Eating Healthy on a Budget

1) Shop smart - two big "no no's" are shopping when hungry or shopping when you are in a rush. Make sure to eat before you go and leave yourself lots of time. Make a list before you go and stick to it!

2) Compare the prices - Don't just grab the first thing off the shelf. Make sure you look and compare prices of brands and check flyers. The same product may be cheaper at a different store

3) Clip coupons - tons of flyers have coupons or you can find some online. Take advantage of coupons and save yourself some money

4) Buy in bulk - buying in bulk can save you some money. Keep your eyes open, especially on staples or items that you use often

5) Save your leftovers - keep your leftovers, they are great when you need a quick meal or if you need something to take for lunch

No P90X Update This Week?

I don't have a P90X update this week....why? Unfortunately we've had an unforeseen event happen in our house hold. Our beloved family dog of 13 years has passed away. Naturally I spent as much time as I possible could with her before she left us.

With that being said P90X fell off my plate this week and I haven't done any of the workouts. Also, I'm heading out on vacation very soon as well. This is a trip that I planned back in July so I knew it was coming us but I was going to continue with my P90X anyway. However, because I've already missed a week I've decided to not take P90X on my trip.

Instead I will pickup where I left off with week 4 when I get back from my trip. Please check back on December 12th for my week 4 update!

I apologize for the interruption, but unfortunately life events like this just happen and we can't plan for them. I am looking forward to taking sometime off and picking up where I left off when I get back!

Sephora VIB Haul November 2014

My Sephora order just showed up in the mail last week and boy was I excited when I saw this!!! I've been wanting to try out some new products but I knew this sale was coming up so I decided to wait. I have tried all of these products yet so I am not able to give you a solid overall review but you can let me know in the comments below if you want me to do a review on a specific product and I will make another blog post.

Okay here we go! This is the haul for the VIB sale. 

 First off I redeemed 500 point for a couple Alterna products. I've already done a blog post on the few Alterna products I've tried so I'm very excited to see if these are just as good as what I've tried already.

 I repurchased the Urban Decay setting spray. This is about my fourth bottle of this spray, it's definitely a product that I LOVE!

 This product is a new one for me. I bought the color Ethereal Light. I've been able to use this a few times and I must say I can see why everyone raves about this product.

 Nars unfortunately let me down again. I bought two of their velvet matte lip pencils but I returned these the next day. I wasn't impressed with the color or the formula.

 I already own the Naked Basics palette (which is my go to palette for work) however, I think I like Naked 2 better! For the past week this I've been reaching for the palette instead of the original palette. If you like the first one I would definitely recommend picking this palette up to add to your collection.

 It's taken me a long time but I finally picked up the Naked palette. Last year when Sephora had their VIB sale in November I picked up Naked 2 because in pictures I thought I would like it more than the original. Then for my birthday in July my finance bought me the Naked 3 palette. Finally after getting two and three I decided that i needed to add the original to my collection and I am very happy that I did.

 This next product is a little different. I usually don't use a mascara primer but this one looked interesting and got really good reviews. I'm excited to see if this dose anything or if it's just a gimmick product...who knows. I'll have to put it to the test before I can say for sure.

I have this maraca in the non waterproof formula but I wanted to compare the two to see which formula I like better. I haven't had a chance to use this yet as I am trying to use up some maracas that i already have open.

Let me know if you picked anything up at the VIB sale and what you picked up. Anything that I should be trying?

P90X Update Week 3

Another week done!

Week three follows the same sequence as the first two weeks. It's starting to get easier to get into a routine of doing these workouts everyday.

I've noticed about a three pound weight loss...hurray!!! But I will say that I find I've really soar day to day which I wasn't in the past two weeks. However, I have started to increase the weight slightly which might play a role in that. I've also started to notice a change in my arms. For me that's huge and very exciting!! I've never been a fan of my arms and they've been a little flabby. My arms are starting to get more tight and defined....not huge but enough that I've been noticing.

My biggest tip for this week is plan ahead. Make sure you fit all your workouts in. Write down what time you plan on working out and do it!

No a lot of updates this week, if anyone has any questions about something I didn't include please feel free to ask.

Make sure you check back in next Friday for my week 4 update!

5 Beauty Tips

1) Mosturize/prime your skin before applying makeup - this will help your makeup go on smoother and last longer

2) Balance your makeup - If you do a smoky eye then apply a nude lip or ther other way around. If you do a nude eye then you can go with a bright lip

3) Use a face srub - about 2-3 times a week you should exfoliate your skin with a srub

4) Wash your makeup brushes - you want to keep your brushes clean and free of bateria. Bateria can cause breakouts, washing your brushes once a week to avoid this

5) Less is more - keep your makeup cake free and natural, less is alwasys looks better than packing on the product

P90X Update Week 2

Phew! Not going to lie guys, this week was tough. I'm finding that P90X is becoming a huge time commitment and it's getting very difficult to fit all these workouts in everyday(of course the really cold weather and snow isn't helping much...and don't even get me started on the time change and how dark it is). Never the less another successful week completed!

 Week two follows the same sequence as week one. My initial reaction was to go crazy and start increasing weight. Lucky I took a step back and decided that probably wasn't a good plan. For week two I kept the weight similar to week one and focused on technique. There's no point in training your muscles to do the wrong moves. To get max results you need to lift the weights properly and then
increase the weights.

Also during the first few days of week two I had a slight cold. With that being said I didn't miss any workouts but I did play it smart. I took extra breaks when I felt I needed it and made sure I stayed hydrated.

So far I would say I can tell a big difference since I started the program but it's still very early. 

There is a meal plan that comes with the P90X package but I will be honest that I haven't been following it. However, I have been very conscience about what I've been eating and trying to make all my meals as healthy as possible. I've cut out also of junk and unnecessary snacking. I've increased my protein, fruits and vetchtable intake. I've also started to increase the amount of juicing I've been doing (this is the best way to get fit in a lot of fruits and vetchtables).

My biggest tip for you this week...starting a program is easy but sticking with it will take commitment. Stick with your program, don't worry about the fact that you haven't seen any results yet. Stay committed and your hard work will pay off!!!

Check back next week for another Fitness Friday blog post where I will updated you guys on my week 3 progress. 

If you have any questions please feel free to ask is the comments below and I will answer them as quickly as I can.

Products I've Used Up November 2014

I've started accumulating products I've used up so I could share them with everyone. For those of you beauty enthusiast you know how much of a triumph it is to use up your beauty products...I know it is for me. As soon as I start running low on something I'm usually running out to the store for something new and it almost always gets opened before i completely use up the product I already have. Before you know it your cabinet is filled with half used products.

So here we go, products I've used up....would I repurchase them or should you pass them by? I've got a pretty good mix of both drugstore and high end.

Neutrogena deep wrinkle serum, I was using this as a night serum instead of night cream. I personally don't like this product I thought it was very oily and I didn't like how it sat on my skin.

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Serum, I use this instead of a day cream and I love it! I've already repurchased this product and I'm currently using it every day.

Smashbox Always Sharp Waterproof Eye Liner, I really liked this eye liner but I wouldn't repurchase it. This product goes way to quickly (I think it only lasted about two months) For this price I think there are better eye liners out there.

Dior creme de rose smoothing plumping lip balm, I've used several of these tubes. This is an amazing product! I have one tube in my purse and another in on my vanity. I've struggled year and year with chapped lips and this is the only thing that I have found that actually works. It has a bit of a pink tint which is also nice if you are wearing this out in the day time. This can be a tricky product to find as it is very frequently sold out. whenever I see this on the shelf I always stock up.

Maybelline great lash clear gel, I use this for my eyebrows. It's cheap and works great. Again this can be difficult to find as my local drugstore always seems to be sold out. This is another product that when I see it I stock up.

Maybelline Rocket volume waterproof mascara, another Maybelline product and another must have. I use this mascara as a base coat. I've been using it for months and it works great!

Nivea Express eye makeup remover, this is an okay drugstore option for makeup remover. It's defiantly not my favorite and I haven't repurchased it but if you are looking for a drugstore option I would go for this one.

Living proof satin hair serum, this is a great product but I will say the packaging is horrible! The bottle leaks and its glass so not great for traveling. It is a great product and I am planning on repurchasing it but I am searching other options before I do.

Adidas absorbent-deo, this might be a little TMI but for me deodorant is hard to find. I've repurchased this three times now, I like the fact that there is no aluminum and the sent is too over powering. Definitely another must have for me!!!

Loreal defense eye, skip this one. I didn't even use this product up but I've developed sort of a smell since it's been sitting in the closet. I found this didn't do anything and it burned a little, I only used it for about a week and then stopped.

Hope this helps you as your shopping, I'm already started saving some more used up products for another blog post. What kind of products have you use up and would repurchase?

P90X Update Week 1

On October 29th I posted a picture on Instagram saying that P90X is starting in our house tomorrow. Well it did!! On October 30th I did my very first P90X workout. I really wasn't planning on blogging about this experience but I've had a lot of curiosity on how my progress is going so far. With that being said I'm going to start doing weekly updates every Friday on how things are going, how I'm felling, ect.  I encourage you to come along of this journey with me as I complete my first attempt at P90X.

P90X is a set of workout DVD's that you do every day for 90 days. On day one we started with Chest & Back followed by ad ripper. I started this day out a little slow, I don't typically do a lot of arm workouts so I would say that's probably one of the weakest parts on my body. I did the entire workout but did less weight than I probably could have.

Day two we did plyometrics, this one is no joke! You basically jump around for an hour and it's no picnic. Get ready to feel the burn and sweat it out! I really hurt after this day.

Day three we went to shoulders & arms followed by another ab ripper. My arms were soar for the previous days so I had to back off a little during the workout and the ab one is definably tough. As Tony Horton says on the DVD "Ab ripper X, I hate it but I love it" I have the same feeling about that workout.

Day four Yoga, I really enjoy yoga and have done several yoga class in the past. I very much enjoyed this as I felt it was a nice break and allowed you to stretch it out.

Day five Legs & Back followed by ab ripper. I really enjoyed this combo. Being a runner and cyclist I think my legs are the strongest part of my body.  I was defiantly able to challenge myself here and push the workout a little.

Day six Kenpo, this is an intense cardio workout so get ready to sweat!

Day seven you have two options either take a rest day or do the stretching DVD. I wanted to follow the stretch DVD, however, I came down with a slight cold that has been going around the office so I decided the smarter decision was to take the day off.

All and all I would say week 1 was a success and I am ready for week two! If you are curious about anything I didn't put in my update please leave it in the comments below and I'll include it next Friday.

October Favorites

October has come and gone. It's been a busy and stressful month in our house. I don't have a lot of favorites this month...just two. Because of the stress I've been taking a lot of relaxing baths. In those baths I've been using two product from the Calgon ageless bath. The first is the renewing bath pearls for radiant skin. These bath pearls and infused with vitamin E and collagen. The other item is the nourishing milk bath for softer skin. These two products used together in  my bath make your skin feel amazing! My skin always feels smoother and nourished without even putting on lotion. These two items can be found at your local drug store and they don't cost a lot which is a plus.