Pop Sugar Must Have // March 2016

I totally skipped February's Must Have box. Oopsie. So here you have, MARCH! This box was a good one.

If you aren't familiar, this subscription costs $39.95 a month, but the cost of goods that you get is way above that! They also have 3 month and 6 month subscriptions that make the price cheaper. What what! I'll show you the item, the retail cost, and I will total everything up at the end. Eek! There's also a code down below for $5 off! 

Nanette Nanette Lepore Classic Rose Gold Watch - $55.00
Lordddddd. I was so stoked about this piece. The whole box only costs $39.95. This watch alone was worth it! It's gorgeous. I don't have much else to say.



Pixi by Petra Book of Beauty Minimal Makeup - $24.00
This palette is gorgeous! I don't wear much makeup ever, but this might be a good place for me to start! I love everything. Two highlighters, two cheek tints, and four eyeshadows!



Goodie Girl Cookies Toffee Chaos - $4.99
These are DELICIOUS and much bigger than I imagined. They taste like really crispy toffee Famous Amos Cookies. Yummmm.



Hello Extra Whitening Fluoride Toothpaste - $4.49
I'm really interested in trying this! It's good for you and good for the environment! It smells minty and delish too. I was worried it would smell weird.



Lola Gift Card - $10.00
I've never heard of Lola before, but this is an awesome idea!



Govino Go-Anywhere Carafe and Water Glass Set - $14.95
If I'm being totally honest, I don't care much about this. The cup fits over the carafe and it's super easy to take places, butttt I don't see myself using it "on the go". I would probably use the carafe if I was having people over though.



Miss Ivy Pearl Five-Tassel Necklace - $38.00
I LOVE THIS. I LOVE THIS. I LOVE THIS. I know my hand totally ruins the picture, but I wanted you to be able to see the ombre effect. This is on a longer chain and it's totally my style.

End Total : $151.43
So. Worth. It.

 If you're interested in getting your own Must Have box, click here for $5 off! 

My Honest Opinion of PIIT28

PIIT28 is Cassey Ho of Blogilates new HIIT style workout program.

My thoughts before PIIT28: Wow I could really like this! Only 28 minutes? That's too good to be true! Maybe I should just splurge and buy the program. I'll get my BFF Beth to do it with me. I definitely won't fail now!

My thoughts during PIIT28: This is not 28 minutes. That was a lie. There's a warm up and a stretch routine at the end. This is more like an hour. I have to BUY the timer for this even though I just spent $40 on the freaking program??? I hate jumping so much. I have a headache. Why is the sound so terrible? Some of the moves don't match the workbook. Why did I spend the money on this? I don't like this. Okaaaaay, who needs to finish 28 days of this anyway. 

That's pretty much an honest account of my thoughts. I should probably mention that I don't really like tabata or HIIT style workouts that much. I hate repeating the same moves over and over again. Knowing I have to go back and do the same sequence four times bugs the crap out of me for some reason. I have no idea why. I wanted to give it a try though because I LOVE Cassey's free workout videos on Youtube. I also wasn't expecting so much jumping. I get massive headaches after finishing these workouts and I live in an apartment and I'm not about that noisy neighbor life. We're on the bottom level, but I still feel like the apartment is shaking. HA.

I was slightly annoyed that the program is advertised as 28 minutes, when it really ends up being an hour. I realize I could just do the active 28 minutes and 45 seconds workout, but I love the stretching at the end. I'm confusing, I know.

I was REALLY annoyed at the fact that if we wanted the timer that went along with the program that we would have to pay an extra $1.99. Call me cheap, but hello! I just paid $40 for this program. Couldn't it be included?

If you love HIIT style workouts, then this is totally for you! Personally, I would much rather do Cassey's monthly calendars that follow along with her BlogilatesYoutube channel for free. I love them, they're shorter and did I mention they're free?

Have you tried PIIT28? What were your thoughts?

Livermore Wine Trolley // Livermore, CA

I'm pre writing the intro to this post. It's currently Friday at 6:48 am. Tomorrow around 10:30 am, me, J and 6 of our friends are embarking on the Livermore Wine Trolley. I'm so excited and a little nervous. 6 hours of wine tasting...should be interesting! The rest of this post will either be written happy and carefree or hungover and miserable.

The consensus...not hungover!



Post Wine Trolley : so much fun! The weather was perfect. Our driver (Annie) was so funny and personable. I would highly recommend it. However, I was barely buzzed. So if you're looking to DRINK, do so before hand. Be advised that there is no drinking on the trolley either.

We visited the following wineries:
Garre - their Rosé is delicious. loved their white wines.
Rios-Lovell - beautiful outside area. we ate lunch here.
Ruby Hill - cutest winery/cute home decor items to buy
Tenuta - my favorite. very personable staff. they have a cat named Butters.



The lunch that you pre-order when you register is SO GOOD. I chose the turkey, apple and brie sandwich. Chips and a drink were in the box too. Beverage was wine of course.



If you're in the area, you should definitely check out the Livermore Wine Trolley. It's $99 a person. You visit 4 wineries, pre-order lunch, and get chauffeured around in a cool trolley. (This post isn't sponsored, but if anyone wants to sponsor a wine tasting trip, I won't say no!)

My Life in Numbers

3 days until our Livermore wine trolley adventure!

10 days until my niece's boho birthday bash!

43 days until Jarad turns 30!

45 days until I throw Jarad the best birthday party ever!

53 days until our three year anniversary!

66 days until we see Alton Brown live!

261 days until our Hawaiian vacation!!!

In case the exclamation points didn't give it away, I'm pretty excited about the upcoming months. Here's to hoping they're better than January, February, and the first half of March! 

I'm Lucky To Be This Tired

I'm constantly tired and I'm constantly wallowing in a puddle of self pity for being sooo busy and sooo tired all the time. Recently, I have experienced a change of heart. I've realized that I'm LUCKY to be this tired.

I'm lucky to have friends that want to hang out with me.

I'm lucky to have a job that allows me to pay my bills.

I'm lucky to have nieces that want to play with me.

I'm lucky to have a dog that won't leave me alone when I'm trying to sleep.

I'm lucky to have a boyfriend that ensures I take advantage of my free time.

I'm lucky to have a family that loves me and wants to see me all the time.

I'm lucky that people choose me to make cupcakes for their most cherished days.

I'm lucky to be alive.

Next time you're feeling tired and like you're at the end of your rope - just remember - you're LUCKY.

Project Lead Kindly // 2016 Prengancy Shelter Hop

As bloggers, we use a lot of words. We have realized that WORDS are POWERFUL and we have decided to use our words for good and spread a message about a great cause...

Today, I wanted to introduce you to Project Lead Kindly and their 2016 Pregnancy Shelter Hop.

Project Lead Kindly is a nonprofit organization that assists mothers & children affected by domestic violence and homelessness. They are also on a mission to encourage, inspire, and remind everyone that we ALL have the potential to serve & "lead kindly," no matter our circumstances. Each year, Project Lead Kindly provides a BIG service project to the community. Last year, they organized a children's book drive.This year, we are raising money for Project Lead Kindly's 2016 Pregnancy Shelter Hop. We will be assisting 5 different shelters throughout California that house homeless, pregnant mothers and their children. We will be donating newborn necessities to:Harvest Home, Precious Life Shelter, Casa Teresa, Angels Way Maternity Home, and Elizabeth House. We will also be throwing two events to assist the mothers serviced by Elizabeth House & Angels Way Maternity Home.

How you can help!

While the events are local to California, we wanted to find some way for the amazingly supportive online community to help out! We've set up a GoFundMe with a goal to raise $1000 for Project Lead Kindly:

www.GoFundMe.com/PLKshelterhop

All funds donated will go to Project Lead Kindly & help:

1) provide these necessary items for the mothers & their babies at all 5 shelters, 2) throw the events for the mothers from Elizabeth House & Angels Way, 3) help spread the Lead Kindly message (the reminder that ALL have the potential to do good and to be an example to others, no matter what trials they face) to these women who need to be encouraged & reminded of their worth & potential and that they are cared for!

Please consider donating even $1 to the cause. Every little bit helps. In addition to donating, if you want to share the cause with us, please:

1) take the image below

2) share it in your own blog post and social media

3) encourage others to join our initiative & donate!

You can also email projectleadkindly@gmail.com your blog post link so they can share it with others!

And if you don't have a blog, but simply want to share the cause, we encourage you to take the image & share it on social media! We have a goal of $1000, and if we all use our words together, we can reach it!

We also wanted to include a fun giveaway as a thank you for your support! This giveaway is sponsored by the bloggers and not Project Lead Kindly directly.

The prizes:

Raewyn will be giving away a $25 Starbucks gift card and ad space on Be a Warrior Queen.

Pam will be offering ad space on Hodge Podge Moments

Emilie and Laura will be offering ad space on Burke Does

Check out our giveaway hosts:

Be a Warrior Queen // Mamas Plus Coffee // Hodge Podge Moments // Coastie Couple // Coffee n Ink // Wandering Forevermore // Ramblings of a Fake Redhead // The Dahlia Scene // Motherhood Through My Eyes // The Blushing Mama // The Motherhood Journey // Burke Does // The Petite Mrs // Absolute Mommy // And Then Life

How to enter:

Bloggers Leading Kindly Giveaway Thank you so much for leading kindly with us!

#AlohaBaecationBody

I've said it a million times and I know I will say it a million more.

I need to lose weight. 

I would be lying if I said that vanity wasn't part of the reason I feel this way. More importantly though, I need to be healthy.

Years ago, after a bad break-up, I let myself go for awhile. I slept way more than anybody should. I stayed up until all hours of the early morning, went to work at 5 am, got off between 10 am and noon, ate fast food for lunch and then went home and slept until my dad got home at 6:30 pm. During this time, I set myself and my body up for failure. I formed terrible habits. I ate like crap. The only exercise I got was walking around Target with a shopping cart. I gained weight. Weight that I haven't really let go of. No pun intended, this weight is heavy. There is no excuse for me to be harboring this food baby any longer.

My family is going to Hawaii in December and I am determined to feel confident in a bikini. I want to fully enjoy my time with my family and not worry about how I look. I want to lose the weight for my self esteem. For my ever dwindling closet. For my body. For myself.

I'm a deadline person. I can't just say "I want to lose 10 pounds" because I will never do it. I need to say "I want to lose 10 pounds before I got to Hawaii in December." This allows me to picture an end goal. It allows me to see the reward. I can physically cross days off on the calendar. Hence the hash tag, #AlohaBaecationBody.

I'm never going to be the girl that doesn't love to eat. I love trying new restaurants. I love eating french fries and milk shakes with my mom like when I was a kid. I love going to my dad's favorite hot wing place with him. I love surprising my nieces with those frosting cookies from the grocery. But just because I love food, doesn't mean that I can't love my body too. I took the plunge and purchased Cassey Ho's 28 day PIIT program. I'm hoping that since I spent actual money on a program that I will stick with it. The exercises seem fun and she looks smokin' after creating/completing the program!

I can't wait to see where I am in 28 days. It's all mental for me and I'm so ready.