February Favorites!

February in Ohio has brought some realllllllll weird weather, but it was a quick and pleasant month. Here are some of my favorite products that I enjoyed the whole month of February, enjoy (:

 

lululemon Toasty Tech Tight II

I wear these leggings 99% of my life and I’m not even made about it. They are so incredibly warm because they have sweat-wicking tech fleece brushed on the inside of them. I’ve worn them in single-digit weather and could barely feel the cold wind on my legs, it was insane. They are probably the most comfortable pair of leggings I own, they’re stretchy & thick, they have a higher waist band & reflective pockets so they’re great or running at night. If it’s cold where you live & you want to get a good pair of leggings that will keep you warm outside, these are perfect!

 

Skin Food by Aubrey

I discovered these products at my local Whole Foods store a few weeks back & decided I’d give them a try! I got the Detox Face Mask, the Lavender Probiotic Natural Deodorant, and the Immunity Body Butter. She creates Artisan organic skincare and all of her products are made with raw ingredients. Aubrey lives somewhat close to me & her products are sold locally in Ohio at select Whole Foods stores! Supporting local is huge for me & her products are seriously amazing. The detox mask you mix with water & then apply the serum after and the next day your skin will be glowing and radiant looking. The deodorant is fantastic & I can go through a workout and not smell myself (which is a huge feat for me lol). The body butter is probably my favorite item of all because it’s so hydrating and smells AMAZING! I really believe its very important to watch what you put on your body as well as what you ingest. It’s hard with all these products out now a days, but products like these make going to organic products so much easier! Check out her Etsy shop here (: She has everything you possibly think of!

 

Nike Air Force 1 Ultra Flyknit

I’m obsessed. Lol. I really don’t have much to say about them except I was so excited to get these and they’re so different for me because I usually wear Free Runs & Air Max shoes. These are super light & they are actually incredibly comfortable, if you’re looking to change up your shoes or you’re bored with your current shoes, check these out!

 

Young Living Essential Oils

I discovered Young Living not long ago & I’m so glad I decided to finally take the leap of faith. These oils are actually amazing & I’m not gonna lie, I was super skeptical about them to begin with. I figured what could an oil actually do for you? But boy was I wrong. I already have a few favorites but I’m thinking about doing a whole post on that here in the near future (let me know if you’d be interested in seeing a post like that!). Since using these, I’ve really reduced the anxiety I deal with, my sleep has gotten dramatically better, my stress has really lessened & so have the effects I have from it, and my energy level have increased. Sounds like a miracle but I really do believe these oils have worked, at least my mind believes they have because I’ve seen really great improvements from using these. I got the Starter Kit with the Dewdrop diffuser & if you don’t know a whole lot about essential oils, definitely do some research on them!

 

Sephora Express Cleansing Wipes

These cleansing wipes are EVERYTHING. I’ve used just about every makeup remover wipe under the sun and these easily take the cake. I used them to take up normal makeup for about a week, but the real test was just the other night when I used them to take off a full face of glam makeup. I use the House of Lashes lash glue & if you’ve used it before you understand how incredibly hard it is to get all of it off. I’ve had lash glue stuck in my lashes before for over a week with this stuff. But I used one of these remover wipes and not only did it take every little bit of makeup off my face with just one wipe, it took off every last bit of the lash glue and a liquid lipstick with one swipe. I was so incredibly surprised & I’ll never use any other brand of makeup remover wipes again. Online it says they cleanse and tone the skin while hydrating thanks to the hyaluronic acid them. Best part? They’re $9… you seriously can’t beat them & if you’re looking for a great makeup remover wipe for travel or anything else – TRY THESE!

 

lululemon Base Runner Pant III

I will never love a pair of sweatpants as much as I love these. Bold statement, but these are seriously the bomb. They are made with Rulu fabric & if you’re familiar with lulu’s fabric, you know when you see Rulu in anything, it’s going to feel like you’re putting heaven on your body. They are also sweat wicking, but honestly I wear these to lounge around the house in (currently have them on as I type this post..lol). They’re similar to jogger pants, they have a hugged sensation on your legs, but they’re baggy at the same time. They have a higher waist band and are tight around the ankles. The pockets are huge and they have a drawstring at the top. They’re just so comfortable, you need to at least try them on in a lulu store to feel them, I promise you’ll fall in love!

 

This post was relatively short, but so was this month! Let me know what some of your favorites for this month were & as always, thanks for reading (:

January Favorites | I’m Back!

Hollllllyyyyyyyyyyy molly, it’s been a while since I’ve made a post on here! Things got super busy after Thanksgiving with school, finals week and the prep for Christmas! I wanted to take some time off to focus on school, family, and not worry about documenting every event for a little bit. Anywho, I hope everyone had an amazing Holiday and got to spend some good quality time with those who mean the most! Now that I’m in the swing of Spring semester and my work load isn’t crazy, I plan on updating my blog as often as I was before because I honestly missed it! So, as my returning post – my favorite kind of post, my monthly favorites! Disclaimer: Christmas was at the end of December and my birthday is at the very beginning of January, so a lot of these favorites were gifts!

My go to everyday makeup: Tatcha Luminous Dewey Skin Mist, Morphe M439 brush, Dior Capture Totale Serum foundation, dr. brant pores no more primer 

These 4 are my staples right now for my oddly dry (not complaining) winter skin. I’m normally very oily so I probably won’t touch the foundation or mist in the summer, but for now I love how they make my skin look.

I’ve always had issues with my pores and I’ve tried everything from Benefits POREfessional, the MUFE pore primer and the smash box primer and none of them really made that big of a difference. I heard about this primer through a YouTuber I follow and she said it was the best she’s ever tried. I would 100% agree. It mattifies, but is formulated to adapt to dry skin – which is perfect for a year round primer, it blurs my pores almost completely and creates a barrier so the makeup won’t clog your pores. It’s also formulated to treat pores, but I haven’t noticed a huge difference in the size – but for anyone who struggles with pores – you need this in your life.

So the Tatcha spray made it’s debut when people found out that Kim Kardashian uses it to get that beautiful glow her skin has & let me tell you – you DEFINITELY glow with this stuff. I spray this on my face over my pores no more primer so I don’t look so flat once my makeup goes on & my face almost looks wet for about 5 minutes, but once it sets you just look very healthy a glowy. This product is pricey for a skin mist, but worth it in my eyes!

The Dior CT foundation is probably the best natural looking foundation I’ve ever tried. This is a sample size that came in a Capture Totale skincare kit I got and I’ve noticed I don’t break out if I wear it for multiple days in a row. I’ve applied this with my beauty blender, but I find the Morphe M439 brush gives it the best look if I spray my brush with a little of MAC Fix+ before I blend it all in. It has anti aging ingredients, SPF 15, optical correctors, and HD liquid crystal pigments that reflect light and make your skin look very healthy, plump and, you guessed it, GLOWY. If you’re dry skinned & have issues with pores – I would recommend this combination!

Sony Alpha a5100 Mirrorless Camera

I got this camera for my birthday based on reviews and recommendations I received and I really do love it. I’m by no means skilled in photography and if I can get a picture that’s focused and not blurry – I’m satisfied. But what I love most about this camera is that it has a screen that flips up so you can take selfies and see what you’re doing with amazing quality, the pictures and video are amazing, and it’s quite light! If you’re in the market for a new camera for a vacation, or just want a new camera to document certain things – I really love this one!

Vanity Girl Broadway Lighted Table Top Vanity Mirror

I was SO surprised when I got this for Christmas because I had looked at them before, but they’re a biiiiiiiiit pricey for a mirror. I’m absolutely in love with it because I not only have my small mirror that I can see close up what I’m doing, but now I can sit back and see it from further away with MUCH better lighting! I also love that it has 2 outlets on the bottom right hand corner so I can now do my hair sitting down, in my room instead of curling my hair standing for 45 minutes in the bathroom. It was the perfect touch to my vanity and I absolutely love it! If you’re thinking about investing in one – I say go for it (:

Fitmark Athletic Tote

So a few months ago I posted about my Nike gym bag I had gotten and was in love with. Yeah.. that was until I discovered Fitmark Bags. This thing hold everything I need and the kitchen sink. It has 8 different pockets on the inside, a water bottle holder, a bag to put your sweaty clothes in, an adjustable strap, the back part snaps away for another extra half to the bag, and a pocket in the front with a clasp to put your keys on. I will never go back to any other bag because for me at least, this has so much more than any bag I’ve seen. The quality of the bag is really good and I’ve had it since around the end of October, I go to the gym 6 or 7 days a week and it’s still holding up and looks brand new. If you find yourself never having enough room for your stuff – look at Fitmark’s website! They also have meal management gym bags, duffle bags, backpacks, and custom bags!

Lululemon Scuba III hoodie

I saw this jacket at Lululemon and fell in love with the color, and it has rose gold hardware….. uhhh hello, perfect. I’ve tried to find it online or in stores and I can’t seem to find it anymore in this color/hardware. I love Lululemon and I think everything I’ve ever bought there has been amazing. Some people can’t see spending that type of money, but I workout a lot, so I can justify spending 100$ on leggings because I want to get a bunch of uses out of them and not have them rip after a few wears (*cough* Victoria’s Secret*…). Now, with that said, I bought the Scuba II hoodie and I absolutely hated it. It was SO thick I felt like a marshmallow and I couldn’t move comfortably in it. I returned it and never bought another hoodie again. Well, I had heard they were re-designing them and so I figured I’d give it a shot & I’m glad I did because they did an amazing job. It’s so incredibly soft, I can move freely, it keeps me warm, and it doesn’t bunch up under my armpits like the Scuba II. I loved this hoodie so much I got 3 other colors :O Needless to say, I think everyone should at least try one on in stores and feel the difference – I promise you’ll fall in love!

Yogi Blueberry Slim Life Green Tea

This tea is lyyyyyyyyfe. Simple as that. I don’t even know if it really works for weight loss, but I am a HUGE blueberry fan. I love anything and everything with blueberries in it, I also have a serious obsession with green tea – so when I saw this at my grocery store I KNEW I had to get it. It’s so delicious and I’m not going to be able to describe the taste online, but it has a subtle sweetness to it from the blueberry, but also the bite from the green tea. It’s perfect and gives me a good energy boost in the morning!

Christian Louboutin Velvet Matte Lip Colour – Zoulou

This was a Christmas present that I was not at all expecting. These bad boys are pricey as hell for a lipstick, but after trying it – I can see why. First of all, the packaging… could it be more beautiful? I didn’t expect anything less when I heard he was coming out with lipsticks, but I also expected the formula to be shit. This is probably the best matte lipstick I’ve ever used. It’s so incredibly hydrating and creamy and does not dry my lips out at all. It lasts for a good amount of time as well which I was surprised about because normally matte lipsticks don’t last on me at all – but I only had to reapply after I had got done eating which was about 3 hours after I put it on. Do I think you need to go run out and buy one right now? No, $90 is insane for a lipstick – but if you can swallow the price tag, I 100% say go for it because the quality is amazing and that packaging is to die for!

5 Drawer Acrylic Organizer

This organizer saved my life. Again, another gift I was not expecting but I’m so glad my mom found it because it saved a TON of room on my vanity. Kim Kardashian (again.. I promise I don’t love her) made this organizer popular in an episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians & everyone flipped out. I believe hers was around $400 ?! My mom found this on Joyus and it was a fraction of the price. I had at least 5 or 6 different organizers that I was able to condense down into just this one which cleared up enough room for my mirror and I was able to keep my vanity looking somewhat organized. If you’re a makeup junkie hoarder – this is a great item to add to your collection!

Burberry Finsbridge Belted Quilted Jacket

Last but certainly not least, my birthday gift. This was easily one of, if not, my favorite gift. Investing in a good quality jacket I think is something everyone needs to do, especially if you live in the frigid Arctic North that is Ohio like I do! I tried on a grey pea coat type jacket, but the woman helping us at Nordstrom showed me this and I fell in love. It’s long, but hits me right above the knee which I feel the is perfect length. It has a detachable hood, a belt, zipper and buttons, and it is sooo warm. I’m absolutely obsessed with it and is definitely a staple in my wardrobe!

 

Welp, that’s it for my January favorites & I’m very happy to finally be back to blogging! Let me know what some of your favorites were for the month of January, what you did for the holidays, or just say hey (: I hope you enjoyed & as always, thanks for reading!

How to Keep Your Skin Glowing into the Cold of Winter!

Winter doesn’t have to mean dull skin!

If you’re like me, you absolutely love fall and winter! I love the fall and how the leaves change, the air changes and everything feels more cozy! I also love winter though because for me it means time with family for Thanksgiving and the Holiday Season that follows(: Seriously, my favorite time of the year! What do I not love about winter? How pale and dull my skin can get. I’m going to show you 10 tips, mostly DIY tips, to keep your skin extra healthy through the winter and keep that glowing summer skin!

1.Sunless Tanner! Probably the most obvious choice to make your skin glow in the winter is to use your favorite sunless tanner to keep your skin bronzed! My favorite sunless tanner is a brand called Loving Tan! Their 2 Hour Express tanner takes only 2 hours to develop so it’s also great if you’re in a pinch!

2. I know in the winter, long hot showers are so satisfying – but the hot water actually strips all of the moisture out of your skin and can leave you with dry, flaky and dull skin. Instead, opt for the short cooler showers so you don’t lose as much moisture! As always, be sure to apply a moisturizer after you get out when your skin is still damp to lock in extra moisture as well!

3. Love smoothies? Try avocado + banana + mango + pineapple + spinach + coconut water! Avocados are packed with antioxidants, vitamin C, vitamin E and monounsaturated fatty acids to help your skin stay hydrated and your hair stay shiny! Mangos, pineapples and bananas add some vitamin C and deliciousness. Spinach actually has anti-aging benefits and also can help your skin heal itself from acne scars, nicks cuts + has about 5 ounces of water per cup of spinach to keep you hydrated! The coconut water is AMAZING for hydration and also has loads and loads of health benefits for your hair and skin! Overall, drinking this smoothie will be like a mini spa day for your skin!

4. Say Yes to Cucumber Facial Wipes. I swear by these + they’re only like $4 at the drugstore! I have a pack in my gym bag, in my car, in my book bag, in my soccer bag, and in my purse at all times – they’re seriously amazing. I use these after workouts, after soccer games, after I run, after long classes (because I tend to touch my face a lot in class – NOT good!), as a refresher, or if I need to remove makeup! These wipes are packed with green superfoods that naturally exfoliate, detoxify, and rejuvenate all in one! They are 98% natural, biodegradable, oil-free, non comedogenic, hypoallergenic, cruelty free, and work amazing with sensitive skin ( I have VERY sensitive skin & these never break me out!). These will definitely keep your skin clear and glowy!

5. Eat foods rich in vitamins! There are SO many vitamins and there are a ton that do so many great things for your skin. To name a few, vitamin C helps keep skin bright & has anti aging properties, vitamin E helps protect skin against sun damage + helps with inflammation, vitamin A (retinol) is very well known for skin benefits such as cell turnover (ridding of dead skin cells) and also is effective at preventing acne! That’s just to name a few! Keep vitamins high in your diet and I promise you’ll see a huge difference in your skin! I also found some AMAZING recipes for healthy skin at ALOHA which put a lot of the foods very high in vitamins together for a delicious healthy skin meal (: I cannot wait to try the Healthy Coconut Sweet Potatoes 😀

6. Drink your water infused with lemon + cucumber + mint. Water is very important in keeping your skin hydrated and clear – so if you don’t like infused water, just drink a ton of water! However, if you like to spice up your water, try adding lemon for some brightening vitamin C as I’ve mentioned, cucumber for skin calming effects and mint leaves for some added flavor and anti inflammatory properties!!

7. EXFOLIATE!!! Exfoliating is SO essential to keeping the skin beautiful and glowy because as your skin goes through its natural process of shedding skin cells – if you don’t exfoliate those dead cells away, this can cause your skin to become dull looking. I recommend exfoliating your skin 2-3 times a week! There are so many different exfoliators out there but if you’re looking for something cheap and fast, try taking 1/2 of a lemon and put sugar + honey on the inside exposed half and rub in on your face. The sugar will help exfoliate the skin, the lemon will brighten the skin, & the honey will calm the skin! You’ll see a huge difference after just one use! Also, my favorite body exfoliator is Sea Salt from LUSH! It smells like a margarita and makes your skin look so incredibly bright!

8. Try a mask of 1 egg white, honey, and lemon juice. This may sound gross, but I promise your skin will thank you so much for this. Egg whites are great for tightening the face + making pores look smaller, plus they have a ton of protein which nourishes the skin, honey calms the skin + acts as an anti-bacterial, and lemon juice brightens and acts as an astringent to keep oil and pimples at bay! Use this about an hour before you apply your makeup for a night out and your products will apply SO much better and look much more natural!

9. Mix in a spray bottle water and a few drops of rosehip seed oil. This oil is packed with Vitamin C and is great for a refresher throughout the day or over your makeup! Rosehip also leaves the skin VERY hydrated and I find it gives my face a very subtle glow.

10. Try a bath with a few green tea bags infused in it! Do NOT drink the water – that’s gross haha. This is actually one of the best herbal baths you can take for detoxifying your body and destressing. Many people think green tea is only beneficial for ingesting, and while that is very true, that is not its only use. It leaves the skin very soft (thanks to the vitamin B) and also helps heal any rashes, cuts, or imperfections on the skin to keep your skin looking very healthy. Bring your bath water a bit hotter than normal, use anywhere from 5-10 tea bags, let the water steep for about 20 minutes or so (also lets the water cool) + make sure to have a good bit of water with you to stay very hydrated! I usually bring a pitcher and a glass when I take detox baths!

I hope you all can take something from this list and put it to use with the cold months coming up! Let me know if you tried any of these out and how they worked for you! Also, please let me know what some of your favorite methods for glowing skin are because I’m always looking for new methods!! As always, thanks for reading!(:

October Favorites!!

October was a pretty busy month for me school wise because for some reason, every professor I have wanted to have at least 2 projects or papers due every week. Needless to say, November isn’t slowing down either as we are nearing the end of the semester. I’m very ready for the year to be over so I can enjoy the holiday season! Since October was so busy, my favorites are very sparse because I really didn’t get a chance to try or buy anything new. For November, I’m setting a goal to get up at least 6 posts, if not more! So with that being said – here are my monthly favorites (:

Batiste dry shampoo for dark hair – $7 at Target

So I recently went back to the dark side for fall and my normal amika dry shampoo was leaving a tiny bit of a white cast on my hair when I used it. I’ve heard so many people rave about this product so I figured I would try it out, quickly it became my go to for when my hair is darker. I’m not really fond of the smell and I can’t honestly describe it but the amika one smells 50x better, but this doesn’t leave a white cast and actually has a dark color in it so it doesn’t show up in your hair as obviously. It’s really good at sucking up all the oil out of my hair and I don’t feel like I have gross, coarse sticky hair afterwards. If you have dark hair – this will be your life saver!

Scentsy Whipped Body Souffle in No. 34 – $28 through Scentsy consultant

Scentsy? Lotion? I know. I was SO skeptical about trying this but I recently hosted a Scentsy party in October and I absolutely fell in LOVE with this soufflé. The consistency is perfect, it isn’t too thick and absorbs SO fast into the skin. I actually was able to put leggings on right after I applied this with no problem – aka, leggings approved. It absorbs fast, but it still hydrates really well and leaves your skin so incredibly soft. Now, the smell… holy crap. Online it says “White satin and pearls. The fairytale is yours for the taking amongst lilting confectionary notes pretty enough for a princess”. I don’t know if that describes anything well enough but I 100% only ordered this because it said it was pretty enough for a princess, so, duh – naturally… 😀 I never smelled this before I bought it so I was hoping it didn’t smell awful, and it definitely delivered! It smells like flowers, but still has a very faintly sweet candy smell – it’s just a perfect mix of floral and sweet. I adore it & if you have the chance check out their body line + their laundry line. I was super impressed with everything I ordered, but this the most!

479 Degrees popcorn in asiago, parmesan + cheddar – $4 at Target

Holy. Guacamole. New favorite popcorn hands down – even over the 3,000 calorie movie theatre popcorn. This stuff is so good and with only 130 calories, 6g fat, & 16g carbs, this is a very macro friendly snack. Not to mention, 1 serving is 3 cups so you get a pretty good amount of popcorn! I received this as a snack in my Love With Food box and fell in love with it. It doesn’t taste like healthy popcorn which is a huge plus because most popcorn has no flavor and tastes like burnt paper. This is full of flavor and is definitely my favorite to date! They have TONS of other flavors as well so if cheese isn’t your thing, I’m sure they have something to fit your flavor! (Salted caramel is the bees knees too!).

Reebok Crossfit Lifter 2.0 – $120 at reebok.com

As you can tell by the picture, I’ve given these babies a good bit of use this last month. They are so comfortable and I really feel like a get perfect stability from them with my leg workouts. Deep squats are SO much easier in these and I can really drive through my heels. I haven’t gotten a pair of Reebok shoes I don’t love and these were no exception. I wouldn’t recommend them for cardio though.. definitely not running shoes X). However, totally amazing for lifting and WODs.

Snapea Crisps in Caesar – $2 at Kroger

I also received these as a snack in my Love With Food box (I’ll do a review on my next box if that would be helpful? Amazing company!). I was so incredibly weary about these because I HAAAATTTEEEE peas and I figured these would taste like baked disgusting grossness. To my very pleasant surprise, these are SO delicious. They also have a peanut taste to them and the caesar flavor is my favorite – they also have lightly salted, peppered, wasabi and a few others! These have 120 calories, 6g fat, 16g of carbs and also 5g of protein! I like to pre portion these out and take them to school with me for when I need something on my stomach, they’re so good and coming from a person who absolutely hates peas – these will not disappoint!

So October’s favorites were very sparse, but I again was so busy and didn’t have a chance to try many new things out – but these were my go to’s for the month! November’s is sure to be exciting! Let me know what your favorites were for the month of October & if there’s anything you’d like to see a post on/ review on this month! As always, thanks for reading! (:

September Favorites!

The month of September flew by, I’m not quite sure if that’s because it was my first full month back in classes or if I was rushing through it to get to this beautiful fall weather I’ve been dying for. September was also a very busy month for me as I was trying to adjust my schedule back to school, trying to fit in time at the gym everyday, running my half marathon & school work on top of that – thankfully I’m done with all the running and I can focus solely on the gym now! Anyway, my favorites from September are some things I used all month or bought during the month that I’ve been loving, so – here’s my favorites (:

Cellucor COR-Performance Whey in Cinnamon Swirl – $40 at cellucor.com (code: KETTLEBELL for 25% off!)

So I know I raved about the Jim Stopanni protein a few months back, which I still love, but the flavor of this Cellucor protein takes the cake for me. I also love Cellucor protein in general because they don’t spike their protein with cheap aminos, which is always a plus. I really love this protein because I really feel it helps me recover better & feeds my muscle adequately. When I’m searching for protein I always make sure it has at least 20g of protein, under 150 calories, less than 5g of sugar and less than 5g of carbs (just for my macros, this will change for every person) & this protein meets that perfectly. The mixability is great & I’m never left with nasty dry chunks of protein, even if I use a crappy shaker bottle. I’m really excited to try a new protein shake recipe with this I came up with & I’ll be sure to share it with everyone (if it’s good – lol). Overall, Cellucor is one of my favorite brands & I believe in them whole-heartedly because I believe their products are well known for a reason & that’s because they work. If you’re looking for a new protein to try- I highly recommend this flavor!

goats by BlenderBottle – $9 at bodybuilding.com

I bought this probably 2 or 3 years ago & I never really used it until now. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I go straight from my class to the gym – so I take everything with me when I go. I only bring one shaker bottle with me, that has my pre-workout mixed in it already, because I don’t want to dirty up 4 different ones. This is perfect for fitting my protein at the bottom in the big container, my aminos in the one above it and if I don’t mix my pre workout up before I leave I can put it in the one above that as well. The top one is for pills which I will sometimes put glutamine pills in there for if I do some serious cardio to replenish what I lost, but let’s be real – I never do cardio. It’s really convenient to have everything in one little stack & I’m really glad I bought this & re-discovered it. I’ve used the blender bottles that have the compartments at the bottom but they either got protein all over my bottle, spilled before I got to use the protein, didn’t fit all my protein, or they cracked and broke so I had to throw it away. This is really good quality & I’ve never had any issues with it. The only thing I would say I would change would be to make the opening bigger because my scooper is usually bigger than the opening of the stack & it’s hard to get my protein in without spilling the powder sometimes! Overall, I love this product & I will be getting more colors of this ASAP!

S’well Bottle in Rose Gold – $42 at swellbottle.com

I know, $42 for a water bottle? That was my exact thoughts as well & if you don’t want to spend that much on one, I totally understand & I would recommend the hydro flask bottles, but I really love how these bottles look & they have some really cool patterns and designs. First off, S’well became popular when celebrities started carrying them with them places & everyone freaked out and needed to buy one – so naturally, I followed suit to see what the hype was about. S’well makes their bottles with 18/8 stainless steel that keeps cold liquids cold for 24 hours & hot liquids hot for 9 hours. This is partly why I bought it because like I said above, I go straight from school to the gym 3 days out of the week. I fill up my bottle with ice water, throw it in my gym bag & go to school – when I get to the gym my water is still ice-cold! I got the rose gold 17 ounce bottle, which 17 oz is a little small for me but it fits a whole water bottle inside so you also use less plastic & help the environment. I really like these bottles & I plan to get more in the near future!

L’Occitane Ultra Rich Body Cream – $44 at sephora.com

If you’re like the unlucky people, such as myself, who suffer from horribly dry, itchy skin in the winter – you’ll want to stock up on this right now. This is my favorite lotion I’ve ever tried because not only is it hydrating on the skin, but it’s so thick and luxurious on the skin that you’ll feel hydrated for days – literally. I used the one morning after I got out of the shower, went about my day, slept, woke up and played a soccer game, and when I showered after my game I could STILL feel the lotion on my skin, it was insane. I also have mild eczema in the winter time when my skin gets really dry, so I’m interested to see how this will help that as well. I’ve heard so many things about it & how many people love it that now I can totally see why. It is a bit pricey but you get a huge tub of lotion & I’ve used it for about 3 weeks straight now and I’ve barely put a dent in it. It would also make for a great Christmas gift because who doesn’t love the gift of hydrated skin! A lot of thick lotions like this are really greasy too, but I noticed this only feels like this for about an hour, then it sinks into the skin & you just feel very soft after that, which I love because I hate looking & feeling like a grease ball. It’s also 25% shea butter which is amazing for the skin! I would 100% recommend this product!

GlamGlow Poutmud Fizzy Lip Exfoliating Treatment – $39 at sephora.com

This is actually my mom’s, but I sneak in and use it frequently – which she probably doesn’t know, but she will after she reads this 😀 GlamGlow is known for their face masks, which are nothing short of amazing, so I was skeptical when I saw they were releasing a lip product. First of all, this smells like a big huge peppermint mint – so if you don’t like peppermint or the cooling sensation you get from it – don’t buy this. I absolutely love that feeling & I think this product REALLY works. You first exfoliate your lips with the ‘fizzy mud’ ball – which I never noticed a fizzy sensation, but that’s okay. You then rinse it off with warm water & dry your lips. Then you apply the lip balm ball & it’s supposed to really hydrate your lips & remove the dead skin. So, I’m the kind of person who I must have lip balm on 24/7 because my lips are just so dry. I used this one time and when I woke up in the morning I didn’t have dry lips! The lip balm really sunk in and my lips felt so amazing the whole day. They felt smooth & I noticed I didn’t have any dead skin. So, if you suffer from dry lips or dead skin – I would try this!

Too Faced Born This Way Foundation – $39 at sephora.com

I’ve heard SO many amazing things about this foundation online & on YouTube, I had to try it. Is it my favorite foundation ever? No. But it’s definitely in my Top 3! The finish of this foundation I would say is satin when you set it with a powder. It looks like your skin if you apply a thin layer & it’s medium coverage. I’m the shade light beige & I would say it’s a pretty good match. I really loved the finish of this & how natural it looked on my skin, it’s also oil free which is a HUGE plus for me because, again, grease ball. This also has coconut water in it which honestly scared me because I’m allergic to coconut – but it didn’t break my skin out at all & kept my face feeling very moisturized all night without looking oily. I only had to touch up one time and that was about after 4 hours with it on, which I think is pretty good! It’s also infused with alpine rose to give you a radiant finish – which I agree with 100% and hyaluronic acid for a smoother appearance to the skin, which I also agree with. I think next to my Giorgio Armani foundation, this may come in a close 2nd place to that – which is impressive because I’m VERY picky with foundations. I’ve heard this works on every skin type & is especially good for dry skin, but I liked it with my oily skin as well!

Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Lolita – $20 at sephora.com *currently out of stock 😦

This liquid lipstick blew up probably 6-9 months ago & I don’t think Sephora can keep it in stock. Every time I go it’s out of stock & it’s constantly out of stock online. I can see why though because the color is amazing & could be worn year round in my opinion. It’s a very pretty chestnut rose color, but I’ve heard that some people got a different formula where their’s is more brown than rose – but mine is definitely rose. Kat Von D’s liquid lipsticks in general are absolutely beautiful & the formula is equally as amazing. They’re very pigmented & dry to a matte, without drying out the lips too much. I find they’re very comfortable to wear & the last foreeeeever. They don’t transfer once they set & you won’t have to touch up after eating or drinking. I find these don’t wear off my lips for a good 2-3 hours. Overall, I love this color & I have a few other I love as well. The only thing is with the darker colors, you may have to go over them a second time after they dry because some get patchy when they dry. But if you’re going to get one color – I would recommend this one!

Bath & Body Works 3-wick candle in Sweater Weather – $22.50 at bathandbodyworks.com

I hate describing scents because you really won’t know if you like it unless you smell it for yourself. I’ve been burning this candle since the day the temperatures dropped below 65. It’s easily my favorite fall candle, along with Marshmallow Fireside & Pumpkin Caramel Latte, and in my opinion, it’s the perfect fall candle. It says it’s aromatic eucalyptus, juniper berry & fresh sage is as crisp as fall air. If you haven’t smelled this yet – I would check out this and the other 2 I mentioned the next B&BW trip you take!

So those are my favorites for September & I would love to hear some of your favorites at the moment! Especially fall things because everyone loves fall! As always, thanks for reading (:

My Cellucor Must Have Items!

For those of you not aware, Cellucor is one of the biggest names in the fitness industry, and for good reason. They make different supplements and products to aid a healthy lifestyle. I’m going to put a disclaimer in that I’m not in anyway telling you that you NEED these supplements because you should always speak with your doctor first before adding any supplement into your diet! I’ve been using Cellucor products since I was in high school and they’ve always given me great results and worked well for me! Some of these products I’m going to mention are possibly my favorite in their category, but if you’re a one brand type of person – these are my favorite products from them!

Alpha Amino – I always use aminos in my workout regime because they really help me with recovery and also give me an extra boost during my workout. I also use them when I play soccer to help with my endurance. if you’re not familiar with aminos, they are the building blocks basically of protein and muscle tissues that also play a huge role in the physiological of energy, mood, recovery, brain functions and other things. Alpha amino contains 14 of the 23 amino acids our body needs for proper function. Icy blue razz is my favorite flavor!

C4 – This is probably my favorite pre workout I’ve tried to date. Although pre workout isn’t a necessary part in our diet or exercise routine, sometimes when you’re feeling sluggish and lacking motivation – it’s necessary in having a good workout. With a mixture of Niacin, Folic Acid and Vitamin B12 (all B vitamins), it gives a good boost of energy along with support from good ol’ caffeine. A side effect most people experience is a tingling sensation, but honestly my face just itches for about 5 minutes then once I start working out, I’m fine. This is caused by the ingredient Beta Alanine which is a naturally occurring beta amino acid. It’s important to cycle pre workouts so you don’t build up an immunity to it – in which case it wouldn’t work effectively. I usually cycle C4 and Jim Stoppani Pre-Jym! Icy Blue Razz is also my favorite flavor in this as well, but Watermelon is also really good!

Super HD – This supplement is labeled as a weight loss product, but I use it for extra energy on days I’m not working out as a replacement for coffee! I prefer the powder kind because I never take a full scoop because I’m very caffeine sensitive, but with the powder I can control exactly how much product I’m taking, which I really like. I usually only do 1/4 – 1/2 a scoop every time I take it. It really gives me a good boost of energy, but as far as weight loss, I’ve never really noticed any difference! Strawberry Lemonade is my go to flavor!

CN3 – This product is a nitrous oxide with creatine which gives you a craaazzyyy pump while you’re working out! Creatine is helpful in building muscle along with protein because it increases the amount of phosphocreatine in the muscles by about 20% and when you have more PCr in the muscle cells, more ATP (adenosine triphosphate) can be produced quickly during your workout, thus resulting in quicker gains. Cellucor blended Creatine with Nitrate which is converted to Nitric Oxide (NO) in the body, resulting in higher levels of oxygen in the blood which will help you have a better workout. I really love this products, but again – it’s 100% not necessary if you don’t see it necessary in your regime, but it is an amazing product! My favorite flavor is Cherry Limeade & I’m really wanted to stack this with their new C4 Ripped that I’m itching to try!

Cor Whey – Lastly, but probably the most important, is protein. Protein is very essential to muscular development and growth, you would almost be doing yourself an injustice NOT taking some kind of protein after your workout. It helps with muscle growth, recovery, cell growth and unlike most supplement companies, their protein is not spiked with aminos. If you don’t know what amino spiking is, it’s essentially companies putting the cheapest, most least valuable amino acids in their protein to cut costs and charge more. Cellucor has always stood by putting only the best ingredients in their protein, which is 1 reason I will always buy their products. Their Cinnamon Swirl is my favorite flavor, not only from them, but of any protein I’ve tried. I just recently purchased it and I’m not sure I’ll try anything else for a while – it’s THAT good!

The only down side to Cellucor is their products are just a bit pricey, but if you go to their website and use my code “KETTLEBELL“ you can get 25% off your entire purchase! They also have a 4 serving sample size of their proteins online that I would really recommend checking out if you’re not sure on committing to a protein flavor yet. Again, these are just my favorites and my opinions on what I use in my regime – always consult with your doctor first before starting a supplement routine! Let me know some of your favorite Cellucor products !

Visit www.cellucor.com and use KETTLEBELL at checkout for 25% off your purchase!

As always, thanks for reading (:

August Favorites!

The month of August kind of flew by, as expected, being the last month of freedom before my classes started back up again. I didn’t try many new things in August because my month consisted mostly of running and relaxing with a little bit of Netflix binging on the side. I mostly stuck by my tried and true’s this month, which will be the reason for having so little favorites. Hopefully September will be full with all kinds of new exciting things for me to share, but for now – here were my favorites for the month of August (:

Erin Condren Life Planner – $50 on http://www.erincondren.com

Okay so I had a few friends tell me when I got this I would become obsessive about planning my weeks & I’m the kind of person that really just jots assignments for school down and halfway through the semester – I forget I even have a planner. Well.. I think it’s safe to say I’ve become obsessive about planning every little detail of my week out. Apparently, there is like a planner community & there are stickers specifically for Erin Condren planners on Etsy and all kinds of crazy stuff. I loved this one when I saw it online and I also got it personalized with my name at the bottom. There’s so many cute little stickers and I actually enjoy using it and planning with it. I bought probably $30 worth of sticker off Etsy the other day just for planning out my entire fall semester of college with my assignments due, papers, finals, exams, quizzes – even down to BBQ’s and when I need to go shopping for food or clean & do laundry. It’s crazy how much I’ve gotten into it but it keeps me very organized and up to date with everything I have due, appointments and places I need to be. I highly highly recommend these if you have troubles staying organized with everything or you just love planning. I’ve had the Lilly Pulitzer ones, but these blow them out of the water. You can also get add ons at checkout (which are VERY dangerous may I add) of stickers, paper clips, invitations, glitter bands, and all types of things.

Morphe 35O palette – $22 on http://www.morphebrushes.com (currently out of stock – but will be restocked soon!)

This palette absolutely blew up and when it first came out it was out of stock for forever, but I got a notification when it was restocked and within 2 hours it was out of stock again – but luckily I got my hands on it and I am SO glad that I did because this is the perfect palette for fall. It has beautiful warm colors and you can do anything from a dramatic smoky eye or a casual everyday look with this palette. Plus it’s only $22 for 35 different shadows – which is amazing. They’re very blend able and very pigmented. They’re great quality for the cost. I would highly recommend getting your hands on this the next time it’s in stock because there’s not much else I’ll be using for fall & I know everyone could get tons of use out of these colors!

21oz Hydro Flask in Arctic White – $28 at Field & Stream or http://www.hydroflask.com

I sort of have a water bottle/shaker bottle problem. We have about 4 cabinets full of water bottles and shaker bottles, but this one I really like for a few reasons. One being that it keeps cold water cold for 24 hours – which I’ve tested by filling it up with water and ice at 8p.m. one night, I let it sit all day and when I came back to it the next night, the ice was still in there – which I thought was incredible. I’ve used it at school as well and left it in my car in the heat and when I came back out to it, the water was still ice cold. It says it also keeps hot things hot for 8 hours, but I haven’t tested that yet. Another thing I like is that it doesn’t condensate on the outside – which for me is a huge plus because I find condensation to be so annoying when it gets all over my seats of my car or desks at school. I also find that even though it’s stainless steel – it doesn’t give water a weird taste because I guess the stainless steel is different (18/8?) so it doesn’t give a weird taste to liquids like a lot of stainless steel cups & bottles do. The only thing I would change is I would get the top with the straw in it because I’m somewhat of a messy drinker I guess & I tend to spill it on myself with the standard mouth – but they do sell the straw tops online, which I will have to purchase ASAP! If you’re looking for a good water bottle that keeps your water cold literally all day, this is a really good one! Plus they offer many different sizes + have containers for food!

Lancome Grandiose Mascara – $32 at Sephora

So the other day my dad came home with a ton of makeup for my mom and I randomly and this was one of the things he got. I must add, for going into Sephora and not having a clue what anything is, he did a pretty awesome job at picking things out. I’ve only heard of this mascara a few times but never got it because it’s a biiiiiiit pricey, but when I saw it in the bag of makeup he got me I was super excited because I’d heard good things about it. Well it’s quickly made its way to my top 5 favorite mascaras. It’s very comparable to the Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill mascara, which is my #2 favorite, but this I think gives a little more length rather than volume. It doesn’t clump or flake on me throughout the day. The packaging alone makes you just want to buy it because it’s so pretty and I’m a sucker for cute packaging. The wand is bent on the inside so it’s much easier to apply rather than the typical straight wand. Overall, I will repurchase this again & I’m still shocked my dad found such a good product haha!

Colorescience Products – I got mine from my esthetician, but you can find them at http://www.colorescience.com

These products are so amazing and I don’t use them a lot because they’re a tad expensive and they only carry them at my esthetician’s office (they have a website but I hate having to guess my shade). I have the illuminating serum which if you have dry skin – this will be your best friend because it gives you such a pretty dewy glow under your makeup. The face primer I have is skin calming and redness reducing because I have rosacea & sometimes you can see it through certain foundations – this really cancels all my redness out and also fills in my pores very well. I’ve used this product the most because overall it really makes my skin look flawless, which is good to have under your foundation. I have the mineral foundation and the pressed compact foundation, which both have SPF 20 in them and give you such a natural look & they aren’t cakey looking or drying like some powder foundations. Usually I’ll use these for a setting powder or on days where my skin looks like it needs some help before I head out the door. The setting mist is equally as amazing as the face primer because it gives a dewy look as well & for some reason to me it smells like Sprite! Once I put this on, my makeup does not move at all. In my opinion, I think it’s better than MAC Fix+. The best thing about this whole line is that it’s very healthy for your skin and actually helps clear your complexion. They all have vitamins and minerals in them that really help clear your skin and make it look healthy – where as other makeup brands tend to clog your pores and cause breakouts. I have VERY sensitive skin and a lot of products break me out, but I never have any problems with any of these products + they have a HUGE range of products from eyeshadows, to bronzers, to the products I have!

Starbucks Iced Chai Tea Latte w/ Nonfat Milk

When I don’t feel like getting green tea from Starbucks, which is my usual I’ll get a Tall Iced Chai Tea Latte with nonfat milk instead & it’s easily my 3rd favorite drink from Starbucks (2nd being Pumpkin Spice Latte 😀 ). There are 120 calories, 2g fat, 22g carbs, 4g protein – only downside ? 21 grams of sugar …… But some days I just crave them and I’ll usually only have them on special occasions or cheat days. They’re SO good, but if you don’t like cinnamon, you won’t like these at all. They’re also really good hot too, but in the summer I like them iced!

So again, I’m sorry for the short amount of favorites, but this month I didn’t really try any new things other than the stuff I have been using for a while now! I hope this (short) list of favorites makes you want to try something & let me know if you do and what you think of it!

As always, thanks for reading (:

3 Ingredient Paleo Pancakes!

The Paleo diet has been around since the cavemen, literally, this diet is 100% based off of what cavemen and cavewomen ate when they were around. If you’re not familiar with the Paleo diet, it’s basically you eat as whole as you possibly can. It comes from the idea that you eat food that can be harvested from the ground or hunted. You mostly eat meat, fish, veggies and fruit while excluding dairy or grain products as well as all processed foods. It’s actually a very healthy diet & as long as you’re getting a good amount of carbs in from your fruit & veggies, you won’t feel sluggish or tired. It’s a very hard, very strict lifestyle though because you don’t realize how much processed foods and grains you eat, until you can’t eat them. I did the Paleo diet not long ago for lent and it was actually pretty easy to follow once you got a decent plan and meal prep going. I was trying to come up with some recipes while I was on this diet and came up with these Paleo Pancakes that have only 3 ingredients in them & are pretty filling. I remembered these this morning when I grabbed for a banana and there was two VERY ripe bananas sitting on our countertop – so I thought I would share this quick and easy recipe!

Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas

1 whole egg

1 tsp cinnamon (or to your preference)

Directions:

1. Peel the bananas and mash them with a fork until they are as smooth as you can get them. They will act as the water and flour part in regular pancakes & you’ll see once you mash them they almost resemble the color and texture!
2. Add in the egg. This will act as a binder and make the bananas cook easier & more like regular pancakes. I found they give these a bit of a french toast taste & texture!
3. Add cinnamon to taste! You can also add fruit if you would like which I would have added blueberries or apples, but I wanted to give the basic recipe first. + I added a bit of Flavor God Chocolate Donut Seasoning as well !

5. Heat up a griddle or whatever you cook pancakes on to medium/high temps. I sprayed my griddle with coconut oil to make sure nothing in these pancakes were straying from the paleo diet!

6. Place a small amount onto the griddle & I let each side cook for about 10 minutes. These are a much different texture from normal pancakes and I find they need about double the time on each side to make sure they don’t crumble or fall apart when you go to flip them. If you don’t cook them long enough they will crumble & look like scrambled eggs – but still taste delicious!

The finished product! I topped mine with some pure buckwheat honey & devoured them! They taste like banana french toast & have a light and fluffy texture. I really enjoyed these and they make about 5-6 pancakes depending on the side you make them (the smaller, the faster they cook). They come in at 60 calories, 1g of fat, 12g carbs, 6g sugar & 2g of protein for 1 pancake.

I hope you enjoyed this recipe & let me know what you think if you try it out! Also, let me know some of your favorite Paleo recipes because I love trying new recipes! As always, thanks for reading (:

July Favorites! Or do I just like food….?

I’m very late on getting this up but I lost the charger to my camera somehow & I didn’t want to use generic pictures off of the internet, so I set out on a mission to find it and sure enough I did! Anyway, this month’s favorites consists of A LOT of food. I don’t really know why, but I’ve been experimenting with tons of different recipes, foods and stuff to try and find healthier options to the foods I love & crave. So, without any more rambling – here are my favorites for the month of July (:

Liquid Lipsticks – Sephora or any drugstore!

So this month I’ve definitely been on the liquid lipstick bandwagon that has seemingly taken over the beauty world. I feel like everyone and their mom is coming out with liquid lipsticks. My 2 specific favorite ones are the Kat Von D liquid lipstick in Exorcism and the Anastasia Beverly Hills liquid lipstick in Trust Issues. The Kat Von D lipstick has a very mousse-y texture and almost feels like you’re putting water on your lips. It takes about 15 seconds to dry and once you put it on it won’t budge for a good 4-5 hours. I had to actually use coconut oil to get it off of my lips because nothing else was working. The Anastasia liquid lipstick has more of a creamy texture but glides on very smooth, and again, is a pain to remove – but that’s a good thing. I do find the inside of my mouth wears off after a while with both of them, but that’s pretty normal I think. They both take a little practice with applying because they are a little slippery, I find using a lip brush helps get an even line along with a lip liner. They both dry completely matte and because of this, they are just a bit drying – but nothing awful to where your lips look gross and crusty. Milani also came out with a liquid lipstick line at the drugstore but I have yet to find it anywhere, but I’ll keep hunting!

Tory Burch Robinson Leather Wallet on a Chain (French Gray) – $295 at Nordstrom

I’ve been in love with this bag ever since I got it! If you haven’t tried a WOC (wallet on a chain) yet, I highly suggest it. I got this for a baseball game and concert I was going to that I didn’t feel like bringing a huge purse to. It fits all my cards, change, money, my iPhone 6 plus, and a lipgloss. For a WOC, this thing holds a lot. I also loved the color because gray is very in right now with fall coming up & it’s a neutral so it goes with everything. Tory Burch can do no wrong in my eyes & I’m sure there are more affordable WOC’s out there that are just as great! They are so versatile and you can even take the long chain off and throw it in your purse to use as an actual wallet. it’s very roomy and spacious inside + there is a pocket on the backside as well!

Josie Maran Argan Daily Moisturizer SPF 47 – $32 at Sephora

This has been my go-to SPF for everyday because it’s a moisturizer and SPF in one – so it takes care of 2 steps! I always have an SPF on even if I’m outside for short periods of time because the sun can do it’s damage in any short amount of time. This is also a physical SPF which means instead of how a chemical SPF absorbs the rays then basically sends them back out, a physical SPF blocks them all together so your skin is not exposed to them at all. I usually put this on before I run & even though it says it’s not sweat/waterproof – I find it still does its job. The only drawback is that it is a little bit thick and greasy feeling at first, but once you let it sit on your face and dry for about 5 minutes – that feeling goes completely away and your face just feels nice and hydrated. This also smells AMAZING, per usual for all of Josie Maran’s products. If you haven’t tried a physical SPF, I would highly recommend this one because I love it and it doesn’t clog my pores or break me out at all!

amika: Perk Up Dry Shampoo – $22 at Sephora

First of all, even if you don’t like dry shampoos or you don’t want to buy one – just please, go to Sephora and smell this product. It smells like heaven in a bottle. I was first introduced to amika by my hair dresser who used an oil by them on my hair which, again, smelled absolutely fantastic. When I saw this at Sephora I had a slight freak out and told my mom to come smell it. After I sprayed it on my hand and the slight alcohol smell went away – it smelled exactly like the oil. I have no clue how to describe how this smells, but it’s easily one of the best smelling hair products I’ve ever used. It also works really well & gets rid of any and all oil in my hair – the only drawback is it does leave a white cast, so if you have darker hair, you may not want to use this. With my blonde hair I find that I can usually buff it out with a brush or my hands and it looks fine. You can also spray it into a brush and then comb the product through your hair which I find works MUCH better than spraying it directly on your hair if you don’t want a white cast! This is probably my favorite dry shampoo I’ve ever used & definitely gets a 10/10 on smell!

LAVANILA Sport Luxe Deodorant – $16 at Sephora

This deodorant literally changed my life, not joking! So I’ve been reading a LOT of articles about how name brand deodorants having aluminum in them is starting to be linked with breast cancer. I honestly don’t understand why aluminum is needed anyway in deodorant, BUT, I’m not going to go into that. After scaring myself enough with about 5 different articles and one woman’s story – I decided to throw out my old deodorant. I have very sensitive armpits, TMI? Weird? Whatever, lol I’m sure I’m not the only one. Brands like Degree, Secret & Suave always gave me this horrible itchy rash, so I could only ever use the Dove sensitive skin. Well I read on the back that aluminum was an ingredient & decided to go with the all natural ones that don’t have any chemicals or aluminum. WELL, let me tell you how this worked out. I bought TOMS from Whole Foods and then decided it would be a good idea to use it before I went on a run – um… no… this is where I messed up. I feel sorry for anyone I passed on my run because I don’t know how they didn’t pass out. Again, if this is getting graphic or gross – I’m sorry, but these are real world issues here -lol. So I went to Sephora with my mom one day and this LAVANILA product was displayed and said NEW! so I figured I would give it a go. I’ve tried the LAVANILA deodorants before and they never worked.. until this. I can wear this almost all day without having to reapply. I also read that it takes your body about a month to a month and a half to get adjusted to not having chemicals in your armpits. So I decided to bear through a month of just using this and my TOMS deodorant & I’m so glad I did. I can now run with these and everything else without noticing anything. I’m not sensitive to either one of these and they don’t give me any problems. Overall, moral of this favorite – please do some research on aluminum in deodorants. It’s scary that a necessity for women is actually hurting us and can lead to cancer!

Better Bodies Camo Long Tights – ON SALE for $74 at gaspbb.com

I’ve been dying to get my hands on these for the longest time. If you don’t know who Ashley Kaltwasser is, she is 2x Ms. Bikini Olympia and she’s a huge role model of mine. Well, she wear these all the time & I just loved them and loved how they look but they were 100$… uhhhh, I could buy Lululemon leggings for that much, so I passed. The other day I saw Better Bodies posted on instagram they were having a sale & a small part of me got excited because I was hoping they would be apart of it – well, they were & I finally snagged these and I’m so glad I did. I can totally see why people pay 100$ for these because they are SO comfortable and like most tights *cough cough* Victoria’s Secret *cough*, they don’t make my legs hot, they aren’t made of cheap material and you cannot see through them whatsoever. They also have a zipper at the bottom so you can unzip them and make them into crops. The shape the sides have also gives your butt a nice lifted look – which is always a plus!

P28 Foods High Protein Pancake Mix in Strawberries & Cream – $14 at Vitamin Shoppe

Let me just start off with saying, I’ve had these for dinner 3 nights in a row….. They’re THAT good. I’ve always seen P28 on instagram & besides pancakes they also make breads, bagels, peanuts butter (which I’m not a fan of) and almond butters. I’ve made protein pancakes in the past from scratch and they were just gross. I don’t know if I just suck at it or what, but I threw them all out and never attempted a protein pancake again. When I saw the pancake mix I thought that would be a better idea than me trying to make some concoction of my own. I was a little disappointed in the flavor selection and this one was really the only one that appealed to me. But they are SO GOOD. They taste just like normal pancakes, no protein-y gross taste to them at all and they’re light and fluffy. It’s simple too, you just mix 2/3 cup of mix with 2/3 cup of water, mix, then cook – easy as that. I usually eat 4 pancakes which is 2 servings which comes in with 320 cals. 5g of fat, 44g of carbs, 2g of sugar & 28g of protein. So it’s a good filling breakfast & it’s really good for those workouts where you need some extra carbs. For one servings, just cut all those numbers in half! These are so far my favorite protein pancakes I’ve tried, but I do also want to try ManCakes!

Lenny & Larry’s Complete Cookie – $2 / cookie at Vitamin Shoppe

I’ve been on the hunt for good protein cookies ever since I discovered The Protein Cookie Company because I hate having to order them and wait to get them. So I saw these at Vitamin Shoppe the other day and picked up Pumpkin Spice & Snickerdoodle. The Snickerdoodle one is delicious & tastes just like a normal cookie. I’m probably going to eat the Pumpkin Spice after I get this post up because it’s staring at me – lol. These are all natural, vegan, high protein, no dairy, non- GMO, nothing artificial & no nasties. So they’re pretty good for you as far as ingredients goes. Only thing is, one cookie is 2 servings.. so you have to have some self control unless you want to eat 420 calories of cookie haha. But these are VERY good and the fact that I can get them right down the road is a plus. I also like the fact that they’re all natural and I can understand all of the ingredients without wondering what the heck I’m putting in my body. I would highly recommend the Snickerdoodle flavor if you want to just try them!

FlavorGod Seasonings in Chipotle – $20 at Flavorgod.com

FlavorGod Seasonings are the only seasonings I’ve used ever since I discovered them. If you don’t know about FlavorGod, they are all natural seasonings that are diet friendly, pale & nothing added besides pure ingredients. He has a main group of about 5 seasonings he has all the time & will occasionally release limited edition seasoning like Pizza, Chipotle, & Pink Salt. Well, last year he released Chipotle & I didn’t get my hands on it because it sold out so fast – well he just re released it & I grabbed it as soon as I saw it. I’ve used it on bison, eggs, on avocados and just about anything I can find. His seasonings are SO delicious and knowing you’re only using natural ingredients is a big plus because some of the store bought ones have some WEIRD stuff in them, plus these bottles are about twice the size of Mrs. Dash! There are 0 calories, 0 fat, and only 35mg of sodium (1% DV) – which is amazing. If you haven’t tried any, I suggest getting garlic lovers or this one to start (before it sells out) and getting more as you go! I have every single one of his flavors, limited edition and normal, and I don’t have one that I dislike! You won’t be disappointed with these!

Deer Creek Honey Farms Buckwheat Honey (Ohio Local) – Purchased at Jungle Jims, not sure on pricing!

This honey is my addiction right now. I haven’t gone a day since my mom brought it home without eating some. I’ve almost gone through a whole container in a month – THAT’S how good it is. If you’re not familiar with buckwheat honey, here’s a little info: healwithfood.org . It’s much darker than normal honey, which also gives it more anti-oxidants and a much more rich flavor than normal light honey. It’s taste honestly is 100x better than normal honey and it almost has like a molasses taste which I really love. My favorite way to eat it is with a whole wheat english muffin, organic peanut butter, a banana and this on top. I used to eat that before early morning soccer games & one day decided to try it again with the buckwheat honey & I eat that for breakfast about 6/7 days a week, especially before runs because it gives me a ton of energy! I would 100% recommend getting this honey because I promise once you try it you will never go back to original honey, it’s just that good!

Buff Bake Snickerdoodle Almond Butter – $14 at buff bake.com or Vitamin Shoppe

I’ve mentioned Buff Bake in the past when they had just come out with their to-go packs but I never really talked about a specific one. The Snickerdoodle flavor (can you tell I like snickerdoodle..?) is by far my favorite, but just barely beating chocolate chip peanut butter. Buff Bake makes some seriously good nut butters and at 190 cals, 14g fat, 4g sugar & 11g of protein, you can’t beat it. It gives such a fun twist on normal peanut butter or almond butter & they just released red velvet peanut butter which I’m really anxious to try! They used to be an online only order, but just recently started selling their products in most, if not all, Vitamin Shoppes. They also made with chia seed & flax seed which are so beneficial for your health! On my jar of snickerdoodle there are only 7 ingredients and I can find all of them at my local grocery store, which I really love. If you haven’t tried any of them I really recommend them, I haven’t tried one that I don’t like!

CLIF Shot Energy Gel in Mocha – $2 at Kroger/Fresh Thyme/Whole Foods

These are like crack for runners I think. Seriously, I’ve never had a product give me so much energy before like this does. These are easily my favorite gels before really long runs or races. The mocha flavor honestly to me tastes like chocolate syrup you put on ice cream with a tiny hint of coffee (I hate coffee and I don’t mind it). They are 90% organic, 100 cals, 85mg of potassium, 12g of sugar + 50 mg of caffeine, which is about half a cup of coffee. I’m not a coffee drinker so I’m not sure if these just give me a ton of energy because I’m not used to that much caffeine or what, but they definitely get the job done. I’m also very sensitive to caffeine and these don’t give me jitters or shakes or anything like that. Just good continuous energy. I ran 9 miles last Friday and this gave me good steady energy for about 7 of those 9 miles which is about an hours worth! If you run & are looking for some good gels or if you just want a pick me up – give these a try!

I hope some of these products were helpful & made you want to try something new! I’m sorry most of them were food but I’ve really been trying to find some good products lately! What are some of your favorite products you’ve been loving? As always, thanks for reading (:

Fitness Update!

This month has been rough, I’m not gonna lie. I’ve been running A LOT & it’s been very hot or very rainy where I live which has made this training even harder. I find myself watching the weather more than normal and planning time frames to get a run in. It’s been hard, my knees hurt, my hips hurt, my ankles are getting weak – but the other day before I started my longest run I had a come to Jesus meeting with myself a little bit. I had lost the drive and excitement I had when I first signed up for this half marathon and my attitude about running was becoming more negative every day. I realized at that moment how absolutely blessed I am to even be able to run 8 miles. My dad always says “You don’t have to, you get to” & I’m starting to realize what that really means as I get older. I used to dread going to soccer practices when I was younger, but I’m looking back now wishing I could play one more High School season or one more Club season. I didn’t have to go, I was fortunate and lucky enough to be able to go. I had worked my butt off to be on Varsity as a Freshman & a very good Club team. I was fortunate enough my parents gave me the best training & extra help to be in the situation I was in. I now know I need to keep that mindset towards everything I do, not only fitness but school, work, everything.

I know there’s a lot of people out there who would love to be able to run 8 miles in one period of time but for one reason or another, be it physical or mental, they can’t do that. I knew when I signed up for this half I was going to be tested, not only physically but mentally as well. Your mental attitude is half the battle.

“Whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right.”

Breaking past the wall of “I can’t go anymore” is a huge step in the right direction if you want to be successful in anything. You are capable of so much more than your mind tells you you are & you really have to learn to tell that voice to shut up because that voice isn’t telling you that you can go that extra mile, it’s telling you your legs are burning and it would be much easier if you quit. Breaking past that point is the moment where you can find what you are truly about to do.

I had a 6 mile run as a long run a few weeks back and I made the mistake of waiting until about 12:30 in the afternoon, dumbass, and try to run my longest distance yet in about 92 degree weather with the humidity at almost 100% in full sun…. not my smartest idea yet. Needless to say, I only finished about 2.5 of those 6 miles. I felt really shitty that day, I felt like I let myself fail because I could’ve woken up earlier or waited until later that day to run. The next week rolls around and my long run increased by 2 miles to a huge 8 mile run… Up until that point I had only ran 5 miles & thinking, holy shit, that’s 3 extra miles, was running in my mind. So that night I was determined not to let myself fail again. I set my alarm for 7 am, got up, ate my breakfast, waited an hour & I hit the road. The 8 miles actually seemed relatively easy & despite the fact that I fell and busted both my knees and rolled my ankle at mile 5 (I know..), I got right back up and kept running. It would’ve been easy to quit & I’m sure there’s people who would’ve understood if I would have stopped and went home (especially the people who kept staring at the blood running down my leg 0_0), but I wasn’t going to quit & I wasn’t in any unbearable pain – so I continued and finished every single one of those 8 miles, bloody, swollen and all.

The next day I had a 5k to run & I had an ankle that was the side of a small orange, one knee with an incredibly swollen bursa sac & another knee that had a strawberry on it that kept oozing blood and pus (sorry for the visual). Again, I was determined to finish & finish well. It was just another test for me to overcome in my eyes & I did by placing 2nd in my age group and setting a new PR for my 5k time.

Basically this month was a huge wake up call for me. I’ve tested limits I’ve never been to before, but now I know what I’m capable of & I have learned to trust my body when my mind is screaming STOP. Moral of this post is, don’t give up. Never think just because you haven’t been over a hurdle before that you can’t jump it now. Don’t be afraid to try and fail. Learn from that failure & do better the next time. Never listen to that person in your mind telling you that you’re tired & it’d be easier if you stopped because that voice will always keep you mediocre & life isn’t about being mediocre – you’ve gotta push your limits and test your mind to be great.

As always, thanks for reading & good luck to everyone on a fitness journey (: