Christmas Blessings and New Year Resolutions

Hello and Happy Holidays! I was so overwhelmed with stress and of course feeling so very blessed this Christmas. As much as I love spending time with family the running around ran me ragged and now I'm sick : ( Thankfully it did not interrupt my holiday. I received a lot of stuff for our home including a Keirug, juicer, Crock pot, silverware and a lot of Lowes gift cards. I also got a lot of beauty products which I can't wait to blog about once I use them. Not to be too sappy but the best gift was spending time with loved ones. I had family visiting from out of state which made it special spending time with them.

My Christmas Eve Outfit: Target Flannel button down, Target Sparkle belt, Banana Republic Blazer

And nowwwww coming up this week is the New year. I'm one of those people that makes resolutions not only in the new year but it seems almost weekly. My interests and goals change rapidly but there are staples in my life I am constantly trying to improve. My health, my and others happiness, and less important things like saving money, and also staying timely and organized.

1. Health Goals

Me And My sister in a crossfit class this year

About 6 months ago I was in very good health, I was working out 6 days a week, I did yoga, running, and strength training. I also was mindful of a healthy diet. And when I say diet I mean eating nutritionally dense foods in moderation NOT eating 100 calorie packs and a case of diet coke all day. I ate 5 small meals a day balancing carbs and fats. I also drank gallons of water and green tea. Then somewhere along the fall season I fell off the wagon and 15 lbs fell on me. It's not just about being skinny, its how much better I felt when I took care of myself. I had so much more energy, and strength. Now I get out of breath walking up the stairs. LOL So this new year I plan on taking care of myself again, working out, eating right, and make it a lifestyle that lasts.

2. Happiness
This is more about helping other people which in turn makes me a better happier person. I would like to think less of myself and more about others. Simple things like thank you cards, a hug on a bad day, keeping in touch with friends and family, just reaching out more to others. I tend to get stuck in my day to day life and small problems but I would like to stop and try to think of others more and try to be a nice person.
Also not talking badly about others. We all do it we don't even know why half the time. Its like its in a woman's DNA. But I'm so sick of hearing the banter from everyone as soon as the person walks out the door. Even if its the truth, I can't stand when people dignify there gossiping because they think they are just stating the facts. My new motto is if you don't have anything nice to say don't say it at all.

3. Saving the moola
With our new house I feel like its impossible to keep any money in my bank account. What I really need to do is to refrain from spending frivolously. I'm a self professed shopaholic. I do this thing where I convince myself I need that handbag because none of my other ones match and are too big and plus it's such a great deal if I walk away from this bag it will be gone when I come back. Except I do that with everything. Everything. Think before swipe.


4. Time management and Organization
I pretty much have selective OCD. Somethings need to be perfect, like under my sink is perfectly organized but then my car is a dumpster dive. I need to start fresh, deep clean and then vow to keep things that way. It's simple everyday things that can make my living spaces neater like making the bed daily, putting that glass in the dishwasher and not the sink, after doing my makeup put it all back! It's easy things but when I feel like I'm always rushing around they get left to the wayside. Which brings me to better time managing.
I will wake up on a saturday morning at 9:30 and my boyfriend will have already washed the car, been to the bank, washed the dogs, mowed the lawn and wakes me with breakfast. As much as I love sleeping in, I love the satisfaction of productivity at the end of the day much more. I would ideally love to wake up before work and have time to workout, shower get ready and sit and have breakfast. Not only is that managing my morning better but its motivation to get up out of bed! I have been a few minutes late to work here and there before due to slugging around in the morning. Come 2014-no more!


Tell me your resolutions! I'd love to know what others would like to work on this year. I might even do a 3 or 6 month update to see if I keep these things up past february.

Combat the Cold!

I live in New England-infamous for its treacherous cold winters. We've have had two snow storms so far and temperatures have gone into the negatives. My lips were peeling, my hands are dry and cracked and my hair craved moisture. So I recently switched my skin, hair, body care routine to accommodate the blistering cold. (Have you detected my hate for winter yet?? LOL)

First off my skincare, I try to use a simple and natural product routine for my skin. My skin is combination, acne prone and sensitve. I'm currently using up cetaphil oil control foam wash however my next bottle ready to go is a gel face wash by philosophy called purity. It supposed to deep clean skin without over drying which will be great for my combination skin.
I will continue to use the same toner Thayers unseated which hazel alcohol free toner with aloe. As for night cream I am using ROC multi correxion night cream which helps the appearance of dull uneven skin. During the day I use Yes to grapefruit correct and repair again for uneven skin tones but lighter and with added SPF. Just because you're not sun bathing all day doesn't mean you should skip SPF during the day your skin with thank you later.

About once a week I make a sugar scrub and use it on my face and body. It takes away the dead skin cells, hydrates skin and makes it look glowing. I simply combine brown sugar, coconut oil, and honey. That's it! I don't measure it out but add enough of each ingredient until I get a coarse, puddy like scrub.

On regular days I wash my body with Dove Winter care body wash, when my skin is still wet I put on baby oil or coconut oil then dry myself off. After that I lather cream on top, I love Queen Helene cocoa butter because its so cheap and does the job but my all time favorite is The body shop Body butter with Vitamin E but I'm currently out of it.
In addition I always have on lip balm, I love the EOS brand, Rosebud salve and Fresh sugar lip treatments. I ALWAYS scrub my lips after brushing my teeth and follow it up with a moisturizing lip product because theres nothing more unattractive then peeling cracked lips.

Some of the products I'm using this winter

Now onto my hair. My very difficult confused hair. This winter it has been though a lot of coloring and heat styling, the roots get oily and the ends dry. I am very prone to spit ends and fallout. So I have been taking extra care of my poor damaged strands. Every two to three days I shampoo my hair so the night before I know I'm going to shampoo I add a concoction of oils in a squeeze bottle with whatever deep contioner I'm currently using. I put a plastic shower cap on my head and sleep like that, my boyfriend loves the look ; ) I add same parts olive oil, coconut oil, grape seed oil and sesame oil, massaging it into my hair and scalp by sections. Im currently using L'orel damage reversing balm and I layer that on top.
In the morning I wash my hair TWICE. I want the oils to penetrate my hair but I don't want them to build up and weigh down my hair. Then I condition my hair and detangle it in the shower using a wide tooth comb starting from the ends up. Doing this with make it less likely to pull and break my hair.
I use It's a 10 all over my hair after its towel dried, and a Lo'real smooth intense extreme straight cream from the ears down.
In between washes I use Bamboo style cleanse extend dry shampoo, Bumble and bumble Hairdresser's invisible oil, and L'orel color vibrancy duel protection spray which is a heat protectant as well.

I work with young children and we are stuck inside a small room together most of the winter. I literally wipe noses all day and get squeezes in my face, so trying not to get sick is tough. To combat this cold and flu season I started taking echinacea daily and drink Emergen C at the first hint of a sniffle. I also wash my hands with soap and water about 100000000000 times a day. At home I use lysol wipes that kill cold and flu germs, not only on every day surfaces but things like door knobs, phones and remotes get a wipe down too. I also try to regularly wash our bedding, get plenty of sleep and drink lots of water! So far so good! My poor Patrick is sick right now but I have managed to keep healthy thus far, Knock on wood.

Hello There! and Month of Favorites!

Well Hello there! It's been a while since I blogged! In the past year or so not much has changed on the day to day, the biggest change is that my boyfriend Patrick and I bought a house! We have been renovating it for the past two months while living at his moms house and it should be move in ready in a few more weeks. I will post a blog about the renos then. Now I would like to jump back into blogging with my month of favorites for November!

1) Red lips
I wore red lips at least once a week the past month and my favorite new product I used was the Sephora cream lip stain in the color always red. It stayed put for 12 hours and did not transfer. Ah-mazing.

2) Red hair
So in October I changed my light brown highlights to red highlights and loved it. The hard part was keeping the red in my hair. First off I bought the ravishing reds shampoo from Sally's beauty supply and I really didn't think it was helping keep the color in my hair, my highlights quickly turned a red brown color. So I went back to Sally's and picked up two packs of a color depositing deep conditioner called Roux color refresh mask and let me tell you this stuff is the bomb.com. I use it once a week/week and a half to refresh my color.

3) Straight red hair
In addition to the hair color I switched up my summer curls for a sleeker look for the fall. I have been using L'oreal Paris Smooth intense shampoo and conditioner and I swear it changed the texture of my hair. I also use the styling balm which has heat protection too.

4) Nude nails
I searched everywhere for the perfect fall nude nail polish for my skin tone. I finally found it and wore it almost all November! Essie Lady like is nude but has a pink undertone, its super chic and well- lady like.

5) Oversized sweaters
Target is my favorite store to shop for clothes lately, the style, price and quality is spot on for me. I over wore a super cozy sweater I bought there all of fall. I went back and bought it in another color too, its great paried with skinny jeans or leggings, boots and a basic tee.

6) Chai
I hate pumpkin spice coffee, it makes me sick to my stomach. So I wanted to try something warm and delish this fall and I fell in love with chai! It's black tea with spices it was so perfect for fall. I had the chai pumpkin spice, and chai vanilla latte K cups, before buying the Tazo chai latte drink mix that you add to milk (I use almond milk). Its all SO good. Warms my soul : )

Thanks for reading xox Brianna

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