Bring Back Rainbow Chip!

Uhhhh hi. I'm not sure if you're aware, but Betty Crocker discontinued Rainbow Chip frosting last year. I'm not realizing this until now because stores were supposed to sell it until they had no more AND NOW THEY HAVE NO MORE.

The company said the discontinuing was due to "low sales". I beg to differ. EVERYBODY KNOWS THE BEST BIRTHDAY COMBO IS FUNFETTI CAKE WITH RAINBOW CHIP FROSTING. I mean, come on. You can't fool me.

They have since come out with vanilla frosting with rainbow sprinkles. Is that a joke? I can make that myself. Or buy Pillsbury's. WHICH I WILL BECAUSE I AM UPSET.

NOBODY CAN RECREATE THOSE LITTLE BALLS. NOBODY EVEN KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE!

Even Katy Perry reached out to the company and they told her NO. WHO DOES THAT? If Katy can't bring it back, no one can.

People are selling their rainbow chip frosting on eBay for HUNDREDS of dollars. That's how much people love it, okay? This is just ridiculous. 

When I informed my best friend of this situation, her response was "YOU BETTER BLOG ABOUT THIS!" So here you go, Beth. I'm getting our important cause out to the public!

Listen, Betty. You cray. Bring it back or I'll send crazy mobs of Rainbow Chip lovers to your door.

Long live Rainbow Chip!

Bye Bye, Blackheads!!

I really had no idea what to title this post. It isn't sponsored, so I didn't want to put the product name in the title. I also wanted something attention grabbing, without being gross sounding. As it turns out, there is no way to make "blackheads" sound not icky.

Phew! Anyway! I was listening to the radio the other morning and heard a commercial for new Biore nose strips WITH CHARCOAL. In case you didn't know, charcoal is supposed to be super good for shrinking pores and getting rid of those blackheads. Like any girl would do, the first available second I had, I ran to Target. The little section where they were supposed to be was EMPTY. Hah, I pushed those empty boxes aside and found the mother load at the back of the shelf. What what!

Target was having a deal where if you buy 3 Biore products, you get a $5 giftcard. Naturally, I bought a box for me, a box for my BFF/roommate, and a box of their new charcoal face masks to share.

OH MY GAWD. I LOVE THESE THINGS. THEY ARE MY LIFE.

We made a little party out of it and used our charcoal face masks first. They aren't kidding when they tell you it's a naturally warming mask. You rub it in for one minute and then wash it off. That stuff is cray cray! Your face feels super tingly and clean afterward. THEN. We put our nose strips on. They're black. Which is kind of weird and we were wondering if they did that to hide the fact that these things don't work. Well, we were wrong. Soooo wrong.

Unfortunately, blackheads on my nose are an issue for me. Thanks, Dad! I'm always looking for the newest, best thing and I have found it! I'm going to show you a picture of my nose strip after I was done. It's disgusting, but seeing is believing right? I have NEVER had results like this.

told you.

I'm going back to Target and buying them out, just in case they get rid of them. Hah! I also saw in a magazine there is a Biore face wash with charcoal AND a charcoal face soap bar thing. I'll take one of everything please.


Have you found anything that works well for blackheads? Please share them down below!


*this post is NOT sponsored. I just really love it.*

Monterey Fish House // Monterey, CA

This weekend was a fun one! My family came to visit us because 1) J's birthday is on Tuesday and 2) because J GOT INTO UC BERKELEY! The birthday celebration was the original plan, but who couldn't celebrate such an amazing accomplishment? He has worked so hard!

My lovely mother made reservations for the Monterey Fish House over a week ahead of time and it was at 6:30. That place is poppin' all the time. I've never driven past without seeing a line. It was on the Food Network, so that isn't helping the line situation!

waiting so patiently

Honestly, it isn't my favorite place. It's just not worth the hype for me. I'll break it down real simply.

Good:
- the clam chowder was the best I've ever had (win!)
- the steak J ordered was SO tender (he loved it!)
- the oysters were huge (my family was happy. I won't touch them)
- they had orange Fanta and Mr Pibb (my two favorites)
- the prices weren't outrageous like I had assumed
- our server was very friendly and helpful

oyster appetizer

J's steak and spicy shrimp diabla

Not So Good:
- we waited 35 minutes with a reservation and had to wait outside in the freezing/windy cold
- the hostess was not friendly at all at first, but slowly warmed up throughout the dinner
- the menu was not impressive (I was really hoping for lobster)
- the bread was lame (cold with sesame seeds on top)
- the dessert waiter asked me for my number while I was sitting next to J (awkward)
- their cheesecake had no crust (what?)
- their creme brulee was liquid (what?)

my crab/ricotta stuffed ravioli

Overall, my family seemed to enjoy their food. Mine wasn't anything to write home about. The bites with more crab in them tasted delicious, but other bites tasted weird. I'm curious because there was a pretty large party there at the same time we were, so maybe things were thrown off? I'd like to give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe I'll go back for that clam chowder ;)

artichoke shrimp scampi - my step dad loved his!

Have you eaten here by chance? What was your experience like?

T Shirt Quilt with Project Repat!!!!

You guys. You guys. You guys.

I originally came across Project Repat on the IG popular page and knew I had to have a t shirt quilt of my own. Your girl has A LOT of t shirts. Concerts, baseball games, novelty tees, high school spirit shirts... you name it I have 10.

I reached out to them and we made a beautiful, beautiful t shirt quilt together. Well really they did everything. I just had to decide which t shirts to use...which is harder than you would think.

When you buy your blanket, you have 3 months to send them your t shirts. They send you videos and instructions on how to prepare/send your shirts. I only waited about two weeks for this baby. One week to create it and one week to receive it in the mail. I'm a very excited/impatient person, so I was stoked!

They offer many different sizes based on your wants and needs. They can also do quilts with baby clothes. What a sweet idea.

I am soooo in love with my quilt. They did an amazingly perfect job. I was worried how some shirts would look or if they would cut off the important parts. They didn't disappoint. They cut exactly where I had hoped. The back is grey fleece. (you can choose what color you want)

They were even able to incorporate my chef coat into the quilt! <3  There is also a shirt from my fourth grade field trip... I obviously can't let things go.

I highly recommend Project Repat for gifts or even yourself! I'm so excited these shirts have found a new purpose and aren't just sitting in a drawer at my Dad's house.

Thank you, Project Repat! You guys are amazing!

What shirts do you have that you just can't get rid of? I'd love to know I'm not the only one! ;) 

*I received this quilt in exchange for my honest opinion*

The Knot : Little Books of Big Wedding Ideas - Book Review

Blogging for Books strikes again! I decided to request this set of books because they seemed interesting and practical? I might not be engaged, but I'm at that age where it starts happening! I also want to get into party planning and thought this would be a great resource to have.

There are 4 hardback books in the set. They are smaller than I imagined, but packed full of beautiful pictures and useful information. I really like that they are hardback with glossy pages. Such great quality!

The four books are : Cakes, Bouquets and Centerpieces, Details, and Vows and Toasts. I'm obviously a little partial to the Cakes book. Buuuuut, the Bouquets and Centerpieces are a close second. Seriously amazing. I've been wanting to mess around with floral arrangements and this is such a good resource to have.

I hope one of my friends gets engaged soon, so I can put this bad boy to use!

I received this set of books from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

Easy Hair Bow Tutorial!

I originally wrote this post as a guest post - but it was never used. So, I didn't want this to go to waste! I have 4 nieces and little girls love hair bows. Or their mommy loves hair bows. This is the first type of bow I learned to make and is the perfect starting point.

 Also. Excuse my chipped nail polish. #baristafail (I'm not a barista anymore, but this is an old post)

Here's what you need :

• scissors, some sort of lighter, a ruler, and a hot glue gun
• 5 inches of grosgrain ribbon - 1 1/2 inches wide
• 2 inches of grosgrain ribbon - 3/8 inch wide
• your choice of clip or headband 

Step 1: Measure and cut your ribbons. Heat seal the ends. Set aside.

Step 2: Lay your ribbon pattern side down. Take the left side of your wide ribbon and fold it until the edge meets the middle of the ribbon. Use a small line of hot glue and hold the edge in place for a few seconds. Now take the right side of the ribbon and fold it until this edges meets the edge that has been glued down.

Step 3: Put a little dot of glue in the center of the seam you have just created. Take the top of your future bow and fold it in half downward. And smush. (real technical here)

Step 4: Working with the top of your bow next - Put a little dab of glue right in the middle - so in this case, between the two dots. Take the edge and bring it toward you. And smush. Do the same with the bottom part.

Step 5: Admire your handy work. And fluff your bow. Make it look all pretty and bow like.

Step 6: Turn your bow so that the seam/glue parts are facing up. Glue one end of your thin ribbon to the center. Apply pressure for a few seconds. Now take the loose end and wrap it around the whole center of the bow. When you're back at your starting point, glue the loose end to the secured end. Cut any excess ribbon off.

Step 7: Attach your bow to an alligator clip or head band. Hot glue will work for either!

That's it!

I apologize for the amount of times I wrote ribbon, but it had to be done. I hope you guys make lots of cute bows with this tutorial!

April Goals

I figured I should start this post with something inspirational ;)

Here's what March looked like for me!

• make healthier food choices 
• pack a lunch 4 times a week
• make coffee at home instead of buying it
• send 5 handwritten letters (one for every week) read about my snail mail challenge here.
• exercise 3-4 times a week
• complete the 30 day Blogilates slimmer thigh challenge
• decide on a summer trip destination
• POST THINGS ON ETSY. OMG. 
• no fast food - trying to wean myself off the fries ;)
• save $700-$1000 this month
• craft something special for my niece's second birthday!   

Not too shabby, I guess. Overall, I was more active and ate better - except for the couple trips I made to BK for chicken fries. I'm not even sorry. Still not where I want to be, but baby steps, I guess! I'm still going strong with my handwritten letters. If you would like to be pen pals or just need a little mailbox inspiration, please reach out to me! As for that summer trip, we decided we aren't taking one because if J gets into Berkeley, we will be moving to Livermore. Eek! I packed a lunch and drank coffee at home a couple of week, but didn't finish out the month. I did not post a single thing on etsy. Fail fail fail. I saved money, but only thanks to that tax refund! 

• make healthier food choices
• bake more often (maybe a tad counterproductive)
• send 5 handwritten letters
• exercise 4-5 times a week
• complete the Blogilates Sleek Arms Challenge
• start the Tone It Up Bikini Body Series
• make sure Jarad has an awesome 29th birthday! 
• attend the Good Old Days Festival in Pacific Grove
• keep purging "stuff"
• find out of Jarad gets into Berkeley and CELEBRATE. 

I might be adding more as I think of them. What are some of your goals for this month? If you want to be pen pals, email me! :)