A Few of My Favorite Things

I thought I would share a few of my favorite Birchbox discoveries. I've been a subscriber for a year and a half now (at least) and still love my box every month, and love a good portion of the samples I receive every month. Even though there are lot's of products I've fallen in love with there are only a few I have added to my beauty routine.

1. Beauty Protector Protect & Detangle

Beauty Protector is exactly what my hair needed to protect it from daily blow-drying, and the occasional flat ironing. It keeps my hair from drying out and leaves it silky smooth and beautiful. It retails for $21.95 via Birchbox. 

2. PARLOR by Jeff Chastain Moisturizing Sea Salt Spray

This is a brand new line of hair care products from Jeff Chastain and only available via Birchbox at this time. This spray is like magic! I have very little curl in my hair, but this spray leaves my hair with the perfect amount of beach waves, it's not drying at all, and is the perfect way to achieve wash and wear hair with no drying or effort. It retails for $24 through Birchbox.

3. Vasanti BrightenUp

I'm a big fan of enzyme face masks and/or washes, and this acts as both. It's a scrub, but you can leave it on after scrubbing (this works best while taking a shower) for additional enzyme action. My skin feels so clean and smooth after using this. It lasts FOREVER! I only use 1 1/2 of these a year! At $34 it's a steel of a deal!

4. Dr. Jart+ Pore Minimalist

I will warn you this mask can be a little alarming to your family if they have no idea you're going to walk out of the bathroom with a black charcoal mask on! But, it's totally worth it! The mask is pre-soaked in the charcoal serum and fits your face like a true second skin. The charcoal works to clarify, purify, and minimize appearance of pores. Honest truth, the day after using the mask (all 5 times) I was complimented on how nice my skin looked. That's all the proof I need! It feels amazing on your face, and leaves beautiful, soothed, clean skin behind! You can order sets of 5 masks through Birchbox for $35.

How do I afford all these lovely products you may ask. Well, that's one of the best things about Birchbox! There are different ways to earn Birchbucks (BB) and every 100 BB gives you $10 to spend on full size products. I earn my BB by reviewing every sample I receive each month, you earn bb for each review submitted, I also earn them when I pay for my year long subscription, and you earn them when you shop with Birchbox. I have yet to pay anything out of pocket for any of the above products.

Of course there are lot's of other products I use that have nothing to do with Birchbox and come from the local drug store. But, I'm not going to share all my secrets. ;-)

P.S. this is not a sponsored post, Birchbox has no idea I'm posting about the service or the products.

adidas Ultra Boost = The Unicorn of Running Shoes!

I, along with the rest of the Tuesday Night run group, had the opportunity to test run the new adidas, Ultra Boost...before it was available for purchase! How cool is that?! We felt like VIP's for sure!

Behold the most amazing running shoe I've ever had on my feet period. Oh how I love these shoes! And, that's saying something given how much I love the adidas Energy Boost.

So, whats different you ask...well the Ultra Boost is 100% Boost material (Energy Boost is 80% I believe), it's a knight upper, and it's all one piece. The tongue of the shoe is at one with the rest of the upper, and while that may sound strange it's totally the most amazing thing ever!

Energy Boost on the Left, Ultra Boost on the Right. 

The bottom of the shoe is different as well. The Ultra Boost has more of a waffle pattern while the Energy Boost sort of follows the bone structure of your foot. The waffle pattern creates a feeling of connection with the ground that is more solid and stable, especially side to side. It felt like the spring of the Boost material was settling in a bit more rather than bouncing your foot off the pavement. That settling in feeling made for a more powerful push off like I was getting more power out of the spring/rebound of the boost material.

Maybe I'm just used to the Boost material since I've worn Energy Boost since they hit the market, but the Ultra feels less bouncy to me, more controlled, and a more even ride across the bottom of my foot, which felt a bit more natural as my foot rolled through my landing to push off.

This is the color I want so bad!

The other big change (it's a total game changer for me!) is the cut out for the achilles. There are two parts of most running shoes that make me crazy. One is the top of the shoes where the laces hit across the foot bend/toes. Thankfully both the Energy and Ultra Boost start the laces so far back on the foot that there is zero pressure on the part of my foot that usually gets irritated. Second is the back of the shoe and where it hits on the back of my heel/achilles. It's just a sensitive spot for me, especially during longer runs. The heel clip on the Ultra has a cut out for the achilles so there is zero discomfort, like absolutely no pressure on the achilles at all. 

There are of course a lot of other upgrades and improvements, but I can't hit all of them. These are the ones that I noticed and stood out while I was running. I'm not kidding...when I was testing these bad boys out I kept thinking, "this is what running should feel like, it should feel this good". 

A little perspective for you...this was my first run after having been really sick and I was still dealing with sinus stuff and worn out legs, yet this run felt pretty darn great. Everything about the shoe is designed to let the runner use 100% of the energy they put into the run. Unlike other shoes that absorb energy, and offer less return on the effort. The Ultra Boost is a perfect supportive knit fit, but not tight at all. It's like the most perfect foot hug ever! 

The Ultra Boost is available now at Fleet Feet Tacoma, or at adidas for those that aren't local. Check out these videos from Hypebeast with behind the scenes looks at the Ultra Boost: The Making of The Ultra Boost -it actually shows how they are made and it's pretty cool! Ultra Boost promo video

I need a new pair of running shoes and these are going to be it. Yes the price is up there, but it's worth it to me to save my money for a shoe that feels like perfection and helps me stay injury and ache & pain free. Totally worth it! 

As a side note I'm still very happy with my Energy Boost, and they still feel great. I'll happily run in them until I can upgrade. It's just that the Ultra is pure perfection. 

P.S. This is not a sponsored post. I'm just super excited about the Ultra Boost and how amazing it felt!

   

Horse Riding With Grandpa

Over the weekend Grandpa drove over from E WA specifically to go horse riding with Sky. Well, originally with Sky and I both, but with me being so sick I ended up bailing on the ride which Sky was happy about because she wanted Grandpa all to herself anyway.

He actually found a "mommy and me" ride in Woodinville, which Mark and I were happy with because it meant we got to sneak off for an unexpected "date" to wine taste while they rode horses BONUS!

Still having all sorts of issues with my pics. They are just not uploading the way they usually do. These are all grainy and unedited.

Sky on a real life My Little Pony Snickers. He took me back...looked similar to the pony I had as a little girl. Super sweet nature and Sky fell in love with him from the start.

Grandpa was on a horse named Tater and apparently he was a bit feisty that day. No match for Grandpa, but Sky is still talking about how fussy Tater was. The guy that was working that day was supposed to lead Sky while Grandpa rode along on his own, but it didn't take the guy long to realize Grandpa is a seasoned horseman so he left Grandpa too it, and the two of them got to ride for an hour by themselves. BTW - she did have a helmet, they were walking over to the bin to get one that would fit.

While they were doing that Mark and I were doing this..........

...seriously I love wine, and wine tasting, and unexpected Sky free time with Mark. It's just a nice treat!

It makes my heart happy that Sky and Grandpa got to ride horses together. I grew up on horses, and Dad grew up on horses, and Sky kept talking about "just me and Grandpa mommy, you no come". So I knew having time with him on her own was a big deal. Toss in a horse ride and she was over the moon, and hasn't stopped talking about it. "I had fun with my grandpa mommy" is what I'm hearing every few minutes every day.

A few other highlights from the weekend, bowling, lot's of treats, and Sky got fitted for her first official pair of running shoes.

She does this little dance and cheers for the ball all the way down the lane. It's stinking adorable! Girls got a pretty good bowling game going on. She almost beat Grandpa.

Asics...also Asics were my first pair of running shoes!

I didn't tell her Grandpa was coming mostly because I didn't want to hear about it forever before he got here. This was moments after seeing him and realizing he was here for a visit...she was beside herself with joy.

All in all it was a great weekend, and the extra bonus was Dad worked on my sinuses and I know it helped with the pressure I was dealing with. Thankfully by Tuesday evening I was feeling pretty great. 

Thank you Dad for coming over for a visit and making it so special for Sky! She loves you and hasn't stopped talking about you and the horse ride!

P.S. For some reason some of the pics started working. I also realized some of the setting on my camera had been changed so reset it. Pretty sure that's the issue. 

Lets Go To The Moon

P.S. I'm having tech difficulties with my pictures from the weekend. They've been uploaded, but I can't access them for some reason. I will get the weekend adventure up as soon as I'm able! I know Grandpa is waiting to see it! :)

Sky has developed a fascination with space as of late. She has always been into the moon, spotting it as soon as it's up in the night sky and asking about why she can't see it in the middle of the day. I can't tell you how many times she looks out the picture window, sees the moon, and asks to go outside to look at it. We have spent a lot of time sitting on the hood of daddy's truck moon gazing. 

So it's not surprising to me she's all about the moon, and space, and rocket ships! I think this cool little sandbox toy she got really kicked it all off though. 

She loves playing with her "moon rocks" and astronauts, and the black sparkly sand just adds to the mystic of it all, and makes it super exciting. Not super exciting to clean up spills, but that's life with a 3 year old. 

Then Mark busted out this book from his childhood and now it's all she wants to read. But, she will only read it with Daddy. When I offer I get a dirty look and she wants to know when Daddy will be home. 

I think Miles From Tomorrow Land (Disney Cartoon) is adding to the space theme as well. Now she's asking if she can live on a rocket ship, live on the moon, and best of all "can we live on earth mommy"? When I tell her we do live on earth she gets mad and says, "no, I mean can we LIVE on earth"?! She's just a tad bit confused. We need to work on that, 

I think our next, and soon to happen, family adventure will be a trip to the museum of flight and maybe the science center see what space stuff they have to offer.

Loving this "When I was a kid I was an astronaut" stage she's in (again she's a little confused). She is so much fun! 

Thankful Thursday

Things I'm thankful for today:

-Finally feeling like I'm getting better. This is the first morning I woke up and wasn't in pain/felt like I need to hurry up and take the good drugs. A lot less sinus pain and I can touch my face without it being painful and my teeth don't hurt. Thank goodness! I was starting to feel like I was going to be sick forever.

-Sky is really good about taking her medication even though she doesn't like the taste. It's working because her temp is down, still have to keep her home and away from other germs as much as possible.

-Wine. Not doing a challenge or anything, but we just haven't been drinking it much this month. This is only the 2nd bottle this month, and even though my taste isn't totally back to normal this was still really good.

-That the Duke vs North Carolina game once again lived up to the expectation. As a sports fan I love a close one, even if that means not knowing if my team is going to win or not. I'd much rather watch a good match up than a blow out, even if "we" lose. Thankfully Duke hung in there and pulled of the win, but it wasn't won until the final seconds of OT, and it was so exciting to watch! (I'm that way with my Steelers as well, would rather watch a good game, even if they lose, than watch a blowout...except when playing a handful of teams that I love seeing beat down, and in college football where margin/quality of win is factored into standings).

-I know I've posted about this cookbook before, but it continues to deliver over and over again! I made the Spinach, Mushroom, and Scallion Frittata over the weekend, and it was good, and it has been re-heating really nicely all week. Then last night I took on the Citrus Herb Spatchcock Chicken and it was really good as well. Not sharing the recipes because they aren't mine to share. Go get the book...it's worth every penny! So far I've tried 12 recipes (doing 1 a week since I purchased it) and all 12 have been given the thumbs up to add to our rotation of go to recipes. I've never had another cookbook perform that well. For reference I'm happy if I get 4 or 5 keepers out of a book.

Not going to lie...really proud of the beautiful brown skin on this chicken! 

-That I was daring enough to spatchcock a chicken! I've had chicken issues most of my life. If I have to handle it too much I just can't eat it. But, I also felt a little like a fraud given how much I love to cook and try new things, yet avoiding "real" chef stuff like spatchcocking. So I put on my big girl food handlers gloves and cut the backbone out and broke the breast bone and cooked a whole chicken, and I liked it.

(Not thankful about having to clean out that baking dish though. Since it's stone I can't use soap, hoping a hot water soak will do the trick).

-Vikings is back with it's new season tonight! We have been waiting and waiting. If you don't watch it you should. It's really good...brutal, but in a subtle way. Since it's the History channel, and not HBO, they don't show all the horrific details, yet they still manage to more than get the point across.

The Blood Eagle (Google what that is...that's what I had to do) episode from last season is a perfect example. It's horrific torture, but they never showed that actual process all they showed were the faces of the spectators, and the face of the person it was being done to, and based on the looks on their faces I was sick and really uncomfortable (but didn't even really know why). After the fact I had to Google it to even know what wasn't being shown. Even though the History channel keeps a tight grip on what they are allowed to show (it is modern tv though so there is still a fair amount of blood and guts) I never feel like we are losing anything in the story it's so well done.

-That Sky will have a distraction this weekend when one of her favorite people visits. She may be sick, and we may be on Dr. orders to keep her home as much as possible to let her immune system recover, but she still needs to get out of the house a bit. So, we will plan some low key excursions that will not include playgrounds, or other interactions with kiddos. 3/almost 4 year olds go stir crazy fast! Grandpa will help save the weekend though!

-That if I'm going to get sick during a training schedule it's the first week I'm missing. I'd much rather be sick now than the week before race day, especially since we are flying to the race! Really looking forward to getting out there with Michelle and logging some miles! Not going to lie seeing her run activity on fb made me a little sad...I should be out there with her.

House of Germs

That's what our house feels like. Sky has been sick for weeks, and I woke up miserable at 1am on Valentines Day. My teeth and eye's hurt so bad I thought I was going to lose my mind. Romantic no?

I mean with a bathroom counter that looks like this...

...it's bound to be a super romantic V-Day right?! I tell you Mark had his hands full between Sky and I. I ended up "sleeping" in the recliner because it hurt too much to lay down, and honestly I had not the patients to take very good care of Sky. So Mark took Sky out and about Saturday and Sunday for day long adventures so that I could basically lay around being miserable. I couldn't sleep really, couldn't lay down, couldn't focus on a single thing.

Thankfully Sky and Daddy have similar interests! She is over the moon excited when she gets time just the two of them. He's able to do fun stuff, and practical stuff and she's just as happy either way.

I kept asking him to go to the store to get this or that to try and alleviate some of the symptoms until the antibiotics kicked in, and he was so awesome about it. He finally got the good stuff that you have to register for (pretty sure the drug task force is keeping an eye on us as suspected meth cookers now) and it helped more than anything else. I still don't feel good, and still have a ton of sinus pressure, but at least the crazy pain in my eyes and teeth has gotten better.

Sky was much worse today so finally took her to the Dr. and now she's on the same antibiotic I am. She was so sad this morning crying and crying, not eating running a high temp, and asking for medicine to make her better.

Silas is taking good care of her, and we are just laying low, taking it easy. Only worrying about the things that absolutely have to be done and giving ourselves time to feel better.

The biggest perk...she wants even more cuddles when she's sick. Something about hugs and cuddles from her makes it all a little bit better.

A big thank you to Mark, who is now himself not feeling very well, yet I text him a list of things we need him to pick up on the way home. He's the best!