sccastaneda

Who let the moms out? Woot – Woot – WOOT!

/ Sonia Castaneda / Leave a comment

As most of you know, I am a mother who works from home. This can sound like a dream for most women commuting to work everyday, but trust me – its not that glamorous! I used to imagine stay at home mothers sleeping until noon, working out, meal prepping, clipping coupons, organizing, and being stress free because they don’t have anyone to answer too! WRONG! Actually quite the opposite. I have to not only work here, but I cook and clean, drop off and pick up my son, I don’t have anyone to talk to but the UPS man for 2 seconds, and I always jump at every sound scared out of my flip flops. I take the dogs on longer than usual walks just to get a break from my tiny condo. I know I know…things could be worse, but hear me out!

I am grateful for the few friends I do have from grade school and church because I look forward to the outings! I know a few moms who are dragging their feet at TARGET right now just trying to extend the alone time just a bit longer haha. I am happy to report we got out for the day. Away from worrying about anything, even spending too much money! We hit the I-15 South toward Corona, Ca to GLEN IVY HOT SPRINGS!

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We pulled up into the parking lot about 10 minutes before the spa opened, and practically ran in when they let us through!

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Admission is $50 Monday – Thursday, $70 on Friday – Sunday, and $40 Thursday – Saturday 4pm – 9pm! We were there for 8 hours and let me tell you, the time flew! After we rinsed of we took a short elevator ride down into the Grotto to be painted neck-to-toe with a warm aloe vera, coconut oil, eucalyptus and lavender masque. The service is $25, and you need a reservation!

Spending time soaking up the sun will make you hungrier than you could ever imagine! You can not bring in your own food or drinks, bags inspected at the entrance by spa employees, so we stopped into the IVY KITCHEN for lunch.  I suggest the nachos ($16)! There were 3 of us and we could not finish the large ($26) – it was huge! I also got the plant based sliders ($16) which were amazing! The girls also enjoyed the BBQ Flat bread ($16), which is also large enough to share. Everything on the menu is farm to table, and they even grow their own avocados and citrus onsite!

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One thing we all kept saying is: Its so nice doing NOTHING! Stay at home moms, working moms, mother figures, women…I am you, I get you, I feel for you! I hope everyone gets a way and experiences little adventures like this.

I dont drink much anymore. 1) Alcohol is sugar, and sugar makes you fat. Id rather eat candy to be honest. 2) Diabetes. 3) It will destroy a budget for eating out faster than you can say “Im on a budget”. So I stick to water which is free.99 haha and if I am feeling wild, Ill have one. I went with a classic Bloody Mary ($10), its practically vegetables right? *wink*.

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I honestly did not like the blue cups. BUT for legal reasons, I will let it slide. The youngest you have to be to get into GlenIvy is 16, so they want to make sure no one underage is drinking! The blue cup lets everyone know how much I spent for the beverage, how old I am, and that I am feeling gooooood haha.

There are tons of things to do for free. Mineral and saline baths, showers and jacuzzis, saunas and gardens, lay out and read a book, chat with other spa goers…or like one mom I met – go alone and take a long peaceful nap! We had an amazing time. After the long drive back home, I was home just in time to go to sleep! What a way to spend the day! If you have ever been to Glen Ivy, or have been to something similar, let me know you thoughts and suggestions in the comment section below! Thanks for reading!

xoxo,

Sonia

$1 Makeup – Affordable Makeup Haul from ShopMissA.com

/ Sonia Castaneda / Leave a comment
Dollar finds you can’t beat, 
and can’t wait to talk about!

 

 Hey beauty babes! I recently stumbled across a handful of hauls featuring $1 products from ShopMissA.com and I had to check it out! 37 products, rush shipping and 1 Youtube Review later…I have my top picks that you should consider trying!
1. AOA Studio Wonder Blender “BLACK” $1
This makeup sponge can be easily mistaken for the popular Beauty Blender without the hefty price tag. Im seriously sharing this with anyone who wears foundations. This Wonder Blender is black, but if you saw my video I also picked up 2 other colors.

 

2. AOA Studio Wonder Baked Highlighter “CUPCAKE” $1 
This highlighter was shockingly powerful and so beautiful! I honestly would have paid more for this product after 1 swatch. The packaging reminds me of e.l.f. but the pigmentation reminds me of Laura Mercier. For that statement alone…what are you waiting for?

 

 

3. KARA Eyelashes #DW $1
If you are looking for light weight natural looking false lashes, these are perfect and affordable! I have never found $1 lashes that were 100% human hair. Most cheap lashes, under $5, are typically synthetic and stiff. These look just as good as my drugstore faves from Ardell.

 

 

4. Santèe Concealer & Foundation $1
I don’t usually gravitate towards full cover foundations because I like a light natural look for my everyday makeup routine. As I tested these products I was pleasantly surprised at how well the foundation covered every imperfection on my face and still felt light weight! In my tutorial I was able to use it as a concealer as well!
5. AOA Studio Wonder Skin Perfecting Blur Primer $1
I was really scared about this one! I had to say a prayer my face wouldn’t fall off! We are all creatures of habit and as a beauty youtuber we have to switch it up more than the average Jane…so I jumped right in! To my delight – I had no issues! There is a hidden shimmer that made no difference. Just a heads up! It also has a unique scent but nothing I could get passed.
Those were my hits in a pile of misses! If you have a few bucks to spare, check out ShopMissA.com and let me know what you think! Thanks for stopping by!

Museums are a lot cooler than they used to me

/ Sonia Castaneda / 1 Comment
I took Jude out for another fun activity on day two of week two during winter break. Today we hit the road towards the beautiful city of Pasadena for Kidspace Children’s Museum. The location was perfect, only about 25 mins from where we live so no excuses! Admission was a little high for what it is at $13 each, infants under a year are free.
[“KIDSPACE” at the entrance]
My initial thought was this place is perfect for kids in kinder and younger. Jude’s first opportunity to go was when he was in TK (Transitional Kindergarten) and he declined…yes, he declined, because he didn’t want to walk around. Thankfully he’s out of his lazy stage and was ready to make the best of our trip and explore!
When you first walk in there is a tunnel that leads you straight to the admission booths. In the tunnel we found tons of cool glass and electrical discs that reacted to your body temperature that stopped the static movement – aka super cool lights lol.
Jude dressed himself today:
[Zara] Jacket
[Vans] Long sleeve top
[Zara] Trousers
[VANS] Skate Shoes
This week at Kidspace they are have SNOW PLAY
where the kids can make snowmen and have friendly snowball fights. Its man made snow so don’t expect too much from it. I almost had Jude dress up in snow gear and I’m glad I did not. There we so many small children I was afraid Jude might play too rough so we skipped that activity.
There was a mud and clay table outside which was something no parent looked forward to haha.
My son is an only child who lives for social interaction with other children. As a toddler I was enrolled in at least 1 mommy and me class so he learned to play well with others. Its still a struggle because he’s also the youngest in the family and thinks he’s the boss. I am grateful for these opportunities to see his face light up with excitement.
[Jude in a truck that belongs to an archeologist]

 

As we moved around the grounds we discovered their ANT HOLE.
That was his favorite part (stay turned to my vlogs for that experience).

 

Cookie decorating could be skipped but since it was on our list of things to do, we were the test dummies. The cookie was stale and decorations were limited. ($3 each)
The child in me wanted so badly to run around with him in the Hawks Nest. This area came with a ton of costumes which made the experience as a bird that much more fun.

 

 

If you followed me from the start you know I felt uncomfortable about my son playing with guns. I felt like todays society normalizes violence and I didn’t want to be a part of it – my son especially. Through my research and time spent with a therapist there was nothing odd, or alarming about his interest in weapons in general. Long story short – I eventually lifted the ban hahah and Jude was over the moon when he discovered this ball blaster. I wish there was an employee there to make sure each child had a limited amount of balls to shoot. I was behind a man with his two sons who used their shirts as baskets and held over 20 balls each *eye roll*.

 

Overall we had a nice day and I enjoyed watching my son enjoy himself and exercise being a nice human with a ton of wild children running amuck. Jude said he would like to return to Kidspace one day, but there are other age appropriate museums in the area I think I would prefer to visit instead.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE MUSEUMS?
Our favorite to date is the Exploratorium in San Fransisco, California.
I hope you all are enjoying these mommy friendly posts as much as I am enjoying living them!
Until next time friends!

How to make hiking fun for kids

/ Sonia Castaneda / 1 Comment
HIKING WITH JUDE
This morning was the first day of the second week of Christmas break with Jude. He is like most 7 year olds who lose interest in anything that doesn’t require batteries or an electrical outlet. In this house we call the devil many things…including “electronics”.
I have been over eating with the rest of the world during the holidays so I wanted to get out and move this body of mine, and since Jude is not old enough to do much alone…he had to come with me!
[COLBY TRAIL : GLENDORA, CA]
In the past few years digestion has been a battle so after-dinner-walks are a must. To keep my little guy entertained and interested I used a small pocket notebook and created a small scavenger list. At the time he was too young to read so drawing pictures of common sites on our walk worked perfect. For example:
[] ROCK
[] TREE
[] CAR
[] TRUCK
[] FLOWER
[] GRASS
[] MAN HOLE
[] FIRE HYDRANT
[] BIRD
[] DOG
[] HUMAN

Jude is old enough to read and write so he loved the printable lists I found thanks to handy dandy Pinterest! Its cold this time of year so I made sure he was dressed appropriately, packed a bottle of water, pencil, and went to a local trail that was safe and kid friendly.
If you live in the Los Angeles are there are TONS of trails, only a quick google search away!
What are some ways you are keeping your kids busy this winter break? I have a week planned for my little guy and hope the weather stays nice so I can share them with you!
On our hike we surprisingly found everything BUT a pinecone and acorn! We looked for over and hour and nothing! We saw cool animal holes and even a snake “house” haha. Of course I was not going to stick around to say hello! *Runs away quickly with kid in arms*
Outfit details:
[ZARA] Hat
[FOREVER 21] Sweatshirt
[ZARA] Vest
[ZARA] Joggers
[VANS] Shoes
Like cell phones, iPads and game consoles have a hold on our children and are creating a new generation of anti social adults. I am trying to encourage other ways to use time that requires us to unplug. One of my New Years Resolutions is to spend at least 1 day a week without an email check, without a social media post, a weekly electronic detox!
I can’t wait to read the way you are getting active this winter in the comments!
Like in my YouTube videos, Thank you so much for joining me!
*Latina Kissed*

SAVE OR SPLURGE | Anastasia Beverly Hills NEW Illuminators

/ Sonia Castaneda / 3 Comments
SAVE OR SPLURGE | Anastasia Beverly Hills NEW Illuminators 
 CLICK HERE to watch the full review on this new product!
In my video I shared my first impressions on these pressed beauties. I have been a fan of Anastasia Beverly Hills since I purchased their eye brow pencil. This brands products are in all makeup junkies’ kits across the nation. One of my Australian followers left a comment that she could not buy them in her country – I hope they become an international brand soon!
Here are some close up stills from my video to show the different shades.
Personally I think So Hollywood is the best color for all skin tones. Peach Nectar is a must for blush lovers. Starlight is perfect for my milky sisters out there. Finally Riviera is fabulous on tan skin like mine!
Incase you would like to make neat lines like the ones below – I used tape! Serving blogger realness haha. I fell in love with blogs years ago and after a few new posts I am rediscovering why! 
Thank you so much for stopping by! I will be doing more of my reviews on here, and if I can muster up the courage to ask others to take my photos – maybe ill share some more outfits of the day!
*Latina Kisses*