Blog Update / Holiday Gift Guides

About Me, Uncategorized

Hey yall! I cannot believe its December already. It’s been a while since I updated my blog, I don’t really think I need to get into why I’ve been absent I mean after all it is 2020 and we all know what that means. With the new year coming up I definitely want to be more present here and on all my social media accounts. Having a baby at the right before the 2020 pandemic has been one crazy ride and I want to make the most of 2021 ( I think we all do).

So this is it, I wanted to update my blog after a crazy year, and hoping for a better one to come.

Also, I have been working on some Holiday Gift guides for everyone in the family, friends, co-workers or anyone worth giving to. I will drop the link below and you can see all the guides I’ve updated as well as you can shop my feed.

https://www.liketoknow.it/extraordinary_xo

What’s in my diaper bag?

Family, Uncategorized
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is diaper-bag.png
shop the items on this picture by clicking on the link!

Getting ready for the arrival of a baby can be such an exciting time; from researching the best baby products, picking out clothes, to setting up the nursery. I enjoy this process so much and I find myself spending countless hours on Pinterest and Amazon looking for ideas.

Knowing what you actually need for a baby can be tricky, especially with all the new baby items constantly being released. When I was expecting with my first son, just like every other first time mom, I thought I needed every baby item out there. I ended up not using a lot of things we had and eventually threw most of it out. I told myself this time around I only wanted to get the necessities. I thankfully saved my first sons clothes, shoes, crib mattress, dresser and some other small things. I still ended up having to buy some bigger ticket items but I went for cheaper alternatives.

(Pro tip) I signed up for Amazon baby registry which gives you 15% off for up to $2000 off the items on your list after you or anyone else spends $200 off of your list. They also give you 20% off diapers for one year after spending $500 off of your list. Finally, they send you a welcome box with $35 worth of freebies for signing up with them. Needless to say, I ended up getting most items I needed on Amazon.

I breastfed for about 6 months last time and I intend to do the same this time so I knew I would need some breastfeeding essentials including:

Breast pump; I got the Spectra S1 Plus covered by my insurance. I went through https://thebreastfeedingshop.com/ they were very easy to deal with, you just get a prescription written by your doctor and send it in to them along with the order form. If your insurance doesn’t cover one, they are available online; linked here .

Other breast feeding essentials include:

  • Nursing Pads ( a lot of them)
  • Nursing bras – will make your life a lot easier to feed, and are way more comfortable than regular bras
  • Nipple Shields – I used these the first time and for me they helped a lot with pain, and my son couldn’t latch on without these
  • Nipple cream- just trust me you’ll want to have this

Some other things I packed for me for the hospital stay included:

  • Comfortable Gown(s)
  • Non-skid socks
  • Comfortable Underwear
  • Numbing spray for after bathroom use
  • Outfits for hospital stay / going home outfit
  • Hygiene bag with your essentials (soap, lotion, toothbrush, tooth paste, etc.)
  • Sample size skin care ( I save mine for times like these)
  • Makeup (completely optional of course… but I know I’ll be taking pictures so it def made the list for me) / makeup remover wipes
  • Anything you can think of that’ll make you feel as comfortable. This whole process is overwhelming and being as comfortable as possible is very important.

Now that we have mom ready to go, the baby will need some things, surprising, huh!? I suggest to keep baby bag as simple as possible. The hospital will have almost everything you need for baby including diapers, wipes, formula if needed, blankets, shirts and hat. If you want to use your own of these items of course, I would pack those.

Some items not provided that you will need are;

  • Extra clothing; for hospital stay and going home. (photo-shoot outfit optional)
  • Swaddles (if you don’t want to use the hospital one)
  • Socks / Booties in winter time
  • Pacifiers (if you choose)
  • Bottles (if not breastfeeding)
  • Car seat (required if driving home)
  • Car seat cover (for germs and weather)
  • Burp clothes
  • Other items you think baby will need, after all they are seeing the world for the first time, lets make it as welcoming to them as possible!

I linked some items that I’m personally packing on my liketoknowit account. The picture on the top of this post will take you directly to my diaper bag links.

Gift Guide; for the blogger

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Black Friday is here, and that means one thing… shopping!

Whether it’s shopping for yourself, or for someone else, I find that gift guides or wish lists are always so helpful.

When I decided to start blogging I knew there were somethings that I was going to need. Throughout the last year I’ve gotten some of these items and they have made blogging easier.

I decided to make a gift guide to help other bloggers or people shopping for bloggers. All items listed are off of Amazon and a lot are on sale today! Below are some essentials for the Micro blogger.

All items are linked;

Ring light for those perfect selfies or videos.
Best starter DSLR camera for pics.
Ring light for your phone, for those perfect selfies on the go!
Clip-on lens for your phone = a better quality phone pic.
Mini skincare fridge, to keep those products cool.
Mini washing machine for your beauty blender.
Makeup brush cleaner.
Make up brush drying station.

We’re having a Baby!

Family, Uncategorized

I’m so excited to announce that four years later, we are expecting again!! I’m honestly just as surprised as everyone else, and didn’t see this coming.. but we are so excited and anxious for our new arrival.

I knew it immediately. At less than four weeks I felt different, I was exhausted all day long. I felt weird in my stomach and felt pain in my breasts. This was a feeling I was familiar with and last time I felt this Antonio (my first son) joined us. The very next day after it hit me that I was feeling off, we went out and got two tests. I took the first one, only to see one line so I walked out the bathroom and would come back in to see that second line appear. Of course, one test isn’t enough so we took the second one.. still two lines. Four tests later, it was undeniable, I was pregnant.

After the initial shock, came a million questions, then came happiness. Our family was growing, how could we not be happy!? Antonio was definitely happy from the beginning. He’s tired of being an only child (at home) and ready for the big brother role.

Then came the gender battle. I of course was team girl. I mean who else would inherit all my clothes, shoes, purses and beauty things? My husband on the other hand was team boy all the way. He has two boys and was excited to add another to his pack. For our ultrasound we took my sisters, niece and nephew, my mother and of course Antonio and the hubby.

There it was, clear as day baby boy #2 for me, #3 for hubby. Even though I was team girl in the beginning, I honestly had a feeling it was a boy. I feel like you just know. My feeling has been right both times. So here we are now at week 21, more than halfway through; still just as shocked and excited as that first day I took the test, patiently waiting for January 2020.

I have clearly been slacking on writing and updating my website, Instagram and everything else. Hopefully the second half of this pregnancy brings more energy and content. I will blog about the nursery update and try to keep everthing updated.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for the next posts to come!

The Capsule Wardrobe Pt II

Fashion, Uncategorized
You can shop this photo here!

The Capsule Wardrobe is back, and better! I have loved updating the wardrobe with the different seasons and slowly adding essential pieces. My current wardrobe is mainly Winter with some Spring pieces I’ve snuck in. I am excited to transition this rack to Spring soon.

Having this rack in my room not only saves me time while I’m heading out, it also lets me be more creative with my outfits. I usually take one day to plan out my outfits for the folowing week. This way I have more time at that moment to try different pieces out and it ends ups giving me outfits I would have never put together if I was in a rush. I also lay out one item and see how many outfits I can make from that one piece.

I thought I’d share my favorite essesntial pieces at the moment. I have found that these items have gotten me through the Fall and Winter Seasons:

Outerwear:
(Faux) Fur Vest / Coat
Long Coat
Black Leather Jacket
(Distressed) Denim Jacket

Clothing:
Different Pattern Pants: Leopard / Striped / Plaid / Corduroy
Blazer(s) – My fav!
White Button Down Shirt – for layering
Patterned Button Down Shirts- (Animal Print)
Basic Colored Sweater(s) – Turtlenecks are my go to

(Good) Denim In – Skinny / Boyfriend / Cropped
Midi / Maxi Dress – Don’t forget the hosiery!
Midi / Maxi Skirt – ( pleated…)
T-Shirts – I heart band or logos ones
Jumpsuit – so fun to layer!

Shoes:
Tennis Shoes -Converse are a classic
Patented Black Loafers
Mules – I like the low heeled ones
Rain boot- Hunter; need I say more!?
White Booties – all the rave right now- but I think will stick around!

Don’t forget a good handbag and sunnies!

That is all folks! I hope this was helpful to those wanting to start a Capsule Wardrobe. I would definitely reccomend you start small. Go through your closet and eliminate those pieces you havent worn in years and donate them! Also, thrift, thrift, thrift! If you love to shop, thrifting is a small way you still get to shop but help eliminate more clothing waste and save money at the same time.

Thanks for reading! Come back soon to see my Spring Capsule.

Aida-

xoxo

House Haas part I

Home Decor

Home Decor and DIY projects have always been a passion of mine. I bought my first home about a year and a half ago and I have been working on it one project at a time. Although we are very far from done (I don’t think there’s ever an end point) we love taking our weekends to work on projects. From painting, to changing light fixtures, adding a backsplash, constantly changing the decor with the seasons and always thinking of something new to do, I wanted to share some progress (before and after) pictures with you guys. We have so many more ideas that we want to see come to life and hopefully will start on them soon!

Kitchen

I’ll start with my kitchen upgrades. I’ve done simple inexpensive upgrades to my kitchen. The most drastic and my fav so far has been the backsplash. My kitchen is on the smaller side to me so I wanted to make the most out of it. I knew I wanted to keep it as light and open as possible, but I didn’t want to wash out the entire kitchen with everything being white so I added some black touches. I went for black grout and a black design on my backsplash, black handles on the cabinets. I also added some open shelving, black chalkboard wall and changed the pantry door color and handles.

Half Bath

My half bath project was easy and simple. It took us one day to paint, change the hardware and mirror and add some shelves.

Laundry Room

We all dread laundry day don’t we? I wanted to make my laundry room a place that if I HAD to be there at least I wanted it to be a pretty sight. Added some peel and stick backsplash (linked here) . Changed the shelving and did faux shiplap on the side walls. [What a difference a ruler and pencil can do].

Part II of this post will be dedicated to Home Decor and ways to decorate during the different seasons. You can always catch more home decor pics and DIY projects on my Instagram !

Allow me to introduce myself…

About Me, Uncategorized

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My name is Aida. I’m first generation American of Dominican descent. I was born in Washington Heights, NYC. My family relocated to Raleigh, NC when I was 15. I used to always say I was a born and raised New Yorker but the more years I live in Raleigh I realized this place raised me as well. My most import years were spent here so I’m home now. The reason I wanted to share some background is because my posts and blogs will reflect on this and I wanted to share some insight first. I’ve wanted to start a blog for years now but I was scared off because I’m a very shy / quiet person, I like to let my makeup and clothes do the talking for me. I always felt like maybe I didn’t have enough content or wasn’t interesting enough. I’ve had people constantly tell me I should blog, so I decided to go ahead and give it a try. My page is kind of all over the place because I have a wide range of interests. My blog will include some of everything including:

  • Local guides (Raleigh, NC) + Travel
  • Food + Coffee
  • Lifestyle
  • Fashion
  • Beauty and Makeup
  • Home Decor + DIY (currently working on my first home

Come see me over at my Instagram !!