#life

WELCOME, TO THE BLOG!

I'm Nikki, mom to twinlets & furbaby, firefighter wife, & seeker of silver linings. This is a behind-the-scenes look at my life-long obsessions of beauty {hairstylist}, fitness {former chubby child}, style {shopaholic} & everything in between. I hope you stay awhile and find something that inspires you!

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Beachwaver FAQs: ALL the Answers (Plus How-to Videos!)

It still shocks me when someone says — with bewilderment in their eyes — it turns on its own!? WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? Yes, the Beachwaver does, in fact, turn on its own. And yes, I am that "lazy" that I, as a stylist...

Nikki

xo,

@thenikkicagle

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New Year, New Everything: Making It Official

It’s been exactly three years since I birthed my blog — which I remember being so proud of (and still am). But it was time for an upgrade — something new, something legit, something so-very-me. And, while I was at it, why not completely rebrand, launch a new website, makeover the blog, and rename my studio salon — all while wife’ing, mom’ing, and semi-slaying that day gig. Go big or go home, right? {Note: definitely go big on the wine pour during this process.} Every time I g

TO THE MEN OF INFERTILITY

If I had a dollar for every time I said, "you don't understand" then, well, we'd be a lot richer than I'd like to admit. When a couple is going through infertility treatments, the empathy, concern and support is almost always geared towards the woman in the scenario. And, well - rightfully so. After all, we're the ones who are hopping up on hormones, shooting ourselves in the gut {or butt}, getting blood-draw-after-blood-draw, and bearing the weight of the guilt and pressur

NEW-MOM MUST HAVE: THE UNDERCOVER BABY

As a new mom, you quickly find out that there are like 80,000 "must-haves." It can be so overwhelming to figure out what you actually need—and what's just going to collect dust. If you're teetering on whether you need a car seat cover, or not - let me save you the headache of deciding: you do. I know, another mom telling you another thing you have to have. But, trust me on this one. Top three reasons why: People LOVE babies. Love them. But people are...well...gross, sometim

MY NEWEST OBSESSION: ACTUAL HARDCOPY, HOLD-IN-YOUR-HAND, PICTURES

I hate to admit it... but my mother was right. She was just telling me how I need to start printing pictures or making picture books because the babes are going to want to see them some day. And, let's face it - by the time they're old enough for social media, Facebook and Instagram could be *gasp* a thing of the past. Shortly after my Ma was drilling this into my head, I came across Nowvel on Instagram. At first it just seemed like any other photo site like Snapfish or Vista

TWIN BUMP THROUGH THE MONTHS

You didn't really think I wasn't documenting that bump, did you?! C'mon now, who do you think I am? I just decided about halfway through to hold on to all pictures so I could make one big final reveal. Ya know, give you the full effect of how this puppy grew. When I first started scouring Pinterest for monthly belly picture ideas, I knew I wanted to steer clear of the usual fruit/vegetable or chalkboard trend. I'm not actually against these adorable trends, it's just that...I

A GENDER REVEAL FOR THE BOOKS

For those who couldn't be there—there's nothing I can say that these pictures and videos won't say for me. Welcome to a peak behind the biggest surprise of our {and all of guests'} lives! Our gender {slash - quantity} reveal was captured by the incredible Renee Hollingshead Photography, who tells a story in every shot!! {Videos by family & friends—I have no idea how they held the cameras that still through all of the excitement!} {All eyes on us!} {All eyes on the shocked cro

CHOCOLATE PASSION FRUIT SHAKEOLOGY BOWL

Now, before you turn your nose up - just hear me out. One time in Paris {I love that I can say that} we were strolling our favorite street, Rue Cler, and came across a quaint little ice cream shop {aren't all shops "quaint" in Paris?}. Seeing as how I was in my most dreamed-about city, I threw caution to the wind and told the ice cream'er, "you choose!" Much to my surprise—and a little bit to my disgust—he put a big dollop of chocolate in the middle {we were on the right path

FIRST TRIMESTER FITNESS: COMPLETE WORKOUT SCHEDULE

When the hubs and I finally got pregnant {and it stuck!}, I was hell-bent on doing whatever I could to protect the baby - even if that meant not working out {for an avid-fitness girl, this would be HARD, but having this babe was WAY more important}. To my surprise, my doctors encouraged me to workout - even asking, "are you still running? I hope so!" every time they saw me. Except for a three-week stint when I was on "light" rest to help the embryo really bury in and settle,

HOW WE'VE BEEN LYING TO EVERYONE FOR YEARS—OUR STRUGGLE WITH INFERTILITY

We started to consider trying to have a baby — that's when the lies started. They were our own doing and denial at first...but then they

PERFECT VEGGIE SIDE FOR COOKOUT: STACKED SUMMER SQUASH CASSEROLE

This was just about the easiest veggie dish to throw together - and the best part is that it can feed the masses! While the grill is already packed with endless rows of 'dogs and sausages, you can pop this bad boy into the oven and maximize on time and space! It's the perfect mix of summer veggies and more than likely something you can throw together with stuff you already have on hand {seriously, I grabbed from my veggie drawer for this one.} P.S. Think of those succulent &

#BLIZZARD2016: SURVIVING JONAS

Oh sweet naive girl. When Jonas first started to trickle down I was as giddy as a 6-year-old. It was the first real snowfall of the year and I was counting all of the ways to spend it—hot cocoa loaded with 'mallows, a nonstop fire in the fireplace, too many calories to keep track of, a constant stream of wine, shoveling for hours {only so I could count it as a workout and throw snowballs at the hubby}, and so so much binging on Scandal. Thirty inches, 5 days, and 10 pounds la

SOUTHWEST CHICKEN AND QUINOA BAKE

It doesn't get easier than pulled chicken in the crockpot and five ingredients {plus some seasonings} thrown into a casserole dish. It also doesn't get any more delicious than this mash-up of Mexican flavors. It's warm & cozy & packed with sneaky nutrition. And it'll officially be added to your list of go-to favs—trust me. First, throw some boneless, skinless, chicken breast in the crockpot. Or, lay it nicely side-by-side - depending on your mood. {Note: You'll want to coat y

8 THINGS IT'S TOTALLY OKAY TO DO IN 2016

It's officially 2016 and you have grandiose plans about how this year is going to go... But, we're a measly two days in and you've already snuck a bite of those Christmas cookies you should have tossed, or you haven't even cracked the surface on your treadmill/closet clean-out/new year-new you plan. I'm here to tell you that it's totally okay. As perfectionists living in a world where social media glorifies what life "should" look like, we have become our own biggest cr

A BLOG IS BORN

HAPPY NEW YEAR! At long last, a blog is born. If I had a dollar for every time someone uttered, "you should totally start a blog," then a.) I would be a multi-millionnaire by now {disclaimer: that may be an exaggeration}, & b.) I would have known how very complicated it is to create, implement & launch a blog, & would have used said multi-million dollars to pay a very capable designer to create, implement & launch it for me ;-) {Mad props to designers & bloggers out there—

Every story has

a silver lining