The Baked Potato

One of my favorite things my Mom makes are baked potatoes.  I've learned to jazz them up throughout the years by adding cheese, sour cream and bacon bits.  You could have as many toppings as you want, I thought of chili, cottage cheese, green onions, veggies, and of course butter.  The list could go on and on though.

Her staple recipe she uses is from Alton Brown, every time they turn out amazing and it's super simple too!

You can find the recipe HERE!

My Mom has also used olive oil in place of the canola oil and it works perfectly!

February Glam Bag 2016

Ipsy, my favorite subscription of them all.  Don't get me wrong I love my Birchbox too, but I just love to try new makeup products and I feel like I typically get more of them in Ipsy's Glam Bag.  Anyways lets get into this months bag!  I'm sure you wont be surprised-I love it!

 

This bag came with:

• tre'StiQue-Baby Blush Stick in Bora Bora Coral-Call me crazy, but I've never used a blush stick before.  This one was so nice to try for my first time.  You can apply it from the stick or use your finger to apply and blend.  It adds a perfect natural flush.
• VINTAGE by Jessica Liebeskind-Sparkling Lipgloss in Pink Sequin-If I want to jazz up my new Burt's Bees-Tinted Lip Balm I'll put this gloss right on top and I'm ready for a night out in no time.  This gloss is a great color for loads of different skin tones and is super long wearing!
• Ciate London-Olivia Palermo x Ciate London Paint Pot in Sunday's "my off duty nude"-I absolutely love this pale pink polish.  It is the perfect light pink color and goes on so smoothly.  Right when Dallin saw it he said that's RuthAnne pink!
• IT Cosmetics-Bye Bye Under Eye Anti-Aging Concealer-I was SO excited to try this product.  It works wonders!  Just a little advice-a LITTLE bit goes a LONG way, and make sure to moisturize your skin thoroughly before applying.  No one wants a cakey-flakey crazy mess on their face!
• Cake Beauty-heavy cream intensive hand repair balm-This hand cream smells delicious.  I'm saving it in my growing stash of mini bottles of lotions.

If you'd like more info on Ipsy's Glam Bags or would like one of your own you can go here!

February Birchbox 2016

This months Birchbox was a hit!  I received some items I've never heard of and tried and true ones as well.  I love the variety within this box, I got a hair product, moisturizing cream, body wash, lip balm and mascara.  It covers everything! 

 

 

Here's a closer look at what I got!

 



Included in this box:

• Beauty Protector-Protect & Detangle-This product locks in color, protects form heat damage, adds silkiness and so much more!  My hair felt amazing after using this.  And of course, it smells amazing! 
• Benefit Cosmetics-They're Real! Mascara-I tried this a couple years ago and to be honest I didn't really get the hype behind it. I'm sorry to all They're Real super fans! I'll try it out again and see how it goes.
• Burt's Bees-Tinted Lip Balm-Hibiscus-This lip balm is perfect to throw in your purse to add color throughout your day no matter where you are!
• Naobay-Oxygenating Cream Moisturizer-This cream is so hydrating and rich.  It leaves my skin feeling so moisturized and stays that way for hours.
• Not Soap, Radio-Body Wash-Liquid Freud-This body wash claims to help ease your mind.  I might be using it wrong or have a lot of thoughts, but I didn't feel any different after I used it.  You should try and smell this though, it smells like a tropical heaven.

I love Birchbox, and I'm telling you I look forward to it every month!  It's so fun to receive new things to try so often. If you'd like a box of your own or want to know more information you can go here!

Valentine's Gift Ideas: 14 Days of Love or Love Basket

Originally I had planned to give one a day leading up to Valentine's Day but things got a little hectic and I wasn't as on top of it as I had hoped. So I decided to give it to him all at once in a gift basket of sorts. 

It was so easy and fun!

All you need are some heart cut outs and markers.  Decorate them to your hearts content, add some cheesy sayings and attach some treats!

I didn't want to give too many food things because we still have some from the 12 Days of Christmas!  So I thought of some "coupons" he could redeem instead.

 

For the life of me I could not think of other cheap ideas so I printed off some adorable Star Wars Valentines from Skip To My Lou that were a perfect little surprise in his lunch box.



Here are some ideas I thought of...

-Out of all the fish in the sea, I'm so glad you chose me!  Attach Swedish Fish, Gold Fish, fishing supplies or a coupon for Sushi or date night to the aquarium!

-I love you to pieces!  Attach to a puzzle, Reese's Pieces, Lego's or board game.

-You are so slick/smooth!  Attach to hair gel or beard trimming supplies.

-I love you "beary" much! Attach to some amazing gummy bears from Sprout's or a stuffed bear.

-I'm nuts about you!  Attach to some cans of different almonds or other favorite nut.

-You're a smartie!  Dallin graduated this last year so we are finally going to buy a frame for his diploma, but you could do any surprise for this one or even attach to Smarties.

Some coupons I thought of...

-All night video games

-Dessert at the Melting Pot

-Movie Night-Your choice of Redbox with his favorite treat

-Get out of doing the dishes for one night!  (This is a big one for me!  I do the laundry and he does the dishes.  I hate doing dishes. haha)

-Special Dinner Out-Steak Pit is our favorite!

-Any other special date ideas you can think of!

Others I thought of but didn't do...

-I "donut" know what I'd do without you!  Attach to a pack of mini donuts or some from a favorite donut shop.  Banbury Cross anyone?!

-I love you to the moon and back!  Attach to a telescope or date night to look at the stars, or to the planetarium.

-Cooking class for two!  We want to learn how to make sushi!

-Bag of nickels and a note for a date night to Nickelmania or local arcade.

-Brunch at a resort or hotel near by.

-Video Games



January 2016 Highlights

We started out the month with one of our favorite couples from the singles ward-wedding reception!  It was so cute and reminded me so much of ours, they had a hot chocolate bar with Tim Tams and mini doughnuts.  They gave these adorable jars of Apple Cinnamon Jam. 

We also got to celebrate my sweet cousin Mindy's birthday.  Her family gave her a cute movie themed surprise party!  We had so much fun!!

We put together a little pamper night basket full of everything we thought she would love in her favorite color.  We also added a new movie she loves and a journal (not pictured).

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day both Dallin and I had the day off work so we decided to go up Emigration canyon and have brunch at Ruth's Diner.  It's the cutest little diner!  I had their banana nut French toast and it was amazing! 

After brunch we went to the Car Show and Dallin loved it-like any guy would! haha

This one was Dallin's absolute favorite!

We went to CrEATe after and oh my!! This place serves heavenly desserts.  If you are in need of a dessert in Sandy go create your own at CrEATe! 

Later in January we helped Brittany move some boxes in her basement and I found this hidden gem.  She uses it to keep her decorations all in order. How cute and clean is that!

 

I cannot believe January is already over! I haven't even officially written out my New Year's Resolutions. :/ haha

Makeup Minute-Eye Shadow Sticks

I thought I'd start a new little series here on the blog called Makeup Minute!  I'll share my quick tips, reliable tricks, and favorite products. 

Some of you may know I love to play around with makeup, especially drugstore products because I can usually try something fun without breaking the bank.  I've found through my experimenting that most drugstore products are pretty close to similar but expensive brands.  Of course there are some things that are worth the splurge but when you can save some money, why not right!?

One of the things I LOVE to use are eye shadow sticks.  Ok hear me out on this, if you're a lover of powder shadows this might be a weird concept for you but they are so great!  Not only do you get a great payoff with color, but they are so creamy and blend-able.  This is one of my quickest tricks because you can swipe some of this on, blend with your finger, add some mascara and you're out the door in no time!  Another benefit of shadow sticks is they can be used all over the lid color as a base or single color or even as an eyeliner. 

Some of my most favorite shadow sticks come from Rimmel. To be honest I haven't used a shadow stick I didn't like.  I found my Rimmel Scandaleyes at Walmart and I received the LOC by Tati in a recent Birchbox.  So many companies are jumping on the shadow stick bandwagon.  Maybelline just launched there new Color Tattoo Shadow Sticks and other well known and affordable brands like NYC and wet n wild have some in a variety of colors and prices as well.  

Give one a try and let me know what you think!