My Recent Ulta Haul

I am excited about this haul from Ulta!!

I had a little cash to spend so I finally got the scent I have been wanting for sooooo long!! Philosophy's Pure Grace. Love this scent!! So clean and fresh and almost like a clean soap scent. It reminds me of how I think everyone should smell right after getting out of the shower. It is light and just so fresh. It lasts too. I never need to reapply.

I also bought the L'Oreal Paris: Magic Skin Beautifier B.B. cream. It is so nice! It is comes in a couple different shades. I got the medium. When you first open it and put a dab on your finger it is a white cream. I was a little surprised because I didn't get the light shade. I looked closer and the cream has a bunch of teeny brown pigment dots in it. when you apply it to your face the pigment dots break open and add the color to your skin. It is so very subtle but it literally is magic on your skin! I have a lot of sun damage and I am currently using the Murad products to try to correct this as much as possible (will post about that soon). When I applied the B.B. cream it just made my skin look so much more even in tone. It made shine go away and it just made my skin look beautiful without any other make-up on. I could have just added some mascara and walked out the door. I love this cream! It is very light and you don't even notice it is there. It also hydrates. The front of the tube says that it hydrates, corrects, primes and perfects. I think that this is all very accurate. I will definitely be purchasing this again!! I paid about $10 for the tube. Amazing stuff and I highly recommend you get it!!

The last thing I got was It's A 10 Miracle Leave-in Plus Keratin conditioner. I was searching for a leave-in and this is what one of the Ulta employees recommended. I am so glad he did!! I love this! I live in the south where it is humid and wet. I have gotten frizz since we moved here. I am also finding that since coloring my hair more often, I am getting hair that feels drier and getting more brittle. I have long and fine hair. I do love my hair but I need to take special care of it to keep it looking nice. This conditioner works great! it is thicker than most leave-in's I have used. but, my hair does not look or feel greasy after using this. It just feels soft and free of frizz. Here is what it says the product does on the back of the bottle. Does 10 things Instantly • Maintenance of Keratin straightening treatments • Increases styling and manageability • Perfect for all hair types • Replaces lost protein • Protects the natural keratin in hair • Protects against heat • Restores hydration balance • Detangles, defrizzes and adds shine • Strengthens hair structure • Seals cuticles for extra silky hair~~~~~ I do have silkier hair and it is so much easier to comb through it now while wet! You don’t even know how happy that makes me. My hair now looks so young and healthy again!  So, this was my Ulta haul. What have you gotten recently that you love and have to share? I would love to know.  :)

Favorite Bath and Body Works Candles right now!

I went to Bath and Body Works yesterday (...and today and last Saturday...) and I think I went a little overboard. :) I am in love with the new scents that Bath and Body Works has out right now!!! Currently I have the Market Peach burning and I am a little sad that it is almost gone. Seriously. I have been burning it since Saturday. It smells amazing. It is so peachy and Springy. I live in the South, so, it is warm all year round here. I am not itching for the warm weather to start back up like most are right now, but, I do love the change in seasons and since we don't get that a lot around here, I rely on redecorating my house, Spring cleaning and the newest candle scents to remind me that Spring is here. :) I also grabbed 5 more candles that smell delish! 3 of the minis that I grabbed are Honeysuckle Bouquet: smells exactly like the honeysuckle flowers that used to grow up our fence in Connecticut wen I was a kid, Lemon mint Leaf: smells like a tangy lemon with a hint of mint in the background, and Lemon Verbena: a more subtle lemon scent than the Lemon Mint Leaf but still very lemony. So yummy. I can't wait to burn these! I love fresh lemon scents in the Spring. The Large Candles I got were the Market peach: Yum!, Paris Daydream: smells so lightly sweet. I hate too strong floral scents and this is so not that. It is a fresh and light scent. Here is what is written on the bottom of the jar (Our "Oh so French" blend of watery notes, moss and mandarin. Imagine a day along the Seine in the city of love.)The top cover has a nice pink and black design on it. So French, And the London Calling: It is a tea and Lemon scent. It has the pretty pink geometric designed lid on it and I can still smell the fragrant lemon of it sitting beside me on the couch. :) Love this! True lemon scent. I also grabbed a Lemon Verbena oil for the wallflower. Loving this. I don't always like the wallflower scents. Sometimes they don't even come close to resembling the candle scent of the same name but this one does seem to. It is not overwhelming and matches the candle in scent. I love that. I can not even tell you how many times I have brought back an oil to Bath and Body Works to exchange it because I got a headache from the overpowering scent of the oil. This is one of the few I do like a lot. So, that is what I got for Candles so far. If I can't help myself and wander into Yankee Candle I will be sure to post what I got. :) if you have any favorite oils or candles that you just love and get excited about, please list them in the comments below. I would to hear what you all love too. A little side note: Bath and Body Works is so good about taking back scents that you do not like. They say in their policy that if you do not like a scent for whatever reason, bring it back and exchange it for another. They always do too. I have not ever had a problem yet. This is good to know. Since you really never know if you will like it until you get it home. No risk. Love that!!

April Faves! Drinks

I love to share things that I love with others. I used to love going places with my sister and I hated going alone because if I found something that I loved , I had no one to instantly share my excitement with. I no longer live close to my sister so I decided that what better place to share the things that I love than my blog! I will share all my favorite finds on here. I have so many and I just want everyone else to experience these products too! :) Today I wanted to share a couple drinks I found in the Gluten Free section of Wal-Mart. I was in there yesterday and found these drinks that looked interesting. They are called bai Antioxidant Infusions. They are 5 calories per serving (The 18 ounce bottle is a total of 2 servings). The entire bottle would be 10 calories! The two flavors I bought were the Limu Lemon and the Panama Peach. These drinks are superfruit infused, antioxidant packs drinks. Limu Lemon~ If you love a light and refreshing lemonade flavor, you will love this! Not bitter or too sweet either. Just the right amount of lemon in it. The super fruit in this drink is coffeefruit! They do not use the coffee bean (what we get in our cup of joe) but the outside fruit that surrounds the bean before it is picked. There are 35 mg of natural caffeine in each serving of this drink. It is gluten free and low glycemic. it is also Kosher, vegan soy and GMO free. Panama peach` um, YUM! If you love anything peach, then you will love this drink. It is a nice peachy flavor with a nice floral scent to it. when you take a sip it tastes exactly like I just bit into a peach. no kidding! This too has 5 calories per serving and the 18 ounce bottle is 2 servings. It also has the coffee fruit in it as the antioxidant. There are 35 mg of natural caffeine in each serving of this drink. It is gluten free and low glycemic. it is also Kosher, vegan soy and GMO free. These are both super yummy and I love that they are so low in calories and are antioxidant drinks. I can have one on my run or I can drink it when I get home from my run. Either way, super tasty and refreshing!

Tea!

I will start by saying that I have always loved tea. my mother got my sister and me into drinking it when we were younger. Our tea selection consisted of only the Rose tea that you buy at the grocery store and it came with a free little ceramic animal in the box. :) We always had sugar and milk in our tea. When I got older I stopped putting the milk in my tea and only added sugar or honey to it. I preferred the taste of it this way. My tea pallet has become a little more sophisticated since I was 10. I love exotic teas as well as simple ones like a white peach. The brand of tea is HUGE when choosing a good tea. You can go to the grocery store and get a cheap tea and what you will taste is cheap tea. It is what it is. I do love Tazo. One of my faves!! Of course, I do love Starbucks. I discovered recently a company called Teavana. I have yet to go to the store (We have one about an hour away) or order online but the raves are crazy good!. I found the website today and discovered a tea maker on the site. Temperature and steeping time for different varieties is crucial to a good cup of tea. Green tea should be steeped and the water heated differently than a black tea, for instance. Well, this tea maker does all that!! With the push of a button you can tell the machine what kind of tea you have and it heats the water perfectly and steeps it just right. I am wanting this so bad!!! Here isThe LINK to the tea maker by Breville made just for Teavana. It is not cheap for sure but so worth it if you have the birthday money to spend on anything you want. :) I do drink tea that I have made in my Keurig but it is not the same as when you heat it right and steep it perfectly. Tea is an art. Truly. It is beautiful to look at and it is such a warm satisfying hug to drink if made the right way. Some day I will have this Tea maker. It will sit next to my Keurig on the counter. I like my coffee in the morning but my tea all day and night long. :)

Beach Body!

As I type the title of this post I hear the voice form the beach Body videos saying it. Hahaha. it makes me smile because my nearly 4 year old says it all the time imitating the man in the Videos. I am thinking of becoming a Beach Body coach. I am stoked about it and I am a little nervous. I have an awesome coach right now and if you sign up with Beach Body you need to look her up. nationwidenicci. Type that into search for coaches and you should find her. She is fabulous!! She is motivating me to be healthier and work out more consistently. I have spoken of the car accident before and I am finally feeling like I am recovering from it. I started the Beach Body Insanity DVD's by Shaun T. and I was loving it. but, just as I was about to start the 2nd month I broke my foot and sprained my ankle. I had to stop all of those workouts for two months. then when my foot healed I got bronchitis and then vacation happened. I feel like I am starting all over again from day one. I am going to do this again and be consistent and accountable. :) I did Hip Hop Abs today and I liked how fast the routine was. I felt like I had just started when the DVD was finished. But, the intensity was not what I was used to with Insanity. I will stay with it all week but I was actually wishing I had put in the Insanity DVD. Crazy! I know!! My Coach suggested that I try the T25. It is a Shaun T. DVD and supposed to be great and only 25 minutes! I need fast with 3 kids and a busy life. I got a nutribullet recently. I am loving it!! I have tried a few combos of greens and fruits and I am feeling good too! I may do a blog post on that soon. I drink my Chocolate Shakeology every morning and now I have the nutribullet juice for lunch too! If I become a BB coach I want to be sure my commitment level is high and I want to be in shape so that I can teach others to do what I do. I love being healthy and I know God gave me this body and it is my job to take care of it. :) I would love to help others take care of theirs. Take care of your body today and ttyl!

With Love, Natasha

I just ordered a gorgeous barrette (it can be ordered as a headband too if that is what you prefer) from With Love, Natasha, a nice small business run out of her home so that she can be a stay-at-home-mommy. Natasha Combs owns it and makes the prettiest hair clips and headbands. She has other things as well. You must check out her facebook page. I do believe she also has an Instagram account as well. You can see a lot of her things on the facebook page. Just send her a message as to what you would like and she will give you pricing and stuff. She accepts PayPal too!! I personally love that!! These would make perfect last minute Christmas gifts from anyone from age 0-100!Check out her page today!! https//www.facebook.com/WithLoveNatasha Sorry about not putting a cute little link here but I am still trying to get used to my laptop and this windows 8 thing. Haha. :) This photo is of one her items, in fact, the one I ordered for my daughter for Christmas. When you do stop by her page, let me know here what it was you loved. I would love to know!!

Christmas in Florida

I am not sure I will ever get used to this warm weather for Christmas. Tonight we went to Sarasota to watch a Christmas light show and it was 75 degrees in the dark! We wore sweatshirts just in case it got chilly but ended up sweating. We moved here 6.5years ago and I am still homesick for the snow. I was thinking the other day about all of this. I sometimes get sad that we live in FL at Christmas time. I was trying to see the positives of it, and there are some, but, I think the biggest thing is that I realized that I can't share my nostalgia with my kids. they will not be able to have the same kinds of memories growing up that I did. No snowball fights, snowmen, snow forts. They won't be able to experience the fun and competition with the neighborhood kids of running from house to house shoveling driveways for $5 a drive. (we made a lot of money during those snowstorms). They won't be able to sit in anticipation in the wee hours of the morning with the radio on waiting for the announcement that there will be no school because of snow. Sledding, tubing, ice skating, snow covered pine trees... Awe... I have some precious memories. I guess I will have to make new traditions and memories that my children will cherish and reminisce on when they are older. I wanted to take a moment to remember all the families and people that were affected by the tragedy in Connecticut yesterday. I cried as I watched the news. It was an unthinkable thing.