Be the best you you can be!

Happy Birthday to me!

I had my 33rd birthday last week!  It was one of the better since I actually got to do what I wanted to do!  lol  I didnt have to cater my day around what others wanted to do and it was actually all about me, haha.  I thought I would share some of the items that I got, just because they are pretty.  :-)

I had never seen Uggs like this.  I may be hanging on to an old fad, but I love these boots, haha!  Last winter especially we had such cold days and with the metal plate in my ankle these keep my foot so warm and painfree.

I have been wanting a watch like this for so long so I decided to splurge and get it for myself.  This is the "Blake" style and I love it!  The picure doesnt do it justice.

Who doesnt want sparkle.  Everyone knows I love Bauble Bar so this shouldnt come as a surprise.  In case anyone is wondering all these items came from Nordstrom.  I was given gift cards for the most part to pick out what I wanted, which is always the best present!

 

However, the BEST gift was from my mom.  She bought floor seats to see Michael Buble.  It was a great show!!!  I usually buy cheaper seats so floor seating was a treat.  Needless to say, I got a pretty good look at Mr. Buble.

 

 

I also have to say, 33 doesnt look so bad! HAHA

Sometimes Life gets in the way...

Things have ben crazy the last month.  I feel like I have been going non stop, and havent had time for much else.  I had a great trip to NYC a few weeks ago.  I had a great time!  I went with a local tour group so at least hotel and transportation was already booked, but the tour guide over all was a little eh.  Frankly, I dont know if I would use the same tour group again, but the trip had a lot of personal time built in so that was great.  We had tickets to see Newsies and Aladdin which were amazing!  Anyone who knows me knows I love seeing musicals, and neither of these disappointed!  In fact when we left Aladdin I was so full of energy I did a mile walk in under 10 minutes, haha. 

Talking about walking though.....I think we did on overage at least 5 miles each day.  All my walking beforehand really paid off as I didnt have any issues walking all over the city.  Sure I would get tired, but I kept going so I was really proud of that fact.  The bad part is since that trip I have really been slacking.  I need to get myself up and moving again!  Its something I am going to work on as well as increasing physical activity in general.  I have a few DVD's I would like to start using, even if its just 15 minutes a night.  Some thing is better than nothing.

Benefit They're Real Push Up Liner

I ordered the new liner from Benefit as soon as it was available on Sephora.com and it came in Tuesday afternoon.  I had heard a lot of hype about it and wanted to give it a shot.  Anyone who knows me knows that I am all about liquid liner.  I wont go to the mailbox without it!  I have used gel liner in the past, but its always hard to control a brush as well as I can a felt tip pen.  I never get a fine line when I have tried it, and revert back to liquid.  Loreal makes a great one and lately I have been using the stila pen.  I was ready for a replacement so it was perfect time to try a new product!

All in all, I was very pleased with it.  It takes a few clicks to get the product to the tip, but the tip is very sturdy and workable.  The product does dry pretty fast so you need to work quick.  It is very easy to control and I was able to form the line right at my lash line.  I was able to flick out the line perfectly for my signature cat eye. 

Now be warned that it does take a little practice to get your technique correct.  My second eye was a lot easier than the first and I am sure it will continue to get easier.  My only concern is how quickly will the entire product dry out.  It will be interesting to see tomorrow if the product that comes up is already dried or soft enough to work with.  I also want to see what is the minimal amout of click to get enough product to work with.  While the price is the same as most liquid liners I already buy I would like to see if it will still last the standard 3 months.  If people are interested I will post a week end update on this and see if my opinion has changed.

Sale at Kate Spade!

I am such a girl!  lol
Wanted to share news I got of a sale at KateSpade.com......25% off all sales items with the coupon code MORESALE.

Of course, just yesterday I bought a case for my new work phone, lol.  Kate Spade items are always well made, cute and girly.  They have great deals on their sale page anyway, so an extra 25% off is great if you are looking for a new handbag or wallet.  I am going to try to be good since I am going on vacation in a few weeks, but this sale lasts till July 6th.

Happy Shopping!!

Looking for new tennis shoes? Hurry and check out Reebok!

I wanted to share this really quick because I am not sure how long it will last.....

If you are looking for new gym shoes and are comfortable buying them online check out the Reebok outlet online.  I buy most of my tennis shoes there when I go to the outlet mall since to me they are more comfortable and support my foot (I have a bum ankle that I broke 10 years ago).  Since I am familiar with the brand I know which styles I like the most. 

Right now online they are having an end of season sale and you get 30% off outlet items online.  This also inclues clothes so if you are looking for cute tanks or capri's this is an option for you. 

 

I picked up a cute pink pair for only $44 and free shipping.  I didnt need a new pair, but at that savings I couldnt pass it up.  I do not know how long this sale will last, so if you are interested I wouldnt wait too long.  URL and coupon code are below:

http://shop.reebok.com/us/us/outlet/_/N-dx
Coupon code: june14

FitBit Flex review

I thought I would take some time to go over what I thought about the FitBit Flex with anyone who is considering purchasing one.  Overall, I am very happy with it.  It is a bigger investment at $100, so that is something to keep in mind.  I checked around at various sites and couldnt find it any cheaper so I opted to go with the place were I got the biggest percentage of cashback, which was Nordstrom.  They also had free shipping, so it was the best value.  Being the girly girl I am I wanted to pink band, but it was on backorder so I went with the slate blue one.  It took 2 days to arrive and I have been using it on a fairly daily basis since then.  Its been about 3 weeks now so I think I have a pretty good hand on how everything works.

It is easiest to download the app directly to your phone so you can see everything as it updates.  It does use Bluetooth to connect so to save battery life on my phone I turn off the updates and manually view them.  This is what the main screen looks like when you first log on.  Ideally you should take 10,000 steps daily, so that is what it is based on.  I have been at work all day so give me a little slack on the numbers you see, lol!

 

 

You can look at your steps in a graph with the breakdown thru the day so that can help you see where the biggest impact is coming.

You can get it to show up bigger but this was the easiest way to capture it.  You can also log extra activities that the band wouldnt count, but the calories burned will be added to your daily totals.  You can add your current weight and how much you want to lose, and it will tell you how many calories you should eat/burn daily.  I havent used this as much as I should, but will be making it a goal to start doing it in July. 

Something I really like is that it will monitor your sleep.  You can see how long you slept versus when you were restless.  While I cannot help being restless its nice to see when I had a really good nights sleep. 





 

 

You can also buy bands in all kinds of colors.  I bought one off amazon, but its a generic brand and I was a little worried about how strong the hold was on it, so I bought the pink band from Fitbit directly, which I love.  I wear a lot or darker colors normally so the pink adds a nice pop of color.  Plus the majority of my workout tops are pink so it was a must buy for me, lol!



As far as the cons go, you do need to use as external charger to charge the device, so you need to make sure you dont lose it.  They are about $30 to replace (I think) so its not a cheap item.

Also, while I do feel its pretty secure I do worry about it falling off from reading other reviews.  It had not come loose at all though in the past 3 weeks, so that is a good sign.  And lastly, when I wake up after wearing it at night it feels a little uncomfortable so I take it off while I get ready.....and sometimes forget to put it back on when I am running out the door.  I am allergic to plastic/latex and havent had any actual skin irritations to the band though.

So to sum it up, I am pleased with the purchase, and look forward to it helping me on my journey to a healthier lifestyle!

Im coming back y'all!

So its been over a year since I have posted, but life has just gotten in the way.  I am a student again working towards a masters degree and still working full time.  Needless to say I have had a full plate....but I wanted to do this again for me.  I decided I was going to rebrand myself and become a little more of a lifestyle blogger.  I will still do my fair share of makeup/beauty posts, but also just posting about life, attempting to lose weight and just my life in general.  Everything in life just needs a little polish, right? 

So one of the new things in my life has been trying to make healthy choices.  I start my day with a fabulous smoothie, pack my lunch for work and try to eat a decent dinner at home.  While I have no intentions of jumping on a scale, I am measuring things by how my clothes fit.  So far, things are moving in the right direction.  Pants are looser (some too loose!  Yikes!) and I can start to wear skirts I havent been able to wear in a while.  I also purchased a fitbit flex in an attempt to move more.  I have even found myself walking laps in my office at the end of the day (and im alone), just to get my total step count up.  I am in need of fitbit friends, so if you use one lets be friends!  I got a gym membership and was all pumped about it till I read articles about fat shaming at gyms and it lost its luster.  Instead I have been walking at a local park, but now that tempuratures are climbing its a little too hot to be out.  I have some DVD's that I enjoy though.  Perhaps I can recommend a few in an upcoming post. 

Finally, if we are going to go on this journey I guess its only fair to provide an actual BEFORE photo, lol.  Lets see if in the course of 12 months anything changes!  Instead of the flattering above shot selfie lets go with a full on, no filter bathroom mirror shot.  Eek! 

And now, onward to the next chapter!

Ipsy glam bag - May

I recieved my May ipsy bag today, and lucky for me, its just what I needed to brighten my mood today.  Today marks the 6 year anniversary of my dad's passing so I am feeling pretty low today.  So a bright pink package was exactly what I needed.  First of all, the bag this month is adorable!  I love the colors of it!  I think this one may be going into my purse pretty soon!  haha.

Inside there were some great products as well.  First, for only $10 I think this subscription service is great.  It never disappoints me the way birchbox did.  You always get deluxe and full size items in your bag, and they are products like are actually useful!

The first item I saw was the Zoya polish of course!  Its a minty color, Neely.  Next is a NuMe finishing serum.  I have never tried it, but will give it a shot.  We also recieved a yaby concealor, a lipgloss from juicebeauty and a roll on perfume from pacifica.  The perfume smells great and a roll-on is always handy when traveling.  All in all, another great bag fro Ipsy!

Popsugar must have box - may

Details to come - I left the info card at home, oops!

Little black bag haul

It's been a while since I posted one of these, but thought I'd share my picks for the month. They had a promo where if you picked a pair of shoes you got a bag for free. Why in the world I picked these shoes though......no idea!  Lol. Ever since I broke my ankle it's been hard to wear even a 2 inch heel. The ones I picked were 5 inches!!!  Ahhhhh!!!!  

I'm gonna try to work up to them though.   

Essie's 2013 bridal collection

I think this may become part of one of my best friends bridal shower gifts! Lol

Tria, laser hair removal at home

I can't believe I'm going to admit this, but I have facial hair. As many brunettes deal with, I have a mustache I deal with daily. It sucks, plain and simple. But I know it's an issue many women deal with. I've wanted to do something about it for a while but I was afraid. Well I finally had the guts and started to research laser hair removal. While looking into it and watching reviews on.youtube I found Tria. It's an at home laser hair remover. They sell it at sephora, and it's $449......not cheap. But I decided to try it. With sephoras return policy I thought if I don't like it then I can return it for a full refund. It came in yesterday so today is my first time trying it. I will do a second post In a moment on my reaction . It says for full results use weekly for 3 months. I guess we shall see!!!

First bauble bar purchase!

As you can tell, I couldn't even wait to get out of the car to open this package from bauble bar! I ordered the classic rose gold pave style bracelet. I'm loving it! I have worn it every day since I got it, and it doesn't leave a green ring around my wrist and no stones have fallen. Just the over all quality is great! I will certainly never do another jewel mint order! This bracelet is $28. I bought it with their tax time sale so I got a little discount on it. I would highly recommend their site!!!

My old Kentucky home....

Living in the bluegrass you must add an equestrian flair to your home!

Diana was MIA

Sorry I took an unplanned break from my blog, hadn't been shopping much and work has been crazy. But I guess that's a good thing! This is my first spring in my house so I have been doing a lot outdoors and decorating my house. I think I am nearly done! Need to buy a bookcase and a grill. I have a bzzagent event coming to try out some weed and bug killer, so while its not beauty related I am looking forward to it! Lol

Laura Mercier caviar stick eye color

I am falling in love with this product! On w whim I recently picked up a couple of the Laura Mercier caviar eye sticks and I love them! They apply so smooth and best of all, with my sensitive eyes they don't irritate me! I created the look below with rose gold and khaki. It blends so nicely and stays on very well. I didn't use any base and after wearing it all day it didn't crease. I will be picking up a couple more of these for sure! I also used a sample of a mascara I got from sephora, guerlain maxi lash. It's also great. I may like it more than my Armani eyes to kill actually. I may need to get this in full size as well.

Ted Gibson Brazen Brown shampoo

I heard about Ted Gibsons product line recently and had to try it. Basically there are color deposits in the shampoo and conditioner. It's available in blonde, brown and red. You shampoo and condition like normal but let it set in your hair for 3-5 minutes. At first I didn't see much of a difference but the second time I saw more of the color was taking. My old highlights that looked brassy now had more of a light brown color plus in general my brown was shiny and looked much fresher. I am very happy with the product and will keep using it. I bought mine from dermstore, and it was around $25 per bottle.

I think it's time for a new orgasm!

I don't always hit pan on a product......I usually get bored with it first. Well I have majorly hit pan with my Nars blush. It's my favorite blush! It's starting to break apart so I think it's done. I see a trip to sephora coming up VERY soon.

Attack of the spring dresses

Something this year has made me dress crazy. In the last 2 months I think I've picked up 4 dresses and 2 skirts. Plus I have a closet full of dresses. Haha. I just love all things Girly. What are your favorite styles? With spring right around the corner what are you reaching for?