4 Things Friday: Books, Bottles, Jeggings and Pop Tarts

TGIF! Cheers to a much needed long weekend. This week has been a doozy. We have been having non-stop trouble from our cable provider which leans me more and more to the "cut the cord" revolution. Do we? Don't we? Thoughts?

It's also been a little more warm and summery this week. Right when we were just getting used to the fall-ish weather, too. But I am ok with the warmer temps since we still have a little beach vacation planned in a few weeks. It keeps me in limbo, torn between pumpkins and margaritas. Unfortunately, a pumpkin margarita does not sound like a good idea...

1. I am probably the last in line for this but it's changing my outlook on life. If you haven't read "7" by Jen Hatmaker, run, don't walk to the nearest library or bookstore. It is "an experimental mutiny against excess" and it will make you rethink some areas of your life.




2. I have been wanting a S'well bottle for a while now. I like to take water with me everywhere I go and was wanting something that didn't sweat that I could keep in my purse. LOVE it. It keeps drinks cold for 24 hours! Tons of cute designs, colors and sizes to pick from.

3. Is it just me, or do these pull on jeggings seem like an amazing idea? Can't wait to score a pair for this fall/winter season.

4. I'm looking forward to trying this homemade Pumpkin Pie Poptart recipe this fall. It looks pretty easy and I would be able to heat them up for Mally during the week.

Hope everyone has a wonderful LONG weekend!


Pintrest / Instagram / Twitter

Here Comes Easter!

I am so excited for Easter this year. With a 2 year old in the house, there are a lot of activities we will be able to do that we didn't really get to last year. She's big enough to understand the Easter bunny, coloring eggs and picking out an Easter dress for Church service! Yay!   I've been checking out everyone's Easter goodies online recently, and here are a few of my favorites. It's not too early to decorate? Right?  

garland / duck and goose book / cookie cutters / basket


Pintrest / Instagram / Twitter

Happy first day of Fall! & Fall makeup finds.

"It's the most wonderful time of the year.." La la la.. It's a cool, crisp first day of fall and I couldn't be in better spirits! I went out and bought my first round of mums this weekend and I'm about to dig out my ceramic pumpkins and dump pumpkin spice in everything I make. Whose up for a corn maze?!

I have to make a small rave about this powder I bought last week.

It is $6 and a miracle worker. It's light and blurs imperfections along with soaking up oil. It is colorless, so it works well over BB cream, tinted moisturizer or mineral powder foundation. For $6, you can't go wrong!

I also want to get my hands on this pallet!

 I used to love the Black Honey lipstick, and I think these shadow colors make a nice neutral pallet for fall.

Have a Happy First Day of FALL!!

You can get with this...or you can get with that!

I love makeup. What girl doesn't? I have lusted after the Naked and Naked2 pallets since they came out, but at $50 a pop it just hasn't been in the cards for me.

Urban Decay has since came out with a smaller pallet called Naked Basics for a more reasonable $28, but it is a matte pallet.

That's when I stumbled upon this little charm. For $10.99, I got Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Nude Collection. I am in LOVE. It has definitely quenched my thirst for the Naked Pallet but at better than a quarter of the price!

Peppermintacular!

I LOVE the holidays! But who doesn't, right? I love it when all the stores and restaurants start putting out all of their "for a limited time" holiday inspired treats. My current addiction is PEPPERMINT. I want peppermint everything! I forgot to add my peppermint mocha coffee creamer in my photo below, but my husband and I look forward to that EVERY year. We get sad when it disappears off the shelves in January.

Starbucks Peppermint Hot Cocoa
Mini Candy Canes from Target
Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses

Cleansing Routine.. for now at least :)

Since becoming pregnant, I've had to put some of my products on the back shelf due to certain ingredients that they say could potentially be less than ideal for the baby. I figure it's better to be safe than sorry so I've switched up my routine a little bit. I certainly didn't expect all of the extra fun skin issues I've encountered such as gulf sized oil slicks and teenage acne! Having to give up my good friends salicylic acid and retinols has not been easy, but I've found some pretty good stand ins for the next few months and wanted to share them. Click here for a list of product ingredients you may want to avoid during pregnancy.

As always, consult with your physician about product use or concerns!

1. Cleanser: Bare Minerals Purifying Facial Cleanser
   Gentle yet deep cleansing. A little goes a long way. I received a sample of this and loved it so much that I decided to buy.
2. Toner: Bliss Daily Detoxifying Facial Toner
   I bought this to try and rein in this acne! I love the way is feels and it is non drying.
3. Moisturizer: Olay Complete All Day UV Skin Shield Moisturizer Lotion SPF 15
   A slight change from my favorite Oil of Olay moisturizer that contains beta hydroxy acid
4. Eye makeup remover: Almay Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover Pads
   Ok, so I've always used these but I love them so much I had to share. These premoistened pads work wonders at removing eye makeup at the end of the day. They are inexpensive and you can almost always find a coupon for them in the paper.
5. Spot treatment: Zeno Hot Spot
   These little babies work! Best part, NO chemicals at all. It uses heat to kill the bacteria and let me tell you, it does work like magic.