Finally.. an update!

I feel bad for neglecting the blog, but so much is going on this summer - a lot more than I expected, that's for sure! But I've come bearing treats.. a recipe!! I made this last night, and I got so many requests for it to be put up that I just had to make a post about it.

This dish is a tequila lime chicken on top of an avocado pesto pasta. It was amazing! Now, the tequila lime chicken came from a recipe I saw on the Food Network show "Pioneer Woman" (for the full recipe how she did it, you can see here).

Ingredients:
4 limes
1 cup tequila
1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 package chicken breasts (or in my case, breast tenderloins)
1 package angel hair /thin spaghetti pasta
1 jar pesto sauce
1 ripe avocado, sliced
Parmesan cheese (if desired)

To make the chicken:
Squeeze the juice of the limes into a blender or food processor. Add in tequila, olive oil, salt, and Italian seasoning. Blend until thoroughly mixed. Place chicken into bag(s), and then pour lime mixture into the bags and put in fridge to allow chicken to marinate. (The original Food Network recipe says to let marinate for hours or overnight, but I did it for 30-45 minutes; and it turned out just fine!) Preheat oven to 425F, place chicken in pan, pour a little of the excess sauce over the chicken, and put in the oven to cook for 20-25 minutes.

To make the pasta:
Cook pasta, drain, and place pasta back into the pot. Add 1/2 jar of pesto sauce to the pasta and toss to coat evenly.

Plate pasta first. Then add parmesan cheese if desired, avocado slices, and chicken on top. And voila!

I promise not to stray away from the blog again for so long, haha. And hopefully everyone goes and tries this, because oh my goodness it was amazing!

L'Oreal Paris Color Vibrancy Shampoo /Conditioner

I got a sample of this in the mail for L'Oreal from a freebie website on facebook (sue me, I love these sites; because I love trying out samples to be able to review!). I love the colors of the bottle, because black and pink has always been a person favorite combination of mine; so I was automatically drawn to the product because of that reason. It's priced at around $4-5, depending on where you go; so that's another great attribute about it.

Then I tried it today, and I must say that I'm quite surprised. I've never been a L'Oreal believer, because it usually makes my hair a bit oily. This shampoo and conditioner made my hair SO unbelievably soft. I'm able to just run my fingers through my wet hair, whereas there are usually knots in it even after I normally use conditioner. My hair color is brighter than normal, and the color looks fantastic. This is definitely a buy! Especially since I have a coupon from L'Oreal :)

Let's talk BB Creams!

Beauty Balms (BB Creams) are a hot trend right now in the makeup world. Everyone wants one! But there are so many out there, how do you choose which one to get? I've sampled five different BB Creams - high end and drug store brands, and I'm here to give you my take on them all.

Urban Decay NAKED Skin Beauty Balm - This one was my favorite one. I got it as a sample from Ulta; and I wasn't expecting to like it, since it only comes in one color. It's priced at $34 for a full-size bottle, and $14 for a travel size bottle. Even the sample size has lasted me a while though, because you don't need to use a lot.. as with most UD products. It has a light texture, and it stays on all day with or without a face primer.

Revlon Photoready BB Cream - This is the closest to Urban Decay's that I've found so far. So naturally I love it, especially as a drugstore brand. It's priced at $10.99 for the bottle at Walgreens, and once again this bottle has lasted me a really long time. I love using it on days when I need a quick fix without using foundation or going "all out." I don't have to use a primer, but I will just to make sure it stays on throughout the night if I'm going out. It hardly needs touchups, and the color matches so well!

Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream - This was definitely my least favorite. It was oily, which didn't work well with my skin; and it looked orangey when I put it on. It didn't stay on long at ALL, even if I used a primer. I had to make frequent touchups during the day if I wanted my makeup to stay looking as good as when I first put it on. I definitely won't be buying it again.

Garnier BB Cream - I got this sample in the mail from Garnier themselves off of a sample website. This one is another cheaper one, priced $11.97 at Walmart. It was pretty good! I used the light /medium color for normal to dry skin. It was light on the skin, and the color matched really well. It didn't stay on quite as well as the UD or the Revlon one; however, it wasn't too terrible.

Tarte BB Cream - The last one I tested was Tarte's BB Cream, priced at $34 at Ulta. I got this one as a sample from Ulta also. I used the light color, and it was darker than some of the others. It was a little more oily than the others, so I wasn't a fan of it on my skin; and I didn't need a lot at ALL. It also came off a little easy throughout the day, even with a primer.

This project was kind of fun, I'll admit. I like testing new stuff, even if it's samples. Next time I'll be ready to review a couple of foundation primers!

Days 18-24: June Blogging Challenge

Day18: Something you're embarrassed to love.
Oh my gosh, Duck Dynasty!! Hahaha. I tried so hard not to like that show, but I hate to say that I love it! How can you hate a family that has such good values and are so funny.. even if they're redneck as hell? Ha!

Day19: A goal you're working toward.
Getting my bachelor's degree and starting a career! Have you ever been so close to something you could taste it? That's me right now! Ahhh!

Day20: A random act of kindness.
When my husband and I were in Myrtle Beach for Spring Break back in April, we found an extra parking ticket that someone had paid for and left in the machine.. and we took it and gave it to a guy, instead of using it on ourselves :)

Day21: Your favorite recipe.
I have a ton!! I'm pretty partial to my potato soup recipe that we love making during the winter.

Day22: A book you love and recommend.
I love reading any John Grisham book. His books are all so amazing, and I can never put them down. My favorite of his will probably always be "The Street Lawyer" or "The Firm." Both of them are so good, and I finished them both within days of starting them. The suspense and thrill are worth whatever time I gave up and the sleep I lost.

Day23: 3 songs that put you in a good mood.
This is a hard one, because I have so much music that I love! Okay, let's see..

• This I Gotta See /Jason Aldean - as much as I'm not a huge fan of Jason Aldean, I really like this song for some reason. It just makes me happy to hear every time, and I always have to turn it up really loud and sing at the top of my lungs.
• Wagon Wheel /Darius Rucker - I like the original too, but this one is just so easy to sing to!
• Can't Hold Us /Macklemore ft. Ryan Lewis - I don't know why, but I just love this song hahaha.

Day24: Something sweet.

This is called a salted caramel butter bar.. I've had in it in my "need to make" queue from Pinterest for a while now. It looks amazing! It reminds me of a chess square, which is one of my favorite sweet things ever. I can't wait to try to make it!

Day17: 3 random things that can instantly make your day.

Good morning texts! No matter where he goes or what he's doing, my husband always tries to make time for the good morning text - which always makes my heart flutter just a bit :) it's one of those things that made being in a long distance relationship much easier, and that never stopped once the distance closed!

This should be pretty predictable, if you know me at all. I love my Sofie more than life itself! She's always so full love, and she just makes me feel better when I'm sad or upset. She's been the best thing that's come into this family by far :) not to mention she gives us a few good laughs, hahaha.

The last pick is definitely the Golden Girls!! I own all 7 seasons, and I've introduced them to my best friend, as well as my husband; and now they're a must have in my home. I don't go to sleep without them. They're my "mindless tv" must have. I watch them when I need a laugh, a smile, to get my mind off something, etc. Always my favorites!!

Day16: Something that makes you awesome.

Umm..

Uhh..

Hm.

Well.

I mean. So.. there's just so much to list. Ha!!

What is something that makes me awesome though? This is usually a question I'd ask my husband, but I'm SOL because he's not here at the moment haha. I don't know what he would say. He'd probably say how easy I am to hang out with.. there's a reason we're ultimately best friends I'm not a huge girly girl most days. I have my moments, but I'm not the prima donna that you see a lot of the time. I watch more football than most guys - let's rephrase that: I'm OBSESSED with more football than most guys. And I'm not afraid to yell at the tv and show my temper, which may or may not be a good thing, haha. But I think that makes me pretty awesome.

Day15: Your favorite photo you've taken.

It says (or top three) in it.. so I'm going to do that, because there's NO way I can choose one hahaha. And disclaimer: I am in no way, shape, form, or fashion a photographer - nor do I claim to be one! Just so everyone knows :)

This was taken at our very first USMC ball in November 2009. (Awww, widdle PFC!) I've always loved this picture, because right as I was taking the picture he grabbed my hand and squeezed it really tight; so the smile on my face is probably the most genuine thing you'll ever see on my face, haha. I just love, love, love it! No matter how old it is, I'll always enjoy seeing this picture.

This is another favorite picture taken. Yes, it's of my dog, Sofie. Go figure, right? And this was surprisingly taken on my iPhone! Crazy, I know!! She and I were just outside playing in the big puppy area one day, and I decided it would be cute to take pictures of her playing with her favorite stick; and this was THE best one. It's still by far the best action shot I've ever seen, I think haha.

And last, but certainly not least, this is another favorite. I love what happens when I just snap random pictures sometimes. It makes me so freaking happy, because I end up with gems like this. This is what happens when Sofie wants to play, but nobody plays with her hahahaha. It's amazing.

June Blogging Challenge Catch up!

Day11: A photo of your handwriting.
This is a terrible picture, because I obviously did this on a large-scale.. but I don't want to write something out and retake a picture and then take the time to upload it, because I'm a super lazy person 99% of the time. And sue me, this picture is from the husband's deployment homecoming in 2012! I'm SO not ashamed. 6~ months gone, and I was so using that as an excuse to speed from Alabama to North Carolina! Hahahaha ;)

Day12: Your favorite color with a photo showing it.

Day13: What's in your purse /wallet /pocket?
Is the typical "everything except the kitchen sink" an acceptable answer? Hahaha. My purse right now isn't even that big, yet somehow I end up keeping so much in there. I currently have:

• a pen
• a pencil
• headphones
• wallet
• wrist wallet with both cars /house keys /cards
• extra keychain with mail key and parents' house key
• Carmex
• my iPod touch
• Ray Bans (assuming I'm not wearing them)
• planner
• a compact brush and mirror
• and some receipts /papers

Day14: Something you're looking forward to.
I'm looking forward to so much lately! I'm so excited to get started in figuring out the classes I'm going to get to take this fall, and I'm anxious to see how long it's going to be before I actually graduate with "the" degree. I'm looking forward to finding out when we'll get our orders for our PCS and the date! And then there's smaller things.. like my best friend coming to visit in a couple of months, birthdays, other various events, etc. Life is just exciting, and we like to make the best of all situations; and I look forward to more positivity in our lives also :)

Workout Playlist.

I posted this for a few people to see, but I thought I'd share it with everyone else. As most people know, I've been on a pretty hard "get fit journey" as I like to call it. It started in January, but we joined a gym right by our apartment in March (if you're in Jacksonville and are looking to join a gym, I HIGHLY recommend Onslow Fitness!). It's been the best decision ever, in my opinion!

I'm picky when it comes to my workout music though. I need something to constantly keep me motivated or keep me upbeat. I also need music that changes, and I also need music that's a little different from each other - which is definitely what you'll find in my playlist! I'm in the works of another playlist called "Workout Pt2!" So, if you have any suggestions.. feel free to leave them for me!

Day9: Favorite quote or saying.

I have two different favorite quotes, and I couldn't decide between the two! I really love both of these quotes, because they're so motivational in their own ways. One's a huge pick-me-up, and one's a huge smack in the face with a "Get your shit together!" when I need it.

One is a more recent favorite quote, which will eventually turn into a tattoo. It's got a special meaning to me about things that have happened in my life. The second quote has been my favorite quote for years and years. It was a quote that I had on a dance poster that my mom got me for my room when I was in high school, and I've loved it every since! It's another quote that definitely has a lot of meaning behind it, and it has even more meaning that it happened to be given to me by my mom - since she was the person who taught me never to be a victim in any life situation; and that in itself takes a strong person to be able to do.

Cream eyeshadow fun!

I love using my cream eyeshadows. Maybelline's Color Tattoo cream eyeshadows have become a must have in my makeup collection. I use them all the time! I think I have an entire drawer full.. whoops ;) I love how well they stay on, and they don't crease - which is a major plus when looking for a cream eyeshadow.

So I put a new look together, trying out the new "Tenacious Teal" that I bought a couple of a weeks ago.

First, I used my Urban Decay eyeshadow primer. I use it even without cream eyeshadows, but primers give them less chance of creasing.

Next, I used Maybelline's Color Tattoo "Gold Rush" on my entire lid. I usually do two coats just to make sure it's bright enough, but sometimes it doesn't even need it.

Then, I use a flat brush to apply Maybelline's Color Tattoo "Tenacious Teal" as a top liner! And for the bottom liner, I just used a white pencil liner.

Apply mascara, and you're set :) so pretty and bright!!

Days 7&8: June Blogging Challenge.

Whoops! I'm slacking again.. I'm a day behind; so let me catch up and do yesterday plus today's blogs for the blogging challenge!

Day 7: If you could have one super power..
Well, you see, I'm torn. I'm nosy. And when I say nosy, I mean beyond super nosy. If you tell me something but don't tell me the full thing, I most likely will stop at nothing until I find out the entire story. (Yay, Sagittarius!) So part of me wants to say the ability to read minds.. because, let's face it, that would be extremely useful in this world - especially since people are hardly ever straight up with you.

On the other hand, I'd love to be able to teleport - as cliche as that sounds. I love to travel, but I hate the in between of getting from one place to another. And in the military life, I have a love /hate relationship with being far from my family. There's part of my family that I only get to see once~ a year, and that makes me sad. There are friends that I'd love to constantly see, but it doesn't get to happen. It'd be much easier if I could just snap my fingers, blink my eyes, or pull an "I Dream of Jeannie" and whip my ponytail to get from here to there as fast as I could!

Day 8: Your top 3 favorite blogs to read and why.
Now, these are definitely in no order. And I love reading all of the blogs that I follow! So don't feel bad if I follow you and didn't mention you, because I can only pick three!

1. weddingringsandislandthings /Madison. I love this girl anyway. I've known her for quite a while, since before she got married to her husband, and she's just adorable!! She has fantastic DIY ideas on her blog, and she's always looking for new things to do for herself and to share with everyone else.

2. secretbeautybyan /An. An's a new beauty blogger, and she's partially the reason that I got the courage to start beauty blogging! She's also a huuuuuge impact on my whole "get fit" lifestyle, and I'm very thankful for her. She's an extremely awesome makeup stylist, and I always recommend anyone to go look at her looks that she posts! I love her use of liquid liner ALWAYS - ugh, it always looks so flawless! Jealous -__-

3. lovebuildsthishappyhome /Nicol. She's the creator of this blogging challenge, and she's a personal dear friend of mine. She's a cute little pregnant lady, who's gonna be a wonderful mommy soon :) she's even got her own Etsy shop, so obviously she's got some crafting skills.. which I also love and hope to eventually be a cool crafter like her one day, haha. But I love her blog, because it's very personal! It's got some cute DIY ideas, much like Madison's blog, but it also has a lot about just her life in general; and I'm a sucker for personal blogs sometimes.

Day4-6 June Blogging Challenge.

I got busy and slacked behind a little bit, so I'm catching up!

Day 4: Something /someone that makes you happy.
This is any easy one, and I'm sure we all know where it's about to lead.

These two, diva #1 and diva #2, make me happier than anything in life. Being home or coming home to these two brings a smile to my face like no other. Sure, they drive me nuts sometimes.. but doesn't that happen to everyone!? I honestly don't know where I'd be in my life without either of them. They're both my rock - even my dog, as silly as that might sound.

Day 5: Home.

Home will always be the beach. Always, always, always. But not any beach.. it has to be the Gulf beach/es. I miss them more than anything in the entire world, and moving away from them was by far one of the hardest decisions of my life. The Pacific beaches were pretty, but they're too cold. The Atlantic beaches are ugly, ugly, ugly.  But the Gulf beaches.. they're perfect! And boy, I can't wait for the day we get to move back!! There's nothing that compares.

Day 6: Three ways to win your heart.
This is a tough one.. haha. One way is definitely to make me laugh. I love laughing; and I love people who are genuinely funny and like to make people laugh. Another way is to like to cook! I'm in love with cooking nowadays, but I also like to step back and have people cook for me every once in a while.  And I guess the last way would be dancing! A lot of people know that I danced for 14 years, so obviously I love to dance. I love going out to bars /clubs and dancing.. I love dancing around the house.. I'll dance almost anywhere, haha. So I love when someone isn't afraid to get out on the dance floor with me! It's so much more fun when someone else is willing to let loose and just have fun, even if they aren't the best at it :)

This is really long, haha. Sorry! I decided to just catch up in one post, instead of doing three different posts. And don't forget, if you want to see the blogging challenge I'm doing.. click here!

Day3: What you wore in detail.

Considering my life is boring lately, and all I did today was clean.. I'm sorry to say this is going to be one short and boring post, haha.

• Gray patterned running shorts from Old Navy
• Pink and white zebra print undies
• Turquoise sports bra
• A gray Nike running tshirt
• A bright yellow ponytail holder
• My Rainbow flip flops when I took Sofie out
• My hot pink and white Columbia jacket for when I took Sofie out in the rain

And yep.. that's about it, haha. Exciting, huh?!
To see the blogging challenge I'm doing, click here!

Day2: Your morning routine.

We'll do this on a typical school day, because it varies on the weekends haha.

• Wake up to alarm
• Press snooze a total of four times
• Cuddle with Sofie
• Check all social media from phone
• Get up and pee
• Take all 1774839174031 meds
• Brush teeth
• Put contacts in
• Take Sofie out
• Feed /water Sofie
• Let Sofie go see the kitty
• Shower
• Get dressed
• Make coffee and maybe breakfast
• Put makeup on
• Dry hair
• Put Sofie in her crate
• Leave

It's not much and not very interesting.. but it's my life!
If you want to see the challenge I'm doing, click here!

Day1: Something beautiful to you.

It's only day one, and this is already a tough one! There's so much that's beautiful in my life. The sky is beautiful. New contacts are beautiful (if you don't know what it's like to put in a new pair of contacts, you just won't understand). I'm beautiful. Life is beautiful. The ocean is beautiful. My purse collection is beautiful - ha!

I guess I'll be a little on the predictable side though. My family is probably be most beautiful thing in my life. I've been so fortunate to start my own family this past year with my best friend in the entire world whom I love more than life itself. After 8+ years, we got to start our lives together; and then we added another member to our fur-baby family (besides the old and grumpy asshole kitteh), Sofie. She's quite possibly been the biggest blessing of our lives. There's been nothing but love and support in this household, which is what it should always be, but not necessarily what I've always been used to until the past few years. It just amazes me how much happiness can come from being married and just being with your other half.. and then throwing a dog who seems to loves you more than you could ever love her makes it all just even better.

But I'm still apart of my original family too; and that's beautiful in itself. Growing up and becoming more of an adult has brought us all closer together, in my opinion, than ever before. It's nice to be able to call my parents, my brother, my aunt, and whoever else in my family my friends rather than just my family. I'm lucky enough that I've got my own family here in North Carolina, and though it may be small at the moment.. it's perfect. But then I've got my other family. The original family. The family I didn't get a choice in, but I find the beauty in every single day no matter what happens or who makes who mad.

That's beautiful, if you ask me.

If you want to find the blogging challenge, just click here!

Blogging in June

I'm going to try to remember to do this every single day this month! I stole it from a good friend, who actually made this, so you'll have to check her blog out as well :) I think it's a fantastic idea though! Blogging every day about different things for an entire month? Who doesn't want to stick around and hear me ramble on about life and stuff and things? Ha!

Avocado Chicken

Recipe time, yet again! This one was requested by a lovely friend to give the recipe for.. so I decided to just post it up here for everyone to see. I'm obsessed with avocado lately; therefore, I've been putting it and trying it on just about EVERYTHING. And I haven't had a flawed one yet, haha.

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast
1 tbsp Montreal Chicken seasoning
1 tsp of garlic seasoning
Sprinkle of pepper
1/2 avocado

Directions:
Season chicken with dry ingredients and then place in pan. Bake at 425 degrees F for 30 minutes. Cut an avocado in half. Place the half of the avocado with the pit still inside it in a plastic bag and put in the fridge - it'll last until the next day! Use a spoon around the edges of the other half to get the avocado out of the skin. Slice up the avocado into four slices, and sprinkle with salt and pepper for taste. Place avocado on top of the chicken breast, and serve immediately.

Shown below with baked beans, fresh corn on the cob, and a sweet potato.. yum!! It was fantastic, let me tell you!

Car ride eyeshadow!

Since I'm going on a trip, I also decided to give y'all a small tutorial of what my toned down /car-ride look is going to be.

Inner corner: Naked Basics Venus
Under brow: Naked Basics W.O.S
All over lid: Naked Palette Sidecar
Crease /outside corner: Naked Palette Buck
Liner: Ulta kohl pencil liner (in deep brown)
Mascara: 3 step mascara.. UD's Supercurl Curling mascara on the top, Smashbox Hypercurl on the tips, and Ulta Amped Lashes mascara on the bottom

Finish off with an eyelash curler, and you're done! It's that simple, and it's still pretty. One of my favorite "go to" looks for sure :)

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

My "must haves" when going on a trip!

Here we are.. going on yet another trip, and the hardest part is trying to figure out what to take out of the makeup collection. The usual questions always run through my head: Where are we going? What will I need? Will I be going out? Will I be wearing certain outfits? How much room do I have in my makeup bag? Why can't I just take everything? WHY IS THIS SO HARD?

So I narrowed it down to a list of the things I take with me most often and find myself using the most. Plus, I always add in a few extra eyeshadows and eyeliners.. since we all know a girl needs options!

We'll start with the face:
Ulta face moisturizer - I got this a while ago as a sample, and I've loved it every since. It's perfect to use when my face is just a little dry, especially in the summer. I never need too much, or else my skin gets a little oily; but I love putting it on after I clean my face before bed or in the mornings before I put on any makeup - especially if I'm sunburnt!
Smashbox primers - I have two of them that I got as samples. One, the green one, is for color correction. It gets rid of redness, which happens on certain spots on my face sometimes. And the other, the clear, is just the regular oil free foundation primer. Both are amazing! I use the green on my red spots, and I use the clear all over the rest of my face.
Rimmel Clean Finish liquid foundation - Now, I'm not usually a liquid foundation person because I think it can get really cakey really fast; however, I'm in love with this foundation. I apply it with a foundation brush, and it's so light and feels like you've barely put anything on.
Rimmel Stay Matte powder - Favorite. Powder. Ever. If you're ever looking for something to get rid of shine, THIS is the powder you need to be looking at!
Revlon BB Cream - This is my favorite drug store BB cream. It's so close to Urban Decay's BB cream, which is the best one I've tried yet. I love using it on days that I don't feel like using full foundation, because it's so quick and easy. It's also great for summer time, because it's so light!
Maybelline Super Stay 24hr concealer - I have this concealer in three different shades.. that's how much I love it. I use it on blemishes always. I never even need that much of it. Sometimes I'll cheat and use it after I've already put on my powder, which you aren't really supposed to do.. but what the hey, right? Sometimes I'm in a rush and get myself out of order haha.
Maybelline Dream Lumi under eye concealer - As a college student, I'm so prone to the dark "stress" circles.. it's not even funny. But I love using this, because it's so light colored and light feeling that it just lightens your entire face up with just a little bit.
Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer - I don't even go anywhere without it.. ever. It's my favorite eyeshadow primer I've ever used. I have samples of other kinds, but I just can't bring myself to use any of the others until I get done with my big bottle - that's lasted me forEVER, I might add!
Urban Decay All-Nighter face spray - I use this at the very end, right after I'm done with my makeup. It's become my savior, especially being from the South and living in the hot and humid weather. My face doesn't melt off in the summer! How awesome is that?! I never leave home without it.
Makeup remover towelettes (2nd picture) - I'm not too picky on which kinds of makeup remover towelettes I get, as long as they don't have alcohol in them. My skin isn't prone to breaking out a lot, so I don't have to be picky. But I love using these for everything.. whether it's taking my makeup off at night, refreshing my face in the mornings, cleaning mascara off of my eyelash curler, etc.

Palettes.. because yes, I take more than one palette:
Naked palette - Whenever I'm not sure what looks I'm going to want on my trip, I always make sure to take my Naked palette; because I know I'll use it at least once.
Naked Basics palette - I use this every. single. day. And I wish I was lying. Whether it's just for the inner corners of the eyes, under the brow, and the crease.. or all over, I find myself using it every day.
Naked Flushed palette - With it being summer time, I'm using this more and more. I started off only using a little of the highlighter and the blush, but now I use the bronzer (since I'm more tan) and the highlighter with a touch of blush. And it looks fantastic for day or night!
Sonia Kashuk palette - I mainly use this palette to help darken my eyebrows a little bit. I use angled brushes with the brown eyeshadows.
Lorac Mint palette - We all saw how much I love my Mint palette the other day.. so of course I'm taking it! It's so perfect for day or night when I feel like being a little brighter than normal.

Lips:
Lorac Lips with Benefits Gloss (in Christian) - This coral /pink lip gloss is so fun for summer. I was so scared to wear it the first time I put it on, but now I love it especially for night looks! So I try not to leave home without it.
MAC #7 Lipstick - Possibly my favorite lipstick ever. I use it on a daily basis when I'm not using a gloss.
Smashbox Lipgloss (in Illume) - When I'm not using the other two, I'm usually using this.. which is almost every normal day. I'm in love with this gloss. It's perfect for daytime, chillin' looks. And it's adorable!

Liners, mascaras, etc:
Maybelline brow gel
Ulta Amped Lashes Mascara
Smashbox Hyperlash Mascara
Urban Decay Supercurl Curling Mascara (all for the 3-step lashes)
Ulta purple liquid liner
Kohl pencil liners (in deep brown, white, and plum)
Smashbox Limitless crayon eyeliner (in Onyx)
Urban Decay pencil sharpener
Eyelash Curler

Influenster Spring VoxBox!

I got my Spring VoxBox from Influenster a little while ago, and I had time to finally test everything out.. so I decided to finally sit down and blog about how I liked everything!

Broadway ImPRESS Press-On Manicure:
The packaging was adorable! It came in a little bottle-like package. I had to twist off the top, and then the body opened up to reveal the nails. The color I had was "Joyride," which was a perfect berry shade; and they looked amazing! They were really easy and took hardly any time to put on. I'm sure my mom's wishing she had these in the 90s that time she superglued her eye shut when she was putting on her fake nails, ha! Unfortunately, they only lasted me about three days.. just because I'm hard on my nails as it is - bathing the dog, doing dishes, going to the gym, etc. They're worth the re-buy at only $4-6 though!

Secret Outlast Completely Clean Deodorant:
I was a little nervous to try this stuff, because I'm NOT usually a gel deodorant person. I've always been a powder deodorant person, and I'm reluctant to change when it comes to deodorant. However, I was pleasantly surprised with this deodorant. While I expected it to be sticky and to walk around doing the Funky Chicken waiting on my arms to dry, I was excited that it was really nice and instantly drying. There were no spots on my shirt, which we all know sometimes happens with a powder deodorant. Definitely a re-buy!

NYC Applelicious Glossy Lip Balm:
I got the color "Big Apple Red." I expected it to be extremely red, because of the packaging and the color of the gloss itself. Surprisingly, it was more of a pink! I loved it. I was pleasantly surprised, to say the least. I can't wait to wear it out. It's not sticky in the slightest. It doesn't leave your lips feeling awkward and gross after it wears off, and it lasts for hours!

Tastykake's Kandy Bar Kake:
The flavor I got in my box was peanut butter - made with real Reese's peanut butter. It was heaven in a girl's mouth, let me tell you. A soft chocolate shell outside, and a soft chocolate cake on the inside with a peanut butter filling. Once again, it was beautiful. There's nothing more to say about it, haha.

OSIS Dust It Texture:
I'm not sure how to describe this, or how I feel about it completely.. it's very different. It's a powder made to texturize your hair. It reminds me of a more expensive baby powder, to be honest. I didn't know what to do with it when I first got it, haha. So I poured some on my head and rubbed it through with my fingers through to my ends. And I'm not a fan of how it makes my hair feel. It gets rid of the softness of my hair, and it does give it more texture; however, I just personally didn't like the way it makes my hair feel.

I want to say a personal thank you to Influenster for sending me my first VoxBox, and I can't wait to get more! I love trying new products, as well as writing these reviews on them!

Product Review: Lorac Mint Palette

Available at Ulta /Sephora for $36.

The Lorac Mint Palette is definitely one of my favorite things for this summer! I've been in love with it every since I bought it about a month ago. It comes in an adorable blue palette with 6 eyeshadows and a coral blush, which looks fantastic on tan and lighter skin! My favorite look to do is the light blue lid with the dark purple on the outer corner (see the tutorial!).

I really love Lorac eyeshadows in general, because they're very long-lasting.. in my opinion; and this palette is no exception.

All in all, this is definitely a summer "must have!"

Summer Eyeshadow Look

Eyeshadow tutorial for today!

Excuse the lighting.. I didn’t take the pictures when I should have.

I used my Lorac Mint palette (Ulta /Sephora $36).

Corner of the eye: white with sparkle
All over the lid: light blue
Outside corner: dark purple
Crease: neutral
Under the brow: Naked Basics W.O.S
Top eyeliner: Ulta’s purple liquid liner
Bottom liner: Ulta’s kohl white liner
Mascara: Urban Decay’s Supercurl Curling on top, Smashbox Hyperlash mascara on the top ends, and Ulta’s Amped lashes mascara on the bottom

Pulled Pork Roast

This recipe was kind of one of those where I just went with the flow on things.. hahaha. I love doing that, because it's either a huge hit or a huge miss. And apparently it was a huge hit, because I was looking through my phone and found a picture of my husband's plate - meaning he was wanting me to put this recipe up on the blog!

Ingredients:

Pork roast

1 pkg BBQ Pulled Pork seasoning

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp garlic seasoning

1/4 tsp paprika

1/2 green pepper, chopped

4 red potatoes, cubed

Hamburger buns /bread* (optional)

Directions:

Spray crockpot with Pam. Mix together dry ingredients. Place roast, pepper, and potatoes in crock pot. Pour dry ingredients over roast until covered, and pour the rest over the potatoes (yum! Seasoned potatoes!). Pour in 1/2 cup of water to keep potatoes from drying out. Cook on low for 4-5 hours. When done, drain as much of the water as you can out of the crockpot. The roast can now either be sliced and eaten by itself, or it can be pulled apart with forks and put on sandwiches!

Here is my husband's plate.. he chose to put it on a sandwich, while I did the opposite and didn't pull it apart - rather I let it just fall apart when I cut it.