Friday Favorites.

1. eos Shave Cream.  A friend from work told me about this and I love it.  It doesn't lather like other shave creams, but instead is almost lotion consistency.  It makes my legs super soft and smooth.  At Target, it is about the same price as other shave creams I've used.  I recommend it!

2. I'm going to my parent's house this weekend, this afternoon really.  I'm super excited because Sean and I haven't been there since January.  Sean has to work, but that just means I get to sleep in my childhood bed in the middle.  Just like I used to. 

3. I'm going to attempt making homemade deodrant soon.  A quick Pinterest search says this is totally possible.  I know it sounds kind of crazy, but I have most of the ingredients already anyway.  The only thing I need is coconut oil, which I am out of anyway.  Most recipes I've seen call for coconut oil, baking soda, corn starch, and any essential oils you want.  A few drops of tea tree oil help because it's anti-bacterial.  I've heard peppermint oil gives it a nice clean scent.  I have the tea tree oil, but will need to find some essential oil somewhere.  I'll do a post about making it and then let you know about my results.  I'm trying to make as many natural products as possible and not use any unnecessary products and chemicals.  We'll see how it goes.

4. Speaking of coconut oil, I've heard that if you melt a few teaspoons of cocnut oil and then put it on your hair for 30 minutes, then wash, it really moisturizes dry, damaged hair.  I'm going to give it a go once I remember to pick up some coconut oil from Trader Joe's.  Maybe this weekend or early next week.

5.  I'm going to leave you with a video of a song that I've been into lately.  The Current plays it and it's on Live Current volume 8 which I got when I became a MPR member in October.  Anyway, enjoy the song!  I know I do.

Have a nice weekend!

Newest Pyrex.

I'm going to share my three newest (old) Pyrex dishes.  I found them all at the same Goodwill.  I used to NEVER find Pyrex at this particular Goodwill until the last few weeks.  Also, I apologize for the crappy photos.  My camera battery is dead and I took these with my iPod.  Clearly I need to work on my life skills a.k.a. charge my camera battery.

To identify Pyrex patterns, I use this website.  Take a look below!  Next, I'm going to show you my favorite piece of Pyrex I own.  

Butterfly Gold pattern

Butterfly Gold 2 1/2 quart Cinderella Mixing Bowl

Butterfly Gold 4 quart Mixing Bowl

Verde pattern

Verde 2 1/2 quart Cinderella Casserole

Friday Favorites.

1. Friday night phone calls with Charlie.  I like to ask him questions and can sometimes understand his answer.  I still love it even if I can't understand.  Every time I talk to him he knows so many different words.  The evolution of speech of a toddler is absolutely amazing. Also, I told him to tell Daddy that they are making breakfast for Becky on Sunday.  I'm not sure if he's going to relay the message, so I told Becky.

2. I made these sugar cookie squares today to bring to Sean at work.  He texted me and let me know that they were a, "BIG hit and everyone loves them."  Next time, I need to remember to bake them a few minutes less.  They got a little dried out, but overall, super easy recipe!

3. Have you heard of the Diamond Candles?  There's a diamond ring in every candle.  It sounds interesting.  I'd like to buy one sometime and try it out.

4. My May Birchbox came today!  My favorite item is the Sumita Color Contract Eyeliner in black.  It's supposed to be super long wearing, so I can't wait to test it out.

5. My sewing machine.  Now, I need to decide what I'm going to make first.  There's so many options!

Sorry this is later than normal.  I'm going to go back to the couch and nurse my cold that blind sided me yesterday afternoon. 

Also, happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers out there.  Especially to my mother, the best mother I have.  :)  No, she's actually the best mother in the world.  Have a nice weekend!

My love affair with vintage Pyrex.

I have a love affair with vintage Pyrex.  I don't quite know why, but I just love it.  I love the colors and the designs.  I love the milk glass.  I just love it all.

A few years ago, I decided I wanted to start collecting it.  I'm going to begin posting pictures of my collection. 

Let's begin with what started it all... Pink Pyrex.  I currently have three 8-inch round pans as well as two 2-quart bowls.  I have one Pyrex lid that fits on all of these. 

Aren't they beautiful?

8 in rounds

2 quart bowl - I have two of these, one was in use

Goodwill finds.

Hey!  I've had a few fantastic Goodwill finds in the past week.  Last weekend, I found two pieces of Pyrex in excellent condition (more on that later).  Last night, Sean and I found a sewing machine. 

Remember a couple weeks ago I talked about getting serious about finding a sewing machine?  We found one, well Sean found it first.  It was only $14.99 at Goodwill and that is a win in my book.  It's a 1968 Singer Fashion Mate model 237.  We got it home and plugged it in.  I got it all threaded.  Sean had one of his gloves for biking that had a hole in the side that I needed to fix. 

Then, a weird noise started.  At first is sounded like it was shorting out electricly.  After careful inspection by Sean, he thinks it something with the belt and/or motor.  He did a little research and since the motor in on the outside of the machine, it is easy to replace the motor.  There is a sewing machine repair shop in Roseville that I'm going to take it to tonight and get an estimate on what is going on and what the cost is to fix it.  Then, we'll decide if we're going to put the money in to fix it or return it to Goodwill (we have until next Tuesday to return it). 

We'll see what's going to happen!  The sewing machine saga continues...

Friday Favorites.

It's Friday, yay!  This week has been felt super long, but has went by pretty quickly.  Does that make sense?  No?  Okay!  Work has been pretty busy for me this week. 

1.  e.l.f. Studio High Definition Powder.  I picked this up from Target earlier this week and I'm in love.  I got the translucent (white) and it seriously smooth the look of fine lines.  I know what you're thinking, "Fine lines?  At your ripe old age of 25?  Yeah, sure."  But seriously!  I'm starting to get fine lines and wrinkles by my eyes a bit and one giant wrinkle on my forehead.  This powder makes my face look so smooth!  Also, it makes my pores look tiny.  AND for only $6, you gotta holla!  Seriously, ladies.  If you are looking for a powder to really set your make-up, look no further.

2. Can we talk about how amazing these cups are?  I have two of them, one purple one at home and a teal one at work.  At work especially, I try to drink at least 4 daily.  I notice my skin feels a lot better and looks more hydrated when I've drank at least 60 ounces of water a day.

3. Things No One Will Tell Fat Girls, So I Will.  This has been floating around the internet/Pinterest.  It talks about being comfortable with your own body image.  It's pretty fantastic.

4. Gardening!  It's happening this weekend.  I need to clean up my garden plot, stat.  There's a bunch of leaves and debris that blew into over the winter.  My community garden officially opened last weekend.  On Saturday there was the mandatory work day and it was fun!  My arms got a little sun because I didn't think about sun screen.  Silly me.  Then, Sean and I put the fence up earlier this week.  I planted tulip and daffadil bulbs last fall which the bunnies (I'm assuming) had eaten them all off.  I wanted to get the fence up ASAP so hopefully my beautiful white tulips will grow back.  It's a good thing because the daffadils were beginning to come up.  Anyway, hopefully Sean and I will be able to get a few things in the ground.  Also, I may try out some square foot gardening.  Divide up square foot sections and then plant things accordingly.  Last year, my garden was one complete jumbled mess and this year, I'm attempted to stay a bit more organized! 

5. When in Brookings.  It has .GIF images and it's hilarious to me.  It's funny because everything on there I 100% agree with.  I know Christa will giggle at it.

That's all folks!  I'm going to my weekend with Sean since he doesn't work at all this weekend.  Lovely!

Boots and her new space.

I think Boots likes her new space, a.k.a. vintage suitcase.

Bike date.

Sean and I went on a bike date/adventure today.

A 16.93 mile adventure.  It was fun.  I'm tired now.  I only fell once on my bike.  Nothing hurt, just my ego.

Now, we nap.

Friday Favorites.

Alright, I've got some really great favorites today.  Well... I think they're great and hopefully you find something you like here!

1.  Let's talk make-up and get a little girly.  My new(ish) absolute favorite lip gloss is Nyx Cosmetics Butter Gloss.  I got it at Ulta on a whim about a month ago and was pleasantly surprised at how much I actually like it.  It is so smooth and hydrating on and the color is really intense.  I have it in Peaches and Cream and it is a really bright pink.  The color of it actually matches the color of the tube, so if you're thinking about buying it keep that in mind.  The color is actually that bright - I did not know this when I bought it but still love it.  Again, I absolutely love it.  Ulta does buy one get one free or buy one get on 50% off a lot of the time on Nyx Cosmetics, and you better believe I will be getting two the next time that sale is going on.

2.  Let's talk books.  Around Christmas when I had two and a half weeks off, I read the book Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.  Whoa.  This book was mind blowing.  It is written extremely well and there is a few major plot twists.  While reading it and when I got to the middle of it, Sean can verify that I was completely side swiped by the plot twists.  SO GOOD!  Seriously, everyone should read it.  Then, I got to thinking... I enjoyed Gone Girl so much that I should look into other books by the same author.  So a few weeks ago I read Sharp Objects.  Again, so great.  I currently have a request in for another book by Gillian Flynn called Dark Places at the library and am waiting for my turn in the wait list. 

3.  My sister-in-law Rebecca tweeted me last night this giraffe cam.  Lovely!

4.  Have you see this video?  Big cats like boxes too!

5.  I rode my bike to work today.  I made Sean ride with me too.  We had fun and now with the weekend forecast being so lovely, we're going on a bike ride on Sunday.  I'm getting excited for spring and biking!

What are you doing this weekend?  Any big plans?

Friday Favorites.

1.  Pictures like this.  It's like a winter wonderland outside.  And I'm sick of it.  When the snow finally melts, mother nature decides to dump a few more inches on.  Lovely.

2.  Within the next week I need to figure out how to build this.  My community garden is opening next weekend!  Well, hopefully... if this dumb white stuff melts.

3.  Also, I eventually need to figure out how to build this angled rails tomato trellis.  It shall be interesting.  Can you tell that gardening is on my mind?


I really can't think of anything else.  I was trying to have each of my Friday Favorites to have five favorites, but I don't have anything else.  Do you have any suggestions about building my gardening support structures?

Friday Favorites.

... on Sunday.  Whoops.

1. The Masters.  Call me a nerd, whatever I don't care.  I love watching golf on TV.  This is my super bowl.

2. I would like to get a sewing machine soon.  There's a lot of projects and ideas from Pinterest I have pinned, but without a sewing machine it's kind of pointless.

3. I picked up my wedding dress this week after it had been cleaned and preserved.  It looks brand new!  Seriously, this lady is amazing.  Karen at Wedding Gown Care Specialist did a fantastic job.  There were marks from my spray tan rubbing off from sweat on the inside of the bodice which are no longer there.  The hem of my dress was quite dirty (she said she thought it looked cleaner than most!) and that all came out.  The grass stain on a bottom strip of organza is gone.  Like I said, she was amazing and it took less than two weeks.  I highly recommend her!

4. My mom called me letting me know she found a vintage suitcase so I can make this for Boots.  I'm so excited!  It's so cute and I think/hope she is going to love it!

5.  With spring here, even though it's snowing and doesn't feel like spring at all, I've taken on some spring cleaning projects.  I cleaned and organized three closets and under our bed.  I saw this idea on Pinterest and really love it!  I will have to get some washi tape from Amazon sometime and start doing that.  I love it because washi tape peels off easily and can be moved around, so if your schedule changes, it's easy to move things and still look nice and neat.

How was your weekend?

Birchbox.

Have you heard of Birchbox?

No?  Okay.  Let's discuss.  I call it Netflix for beauty products, except you totally don't have to return anything.  It's $10 per month, or you can pay for a whole year, or smaller increments as gifts.  I had heard about Birchbox a couple years ago and didn't give it two seconds of thought in my brain.  I thought it was a fantastic idea, but never got around to looking into it more or signing up for it.

A few weeks ago I was reading The Small Things Blog and she talked about the Birchbox she received.  Birchbox stuck in my mind for a few days this time and I went to their website and signed up for the waiting list.  I'm not quite sure why they have a waiting list, but I'm pretty sure it's so it seems like they are an exclusive thing which makes people want it more.  Some psychological crap like that.

Anyway, last night I got the email that I have 72 hours to sign up for my subscription.  I got really excited and then started Sean about it.  There may have been a few eye rolls from him, but I can't be 100% sure.  I signed up for it and can't wait to get my first box!  It's supposed to ship out in a few days, so I will do a follow up post when I get it. 

They also have a men's Birchbox that is a bit more expensive, most likely because there's not a ton of dudes into it.  I love this idea, most likely because I love trying new beauty products.  This allows me to try new things in a smaller size without having to commit to it and find out I don't love it later.  If I love it, this may be my go-to birthday gift for the ladies in my life. 

What are your thoughts?

Friday favorites.

I think I'm going to start a Friday series with a few of my favorite things.

1. This sandwich.  Sean and I may have made it for dinner two nights this week.  I'm obsessed.  I may have had a Twitter conversation with Joy the Baker about it as well.

2. I saw this little gem on Pinterest.  I think it's utterly hilarious.  I feel like that exactly when Jacques does this.

Source

There's actually a lot of funny things I found on Pinterest this week.  I won't post them all though!

3. Boots needs this, stat. 

4. I've recently become obsessed with c. Booth products.  Have you heard of them?  I just bought their Original Bath & Shower Cleanser and their 4-in-1 Multi-Action Body Lotion in Vanilla Butter.  The Original Bath & Shower Cleanser smells exactly like my favorite Amber Romance lotion from Victoria's Secret.  The lotion hydrates really well, comes in a HUGE bottle (32 fl oz), and the smell lasts.  I highly recommend c. Booth's products.

5. I saw that Herbal Essences has started making their original shampoo and conditioner again.  I picked some up and it takes me back to 7th grade.  I use the yellow smooth and shine collection.  Love it.  And they've taken out the silicone in the shampoo and sulfates in the conditioner.  It makes me even happier.

Happy Friday!  I hope you have a nice weekend!

Train museum.

This past weekend Sean and I hosted Easter. It was lovely. On Saturday, we went to the Twin City Model Railroad Museum.

Fun was had by all. Especially Charlie. I'll let the pictures do the talking.



Charlie liked pointing out where the trains would come out of a tunnel.  He would say, "Out hole."

Cheesy smile.  I was distracting him from the trains.

I love this picture. 

 My father asked me to take a picture of him.

Charlie with his PaPa.

Great workout.

I just got home from the gym and I had a really great workout. Well, aside from the fact that I felt like I was going to throw up near the end of my run. Run? Jog? I don't know what to call it.

Today I ran farther and longer running intervals. That's a win in my book.

My sister-in-law Rebecca, who lives in Boston (both of my sisters-in-law are named Rebecca so I have to specify) is who motivated me to start running again. For weeks, I would see her Run 5K updates on Twitter and it made me really want to start running again. So, this week I did and it's going really well. The fact that it's going so well makes me excited for my run tomorrow.

I wanted to share. Anyway, I need to get cleaned up now. Have a lovely Saturday! Below is my picture from the workout today. To keep track of my distance and time I usually just take a picture of my workout summary. Adios!

Yet again.

I've started running, yet again.  What is this like the 100th time or something?

I don't know if what I do would really be considered a run or not... but I'm moving my bod. 

That is all.

Happy Thursday!

Gym.

I haven't talked much about the gym since I first mentioned it in January.  I still enjoy going there and getting a sweat session in.  I went last night for the first time in over a week.  About a week and a half ago I got a cyst removed on the top of my shoulder, near my neck.  The incision with the stitches is right where my sports bra strap crosses the top of my shoulder, so I didn't want to chance splitting it open. 

The stitches come out on Friday morning and I can see the incision is healed enough for me to wear the sports bra.  Planet Fitness has various cardio and weight machines.  I like to do a warm up cardio, like running and the Cybex Arc Trainer (arc cross trainer that works my bod).  Then, I like to do a longer set of cardio, like spinning on the stationary bike for at least 30 minutes.  This makes me sweat.  Lastly, I do some weight training with free weights or using the weight training machines.  I enjoy the free weights more by doing various arm exercises and squats.  Squats burn so good. 

What my gym doesn't have that I wish it did was some sort of classes, like kick boxing or spin class.  Planet Fitness does have small classes Monday through Friday that are taught by their fitness instructors for groups of muscles like abs, arms, shoulders, back, chest, and legs.  I'm interested in the arm class, but they don't offer it at a time when I don't work.  Womp womp. 

Overall, working out at the gym is going great, but I know I need to crank it up more.  My eating has been all over the place as well and I'm thinking about going to something a lot more restrictive about what I can and cannot eat.  Attempting a balancing act clearly isn't working and I know I need to do a lot better for me and my health.

Join me?  We can keep each other accountable.  Maybe I should post daily what I'm eating.  Then, if I'm tempted with something I'll know I have to post it and you all can shame me into oblivion.  Possibilities...

Overwhelmed.

This is an incredibly sweet song.  Have a listen.  Overwhelmed by Tim McMorris.  It's on a Sam Adams commercial.  If I had known about this song it definitely would have been a first dance song contender.

Speaking of wedding, let's have a little flash back shall we?  I have hundreds of pictures and I like looking at them from time to time on my computer.  The above song makes me want to look at wedding pictures because it makes me think of Sean.

This was taken right after our first look.  I had noticed Sean forgot to take a tag off of him suit jacket.  So, I removed it but he had to hold my flowers.  Someone was talking to us as well.  This candid picture is just so us.

I think this picture is hilarious.  I'm giving Sean a look.  In the sequence of these photos, it goes from this look to a smiling picture.  It's entertaining they captured this moment.  Sean and I are just walking along, dressed up, completely normal Friday afternoon (not).

And for cute factor, Charlie and Lilly.  Adorable.

Have a nice weekend!

Missed her.

This little kitty missed me while I was gone.

Don't you just want to rub that belly?!

Weekend.

It's the weekend. Lovely. My favorite two days a week. My weekend is cut a bit short because I'm going to Baltimore for work today. I have some training on Monday and Tuesday. Then, I'll be back in Minnesota on Wednesday.

Yesterday, I noticed we had a lot of over ripe bananas in our freezer. Enough for three batches. Sean really likes banana bread in muffin form so most of it was made into muffins.

What are you doing this weekend?