May Recommendations

Hello hello friends! You know the drill. Skimmers, recommendations are in bold (and typically clickable). My good friend Amanda from Voyage of the MeeMee is joining me for recommendations this month.

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1. Sephora Ultimate Oil-In-Gel Lipstick Remover: I'm a big fan of long lasting lip color (pretty and lazy at the same time = winning!) but I'm not a fan of having to scrub the top 3 layers of my skin raw to get it off at the end of the day. Enter: this stuff. Don't ask me how the science part works, but basically the oils dissolve the lip color with less time and effort than it took to apply it in the first place.

2. The Jenna & Julien Podcast: I adore Jenna Marbles. Her and her boyfriend, Julien, have a podcast (new episodes every Monday) and it's ridiculous and awesome and magical. The end.

3. Change.org: This is a global petition site that was created to raise awareness on a broad range of topics and inspire positive action as it relates to them. Through it, I've learned about issues that I never would've known existed otherwise. Knowledge is power, yo.

4. Starbucks' S'Mores Frappuccino: If you haven't had one of these yet, what are you doing with your life? Seriously. Sit down in a corner and re-evaluate your purpose. Don't come back until you've thought long and hard about it.

5. Swiffer 360° Dusters Extender: Because: oldness. I have terrible allergies and this bad boy works wonders on dust, without stirring it up in the air. I can even reach behind our washer/dryer with it. There are no words to describe my excitement over that. Am I a loser? Yes. But, I'm a clean loser.

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1. Make your corn on the cob in the microwave. Three minutes per piece. It peels like a dream. If you're just making it for yourself or you and one other, this is the way to go. You won't be sorry.

2. Kernel Cutter. Why no, I'm not finished talking about corn on the cob yet. Seasonal hazard. If you are like me and do not actually eat the corn off the cob, but in a bowl chock full of butter and salt, this tool will make your life easier. But where it really comes in handy is when I'm making a ton of corn and freezing it so I have fresh corn throughout the winter. Mine is Pampered Chef and they don't offer it anymore, but I'd definitely try one by someone else if something happened to mine. I think you can search Ebay for the Pampered Chef one. 

3. Extra Toasty Cheez-Its. Thanks to Laura at Oh Laura Darling for posting about these. They are the bomb. If you're a Cheez-Its fan, get on it. 

4. Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment SPF 15 in Ruby. It's the lightest hint of color, very moisturizing, and has SPF. I use it in lieu of colorless lip balm and believe it's universally flattering. I have three other colors of these, but this is my daily and my go-to. 

5. Daily Sunscreen. Yes, daily. Not only when you're at the beach or pool. I use Coppertone Clearly Sheer SPF 30 for face and various for body, my latest is Sun Bum because the name makes me laugh and I like the smell. It's not greasy which is always a bonus. I like Coppertone and Hawaiian Tropic for the body also.

Thanks to Amanda or MeeMee as I like to call her for throwing out some recommendations this month.Let us hear yours! What are you recommending this month?

 Linking up with Shanna for Random Wednesday

January Recommendations

Skimmers, recommendations are in bold. Anything that's colored text is a clickable link. Aside from me, this month you get recs from Emily at Martinis & Bikinis and Nicole at Nicole Marica.  Both of these ladies are on my daily reads list, I hope you follow them all the ways! Links to their blogs and social media accounts are beneath their photos.

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1. L'Oreal Go 360 Clean Deep Exfoliating Scrub: I've been using this scrub for over two years and love how it gently cleans your pores, removes makeup, and exfoliates skin. It comes with the Srublet attached at the front which is soft but still effective at deep cleaning your face at the end of the day.

2. Formula 10.0.6 So Totally Clean Toner: The sales clerk at Ulta recommended this toner and I love how it works. It's also gentle without a harsh alcohol smell and the price tag is very affordable compared to some of the bigger makeup brand names.

 

3. OPI's On Her Majesty's Secret Service nail color - I painted my nails this color for NYE and loved the dark sparkly look for the holidays or, if you love sparkles like I do, it's a pretty nail color for anytime of the year. 

 Image Credit

4. Bluapple: These babies help prolong the freshness of your fruits and veggies. We eat lots of veggies so my storage drawer in the fridge is usually stacked full and I place the Bluapple in there to keep everything fresh and prevent fast spoilage.

5. Stirrings Dirty Martini mix: It's no secret, I love dirty martinis with blue cheese stuffed olives. I've experimented with different recipes and finally found Stirrings Dirty Martini Mix which is the best tasting in my books.

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1. Lace Sleeve Tee at Loft. I ordered this shirt originally in the wine color and loved it so I waited for it to go on sale again (longest week of my life!) and ordered it in the white color. I rarely purchase the same shirt in different colors so it's safe to say that I love it! The fabric is soft and lays perfectly.

2. Risk! Podcast I'm obsessed with this podcast ever since I discovered podcasts existed. I love listening to other people tell tales from their lives. It makes me feel a little closer to understanding others.

3. This is Where I Leave You I love books that make me laugh but are also "dramatic" enough to keep me intrigued. This book was the perfect mix and I couldn't put it down. The movie was really good too, plus it had Tina Fey and Jason Bateman in it and you can't go wrong with those two!

4. Cheesesteak Egg Rolls I had these gifts from God at a work function and they were amazing. I tried to make them at home and failed (it was, in fairness to me, my first attempt at frying anything), but they're so good I'll risk making them again. 

5. Hand Relief Creme by Aveda. I've never had to deal with dry hands and I hate the greasy feel of most lotions. This year, however, my hands have been ridiculously dry and I've tried a ton of hand cremes, this one was the only one that moisturized my hands and didn't leave me feel like my hands were an oil slick. 

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1. Wayfair: I bought pendant lights for the kitchen from this site. I think their home stuff is really cute and the prices are pretty good on some stuff. High on others. Anyway I also got a fruit basket that arrived sort of leaning a little. They were really great about the return, helped me to process it when the website gave me trouble, and refunded it without me having to ship it back. They said to just donate it. I thought that was cool. This level of customer service will guarantee that I'll be back when I need something else.

2. Not Your Mother's Way to Grow Long and Strong Shampoo and Conditioner: First, they smell awesome - my coworkers can smell it on hair washing days. Second, they're safe for color-treated hair and are sulfate-free. Third, they're only $5.99 each. Fourth, they're recommended by my beauty guru Jill. Win, win, win, win. I recommended some other Not Your Mother's products back in April 2014. I really love this line.

3. Bite Beauty high pigment lip pencils. These are awesome and not drying at all. I have one in Velvet and one in Amarone. I love them. They're pricey at $24, but they have no parabens, sulfates, or synthetics. Kathy B originally introduced me to this line and I love it. I have a lipstick too but these pencils are where it's at for me.

4.  Getting groceries delivered. Seriously, where have I been? I used Peapod this past weekend and that's how I'm rolling going forward. They shop, pack, and bring the groceries right to your door. I'm trying to cut down on my after work errands and this will be revolutionary.

5. Baking your hard boiled eggs. Put eggs in muffin tins, bake at 325 for 25 minutes, put immediately into an ice bath for 10, peel, store, done. The most success I've ever had with hard boiled eggs on the peeling side. Plus I don't need to wait for water to boil. Done and done.

Thanks to Emily & Nicole for their recommendations! My sixth recommendation is that you enter to win a $50 Amazon gift card. What else are you going to do in February aside from troll the internets looking for loot?

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What are you recommending this month?

 Linking up with Shanna for Random Wednesday

It's in the bag

Hold the phone: I switched purses. I don't do this as often as I'd like to. I have a lot of purses I love, but I tend to forget and just keep going in the one I'm in. I've been using the black Coach since September, and since I was wearing my new mustard shoes on Saturday, it inspired me to go to my mustard purse. While I'm not that person who matches bags to shoes - although I wish I did it more - it is what usually prompts me to initially make the purse switch.

Now, for the burning question: what's in my purse? I am one of those weird people who is always interested in what other people carry with them. Christina at Easily Entertained did a post like this, and I said next time I change my purse, I'm on it. Well friends, the time has come.

1. My wallet - I've been using this one for almost a year. I like those birds. The bird is the word. It's probably time for a new one though. Guess what? This wallet also currently contains $17. This is very rare. I never have cash.

2. Trident cinnamon is my go to gum.

3. Wet Ones. Sometimes I clean my car dash with these at stoplights.

4. 2012 - 2014 purse size planner. This keeps my dates only, no To Dos or anything of the sort. Yes, I have an iPhone and a computer. I still use paper. It's my woobie.

5. My trusty train pass with my building access card behind it. I've been carrying those in an orange and pink luggage tag with the letter S on the front for five years. It is beyond time to get a new vessel to carry those babies. And my work keys.

6. My Casio Exilim and my notebook. Not pictured but always on me: my texting phone, my iPhone, and a pen.

7. Also not pictured, but always in there: the book I'm reading and a bottle of water. I cannot be without a book or a drink. Mama needs a big bag.

8. This is what's serving as my hand cream right now. I need to go to a richer one for winter.

9. Neosporin lip health is always in a zipper pocket, never in my makeup bag. That Be a Bombshell gloss (in Hot Mess) escaped from my makeup bag.

10. My makeup bag. It's washable, because it gets totally gross.

Dumped:

Sorted:

Clinique Almost Lipstick - Black Honey

Clinique Chubby Stick - Graped Up

Clinique Different Lipstick - A Different Grape

Baby Lips - Grape Vine

Baby Lips - Cherry Me

Bobbi Brown Creamy Lip Color - Italian Rose

Five lip liners - two Palladio, two Avon, one Jordana

Urban Decay Lip Junkie Lipgloss - Midnight Cowboy

Escape purse size

Hair tie

CoverGirl compact that I use just for the mirror - the powder is vampire colored

MAC Lipstick - Capricious

MAC Lipstick - Snob

MAC LipGlass - Viva Glam VI

MAC Pro Longwear Lipglass - Boundlessly Beige

It would seem that I have a thing for lip products. Because aside from a mirror, a spot of perfume, and a hair tie, there's no makeup in there that is not a lip product. 

What's in your purse or man bag?

Linking up with Helene for Tell Me About it Tuesday.