Historic Southern Winter Storm!

**WARNING: PICTURE OVERLOAD**

Good Afternoon All,

I thought I would stop in a fill this post with pictures of the weather we have been experiencing the last two days! Let me tell you I can't even believe the weather we have gotten, I never thought we would see this kind of winter down here and its not over! I will say I think we are doing better then other states but the way we dealt with things yesterday was nothing to swoon over!

They knew this was coming and lets be honest most people in the south are not familiar with the mess that is winter and therefore driving in it is bound to be a disaster! They asked, or really pleaded with people not to go out and of course no one listened. As of last night the interstates and really all roads were basically parking lots! There was and still is abandoned cars absolutely everywhere! They have started towing them today to more efficiently clean the roads but we are getting hit yet again today!

We are grateful we are not one of the ones who are without power and have high hopes that with the preparations taken those who are without power will not have to deal with that for long! I wish people would listen to advisories, there is absolutely NOTHING open today.. just stay home!

Check out some pictures from our winter wonderland!

Naturally I had to check things out. 

It started to snow quick and heavy, and accumulated faster then I believe anyone expected!

Winter weather does not call for a fashion show, I did not expect to have my picture taken so I was dressed for comfort haha!

Yesterday afternoon it started to freezing rain and that created quite a mess. 

This is what my days have consisted of while this winter storm has isolated us to the house. 

This was the top layer of the mess that fell yesterday!

Everything was just ICE!

We woke up this morning to our very own skating rink... but we still have power so we are extremely thankful!

Jason was anxious to get outside and play in it. Sadly we do not have a snow shovel but Jason was determined not to be the neighbor that doesn't shovel, so god bless his heart he went out there with a spade shovel.

I came straight down stairs this morning and out the door to see what was going on, it was inevitable that the neighbors would see me in my pajamas at some point in time. 

The trees are so pretty! 

So as you can imagine we are stuck in the house again today, most of the roads have gone untouched as there is just so much to clean up and only so many resources. Not to mention as I said there are abandoned cars everywhere so getting those moved is first priority and then moving the snow and ice. I don't anticipate that schools will be open tomorrow, or much else to be honest as we are suppose to continue to get snow this afternoon and it will be extremely cold tonight! 

This is what it is doing out there right now...

I suppose if it does this all afternoon we will get some more accumulation! I honestly don't mind it, we don't see enough snow to get sick of it and for that I am grateful, we prepared to be in the house for a couple of days and therefore don't need to go out for anything. Sadly I think Valentine's Day dinner may be on hold depending on what Mother Nature plans to throw our way today! 

I believe this mess is suppose to go up the East Coast and although I feel bad lets be honest you all will handle it a lot better then we did down here! 

Stay safe and warm all! 

Winter Weather & My Beloved Birch Box!

Hello all,

Let me tell you Jack Frost is sure nipping at our noses here in the south! South Carolina has already declared a state of emergency and this is what our weather forecast is looking like for tomorrow.

I will be surprised if that is actually accurate but at this very moment that is what they are calling for, needless to say Jason is thrilled. 

It was extremely miserable out yesterday, mixed rain and snow a lot of the day! It was a quiet afternoon for us of reading, me a new book which I cant wait to tell you about and Jason for his driving test! In order to change your license to a North Carolina state license you have to take a written test.. BALLS! Jason went and passed today and I've done well on all the practice exams so I think I will take mine by the end of the week, weather pending. Last night we had left over chicken enchiladas I made the other night...

They were absolutely as good as they look... then we indulged in some froyo... so good! Basically as you can tell my diet was nonexistent yesterday, but I am still hovering at a 12lb loss and I am happy with that!

So I mentioned a new book I was reading and let me tell you I got this book awhile back at Walmart I believe and it got lost in the shuffle and while enjoying a quiet day yesterday I decided to start it. I started it and could not stop until I was done...every.single.page. Its like an addiction really, I love when you get a book and you just cant put it down.

The Book is called Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan.

You can read a synopsis of the book on Good Reads HERE.

I really have nothing bad at all to say about this book, it chronicles the worst time in this poor woman's life and she writes her story so beautifully! This woman suffered, her family suffered and they agonized over no answers... until one day. This book is gripping, you are sitting at the edge of your seat praying alongside her family for a diagnosis that may never come. Susannah Calahaln is a fighter and a survivor and she braved telling her story to help others, to create awareness for a very rare/misdiagnosed disease. Get yourself a copy at Walmart, Target or your local bookstore, order it online for your Ereader and I promise you wont be sorry! 

No while I am around I wasn't really planning on talking to much about anything other than the crap weather coming our way and this amazing book! However when we arrived home from Target tonight my wonderful Birch Box was awaiting me!! Sadly this is my last Birch Box that was gifted to me from Tanya and until we find out where we are going to be I will not be able to subscribe myself. Having said that we have been looking at apartments in New Jersey and I actually feel really great about the prospects! 

So shall we check out this months loot? I don't know about you but I am excited!

Part of what I love about Birch Box is the packaging! They make you super excited to open the parcel and get to your loot!

Box of goods!

OPI Top Coat. This is not something I would spend the money on usually because I only paint my toes and not my fingers, having said that I think it is totally worth it! This stuff makes your nails dry quicker and your polish last longer. In the winter months while I am not getting pedicures this prevents me from having to paint my toes all the time. I am super excited about this cute little bottle!

Hello healthy hair treatment!! I'm not going to lie this picture is a little deceiving and the product is small.. it would be enough to do anyone who didn't have a lions mane like myself but I am not sure its going to be enough to coat my hair. Having said that I am excited to try! Its so important to me to have healthy hair and with blow drying, straightening and curling the consistent use of heat to style can leave your hair a little dry. Hot oil treatments by Olay can be hard to come by so this may be my new go to product! I'll report back my findings!

This little gem gave me a good chuckle! Brianne has been talking about looking for a Pore refiner so when I opened the box and found this I had to laugh. Its not something that I ever really thought about buying because as I have said before make up and facial products are expensive, I have really sensitive skin and buying these products and not being able to use them seems useless. Having said that being able to try a sample before forking over the cash for the full size is fantastic. This is why I love the Birch Box!

This was a pleasant surprise!! Benefit is on the higher end side of make up products and its always something I have wanted to try. I have heard of this product in particular and many wonderful thing about their Hula Bronzer! I love trying new products but again when you have something that works for you that is $7.00 at Target I am always a little less enthusiastic about spending $40.00 to get the same result! But I guess if I LOVE this it might be worth the splurge! 

I mean how exciting is an envelope that says Drum roll?

More benefit samples! WOOHOO!

And of course your trusty list of products and how much it will cost you to buy them in the full size!!

So I am off for today, they have naturally closed everything here for tomorrow because of the impending doom (snow) so we are planning a quiet day and hoping that all the warnings of the power going out will not be the case! If so though we are prepared, although we still don't have a shovel.. we tried today though but they were sold out everywhere! Haha!! 

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week, if you too are stuck inside because of this winter weather.. get yourself a good book.. possibly the one above! Hint Hint!!

Quiet Days of Bliss

Hey all,

I must say having my hubby home makes my heart smile, although he wasn't gone long I really missed him. I didn't mention Jason's recent trip to Alaska for work because the more I thought about it the more I thought for safety reasons it probably wasn't wise to announce being home here by myself on a completely open forum!!

None the less he is back safe and sound from a good trip and I have basically spent the last few days soaking up having him home! Sadly I am still not sleeping and it's really left my head in a fuzz. At this point I am trying everything, warm baths with sleepy time bubble bath, sleepy time tea, melatonin, stress relief cream, reading... No dice! I don't know what my deal is and as much as I don't want to resort to prescription sleeping pills that may be what it comes to as the days go on I feel worse and worse!

Nothing else is really going on, I plan to post more this week as all we have planned is going to the DMV to take a dreaded driving test to switch our license over to North Carolina! I'm oddly excited about the change but dreading the written test! I haven't taken one in years and I've never taken an American one. I've been doing practice tests online and I don't suck but I'm still anxious!

It's suppose to rain all week so I will get out of my blog funk and post more I swear! I'm just not making myself post if I don't feel like it and this consistent lack of sleep isn't helping my motivation!

I hope you are all still above the snow in the north and staying warm! If it makes y'all feel better it's not warm here either!! 

I'll be back tomorrow!

My Week in Pictures & My New Favorites!

Hey Guys,

Yes I know I have no been around again but to be perfectly honest there really hasn't been anything to tell! I have not been sleeping at all, literally and the last thing I felt like doing is staring at the computer. I actually haven't even opened the laptop since the last time I blogged, I do things on my phone only.

I thought I would stop in today because tomorrow I know I wont be around and show you in pictures what I have been up to over the last couple of days and share some new products I am absolutely LOVING! Shall we?

As you know last week we got some snow, and although it was ridiculous and literally shut everything down until Sunday (from Tuesday) we seemed to have some beautiful sunsets to follow. I always thought nothing compared to the sunsets in Western Canada but I have to say Southern Sunsets compare! 

Being stuck in the house with nowhere to go because everything with closed due to "all the snow" I decided to play around with my new curling iron. Let me tell you what I learned from this.. I have more hair then I thought and I don't tip the people that do my hair enough. Also I am thinking I should really go and get it thinned because I am not cutting it right now and as you can see there is A LOT of it! This was just after I had done it, and even after sleeping on it I was really happy with how it looked the next day with a little product and fluffing, at that point I felt like all the work was totally worth it. 

I've been working REALLY hard at losing weight and am down 12lbs at this point! This week I have played around with a lot of vegetables and really enjoyed it! Eating healthy doesn't have to suck, it just depends how much effort you want to put into making them taste fantastic!

I had to venture out to get a few things later last week and although I really didn't expect to see snow left this is what I found! The first picture is from the driveway.. which is really nothing but the second picture is from Target! I couldn't believe there was that much snow, let alone left after days of sun. I suppose at this point its gone although I haven't been back because its been extremely warm and rainy! 

While I was at Target I picked up a cabbage because I have seen a bunch of recipes on Pinterest and while I was playing around with veggies I thought why not cabbage. Most people just boil cabbage which is fine, I am a fan of that as well... having said that this has totally changed my mind. I sliced up the cabbage and loosely layered it all over a baking tray. I drizzled it with olive oil, a sprinkle of kosher salt and black pepper, I baked it at 350 for 25 minutes. Twice while cooking it I would just open the often and take a pair of tongs and mix it up so nothing burned. It was amazing! Its funny how baking vegetables gives them a whole different flavor then boiling or steaming them. I was a huge fan of this!

Yesterday I got to see this face after forever!! Brianne and Amelia came up for the day and we went out for lunch and toured around the mall for awhile. It was great to see them and get out and have some girl time!!

So with all of my not sleeping I have been watching a bunch of beauty vloggers on Youtube and let me tell you, you can really get an education on there! Make up and beauty products are so expensive and therefore often I am hesitant to try things that I may not like or will actually work for me. Having said that its really great when you find a product you absolutely LOVE and so I thought I would share so maybe you can make these things apart of your life. 

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This has been my BFF for quite some time and I am really sad that I haven't gotten around to sharing it because let me tell you this stuff is INCREDIBLE! The brush is different from one that I would usually gravitate too..

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I try different mascaras all the time but let me tell you I will use this mascara for the rest of my life! I use blackest black, it doesn't get all over my face when I apply it! It doesn't flake, it makes my lashes long and luxurious and it actually comes off extremely easily with my facial cleansing towelettes I use to remove my make up! I absolutely cannot say enough good things about this mascara, if there is anything that I have a hard time finding its a good mascara so this is a SCORE in my books! I purchased mine at Target, I am sure you can get it at Walmart and other places that sell make up. 

This next product is extremely new to me but its so unique and wonderful that I have to talk about it. 

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I have heard a ton of people rave about this beauty mask and truth be told I don't really use beauty masks because I have extremely sensitive skin and I never find ones that I can use. I heard a ton about this and I really love a lot of Lush products so while Brianne and I were at the mall yesterday I planned to purchase the small size and give it a whirl! Sadly when we got there they were sold out but graciously gave me a sample! I came home last night, washed my face and put this one. I am not going to lie I took a picture of myself with it on but decided not to share, I'm just not ready for that yet. So I applied a thin layer to clean skin and left it to dry for about 7 minutes and then washed it off. Let me tell you... my face has NEVER FELT SO SOFT! Not only was it amazingly soft, it really felt so fresh and clean! I couldn't have been more pleased until I woke up this morning and my skin felt EXACTLY THE SAME! It was still super soft and smooth and feeling so clean! This is not a mask you would use everyday and therefore I think the price although not really expensive is really worth it because you may use this only 3 times a week and in such a small amount! Go out and get this! I am excited to use this baby when summer time rolls around you skin feels grungy and gross from the humidity! 

You can check this out at Lush or online HERE.

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This is also a new purchase! I have been suffering from extremely dry skin because of the colder weather that rolls around in the winter and although I use a good moisturizer I wasn't finding that it was doing the job. I planned to hit up Mac Cosmetics yesterday while we were at the mall and invest in their product called Fix+, the purpose of this product is to spray and set your makeup while hydrating your skin. When I arrived and started chatting with the super friendly and helpful employee and she said she thought I would benefit more from Macs Mineralize Charged Water with Revitalizing Energy. Its really strange how wonderful this stuff makes your skin feel, I will admit before buying it I was a skeptic but I thought it was worth a try and let me tell you it absolutely was. This product can be used before moisturizing and make up and as well to set your make up for longer lasting wear! I highly recommend checking this out if you are dealing with dry skin in the winter months or just find your skin is lacking pep! 

You can buy this product at Mac or online HERE.

Getting bored yet? Shall we continue?

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Seeing a theme here? Well like I said the cold seems to be doing a number on my skin and more and more I got to thinking that I really don't have a skin routine! I have been so fortunate all my life to really not suffer from break outs and other skin issues, until now! I decided it would be a good time to invest in some products, in all fairness its not like I am getting any younger therefore I might as well get use to having to use a bunch of products.. right? This is raved about all over the internet, beauty blogs, etc! For me the most important thing in a face wash is obviously that it works for sensitive skin, it smells fresh and it doesn't leave my skin feeling dingy. This product is INCREDIBLE! It really does have the freshest smell, it foams when applied and therefore feels as though it is really cleansing your skin and pores, it doesn't leave any residue on your skin afterwords and it leaves you feeling really fresh. I have been using it at night following my facial cleansing towelettes I use to remove my make up and then in the morning before I use my moisturizer and apply my make up. I don't have one bad thing to say about this stuff, in fact I am grateful to have finally found a product that works for me. 

 I purchased this product at Ulta which you can find online HERE but I know it is also available at Sephora. 

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I purchased this set at Ulta during an after Christmas sale, I'm not going to lie although I got a super great deal I am not really impressed with the eye shadows or the brush! I have yet to try the mascara because obviously I have a new favorite but I have found a new favorite in this set...

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This is Bare Minerals Marvelous Moxie Lip Gloss in Temptress! I haven't really tried many Bare Mineral products, generally when I find something I like I stick to it and most of their products I see advertised are the loose powders and I am not a fan of these. I am however a bit of a lip gloss hoarder, I love to try all different kinds and although lately I have been more into actual lipsticks I was anxious to try this out. I am really in love with the color but mostly the staying power. Most lip glosses that are meant to last a long time tend to be really thick and sticky on your lips and I absolutely hate that, my hair gets stuck on it and it feels heavy on my lips.. no thank you! This lip gloss is light on my lips and lasts FOREVER! They do have a variety of colors and I am not sure if they can be purchased individually at Ulta as this was a set but I am sure they can be at Bare Minerals online HERE or in the stores. If you are looking to try a new long wear lip gloss I highly recommend this product! 

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Finally something different right! I am usually a big fan of Tresemme Dry Shampp and really I still am but I was just interest in trying a new product and it just so happened when mine ran out this was on sale at Target! SCORE! This products is free of parabens and dyes, it is super fresh smelling and doesn't leave your hair with an distinctive heavy residue! I don't generally use this product to absorb grease or whatever from not washing my hair, I use to more to give my roots a little extra body and texture. Having said that again suffering from all this dryness I am trying not to wash my hair for as long as I can get away with and therefore I have used this product to get away another day. I was really happy with how it worked, most often using a dry shampoo to absorb grease it works for a couple of hours and then you can tell, this was absolutely not the case with this stuff, which as far as I am concerned is a huge bonus. If you have a dry shampoo that you love but are interested in trying something different I highly recommend this. Again I purchased mine at Target but I am sure it can be purchased at Walmart or any pharmacy. 

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Remember last week my wonderful Mamma sent me a fabulous and extremely thoughtful care package from Bath & Body Works? Well in there was this fabulous Eucalyptus Spearmint stress relief lotion and let me tell you it is INCREDIBLE! I couldn't love the smell anymore first of all, every day when I get out of the shower I literally lather my entire body in it and it smells amazing all day long! It makes my skin SUPER soft and although it is a really thick moisturizing lotion it is not at all greasy! It can be purchased in stores and HERE online. This is part of a line of stress relief products, you can also buy the body mist, bubble bath/ body wash that I also have, pillow mist, etc. 

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Also in the wonderful parcel was this Lavender Chamomile aromatherapy sleep body wash and bubble bath! I have had this before a couple of years ago and it really does work, the smell is obviously fantastic and it leaves you feeling extremely relaxed! The product itself is not thick and doesn't leave residue which is a huge benefit, I don't generally use it as a body wash but have and was happy with the results. This as well can be purchased in the store and HERE online.

Right now online Bath & Body Works is running a special that gives you $10.00 off any $30.00 purchase and free shipping on orders $50.00 and over! Get it while its hot! 

That is it for all my favorite products right now, I hope you enjoyed and will try a few out! If you have used any of these products and they did not work for you or your feeling is different then that of my own please share. I firmly believe when it comes to hair and beauty products they will work differently for everyone depending on your skin type, hair type, etc. So these opinions are based on what works for me! 

I hope all of you who are getting dumped on with snow today that you are off the roads, safe and warm!