. GIVEAWAY!! .

Ya'll, I know it's been awhile...butttttttt i have awesome news!

I teamed up with the AMAZING Lynne from Holland-Amerika line aka my sister! Her and her friend Meagan put their skills together and created an Etsy store called Meelee. We are giving away their newest bag, the Carryall! This bag is so versatile, because you can decide what you use it for; it fits a curling iron/straightener, or you can use it as your regular purse!

We are filling the bag with some of our favorite beauty and make up products. Entering is really simple, just use the rafflecopter below. 

The giveaway will begin at midnight tonight and ends at midnight a week from now. GOOD LUCK! 





a Rafflecopter giveaway

. Cara box REVEAL - april .

Oh my gosh ya'll I'm so sorry this took me FOREVER to get up!! I'm in the home stretch..graduating in a little over 14 days! Teacher have assigned more homework in these next two weeks than in the whole semester!

If you don't know what a Cara box is, head over to Kaitlyn's blog and check it out! In a nutshell, it is a box that you send to someone that you get to know, with a letter of encouragement. You get to make 2 new friends each month!

This month the theme was going green, as April 22nd was earth day (and my birhtday..a post on that is to come!). The box was waiting for me when I came home from work on my actual birthday..great timing Libby!! :)

I was partnered up with 2 amazing women, Libby and Tiffany. I sent my box to Tiffany so check out her blog to see what I sent her.

Libby, who blogs at Artistic Expressions by Elisabeth is such an amazing person and I am so blessed to have 'met' her! Libby is a teacher and her box was simply unbelievable. She put so much thought into it and it was incredibly personalized. I LOVED IT!

 

All my goodies!! And Hazel, who is magically always in these pictures!

 

 

A beautiful bookmark that Libby made! She used a picture that she took when she was at the botanical gardens! So pretty!!

 

 

Izzie decided to photobomb this picture for a change of pace, haha. This is a protein bar made from 20% organic ingredients. Its also made from vegetarian soy products so I could enjoy it :) It tasted really good!!

 



Who doesn't love Burt's Bees! This lip balm is amazing & best thing about it is that it is not tested on animals! yay :)

 

 

Tropical trailmix! Its really tasty, I think I'm using this as an example to make my own!

(and Hazel's paw)

 

 

A reusabe water bottle!! I actually have this exact one in blue and I LOVE IT! I'm so glad I have 2, these are the best ones, they screw off on the top so you can put ice in it..how clever!

 

 

This is a market bag that Libby crocheted herself! It is made from 100% cotton yarn from the USA. I love this bag!!

 

 

My birthday card! Now there is a little story to this card. First of all, Libby hand made this card. When she found out I was from the Netherlands, she contacted her blog friends who live there and they sent her the frog patch, and a pink dog patch that is on the back. How totally awesome is that..I literally got tears in my eyes knowing the things she went through to get me the patches and the card!!

 

This month was such an awesome month to participate in! I always have such a great time getting to know 2 new awesome bloggers!

 

 

Libby & Tiffany..lets keep in touch!

 

 

 

 



 

. spring break 2013 .

Even though I turn the big 2-7 in 2 ish weeks, I thought this year it would be acceptable for me to go on spring break. Not that I went to some beach and got wasted for a week straight, it was still very nice to get away from school and work for a little while.

Here is my spring break in instagram pictures :)

 

Packed 'light' for my spring break :)

 

 

Woke up the first day in VA, and reached my 1st goal weight and had a flat-ish tummy!! YAY

 

 

 

Made yummy breakfasts for my sister & her hubs

 

 

it snowed 4 inches...

 

my sister showed me her styling ways

 

had an awesome family shopping day  

 

went to the Melting Pot for an early birthday celebration for me..CHOCOLATE!!!

 

 

Got to spend some awesome quality time with the ones I love

 

Got shellac for the first time. I LOVE IT!! I am contemplating buying my own shellac machine

 

Gorgeous weather on the way back home

 

Hazel baby was really excited to see me again :)

 

 

All in all it was a great spring break! I had so much fun with my family and seeing great friends I have missed terribly!

 



 

. 5 steps forward .

And 4 steps back.

With my history of mental health issues, this is usually the way it goes. I work so hard on myself and improving my overall and mental health. But there are things that come so unexpectedly that they knock me to the ground. If I didn't care as much as I do, this wouldn't be a problem, but I care to a default.

I'm not going to go in detail here of what it is that happened, but it was disruptive to my life and my mental health. All last week I didn't work out and I didn't eat healthy at all. I felt fat, slow and overall like crap. I have realized that eating healthy and being healthy creates a healthy brain..which is exactly what I need.

This weekend was a turning point. Not sure what happened, but I'm not letting myself fall that far back over something that looking back is so dumb. If that means I have to build a little wall around me to protect myself..so be it.

I'm back though..worked out for 1.5 hours today and yesterday. It feels so nice to be back in the grind, and working out again. I feel healthier now that I am fueling my body with healthy foods instead of sugar :)

via

 

 

This is not a post full of negativity. It is a post of hope. Life sucks sometimes, and things get thrown at you from all different angles. Instead of moping about it, pick yourself up and do some exercises..you'll actually feel better! Even if you have an off day or 2 (or 7 in my case) its OK!! Just don't give up, or give in. It is so not worth it to stop now!!

 

 



. Sprinkles on toast - NEW DESIGN .

3 posts in one day...it must be spring break :)

You know how sometimes you see something in your head and you try to get your idea across to someone else? Well..I knew what I wanted my blog to look like but I'm not really good at explaining my ideas :)

When I was looking to get my blog professionally designed, I turned to one of my favorite blogs, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot and as it turns out..she designs blogs!

She's the funniest, and is so awesome to work with! I told her what I wanted, in the way I explain things...probably dancing around the point I'm trying to make and she ran with it! She took all the ideas I had in my head and created a blog I now love..LOVE LOVE!

I'm so excited to finally have a blog I love, and I am so so happy with the way it turned out. Everyone, check out Kristen's portfolio and if you need a new blog design, she honestly is the greatest!

So, what did we learn about Kristen: she is awesome, does great designs, is very reasonably priced, works very fast (she emailed me that she was going to start, and before I could respond, the first test page of my new blog design was in my inbox!!) and is super helpful!!

Hope ya'll love it as much as I do!!

. "spring" break - aka winter, round 2 .

Ya'll..I honestly can't believe I survived my absolutely hectic, hellish 2 last weeks of school before spring break!!! I even passed my biology exam...barely, but I passed!

I decided that I needed to leave town and since I stayed and worked over Thanksgiving break, and only took 1 days off over Christmas break, I got the ok from my boss to leave for 2 entire weeks! I decided to drive down to VA to hang out with my sister, and my friends.

I've been having a blast being able to see the people I love and care about and just relax for the most part. I have been doing homework, because that way I won't have to worry about it when I go back home. So far on Saturday my sister, Lynne and I and 2 friends drove to the Natural Bridge Zoo, where there is a safari park! My love for animals, combined with pure excitement from being on vacation made for a great trip, and an amazing experience..until I got bit by a yak, but whatevs, the minor, MINOR injury was totally worth it. The safari was so much fun, it's getting a post all of its own with some pictures my talented sissy took.

As far as eating clean and healthy and continuing the 6 weeks to skinny jeans, that is also going to be a separate post. Its not easy to say the least, but I am learning how to manage and say NO!

Whoever realistically expected spring to start in March (uhm ME) is sadly mistaken. I left NY in a blizzard, but refused to drive without my sunglasses on..I was driving to my spring break destination for crying out loud. Eventually the sun came out and I even had to turn on my airconditioning to satisfy my panting pooch in the back seat.

Friday was a nice day, Saturday was a beautiful day and Sunday sucked. It started snowing...in southern VA mind you! About 3 inches fell...this is what our Sunday looked like

{tiny picture..sorry}

 

{it wasn't terrible, but it wasn't what I wanted to see on my spring break!}

 

 

Its beautiful, don't get me wrong. I have seen snow nonstop since November..I'm so over it!!! It's almost all melted now and I refuse to wear a coat outside. Its spring dammnit, and I am willing it to be warm-ish outside :)

I'll leave you with this beauty, who thouroughly enjoyed the car ride...as she does every car ride. Except the ones to the vet...she knows when we go to the vet.

 

And how about this little gem I found on my phone..

 

 

 

Attractive, no? Regular pictures weren't turning out, so this is what we settled for..

 

As for the safari, Lynne's who is always stylish, has her outfits coordinated to the tee, and is a fashion blogger wrote a post about our safari shenanigans. Check out holland-amerika line to read her post!! The pictures she took are amazing!

 

Happy Wednesday!

 

xoxo E



. Cara box REVEAL - march .

It is that time again! Time for another Cara Box reveal post!! This is my 2nd time participating even though I took the month of February off, due to my schedule with school.

For those that don't know what a Cara Box is...follow this link to Wifessionals, and click on the Cara Box tab to learn more about this fabulous idea! In a nutshell, you basically get linked with 2 people, you send a box to one, and receive from the other. I for one LOVE getting mail that is anything but bills, and it is even better if it is a package!!

This months theme was to find things with your new friends first letter of their name. I was paired with Carissa from lillies & silk (who I made a box for) and with Jennifer from part of that world who sent me my amazing box for this month! Check out both of their blogs to see what they got from their matches!

Here is what I got in the mail..HAPPY MAIL DAY!! :)

My package!

Essie nailpolish..I love the color, totally Easter!

Eos lipbalm. I LOVE this lipbalm, and I actually just used all of mine, so this little guy came in handy!

Elle hair elastics...a girl can never have too many of these :) plus I always seem to lose mine. This started happening when a little kitten named Hazel entered my life...

 

Essence Eyeshadow.. I love these colors, they are perfect for my blue eyes

Eos hand lotion. I love the way this smells and feels, it absorbs really fast and it makes my hands super smooth.

All of my gifts and my card with encouraging words from miss Jennifer. I loved everything she got me. I'm so glad that I got to know these 2 amazing women!!

 

Go check out Wifessionals and remember to sign up for the April Cara Box!! You won't want to miss it!

 

I have some posts scheduled for this week, and I have seen some previews of my new blog design and I can't wait to share it with ya'll...it looks amazing, its so me, I love it!

 

Happy middle of the week!!

 

xoxo E