Ode to Birchbox January 2014 Review

Sometimes it's the little things that get you excited. Like a smallish, simple, brown box with some white lettering. BIRCHBOX! 

So excited that my sister-in-law sent me this amazing subscription box for Christmas. Very excited to try it out! Of course it came superbly packaged. Once opened there was 4 beauty samples and a rather large chocolate bar.  Hmmm odd with the chocolate, but I'm going with it. 

The first thing that caught my eye is this little firecraker. It is LAQA & Co. LIL' LIP. It is super compact but vibrant.  Loved the color in the packaging, but when applied it was really pinkish red. Definitely a "Night Out" color. It certainly was moisturizing and did last a long time. Would like to see some daytime colors as the shine and nourishing ability of the product was spot on. I also liked that the bottom worked like a typical chap stick tube and you were easily able to turn it up when you used the product. If purchased it comes in a cute travel duo for $16. The colors are Pinkman and Lambchop. Mine was not marked, but assuming it was Pinkman. 

As you can see from my pic. it is a bright vibrant color. I actually picked my two daughters up from school after I took this picture and they were like, "MOM, what are you wearing!", so I am assuming that they either really liked it or wondered if I was playing dress up with their baby sister before I came to car pool.

Next up was this little dazzler. Ruby Wing Color Changing Nail Polish in Ride 'Em Cowgirl I am in love with it. (This was also done on the way to car pool). When first polished it is a gorgeous glitter gold. Then the magic happens in the sun. Go outside and the glitter gold changes to a beautiful bronze. The BEST part is that it will keep changing when you go in and outside.  Easily amused? Maybe, but it entertained me.  Not sure where I would go with this, but could see it being really cute for a pedi in the summer.  My husband thought it slightly "stripperish", so I think he liked it. For $10 totally worth it!

Another product was a sample of Viva La Juicy Noir, obviously by Juicy Couture. Smells amazing...definitely a night fragrance. Sweet fruity notes with an undertone of sandlewood. Very powerful, yet feminine.  Birchbox is offering a rollerball duo which is super unique and could easily be thrown in your bag. A great deal at $25.

Lastly, which I was not that excited about, but then soon became really excited is ybf Beauty Perfect Face Primer. What could it really do?? Well basically it is a buffer between your face and makeup.  It corrects color, moisturizes and reduces red spots. Pop this on before your makeup for a longer lasting effect.  The smell is super clean. It feels like silk. I was immediately impressed with the firming feeling yet softness of skin around my eyes. It's a keeper! Best yet- contains A, C and E vitamins and is PARABEN free! At $28 it is well under the price of some other BIG name primers and a little goes the distance.

Now I know you are all wondering about the Chocolate bar. I did try it, but only to see if it was poison before sharing it ;)

Love and Tulips,

Nicole from Alpharetta

Simple Comfort Food

It isn't very often in the South that I feel the need for the comfort foods that remind me so much of growing up in the Midwest, but today it was needed.  The Polar Vortex has pushed it's way down upon us for a couple days. The temperature with windchill was well below zero and the worst part about it......school was CANCELLED! With no snow on the ground I was befuddled! Apparently all it takes in the South is a good stiff wind and no one leaves the house! While the kids went stir crazy (since they still have not been back since christmas break!) I decided to flip through my ever growing pile of magazines.  I came across this beautiful recipe and thought it was just the day to try it out.

If you are not a current subscriber to Cooking Light than you are making your life hard. While everything in the mag is not always "light" per say I feel like it does a good job of healthy fast dinner recipes! Let's be honest we all could use a few new recipes in our back packet. I liked this particular recipe because......it's fast!