July Favorites

Beauty gurus on YouTube do videos of their monthly favorites, and I enjoy watching them so I thought I would blog mine.  The difference will be that I don't want to just showcase beauty products, though there will be some.

Anyway, I have five favorites for this month.  I'll start with the three I have a photo of:

1. Sephora by OPI nail polish in Already Famous
This polish has a shimmery taupe base and lots of refined gold and silver glitter.  I'm not generally a fan of glittery polishes, but the glitter in this one is not chunky at all; just nice and sparkly.  It's a gorgeous color for summer.

2. Bumble and Bumble Quenching Complex Leave in Conditioner
I only have a sample of this (which has lasted two weeks), but as soon as I'm out I will be purchasing the full size.  While at Sephora recently I told the sales associate that I was looking for a new leave in conditioner that wouldn't weigh my hair down.  She loaded me up with samples, some of which have been complete duds, and this gem was in my haul. I put it in after showering and it makes the ends of my hair look shiny, thick, and healthy.  My hair is prone to looking quite stringy, but this has prevented that from happening.  As soon as I'm out of my sample I will be purchasing the full size.

3. Noosa Yoghurt
This stuff is amazing!  I am constantly searching for a new and improved yogurt, and I think the search is over.  It comes in six flavors: mango, honey, strawberry rhubarb, peach, raspberry, and blueberry.  I have tried all but the blueberry, and they have all been fabulous.  My least favorite is the honey, not because of the taste, but because I like to mix the honey into my yogurt, so I'll stick with Fage for that flavor.  However, the rest are scrumptious!

And here are my two favorites which I have no pictures :(

4.  This one's a book: Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck
Truth be told I was forced to read this for work, but I'm so glad I was.  Basically this book is about how your thinking can help make you more successful or hold you back.  There are two mindsets: the growth mindset and the fixed mindset.  Growth mindset means you can always get better and grow.  You rebound from failure.  The fixed mindset means you put limitations on your capabilities.  Failure makes you give up.  After much reflecting I discovered that I have the growth mindset for others, but a fixed mindset for myself.
Though I read this for work, I think this is a wonderful read for anyone.  It has changed my parenting, and I've even talked to Chris about it and he has changed as well.  I would have had him read the book, but well, he hasn't read a book since college.

5. And for my last favorite, a TV show: Suits
This show is a brand new series, and honestly what drew my attention to it can be summed up in two words: eye candy.  In my opinion, the two lead actors are super hot (one more than the other, but I'm not telling which I prefer ;) ), and the show comes on after Claire goes to bed, so I figured what the heck, and tuned in to the series premiere. It didn't take me long to get hooked, as I genuinely enjoy the plot lines, no matter how farfetched they are.  It's on Thursday nights at nine on USA, if you're interested.

Date Night

Almost every Friday my mom and stepdad watch Claire for a couple of hours so that Chris and I can have some alone time.  Actually, that's not true.  They watch Claire because they want some time with their granddaughter, and if Chris and I are around she pretty much ignores them and clings to us.  So we vamoose.  

Here is our date night starting with my outfit:

I look miffed, but really I'm not.  I'm not the most photogenic person and this was the best shot.  

Here's what I wore:

Gray shorts from Banana Republic

Pink tank from Forever 21

A pink sparkly bracelet from Premiere Jewelry

A small infinity bracelet from Dogeared Jewelry

A small bee necklace from Dogeared Jewelry

And here are my shoes:

They are from DSW online.

Claire helped me add some lipgloss:

Don't I look so much better?

Claire and Chris anxiously await my parents' arrival:

My parents arrived soon after and Chris and I were off.  We went to a little Mexican restaurant that we had never even heard of before.  Now I'd like to say that we went there because of spontaneity and our adventurous spirits, but the truth is we had a coupon.  At any rate, the food was very good.  We ordered margaritas, I had some guacamole.  Chris ordered the special which was a burrito, an enchilada, and a taco.  I got some flautas. We had fun and I think we'll go back the next time we, cough, have a coupon...

Lime margaritas on the rocks with salt - yum! 

I am a lucky girl to have such a handsome date!

After we left we drove around for a bit, found a coupon for ice cream, and hit the local Baskin Robbins.  Then we headed home.  It was a great evening!

BTW I know that I am sooooo lucky that my parents do this for us!  I am so thankful that Chris and I get alone time and I love seeing their relationship with Claire blossom.  

My favorite summertime scent

I love Victoria's Secret Pink Sunny and Happy because:

1. It smells sooooo good!  There is no scent description on the bottles, so you're stuck with me trying to describe it, something I have never done before.  It smells like orange cotton candy with enough of some kind of perfumey (floral perhaps?) scent to keep you from wanting to eat it.  

2. It's a body spray, which is perfect for the scorching heat.  Perfume can be heavy, while this is nice and light. 

3. The scent lingers. 

4. Sometimes when I put on Bath and Body Works body sprays I cough and sneeze my respiratory system is overwhelmed.  I have never had that problem with this product. 

5. The name says it all: Sunny and Happy.  

As for the cost, when I purchased these at the end of May they were on sale for two for $20.  Which I don't think is too bad.  

Starting Over

A few words that would describe me are introverted, goal-oriented, and procrastinator. Being these three things can be both a good thing and a bad thing.

The Good:

*I am constantly reflecting on myself, and thus, coming up with ways to improve myself.

* I am not the type of person to let life control me. I believe you are in charge of your own destiny (well, mostly as one cannot control everything).

*I actually do pretty well on things that I put off until the last minute.

The Bad:

*Sometimes I think too much. A little less thought and a lot more action is needed.

*I come up with too lofty of goals and fail miserably. My expectations are simply too high.

*The honest truth is I procrastinate because I am afraid of failing. Which frustrates the ambitious side of me, but I can seriously be paralyzed by fear of failure. However, like I said above, I do pretty well on last minute projects so I would love to see how I do with things I actually put more time into.

By now you're probably wondering: What the heck does this have to do with your blog??? Well, I haven't posted in so long, and I want to do a better job of doing so. I also want to blog more about all the things that interest me: clothes and beauty products (yup, I'm slightly materialistic -- but I'll explain more in a later post), books, TV shows, movies, exercise, diet (or what I like to call eating healthily but not cutting anything out), education, and of course Claire (my daughter).

I would also like to work on having a more positive view and demeanor. I don't want to complain all the time, would love to be more compassionate, and be able to make lemonade out of lemons. I firmly believe in the power of positive thinking, as well as karma. You get what you give, and I want to get and give happiness.

This concludes my first official new and improved blog post. I hope you liked it :)