What She Wears!

Beauty
Today I came across this link-up, and I just had to join! I would like to share more outfit posts with you guys, and I feel like this is the perfect way to start!

It's a once a month link-up, based around a theme, and it's posted on the first Tuesday each month. This month's theme is date night!

Well, it just so happens that we went on a date night last weekend!







When we go out, I don't always get super dressed up. A lot of times I'll wear jeans, or whatever feels comfortable. Sometimes I throw on heels, sometimes I'll stay in flats. Since the weather has been so nice, I have been obsessed with maxi dresses and skirts!

There is just nothing more comfortable than a maxi skirt, and I still feel kind of dressed up in one. Just throw on some jewelry and go! Plus, Dane thinks I look pretty cute in them too, so that's a bonus!


tank + skirt, jc penney// sandals, target// necklace, lia sophia// purse, ross stores


A lot of times our date nights will just be a dinner out. It's just the two of us, so every time we go out is pretty much a date night! I'm perfectly fine with that though, because we get to enjoy good food, hang out, and just have a good time out of the house. We went to our favorite downtown restaurant on Friday night, and then walked around town for a little while after. It was so relaxing and fun! It's one of my favorite ways to spend a weekend night (or any night really) with Dane. 

So excited to be linking up with all of these lovely ladies featured on this button (Shabby Loves Chic and A Rambling Fancy are where I heard it first)! Go check out how they dress on their date nights, and link up if you'd like! I hear next week is when the June theme will be announced, so definitely check in with them if you'd like to know.


Falling For Friday

Friday Doubles

Beauty

Since it's Friday, I thought, "Why not go for a double post?" Seems like a good idea to me!

You see, most of the clothes that I own are not very new. Or at least not new enough that I could link to the items if someone wanted to buy them. Then I realized that I do own one outfit that is!

I love this skirt. As some of you may remember, I love the store Romy, which is where I bought this dress. It really is one of the best stores around, in my opinion. I love how they carry cute, decent, feminine pieces. And if you live in the Pacific Northwest, odds are there is a location in a mall or shopping center near you!

If not, there's always online.

Anyways, back to that skirt. It was my Easter purchase, and I can't get enough of it!

Tank, JC Penney; Skirt, Romy; Sandals, Target.
(Excuse my pastiness)


Also, love me some JC Penney and Target.

So there you have it, my double feature of the day! Again, I hope you all have a great weekend, and I will see you all around these parts on Sunday!

Smile Brilliant: Review+Giveaway!

Beauty

Okay, it's confession time people. If you're one of my friends, you probably already know this, but if not, let me inform you.

I do not like my teeth!

I've kind of gotten used to them over the years, but they are the one constant thing that I've disliked about myself since I was a little kid. They are crooked, a little chipped, and I have one of those gaps between my front teeth that you don't see very often on adults. Because most people get braces!

And trust me, if they weren't so darn expensive, I'd have them already.  Dane and I always joke about how terrible our children's teeth are going to be (let's just say that he may or may not have had to wear head gear), and I always say that I've got dibs on getting braces first, ha!

So, since I can't have straight teeth, I have to make them look as nice as possible, by making them as white as possible! Nothing is worse than having crooked and yellow teeth!

I am an avid coffee drinker, so even though I always use whitening toothpastes, it's a bit of a challenge to keep my teeth from yellowing. So, imagine how excited I was when I got the opportunity to try out the Smile Brilliant LED System!

Let me just say, this product is awesome! I noticed a difference almost immediately, and by the second time I could tell that it was really working great! Plus, it doesn't take hours and hours. You can pop it in for twenty minutes at a time, and you can use it every single day. It's like professional whitening, but at home!

There's a close up of my (crooked) pearly whites for ya! 


So, obviously I love it. And one of you will too, because the lovely people at Smile Brilliant are letting me give one away! You'll get the same set I used, which includes:

One whitening pen
One set of trays (top and bottom)
One LED light



Open to the U.S. and Canada.
It's easy to enter, just look below!



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Also, if you're a blogger, and you would like a chance to review this product, apply here!

This product was provided by Smile Brilliant. All opinions are honest and my own.

Oh How Pinteresting Wednesday

Beauty

Today I'm meeting up with my bf Kayla, who is a fantastic photographer, and getting some photos taken! It should be a lot of fun, and I'm really excited to get some new pictures on here. I've wanted to get some professional ones done for a while, but I decided to wait until she could do it. In honor of that, I thought I would share some of my favorite beauty pins with you all!

Happy Wednesday everybody, and happy pinning!










Source: tumblr.com via Amy on Pinterest








Source: flickr.com via Amy on Pinterest























Oh How Pinteresting Wednedsay

Beauty

It's Wednesday again! Time for another round of OHP! 

I'm still feeling that Spring bug, so most of these pins have that feel. Also, this first pin? Some of you may recognize her! That would be Cara from maskCARA! I am seriously in love with this girl's site,  especially for all things beauty!

Lately I have been all about getting my fake tan on, so I stumbled onto her post at just the right time! She has some really great tips on how to use self tanner, and some product recommendations that aren't going to break the bank. So if this Spring weather has you itching to be tan like me, then you'll definitely want to click on this pin!

Hope you're all having a great day, and you know what Wednesday means? Friday is only a couple days away! Boo-ya! (yes, I do realize that catchphrase is out of date, ha!) So, here's to us all making it until the weekend!



Source: maskcara.com via Amy on Pinterest






Source: twitter.com via Amy on Pinterest



Source: favim.com via Amy on Pinterest



Source: oncewed.com via Amy on Pinterest



Source: tumblr.com via Amy on Pinterest



Source: us.asos.com via Amy on Pinterest



Happies and Crappies Friday #5

Beauty


The Vintage Modern Wife: Happies and Crappies Link Up

Happies
  1. Like I mentioned before, the highlight of my week was winning my first giveaway! It was an e.l.f. deluxe starter kit hosted by Maddie, and featured by Abbey. I'm so excited, and I can't wait until it gets here!
  2. The weather today is supposed to be amazing. Like almost seventy degrees amazing! Of course, it's immediately going to drop ten degrees tomorrow, but that's ok. I plan on enjoying today outside, soaking it all in!
  3. I got a surprise with my paycheck yesterday. I was not expecting much, I thought I hadn't worked very many hours last month. Well, apparently I should pay more attention! It was a nice little surprise looking in my bank account and being like "Oh wow, I'm not totally and completely broke after all!" 

Crappies
  1. I'm still sick. I always get a cold this time of year, but this one has really done me in! I think it's because I've been babying myself too much. I've spent most of this week on the couch, and that doesn't do me any favors when I have congestion in my sinuses! So, today I will be up and about, and hopefully I'll kick this soon!
  2. I bought some oreos yesterday. Oops! I haven't eaten the whole package yet, but it's only a matter of time. I'm not known for my will power!

Oh How Pinteresting Wednesday

Beauty
This is my first post of the week, and that is so sad! Sorry I've been kind of m.i.a. this week, I'm still battling this cold! I've been pretty wiped out, and even though I've been reading lots of other people's blogs, I haven't felt up to doing any of my own. I have some things in the works, so hopefully it won't be too long before I'm back in action!

Also, a quick little thing before I get to pinteresting. I found out yesterday that I won a giveaway! I never win anything, and this is the first giveaway I've won. Not that I enter that many, but I was seriously excited about this one. It was for a deluxe starter set of e.l.f. cosmetics! I love e.l.f. products, and their brushes are awesome! The giveaway was hosted by the awesome and hilarious Maddie of Thriftary, and it was featured by the adorable Abbey of Along Abbey Road! I'm still just so excited that I won, it has definitely been the highlight of my week! Thank you again ladies! 

Alright, so this week I thought I would be a little mean, and share some of the yummy stuff I've been pinning lately. I have the worst sweet tooth ever! Every time I see that saying "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels" I call bull. Because, I guarantee that all of these delicious treats taste way, way better. And this is why I can't lose weight! Ha!
Enjoy!
















Source: miscfinds4u.com via Amy on Pinterest




Source: recipenewz.com via Amy on Pinterest








Source: sirchefs.com via Amy on Pinterest











Oh How Pinteresting Wednesday: Valentine

Beauty
Today I wanted to share some of the Valentine's ideas I've been thinking about. I'm really excited about it this year, for some reason, and I want to use it to let everyone I'm close to know how much I love them! I feel like this is a good way to celebrate, whether you're single, dating, married, or whatever. We all have those people in our lives that we love more than anything, but, if you're like me, you don't let them know nearly often enough. These are some of the things inspiring me lately.












Source: tumblr.com via Amy on Pinterest
























Linking up with Michelle today!






Oil Cleansing Method & A Bit About My Make Up

Beauty
totally bare

Ahh! What is that thing?! Oh wait, that's just my face, au natural. Sorry to scare you, but there it is. Just kidding, but I the point of this is that I wanted to show you how clear my face has been the past few days. Even if I don't love it when I'm not wearing make up, I do love that I'm not totally covered in blemishes anymore!

Tonight will be the fourth night since I've started using the oil cleansing method to clean my face, and so far it has been going really well! I haven't had any major break outs, which modern thinking suggests would be the case, and my overall skin quality seems to be improving. I've noticed a few little pimples, but not many, and most of my acne seems to be clearing up. I'm prone to breaking out with those giant cysts that are impossible to pop, and they stay huge, red, and painful for days! This winter has been particularly bad for those, but I've had to deal with dry flaky patches all over over my face too! I also have a nose full of blackheads, that I've had since I was probably ten years old.

My pores overall seem to be looking better, especially on my nose, and I have no new major blemishes to report. I understand that the whole thing seems very counter intuitive, and I was definitely a skeptic the first time I heard about it. Even last night, when I was getting in the shower, I felt like my face was so dirty, and all I wanted to do was scrub at it with some soap! I didn't though, and my face has always felt clean after using the oil. The key is knowing that oil dissolves oil, so all that gunk stuck in your pores will be broken up and cleaned out. Also, if you have oily or acne prone skin, you need to use a combination of castor oil mixed with any other cold pressed vegetable oil. I use evoo, and I do a one part castor to three parts olive oil mixture. So far that seems to be doing the trick!

Like I mentioned before, I got most of my information from this article, but if you search the internet there are a lot more posts and articles about it! I also got some of my questions answered by my friend Molly, who has been using this method for over a year. She loves it, and says that she can get away with using just olive oil on her face. I've heard some people say that you don't need to do this every day, but I wear make up most days and to not wash that off seems like a bad idea. I suppose if you didn't wear make up a lot, then that would work for you, because this method is more time consuming than your normal face washing routine.

I would suggest you check out that article I mentioned, and maybe do a little internet research, if you think this is something that would work for you. From what I understand, it seems to be perfect for all skin types, and the only thing that changes from skin type to skin type is the amount of castor oil you use. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who struggles with their skin, and with the way the weather's been this winter, I don't think there are many of us who aren't.

Also, since I showed you all my naked face, I wanted to show what I look like with my every day make up. I used to change up my techniques a lot, and whether I went heavy or light just depended on my mood, but lately I prefer a lighter look. As you can see, there's not a huge difference between the two, and I would definitely consider this a natural make up look.



ta-da!

These are the products that I use most of the time. I don't always stick to the same brands for everything, I like to try out new products, but some of my basics tend to always be the same. I really like Maybelline, and Avon, so those are brands that I use a lot. My mascara is almost always the same, that classic pink and green, and I used to sell Avon (kind of, I may have done more buying than selling). Recently though, I decided to try out BB Cream, and I have to say that I love it! I get the coverage I would expect from a foundation, but it's so much smoother and it blends so flawlessly into my skin! Here are all the products that I used today for this picture, and they are my current go-tos for my every day look.




1. Maybelline Expert Wear Eye Shadow in Chic Naturals: Almond Satin
2. Rimmel London Hide the Blemish Concealer stick in Soft Honey
3. Avon Be Blushed Cheek Color in Powder Pink
4. Maybelline Expert Wear Eyeliner in Brownish Black
5. Garnier BB Cream Skin Renew Miracle Skin Perfector in Light/Medium
6. Maybelline Great Lash Mascara in Very Black

As always, these are very cheap, all at drugstore prices. I don't do the whole department store make up thing, because frankly, I can't afford it! I'm sure there is a huge difference in quality, but I am really happy with the results I get from all of these products. If there is something here that you have thought about trying, but put off, I would definitely recommend any of these!

Ok, sorry for the novel everybody, what was just supposed to be my oil cleansing update turned into a whole face post! I hope you got some good information though, and thanks for sticking it out until the end!

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