Fashion, Fitness, and all things Fabulous

Facts

2012-10-31T06:59:00.000-07:00

Today, through my boredom at work, I stumbled across Nicholl at The Chiffon Diary. She does a post called "The Fact is" and I wanted to partake in the fun!

Fact: This morning when I left for work, there was frost on the ground. No bueno. Whoever invented garages, you're a genius my friend. Here's to my first winter of not having to scrape my windows :)
Fact: These 2 have my heart. The whole thing. Last night, as I was trying to fall asleep, I looked over at my two sleeping beauties and was overwhelmed with a feeling of gratitude. Words cant express how lucky I feel to be able to call them mine.

Fact: Nursing school has totally gotten the best of me. I am totally and completely burnt out. Finals are next week and I am sooo excited to put these classes behind me!
Fact: The hubs and I made a deal: for every A I get, we get to go an a date, my choice. Welp, an 89% is failing. I know, I know! Can you see how I'd feel burnt out?! So the jokes on him- looks like I'll be going on 2 dates in the near future!
Fact: I bought the Taylor Swift cd the day it came out and it has been playing nonstop in my car since then. Don't judge, its good
Fact: I'm obsessed with this tea. Love it. Try it, I dare you

Fact: It's Halloween! I'm convinced I have the cutest Tigger ever. As soon as I'm done with clinicals today, I'm picking him up from daycare and our night o' fun begins! First, were gonna stop by the nursing home so I can show him off to all my new friends and then were gonna make our way around the neighborhood. Our furry friend Zeus doesn't have a costume but I'll still let him come. The photo is from Zoo Boo last Saturday. It was an event held at the zoo where you paid to get in and walked around to various vendors for candy. Sadly, none of the animals were out and I felt like it was a total waste of money. There was however, a life-sized Elmo and that made little man's day. So I guess it was worth every penny

Seeking a Higher Power

2012-10-17T07:34:00.000-07:00

One thing that has always seemed a mystery to me is going to church. Growing up, my family never went. Unlike most of my peers, I never attended Sunday school or got confirmed. The older I got, the more insecure I felt. I hated when my friends were going through confirmation because they would talk about it and I would do the whole smile and nod thing, having absolutely no idea what they were talking about. I feel so uneducated and misinformed when it comes to church and God in general.
After my son was born, I felt like I was constantly, mainly by my husband's mother, being asked when he was going to get baptised. I seriously put it off for as long as possible. Not because I didn't want him baptised, but because I didn't even know where to begin. Would I just call a church? What if they asked a lot of questions? One thing that was a major factor in my nervousness is that I was raised "Catholic". In my eyes (and this is only my opinion, feel free to disagree), Catholic is the most strict religion. I feel as though there is so much to remember and so many hoops to jump through that I got super overwhelmed every time I even thought about it.
My husband's grandparents attend a Methodist church in town and we had gone with them a couple of times to church. One day, I went onto their website and emailed someone about getting Jett baptised. She was so helpful and approachable that it almost felt like I was talking to a good friend. We went through with getting him baptized and try to attend church as often as possible. We don't make it every Sunday, but we do our best to get there.
Every Wednesday, Lexy (the girl I originally talked to) sends out emails with information about the church. Last week, in her email, it said something about classes coming up for new members if anyone was interested. Right away, I knew this was something I wanted to do. I wasn't sure how my husband would feel about it though. Actually, I knew he wouldn't want to do it. However, without giving him the time to talk me out of it, I replied to her email and said that we will be there. There are 3 classes, about an hour and a half each. I really hope that my hubby will be coming with me but if not, I am still going to do it on my own.
So, I am excited to say that for the first time, at the age of 24, I am going to be a member of a church! What does being a member all entail? Does it require you to do things? If so, what? How often? Are you required to 'donate' or pay money? I have no answers to these questions. However, I cant wait to find out.

New Hair

2012-10-15T06:21:00.000-07:00

For a very long time, I've been wanting to cut my hair short. First, I was waiting to do it after my wedding. However, that was 6 months ago. I scoured Pinterest looking for inspiration but its so hard for me to look at pictures of someone else and imagine how their hairstyle would look on me. Also, I hate taking a picture into a stylist with the hopes of leaving looking like it, because it never happens and then disappointment sets in. Unless you have the exact same hair texture and color, its going to look different. And, who wants to look exactly like someone else?! I sure don't!
Last Tuesday, I had a hair appointment. I seriously go to the best hair stylist ever. I love that I finally found someone that I have so much confidence in. It sounds silly, but hair is such an important component in the way we look that its scary to completely change it! Yes, I know that hair grows back, but that can take a long time!
I told Brittany that I wanted my hair just past my shoulders, able to be put into a ponytail, and lots of layers. I also told her I wanted to dye it dark brown, close to my natural color.
Originally, I wanted to dye my hair myself. After posting about it on facebook though, my friends convinced me out of it this time. One of my gal pals that is a hair stylist informed me that because my highlights were so light, there was a possibility that they would turn green. Gross. So, I left it up to Brittany to give me brown hair, not green. Dying hair is so expensive and I'm looking for ways to save money now that I'm not only a college student, but also a mother. Lately it seems like my money is spent on bills and that's it. Therefore, the task of keeping up highlights just isn't an option for me anymore. Once I'm done with school and working, I would like to go back to them, I just need a cheaper option for right now.
My hair had to be dyed a little darker than I had hoped but Brittany assured me that this is only temporary. She said it needed to be darker since its so light, it will fade real bad in about a week. Honestly, I cant wait for that fading to happen. From now on I'm going to dye my hair myself, now that its all one uniform color.
Honestly, I was terrified to chop my hair. I thought about it all day, playing that game in mind where 2 voices in my head talk about it back and forth. I knew that before I thought about it too much , my hair needed to be cut. For the record, I love it. Its such a nice change and I will definitely appreciate the fact that it will take way less time to style.
I do look quite different though. At first, I felt like I was a spy in hiding or something. I went to pick my son up from daycare that day and he gave me the strangest look, it was so cute. You could tell he was like "you sound like my mommy but you don't look like her!"
Anyways, I'm rambling. Time for some pictures:

If You Really Knew Me

2012-10-12T08:35:00.001-07:00

My husbands aunt is going through a divorce and has been looking for a new place to live. Right now she is torn between a house and an apartment, both having their pros and cons in her mind. As we were talking, I got to thinking how I could never live in a house all by myself. I would be terrified!! I have an irrational fear of being home alone. When I was younger and we lived in Minneapolis, we didn't live in the best neighborhood. Our house was broken into several times and once, our garage was started on fire. We moved to a suburb when I was in the fifth grade but I think this is the reason I'm so scared: I've witnessed first hand how cruel people can be in the world. I am so afraid that someone will come into my house and I wont be able to protect myself. I know its quite silly that an almost 25 year old is so scared of this, but its true! I absolutely hate being home alone. My husband plays darts on Tuesday nights and I dread those nights when he wont be home for a couple hours. (side note: I'm fine being home alone during the day, I love it actually. Its just the night that I don't like, when my imagination gets the best of me). When we moved into our house, my brother-in-law moved into our basement. At first, I wasn't sure I would enjoy sharing my house and once again, have a 'roommate' like I did in college. Turns out, I love it because I don't get so freaked out knowing there is someone else home with me. Finally, my husband can go to darts or out with his friends without my constant texting wondering when he will be home.
So there is a little fun fact for ya! Here's a couple more:

If you really knew me:
- You would know that I would eat candy all day long if I could
-That I love school
-That I wish I could be a stay-at-home mom (even though I know I would be bored out of mind after a month)
-I love pizza. And broccoli, but my hubby hates broccoli so I rarely get to eat it
-As I've gotten older, I've noticed I have less friends, but the ones in my life are great friends. I no longer feel the need to be surrounded by a group of people that I only pretend to like
-My favorite thing to do on the weekends is go to garage sales with my little man- we always find the best treasures!
-A lot of people don't understand how I can handle being a mother, wife, nursing student, and work 2 jobs, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I know what I want in life and I also know that I will need to put in some hard work to get those things
-I wish I had more time to explore a creative outlet
-I could spend hours on Pinterest
-I'm really interested in fashion and makeup. Now if only I could learn to wake up to my alarm clock instead of hitting snooze 5 times, my appearance would show that
-I'm scheduled to work 14 hours today.. yikes

Workin on my Fitness

2012-10-10T07:17:00.001-07:00

Happy Wednesday to you :)
After my wedding (almost 6 months ago) I went on a workout hiatus. Pretty much stopped working out completely. It's bad. I just no longer have any motivation!!
Everyday, I tell myself tomorrow will be the day I'll start working out, but it never happened. Last week, as I was getting dressed, I reached my breaking point. I could barely button my jeans! (I can hardly believe I'm confessing this to the world!)
I have some friends who are BeachBody trainers and have purchased some of their programs. I really enjoyed Brazilian Butt Lift but to be honest, my butt is not the part of my body that needs to be targeted. I got TurboFire as a gift from my husband last mother's day. This program is not cheap. At all. But all my friends had been raving about how awesome it is and that the time goes by so fast because you actually enjoy doing the workout. I tried it once and hated it. I tried it again last week, and still hated it. My friend told me I just needed to keep doing it and I would get the hang of it. Feeling discouraged, I took her advice. I wanted soo badly to like this. Unfortunately, I still hate it. I should back up a step and explain why I hate it: I cant keep up. It is way too "dance-y" for me. In high school, I was always into sports, but I was never into girly things like dancing. Frankly, I have no rhythm and no matter how hard I try, my body wont move like its supposed to! So here I would be, standing in front my TV, watching the moves, but unable to do them myself. I would finally figure it out, and the girl would be onto something else. For me, this was soo frustrating!!
I had a revelation the other day. I realized why I ha vent been working out: I don't like BeachBody programs. and that's okay! So many people love them, but surely I'm not the first person to admit that I hate them. There are so many girls in this town that are doing them and promoting them though, that I felt like I had to do them. I forgot that there are a million other ways to exercise. I took my dislike for these programs and turned it into a dislike for working out.
I always have a hard time knowing what exactly to do for exercise and like to have someone to lead me, which is why I chose to go with TV programs in the first place. I've printed out a couple different workouts online and will be trying those.
My dear friend, Emily, works at PureBarre and I want soo badly to try that. I am so eager to jump on bandwagons! I am the person infomercials are targeted at: talk about something for 10 minutes and you've got me hooked, I want it! I'm so hesitant to buy a DVD though because I don't want it to be a waste of money like TurboFire was.
I've listed my TurboFire on EBay and told myself once it sells, I can buy something else with the money. Until then, I'll continue with my printouts. I feel like at least I'm on the right track now though because it doesn't really matter what you're doing as long as you're moving!!

The Little Things

2012-10-05T07:51:00.000-07:00

The other night at work (yes, I work nights now. Maybe I need to do a little life update?) I was chatting with my new friend Tammy and she made me listen to this new Taylor Swift song, Ronan. After the first 30 seconds, I wanted to stop it. Not that it wasn't good, but because I felt like I could start crying and that's bad news for everyone. I'm not a pretty cryer. At all. I save that for when I'm alone. Anyways, I didn't want to be rude so I listened to the entire song. If you've never heard it, go to youtube, now. Its the saddest song I've ever heard about a little boy with cancer that she wrote for Stand Up to Cancer. Something about that song compelled me. I couldn't stop thinking about it and my heart just ached for the mother of that sweet boy. I cannot even begin to imagine what that would feel like to have to go through and I pray my loved ones will never have to go through such a thing.
When I got home from work, I still couldn't stop thinking about it. I googled his name and came across a NY Times article and through that, learned that his mom had written a blog of the entire experience. Taylor had followed the blog and with the mother's permission, had used many of her words in the song. So naturally, I had to check out this blog. I sat and read probably 50 of the entries. I just couldn't tear myself away. Finally, at 2 in the morning with tears streaming down my cheeks, I decided it was time to go to bed.
That was almost a week ago, and I still cant stop thinking about it. If I had the finances, I would most definitely contribute to children's cancer. However, I don't. Maybe someday I will :)
Anyways, while reading her story, I felt compelled to grab my baby and just hold him tight in my arms. He is the light of my life and I cant even fathom him being taken from me.
Yesterday, I got done with school at noon and picked up Jett. I had my day planned out perfectly. He was going to take a nap and I was going to get all my cleaning done and then we were going to walk to the park where he and Zeus would play while I did the rest of my homework. We got home and I laid him in his crib and he didn't even make a peep. Normally, nap time is an awful experience in the Engen house because he will cry and scream and my heart just breaks. I have this mental debate each time: 'should I go get him? No, he needs to sleep, he will stop eventually. Is something wrong with him? No, he knows his mama is a softy and will come take him out.'
I did a little victory dance and thought this was too good to be true. I then got started making lunch for my hubby and then he came home and we sat at the table, just the two of us. This is something that never happens in our lives anymore, and it was so nice, except for the fact that it wasn't long enough. He left and I begun to do the dishes when all of a sudden I heard a piercing scream. My little man was up, he was done with nap time. A little annoyed because it had only been 45 minutes, I went into his room. I scooped him into my arms and the tears instantly stopped. It amazes me how the second I hold him, he always stops crying. This is probably the best feeling in the world as a mom, knowing how much your baby needs you. We sat on the couch for a little bit, him eating a granola bar, watching cartoons on TV. Knowing that I had a long to do list, this was killing me. Every time I tried to set him down, he would scream and cry and want to be held. We went through this a couple of times and finally I realized, he wasn't going to watch TV on his own. We then moved to the floor. Me sitting cross-legged with him in the middle, playing with toys. After a couple of minutes I set him on the floor in front of me. He was fine. I was behind him, he couldn't even see me so if I got up, he wouldn't even notice, right? wrong. I slowly stood and crept into the kitchen. I didn't even make it to the sink before he was crying again. How did he even notice I wasn't there anymore?!
I reluctantly came back into the room and picked him up. We were standing by the window and outside, he could see all the trucks fixing our road. he pointed and giggled an proceeded to talk his jibberish. He was clearly fascinated by these trucks. We stood there and watched the trucks for a good half hour. In the midst of all this, my annoyance went away. Yes, I had a pile of dishes to do and an even bigger heap of laundry. Yes, I had a lot of homework that I needed to catch up on. But the dishes, laundry, and homework would all still be there. A little boy who wants nothing more than to hang out with his mama, will not. There will come a day when he thinks I'm dumb and hes too cool for me. I dread when that day comes. For now, I just need to slow down and be grateful for the little things. I didn't accomplish anything on my to do list. I did, however, get to spend the day with my baby and that makes me smile.
Jersey Shore started last night, a show my husband and I always watch together. After Jett went to bed though, instead of sitting my butt on the couch and watching, I finished my to do list. After all, Jett is way more important than the people on Jersey Shore.

Zeus

2012-07-20T06:50:00.002-07:00

This cute little guy is mine. And I am seriously in love with him. We've never met. I can, however, assure you that him and Jett will be BFF. Jett loves dogs and I am so excited that he will finally get to have his own. I cant wait to see the look on Jett's when they meet. We get to pick him up tonight. 7:30 to be exact. We are going to have an extremely busy night. We have a wedding tonight at 5:00 and right after the wedding we will need to be on our way for this little guy because he is an hour and a half away. I can barely contain my excitement.

Another fun thing for the weekend- I am going golfing with my hubby on Sunday. We have never gone golfing together and I haven't been golfing in at least 2 years. This will be interesting to say the least. I just hope he has enough patience to watch me whiff the ball a time or 20. I am sure I will have pictures to follow :)

Have a fabulous weekend!

MIA

2012-07-10T08:43:00.002-07:00

I knew I hadn't posted in awhile but holy cow- its been almost a month! Time has been getting away from me lately. There is too much fun to be had in the summer. Since I last posted, my hubby and I bought a house. And I'm in love. I can not wait until we get to move! I've got all sorts of colors and decorations dancing in my head and I cant wait to do it all!

Here she is in all her glory- isn't she a beauty?! It is a rather old house which slightly scared me at the beginning but the previous owners took extremely good care of it and it has plenty of updates. Also, I love old houses for all of their charm. I cant even explain how gorgeous the crystal door handles are in each room. And there is seriously so many cupboards. I will no longer have the issue of no room to store anything. The master bedroom? Three closets!! If that isn't enough- one wall is lined with built-in cabinets! No longer will I need to store seasonal clothes at my moms house. I think shes more happy about this than I am!

I cant wait to be able to enjoy my morning coffee in this sunny little nook. I'm telling y'all, everything about this house screams perfection in my eyes. I am beyond excited to move into it and so proud that my hubby and I get to call it our own. August 15 (our closing date) cant get here fast enough!

Another thing that's happened since I last posted: Jett and I flew to Montana to celebrate my sister's birthday with her. I cant even tell you the last time I got to be with her on her birthday so it really meant a lot to me to be able to spend this time with her. We did all sorts of fun things- got our nose pierced, went horseback riding, had a night on the town, and got Brazilian blowouts. I'm telling ya, if you have hair like mine (thick, frizzy, wavy) a Brazilian blowout is highly, highly recommended. The price scared me away at first but seriously- it is worth it!!

Jett taking in the view from an airplane window for the first time

My mom, sister and I in Yellowstone Park

Sissy and I out on the townSeriously- how can you not be obsessed with this boy?!

One last thing that's happened this summer: Basilica Block Party. In Minneapolis, one of the radio stations puts on an outdoor concert each summer to benefit that Basilica Catholic church. This year, the main act was OAR and my fabulous mom was able to get us free tickets!! My family has gone to this every year but this was the first time for my husband and I. We had so much fun and will definitely plan on attending again next year.

Okay, I promise- last bit of information. This morning, I finally grew some balls and told my boss I'm going back to school. I was so nervous about doing it but now I feel like I have such a big weight lifted off my shoulders and I am soo glad I did it. School starts August 22 and I seriously cant wait. My family and I will have such big changes in the month of August, it needs to get here faster! One thing that really irritated me though was my boss asked about how many hours I thought I would be able to still work (I told him I would like to still work something out part time) and he said I need to work at least 30 hours a week. He said I would be expected to put in hours after-hours and maybe a couple of hours on the weekends. Now, I have no problem doing that. But then, he said he expects my job to be my top priority. I'm sorry but if I'm paying all this money to go to school, I'm going to give it my all. Not to mention the fact that I have a family that I need to spend time with. So maybe working here part time wont work out after all. Only time will tell I guess. I just feel like its so important for me to keep my priorities in order and this job for sure wont come before school and definitely wont come before my husband and son. Okay, I better stop before I get myself angry.

I could keep going on and on I have so much to share. I guess that's what I get for taking a 3 week hiatus ;)

Until next time, which I promise will be sooner than 3 weeks, have a fabulous day

Highlights of summer

2012-06-21T06:30:00.000-07:00

Here's a little update of our summer so far!
Jett loves playing outside! He literally cries when its time to go in and will just stand at the door looking out the screen door. He got a new bubble toy from his auntie for his birthday and its one of his favorites. I love how fascinated he is with everyday things and love to watch him discover each day.
I applied self-tanner and minus some areas by my toes, it doesn't look so bad! Hooray for not being pasty! And not increasing my risk for skin cancer :) I used the L'Oreal Paris Sublime Bronze Luminous Bronzer and am seriously IN LOVE! It gives me the perfect amount of tan and leaves me skin shimmery without looking like I just spilled a bottle of glitter all over me. I would highly recommend this product. I bought it at Walgreen's for under $10 and I believe it can also be found at Target, Walmart, etc
Matt stayed home last Friday night with Jett and I was able to go out with my dear friend Britta. We always have so much fun together and it was nice to go out to the bars since I haven't been there in awhile. It definitely made me feel old though- and that isn't a feeling I get very often. I was hungover for about two days afterwards.. so maybe I really am old.
I'm excited to announce my sister and I have opened our very own Etsy shop! Were so excited about it and hope to be successful in selling our crafts. Check it out: HERE (http://www.etsy.com/shop/FlutterSisters?ref=ss_profile)
Recently, I bought a pair of True Religion jeans off Ebay. It seemed like such a great deal that I couldn't pass them up. They arrived on Monday and to my disappointment, they are way too long. At first, I was super disappointed. This is not the first (or second) time I've bought something off Ebay and it didn't fit right. Its so disappointing because then you cant return it! I hate getting jeans hemmed because its expensive and I think the bottom looks funny then- I like the original hem. While browsing the Internet yesterday at work, I found a tutorial on how to hem jeans and keep the original hem! FOUND HERE It requires the use of a sewing machine (which I don't have but if someone would like to donate one I would be forever grateful). However, I did mine by hand. I did this on a pair of American Eagle jeans that I've had for forever. They're way too long so I rarely wear them so I figured if I ruined them, no biggy, but if it worked, they could re-enter my wardrobe! I followed most of her instructions with a few of my own ideas here and there. I decided to do this at 9:00 at night which probably wasn't my best idea. I was sitting on my bed and didn't have any pins so instead I folded the jeans and used my hair straightener to iron the fold to get it stay well. (The epitome of lazy, I'm aware). I also didn't want to try them on, so I decided an inch and a half sounded good to me. I didn't take into consider that they were folded so that measurement would be doubled. Whoopsie. They are a tad short but not bad- they will be good to wear with either flip flops or winter boots. It took about half an hour to do and I did it while chatting to my brother on the phone. It would've been faster if it had my full attention (or if I had a sewing machine of course). Overall, I'm satisfied with the way it turned out and am ready to try it out on my new True Religion jeans. Wish me luck and I'll post an update later :)

Have a fabulous day :)

What I Made Monday- Lemon Shrimp

2012-06-20T09:21:00.000-07:00

I feel like I'm always making very similar foods lately. It seems as though everything consists of either chicken or noodles, and often a combination of the two. Having recently discovered my love for shrimp, I thought I would be adventurous and try out a shrimp recipe. I saw something on Pinterest and decided to use that as the base to my meal. When making dinner, I don't usually like to follow the recipe exactly- I like to add a few of my own ingredients.
I got home from work Monday night ready to make my new meal. However, I had forgotten to put the shrimp in the refrigerator so it was still frozen. Doing what I do with all frozen meat, I started to put it into the microwave. Something possessed me to read the bag and it said to thaw frozen shrimp, it should be placed in a bowl of cold water. Who knew? Certainly not this girl! Thank goodness for directions. Into a bowl of water my shrimp went. I was surprised at the short amount of time it took for them thaw out!

My shrimp thawing out

While I was waiting for my shrimp to thaw out, I put a little bit of butter into a baking pan and put it into the oven to melt. While that was melting, I sliced up a lemon. I then put the shrimp into the pan and added the lemon slices. I didn't think I had enough butter because it wasn't covering the bottom of the pan so I added a couple more scoops of butter (real healthy, I know). I then sprinkled with the dish with Italian seasoning, garlic salt, pepper, and a lemon herb spice I found in my cupboard that I didn't realize I even owned. I don't have measurements for the spices/herbs because I just sprinkled as desired. I love using different spices in my recipes but you will notice that I rarely use an actual measurement.

Before it went into the oven

I then stuck my pan into the oven, set at 350 for 15 minutes. I forgot to take a picture of my end result (I really need to get better at that!) but it was delicious. I would definitely make this again. However, I didn't squeeze my lemons and I feel like that would've given it such a better lemon flavor. I guess I'll have to try that next time- and take a final photo!

Enjoy!

June Birchbox

2012-06-19T09:54:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was a very long day. I got home from work exhausted and had barely enough time to get out the door to be on time for Jett's one year pictures. He wouldn't really cooperate and I have a feeling we didn't get too many good shots. As soon as we were done with the pictures we had a few errands to run and then went to dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings. The hostess had given us a kids menu with crayons and while Jett has never really played with crayons before, I didn't have any toys to keep him occupied so we decided to try them out. Of course, he tried eating them. As I was trying to fish the tip of the red crayon out of his mouth, our waitress came over to take our order. I was already feeling kind of flustered since I hadn't had time to look at the menu to decide what I wanted, but little did I know, my dining experience was about to get worse. With my pointer finger in his mouth, Jett bit down. HARD. It took every bit of me not to scream in the middle of the restaurant. I yanked my finger out and looked down to find it covered in blood. Yes, he bit me so hard that he drew blood. And a lot of it at that. Needless to say, I was ready to get home, crawl under my covers, and sleep for a long time.

To my surprise though, this lovely pink box was waiting for me on our kitchen table: my June Birchbox! Even though I was so exhausted, I couldn't go to bed without checking out all my goodies!! I would say that this birchbox was way better than the first one I got. After the first one, I contemplated cancelling my birchbox but this erased all those thoughts from my brain.

This months theme was Jet Setter, which is perfect since I'm going on vacation next week! Its compiled of 5 items that that will

outlast your next long-haul flight

"My samples this month were:

Comodynes Self-Tanning Intensive

Description:

"This Spanish brand’s genius towelettes are designed to give you uniform all-over color. A bestseller in Europe, they landed on our shores just in time for bikini season. These single-use wipes deliver a natural tan on face and body that’s more intensely bronze than the brand’s regular self tanners. Even so, the formula adjusts to your skin tone, so you don’t have to worry about ending up with an un-matching tan"

My Review:

I really liked these! I have extremely fair skin that doesn't tan very well. I've tried spray tans, which I really like, but they are just so dang expensive. I had been thinking about purchasing a self tanner recently so I was so excited when I saw this! They didn't leave me looking orange and gave me a natural, streak free tan. I would definitely purchase these in the future. I did see that they are cheaper on Amazon, FYI.

Stila One Step Bronze

Description:

"The three-in-one primer, bronzer, and skin perfector addresses our three main concerns: oversized pores, unevenness, and lackluster skintone. Made with a triple helix of bronzing, highlighting, and illuminating pigments, the creamy formula has a mousse-like consistency, and is subtly laced with coppery shimmer"

My Review:

I couldn't believe the size of this baby! It is not a sample, its the full-size product! I tried this once, and am not really sure how I feel about it. It definitely contains a lot of bronzer- almost too much for my preference. I felt that it made my face look a little orange and didn't blend very well on my neck. However, I'm not ready to completely write it off- I think it will look much better once I start to get a nice summer tan (or use self-tanner in my case)

Wonderstruck by Taylor Swift

(sorry my picture is upside down for some reason)

Description:

"Eclectic and traditional with whimsical flair, every element of the brand is authentically Taylor."

My Review:

I was excited to finally smell this perfume, being I'm a huge T Swift fan. I didn't love it, didn't hate it. In my opinion, it didn't really stand out to me so I don't think I would actually purchase this.

The Balm Cosmetics Stainiac

Description:

"This two-in-one lip and cheek stain gives us a natural, understated flush and helps us get out the door faster. The gel formula looks dark in the tube but delivers a sheer tint."

My Review:

I liked that this went on a lot lighter than it appeared in the tube. I really liked it on my lips and would actually consider buying it. I seem to have a preference for stains over lipsticks because I like that they seem to last a lot longer. It says it can be used on cheeks as well. I didn't try it on my cheeks and don't think that I will. My cheeks are naturally flushed and I'm always trying to minimize that.

peanut Butter Cookie Luna Bar

Description:

Each [bar] has just under 200 calories and is full of the nutrients your body needs, including calcium, folic acid, iron and vitamin D.

My Review:

While I've never had this particular flavor, I've had Luna bars before and they're really tasty! I plan to save this little treat for my flight next week :)

30x30

2012-06-14T12:45:00.002-07:00

Kate, over at the Small Things Blog as well as her sister, Lauren, at From My Grey Desk are doing this thing called the 30x30 challenge. What it is: you choose 30 pieces out of your wardrobe and thats all you can wear for a whole MONTH. At first I thought it seemed pretty simple to do. Then I realized they were including shoes and jewelry in their count of 30. The point of this is to force yourself to pair things together and make new outfit combinations out of the clothes that you already own. Sounds kinda fun, huh? I want to try to do it but I'm kind of boring. I've worn the same pair of flip flops on my feet everyday for the past month. When I dont need to dress up for work and most of my coworkers care more about cows than clothes, its hard to do. Its so easy for me to get in a slump and go to work with no make up and my hair up in a messy bun. So, my 30x30 will be a little different. I am going to, for the next 30 days, actually do my hair and makeup and look presentable. You're probably reading this thinking 'what the hell have you turned into? I do that everyday!' I know, I know, its bad! So this will be my motivation. And to keep me on track, I will take a picture of myself each day. This weekend I'll pick out my 30 pieces and start on Monday.
Also, while I'm at it, I'm not going to spend any money on clothes until August. That way, if I see something I have to have, I'll have to wait awhile to get it and if I still want it by then, I must really want it. I tend to be an impulse shopper so hopefully this will help me a lot. I get really bored at work so I start to online shop. (But, in my defense, I never ever pay full price for things. It must be on sale at some level.) So, throughout my challenge, I'll have to find other websites to occupy my time. Suggestions of blogs to read are greatly appreciated :)
Have a fabulous day!

Birthdays, Baptism, and busy-ness

2012-06-13T12:39:00.003-07:00

I haven't posted in over a week but my life has been pretty crazy to say the least. Last Wednesday, my peanut turned one. Yes, you read that right, he's one! Where the hell does the time go?! I swear the little guy was just in my tummy yesterday.
We spent his day going on all sorts of adventures. Matt picked him up from daycare around noon and met me back at our house. We went and ate at Matt's favorite place- Burritos on Broadway. After that, Jett fell asleep. We had planned to take him to the zoo but wanted to wait until after he woke up so we drove around for awhile and ended up at our friend Brian's house. Brian lives on a lake so Jett slept in the shade, Matt fished, and I worked on my tan (or lack thereof). After Matt caught a fish, we decided it was way too hot for that. As we were loading Jett into Matt's truck, he finally woke up from his nap, so off to the zoo we went. And he hated it. I mean really hated it. We looked at fish in a tank- he screamed and cried. They have peacocks walking around the grounds of the zoo and every time one came into sight, he would scream and cry. We made our way over to the petting zoo and he screamed and cried. He didn't want to sit in his stroller, he wanted to be held. Normally, that wouldn't bother me but it was hot. Very hot. I was wet with a mixture of both of our sweat. We decided it was best that we just went home. Matt and I had bought him a power wheels car for his birthday so we let him open that. Matt put it together for him and to my shock, he understood how to make it go! Matt showed him to push them button and after that, he didn't need our help- he was ready to cruise! So he rode that across the lawn for quite some time. To end our day of fun, we went to Pizza Ranch, Jett's favorite place to eat. After stuffing his face with chicken and pizza, we made our way home for the night. By that point, he was so tuckered out and ready for bed.. and he slept like 'a baby'.
On Saturday, we had a birthday party at the park. The forecast was 90 so we packed our swimsuits and towels and planned for a day in the sun. However, it was extremely windy so it didn't feel that warm. I had also purchased a bunch of cute decorations but, because of the wind, we weren't able to use them. Hopefully I'll eventually have another boy so they can be used ;) With the water being cold, we didn't end up going swimming. We just sat and socialized with everyone, ate, had cake, then opened presents. For some reason, Jett wasn't that into the cake. I couldn't get him to dig in it like I had pictured. He wanted to use a fork and didn't like getting his fingers messy. Maybe I shouldn't complain that my son doesn't like to be dirty. He is still a little too young to understand the concept of opening presents but there were plenty of other kids to help him. I think some people were a little disappointed that he didn't open the presents himself but if that would've happened, we would've been there all night! After that, Jett played with his toys and people started filing out.
We had planned on spending the night camping at the park but around 10, we had a change of plans. Jett was doing everything in his power to stay awake and we had another long day ahead of us on Sunday so we went back home. It was nice to actually get a good nights sleep, even if it wasn't for very long. My mom, being the angel that she is, got up with Jett when he woke up. Matt and I got to sleep in until 8 and then we had to go back to the campground to get all of our stuff. Its pretty sad when I consider 8 being able to sleep in! We didn't have much time to pack up our things because we needed to get home to shower and get ready for church. We finally go Jett baptized! Matt's mom had been bugging us a lot that he needed to baptized but the timing just wasn't right. My sister, Kelly is Jett's godmother so she had to be there for it. I just couldn't justify making her buy a plane ticket for that and every time she comes for a visit, we always gather in Minnesota. Obviously, because there is so much more to do there. Since everyone was coming for his birthday, I figured we might as well just get it over with. I'm glad we did it but it made for such a long weekend!! I'm still exhausted from all the planning and lack of sleep and my house is a disaster to say the least.
I had planned on writing about the day that Jett was born but this is already getting long so I will have to do that tomorrow

Riding his new toy from mommy and daddy

Some of our decorations lots and lots of cupcakes

Feeding momma the cake

Enjoying some new toys

Pooped out from a long weekend!

Have a fabulous day!

What I Made Monday

2012-06-05T08:06:00.002-07:00

Last night, I made the most awesome pizza and I made the recipe myself, which made it even better in my mind. And it was super easy- took me less than 10 minutes to make!
I have a ton of left over boneless chicken wings in my freezer so I cut those up. I realize the normal person doesn't have those on hand, so I will explain the recipe as if I'm normal.

Ingredients:
Pizza crust (either pre-made or homemade. I used pre-made)
Chicken
Buffalo Sauce
Garlic Olive Oil
Mozzarella Cheese
Bleu Cheese

1. Preheat the oven according to the directions on the packaging of the crust. Mine needed to be at 400 but that may vary depending on the brand you buy.
2. In a saucepan, boil chicken for 15 minutes, until cooked thoroughly. Once done, remove from pan and shred with two forks it in bite-sized pieces. Next, coat chicken in Buffalo sauce. (This is the step I didn't need to do)
3. Place pizza crust on baking sheet and lightly coat the top with garlic olive oil. Next, layer buffalo sauce on top of the oil. I didn't put an exact measurement because it depends on how spicy you want the pizza to be. If you prefer it to be less spicy, use less buffalo sauce but a tad more olive oil so its not dry.
4. cover buffalo sauce with Mozzarella cheese, followed by the buffalo chicken pieces. Sprinkle bleu cheese on top and add a little more mozzarella if desired.
5. Cook until cheese has melted and crust has begun to turn golden brown. Mine took about 12 minutes.

Enjoy!

I didn't to take a picture because it looked so good that I couldn't stop my hubby from eating a piece before I could grab my camera. This would be so much better if I had a photo because I'm such a visual person but you will just have to take my word for it. This is to die for! My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Give it a try and let me know what you think :)

Mint pants

2012-05-30T11:16:00.000-07:00

Whats your opinion on colored jeans?? Personally, I have always been a fan of the style, I think they are so cute! I have been holding out on buying a pair though. For one reason, I live in Watertown, SD. Not the most fashionable place on earth. I don't like to wear crazy clothes because I don't feel like they really fit in around here. Another reason is because I hate spending my money on fads. I didn't want to purchase a pair of jeans that I could wear for one season and then they would be out of season- that's just crazy talk to me!
However, they are still around and have been since the fall. I think its time I purchase a pair. I had seen a couple of cute pairs on Pinterest, and they were a minty green color. It was love at first sight. However, each picture brought me to a link for expensive jeans. I just cant justify spending a lot of money on these.
Then, two weekends ago, I was in Target with my hubby and son looking for a birthday card for his grandma. While waiting in line, I told them I would be right back, I wanted to see if any new jewelry had gone on clearance (like I need new jewelry in the first place.) I checked out the jewelry for a little while and then made my way back to the check out lanes, only to find them deserted, my husband nowhere in sight. I figured they must be looking at toys or something so I wandered to the clothes (once again, like I needed more clothes). And then I saw them, in all their glory- a pair of mint, skinny jeans!! I needed to have those jeans. I called my husband to let him know I would be in the fitting room. However, to my horror, they were already in the car waiting for me and wanted me to hurry up and get out there. How dare they check out and go outside before I'm ready?! I have a pair of earrings I want, I thought. However, we were already running for the party and I knew I better get my butt outside.
I went back the next day to get these jeans that I had fallen in love with. I thought I needed a 6 but they only had a 4. I took them to the dressing room anyways and tried them on. I was able to get them buttoned and had a little muffin top but they're pretty stretchy so I couldn't tell if they just needed to be worn for an hour and then they would be fine. The other problem- they were too short. I never have that problem! I figured I would just go online and buy them. I scoured the Target website in search for these jeans and couldn't find them anywhere! Then, I stumbled across an ad in their 'whats hot now' section. There my pants were! To my dismay the words available only in stores was written below them.
Not ready to give up just yet, I texted my sister and had her look at her Target for me. Unfortunately, the smallest size they had was a 10.
Last night I went to Target to get baby formula and decided I should check my jeans just to see if they got any more in. They had the size my sister needed but they only had a 6 in a teal color. I figured I could settle on that and took them to the dressing room. Once again, they were too short! I couldn't believe it. I ran out and grabbed a pair of 8's just to see if maybe they would work better. Once again, they were too short and these ones were also HUGE in the thighs. Not gonna work.
As I was checking out with my sister's pants and the formula I noticed something: the legs of hers were folded up! Why didn't I think of that?! This whole time, I didn't realize that these aren't supposed to be pants, they are cropped jeans! Now I felt like an idiot. I needed to leave right away to make it to my hair appointment though.
Tonight, before my softball game (which I'm hoping gets cancelled because its freezing out and looks like rain) I am going to go back to Target to re-try them on, rolled up this time. When I was talking to my sister about it last night, she brought up a good point. A lot of Target pants have the issue we refer to as saggy butt- they stretch out throughout the day and by the end of the day, you look like you're wearing a diaper. No adult female wants to look like she is wearing a diaper! She suggested I go down a size and just not wash them very often. So, now I'm going back to Target in hopes that the size 4 of mint jeans hasn't sold. Otherwise, I'll have to settle on the teal pair in the 6.

Like I mentioned above, I got my hair done last night. I'm not sure how I feel about it as its the most blonde my hair has ever been. I cant tell if I don't like it, or if I just need to get used to it. I'll let you be the judge:

Please don't pay attention to the fact that I have no makeup on.. I woke up late this morning :/

Shirt: The Limited

Birchbox!

2012-05-22T14:28:00.000-07:00

My first Birchbox came in the mail last week and I've finally found the time to write about it!

What is birchbox?
. Birchbox is an online resource that allows you to sample different make up brands, features tip and tricks from experts, and lets you buy full sized versions of samples that you love. Sounds awesome, doesnt it?! You can sign up here. When I signed up, I was on a waiting list for about a month. When it was my turn to sign up, I was emailed some log in information. From there, I entered my credit card information (its $10 a month) and went through a short survey in order to understand my beauty needs a little better. The questions asked about my skin type and color, hair type, and the best way to describe my make up style. Its really important to fill this out because its used when your samples are chosen.

My samples:
This month's theme was Gossip Girl. Being that I am slightly obsessed with that show, I was pretty excited! I got:

Arquiste L'Etrog perfume
Dr Jart+ Water Fuse Beauty Balm SPF 25
Color Club Foil Collection
Beautyblender Blendercleanser
Twistband Skinny Headband

I loved the perfume! It wasnt something I would've picked out on my own but it is one of my new favs! Too bad at $165, it wont be something I'll own in the near future. I already own a beauty balm but it will be nice to try one that is more expensive to see if it makes any difference. I havent tried this yet and am perfectly content with the one I already own so I most likely would never order this. I liked the nail polish color but I actually already own 3 different shades of gold so it wasnt anything new or necessary to come into my life. The cleanser was probably my favorite item that came in my box. I have never washed my make up brushes before (gross, I know!) so this was a nice little surprise. It smelled great and didnt leave the bristles on my brushes stiff, something I was a bit worried about. I would definately look into purchasing this. Lastly, the headband. It seems like no matter what I do, these dang things wont stay in my hair. They slowly creep back and look funny. I wont be using this but I'm sure I can hand it off to one of my friends.

The Verdict:
I want to give Birchbox one more month to impress me but so far, it hasnt done the job. The samples were a lot smaller than I was expecting. I just cant justify spending $10 on all these small objects. Especially since half of them are products I already own. Here's to hoping that next month will be better :)

I have a secret...

2012-05-21T11:13:00.001-07:00

And the more I think of it, its a little gross...

I used to RARELY wash my face. I would only wash it in the shower. Which was only every other day. So I would have 2 day old make up on it a lot of times. And would just add more make up on top of that. Its a surprise that my face isn't covered in acne. I do, however, have more than my fair share of blackheads and clogged pores.

Sometimes I would try to make washing my face a part of my nightly routine. But after soaking my entire bathroom with water, I would give up. It seemed more work than anything! Not to mention soaking the floor, I would get myself all wet in the process as well. Somehow, the water would run down my forearms and then splash my clothes as well. Annoying.

Then, I heard of the Clarisonic. Right away, I was hooked; it sounded like something I wanted to purchase right away. I pondered the purchase for almost a month as its not a cheap purpose. I wanted to make sure I was actually going to be using it before I forked out the cash. Then, I did some research.: Clarisonic makes a couple different models. There is the Clarisonic, the Clarisonic Mia, and the Mia 2. The Mia is a smaller version of the original Clarisonic and the difference between the Mia and the Mia 2 is that the Mia 2 has 2 speeds, while the Mia only has 1. After much deliberation, I went with the Clarisonic Mia (the cheapest of the 3) because I didn't think 2 speeds was really necessary and I'm always looking for ways to save space so I liked that it was smaller.

It comes in a couple different colors and I chose the light green one. When it arrived in the mail, I was so excited! Then, to my disappointment, I read the manual and discovered that it needed to charge for 24 hours. I plugged it into our bathroom and went about my evening. Right before I went to bed, even though it had only been about 6 hours, I decided to try it and luckily, it worked! And it was love at first use. I like that its so easy to use and way less messy than washing my face traditionally. It also leaves my face feeling much cleaner than it does when I just scrub it with my hands. One last thing that I like about it is that it has a timer. I get it wet, squirt on a dime-sized amount of Philosophy Purity, and turn it on. I then move it around my face in small circles until it turns off (I believe its about one minute). Ever since I bought the Clarisonic Mia, I have washed my face every night! That in itself, in my opinion, makes it worth every penny I spent.

Answers to all the questions you didnt even ask

2012-05-10T10:49:00.001-07:00

In an effort for you to get to know me a little better, i decided to post a survey I found online. I didnt realize that there were so many questions on here, so you will probably learn more than you would care to know but oh well! I'll try to answer them all as best as I can!

Name? Madeleine
Birthplace? Minneapolis, MN
Current Location? Watertown, SD
Hometown? Bloomington, MN
Nationality? Irish and a little German
Eye Color? Blue
Hair Color? Brown with blonde highlights- working on getting it more blonde for the summer :)
Height? 5'4"
Glasses or contacts? neither
Piercings or tattoos? 2 tattoos- a star on my wrist that I got with my sister and muintier (family) on my ribs. Both ears double pierced, cartilage pierced on left side, belly button
Single or taken:? taken
Siblings names (if any)? Kelly and Nate
Right Handed or Left Handed? Right
Any pets? none but when we buy a house you can bet we will buy a dog shortly after :)
Your greatest strength? ooh this is a tough one..sensing when something isn't right
Your Weakness? greasy food, putting my foot down- but I'm working on it!! I hate confrontation but I've learned I need to get over it when it comes to my son.. it is my choice what he should do, eat, etc. (can you sense the anger? I'll post more on this topic later)
Your parents names? Michael & Jody
FAVORITES
Favorite color? depends on for what.. in general- pink. For clothes- blue or black. For makeup- browns
Favorite flower? Orchids
Favorite college basketball team? I must say Duke as a default.. my husband is obsessed!
5 favorite movies and one you wouldn't want anyone to find out about? Sweet Home Alabama, The Vow, My Girl, Almost Famous, and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.. all super girly, I know.. and it took me forever to come up with that list!
Favorite holiday? Christmas.. but I'm really looking forward to my son's birthday.. so that may become the new favorite!
Your favorite pizza toppings? pepperoni, mushrooms, and LOTS of cheese!
Favorite alcoholic drink of choice? X-rated vodka with Sprite
Favorite guilty pleasure? wandering around Target, buying things I don't need
Favorite place to eat a romantic dinner? Minerva's, but I live in Watertown, SD so my choices are very limited
Favorite season? Fall!
Your favorite food? pasta
Favorite Ice cream flavor? Cookie Dough
Favorite subject(s) in school? Human Anatomy
Favorite candy? Sour patch kids
Favorite book of all time? The Help
Favorite song? Currently- Why You Wanna- Jana Kramer
You favorite park? Chutes and Ladders in Bloomington.. but you can find Jett and I at the park by the high school (I don't know if it even has a name)
Favorite place to be? at home surrounded by my family
Your favorite sport to watch on TV? baseball
Favorite TV show (Still running or ended)? oh my that's tough I love quite a few! Hart of Dixie
Your Favorite number? 9
Favorite fast food restaurant? Taco Bell
Who is your favorite Disney Princess? Cinderella
What would you consider your favorite T.V. station? E!
Favorite names for a son? Jett :)
What about favorite names for a daughter? Austyn.. don't steal it ;)
What is your favorite part of your life right now? my family
WHICH DO YOU PREFER<>
Chocolate or Vanilla? Vanilla
Scary movies or comedies? Comedy.. scary ones give me nightmares!
Short or long hair? long
Beach or lake? beach
Cowboys or Indians? cowboy
McDonalds or Burger King? Mickey D's
Pepsi or Coke: Coke
Starbucks or elsewhere? Caribou
Dogs or cats? dogs
Jay Leno or David Letterman? I'm in bed before either of those are on!
DO YOU's
Do you sing? no, you don't want to hear that..
Do you want to get married? already am, to my best friend!
Do you believe in yourself? absolutely
Do you get along with your parents? of course
Do you go to church? sometimes
Do you want children? I already have the most amazing son and cant wait until I'm ready for another! ..not anytime soon, calm down
Do you drink? not nearly as much as I used to
Do you like to travel by plane? Love to, but I don't get to do it very often
Do you like thunderstorms? only if I'm not home alone
Do you play an instrument? no but I used to!
Do you have any friends of the gay preference? yes
Do you consider yourself a party person or more apt to stay at home? stay at home
HAVE YOU EVER
Have you ever fired a gun? yes
Have you ever loved someone? I love multiple people.. my hubby, my son, my family, my friends
Have you ever been caught doing something you weren't supposed to? of course- who hasn't?!
Have you ever get so drunk you don't remember the entire night? of course
Have you ever cried for no reason? after my son was born, this happened on a daily basis!! Luckily I had a very supportive husband to help me through this
Have you ever cut your own hair? my bangs. And then I realized I should just leave this to Brittany (my stylist)
Have you ever skipped school? yes
Have you ever bungee jumped? no but its on my bucket list!
Have you ever punched someone? no
Have you ever been arrested? no
Have you ever broken into someone's house? no, that's just crazy
SOMETHING A LITTLE MORE MATURE
List your top fears: Losing the people closest to me
What bill do you hate paying the most? rent!
What did you want to be when you were growing up? an orthopedic surgeon.. I had big dreams!
How many colleges did you attend? just one but will be attending a second one this fall :)
What errand/chore do you despise? doing the dishes
A secret that you wouldn't mind everyone knowing? I'm terrified of being home alone
What is the biggest amount of money you have made from a yard sale? I've never had a yard sale but I would like to! I'm more of a craigslist/ebay gal
What are your views on marriage? it is absolutely wonderful (so far) but it is a huge commitment that I don't think people should make unless they are absolutely, 100% sure of their decision
What Hollywood star do you think resembles you best? I've heard Alexis Bledel.. I'll let you be the judge
Who from high school would you like to run into? my old girlfriends
Worst relationship mistake that you wish you could take back? being too trusting.. which in turn has made it very hard for me to trust people.. I'm a work in progress!
What famous person dead or alive would you like to have dinner with? Oprah
How do you want to die? Peacefully, surrounded by those closest to me
What do you want to achieve in life? To make a difference in the lives I've touched
How many jobs have you had? full time: 2. I've had plenty of part time ones throughout college and high school though
What are your first thoughts upon waking up? its morning already?! I feel like I just went to bed!
What goal would you like to achieve this year? buying a house, starting school
Who would you like to see right now? My sister living close enough to me that I could just drive over and hang out for a couple hours
Are you still friends with your ex's? They don't live near me but I'm sure I would be if they did
What books are you reading (if any)? The second Hunger Games book, Lies that Chelsea Handler Told Me, Comforts of the Cross
What are your regrets? I don't believe in regrets
What song best describes your love life? God Gave Me You
SOME RANDOM QUESTIONS
Do you cheer for the bad guy? no, they suck
What do you want when you are sick? my bed
What radio station is your car radio tuned to right now? country

What country would you most like to visit? Australia
How many pillows do you sleep with? 6.. and then I sleep on my husbands chest..
What is the best way you document your life? photos
WHAT'S THE FIRST THING THAT COMES TO MIND WHEN YOU HEAR....
Love and Romance... my hubby
Music... dance party
School... excitement
Politics... Obama Pictures from top to bottom: My son and I at a baby shower; the hubs and I last Halloween; my sister and I visiting a winery, the day I married my best friend

Feeling a Little Crafty

2012-05-09T11:07:00.001-07:00

This past weekend, I got the chance to spend lots of quality time with my sister. It was so much fun, I wish it could happen more often. Its so hard to live so far away from my best friend! On Sunday, the day after my wedding reception, we were feeling awfully lazy and a tad bit hungover. Not wanting to waste our time together sleeping, we decided to have a craft night!!
We went to Michael's to return some supplies left over from the wedding and picked up a couple more for our crafts. We got:

modge podge
Martha Stewart glitter paint (found here)
8x10 canvases
Freezer paper
Painter's Tape

The first project we did was make a t-shirt, following the tutorial on the Pleated Poppy. The link can be found HERE. I'm not going to go into detail on how to make it, as I don't want you to think that this was my idea. Its not. You can, however, click on her link and read how to make it for yourself!! One thing I will note is this: the point of ironing the paper to the shirt is so that the wax will melt to the shirt and stop the paint from going outside the lines. Its really important that all the edges are nice and melted, so they end up clean! I thought I had done this but there in one spot on the right side of my heart where it bled a little. Not a huge deal- and I'm sure I'm the only one who will notice, but still annoying. My advice would be that just when you think your edges are good, go over it for another 20 seconds. Rather be safe than sorry, right?
The only difference between our shirts is the colors. I found a shirt with magenta sleeves and was able to find a paint color that matched- score! I even got the shirt on clearance at Target (by far my favorite place to waste time). I wore the shirt to work today and attempted to take a picture but my arms aren't long enough so my heart just looks like a big blob but you get the idea!

Next, we did a project with wine glasses. I had gotten a set of 4 as a wedding gift. I already have a ton of plain wine glasses and couldn't figure out what store they had been purchased from. The only solution was to make them pretty! We started by putting a ring of painters tape around the fuller part of the glass. The only problem was, we couldn't get it straight! We tried for awhile when my brother walked in the room. "why do you fill water to where you want it and use that as a guide for the tape?" Genius! We better keep him around! Once we finally got our wine glasses taped, we painted. And painted. And painted (from the tape down). They needed about 3 coats total in order to get the effect we were going for. Then, in order to get them food safe, we set them into the oven. We put them in right away and turned the oven on to 350. Once it beeped saying it had reached its temperature, we took them out. I'm hoping this will make the paint last. I don't think I would trust putting them in the dishwasher, but they should still be pretty durable nonetheless.

Project #3. I had a ton of tissue paper from all the gifts from our wedding. I am so blessed to be surrounded by so many fabulous friends and family. Okay, back to the point. We ironed a couple of pieces of the white tissue paper with the heat setting at delicate, so as not to burn the paper. Once we had it all smoothed out, we cut pieces that were a little bit smaller than a sheet of computer paper. Then, we taped the tissue to the computer printer. We did this because without the paper, the tissue would rip and get caught in the printer. We chose a couple pictures we liked, and also a couple sayings, and printed them onto the tissue paper/computer paper combo. Then, very carefully, separated the two. Using a foam brush, we quickly painted a layer of modge podge onto the canvas. Then, before it dried, carefully placed the tissue onto the canvas, smoothing out the air bubbles and creases as we went along. Then, carefully, we brushed modge podge over the tissue paper. While from up close you could see a couple creases, they turned out awesome!!! It looks exactly like a canvas picture you can buy online, only much cheaper. I chose a picture of my hubby and I at our wedding and a saying that says 'always kiss me goodnight'. We hung them over our bed and it looks really nice. I'll have to try to remember to take a picture.

For the last craft of the night, I created a jar for my hairbrushes. Those of you who keep up with my blog (thanks!) know that I had been looking for a jar for my hairbrushes. I found a perfect one at a store called Bachman's. It already had a light blue hint to it, almost like it had been painted. Around the top was a little groove so I glued rhinestones all the way around. Then, I had some leftover sea glass from the reception so I glued it all over the jar. It was really fun to try to find pieces that would fit the spaces, almost like a puzzle. I ended up running out of glue sticks so its not completely finished. That reminds me, I should get it done tonight after work.

After all that, we were so exhausted and had to go to bed. We didn't even clean up after ourselves we were so tired! When Jett woke me up in the morning and we were enjoying a bottle in bed, I was thinking I was so disappointed that I didn't take pictures throughout the process! Luckily, my mom (she's a neat freak) left our mess out so I was able to snap a picture of our stuff. As you can see, we still needed to remove the paper/ tape so its not completely done but you get the idea! In the upper right corner is the beginnings of my jar project.

One other thing that we did this weekend that isn't really a craft but was too fabulous to not share with you: We painted our nails with this cool kit my sister got! The brand was Ciate and it was pretty easy to do. The only problem was that it didn't stay on for very long but it was so pretty that we didn't even mind. Part of the reason why it didn't stay on long was of course because of my obnoxious habit to pick. I love to pick at things- whether its my nail polish, finger nails, hang nails, peeling skin from a sunburn, etc, I just cant leave it alone! I know it drives my hubby nuts though so I've been trying to stop.

There are a ton of other crafts I have in mind that I would like to try to make but just don't seem to find the time. I'm thinking about dedicating one Sunday a month to crafts. One craft that I would like to accomplish is to make a new headboard for our bed. Any ideas that will make our room prettier?

Have a fabulous day :)

The Art of Styling Unruly Hair

2012-05-04T07:39:00.000-07:00

First, before I begin this post, I have a little side note: I made this really cute brush holder last night :) It's similar to ones I've seen before on Pinterest, only better (in my opinion). Plus, it was EXTREMELY easy to make! I got the glass container at the dollar store. Using a hot glue gun, I attached a ribbon along the top. Then, I stuck some rhinestones along the bottom. I had leftover letters from my scrapbooking so I used those to spell out 'make up tool'. I wanted it to say 'tools' but I didn't have the letter 's' so I had to settle with this. I stuck the letter on with adhesive dots, found here. They work really well for a variety of crafts, as they stick very well. I originally filled the container with only the balls that are gel-like (these), only I found those at the dollar store. However, after I stuck all my brushes in, they all flopped to the sides! I added some glass balls that I had around the house. They looked exactly the same as the others, only made with glass this time. This provided a stronger base, to get my brushes to stand up. Viola! That's it! How easy is that?!
While I was looking for the correct letters, I realized I had the letters for the word 'hair'. I want to find a larger jar and do the exact same thing for my hair brushes. I looked at Walmart but I could find the right one. They were either to short or not wide enough. I'll have to keep my eyes peeled until I come across one!

Anyways, the purpose of this post was going to be to go over all the products I put into my hair. Up until I graduated college, I never put product into my hair. I didn't really understand the point of it. I always thought 'I have so much hair, why would I want to add volumizer?!' Well, here's why: with product in, its not so limp around the crown and looks soo much better!! Yeah, I know, that wasn't very descriptive but I don't really know how to describe it other than fabulous!!

These are the products I put in my hair when I'm going to wear it curly. I have naturally curly hair but its needs product in order to not look frizzy.
Left to right:
-Redken Fresh Curls Anti-Frizz Shiner Cream Serum (this product is unfortunately no longer available but there are many more like it)
- Redken Fresh Curl Boost (found here)
- AG Hair Mousse Gel (found here)

I start with the serum to tame the frizziness of my hair, and it also gives it a nice shine. I apply a dime-sized amount to my entire head, starting with my roots and working it down the shaft of my hair. I then liberally spray my hair with the redken curl boost. After that, I split my hair in half (like if I was going to put it into pigtails). I apply about a golf ball sized amount of the mousse gel to each side and scrunch it up with my fingers. The most important thing I've learned about my hair is to not touch it too much. The more I scrunch it, the frizzier it will get. Therefore, I like to scrunch it while I put the mousse in but then leave it alone until its completely dry. If I time (which is rare) after its dried, I will go over parts that didn't curl so well with my curling iron. Like I said, I rarely do this and 99% of the time, it looks OK without that step.

These are the products I use in my hair when I straighten it or use rollers.
Left to right:

-It's a 10- miracle leave in conditioner (found here)
-aquage uplifting foam (found here)
-Moroccan Oil hairspray (found here)
-Moroccan oil (found here)
- Backcomb in a bottle (found here)
- kenra platinum blowdry spray (found here)

I know, I know, I put a lot of stuff in my hair. Trust me though, its worth it! So, I start by putting 'its a 10' on my hair right after I get out of the shower. I spray it liberally, aiming mostly at the ends, but also at the spots that look extremely knotted. I actually put this in my hair every time I shower so it should have been in the other picture too, oops. Then, I brush my hair with a large tooth comb. When brushing wet hair, you should never, ever use a paddle brush. This will cause your hair to break, as its at its most brittle point at this stage. Next, I apply aquage uplifting foam. I part my hair but just above my right ear, spray the part, move up about 2 inches, spray the part, part my hair down the middle, spray the part, then repeat the sections on the left side of my head. So I spray 5 times total. Then, I lift a section of the hair in the back of my head and spray that area as well. After I have as much as I want of it on my hair, I rub it into my scalp, almost like I'm shampooing it into my hair. Next, I apply a very small amount of moroccan oil to the ends of my hair. I love how soft this product has made my hair!
The last thing I do before I blowdry my hair is spray it with blowdry spray, which smells amazing by the way! I'm not sure if I'm convinced that it actually makes my hair blowdry faster or not, but I like the way it smells and it works as a heat protector as well. I am convinced however, that a nice blowdryer will make my hair dry faster! The blowdryers that you can find in stores like Target are 1875 watts. The ones that can be purchased at hair stores, such as Ulta, or online at Amazon are 2000 watts. More watts= more power, making it dry faster. I personally like the Rusk Speedfreak, but I definitely recommend purchasing a 2000 watt hair dryer. One thing I should add though: DO NOT dry your hair on the highest heat setting!!! This will cause extreme damage to your hair and completely dry it out!! When I dry my hair, I put it on the medium heat, high speed settings. That's about the only plan when it comes to drying my hair, I don't have a certain technique. Mainly, I'll alternate between flipping my head upside down and standing normally. Once my hair is dry, I'll straighten it. I don't put any products in my hair before I do this, although I probably should!
When I'm done with the straightening, I'll apply 'backcomb in a bottle' to the crown, under the top layer of hair. I'll then use my teasing comb to give my hair a little bit of lift on the top. Lastly, to finish off my hair, I'll spray it down with the hairspray. This seems to help the humidity from getting to it and keeps my flyaways tamed.
So that's it! Kind of a long list of things to do, but totally worth it!! What are the hair products that you swear by?? I'd love to know!
Have a fabulous Friday :)

Vanity

2012-04-30T11:51:00.000-07:00

As promised, here is my post on my new vanity! In my opinion, its awesome. However, I may be a bit biased. I'll let you be the judge..

A little background info, I have the smallest house in the world. With an even smaller bathroom. The only thing big in our house is the bedroom. I purchased a used desk online to put all my papers and laptop on and keep in my room. However, my husband had the brilliant idea of turning it into a vanity. Its perfect because I can neatly store all of my personal items on it, removing all the clutter from my bathroom.
It was actually pretty simple to make so if you like the idea, I highly suggest you make your own!

The desk (I have no idea the style number, brand, etc) had a backing that was extremely thin so the first thing we did was screw a thicker piece of plywood behind it. We did this so that it would be strong enough to hold the mirror. We found a $12 mirror at Menard's that is meant for above a sink. Its nice because its extremely simple, like we were looking for, but opens to provide a little bit more storage. We also found a strip light there for around $20. I really like that the light turns on when you touch a sensor, so its really easy to turn on in the dark! Its centered above the mirror to give me plenty of lighting when applying my makeup. On the right side, the desk has a long door with 2 shelves behind it. We put a power strip on the bottom shelf so I could hide all my cords but still be able to plug them in. The top shelf holds my rollers and brushes while the bottom is home to my curling iron, straightener, and blow dryer. For now, my make-up sits on the keyboard drawer. I don't really like it in that spot but it works for now. On the shelving behind the mirror I keep the things I use daily (deodorant, face lotion, makeup remover, etc). There are a couple slots that would normally hold Cd's. This is where I keep my headbands and a few other random pieces. On the desk itself I have a bin holding my hair products and a holder for makeup brushes. Oh I almost forgot! Along the sides of the mirror, we put hooks to hang my necklaces!

Top: Everything is a little hard to see but I wanted a picture showing the light above the mirror
Bottom: I opened the doors so you could get the full effect

High Five For Friday!!!

2012-04-27T14:58:00.000-07:00

So, I really really love this blog called the Small Things Blog. I stumbled across her blog while looking at hairstyles on Pinterest and ever since then, I've been hooked! If you haven't yet, you should totally check it out when you have a chance! Anyways, through reading her blog, I've started reading her sister, Lauren's blog (From My Grey Desk). Lauren does this thing where she links up with other bloggers on Fridays and I figured I would link up with her today (even though the day is over halfway over)

So.. the 5 highlights of my week were:

1. On Monday night we arrived back home to South Dakota from our cruise. NO, being in South Dakota was not the highlight! However, seeing my son after almost a week was! He was surprisingly still awake and he did the funniest thing when my husband and I walked in the door of my friends house. She was holding him and he kind of looked at us, looked away, looked at us, looked away. Almost as if he couldn't believe his eyes. Then his face lit up and the squealing and the flailing arms started. And then the tears from mama came. It was such a joyous moment and I cant even explain how excited I was to be able to hold my little guy again!!

2. Tuesday Matt and I both had off work and spent the day unpacking and doing laundry. We also got MY LAST NAME CHANGED :) I'm officially an Engen, my drivers license says so! And, surprisingly, I didn't even have to wait for long at the DMV or the Social Security office! The name-change-Gods must have known I had better things to do that day.

3. I had softball practice and it was gorgeous outside!! I love being able to be active on summer nights and being able to do it with my friends makes it that much greater. Were definitely not the best team but we have a good time and hopefully we will continue to do better before our games start.

4. Matt built me a vanity. It is hands down the coolest thing I have ever seen. I have the worlds smallest duplex. We want to move desperately, but with everything going on right now, we are waiting a little bit to move. We have one bathroom that's so small, only one person can be in it at a time. The sink has no counter space for anything. And I have a lot of things. More than the normal girl. Because of this, I have filled the cabinet below it. Poor Matt only gets room for his toothbrush and he knows better than to try to come in there an hour before were going somewhere. We do, however, have a rather large bedroom. I had purchased a used desk from someone in town and set it up in the corner of our bedroom. I figured I would just use it for our laptop and my piles of paper that are useless but I don't dare throw away, just in case. Matt had a better idea. He installed a large medicine cabinet on the back wall of the dresser and put a long, strip of light above the mirror. The light turns on when you touch a sensor, how genius is that?! He then hung all my necklaces along the sides of the mirror, and put my jewelry tree on the top (yes, I decided to buy it) along with my million bottles of lotion. It has a long door on the side and inside are 3 shelves. He put a plug-in strip on the bottom shelf and my blow dryer, straightener, curling iron, and rollers on the other shelves. Now all I need to do it organize my makeup on it. I also want to find a cool vintage chair at a garage sale and reupholster it. I'm sure he did it so I would stop taking over the bathroom. Whatever the reason, I'm in love with it. And it made me so thankful to be in love with the incredible, thoughtful man. I'll post pictures after I have it organized this weekend!

5. The last fabulous thing of the week hasn't happened yet. Its actually happening tonight so I figured it still counts: I'm going to a Pampered Chef party!! I've never been to one before and I'm really excited! I love to cook, but its a new love. I'm just getting into and love to try out new recipes. I don't have a lot of kitchen tools (partly because I don't have the space), but I'm starting to expand my collection. I cant wait to share with you my new finds! Hopefully I don't spend too much :)

Have a fabulous weekend everyone!! Remember to be thankful for the things you have and try to focus on the positive aspects on life!

Wedding

2012-04-27T08:28:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted for a few days because I was gone for my wedding!!! Matt and I got married last Thursday aboard a Carnival Cruise ship. I was a little nervous that it wouldn't be what I had pictured in mind and that I wouldn't like it. However, everything went smoothly and we really enjoyed it! When we arrived to the port, we were able to move to the very front of the line and check in right away, where the wedding coordinator was waiting for us. She then led my family and I to my room where I changed and got ready for the ceremony. She then met me at the room when it was time to go and led me to the where the ceremony was. Everything went off without a hitch and it was awesome. The one problem we encountered was that they didn't have the song we had chosen for our first dance so instead we danced to "Marry Me" by Train. With that being the one thing that went wrong, I'll take it! We had a nice spread of food and it seemed that everyone enjoyed themselves. After the reception, we were taken by the photographer to various locations around the ship to take pictures. Then, we had to meet in our muster area (where we would go if something were to go wrong on the ship) and had to do some practice drills. It was extremely hot and I felt like everyone was staring at us. It was a little uncomfortable. I had originally planned on staying in my dress for the whole night but after the muster drill, I was ready to get out of that thing! I'm looking forward to being able to put it on one more time for our reception next weekend. We are having a dance for our family and friends that weren't able to attend the wedding at a hotel. It will be pretty casual, were only serving hors d'uerves and its pretty much just a chance to get both of our families together! It should be a good time!
My sister is in the works of starting a party planning business and she is just awesome at everything involved in planning a party. From the organization aspect to the decorations, she is a genius! She made these really cool pomander balls for the bridesmaids at our wedding since we couldn't use real flowers. Aren't they neat?! I could never in a million years make something like that! We've also made a couple more decorations for the reception and I cant wait to get it all set up! Here are a couple pictures of the decorations I have so far. What do you think? I'm such a perfectionist and had such an idea in my head of how I wanted everything to look that I just had to make all the decorations. Had I purchased them, I don't think that would look quite like I had envisioned. Would you prefer to make your own decorations or is it too much hassle?

The "I DO" will obviously be turned so that its going the right direction. I'm just not computer savvy enough to figure out how to do that. Anyways, this will be propped up on the gift table. The picture to the right is slightly difficult to see (and don't mind my multiple wine glasses) but its a blue wine bottle with seashells hanging down and the top is wrapped in twine. I plan to set these out among the food tables. The last picture is a little project I found on Pinterest, my absolute favorite site! I dyed mason jars blue, put a ribbon around the top, and put a bow in the middle with a rhinestone in the center. I am planning on putting sea glass in the bottom of the mason jars, filling them with water, and putting a floating candle in them. These jars will go on the tables. We were able to get a really good deal on a DJ and he seems like a really cool guy so I'm excited about that! He has these neat up-lights that will illuminate the walls so that should brighten the place up. All in all, I'm pretty excited for the reception. It sounds pretty negative but, I'm kind of excited for it all to be over as well. I'm ready for life to return to normal and not have to worry about all this planning. However, my mind can never rest so after the wedding planning, we will move onto planning to buy a house! How exciting, and of course I will fill you in with all the details :)

Add a little sparkle!!

2012-04-16T09:38:00.000-07:00

I have a ton of clothes. I may even have (gasp!) too many clothes. But the thing is, I have some clothes in my closet that I have had for at least 5 years. I just cant bring myself to throw them away. I always think 'well someday I will wear that'. However, I have come to the conclusion that if I can only see myself wearing something for a specific occasion, it needs to go. The first thing I did to organize my clothes a little better was have my fiance go through my closet. Initially, this seemed like a nightmare. Now he would know all the clothes I really have!! And he would see that some of them even still have the tags on them! However, I had a theory. We have lived together for a year and a half and have dated off and on for a course of over 5 years so I figured, if he's never seen me wear something, it was time to donate it! He pulled out about 20 tops that haven't been worn in forever and a few that he said "you should never wear this". Apparently we have different tastes in fashion!
My sister, who is the most fabulous person I've ever met, came to stay with me for about a month last summer when Jett was born. One thing that she pointed out was that I have a TON of solid colored t-shirts. She pointed out that while I had all these plain shirts, I didn't really have anything that was patterned! So, since then, I have been trying to go out of my comfort zone and purchase clothes that have some sort of pattern or design on them. I've caught myself a couple times with a solid v-neck in my hand at the store but stopped myself and thought, "no more solids"!! For St Patricks Day, my friend Heather and I wanted to wear something green. We went to Target and searched but I didn't really see anything that caught my eye. As she dropped me off at home, I told her I knew I had a green shirt and I would text her a picture. I had 6 plain green shirts! Granted they were all different shades but that is a little ridiculous! As you can see, it was time to downsize my wardrobe.
One thing I have been trying to do is incorporate jewelry into my outfits. I think it makes everything look put together better and almost gives me a more finished look. Also, for some reason, whenever I wear jewelry I feel more dressed up and I must say, I like the feeling! I have a a cute little necklace hanger on the wall in my bedroom and that really helps me to remember them to have them in plain sight. However, I keep my earrings and bracelets in a drawer. I never think to take a look at them and so they rarely get worn. I've been trying to make a conscious effort to remember to wear these. Today, I chose this bracelet to go with my black shirt:

I'm not sure yet how I feel about the black ribbon that came with it but I can always take it off. At first, it was a little hard to get used to typing at work with it on but I really liked what it added to my outfit. I felt like it made it not appear quite so boring.

I was looking at the Target website and came across this jewelry holder. Its not very expensive and I thought it would be a cute way to display the rest of my jewelry on top of my dresser without making it look cluttered. I haven't completely decided if I for sure want to buy it though so I think I'm going to wait until after I get back from my cruise to decide. That way I will have more time to think about it. It can be found: here.

Where do you normally display your jewelry? Are you like me where if its tucked away you forget about it? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Mid life crisis at 24?

2012-04-11T09:01:00.000-07:00

To say I'm unhappy at my job would be an understatement. To begin, its a 45 minute commute each way. On top of that, I work 10 hour days. Which equals a VERY long day. Especially for someone with a small child. Its frustrating that I leave for work before he wakes up and am only home for about an hour and half before its time to put him to bed. Also, its not challenging. Not even a little bit. I answer the phone with the same greeting, enter numbers into a computer, and mail invoices out to customers at the end of the day. It makes me feel like a robot. Lastly, I know absolutely nothing about the products I'm selling. I am from the city. In fact, I have never once stepped foot onto a farm. Yet I sell feed to farmers. They call and ask me questions and I think to myself "if only you knew the girl you're asking this to, you would surely giggle". At the beginning I figured, how hard can it be? I'm a fast learner, I'll catch on! I was wrong. I don't know what the problem is; maybe because I have no interest in learning this type of stuff. Or maybe its that I cant visualize what I'm trying to learn so I just cant wrap my brain around the idea. Either way, after a year and a half, I have decided this is a lost cause. I need to move on.
I applied for the nursing program at the local community college, took a test and was accepted!! I was so overjoyed, I couldn't wait to start! Then, reality set in. Since I have already received a Bachelor's degree, I don't qualify for financial aid. Any. Isn't that a bummer. On top of having to take out a loan to pay for the schooling, I don't know how on earth we will make ends meet financially with me not working. Matt and I have been trying to buy a house for some time now and that presents another problem: our bills are going to increase, with our income will be cut in half. I'm no math genius, but even I know that doesn't add up!
Another thought I had was I should do daycare! Wouldn't that be wonderful? I could stay home all day with Jett and watch a couple other kids to make some money! Then I started thinking of the logistics of it: I would first need our new house to have the space for this. Also, being that I would be working at home, I would never leave work. I would constantly be doing something for work and would never be able to leave the stress of it all. my mind kept wandering and I thought about other kids. What if they were so misbehaved I couldn't handle them? Then I would have to deal with letting the parents know that this isn't working. I hate confrontation. I avoid it if at all possible. Shoot, it doesn't sound like this is the right path for me either.
A couple days ago, I was at the gym (yes, I gave it another try), and my friend Ryan was training me. He was saying how they will be hiring another personal trainer soon and all I would need to do is get certified online. Since I already have a background in health with my schooling, this would be the perfect job for me! Then, my mind starting running. I would be working off commission, so I have no idea how much money I would be making. The certification is $500(!!) so I would be spending a lot of money on this. What if I didn't like it?
I wish there was a crystal ball for me to look in or someone to tell me what I should do that will make me the most happy in the long run. Unfortunately though, nobody has the answers. I think with everything, there will be pros and cons. I need to stop thinking of all the negative aspects and think about how each choice will positively affect the lives of my family. At this point, I'm thinking of doing the personal training and go to school. If I get certified now, I can keep doing it while I am in school and who knows? Maybe I'll keep doing it on the side after I become a nurse! So, that's the plan for now. Ask me tomorrow what my plan is- I'm sure it will change :)
What about you? What risks have you taken in your life? Did they turn out the way you had hoped or did it turn into something you regretted?
I'm going to end with two of my favorite quotes:

"Everything happens for a reason..Sometimes things fall apart so other things can fall together, but in the end whats meant to be-will always find a way"

"Never regret anything because at one point, it was exactly what you wanted"

Have a fabulous day :)