Date Worthy Spot in the DMV

November 23, 2020 No Comments

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FAUX FUR COLLAR COAT SIMILAR HERE/ ANKLE BOOTIES/ LOUIS VUITTON BAG

If you are looking for a Date worthy spot in the DMV, then this place is for you. It is called Osteria Marzana located at Alexandria, VA. I just so happen to see their Ad on my facebook feed and fell in live with the igloos. So I went ahead and reserved a spot for me and hubby.

To reserve go to their site and reserve online or call them. Outdoor seating gets booked quick so book in advance. Also I just wanna let you know. When we checked our receipt, there was a 4% fee for PPE for their igloos and how they sanitize it. There was a note that you can talk to the manager I guess if you have questions with it. I understand that they are doing extra time to sanitize and make sure you are safe while dining with them and igloos are perfect for social distancing with others. So we did not mind paying that extra 4%, that is also our support for small businesses.

Another good point dining here was the igloos are perfect. It was warm enough for us and also as you can see I dressed up appropriately with my faux fur colar coat. I matched it with the venue. If you want a perfect date spot this is for you. Also I have seen families and friends here so it is not exclusive for dating. You can all dine in here.

And now let me go through the food and price.

So For our drinks Novel my husband just got a beer, I got me a Berrt Sangria, it was good and good amount of serving. They served us their free bread, the bread was ok but the olive oil to dip it with was so fresh, It was so good!

For the appetizer as you can see there we got the Buratta and it was so authentic. We felt like we were in Italy again. The prosciutto was perfect and the mozarea and balsamic vinegar too.

For the main course hubby got the Tagliolini and I got the Fettucini Bolognese, they were both ok not as good as the appetizer and lastly we got a to go food which was the nutella pizza for the kids and they loved it.

So If you wanna experience something different. Check them out, you will love it As we loved it too. Romatic place for us as we called it.

Stay safe and healthy all!

Simply,

Christianne

Lifestyle, Outfit

Thanksgiving Table Setting

November 22, 2020 No Comments

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These are all similar items… SILVERWARE/ TINY PUMPKINS/ PLACEMATS/CENTER PIECE

It will be Thanksgiving this Thursday, even though I have already decorated for Christmas. We are still looking forward for this day. We will be celebrating it different this year being at home and just us family. So I decided to make it fancy and we will all dress up for the dinner time. We will also make all American food, I will try to make a green bean casserole it will be my first so wish me luck. I already checked out Youtube University on how to make it.

So in this setting I wanted to make use of this placement I got last year. Mostly they are for decorations as we always go to a friends house for Thanksgiving. The items you see here are from last years except for the pumpkins and the centerpiece which I got from Target and already linked up there. I added the 2 wine glass for Hubby and me and the stemless for the kids since they will just be getting cranberry juice.

As for my Thanksgiving outfit, I rented it…. the link to the dress is here. Also another look back from my favorite Thanksgiving look here.

How about you? How will you celebrate this year and even though we are all apart. Let us not forget to say Thank you for all the blessings we have in life big or small.

Sending you all a Happy Thanksgiving and stay safe and healthy!

Simply,

Christianne

Lifestyle

How I practice Self-Care

November 9, 2020 No Comments

SHOP MY OUTFIT:

PLAID COAT SIMILAR HERE/ LEGGINGS/ COMBAT BOOTS

Hello all! I wanna share How I practice Self-care as it is very importance specially these days with this pandemic making it more stressful for all. We all can be very busy in life and we tend to forget to care for ourselves. I am a mother of 3 who works as a Full time Physical therapist, who is also blogging on the side and taking care of our small business custom shirts…

1. I always pray specially in the morning when I wake up.

2. I always allot 30-45 mins for myself at least 3-5x a day and that is to do my exercise. I usually workout with my daughter and my husband.

3. I always listen to relaxing music specially when I drive to and from work.

4. I always mostly try to eat healthy food and I try to drink as much water I can in a day.

5. Playing with the kids like board games and literally anything.

6. Hiking… this is really good for the soul either you are alone, with family or with friends.

7. A walk in the park.

How do I do it, I know I can’t do it all without the support of my husband and my mom who stays here with us and being able to watch the kids for during the day.

What if you do not have that kind of help. If you are single this should not really be an issue I guess because you do not need to worry about the kids. If you are a mom like me who does not have that kind of help. Try to do this the things that you can do by yourself when your kids are sleep. I tell you, that 30 mins is so worth it!

Take care of yourself because there is only one unique you! Happy Monday and have a blessed week ahead!

Simply,
Christianne

Lifestyle

Halloween Celebration Ideas During Pandemic

October 28, 2020 No Comments

SHOP THE LOOK: ZEBRA HEADBAND/ BOO CREW T-SHIRT/ SUGAR COOKIES

Yay! I am back! Life can be very busy with 3 kids, working as a full time physical therapist and running a small business on the side. Huge thanks to my mom who is hear to help us watching the kids during the day when we are at work.

Now let’s go talk about Halloween celebration during Pandemic. I am here to share some fun and safe ideas for y’all to do this weekend. As a mom of three kids, I have been thinking how am I going to entertain the kids this Halloween, they are used to dress up and we use to take them to Alexandria to go trick or treating. It is totally different now with the current situation in this unprecedented time.

Here are some of the ideas I thought of doing this weekend at the backyard. I was thinking of inviting a few friends over since we are doing this in the backyard. Of course we are making sure we are making sure we wear mask, social distance and washing and sanitizing our hands.

Here are the Must haves for this Halloween Celebration. BOO SWEATSHIRT/ SCAVENGER HUNT/ SUGAR COOKIES/ PUMKIN CARVING KIT/ OUTDOOR PROJECTOR

Halloween Family Shirts. I have made some custom Halloween shirts for the family so not the typical Halloween costume for the kids. You can order it here on my Etsy store. This is already a start to get the Halloween vibe.
Halloween Sugar Cookies. I have bought these cute sweet Halloween cookies from Target because I know the kids will surely love this and will probably add some pizza and chicken wings or even s’mores since we are doing this at the backyard patio.
Halloween Scavenger hunt. I have printed some list of things for the kids to hunt around the backyard and each of them will get some cute prize.
Pumpkin carving. I have some pumpkin carving kits and little pumpkins for us to work on to get their creativity and get them busy. We have to do this as a family due to the tools we have to use. Kids have to be supervised.
Outdoor Halloween Movie Night. Lastly, when it gets dark this is how we will end the day. We have list of Halloween movies we can watch as a family that are kids friendly. some examples are Casper or Hocus Pocus and maybe Ghost Busters.

You can choose from these ideas that are outlined here what will work best for you. Have a Happy safe Halloween!

Simply,

Christianne

Lifestyle, Uncategorized

Quarantine Series: Home Gym

June 5, 2020 2 Comments

Quarantine Series: Home Gym. Showing you guys what equipment we have in our gym so in case you want to create one, here is the idea.

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AMAZON SPORTS BRA/ AMAZON BIKER SHORTS/ ADIDAS SHOES

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During this times of this pandemic, the more we have to take care of ourselves and boost our immune system. So I made this post for those who are working on having a workout space at the comfort of your own home, I Know not everybody has a space to make a home gym.

We just so happen to be lucky that the previous owner of our house was moving to another state. They made this extra room at the back of the garage as a gym space and have these air pressured gym equipment that they did not want to bring with them. We were glad to take them together with the house. We just added this elliptical, threadmill we got for $30 from a thrift store and added some dumbbells.

Here I usually do all the cardio with the threadmill and elliptical, my husband Novel is mostly the one using the weights and the punching bag. We renovated it to give ourselves a drive to use it more often. We just consistently use this after I gave birth with Andi. We will use this once in a while before but that was it.

I must say, you can get a few dumbbells or do those HIIT workout like I posted here and Zumba from Youtube like what I always do when I do not feel like working out in our gym. That shouldn’t take up a lot of space from your house.

I hope I was able to give some inspirations to you. Have a nice week ahead and stay safe and healthy.

Simply,
Christianne

Photos: Novel (my better half)

Lifestyle, Outfit

Quarantine Series: Patio Makeover

May 29, 2020 No Comments

Quarantine Series: Patio Makeover. Making use of this time of not going anywhere by beautifying our patio to make it our new hangout space. Since this stay at home order has been in placed. we have used our energy to work in the house and give it a new look. We cannot go or we don’t want to go anywhere at this time of pandemic so we made use of the time we usually do have when we are busy at work.

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TARGET HAT/ ROMPER SIMILAR HERE/ BOOHOO SANDALS

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What do you think? We got ideas of course from Pinterest and got our patio decors and furniture from our favorite home stores Target, Amazon, Walmart, Home depot and Wayfair.

Wanna show you the before picture here.

I am really loving the new look and I hope I was able to give some inspiration. Also stay tuned for another backyard series that I will be posting soon for another fun time at your own house.

Have a nice weekend. Thank you for stopping by.

Simply,

Christianne

Lifestyle, Outfit

Quarantine Series: Life Update and A Giveaway

May 6, 2020 2 Comments

HEALTHCARE WARRIOR SHIRT

YES, I’M ESSENTIAL SHIRT

Today is my 8th day in isolation for me. I just tested positive and I have covid. As you all know, I am a physical therapist who work in a SNF so I have been exposed. It is really a though job specially these days. I am also heartbroken by our patients being so sick. I am so thankful though that my symptoms are really mild but since I have 3 kids and my mom who has asthma is with us. I had to really isolate myself until the doctor tells me what to do next.

With all that being said, I have realized a lot of things on how blessed I am to be surrounded by wonderful family and friends who always checks on me and prays for me. I have been praying for y’all too as in everybody. We are all in this together right?

So in honor of all the healthcare Warriors like me. I am giving away 3 Healthcare Warrior T-shirts to all wonderful healthcare staff and 3 yup, I’m essential t-shirts for all the wonderful essential workers. This is me saying thank you for all that you do.

The Mechanics is simple, follow me @simplychristianne and @__shoppe_adrianne__ on instagram. Tag as many healthcare people and essential personnel you think deserve to be given these shirts. This giveaway runs from May6-12, 2020 and will be announcing the winners on May 13, 2020. Also my Etsy shop also offers 15% off using code MAMADEAR15 since it is going to be Mother’s day this weekend. In case you haven’t shopped yet… check out my post on Mother’s Day gift ideas here.

MAMA SHIRT

Please share this post to all those wonderful people in your life so we can all thank them. Thank you once again for stopping by here.

Simply,

Christianne

Beauty, Lifestyle

Quarantine Series: Nail and Hair Care

May 4, 2020 2 Comments

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OPI NAIL POLISH/ CUTICLE NIPPER/ NAIL FILE SET/ SALLY HANSEN NAIL POLISH/ NAIL DRYER/ NAIL CLIPPER/ NAIL POLISH REMOVER/ MANICURE SET/ CUTICLE REMOVER/ MANICURE KIT

Quarantine Series: Nail and Hair Care linking items that are essential for grooming you hair and nails during this stay at home. I am in all honesty, I really do not go to nail salons anyway unless we have something really going on like Bachelorette something something. That being said, I do own all these stuff and just recently bought a new carry caddy for it. I literally just ordered it in the morning and it came this afternoon. Amazon you guys is the best companion during this quarantine. It just makes life so easy so thank you guys “essential worker.” This wouldn’t be possible without y’all! Stay safe and healthy.

SHOP TO POST:

HAIR CLIPPER/ HAIR STYLIST SCISSOR/ HAIR COMB/ HAIR COLOR KIT

Now let’s get to hair care, I personally do not color my own hair, I recently got my hair colored at Madison Reed and still loving the color. But my mom, she is a pro on this topic, she has been coloring her hair since forever. And as for the hair clipper I was supposed to be doing this for my husband and since I am currently on isolation. He will have to wait for it then… I am yet to find out if I can cut hair. I already watched several youtube and honestly, still not confident yet. I need more watching hours to make sure. I just cut my own hair and Adi’s in case you haven’t noticed on my instastories how short Adi’s hair now is. A good pair of scissor and hair comb is the key!

Also in case you missed the last post. Mother’s day is just a few days away and created this post dedicated for gift ideas here.

Lifestyle

Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

May 1, 2020 No Comments

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MOM NECKLACE/ CANDLE/ SUNGLASSES/ WHITE SNEAKERS/ PERFUME/ HAIR REMOVER/ OLAY/ TAN LUXE/ MAKE UP HOLDER/ PAJAMA SET

Happy First day of May! Can you believe it we are just 2 weeks away from Mother’s Day. I know everybody is still in the stay at home orders but that doesn’t mean that Mother’s Day is canceled right. Here are the classic gifts that I know mom’s will love. All mom’s pretty much use these items and is definitely a sure ball to get them or for mom’s like me to get ourselves? I know all mom’s deserve something special. I can say everyday can me Mother’s day but the day it self we can make it extra special with our gifts.

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FIT BIT/ CROP TOP/ AIR POD/ SHOES/ BIKER SHORTS/ JOGGER PANTS/ WATER BOTTLE/ JACKET

I know a lot of mom’s who are into fitness and here are some gift ideas for them. I know I am one of those fitness lovers and I would love to get new workout clothes because it inspires me to workout. I am an android user and that android tracker is a good idea for the fitness enthusiast to keep track of their fitness record.

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GLOVES/ WATERING CAN/ VICHY SUNSCREEN/ GARDEN TOOL SET/ RAIN BOOTS

Also noticed that a lot of my mom friends are into gardening and though about putting up this one too. These are essentials for gardening and would be a good items to give them. Now is a good time to work on those green thumbs specially we have plenty of time in the world now.

For all of you who are still thinking on what to give mom, here is your gift guide then. I hope you find this helping in making good decisions on your purchases.

Have you also checked out this post about comfy styles here for all the work from home moms? Thank you for stopping by and see you again on the next post.

Simply,

Christianne

Lifestyle

Patio Decorating Ideas For You

April 29, 2020 No Comments

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STRING LIGHTS/ SWING LOUNGE CHAIR/ HANGING PLANT/ BARREL FOUNTAIN/ COCA-COLA COOLER/ PLANT HOLDERS/ FIRE PIT/ HAMMOCK/ OUTDOOR RUG/ PATIO DINING SET

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SUCCULENT PLANT/ PLANT IN POT/ GRILL/ THROW PILLOW/ FOUNTAIN/ OUTDOOR RUG/ LAMP/ OUTDOOR EGG CHAIR/ PATIO SET/ DINING SET

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FLOWER ON POT/ HANGING PLANT/ STRING LIGHTS/ COOLER/ MASON JAR LIGHTS/ FIRE PIT/ ACCENT TABLE/ TRASH CAN/ PATIO SET/ HOT TUB

Hello All! I know I have not been consistently here on the blog. If you have been following me, you know I am a healthcare worker and that being said. We are all battling this covid and that made me so busy at work taking all the precuations I can take wearing full PPE so I won’t take home the virus. So when I am at home, I have been really tired and the rest of my energy I use to be with the family.

I actually have extra time for this few days that I would like to use to make blog post and this is what I came up with. I have been browsing a lot of items for patio because Novel and I wanted to work on it. We already added some new items at home like this sideboard for the dining room. And this all surface vacuum.

We were thinking of making a pergola and add some string lights. I have been browsing on these three stores and still looking for some ideas. We are still throwing some ideas back and forth and still couldn’t make up our minds. But in case you are looking for some inspirations do check out all this post here.

Also do not miss out on the $400 egg chair sale from Target. It usually is $5oo so that is a steal, it is a good addition if you have a pretty good space in your backyard. I already have an egg chair inside the house that I got from Walmart.

In case you missed my previous post on Home and organization, I have put up some good storage and container items here. Now is the time to put your organization skills and do all things that most of us did not have time to do when we were busy working. Stay tuned for some post regarding other skills that I have acquired during this stay at home orders we have like baking? lol!

Simply,Christianne

Simply,
Christianne