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!!!