Saturday, April 19, 2014

Easter Basket Ideas for Boyfriends

As I've mentioned before, I love giving gifts, so any holiday that gives me an opportunity to do so, I'll take advantage of it!

So for all the girlfriends out there lacking inspiration for an Easter Gift for your significant other, have no fear, I'm here!

My boo is in need of workout clothes, so I got him 2 pairs of shorts, The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug (he's obsessed) and some of his favorite candy.

Here's a breakdown of what I got:

2 pairs of shorts: $9.77 each at Walmart / 2 "sleeves" of Twix candies: $1.20 at Walmart / The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug on DVD/Bluray: $24.99


I got creative with the basket and used a leftover beer case.

Have a Happy Easter everybody!

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Busy Girl's Guide to New York

Last weekend I took a trip to New York with my beautiful bestie, Kelsey.

We had a great time and savored every New York minute.

With every experience, comes lessons learned, so here are some of the lessons that I learned while in New York.



1) Always, always wear comfortable shoes. Don't go for the cuteness factor. I thought it would be cool to wear these cute little booties our first day there. WORST IDEA EVER. My feet STILL hurt.


2) Carry a portable charger with you. Because there are so many people in the city and 100,000's of them are using their phone you're phone can die pretty quickly. It's always good to have a backup! My phone never died while we were out, but Kelsey's did. 

3) Pick up a paper map of the subway system. Yeah, they've got apps for it, but they forget to tell you that you have no service when you're underground. And the subway system is the most confusing thing I have ever seen. It's good to have a map in front of you to reference. 

4) Brooklyn has good beer. Kelsey and I are beer lovers so we knew the one thing that we wanted to do was visit the Brooklyn Brewery. We had so much fun and the beer was delicious. You must go if you get a chance. 


5) Take a walk on the Brooklyn Bridge. They have a walking path that is perfect for running, walking, and taking in the beauty of New York. I highly suggest taking a walk on it.


6) Everything is expensive in New York. Cab rides, coffee, water, alcohol, food. EVERYTHING. Even salads were more than some entrees at a few of the restaurants that we went to. A $12 glass of wine? What? I budgeted about $200, including cab fare, anything that I wanted to buy, and food. And thankfully I was able to keep just under that. Expect to spend money and lots of it when you're in the city. 

7) Have an idea of what you want to do before you go. Kelsey started a GoogleDoc before we went and we jotted down all the places that we wanted to go. And to be honest, we pretty much did everything that we wanted to do.


8) Use Yelp. When we were figuring out where we wanted to eat for each meal, it was really helpful for Kelsey to look at Yelp. It tells you what kind of restaurants are around you and how much money you'll have to spend. 



9) Order Tickets beforehand. If you want to see a Broadway Show or go to a taping of a show, get your tickets before you go. They do sell cheap tickets beforehand, but you have to wait for hours in line and you're not even guaranteed a ticket. Kelsey and I thought about going to get tickets for SNL, but we didn't want to waste time to do that when we weren't even guaranteed a ticket anyway. 


10) Have a great time. New York is huge and there's no way to do everything in one day. Take your time. Figure out where you want to go and go do it. New York is an incredible city and has so much to offer so take advantage of it! 


Monday, April 7, 2014

I've Been Nominated!

As busy as I am, it's so flattering to be nominated for something. Although I wish I had more time to blog, it's things like this that make me want to continue blogging.


The lovely, Bryony over at The Beauty Magpie has nominated me for The Very Inspiring Blogger Award! How amazing is she! I highly suggest that you head over and check her blog out!

And because I was nominated, I'm going to tell you a little more about myself and refer you to some other inspiring bloggers! 

The rules are very simple:
  • Link back to the person who nominated you
  • List the rules
  • Share 7 things or facts about yourself
  • Nominate 7 other blogs and comment on their blogs to let them know you have nominated them and provide a link to their post
  • Proudly display the award logo on your blog and follow the person who nominated you.

Okay, so here's 7 things/facts about me...
  1. I've lived in the same place my entire life.
  2. I have a degree in Advertising.
  3. I don't like wearing jewelry. 
  4. I drive a Subaru.
  5. I can't eat anything without getting it all over me. I always have my Tide to Go Pen with me.
  6. I love beer.
  7. I'm a huge sports fan! Football, Basketball & Hockey just to name a few! 
The 7 bloggers I nominate are:
Happily Ever Strader

Once again, I am so honored to be nominated and I hope that you will take the time to check out the blogs that I listed. I chose each of them for many different reasons, because to me, I find them inspiring, I hope that you will too! Happy Monday! 

Monday, March 31, 2014

Just Because Gifts for: Boyfriends

One of my favorite things to do is give gifts. Not just at Christmas or on their birthdays, but just because. Sometimes when the love has had a bad day or when he's had a really good day.


Here's a list of inexpensive "just because" gifts for your man:

1) Homemade sweets. The way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Bake him cookies or brownies!


2) Candy Poster. Pinterest has tons of creative candy posters for you to do. It's a "sweet" (pun intended) fun thing to do!


3) A 6-pack. If you're over 21 and your man loves a good beer, pick some up. If you're under 21 and your man loves Mountain Dew, pick some up.

4) A poem/song. Sometimes the best gifts are those that come from the heart. Pick your passion and write/sing from the heart.


5) Love notes. Write a little love note and leave on his car or on his computer. It's kinda like middle school writing notes and putting them in each other lockers.



6) Surprise him with dinner. Make his favorite dish and invite him over for dinner. He'll love it.



7) A New Gadget. Is he a handyman? Get him a new pocket knife.




8) Is a video gamer? Get him that new game he's been wanting.


9) A Mix CD. Put songs that remind you of him or your special song with him.


10) Does he have an all-time favorite movie? Does he still have it on tape? Get him the new, remastered edition of his favorite movie. For example, Star Wars.



Monday, March 24, 2014

The Shampoo Hunt is Over!

If you have been reading my blog, you know that I was on the hunt for a great shampoo that was good for my hair and made my hair look great all day long.


After searching, reading reviews and talking to people, I decided to try Living Proof's P.H.D. (Perfect Hair Day) Product Line.
(plus: Jennifer Aniston endorses Living Proof and she has amazing hair) 

Living Proof is pretty expensive compared to most shampoos, but it is worth it. ($25 a bottle) It may cost more, but it last longer than a regular bottle of shampoo from Walmart. This stuff is so good that I only use a nickel size amount of both the shampoo and conditioner, and it does the job.

Ulta has an awesome deal on Living Proof Products right now. For $29 you can get a travel size shampoo, conditioner, and 5-in-1 treatment. I decided to buy this to make sure that it was something that I wanted to use and I've been using for 2 weeks and my hair looks AMAZEBALLS!

Try it and you'll love it!

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

A Guide to Kissable Lips

Do you have chapped lips? Do you want kissable lips? Look no further!

Here's my guide to kissable lips.



{ONE} Don't lick your lips. I know it's hard, but that's what dries your lips out the most.


{TWO} Drink lots of water. Not only is it good for your health, but it will benefit your skin and your lips.


{THREE} Find a good lip balm. My favorite right now is EOS.


{FOUR} Before you go to sleep, apply Vaseline Lip Therapy.



Try it for a couple weeks and you'll see a change!


Monday, March 17, 2014

Guide to Online Shopping

When you live in a small town where anything remotely good is over an hour away, you learn how to shop online. Here are some tips and tricks that can save you money.

1. Find websites you like. Some of my favorites? Red Dress Boutique, Francesca's, and Riffraff .



2. Do they offer an email newsletter? Sign up for it! That way you'll know when they are having flash sales or when they've updated their inventory.



3. Do they have social media accounts? Follow them. You'll see if they've restocked that dress that you love or see a shirt that you just can't live without.




4. When you are ordering something, see if they are running a special on shipping. Sometimes if you spend a certain amount, they will include free shipping.



5. Before you check out, google promo codes. And try more than one! I've been able to use 3 promo codes before and was able to cut my order in half.



6. Make sure you save your receipt emails and check their return policy. Since you are ordering online, you want to make sure that you can return it if it doesn't fit.

Shopping online is the way to go. Sometimes if I'm in a store, I feel pressured to buy it, but if you wait and buy it online you might be able to get it cheaper.

Do you have any favorite online stores or boutiques? Share them with me!