Top 2 Tuesday: Strange Addictions

Top 2 Strange Addictions

1.  Hi, my name is Britt and I'm addicted to lip balm.  Seriously.  I love my lip sauce.  My best friend's mom has always called lip products (lip balm/ lip butter/ chapstick/ lip gloss) lip sauce and the name has definitely caught on with me and now it's not only in my vocabulary but it's my addiction.  I've always had full lips and there is nothing more unattractive to me than nasty crackly chapped lips except for big nasty crackly chapped lips... So, I'm constantly getting out the lip sauce whenever I feel like my lips are getting parched.    Plus, I love the feeling of smooth lips.  My collection is getting is little out of hand these days!  I don't know why, but I'm constantly coming home with more!  At least I have kissable lips?!  

Some of my fav's:

2.  Whenever I set my alarm clock for the morning I set it for one hour ahead of when I need to wake up so that I feel like I am treating myself to an extra hour of sleeping in.  Josh always teases me about this quirky habit of mine, but there's just something about having that "extra" time all cuddled up in my warm bed w/ my honey... I love it!  Even though I still have to get up at the same time it feels like I'm treating myself, is that crazy?!

Do you have any strange addictions?  Head over and visit Taylor @ The Undomestic Momma to join in on Top 2 Tuesday fun.  

Friday's Favorite Things: Face Products

This week's topic for Friday's Favorite Things is: Fav. Face Products.     

I know it's Sunday night and that Friday was two days ago!! I filmed a fun little vlog for this week's Favorite Things segment and I could not for the life of me get it to upload onto YouTube.  So, after many tries... here I am writing it all out!!  

*I'm not going to be including make-up with my favorite face products because I feel like it would make this such a long post about so many different products and I think that favorite make-up should be a post of it's own.*

My #1 Favorite Face Product is IMAGE Skincare's Vital-C line

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It's super hydrating and really makes my skin glow.  I love how soothing the products feel when I apply them and they all have the yummiest orangy smell to them.  I used this line when I worked at a salon before I got married and stopped using it after I quit working there.  I just started using it again a few weeks ago, it's not SUPER expensive but having healthy skin that is well taken care of is a priority is important enough for me to spend a little extra.  In the few weeks since I've been using the Vital-C line I can already see my skin looking brighter and healthier and I just love how my face feels so healthy.

This next item was kind of a splurge but it was SOOO worth it.  For Christmas a couple years ago Josh's step-mom gave me a gift certificate to a really nice spa in Seattle (Gene Juarez) and I got a facial.  During my facial the esthetician used the Clarisonic on me and I loved how clean it made my skin feel.

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When I used to wash off my makeup the washcloth would have makeup on it even after I'd finished washing my face.  Now, after I use the Clarisonic there is no makeup residue on the towel when I got to dry my face!  They claim that it removes makeup 6x better than standard cleansing.  It really gives you a great deep cleansing so that your face wash and products can work like they're supposed to without a barrier hindering them.  

Let me 1st say that I ❤ Seattle, but sometimes I like to have a little glow... and that's virtually impossible during a Pacific Northwest winter SO I often use a self tanner.  I've tried a lot a different facial self-tanners and have never really been impressed until I tried Lancome's Soleil Flash Bronzer, I looove it! 

So, they have switched the packaging a bunch of times (the top image is the newest packaging and the three others are older packaging) but no matter what kind of bottle they put it in... it's amazing.  It really gives you an immediate, beautiful, healthy glow.  I love how natural the color you get looks and it's a gel which I love!  It's super light and sheer and NOT greasy, which is my #1 complaint with self-tanners.  It applies on so smoothly and since it's a gel you don't get streaks.  Oh, it also has vitamin E in it so it helps defend against skin damage... who doesn't love that?!

Having smooth and healthy lips is a big deal to me.  There is nothing worse than having it all together and then having chapped or dry/nasty lips - plus on top of looking nasty it can hurt!!  So I'm always picking up new lip products and these are my two favorite's right now... 

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Nivea's "A Kiss of Smoothness Hydrating Lip Care"

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Rosebud Perfume Co. Strawberry Lip Balm

I always have one of these on me, one in my bag and then one next to my bed.  I highly recommend either of these two products, either by themselves or under lipstick/lipgloss.  Oh, and make sure to put some on before you go to bed... you'll wake up with super smooch-able lips!!

Alrighty, that's it for this Sunday's Friday's Favorite Things!  

I haven't given up on doing a vlog so maybe next week I'll try again :) 

New Year and New Blog

 Happy New Year from the Beahans!!

I seriously cannot believe that it's 2011.  I hope that you all had a fun and safe night ringing in the New Year.  We ended up taking it easy, staying in and had a fun night with family.  Josh and I celebrated the anniversary of our 1st kiss and rang in the New Year keeping up with tradition! ;)  Nothing like a good smooch to start the year off right!!

I don't know if you noticed or not, but I also got my 1st bloggy makeover thanks to Shannon @ Persnickety Pages! 

 If you're looking to give your blog a face-lift or want to spice it up you should drop Shannon a line, she is super sweet and was so understanding with me & my indecisiveness!  You should definitely check her out.  Thanks again Shannon!!

The starting of a new year is always exciting to me because the possibilities are endless.  One of the most beautiful things to me about the New Year is knowing that you can make a change to do something to enrich and better you life.  I hope that you get all that you want out of 2011 and that the New Year brings great things for all of my readers!      

I don't know about you, but I'm ready to rock 2011!  This year I'm bringing sexy back! ;) Operation Hot Mama is in full effect!

"I have a feeling this year is going to be better then the last... I always have this feeling and so far I'm always right!" -Khloe Kardashian 

Favorite Things Friday

I have a lot of things I'm loving right now and I'm really excited to share them with you guys!  I don't know about you but whenever I'm looking for advice on new things to try, I ask my friends.  When I find a product that I love I wanna sing from the rooftops and share about it!  I also love to hear about products that others have tried and have had success with.  Sometimes when you don't know what you're looking for, any direction is helpful!  So I've decided to start a new segment on my blog called 'Favorite Things Fridays.'  These are a few of my favorite things:  

♫ Rain drops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens ♫ 

JUST KIDDING!! ☺

Lululemon's The Super Rib Mitt:

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I had been looking for a good pair of fingerless gloves this winter and fell in love with these gloves when I saw them on-line.  They are so comfy!  I love how they go so high up on the forearm and (of course) the texting thumb detail so I can stay warm and connected!  I also like how you can unbutton the flap if you want some extra warmth or flip the flap up so all your fingers can remain functional.  Good work honey Santa! :)

SEPHORA by OPI's Sparkle Me Silver Top Coat 

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When I saw this polish at Sephora I thought it would be super fun for New Year's.  I mean, what girl doesn't want a little bling to help ring in the new year?  Right now I'm wearing Essie's 'Muchi Muchi' with the 'Sparkle Me Silver' over it and I think it's really cute for New Year's Eve:

Drive Thru Coffee Stands

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Ok, I love coffee but easy access to caffeine is surprisingly not the reason I've been lovin' drive thru coffee stands lately!  I don't know if it's just a Northwest thing or not, but we have a lot coffee drive thru's here and they have been a life-saver lately.  I stopped nursing Jay on his 1st birthday (12/22) and he's been doing great with bottles, the only problem is I can't take a jug of milk with me whenever I go out to run errands... So, I drive up to my nearest coffee drive thru and they will steam me up milk for Jay's bottle to whatever temperature my heart desires and it only costs $1!! AAAmazing!  Such a lifesaver!

Shazam

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I've always loved the Shizam app on my iPhone but after using it a bunch this Christmas Season I have a renewed appreciation for it.  Have you ever been listening to the radio and wanted to know what the name of the song was or who the artist was? That's where Shizam saves the day...  All you do is turn on Shizam and it will listen to a few seconds of the song and then tell you the name of the song, the artist and even will give you the option to buy in on iTunes!  

Alrighty, hope you enjoyed my 1st Favorite Things Friday!  I still haven't decided if I should make it a McLinky party or not... let me know what you think!  I'd love to know what your favorite things are :)  

Happy New Years Eve!!

Top 2 Tuesday: New Year's Resolutions

I just adore Taylor over at The Undomestic Momma, she is such a sweet blog friend.  My girl Taylor is going through chemo right now and to offset some of the cost is making/selling custom soy candles on her Etsy site.  I don't know about you but I LOVE me some candles and soy candles are the best!  Soy candles not only burn cleaner but slower saving you $$, click *here* to check out her Baby Love Bowtique! 

And now onto Top 2 Tueday:

This week's Top 2 Tuesday's topic is New Year's Resolutions.  I have always been a girl that LOVES making resolutions for the New Year.  Growing up my momma always said, "If you fail to plan then you plan to fail."  I didn't realize until not that long ago just how true that saying is!  So without further ado... 

My New Years Resolutions:

#1. Be Healthier 

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-sweat once a day (a daily does of athletic-induced endorphins gives you the power to make better decisions, helps you be at peace with yourself, offset stress and regenerate your skin)

-drink lots and lots of fresh water to flush out unwanted toxins (keeps your brain sharp)

-reduce unnecessary stress (stress is related to 99% of all illness)

-eat healthy (better sleep, weight loss, meeting nutrition needs, longer more vibrant life and more energy... and let's be honest, what mom of a 1 year old doesn't want more energy?!)

-take my vitamins daily (you never know what small mineral can eliminate the bottleneck to everlasting health)*

#2.  Make God A Priority 

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I want to live my life to the fullest and when I make time for God and my relationship with Him I am more fulfilled, more satisfied and more productive.  I believe in God, I go to church, Josh and I pray together but I really want a better RELATIONSHIP with God.  I want God to be a bigger part of my daily life and I need to put a bigger effort into getting to know Him better.  I want to pray more, read His word more and trust Him to get me through each day.  Just like in any relationship the more opportunities we have to experience that person in different situations, the more we get to know them.

*many of the Healthy New Year's Resolutions I have are inspired by the Lululemon Manifesto* 

Merry Christmas!!

I hope that you all had a great day yesterday! I've always loved Christmas, but this Christmas was extra magical.  Going through this holiday season and seeing Christmas through the eyes of my sweet baby boy really made me slow down and appreciate the little things that make the season so special.  I've loved watching his face light up when we turn the Christmas lights on around the house.  One of my favorite things this season has been playing with Jay as a family by the tree every night before he goes to bed.  

  

We had so much fun on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, Jayden was such a trooper and had so much fun with all of the relatives, but when we got home he LOST it.  Poor little guy, between our church's late Christmas Eve service, visiting with family, presents, all of the excitement and not enough naps... he literally laid down on the carpet and bawled :(  I felt so bad for Jay he had been going and going and just couldn't unwind, he didn't end up falling asleep until 1:30 this morning.  Last night Josh and I were reminiscing about how very different this Christmas was from last year... actually, it was pretty much the exact opposite of last year:

Our little 3 day old Santa Baby

I'm so thankful that Josh had today off so that we could have a nice relaxing day with nowhere to be and nothing planned!!

Oh, and our Nordstrom Santa picture came in the mail the other day and turned out great!! It's always tricky with little kids, wondering if the photographer caught them at the right moment and I wasn't too sure what to expect but I think it's precious:

Look at the face!

  I truly hope that you all had a very Merry Christmas and spent some quality time with the ones you love!

How am I the mom of a 1 year old?!

One year ago today my life was changed forever because a year ago today I was given the most important job in the world, to be your mommy

 On December 22, 2009 @ 4:30pm, the 1st time I saw your sweet face, I knew my life was forever changed.

From the beginning I've been mesmerized by you. 

 Everything about you is perfect to me.  

 You have the most beautiful blue eyes, just like your daddy, that make me melt.

Everyday you amaze me.

  I would do anything to keep you happy, healthy and safe.

There isn't anything that you could do to make me love you any more.

You've had me wrapped around your little finger for a year now...

...and there's no other place I'd rather be!

Happy 1st Birthday Jayden!

Thank you for the most beautiful year of my life.  

Mommy loves you!!