HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JK ROWLING and HARRY POTTER

  

You honestly didn't think I'd let today pass without wishing a very Happy Birthday to my queen, JK Rowling, and also to The Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter, did you?  Silly Muggle

Image Sources:  JK Rowling

                          Harry Potter

                      Ron Card

When possible, I use images labeled for resuse, so as not to use someone else's work without them knowing it.  Regardless, I will link the source.  

The Summer of Amanda Update

Only a few short weeks ago, I was getting out of school for the summer.  This was to be the first summer in a long time where I wasn't taking classes or teaching summer school.  It was also a shortened summer as my new system starts almost a month earlier than my old (it will be nice in May, but kind of made this summer cramped).  

I listed the things that I wanted to accomplish this summer:

*finish unpacking

*work out (daily)

* dye my hair pink

*bake bread

*host guests

*visit friends

*nap

*work with Luna on basic commands ("come", "sit", "stay"....she knows them, but is stubborn)

*read lots of books

*post more often

What did I actually accomplish?

*unpacked most rooms.  There are a few boxes here and there and some pictures that still need to be hung.

*worked out with the 21-Day fix (so 21 days).  I liked it, but wanted to take a week off bc I had a busy week planned, and just haven't started back up again.  

*have not yet dyed my hair.

*baked several loaves of bread

*hosted guests, though not a welcoming party like I had hoped.  Just plain ran out of time.

*did not nap as much as I thought.  I guess going to be at 10 and waking up at 8 gives you enough sleep to be rested.

*did not work with Luna as much as I should have

*did not read as many books (VRC) as I should have.

*any posting is more than I did, so that's a win.

But I also, 

*remade several t-shirts

*made infinity scarves

*finished all seasons of Sherlock, Wayward Pines, Futurama and Family Guy (though those were started last year)

*started Call the Midwife

All in all, a great summer. 

Summer scarves and last minute things

Today, I start orientation for my new school district, so my summer was much shorter than usual.  I took the time yesterday to do some last minute things I wanted to do before jumping back into school.

I made two infinity scarves (top and bottom) and one blanket scarf (middle).  They were super fun to make, so I think I'll start selling them at the Farmers Market and on my etsy.

Aaron and I also worked Tuesday to get the media room curtains up, and 2nd guest bed made.

Thank you, Homegoods for inexpensive but nice curtains, and thank you, Ikea, for your muggle-proof furniture.

We worked Wednesday night after Aaron got home from work hanging pictures and posters.  I know I've had all summer to do this, I just couldn't start school without having finished projects!  

{Out of the Box}: July Ipsy Glam Bag

Out of the Box is a feature I do to showcase and give a brief review of products in the subscription boxes that I receive.

Today's review is of my Ipsy makeup bag for the month.  Ipsy is a service where "each month, subscribers will receive a beautiful Glam Bag with deluxe samples and full-sized beauty products. Members can watch and play along with the stylists with the same products that they are using. All for only $10 a month. "  If you are interested, please click here to use my referral code and help me earn free bags.

The theme this month is "Summer Lovin'".  And I guess all of the products are those that you might wear more in the summer (lip balm, beachy hair spray, etc).  You get about 5 things per bag, but not everyone gets the same 5 things.  There might be 20 samples you could potentially receive, but based on your answers to the "style quiz", determines what samples you get.  

So, here is what I got this month:

Photo credit:  Me...this is my backyard!

So, what did I actually get?  (clicking the product name will take you to the site)

*Octavio Molina Hair, La Playa Salt Spray.  It is to create "texture + volume",  Well, my hair needs the volume, and texture (lets face it).  But I hate crunchy hair.  Hopefully this won't dry my hair out or make it crunchy.  $15.50 for 4oz (we received a 2oz sample, so $7.25)

*Essie Nail Polish in "Fashion Playground" (which is a "pistachio green with subtle shimmer").  $8.50

*Be A Bombshell Lip Balm in "French Kiss" (oh la la), which is a light pink color, really doesn't leave much color at all, actually.  $14

*City Color Cosmetics HD Powder, which is supposed to "set your foundation for a smooth, matte finish."  Ok, I'll give it a whirl...but probably not until school or I have someplace important to go.  I'm not wasting it on just running errands!  $5.99 for 7 grams (we got a 4g sample, so lets just say worth $3 because I don't feel like doing math)

*Vasanti Cosmetics, Brighten Up Exfoliating Cleanser.  It's a nice little travel size, so next week when we take a weekend flow trip, this will fit nicely in my bag (baby).  I couldn't find this exact product on the Vasanti website, but others from that Brighten Up line are $10.  

So, for $10, I got $42.75 worth of product.  I say that's a pretty good deal.  

Tee-shirt Remake

I hate wearing sleeves in the summertime.  Not that I want to show off my arms, but I don't like sweating and having any sort of sleeve on.  I'd rather wear a tanktop and jeans than just about anything else.

Between Aaron and I, we have a ton of tee-shirts.  With the move, Aaron cleaned out his closet and had a bunch that he wanted to donate.  I decided to use them to make into tank tops instead.

Just a simple, drawstring top.  If you're industrious, you could probably whip out a couple in an hour.

Since I'm toying with the idea of selling these at the Farmers Market and in my Etsy shop, I'm not really going to give directions just yet, but believe me when I say they're super easy and they look darn cute with jeans.   

{Out of the box}: July Fair Ivy

Out of the Box is a feature I do to showcase and give a brief review of products in the subscription boxes that I receive.

I've been remiss lately in showcasing what goodies I've been getting, but, here we go!

Fair Ivy is your typical subscription box, with month-to-month, 6 month and year subscriptions.  Their specialty is finding budding artists on etsy and sharing their treasures.  They are currently full for all, and have a waitlist.

They send out jewelry every other month, so this is our lucky month!  Today's craft comes from Grey Goose Gifts and they can be found on Etsy.  They seem to have a lot of hammered gold and silver necklaces, which I really like.

   

The card on the box from Fair Ivy said that they couldn't decide which they liked better, silver or gold, so we got a little bit of both.  I like the necklace, it's very pretty.  But it's small, and the chain is kind of short and cheap---it sits right below the hollow of my collar bone.    

So, after getting Fair Ivy for 3 or 4 months now, I have to say, I'm not that impressed.  I like the idea of showcasing artists from Etsy, but I think what we get isn't worth the money (FYI, I'm cheap.  If I don't feel like I'm getting a deal, I'm not going to do it.), so I think I'll be cancelling my subscription and maybe work harder on getting off the OwlCrate wait list...  

From flab to fab check-in

It's been about a month since we started the 21 day fix workout and diet plan.  I've also been drinking shakeology and Aaron's been drinking just regular protein shakes (that we found at Target).

I was bad and did not weigh or measure myself before we started, so I don't really know how much I've lost.  But, I can tell you my pants are fitting better (I wore a pair of shorts Tuesday that I wasn't able to fit into comfortably last summer), and when I do the truffle shuffle in the bathroom mirror, there isn't as much to jiggle.

 

(from Giphy)

Aaron, on the other hand, was smart and compared his weight at various doctor's appointments, and has lost 15 pounds!  Just by doing the diet plan and protein shakes.  He didn't do the workouts!    

This week is kind of a rest week for me (ok, I didn't feel like doing the workouts.  I needed a break), but we're still following the meal plan and shakes.