Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen

A few months ago I saw that Sarah Dessen was releasing a new book in May and knew that I needed to pre-order it to my kindle! On May 5th it was delivered and I had it read by the end of the day on May 6th! 

Although Sarah Dessen's books are considered "young adult" I enjoy every second of them. Her novels are easily relatable and make you feel like a high schooler again. There is so much complexity to that age that is hard to describe and Sarah always makes you feel understood. 

This book revolves around Sydney a girl who has consistently lived in the shadow of her older brother and not in a good way. Sydney's brother Peyton has been in trouble with the law and because of that her parents have always been involved in his life and not cared as much about hers. Sydney switches schools, makes new friends, and enters in a relationship that changes her world for the better.

This book was one of my favorites that Sarah Dessen has written and I would highly recommend it to anyone who has read even a single book by her in the past!

Have you read any great books lately? I have a list that I've read recently to review so make sure you stay tuned for more book reviews! 

April Birchbox and Review

In April I was excited to find a few amazing products in my Birchbox! I have had the chance to try all of them and am finally ready to share my thoughts with you! (I think my May box will be here by the end of the week...so I'm ready for some new products!)

I have recently just finished up my shampoo and conditioner stockpile so I was excited to receive these little samples of Beaver Professional Shampoo and Conditioner. I really enjoyed these products, they made my hair soft and silky and didn't dry out my hair which is always appreciated. Although I found them to be great additions to my hair care routine I don't believe I would purchase them in the future simply because I know there are great drugstore shampoo and conditioners that are much cheaper (and I can often find for free). I don't want to spend money on something such as shampoo and conditioner if it's not entirely necessary, so since these have been finished up it's time to say goodbye!

Peace Be Still by Templespa is a calming face and body balm. This lotion was slightly scented with a light, minty scent and did not do any damage to my skin. I actually felt comfortable using this on my face and have done so several times. I didn't find it to perform miracles on my skin, but it didn't do any harm either. This is something that I will finish up, but I will not be purchasing in the future. Again, I don't like to spend money on products unless they are something incredible  which I am still on the lookout for.

When I first opened my box I thought "Oh awesome a nail polish!"
I've learned that I'm not great at reading the card that comes inside my Birchbox because this Jelly Pong Pong Glow Glitter is a luminizer! When I pulled out the brush I was shocked to discover this was not nail polish. I am not a huge luminizer person, I would have much preferred a nail polish. This is not something I would wear every day, and I'm not sure I would wear it even on a special occasion because I feel a bit silly even trying it on in the first place. We will see!

I love a good eye cream and I love Supergoop! After trying their sunscreen last year I have been a huge fan and this eye cream is no exception. The consistency is similar to that of a sunscreen but it makes me feel that the area around my eyes is super protected which is great since that area is so sensitive. As the weather gets hot and I spend more and more time outside I need to remember to religiously apply sunscreen before leaving the house in the morning. I am not the type of girl who doesn't have to wear sunscreen, my pasty white skin gives me no choice! (Well the choice is pasty white with sunscreen or burning red and in pain...) So I will use up this whole sample and may perhaps purchase this in the future!

What did you get in your last Birchbox? If you don't receive Birchbox, what beauty products have you tried lately?

Moneymaker at CVS!

In case you're not a crazy coupon person like myself you might not be aware that there is a MoneyMaker at CVS this week!

The small Nivea lotions are buy two get a $5 ExtraCare Buck. You are spending less then $5 to buy these lotions and are making money by walking away with $5 ExtraBucks! Don't you just love couponing without coupons?!

The only trouble is, you can only do this deal once! Two lotions is all you're going to get unless you have multiple CVS cards and split the lotion into multiple transactions.

So get over to CVS and pick up your free lotion before Sunday this deal only runs through Saturday at midnight!

Life Lately

Hi friends!

So this is what happens when I take a two week vacation from blogging...I have so much I want to write about and so much I want to say.

A week ago I was feeling un-inspired. I had nothing new to share with the blogging world and felt that all I would do was bore you if I came to share my nothing-ness. Now I'm back! Although my life isn't as exciting as plenty of other peoples, it has been pretty good lately.

I had the opportunity to go with a friend to a local production of Dirty Dancing! Dirty Dancing is one of my favorite movies of all time so I was super excited to see how they would turn it into a play. Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) did a fabulous job and the dancing was absolutely incredible. There were a few changes in the plot and a bunch of scenes were added that I didn't love but it was a great show and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a great show. Unfortunately it was only playing for a limited time in the Rhode Island area- so I hope you got to go see it if I you're nearby! 

After Dirty Dancing my friend Blythe and I headed over to the Cheesecake Factory for a delicious dinner and an even better dessert! I am a huge fan of the Oreo Cheesecake and loved every second of this mouthwatering dessert.

Roxy is doing alright. She is blind as a bat and continually wanders the yard, running into things as we yell "Careful!" She's been eating homemade meals that my friend Kaitlin recommended. We've been mixing either ground beef, ground turkey or chicken in with brown rice and vegetables to create a yummy meal for her that's gentler on her stomach and it helping with the kidney stones she recently acquired. This poor dog has been through so much and she's such a sweetheart =)

My friend Kayla had a baby shower for her newest addition! She will be giving birth to a baby girl in June and I'm so excited for her and her boyfriend Jared. (As well as her son Brayden who will be a big brother!) Laura and I went to the baby shower together and it was so nice to spend time with her and Kayla. The three of us don't get to hang out together nearly enough.

I've been loving simplicity this spring in both my outfits and hair. Flowy tops, light sweaters, skinny jeans and simple flats. No big jewelry or anything crazy; just a simple outfit. I've been wearing my hair curly quite a bit lately. I love my Conair Youcurl Wand and find that when I use it to curl my hair I can get it done quickly and my hair will stay for more then one day. (In fact I have to say that my hair always looks better with second day curls. Another reason to not wash your hair every day!

I've been spending quite a bit of time down by the beach. Taking walks along the water, taking drives to the beach and just being on the coast in general. The weather has been pretty nice the past week and it has been absolutely fantastic. My mom and I discovered a new secret place where you can look out over a local saltwater pond and it is such a beautiful place. Any excuse to be by the water...I'll take it!

My workouts have been great recently. I've been doing a lot of walking outside which has been great. I've also been religiously going to Saturday step class as well as Zumba classes almost every Monday and Friday nights. Tonight I snapped the above picture after doing a run on the treadmill and realized that I was all alone in the gym. I guess it's too nice outside to be inside the gym!

I'm looking forward to incorporating some outdoor workouts into my regular exercise routine. This coming Saturday I will be volunteering at a 5K and will participate by walking the 5K after I'm done volunteering. I also want to make plans to hike and kayak this summer, there are so many fun things to do when the weather is nice!

I have a lot more to share but I'm going to cut this post off before I share everything. I have several book reviews to post as well as a couponing post. I also have a organizing post planned in the near future too....

Until next time!

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?

This week I decided to knock a non-fiction humor book off my list that I've been wanting to read for a long time.

I am a huge fan of The Office and thought Mindy Kaling did an amazing job playing her character Kelly throughout the show. I picked up this book hoping to read a few inside stories about the office and enjoy Mindy's humor. There weren't a ton of stories about The Office, a good portion of the book was about her childhood. Mindy had parents with serious professions and was brought up in a strict but loving household. She grew up with only a few friends (but had some great friends along the way) and spent a great deal of time learning all about humor.

The stories about her career were my favorite part of the novel. I loved hearing about Steve Carell, Rain Wilson and the other members of The Office crew. I didn't realize that Mindy was mostly a writer on The Office but she spoke quite a bit about it. Of course everything Mindy wrote was in humor and there were times I found myself laughing out loud at what she had written. I would definitely recommend this book if you're looking for a quick, easy read that will give you a couple of laughs!

I also want to mention that I've been spending my lunch breaks at work reading outside! Yes, you read that right! It is finally warm enough to be outside.

Sitting in my car during lunch with the windows open drinking my coffee is also something that is making me giddy lately!

Yesterday it was so beautiful that I took a walk during my lunch break to the river nearby...

I saw a little turtle sunbathing on a piece of trash. It was sad, but it was nice to see him enjoying the sun nevertheless!

Now tonight I have big plans!

Yes, I am cuddling with Roxy and watching a Law and Order SVU marathon. Big plans =)

Enjoy your Friday tomorrow everyone!

Life Lately

Hello all!

I've been all over the place lately- trying to keep up with work and day to day life. It is quite a busy time! So this blog post is going to be a little bit all over the place so bear with me- I just am going to try to update you on as much as possible.

Last weekend  spent Easter with my family in Stonington Borough and it was a windy but beautiful day.

 
  

I've been spending a lot of time loving on this little girl. She is such a sweetie and has kidney stones right now. She also is completely blind- but is still the sweetest girl around! 

So my work had a March Madness pool and I won! It was so exciting and I walked away with $200 which was great since I am able to put it towards my car! I will be paying off my car entirely this week and am so excited that in just under 5 years I have completely paid off my car and it is allllll mine!

One of the things I have been obsessed with using Coconut Oil on my hair. I read that Blake Lively does this regularly and as we all know she has the most gorgeous hair around so I will do anything that she says is good for your hair =)

I wet my hair in the shower and then put this all over the ends of my hair before shampooing. That way you aren't cleaning the ends of your hair when that part of your hair needs the oil and moisture.

Yesterday we tore down the deck outside in preparation for building an addition. It was really hard work and we were all exhausted when the day was over. (I fell asleep at 8pm!) 12,000 steps later my body was done!

Today started with a CardioSculpt workout-which was very intense! Then I spent some time cleaning and organizing before checking in here. Next I'm off to a bridal shower as you can see I have my gift all ready to go!

How has your life been lately? Are your days busy busy or are you relaxing lately? Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Spring Cleaning: More Sentimental Items and Random Places

Happy Easter everybody! I hope you enjoyed a wonderful day with family and friends. I had a lovely brunch this morning with my family, followed by a walk around downtown Stonington Borough which was chilly but nice. 

Even though it's still not feeling like spring here in Rhode Island, I have been doing some major spring cleaning of even MORE sentimental items. Earlier this season I cleaned out a great deal of recent greeting cards that had been claiming residence in my closet for far too long- but I knew that wasn't my only issue. There were definitely more sentimental items cluttering my life.

In the words of Eminem, "Tonight, I'm cleaning out my closet"

This was my closet of choice- although it's more of a nook then a closet since it doesn't have a door- which means i need it to stay looking neat so people don't think I'm a disaster when they enter my room.

I quickly managed to pull out a ton of things I knew I didn't really need....

There were a ton of old magazines I was holding onto (such as a final episode of Friends magazine... seriously! I was holding onto it as if it was a collectors item, what on earth was it still doing hanging around?!) I had both of my graduation caps (high school and college) and I really don't need them! I kept the tassels, but there is no need to keep the caps as well. I also decided to part with my ticket stubs (seriously, am I a hoarder?), my graduation book, old dance competition books, and old dance teacher notes.

Then I decided while I was in that area to go through my current magazine stash (ones I haven't read)...

I only get magazines in the mail that I get for free so some I do have duplicate copies of. I brought all the ones I didn't want to work and placed them in the waiting room so other people can enjoy them and ended up with only these....

I love the Storage Solutions magazine and buy this every year. I also love reading Cosmo so I kept that so I can finish reading the magazine.

It's amazing what you're able to donate and people will be thrilled to have/use/read when you aren't enjoying them at all!

I also went through some more sentimental items...

I had so many certificates and programs from awards ceremonies I participated in. Do I really need a certificate that reminds me of my fourth grade honor roll status? No! Would I want my future children burdened by having to sort through all this in the future? No! So into the recycling bin these went.

I also sorted through my paperwork- papers from old vacations, receipts from more expensive purchases I insisted on holding onto. Papers from old jobs, papers from old events, papers that are just old. These were all from my file cabinet, and you can see my shredder in the top right corner because that's where all of these went. I highly recommend sorting through your file cabinet regularly because it's amazing what you manage to stuff in there.

Next I tackled photos...

I didn't throw away too many- only ones that were of people I don't speak to anymore- because honestly why do I need them? I want to take all my hard copy pictures and scan them into my computer and get rid of all the hard copies (or at least put the hard copies into albums). At some point I would like to go through all my albums- but that is a project for another day!

I already feel lighter and better about where my spring cleaning is heading. I am making my life simpler and that is always a good thing.

Have you been doing any spring cleaning? What kinds of things are you getting rid of?