easy and very doable. My advice would be pair it with a pair of dark denim jeans or white jeans/pants. It creates a classic look.

Here are some of my favorite Western Style Blouses:

More Joie...

10 Reasons You Know You Need A Vacation

I just finished off a cruise vacation, followed by some media appearances. It's safe for me to say and openly admit, I so needed a vacation! It was heavenly to be away with all my guys! It got me thinking, there were definitely some signs that told me so! Next time I won't wait for 2 years to listen!

1. You keep searching kayak.com for vacation deals.

2. You are suddenly craving sun, a beach chair and salt water.

3. The thought of being disconnected is exhilirating!

4. You're jealous when your friends are going on vacation.

5. You are picking out outfits you would wear if you were going "away."

6. Room service puts on a smile on your face.

7. You have bookmarked Disney Vacations.

8. You'd even bring your in-laws along!

9. Cost of a trip away isn't so much of a nagging issue anymore, you just want to go away!

10. If you can't remember the last time you've been away!

MUST NEEDED VACATION!

Today we got to head to Half Moon Cay! This island is leased by Carnival Cruise Line for their guests. I have to say... as much as Grand Turk was gorgeous... Half Moon Cay was everything and anything I have ever thought the Caribbean to be. It was - by far - the most magnificent place to be! What I loved about it so much was that it was extremely family-friendly... even with a mini-waterpark for kids. My sons thought they just about hit the jackpot! We spent 4 hours on the beach enjoying the sun, playing in the water, snorkling and relaxing!

[caption id="attachment_8063" align="aligncenter" width="200" caption="We had to take a boat over to the island..."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_8064" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="WATER SLIDES!!!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_8065" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="William!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_8066" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Alex!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_8067" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="They had stationed floats in the water! My sons loved the CROC!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_8068" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Best buds (or as everyone else is calling them, \"the twins!\") on the beach!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_8069" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Daddy and William snorkling"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_8070" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="My sons with a little too much sun..."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_8072" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Henny!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_8074" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Relaxing with William"][/caption]

And the boys favorite... the cooling hut! Fresh MIST!

[caption id="attachment_8075" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="BENJAMIN COOLING OFF!"][/caption]

Gone CRUISING...

Hi all!

I'm doing something right now that I've never done before in my life - CRUISING! Carnival Cruise invited me and my family to come aboard and cruise for 7 days throughout the Eastern Caribbean. I'm working as a blog ambassador for them! We've never been away on a vacation with the 6 of us without grandparents!! So this is a first for us, too!

We're having a blast!!

Sorry I won't have posts up for the next couple of days - I have limited internet access (which is good for a vacation!)

Brushing Teeth in My Home

There are many things my sons love to do... brushing their teeth is one of them. They brush and brush and brush and brush.

They are too cute when they get all excited about it! It's funny how (as a mom), I put just as much thought in their toothbrushes (how cool they are, etc) as I do their clothes. When I head to the store I just grab a toothbrush for myself. I don't go for a certain color... I go for a brand and then grab.

For my sons... it's different. We look for colors they want, characters they prefer and the "coolness" factor!



What kind of toothbrushes do your kids have?

Little Soles Sale on Totsy!

We have Little Soles on Totsy right now for as low as $12.99! Little Soles are just too, too cute!

Little Soles ™ shoes are made of butter soft leather with a unique outsole that is flexible, durable and provides good traction and surface feel; all of which are most important when choosing the right footwear for your little ones. Lots of styles have the squeaky sole feature, great for new walkers. In addition to being unique, fashion forward, and just so darn cute, Little Soles ™ really do have soul - a safe, ecologically friendly product from heel to toe.

Here are some of my faves right now:

Getting Gorgeous Events

Vera and I weren't sure what we were going to wear to Getting Gorgeous until Friday morning at 9AM! Here we were, planning Getting Gorgeous for 7 months, and the morning of, we were still trying to decide what we were going to have on for the day. We wanted something comfortable (even though we both were high, high heels!), stylish and beautiful.

[caption id="attachment_7823" align="aligncenter" width="414" caption="Before... "][/caption]

And then thanks to Sarah Potempa creating fabulous hair-dos... Macy's for my dress at a steal price of $40! and DKNY mules... and ideeli (Ellen Tracy) for Vera's dress and Steve Madden shoes... we cleaned up for the event!

[caption id="attachment_7824" align="aligncenter" width="398" caption="After... "][/caption]

Got Milk?

I did something I've been wanting to do for the longest time at BlogHer this year, I got a milk mustache! It was an amazing, amazing experience!!



I was honored to join my friends, fellow Milk Advocates - Lori @ACowboysWife, Ana @SpanglishBaby and Christine @YoungMommy for this amazing blogger milk campaign. Milk is THE drink in my house, and it's important to me to help spread the message of the milk because of it's essential nutrients and vitamins. With 4 boys in my house, it's the ONE drink they all agree on. Thank you to the Milk Mustache campaign for bringing this powerful campaign to the blogging community.

Must-Haves FootzyRolls

Liz Lange and Jane Wagman from Shopafrolic were giving away FootzyRolls at our Getting Gorgeous event. I had heard of them before... but never had the opportunity to try them out.

Let me just say... Oh. My. Goodness. Absolutely the most comfortable shoes to pop-on!

[caption id="attachment_7797" align="aligncenter" width="455" caption="FootzyRolls"][/caption]

What I love about them is that they are completely rollable and foldable. They are water-proof and skid-proof. They are great for travel and working-on-the-go and for evenings out! Once you pop these babies on your feet... you won't want anything else on them.

There are tons of colors available... my favorite are the beige ones!

The Vintage Pearl

The Vintage Pearl has the most exquisite jewelry. If you're a mom... as soon as you visit the site, you'll seriously want to purchase everything. I mean, EVERYTHING.

I recently ordered the "Circle of Love" bracelet from The Vintage Pearl. As soon as I saw it on the website, my heart when pitter patter. It is exactly the type of piece I have been looking for - classic, elegant and beautiful. Having my sons names engraved on it just make it that much more beautiful to me. Every time I wear it out, I always get complements from people.

The sterling silver open circle (about 1") is handstamped. You can have up to 30 letters or spaces. Perfect for me to fit - William, Alex, Ben and Henry. The stunning charm is then hung on beautiful sterling silver circle chain and finished with a sterling silver lobster clasp.

Reusing Maternity Clothing!

I still have maternity clothes hanging in my closet. And it's not because I'm pregnant. I just love them. I have some items that are absolutely fabulous to wear (and that you can get away with wearing) post-pregnancy. And yes, even 2 years post-pregnancy. Instead of sporting a big, beautiful pregnant belly with certain maternity items, I sport a belt, blazer and/or scarf. There are some true gems that I just didn't want to part with because they really do work post-pregnancy. Nobody would every guess that the label reads something along the lines of Motherhood Maternity, Liz Lange, Belly Dance Maternity or 2Chix.

It was beyond refreshing to watch a recent episode of Bethenny Getting Married? and see Bethenny (3 weeks post-baby) sporting an adorable white cotton dress with a thick belt that she deemed "a maternity" top.



Now granted... I never, ever looked like that 3 weeks post having any of my sons, but she's absolutely rocking the maternity top as a dress. I also think that maternity blouses, wraps, cardigans and tunics are wonderful items to keep around as layers. Layering is going to be such a huge trend again this fall and winter, so keep some of these items out and about.

If you're looking for a top like Bethenny's -

More Motherhood...

We've got a NEW LOOK!!

SO EXCITED to be able to make this announcement!!

We got a NEW LOOK on Totsy.com!

I have heard so many great things about our new site...

Please let us know what you love about it!!

xo
Audrey

What we do to ourselves...

Just to cover the grays...

My mother went prematurely gray in her 30's. I started to notice the little gray strands about 2 years ago. Having naturally dark hair, I didn't want to go darker because I knew the grays would be blaring signs! So my hair stylist recommended going lighter... which I'm doing.

How many of you look like this once a month? Or at least once every 2 months?

Madonna creates Material Girl Collection for Macy's!

I'm 32 years old... which means, I was the prime age when Madonna was the Material Girl! I cannot believe I'm actually going to post this photo here... but, I can't help myself - given the topic!

[caption id="attachment_7692" align="aligncenter" width="301" caption="Striking my inner Madonna..."][/caption]

Yup... that's me in the 1990's (notice the Madonna poster behind me). I have absolutely always loved Madonna. When I was a pre-teen, I dressed up as Madonna for Halloween. Leggings with lace ruffle on the bottom. Jean jacket with black tank underneath. And who could forget the mole. When I was in my teens (see photo above), I used to pretend I was as cool as Madonna. There was just always something about Madonna. There's a mystique around her that is very powerful... still is. It's a confidence. It's a state of mind. She's Madonna. The Material Girl. Her "Material Girl" video is still one of my favorites. Even as I'm sitting here typing this... I'm drifting off into the lyrics of the song.

Which brings me to this very cool announcement - Macy’s is launching “Material Girl” by Madonna and her daughter Lola at Macy's Herald Square this Tuesday - August 3rd at 10AM - with a special appearance by celebrity muse, Taylor Momsen of Gossip Girl.



The first 200 customers in line at the Macy’s Herald Square main Broadway entrance at 10 AM will receive a free bandeau top from the “Material Girl” collection and a $10 gift card valid only on August 3.

Shoppers are encouraged to dress in their Madonna best at Macy’s between 10 AM and 11 AM for a chance to win a t-shirt signed by the Material Girl herself!

The good news for me... I'll be in NYC that day and will be trying to make it over there as one of the first 200 in line!

Personally, I cannot wait to view this Collection that's sold exclusively at Macy's. It's made up of apparel, footwear, handbags and jewelry. The Fall 2010 “Material Girl” is all about prints and embellishments. A mix of hard and soft elements, like a tutu dress and studded combat boots, or an oversized boyfriend sweatshirt with a floral print mini skirt. The best part... price points are between $12 to $40.

Oh, yes... I'm a Material GIRL!