Lucky In Love: February 2014

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Ipsy February Glam Bag Review

February's glam bag took forever to get to me. My tracking information showed it as being in Orlando for eight days. Why in the world would it hang out in Orlando for eight days?

Other than spending time at Harry Potter world in Universal. That's what I'd do in Orlando.

Fun fact! Disney World is NOT in Orlando. It's in Buena Vista/Bay Lake. Disney World is technically its own city. I am closer to Disney World when I'm at home, than I am when I'm in Orlando.

Ok, on to my bag...

I received this bag on Tuesday. It is now Wednesday. This is the fastest I've busted out an Ipsy review, ever!

What is Ipsy?
Each month, subscribers will receive a beautiful Glam Bag with deluxe samples and full-sized beauty products. Members can watch and play along with the stylists with the same products that they are using. All for only $10 a month.

So go ahead, take the beauty quiz, get your first Glam Bag, watch the videos, and create your own!

From Ipsy's site

The theme for February is "The Look of Love" The bag is a gorgeous pink with a white zipper, and on the inside it has an abstract pink and white cheetah print. I love!

Pop Beauty Plump Pout Mini in Peony Petal. Mini size. Full size is $16 if you buy it from Pop Beauty's site. Estimated value: $7.53

This plumping pout perfector combines the high-shine of a lacquered gloss with the long wear of a stain and is packed full of lip-plumping peptides and avocado & jojoba oils. Lightweight, creamy texture immediately merges with lips & delivers intense glossy colour for an extremely long-lasting finish!

From Pop Beauty's site

I prefer lipstick over lipgloss, however, this gloss is really nice. I like the color, and the gloss lasts really well; it does stain your lips. After I swatched this gloss I took a shower. It is now 7 hours after that shower, and I still have a line on my arm from the gloss. So yeah, it works.

I like using gloss when my lips are dry and flaky. Gloss is way more forgiving than lipstick, in that sense. This color is gorgeous and I can see myself wearing it often.

Zoya Nail Polish in Odette. Full size. $9 if you buy it from Zoya's site.

Zoya Nail Polish in Odette can be best described as full-coverage, sultry orchid maroon cream.

From Zoya's site

Zoya is my favorite nail polish brand. It has incredible lasting power. Even if I hand wash dishes, it doesn't chip! I really like the color I received. It's from their new Naturel line, which is all neutral/nude shades. It probably doesn't look neutral in the photos above, but it's definitely muted compared to lots of other colors. It's a great addition to my collection!

The swatches above were still wet from when I quickly slapped it on my nails to take a photo of it. :-) It's only one coat, and I used no base coat or top coat. It's very opaque, and awesome.

City Color Be Matte Blush in Fresh Melon. Full size. $2.99 if you buy it from City Color's site.

Our Be Matte Blush comes in 8 revolutionary colors, giving your cheeks a vibrant glow for every look. Its silky-smooth texture and richly pigmented hue comes in the perfect matte finish with an ultra blend-able formula. These stunning shades are highly build-able and allow you to create either an elegantly subtle or dramatically bold look. It's every girl's must-have secret!

From City Color's site

I wasn't going to keep this blush. I decided to keep it, literally as I was taking pictures of my bag, and I'm so glad I changed my mind! This color is great! I thought it was going to look orange, but it definitely looks more coral/pink once it's on my skin. This blush is VERY pigmented, so when I used it on my face I made sure to use it very sparingly. It blends well. It's a little chalky, but, it's $3. I think it's a great product for the price.

Tini Beauty Eyetini Cordial Cream Shadow + Base In One in Spiced Rum. Full size. $18 if you buy it from 'Tini Beauty's site.

Say goodbye to creasing and fading with Eyetini Eye Cordial Shadow + Base. Our revolutionary formula glides on beguiling creamy color and sets to a transfer-resistant finish that doubles as a wear-extending base under powder shadow. Spiced Rum serves up shimmering warm bronze.

From Tini Beauty's site

This is the same color of a brand new penny. I haven't decided if I will try it or not. I'm leaning towards no. I'm not a fan of liquid eye shadows, unless they're used as a base, and I only use neutral/pale colors as a base.

NuMe Intense Renewal Mask. Deluxe sample size. Full size is $29.99 if you buy it from NuMe's site. Estimated value: $3.39

Renew hair with levels of moisture that will transform it to its healthiest and shiniest ever. This indulgent formula contains powerful ingredients that instantly revive and rejuvenate. The Intense Renewal Mask provides deep conditioning to improve damaged, color treated or processed hair to restore hair’s natural shine and luster.

From NuMe's site

I used this today. My hair is very soft and smooth and pretty. This sample won't last me very long, but I'm happy to have it!

Bag Value
Pop Beauty Plump Pout Mini: $7.53

Zoya Nail Polish: $9

City Color Be Matte Blush: $2.99

Tini Beauty Eyetini: $18

NuMe Intense Renewal Mask: $3.39

Grand Total: $40.91

Overall I got some great products. I absolutely adore Zoya nail polish and love the color I got. I am excited about the hair mask. The lip gloss is a wonderful color. And the blush, while I was hesitant to try it, actually is a great color for my skin tone.

Do I think this bag was worth $10? Absolutely.

Interested in trying Ipsy? I'd love it if you used my link! http://www.ipsy.com/?refer=u-hh1dhitczm8r4e9

Zoya Nail Polish in Odette can be best described as full-coverage, sultry orchid maroon cream. Pair with any of the other Naturel Collection shades for a chic tone-on-tone look! - See more at: http://www.zoya.com/content/item/Zoya/Zoya-Nail-Polish-in-Odette-ZP708.html#sthash.dv36cDaz.dpuf

Monday, February 24, 2014

Lots of Pictures from November to Now

Lance put all of the pictures from his phone onto the computer, so here's a little photo journey of the past few months.

When we first moved in we had pretty close to nothing. We needed to buy all new pantry staples, some cooking utensils, and cleaning supplies, so we visited a nearby dollar store. This is Lily falling in love with a little bear she found there.

Before Lance got a job we were at Disney parks practically every day. Man, those were some fun times! Lily always pointed at the Carousel so I finally took her on it. She was not disappointed.

One of our favorite rides at Magic Kingdom is the People Mover. Lily can wiggle as much as she wants, and as long as she doesn't go over the edge of the cart, she will be fine!

We're on the second floor, but our stairs are inside the apartment. I don't remember what we were doing when this picture was taken, but Lily looks so cute! I think this was around Thanksgiving because of the leaves wrapped around the banister in the upper left corner of the picture.

This was on the Triceratops Spin at Animal Kingdom. It's the same as Dumbo or the Magic Carpets or the Astro Orbiter. Those are all basically the same ride with different themes.

Look at that little stinker and her "kickle" (pickle). Such a cutie!

This is what I look like on Sundays. Well, on the days when I got off work at 3am and had to get up for church at 7am. It was a few weeks in a row there for a while, but lately I've been able to get off at midnight or 1am on Sunday morning, so it's getting better.

Also, never mind our ghetto futon couch and camping chairs in the background. I can't bring myself to buy a nice couch since I'm not too fond of our apartment. Why buy nice furniture that you're just going to have to move in a few months?

Here we are on Christmas. It was a good Christmas.

I don't remember where this was, but I think it was a restaurant.

This was the first time I did her hair in pig tails! And she left them in! It's a miracle. She likes to play on my Nook. I bought a few little games for her to play on there, so it can keep her entertained for a while!

This is me not wanting my picture taken, at Hard Rock Cafe Tampa.

...Since I didn't post any pictures of myself from Apollo Beach, Tampa.

Enjoying the ocean breeze!

Daddy dressed up our little chef.

Waiting for our reservation at the Biergarden at Epcot.

Inside the Biergarden at Epcot. Lily had a great time!

Here's Lily before church yesterday. Getting so big!

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Focus T25 - Week 1

Day 2 - Tuesday | Speed 1.0

Just like day 1, I did my best to keep up with the "real" workout, but ended up doing the modified version for most of it.

This workout was fun, kind of reminded me of hip hop dancing with the rhythms. The moves were easy to follow.

Someone knocked on my door during the last minute of the workout, so I missed the last minute and the cool down stretch.

Day 3 - Wednesday | Total Body Circuit

I just finished and I am drenched in sweat. I did the modified pretty much the entire time. I was worried that doing the modified exercises meant I wasn't going to be working very hard, but I am exhausted.

I woke up really, really, sore today. I almost think it's because I didn't do the cool down stretch yesterday.

I've noticed that it's easier for me to go to bed at night, because I'm so tired. I've also noticed that it's harder for me to get up in the morning, because I'm so sore.

The moves today were a little harder to follow. It might be because I'm sore and tired, but judging by the amount of sweat on me right now, I think I worked hard enough.

Day 4 - Thursday | Ab Intervals

This morning I was still sore, but not as sore as yesterday.

After finishing this workout just now, I'm not nearly as sweaty and tired as I was yesterday. It's a hard workout, but that's probably just because my abs are totally trashed. Hopefully after 10 weeks they will be a little better. There are definitely some unique ab workout moves in this video, and I look forward to getting better at them.

During the workout I feel like I'm working hard, but afterwards, since I'm not as exhausted as I am after an Insanity workout, I worry that I'm not working hard enough.

Day 5 - Friday | Cardio | Lower Focus

They LIED about it only being 25 minutes a day. On Fridays they recommend doing two workouts. So, when you're already tired and sore, they make you workout double time!

It's brilliant, really. Get you hooked on the high you get after exercising, and then throw this monster at you.

Since there were two workouts, I did the first one before I put Lily down for her nap. She thought it was so fun, she was watching the TV and trying to do the moves. Oh my goodness it was adorable! Mostly she just ran around me in circles, and clapped her hands a lot.

I did trip her (on accident!) a couple of times.

The workouts today were really hard. My abs are really sore from yesterday. The soreness is really deep. I don't know if I can explain it better.

I'd already done the Cardio workout on Monday, and I did more of the modified versions today than I did on Monday. It was either that or I was going to stop moving altogether, so I opted for the lesser of the two evils.

The Lower Focus video is all about the legs. It's a big muscle group so each move was really exhausting. My legs are jelly.

I'm tired and sweaty and I need to shower. After my shower, I can't decide if I want to get dolled up for my one night out of the house, or take a nap.

Day 6 - STATurday

I'm up .2 pounds.

I'm not worried. I always gain weight when I start exercising.

In fact, I don't think I've ever lost weight by exercising. I've always gained.

Day 7 - Sunday | Stretch

That was kind of a strange "workout." I wouldn't consider it yoga-ish, but then, I'm not really familiar with everything yoga. Anyhow, I feel really relaxed right now.

Ready for week 2!

Monday, February 17, 2014

Ipsy December and January

I never wrote about my awesome December and January glam bags! February's will be here soon.

So, I won't go in depth about these, but here's what I got:

December Ipsy Glam Bag

I never took pictures of my December bag. But here's a screen shot of my Ipsy glamroom that shows what I received:

The glam room shows you the products you will be receiving, but if there are color variations, it doesn't tell you what color you'll be receiving.

The bag is adorable! I love the shiny black.

I got the Pop Beauty eye shadow in the black/silver/white trio instead of the brown trio shown.

I got the Be a Bombshell stick on Flustered, which was pretty red. I ended up giving it to a girl I visit teach for her birthday. I would have used it, though. I'm thinking about purchasing a reddish-colored blush.

I got the NYX lipstick in a pinky nude color, that is really cute and natural looking. I wear it often.

I do not like the Andrea strip lashes at all. They are way too thick and fake looking. I have them in a stash to trade with someone.

I already traded the Starrily nail polish. Gold and black just doesn't appeal to me. I got a hot pink nail polish out of the trade.

January Ipsy Glam Bag

January's bag was really god.

I love the Yaby foundation. The color was a little yellow for me, but it actually looks pretty good on my skin. It lasts a long time, and looks like natural skin instead of cakey makeup. At the end of the day I expected it to be gone, but it was still there. I was very impressed!

Yaby Foundation in Buff.

I'm not a fan of the face wipes. I was excited to try them since they are pomegranate scented, but it smells really fake.

I'm also not a fan of the Nourish Organic face lotion. It smells really nice, but it's not moisturizing enough for my dry skin. My skin soaks it right up, and then still feels dry right after, as if it's craving more.

The Mica Beauty tinted lip balm is good. It's actually a lip stick, rather than a lip balm. It is very pigmented.

Mica Beauty Tinted Lip Balm in Natural

I don't really use the foundation brush. I already had a foundation brush, but I never used that one either. I just prefer my fingers. I find it faster and easier to blend. I also hate cleaning foundation brushes. It seems like I can never get all of the foundation out of it. Gross.

The January bag wasn't very cute. It has silhouettes of products on it. I use it for my eye shadow primers and face primers.

My February glam room is looking awesome! But my bag is delayed due to Snowmageddon or Snowpocalypse. Hopefully it gets here soon.

Focus T25

Monday | Day 1 | Cardio

I started a new workout program.

Sometimes on weekends, I watch TV really late at night, and that's when I watch really awesome infomercials.

I really love infomercials. They are cheesy and ridiculous.

T25 is a new workout program from Beach Body. Shaun T is the trainer. Shaun T was also the trainer on Hop Hop Abs, Insanity, and Asylum. So what makes T25 different?

It's only 25 minutes.

That's what got me.

For months now I've been really wanting to get back into Insanity, but then when I remember that the workouts are an hour long I decide I don't have time. Or energy.

I used to work out in the early mornings before I went to work. (Back when I worked in the office.) After I had Lily I started working from home, and when I got back into working out, I would work out after work. That means I would start exercising any time between 11pm and 1am.

Now that I live on the east coast, if I worked out after work I would have to start sometime between 1am and 3am.

No.

I could work out during Lily's nap time, which is still two hours long. However, after working out and showering that would leave 45 minutes to do all my other motherly things that I can't really do while simultaneously entertaining a toddler.

So, T25. A 25 minute workout that I can do right after I put Lily down. Then I can shower, and still have 1 hour and 15 minutes to do my other motherly things.

Yes, 30 minutes are that precious.

I'm sure I'm not alone in this, but sometimes I really miss having 8 hours of sleep, 8 hours of work, along with 8 hours every day to do whatever the crap I wanted.

That beautiful 8 hours of "free time" is now down to 2 hours in the middle of the day. Sometimes it makes me die a little inside. But then I remember how freakin' adorable Lily is, and how special she is, and how much I love her and then I remember how much it's all worth it.

And then sometimes I'm still really upset that when she's in bed for the night, I'm chained to my computer instead of able to spend time with my husband.

Here are some fancy, high quality before pictures (haha).

If I don't look different in my after pictures, I will definitely regret posting those.

Anyway, without further ado...

How did my first workout go?

Well T25 has a modified (aka easy) version for us beginners to do until we can keep up with the regular workouts. It's just one person, who does easier, low impact versions of each move. I tried to keep up with the regular moves but crapped out about 5 minutes into the workout. So I stayed with the modified version and did really well! I'm still really tired, and my legs are jelly, which are things I love to feel after a workout.

Each move gets progressively harder as the sequence goes on. Then when you've worked that certain muscle group to the max, it switches to a new sequence.

After the first workout, I honestly do prefer Insanity. I feel like Insanity pushes me harder, especially since you have your Fit Test every couple of weeks, which motivates you to compete with yourself. This workout program doesn't have that, it just prompts you to weigh yourself and take measurements every week.

Basically, I'm doing the program because it's 25 minutes, it's Shaun T, and the results they showed in the infomercial inspired me. I know there are other workouts that are only 25 minutes long. I also know I won't get results like the people in the infomercial unless I commit to the eating plan.

I've written down my starting weight, and my goal weight. I'm still thinking about what I will reward myself with if I reach that goal. I'm thinking about doing several rewards. For example, if I lose 5 lbs I get one thing, but if I lose 10 lbs I'll get something better.

My goal is to lose 17.2 lbs in 10 weeks.

I plan to continue cooking dinner 5 nights a week, eating at one sit-down restaurant each week, and one fast food restaurant each week. I also plan to continue to go on walks with Lily, and once it starts warming up we'll go to the pool a lot as well.

I think I can do it! I'm hoping to feel awesome by the end of April.

Friday, February 14, 2014

Flowers Die But...

Flowers, chocolates... they're nice and all. But the key to my heart lies in makeup.

I, honestly, am not a huge fan of Valentine's Day. It's cute seeing all the hearts and pink and red everywhere, but if Lance didn't get my anything I would not care.

I'm actually upset that Valentine's was on Friday this year. Friday is the only night we have together that we can go out on the town.

Tonight, everyone else in the entire state was out on the town, so traffic was a nightmare, trying to eat somewhere was a nightmare.

So, we ended up driving around the Orlando/St. Cloud area for about 45 minutes before settling on Dairy Queen.

Oh yeah baby!

Usually we eat somewhere sit down on Fridays, but we weren't willing to wait 90 minutes, or more.

Seriously, Chilli's told me it would be 90 minutes.

Yeah, no thanks.

Anyway... Lance did surprise me today! I woke up to this beauty:

It smells like chocolate.

The colors are beautiful.

If he had gotten me chocolates and flowers, they'd both be long gone before this beauty is even showing signs of use.

I am a happy girl!!

I wish there would be more TV commercials prompting men to buy their women makeup rather than chocolate, jewelry, and flowers.

But I am probably the minority.

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you were able the celebrate in ways that make you happy.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

So Happy Together

Any time I hear this song:

I think of when my family flash mobbed at Elise and Aziz's wedding reception.

To sing that song was the brain child of yours truly, and Emilee and I came up with the idea to do it flash mob style.

So happy that everyone in my family was on board with the idea!

Unfortunately my family did not get a chance to rehearse at all before we "performed" so this was a one take show. I think it turned out great, and it's a wonderful memory to have.

I love my family!!!

I wish I could share the flash mob video here, but I can't. So, check it out on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=296913437115368&set=vb.100003901433529&type=2&theater

More From the Past Week

I forgot to mention the best part about last week!

We got to go to the temple! My mom watched Lily, and I asked to start work a little later, so Lance and I could go to dinner and the temple. It just so happened to also be ward temple night, which we didn't know until a couple hours before we left. So that was cool.

Gorgeous temple! It reminds me of the Timpanogos temple, only slightly smaller. And with palm trees instead of mountains.

While both palm trees and mountains are beautiful for different reasons, I'd say I like this temple better. Florida sunsets are one of my most favorite things about living here. Add palm trees and a gorgeous temple to that picture and, AGH! I just want to stay there forever!

For dinner went to Panera Bread.

Panera Bread is over rated and over priced. It doen't even come close to Kneaders or Zupas. I ordered a salad and Lance orderd a sandwich and it was $20. It was worth probably $5.

Ugh, someone PLEASE bring me some real comfort food restaurants!

And Cafe Rio.

Thank you.

Fun Week

We've had an interesting couple of weeks.

My mom braved the 9 hour drive from Raleigh to here last week, and spent a week with us. We had fun. It was nice to have someone to talk to during the day, and to be able to get out of the house and drive somewhere if we wanted.

She also did dishes a lot, which is nice since I hate doing them. :)

And she bought us garbage cans since we still hadn't purchased any.

Don't worry - our trash wasn't hanging out all over the house. We were using trash bags, just no can.

One day we went to a Flea Market that is about 5 minutes away. Lots of cool stuff in there! My mom bought Lily some really cute sunglasses.

The very first booth we went past in the Flea Market had tons of MAC and Mary Kay makeup. Obviously fake, however, still tempting. They looked almost identical to the real products. I almost purchased a hot pink colored MAC blush, but I resisted. First of all, isn't it illegal? They're pretending to be a brand that they are not! I've accidentally purchased fake MAC makeup before. It was from a home party, and the person said she worked for MAC, selling the makeup that had "packaging issues".

Lies.

She ordered fake stuff from China and sold it to us. And the "packaging issues" are from not being able to have 100% matching packaging. The products were still good quality. However, since they were fake, there is no way to know what ingredients were put in them, or if they're even safe by US standards.

So that's my two cents. Don't buy fake makeup.

Last Friday we got invited to dinner at Belinda's house. Belinda is the Secretary in Primary, as well as one of the sisters that I visit teach. She is such a sweet lady. I had a good time. Since I can't really make it to ward activities due to my work schedule, it was nice seeing people outside of Sunday church.

I really have some awesome people in my ward.

And when I accidentally said, "Eff that!" (Really, like that, I didn't say the "F" word.) no one blinked an eye.

As soon as it came out of my mouth I was like, "Oh crap!" I need to work in my euphemisms.

Yes, I have a language problem. And while "eff that" isn't bad, it implies something else, which I may or may not have said before.

This past Sunday in Sacrament meeting, Lily threw up all over me.

Yummy.

We had gotten to church about 5 minutes late, so we were in the back on the hard seats, in the gym.

After the first speaker, Lily started having a coughing fit and then tossed her cookies.

Lance and I both sat there like deer in headlights. Then our friend Jake, hopped up, and moved the chair in front of us so we could make an escape without having to walk past everyone on our row. Thank goodness, because not everyone loves the smell of throw up. Or anyone.

I ran to the bathroom and scrubbed what I could off of Lily and myself. When I got back to the chapel, Lance and Jake had some disinfectant spray and a whole roll of paper towels and they were cleaning it up off the floor.

Thank goodness we were in the gym with the wood floors. I can't imagine trying to clean throw up out of carpet and upholstered seats in the middle of Sacrament meeting.

Everyone was so nice and helpful. Jake's two daughters had been sick the past couple of weeks, so he was really understanding.

Then a sister in the Relief Society presidency, Becky, told me she would tell Meredith, the Primary President, that I had to leave.

Over the past couple of days I have received texts from Meredith, and Dani, my VT companion, and my mom, all checking up on me and Lily.

It's so nice to know that people care and are there to help if I need them. Since I don't have a car during the day, it's nice to know there are people nearby who are willing to help.