ipsy bag - January 2015

I recently signed up for ipsy and today I got my first pink bag in the mail! I am super excited to share with you all what I got. In general, I'm pretty happy with all of the products.

I received three full-sized products and two sample product. The bag this month is pretty awesome too. One side of it is blue, one white with a coral zipper. Their theme this month is "fresh start" and the message said: A kickoff so clean the possibilities are endless. Get ready for a fantastic and flawless 2015. All of the products seem to match up with the theme pretty darn well.

Bellapierre Cosmetics Eyeshadow: This is a full-sized loose shimmer eyeshadow in the shade Celebration (SP017). It is a pretty brown/gold shade. I LOVE neutral colors, so I think that I would get a lot of use out of this shade. The only thing I do not like about this product is that I am not typically a fan of loose shadows.

Pacifica Natural Mineral Coconut Eyeshadow: Another pretty eyeshadow. This one is in the shade "ethereal" and it is literally a super nude shade. It looks like it has a little bit of shimmer in it as well. I can go one of two ways with this eyeshadow: 1) I'm really pale, so I am not sure if this shade will show up very well; 2) I do like to be fairly natural, so this could be a nice shade for those days when I don't want to look like I'm wearing a lot of makeup.

Elizabeth Mott All Over Shadow Brush: I'm very excited for this brush because I do not have a ton of makeup brushes! It will definitely get a lot of use.

Probelle Nail Polish: This nail polish is in the shade Into The Blue. It's a super pretty color that will look great in the spring. I have not tried a Probelle polish before, so I can't speak to the quality. The color is gorgeous though!

Eco-Beauty Moisturizer: One of my sample products. My skin is always ridiculously dry in the winter months and this year is no exception. I'm stoked to try out this moisturizer because I'm always looking for a new product that will hydrate my skin well.

Overall thoughts? I'm quite happy with my first ipsy bag. I will get use out of all the products that came. The only thing that would have made this bag better was if one of the eyeshadows had been replaced with an eyeliner. Are you subscribed to ipsy? If so, what did you get in your bag this month?

Interested in subscribing? Use my referral link to sign up: click here! I get some points for you signing up and you get to try 4-5 beauty products for only $10 per month.

Welcome to 2015!

What is a new year without having some new year resolutions? I feel like this is a fairly common type of post for the beginning of the year, but I want to hold myself accountable to my goals this time around.

Goal #1: Be healthier.
Typical... I know, I know. I could go on forever about the excuses I make, but that's not the point. I really want to start focusing on myself. Making myself a better me. I want to feel better about myself. There are a couple of steps beneath this goal that I specifically want to focus on:

• Train for a half-marathon. I signed up for a half-marathon in my local community that will take place in early May 2015.
• Eat healthier. Ideally, I want to work on reducing the amount of processed foods I eat. While I recognize that this goal might be challenging to achieve for the first half of 2015 since I am finishing up my graduate program, one main thing that I would like to do throughout the year is drink at least three Nutribullet drinks per week.

Goal #2: Be more intentional with my time.
I have a difficult time staying in the moment with my tasks or free time. I really want to focus on making 2015 a year where I manage both my professional and personal time. I think the commitments I have for the first half of 2015 should help me with this a little bit since I will be training for a half-marathon and writing a thesis to complete my final semester of graduate school.

Geesh. Remember when I said I suck at posting? I suck at posting. However, I am super excited to write this post today. A couple of months ago, I signed up for a website called Influenster. It is an awesome site where you can be selected for campaigns based on your interests and how active you are on social media. I was lucky enough to be selected to participate in the #ClearProof VoxBox campaign which is regarding Mary Kay's Clear Proof Acne System. Below is my honest review of Mary Kay's Clear Proof skin line. Even though I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes, all opinions of the products are my own.

#ClearProof VoxBox

The Clear Proof Acne System has four components to it: 1) Clarifying Cleansing Gel, 2) Blemish Control Toner, 3) Acne Treatment Gel, and 4) Oil-Free Moisturizer for Acne-Prone Skin. I will review each of these products one by one and then give my overall thoughts on the skin-care line.

Clarifying Cleansing Gel: I really enjoyed the formula of the cleansing gel. It was very smooth and foamed quite nicely. The smell seemed a little off to me, but in general, I was a big fan of the cleansing gel. I originally used the cleansing gel once a day in the evening because I was worried about abruptly changing my skin care routine and having it dry out my skin. Even though I was only using the cleansing gel once a day, my skin still had a somewhat negative reaction and became really dry.

Blemish Control Toner: Honestly, I absolutely LOVE this toner. I'm a big toner person in general, but I really like the effect this toner had on my face. It was very cooling and refreshing. Just like the cleansing gel, I only used the toner once a day in the evening because, despite my love for them, toners dry my face out if I use them more than once a day.

Acne Treatment Gel: This treatment gel is pretty darn amazing. Unlike the cleansing gel and the toner, I only used the treatment gel when I noticed zits emerging. I would simply put some gel on the zit and in a day or two it would be completely gone! Great product.

Oil-Free Moisturizer for Acne-Prone Skin: The moisturizer helped quite a bit with the dry skin that I was experiencing from the rest of the Clear Proof skin line, but it did not completely alleviate it. I did really like the formula of this moisturizer. It was smooth and lightweight. My skin didn't feel greasy after putting it on, which is a big deal for me.

Overall Review: I'm actually quite a big fan of the Clear Proof Acne System. I don't think I could ever switch solely to this product because of the fact that it was very drying on my skin, but using it in conjunction with my normal morning routine had great results. My skin is super clear. I couldn't be happier to have been introduced to this product!

Disclaimer: I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes."

So I'm currently in the second year of my Master's program in Educational Administration with a specialization in Student Affairs, and graduate school is finally wearing me down. I need a break. Between my classes and attempting to start work on my thesis (and that pesky little thing called IRB), I barely feel as though I have any time for myself. That's why I'm ridiculously excited for this weekend - I'm finally giving myself a much needed break and spending most of the weekend out of the house.

The movie Gone Girl comes out this weekend, and it is based on one of my favorite books ever. A group of friends and I are headed out for a matinee on Saturday afternoon, and I could not be more excited! Haven't heard of Gone Girl before (have you been living under a rock???) - watch this trailer:





Saturday night, a group of people in my program who work in the same building as me will be having our second CBA GA wine night. What could be better? Starting the day with a great movie with great people and ending it with great people and great wine. BEST WEEKEND EVER!

So I have a confession to make - I sometimes forget to blog. And by sometimes, I mean more often than not. It is challenging to balance being a wife and mother while also being a full-time graduate student and working approximately 30 hours a week between my assistantship and my practicum experience. I'm also supposed to be starting on my graduate thesis. Despite the massive amount of stuff I need to be doing, I feel as though I need something to keep my sanity, which is part of the reason I created this blog in the first place.

This blog was created to be a collection of my random musings. From things such as ramblings about graduate school and my thesis, to thoughts about parenting and marriage, to fashion and beauty, and even fitness and food. I hope to be more consistent in my posts in the future.

#65. go to the zoo.

A few weekends back, my family and I ventured to the Omaha Zoo to complete one of my goals from my 101 tasks in 1001 days and so Hayden could explore. Little man was SO excited to go. The weather had been kind of yucky in the morning. As we were driving to Omaha, the skies were dark and they just kept getting darker as we got closer. Once we actually got into the city, it was super foggy and began to rain. Hubby and I thought that we might have to head back home, but we wanted to make sure that we at least tried because Hayden was so excited. Luckily for us, the rain let up and it was actually a really nice day!

Looking at the monkeys with daddy.

Stingrays.

Hayden and hubby.

Little munchkin and myself.

Hayden in the butterfly chairs.

I love how his hands are clasped in this picture. A-freaking-dorable.

Hayden had been on the hunt for rhinos. He was psyched to find them!

Watch All The Best Picture Academy Award Winners: A Work in Progress

2013 - 12 Years A Slave - 5 out of 5 stars
Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender
"In the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery."

Academy Award winners are difficult movies for me to watch - mostly because I am never certain if they will live up to the hype that they have garnered. During the recent award cycle, this movie and the performances throughout it were all the rage. For all these reasons, I was a little skeptical of it. However, the plot of this movie was moving and the performances were great. The best part: hubby loved it too!