Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Kashmere Kollections

I have been a faithful follower of Kim Zolciak Biermann since she was on The Real Housewives of Atlanta. Then when she left and got her own show, Don't Be Tardy for the Party I continued to watch. I also loved her wedding special that Bravo aired. I think she's hilarious and her entire family is over the top. When she announced a few months ago that she was coming out with a skincare line I was instantly interested in trying it.

For months I waited on updates of when it was launching and when I could finally get my hands on some of it. Over the holidays, they were offering a major discount code and I couldn't pass up a Spa Kit Bundle they were offering. Currently she has five products in her Kashmere line and I ordered three of them. I wanted to order one more but it was sold out when I placed my order.
 

The spa kit included three of her five products:

Luxurious Toning Oil
Firming Cream
Purifying Masque
 

Kim also has a silken body polish (this was the other item I wanted but was sold out) and a sunless tanning lotion. While I'm not one to use selfless tanner, I really did want to try the body polish which is a scrub. So I ordered my spa kit and waited. I don't know if it was because of the holidays or what but I had to wait several weeks to receive my order. I believe the Spa Kit was only scheduled to ship on certain dates but when it arrived it was perfect. It came in the cute packaging shown above and when I opened the box, I was ready to use!

First up was the purifying masque.
Since I had my miscarriage in July, my face and honesty my chest too has seen some breakouts. My face literally reverted back to when I was about 15 years old. I was getting constant heavy breakouts for weeks. So the face masque was something I was interested in trying because I was hoping that it would help. In the meantime, while I was waiting on this product to arrive, I started getting my breakouts under control thankfully!
 
How to use the masque. I had to read the directions because I have never been one to apply a liquid masque and wait for it to dry. I had always been one of those paper mask girls who would wear them for a few minutes, peel them off and be done. The Kashmere face masque, you apply an even layer to freshly cleansed skin. Once you apply the masque you let it try for about 10 minutes and then wash it off with warm water.
 
After my first use, I felt like my face had instantly smoother skin. The first week that you use the product you should use it several days in a row then taper off to once a week. I did this and noticed a major improvement in my face. My skin was softer after the first two uses. I would notice that my skin wasn't getting as dry as it had been and during the day my skin felt softer. I also noticed my pores didn't seem as large and my skin wasn't breaking out. The masque also didn't leave a horrible smell like some can do.
 
Second up was the firming lotion.
It goes on just like any other lotion you would use but after a few seconds this one begins to make your skin feel a little warm and tingly. I believe that's when you know it's working. I've been using it on my legs and on my stomach and it definitely makes it feel a little tighter. I've also put this on my arms but I haven't put it on my backside like I've read in some of the reviews I've seen. I'll keep putting it on my legs because I see the most benefit there and to my stomach.
 
Last but not least.. the toning oil.
This is by far my favorite product in the set. It smells amazing. I'm a person who can't handle scents in lotions that are too much fragrance but this toning oil is the perfect mix. It smells like a coconut/lime but not too coconut. It's really hard to describe but it just has that perfect mix. It goes on your skin easily and doesn't require you to wait forever before putting your clothing on top of it. It dries almost instantly once you rub it into your skin and gives it the most amazing sheen. I literally love this stuff and the bottle goes down really slowly! I've been lathering it on my arms, legs and hands every day for a few weeks and the amount in the bottle barely goes down. Seriously, I almost want to stockpile it incase something happens and the company doesn't make it.
 
I've heard that Kim has several new products in the works and I can't wait! Every time she has a LIVE chat or instagram I ask her about a night cream or face cream and she assures me and the world that their coming. I know that she's confirmed Shampoo/Conditioner and bath bombs. So until she officially puts them in her shop we just have to wait!
 
Have you tried Kashmere Kollections? What did you think of them?

Monday, February 27, 2017

The 89th Academy Awards

I follow the Award season every year. I love seeing all the fashion, hearing the jokes, listening to the heartfelt acceptance speeches, etc. This year has been a little different for me though.... it's become really politically charged. While I feel everyone has a right to free speech, I've been really put off by this years awards season. It was like politics completely took over all of the awards. Every joke, ever speech, every moment it felt like it was getting shoved down my throat. I don't know about all of you but I turn on things like movie awards to escape the real world. To have them to turn it into CNN made me fast forward a lot and in some cases turn it off completely. The Oscars are special though and I always love seeing them so of course I had to tune in! I watched a lot of the red carpet coverage because I wasn't for sure how much I would watch of the awards if they started to get too political for me.

There were too many great looks to name them all but here is some of my picks for best dressed....

Jessica Biel
I absolutely loved this gold look. I love everything about it!

Chrissy Teigan
 I thought this looked really classy for her. I also loved the white and jewels.

Emma Stone
 She looked classic Hollywood. You can tell she dressed as a nominee and thinking about her look.

Halle Berry
First of all... the hair was great. I just loved it! Then this gown was fabulous. I love the details, the beading and the bottom fringe. It was just perfect.

While I loved several others and thought others were really bad decisions, I decided not to do my worst looks. I'm sure they feel bad enough once they saw the reviews. What did all of you think about the dresses?

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

All-Natural & Organic

As an adult, I am capable of what's going into my body. The foods I eat, the products I use on my hair and skin. The toothpaste I use, the lotion, etc. I like to use organic and natural products as much as possible. The problem with organic items is they can get pricey. When you have a child or a baby you have to decide what is best for them. When I was a child in the 1980s organic/natural items weren't that available and popularly used. Now the choices are endless. It can be hard to find ones that really are great to use. That's where Baby Mantra comes in....
Baby Mantra specializes in products that are made in the U.S.A. using all-natural and organic ingredients. They have an entire product line that features organic baby lotion, natural baby shampoo, oils, body wash and tons more! They even have Mommy body butter. They have so many products to choose from you can find all your baby needs in one place. They even have a great way to purchase items on a subscription so you get the products in a reoccurring way without having to go on the site to order every month- two months- etc. They also offer sets that you can give as gifts at baby showers and holidays.


One item that every needs is their baby mantra diaper rash cream.
Baby Mantra's diaper rash cream is 100% natural and contains no sulfates, parabens, gluten, dyes, artificial fragrances or phthalates. It also goes under rigorous testing of the highest standards to ensure that it has the number 1 rating on the EWG's Skin Deep Database. It is an extremely gentle product that any parent can feel good about placing on their baby's skin. If you compare Baby Mantra's diaper rash cream to some sold by other companies you'll see that other companies ingredients are known to cause irritation to the skin. Why not avoid this and give Baby Mantra a try?  

I do a lot of research on what I put into my body and I'm sure that you do too. I don't have children yet but as the time grows closer that we look to start a family I find myself deciding what items would be best for babies and children. Well Baby Mantra has got my vote! Check them out and see if their products work for you! Remember it's all-natural and organic

Monday, February 20, 2017

Fifty Shades Darker

Warning: This post includes spoilers.
 

First I want to say, I love the books. Yes, they are horribly written. Yes, he's controlling. Yes, to all of it but I find them entertaining and it's fiction. To me it's entertaining so it's served it's purpose. So before we start getting all up in arms over the fact that she's poor and he's rich and controls her let's go with the fact that this isn't real life. It's a fiction story and movie. This movie seemed to veer away from the book in several instances and I want to discuss a few of them. Now with that said let's dive right in...

Changes from the book to movie

First, the start of the movie. Ana shows up to Jose's photography show alone and she acts as if she didn't know he was going to be there at all. In the book, Christian makes it clear he wants to take her to the show and they go there together. Ana doesn't understand if their getting back together, if he's just being nice or what but they go there together. For me, I didn't like that they didn't have them go there together. It makes it more confusing if they do go there together because your still trying to figure out if he wants to try again.

Jose. So he's Ana's friend we know that. We also know that Christian isn't a fan of him. They never show any of their interactions in this movie. Yes, he's there in the background but they don't explain why. He just  seems oddly out of place. Like he's a creepy friend just showing up at intimate moments in Ana and Christians lives. They should have tried to explain a little more why Jose was there from Portland on the night of the crash.

Ana and Leila. Ok, where to begin. In one scene we see Christian and Ana in bed together sleeping. They are clearly at her Seattle apartment. Ana wakes up for a brief moment in the night and finds Leila standing at the foot of her bed. Wrong! In the books Leila never goes into Ana's apartment until they face off with the gun. She's only ever seen in Christian's apartment. When we do get to the part where Ana finds herself with Leila in her apartment being held there at gunpoint things dramatically change. 

In the book Leila only ever really seems to do any real harm to herself and the damage of property to Ana's car. In the movie when Leila is in Ana's apartment Leila fires the gun over Ana's head. At no time does this ever happen in the book. I felt like they tried to take Leila from a mentally ill women to an actual physcially dangerous person. 

Things I wish were included

The first dance auction at Mrs. Grey's charity event.
Ana meeting Dr. Flynn (either time)
Mrs. Robinson trying to speak to Ana more at the ball.
Ethan- Kate's brother was completely omitted from the film.

I understand that they had to leave certain things out from the book. You can't have a movie that's 3 hours long. This isn't Gone With the Wind were talking about. I just wish they would have included a few more of these elements. I did think they covered Jack well and portrayed him in a way that set up his anger. My husband was a good sport and took me to the movie for Valentine's Day. Once we left he asked me why Jack was so mad so to someone who hadn't read the book they need a little bit more back history (which I'm sure we will get in the last movie). All in all I enjoyed the movie. I thought it was far better than the first!

Have you seen the newest movie? What did you think?

Friday, February 17, 2017

The Big Apple

Next month we are headed to New York City!

This will be our first time in the big apple and I can't wait! Things fill up quickly in NYC so we've already got a lot of our sightseeing plans locked down. Currently we have tickets to the following...

9/11 Museum and Memorial

We have chosen to take the guided tour. This was such a big event in our history and happened when we were both teenagers. I was a high school senior and my husband was out of high school and working. He joined the Air Force right after 9/11. To go to ground zero and see things from that day we be very powerful I'm sure. We will also pay our respects at the memorial footprints of the Twin Towers.

Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island Tour.

We have chosen to go inside the Statue of Liberty up to the pedestal. Visitors can go all the way up to the crown but after reading the advisements we stuck with only going to the base. My husband doesn't do well with heights and according to their website you ascend over 200 stairs on a spiral staircase and can see all the way down. Once he read that we were set with the pedestal. BUT we can't wait! It's going to be amazing and the tour on Ellis Island is supposedly very emotional seeing what people went through to come to America.

 
 
The Empire State Building
 
We wanted to get a birds eye view of the city so we have chosen to head to the top of the Empire State Building. This building is so iconic and has been featured in so many movies that we love. We couldn't go to New York and not go there. We keep hearing great things about the other rival viewing spot- top of the rock but this classic location won out.
One of our main reasons for visiting NYC at this time is the fact that we have tickets to see our favorite boxer- GGG fight at Madison Square Garden. When we found out that he was going to be fighting in NYC we knew we had to go. It also gives us the opportunity to visit my uncle and his wife who live there. I haven't gotten to see them for awhile so it will be nice to visit. We want to squeeze in Times Square, Central Park, the Brooklyn Bridge and Trinity Church.

If you have any must see or do things please let us know! We would also love any restaurant recommendations besides Serendipity! Haha, we've had so many people tell us to go there. I'm talking real food... not just treats! So send me everything you've got! Any sites and food recommendations we are totally up to hearing them and then adding them into our trip!

Thursday, February 16, 2017

Two Movies for Tonight

 
Looking for something to watch tonight? Time is precious and you don't want to spend time searching for a movie to only be disappointed with it in the end. So that's why I've brought you two movies for tonight. The movies I review here give you an idea of what's good to watch any time you want to quickly get a movie and start watching it. This week I'm giving you two movies that are totally worthy of your time. 

The first movie... The Girl on the Train.

This movie wasn't what I was expecting at all. Granted I didn't read the book before watching. Usually, I read the book but this time I didn't. I thought the movie was OK but it just wasn't anything like what I thought it was going to be from what I had seen in the previews. It was still worth watching but I'm sure the book was much better.

Rachel rides the train everyday to and from the city. Rachel looks out the window and everyday sees her old neighborhood, neighbors and ex-husband. The ride on the train is a constant glimpse into the life that she use to have and the life of her ex and his new wife. Rachel is still devastated by not being able to have children and the failure of her marriage. She ended the marriage when she caught him cheating with a real estate agent. She began drinking heavily and she would blackout and have to relive what happened by her husband telling her of her outbursts. She blamed herself for the failure of the marriage and her infertility since she heard how bad she behaved.

One day on the train, she notices the neighbor with another man who isn't her husband and it puts her into a tailspin. She goes on a drinking rampage and finds herself at the end of the day getting off the train in her old neighborhood. When Rachel wakes up the next morning and news hits that the women she saw on her balcony has gone missing she gets a sick feeling inside her stomach that she has something to do with it. The only problem... she can't remember anything from the night before. She begins on a journey to recover what happened that night on the train.
The second movie... The Accountant.

I really liked this movie. From the previews it looked interested but once you've watched you realize it was much better than the previews. I will be watching this one again.

Chris Wolf (Affleck) is a math genius. He's also been diagnosed with a high- functioning form of autism. When he was a child he was offered free admission to an institute to learn how to cope and become the most productive. However, his military father decided that he needed to be out in the world and learn to do it his way. Chris' mother couldn't handle it and left leaving him with just his brother and father. They moved over the years all of the world and their father taught them how to defend themselves.

Now... Chris works as an accountant but some of his clients aren't on the level. He finds himself in the middle of something he didn't bargain for and an innocent person could get hurt. Usually, this wouldn't matter as Chris has had to take of problems before by any means. But he takes a liking to the girl who has been kind to him. So Chris takes it upon himself to help the innocent girl he comes into contact with before he flees the city. Do they both make it out harms way? Watch and find out.  

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!
 
 
Sending lots of love on this Valentine's Day!
I love you boo!
I love you mom!
 

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Wordless Wednesday

These two slightly blurry photos are some of my favorite ones of my husband and I. We were in Puerto Rico and had just been dating a few months. We were in a dance place where everyone was salsa dancing and we had no clue what we were doing. We were having fun and enjoying being with each other.

Monday, February 6, 2017

5 Steps to a Better Photo from the Plane Window


Ever find yourself hitting like on those great photos people take from the plane windows? Ever wonder why yours don't look the same? Well wonder no more! Here's five steps that will help you get the perfect photo next time yourself flying high above.
1. Clean the window
Think about how many people put their dirty faces and hands up against that glass all day long. Women with their make up, people's body oils... all that does is make for an ugly photo. Take the drink napkin and give your window a good wipe down. I personally like to use wet ones. Carry a pack of those in your carry on and you've got an instantly clean window. Don't have wet ones on you? Use your drink napkin and wet it with some hand sanitizer. Most people carry some of that with them.

2. Any seat works
Scored the window seat? Great! Didn't? Don't fret! On long flights people tend to get up to stretch their legs or use the restroom. Snap away while their not in their seat. Or better yet... become friends with your row mates. Spark up a conversation and they won't mind then if you ask to take a quick photo out the window. They might even be interested in trying to take a good one themselves.

3. Control the Glare
Flying during the day can bring challenges of the sun glaring onto the glass. Flying at night can bring people to turn on their cabin light that reflects onto the glass. To control the glare make sure you get your phone camera right up against the glass. That will control any reflections and most of the glare from inside lights.

4. Think forward and backwards
Most people generally take photos of the things coming up in front of them. Don't forget about the things you've just flown over. Point your camera done to see the ground. Then point your camera towards what you just passed. You can get some of the plane in the photo and maybe even the Rockies you just passed. So not only do you have the plane in view but you've got an amazing backdrop.

5. Focus!
Remember you are aboard a plane and moving at top speed. Tap that screen to get your mountains, rivers, clouds etc into focus. While blurring can be artsy it's not exactly what your looking for if you want to actually make out that river or snowy mountains.


The next time you find yourself travelling on a plane think about one or all of these tips. They could help you achieve a greater photo #fromtheplanewindow