February Birchbox

This month my Birchbox arrived in a brightly colored box! This perked me up a little bit since I'm praying for spring during this crazy winter weather we've been having in Rhode Island. Let's just say I'm getting a little sick of the dull white snow...we need some color in our lives!

The first product is a very generous size eye makeup remover by Marcelle. This eye makeup remover looks similar to the one I am currently using from Sephora but I'm happy to have another makeup remover because you can never have too much!

Since my hair is naturally wavy, this sea salt texturizing spray from Parlor may come in handy. Sometimes it's just easiest to wear my hair natural so this spray may give me the opportunity to do just that without looking like a lion =)

I'm never thrilled to get perfume samples in my Birchbox because as you may have heard- I have too much perfume! However Harvey Prince is a nice brand so I will give this perfume a shot and hopefully it won't interfere with my other perfume options.

Laura Geller's GlamLash Mascara is said to be volumizing. I love getting mascara samples so this will be something I use right away.

TheBalm releases some awesome products and now that I'm more open to lip products (I've given up Burts Bees guys!) I am excited to wear this Read My Lips lip gloss. The color I received is pretty in the container- hopefully it looks okay on me!

I thought you would like to see where I put my products while I'm trying them out. They sit right in front of my perfume tray (my very full perfume tray actually). I keep them right out in the open where I will remember to use them!

What new products are you trying this month?

Weekend Workouts

This weekend I tried out some new-to-me classes. The reason I chose to join the gym that I did was because of the wide array of classes they offer so I'm determined to try out as many as possible.
(I should also mention that on Friday night I took Zumba class- something I've done many times- and of course I loved it!)

On Saturday morning I woke up really early to attend Step and Sculpt. My friend Kaitlin recommended this class to me and I'm so glad she did. When I entered the class I followed another gym-goer inside and watched them put together their step so I would know what I was doing. We also were required to have weights during class which was a nice bonus.

I loved the choreography aspect of the class- following the steps that the instructor provided us. I also am extremely competitive when it comes to classes like this and get very frustrated when I mess something up. From what I understand we did a basic step class and just incorporated weights into the routine. Overall this was an amazing class and I will definitely go back again!

I went back to the gym on Saturday afternoon and met up with Laura to do an arm workout.

20 mins elliptical
20 Seatbelts each arm
60 Seated rows
60 Crunches
60 Ab Twists each side
60 Pectoral Flys
40 Overhead Presses
40 Bicep Curls
30 Lateral Raises

I have been enjoying incorporating weights into my workout routine and can feel myself getting stronger every day!

On Sunday morning I woke up with some extreme soreness in my legs (probably due to Step class) but I pulled myself out of bed and off to the gym to meet Laura for Cardio Sculpt.

I wasn't sure what to expect at all during Cardio Sculpt but I walked into class 15 minutes early, the class was already packed! I quickly set up spots for both Laura and I because I was worried there wouldn't be any spots left (and I was right- the class was full!)

The class consisted of three circuits. Each circuit started with a resistance band, then heavy weights, a weighted pole, light weights, and cardio using an exercise ball. Each circuit changed up the exercises but we used the same equipment each round. It was an intense class but there were a lot of modifications that could be made to each exercise. The instructor gave us ideas of what we could do if the exercise was too hard or too easy. I grabbed extremely light weights since I wasn't sure what to expect but next time I will definitely try the next weights up.

Overall, this weekend was amazing for workouts and I can't wait to do these classes again! =)

What did you do to workout this weekend?

January Birchbox Review

This months Birchbox really killed it! I loved trying out every last product in this box and found some winners!

I love this Katherine Everyday Cosmetics Eyeliner. I received a dark brown eyeliner in my box and have loved using this with my everyday makeup. This eyeliner goes on flawlessly and lasts all day. I would definitely consider purchasing other eyeliners (and even other products from Katherine Everyday Cosmetics) in the future.

Oh my goodness. I was not excited about this product, at all. This Key West Aloe Gentle Aloe Facial Cleanser is AMAZING. I love the scent (it almost spends like a margarita) and it feels absolutely amazing on my skin. I will be using this as my daily cleanser until it's gone and would definitely repurchase this in the future.

At first I thought that this Sweet Science Invisible Daily Tint would be far too dark for my skin however it was almost an exact match to my skin. I would prefer some other foundations to this one but I will use this until it's gone because it's very light but has great coverage!

This REN Glycol Lactic Radiance Renewal Mask is something that I enjoyed using- it was quite refreshing on my skin. However, I don't use a face mask in my regular beauty routine- only on a rare occasion, therefore I don't need to purchase a full size. I will continue to use this up though because it's pretty nice!

This Tocca hand cream was very disappointing. I vaguely remember liking a Tocca hand cream in the past, but maybe I was wrong because this hand cream was extremely oily. I was so excited to try it...but was left wanting a less oily, more moisturizing cream! This is (once again) something I would not run out and purchase in a full size. There are plenty of other lotions I prefer over this one!

What beauty products have you tried out recently?

Weekend Workout!

Happy Monday everybody!

Today I'm trying something new and I'm going to share my workouts from this past weekend with you.  I have really been sticking to my fitness routine and making sure I get to the gym as often as I can. This weekend I had two really great workouts...on Saturday I ended up at the gym for over two hours and Sunday I was there just about an hour. I have really been enjoying my workout time and also have enjoyed being able to eat what I want and still feeling good about myself. I also feel like I get a ton of frustration out when I workout and it's easier for me to wrap my mind around sitting at work all day when I'm able to get some workouts in during the week.

Overall, I've been trying to get to the gym about 4-5 times a week. So far it's been a month and I've managed to keep to that goal! Hopefully I can keep it up- how are you doing on your fitness resolutions?

Anyways, here is what I did this weekend....

The top workout was inspired by one Julie at Pbfingers.com posted, but I did add other things to it and changed it a bit! The bottom workout was just my gym ADD as I jumped from machine to machine.

What were your workouts like this weekend?

I Didn't Come Here To Make Friends....

This week Sean Lowe released his new book and I briefly considered downloading it to my Kindle...then I saw the price on Amazon and decided I would wait it out till the price drops a little bit.  In the section that shows what customers also bought was a book written by Bachelor's biggest villain....

I Didn't Come Here to Make Friends by Courtney Robertson was a tell-all, don't hold back book! When I watched Ben's season of the Bachelor I hated Courtney. I found her obnoxious and wanted her to get sent home every week and was very upset when she was the winner of the season. I decided to read this book to gain some behind the seasons info and learn what happens when the cameras turn off on the show. Courtney didn't disappoint!

Courtney shares in this book how even though she was responsible for the comments she made towards the other girls but she was made into a much bigger villain then she ever actually was. Courtney may have not gotten along with the other contestants and may have made some terrible decisions but it appears that the other girls were just as nasty- they just weren't caught on film. She also shares information about her relationship with Ben after the show ended- someone who should probably never be in a relationship. Ever.

I really enjoyed this book and finished it quickly. It was not very well written, but I was intrigued the whole time. I loved hearing the gossip and was excited to learn about what the Bachelor is truly like behind the scenes.

Do you watch The Bachelor?

This season I am loving the show so far. I was a little disappointed when Ashley I got sent home on Monday because she was crazy and definitely added some dramatic craziness each week! As for real contenders I am currently liking Jade, Whitney and Becca!

Who's your favorite so far?

American Sniper and An A+ Workout

I hope you are all having a great start to your week! We are expecting a huge snowstorm here in Rhode Island- so much so that my work has closed for tomorrow. I'm excited to have a quiet day around the house to read, relax and get a few things done because this past weekend was super busy.

On Friday night I had a basketball game for the dance team I coach followed by my work Christmas party! I had a great time hanging out with my co-workers in a setting other then the office. I love getting to know all the new people I work with, they are a fun bunch!

Saturday I ended up doing a killer workout with my friend Laura that really worked our legs!

Here's what we did:

15 Leg Presses
15 Situps on incline
15 Stepups onto bench (each leg)
15 squats with weight
15 lunges with weights (each leg)
15 calf raises on bench

We combined this with a few arm exercises and some cardio to have a spectacular workout! The next day we met up to attend a Pilates class which wasn't the best class I ever took-but my legs were still shaking from the previous day.

Sunday night I met up with Rachel and Ant to see a fantastic movie....

American Sniper is a movie I've wanted to see for some time now. I am a huge Bradley Cooper fan but went into the movie knowing very little about the plot line. I left completely fascinated and in awe of Chris Kyle's story. Chris was a hero and his love and dedication to his country were unmatched. I am so glad I went to see this movie and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to see a great movie!

There are a ton of great movies coming out in the next few months so I quickly jotted down a few I will be trying to see in theatre soon.

• The Longest Ride (Nicholas Sparks anyone??)
• 50 Shades of Grey (Oh yes, I will be there)
• The Age of Adeline (I love Blake Lively-this looks so good!)
• The Avengers (I'm anywhere Thor is!)

What movies are you excited to see?!

Have a great day everybody!

Kitchen Reno!

When we first moved into our current home- everything was a complete disaster. It was a fixer-upper in practically every room. The kitchen was manageable but something that was placed on the "to update" list.

Here are some before...

Ugly cabinets, old appliances and laminate countertops- all things that needed to be updated.

Over the course of December appliances arrived, cabinets were ripped out, and countertops were replaced. Heres the almost finished kitchen.

Even with the low-quality cell phone pictures I'm sure you can see a huge difference. Replacing the laminate countertops with granite made the whole room look clean and refreshed. The new stainless steel appliances look richer then the old white ones and the new cabinets are gorgeous. 

The floor still needs to be replaced which will happen in the spring-but it's looking great so far!