My New Erin Condren Life Planner

Remember how last year I bought a planner and never used it?  Well I thought I'd give it a try again this year because I've been super curious about the Erin Condren Planners everyone keeps talking about.  It's a bit pricier than some of it's competitors but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out anyway.  Here's hoping I actually use it this time-and I wanted to share it with you because it's cute!  This is not a sponsored post, just an honest review as I purchased the planner myself.   

I ordered the Sea Life Life Planner in Seafoam and look how cute it is! The cover is also removable in case you want to change it out with other cover options.  They're typically $10-$15 a piece, but she also sent a $15 coupon/gift card with the order!  So much fun-here's a look:

I also added on an order of stickers with my friends and family's faces to put on their birthdays-so fun!

All in all, the package arrived beautifully wrapped and filled with extras-and everything was very high quality.  I will likely order from Erin Condren again and recommend it to my friends!  So lovely!

This post is not sponsored in anyway, I just wanted to share it with my readers!

Handmade Love: The Leaves Are Changing

1 // Autumn Park Palette Knife Oil on Cavas from Leonid Afremov

2 // Autumn/Fall Leaf Clutch in Cream from Oyeta Handmade Bags & Purses

3 // Canary Cavalcade Hand-Blended Nail Lacquer from Firecracker Lacquer

4 // Hand-Painted Fall Leaf Wine Glass from Elegantly Haunted

5 // Orange Chunky Infinity Scarf from S|A Scarves

6 // Gold Plated Leaf Earrings from Your Charmed Life

7 // Fall Woodland Set of 3 Prints from Milk and Paper

8 // Antique Brass Leaf Necklace with Orange, Cranberry, & Gold Beads from Cloud 9 Designs

9 // Autumn Photograph from Hip and Clavicle Magical Wall Art

10 // Autumn Aspen Forest 2 Large Custom Mugs from Mary Elizabeth Arts

11 // Autumn Leaves Wall Decals from Fairy Dust Decals

12 // Fall Leaves Coffee Cup Sleeve from CK Stitches

13 // Ceramic Fall Leaves from Orly Design

14 // Fall Leaves Orange Leaf Headband from Chatter Blossom

15 // Fall Foliage Sugar Cookie Collection from Marta's Cakes and Cookies

16 // Orange and Gray Camera Strap from The Humble Penguin

Which item is your favorite?
Don't forget to check out all of the fabulous giveaways that are currently running by clicking HERE.

Life Updates & Confessions

I got my custom illustration from Fat Babe Designs, and isn't it cute?  I love the watercolor background!

I confess... I bought an iPad.  I've had a hard time justifying the purchase since it's expensive and I already have an iPhone and a laptop.   But my laptopt went wonky and had to go into the shop, and I decided-hey!  I have a disposable income (because I have no kids!) so why the eff not?  I've been loving it-the picture above I drew with a crappy stylus using the Paper by Fifty-Three app.  So cool.

I also got a killer deal... I went for the 32GB one which costs $499, but bought it from Target... I ended up paying $498 out of pocket for the iPad and the case (normally $39.99) plus they gave me a $100 Target gift card with purchase.  So I really only spent $398.  That also included my roommate's employee discount, a 5% discount for signing up for the Red Card, and a 5% discount for letting the employee talk me into buying a case too.  BONUS! 

I confess... A couple of weekends ago I went up and spent the night at Kristina's.  We drove up to Ogden to pick up Courtney from her boyfriend's apartment... Which just so happens to be the same complex as my very first apartment... The apartment I shared with my first boyfriend and then MelanieGrace.  A time so rich in memories that standing there in front of that building looking up at the windows I'd see every day brought waves of nostalgia rushing over me.  It was pretty surreal.

I confess... I like my godkids... They're pretty much the only kids I go out of my way to spend time with (maybe I'm getting old and enjoying being child-free). And just look at baby Kat's mini gelly shoes.  I DIE.

I confess... I've been super tight-lipped about the whole boy/dating thing.  I'm just about ready to tell all-but mostly because it was Frank (you may remember me mentioning him briefly last November) that I let back in my life, and he's already out of it again.  Of course I still have to deal with him since we have friends in common and other stupid life events that I should have never gotten myself into... But let me just say-he turned out to be nothing like what I thought he was.  I'm not even sure "real" nice guys exist-or at least are single anymore.  This adorable little piece of art is by a fab artist and motivational source, Emm Roy.

I confess... I'm so lucky to have some fabulous people who support me in my life.  

I confess... I've been really bad about the gym the last three weeks... I went twice last week.  None yet this week.  UGH.  What is my issue?  I'm failing so hard at the #NOEXCUSES challenge...

I confess... Here's a little sneak peak at a giveaway I have coming up soon.  I'm terrible at painting my nails, but look how pretty these two colors are!  That's Pink! and Punked from Firecracker Lacquer!

Have you seen this?  Oh my goodness.  So clever-watch it now or you're really missing out! 

Linking up with:

My Favorite Beauty Products

I am by no-means a beauty pro.  However over the last year or so I've been lucky enough to (through trial and error) determine some of the products that work best for me.  I have unruly skin and unruly hair, so it's been difficult.  My favorite thing in the world, and recent obsession, has been Coconut oil.  I use this thing everywhere-I put in in my hair and on my skin before bed to moisturize both (and fall asleep smelling like an macaroon!) and I have used it so far on cuts and sunburns to help the healing!  Plus, eating it is very good for you-and the cheapest I've found so far is from Trader Joes.

With my skin, switching to Cetaphil (by the suggestion of Ricki-Jill) helped a lot with breakouts, and using CC creams and BB creams (read Beth's post identifying differences HERE) has taken some of the strain off too while hiding the redness and blemishes that bother me.  They're lighter and contain sunscreen, which has been a lifesaver!  I've just been using them with a little powder.  I've also been super into nudes/naturals for my eyes lately if you can tell-and that mascara?  It has a mirror on the back.  That is amazing.

My hair is very fine and semi-curly, which has resulted in somehow having both frizz and flat simultaneously.  The two Aveda products above help with the volume without weighing it down, and using the curl definers has eased the frizz a lot!   It's still messy, but hey-embrace messy hair! 

What are some of your favorites?

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My Top 10 Favorite Drag Race Contestants

I'm not usually a person that goes for Reality TV.  I love knowledge based documentary shows and paranormal stuff like Fact or Faked-but not really "reality" TV.  Until... RuPaul's Drag Race.  Voila!  Suddenly I'm addicted.  It's like crack-I have to see what they'll come up with next and what train wreck or fashion extravaganza will occur on the next episode.  The roommate and I soared through seasons two and three to catch up, watched four and five as they were on, recently watched All Stars and are currently meeting up with some fantastic friends every Wednesday to make our way through seasons six.

It's amazing to me how you can pick a character on the first day of the show and think that they're the one that are going to be your girl-but then absolutely hate them by the end of the show.  On that same though, the person you thought was just a bitchy queen on day one may end up being your absolute favorite *cough* Bianca *cough* as you get to see their real heart and talent.

So without further ado, I present my top 10 favorite contestants, but I must warn that I have not yet been able to watch season one-so I can't include them in the mix at all.

10 | ADORE DELANO | SEASON 6 RUNNER UP

I'll admit, I didn't care much for Adore when the season started.  She was young and a bit whiney, and that valley girl voice is a bit grating.  However, as the season went on I really started to adore her (pun intended) and was really happy she ended up in the top 3.  I like to think she was the first runner up, and Courtney 2nd.

9 | CHAD MICHAELS | SEASON 4 RUNNER UP & ALL STARS WINNER

Chad is one polished queen who does a killer Cher impersonation.  She totally deserved the All Stars crown.

8 | MANILA LUZON | SEASON 3 RUNNER UP

Manila is pretty, and she always seemed pretty nice and outgoing.  I enjoyed watching her on All Stars too!

7 | PANDORA BOXX | SEASON 2 MISS CONGENIALITY

Pandora would have been higher on this list as I totally wanted her to win when I watched season 2, but then I saw her on All Stars and was disappointed that she just gave up because she was partnered with Mimi.  I feel like she could at least have fought for it.  I love her though, and enjoy keeping up with her online.

6 | BENDELACREME | SEASON 6 MISS CONGENIALITY

BenDeLaCreme was adorable and a fan favorite.  Before even seeing the episode where he was eliminated it was spoiled as people were starting petitions and were outraged about it!  Then I watched the episode, and I can see why he was sent home.  Don't get me wrong, he's great-but Darienne (ugh) really turned it out.

5 | RAVEN | SEASON 2 & ALL STARS RUNNER UP

Raven was feirce, but still had a big heart.  I loved watching him interact, whether he was reading someone or bonding with someone in the dressing room-he was just fun and so different! 

4 | LATRICE ROYALE | SEASON 4 MISS CONGENIALITY

Latrice is my favorite big girl from the show.  She was caring and talented and who can forget "Jesus is a biscuit, let him sop you up!" as he sang it as loud as he could and got people dancing?  Fun! 

3 | JYNKX MONSOON | SEASON 5 WINNER

Jinkx was my favorite right from the beginning and I'm so glad he made it all the way to the win!  This adorable Seatlelite totally deserved the title and even had his own mantra: "Water off a duck's back!"

2 | JUJUBEE | SEASON 2 & ALL STARS

While Jujubee was always a favorite from season 2, it was All Stars when I first realized she was also my spirit animal during her opening introduction when she said "I like long walks on the beach, fried chicken, and big dicks!"  I couldn't help but laugh, and... well, relate.  Hahahaha! What else does a girl need?

1 | BIANCA DEL RIO | SEASON 6 WINNER

Confession-I didn't like Bianca in the first couple of episodes.  I thought she was just a snarky bitch who was going to complain the whole time.  But then the season got going, and little by little you found that was just her humor-she's amazing at reading people and she speaks the truth.  You have to respect that! Then more and more you got to see how big of a heart she really had, especially as she did things she didn't have to do like help out the other contestants and she started playing mamma bear to a few of them.  I'm not sure another queen has deserved the crown quite so much as Bianca did, and the cheer in the bar when she won was great!  I love love love her for everything she is-and she's probably the funniest one in my opinion!

Do you watch Rupaul's Drag Race?  Who's your favorite?

Favorite Color & Cara Box Swaps

You know me and my love of all things swaps?  Well I have two to share with you today-and I must say, I had awesome partners and received fantastic goodies!  The first swap I want to share is the Favorite Color Swap that we hosted over at Chaotic Goddess Swaps.  I was partnered up with Jess from Writing in Red Lipstick-and I swear, that girl could be a long-lost sister!  We have so much in common! She's a fantastic artist and beauty lover-and her blog is so adorable.  I'm happy to be a new(ish) follower!

Jess sent me such lovely light turquoise goodies.  Just look at that scarf!  It's soft and heavenly.  Everything else is lovely too-including the little bracelet, the nail polish, the bag, the writing goodies, and soaps!  I love it!

***

The second swap was the Carabox Swap from Wifessionals.  I was partnered up with two lovely ladies, and the one sending to me was Ash from Ash's Right Direction.  She's such an inspirational blogger as she's lost a lot of weight and become much more fit!  The theme of this swap was local, so she sent me some great goodies from her state of New York!  If you can't tell, I ate a maple candy instantly-even before taking photos!

I also was partnered with Page who is @pagemgraham on Instagram.  See what I sent her HERE.

Friday Favorites: My Birthday Wishlist

My birthday is next week!  Lovely!  Here are a bunch of things I wouldn't mind receiving or buying for myself for my birthday-thus they belong on my birthday wishlist!  These are things I've been envying, loving, and thinking of buying for a while-and I just want to share them with you!

1 // Day of the Dead Deer Faux Taxidermy from Misfit Menagerie

2 // Copic Markers - These are so expensive, but I've been wanting them a while.

3 // The Naked 3 Palette - I've been wanting to try these, and 3 is my favorite so far! 

4 // Fakers - Mermaid Spirals from Peach Treats

5 // A Custom Tiny Hobo from The Tiny Hobo

6 // Silver Skull Post Earrings from Black Rabbit Studio

7 // Pastel Goth Witch Print from Love Teacup Kisses (I actually bought this already lol!)

8 // Deluxe 9 Piece Doctor Who Peg People Set from Makings in Mommyland

9 // TMNT Legos - I really just want the little guys, not the whole set... lol

10 // Harvey's Seatbelt Bag Convertible Tote in Turquoise (or Lagoon)

11 // DSLR Camera Strap Cover from Sewquiltmom

Updates: 2014 is Full of Changes

Since the Ultimate Blog Party is tomorrow, I'm going to go ahead and do my usual Friday confessions and update post today instead!

I confess.. I got a hair cut!  I was desperately wanting some change and so I thought I'd go short-but I was scared.  So, I pinned a bunch of cuts I thought were cute and showed them to my stylist, but told her to do what she thought was best.  I LOVE it.

I confess... I'm bummed that I can't get it to look like the stylist did.  I blow-dried and flat-ironed it and it didn't even come close!  It was all frizzy and dry looking.  Though it looks better today, it's all wavy! 

I confess... The roommate got his official email the day before yesterday.  He is moving to Canada!  I'm so excited for him.  He's wanted out of Utah (and the country) for so very long and he's off to pursue his dreams of obtaining an MFA at a very prestigious french-speaking school in Edmonton.  It's a fantastic opportunity as they only take five students a year for it.  

Now I have to figure out what I'm going to do.  While I know that I'm going to miss him like crazy-I'm ready for this new change in life.  I'm definitely going to live alone for a while as I don't think I want another roommate... Actually the next person I live with will be someone I'm in a relationship with hopefully, but even that is a long way off.  Do I stay in the apartment I'm in now?  It's affordable and spacious-but the drive to work is pretty long and it doesn't even have a real door (seriously, they're made of cardboard) so I worry about living alone there... Do I move?  Moving is SUCH a hassle and I could shorten the drive (though I seriously love my location) and possibly find something even cheaper... What am I going to need to buy to replace when he takes his stuff?  All I know now is that I'd better start saving and living like I'm paying full rent-gotta curb my spending big time! 

In any case, I'm SUPER excited for Josh and for the new opportunities we'll both have!  I need to get my Passport going! 

I confess... We've been having friends over every Wednesday night to watch RuPaul's Drag Race.  Last night Julie came (we haven't seen her in forever) and brought her dog Ruby.  Ruby is a boozehound.  Or, a winoreimer.  She whines and whines when you have wine-she wants it so bad!

I confess... March was mostly rainy and gorgeous... But April has been cold and snowy so far.  Lame.

I confess... I have a French test tonight and I haven't studied... Guess I know what I"ll be doing for my lunch break today.

I confess... I decided not to take Summer classes this year since Josh is moving and I want to help him move to Canada and not worry about missing classes.  But I did sign up for Fall semester and had to rearrange my work schedule for my French class.  I'm going to take French 2010, Math (ew), and Zumba.

I confess... After seeing Jenna's review of St. George and questioning why I'd never worn it yet, I decided to put it on.  I can't even look away, look at this stunner!

I confess... I spent a lot of money recently.  My hair appointment was recently supposed to be Sunday but she was sick, so I went shoe shopping instead.  I found these adorable skully flats (my old ones are pretty worn) and these moccasins on sale at target!  Score!  I also picked up some new games and accessories for my 3DS.

I confess... I got what might be my last Julep box-gotta start saving.  I loved this one a lot though.  If you're interested in trying Julep out sign up through my affiliate link!  They have really high quality stuff-look how pretty!

I confess... I've been totally slacking on health.  BUT I am working on cooking more and my goal has been to buy one thing I've never cooked before each time I go shopping.  I've been on a squash kick.

I confess... The Ultimate Blog Party is tomorrow!

I confess... I'm thinking of a big birthday giveaway this month, what would you like to see?

I confess... Same old same old at work.  We went to Sushi with some coworkers last week and had a genius idea on the way back.  Our coworker Kyle (who did not join us) likes to surprise attack people by sending them a wav file that plays the Friday song when you open it.  It's cruel.  So we left him a little note to be funny:

How've you been?