Some Favorite Things

Today I wanted to do a quick favorites blog.  I have some things that I have really been enjoying lately and I wanted to share them with you.  So I wanted to start off with the cheapest products, all from ELF (Eyes, Lips, Face).  This is a brand that has been out for a while, but they have recently started their Studio line that I love!  All of these products were just $3 each!  The first palette is called the Shimmer Palette in Sheer Sunrise and it is the best highlighter palette ever.  I have used this every day since I got it and find myself using it over my more expensive brands.  It has 4 different colors of shimmer so you can tone your highlighter to whatever your makeup is that day!  The next ELF product is this pink blush in Pink Passion.  It is this electric dusty rose color that just comes out on the cheeks like you are glowing from the inside!  A must have!  And finally for my ELF products I have these 2 Cream Eyeliners.  One in Midnight (a very dark navy) and the other in Plum Purple.  I have used these on their own to do a winged out, pin up girl look, and with shadows.  I have even pressed a shadow over top of the line to get a really pigmented eyeliner in the shade of the shadow.  Lasts all day!  I am very impressed with these ELF products!

Next we have a few random product lines.  First Rimmel product is the Natural Bronzer in Sun Bronze.  This bronzer has a matte finish and is perfect for contouring!  And with my round face this has been an awesome product!  The next Rimmel product is a blush in 001 Santa Rose.  This is a fantastic daytime blush.  It is so natural looking and if you are not super makeup savy this is perfect for you because it is pretty hard to put too much on.  Next is another bronzer by Milani (I purchased this from Walgreen's) in 01 Fantastic in Gold.  This is a great all over bronzer and works so well with my fair skin.  It has a beautiful shimmer that adds a glow, not glitter, and the white powder baked into the bronze gives a more natural look to fair skin than most other bronzers.  The next product is by Revlon.  It is PhotoReady Concealor in 001 Fair.  I honestly did not want to buy this product as I am in love with my Laura Mercier Camoflage Concealer but I ran out of it and forgot to order more on Sephora.com and I needed something before I made my trip to Kansas.  But I was very happily surprised.  It has amazing coverage that lasts a long time and is so easily blended.  I have had a few blemishes lately and it completely covered those as well as the blueness around my eyes that no matter how much sleep I get always shows, ahhh the down side of being so fair!  And the last product on this picture is my nail polish in Crowded that I bought at Urban Decay while in Albuquerque.  It is one of the most pigmented polishes that I have ever used and the color can be used year round.  It is kind of a lavender light blue color, awesome!

In this final picture you first see my CHI Shine Infusion hair shine spray.  This gives my hair a great shine without weighing it down of drying it out.  It also smells like a freshly cleaned and cologned guy, haha, which is wonderful, but a little disclaimer, if you are married or in a relationship, let your husband know that the smell is from your hair product, not another man!!!  :)  Next is one of my ALL TIME favorite things!!!!  It is the Dove Body Mist in Energizing grapefruit and lemongrass scent.  I wear this everyday!  It is so light and literally energizing!  And the best part, especially here in the desert, where it is HOT all the time, when you spray it all over the mist comes out cool, so it's like you are getting a tiny cool shower :)  I have multiple bottles of this stuff I love it so much.  I always keep on in my purse too for quick refreshers during the day.  Next is the Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque.  This mask has been getting a lot of hype lately so I tried it and I now know why.  The first thing you notice is that it smells soooo good.  Like mint of course but not over powering menthol, burn your eyes, kind of thing.  I apply this to areas that are prone to oilyness for me, T zone, chin, and where my phone touches my cheek.  You put it on and let it dry for 15 minutes.  Try to stay indoors with this on as I scared my own cat with it :)  Then you just rinse with warm water.  I use it every 3rd day to shrink my pores and dry up any blemishes.  I was a bit concerned to be using a clay mask as they tend to be very drying and I have mainly dry skin, but using this as often as I do has not seemed to be a problem.  And finally my last product I wanted to share with you is the Aveda light Elements smoothing fluid.  I have used this for at least 4 years now and still love it.  This is a shine serum, but is different than my shine spray.  I use this on wet, towel dried hair.  As I color my hair, my hair becomes dry very quickly.  Six pumps of this after my shower and I have hydrated and soft hair that is ready to style and doesn't look greasy! 

WOW! That was a lot longer than I planned, but I hope that you guys like this and will want to try some of these awesome products out!  Have an awesome night and as always, thanks so  much for reading!!

Quick Update

I am WAY over due for a new blog post.  There has been so much happening that I really haven't had any time!  Matt and I have been getting ready for our garage sale this saturday: 7:30am if anyone is in the area :)  We are doing a full clean out to get ready to move and thought we would see if we could make a buck on some of our old stuff, haha.  I am a bit nervous for the sale as I heard that people around here steal from them!  How crazy is that?? Stealing from a garage sale?  But I am going to have help so that is good.
Matt's hiring process is taking a lot longer than expected and it is pushing our moving date back.  What this means for me and school, I might have to change my start date to January instead of September.  Not really a huge deal other than the fact I REALLY want to get started!  But at least this way Matt and I don't have to live in different places from each other.
Anyway, I know that is really short, but I really need to get back to pricing for the GS.
Hope all is well with everyone!
Thanks for reading!
Gabby xoxox

Milo Minus His Bits

I have decided that I am going to be the worst mother ever!  I took my youngest son (Milo, my cat) into the vet today to get neautered.  Ugh, I was a wreck.  I didn't cry in the office, thank the Lord!, but I did get a bit teary eyed when I left him all by his little self.  Poor boogie!  Of course, everything was totally fine, as I expected, but it was just the hard part of leaving him.  Oh goodness, I am hopeless when it comes to animals, especially my two boys!
Anyway, Milo is doing very well.  He is currently searching the house for any traces of food as he has not been allowed to eat since last night.  I can only give him a little bit at a time as he is still drugged.  Not that you would be able to tell as he is pretty active, he just has red rings around his eyes, like he has had a heavy night of drinking, haha. 
Tucker (older brother, our black lab) was very excited to see Milo when we got home just a little while ago.  He missed his bro. 
Now you all know my secret, I am a complete weirdo when it comes to my babies, yes, my babies! Haha!  They are my little love bugs and they take care of me just as much as I spoil them.
Well, just wanted to let you all know that Milo bear is doing just fine, currently chasing a piece of dryer lint around the wood floors in the hallway, that's my boy. :)
Much love from me and my boys (minus just a little bit from Milo, haha),
Thanks so much for reading!
Gabby xoxoxo

Ahh, I feel like I haven't talked to you guys in forever!  Sorry it's been about a week since I last posted.  Would love to say that there has been so much going on that I have been to busy to write, but it is actually quite the opposite.  There really hasn't been much to write about, haha. 
It was my last day of work yesterday.  Pretty uneventful, but it was really weird cleaning my desk off.  Not really any good byes though as I am going in on Monday to sell some of my scrubs and pick up my paycheck.  And then Miss Lucy is having a going away party for me next Saturday.  So no sad moments, not yet.  I am the worst at the good bye thing too.  I get sad which makes me feel uncomfortable.  It's really weird.  I'm so much better at the cheerful stuff in life, haha.
Had a great time over at one of my friend's houses last night with all her cute kiddlets.  Just sat around and talked and talked, something I love to do and am officially licensed to do due to my name, haha.  Love doing that, just sitting around and talking and catching up with friends!  Her oldest daughter even made me a wallet out of duct tape!  It is so cool!  She is super creative!  My friend also hosted a Parent/Community Involvement Fair this morning at the high school.  I went even though I don't have any kids, I was there for support.  It was really great though.  I got lots of free pens, haha.
Milo gets fixed on Monday, poor little booger.  Hope this calms him down a bit, ha!!!  He's crazy, but he really is a sweetie.  Love having both of my animal children, they are the best (and don't look at you like you are crazy when you talk to them, well not too much at least).
So now I am absolutely rambling.  Oh, I did want to say to everyone, thanks so much for reading my blog!  I get so excited when the counter of how many readers I have goes up :)  And glad to see that some of the advice I have been giving has been helping!  That makes me feel great!
Love you guys!
Thanks for reading (again)
Lots of rambling (it's ok, I'm licensed),
Gabby

Benefits of Green Tea and Apple Cider Vinegar (you want to read this!)

I wanted to share with you today a few things that I am really excited about.  One that I have tried myself and the other that I am going to be starting very soon.  The first thing I am going to talk about it Green Tea and it's benefits.
A few months after I got married (November 14, 2009 wedding date) I started to notice the skin on my face breaking out.  I have never really had a problem with my skin.  Of course I have had a few blemishes here and there, but for the main part I really got quite lucky on that end.  My skin became so bad that I looked into products like ProActiv and Murad to help contain the problem.  Both of these products, plus many other acne products, contain Salicylic Acid.  This is AWFUL for my skin!  My skin actually became even worse after using these products.  In desperation I turned to YouTube to find some alternatives to the harsh effects of acne face washes.  After learning all about different concoctions to put on your face I came across a few videos recommending Green Tea.  As I am a tea freak anyway (yeah, I really am a Brit), I thought this would be a perfect thing to try.
I started out by brewing my own Green Tea in the mornings and taking it to work in my Thermos cup and drinking it at work.  Within the first two weeks I noticed not just a difference on my face but my body all over.  My face problems are completely gone!  My boss has told me that my skin is flawless, haha (ok this makes me sound a bit conceited, but I am just putting it in here to show the awesome benefits of GT!).  Also, I felt more awake in the mornings.  Even though Green Tea does contain caffeine, it contains less than coffee and most teas, so you can get the slight boost of energy that you need without the jitters and the common crash of high doses of coffee.  I also noticed a slight drop in my weight when paired with healthy eating and exercise of course.  Green Tea has been associated with weight loss, but don't think you can just drink this and be super skinny.  On that note though I will say that drinking such a good for you drink in the morning really sets the stage for making good, healthy choices throughout the day.  And having more energy makes you want to exercise.
Green Tea is mainly known for having a high antioxident level, higher even than some leafy greens.  Antioxidents are what helps kill the free radicals in your body.  These mean guys destroy healthy cell growth and existing cells.  The biggest problem with this cell destruction is cancer growth.  Green Tea has been shown to stop people from getting certain types of cancers.  If it does that just think about all the other benefits it has for your body!
I love drinking Green Tea because it is a great way for me to get wonderful nutrition for my body without taking a daily vitamin, which all make me sick to my stomach.  I even drink hot tea during the summer as it actually makes you perspire and then in turn cools you off.  I also just found out that if you drink Green tea 2 hours after a workout, it kicks your metabolism into high gear, burning 1/3 more fat than normally would be burned after your workout.
Next I want to talk about Apple Cider Vinegar.  This is something that I have yet to try but from the research I have done, I am really excited to get started.  ACV is made by a process where apple cider is left past the point of fermenting into alcohol, ending in the vinegar stage.  Most people's eating habits are not always the best and we tend to have a pretty acidic pH level in our bodies because of this.  Even though ACV is in fact acidic itself, it has an alkeline effect on the body, neautralizing our bodies pH levels.  What this means for you?  When your body is in balance, your health and wellness shoots up!  A few things that ACV has been known to help with are weight loss, diabetes, acne, other skin issues like eczema, digestive issues and arthritis just to name a few. 
When looking for ACV try to get the unfiltered, unprocessed kind.  This way the goodness of the ACV will not have been taken out by trying to make the product "look good" for the consumer. 
Green tea is obvious pretty easy to figure out how to ingest.  Just brew yourself a hot cup every morning and enjoy.  If it is just too hot, try brewing a big batch at night and leaving it in the fridge over night to cool.  Then in the morning you can have an iced Green tea, it is really good with a tablespoon of honey!  Most importantly make your own Green tea.  Pre-packaged Green tea does not hold nearly as many antioxidents as if you do it yourself, and hey let's face it, it CHEAPER!
For ACV the easiest way to take it is in the morning before breakfast.  Take a quick shot glass of it and you are over and done with it!  If you just can't take the taste of it, try adding it to a full glass of water, fruit juice, or veggie juice.
Wow!  That was really long!  Sorry about that, but I really hope that this helped you guys and that maybe you will try some of these super easy and super good for you ideas!
Sending much love and health your way!
Thanks for reading!
Gabby xoxo

Listening to the Spa Channel and Getting Creative :)

Milo did his first vanishing act last night.  As you know Matt went out on a fire last night.  When he came home at 1:30am he told me that he found Milo outside.  Half asleep I tried to figure out how he escaped.  Because it rained last night I opened the windows.  Turns out one of the windows I opened did not have a screen on it as Matt is fixing them before we move.  Open window, curious cat, you get the picture.  But he stayed around and that was good!
Matt went to work this morning so I decided to get up early.  That really is the nicest time of the day in the desert.  I put on my favorite blue tie dye maxi dress, got my morning chai and went down to the river park to enjoy a few minutes of quiet.  I even had my XM radio tuned to The Spa channel, haha.  Yeah, I was super relaxed :)  After that I did a quick walk about the Farmer's Market (very small here in Cbad, but still impressed we have one). 
I then got the creative bug!  I really want to make my own feather earrings, but I am not finding any feathers in the stores here.  Unfortunately our nearest craft store is an hour away in Roswell.  So I decided to pick up some charms from WalMart and I made some super easy but cute earrings with those and then I beaded a couple of bracelets to go with today's blue outfit.  I love beading.  I used to make bead jewelry all the time when I was younger and I love it when I make time to do that again.
Matt is finally home after another 2 fires today.  No rest for the weary, poor bear.  Going to watch the Adjustment Bureau, very excited for this one.  I'll post my thoughts on it tomorrow.  And if you have already watched it let me know what you think.  I am also reading 22 Britannia Road right now, it's fantastic.  So when I am done with that I will write a review too.
Stayed tuned for tomorrow's blog post, I am going to talk about the AMAZING-ness (yeah that is totally a word) of Green Tea!
Thanks for reading!
Sending crafty inspiration your way,
Gabby xoxox

Rain and Fire

It is ACTUALLY raining!  Not just rain for a few minutes and then the baking sun comes out again, no, it's like a thunderstorm out there.  We have not had a recordable amount of rain since last September, with the exception of last Friday.  It must be a Friday thing I guess.  This British girl needs rain to survive!  Desert living is probably not the best idea for that, haha.  As I am typing this Matt just got called out on a fire.  Hmmmmm you say?  Yeah I know, same here!  The thing about storms in the desert is that everything is super dry and when there is rain there is usually lightening, which then in turn sets all the dry stuff on fire.  Matt had to work until 7 and now has to turn around at 7:33 and go back in.  We are both very over this fire season.  Our taco salad dinner which we were just about to start has now turned into a Hot Pocket for Matt and a bowl of cereal for myself.  Woohoo!
Now it comes down to what movie to watch?  Or in my case, probably, what book to read?  Let me know your suggestions. 
Here are a few quick pics of the babies.  Milo looks crazy, like normal and Tucker just wants some belly rubs, he's definitely the easy child, haha.
Thanks for reading!
Loving the rain, done with the fires,
Gabby xoxox

Milo playing with the camera cord

Tucker boy, giving his best puppy dog eyes, awwwww :)