December Birchbox

Time for another Birchbox!  I love getting this in the mail.

Here's what's in my December box:

Harvey Prince - Hello - I love sample size sprays of fragrance.  On the occasion when I go out, I like using a wristlet but obviously can't fit a big bottle in there.  So these sample sizes are perfect & this one smells divine!  It's light but strong enough that I only need one or two spritzes.

Manna Kadar Cosmetics - Sheer Glo - Nice shimmer that can be worn on the face or body with or without other lotion.  In the tube, it looks very pink but once you rub it in it adds a nice amount of shimmer.

Number 4 - Non Aerosol Spray - This is the same brand that makes the Prep & Protect spray I use on my hair every day.  I haven't tried it yet but I'm sure I'll love it.  It says it provides hold without the crunchy feeling.

The Honest Company - Organic Healing Balm - This is a product from Jessica Alba's line.  It reminds me of Vaseline or Aquaphor but is more of a liquid form.  A little goes a long way & it's very moisturizing.  Can be used on irritated skin, eczema, minor cuts & scrapes or anywhere that needs some extra hydration. I've been using it as a lip balm before I put on my gloss or I just wear it alone.

Twistband - Printed Hair Ties - Cute hair tie that is gentle & won't leave creases in your hair.  I'm sure I'll get some great use out of this one!

Rachael Ray Has Arrived!

I'm so excited!  My new cookware set arrived!  I ordered from the Kohl's website & got a great deal.  I paid under $130 for this & it was originally over $200!  Kohl's prices are always marked down & I'm also signed up to get emails from them.  I used a 20% off coupon and my shipping was free.  Love Kohl's!

I almost ordered a set that was all orange but opted for these.  Their non-stick & I liked the pop of color better than all over.

And I was also in need of a new trashcan.  When Husband & I moved in together, I was all about red appliances & accessories in my kitchen.  Well that was a long time ago & I've gotten tired of the red stage.  The cookware & trashcan were the last of the red I needed to get rid of.  Here's the new trashcan that is from Ace Hardware.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding Success

I'm not the best cook but I've always been pretty good at baking.  I mean, you read the directions & do what it tells you right?  Yeah, I used to have no problem with that but over the past few years I've had some pretty sad baking disasters.  Chocolate chip cookies is probably the easiest recipe but I've managed to screw it up on more than one occasion.  

I got a recipe in the mail from Kroger that looked pretty simple & heavenly.  Pumpkin Bread Pudding.  I love pumpkin & I love bread pudding.  That was all the motivation I needed.  

Here are all my ingredients...not too confusing.

Thankfully it turned into this:

Pure deliciousness

This was from my 1st batch.  Yep, I made it one more time & it was even better.  I only made 2 slight variations.  I added extra rum (hey!) & right before putting it in the oven, I sprinkled pumpkin pie spice over the top.  So good.  This was a really easy & surprisingly fast recipe that I will be making every holiday!

Black Friday

I wasn't one of the crazy shoppers that waited outside Target or Best Buy to get in after stuffing my face during the day with a Thanksgiving feast...because I did it last year.

This year I waited until Friday afternoon to venture out.  I had my eye on this beautiful Rachael Ray cookware set that was at Target & Walmart but sadly...it was gone by the time I arrived.  I will admit, I may have shed a tear when I couldn't find it.  I almost bought it last year but opted out.  Now I'm kicking myself in the ass for not getting it.  I did score this cute new toaster!

I think it's very cute & kind of retro!  And it was only $24.  Go me.

I went into Bed Bath & Beyond to see what kind of cookware sets they had & that was a big fat zero!  I did see this cool bedding set I'm going to keep my eye on for our guest bedroom.

 And this great wall art!  I love anything black & white & this is just perfect.

Did you go out into the obnoxious crowds on Thanksgiving night??  I wish I had now thinking back & most likely next year, I'll be standing in one of those lines! Luckily Cyber Monday didn't fail me & I ordered my awesome Rachael Ray cookware set from Khols. It was on sale plus I magically got an email for an extra 20% off so I didn't even blink. It should arrive sometime next week & I can't wait! It's actually a completely different set than I had originally wanted & now I'm glad I wasn't able to find the other. This one is way better & more heavy duty. Don't worry, there will be pictures!

November Birchbox

I got my Birchbox for November a while ago but haven't gotten around to trying any of the products yet.  Except I did inhale the wonderful popping chocolate thing that came.  Here's what was in the box:

Chella - Highlighter Pencil - Says you can use this pencil 10 different ways from highlighting your brow bone to using it on the cheekbones.

Color Club - Dark N' Stormy - I'll be trying the polish this week & I can't wait.  I love deep, dark colors.

It's a 10 - Leave In Product - I know I'll like this one.   My hairstylist has used this on my hair before & it smells heavenly & leaves my hair feeling amazeballs.

Toissan - Body Cream - So this sure is a tiny jar to use on my body. I could probably use what's in the jar on 1/2 my body but it smells really good.  I'll be taking this to work to use as a hand cream.

Chuao - Chocolate treat - Remember that crystal pop rocks stuff you used to eat as a kid?  This is chocolate reminded me of that when you eat it.  It's wonderful chocolate with that popping sensation.  Very yummy!

Weekend Fun

Happy Tuesday!  Only one more week for me at work & then I'm on Thanksgiving vacation!!  I can't wait. 

My weekend was busy & full of fun.  It involved good food & good friends!  Friday night we went out for dinner with 2 other couples to Rooster's in Denton on the square.  I love this place.  I get the Cobb salad (minus the bacon) & it's super yummy.  It has nuts, blue cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes, grilled chicken, dried cranberries & so much more in it.  And it comes with a light vinaigrette so I feel it's fairly healthy.  I didn't take a picture because I felt kind of weird out with other people but it was wonderful & I had been looking forward to it all day.  Husband got a grilled cheese with steak...I'm not really sure what it was but it looked like it could possibly cause a heart attack. 

After dinner, we made our way back to our house for some drinking & games.  I can be a teeny bit  competitive when playing games & I actually toned it down so I was proud of myself.  I can't remember the name of the game we played but you had to really know the poeple you were playing with.  So I kind of sucked & didn't win but I wasn't a sore loser. 

Saturday was spent doing stuff around the house, grocery shopping & some laundry.  Fergie & I had some nice walks.  I got this new Jillian Michaels yoga DVD:

It was great.  I did Level 1 & I was sweating like crazy when I finished.  I then did one of the Focused 15 minute ab routines from the NTC app.  It was really windy outside so I decided to do some HIIT training on the treadmill instead.  I did 35 minutes (5 minute warm up) & then started some sprint drills.  This kicked my butt.  I haven't done these since the end of summer & I felt the calories burn away the whole time.

Saturday night we watched White House Down.  It was full of action within the first 10 minutes & I loved it.  Even if I wasn't a crazy obsessed Channing Tatum fan, I'd still like the movie.  It had me on edge the whole time.  It didn't hurt that Channing was down to a wife beater quickly into the movie showing off his arms...and muscles...ahh.  Anyway.

On Sunday I took Fergie on a nice long walk.  We had fun but it was so damn warm!  Ick.  She wasn't happy either.  I did some more laundry & food prep, then a yoga routine & one of the 30 minute Get Lean cardio drills from NTC.  That app is totally kicking my ass. 

Some of my friends were in town from Colorado so we all met up at our friend's house to hang out and eat.  It was great to see them, they looked amazing as usual.  Husband had to work but showed up on his way home.  I left shortly after to finish up with dinner & take care of Fergie.

So that's it!  Hope everyone had a great weekend!

NTC Greatness

Huuump Daaayyyy!!!!!!  Half way through the week, yay! 

I mentioned in my blog post yesterday about the new app I downloaded with tons of workouts.  It's the Nike Training Club App & best part, it's free.  I'm really surprised it's free because the workouts are amazeballs.  You start out by choosing the type of workout to do:

Next you select your level.  I've been choosing advanced since I workout at least 6 days a week:

From there you will have roughly three 30 minute workouts & three 45 minute workouts to choose from.  The beginner workouts have four 30 & 45 minute workouts to choose from.  You can preview the workouts before you do them which I recommend.  You can look at pictures of each move & there are videos of someone performing the move two times so you get a great demonstration.  I've been deciding what workout to do ahead of time & really going over the videos to be familiar with it.  Each move is 30 seconds to 2 minutes long & the app times each exercise for you which is awesome.  I don't have to worry about looking at the clock or setting my own timer.  It's so easy.  And you can also preview the exercise again while in the middle of the workout & it automatically pauses the timer for you.  Genius. 

I love this app because I like to be told what to do & not have to worry about what's next.  That is one of the reasons I enjoy P90X so much.  You just put in the DVD & get started.  And this app works just like that.  You can view what equipment you will need.  It's nothing extensive; mainly weights & medicine balls.  And I love that the workouts are under an hour.  I totally recommend downloading this app right away.  It will not disappoint.

So far, I've done 3 of the workouts.  On Sunday, after yoga, I did one of the Get Lean 30 minute cardio drills.  Holy crap it was hard.  I wasn't expecting it.  I was soaking wet & so fatigued when I finished.  The move that killed me were the squat jumps.  If you've ever done those, you know they aren't easy but I do them in Plyo once a week.  However, in Plyo, it's 30 seconds of them.  In the NTC workout, you do 2 minutes 2 times!!  Ouch!  Other moves include different planks, burpees & explosive lunges.  I'm telling you, 30 minutes may not sound like a long time but it felt like it was never ending.  On Monday, I did yoga in the a.m. & then in the p.m. I did one of the Get Tone 30 min. workouts followed by a 15 minute shoulder ripper workout.  In the 1st picture above you'll see the last option is Get Focused.  These are muscle specific 15 minute workouts.  There are a few choices for all your muscles.  It's a great addition to help burn out whatever part your working.  My shoulders were on fire within 5 minutes.  I'm crazy obsessed with this app.  If you try it out let me know what you think!

I changed things up for dinner on Monday.  I sometimes don't feel like having a salad so I made a wrap.  It's a yummy whole wheat tortilla wrap with hummus, chicken, spinach & sliced avocado & some cherry tomatoes on the side.  So good & surprisingly filling.  I'm glad I didn't make 2 of them! 

And some fruit for dessert:

And then this little pumpkin found her new lounging spot on the couch & stared at me while I worked on the computer.

Every time I am on my phone, computer, iPad or looking at a magazine, she gets really pissed off & becomes clingy.  She will paw at you until you surrender to her.  It doesn't take much with that face.

Have a great day!      

Community Beer Open House

Happy Tuesday!!  Hope you had a fantastic weekend.  Mine was great but went way too fast. 

I went grocery shopping on Friday after work because I had a busy day planned on Saturday & didn't want to mess with the grocery store.  I got some new items to make for dinner that I'm excited about.  I'll post some pictures soon.  I got home & relaxed & we watched Hangover III.  It was pretty funny, I liked it better than the 2nd but nothing tops the 1st. 

Saturday started with a 5 mile run.  The first 2.5 miles were rough.  My shins hurt in a weird way, I felt like I was stomping down hard every time my foot hit the ground & I was moving fairly slow because it was really windy.  I was coming up to my turn around point when all of a sudden, I felt great.  My shin pain disappeared, I was breathing great & I felt like I transformed into a gazelle.  I have no clue what happened but I went with it & ran a nice & comfortable sprint for the rest of the 2.5 miles.  It was crazy.  I had taken Fergie on a 1/2 mile walk before my run so maybe I needed more stretching. 

We had fun plans for Saturday afternoon.  We met up with our friends at a local brewery in Dallas called Community Beer Brewery for an open house event.  They were teamed up with Dallas Pets Alive so I was in heaven.  People brought their dogs & the rescue had a bunch of dogs that were available for foster & adoption.  I got my fix on kisses from puppies!  I bonded with Copper who was a Chihuahua mix.  So precious. 

The brewery was kind of small but they might be expanding.  There was a section that was kind of under construction & was being painted so I imagine they will grow.  Everything was in one room but it was really fun.  They had giant size Jenga & Corn Hole to play.  There was lots of local art work displayed & they had a guy playing guitar who was really good.  There were 6 beers to choose from & I had 2 of them.  You got 3 beer tickets with your admission.  I only used 2 of mine & gave my last one to Husband.  The beer was really strong & I ended up not eating any of the food (they only had 2 stands set up for food) so I didn't want to get typsy.  We all had a blast!

Guitar band guy

Photo bomb

Our tour guide 

We stayed for 3 hours & then went to dinner at Blue Goose.   DELISH! 

I had fish tacos & remembered to snap a pic before I inhaled them.  Husband & I headed home after dinner to take care of Fergie then went back to our friends house for more drinking & some games.  And SMORES!  That was what I was most excited about.  We played Beer Pong & Flip Cup.  I got bored with Flip Cup & moved on to my smore making skills for the rest of the evening.

Luckily, I didn't drink too much & felt great on Sunday.  Fergie & I had some much needed snuggle time after breakfast & we got caught up on our shows.  Then I did the usual; laundry & food prep.  Later in the afternoon I did power yoga & then I tried a new workout.  I'll get into it more & show some pictures in tomorrow's post.  It's the Nike Training App & it's awesome.  Tons of workouts so you can never get bored.  The workout I did kicked my butt & I thought I was going to vomit when I finished.  I was dripping sweat so bad I couldn't see & basically laid on the floor for 5 minutes afterwards afraid to move. 

That is all, have a great day!

Did You Get That From Me?

So I previously blogged about being sick & my fabulous ER experience but never mentioned how my follow up visit with my dr. went & I KNOW you're dying to find out.  I have whooping cough.  Say whaaat?  My first thought went to the ancient Oregon Trail computer game and all the diseases everyone caught & then tragically died.  Dramatic.  Then she told me it's commonly called Pertussis now & it's highly contagious.  That would've been nice to know the first time I came in.  She said the only Rx that really helps a cough like that is something with a steroid in it.  I proceeded to tell her "yes, that would have helped when I couldn't breath & had to go to the ER on a Friday night & now have a hefty bill to pay".  I said it in a nice way.  Needless to say I wasn't too happy with this new diagnosis but at least I wasn't contagious...anymore.   I'm still coughing but only use my inhaler at night.  Anyway, my sweet boss lady is now sick with the exact same symptoms as I started with & I feel awful.  I am just hoping she gets to the dr. soon & doesn't come back to work until she's feeling better.  I always bitch about "those" people who will come to work all pathetic & sickly.   Yeah that was me a few weeks ago.  Even though everyone in the office told me to go home & rest, ugh!  Next time someone tells me to go home, I'm not even going to give it a second thought! 

Wednesday after I got home from work, I did my power yoga.  I was amazed how sore my legs were the next morning, especially my hamstrings.  Last night I did Kenpo X.  Intense.  I tried a new pre workout drink that was amazeballs.  It gave me a ton of energy, I was super focused & my form was awesome.

And I had this to glance at while while I was working out!  Too precious!

Hi momma

At one point she just couldn't keep her little eyes open!  

I'm so pretty

I have fun plans for Saturday that I'll be blogging about next week, have a great weekend!

That One Time When I Ran Super Fast

Oh yeah, you read that right.  Remember that race I ran & kicked major ass!?!  OK so I'm tooting my own horn a bit.  These are the results from the Tails n' Trails 5K I ran in October.  I came in 1st in my age group & overall placed 36 out of 180!  I don't think I've run that fast since high school.  I'm quite proud of myself.  Yay me!

As mentioned in yesterday's blog, this is my off week of working out.  No that doesn't mean I'm taking the week off so maybe I should name it something else...my non weight training week.  That's better.  I'm just focusing on cardio workouts this week & yoga.  Monday morning I did Level 1 of the Jillian Michaels yoga & then after work I did Core Synergystics (P90X).  I hadn't done this one in a few weeks & I was excited how much better I was at the moves & how my form has improved.  I credit that to the yoga.  It is so beneficial & I'm kicking myself in the ass for not practicing yoga years ago. 

Yesterday morning was Body By Bethenny yoga.  Love this one.  It's funny how some mornings, my balance is perfection & then other's like yesterday, I'm falling all over the place.  But hey, I try hard & get er done so that's all that matters.  And I'm sweating afterwards so I know I worked hard.  After work it was Plyometrics (P90X).  Such a great cardio & leg workout. 

Last week was a challenging week for me with food.  In my office, we had district reviews all week (we have 14 districts that come to our office) & that means donuts EVERY morning & lunch catered EVERY day.  I have discipline when it comes to food but not when it's staring at me & filling my nose with wonderful smells!  I stuck to my guns most of the week & especially on BBQ day because it makes me sick but I may have eaten some cookies & scarfed down bread a few times.  Ridiculous.  So yesterday was our last day of reviews & thank goodness.  Donuts were tempting me when I walked into the office of course but I ignored them & tried to stay out of the kitchen area.   Or maybe I walked in there once to open the box & stare at them...and quite possibly smell them.   Then lunch came, Jersey Mike's.  Since I just ate here on Saturday it was easy to say no.  And my lovely boss ordered me a grilled chicken salad because she knows me too well.  BUT there were cookies.   And they looked absolutely delish.  3 varieties that I love: m&m, chocolate chip & sugar cookies.  I stayed away & kept telling myself "remember how you felt last week after you inhaled one five cookies!".  Temptation is so hard & many times I give in.  But I try to remember moments like yesterday when I didn't give in & felt great about it.  Some people say this is silly & just enjoy food.  I definitely enjoy my food.  I love everything I eat all day but what I love more about what I eat is the way I feel after.  That's more important to me then the 10 seconds of joy I'll feel if I eat a cookie. 

I'm sorry but I have to quit you until Saturday

Do you have temptation like this?  How do you stay away or say no?

Busy Weekend

Happy Tuesday!  How was your weekend?  Mine was busy & fun & I'm still recuperating from it. 

Friday after work I had a hair appointment & I was really excited.  I had been going to my stylist for a long time but a few months ago, I started going to a salon in Denton.  I hadn't been that happy so I started going to my girl again.  My stylist is so sweet & every time I get my hair done (every 4 weeks, yep) it's like hanging out with my close friend.  So I was glad I went back to her & she's moving into a new spiffy salon next week that I'm excited to see.  I was exhausted afterwards & headed home to Fergie & Husband.  I brought home pizza & cheese sticks that we ordered for lunch at work.  I was really hungry I stuffed my face & then felt gross afterwards.  We watched World War Z & it was freaky.  It was really good & constant action & suspense.  If you have a weak stomach, you may want to skip it because it's kind of graphic but I liked it.

Saturday we had plans to take Fergie to Fido Fest in Flower Mound.  It's an annual event that the Flower Mound Humane Society puts together with a 1 mile dog walk & tons of vendors show up.  I was excited this year because it was later in the year & we had great weather.  But before we left for that, I got in a great 5 mile run.  It was nice & chilly & felt wonderful.  After a quick shower, we headed out.  Fergie was all sorts of excited & was pretty good in the car.  She had so much fun meeting new dogs & she did really well with all the people.  She is a very nervous dog around people she doesn't know but was surprisingly friendly & sniffed everyone.

Fergie wore her "Daddy's Little Girl" t-shirt

Afterwards, we headed over to my mom's house to hang out for a bit.  Fergie LOVES my parent's house, particularly the backyard.  My parent's grass is really soft so she loves to roll in it.  I got a nice surprise when I walked inside & saw my dad.  My mom told me he would be working so I was excited to see him.  He works for Southwest Airlines & usually leaves on the weekends to fly.  We had Jersey Mike's for lunch, yum.  Then we took Emma & Fergie on a walk.  Emma is one of my mom's doxies & she isn't the friendliest of dogs to other dogs.  And that's putting it nicely.  She loves her people but would rather try to kill Fergie than play with her.  So she had to stay in one of the rooms while we visited but actually did well on our walk.  There were some growls at first but she calmed down. 

After our lunch & walk, we headed home.  I did my grocery shopping & then had to start getting ready for a night out.  Our friend Kelly's birthday was last weekend so we were going out to celebrate at Oakstreet Drafthouse in Denton.  Love this bar.  It's in an old house & has really cool furniture & a ton of different beer choices.  And a huge patio.  It was chilly so we stayed inside & hung out.

From what I can remember, everyone had a great time.  I apparently over did it with my drinking skills and may have gotten a little hammered.  I know I had beer at home while getting ready because that is just so fun to do.  And then maybe I had 5 or 6 more at the bar.  But who's counting.   The next thing I can recall is waking up in the morning waiting for my head to start pounding.  Well that never happened so instead I felt like I was going to vomit all day.  Like really ALL damn day.  My butt was planted on the couch for the majority of the day but I did manage to do all my food prep, laundry & some yoga.  Fergie must have known I was under the weather because she was extra cuddly all day & wouldn't leave my side.

So that was my awesome event filled weekend.  We were non-stop busy & had a lot of fun.  The weather was great for all our outdoor plans.  This week is my off week from strength training so just lots of cardio & yoga.  Have a great day!

Oh Charlie

I'm sure by now everyone knows that the beautiful & talented Charlie Hunnam is no longer playing Christian Grey in 50 Shades. Boo. I'm sad about this but if I had to choose to see Charlie in SOA or 50 Shades, well SOA wins every time. The show wouldn't be what it is without Jax Teller. If you don't watch the show then you just don't get it & well...I feel kind of sad for you.

Anyway, Jamie Dornan has taken Charlie's spot.  He's really cute, there's no argue there.  But as long as he can live up to the hype, he's good. All I know is that he's married & expecting a baby.

Ok so he's pretty smoking hot but honestly, it looks like a different person in each photo!  However I've chosen to get over it.

Yesterday morning I did the Level 2 of my new yoga DVD. It was hard, challenging & I was beyond happy that it was only 30 minutes. The workouts aren't as zen as Body by Bethenny but I do like them. It's a nice switch each day.

I got my October Birchbox a few weeks ago. This was a good one. Here's what I've used so far & what I think.

Stainiac Lip & Cheek Stain - I've only used this on my lips & like it but it doesn't last as long as I'd like. I put quite a bit on & let it dry, then put a little bit of gloss over it. The stain lasts longer than a lip gloss does but you still need to reapply it. I've never been one to wear any flashy color on my lips but this is the perfect amount & it's making me realize I like lip color! I'm more of a gloss & chapstick kind of girl but I'm starting to enjoy the color.

DDF Wrinkle Resist Plus Pore Minimizer - This is pretty great. So far, I'm using it on my nose, forehead & chin & really like it. A little goes a long way & you don't need much. I checked out the retail value & a normal size bottle is around $80. That's a bit pricey. I'll shop around & try to find it cheaper but if not, I won't be buying this one.

Chap Stick Hydration Lock 8 Hr - ok this doesn't last for 8 hours. It's very moisturizing & soothing but I apply it maybe 2-3 times throughout the day. It's a good chapstick to keep in your purse or at your desk.

Atelier Cologne (Orange Sanguine) - Love the smell. It's very light & fresh with an orange citrus smell.

I'm not too excited about that hair thing.  My hair is short so it serves no purpose.

There you have it! I hope everyone has a great weekend. I have some fun events planned that I'll be blogging about next week!

Fergie, Food & Jewels

I thought I'd start this post off with a cute picture of Fergie. She got a new bed last week & loves it as you can tell. She has beds in almost every room except the workout room. I think this is her new fav though. Can't you tell?

I got a new yoga DVD & I really like it. It's a Jillian Michaels workout & it has two 30-minute yoga sessions on it. I was getting tired of my other yoga routine so I'll mix all 3 of these during the week. I tried Level 1 Monday morning. It's good, more of a cardio workout. You move through the poses a little faster so you aren't holding as long & your heart rate stays up but not so much that you're out of breath. It's only 30 minutes & is a nice addition to my yoga practice. I'll review Level 2 tomorrow. I think it might be a little harder.

I changed up my dinner Monday night. We had lunch catered at work from On the Border so I brought Husband home fajita chicken & veggies & tortillas. I decided to have some burritos instead of salad. I used the same amount of toppings as I do on my salads, I just evenly distributed to 3 burritos. Minus the lettuce b/c they were small & I ran out of room! They were delish! I love fresh tortillas.

Last week I received my new Baublebar purchase & I love it! I originally had another necklace in my shopping bag but by the time I went to checkout later in the evening, it was sold out. Everyone else must have my good taste. So I opted for this one & it's perfect. I'm crushing on rose gold right now & this piece is very delicate & would go great with another longer necklace. I have a $10 coupon to use & I have a few necklaces in mind. I would like a yellow or orange bib-type necklace so I've been searching on the website.

Have a great day!