Favorite Healthy Three! {March}

As a part of my New Year's resolution, (yes, I am still talking about New Year's resolutions), I made it a goal  MUST to get as healthy as I could in every aspect of my life. This meant not only physically, but also the products I used daily, places to eat, shop, you name it!

So, starting with March, I've decided to make a monthly post of the best 3 natural, eco-friendly, organic, or overall healthier alternatives to every-day aspects of the average person's life. 

Being obsessed with hair, makeup, and anything in the beauty or fashion department... I'm starting March with my favorite 3 beauty products. (;  Thus, I set out to find natural versions of the products I frequently used while getting ready every day. 

Products 1&2 

I haven't really decided if this is considered cheating, but the first two products are the same thing... face wash! 

I don't know about you, but I can not sleep at night knowing my face is covered with dirt and oil and sweat and makeup from the day!! (Grossed out just typing this.) It's pretty much an OCD ritual for me to wash my face nightly, and even sometimes in the morning just to be extra unnecessarily safe! 

That being said, my skin gets dry very easily. With normal products and as much as I wash my face, my skin gets very irritated, dry, and even flaky- yuck! It got to the point where I couldn't even wear foundation because my skin would just peel off with my foundation brush. It was also red and blotchy, and my skin tone was never even. All in all, it sucked!

To my surprise, it didn't take long to find something that worked for me! It was awesome because my face cleared up and became much softer right away, but at the same time, I don't have much to compare it to. (Not yet, anyway.) 

The first one I found was the St. Ives- Blemish Control Apricot Scrub. I like to use gentle exfoliants on my face to get all the dead skin off that's been tainted with makeup. It uses 100% natural ingredients to exfoliate your face! (Of course for blemish control, some less than 100% things need to be used.) 

My first impression was a little odd. Most exfoliants I used are very liquidy with little "exfoliating beads" in them. This was very thick, and instead of having just a few beads, it had a bunch! (I don't know if I'd call them beads, but you get the point!) It IS a little rough, I will admit, but when I washed my face off, it was anything but! My skin was instantly smoother and even started to look a little more even-toned! It felt and looked amazing, and I was in love. So, I bought a few more bottles. 

Some exfoliants are gentle enough to use daily, but with as much as I wash my face, I wasn't too sure if I should use this rougher exfoliant every day. So, my search began again.

This time I turned to the (somewhat cliché) brand of Burt's Bees. (NOT talking bad about them in anyway, but they're like the Kleenex of natural beauty.) 

I went simple, and picked out the Facial Cleanser for sensitive skin, and holy crap was simple a good idea! Just squeezing the stuff out onto my finger, my finger became instantly smoother. The wash glided over my face and kissed my skin with moisture. It was some sort of weird, moisturizing, religious experience, really! Although less is definitely more with this product, my face felt very clean, very smooth, and very moisturized. LOVELOVELOVE IT! 

Product 3

Now that I'm done ranting and creating a rather long post, I come to the third product(s). These are makeup brushes by the company EcoTools! 

These cute little guys come with their own carrying case that is 100% reusable and natural. The bristles are incredibly soft and are cruelty-free, being made of synthetic taklon. The brush handles are made of bamboo, and under the bristles is recycled aluminum!  

The set I got comes with 5 brushes and the case. It includes a highlighting brush, large eye brush, angled crease brush, a smudge brush, and a petite eye shading brush. I'll be the first to say- these little suckers are awesome!!! They not only put on makeup wonderfully, but they save the Earth at the same time. (D'aww!) Overall, I can't say enough good things about these things! I will definitely be buying more EcoTools products, as they're available at your local Target or Walmart and online as well!

So that does it for March! Now it's time to go on a hunt for April. {;

A Little Indulgence

   My family likes to cook, and we definitely love to eat. But every once in a while, it's nice to be able to relax while someone cooks for us. Last night, we went to one of our favorites-Olive Garden-for some yummmyyy Italian! I'd definitely be lying if I didn't say the entire meal was an indulgence...

Soft, warm bread sticks, delicious salad with their signature dressing, fresh bruschetta... 

Drooling yet?

  

 Usually, I'd go for something boring like tortellini with Alfredo sauce, but last night I was feeling adventurous. Going as exotic as I could within my finicky food limit, I settled with Eggplant Parmesan. And oh.em.gee, I could write an entire post about that alone! Soooo good! But with every meal at Olive Garden, the portion was HUGE, and I just couldn't stomach it. 

   As it was getting time for us to leave, I hadn't even thought about dessert, but with someone who has a sweet tooth as out of control as mine, I couldn't refuse once the waitress asked.  EVERYTHING looked good amazing..but I was soo full. Just before I forced myself to refuse the offer, the waitress introduced me to their Dolcini. As I looked down the list, nothing particularly jumped out at me...amaretto, tiramisu, dark chocolate, chocolate mousse...not really my style.

   But then, I came across the Strawberry and White Chocolate Dolcini-now we were in business! 

I quickly rambled off the order to the waitress, and eagerly waited for it to arrive. When it did, I was in lovelovelove! 

Not only did it come in the cutest little cup, but it was on a little lace coaster on a little plate!

Did I mention I have an obsession with mini things?

After obsessing about how adorable it was, I dug right in.

No sooner than it had come, it was gone and I was one verrryy happy camper!

For the size, it's the most delicious, and adorable, dessert I've had in a while.
I would definitely recommend anyone to try this ASAP! :D

DIY Melted Crayon Canvas

So, I've been seeing this melted crayon canvas evverryywhheerrreeee, & I've fallen in love! It wasn't until I came across cheap canvases at Hobby Lobby that I realized I could just make one myself instead of wishing I had one. It turned out to be a lot easier than I thought, & it didn't take as much time as I planned either!
(I apologize in advance for blurry photos, but you get the idea)

Here's what you need:

• Crayons
• A canvas of any size
• A blow-dryer
• A paintbrush (Mine has been gently used..)
• Some sort of glue (I used Mod Podge gloss finish)
• Probably something to put under the melting crayons..       (I used a paper towel)

After you've picked out all the colors you want & put them in a desired order, slide them down the canvas to keep them in order for gluing. Then, spread a generous amount of Mod Podge on the canvas, covering an area the width of about two crayons. (Just to prevent the glue from drying) Stick the crayons to the glued canvas, & continue across in small sections until you're done.

Next, you blow-dry! 
It's easiest to set the canvas standing up-right so the crayons can melt down. Aim the blow-dryer towards the middle or bottom of the crayons so the tops don't melt over the wrapper. It only takes a couple minutes for the crayons to melt. 
I don't have a picture for this...it's pretty self-explanatory.

Then, waa-laa! You can melt the crayons as much, or as little, as you want. There are sooo many variations of this craft, so they come out different each time.
Enjoy♥

DIY Glitter Wine Glasses

My mom & dad are huge wine fanatics! Me, being a huge craft fanatic, decided to give a few of their wine glasses a makeover. It's easier than easy, takes no time at all, & makes a big, glittery difference!

                                                                   Here's what you need:

• Wine Glass(es)
• Loose Glitter
• Paintbrush
• Mod Podge (I used gloss finish)
• Something to cover your work area (towel, etc..it gets pretty messy)

First, paint the bottom of the glass using your Mod Podge. Technically, you can paint anywhere you want glitter to be. I do not paint the top of the glass, because I personally wouldn't want my mouth on glitter and Mod Podge...

After getting a decent coat of the Mod Podge on the glass, generously sprinkle glitter all over it. You can tap the glass on the towel a few times to get the access glitter off as well.

...And that's pretty much it! 

After you let the glitter set for a few minutes, you can go over it with another coat of Mod Podge, juuuust to make sure it sticks nicely (:

Welcoming myself to Blogger

After creating countless accounts on other blogging websites, I have finally come to Blogger. I've always known about this site, but for some reason never had the thought to use it. I suppose the fanciness of the other sites caught my eye & sucked me in..
Either way, I'm looking forward to getting to know this site & sharing my craziness with all who choose to partake in it. ♥