Mystic Aquarium

Hey everybody! We are back from our Disney adventure to our dismay- we were hoping we could just continue traveling the world...but here we are back at work.

Before we get into the Disney trip recaps I need to review a mini trip we did the weekend before we left. Tim and I joined Brittni, Stephen and Emma for a trip to Mystic Aquarium. They invited us to come with them for Saturday afternoon and lucky for us they have a membership so we were able to join for free! 

Tim and I enjoy the aquarium just as much as your average kid if not more so we were excited to visit our aquatic friends!

Mystic Aquarium has an amazing beluga whale exhibit and they are so interactive always coming right up to the glass.

We were able to get some great pictures with one of the whales right behind us!

I love that in this picture it looks like Emma is the one taking the selfie. I see a lot of picture taking in this kids future- I mean she's learning from the best!

Another favorite outdoor exhibit is the penguins! This aquarium has a huge collection of penguins and they are hilarious to watch. We stood outside for a bit to watch them get fed and then decided to head inside to check out the other exhibits.

Emma thought the penguins were pretty funny as well.

On our way inside we stopped to point out some frogs to Emma.

She was really enjoying herself! Emma really liked watching all of the fish inside the aquarium as well and we enjoyed pointing out Nemo and Dory to her.

Now one of her favorite things to do is hold on to two adults hands and drop her weight entirely. Nothing is more fun then having adults carry your weight right?!

So cute :)

There was also a shark tank which had a couple of sleeping sharks- not too exciting!

There were too many Nemos to count in this tank!

Turtles are one of my favorite sea creatures- I just think they are so cute!

I thought it would be nice to take a cute family picture for them- Emma was a little distracted by the tank behind me.

Her "cheese" face is hilarious though!

We wandered through the exhibits indoors for a bit before heading back outside.

We walked around through the courtyard to the next building where Emma had a grand old time playing inside a jeep.

There were a ton of kids super excited about this jeep. It's one of those things that every kid wanted to climb in while the adults stood there wondering why it was such an exciting thing... crazy kids!

I thought this picture was super cute! Just going for a bobsled ride.

There was also a frog exhibit with so many different types. I particularly enjoyed the poison frogs :)

After finishing at the frog exhibit we headed to our final stop at the sea lion show.

While we waited for the show to start Emma climbed around and kept pulling Tim's hat of his head and laughing.

I didn't take any pictures at the sea lion show but it was super cute and different from the last time we saw it. After we finished at the show we could tell Emma was definitely ready for a nap. 

She passed right out in the car! It was a fun afternoon and we are super grateful to Brittni and Stephen for taking us along!

2017 Beauty Product Collections: Candles

Oh my gosh you guys today we are talking candles which is one of my favorite things. I love nothing more then lighting a candle when I get home for the day. If I'm on the couch watching tv you can guarantee there will be a candle burning on the coffee table!

I had my candle collection down to pretty much bare bones with only a few left until I went to Bath and Body Works at the end of August.  I prefer fall scents for candles but I've been known to burn some beach scents as well.  This post will include my entire collection except for the candle I'm currently burning which is just a light citrus scent that came in a teal container. I also didn't include the unscented candles and decor candles that are located around my apartment because I don't plan on burning them up since they are decorations currently!

Right now I have:

5 full size Bath and Body Works Leaves Candles
1 full size Bath and Body Works Marshmallow Fireside
1 full size Bath and Body Works Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin
1 mini Bath and Body Works Leaves Candle
1 small tealight that I received in my Sarah Dessen book package
1 Pier One Candle
1 Yankee Candle Sun and Sand (recently gifted to me by my mom)
1 Yankee Candle Harvest

This is definitely not an overwhelming collection and I am satisfied with the amount I have right now. The next time I purchase candles will be in the new year and I am confident that by that point I will have finished up a few of these as well.

What are your favorite candle scents? How many candles do you have in your collection?

Life Lately: Labor Day Weekend Fantasy Football and Chilis

Well I'm a little behind in my Life Lately posts you guys! I am currently in Disney World and will soon be home and writing magical posts for you but first lets flash back to Labor Day Weekend. 

On Friday of Labor Day we headed to Brittni and Stephen's for a fantasy football draft. While of course we had fun drafting our teams (Gronk is mine again!) the babies were the real entertainment. Emma and Bella had us all amused the entire time.

They were having a blast with Uncle Tim because he will always crawl right on the floor with them.

It was also Kylee's 13th birthday so of course we had to celebrate that!

We had a great time! 

On Saturday we went to Tim's work for a little bit and then spent most of the day getting stuff done around the house.

For dinner we decided to go to Chili's and invited Ally and Derek along.

I had a blue margarita and it was very tasty! We used Tim's gift cards that he had won at a golf tournament raffle. It was hilarious because they came in $5 increments.

We had a nice dinner hanging out with Ally and Derek and then went back to their apartment to play some video games and drink some more.

Sunday and Monday were spent hanging out in our apartment! Pretty boring but we had the best time hanging around and just relaxing. 

See you again on Wednesday with a new post! Have a great day!

Haul: Sephora (lots of freebies)

So I did something bad you guys...

I ordered something new that I realllllly didn't need....

Yes! The Too Faced Semi Sweet Chocolate Bar Palette is all mine! I've wanted this beautiful palette for awhile so I gave in and ordered it a couple of weeks ago. I know I don't need a new palette but here she is in all her glory!

The colors are gorgeous and the palette itself smells like chocolate which basically makes it my favorite palette ever. So far I am loving wearing peanut butter and truffled and that has been my go-to  almost every day.

Now, I didn't come here just to show off this palette but I wanted to show you all the freebies I got as well. In addition to my three free samples I simply put a promo code in and received a huge bag full of hair care samples.

There are so many new things to try! One of my favorite things about Sephora.com is the extensive number of promo codes. Every time I order I make sure to go through the list and find the one I want the most. I chose hair products this time since I know I love to try out different haircare samples.

I'm very happy with my order and have been having the best time playing with my new products!

Have you placed any Sephora orders lately?

2017 Beauty Product Collections: Full Size Body Lotions

I am so ashamed you guys. My beauty product collection is out of control, I really need to go on a no buy and stick with it.

I've already shared my perfumes and body sprays and today I'm going to be showing my full size body lotions. This is not just to show you what I have in my collection but is also to hold me accountable so I can see exactly what I have and what I don't need. This way next time I walk past Bath and Body Works I can do so knowing I have plenty of choices at home. 

While I was pulling all my products out I decided to list them in Evernote and keep track of my collections that way. I can keep track of exactly how many full size lotions I have (27) and that helps prevent me from buying more! (I hope...)

So here's what I have for full size lotions...

For Bath and Body Works I currently have the following lotions:
Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin
Vanilla Bean Noel
Vanilla Bean Noel
Fresh Sparkling Snow
Moon Light Path
Pink Chiffon
Waikiki Beach Coconut
Guava Pineapple Splash
Amber Blush
Vanilla Bean Noel
Paris Amour
Peach Bellini
Aruba Coconut

For Victoria's Secret I have:
Pure Seduction
Pure Seduction
Hydrating Body Lotion

Other Miscellaneous Lotions I have:
Snow Angel by Philosophy
Ocean by Mangiacotti
Basin Pink Sugar
Nivea
Mrs. Meyers Lavender
Hawaiian Tropic After Sun
Cetaphil
Heavenly Goddess Sweet Tart
Morton Epsom Salt
Eucerin
Eucerin

I'm currently using Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin which is currently living in my bedroom and Aruba Coconut is currently living in the living room. I generally keep two lotions out at a time and usually don't change them until they are used up.

Now my plan is to go on a no buy through the end of the year once I get back from Disney World. I know there is a Basin in Disney World and know I won't be able to resist buying a few items! I plan on not buying any products from September 21st through the end of the year. This way I can focus on buying Christmas presents and not spending money. I will however be getting my birthday present from Sephora!

Hopefully this plan will limit some of the items I may have otherwise brought in :)

Well that's all for today, stay tuned for more collection posts coming up!

Organized Cookware

Long time no organizing projects! Let's change that today and I'll show you my recent re-organization of my cookware. 

I think we are growing out of our apartment slowly but surely. I'm noticing as we acquire more items we need, our kitchen feels smaller and smaller. I try to declutter and keep our possessions to a minimum as much as possible, but sometimes there are things we need- such as different kinds of cookware and one cupboard wasn't able to hold it neatly anymore.

So I ended up purchasing a pan organizer from Amazon with the idea that it would solve all of my problems.

It's such a simple concept but it truly did make a difference since I was able to use some vertical space to keep these pans.

Pretty good! The only problem is that is only four pans. I ended up moving quite a few of the items that previously lived in this cupboard into other cupboards. There was too much going on in here and it stressed me out every time I needed to grab something!

Here's what ended up staying in here...

I would like to eventually grab a desk organizer to keep my cutting boards organized but I think for now it looks pretty good! It's a much cleaner look and I'm not scared to open those doors anymore!

Here's what found new homes...

My cookie trays, pizza pan and muffin tin went into the drawer under the stove which was completely empty.

My strainer went to the top of the pantry where I just made a little bit of room.

I'm very happy with how this turned out and I think our kitchen will work a lot better for us!

What organizing projects have you completed lately?

August Empties and Declutter

Hey everybody and happy September!

I wanted to share my empties and decluttered products with you today. I finished up quite a few products in August and I honestly was pretty close to finishing several others before the end of the month- those will just have to wait until the end of September!

Let's get started!

First lets start with the products I've decluttered.

First up is P.S. I Love You by Bath and Body Works. I've been holding onto this lotion forever and I just can't bring myself to use it because it smells like old lady! It is SO floral and strong that it gives me a headache. I've also let it get super old so it's honestly kind of gross at this point. Second in line is Stress Relief by Pink Zebra. At first this just smelt minty to me and I thought it was great until about thirty minutes later I smelled something terrible and realized it was my skin! I was so disgusted I knew I needed to just toss it. It's never worth it to me to use something I really hate, if I don't like it why waste my time? Lastly I have two Stila Lipglosses that felt super gross on my lips. They were super wet and sticky and I couldn't bring myself to keep them on my lips- so they will be tossed!

I've been wearing these Clariti Daily Contacts and they truly make my eyes feel amazing. I was wearing monthly contacts and my eyes always felt dirty so this change has been one for the better!

In the laundry world I used up three of my favorites; Purex Crystals, Tide Pods and Bounce Dryer Sheets. All three are incredible and I will continue to repurchase them in the future.

I finished the second of my two coconut candles. I do really like these but would definitely not go out of my way to purchase them in the future. They burn out too quickly and are a nice gift but not something I need to have around all the time.

I finished up two Softsoap hand soaps. One is fresh citrus and the other is crisp cucumber and melon. I thought the melon one was the nicer of the two but definitely prefer Bath and Body Works soaps to these since there are so many different scents.

I used up a sample of Redken Beach Envy shampoo and conditioner, Shea Moisture shampoo and conditioner and a Klorane conditioner this month and all were just okay. The ProfilePro Hair oil was great for taming my frizz and flyaways when I straighten my hair

I used up this mini Victoria's Secret Coconut Passion Body Spray which I liked but didn't love. I am trying to use up most of the body sprays in my collection since I love the perfumes I have. Earlier this month I shared my collection with you here and this body spray was absent since it was already in my empties!

I managed to finish up quite a few makeup and face empties. The Cargo eyeliner was great and something I would consider repurchasing again although it did go rather quickly. I loved the WilmasShumann Collagen Eye Pads and thought they made my my under-eye area feel so much smoother. I would definitely consider something else like this in the future. I finished three Cake Batter chapsticks this month and it's still my favorite lip product!
I love the Almay Lash Care makeup removing wipes. I usually only wear mascara and eyeliner to work so this is great a removing my eye makeup without stinging my eyes. Kiehls makes an amazing Midnight Recovery Eye Cream, it's so creamy and moisturizing I would definitely purchase this again in the future! I also really enjoyed the Derma-e charcoal mask which I used while relaxing in the bathtub a few weekends ago. Charcoal seems to do wonders for my skin. Lastly in this picture is Coola Classic sunscreen which I applied to my face before we went kayaking and I absolutely love. It works great at protecting my skin and it feels good on!

I have been using this Dawn New Zealand Springs dish soap for the last few months and love the scent. I will definitely pick this up again in the future. The Method cucumber all purpose cleaner is great and was my favorite scent until I found the ocean scent! I can definitely see myself repurchasing this in the future. I didn't love the Method bathroom cleaner and will be looking for other alternatives to try.

Bath and Body Works Tiki Mango Man Tai just smells so tropical and I love it! I will continue to purchase tropical scents from Bath and Body Works. Cozy Sunday Morning is another story... this scent was AWFUL! I hated every second of it and have no idea why I thought it was so great in store. I am struggling through the body wash right now. I do like the tea part of it but I guess I don't enjoy bergamot! Lastly I finished a Nivea soft cream which was a small sample size but an awesome lotion that just felt really luxurious! 

So that's everything guys! I'm off to recycle all these containers and toss all the trash! Have a great day!