A Fairytale Lifestyle

Blogtober '14 | I'm an expert at...

2014-10-17T10:00:00.000-04:00

Blogtober14 is a challenge hosted by Taylor and Helene! I'm all for challenges and I thought this would be really fun. If you'd like to join in, the daily prompts will be listed below for each day.

Day 17 | I'm an expert at...

The word expert sort of scares me it makes me think that you are unfailable at something and when it comes to me I don't really think I'm unfailable at anything. I mean most nights I even fail to sleep. But I know it Filipino terms they use it as someone who's good at something. Not even like amazing just good.

I suppose if I had to choose... I'd say I'm an expert at FreeCell. Does that sound weird? Of all things... FreeCell. Yes! It's true!

I remember the first time I saw it. I use to be really into Solitaire in middle school and I'd usually be playing instead of filing like I was suppose to during the office hour so I was pretty pro at that by the time I saw FreeCell. My dad frequently took me and my brother to Costco, just to look around and get samples and stuff. My dad was always one to look at the laptops because back in the 90's they were kind of a weird thing. And I remember one day he pulled up FreeCell randomly on the laptop and started playing. Curious I asked what it was and how do you play. So he taught me. When I first started I literally did not grasp the concept and I was SO frustrated!

Who remembers the AOL dial up days? And you'd use IE cause you SWORE it ran faster, plus when you'd get kicked off of AOL and you were in the middle of a blog post... well you lost pretty much... everything and that was NEVER fun. So who actually remembers how slow dial up was? Uh yeah. I'm a fairly impatient person. Always have been, always will be #noshame and so to distract myself from watching the loading bar I'd often play FreeCell. In fact, I played it so much it got to the point where I'd win literally every single game I played.

Then we got DSL and well my FreeCell days were over. I've recently found myself playing it again like when I'm on business or conference calls. And I'm still pretty good at it. Not amazing like I once was but still pretty good. Besides that, I can also be caught playing Bejeweled on my phone and especially Bejeweled Butterflies! I'm a sucker for puzzle games. Even before I knew that they were good for your brain.

What are you an expert at?

Blogtober...?

2014-10-06T17:49:00.000-04:00

I accidentally somehow stumbled on a hashtag called Blogtober which is sort of like Vlogmas, you blog every single day in the month of October. And if you know me, you know I'm one to attempt as many challenges as I find interesting! But of course I hadn't found out about this until now so, we're starting with today!

So today I'm gonna do a bit of recap on things going on or has gone on....

The thing that depresses me abut living in Florida is that we don't actually get Fall. It's pretty much summer without the rain during "Fall". So I try to surround myself with as much Fall themed places as I can!

We recently moved to a bigger apartment, so that's exciting except the part where we have to unpack and find a place for everything. Things are still scattered around and I need to find them a home. All the Fall foods are out --- the Pumpkin Spice Lattes (I get it in Frapp), the Pumpkin cookies from Panera Bread and their Autumn Squash Soup they also brought in a new flatbread sandwich with turkey, cranberry and spinach and it. is. amazing. Seriously. Paired with the Squash Soup? It's like Fall, literally in your mouth!

We went to the annual Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party in Magic Kingdom and thankfully it didn't start down pouring until we were about to leave. But since it had been raining earlier that afternoon, the floor was too wet to let out the Headless Horseman for fear that the horse may had slipped. Which sucks, cause that's my favorite part of the Boo To You Parade. We still managed to get a lot of candy and I got to take lots of pictures in my costume. Yes! I dressed up this year! As a Scarecrow! I was standing in front during the parade and I love waving to the characters. The Mad Hatter actually came up to me and says, "are you a scarecrow?" and I was like "yes, I am!" and he goes "okay scare me then!" and Alice goes "don't listen to him!" and I go ".... boo!" and he goes "she's not so scary." and I thought it was funny cause that's how part of the parade song goes. I'm always amazed at how the people who play Mad Hatter nail it so well! The day after I found about 7 mosquito bites on my legs and they all ended up scaring. The one on my arm actually turned into a bubble and I've never really had that happen before. My bites usually just turn into pimples almost and just go away. But now they tend to bubble and they scar. So yeah, now I have a scar on my arm and 7 others on my legs. Great. Right? Sigh.

There was an earthquake back home which isn't too uncommon but this was a pretty big one. I think it was a 6.0 and it was 3 miles away from St. Helena. Which if you know anything about NorCal is incredibly close to both Napa and Vallejo. Most of Napa lost their wine and the stores in American Canyon were pretty much trashed as well. My mom said that everything was fine back home, nothing really fell or anything. I'm still scared to see my room when I get home. I bet everything has fallen over and I wouldn't be surprised if there was broken glass or a broken lamp somewhere. Ugh. And parts of downtown Vallejo were damaged as well. This is the first time that we've had an earthquake so close to us. Usually it comes from the San Fran side, not Napa Valley. The whole week they had aftershocks and just the other day I saw there was another earthquake, a 3.0 near Livermore. It's so insane to see all these quakes on my side of the area. Just because in the whole 25+ years we've lived there there hasn't been one so close to home. I'm glad that everyone at home is okay and the girls are okay and Joy is okay.

I honestly don't know what else I'll be blogging about if I'm being completely honest. I sort of just... jumped into this haha! But I will be talking about a ton of Fall stuff and I still have a haul to edit and post as well as another haul to film.

I'm working on my Halloween Book Challenge, I haven't finished any books yet and I really need to get my ass in gear because I have a looooong list to get through! Other than that, starting a Mythology class tomorrow which I'm really excited about and trying to keep my head above water. I've sort of crawled under a rock recently and I know I should probably crawl out, but I'm just trying to handle everything I can one day at a time.

So what have all of you been up to? Enjoying Fall? Any plans for Halloween?

Let's reflect...

2014-07-14T16:23:00.000-04:00

Yes that is me. Yes that is me looking over my favorite place on Disney property. Can you figure out where it is?

I have been flashing this image that I made some time late last year in my face all week long because... well, I guess I should tell you where I've been. All three of you.

The last three months I have been sucked into a really really really dark place that was full of jealousy and hatred and anxiety and just all sorts of bad bad feelings. I was depressed to the point where I would hardly go to work, I was failing all my classes and I literally did not give a shit if I got out of bed at 3PM.

That is never okay with me.

We do NOT stay in bed until 3PM. EVER.

But I was just in a really dark place and I felt like I was drowning, my life was literally flipped inside out and I didn't know what to do and there was broken glass all over my apartment floors and I was just a big heap of sobbing mess.

So about a week and a half ago I bit the bullet and did something I told myself I wouldn't do, because I'm stronger than that. But there's no sense in asking for help if you really really need it. Right? So for the last few days I've been on this really crazy journey on getting back to who I was, on healing myself mentally, on taking control of my OCD and my taking my life back and for the most part it's been pretty smooth. I did have a few days of extreme depression but I'm okay now and I'm hoping it'll stay steady this way.

I'm taking this month off of everything to just relax. To heal. To get better. Because honestly, in the last ten years since I've struggled with OCD I never actually took the time to just STOP and SLOW DOWN and RELAX. So along with that, I've been reflecting a lot on who I am and what I want from life and where to go from here.

I've had plenty of idea's of what to do with this blog. I created it as a lifestyle blog that would had followed me into living on my own for the first time ever and that didn't really work out. And now I'm moving into a new place fairly soon and I hope hope hope that I do manage to remember to take this blog on that journey with me into making it my own personal cozy nest.

Because let's be real. Who wouldn't want to come home to nice cozy nest?

I have started another blog about my journey only because it's open and raw and I decided not to hide anything when it comes to it. You'll be exposed to my demons, my struggles and my crazy bat shit mind. So if you're interested in that sort of stuff, let me know in the comments below or email me and I'll link you over!

Also, if you have any tips to share when it comes to learning how to relax please also do share those. Relaxing has never really been my thing. Probably why I don't sleep at night. I've started Mindful Meditation (which I'm still convinced I'm doing it wrong) and bits of Yoga to help me sleep but I feel like there should be more I should be doing.

Motivation Monday

2014-06-30T16:21:00.001-04:00

I woke up to a rough morning. Which is why it's now 4PM and I'm just now writing this post. And I have about ten minutes to do so before my friend picks me up to get lunch/dinner.

My marriage hasn't been all that spiffy the last two months and it's honestly killing me. I've been meaning to talk about it but I just never know really what to say. I mean, I know things I could say but for some reason every time I open up a new blog post it's like... nothing. Nothing wants to be written. And it's frustrating because this is, after all, a lifestyle blog where I'm allowed to talk about anything having to do with my life. Right?

I've been trying to do my best to keep up my end of the bargain as far as making sure things are fixed between us but sometimes I fall off the wagon and I need to remember that I'm still a work in progress and it's okay. I'm human. I'll fall, but as long as I get up, that's all that matters.

So I thought I would post this today, because it reflects something I need to remember. Hopefully it helps someone else out there as well.

Have a good week everyone.

Motovation Monday

2014-06-16T10:00:00.000-04:00

[ credit: Pinterest ]

Whoot! It's Monday!

Who's excited?

Yeah, me either.

I'll be at work by the time this is posted and I'll probably be leaning on the wall trying not to fall asleep.

Haha.

But I found this quote over the weekend on Pinterest while I was researching some Yoga and Meditation stuff and thought I could use this reminder this morning and maybe some of you could too.

It's easy to get swept up in problems and things that go our way or drama at work, in our personal lives or even just the demons that play in our minds. It's easy to forget our worth, it's easy to lose sight of positivity and the good things in life. Isn't that strange? How the negativity is so much more bolder and heavier than the positivity? Ever wonder why that is? Perhaps misery loves company is more than just a phrase. It's easy to get swept away in our problems which in turn end up ruining our entire weekend or week or month or even year. And it's hard to think that these problems are just illusions in our own minds. Like, what does that even mean?! Surely the fact that my husband did something dumb is not an illusion. Cause hello, IT REALLY HAPPENED.

But I think what it's really saying is that to a certain extent is an illusion because we, as people, are capable of controlling how we react to these problems. Yes the easier thing to do is to let the problem manifest and consume us, to focus all of our attention and energy on this problem and ditch the idea of being productive because we're so distracted. The harder thing to do is to understand the issue and to not let it get to you. But what type of level of understanding do you need? I guess that's up to you.

You could let your problems consume you or you can understand the situation and not let it control you.

Clearly, that's way easier said than done.

And it's something that I myself am working very hard on remembering. It definitely takes practice and patience and constant reminders.

But friends, I hope you have a wonderful and happy Monday and a wonderful productive rest of the week!

Hello April

2014-04-01T14:02:00.002-04:00

[ credit: weheartit.com ]

Whoo! It's finally April! My birthday month!

I actually called out of work today because I've been struck with allergy flu-like symptoms since last Thursday night. Thankfully I'm feeling much better than I did this passed weekend and I can finally feel whatever this is leaving my system! I swear, the east coast gives me the weirdest allergy reactions!

It's also April Fools Day and I don't know about everyone else but I was never really a fan of April Fools. Now that I'm much older, I hate it even more. I just see it as an excuse for people to be assholes and place blame on the fact that "it's April Fools Day" yeah well that punch I threw to your face was no joke! Watch it! But really, it's just dumb in my opinion. All these fake headlines and fake news. I mean come on, you're going to post that you got engaged then end it with April Fools! in the end who really looks like the fool? The person who fell for it or the person who thought it would be entertaining to make a fool of THEMSELVES?

Anyway...

I'm not going to give myself some epic to do list this month because my head has been in the clouds since this year started and that alone has been frustrating. I like being organized and on top of my stuff. I didn't even realize my own birthday was next week so I wasn't able to make the plans I wanted to. Oh well. Maybe next time. So instead I'm settling for something small. I don't know, after 21 your birthday isn't that big of a deal anymore. Besides, I don't live in Cali anymore so there isn't really anything to do here in Florida and I don't really want to spend my birthday at Disney World. I really wanted to go to Vegas, it's going to be my second year not going for my birthday and that's just depressing.

But here are some things I hope to dabble into this month... no pressure though!

Finish reading City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
Review 3 NetGalley titles
Tidy up my half of the living area mess
Tidy up desk
Be happy on my birthday!
Start buying flowers
Craft something.... anything
Try out one new recipe
Come up with a better income management plan
Write "About Me" pages for blogs
Facebook less
Blog more

So that's about it folks! I've been major slacking with finishing City of Glass even though I flew through the first two books because OMG Clary is pissing me off so hardcore in this one! So much in fact that I'm looking forward to Simon's chapters! Goodness, she's like gone off into Bella lala land and it's just annoying.

I better get something to eat and get started on my next class readings.... I hope to come up with more content for this blog, I know it's a lifestyle blog so technically I can write about anything. I'm just being picky!

What are some things you hope to get done this month?

Motivation Monday

2014-02-17T10:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome to another Monday!

I feel like this quote as been following me around since NaNoWriMo. You spend days putting together your novel before writing it and making sure everything is perfect knowing that when you go in to write it... well that's not really how it works. Then you freak out. Followed by procrastination because what the heck is even going on anymore?! And finally you shelf the project. This doesn't have to go for just writing, it can go for anything in life.

We're always waiting in the sense that we're waiting for the right time (wanna know a secret? there's no such thing as a "right time"). Or the right idea. Or if you're like me, you're constantly waiting for inspiration. There's a quote that's like "Don't wait for inspiration, go get it." like, what does that even mean? Is there a magical inspiration field I don't know about where I can gather handfuls of inspiration?

No matter what the issue is, waiting is going to solve none of them. You're going to wait your life away before making any progress.

What's something you've been waiting for "the right moment" to do?

Review | Nice! Disinfectant Wipes

2014-02-11T10:00:00.000-05:00

One day I was running out of disinfectant wipes and these things are like, my life. I can't function unless I know I have them around (has to do with my OCD). So M went out to go get more for me but they were out of Lysol, which is the ones I've been using for years and he comes home with... this.

At first I was a little ehh thinking that you know, these are store brand, they can't possibly work as good as the legit Lysol ones... right?

The problem with the Lysol wipes is that the liquid is so strong that it strips my hands of all its moisture depending on how often I use them (and I mean, per day). So it irritates the eczema on my hands and it even got to the point once where my fingertips were so dry and messed up I couldn't touch fabric like silk for months because it would catch on my skin. I know, that should be a sign that maybe I should stop using them, right? But again, OCD. Your mind can really be your worst enemy sometimes.

Ever since that day though, that he came home with these I've been hooked. I don't know what it is about these that I suddenly prefer but I refuse to go back to Lysol. These are less harsh on my hands, they're cheaper and they work just as good, if not better. The only problem is that since they are store brand you can only find them at Walgreens.

I use to reach for the lemon scented ones but now I just get the regular ones. And I'm pretty happy with them.

I've tried a number of Nice! products and so far I've been extremely pleased with the majority of them.

Motivation Monday

2014-02-10T10:00:00.000-05:00

[ discovered on Addicted To Success Facebook page ]

If there is one thing that peeves me it's when people spend the majority of their time discussing other people. What this person is wearing, how over/under weight they are, the sound of their voice. Whatever.

I get that everyone has an initial opinion of someone, that's natural. Over it's out of shock or awe. But there's a difference between voicing these opinions or just letting them go. Obviously if you admire something about someone and you just have to say something, by all means. But I don't believe in walking up to someone (especially someone you don't know) and saying something nasty based on your initial opinion of them. Nor do I understand the need to continue bringing it up days later.

Perhaps it's just me? I don't spend a lot of time judging other people because they have nothing to do with my life. I'm too busy focused on my hustle, too focused on improving myself to worry about who's doing what with their own lives.

Your opinion of someone else doesn't reflect them, it reflects you. Remember, big minds discuss ideas and small minds discuss people.

Just something to think about.

Let's spend some time this week focused on ourselves rather than focused on someone elses life.

Freebies Round Up (2)

2014-02-09T15:15:00.002-05:00

I know it's been awhile since I've posted one of these but I haven't really been hunting for samples lately.

But there's some pretty great things I got lately!

LE Oreo in Marshmallow Crispy
Gain Fireworks in Original
Emergen-C in Super Charge & Citrus
Folgers Gourmet ground coffee in Vanilla Biscotti
Coupon for free 12 pack of Coca-Cola *not pictured

I'm incredibly excited to try the new Oreo's, I ironically bought the Cookie Dough ones the night before I got this package and I did not like them so I'm hoping the Marshmallow Crispy will be different. Also I totally thought the Folgers sample I was going to get was of like an actual Biscotti... it's funny because I pulled out the sample and felt the package and thought oh no my Biscotti got crushed up in the mail! and I read the package and realize it was actually ground coffee... whoops. Haha.

Do you look out for free samples? Where are some of your favorite places to get them?

Motivation Monday

2014-02-03T10:00:00.000-05:00

[ credit Pinterest ]

It seems like a lot of people hate Mondays and I never really understood the deal with that... I've always loved Mondays! But I've also always worked weekend jobs so you know, Mondays meant the weekend was over. Plus I'm one of those people who hate going out on the weekends because everyone is going out on the weekend. Can I just find a parking spot so I can get my damn box of tampons and go? Goooooooooodness.

So I came up with this weekly feature called Motivation Monday because I know some people could use it. And as far as doing blog work, some Mondays I need it too! But really, I come across all these motivational quotes and things and I needed a reason to share it haha.

~*~

When it comes to chasing your dreams it can be a bit intimidating. Especially if you don't know what the heck you're even doing or where to begin and there's no one there to help you. Everything might seem like a big fat fail at the moment because you're just starting out. And it shouldn't be that way, you should look at these things as stepping stones because in reality, that's what they are. They're blocks for your to step on as you learn your way around.

But maybe something just isn't really working out the way you want, at all. No matter how you try to twist and turn it. Maybe this particular project just isn't fully developed yet and maybe in some other aspects of your life goals and situations could just be a fail and there's no way around it.

So. You can do one of two things: you can give up (and spend your life wondering what if) or you can pick yourself back up and try again.

That's the beauty with life, there's never really a final say in things.

So next time you feel like you've failed at something, remember that you haven't. You've just hit another stepping stone.

New Layout!

2014-02-02T15:18:00.000-05:00

Looks a little different around here, doesn't it? :)

I got a new layout done by the wonderful Stephanie over at Hopeless Romantics! This is the second time I've worked with her and it's always such a pleasure! She's totally understanding and patient with whatever you're requesting or requesting her to change.

So if you're looking for a new layout, I totally recommend her!

Thank you so much again Stephanie!

Now to get started on those Valentines Day posts....

Bonjour Février!

2014-02-01T10:00:00.000-05:00

[ made with Rhonna Designs & Studio app ]

Ahh, the beginning of a new month. There's always something refreshing about new beginnings. Is it just me? And there's a lot to look forward to in February --- Valentines Day (who doesn't love seeing pink and red everywhere? There's something that just lifts your mood!), the beginning of Spring, warmer weather, new makeup and fashion launches...

And with every new month I do that thing to myself... where I make a list of goals I may or may not accomplish but it's okay! There is nothing wrong with wanting to work towards something.

Get back into the habit of sleeping & waking up at a specific time
Discover 2 new products
Attempt to make homework the first priority of the week
Come up with Valentines Day posts and videos
Tidy the living area
Make a lightbox
Build that dresser
Read more!
Learn how to knit
Fix up "About Me" pages
Make homemade Gum Drops
Stay focused

That's not too bad... I think I can live with this list. I really need to start sleeping early again and forcing myself to wake up at a certain time instead of constantly hitting the snooze button. I always start my day off late and honestly, it irritates me.

→ I want to discover at least 2 new products this month mostly because I don't have a January favorites to film since I didn't really discover much. While I have a few products to talk about, I don't have enough to make it worth making a video for and that kinda sucks.

→ I want to tidy our living area because it's been a mess since... we moved here and it keeps getting worse! We have no storage space at all in our tiny apartment but that doesn't mean that clutter can just build anywhere. I need to get more storage boxes from Target if anything and just start throwing things in a box or away if I really have no use for them.

→ With that, I also want to tidy it so I can have a place for my light box! Right now I'm just using a desk with left over pretty Christmas garland bunched up and while that's fine, it doesn't give me a big enough range to shoot.

→ I reallyyyy want to learn how to knit those beanies I love so much. I think that'll be fun! I need to fix up my "About Me" pages for all my blogs. I have one blog where I haven't updated it since 2010. Yeah. Crazy right? So I need to fix that. I kind of feel like your about me page is sort of like a resume. For your blog.

→ I came across this recipe for homemade Gum Drops. I've never had Gum Drops. But I love homemade confections. And anything rolled in powered sugar so... why not?

→ I lost my focus a bit towards the end of last month because hubby got the flu and I spent a ton of time waiting for it to hit me (which it never did, thank goodness) and I think that in itself caused me to waste a lot of time so this month --- stay focused!

What are some of your goals for this month?

Review | Minted.com

2014-01-28T10:00:00.000-05:00

Minted.com is a easy to navigate website that allows you to fully control and customize everything from family holiday cards to birth and wedding announcements and even journals and party supplies!

I first heard of minted.com when a recently engaged friend of mine was sent a stack of samples of from their wedding invitation collection and there were a bunch of gorgeous ones to choose from! I honestly wish I had known about this site (wait, was this site around in 2009? I have no idea... but if it was!) when I was looking for wedding invitations of my own! I ordered mine from Party City and yeah, the quality wasn't that great. Plus it was super expensive. And I had two cards missing, yeah. Really. Not only does minted.com offer invitations in card form but you can also order them as magnets (what a cute idea!) or postcards! I'm digging the first and third on the first row and the third on the second row. Well I am getting re-married sometime within the next five years so... I think I'll just go ahead and grab myself a sample bundle!

Another cool thing they offer is birth announcements and they have some adorable templates you can check out here!

How cute are these templates?! I'm totally digging the second and the third one on the first row. Would it be weird to have puppy announcements? I mean, they're furbabies... that counts, right? And as you can see on the left you have the option to choose what gender, what format you'd like and if you want to make it a magnet as well! I'm loving this magnet option!

One thing I absolutely find myself surfing when I'm on this site is their business cards! I'm one of those weird people who get really excited about a pretty business card.

Look at all the pretty designs! Digging the last one on the second row. There was a handful I really really liked but I couldn't get them all to load on the same page and show you guys.

So if you're looking for an easy to navigate website to customize your newest business card or wedding invitation or even supplies for a themed party I would highly suggest Minted.com! There are so many different products to choose from and so many ways you could design them!

*Disclosure: I recieved merchandise credit in exchange for a review of the website. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Freebies Round Up (1)

2014-01-10T10:00:00.000-05:00

As a kid I've always been fascinated with receiving free samples (I know, kinda weird, right?). The internet was this new thing and I remember my dad would take me to the library on the weekends so I could spend an hour online and normally I would look up Sailor Moon facts and pictures but then I got interested in getting free samples and back in the 90's, this didn't really play out very well... I never got the samples lol.

Fast forward to now. Free samples is that sort of thing no one really talks about unless you get it from some high end place like Sephora. And sure there are a bunch of places that are sketch when it comes to samples, then there's the sometimes-you-don't-even-get-them.

Hollywood Fashion Tape from PINCHme
Suave Advanced Therapy Lotion from PINCHme
Genalia Caramel Mocchiato K-Cup from PINCHme
Lady Gaga Perfume in Fame from PINCHme
Olay Facial Moisturizer from I honestly don't remember, sorry!
Celestial Holiday Tea in Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride & Candy Cane Lane from Celestial Tea

But with Facebook fan pages for legit companies, it's a little easier to know that your information is going straight to the company you're requesting a sample from.

There are a number of sites I visit on an almost daily occasion to see what new samples are out. One of them being FreebieShark. FreebieShark posts information on free samples as well as promos and sweepstakes you could enter to win some pretty cool stuff (several people over the holiday season won Xbox One's and PS4's, that sure convinced me this stuff is real and legit!).

Another places I check out is PINCHme which is a new program where you periodically get to choose up to 2 products but you have to act fast, the samples go quick!

The Celestial Holiday Tea samples were part of a daily feature they did in December on Facebook.

Do you look out for free samples? Where are some of your favorite places to get them?

What I Wore (1)

2014-01-08T18:25:00.000-05:00

I'm no fashionista but lately I've been drawn to fashion posts and trying to find clothes myself to mix and match. Finding my own style is proving to be hard (just like how finding the right makeup for my skin was years ago!) but it's been fun seeing what I can come up with (on days I'm not lazy). I've also been daring and wearing leggings a lot more this season (I've always been insecure about my knees).

So I wanted to share with you my go-to holiday outfit!

Okay, this picture didn't come out exactly how I wanted it to. Anyone else out there wish there was two of you when it came to taking pictures or filming? My husband did try though!

Beanie from Wet Seal
Sweater from Kohls
Jeggings from American Eagle
Boots from Payless
Crossbody Purse from Forever 21
Makeup from e.l.f

As you can see from the list of places I shop at I don't spend over the top amounts of money on my clothes (though it would be nice to have that ability!). I've actually had that sweater for about 3 years and finally decided to wear it... I don't know what took me so long it's so soft and snuggly! Also I've spilled a number of different soups on that purse on accident and you can just wipe it clean. Love it!

Here are some extra pictures of me and hubby, he's not big on picture taking but I made him suck it up since we went out of our way take these pictures that night lol!

Trying to get this boy to dress in clothes that in other colors than black is a struggle!

Hope everyone's holidays were full of love, laughter and happiness! Oh and warmth!

Subscription Boxes | Love With Food (3)

2014-01-07T14:46:00.001-05:00

The theme for Love With Food's December 2013 box is Winter Wonderland!

Angell Candy Bar from Betty Lou's (@BettyLousInc)
70% Chocolate Diamond from Lindt Chocolates (@Lindt_Chocolate)
Allergen Free Peppermints from St. Claire's Organics (@StClariesOrgnic)
All Natural Marshmallow Topper from Madyson's Marshmallows (@MandysonsMarshmallows)
Chocolate Dipped Madeleine by Donsuemor (@Donsuemor)
All Natural Powdered Drinking Chocolate from Les Confitures a l'Ancienne
Natural Crispbread Cracker from 34 Degrees (@34degrees)
Molasses Spice Cookies from Grey Ghost Bakery (@greyghostbakery)
Spinach Dip Mix from Desert Gardens

Box Rating: 5/5
Product Satisfaction: 5/5
Worth the cost: Yes!

*This subscription box was purchased by me

Hello, 2014

2014-01-01T17:18:00.003-05:00

[ credit to shutterstock ]

It's 2014.

Am I the only one surprised?

I know my activity on this blog has been way way low. I created this blog to talk about lifestyle stuff. I didn't want to just focus on makeup or books, I wanted a place where I could talk about anything I wanted to talk about. So I created A Fairytale Lifestyle then I got scared that the content I would put up would suck because lifestyle was such a broad subject! Go figure, right?

I'm a little upset I wasn't prepared enough to have seasonal posts/videos when it came to Halloween and Christmas so I'm hoping to do a better job of prepping content this year.

This year I have also decided to not make resolutions. Instead, I'm participating in One Little Word. I'm pretty excited because to not (for once) have resolutions for an entire year is kinda of scary. I need a guide to what I'm doing and to base it all on one word? That's something different!

My One Little Word for 2014 is ---- Happiness.

Yup, that's it.

If it makes me happy, do it. If it doesn't, don't. I want my year to be that simple. Being an adult can suck hardcore. Paying bills, not making enough money, struggling, dealing with all this other extra stuff on top of worry about bills... it can all just be a lot. And it's so easy to scroll through your Facebook and see all these other people buying their first houses, buying new cars, having amazing weddings, going on honeymoons (which I didn't have a honeymoon), the ability to afford kids and have health insurance and it's easy to be bitter. And jealous because your life is nowhere near that.

Well this year, I will try my hardest to stay off Facebook as much as I can (besides networking duties) and focus on me. On my life. On my happiness and not let everyone elses life, define mine. Because we all have our own paths and dealing with day-to-day stressors can make you forget that. So I want to focus on finding my happiness. In being content with where my life is right now even if it's not where I want it to be. I want to assure myself that that is okay.

I do have a few goals I hope to achieve this year as well! Come on, I had to have some sort of list!

Read 25 books (for my bookish goals, check the book blog)
Post a video/vlog 1 - 2 times a week
Put a little more effort into networking
Be more organized
Exercise 2 - 3 times a week
Eat better
Learn how to cook more (I'm having fun learning how to cook!)
Touch up on baking skills
Be better at couponing (and really learn how to budget)
Start a savings
More productivity, less procrastination!
Continue to learn French

Those are the main ones and you know the basic take more pictures, try to sleep earlier, blahblahblah type of goals that you should be doing anyway.

I need to take better care of myself this year, bottom line. And I need to stop being so lazy.

So here's to a year of productivity and happiness!

Do you make resolutions? What are they?

Influenster VoxBox | Jolly Vox Box

2013-12-30T22:01:00.001-05:00

So a few months ago I was selected for an Influenster box but I guess something happened with the count and I wasn't able to receive one. Instead they said they would send me the Jolly Vox Box instead and I thought that probably would be much more exciting (for me anyway).

So check out what I got and my initial impressions on the products sent to me. Also keep a look out for mini product reviews coming soon!

*This box was sent to me complimentary of Influenster for testing purposes

Merry Christmas!

2013-12-25T14:08:00.000-05:00

Wishing you and yours a happy and safe Christmas!

Hello, December

2013-12-07T21:41:00.000-05:00

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It is officially the last month of 2013 and just like every December, I can't believe the year went by so quickly! I'm finally on an academic break for a little while and I'll be on another one during Christmas so I'm trying to enjoy this downtime while I can! I got my second A in a row with the class I just finished and I'm so happy, seriously! I wasn't expecting to get another A! Hard work and sacrificing fun things do pay off --- I guess.

Even though it's December, here in Orlando it's still in the 80's. It's cooler but not really cold yet. I've been attempting Vlogmas and I think I'll be posting them on the lifestyle channel instead of the "vlog" channel like I had planned. I'm going to just mash up day 1-7 because they were short vlogs anyway... I'm still trying to get in the habit of actually pointing the camera at me while talking.

I know I've been seriously slacking on the blog posts here, and I'm hoping since I have so much time off this month that I'll be able to catch up on things! I want 2014 to be as productive and as successful as it can be! And I've already made a resolutions draft. I couldn't help it!

But as for December, here are some things I hope to accomplish before 2013 is over ---

Read 3-5 books (mostly big 2013 releases and holiday books)
Get on the ball of posting a lifestyle video twice a week
Donate $1 to the jar for every mile ran (borrowed this idea from a friend)
Figure out a budget system for 2014
Tidy the apartment
Make homemade Gumdrops
Make homemade Pillow Mints
Do a whole lot of 2014 prepping!

What are some things you guys are planning on doing this month to see 2013 off? And what are some things you're planning on doing in 2014?

Happy Thanksgiving!

2013-11-28T21:27:00.000-05:00

It's that time of the year again --- where we give thanks even though the root of the holiday is a pretty tragic one.

Back in high school I use to write out this elaborate email to everyone and write a special paragraph to why I was thankful for them. I know, kinda lame right? I stopped doing that though, I stopped leaving comments on peoples walls about how thankful I am for them from time-to-time just because. I don't know, I feel like it's kind awkward now that we're adults. Or whatever.

This year hubby and I are across the country from our families for the first time ever. And it kinda sucks. Except family holidays have never really been my thing but still, my brother makes a mean Thanksgiving dinner and I'm sad I'm missing out on all his delicious food!

But despite that, I do have a lot to be thankful for!

I'm thankful for this delicious dinner we're finally having after prepping and cooking all day long. Our turkey is juicy and flavorful (which is surprising for a first try!), watching my Thanksgiving traditional movie --- A Christmas Story and that hubby surprised me by attempting to replicate my favorite restaurant appetizer --- Fried Artichokes!

For a mother who pours nonstop support, love and guidance when I don't deserve it. She makes it a point to take care of me even when I'm across the country. My furball girls I can't wait to see, there's a sense of comfort in cuddling with a cat who looks at you like you're their world. For books, because let's be real... I had to. Blogging, pretty desserts and glitter because life's too short to be simple.

I'm thankful for the family and friends who show me support when I'm at my lowest, especially when it comes to my OCD. I'm thankful for friends who can pick up where they left off no matter how many days, months or years pass us. The brothers from another mother who've always had my back. I love and miss you guys ♥. I'm thankful for the people who've watched me grow up and still think I'm pretty okay through it all :)

I'm incredibly thankful for a boy who use to booty bump me in doorways, joke about suicide with me, tried talking our teachers into thinking I sold drugs and would threaten to kill me with clicky pens. We've grown a lot together in the last 11 years and you went from that hot crazy as shit friend to my husband. And I am so thankful for you everyday, you mean the world to me. Even if you piss me off every other hour. It's cool. You sat through Wicked with me 12 times without (too much) complaint and plus you're still hot ;)

Happy Thanksgiving friends, I hope it's one filled with laughter, love and family.

Thanksgiving prep begins...

2013-11-27T23:57:00.000-05:00

I had a lot of cleaning/prepping planned before Thanksgiving, none of which actually happened --- you know how that goes.

But thankfully I was able to finish all my Thanksgiving shopping by Tuesday. We prepped the brine tonight which was interesting... I had never participated in making Thanksgiving dinner before so this being the first year both husband and I are celebrating alone, across the country from our families (or well my first since he celebrated "alone" when he was in basic training years ago).

I had looked up different ways to brine turkey and eventually went with this mix from World Market since it included everything I wanted anyway and for just $5.99. It smelled heavenly! So we went ahead and prepped this. Then hubby pulled the body pieces of the inner turkey (we went with a fresh one by suggestion of my brother who does make the Thanksgiving dinners back home) *barfs a little in mouth*. Then we stuck the turkey and the brine in a turkey bag in a foil baking container and stuck it in the fridge.

In the morning I will start making the sides, even though I told myself I would do it the night before. But hubby is being picky and wants everything fluffy and fresh so, there's that! Here's a list of what I'll be making ---

Stuffing Topped Veggie Bake
http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/stuffing-topped-vegetable-bake-138240.aspx

Baked Mashed Potatoes with Parmesean Cheese & Breadcrumbs
http://www.kitchme.com/recipes/baked-mashed-potatoes-with-parmesan-cheese-and?plid=PROMO_KITCHME&crid=111413_KitchMe_Thanksgiving

Stuffing with apples
Biscuits

I know it seems a bit wrong to have Thanksgiving without green beans but I just didn't feel like adding that in. I wanted to try some different things instead. So we'll see how that goes.

Also, a whole lot of this has been going on...

I've started decorating the apartment with Christmas stuff, little by little. I want it to be super festive in here (if I could make it snow without making a mess, I would have it done!) but I don't want to go overboard with it since we have zero storage space to begin with. Our tree is also up and themed but not finished. And the first gift should be wrapped and under it by this weekend.

Hubby also had the grand idea of taking an ornament from Days of Christmas from Downtown Disney with us home as "our" ornament to put on my mom's tree since she sets up on Thanksgiving and we won't be there to help this year. I'm sure she would love that idea! I still have to look for our first ornament together too. Hubby is making the ornaments for the tree this year and the tree topper. I had a nice theme going but since he's never decorated his own tree before, I decided to let him have at it. There's always next year. No big deal!

But once the tree is done, I'll of course be blogging/vlogging about it!

Also, I'm debating on doing Vlogmas this year... we'll see how that goes!

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

A month of epic pain

2013-11-16T16:18:00.000-05:00

November didn't begin on a good start --- first I had an ear infection. A very very painful ear infection. Considering my health insurance only works in California, I was pretty much out of luck with going to the hospital to have it checked. The Advice Nurse my hospital provides suggested an over-the-phone appointment with my normal doctor.

Wait, they could do that?!

So I did that and she did the whole, "you still need to go to the hospital to have it seen." thing even though I knew what this was. So she prescribed me oral anti-biotic. Last time I had an ear infection, I had the drops.

So for five days I took the anti-biotic and the thing with me and taking medication is that when I reach the last few doses, my mind does this weird trick and it keeps telling me to throw it up. It's so annoying. Anyway, the swelling in my ear finally went down, the pain was gone and I could --- well no, I couldn't hear. I had wax packed into my ear. No big deal, I flush my own ear all the time.

The day after I finished my prescription. Guess what happened.

I broke into hives for the second time in my life.

Except these weren't the hives I remembered...

So naturally I freaked out thinking it was Scabies. Except it didn't burn like hell like Scabies does. So I couldn't figure out what it was! At first I thought my leg was just itching from razor burn but obviously, that isn't razor burn if it's on MY HAND right? So I did some research. I didn't eat anything out of the ordinary in the last 48 hours and I didn't touch anything I could had been allergic to. I didn't go anywhere new. The only thing that was new was the medication and I find out that sometimes the anti-biotic they prescribed me can cause Hives. It was just weird. After a few days of taking Claritin, it cleared up a bit.

And then this happened.

*shakes head at self*

I should just live in a bubble.

I had some frozen Won Tons and they were melted together, you know, the wrapper? It's a pain trying to pull them apart because honestly, you can't. So I thought taking a knife and cutting them out was a very bad idea and I told myself I was going to be very careful. And I was! But I think at some point I got too excited that the piece I had been working at for 3 minutes was finally giving away and something slipped and I cut myself really badly.

The second I felt that slice, my hand went straight under the running water. As I cried. Half because it hurt and it was bleeding a pretty good amount and half because how could I be that freakin dumb! after I had calmed down I pulled my hand from under the water and blood. Everywhere. It wouldn't stop. It was all over the counter, all over the sink, all over the knife, all over those goddamn Won Tons.

Then I started to panic. I had to get to a towel so I could apply pressure and try to stop the bleeding --- see movies do teach you a thing or two!

So I dash over to the bathroom and run my hand under the bathroom sink --- getting blood all over the place there --- and wrap it gently in a face towel and SQUEEZING. The blood was still not stopping so I think at some point I went into shock because I started sweating, my mouth went dry and I started seeing spots. I literally thought I was going to pass out. Or die. So I texted my husband who was at work: bleeding. cut. passing out. to which he replied with "wtf?" so I went to lay down for a minute, tried to regulate my breathing and turned the fan on. Coaxing myself to relax.

That took a good minute. And I still felt like crap when I got up.

Then I decided to clean up all the bloody mess (literally) with my finger still gashed open. But at least it stopped bleeding.

Now it's at that stage of the last picture. It's closed up and it's starting to scab over however when I bump it on something it still sends angry shots of pain up my finger and I think I messed up some nerves because when I run my finger over it, it feels strange. Puffy but numb? It's weird.

This week I tried flushing out that extra ear wax using my usual ear flushing process. I'd get to the point where I'd hear/feel it shift and I could almost hear clearly then it would plug up again. I don't know what the deal is. Fast forward to last night. I think I irritated my ear somehow and now it's getting puffy again and to the point where I feel like another ear infection is coming on.

Awesome.

After this heals I'm going to suck it up, pay the stupid $200 fee to just be seen and have them fix it.

I've dealt with enough pain this month!

Disney Eats | Mickey Mouse Macaroons

2013-11-13T18:22:00.000-05:00

My husband awhile ago sent me a sneak peek of something he thought I'd like --- which he was right lol but I didn't get a chance to purchase and try these guys until we went to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party a few days ago and they're the Mickey Mouse Macaroons!

So I'm going to be honest, the spelling really annoyed me. You say Macaroon and I think it's going to be a flaky coconut thing even though it doesn't look like it.

But it's not.

They come in three different colors but they're all the same flavor --- an almond base. The filling wasn't anything special, it was just butter cream frosting tinted red. The outside shells were a rather nice consistency. You know with most Macarons they can either be too moist or too dry and crack? These were just in the middle. I kinda really liked the powered sugar dusted on this one, it gave it a nice addition to texture!

I don't know if these will be an all year thing or just a holiday thing. But I do hope they stay all year! For $2.50 it's a good size Macaron even if the filling does leave a little bit more to be desired.

So far the only places I've seen these are The Confectionery on Main Street in Magic Kingdom and Writers Stop in Hollywood Studios. I haven't been to EPCOT since they started rolling out the holiday stuff but it's still doubtful these would be there.

I have a Disney food blog but I decide to update it then decide against it --- only because I don't go to the parks as much as I use to so I don't really see the point if I don't have much content. But if you'd like to see more Disney World food or just Disney World in general posts here, let me know :)