Pinterest Test: Magnetic Make Up Board

I am a hoarder. Yeah, I said it, hoarder. But I am not the "buy a ton of dollar store or thrift store crap and stack it to the ceiling" hoarder. No no no, I am the "OCD, buy nice stuff, organize it, and wish there was a better way to access it" kind of hoarder.

My obsession over the years with MAC make up was crazy. I have countless eye shadows, palettes, lip glosses, brushes and skin products and I always had to hide these amazing things under the sink and in my make up boxes and bags because I have, possibly, the World's smallest bathroom :(

Then one day on Pinterest I found the magnetic make up board idea and thought this would be great! But then I realized that even though I wanted an adorable board with a colorful frame and all that jazz, that was not what I was going to end up with. I know these things. I want to execute gorgeous crafts, but then practicality gets in the way and I end up with the basics. For now, I am ok with that.

The only place in my bathroom that is large enough to hold a dry erase/magnetic board is right next to my shower so I was not going to put in the time and effort of mod podging, painting, and beautifying a board just for it to get ruined by the humidity and the possible water splatter that would come from my shower. That would just be depressing! That's when I remembered....ITS BACK TO SCHOOL TIME!  WHOOOO!

Oh yes, that means that dry erase boards and markers, magnetic organizer cups, magnets and magnetic clips and all that stuff would be flooding the Back-To-School section in Target! So my mother and I set off to go shopping.

Check out my result:

- Board was about $12 from Target
-Magnet clips were $1 for 4
- Craft magnets were $10 for 2 packs of like 20 or so to glue to the make up (and if you use craft glue you can peel the magnets off easily and reuse them!)
-Mesh magnetic holders were on sale at Target for $2 a piece
-Pack of dry erase markers on sale at Target for $3
-Getting your dad to follow through on helping you with a project.....priceless

Total: $18 plus how ever much you want to spend on magnets

Ok, I know I know, it is a bit plain and boring....but check out all the space I have to write myself love notes and stick up countless little products for easy access! All I had to do was buy the board and magnets, beg my dad to remember to screw it to the wall for about 3 weeks, and then patiently wait for the glue to dry on the magnets on the back of the make up! I found the little magnet clips worked great for holding a single eye liner and those little magnetic mesh things were awesome to hold eyeliners, mascaras and other products! The only thing I have to be careful about is making sure the magnets have good connection before I let go of the eyeshadow, otherwise they fall on the floor. Having the eye shadows displayed like this is wonderful! I can now have the Fall/Winter colors out (like I have pictured here) and then switch them out for my Spring/Summer colors at the end of the season and have them all at my finger tips! This saves me a lot of time as I used to dig, elbow deep, through my make up boxes looking for specific colors and eventually I would just give up.

 

I also keep my french memory board next to my sink:

I picked up this board at Ross (I think) for a few bucks years ago and I recently moved it into the bathroom to hold all the little packets of products that I get from my subscription boxes. Since it is right by the sink I am reminded to try them and they are not just kicking around in a drawer collecting dust!

 





And there you have it!

Jenn

Pinterest Test: Two Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins

I really should not go on Pinterest when I am freaking starving from doing one of these goofy diets I should be smart enough not to try. But alas, I do and then I pin a bunch of things to make when I have the motivation.

Tonight's test- 2 ingredient pumpkin muffins. I know why these "2 ingredient" recipes catch my interest. They come off as super easy and there is always someone who claims that it is delicious and, not to mention, this one boasted that each muffin was going to be under 100 calories! So I jumped on board. What the hell, right?

I gathered my ingredients:

• One box of yellow cake mix (this is all I had)
• One giant can of pumpkin puree
• pumpkin pie spice
• pyure sweetner packets

(Blogger and I are fighting again because the damn thing won't import my pictures the way they are in my computer :D)

I emptied the cake mix into a glass bowl, knowing that I was going to have problems with this mix from the get-go. I know better than to substitute things when I try these recipes. Like when I used a Coke Zero in my Diet Coke Brownie... yeah, I know better. I forged on, figuring it couldn't be that bad. I scooped out about 10 ounces of the pumpkin puree and then I eyeballed the pumpkin pie spice and tossed in 2 packets of pyure sweetener.....well, I don't know why I put that in but it couldn't hurt, right?

About 25 minutes later, and at 350 degrees, these little things were ready to pull out of the oven. They smelled amazing, were a little dense, but were cooked all the way through. I put them on a plate to cool for a bit while I washed all the dishes I had dirtied cooking this......just kidding! My mother did the dishes :) LOL

My mom got one of these muffins off the plate before they had cooled completely so I asked her opinion. Sadly she said they smelled better than they tasted. My heart was broken. I snagged one and pulled off a piece to try for myself, and she was right. Shit. Yet another 2-ingredient recipe blunder.

Not to be deterred, I covered these things with press n' seal wrap and saved them for breakfast. They have got to be better first thing in the morning paired with some eggs and bacon, right?


So the next morning I woke up, made some eggs with cheese, pre-cooked Boar's Head bacon, and some grapefruit and grabbed one of these little guys. I sliced it in half, sprayed 2-3 spritzes of spray butter on each half and crisped it in the skillet. HUGE IMPROVEMENT!

 

The muffins were saved, my brother ate one and liked it (huge surprise there) and I got some pumpkin into my diet. It was a good morning, and I may actually decide to make these again.....ya know.....the right way with a box of Duncan Hines yellow cake mix ;)

 

Jenn

Pinterest Test: Wonton Tacos

Well I was not able to make it through my 3 Day Diet with out getting sick to my stomach, so I had to whip up something quickly. I had found this recipe on Pinterest but of course I have ADD and decided to just go with the idea of the "wonton taco" and not follow directions :)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. 98% fat free ground beef
• taco seasoning packet
• wonton wrappers
• shredded cheddar cheese
• sour cream
• salsa
• guacamole (optional)

I pre-heated the oven to 375 degrees and then I took the wonton wrappers and tucked one in to each opening of the cupcake pan. While the oven was heating I pulled the beef out of the freezer and defrosted it in the microwave.

When the oven was heated, I put the cupcake pans in the oven for 4 minutes letting the wonton wrappers get a little toasted. I left the oven on.

I made a mess while doing this, kept accidentally flicking pieces of beef onto the top of the stove. I swear if you don't cook for a few weeks you loose your finesse. Anyway, I cooked the beef, drained the fat, and then put in the taco seasoning and water and let it simmer until it thickened.

When the meat was done I used a spoon and placed the seasoned meat into each of the 24 cups. I had exactly enough for each. Then I took the shredded cheddar and sprinkled some on the top of each and stuck them in the oven.

I don't know how long I left them in the oven, I just kept an eye on them until the cheese was nice and melted. I took them out of the oven and let them cool for a few minutes while I dug around for the salsa, sour cream, and guac. I just put a little salsa and sour cream on these, but if I weren't starving I would have dug for some black olives to put on top as well as substituted the guac for some fresh sliced avocado. I had even debated some canned green chilies, but the thought of any more canned food turned my stomach.

 

I made 24 of these little things, I ate 6 of them and when my dad was done with them there were only 2 left.....so I would say they were a hit. I even got a picture of my dad eating them, but I won't share that. He actually said he would "love for me to make these again because they are so good". Maybe the next time I will follow the directions on the blog exactly, but for quickly whipping something up, these were amazing!

Thank you Pinterest!

 

Jenn

3 Day Diet- Version 2

As promised, here is another version of the 3 Day Diet that my mother and I are trying. You can find the first version that we tried here. The version below is more clear than the first one that was given to me and this one has a few more things in it that I would prefer to eat.
I found this version of the 3 day diet here and much like the other diet, it is used in a hospital in Alabama in the cardiac unit to lose weight fast over 3 days.

Here is the diet! Same disclosure on this one (i.e. I am not a doctor, I am not recommending this as a healthy way to lose weight....blah blah blah.)

Breakfast		Lunch	Dinner
1/2 Grapefuit or Juice 1 Slice of Toast 1 tbsp. Peanut Butter Black Coffee or Tea		1/2 cup Tuna 1 Slice Toast Black Coffee or Tea	2 Slices (3 oz.) of any Meat 1 cup String Beans 1 cup Carrots or Beets 1 small Apple 1 cup Vanilla Ice Cream
Breakfast		Lunch	Dinner
1 hard-boiled Egg 1 Slice of Toast 1/2 Banana Black Coffee or Tea		1 cup Cottage Cheese or: 1/2 cup Tuna 5 Saltine Crackers	2 Wieners 1 cup Cabbage or Broccoli 1/2 cup Carrots or Turnip Greens 1/2 Banana 1 cup Vanilla Ice Cream
Breakfast		Lunch	Dinner
1 hard-boiled Egg 1 Slice Toast Black Coffee or Tea		1 Slice Cheddar Cheese 5 Saltine Crackers 1 small Apple Black Coffee or Tea	1 cup Tuna 1 cup Carrots or Beets 1 cup Green Beans or Cauliflower 1 cup Cantaloupe or 1 small Apple 1 cup Vanilla Ice Cream
	* This diet works as a chemical breakdown and is proven to work DO NOT VARY AMOUNTS OR MAKE SUBSTITUTIONS TO THE DIET MENU! * You are allowed diet soda or tea with sweetener on this diet. * Salt and pepper may be used, but no other seasoning. * Use this diet for 3 consecutive days each week. * After 3 days of dieting, you can eat your usual food, But Do Not OVER Eat!!! * After 4 days of normal eating, start back on your 3 day diet. * Don’t change the rules!

 

Day 1: I was able to actually eat half of a real grapefruit this time around and did not have to substitute some sort of orange juice to start this off. Not sure if it made a difference as I forgot to get a starting weight....oops! Today's calories were 846 and it was not so bad. I didn't mind dinner, but I think my stomach got a little upset because I had 3 oz of chicken from a can, 1 cup of carrots from a can, and 1 cup of green beans from a can.......bleh! The apple and ice cream, as usual, were amazingly delicious. I was pretty freaking hungry several hours after dinner and had a hard time getting to sleep. I tried not to have much of any diet soda this time around, which when you are eating this bland food, proves to be a bit difficult.

Day 2: Yet another yummy breakfast! I chose the cottage cheese for lunch and I wanted so badly to mix in some dill and exchange the saltines for triscuits and to have some turkey deli meat or something. Mom and I took an hour long walk around the neighborhood and were imagining putting craisins and cashew pieces in the cottage cheese.....so yeah, we were a bit hungry and feeling deprived. It wasn't until dinner when the psychotic behavior surfaced.  We chose to eat 1 cup of cabbage (cole slaw mix) and one cup of carrots (matchstick cut) and my mom worked her way though her bunny food rather quickly while I, well, I had a mental break. As we sat, watching the Hunger Games, I was cramming the cole slaw and carrot mix in my mouth and saying "oh my God, its so delicious" while I had a not too attractive face on. I had to take a half a can of Coke Zero and take sips of it to mix with the cole slaw mix in my mouth just to get it down. What I would have killed for some rice wine vinegar, that really would have helped matters a bit. When I finally got through it and had my 2 Hebrew National reduced fat wieners, I barely let them cool before I was nibbling on them, trying to make them last. I sliced up my half of the banana and put that on the top of my vanilla ice cream and the suffering of the cole slaw was a thing of nightmares. I slept well  that night, even though I was still pretty hungry. After 1047 calories for the day, you would think an additional 200 calories to a diet would take an edge off.

Day 3: Mom got the hang of making hard boiled eggs this morning and they were delicious. I was kind of mad we could only have one. Mom and I are starving and we are trying to find ways to entertain each other so we don't go nuts. So far I have only had a half a can of Coke Zero through this experience, but I am losing my resolve quickly......and dinner was a bust. I made my bowl of 1 cup green beans, 1 cup beets and 1- 5 oz can of tuna and promptly almost puked when I put the first bite in my mouth. I refused to be miserable for dinner so I tossed it out and I made these wonton tacos instead :)

Well, this time around I learned something else about this diet- you can only take so much. I don't know if it is because I was eating most of my food out of a can and that turned my stomach or if its because of the copious amounts of green beans and beets I have eaten in the last two weeks, but I refuse to be miserable.

I do have a tendency to get sick while eating every so often. For 2-3 weeks I will be fine and then one week I will just not be able to even look at food with out wanting to throw up. No idea what it is, I don't think its related to "that time of the month", but my mother gets it too. Who knows. I am thinking I am done with this 3 day diet mess. While it was fin to stick to a regimen, I think I am going to explore cooking more quick and healthy meals instead. I do not believe you should be miserable while eating, that takes me back to my childhood. I think that my parents forcing me to eat broccoli as I was a child has ingrained this natural reaction to want to throw up when I smell it.

Until next time,

Jenn

 

August Glossybox Product Reviews

Seriously quick shipping this month from Glossybox! The confirmation email was sent out with a tracking number and about a week later my box was delivered.

August's box theme is "Pure Luxury" and it is geared towards pampering yourself after a Summer of sun damage. This box features products infused with oils, vitamins and color. The Glossy Mag claims "make up with a burst of color" is the current trend and I am so on board with that! How awesome does a tan look with bright or neon colors? :)


On to the reviews!

• Ellis Faas  Ellis Lips in L105- Creamy: The texture of this lip product is amazing! My lips were smooth, felt hydrated and the pigment in the product was nice and opaque....but the color is fucking terrible. No lie, it was like a shit brown color. Here is the link to the website with the color which describes it as "rusty brown"....well that's exactly what it was. I was kind of disappointed that Glossybox did not select a more universal color or one of the "neon" colors they were advertising in the mag. Both my mother and I tried it on (see pic to the right) and it looked equally terrible on the both of us. After we tried it and gathered all the info on it, we decided to donate it to the trash can. That was a waste of a $35 product :( I think I might have shed a tear.

• Biolage ExquisiteOil Replenishing Treatment: If you know me, you know I love a good hair product! The sample is .16 fl oz and it will last for a while. I only used one and a half pumps (which was less than the size of a dime) and it went a long way. The formula is really light, not heavy like an oil, and it has a very uni-sex scent that is not very strong, like cologne. I put this on the ends of my hair and it was bouncy, was not weighed down, and did not make my hair look wet. When I tried to rinse the left over oil off my hands however, it took a bit of soap and elbow grease to get off all the residue. If I didn't have 3 other oils in my collection right now, I would buy this one. Since I do, I will have to wait until I use one up and at $22 for 3.1 oz its not that bad!

• Ole Henriksen Truth Serum- This was a nice product to see in the box. I sometimes forget the importance of not just using moisturizer and anti-acne stuff on my face. This is a vitamin C complex that is supposed to help with lines and wrinkles and has moisturizers and skin firming ingredients. Going on it feels very light, has a nice thin texture, and smells like orange sunkist candies. It did end up being a bit sticky when I put it on initially, but it went away after about 10 minutes. It stayed just a tad sticky, but not any more so than when using a moisturizer. I wore this alone all day and I really liked it. My skin felt hydrated and dewy. I think it will work well layering with make up since it goes on in such a thin application. This is a bit pricey, at $48 for only 1 oz. so I do not think I will be purchasing this one, even though Glossybox included a card advertising a free sample of Truth Creme with $50 purchase.

• Touch In Sol Feel Like Honey Moon Skin Base: Not totally getting the product name....well, I mean, I get it...but shouldn't it be "Feels Like a Honey Moon"? It would just read better. Anyway, this neat little product came in a 1.06 oz tube but a full size is 1.12 oz and retails for $20, so I will just go ahead and count this as another full sized product this month (which makes 3 including the next product). Not bad for just one box! I tried a pea-size amount of this product under my tinted moisturizer and it was very nice. The gel has, what looks like, gold flakes of something in it, it has a gel like texture but goes on nicely and leaves your skin dewy and hydrated and not sticky. It has a clean, citrus scent to it and a little goes a long way. I thought this was a pretty darn good primer for a tinted moisturizer and it didn't clump up when layered. It left my skin feeling very soft and smooth. This would definitely be a product that I would buy to wear as a primer or even alone.

• Illamasqua LTD Nail Varnish in "Alarm": This full sized polish retails for $14 per bottle at Sephora and boasts that it is chip resistant. The color I received is described on Sephora as "bright flame red" and to me it is an orang-y red color. It is definitely a loud red. It has a decent formula, a little too on the liquid-y side for my taste. I prefer my polishes to have more of a thicker texture because I find they are easier to work with. One coat of this was almost fully opaque and it was nice and bright. I did not find that this varnish was any more chip resistant, however I don't tend to keep my polishes on for more than 3 days at a time :)

So that's August's Glossybox! There was about $72 worth of full sized products in this month's box and while I did have to pitch that gross color of lip replenishing treatment :( I did find an awesome primer and a new hair product! Now I need to be patient for my first Sample Society Box (referral code JENN906995) and my first Pop Sugar Must Have Bag!

Jenn

3 Day Diet- Version 1

Shopping for health insurance has been a real pain in my ass. Every time I had called somewhere it had been all sweet and lovely conversation until they asked my height and weight. Basically when shopping for individual insurance they want to know your height and weight and if you smoke.....that's it. That is how these insurance companies base what to charge you monthly. So the fact that I am a chubby girl and have big boobs, well that puts me on death's door and apparently makes me expensive to insure.
I called a Health and Life Insurance Broker that was nice, professional, understanding, and willing to tell me the rubric the insurance companies follow of height to weight ratio. He actually wanted to help me get to where I needed to be to fit into the narrow guidelines the insurance companies have set up. He sent me an email with this "3 Day Diet" that he told me was developed by a doctor at Kaiser Permanente to help over-weight patients going in for heart surgery lose weight before the procedure. He did warn that many bathroom breaks would be needed and I would be tired as hell, but if I did this then I would lose close to 10 lbs and could be more competitive for my health insurance rates.
Always willing to risk bodily harm for a discount on anything, I agreed to give this a shot. (read sarcasm into this line)

Here is the diet.....and a disclaimer: IF YOU TRY THIS YOU DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK. THIS IS NOT MY DIET, I AM NOT A DOCTOR, I AM NOT PROMOTING IT AS A HEALTHY WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT :)

Top to bottom, days 1,2, and 3 are listed.

Breakfast	Lunches	Dinners
Day One
1 Slice of toast 2 Tbs of peanut butter 1/2 of grapefruit or juice	1 Small can of tuna 1Slice of toast Coffee or tea	2 Slices (3 oz) of meat 1 Cup of beets 1 Cup green beans 1 Cup vanilla ice cream
Day Two
1 Hard boiled egg 1 Slice of toast 1/2 Banana	1 Cup of cottage cheese 6 Saltine crackers	2 Turkey hot dogs 1 Cup broccoli 1/2 Cup of carrots 1/2 Banana 1/2 Cup vanilla ice cream
Day Three
1 Hard boiled egg 1 Slice of toast	5 Saltine crackers 1 Slice of cheddar cheese	1 Cup of tuna 1 Cup of beets 1 Cup of cauliflower 1/2 Canteloupe 1/2 Cup of vanilla ice cream

"DO NOT make any substitutions.  This is a chemical breakdown and has been medically proven to work.  Do it for three days, then four days off.  You will lose 10 pounds per week or forty per month.  Don't try it unless you intend to stick with it EXACTLY as it is printed.  Salt and pepper are okay but no other seasonings are allowed.  Diet drinks are permitted but drink plenty of water."

So there is the plan to. I went down to my kitchen to make sure I had the food needed to complete this diet for the 3 days (of course we did not have a bunch of those things). During that time I told my mom what the plan was and she said she would do it with me. It's always easier to stick with something when you have some one to do it with!

Day 1:
Breakfast- I was very excited for my toast with 2 tablespoons of peanut butter! So hungry and so excited....that I forgot to weigh myself in the morning for my start weight. Oops. I will try to remember to do that tomorrow. We also did not have any grapefruits or grapefruit juice (even though mom said we had some last night.....) so I had to substitute that with a few sips of blood orange juice. After breakfast we went to the store for grapefruits....




Lunch- I was a bit turned off by tuna fish right out of the can, however since the diet allows some salt and pepper I shook some on there and it was really delicious. I found that my new favorite tea is Good Earth Sweet & Spicy tea. You don't need to use any sugar or milk, it is delicious just how it is!

Dinner: Well this was a bit more challenging to choke down. I like green beans....but with mustard. I haven't had beets in yeeeeeeears. Chicken from a can? Well that was my choice but it was easier than cooking something. I was so hungry by this time that I was able to get most of it down with out a fight. I did leave a few bites of beets left....who can really eat a cup of beets though?
And lets not forget........

......the whole cup of vanilla ice cream! What a nice way to reward yourself after sticking with this diet all day. It almost felt like too much ice cream, but the directions say eat the whole cup :)






Thoughts- I did not feel very hungry today and I think I actually liked my dinner with the green beans and beets. Lunch was not bad either but I would have loved to add some miracle whip to that tuna. Actually, I could eat this every day- if I knew this didn't constitute starving myself. The total calories for today were 822, my suggested for moderate weight loss is 1300. I was exhausted come bed time and I ended up falling asleep with in minutes of laying down. I am sure it was a result of under eating today.

Day 2:  (weighed myself this morning, down 3lbs from when I had weighed in a few weeks ago)

Breakfast- I love eggs, toast, and bananas so breakfast was small but delicious. I had read somewhere that a Japanese scientist has discovered that bananas with a lot of brown spots  have cancer fighting properties in them. After breakfast my mom and I took a 30 minute walk with my dog Bentley before the rain came.

Lunch- If you have never eaten a full cup of cottage cheese.....I suggest you try it. I ate my 6 saltines first and then enjoyed the cottage cheese until I had about 2 bites and had to stop. I don't know what started to bother me, the texture or taste but I am sure it would have gone down easier if I could have put some dill in it. I forgot to take a picture of my food before I ate it, I was pretty hungry.




Dinner- This has got to be the worst meal yet. I don't like carrots (ate too many of them as a kid) and I hate broccoli. I hate broccoli so much that the smell of it makes me gag and the last time I tried it I had to run to the bathroom to spit it out....I was 24 years old. Now here we are 3 years later and we are putting my gag reflex to the test! I was able to get most of my half cup of carrots down no problem. I tried eating some broccoli raw and the toughness of it and the texture of those little balls had me gagging and I ran to the trash to spit it out. Not a good start. Next, I steamed some in the microwave and then threw some salt and pepper on it. If you remember, when you were a child and were forced to eat something gross, you would chew it up and then can't swallow it so you drink some water to help it down. Yep, that was my strategy. I think I got about 3/4 of a cup, but I could not eat any more. The turkey hot dogs were delicious and I gobbled those up as well as my half of a banana. The half cup of ice cream was yummy as usual. Still makes me wonder how ice cream helps to lose weight though........


Thoughts- Today I could not get out of bed on time. I am usually out of bed around 8 or 9 (perks of being unemployed) but today I could not get up until after 10 am. Its like my brain wouldn't cooperate. I knew I needed to get up, but I could not make myself do it. When I finally did stand up  I was super light headed and had to take a moment to collect myself. I took a 30 minute walk with mom, but it had started to rain. As soon as we came home and I showered and sat down with my book. After just a few pages I dozed off for a nap. Not the most productive day today. Its a Sunday so I was not expecting much, but the day was pretty much wasted with sleeping and napping. Come 10 pm I was starving and salivating at all the food porn on Pinterest. Today was only 813 calories worth of food.

Day 3: (another pound down this morning)
Breakfast- Yeah, you are looking at this picture correctly. I got to have a piece of toast and one hard boiled egg.  It was very sad and very bland :(

Lunch- Yep, no joke here either. Some saltines and some cheese. Weirdly, I wasn't famished. I took a long walk with my mom and the dogs afterwards which was nice.

Dinner- WHOA! Talk about a lot of food! I did
not even bother to take pictures of it all. I had a can of tuna, a cup of beets, tried to eat a half a cantaloupe but only ate a fourth of it, I could only stomach a few bites of the cauliflower and then even the ice cream was tough to get down.









Thoughts- Well even though there were only 678 calories today I really didn't feel that hungry. I was able to get up on time today, I went tanning, went out with mom to get dog food and run some other errands and then we took an hour walk around the neighborhood with the dogs. I didn't even feel like taking a nap! I was down another pound this morning which  makes 4 lbs since this started. I hope that there is a significant loss tomorrow morning because I am going in to the doctor's office to get my height and weight done. Hopefully I will fall into the measurements they need!

Conclusion- Well I lost 7 pounds (of I am guessing water weight) but it was enough to get me down into the measurements the insurance company laid out. The weight has not come back yet, but I have a feeling that it will. I accomplished my goal....even if it was temporary. Men don't read this next part--- I do believe this diet is about starving your body because my period stopped on the 3rd day of this diet and I still had 2 more days to go in my flow. I do not think that is very healthy in any way.

Well, I found another similar diet that the Cardiac Unit in Birmingham AL uses to help patients drop weight. Believe it or not, my mother would like to try this type of diet again so I am going to support her and do it with her as she did this diet with me.  Pretty sure this is the last time I will do something like this. I am taking away some great information from these diets though. If you add some calories and some fruit and veggies to breakfast and lunch, its actually not a bad plan to follow. I just really feel that you need to be over 1200 calories a day just to sustain proper energy for body function.

Jenn

GNC Hair, Skin & Nails- 30 Day Trial

My mother, bless her heart, loves to shop at GNC. She purchased the Hair, Skin, & Nails Program for me in early 2012, and I had put off using it for several reasons until I realized that it expires at the end of the year.

GNC has since repackaged this product but here is the link to the product on their website. And here is a picture of the bottles I have:

There is a 30 day supply of each: Evening Primrose Oil 500, Hair, Skin & Nails Formula, and Advanced Collagen Formula.

Evening Primrose Oil is supposed to be used for acne, eczema, and psoriasis- as well as a bunch of other uses. I have mild acne on my face and back (I am guessing from stress) so I am hoping this helps the skin care regimen I have already been using to clear it up.

The Hair, Skin & Nails Formula has 3000 mcg of biotin which I have heard of in oral skin care before. Again, used for many things, biotin can help with hair loss, brittle nails and even mild depression.

And the Advanced Collagen Formula has collagen and amino acids, which is found in skin and hair, to help with the repair of both.

Taken as directed, you only have to swallow 4 vitamins a day.



I started taking these at night on August 5th. I am hoping in 30 days to report back that my skin has cleared up, my nails are harder and growing faster, and that my hair is healthier and longer.......we shall see!

Day 5: I have been breaking out on my chin more than usual, but I am not sure if that is due to stress or "that time of the month". I have been faithfully taking the vitamins, washing my face with Philosophy "On a Clear Day" foaming wash, and using my Murad Acne Exfoliating Gel.

Day 7: I have 3 little pimples....on my eye lid! WTF is that? I have yet to see any improvement in the minor acne on my chin, I would even venture to say that it is worse. They are not white heads, but instead black heads. I rarely touch my face, I even use brushes and brush cleaner to put my make up on. So far, I am disappointed.

Day 9: The white heads are starting. This is so gross! I do not understand how this is happening. I am taking the vitamins, drinking a lot of water, and tanning regularly to help combat the break outs. I really hope that by day 14 there will be some improvement.

Day 11: I have a pimple on the back side of my arm. I have never gotten one there before ever in my life. This is ridiculous. Face is still breaking out in multiple white heads which is pretty unusual for me. No improvement to report what so ever.

day 14: I had to stop taking this. My face just got worse and I could not stand it any more. After 2 days my face was back to normal, except for a few still healing bumps. This was not a good idea. I may continue the Primrose oil and the collagen formula, but the supplements with the Biotin have to go.

What a disappointment! I was really hoping that this would help clear up the little bit of acne I had and help my hair get even longer. Back to tanning in order to keep it under control!

Jenn

My Beachy Hair- Overnight!

I get a ton of compliments on my hair so I figured I would start sharing some of the things I do to it! Today I did my beachy waves. I love this style and I really hope it stays in style for a very long time :)

I did not feel like washing my hair today, so the night before I put it up in a sock bun on the top of my head. I like to put my hair up like this when I sleep for several reasons: 1) loose hair gets knotted and can cause breakage, 2)  loose hair rubs on your face, back arms, and neck and since there is oil and product in your hair it can cause acne, 3) my hair is so long now that it can get stuck in my armpits and it wakes me up LOL! There was already some curl in the hair from yesterday's hair style but that's not a problem. Even if your hair isn't straight, you will still get nice waves.

So after I woke up, had breakfast, and rinsed off in the shower, I took my bun down and then sprayed my hair with some sea salt texturizing spray. This is a cheapie brand that I found at CVS called "Not Your Mother's". It was about $7 and it smells like the beach and like coconuts. It works like a charm!

I spray my hair until just damp, and then shake it, crunch it, swing it around, flip up-side-down and play with it until it has dried. From the time I decide to take my hair out of the bun until dry, the entire process takes less than 5 minutes. I pinned up my bangs and put on just a touch of make-up and I was ready to head out the door to get my copy of The Hunger Games on blu-ray from Target!

I love the beachy waves because they don't have to be perfect and they look effortless and beautiful.

Some other hair styles I like to do.....





Drop me a comment if you want me to show you how I did it :)

Jenn