I don't get to talk about every facet of my life on the blog, but two of those somewhat overlooked facets are both getting attention today: my love of books, and my love of tea (seriously, I have a cabinet in the kitchen solely dedicated to tea).

I love a sweet love story, so of course I enjoy Jane Austen novels. And films. And spinoff films. Ahhh.

So, it should be completely unsurprising that I was ecstatic when word got out that someone had combined two of my great loves into one cool product line:


Inspired by Jane

My pale girl problems are many: easy to burn, literally glowing in pictures...practically disappearing in pictures where sunlight is ample. Then there's the one that most women don't think about until their 30's. Not me. I've been self-conscious about this one since I was a teenager:

dark undereye circles.

Yep. I was the 15 year old at Wal Mart begging my mom for eye cream along with my Clean and Clear facial cleanser (I shudder to think of it now). My skin was perfectly clear but I always felt like I had raccoon eyes. I'm almost 30 now and I still do.

I shudder again to think how bad it would be if I hadn't started using eye creams so young.

But, we all know not all eye creams are created equal. Some reduce those ugly blue circles to smaller ones while some do nothing but mock me for even spending the money. Now, my options are even more limited as I am particular about using natural products.


I was intrigued when I first heard the phrase "Eye Serum" instead of "eye creme" for the first time. Intrigued, and more than happy to try. Considering how awesome serum is for the face, hopefully it is equally as wonderful under the eyes.

I was especially impressed by the natural ingredients in Bee Naturals Queen Bee Ultimate Eye Serum and the fact that Bee Naturals had clearly done their research: the serum contains all natural ingredients: Haloxyl (TM)(a combination of active ingredients) and soy-rice peptides. They had also conducted a 56-day trial that resulted in dark circle reduction in over 70% of participants. Not bad.

To test for myself, I took a before selfie (super scientific) and used the serum on only one eye for seven days (I used another creme I had on hand on the opposite eye as to not look completely awful), and then took an after shot.

Of course, it's harder to notice results in yourself—after seven days, I was bummed. In the mirror, I didn't see any difference. Thank goodness for the photos—I couldn't believe it:
I was so obsessed with my dark circles that I didn't notice what else was going on... wrinkles? I'm not even 30 and I have wrinkles under my eyes?! Yikes. The good news is, after only a week, things have already noticeably smoothed out and  lightened up.

The serum is super easy and clean to use - just spray some on your hand and dot under/around the eye area. A little bit goes a long way. I've now moved on to using the Queen Bee Ultimate Eye Serum on both eyes, and while I doubt that I'll remember the 56-day mark, I love that I'm seeing results.

Bee Naturals Queen Bee Ultimate Eye Serum is only $20 on Amazon making it both affordable and effective. Plus, word on the street is this is just the first in a lineup of Bee Naturals products. I can't wait to see what's next!


 

1. Follow your hosts, re•solve & Glitz n ' Grits
2. Sign up below to be paired with two bloggers - one you will send a "basket" to, and one who will send to you!
3. Contact your partners no later than Thursday, March 12 . Take some time to get to know one another through reading each other's blogs and interacting.
4. Put together a "basket" of goodies for your partner - be thoughtful and creative! You can send a literal basket or find another fun means of bundling the gifts!
5. Basket minimum is $10, 4 (unused) items. You are welcome to give more, but we are establishing a minimum that all participants can expect to give and receive.
6. Ship the items to your partner no later than Saturday, March 28. Tracking is recommended.
7. If you have any concerns during the swap or decide not to participate, contact Aleshea or myself immediately so that we can reassign partners ASAP. Likewise, if you do not hear from one of your partners, let us know immediately.
8. Create a reveal post and link up your baskets on Monday, April 6! Use hashtag #bbswap on social media when sharing.

Yesterday was a big day for Sean and I; it marked ten years since we started dating (wow!).

We commemorated our date with a grainy selfie. This was clearly a classy date.

Naturally, we had to celebrate.

Originally, we'd planned on celebrating over the weekend vs. a Monday night, but a huge Saturday morning snow dump had us under house arrest.

As last minute as possible, I spotted a LivingSocial deal for an Irish Pub I'd seen in passing and wanted to try (we both enjoy Irish pubs but rarely go anymore since vegetarian options are few). After a quick scan of the menu to confirm there were options for me, I texted Sean to see if he was in. Woohoo! We had plans.

We walked the dog, drove to the restaurant, and opened the first set of doors to notice the next set with this stained glass design:

Oh.

"I hope the staff aren't dressed like that," I commented to Sean before opening the door...

To confirm that they are, in fact, dressed like that. Except with lots more cleavage. Great.

So, to summarize, I took my husband to an Irish version of Hooters (Kilts are always better than orange shorts, but still...) to eat subpar food on our anniversary. We are one classy couple.

On the bright side, I immediately posted about my misfortune on Facebook. It was well-received with likes, laughs, and 2 or 3 other women who admitted to making the same mistake.



Moral of the story? When trying a new restaurant, always check for scantily clad staff before making a decision.

Don't you just love the quality of this old scanned image? It's nearly vintage at 10 years old.

This was the first picture taken of Sean and I—by my mom, whom he'd come to meet—10 years ago.

This was us at 19 and 20.

My baby brother was 14, his closest-to-him-in-age brother was 10. His other two siblings were practically toddlers.

The hardest fact to work with as I try to reduce waste is the idea that plastic is evil.

Sure, it's easy enough (usually) to remember to shop with reusable bags and avoid buying any new plastic merchandise, but when I came across this piece discussing all the ways plastic bags show up, I was bummed out. I can avoid produce bags, and hopefully one day I will wean myself from Ziploc usage, but there was one area where I felt hopeless: pet waste bags.

We have no yard. When Anise does her business it's at the park or on a walk. Meaning all bags, no scooper. And those bags get used up quick. So much plastic waste! Not at all what I was hoping to accomplish this year.

How appropriate that I should hear about EcoPoof  just a few weeks after my realization. EcoPoof is also passionate about reducing waste—they produce biodegradable pet waste bags  and sent over a box for us to try with Anise.


I love the idea of biodegradable products, but I always have the same worry that the product will instantly degrade during use—not something I want to be concerned with when I'm picking up poo! Thankfully, Sean popped a roll of these into Anise's dispenser (these fit your standard dispensers), and we both quickly agreed that the bags felt and "worked" just like any other poo bag. Win!

What caught my attention more than the product itself was the company. The desire to actually reduce waste and not just carve a spot in the popular "green" market was clear: the Eco-Poof  bags  themselves were not packaged in any plastic—just the cardboard box you see which is also recyclable. And while I didn't take a picture, there was actually a typo on another side of the box. Rather than waste resources on new boxes, they simply printed the correct spelling on a matching label which they slapped over the error. Sure, it doesn't look fabulous, but we're talking about poop bags here. We don't buy them for their looks.

If you'll excuse me, someone's ready to walk.

Anise doesn't like bath time.

If you're an owner of any non-retrieving dog breed, you're probably nodding your head in agreement with me already (even if you are, your sweet lab or golden may very well love jumping in the river but consider bath time to be sheer torture. I get it).

Thankfully, Anise is pretty well-behaved and tolerates her bath after she realizes there's no escaping. Things get a little better each time. I say thankfully because dog bathing/grooming outside of the home is a huge expense. No, thank you. It's easy, cost-effective, and a good training experience to take care of your pup's hygiene at home. Just consider the following:

1. Gather everything you need beforehand. You don't want to turn your attention away from your dog for a second once you've started. Make sure any supplies you need are in the room where you will bathe before you begin: towel, shampoo, brush, etc.
2. Shut the door. No escaping. Nuff said.
3. Buddy system. Sean and I have both bathed Anise together and we've both done it alone. We can do either with confidence, but it's so much easier to have an extra set of hands—especially with an 80+ lb. dog like ours.
4. Take it slow. Dogs need to investigate everything. Let them check out the bathing area. Let them sniff the water nozzle and the shampoo bottle. Let the water run and pool at their feet before full-on rinsing them. Less scare=less fight.
5. Treats. Positive reinforcement is a wonderful thing. We have an awkward stand-up shower in our basement (really awkward, both our heads touch the ceiling in this thing) which we use for bathing Anise. We have a designated bag of training treats that we leave in that bathroom specifically for bath time. Both feet are in the shower? Great, here's a treat! Standing still? Great, here's another!
6. Use quality products.  Invest part of your DIY savings in products that deliver lasting results: a brush and/or nail clippers that do their job without breaking, and a high-quality shampoo that cleans thoroughly without irritating your pup's skin or eyes. Best Natural Home and Health sent us a bottle of their Best Natural Essential Shine Dog Shampoo to try out, and I'd say all parties were impressed: I thought it smelled great and left her soft and clean, and Anise tried to eat it out of my hand throughout the whole process (it has a piña-colada-ish smell to me). She definitely didn't do that with our other shampoo!

I'm seriously in love with  Skinology Beauty Solutions right now.



Last week, I mentioned the lemon essential oil they sent me and how the scent was a perfect pick-me-up for my winter blues.

I love lemons, so I knew I'd love it. What I wasn't sure about was the other oil they sent me—rosehip oil. I love EOs in general and always talk about wanting to expand my knowledge and collection, but rosehip was an oil I hadn't heard of. I hadn't the slightest clue if I would like it or if it would  even be relevant to any of my needs.

Oh, it is.

If lemon essential oil is for my mind in the winter months, rosehip oil  is it's winter counterpart for my body—it has so many uses!

Dry  body? Put a few drops in your (warm, not hot bath). Mix a few more drops in your lotion. The scent is very light and won't disrupt your fragrance.

Dry scalp? Mix a few drops in your palms with your shampoo.

Dry face? Oh, this is my favorite. I've been mixing a few drops in my night cream and wow! I wish I'd taken a before picture so you could see the difference. I definitely have a noticeable glow that I've been lacking these past few months.


Basically, this little bottle kicks winter dryness right in the behind. And I shouldn't say little bottle - 4 oz. is a lot of oil and despite using it multiple times daily for the past two weeks, it still looks completely full! (I feel like it's practically a steal at $19!)

Oh, and aside from dryness...this one really stunned me: this gosh darn left-cheek breakout that's been plaguing me for the past year? Gone! I had no idea extra moisture could actually get rid of pimples! On the contrary, I was worried I would make things worse when I first tried it on my face.

(I'm seriously bummed that I didn't take before pics—the results after one use were way beyond my expectations!)

I did some googling and found out that rosehip oil has tons of other benefits that are relevant year-round . By just rubbing the oil on the appropriate area, rosehip oil can also:

• sooth sunburns
• remove eye makeup
• nourish brittle nails
• treat scars & discoloration

Awkward you guys. Awkward. I blame my co-worker.

Photo courtesy of the first friend to see the footage.

Whole Foods is a 10-15 minute walk from my office. I rarely go because the place is tiny and makes me claustrophobic, especially when paired with the crazy lunchtime crowds.

But, this morning, my co-worker skyped me an article announcing plans for a bigger store in the same neighborhood. Come the afternoon, I needed a walk and I needed lunch, so with Whole Foods on the brain, off I went.

Of course, the trip ended like it normally does. The place was way too crowded to find real food, so I bought bath salts and strawberry shortcake and headed back out to find real lunch.

Then I saw the camera. I must have been curious a second too long before I veered away, because she caught me:


So, here I am, awkwardly on the spot, blabbering on about whatever it is she asked me and thinking about how I wished I had lip makeup on. Awkward. Laugh away, folks.


The truth about me? I'm well more articulate behind a computer screen or with lots of planning. Aren't we all (although, two facebook friends did ask for my autograph!)?

I've mentioned before that Sean and I don't celebrate Valentine's Day. Our dating anniversary (this will be our 10th!) also falls in February and we deem that a better day to celebrate.

circa 2010. don't think we'll be seeing this much snow this year.

That doesn't stop me from having fun entering Valentine's Day contests. I entered in 2013 and 2014 and won both. Woohoo!

But, I couldn't find any to enter this year, so my mushiness runneth over to this here blog.

The entry for the first contest I entered was quite simple. Simply state why you love your spouse (the second one was sharing how you met your spouse). As I read through my competitors' entries, I had a heartbreaking wake-up call: