Workin' On My Fitness.

So ever since Mark and I started dating, he's been telling me all the pros of going to the gym. It was all jibberish to me and I pretty much blew him off until about 3 weeks ago when I promised I'd go to the gym with him. Ever since then I have been on a super duper health kick. I immediately found a gym buddy, and she and I have been going to the gym every day! Not only that, but I've been trying to eat healthier too.

Thanks to my best friend, Pinterest, I found a "3 day detox" that my mom and I are starting tomorrow. Now it's not an actual detox, more or less like eating healthy for 3 days... with no cokes, only water. What in the world am I going to do? I'm hoping this can ween me off of the unhealthy drinks and snacks I tend to chose over the healthy ones and I can start eating healthier!

Our entire days menu is about what I would eat in one sitting, not really but it's pretty bare. The first day goes as followed:

Breakfast: Fruit Puree (1/2 cup strawberries, 1/2 apple, and and orange)

Snack: Green Tea and Lemon. (We're switching this up and having Lipton's Green Tea instead, shhh!)

Lunch: Fresh Salad

Snack: Smoothie 1/2 cup strawberries, 1/2 banana, and ice

Dinner: 3 oz whole grain pasta, 1/2 cup marinara, and garlic

So you get this jist right? We'll be eating like birds for 3 days in hopes of feeling new and refreshed! I hope it works because I'll be STARVING! Every day the menu changes slightly, so your not bored with the food. I'm super excited to give it a shot. Day 3 we get meat for dinner, yahoooo!

When I sent my mom the menu and the idea of doing this together, she replied: "I guess we need a blender." That's her way of saying she's excited too, haha.

Jewels!

Holy moly where have the months gone? It has literally been months since I last posted on here, but a lot has changed. I moved back to Alabama, graduated from Auburn, and got a job! I guess that's a legitimate excuse right? I'll write a post with a more in depth update soon. Until then I want to brag on myself for these amazing necklaces I found at great prices!

I am always a sucker for large statement pieces of jewelry, if and only if the price is right. I refuse to pay more than 20 dollars for necklaces, and honestly that is slightly high for me. Some of you may think I'm crazy, but I'm not... it's called being on a budget and shopping smart! I can find the same great pieces for less 9 times out of 10 if I give it time. Shopping for jewelry at places like J Crew, Banana Republic, and Loft is the most absurd thing I have ever heard of. Hello? Have you heard of Forever 21? On a serious note, there are many other options than paying around fifty dollars for a statement piece necklace.

My philosophy is, if it's so unique that I 'have' to have it... then I won't want to be seen wearing it all day every day. More than likely I will wear it out about five times that year to keep it fresh and new. So why spend a buttload of moolah on something I'm not going to wear a lot? There's no point.

Here are the two great necklaces I found last week for half the price of most stores:

I got this gem at forever21 online for a whopping 12 dollars. I'm obsessed with it. It could spice up a basic white fitted tee shirt or even a long maxi dress. 

& this one I got from Old Navy online for 16 dollars. I love the turquoise and brown beaded part around the neck and the hanging gold layers at the bottom. It's so unique and I love it. I am so pleased to not have spent a fortune on the same jewelry at boutique prices. 

I hope you enjoyed my fabulous finds as much as I did. Happy bargain shopping! 

Recently...

Since this blog is titled "My Life AND Other Girly Goodies" I figured I'd include some actual things that have been going on in my life rather than the normal girly goodies I've posted about. My internship is quickly coming to an end. This week will be my last week in DC, and I head back to Alabama on Monday. I'll take a pit stop in South Carolina to break up my traveling time and to visit one of my best friends, Trey. Until then I'll be packing, organizing, loading up my car, and preparing myself for the severe sadness that I'll be going through when I head back down South.

Quick mood change now, didn't mean to take it to that level. Let's backtrack a couple of days/weeks to some interesting things I've been up to! My family and I picked the most amazing weekend ever to see the cherry blossoms. We went on St. Patty's day! They were in full bloom, and absolutely amazing. We packed a picnic, and hung out on some grass while playing ball in between bites of food. Here's some pics from that:

My mom came to visit during the last weekend of March! I was so excited to see her and have some much needed mom time. Her plane was delayed on Friday so we didn't do much. We ordered room service (pizza and cokes) and hit the sack. On Saturday we did some shopping and sightseeing. We ate at fun restaurants and watched movies. I even talked her into seeing the Hunger Games (the second time for me). Sunday we did a little more shopping (our favorite past time if you can't tell) and rented a movie in the room. We relaxed, talked, laughed, and had a blast. Here's some pictures from our short time together: 

The last blog worthy thing I've done lately is attend the White House Easter Egg Roll! It was pretty cool to walk around the White House grounds. Obviously, the focus is toward children, but it was so fun to see Summer's face when seeing new exciting things. Autumn is too young and enjoys herself regardless of the location, White House or not. But here's the one picture from the White House that will upload. There are many others on facebook, but I'm still annoyed that I can't upload more here... oh well.

Now that I'm all caught up blogging on the fun DC experiences I've had it's close to being time for me to leave. I can't believe 4 months have gone by so fast, but we'll save the emotions for another post. For now, I'm happy as a clam and having an amazing end to a semester well spent with wonderful family and new friends :) 

March Favorites

I can't even believe I am already writing this post. Where has time time gone? I feel like I was just writing about starting my internship (the beginning of January) yesterday. Anyway, here are a few products I was loving in the month of March:

1. Fairydrops Scandal Queen Mascara: This mascara is patented in Japan, made by a Japanese TV host. It is absolutely amazing. The brush is so unique, I have never seen one like it before. I start by putting it on the top of my lashes to lengthen then brushing up on the bottom of my top lashes to curl. I recommend this mascara for everybody. There isn't another one like it.

2. Bobbi Brown Pale Pink Blush: This blush is perfect for spring and summer. It is absolutely ridiculous looking in the packaging- it looks very bright and clown like. But it doesn't go on the skin this way. I decided to buy it when Michelle Money from the Bachelor did a youtube video about it and I fell in love with the way it looked on her, and I love the way it looks on me.

3. St. Tropez Self Tanning Mousse: This is the best invention since sliced bread. I have tried every spray tan, and self tanner imaginable, and this one puts them all to shame. I mentioned it here. It is a perfect self tanner, and I will continue to buy it over and over. 

4. Gucci Guilty Intense Perfume: The boyfriend got me this for Valentine's Day. The smell is so different than anything I've ever had before. I absolutely love it and have worn it almost every day this month. It is feminine but has pepper like undertones at the same time which makes for the perfect scent in my opinion. 

Obviously, I'm not the kind of person who wears the same scents or makeup products over and over. I like having a variety to choose from, or else I get bored. That's why this months favs and the last favorite post I wrote are so different. I am always looking for new things to try, and I'm a sucker for anything girly :) 

My iPod these days...

I am so excited to be writing this post because it's exciting news! I finally have some good jams to listen to in my ipod. For awhile there, music was in a rut for me (notice I didn't say I was in a rut). It was actually the music that wasn't any good. The songs on itunes were boring and overplayed. Until these: 

Come Away To The Water- Maroon 5

Wild Ones- Flo Rida

Somebody That I Used To Know-Gotye

I find myself listening to these three songs over and over. I know they will shortly become overplayed, but until then I will continue jamming.

Sunless Tanning; A less Cancerous Option

Tanning beds. We've all been there and done that. But honestly I'm over that fad, and you should be too! The over tanned look was really popular when we were 17, but now not so much. Even celebrities have a nice glow, but don't look super unnatural. For example:

These three have natural glows but their skin isn't screaming for help. How often do you see a tanning bed tanned super model? Never. But I get the opposing side. We all feel more attractive with a little glow to our skin. Olive skin girls, stay out of this... you will never know what it's like to feel truly pale! There's something satisfying about having a warm glow to your skin; like the one's you get when you get a spray tan. That's why I want to tell you about the best product ever that I recently discovered, that beats getting skin cancer and premature wrinkles in a tanning bed or paying an arm and a leg for spray tan after spray tan.

This stuff is absolutely amazing. It's made by St. Tropez and its a self tanning mouse. The color is very natural, which is my favorite part about it. It doesn't give you the streaky orange color most do. The key is to exfoliate your body first. You need to remove all of the dead skin before applying. I apply it at night and sleep with it on. My one complaint is that the smell is awful, which is why I use it at bedtime, but I wake up and shower the smell away, so my complaint is tiny. A little bit of this stuff goes a long way (I'm 5'9'' and only use about 5 pumps) which makes it much better for those of us on a budget. You only need to use it about once every week 1/2 or so. 

Overall, this product is great and I recommend it to everybody. It is a much safer alternative to a tanning bed. I think it's a more attractive look too. Until the sun is shining and we can get a natural glow, let's stick to this mouse & not get cancer! 

House Concerts.

If you don't think I have the coolest parents ever after reading this post, you're crazy. Last night they introduced me to something I had never been to; a basement concert (which is sometimes a house concert, if you don't have a basement.) They seemed to be vets at this type of thing, but it was my first time going, and I really had no idea what to expect. Little did I know that I'd be so pleasantly surprised. This is absolutely the coolest concept ever. 

Basically, someone completely opens their house up to total strangers, and allows them to occupy their home while enjoying live entertainment. The one we went to was called "The Stone Room" in Falls Church. These are private concerts. The venue is a basement of a private home and seating is about 45 people. The owners of these homes that host house concerts are doing so to support independent artists who are making a living off of traveling and performing at bars, colleges, coffee houses, and houses of complete strangers. Such a brilliant concept! 

The amazing part is that 100% of all suggested contributions go to the artists.You obviously have to reserve your seats ahead of time, because the seats fill up fast. They had a huge spread of appetizers out for everybody, but it was BYOB, which is completely understandable. 

The people who host these events obviously have a ridiculous passion for music. To open their houses up to total strangers, and trust them around their belongings to enjoy live entertainment from some amazing artists is so unique and admirable. 

The artist we saw last night was Rebecca Loebe. She's an indie-folk singer from Atlanta, who now "lives" in Austin. I put lives in quotations because she literally is traveling all day every day to make it to her next performance. She performs anywhere from once a day, to once every other day. She was on "The Voice" last year and I can completely tell why. She supports herself as a full time touring indie/roots singing songwriter. Not only was her voice amazing, but the performance as a whole was awesome. She had a great sense of humor and the audience was laughing the entire time between songs. 

Needless to say, I bought all three of her CDs. I honestly like her better live than on a CD... but the albums are still great. The night was pretty cool and I have a new found obsession for "House Concerts."  It's neat to know absolutely nothing about an artist and fall in love with them during their performance. I recommend these "house concerts" and Rebecca Loebe to everybody.  Thanks parentals for introducing me! 

Check out some of her songs :)

"California" - Rebecca Loebe

"Come As You Are" - Nirvana Cover by Rebecca Loebe

"Stronger" - Kanye West cover by Rebecca Loebe