Showing posts with label favorites. Show all posts
Showing posts with label favorites. Show all posts

May 11, 2016

Platypus Hydration Pack and PackTowl

I was given a couple fun products to try out and took them with me to Hawaii.  You are going to think I am a little ridiculous about them, because having them made a huge difference made the travel and adventurous things we got to do go much more smoothly than if we hadn't.

First of all, traveling with the Platypus hydration-pack was amazing.  It fit SO much into it for seeming like a compact size.  I fit my books and magazines, big DSLR camera, snacks, wallet, phone, portable charger, sunscreen, chap-stick, sunglasses, and more all safe and sound in it.  Everything was really easy to get to since it was very well thought-out and organized.


Once we got to Hawaii I took it everywhere we went.  It was so helpful and so handy.  The weather was sub-par while we were there- rainy half the time and sunny half the time (off and on every day) so we really planned on getting wet and sandy/muddy pretty much everyday.  


I put my really nice, expensive Nikon camera in it and it stayed safe and dry the whole time with constant sand, water, rain showers, mud, kayaking down a river, boating along the coast for 5 hours, standing below a waterfall for an hour, etc.  It has a rain cover that comes out of the bottom pocket that is super easy to pull out and cover it with.  I honestly don' know if my camera would still be working after this trip if I hadn't had this bag.  It became a joke after the first few days of how much I loved this backpack and kept finding new things about it that I loved.  It was easy to talk about the many ways and bug Trey by purposefully talking about it so much haha!


The Pack Towls (luxe)were super great because they fit in a tiny little bag and we could bring them anywhere.  They soaked up the water really well and they even were easy to shake sand off.  I loved the extra big size of the purple and Trey liked the normal sized green one.  We didn't have to worry about asking for beach towels every day from the resort.  I will definitely be using these ALL summer long and probably even at home in the winter.


The Platypus backpack kept my hands and arms free to use at all times - I loved that!  I wore it with all sorts of clothing (even just a swimsuit) and it never rubbed or made me hot- the back has a mesh lining that keeps the back from even touching you so the air can move through the back of it and keep your back cool.  There is also a waist support you can clip and put all the weight on your hips when you are carrying a lot- I did this on our hikes and I felt like I wasn't carrying anything at all!


I am excited to have these for the summer this year!  I plan on taking the kids to the lake, pool, hiking, boating, and all sorts of fun things and both the towels and backpack will be so awesome to have!  If you are planning any fun adventures this summer you would LOVE to have either of these products.  Especially if you are a big outdoors-man.  They would also make really great Father's Day gifts if you are looking for something really fun for Dad. :)
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May 2, 2016

Rainy Spring Days

We have had QUITE the rainy Spring here and Utah, and thanks to some really cute and comfortable rain-wear, I haven't complained a single time about it!  I always cook things that my mom used to cook on rainy days since it reminds me of home.  This last week I made no-bake cookies and chicken and broccoli casserole :)

Rainjacket: Helly Hansen, Boots: Joules, Leather Bucket-Bag: The Sak, Jeans: Rock and Republic, Half-zip Jacket: Upsessive

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Apr 28, 2016

Hawaii Packing List


We leave for Hawaii soon so I thought I'd share what's in my suitcase- I am sure I'll be updating this post when we get back...


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Apr 25, 2016

Easy 4 Step Crock-Pot Yogurt


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Apr 22, 2016

Favorite Things Friday: Jensen

To finish the favorite things Friday with my cute kids, last but not least is Jensen:

1. Stride Rite shoes

Stride Rite is always coming up with creative and innovative ideas for kids shoes!  First we tried the Snoot (sneaker and snow boot combined) and they have been SO awesome for Macsen.  The newest thing now is the Phibian Sneaker Sandal.  These can be used as sandals, play shoes, and even dressed up a little...They are comfortable and Jensen loves them.  


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Apr 1, 2016

Favorite Things Friday: Macsen

I share so many of my favorite things, I thought I would do a little mini series of my kid's favorite things.  I'll start with Macsen:

1. The Beach
When we went to San Diego he could have spent the whole trip at the beach.  This boy is going to be a beach bum when he grows up I just know it haha!



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Mar 16, 2016

Easiest Blackout Curtains for $15!

After having 3 kids and Allie starting school early in the morning my kids bedtime became VERY important to me!  Haha!  Allie and I used to stay up til 1am sometimes when my husband was working full time AND in school full time just so we could see him.  After Macsen came along bedtime was still pretty late- around 9/10pm.  It makes me laugh to say that my kids are now rarely out of their beds later than 8 and I usually get them in their beds at 7!  It is AWESOME and keeps me sane, but when the sun starts hanging around later it created a little bit of a problem- that is, until I made their black out curtains.



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Mar 14, 2016

4 Recipes and 10 Healthy Freezer Meals for the Crockpot

So I recently decided to help my mom put together some freezer meals for my brother and I decided I would share them on the blog because it was a very successful endeavor!



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Feb 10, 2016

Packing for San Diego

I am so excited to get out of Utah and into warmer weather for a week and I've been thinking about what I need to make sure I bring from past vacations- so I thought I would share if any of you are taking a trip soon.  

1.iPad
Parents of little kids know you never go on a long road trip without this ;)  Another thing I do for long car travel is stop by the Dollar Tree before we leave and spend about $20 on toys and other things to keep the kids entertained in the car.





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Feb 3, 2016

5 Tips to Beat the Winter Blues

Wow this winter has SUCKED in Utah.  I DO NOT like this much snow.  It's pretty and fun for the first 2 months, then it just gets REALLY old.  If you can't tell this winter has been difficult for me- not just because of bad weather but because I haven't felt great.  The last month has been a time of trying some new things to help with the tiredness, boredom, sickness, etc.  I think I have found some great tips that can help beat those winter blues:


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Nov 28, 2014

Favorite Things Friday

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday!  I have a couple things today that I am REALLY excited to share and tell you about.  First of all:

1. Apple Cider Vinegar:

I just started drinking a Tbsp. of ACV (Apple Cider Vinegar) in a cup of warm water and a little Truvia to make it drinkable and I CAN'T BELIEVE the difference it is making.  Not only does it completely curb cravings and give me energy, but I also have NO appetite lately (not sure if that's a good or bad thing with all this yummy food around haha...)  There are all sorts of health benefit claims of ACV, so I was curious about it and started drinking some of the cheap store brand, then once I noticed such a difference I bought this Braggs brand with the 'Mother' that supposedly adds to the health benefits.



2. Twice! 

Oh my goodness I am beyond excited about the clothes I have gotten off of this site!  I have maybe spent $12 and have gotten hundreds of dollars worth of clothing!  Read more about it here and you can get yourself $80 of clothing for under $5 too!




3. Jamberry Nails



I have to make a confession- I have a bad habit of picking at my nails.  Gel nails only lasted a couple days for me, and regular nail polish looks bad after one day.  Jamberry nails have stayed on longer than any other product!  I'm going on a week right now!  Plus, you can't get super cute designs like theirs with anything else.  Plus, they aren't messy and have no dry time, which makes them super great for little kids (my 6 year old loves "girl parties" and asks me to have them with her a lot, so doing these for our "girl party" was super easy, fun, and not messy at all.) You can buy them here- they make great gifts!




4. These babies I got to photograph this last weekend:






5. Inka Coffee Substitute with Cafe Mocha Coffeemate Creamer.  YUM! 


I have been drinking this in the evening as a little treat after dinner and to get myself warm- it is SOOO cold!  Combined with the ACV in the morning, I have no desire to eat any other treats-which for me has meant losing the remainder of my baby weight!  Yay!  
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Apr 18, 2014

Fave Things Friday

I figured I haven't done a Favorite Things Friday in FOREVER and wanted to share some of my favorite new things!

1. Favorite New App:

Keepy- an excellent app for storing your kids' artwork, crafts, milestones, cute things they say (recorded) etc.  I LOVE this because Allie makes new crafts and artwork everyday and I don't have the room for it, Macsen is always saying such cute and funny things and now I can record it, and Jensen's milestones are SO hard for me to keep track of!  All 3 problems solved!  Plus, it has a super great layout and I can easily share all of these things with their grandparents and aunts and uncles.


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Aug 15, 2013

Anyone There?

Oh my goodness I haven't blogged in forever.  I'm wondering if there is anyone still even following me :)  I have been out of town and not been in the best health lately so I am sorry for my absence!  Hopefully I can get back to blogging more, especially once Allie starts Kindergarten!  For today I thought I would share some random favorites as of late:

 Favorite interior:

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Apr 4, 2012

What I'm Loving

Right now I am addicted to all these amazing juices (Naked and Odwalla to name a couple)
 You can buy a pack of 2 32oz bottles at Costco for about $5.70 right now- totally worth it!

Forever 21 Girls is so fun to shop online!  I love this cardigan:

 And I just bought this tank for Allie:

I just started washing my hair every other day and I use this Suave dry shampoo:
 Not only does it work great, but it smells SO good and I also like how my roots are not as easy to see when I blend the white spray into them :)  For just under $3 at Target it's a steal!

My new favorite sunless tanning lotion:
You can read all about it here.


This is still my all-time favorite mascara and lately I have been loving using it with this eyelash growth serum
 The Rapid Lash serum not only makes my eyelashes longer, but since it helps them stay in longer, they also look fuller. 

Lastly, I am loving that the weather is getting warm enough for walks!!
 And Macsen is loving it too! :)

What are you loving right now?
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Aug 2, 2011

Summer Favorites

I just wanted to let you know that I may be posting a little less often the next couple weeks...I have my family here with me and then Allie and I will be making the drive back to Seattle with them!  Yay!  I am so excited.  Which leads me to share some of my summer favorites:

Being in Seattle:
The weather is so perfect and the air is so fresh.  I love being at my parents' house, going to Snoqualmie Falls and other hiking, boating on Lake Sammamish, eating at the Iver's on Lake Washington, and so much more.


Sunsets:
What is more romantic than watching the sunset with your one and only on a summer evening?  Often we do this while Allie is playing at the park and in these moments I couldn't be happier.


Being in the Water:
Lakes, rivers, beaches, you name it, I love it.


Road Trips:
As long as they aren't longer than 5 hours...and especially love them when I am with my family and we can talk the whole way there.  We got lucky with Allie, because we have taken her on numerous car trips of 3-5 hours and she does SO good.


Moving:
Call me crazy, but I love change and I love moving.  This is obviously done easiest in the summer, so that is why it is on this list...I love getting organized and redecorating a new place. 


Taking Naps Outside:
This is a little hard to do in an apartment complex, but at least once or twice the chance will come up and I will take it :)



What are some of your summer favorites?

***PS: Don't forget to enter the Mineral Hygienics Giveaway going on right now!  Click on the right sidebar picture.***
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Mar 22, 2011

My Favorite Jeans

I love jeans.  I am a jeans and tee kind of a girl (trying to be more stylish but not succeeding too well) so I usually have at least 6 different pairs of jeans that I cycle through.  
Here are the ones I am loving right now:



These are super stretchy and comfy, yet they hold their shape in just the right places.  The waist couldn't fit me any better; literally.  It is just tight enough in the back that there is no gaping, but not too tight to be uncomfortable.  The length is also JUST RIGHT.  Long enough for heels, but not too long for flip flops.  These really fit like gloves.  They are a little trendy with some distressing, but not too much that it will go out of style.  The color is just right for a pair of jeans too.  The only down side to these jeans are the back pockets.  I am a big fan of big back pockets to make my butt look smaller - these are just an average size.  But that's just me :)  You can get these here if you are interested.



They actually look exactly like these worn by Ashley Simpson (only a bit darker wash)

I actually used to work at Banana long ago when I was in high school.  I wish I still did just for the discount.  I could go on and on about their clothing but lets just talk about their jeans.  I love that they have a handful of styles so you can get just the right fit for you.  My favorite pair of jeans right now are my Banana Republic Classic Wide Leg.  They are mostly my fave because they are Trey's fave. :)  If you are interested in BR jeans I would suggest going to a Factory Outlet and just trying on everything.  It may be work, but it is totally worth it to find a pair that you absolutely love.




I will always go back to AE jeans.  I got some in 2003, 2004, 2008, 2010 and I wear 3 of these all of the time.  I have owned light wash, dark wash in bootcut, light wash slouchy & distressed, and even some skinny jeans Trey hates, but I have loved and continue to love them all. 





I have 3 pairs of Aeropostale jeans that I love.  One pair is in between bootcut and flare that started as a medium wash but is now a little lighter.  They have no stretch at all and have held their shape really well the past 4 years I have had them.  The second is a dark wash, straight leg, with a lot of distressing (that I patched to make them last longer) and some fun colored stitching.  They also have some cute back pockets that button.  They are definitely more trendy than most of my jeans.  Lastly, I purchased some black/gray skinny jeans from Aeoropostale for a whole $11 that I love.  A tip for buying Aeropostale jeans that have a little stretch: go smaller.  Both of these last pairs I talked about had a little stretch and now I wish they were both a size smaller; they seem to not hold their shape as well.  They are now my "gained a few pounds" jeans.





Supposedly Lucky jeans make your butt look the cutest.  I love the ones that I have.  They are a classic wash, long length, and have just enough stretch to them to be super comfortable.

So now that I shared all my favorites, please share yours!  I am always up for trying on some new jeans! :)
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