I SAID YES!

On 12.12.17...a Taco Tuesday unlike any other...I SAID YES! 

Back in December, we spent a week in the Happiest Place on Earth. We lucked into front row viewing spots for the World of Color show in California Adventure and Jarad asked me to be his wife with my DREAM ring! 

Life has been crazy lately, but more wedding posts are coming soon! 

Only 361 days until we say "I Do"! 

Essential Oils 101 - The Basics

I know that all of you have that friend that posts about the voodoo magic of essential oils. I'm one of those posting friends. The oils work like magic, but they are definitely not voodoo. They work. I love them and I know you will love them too! I thought it would be fun to do a little Essential Oils 101 series on the blog and in the future I can share fun recipes and ideas. Lets start with the basics.

What are essential oils?
Essential oils are naturally occurring aromatic compounds that are found in the seeds, bark, stems, roots and flowers of plants. After the oils are extracted from the plants, they can be used to help with emotional and physical wellness for ourselves, our families, and even our pets!

I cannot stress enough - not all essential oils are created equally. Please do not go out tonight and buy the oils you see at Target, Walmart or even the health food store. I am a doTERRA wellness advocate and firmly stand behind their quality.

Three ways to use:

• Aromatically - diffuse, inhale, etc
• Internally - putting a drop under your tongue, mixing with water, use for baking/cooking or taking in a veggie cap
• Topically - applying directly to the skin - some oils should be diluted before applying topically!

I have to admit...I was super skeptical of essential oils at first. I had a stomach ache at my sister's house one evening and she said "I have peppermint oil in the bathroom, go rub it on your belly." I half expected my skin to fall off. Plot twist : it didn't and five minutes later my stomach ache was gone. It's 10 months later and I am a firm believer. I cannot wait to share more about oils with you guys! 

There is an oil for EVERY problem and I am here to help! Sleep, allergies, immunity support, digestion, sore muscles, dry scalp, stretch marks, sun burns, bug bites, flea/tick spray for your pets, anything you can think of! 

If you want more information, email me at mermade.essentials@yahoo.com. I also post on instagram over at mermade.essentials. 

Five on Friday 9.22.17

Man oh man, it has been TOO long since I've done one of these. Life has been so busy and fun lately. Lets jump right in!

1. 

My coworker and I got a fish for our shared cubicle and she is PERFECTION. The prettiest little unicorn fish and her name is Petunia. We obviously don't get out much.

2.

I took a trip to Disneyland with my dad and little sister this weekend and I am dreaming about the next time I get to have a Jack cake pop. 26 days! 

3.

I am a bridesmaid in a wedding in November and I was having the hardest time finding cute silver shoes. I found these babies on Amazon for $25 and they are perfection! Comfortable and not too tall. They have a lot of colors that would be perfect for work or going out. The perfect "lady shoe". 

4.

After waiting a literal year for this chair to go on sale, I scored it for 50% off. I CANNOT wait for all the new home decor coming to Target. Goodbye paycheck, hello Chip and Joanna! 

5. 

Last but not least, stay tuned for fun essential oil stuff coming soon! Follow along on my essential oil insta - @mermade.essentials

I am so happy to be blogging again and cannot wait for all the fun posts to come! 

A Weekend Trip to Disney

Main Street Disney! 

I absolutely love Disneyland. The magic is undeniable. #Disneymylife

I finally got an annual pass!

This past weekend, my dad took my little sister and I for a quick weekend trip. We drove down Friday and came home Sunday. We never go on the weekends and now I remember why. It was PACKED. Some of our favorite rides were closed for hours during the day, which was annoying. BUT! Disneyland, California Adventure, and Downtown Disney were all decorated for Halloween and my Halloween loving heart exploded. This is the first year that California Adventure has been decorated and it did not disappoint. Downtown Disney had a bunch of pumpkin towers everywhere and massive pumpkins in all the planters. So cute.

stoked off Cars Land!

Cars Land!

I mean how perfect is this!?

I can't even.

me and my baby Maddie twinning

This was our first time staying at the Disneyland Hotel and it did not disappoint. We have stayed at Paradise Pier and the Grand Californian, so this was the last of the trio for us. I LOVED IT. I honestly expected it to be tacky Disney, but it was the perfect amount of Disney magic and class. We ate a bunch, walked a bunch, and soaked up a stress free weekend for as long as we could.

Chip (or Dale?)  watching TV when we walked into our hotel

Cotton Candy Lemonade from the Cove Bar in CA Adventure!

the most DELISH lobster nachos from the Cove Bar

My favorite time of day at the parks is first thing in the morning and later at night. The best!

Oogie Boogie Takeover! 

this is blurry but Carthay Circle!

the coolest ears! they also have orange bats.

Stay tuned for more Disney Halloween magic next month when I go to Mickey's Halloween Party (for the 3rd year in a row) with my best friend!

no detail was left out!

10 Things About Me!

I can't remember if I've done one of these posts before, but I thought it would be fun to do a little re-introduction since it's been so long since I've blogged regularly...or at all really.

1. My name is Miranda. (surprise!)
2. I am 25 years old. 
3. I have a dog named Matilda aka Tilly that I am OBSESSED with. 
4. My boyfriend Jarad and I have been dating for 4 1/2 years. I'm indoorsy. He's an adventurer.
5. We commute together, work together and live together. (we didn't meet at work)
6. We bought a house together a few months back and owning a home has been the best! We've moved 5 times in the last 3 years, so it's nice to actually get set up somewhere.
7. I love baking cupcakes, crafting, decorating, all things Disney and planning parties.
8. I also love essential oils. They have had such a big impact in my life since I was introduced to them in January. 
9. Halloween is my JAM. 
10. I like to live everyday like its Taco Tuesday.

WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!

Hellllllllo from the other siiiiiiiiiiide! 

I lost my blogging spark for awhile... My  creative light went out temporarily... But I'm back! With news!

WE BOUGHT A HOUSE! 

We had originally planned on buying a house in the Fall, but the stars aligned, we found the perfect house on my favorite street in town, and it's ours! We get the keys on Tuesday and I cannot wait to share all about it! 

The inside is completely remodeled but the house was built in 1955 and it's so charming. I can't wait to show you how we decorate it and make it our home! Think industrial meets Joanna Gaines farmhouse. Eek! We will also be doing a ton of work to the front and back yard. If you have any tips, tricks, or ideas - shoot them my way! I have ZERO experience with yard work/planting things/anything related to the outside at all pretty much.

Here's a sneak peek to hold you over until I can take pictures of the whole house :)

The Normal Girl's Guide to Saving Money

 

If you read my last post, you know that we are trying to buy a house this year. Eek! After searching under couch cushions and checking all my old purses for spare pennies, I decided it was time to get serious.  I've budgeted before and was able to save $10,000 in very little time. Yo girl is back at it again. Here are the things that work for me - a normal girl who drinks too much coffee and spends all her money at Target.

• open up a separate savings account - (if this makes sense for you) We are doing this to keep our house money separate from our individual savings accounts.

• cut the Starbs - Make this a once a week treat and set aside the money you would be spending!

• don't open the emails - Giiiiirl, I know that 60% off is tempting, but don't do it. Just delete it!

• avoid Target at all costs - You can't black out and spend $200 if you don't enter those doors!

• cook at home - This is our biggest struggle. We commute a total of 5 hours a day to work and the last thing we want to do is cook. Our wallets + waistlines will thank us though.

• use cash - Go to the bank and withdraw a set amount of cash. I can swipe that card all day, but watching money physically disappear in front of me stops me in my tracks. 

•  start a change jar - I have a jar that counts the change as I drop it in. Once you hit $100, roll it and take it to the bank!  

•  recycle - We drink a lot of water, Vitamin Water, and Coke Zero in our house. I save all the bottles and take them to a recycling center for some extra cash. 

• hoard gift cards - I don't know about you guys, but I hoard my gift cards like it's the last gift card I will ever receive. This works to my advantage because when I HAVE TO HAVE something, I can use a gift card instead of swiping my card or taking it out of my cash stash. 

What are some of your money saving tips? I would love to hear them!

2017 Goals

 

I really need to get back on the goal bandwagon. I decided I want to set goals for the year as a whole and then do smaller goals every month... or so ;)

 

I've decided my word for the year will be INTENTIONAL. I want to be intentional in everything I do. I want to simplify. I want to figure out what really matters and be all there.

• de-clutter and simplify my spaces - mental and physical
• exercise regularly
• cook at home more
• learn to cook and bake new dishes
• squeeze in travel whenever we can
• save money $$$$
• buy a house toward the end of the year
• get engaged ;) ;) 
• go on adventures with Jarad (he's into tactical training, outdoors, and his bow right now)
• read more books

I feel like 2016 was kind of a bust for me and I really want to make 2017 count. Here's to taking chances and making it happen in 2017! 

Cake in a Jar!

Cake cake cake cake.

This is a throwback post...from two years ago when I was getting ready to celebrate my first blogiversary. I'm going through all my drafts and finally publishing some!

I decided to bake...CAKE. Because what's a party without cake?  I decided any old cake wouldn't do. How about rainbow cake...baked in jars...topped with glitter and sprinkles??? Good. I'm glad we're on the same page.

 

This is super simple. Celebrations can be stressful and sometimes I think the simpler the better. I chose to use Funfetti cake mix for this because 1) funfetti. no explanation needed. 2) nothing says party like sprinkled cake - seriously even the box says happy birthday 3) i'm a busy girl.

You can use any kind of cake. Any kind! I split my batter into three different bowls and chose three different colors. Pink, purple, and lime green. The jars I used are smaller than normal mason jars. Those would take forever to bake. I used small Kerr jars. I layered the batter very carefully. My best friend and I took two different layering approaches and I loved them! DO NOT FILL THE BATTER TO THE TOP. We filled the jars about 3/4 of the way full and that was too much. I would say go for half full.

Bake low and slow and use a sheet pan. 325 degrees. I would check your cakes between 25 and 30 minutes. Baking time will vary depending on the size of your jars.

Once your cakes have cooled, frost those babies! AND THEN. It's sprinkle time. I used edible glitter first. So sparkly and so pretty. I really wanted the glitter to stand out so I used hot pink sprinkles as well! I think the sprinkles add even more sparkle and shine.

That's it! So simple, but so fabulous! I hoped you enjoyed this post! (okay seriously past me was just so cute)

Our Trip To Maui - December 2016

We're baaaaaack! We got back from Maui at 2 am on Thursday. Let me tell you, 5 days in paradise is not enough time! We had such a great time. Our trip started out a little rocky with a 2 hour delay. It doesn't seem like much, but we were supposed to arrive at 10:30 am and didn't arrive until almost 1 pm! That's a big jump when you're trying to start your vacation. It seemed like our day was wasted, but we tried to change our attitudes!

We stayed at the The Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas and it was fantastic! My sister + brother in law own a timeshare there and we loved it. Multiple pools, hot tubs, restaurants and surrounded by beaches!

We ate a ton of good food. I will be doing a separate post with a food guide for Maui. Can I just say that Maui has the best french fries? Oh and seafood too ;)

Everybody is so nice and helpful on the island. I didn't encounter one rude person! We also didn't hear anyone honk their car horns. That's unheard of where we live.

We enjoyed some snorkeling at Baby Beach. We loved it. It's waist deep water for at least 150 years. We snorkeled with my nieces and we had a blast. Jarad bought me by own snorkeling gear. I cannot tell you how happy that makes me! I had a bad rental experience in the Caribbean and now I'm set!

We shopped on Front Street in Lahaina and at Whaler's Village. I highly recommend both!

Jarad went on an overnight fishing trip and had a total blast. It was so fun to hear all his stories!

Have you been to Maui? What are your recommendations??

What I'm Packing For Hawaii!

HELLO. IT'S ME. I'M JUST OVER HERE PACKING FOR HAWAII. WE LEAVE IN THREE DAYS.

Alright, caps lock off and my breathing has returned to normal. I started "packing" for this trip months ago. I wrote list after list and set aside random things every time I thought of them. I'm trying REALLY hard not to over pack. We will be there for 6 days, 5 nights and I need to keep it together! I also want to be able to lug my suitcase around the airport without panting... Let's just say I'm the queen of being over-prepared.

I wanted to show you guys the super cute/fun things I'm packing for this trip.

Jax Sea Kimonos - my sister bought me the pink one last year when she went to Maui and she just bought me the blue floral one for my birthday a few weeks ago. These are actually made in Maui. You can drool over them here.

Target Tankinis - I was supposed to get in shape liiiike 10 months ago, but tacos. These tops hide my food baby and I feel cute in them. SCORE. Buy the black one here and the colorful one here

Kate Spade Coconut Purse and Seahorse Wallet - Jarad hooked me up you guys. He bought these for me MONTHS ago because he knew I wanted them for Hawaii. I mean seriously. These are the cutest things I've ever seen.

Old Navy 'Salty' Tote - I bought this soooo long ago knowing I would want it as a pool bag for this trip. I love the neon orange strap.

Handmade Pineapple Pouch - My niece Presly made this baby for me for my birthday. Did I mention that she's SEVEN??? My heart melted.


I can't wait to update on my trip once I get back! Aloha!