July Favorites

         

As I look at the picture above I realized I really liked blue this month. Look at that color coordination... This is my first "monthly favorite" article so I'm hoping it goes over well! Lets get started my friends.
 

 

I have been absolutely in love with this Sally Hansen polish. It's such a gorgeous green/turquoise color. It has a nice shine and a subtle sparkle too it. This is such a great summer color and it reminds me of the ocean. It's not the strongest formula and is chip prone, but if you have a strong top coat you should be set!    

 

To continue on with the blue trend, I have the L'Oreal Paris Power Moisture Conditioner from the Advanced Haircare line. This is easily my favorite hair care line from the drugstore, I have tried the formula for volume, damage, colored hair, and now hydration. My hair is Ombred (Is that a word?)  so hydrating the ends is essential. This is one of the few conditioners that keeps my bleached tips from looking terrible.

 

 

I have loved the Maybelline Color Tattoos for a long time, and I love them even more during the summer. They have great lasting power which is fantastic when its 90 degrees and you sweat after being outside for two minutes. You want to look cute but sweat you whole face off walking from your house to the car... The struggles! 

                                                                                                                                                                             

 

This is such a great summer color as well. It's a pretty pale pink that is completely buildable if your interested in something bolder.

 

 

 

I bought an Orchid! Woohoo keeping things alive. I wanted a fish but was told no... So this is as close to a life form as I am gong to get. It's pretty and easy to take care of. Maybe I should name t fish?

 

 

Oh my gosh this book... This is what I have been listening to on Audible during my jogs. I hate running and listening to a good book makes it more enjoyable. I distract my brain so it doesn't realize that I'm exercising!

I am about halfway through and the intensity just keeps building! It's a rather sad story about a father and son that are involved in a hit and run accident. As you can probably guess, there is blackmail involved along with tons of other plot twists. Ahhh... I can't wait to see what happens! Do they get caught? Is justice served? Does the Mom ever find out?

Only time will tell!

Pantene BB Creme For Hair

As I have said many times before, I'm crazy about leave in hair products. I never felel like conditioner alone is enough for my long hair. I'm always trying new things and decided to pick this up when I was at Walgreens.

I'm sure Pantene was well aware of the success skin BB cream has had. I'm guessing that they wanted to cash in so they created this 10 in 1 beauty balm. 

This 10 in 1 hair perfector promises 

1. Repair For Rough Hair

2. Strength Against Damage

3. Silky Softness

4. Brilliant Shine

5. Smoothing

6. Moisture

7. Frizz Control

8. Heat Protection

9. Manageability

10. Tamed Fly Aways

That's a large expectation for one little product. Honestly, I'm not impressed. Whenever I see these 10 in 1 products I always expect a huge difference in my hair and never get it. To see any type of change I have to use so much of the product that I end up with white residue. White flakes that look like dandruff on the ends of my hair? Yuck, no thanks.

On a more positive note I like the pump despenser, it dissolves quickly, and it smells nice! 

This just does not work for me at all. I might actually end up giving it away if I can find someone who likes it. I definitely will not be repurchasing. Sorry Pantene, I usually love your stuff! 

It's time to move onto the next product! 

- Katie

Bubble Bath Obsession

                          

I love taking a nice calming bath and the perfect bubble bath is absolutely essential! I have been using Avon Bubble Delight for over a year and I am still in love with it. They are only sold by Avon so they are somewhat harder to find, but totally worth the extra effort. While you can't pick them up at any local store they are not hard to get a hold of.

 

If you like other Avon products and already have a seller, you can simply add a few products to you next order. Your next option is to check out local craft fairs. Most craft fairs have an Avon booth.  Your last option is of course, the internet. You can purchase directly from the Avon site or you can try sites like eBay.

 

Depending on where you purchase it from one bottle will cost you anywhere from $6 to $8. It's a great price for the amount of product you get. 

 

There is a huge selection of scents including Endless Ocean, Cocounut Water, Pomegranate & Peony, Cucumber Melon, Lavender Garden, Vanilla Cream, Strawberries & Cream, Peppermint Vanilla Swirl, Sensitive Skin, and a few others. 

 

My two favorite scents are...

                         

                Blushing Kiss

                    and...

                         

                                                                              Fresh Peach

One capful of this stuff will fill your bathtub will the perfect amount of bubbles and it smells great! Fresh peach smells especially amazing. Your going to want to eat it! Don't do it... I made the mistake of getting water in my mouth while washing my face. It's not so fresh... or peachy tasting...

If your a fellow bubble bather you definitely need to chek this product out!

- Katie

What's On My IPhone: Vinted

I recently downloaded the app Vinted and I may be in love... If your a shopaholic like me this app might just become your new best friend! 

Vinted is basically an online thrift store! You can buy, sell, and swap clothing items with other Vinted users.

Selling clothing is easy and it's a great way to make a few bucks off of thing you don't wear anymore! 

All you have to do is hit the sell button, take a few pictures, add a description, and hit publish! 

You can sell at any price but it's a good idea to check out what similar items are selling for. I've actually sold two items already, which isn't to shabby!

After someone purchases your clothing the amount is deposited into your Vinted account! Your free to shop the large amount of categories or request a check payout.

There's a huge selection of categories you can look at. Just find what you need and click away!

If your not looking for anything particular, just stay on the news feed so you can get the first look at new items!

Definitely check Vinted out if your looking to sell clothing or like discount prices.

Happy Shopping!

- Katie

Blogilates: My New Exercise Obsession

 

Thanks to YouTube, I have discovered Cassey Ho and Blogilates! I am absolutely in love with her and her program.

One of the best things about her is that she doesn't charge a ridiculous amount of money to access her videos. In fact, she doesn't charge any money. It's totally  free! Take that as seen on TV infomercials...

Cassey is fun and has a bubbly personality! She really tries to distract you  from what your doing with conversation. Don't worry though, your still going to die...

All of her videos are uploaded to YouTube! You can subscribed to her channel and decide what videos you want to do or you can head over to www.blogilates.com. Every month she releases a calendar that pairs videos that work well together! 

I recently completed the beginners calendar she created! If your already fit and in shape you could probably jump right into her monthly calendars. However there's nothing wrong with starting out slow and working your way up! Don't let the word begginer trick you, your still going to feel the burn!

Another great thing about Blogilates is that fact that it's smart phone friendly. She has a great app available for Iphone users.

The app itself if free but you do have to pay for the monthly calendars. I'm personally fine with paying $1 a month because I can easily acess all the workouts I need without getting on my laptop. If you don't want to pay you can always stick to the website or YouTube method! 

The app is so easy and simple to use! Under the calendar section, you find the day and the workouts are listed. You just click on it and start working out.

She has also created a great video section! I often find myself using the I want to focus on my... section if I want to squeeze in an extra workout!

Theirs is also a discussion forum, recipes, and a link to her store! 

If your looking for some workout inspiration check out Blogilates. Let's get healthy together! 

July Birchbox Review

Gluten Free Adventures: Udis Gluten Free Pizza

I was in the mood for pizza today and decided I would throw one in the oven! I usually just order a gluten free pizza from Dominos or Imos but I was up to try something new! 

I have tried two other brands of frozen pizza and attempted to make my own twice, none of which have beaten a delivery pizza. 

I like udi's frozen bread and breakfast items so I figured I would give it a shot.

The 10 oz pizza was $9.00 at my local supermarket. That's only a dollar less then a delivery pizza, so if I'm not totally impressed I don't have a problem ordering one. 

I do have to say, this is much healthier then delivery pizza. A serving size of 1/2 of the pizza will set you back 350 calories and 17 grams of fat. That is by no means healthy but it's much better then a delivery pizza, which is a single piece for 9 grams of fat and 170 calories.

What did I think? I was actually pretty impressed! It was leaps and bound better then the other frozen pizzas I have tried. I'm definitely going to try some of the other styles. I'm not sure if I would rather have it over order in pizza every time but, it will nice to be able to have a pizza ready in15 minutes. Overall, I really liked it and will definitely be getting another!

Yay Udis for making gluten free food that doesn't taste like cardboard! 

Gluten Free Fruit Pizza

Fruit pizza has always been one of my favorite things to eat for dessert. It's has fruit, so that means it's healthy ;)

I miss the days when I could go and pick one up from the local supermarket however I refuse to be fruit pizzaless on the 4th of July. It's a must have in our house! 

Making your own fruit pizza is fairly simple, it just takes a bit of time. The first thing you need to do is find a great gluten free sugar cookie mix. My favorite is a store brand from my local grocer, Schnucks. Sidenote: I substituted coconut oil for butter.

After you make your dough, flatten it into the shape of your choice. I made it into a rectangle so it would resemble a flag!

Follow your cookies cooking instructions and allow to cool for 30 minutes.

While your base is cooling, wash and dry your fruits. To keep it patriotic, I used strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and bannas. 

Make sure you slice your strawberries and place them face down onto a paper towl. This is required but it will keep the juice from staining your topping. 

To keep your bananas from browning place them in a lemon juice bath before drying them!

For the topping we used one block of low fat cream cheese, one container of Chobani vanilla Greek yogurt, and one package of Wind & Willow White Chocolate Cherry Dessert Mix. If you are looking for something simpler but equally tasty just combine cream cheese, whipped topping, and vanilla extract!

Spread the topping over the cookie base and add your fruit. I made an American Flag by creating a blueberry rectangle. After that I made red and white stripes by alternating strawberries, bananas, and raspberries.

This was the end result! It was so delicous and non GF eaters enjoyed it as well. 

Festive Fingertips: Happy 4th of July

Here is a simple tutorial for festive fingertips!

To complete this look, you are going to need red, white, and blue nail polish. I'm using Ruby Red, Endless Blue, and Snow Me White from Sinful Colors!

You also need a cup or bowl full or room temperature water for the marble nail.

I choose to use blue and white as my accent nail, but you can pick whatever combination you like. 

Quickly layer your nail polish colors into you cup or bowl of water. You need to do this quickly so that it does not dry! After you have used your preferred amount, you can use a toothpick to mix the colors. Just place your middle finger into the center of the polish and remove. 

Your finger will probably have nail polish all over it... Just clean it off with a little bit of polish remover! You can also place tape around the nail before dipping it into the polish.

Cover with a top coat and your good to go! 

                  Happy 4th of July!