December update: Christmas, Fitness, & Fashion!

Christmas morning - Santa had arrived!

We are just a few days away from putting 2016 behind us, can you believe it?! It has been way too long since I posted so I thought I would give a little update along with a roundup of my IG (follow me!). So first off let me just say, I apologize for letting my blog get pushed to the back burner this month, but in all actuality, I’m not sorry because I have spent a huge amount of quality time with my out of state family! I have enjoyed every day of this month to the fullest, and I can’t be too sorry about that! I spent this month, more or less, 50-50 between Texas and Oklahoma. I am looking forward to getting back on track with everyone come the new year though!

            At the beginning of this month, our family welcomed the first beautiful baby girl into the world. She is an absolute doll and I will probably end up making more trips than in the past up to see her and my nephew, who is an all-star wrestler now, in OKC. Just a couple short days later, while I was still in Oklahoma, my friend and fellow blogger, Camille (The Cocooners) welcomed her handsome little man! You should definitely go check out her little boy and all about her labor story! Let me just tell you that (I’m not even kidding), at least 6 other people that I personally know had their babies in a matter of 4 days. Uhh… keep your water away from me thanks! Clearly, for my friends, 2016 was the year of the babes!

Fitbit Charge 2 & "The Paleo Kitchen" Cookbook

            Being with family for over 10 days total definitely got me off track with my healthy eating and fitness so that is all changing this week.  To get me back on track, I have enlisted the help of my friend & personal trainer, Delani Lewis.  Go check out her YouTube channel or Instagram for some killer workouts along with killer makeup tutorials! She built a program just for me that I started this week, giving me a jump on everyone making health their New Year Resolution.  Day one was yesterday and I’m already sore, which is definitely a good sign! With the help of Delani & Santa, who brought me my very first Fitbit –Charge 2 model – as well as a new Paleo cookbook, I’ll be looking good in 2017!

Rtic Tumbler, Kendra Scott Krista necklace, Fitbit, & James Avery ring

Since I did get a new cookbook, this means you should get excited because I will be pumping out recipes soon and as a plus they will be healthy so you won’t feel bad! I hope Santa (& family/friends) was also kind to you this year. Two of my favorite gifts that I am a little smitten over, other than those 2 above, are my new Tiffany Blue Rtic tumbler & beautiful Kendra Scott "Krista" necklace from the mister. I absolutely loathe drinking anything but ice cold water and if you do too, I highly recommend getting an Rtic or Yeti tumbler. I personally asked for the Rtic tumbler since it was $10.99 versus $39.99 for the Yeti and I didn't see the need in my family spending the extra money. I’m only on day 3 of using this gift, and it is life!! Haha – no more half full water bottles loaded up on my desk! Not only is it super useful but also extra adorable since my SIL went the extra mile to have a cute little Boston Terrier face put on it!

KS earrings & KS necklace

Now to this Kendra Scott piece – le sigh – that he picked out all on his own. He is so thoughtful knowing that I had recently trashed a cute little boho necklace because it kept snagging all my clothes, no matter how many times I tried to fix it. Obviously he knows I love anything KS but this piece is perfect and rose gold – which is my favorite! Don’t you love gifts that are exactly what you wanted without knowing it is?!

I hope everyone had a beautiful holiday with their family and are looking forward to the new year! Till next time friends! XOXO

Five Favorites Friday: Makeup Lover's Dream from Sephora

Happy Friday again everyone!

1.Ciate 2.Sponges 3.Smashbox 4.Too Faced 5.NARS

It has been far too long since I’ve made a post!  I’m sorry for being MIA but I fell in love with a 6lb 7oz blue eyed sweetie that I just couldn’t pull myself away from! With that being said, don’t forget to check out last week’s post for a gift guide to the mommies and babies in your life! This Friday, I wanted to give you my five favorites from Sephora for the beauty lover that we all know or are…. I am a huge fan of Sephora, and Ulta too, but build up tons of points from Sephora.  Don’t forget that Monday is the last day for most online stores to guarantee your package arrives before Christmas unless you have Amazon Prime like I do! Sephora also has Flash 2-Day shipping available – $10 for an entire year!

1. Minis/Samples – Let’s be real, I am a little makeup obsessed and this is always my go to store this time of year. I just ordered a little haul for myself and my SIL using my $20 off coupon that I get this time every year for being a VIB (which really just means that I spend too much money there). One reason that I love shopping online there this time of year is “25 Days of Minis” and well, samples in general. Today (12/16) is a NARS Velvet lipstick! Every day they have a free mini product that you can add to your cart! Sephora doesn’t do a whole lot of sales per say but they do have some great gift or stocking stuffer ideas.

Via Sephora.com

2. Too Faced Sweet Peach – Something that I can’t wait to get from my haul is the new “Too Faced Sweet Peach Eye Shadow Palette”, not available in stores until 12/26! The entire Sweet Peach collection is so pretty containing eyeshadows, highlighters, lipsticks, & blush! Everyone was fawning over the Urban Decay Naked Smoky Palette and I was just waiting for Sweet Peach to come out! With my fair skin, the pink tones that this palette has are perfect.  Also, you can never go wrong with Too Faced!  

1.Blush 2.Highlighter 3.Eyeshadow 4.Lip gloss

3. Ciate London Velvet Matte Lipstick – A great stocking stuffer that ended up getting for myself – ha – was the Ciate London Kiss Collective: Mini Liquid Velvet Trio.  This is the lipstick that I was raving about not too long ago on my Instagram & Snapchat.  I am not a huge fan of glossy lipstick and this is Velvet Matte. It went on beautifully and lasted 16+ hours through my morning coffee, meals, & drinks. I didn’t have to reapply it once! So when I saw a cute little mini trio for only $15, I knew I had to get it! Initially, I thought I would be nice and give it to my SIL for a stocking stuffer but I have since decided to be greedy and keep it for myself (eye roll – this is why I shouldn’t buy nice things).  The trio has since sold out (of course) but you can still get the full size lipsticks that come in 13 different shades for $19 here. 

Ciate Liquid Velvet Matte Lipstick 

4. Smashbox Try It Kit – Smashbox is another one of my favorite brands.  I love their Iconic Photo Finish Foundation Primer.  This year they have a “Try It Kit – Bestsellers” which is literally exactly what the name is. Sample (some travel & some deluxe) sized pieces of their best selling products and its only $22. It basically is basically a full face of makeup, minus the foundation, all in one kit! The entire kit includes the primer, eyeshadow trio (perfect for a full eye makeup look), mascara (this gives some serious lash volume!), eyeliner, and lip gloss.

Smashbox Try It Kit- Bestsellers

5. Blending sponges – For makeup sponges, I have found that I don’t need to pay $20+ for beautyblender sponges because the Sephora or other brands work just as great. You really have to know if your beauty loving friend is a fan of brushes, sponges, or both!  I use the Sephora Collection blending sponges. Since I use them and love them so much, I wanted to get them as gifts as well.  Right now, Sephora has a great mini set of 5 sponges for $12 – perfect for a stocking stuffer!

Sephora Collection Confetti Blending Sponge Set

So there we have it loves! Just a quick rundown on my five favorite beauty gifts this holiday season! Don’t wait till the last minute though, as I have already found that 3 things I bought just on Monday for gifts are already sold out! We are living in a beautified world people – haha!  Happy shopping and may the force be with you! (We are seeing Rogue One this week and nerding out a bit!!)

Five Favorites Friday: All Things for Mom & Baby

Happy FriYAY everyone!

Well, I will be making the trip north to Oklahoma shortly for the birth of my niece! And since babies are on my brain (not my babies – just other people’s babies since you can give those back after some time haha), I thought today’s favorites would be dedicated to adorable babies & the women who bring them into this world! Even though these are personal favorites of mine, these would make great gifts this holiday season for expectant or current mommies!

Baby Moccasins - These are so incredibly cute, I can barely even handle it! Boy or girl, these are perfect for the little baby trendsetter in the family! It will make all those little babies so jealous at daycare. Etsy is probably my favorite place to find, well anything really, but especially for personalized gifts. Target and Old Navy are also great places to find some cheaper ones! Check out some of my favorite pairs below!

1.Stripes 2.Pinwheel 3.Gold Polka Dots

Hooded Animal Towels – We got my SIL several of these!  Not just towels though, jackets as well!   Pottery Barn has super cute ones & you can even get them personalized. They are having a sale right now and you can get them here for $18.99!

1.Mouse 2.Elephant & Bunny 3.Fuzzy Elephant 4.Monkey

Fluffy Butt Pants – Haha okay, so that isn’t the actual name. They are “ruffled leggings” but that just isn’t as fun to say! I’m probably a little obsessed with these. But little babies in leggings with their big diaper tushies – PRECIOUS! I purchased some cute Aztec print leggings for my niece from Old Navy for only $7 and they are always having some sort of sale to get them even cheaper.

Entire Old Navy Outfit for $14! Moon & Back Onesie and Aztec Ruffled Leggings

Lavender Bedtime Lotion – Have you smelt this?? Being a nanny through my college years, I was always doing dinner, bath time, & bed time for the little ones.  This lotion seemed to be at every home I worked in.  The lavender scent is not only soothing for the babies, it definitely got me ready to snuggle up with a book and head to bed!  If you are looking for a last minute gift for a baby shower, sip-n-see, or Christmas, gift sets containing the lotion, shampoo, & bubble bath are exactly what you're looking for!  Different brands offer similar products so find one that fits your budget!

1.Johnson's Lotion 2.Aveeno Giftset 3.Johnson's Gift Set 4.Aveeno Wash
5.Johnson's Bubble Bath 6.Johnson's Shampoo

This is last favorite is probably the most important gift you will purchase for a mother…. WINE!

Above you can see the reaction from 2^nd time mom Camille of The Cocooners, when she discovered the wine hidden in the center of her diaper cake! Moms are tired, and haven’t been able to have alcohol in close to 10 months! Having a baby is a celebration so they should be able to celebrate too & you should help make that happen! Need a recommendation? Well, I asked that dancing mom above what she would pick for a sweet, white wine &, in between drools of course, she suggested Hogue Late Harvest White Riesling. Plus that is very budget friendly for $10-15 so go help a momma out!

If you have friends or family expecting a sweet bundle of JOY (haha – see what I did there?) then I hoped this gave you some ideas or at least led you in the right direction!  Congrats to everyone with kids, expecting, or hoping to expect in the future! You are helping shaping little miracles and for that I thank you. Have a wonderful chilly, December weekend!

**This post contains affiliate links (when you click and/or purchase from an affiliate link, I get a small commission for the sale at no cost to you).  Thanks for supporting the blog!**

Christmas in Dallas: My Holiday Bucket List

This will be our first year really celebrating the Christmas season in Texas and there are so many things I want to see and do!  It is difficult to the get the Mister excited about the holidays being the Grinch and all but I guess that makes me Cindy Lou Who, and it’s my job to warm his heart with the Christmas spirit!  I wanted to share with all of you the things I plan for us in the next weeks before 2016 is behind us.  I’m really hoping I will get to the majority of these plans, but with visiting family out of state as well as my niece due to arrive this Friday (YAY), I may not be able to see/do all of them.  I have included links to everywhere on my list so that you can easily look up prices or buy tickets to any of these events/locations!

1. Dallas Arboretum & Botanical Garden – I put this at the top of my list because frankly, this is a place I'd like to go any time of the year because I haven't had a chance yet!  This December their lights theme is “12 Days of Christmas”.  Looking through pictures of the Arboretum with the beautiful gazebos & all the different shrubs/flowers, I can’t help but want to go and take a million pictures there!  If I don’t make it out for Christmas, then I will definitely make it there this spring!

2. Downtown Grapevine – So apparently Grapevine is the “Christmas Capitol of Texas” and has amazing lights all throughout downtown and different events/festivals the month of December.  I love looking at Christmas lights and know this is right up my alley!  The Historic Main Street has so many little unique shops that will be perfect to pick up some amazing last minute gifts for my friends and family while strolling under all the lights and maybe even stopping by Santa’s Workshop! 

3. Dallas Galleria Mall – The Dallas Galleria Mall is gorgeous and ornate all on its own so adding Christmas décor to it only increases the beauty!  The best part of the mall is the indoor ice skating throughout December.  They have public ice skating as well as shows with a back-flipping Santa!  I have only been ice skating once and was terrible at it, but I would love to give it another try!

4. Gaylord Texan – At the Gaylord Texan, also located in Grapevine, they decorate from floor to ceiling with amazing lights, ornaments, and SNOW!  The Gaylord Texan gets completely transformed into a Winter Wonderland! They have a maze of ice sculptures, Santa’s workshop, & an area for snow tubing! This is something I am really looking forward to since snow is rarity in Texas!  I hope the hot cocoa is delicious because I will definitely need some with the keeping it around 10 degrees in there!!

5. Dallas Zoo – Okay, okay, so maybe there isn’t anything specifically special about the Zoo during December but it is “Penguin Days” and the prices are lower so that’s something.  I am a HUGE animal lover (& pitbull advocate) so I go to the zoo AT LEAST twice a year.  If we travel, a trip to the local zoo is always on my agenda. San Diego Zoo (so excited since so many rank it as the #1 US zoo) & Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs are both scheduled for 2017 already!  So if you love animals, this is a great time of year to go in Texas because the weather is much more forgiving!

6. Magnolia Market – This is not technically DFW located but is well worth the drive if you’ve never been! I travelled to Magnolia Market in Waco, TX this past summer with a friend and it was so much fun!  The atmosphere, food trucks (Crepe food truck was to die for), & people were great but the store itself is just magnificent!  The Silos Baking Co was still in the making while we were there and now that it’s finished, I really want to make a trip back!  For the holidays, they sell Christmas trees and have events as well so I can only imagine the gifts that I could pick up there this time of year!

I hope to make it to at least of few these and can’t wait to share my experiences with everyone!  What are your plans for this December?   Do you make a Christmas bucket list? If you're in DFW, let me know if there is something that I should have on my list!  

Five Favorites Friday: My Likes, Loves, & Obsessions!

Happy December friends!!  Can you believe that it’s December already?! This year has flown by! I have many exciting things for you this month and this is just one of them!! For the month of December, I am going to do a fun Friday series!  We will call it “Five Favorites Friday”.  I will share 5 products/things that I am loving right now! I decided that not only will it be fun but it may also give everyone some great gift ideas!  We are talking everything from makeup products to shows on Netflix that you need watch - and what better time then when you may be on break from school.  These don’t necessarily have to be new to the world but are great all the same! Let’s get this blogging party started!

theBalm Cosmetics “Mad Lash” Mascara

            I had to start out with this because honestly, it is probably my favorite of my favorites!  I got this mascara as part of my monthly Ipsy glambag last month and after one try, I was hooked!  I have been using it every day since the second week of November and the small (2.5mL/.08 oz) bottle is still going strong.  You honestly only need one application for this to coat all your lashes and give them amazing volume!  I had heard of theBalm Cosmetics but hadn’t tried anything from the brand yet.  Well, they have my vote now!  I also love this because unlike fiber mascaras, that give you the same volume and look of your lashes, this mascara isn't crazy hard to remove!  I always feel that I lose half my eyelashes with fiber mascara and this is the perfect alternative!  I will be purchasing this again soon when I do my usual December Sephora (& other stores) makeup haul for myself as well as my wonderful SIL!  I will share all the items from my haul later this month! You can get this amazing mascara for just $18 at Kohl's, which can become pretty cheap if you have Kohl's cash or other discounts!

Top pic: Nothing, not even a little bit of something on my lashes!
Bottom Pic: Curled with one application of Mad Lash mascara! Crazy volume & curl!

Kendra Scott

                Earrings, necklaces, rings, & now nail polish! Kendra Scott isn't brand new to the world of jewelry or anything but I have fallen in love with all her pieces!  My first piece was a pair of Alexandra Cobalt earrings from Neiman Marcus Last Call.  I got that pair for $35 including shipping, I was so excited!  After wearing them once, I wanted more and could have cared less how much they cost – HA! If you keep your eye out, Last Call and Nordstrom’s will have sales on Kendra Scott pieces.  Speaking of which, you can get 40% off at Last Call using code EXTRA40 until December 6th!  Also, in case you didn’t know, you get 50% off any one item during your birthday month in store at any Kendra Scott location, just show your idea at checkout!

Dexter (Netflix)

                Okay, okay, so this isn’t new and it ended a few years ago but I caught up with it on Netflix!  Being in undergrad then going straight into grad school left little time to have things like hobbies or favorite shows so I am forced to catch up with all the good ones now!  Let me also say that “Netflix & Chill” to me means just that.  You will find me in sweatpants with a messy bun, glasses, and wine in hand during my N&C time, and that is all.  Do not disturb my binge watching!

                Anywho, Dexter…. If you like crime or mystery-solving shows, this is just that with a twist!  SPOILER ALERT!!! Dexter is a murderer but also works for Miami PD – uh whaaaa?!  Yeah, I know! Obviously, I won’t be ruining much because you learn all this in the 1^st episode but he is a forensic analyst for the police that murders people and no one has a clue!  His own sister has no idea!  Side note – his TV sister was his real life wife for a majority of the seasons which is just another weird reason to watch it I suppose.  There are 8 seasons and are well worth the watch.  I highly recommend this for those moments when you may be stuck with your family during the holidays for too long and have the urge to murder someone…… 

Hunter/Forest Green

                So I know this may seem a little too broad a topic but I had to include it!  It seems that wine/deep maroon is the go to fall/winter color this season but I think the dark green needs more credit.  I recently purchased a cute Kate Spade crossbody in this shade and I do not regret my decision one bit!  The wine color is very pretty but the green was calling my name!  I plan on bringing many more pieces in this dark green family to my collection.  One for sure piece that I have already ordered are the Nine West Hollison T-Strap Pumps below and they are under $50!  Don’t worry I’ll keep you posted on what else I find but until then check out some of the great options I found!

Coffee mugs & tumblers

            I love caffeine, coffee, and happiness which are all basically one in the same!  I love a good tumbler for wine or, when I’m feeling fancy, some Sprite!  Using a cute tumbler makes me feel less nerdy when I’m on a Netflix binge.  My favorite gold glitter tumbler is only $12 (shown below, get it here! Coffee is a must if I am expected to carry on a conversation with anyone during the day.  So I know this one might seem a little lame but have you searched on Etsy for either of these lately? You would be surprised at what you may find!  These make great stocking stuffers, dirty Santa gifts (fill it with a hot cocoa mix), or for the avid coffee drinkers like myself! You can find a few of my favorites below!

Well, that is it for the first installment of Five Favorites Friday –ay –ay –ay.  Everything sounds cooler when you add a crowd echo!  I absolutely love doing reviews or trying new things so shoot me some suggestions for the coming weeks and I would love to give them a try!  enJOY your first December weekend and I will see you back here next time!  Bye friends! Don't forget to check out some similar favorites below!

1. BP. Checker Scarf  2. Nine West Pumps  3. Kendra Scott Drop Earrings 4. Kendra Scott Elisa Pendant Necklace 5. Whale Mug 6. Pineapple Mug 

**This post contains affiliate links (when you click and/or purchase from an affiliate link, I get a small commission for the sale at no cost to you).  Thanks for supporting the blog!**