Thursday, April 28, 2016

April Birchbox


How is April almost over?!

This month has flown by and I just realized this morning that I hadn't posted my Birchbox for the month yet. So here we go:



This months box had a Rifle Paper Co. coupon inside. I honestly haven't even checked out their website. I would be interested if I didn't already have more stuff then I could ever need in my house. The less I have to move this upcoming month the better. (I am in ultimate purge mode right now!)



The first product is this Parlor volumizing setting spray. I haven't tried it yet but I'm assuming it's similar to a hairspray which I will use at some point but I definitely don't need anything that will give me volume...I have enough of that on my own thanks!


If you've been reading along you probably know that I gave up Burts Bees chapstick last year. I'm not sure how I feel about this tinted lip balm since I'm not a huge fan of lip products anyways. I  may try it out I will keep you updated!


I have SO many masks to use and now here's another one! Derma-e Purifying 2 in 1 Charcoal Mask. I am always a little wary of face products but am willing to give anything a try. I hope that this will be a good one!


This might be the most exciting product in here! This is a Briogeo Don't Despair Repair Deep Conditioning Mask. I love a good hair mask since my hair is so dry. I will definitely be using this soon!



This product from Au Naturale is very cool. There is  a lipstick, a blush, and an eyeshadow inside. Even though the samples are small, it is interesting packaging and I really like the idea of organic makeup.

Do you receive any monthly boxes? What did you get inside?

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Weekend Fun Recap!

Oh how is it the end of the weekend again????


That is exactly how I'm feeling right now! But it was a great weekend around here so I shouldn't even be too whiney about having to head back to work (but I will be....). So first off all before the weekend started we had a great Thursday night visiting Brittni, Stephen and Emma!


Tim is just so natural with babies! We brought my mom along with us so she could meet Emma and she kept commenting on how Tim seemed to be the best with her because he was just so relaxed and held her like a football under his arm.



I mean, look how content she looks! She is SUCH a good baby and I enjoy heading over there to visit them.


My mom also loves any chance to hold a baby!

On Friday night we had plans to meet up with my extended family at Dan's Place in West Greenwich. I unfortunately didn't take any pictures, but it was so nice to sit and chat with my Papa and see my cousin Andrew who has been away in the Navy for some time! Since we had dinner on the early end we didn't have any super exciting plans for the night we ended up heading out for some ice cream.



Brickley's in Wakefield is one of the best ice cream places in the area! There is always a super long line but it's totally worth it.

Saturday was a very productive day for me. Tim worked in the morning and then headed off golfing with his dad in the afternoon so I had some time to myself to get all sorts of things done.

After cleaning the house, washing bedding and starting some laundry I decided to take a drive into Westerly to use a Pier One gift certificate that was burning a hole in my pocket! I picked up some new things for our new apartment!


Cute right?! I am so excited and will keep you updated on our future apartment as soon as I know more!

On Sunday we started the day with breakfast at Ocean Mist with Tim's parents and brother and then headed off hiking.





The first place we explored was near Barber's Pond in South Kingstown and was a fun trail that took us near water and deep into the woods. We always enjoy getting outside together and exploring and this was no exception.

When we finished the trail we knew we weren't done hiking just yet. So we headed down the road a little bit to the Crawley Preserve near where Tim grew up.



The first thing we saw on our hike was a snake! Since there wasn't a ton of wildlife hanging around we were excited to see this little green guy!


This hike was gorgeous. I loved the waterfall and the woods we walked through. We will definitely be heading back here in the future!


After our hiking adventure it was time to head home and change and get to the hospital! We were ready to meet Isabella, Emma's new cousin!


Brittni's sister Katie had a beautiful little girl this morning!




What a great weekend! :)



Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Household Tips and Tricks: Removing Permanent Marker From Clothes!


Living with a boy you learn something new every day! Earlier this week I received a text message while at work asking me if I knew how to remove permanent marker from clothes because someones favorite shirt was in danger of being ruined. 

So after work I looked up some household remedies for removing marker and thought I would give it a try. 

Here's what one of the stains looked like when I started:



There were two stains total but I only took pictures of one for this process.


While we were at the grocery store that evening I grabbed some rubbing alcohol. It was the only product I needed to get out the stain!

Before I started I laid a couple paper towels inside the shirt so the stain wouldn't spread to the other side.


Then I took a little bit of rubbing alcohol on a clean cloth...


Then started dabbing away. Don't rub the stain, it will only make it worse just keep pressing and pulling away.


Voila! No more stain!


The paper towels keep the stain from spreading and you can see a few parts of the paper towel that have a pink tint to them.

That's how I managed to get permanent marker out of Tim's shirt in less then five minutes! Easy peasey!

Monday, April 18, 2016

Steak Tips and Chocolate Chip Brownies

Tim and I spent some time making a delicious dinner I thought you guys may enjoy hearing about! We didn't have a ton of ingredients either which makes this super doable for anyone looking for an easy dinner.

Ingredients Needed:
Steak Tips
Peppers
Onions
Terayki Sauce
Rice a Roni
Brownie Mix
Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips



When we arrived home we placed the steak in a plastic baggie and let it soak up flavor from the Teriyaki sauce. While we waited on that Tim taught me the proper way to cut up vegetables.


I apparently make him nervous because I just cut wherever I feel like and he's "afraid I'm going to cut off my fingers". Well if he isn't a nervous nelly. *ahem*
Anyways, apparently you are supposed to lay the flat side of whatever you're cutting down and cut it that way, so I learned the proper way to cut peppers and onions.



I also thought I was a total badass and could cut onions without my eyes watering until my eyes felt like they were going to fall out. Chopping onions is no joke people!

One our onions and peppers were chopped up we stuck them in a bowl and Tim doused them in Terayki sauce as well.


Then it was time to cut up the steak into small pieces. I never thought I would enjoy cutting up meat but it wasn't as terrible as I thought it would be! 



While the steak simmered on the stove we started making the Rice-a-Roni which is a fairly easy process. We tend to use Rice-a-Roni products quite often because they are so quick and easy to make and their rice honestly works with most meals you make. It's always a nice addition!


While Tim manned the stove I packaged up all of our leftovers so we would be all set for lunch throughout the week. After I took this picture I also cut up the cantaloupe you can see in the background. I enjoy having my lunch all ready for me in the morning and eating leftovers ensures that I have something delicious for lunch each day. (Nothing bums me out more then thinking I have something lame to eat for lunch- I need to keep it exciting or I will head right out and buy my lunch- wasting time and money!)


In addition to what you see above, we also packaged up the remains of this meal so we each had an additional meal to eat that week.

After everything was done cooking, each of us had a plate full of delicious, filling food.


Doesn't that just look delicious?! I wasn't able to eat everything on my plate and ended up packing up half of it for my lunch. Tim ate his entire plate and used the leftovers we had for his lunch later in the week.

About an hour after we ate, I started making chocolate chip brownies for dessert. I used a Betty Crocker fudge brownie mix and Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips.


The brownies lasted us just about a week, we would bring a couple for lunch as a treat which was nice. I love using a basic brownie mix and adding some chocolate chips in to make them extra special. They were delicious! 

What have you been making for dinner and dessert lately? Anything super yummy? Share in the comments section!


Saturday, April 16, 2016

The Jungle Book, Dinner and Breakfast

Happy Saturday! I'm extra early on this beautiful, sunny Saturday morning getting my car serviced- so I have a couple hours of hanging out in the waiting room ahead of me and thought I would I stop on by. 

This week involved a lot of overtime at work, seeing a few friends, and then last night Tim and I went to see The Jungle Book! My mind was a little foggy on the original Disney movie since I don't believe it was one of my favorites as a child. However, the live action movie was very well done and both Tim and I enjoyed it immensely! 

I personally am getting super excited about the future Beauty and the Beast movie starring Emma Watson that was announced. Beauty and the Beast was my favorite as a young girl and still remains my favorite Disney movie to this day! You better believe we will be attending opening day for that movie as well! What Disney movie is your favorite?

I wanted to share a dinner and breakfast that Tim and I had last week. I have honestly never been a great cook and never truly enjoyed cooking. Tim however loves to cook and it is fun when we are together in the kitchen cooking dinner!

I decided to make mashed potatoes to contribute to a dinner last week and used my friend Rachel's recipe!


First I cut up potatoes into smaller pieces and then boiled them in water.


Once they were warm and ready I used my mixer to mash them up.


I mixed in butter and ranch dressing which makes them taste sooooooo yummy!



After a lot of mixing you have some delicious ranch mashed potatoes. I don't use specific measurements but just make them to taste. I will be making these again soon for sure since they are super easy.

Tim has also been great at making delicious dinners for us. This is one he made the other night:


Steak marinated in Italian dressing, chicken rice, carrots, and baked potato with cheese and bacon!

Sunday morning breakfast might be my favorite though...




Bacon and cheddar cheese omelet with home made home fries. Did I mention what an incredible boyfriend I have? When I learn to cook a little bit better maybe I'll share some recipes on here with you, but for now I'm happy helping and taking pictures of the delicious end products!

Have a great weekend everybody!