Recent Beauty Loves and Hates

    I always want to do monthly favorites however I don't switch thing up too much in my routine however the past month and a half I've been using different things that I am loving with a couple of hates in the mix. I wanted to share with you, my friends!

    My Recent Beauty Loves

 

 

•  Too Faced Shadow Insurance in Champagne- This is a primer but works well by itself. It doesn't crease and applies easily. The color is very neutral, perfect for any look.
• Rimmel London Match Perfection Skin Tone Adapting Concealer 2-in-1 Concealer and Highlighter- When I first used this the color looked way off but it totally matches perfectly. This product is my new favorite concealer. Perfect for under eye because it does brighten but you don't look like you are wearing concealer if you know what I mean.
• Simple Cleansing Micellar Water- My face feels so refreshed after using this. After using this I got compliments for how radiant my skin looks. It's really easy to use. All you do is put some on a cotton pad and rub it on your face and you are done! It says it removes make up but I find that some mascara doesn't come off with just this.
• Estee Lauder Sumptuous Infinite in 01 Black- Very wet formula so you would need to be careful with it. It gives your lashes volume and length. My favorite mascara was a Clinique one till I tried this.
• Urban Decay Perversion Mascara - Big brush which is nice because it gets all you lashes. Adds volume for fuller lashes. Downside is it can be clumpy sometimes but overall happy with the product.
• Nars Satin Lip Pencil in Rikugien- Soft and long lasting color. This color is perfect for a natural make up look.
• tarte Maracuja Oil- I use this at night before bed and have been loving. In the morning my skin feels so soft and is radiant. I have my father's big forehead so unfortunately I have wrinkles there but this oil helps those disappear. It is oily but after a few minutes it does sink in.
• tarte Maracuja C-Brightener Eye Treatment- Super moisturizing. It's suppose to brighten but I'm not sure it works I haven't noticed too much.
• Smith's Rosebud Salve- I hated this the first time I used it but it's now my favorite thing. The reason I didn't like this before was the petrolatum in it. I need to buy like 10 of these to put everywhere. Extremely moisturizing but not super shiny. Smells so good like roses, duh!

 

 

My Beauty Hates

 

 

• Bumble and Bumble Hairdresser's Invisible Oil Heat/UV Protective Primer- Because I have fine hair and blonde hair so it can make my hair look really oily.  It's in my hates because it makes my head really itchy so that's not good at all.
• drybar Detox Dry Shampoo- This works well but smells AWFUL! I hate it so much and the smell last forever! Since I hate the smell I use it at night and my hair looks good the next day but not as smelly.

 

 

 



Puppy Adventures and Craziness

   Ladies and gentlemen I'm back! I'm sorry for leaving you with a such a cliffhanger of getting a puppy. I did in fact get a puppy and I had so many cute pictures I wanted to upload like an obnoxious parent however on my actual birthday my lovely puppy ate my phone cord while it was plugged in charging my phone causing my phone to short circuit and never turn on again. Not only did I not receive 98% of my birthday calls and texts I also lost all my pictures. It was quite the present, right? So not only did I get a puppy for my birthday I also got a new phone.

    My little darling is four months old and is a basset/beagle/lab mix.  She is sort of little with huge paws so most likely she will get a lot bigger than she is which I actually can't wait for. Bailey, my little monster, I mean darling, can squeeze under all our baby gates we set up for her as well as our fence in the backyard (more about that later). She likes to lay under the coffee table in the living room and the Adirondack chairs in the yard outside.



    She gets along with our two other dogs although as her adult teeth are coming in she finds them to be great chew toys so that's an issue we are trying to fix. Her favorite toy squeaks and is longer than she is. She is mostly house trained (thank goodness) and sleeps in bed with me. I can thank her foster family for that since they didn't crate her at night so she hates not being with me at night therefore making it impossible for anyone in the house to sleep if she is crated. Bailey will be joining a local puppy training class starting on the 26th of May.

    Besides playing with her toys and the other dogs Bailey enjoys cuddling and being petted. She is super friendly which comes in hand when she escapes from the yard which has now happened two days in a row. Last night I came home from work to my mom crying hysterically because Bailey was missing while under the watch of her. I did get her micro chipped so I immediately contacted the company but apparently they can't just find her. I need to get a GSP for this puppy for real. Anyways there was a huge search party looking for her with no luck.



   Then someone notice the search party and told us someone found a dog and called the police to pick her up. We called the police and they had her and we were happily reunited. The big problem with the escape was how the heck did she get out? We checked our fence and couldn't find any holes big enough for her to fit. Bunnies run in our yard all the time and have dug small holes to get to the next yard but they are all small holes so there was no way Bailey could fit through. That's completely wrong.
 
    This morning I was outside in the yard with her, watching her, so I decided to check the holes to see if I could find scratch marks where she would have gotten out and while I was doing that she escaped again! I freaked out and kept calling for her. I was calling my parents but they were at work and not answering. I grabbed her leash and my keys and headed to my car calling her name when a neighbor two doors down told me she found my dog and had her. I was so happy and scared and frustrated. I picked Bailey up and brought her back home. I put her on the leash and went to the back yard hoping she would lead me to her secret exit which she did.

    I am so glad both times we were able to find her and she was safe. Tonight we will be fixing these holes some how so Houdini can't get out again. I love her and am so thankful for her but I am excited for training classes. Since I lost everything on my phone I don't have many pictures but I will be sharing more later. I would take some now but she's sleeping and I am not going to ruin a good thing!

 

Did Someone Say Puppy?

    In a couple of weeks I will be turning 26, which seems so weird to think about, and my parents have decided for my birthday that they are going to get me a puppy! I was so excited but also scared. We filled out a couple of applications and found out we were approved for a puppy! I will be meeting this adorable babe Saturday morning.

 

 

Meet Krissy who will hopefully be mine on Saturday. I am not sure how old she is in this picture but on April 24 she will be 4 months old. She is a basset/beagle/lab mix so they are unsure of how big she will be. She is described as being hyper and a sweetie. Like I said Saturday she will be coming to our house to make sure she gets along with us and our other dogs. I hope she works out and I hope she loves to cuddle.

 

I am going to change her name but I'm not sure what I am going to name her. Here are some of my ideas:

-Penelope

-Brooklyn

-Riley

-Olive

-Sydney

-Piper

-Zoey

 

Any ideas on the name or advice for training a puppy? Thank you!



Motivation Tips For Keeping Your Workout Resolutions + DIY

    It's officially April!! I know, the year is flying by! By April most people have already given up on their New Year Resolutions and I am one of them. I was doing so well and had a perfect routine but then real life happened so my routine changed which then turned into me giving up completely. Not good! But it's time to get on track and keep up my workout resolutions. I have a couple tips that will help us all out!

I found this DIY workout jar on both Pinterest and YouTube, I do not remember which YouTuber it was, sorry! It's a great way to mix up your workout. To make a workout jar you need the following: mason jar, colored popsicle sticks, stickers or marker if you have good handwriting, and workout ideas. 

 

On the popsicle sticks write or use the stickers to spell out the workout. I wanted to use sticker letters because I have bad handwriting and wanted it to look nice. Use the colors for certain types of workouts such as use red for cardio, blue for abs, green for legs, and yellow for butt. If you need inspiration for workouts to put on your popsicle sticks check Pinterest.

 

 

Then put them all back in the jar and you have your workout jar. To use it just pick out an exercise and do it. I usually pick 5 then do those workouts like a circuit for 3 rounds. Then I pick four more and do another circuit.

 

 

Something that can be motivating is new workout clothes or shoes. I recently bought new sneakers because I needed new running shoes. I love them and they totally motivate me to get moving.

 

 

Drinking water makes all the difference in how you feel. I notice when I drink a lot of water I feel more refreshed and more productive. Find a cute water bottle that will help you keep drinking water all day. I like my bright orange Nalgene bottle. I love the color and the fact that it has measurements makes me compete with myself on how much I can drink. That's probably a little weird but I like knowing that I drank all 8 recommended glasses.

 

 

Reading fitness magazines help motivate with great tips for different workouts plus ways to eat better. Grab a couple of fitness magazines and find some new workout moves you haven't tried yet. You might even find more pictures to post on your inspiration board. There are also some really good recipes in the magazines too!

 

 

Random Tips:

*Working out with a partner will keep you going and being accountable.

*Leave a note on your fridge reminding you to drink more water or a goal you want to accomplish.

*Set out your workout clothes the night before.

*Find a clothing item in your closet that is a little tight now then before and use that as a goal.

*Make realistic goals you can actually achieve.

*Have fun with it!

 

 

 

 

What I Keep In My Clutch

    My favorite clutch is the Aztec geo print from DailyLook that I have previously talked about. I love everything about it. I used it the other night when I went out to meet some friends and I'm not kidding, the waitress snatched my clutch out of my hands and said she loved it and I should leave it so she can have it. It was a bit of an awkward moment but I guess in this case it was all good because she loved my bag so much. I got more compliments from my friends as well. Best clearance purchase I have ever made.

 

If you haven't read my previous post about the bag this is it. Like I said it was from DailyLook and it also comes with a gold chain but I prefer without it. It goes with everything since it's basic colors but the print gives it a little something extra.

 

Moving on to the essentials which are very important. This is a bigger clutch so it can fit a lot but the whole point is to not carry a lot but there are certain things you need when going out on the town. Here is a list of my clutch essentials:

*Pressed powder in case of emergency. The one I have here is the Estee Lauder Re-Nutriv Intensive Comfort Pressed Powder in the shade 02 Light.

*The lipstick I have on for the night in case it starts to fade away. This is the Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in 825 Lovers Coral.

*A hair tie. You need a hair tie with you always because you never know when you'll want it.

*Money for obvious reasons.

*Gum for some fresh breath because no one wants to talk with you if you have terrible breath.

*ID and credit card again because you have to have it.

*Lastly I like to keep lip gloss in my bag as well. This is the C.O. Bigelow Apothecaries Mentha Lip Shine in Spearmint.

*Also in case anyone was wondering I would also have my phone with me even though it's not in the photo.

 

 

 

    I like to watch "what's in my bag" videos on YouTube because some people carry the oddest things and other times someone has something that makes you think, why don't I carry that in my bag? Do you carry anything special in your clutch when you go out? 



Can't We All Get Along??

    A couple of weeks ago my Dad showed up to my work unexpected. I thought I forgot us meeting for dinner or something but I was wrong. My grandmother (my stepdad, John's mom) had a heart attack and was in the hospital. I left work to go to the hospital to be with my family. I expected to get there and see her in a hospital bed talking with my mom and stepdad but I was so wrong. I walked into this huge trauma room in the ER where my mom, stepdad, and his siblings were sitting to one side while their mother was laying flat on a hospital bed hooked up to a bunch of machines. I was shocked at how wrong I was. She wasn't even conscious and wasn't even breathing on her own.

    Later talking with my mom I got more details of what happened. Marie, my grandmother, had went into cardiac arrest meaning her heart stopped beating. My mom gave her CPR at Marie's house and was able to bring her back and they had to do it again on the way to the hospital. There was a certain time line for when Marie should be awake and able to do things herself but she never came out of the state she was in. They did some tests and it was determined that she lost too much neurological activity when she stopped breathing. Since she was not breathing a couple of times her brain lost oxygen and therefore suffered damage on both sides. She was basically a vegetable. After a certain number of days of being hooked up to the breathing machine you have to be disconnected so you don't get a virus.

    They made the decision to take her off the machine and within 30 minutes she was gone. As you can imagine this whole process was horrible on the family and no one was handling it well. How could they when they just lost their mother? I would be a mess as well. Marie had a beautiful funeral service on the following Saturday where a lot of people showed up to pay their final respects.

   You would think that after losing their last living parent you would lean on your family for support but that's not what happened, in fact things got ugly. The next day while all the siblings and spouses were all in the area (some lived hours away) they decided to go through the will and talk about what's next. John found the will and showed it to everyone. They were not happy because John was the executor of the estate and was also to inherit the house. His sisters got ugly and talked trash about John when he got up from the table. My mom was there and stood up for John so his sisters then turned on my mother calling her horrible things and getting in her face.

   It was ugly. My mother was so upset as well as my stepdad. The sisters even went so far as refusing to be in the house if my mom was in it, mind you it was freezing outside. I know emotions are high when something like this happens but it was all uncalled for and extremely rude. The family is now split when they should be leaning on each other for support not tearing others apart.

   This isn't the first time I have seen this happen. Three years ago my dad's grandmother died and it also got ugly. One of the daughters was stealing things from the house saying they were hers and she yelled at my grandmother. In fact they aren't on speaking terms and it's three years later. I know emotions are high when you lose someone so close but don't take it out on your siblings they are all you have left. It's stupid for families to split over materialistic things. You lost a parent now is when you need to hold on to the family you have left. Can't we all get along??

Christmas Present Giving in March

    I made a really special Christmas gift for my grandparents this year (2014) however we did not get to see each other. I could have mailed it but I was worried about it getting damaged and I also wanted to see my grandmother's reaction because I know she was going to love this gift! Personally I think this is one of the best gifts I have ever given anyone and the best part was I made it. I did need some help making it but the idea and concept was all me.

 

This is not what I made this is what inspired me. My childhood memories of being with my grandparents all have Scrabble in them. They had the anniversary board that was on a lazy susan and had red tiles. My idea was to make a Scrabble frame with all our names on it for them. I wanted Stewart (our last name) to be in the center and then we all branch off it. I wanted it to look like you could play it on an actual Scrabble board. I didn't want to have the background a real Scrabble board because I wanted it to look elegant. This is how it turned out...

 

 

   I would love to tell you that this was easy to make and I have step by step pictures with directions but that would be a total lie. It was a bit difficult to make probably because there are so many tiles and I wanted it to be perfect. There are a couple flaws but nothing you can see if you aren't looking super close. I bought the red tiles and tile holder from eBay, frame from Michael's, and hand made the mat to fit perfectly. Here is another picture but it looks yellow due to the hotel lights...

 



 

 

 

    This was a very rewarding gift to give because it was made from the heart special for my grandparents who would do anything for me. The fact that my grandmother loved this so much just made it so much more worth it.

 

    What do you guys think? Anyone going to try this or have done something similar?