If The Shoe Fits: Dolce Vita Edition

Standard
If The Shoe Fits: Dolce Vita Edition

Hiii everyone and welcome to a new edition of If The Shoe Fits! Today, we’re going to be discussing a gorgeous pair of faux snakeskin stiletto mules by Dolce Vita that my mom got me for my birthday. I have grown increasingly fond of cheetah print over the past year or so but snakeskin has always been my preferred animal print. I think that it is so chic, edgy, and sexy and I am especially drawn to it when it comes to accessories like purses and shoes. So, when my mom offered me this pair that she saw on TJMaxx’s website for my birthday, I was, obviously, all about it. Take a look:

dolcedolce1dolce2dolce3

As we all know, Lil Red is a shoe girl through and through. So, it may come as a surprise to some that I only have about two pairs of heels with a stiletto on them. I have always liked the chunky wedge or platform style heels and have never been too impressed with stilettos on me. I think this might be because I have very muscular legs from figure skating so the thicker heels go better with my body type.

But, I just couldn’t say no to these Dolce Vita beauties! My new mules use my favorite snakeskin hue of grey, black, and taupe and I really do love the shape of them. The pointed toe, skinny heel, and almost full foot coverage. Ugh, forget about it! These mules are going to look SO fierce with jet black skinnies and a cardi during a warmer fall day and I am one hundred percent there for it!

What is your favorite animal print? How would you style these mules? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Sephora Birthday Gift

Standard
Sephora Birthday Gift

Howdy! When it comes to my birthday, I always try to cash in on the freebies that are offered through rewards programs at my favorite stores and eateries. As a Beauty Insider for Sephora, that means I get to pick a freebie birthday gift between two mini gift sets. This year, the choice was between a Kat Von D liquid liner, loose powder, and lipstick samples or a cleanser and moisturizer by Drunk Elephant. Because I don’t use liquid liner or any type of powder, I went with the Drunk Elephant option seen below:

sephoraasephoraa1sephoraa2

I have never used any Drunk Elephant products before, but I’ve heard nothing but good things about it so I am looking forward to giving my freebies a try. I can always use moisturizers and cleansers, too, so even if these don’t last me very long it will be a few days of using something that I didn’t actually buy. And, for a frugal gal like me, this is always a plus! Although I wasn’t too thrilled with the birthday gift choices from Sephora this year, free is free, and maybe I will have found a new favorite brand!

What did you choose for your Sephora birthday gift? Have you ever used the Drunk Elephant brand before? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Alternatives To Running: Cardio Workouts That You Can Do Indoors

Standard
Alternatives To Running: Cardio Workouts That You Can Do Indoors

Running is undoubtedly the cardio workout of choice for most people and it’s for a good reason: Running at a six-mile per hour pace lets you burn up to 557 calories an hour, while jogging lets you burn up to 398 calories an hour. It is also a form of stress relief for some, especially outdoors when the weather is pleasant. It becomes tricky to stick to a regular running routine during the rainy months, so it is always best to consider workout alternatives that you can do indoors. Here are some cardio workouts that burn as many calories as running:

Jump rope:

There’s a reason why jump rope is essential in boxing training: It enhances footwork, strengthens your shoulders, improves your coordination, and stimulates sprinting. Also, it lets you burn 500 calories in just 30 minutes. To make the most of this indoor workout, do intervals of fast and slow jumps. Or you can jump as fast as you can for a minute then rest for 20-30 seconds.

Boxing:

This improves your strength, speed, agility, hand-eye coordination, endurance, and power while getting you in great shape. It combines the muscle building advantages of strength training with the calorie burn of a cardio workout, so it helps you get a full body experience. It also enables you to achieve better body composition. Thus, you don’t just lose weight; you build muscle as well and get a toned, fit body as a bonus. It burns about 600 calories an hour and, even if you’re not sparring or throwing punches with boxing gloves, you still burn fat through the other components, such as jump rope, shadow boxing, and calisthenics.

If you are serious about going further with your boxing workouts, you will definitely need the proper equipment as you advance. Like any sport, you don’t need to dive into purchasing top of the line items right away. However, Fight Gear like gloves, boots, and protective gear is not just going to help you improve but it is a safety precaution as well. Boxing can be dangerous and you will want the right equipment to keep you protected while enjoying your exercise.

Zumba:

Dance exercises have gained popularity in recent years not only because they are an effective cardio workout but also because they are fun. Going to a Zumba class, for example, is like going to a dance party. It combines fast and slow rhythms that tone and sculpt the body, adapted from aerobic principles to help you tone your muscles and improve cardiovascular health. It is often done to the beat of Latin dance music. An hour of Zumba lets you burn between 350 and 650 calories per hour depending on the intensity.

cardio1

Swimming:

If sweating is not your thing, then you should consider swimming to burn calories. It is a total body workout that lets you strengthen your body even if you are treading water. Fighting gravity makes your muscles work extra hard to keep you afloat. To make the most out of this workout, make sure to do a few laps using different strokes, then have a water-treading interval. A minute of fast swimming can burn up to 14 calories, so doing it for an hour lets you burn as much as 840 calories.

No swimming pool? Most residential buildings and sports hubs near Eastwood City have pools you can use for free! Perhaps you would like something more permanent if you are serious about swimming. One option you could consider is getting a temporary pool you can erect when the weather’s nice. A pool in the backyard is most people’s dream, after all! However, if you’re looking for something that’s not only much bigger but can also add value to your property, then you can research in-ground pool builders near you on sites like https://pinnaclepoolsandspas.com/pool-builders/ to get your project started.

If you are considering an in-ground pool installation, be sure to choose a reputable and well reviewed company. There is a lot more work that goes into having a pool than you might have thought! A good rule of thumb is to call several different companies with the questions you might have. Do they offer cleaning services? Do they specialize in saltwater pool conversion? If so, are they offering sound advice for issues like corrosion that may arise? The expertise of the company you choose is so important as you will want to fully enjoy your investment.

When you’re using swimming as a work out, always remember safety. It can be exhausting exercise so pay attention to how you’re feeling throughout your swim. Outdoor pools should also have fencing around them to protect those using the pool area. Whether it’s a residential or commercial pool, if the pool or fences are new, they’ll need someone like these pool fence inspectors melbourne to come and check things out and, if things aren’t quite as they should be, advise on what needs to be done in order to bring them up to the necessary standard.

The rain should never keep you from staying on track with your fitness goals. With these workouts, you can stay in shape regardless of the weather.

Exporting 101: Tips For Small Businesses

Standard
Exporting 101: Tips For Small Businesses

Depending on your line of business and the products you’re selling, there’s a chance that you’ll need to export your products for customers, business partners, or resellers abroad even if you’re still just operating as a small-scale enterprise. Global trade is quite competitive, so when there’s a demand for your product to be shipped to another country, you want to do it right and profit as much as possible. With this in mind, as well as the tips below, you may wish to access site of someone like 3G and invest in shipping software that can help you streamline your processes and enable you to keep tabs on your shipments so that you can be sure they will arrive safely at their destination. 

Here are a few things to remember when exporting your products as a small scale business:

Know the Law and Restrictions:

Before you export your products, you’ll want to know if the product is legal or complies with any regulations and restrictions in the country it’ll be exported to. So, do your research before contacting a logistics company or upping your production to meet the demand in your target country.

Get Partners:

When talking about exporting your products as a small business, you might be thinking about sending your products directly and individually to your clients. However, this can be quite costly in terms of shipping and would take a lot of time and effort to track individually. As such, the best way for you to sell your products abroad is to find partners who are willing to buy and sell the product for you in their country.

This way, you’d be able to send products via air freight or whatever method you choose in bulk, which is cheaper and more convenient for you. Having partners would also mean that you’d be able to sell your products and have you earn more consistently. Your partners may even be willing to process and pay for the shipping for you. But it’s also important that you do your research regarding your partners to know that they’re legitimate and could be trusted to avoid risk.

Packaging:

You may also want to have different packaging for your exported products; perhaps with better packaging or provide a translation of your product’s manual and other information (such as ingredients and nutritional value). It is so important for your product to be accessible to all future customers and translations are a huge part of it. Whether it’s a small recipe book or wine bottles labels with unique logos and phrases, it is a great idea to print them in the most spoken language of each country you ship to. It could make the difference between someone purchasing it or not.

export1

Decide on the Pricing:

Another thing you’d also want to consider when exporting your products is the pricing. Your pricing would depend on whether you’re selling directly to a customer or a partner, as well as various other factors that make up your transportøkonomi (transport economy). When selling to a business partner, you’d have to consider your bulk pricing and should also include all the costs related to shipping, customs, and logistics, as well as the cost of labor. The price should be agreed upon by you and your business partner in a way that you’re both able to profit while your business partners can still sell it at a competitive and reasonable price in their respective countries.

Exporting products can be expensive, but there are software solutions that can help with cost control, economic freight analysis, and more. These solutions will be tailor made to your company to help ensure best results.

Choose a Good Logistics Company:

You’d be sending valuable products to your partners or customers in another country that’s miles away, so it’s important that you find a company to ship it safely and make sure that it arrives on time to its intended destination without any hitch. As such, you will want to choose a licensed customs broker that would be able to store, handle, and deliver your products on time and also handle all of the necessary legal paperwork and customs clearances. The bottom line, is that you want to ship your products safely, legally, and on time.

Utilizing the best technology can ensure that your products are always ending up in your customer’s hands. Freight Management Software can be a huge assistance in this as it handles the management of shipments, manifests, and customers. It can also include label printing, least cost routing, and real time quotes. A service like this can save you a lot of extra time and money so look into the best fit for your company. A happy customer is one with the product they purchased arriving in a timely, safe manner.

Knowing how to export your product properly can be the key to turning your small business into a huge enterprise. As such, it’s important to keep these pointers in mind when you’re shipping your products abroad.

The Secrets To A Thinner Face

Standard
The Secrets To A Thinner Face

It’s a sad fact, but even with rigorous training and exercise, it’s hard to get rid of facial fat. You might have observed that some people, even though a lot bigger than you, have leaner facial features than you do. However, this does not mean that you are overweight at all.

There are actually two reasons why faces appear fuller: one is a high body fat percentage and two is genetics. The first reason is pretty much obvious. As we all know, body fat does not just get stored in the belly area. Some of it goes to the arms, legs, thighs, and for others, the face.

On that note, people with subtle facial features are most likely to have faces appear rounder. This doesn’t mean, however, that you have a concentrated amount of body fat that’s too high to lose. Sometimes, it just means that your facial features are too subtle and it’s easier for body fat to mask it; hence, the formation of double chins and rounded cheeks. For these kinds of people, a thinner face can be achieved by reducing body fat percentage to 10% to 15%.

The second reason, however, does not have anything to do with body fat and how much you exercise. Often, having a round face results from your genes, especially if it is pretty dominant in your family’s genetic structure. Nevertheless, a thinner face can be achieved through various means. For some, they opt for clinical solutions like RF face slimming in the Philippines. But for others, they simply stick to traditional ways of reducing facial fat like some of the following:

Facial Exercises:

You read that right. There is actually an exercise routine for your face. Usually, this is done to improve facial features and enhance muscles in the face. This involves stimulating facial expressions, such as holding a smile and clenching your teeth for several seconds. Massaging your cheeks and jaws are good ways to do this, as well.

While there are a few studies that prove the effectiveness of facial exercises, most of them show that regular routines can do wonders for your face, such as facial skin tightening and rejuvenating. Some reports also show that these exercises help in strengthening the muscles of the face.

Body Weight Exercises:

There is no denying that cardio can help burn body fat fast. However, achieving a thinner face involves more than just jogs, treadmill time, and cardio activities. In order to successfully reduce fats and become lean, it’s best to incorporate body weight exercises in your routine. This means that you will have to opt for exercises that help build and strengthen muscles like yoga and Pilates.

If you’re unable to throw these exercises in your hectic schedule, you can also opt for compound exercises such as squats, bench presses, and weight lifts. Fret not, though. You won’t have to quickly jump into lifting heavy weights to achieve desired results. After all, consistency is more important.

Getting rid of facial fats can be hard. But with lots of extra effort and a little bit of patience, no kind of fat cannot be shed!

How To Keep Mosquitoes Away This Summer

Standard
How To Keep Mosquitoes Away This Summer

Mosquitoes are a nuisance, especially for their whining buzzes and itchy bites during the night. They are also vectors of many diseases, from malaria and yellow fever to zika virus and dengue fever. While it might not be possible to keep mosquitoes away completely, there are a few things that can help you to reduce their numbers. Here are some of the ways you can reduce mosquitoes in your home:

Use natural mosquito repellents:

Mosquitoes have a very sharp sense of smell, which makes them locate human beings with ease. Human beings emit carbon dioxide and other odors that these annoying pests find irresistible. In the same way, there are certain scents that mosquitoes find unappealing. These scents can be used to keep mosquitoes away. Here are some oil scents that can keep the bugs at bay:

  • Peppermint oil
  • Citronella oil
  • Eucalyptus oil

Get rid of stagnant water near your home:

Mosquitoes thrive well in stagnant water by breeding in there to large populations. They will eventually find their way inside your house. You can avoid this by emptying water around your house from containers lying around, garbage bin lids, and flower pots. This will destroy their breeding grounds and significantly reduce their population around your house.

Get a mosquito lamp:

Most people have front and back door lights. These lights attract all kinds of insects, mosquitoes included. They will hang around your door area, ready to rush as soon as you open it. To prevent this, always have a mosquito lamp on your front door which emits a repellent to keep the mosquitoes away.

Keep grass trimmed:

Mosquitoes find overgrown shrubs, weeds, and grass an attractive place to hide during the day. They are usually active at night and will spend most of their day resting in these areas. Keep grass near your house trimmed to avoid giving the pests an extra place to hide.

Set up mosquito traps:

Mosquito traps can be used to keep mosquitoes away when placed on your porch. Make sure that you change the traps regularly to help them remain effective in reducing their population levels.

Make your home Mosquito free:

It is important that you adopt a long term solution to prevent mosquitoes from entering your home. Reduce the breeding grounds around your house and combine the above strategies to help reduce the population of mosquitoes around your home!

Four Fantastic Reasons To Take Up Crafting

Standard
Four Fantastic Reasons To Take Up Crafting

If you’re in the market for a relaxing activity that promises endless hours of fun and satisfaction, you should definitely consider crafting. Why? If the four reasons below don’t convince you, trying your hand at something crafty certainly will. Next time you’ve got some time on your hands, do yourself a favor and give crafting a try:

Curiosity:

One thing that defines all crafty folk is curiosity. You get a kick out of working out how to go about creating something out of its component parts, and it’s not just the intellectual knowledge you hunger for, but the experience. If you’re naturally curious, crafting offers endless opportunities to discover new processes, get your head around intricate designs, and get to grips with different materials. Whether you’re into embroidery or woodwork, once you get started, you’ll discover an endless world of complexity to uncover for yourself.

Be a Gifting Goddess:

Everyone has that friend who reliably produces the most jaw-dropping gifts, which they then reveal were made by hand! With a little crafting expertise, you can be a gifting goddess too. No matter what area of crafting you’re into, chances are you’ll be able to whip up a gift for someone special. If you’re into knitting, woolen gifts always go down as a treat (even the once cringe-worthy Christmas jumper is having a revival these days!). Or, if you’re a baker or cook, why not gift a batch of homemade cookies or a tasty jar of preserves? If you’re new to your craft and are not quite up for full-on gift production, consider other crafty ways to personalize your shop-bought gifts. You could make your own cards, or invest in a punch board and create your own personalized gift bags.

craft1

Photo by Kaboompics .com from Pexels

Crafters Are Forever Young:

Who says old dogs can’t learn new tricks? Research has consistently demonstrated that taking up new habits can have a positive impact on the sharpness and adaptability of your mind. Learning new things creates brand-new neural pathways, which work against the natural deterioration of the brain that comes with age. While it doesn’t matter what new things you do, crafts are a great choice because you’re unlikely to get bored with an endless array of new techniques and skills waiting to be mastered.

New Communities:

While crafting can be a rewarding solitary activity, crafters should be aware of the danger of becoming reclusive. If you’re looking for ways to get out there more, getting into a new craft will open up new worlds for you, socially. Learning from others is the best excuse to meet people, and a quick glance online will give you a sense of the local crafting communities available. Even if there are no craft events coming up, you’ll find a thriving online community sharing tips and inspiration, so there’s no need to feel alone. Crafters can be a shy tribe but remember: there are no strangers out there… only friends you haven’t met yet.

Whatever your reasons for taking up crafting, don’t forget the most important benefit of all: crafting simply makes you feel good! Who cares how good your results are. What matters is that you’re enjoying yourself. 🙂

Featured Image By: Jasmin Schreiber on Unsplash

Spectacular Sunset

Standard
Spectacular Sunset

Hello! There is nothing more beautiful than an amazing sunrise or sunset and during the summer time, both are absolutely spectacular in my neck of the woods. While driving home from work last week, I got to bear witness to this beauty below and it was too lovely to not snap a pic! Take a look:

sunsetsunset1

The sky seriously looked like ice cream sherbet and I just wanted to dive in and eat it up! The deep purple mixed with the light orange was such a stunning combination and it really helped end a great day at work. This also happened to be the day before my birthday and all of my clients helped to make sure I had a very special one. And, it seemed like planet Earth was doing the same thing by giving me a gorgeous sunset to cap off the day and kick off twenty-five!

What is your favorite color? Do you prefer sunrises or sunsets? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Bath Bomb Blitz: Unknown From Lush Edition

Standard
Bath Bomb Blitz: Unknown From Lush Edition

Howdy! I have made many wonderful friends thanks to lifewithlilred but there’s one lovely lady who holds a very special place in my heart and that’s Kate from Live In The Nautical. A fiery, intelligent beauty with a passion for travel and style, Kate is literally the coolest and it has been such a joy to be her friend. No matter if we talk every day or if it’s been a month, we always seem to pick up right where we left off, which I think is a major testament to our friendship.

Everything about Kate is amazing but her thoughtfulness is what I love the most about her. It always seems like she just knows when I need a little pick me up. For example, when I was in absolute agony from my surgery in December, I receive a Christmas present from her in the mail. And, recently, when we were very close to putting our dog down, a birthday prezzie from my Gemini Twin shows up. Talk about blogging BFF telepathy!

Kate knows that goodies from Lush are the way to my heart and I always feel so spoiled when I get to enjoy a bath bomb from there because I don’t use their products often at all. Recently, I used the little number seen below who’s name I am not sure of because it wasn’t on the website. So, we’ll just go with “Unknown” for now, lol. Check it out:

lush1lush2lush3lush4lush5lush6

Aside from my bath tub at my apartment having a mind of its own and draining whenever it feels like, Unknown was a very pleasant bath bomb experience. It didn’t have much of a smell but it put on a jolly good show of shamrock green and white spirals. It also took a long time to fizz out – at least five minutes, which is always a plus.

When Unknown first started fizzing, I thought it was going to be a jelly bomb because of the thicker green bubble stuff happening. But, that wasn’t the case, which was a little disappointing because I do love me a good jelly bomb. Despite that, I still felt insanely hydrated upon exiting the tub once I finished shaving and I think that’s my favorite part. I always put lotion on post shave but I probably don’t even need to when using the ultra moisturizing Lush bath bombs!

Overall, I’d rate Unknown with a five out of ten. It wasn’t my favorite but it certainly wasn’t the worst, either, and I wouldn’t be mad about using it again.

What is your favorite Lush product? Who is your blogging BFF? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

TJMaxx Beauty Haul

Standard
TJMaxx Beauty Haul

Hiii! When I need a reup on my beauty and skin care supplies, I hit up TJMaxx, rinse, and repeat. Their beauty aisle is chock full of good stuff where I have discovered my favorites from The Body Shop as well as trying out new brands that I usually end up loving. Thanks to rewards points from the TJMaxx/Homegoods/Marshall’s credit card, I had twenty bucks to spend to stock up and got all of the following products FO FREE. Check it out:

tjs

The Haul:

I was super happy with the haul seen above because I got products that I needed, like a new charcoal bar and scrub. But, I also got to add to my supplies when it comes to serum and moisturizer so it was a very successful shopping trip overall. What I am most excited about, though, is the Azure Lux Rose Gold serum, which I love so very very much. After using this wonder serum up in February, I vowed to purchase it again if I ever came across it. So, I was thrilled to make good on my word because that serum really is the best and leaves your skin simply glowing.

I am looking forward to trying out my new scrub come my next shaving sesh, because the Lavender Coconut scent is divine and I have also never tried a coffee scrub before! The value of this bottle was great, too, because it’s huge and I got it for a whole six bucks. And, in the beauty world, all I am hearing about is all Manuka honey everything so I’m definitely eager to give my new moisturizer a try after I finish up my current jar. Thank you, TJMaxx! 😀

Where do you get all of your beauty and skin care products at? How do you shop beauty on a budget? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah