Let's Look at Beauty Samples!

I may have mentioned it only once or twice, but I subscribe to two monthly beauty boxes. I LOVE beauty products and what better way is there to find an awesome product than by getting monthly samples? It’s also sometimes hard as a mom to be able to get somewhere and talk recent beauty with professionals. Another issue I have is the area I live in. When I say Walmart is “high fashion” around here, I’m not making a funny. That’s about as serious as it gets. Oh, how I miss being close to the city, in that aspect! So these beauty boxes have been amazing for these reasons. The first one I subscribe to is Birchbox. For 10 dollars a month, you are sent 4-5 random high-end, up and coming beauty samples. I think it’s the fact that you don’t get to choose what you get that makes it a hit or miss sometimes. I’ve been with them about 8 months and I’ve received 3 boxes that I didn’t really care for. However, I’ve never received a box that I didn’t like something out of.

Since we were on vacation last month, I didn’t get my box until later in the month. March was a special month for Birchbox because you had the opportunity to get a special Teen Vogue box. I opted out of that and went with the regular box and I’m glad I did. Here’s my March box:

The first thing I noticed about the box was how heavy it was. Generally they are pretty lightweight, considering they are samples; however, this month, the box was surprisingly heavy. You can probably see why. These were LARGE samples.

1.  Skin Savior Waterless Beauty Balm by One Love Organics: This is a two-in-one cleanser and moisturizer that has no fillers in it. You can use it as a cleanser and moisturizer, or if you need to moisturize an area, you can moisturize with it as well. Head-to-toe. I'm actually very impressed with this product and will be reviewing it soon, so stay tuned for that! Sneak peek on a few of the reasons: My face has never been so soft with any other product; it smells light and tropical; there's only 0.5 oz to the sample and I've been using it a week, yet have barely put a dent in it (a little goes a LONG way!). These folks may be on to something! (Full size, 3.5 oz: $68.00; Sample, 0.5 oz: $19.43 Value)

2.  Quick Curls by Miss Jessie's ® Original: It says on the bottle that this is "The Best Darn Curl Cremes Period". We shall see because I'm very particular about them and I'm yet to find one that I like better than Biolage. It's says it's lightweight, light-scented, and anti-frizz. I'll keep you posted. This is a large sample so I'll try it a few times before I let you know. (Full size, 8 oz: $32.00; Sample, 2 oz: $8.00 Value)


3. Invigorating Tibetan Shower Cream with Rhubarb by I  Coloniali:  This is an Italian brand that uses a rare eastern rhubarb that is supposed to have revitalizing properties for your skin. I wouldn't know. I took one smell of it and put the lid back on. It don't stink, but I'm a woman and I like to smell like a woman. What I wash with has to be feminine like and it had a stronger smell than what I like. So I may be missing out on world's softest skin here, but I'm not rubbing it on me, sorry. It's a shame too because the sample is nearly half the size of the full product! (Full size, 250ml: $29.00; Sample, 100ml, $11.60 Value)


4.  Deep Massage Body Cream with Myrrh by I Coloniali: This was actually the bonus sample for the month. I haven't used it yet, but if it's anything like the previous sample and given it has myrrh, I'll probably be using it on my husband rather than vice versa. (Full size, 200 ml: $68.00; Sample, 10ml: $3.40 Value)


5. Pomegranate Buffing Beads by WEI™: I've yet to use these either, but I think they are a pretty neat concept. They are a preportioned powdered scrub that you mix in with your regular cleanser, turning it into an exfoliant whenever you feel the need. The packets are handy for on-the-go. I'm anxious to see how these will do, especially considering all the wonderful benefits of pomegranate peel! (Full size, 20 packets: $20.00; Sample, 2 packets: $2.00 Value)


6. Nail Lacquer in Jackie Oh! by Color Club®: I absolutely love this poppy pink color! It's so bright and fun! I'll show you what it looks like next week. The real test is how well it stands given my day-to-day activities. (Full size, 0.5 fl oz: $8.00; Sample 0.25 fl oz: $4.00 Value)


So the grand total value for the March Birchbox is....$48.43. Next week, I'll show you what was in my February and March, and yes I mean February (I had a lost box), Beauty Army boxes. 


If you are interested in learning more about these or any other boxes, go visit my friend, Jacinta at My Beauty Boxes. She does nothing but great reviews of not only these two boxes, but many others as well! 

Cute-sy Mug-sies, Spending Daddies, and Cry Babies

Today I want to share some of my latest finds and favorite buys. And by that I mean mostly coffee mugs, with a few other things from our Disney and Louisiana trip a few weeks ago. I LOVE coffee. Community Coffee, to be specific. To me, the mug is half the fun; so resisting a cute mug is almost as hard for me as shoes or a purse. Not exaggerating. 

I love Alice. This happened to be the cutest Alice mug I saw. I loved the pretty blue jewel, her name scrawled on the inside, and the simplicity of it all :)

To go along with it, we found this book called All Things Alice by Linda Sunshine. It's absolutely adorable! It's a collection of artwork, stories, recipes, letters, games, and poems, all inspired by Lewis Carroll. It also includes rare excerpts from Carroll's works as a child. Love this book!

One of my favorite Disney movies is Nightmare Before Christmas. It's also one of my kids' favorites. Don't know what it is about Jack Skellington, but he's the man! This mug is pretty fitting for me :) 

We also found this cute little Jack cup (which I'm currently drinking out of!)

One of the things my husband and I love to do is go into different Cracker Barrels in different states to peruse the stores. In one in Louisiana, we came across this at 75% off. Who can resist an adorable giant onion?! He was just so sad. We couldn't leave him!

Those are just a few of the things I loved (and bought). Every store, my husband was making me buy something else! You'd think it'd be me spending a ton of money at Disney. Oh no! My husband went on a spending spree. Every time I turned around it was something. He even went so far as to buy into the Disney Vacation Club. We did get military pricing and an excellent deal (more about that at a later time), but I was surprised, none-the-less.

Is my husband the only one who goes to Disney and spends the family fortune? Please do share your surprise spending. You always see Disney savings tips, but NEVER Disney spending sprees! J

Easter Bunny Carrot Cake

Carrot cake is made around here only on Easter and if it's a special occasion where my husband requests it. This is a recipe I have used for the past few years that is so good, that I barely deviated from it (found here)...which is highly unusual for me. I'll share that with you, but more importantly, the Easter Bunny himself is something my grandmother always made during Easter. It's super simple, and the kids LOVE it! We always decorate with whatever Easter candies and whatnot we have lying around, so it doesn't require much work at all.


Best Carrot Cake
(printable recipe)

Ingredients:

3 eggs, beaten

3/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup buttermilk

2 cups sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple, undrained

2 cups finely grated carrots (about 4 medium)

1 cup raisins

1 cup flaked coconut

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

4 cups confectioners' sugar

2-4 T heavy whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, combine eggs, oil, buttermilk, sugar, and vanilla.
3. In another bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; stir into egg mixture.
4. Stir in pineapple, carrots, raisins, and coconuts just until mixed.
5. Pour into two greased and floured 8-inch rounds. 
6. For two rounds, bake for 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. 
7. Cool on wire rack before frosting.

Since the cake is pretty easily put together, I didn't take any pictures of the process of making cake. Just a few tips with cakes that I always do. After I grease and flour, I line the bottom of my pan with parchment paper to ensure it never sticks. Before putting it in the oven, I hold the pan about six inches from the counter and drop it to release air bubbles. 

For the frosting:

Cube the butter and cream cheese. Beat with 2 T of heavy whipping cream and the vanilla until smooth.

Add confectioners' sugar, one cup at a time until all mixed in. Add the rest of the whipping cream, 1 tsp at a time until desired consistency is reached. You want it creamy, smooth, and it should have a shine to it.

TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKE:

Once completely cooled, invert one of the rounds on a rack. 

Using the tip of a sharp knife or a toothpick, trace two curved lines on the round to resemble a baseball. (That oops is why we trace first :D)

Once you have your lines even, using a sharp knife, cut along those lines.

I was out of cakeboards, so on the counter I laid out a baking sheet with parchment paper extended out to accommodate the size of the bunny. First, lay down the other cake round that hasn't been cut. Then take the right and left pieces of the cake you cut and place them above the other cake as ears.

 Place the center cut piece at the bottom of it as the bow tie.

 Frost and decorate as desired.

Enjoy!!

Friendly Wednesday

This week I'm doing something a little different. Instead of a Wordless Wednesday, I'm taking an idea from Alyssa over at Impractical Composition. On Wednesdays, she likes to spotlight some of her bloggy friends and I thought this was such a great idea that I decided to spotlight her. Some of my favorites from her blog are her "What I Wore" posts, which are adorable and often hilarious, and her fun tutorials. You can check those links out at the bottom! Here she is today, as a guest, to tell you a little about herself and all the amazing things she does!

Hello bloggers and Southern Belle As An Army Wife readers! My name is Alyssa. I am 23 years old, married to my husband Brandon and I work full-time as an administrative assistant. I’m also a full-time student at ASU studying to become a social worker. While work and school take up most of my time there are a lot of other things I like to do. Some of my favorite things are; knitting, crocheting, couponing, playing with children, watching Teen Mom, doing anything crafty and of course hanging out with my husband. 

I have a little blog called Impractical Composition where I talk about my every day life, show you tutorials, give recopies and a lot more random stuff! but most of the time I'm just trying to make you laugh!

I also have an etsy account! As I said earlier I love to crochet! Most of my creations are crochet and they are adorable, if I do say so my self. Not, I'm not getting all preachy but you will just have to check it out for your self!! I sell things from ear warmers, to hair clips to baby blankets (coming soon), and I also do custom orders! 

If you ever have any questions feel free to send me a line! 

alyssadawsonblog[at]gmail.com

A BIG thanks to Erika for featuring me on her blog! 

- BLOG - FACEBOOK - ETSY - 

Getting Dirty Today!

              I’ve been on a serious gardening kick here lately. Of course, my husband goes along with it to shut me up make me happy. We decided to put a fence up around it because dogs run around our neighborhood like crazy, not to mention the wildlife that would get into it. We went ahead and got poultry fencing so when he builds my coop this summer (he loves me so) we will already have the materials. So fast forward…the fence is up, we’ve been to an awesome place for seeds, we have everything we need to get started. I’m using the “gardening-in-bag” technique this year so Roman and I go out this morning to work up the bags and plant a few things. Keep in mind he’s only 3 ½, so his “helping” is pretty limited. Of course, he wanted to bring his shovel out there, so I let him with the very strict instructions that the dirt stays in the bag! Yeah, ok. Tell that to a 3 year old little boy who is made of dirt and just last weekend was covered in it from head to toe. He was a walking dirt cloud. So why would he possibly listen today? I was bent over, facing him, and he has throws a huge pile of dirt into the “air”. And by that I mean all over my face, in my shirt, and (I would later learn) in my hair. He laughs and says, “Sorry, Mommy.” No more shovel time for you-know-who.

            Fast forward to coming in to get cleaned up. While I was outside, I had dusted myself off from the dirt bomb, but didn’t think about my hair. When I came in, my head was itching some. I had assumed it was because I was a little sweaty and in need of a shower. When I took my hair out of its ponytail and ran my fingers through it, I felt huge, rough clods clinging to my scalp. After a brief panic in thinking they were bugs, I realized the only way to get them out without making a huge mess in my bathroom was the shower.

You know when you color your hair and rinse it out for the first time? That’s what it looked like. I have a lot of hair and apparently it holds a lot of dirt. Pretty gross. Then come the part where a pulled about a dime size chunk still clinging to the end of my hair, I brought it up to my face and it was one of those moments when you just HAVE to get a closer look…with another sense…so I smelled it. Something told me I needed to smell it and I’m glad I did because it reminded me of the main component of the “organic” fertilizer I had used. Chicken crap. After lather, rinse, repeat x3, I finally was convinced it was all out. This is the kind of luck I have.

You know, my husband always talks about how soft I am and how good I smell. Wonder what he’ll think later when he comes home after my invigorating “spa treatment”?