Adult Snow Day

In the St. Louis area we got 12" (give or take) of snow between Saturday till today! I haven't seen this much snow in a really long time, and I think we may have the coldest days since 1982. Brrr! I hate the winter with a passion but I have to admit, it was kind of pretty (I said kind of) to watch the snow fall, knowing I had no place to go. So, what do you do when the weather is so cold and there's a ton of snow on the ground? You make snow ice cream, of course! I saw some people posting about this on Facebook, so I decided to give it a try. It was actually pretty good! 

Snow ice cream is super easy to make:

6-8 cups of snow

1/2 cup milk (I used almond)

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

I put about 4 tablespoons of cocoa in mine :) 

Mix the milk, sugar, vanilla  until the sugar is dissolved, then add in your snow and keep mixing. I added the cocoa in last. 

This tasted like chocolate ice cream, but I do have to admit that I was weirded out by eating snow and any other dirt/debris that could have been in it. Plus I have a dog, so.... 

I also read that St. Louis apparently detected high levels of radiation in the snow (unsure if this is true) so if you live around here, I advise just making a trip to the grocery store and buying some ice cream. 

Last night my boss emailed to say that we could work from home if we wanted to...so not a total Adult Snow Day, but I worked all day in my PJ's which was pretty awesome. I am realizing why people work from home - no distractions, peace and quiet..I could get used to this! 

Stay warm!

Snowapocolypse 2014

FabFitFun - Winter Box Goodies

Last fall, I decided to stop my Birchbox shipments. No particular reason, I just wanted a change and had learned of the FabFitFun VIP Box. FabFitFun is a quarterly subscription box ($49.99/quarter) and it includes over $120 of the hottest of the season items from Giuliana Rancic and the FabFitFun team. This is the second box that I've received from FFF and so far I am really enjoying the goodies I receive! Below are the items that were in my winter box and a brief description/review of each: 

Winter Fab.Fit.Fun box (kitty not included)

Beauty For Real Lip Gloss in Light My Fire ($22) this is one of the products that makes you think, "Damn..why didn't I think of this?" The packaging on this item is awesome - the gloss has a mirror on the side of the tube and a light! In the tube, the gloss looks like it would be really dark which is not something I'd normally wear but when you put it on it's a pretty red/berry color. And it's a plumper...score! I am going to look into getting some other colors when mine gets low. This is a new brand for me, but so far I'm super impressed.

MeUndies Gift Card ($20) - I've never heard of MeUndies before - am I alone? As a loyal Victoria Secret undies girl, I wasn't too impressed with this item in my box. But, it's $20 so why not give it a shot. I went to the website and checked out the prices. Whoa.. 5 pairs of undies for $89?? I think I'll just buy one pair and see how that goes. They do have other items such as socks, t-shirts and pants that look pretty comfortable. A couple cool things about this company (a) they have a subscription service - underwear sent directly to your doorstep! and (b) free shipping..all the time

Skyn Icelandic Relief Eye Cream ($45) Again, another brand that I've never heard of (that makes 3/3 now) so far I'm loving this eye cream. It is really thick and really creamy but it feels light and smooth when you put it on. Another thing I love is that it feels so cool against your skin which is nice and refreshing. The cream is supposed to reduce puffiness, dark circles and fine lines, so far I can't really say that I've noticed a huge difference but it's only been a couple of weeks. I do remember to put it on every day, and there's not a lot of products I can say that with - that counts for something. 

NYX Eye shadow Palette ($8) A couple days before receiving this box, I had splurged and bought the Urban Decay Naked 2 eye shadow palette so I didn't experiment with this one for a while. I decided to try it out, and I like it OK - the colors are what I would have probably bought anyways but with the Naked 2 monopolizing all of my eyelid real estate, I think I'll tuck this one away for a while. 

Simple Foaming Cleanser - not pictured ($7.49) I love a foaming cleanser, and I am still using the one I received in my last FFF box (Bliss Oxygen Cleanser) but I am excited to start using this one. I have wanted to try the Simple products due to the fact they don't use dyes and keep things as natural as possible. 

Bioxidea Miracle 24 Face Mask ($20) I've never heard of this brand either but I am really excited about using this face mask! I was going to use it on the weekend but I think I'll wait until I have someplace important to go since it's supposed to make your skin look visibly younger - I need all the help I can get in that department. 

The Giving Keys Never Ending Necklace ($55) love, love, LOVE the idea behind this necklace! I have to admit that when I first got it I  wasn't sure if I would wear it, let alone give it to someone else. However, after doing some more research on it and thinking about the concept - I really fell in love with this idea. I also love the idea of this necklace getting passed from person to person. The company behind the Giving Keys employ people transitioning out of homelessness, how great is that?! The necklace I received is "Strength" so I'll make sure to pass it along when I come across someone who could use it. 

Lorna Jane Bracelet ($29.99) I wasn't familiar with this brand either (I must be really out of touch!) but after visiting the website, I like the items I see! The pricing is higher than my normal workout attire, but I could see myself splurging on some of these clothes. The bracelet is to be worn as a symbol of sisterhood, and to remind us to Move, Nourish and Believe - a wonderful message. The color is too bright for my taste, but I do really like it regardless. 
After visiting the website I am now obsessed with ordering the 2014 Move Nourish Believe Diary. With my FFF box, I received a 20% off coupon and the site has free shipping.

Physique 57 Online Classes ($25) This coupon is good for five online workout classes. I am pretty into my CrossFit/Running regimen now, but I can see myself using this for when I travel and I'm stuck working out in a hotel room. A great concept for those who don't/can't make it to a gym. 

TruEnergy Earbuds ($39.99) Who doesn't need another pair of earbuds? Don't know about you, but I keep losing mine or they get so tangled/quit working. I loved seeing this in my FFF box! I love the color (coastal) and they are comfortable and they work well. They also have the splitter feature so you can share your earbuds with someone else

The retail value of this box was $272.47!I would say the $49.99 was a good price as I'll use the majority of these items. 
I'm already looking forward to the next FFF box!

AJ

Happy New Year!

Why, Hello 2014!! 

It's so hard to believe the craziness of Christmas/New Years is over already! I guess it's true as you get older they seem to pass so quickly but this year it felt like the blink of an eye. 

I do love the promise of a new year, the goals, the 'fresh slate' to start things over, or the resolution to begin others. With that said, I have been working on my 2014 Short List. I didn't do so great on my 2013 Short List (you'll see a lot of repeats!) but hopefully this year I'll be better about tackling the items that didn't get completed last year. 

I hope everyone had a safe and Happy New Year!