Easy, Breezy, Beautiful Covergirl!

My awesome friends at BzzAgent have included me in some product reviewing opportunities! It's awesome to get free products in exchange for my honest review!

My first review from BzzAgent is of the Covergirl + Olay Simply Ageless Defy foundation! As I have gotten older, more age defying products have found their way into my home. I figure it is never too early to help try to prevent wrinkles, and other signs of aging.
What caught my attention about the Covergirl + Olay Simply Ageless Defy foundation is that doesn't accentuate wrinkles, but rather "floats" over them for coverage. Included in the formula is Vitamin B and peptides-rich to make your skin look brighter/younger.

 The bottom of the compact has a storage spot with a sponge inside:

The foundation almost looks to pretty to use!

I have been disappointed in the past with foundations that you can buy at the drugstore, so I was expecting this foundation to be the same as previous experiences. 

When I first saw the compact, I thought it was aesthetically pleasing. The compact is a good size, and great for carrying around in your purse. The foundation part was cute with the swirl combination of foundation and Olay.

The sponge really worked well in applying the foundation on my skin. After applying the creamy foundation, it was very easy to evenly blend it in. I like the way it covered my face and kept my skin feeling soft. My face didn't feel heavy with makeup at all. The foundation helped even out my skin tone, and helped brighten it up! 

I love this foundation for when I'm in a hurry to get ready. I can just swipe it on quickly rather than dealing with my liquid foundations, etc.

Talk about being an easy, breezy, beautiful covergirl!  ;)

QUESTION TIME:

* What foundation do you use (if any)?

* Where do you mostly buy your makeup?

* Have you used Covergirl makeup before?

Spring Preparation

Spring will be here before we know it, and to be honest, I'm ready for it to get here already! I enjoy winter, but I enjoy it much more if there is SNOW. Since we haven't really had a lot of snow, I would rather Spring get here so we can enjoy the warmth, and flowers!!! Tennessee is always beautiful, but especially gorgeous in the Springtime. Everywhere you look there are the most vibrant colors.

With Spring, comes Spring cleaning! To help get your entire house (and/or office) smelling clean and fresh, the Purification essential oil is mandatory! Diffusing the Purification oil helps get rid of odors by neutralizing and purifying the air. You can add some Lemon essential oil with the Purification oil in the diffuser to really add a pop of fresh, energizing, clean air! If you don't care for lemon, try a different citrus essential oil like tangerine!
Purification essential oil also really comes in handy while doing laundry since it helps get rid of odors. Apply a few drops of oil to a wet washcloth and throw it in the washer with your clothes! It is that easy!

I finished up a quick little organization project:

I have had these containers for a while now, I spray painted them the sea-foam green last year, but decided to go ahead and put chalk labels on them!

Have you guys seen the Pantone Colors of 2016? 

If not, look here: Pantone Color of the Year

I LOVE the rose quartz and serenity!! They both are such pretty colors!

At the end of last year, I found these pieces below on sale at Michaels. The jewels on the statement piece have that rose quartz color to it! 

I put together the necklace, and now I have the cutest Spring statement necklace!

Speaking of rose quartz, I found a rose quartz-ish color of nail polish color by OPI:

I couldn't help myself, I bought it, as well as two other colors...

Suzi Shops & Island Hops; Princesses Rule; Significant Other Color

While out and about, I stopped at Starbucks. I already had my delicious Real Good Coffee k-cup at home before leaving the house so instead of ordering a coffee, I ordered the iced green tea passion tango! How have I not had this until now? A grande is only 80 calories! This tea was delicious and refreshing! It wasn't too sweet or too unsweet either, it was the perfect mix!

I just received my first freebie from BzzAgent! To welcome me to the team, BzzAgent sent me a free Welcome magnet! What is even better is what comes next! BzzAgent will notify you of "campaigns" that you can sign up for (for free) to test out a certain product! They will send you the product and you just have to try it out and share your review! 

It's a pretty sweet deal if you ask me!   :)

Last, but not least, I want to congratulate Becca for winning the Real Good Coffee Co. k-cup giveaway!!! 

Question Time!

* Are you ready for Spring?

* Have you started your Spring cleaning yet?

*Do you like the Pantone colors of 2016? If not, which color(s) would you have chosen?

Peppermint Essential Oil to the Rescue!

 Young Living Peppermint Essential Oil to My Rescue!

I have only recently begun experiencing heartburn/acid reflux, and wow, I didn’t realize how painful it can be! I feel as if there is a big rock on fire in my chest that just won’t go away, and then causes me to feel so nauseous. Fun, right? Not. It is another reason why adulting is so hard! 

Well, I looked up which essential oils would be best to use for heartburn and acid reflux relief. Of course, peppermint essential oil popped up! Thankfully, I actually brought my peppermint essential oil with me to work today! I grabbed a large glass of water and added about 3 drops of peppermint (should have done 2 because a little really goes a long way).  

I have always been told to try TUMS in situations like this, but since I had my natural alternative, I went with the peppermint essential oil. I was curious to see what TUMS tablets have listed as their ingredients, so I went to tums.com and looked at the ingredients on their website. As you can see the ingredients listed below, it is a much longer list than peppermint essential oil. I don’t know how necessary it is to take something that has corn starch, blue, red, and yellow food coloring dye, etc., but I don’t think it is stuff that I want to add to my body. I’ll stick with the peppermint essential oil! 

Peppermint essential oil compared to TUMS:

Peppermint essential oil - Peppermint

TUMS-

Active Ingredients:

Calcium Carbonate USP 1000mg
Purpose: Antacid
Inactive Ingredients:
Assorted Tropical Fruit: corn starch, FD&C red #40 lake, FD&C yellow #5 (tartrazine) lake, FD&C yellow #6 lake, flavors, mineral oil, sodium polyphosphate, sucrose, talc
Assorted Berries: adipic acid, corn starch, FD&C blue #1 lake, FD&C red #40 lake, flavors, mineral oil, sodium polyphosphate, sucrose, talc
Peppermint: corn starch, flavor, mineral oil, sodium polyphosphate, sucrose, talc
Assorted Fruit: adipic acid, corn starch, FD&C blue #1 lake, FD&C red #40 lake, FD&C yellow #5 (tartrazine) lake, FD&C yellow #6 lake, flavors, mineral oil, sodium polyphosphate, sucrose, talc.

(https://www.tums.com/products/ultra-1000/)

Yikes :/

It took about 30 minutes before I felt back to normal, but I really don’t know what I would have done without taking the peppermint oil! I was nervous that I was going to have to leave work (after just getting there) because I felt so awful! I will definitely be carrying around my essential oils with me everywhere because you never know when you might need them!

Now, the peppermint oil is only one option. I am still new to the essential oils, and have a LOT to research and experiment with. 

So many possibilities with Young Living Essential Oils!!   :)

Question Time!

* Have you ever experienced heart burn/acid reflux? 

* Would you try peppermint essential oil in your water/tea?

Valentine's Day Recap

Happy Wednesday! I hope y'all have been having a good week so far! Who all is ready for the weekend?

So, as you know, this past Sunday was Valentine's Day! Nathan and I had the day off together, but since I haven't been feeling too well here lately, we took it easy and went for a cruise up toward Big South Fork/Pickett State Park! We both love going exploring, even if it is just driving around. Tennessee truly is such an incredible, beautiful state!

First, we stopped and grabbed some Starbucks!
They had some cute cut-outs to take pictures with! We couldn't resist!

For a late morning snack, I had an almond coconut cashew chai KIND bar. I will definitely buy this again, it was SO GOOD!!

On our way to Pickett State Park, we spotted a random train caboose in the middle of nowhere! We drove up to it, and it had a sign stating that coming soon there will be a unique way to stay overnight - how cool would it be to sleep in a renovated train caboose?
I know there is a train hotel in Chattanooga, called the "Chattanooga Choo Choo," where you can sleep in train cars as well! That would be so much fun!

Pickett State Park was actually the first area in the southeast to be listed as a certified dark sky area. Naturally, we wanted to check it out because Nathan is big into astronomy/astrophotography. He will be going back to the park later on this year for a star party!


When we finally arrived at Pickett State Park, there were a couple of pull offs that lured us in, especially since they were close by and easy walks.
We stopped to take a look at one of the two natural bridges in the park, then we explored the Hazard Cave!

I slipped and fell shortly after that last picture....ouch! I was actually pretty sore not too long after falling down, so we ended up cancelling our reservations for dinner.  :(
Luckily, I have been using my Panaway essential oil to rub on my back, etc. to help keep the pain and soreness away! Again, I love these oils!!

However, we still had a nice, intimate, relaxing Valentine's Day! I just love when we are able to spend quality time together!

You can't have Valentine's Day without chocolate!  <3


Since we were basically stuck at home the rest of the day, the decision to make guacamole was made!

Who doesn't love guacamole?! I buy it all the time, but have never tried making my own before.

Ingredients:

3 avocados

2 cloves garlic

1 tomato

1 lime

1/4 red onion

salt

First, I split open the avocados in half and spooned them into a bowl. The next step was spritzing the avocados with lime juice and mashing them up. Separately, the tomatoes, garlic, and red onion were cut into small pieces. Lastly those ingredients were added to the mashed avocado and all mixed together!

My advice would be to mix up the avocado into a food processor or blender. Mashing them by hand left the guacamole a little too chunky. Next time, I would add some Cilantro essential oil to the guacamole for a little bit of extra flavor.

It still tasted awesome! Nathan and I devoured it quickly! 

The past couple of mornings have literally been icy! Yikes! The bad weather makes it even more perfect to be inside and have a cup of hot coffee from my lovely friends at Real Good Coffee Co.! 

Don't forget to enter the giveaway!    :)

Question Time!

* What did you do for Valentine's Day?

* Do you like to go exploring and/or hiking?

* Do you like guacamole? Which ingredients do you prefer in your guacamole?

Essential Oils

Hey everyone!

 I recently mentioned that I am now an independent distributor for Young Living Essential Oils, and now I get to explain to you why I truly believe in these products!

I was introduced to Young Living Essential Oils not too long ago, and as you can tell, I have become infatuated with them!
A healthy lifestyle is important to me, so I want as much natural, organic products to have and use in my life. Being as healthy as possible is a daily struggle, so any help is something I appreciate! That's where the oils come into play.
A lot of the products we use everyday, we are uncertain of the chemicals and ingredients that transfer on or into our bodies. With essential oils, you know exactly what ingredient is used and that it is natural and pure.

Starter Kit Oils

Why Young Living Essential Oils?

(From my own personal experiences)

I have been using Young Living essential oils practically everyday since I was introduced to them. The oils are natural and pure, which means they can be used for almost anything you can imagine. Whether you diffuse, apply on skin, take internally, inhale, or use for massages, these oils are marvelous. The company hand picks everything, from the seeds, to the products that are delivered out, making sure that people receive the purest products.

I won't go into much detail, but I suffer from chronic pain, and some other health issues. I am beginning to get started finding the right oil(s) for me, to help with my health problems, and overall well-being. I am hoping these oils could eventually be a natural alternative to taking certain medications.

So far, all of my experiences with Young Living Essential Oils has been extremely positive!

Thieves oil is the main oil I have had diffusing in our home. After hearing reviews from family and friends that the thieves oil has helped prevent them from getting sick, or has helped them recover more quickly from colds, etc., I decided to give it a try! Just like you, I was skeptical at first. However, believing more and more that the holistic approach is better than taking medicines (with who knows what ingredients), I decided it couldn't hurt to try it out. Even if you don't believe the thieves oil can help, the fragrance alone is fabulous. Nathan especially enjoys it.
Since diffusing the thieves oil almost every single day this winter season, I do feel that it has helped keep Nathan and I from getting colds/flu as often as we normally would.

The stress away oil has been a blessing as well. The scent is instantly relaxing for me. I was surprised how well the mixture of oils made this blend super intoxicating!

Frankincense has been another oil I use frequently. The smell reminds me of living in the middle east, and for me, that is relaxing and pleasant. It is also wonderful to use for massages!

Besides those reasons I already mentioned, I have found that I can use these oils for practically everything! Cooking, cleaning, perfume, diffusing, DIY projects, and much more!

For example: see my previous post about the lavender oil pillow spray:
DIY Lavender Pillow Spray

For diet/health/weight-loss, I have been putting a few drops of the tangerine oil in my water to help keep me drinking more to stay hydrated and to help curb my appetite! I absolutely enjoy the added flavor! I'll have to get the grapefruit oil next!!    :)    Yum!
I LOVE that I can cook with these oils! They can add so much more flavor to my meals! I'm very excited to use them for cooking!!

I am also very happy to see that the company has multivitamins, weight management products/tools, and other nutritional products to help you live a healthier lifestyle. I'm looking forward to trying some of those products as well!

I received a sample of the NingXia Red drink in my starter kit, and couldn't wait to try it! The pomegranate, and cherry flavors seemed to be what I tasted the most, and it was GOOD! 8 oz. (a/k/a 1 cup) would only be about 120 calories, so that is a plus!
Per Young Living Essential Oils - "NingXia Red combines the extraordinary wolfberry superfruit with 100% pure essential oils in a powerful whole-body nutrient infusion."
It helps support all over wellness with antioxidants, so having a cup of this would be beneficial, especially if you drink it instead of sodas, sugary juices, etc.!

There are endless possibilities and uses for the essential oils. I look forward to experimenting more with them, and sharing my experiences with you!

If you have any questions about Young Living essential oils, want to try a sample, or are interested in finding out more about them, please do not hesitate to contact me! 

Questions:

* Have you tried Young Living Essential Oils before?

* What would you most likely use the oils for?

* Which oils would you like to sample and why?

Valentine's Day Gift Ideas for Him

Valentine's Day will be here in 5 days! This cute little holiday is fun to celebrate, whether you are celebrating your admiration and love with your partner, family, or friends.

Sometimes it can be difficult finding that perfect gift to give to someone you love. As much as I enjoy the usual sentiments, something a tad bit personal means much more. Valentine's Day gifts don't have to be expensive or elaborate, as long as they are from the heart, it truly is the thought that counts.

Nathan knows that I get a kick out of Valentine's Day, and he always makes an effort to celebrate the holiday with me! (Just one of the million amazing things I adore about my hubby). This year, he made plans way ahead of time, and a dinner reservation at one of the best (in our opinion) restaurants here in Knoxville! I cannot wait!

Of course, I have a funny card to give to him but I want something else to give to him as well! So, I have been contemplating different gift ideas for him! Listed below are some gift ideas that I think would work well for any guy!

Valentine's Day gift ideas for him:

* Lottery tickets - with a card that says "I won the lottery when I fell in love with you!" (a little cheesy, but effective! Plus, it's a win-win if he actually wins the lottery)!  ;p

* A new board game, or a game for his console

* His favorite beer (or liquor) & a pack of nice cigars

* A few tools that he could always use

* Gift card to a local gun range

* Personalized chess set or poker set


Nathan loves when I make my pumpkin spice muffins, so I thought it would be cute to make some heart shaped muffins in this silicone muffin mold that I found at Wal-Mart! I figured it would be sweet to make him a delicious treat!  :)

The only ingredients you need are:

1 box Duncan Hines spice cake mix

 4 oz. Unsweetened applesauce

15 oz. Libby's canned pumpkin

Fisher chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the cake mix, applesauce, and pumpkin into a mixing bowl - (I used my KitchenAid mixer instead of mixing by hand).

Mix for about 3 minutes until the mixture is fluffy and smooth.

Pour mixture into molds (or cupcake pan), top with chopped walnuts, and bake for about 30 minutes! Do the toothpick test to make sure they are done!

These muffins always turn out perfectly!

Ta Da!!  <3  Enjoy!

Questions:

* Do you celebrate Valentine's Day?

* What gifts would you suggest to give to your partner?

* Think back, what was the most meaningful Valentine's Day gift you received?