Wordless Wednesday

New Beauty Faves

I received a giftcard to Ulta for my birthday.  I purchased the following:

The Cargo Eye Lighter in Gold (it also comes in white but they were out)

This product works well for giving you a more awake look.  It has two sides and you use one to highlight the inner corners of your eyes to make them pop and the other for the outer corners or your lower lash line.  It also works GREAT for highlighting your eyebrows.  Kinda pricey ($20) but one I have wanted to try for quite a while and is indeed a new favorite.  

 The other item I purchased is the Benefit Realness of Concealness Kit.  In this kit you get Lemon-aid - a color correcting eyelid primer, Boi-ing - under eye concealer, Ooh la Lift - used to brighten under eye, Lip Plump - to prime, smooth, and plump lips, and High Beam - used as a highlighter for your face.  I have not used all the items that came with the kit yet but have used the Lemon-aid and the Boi-ing which I love.  Will be trying the others out as soon as I figure out how to use them.

I am currently in need of a good foundation.  I have the MOST difficult time finding a color to match me or I do not like the way the foundation feels on my face.  Any suggestions would be lovely!

2013.....already?

Well it has been way to long since I logged in. I hope to pick back up on my blogging this year. Have high hopes for 2013!! My New Years resolution is to make my body more flexible. To be in my early 30's, I am feeling old. Definitely want to make better food choices as well along with lose weight. Have started using my juicer again and love it.

Made this recipe today in the crockpot and I have to say it was super easy and delicious. Served with roasted broccoli.

Recipe from Add a Pinch - http://addapinch.com

This Balsamic Roast Beef Recipe is simple and delicious. You’ll definitely want left overs of this roast beef recipe for all those scrumptious leftover meals!
Author: Robyn Stone | Add a Pinch
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
1 3-4 pound boneless roast beef (chuck or round roast)
1 cup beef broth
½ cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 cloves garlic, chopped
Instructions
Place roast beef into the insert of your slow cooker. In a 2-cup measuring cup, mix together all remaining ingredients. Pour over roast beef and set the timer for your slow cooker. (4 hours on High or 6-8 hours on Low)
Once roast beef has cooked, remove from slow cooker with tongs into a serving dish. Break apart lightly with two forks and then ladle about ¼ – ½ cup of gravy over roast beef.
Store remaining gravy in an airtight container in the refrigerator for another use.
Notes


If you prefer a more pronounced flavor, once the roast beef has been removed, use a fat separator on the gravy and then pour the gravy into a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until the gravy has reduced by half.

Happy New Year everyone!

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Love these ~

Loving this purse

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Loving the tassels on these cute shoes! Thinking I need these.

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Or these

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Or Maybe these

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Cute Bag

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Again the tassels ♥

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I would totally be ok if these magically showed up in my closet ♥

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Friday Confessional

I confess....

Last night when I got home I read my book for 2 and a half hours, went right off to sleep, and never set my alarm clock which resulted in both kids being late for school.

I confess.....

I was so excited when I got my email from H&M about their new website only to be extremely disappointed that you still can not order online in the US! Why is this?

I confess.....

I scored a coupon today for a FREE SPRAY TAN! I am quite nervous about this as I have never had it done before. I quit going to the tanning bed years ago and my legs could really use some color.

I confess.....

that I have a TON of clean laundry to fold, hang, and put away. All our clothes are in laundry baskets which made it very difficult to find something to wear this morning while we were rushing around late!

I confess.....

that this is my first time doing Friday Confessional!

Giveaway by Shasta Anne ♥

There is a fabulous giveaway over at Shasta Anne's blog for a Forever 21 Giftcard and an Exxon Giftcard. What a great giveaway! Contest ends 4/15/11 so enter now. To enter go here:

http://www.shastaanne.com/2011/03/giveaway-of-all-giveaways-for-my.html

Jewelry Giveaway

The wonderful Janna is hosting a giveaway for a pair of Faceted Grey Quartz earrings made by me on her blog. Be sure to check it out and enter!

http://happinessisajourneyforjanna.blogspot.com/2011/04/my-very-first-giveaway.html

Giveaway sponsored by TodaysMama and GameStop

TodaysMama and GameStop are giving Santa a run for his money this year with a pile of presents that any family could love. Our Wish List Grand Prize includes:

Plus, a ONE THOUSAND DOLLAR GameStop gift certificate so you can fill those stockings with games and accessories.

You may want to serve some earplugs with your hot cocoa on Christmas morning to protect your precious hearing from the shrieks of joy from your family.

Entering this contest is easy and fun. Just answer and post the meme below on your blog and send us the link.

To participate you must include all of the text, including the links, in bold below:

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme

TodaysMama (link to: http://bit.ly/tmwishlist) and GameStop (link to:http://bit.ly/gamestop10) are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What is your holiday wish for your family? Happiness and good health.

2. What is your Christmas morning tradition? Opening presents with my kids and parents.

3. If you could ask Santa for one, completely decadent wish for yourself, what would it be? A Mac Book or a new washer and dryer.

4. How do you make the holidays special without spending any money? We love to decorate our home, listen to Christmas music, drink hot cocoa, and make cookies.

5. What games did you play with your family growing up? Scrabble, Monopoly, Hotels

6. What holiday tradition have you carried on from your own childhood? Just the whole traditional Christmas experience. Leaving cookies for Santa, opening up stockings first in the morning, being thankful for all we have.

7. Where would you go for a Christmas-away-from-home trip? Would love anywhere tropical or filled with snow, but it wouldn't really be special unless we were surrounded by all our loved ones.

8. Check out GameStop (link to: http://bit.ly/gamestop10) and tell us, what are the three top items on your GameStop Wish List this year?

1. Definitely the Kinect

2. Zumba Fitness for the Wii

3. Little Big Planet 2 for Playstation

Stella and Dot Necklace

Fabulous giveaway for a Stella and Dot Necklace. You can chose between the Claire or the La Coco Gold Pearl Strand - both beautiful choices! Head on over to Stylized Existence to check it out. Hurry ends tonight!

Playstation Move

YAY! I signed up to be one of the hosts for the Ultimate House Party for Playstation Move. Yesterday I received an email confirming that I was chosen!! My family is SUPER excited! The PlayStation Move is actually a set of motion controllers kind of like the Wii. So we will be getting those and the Playstation Eye Camera to try out before they hit the stores. Now just got to plan the menu, drinks and food, and figure out some fun party favors.

Blog Giveaway

Awesome giveaway over at 3 men and a 'lil lady for a Small Vera Bradley bag, (2) Opi Nailpolish Colors of your choosing between: 1. Cajun Shrimp 2. Second Honeymoon 3. Rumples Wiggin 4. Big Apple Red, Silver plated monogram key fob from HandPicked, and adorable hair ties. Check it out here.

Mamarazzi's Favorite Things Swap

A while ago I participated in Mamarazzi’s Favorite Things Blog Swap. My partner was Joy at When Does Daddy Come Home. She sent me some really wonderful items. She sent me a big PINK calculator (love it), a cute journal, a water bottle (use all the time), Twilight lotion (FAV), cute socks, purple nail polish, handmade earrings and a necklace, a candle, tealight holder, gum and hot tea. Missing from the picture are thank you notes that she sent that have already been used. We actually sent each other some of the same things! Thanks Joy for being my partner!

If you want to check out what I sent her you can click here

How times flies!

WOW - Cannot believe how long it has been since I updated - YIKES! I have been so busy lately with work, family, exercising, and just living. I have lots to update about and still very much need to do my post from the Mamarazzi's Favorite Thing Blog Swap. I plan to start blogging again regularly.

♥

The hubby and I started The 30 Day Shred; let me tell you it is a serious workout. It only takes 20 minutes but you will be dying by the end of it - especially if you are out of shape like me. We have made it through Day 2 and I can hardly walk! I will be continuing on my mission along with our walking we have been doing. We have this beautiful lake to walk around. We go around twice which makes 2 miles. They have an open field area away from the people where our dog can just go run around - which he loves. Ever since we started taking him for walks, he has started thinking that he gets to go everywhere we do. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. I will be updating soon about the progress on our tree house.

Roasted Cauliflower, Chickpeas, and Olives

I got this recipe out of the Cooking Light magazine and made it tonight. It was so good. I had no problem getting my 2 kids ages 10 and 6 to eat it. A little different but delicious. Served mine with Basmati rice and mahi-mahi fish. Best part is it only has 176 calories.

Roasted Cauliflower, Chickpeas, and Olives

Ingredients

5 1/2 cups cauliflower florets (about 1 pound)
24 green Spanish olives, pitted and halved
8 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 450°.
2. Combine first 4 ingredients in a small roasting pan. Drizzle with oil; sprinkle with pepper and salt. Toss well to coat. Bake at 450° for 22 minutes or until cauliflower is browned and crisp-tender, stirring after 10 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley.

Mamarazzi's Favorite Things Swap!

Mamarazzi is having another Favorite Things Swap. I have participated in 2 so far and they were both wonderful. If you are interested hop on over to Dandelion Wishes to sign up.