Archive for May 2011

Bettering Myself: Clean Closet!

Cleaning my closet was a big part of my "bettering myself" list. I finally mustered up the determination to go through with it today. About halfway through it, I just about gave up. It was a nightmare! I haven't fully organized the tops, so they pretty much remained the same. I'll probably end up keeping them like this because I actually know where every shirt is. Man! I couldn't even see the floors of my closet when I started. And now I've got walking space! My closet seems soo much bigger now, I love it! These pictures were taken before I completely organized the plastic drawers.

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Just properly folding the items on the top shelf makes it look better!

More pictures after the cut!

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Toasted Marshmallow Shake

I came across this recipe last week and decided I definitely needed to try it out. It's a toasted marshmallow shake! Personally, I enjoy the taste of burnt marshmallows, so mine were more burnt than toasted, haha! It was absolutely delicious. Although Dawson did drink most of it.. I don't mind, though. I need to stick to my healthy diet.

toasted marshmallow shake

10 marshmallows (plus extra for garnish, if desired)
1 (heaping) cup vanilla ice cream
1/2 cup milk (I used 2%)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

toasted marshmallow shake

toasted marshmallow shake

toasted marshmallow shake
(Blurry, but just to show that I kept to my diet and only had a small amount.)

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Bettering myself.

Now that it's summer break, I don't have anything to do until I start my job search in July. In the mean time, I really want to get my life in order. I want to make some major changes, and I feel as though I need this. I need to clean, organize, and get healthy.

  • Clean & Organize (Room, Closet, Bathroom)
    Totally dreading my closet, btw. It's a complete and utter mess. Maybe I'll do a before & after post.
  • Donate everything I don't/won't use. 
  • Figure out what to do with the 25 bottles of self-tanning lotion I bought on a spending binge last year. (I am an idiot.)
  • Organize & box up all of Dawson's baby clothes.
  • Plan out my diet & exercise routine.
  • Print out healthy recipes online.
  • Organize the recipes I already have.
  • Get rid of my gigantic heap of magazines I've collected over the past 4-5 years. (How? I don't know, yet.)
  •  New layouts! (For both this blog & my tumblr)

I've been putting some veggies into mine & Dawson's daily smoothies because we're both not the biggest fans of carrots. They surprisingly don't taste any different and are twice as healthy.

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This particular smoothie's got bananas, celery, carrots, grapes, strawberries, apples, some plain vanilla yogurt, coconut milk, & ice. It was delicious.

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Extreme Couponing?

Ever since I saw the first episode of Extreme Couponing, I was HOOKED! I watched a bunch of episodes and decided I was going to challenge myself like they do. So, maybe this isn't exactly extreme, but I thoroughly enjoy the fact that I only spent $3.19 (w/ tax) on almost $19 worth of stuff!

I'm an avid CVS shopper, and I have been since their beauty clearance last year! Basically, CVS has a beauty clearance sale twice a year, with markdowns up to 75% off! I'm obsessed with makeup, so of course, I can't resist. Plus, they totally take coupons! You can read an updated list of the CVS clearance here. She updates it daily and explains it pretty well. Now, onto what I got!

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I had two L'Oreal coupons, one for $2.00 and the second for $1.00. I had two Rimmel Stay Matte coupons for $3.00 off each Rimmel Stay Matte foundation (which you can find online at Coupons.com & CVS.com). And I scanned my CVS card and got a $5.00 off a $15 dollar purchase plus a $1.00 off any St. Ive's cleanser. So, that's a total of $15 off my entire purchase!

So, here's the breakdown:
L'Oreal Concealer (Clearance): $3.07 - $2.00 - $1.00 = $.07
Revlon Concealer (Clearance): $2.82
Rimmel Stay Matte (Clearance): $1.75 - $3.00 = -$1.25
Rimmel Stay Matte (Clearance: $1.75 - $3.00 = -$1.25
Sally Hansen Polish (Yellow) (Clearance): $ 2.07
Sally Hansen Polish (Teal) (Clearance): $1.75
St. Ive's Scrub: $3.99 - $1.00 = $2.99

Basically, not only did I get the two Rimmel foundations for FREE, but they also gave me $1.25 (each foundation) to shop with! If you're looking for a new foundation, I definitely suggest trying this one out! Not only is it FREE, but you get money back and it's actually a really awesome foundation that lasts for hours!

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Cheeburger Cheeburger!

In (late) celebration of my brother's birthday, we went to Cheeburger Cheeburger for lunch. We've been there about two times before and it's ALWAYS delicious! You basically get to build your own burger and add the toppings you'd like. They also have a lot of shakes, my absolute favorite being the Birthday Cake Shake! Have a peek:


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(Birthday Cake Shake!!)

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Dawson's kids meal

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My burger!

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My brother's POUNDER!

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Yuuumbo!

Here's Dawson today:

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And here's Dawson last year on my birthday at Cheeburger Cheeburger:

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Craaazy how much he's grown, right?!

This would be me after we got home and I changed into some comfy clothes

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Annnd this would be my first attempt and total failure of cheetah print nails

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The light pink color is so pretty, but it was a pain to work with. It took 3 coats until it was finally as opaque as I desired. I don't know if I got a bad polish or if Color Club's formula has changed. But if so, they really need to fix it.

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Recent Nail Pictures

I've been dying to paint my nails for a while now, but they've been bare because I haven't had time until recently. This semester is OVER! Yesss :) I'm waiting anxiously for my grades to be posted. I got a 95A on my MATH final! I'm horrible at Math, so I'm super excited that I got an A on the final and raised my grade. Studying for two days straight really does pay off. I also got a 100 on my final photography project. My professor said it was "amazing" and also strongly suggested I pursue a career in photography. I feel really good about that. Anyway, onto the nail pictures.

(EXCUSE the terrible dry cuticles, I haven't taken very good care of them.)

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This is Zoya Kelly with my first attempt at a glitter gradient with an L.A Colors silver chunk glitter.

sinful colors - love nails & stars

sinful colors - love nails

sinful colors - love nails

This is Sinful Colors "Love Nails" with my second attempt at a glitter gradient. Isn't this color gorgeous?! I love this shade of blue. I got this polish at Walgreens for .99 cents. The little stars are apart of this glitter polish I picked up from Clarie's a really long time ago.

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Dawson has a MOHAWK!

I have finally cut Dawson's hair into a mohawk after talking about it for MONTHS! And let me just say, he looks absolutely adorable! He sat still for me the entire time and let me shave it without getting scared. I was so surprised, expecting the worst tantrum ever. After I was finished, he looked in the mirror and smiled, he was so excited!

My baby with a sleepyhawk:

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This was right after I cut it and gave him a bath. I've since trimmed and layered it to make styling easier.

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Photography Final: A Day In The Life Of A Toddler

For my final Photography 170 assignment, I have to choose a theme/topic & compose 10 different shots. For mine, I chose "A day in the life of a toddler". I'm not sure if I like these shots, but I've still got about a week left to finalize the images.

Waking Up
wakingup

Getting Dressed
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Breakfast
breakfast

Daily Smoothie Time
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Naptime
naptime

Cry Baby
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Mommy makes it all better
allbetter

Playtime
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Mommy's view at playtime
heymommy

Snack time (chocolate pudding, his favorite!)
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Choosing a movie
movietime

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Mother's Day 2011

It's my second Mother's Day! We didn't do anything special. I just got me and D all dressed up to take some cute pictures. We were going to have Applebee's for dinner, but my mom offered to make my favorite BBQ chicken instead, and I totally couldn't turn that down!

Look at how much my baby has grown in just one year!

Mother's Day 2010:

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Mother's Day 2011:

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This one came out SUPER blurry and I tried to fix it.. but I didn't do a very good job, haha. :(

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Homemade BBQ:

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Now, my face:

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