Birchbox: Super Fun!

Margaret knows that I am a total sucker for anything that has to do with beauty products -- she is, too -- so she knew that when she signed up for this new (or new to her) program called Birchbox, that I would be all about it, too.

Birchbox is a program where you pay $10 and receive a box of beauty samples each month.  It is always something different, and you never know what you will get.  You just fill out a little survey when you sign up about your skin condition, hair color, eye color, and what type of beauty products you buy most -- and then you just wait for your first box!

This is so fun because it combines two of my favorite things -- getting a package in the mail and beauty products!

My first box came the other day:

Inside it has a list of all of your samples for the month and how much they would cost should you want to buy the full size (which I guess is the idea behind sending the samples):

My goodies for the month:

Here is what I got:

1. Lavanila: The Healthy Body Butter in Vanilla Blossom + Lavanilla: The Healthy Baby Lotion

2. Mama Mio Skincare: Boob Tube Bust & Neck Firmer (It says "Don't be fooled by the cheeky name -- this award winning cream uses collagen-boosting CoQ10 and nourishing shea butter to keep skin youthful."  Who doesn't want youthful skin?  Especially as we (I) are getting into our 30s?!?)

3. Tay: Cucumber Day Moisturizer with Mango Butter

4. Zoya: Nail Polish in Izzy (a really pretty hot pink sparkly color)

Treat: Chuao Chocolatier: Firecracker Chocopod

Margaret and I compared our boxes, and we got totally different stuff -- she got a mud mask, a lip gloss, and I can't remember what else.  I think it is fun to know that they pack different boxes for different people.  It is nice to know that we don't all get the same products each month since we don't all have the same skin and hair.

If you would like to join Birchbox, you can go straight to their website, OR you can leave your email address in the comments, and I will send you an invite!

 

I Want to Win! (and Last Week's Menu)

I am a product junkie.

I am also a shoe junkie, clothes junkie, jewelry junkie.  Heck, if it has something to do with something I can put on myself, I am that kind of junkie.

Anyway, there is a giveaway over on Blue-Eyed Bride for this new eye shadow by BareMinerals.  I have used BareMinerals in the past and would love to win this new product of theirs to try out, too.  And you should join, too!  (Or not, then my chances of winning would be better!)

(images)

This eye shadow is called READY, and I think it looks great -- look at all of the color combos it comes in!

Oh, I hope I win!

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In other news...my menu:

As usual, I just cooked a couple of things, but here they are:

Chicken Tortilla Soup: This is a great soup and great for fall.  It is also not too shabby as far as calories and fat and such.  And the taco chicken recipe that goes in the soup?  YUM!  I put more tomatoes and a little less chicken broth.  I would rather a more tomato-y and less broth-y soup.  I guess it is the tomato farmer in me.  It is not thick at all -- I just add one more can or so of tomatoes, so it is still a really broth based soup (I am not making any sense here...), but just more tomato-y.  Get it?  

This makes a lot, so invite over lots of friends, or plan on eating lots of leftovers!

Crock Pot Turkey White Bean Pumpkin Chili: I have to admit that I was hesitant to make this.  I mean, it has "pumpkin" in the title, and Brad does not like pumpkin.  But Margaret assured me that you couldn't taste the pumpkin, so I made it.  And she was right -- it was delicious, Brad loved it, and he never noticed the pumpkin (until I told him after he finished the chili and then he got mad at me and told me he was going to secretly feed me liver!).  I did use ground beef instead of turkey, though, because ground turkey is against my religion...or something like that.  Or, really, I just don't like it.  

I will definitely make this chili again -- although next time Brad probably won't eat it since I let him in on the whole pumpkin secret...

Anyway, have a great week!  And go check out the giveaway!

Back from Atlanta and Menu

We are back from a great trip to Atlanta.  I have been trying for 3 days to put my pictures on the blog, but every time it gets stuck in the uploading phase.  I think Blogger is not liking the fact that I am uploading so many pictures at once, and I need to wait until I have time to do them in batches.

Anywho, we had a fun trip, but I will fill you in on most of that on the picture post.  I did get half a second to duck into Sephora while I was there to pick up some makeup I was running low on, and I complained to the nice gentleman who was helping me about the puffiness and dark circles under my eyes that just won't seem to go away these days.  He told me all about the products that he uses for such problems, and I scooped up some of them and came home with samples of others.

I have been using the Ole Henriksen eye gel for several days now, and it feels so good going on my eyes in the morning and evenings -- especially because I followed Kip's (Ken's?) advice and put it in the fridge.  I just got a sample of the Dior HydraLife, but I think I may break down and buy it as well.  It is an eye cream rather than a gel, and it feels good in addition to the Ole Henriksen -- I think as far as puffy, tired eyes are concerned, you can't get too much of a good thing.

Finally, this Hourglass concealer is great -- nice and thick and covers well.

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As far as my menu for last week, I didn't cook too much -- we seem to always have leftovers, and I am determined that we are going to eat. them. all. -- but here is what I did cook:

Panko Chicken

Healthy Crock Pot Spaghetti: I have made this recipe twice, and it is sooooo good.  It is a lot like Million Dollar Spaghetti that Mary Loyal talks about in her menu last week (which is one of my all-time faves), but it is sort of like the healthy, lazy (wo)man's version.  Everyone in the family loves this meal!

*images via Sephora