Tag Archives: sweet

Avon Calling

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Avon Calling

Hi everyone and happy Hump Day! A week or so ago I posted the article Beauty Bloggers: HELP! Again. because I was in search of a new serum to add into my daily beauty routine. I was so blown away by all of the wonderful suggestions and helpful tips that all of you commented. But I want to give my friend, Angela, from dazzelme an extra special shout out because she was kind enough to send me some Avon serum samples in the mail.

Angela was so incredibly sweet and helpful when we communicated via email. It really was such a treat to receive a package in the mail from her with a catalogue stuffed with samples and a handwritten note. I am so excited to test out all of the goodies that she sent me and am so happy to have gained such a fabulous new friend! I encourage all of you to check out her page at dazzelme and be sure to take a look at all of the gorgeous Avon products that Angela has for sale! Thank you again so much, Angela! You’re amazing!  ❤

TJ’s Trip

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TJ’s Trip

Hi everyone and happy Tuesday! As you guys know, I freaking LOVE TJMaxx. I live for all of the fabulous but affordable finds there and always enjoy a TJ’s shopping trip even if I leave empty handed. My mom and I go to TJ’s once or twice a month to see what’s new and we had one of our excursions this past weekend. We left with a scarf for both of us, a new toy for both of our dogs, and a little “Ollie sized” food dish for our most recently adopted pup. I’m seriously so in love with my BCBGeneration scarf that I can’t even handle it so take a look at the darling new addition to my wardrobe:

^^^ So cute!

Usually when my mom and I shop at TJ’s, we breeze by their selection of scarves because we don’t wear them often. However, my mom said that she would like a new and lighter one for spring so we took our time and thumbed through the many scarves that TJ’s had on display. I found my mom a lovely black, grey, and white striped scarf that looked so adorable on her so we decided to go with that one and continue scouring the store.

As we were walking away to go check out the shoes, I took one last survey of the scarves and found the only Popsicle print square scarf that was hanging up. I was instantly enamored by the whimsical pattern, creamy colors, and vintage feel of the silky BCBGeneration scarf. I knew right away that I wanted it. The scarf was the perfect amount of cute and quirky that I love and it was at just the right price of eight bucks. How can you say no to that?!

As soon as I saw the scarf, I began thinking of all of the different ways that I could wear it this spring and summer. Tied in a bow around my neck, Parisian style, as a turban, as a hair wrap, casually flung over my shoulders – the possibilities were endless! I love pieces that are versatile and can be worn during all or most seasons. This sweet little square scarf passed that requirement with flying colors!

The best part about this scarf is the pure luxury of it for such an amazing price. The rich cream, mauve, and baby blue palette just screams vintage chic and the silky material feels so fabulous to the touch. I adore the BCBGeneration brand, too, so the fact that my scarf came from their collection was another added bonus. I’m so excited to sport my quirky and sweet new scarf this season and I’m so beyond happy with my latest TJMaxx find!

My mom and I’s latest TJ’s Trip was an obvious success and I live for our monthly shopping excursions together! What is your favorite way to wear a scarf? What was the latest purchase you made while out shopping? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

New Puppy Pictures!

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New Puppy Pictures!

Hey everyone and TGIF! We are having so much fun at home with our newly adopted pup, Ollie. So far he loves playing with toys, eating treats, and lots of snuggles! The last time my mom and I went shopping, we picked out a special little Ollie sized toy for him to play with and he’s kind of obsessed. Take a look at some adorable new pics of peanut:

^^^ So precious! ❤

Watching Ollie figure out how to play with his new donkey toy was seriously one of the cutest things of my life. It’s the perfect size and color and Ollie loves to make it squeak and shake him around. Ollie took a quick break from playing with his new friend to pose for the first picture but otherwise, he’s constantly romping about with his buddy and Golden Retriever sister.

Another sweet thing about Ollie is that he loves to be tucked in! The very first day that we had peanut at home, I wrapped him up in a blue towel after he had a bath and he took a little snooze. Now every night that I’m home, I’ll tuck him into a blankie after he’s all settled in for the night. The second picture of Ollie was taken the night that he got his new toy. He brought it with him onto the chair that he likes to sleep on and tucked his buddy under his chin while I covered him with a blanket. Needless to say, my heart was melting!

Every day is a new adventure with little Ollie so definitely expect some more New Puppy Pictures in the future! Do you have any pets at home? If so, what kind and what are their names? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Hi! My Name Is…

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Hi! My Name Is…

Hiii everyone and TGIF! Okay, so if you read one of my previous posts, It’s A Boy!, you’ll know that my family recently just adopted a new sweet addition to our home. We finally have decided on a name for our little pup…and “Ollie” stuck! From the very beginning, my mom and I were very pro Ollie but my dad unfortunately was not on board. BUT after almost an entire week of my mom and I calling him Ollie, my dad finally came around! Is he happy about it? I don’t know. But I knew my mom and I had this small victory in the bag when I heard my dad calling him Ollie last night! Score!

My dad snapped some pictures of our little peanut bear and his Golden Retriever big sister, Gem, yesterday so take a look at our dog children:

^^^ Lol, that second picture kills me! #selfie

We are so happy to have our Ollie Bear and Gem and we are extremely thankful to the rescue group, Canine Lifeline, for helping to make them part of the Mushenheim family! Be sure to check out their website and give their Facebook page a like as well! 🙂

Oh, by the way, Ollie says “thank you” to everyone for all of the sweet compliments on my previous post about him! He was so flattered! Happy Friday! Much love. -Sarah

It’s A Boy!

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It’s A Boy!

Hi everyone and happy Hump Day! I hope the week is going fabulously so far for all of you. On Valentine’s Day my family said “yes” to opening our home to a sweet baby boy. His name is…Well, he doesn’t have a name yet but he’s the cutest little stinker on the planet. He has four legs, soft fur, a tail, and ears that stand up like a bunny. He’s not a cat, he’s not a tiger, nor an armadillo. Baby No Name is a dog! Take a look at the newest edition to the Mushenheim family:

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^^^ It’s A Boy…Dog!! ❤

My family works closely with the amazing rescue group, Canine Lifeline, so of course we adopted baby bear through them! Our Golden Retriever and peanut’s big sister, Gem, was also adopted through CLL two years ago. Both pups came from a rural shelter in Kentucky and ended up being taken in by CLL a few states away in Ohio. My family has been thinking of adopting a new dog for quite some time and this feeling was intensified when my sister moved to her own apartment, taking her rescue pup, Winston, with her.

After looking through the dogs available for adoption on CLL’s website daily, we finally came across our peanut. On February thirteenth, we took him home for the day and over night to see how he would interact with Gem. We bathed him, cuddled him, and played our time away and by Valentine’s Day, we were smitten. Not only did we adore him but Gem got along with him just fine and is very excited about her new little brother!

Peanut is the most precious little pup and he’s definitely a change of pace from all of the other sweet dogs that we’ve had throughout the ages. We’ve never had a dog as small as him before so it’s been fun being able to pick him up and hold him like the baby he is! The only problem we’ve had thus far is that we can’t come up with a name for the life of us!

From the moment my mom and I picked peanut up on the thirteenth, we’ve been spit balling names like nobody’s business. We are both dead set on his name being “Oliver” but calling him “Ollie” for short. Unfortunately, my dad isn’t quite sold on that idea yet. So now, I need everyone’s help! Asides from doing me a solid and visiting CLL’s website and giving their Facebook page a like, I want your suggestions on what to name peanut! In case you forgot what he looks like, here’s another darling pic of our baby:

olly

^^^ I LOVE THIS DOG!!!!

My family is so proud to have our household be little peanut’s “forever home” and we can’t wait to begin making memories with him! What do you think we should name our baby boy? Do you have a pet adoption story to share? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Bath & Body Works February Freebie

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Bath & Body Works February Freebie

Hi everyone and TGIF! This week I stopped in to Bath & Body Works to snag my February Freebie and ended up with a super sweet travel size lotion. As many of you know, I live for my monthly freebie from B&BW and as I counted and calculated all of my loot from my past few visits, I learned that I collected over sixty dollars worth of free product! Not bad! This month, I went with their Pink Chiffon fragrance. Take a look at the pretty in pink packaging and then let’s discuss:

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I had a difficult time picking what fragrance I wanted when I went to Bath & Body Works this week. When you cash in your freebie coupon, you’re limited to the scents in B&BW’s signature collection and at this point, I’ve sampled almost all of those fragrances. I wanted something that I haven’t had before, so I decided to finally give the Pink Chiffon lotion a try.

The Pink Chiffon fragrance is very sweet – it seriously smells like spun sugar. I’m not a really big fan of “girly” smelling fragrances, to be honest. I much prefer something fruity, which I think has a little more kick. But the great thing about the Pink Chiffon scent, is that it still smells nice to me despite my preferences. It’s one of those scents that I think everyone would like because it’s so soft and light.

My thought process behind choosing the Pink Chiffon lotion was that it would make a good add on to a birthday or holiday gift because it’s such a universal scent. Thanks to my B&BW freebie hoard, I’ve dodged many an awkward bullet when someone has got me a gift and I didn’t get them anything. My Pink Chiffon lotion will be a great addition to my stock pile and will save me some money when I’m putting together a gift basket or care package. Sweet!

If you’d like to score some free swag from Bath & Body Works, make sure you enter in your email address or phone number next time you go shopping there. This will get you signed up to receive their coupons. You can also do some shopping online at their website! Whenever you shop with B&BW, make sure you enter your information in again at the cash register so you can continue receiving emails and snail mail with their coupons and promotions!

So there you have it, my Bath & Body Works February Freebie! I can’t wait to pick out another fragrance again next month! Are there any good freebie sites that you use? Which store do you think has the best coupons and promotions? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Ice Skating Fun

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Hello everyone and happy Thursday! Last Sunday my darling boyfriend, Kyle, and I went ice skating at the Lock 3 skating rink in Akron, Ohio. I skated competitively for quite some time and now I’m a coach for the Special Olympics. Kyle and I have never been skating together before so I was so excited when he finally agreed to making a date out of it on Sunday afternoon. We bundled up, I gathered my skates (I’d rather die than wear rental skates), and then we hit the road for our date.

Once we got to Lock 3, we saw that the rink was pretty crowded. Lucky for us, though, it cleared up by the time we were done waiting in line to rent skates for Kyle, getting our skates on, and walking over to the rink. This was Kyle’s first time ever on ice skates and right from the get go he gave it a valiant effort, which I thought was so sweet. Walking to the rink which was about one hundred feet away proved to be a struggle, to say the least. To me, skating and walking around on skates is second nature so I never thought how difficult it must be to put these contraptions on your feet for the first time and then walk to the rink let alone skate on it!

Once we got on to the ice hand in hand we began our first trip around the rink. My poor Kyle got the worst rental skates on the planet and I felt so bad at how difficult it looked for him. The blades on each skate were so crooked but I didn’t have the heart to have us walk back to the rental shack, get new skates, and then have to walk all the way back to the rink. After a few times around the rink, the skates started to hurt Kyle which is pretty common with rentals. We then devised a plan that I would go skate for a while, he would watch and rest, and then we could skate some more together.

I happily took the opportunity to get some skating in for myself. When I’m coaching, I rarely get the chance to do any spins or jumps before or after the session so it felt so good to do some of these things on my own. Whenever I go skating at a public rink, I’m always so flattered by the people who stop to watch me do my thang. I was greeted to some applause after I pulled out of a spin and many a “good jobs”, “beautiful” and “well done” throughout the hour or so on the ice. My favorite compliment came from a teenage boy who was with a group of friends who asked me if I would stay on the ice and do a show after every one exited the rink for it to get zambonied. It was definitely an unexpected and very sweet compliment, considering the boy was surrounded by his gaggle of male friends!

After a few minutes of skating on my own, I always would return back to Kyle so we could take a journey around the rink together. After a while, we both decided that it was getting cold and that we should head back home. We got off the rink and I walked while Kyle waddled back to the rental shack to take off our skates. Taking our skates off and putting our shoes on felt so good that we used the term “pillow feet” to describe the walking on air feeling!

The real question that arises from this is “did going skating with your boyfriend really happen if you don’t have pictures”? The answer is NO, so to prove the validity of this post, take a look at some cute pictures of me and Kyle. My featured image photo is my favorite picture of us!

^^^ I love us!!

So there you have it, some weekend Ice Skating Fun with my beau! We had a blast and I hope we can hit the rink again sometime soon. What is your favorite winter sport? Who has never gone ice skating before? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Philosophy Spiced Gingerbread Cookie Shower Gel Review

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Philosophy Spiced Gingerbread Cookie Shower Gel Review

Helloooo everyone and TGIF!! This Christmas I was given some Philosophy bath and body care goodies by my boyfriend’s mom. I’ve never tried any of Philosophy’s products before but have always wanted to because the scents sound amazing and I’ve heard many rave reviews. Needless to say, when I received a lotion and my Spiced Gingerbread Cookie shower gel, I was beyond excited! For the most part, I agree with the excellent reviews that I’ve heard, so let’s discuss:

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Philosophy is a brand that I would never buy on my own because to my understanding, it’s quite expensive. Receiving the lotion and shower gel as a gift was so special to me and I couldn’t wait to give the products a try! I stored my lotion in my stockpile because I’m still working on finishing a bottle from The Body Shop. Then, I stowed the gel safely in my shower to enjoy the following morning.

The day after Christmas, I turned the water in my shower on nice and hot and took a deep sniff of the gel as I waited for the water to heat up. The Spiced Gingerbread Cookie scent was to die for! It was the perfect combination of sweet and spicy and it was balanced out impeccably. The fragrance was potent but not so much so that it was overpowering. Had it been too sweet, the smell would have been too sugary and young. Had it been spicier, the scent would be much too pungent. The in between level that was concocted by Philosophy really was wonderful.

Once I was in the shower, I poured a small amount onto my scruffy and lathered up. I was pleasantly surprised at how well a small amount of the gel bubbled. This shower gel was really nice to use because the texture of it once it was lathered was very creamy – it didn’t feel harsh like some gels tend to do. My skin felt soft and smooth after I washed myself rather than dry and tight…I didn’t even feel the need to apply lotion afterwards, which was an added bonus!

My only minor complaint about Philosophy’s product is the bottle that it comes in. I know, I know – I’m such a stickler! But seriously, the plastic that the bottle is made out of is incredibly strong and firm, so squeezing the gel out proved to be quite difficult. I’ve used bottles like this before and once there’s not much gel left it gets even harder to use. I’m really not looking forward to that. I wish the bottle had a pump on it because that would make it a lot easier to get the product out rather than squeezing it for dear life!

All in all, I’m really enjoying my Philosophy Spiced Gingerbread Cookie shower gel and I’m going to rate it with: four stars. There is no question that Philosophy makes excellent products. I don’t plan on buying it for myself once my lotion and shower gel are all used up, however. Despite how nice each of them are, I’m sure I can find similar products elsewhere for a cheaper price!

So there you have it, my Philosophy Spiced Gingerbread Cookie Shower Gel Review! Who uses any of Philosophy’s products? What is your favorite scent by them? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Target Haul

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Target Haul

Hello everyone and happy Hump Day! I’ve been on a bit of a shopping hiatus these past few months thanks to my college tuition, my car, and purchasing holiday gifts. Last week, however, I finally got some fun new pieces to add into my wardrobe, compliments of Target. Take a look and then let’s discuss:

What I love the most about these pieces, starting with the button down, is that it’s a smart shirt with an added surprise. Usually I would never pick something like this out for myself (all black everything, please) but when I saw the back of it, I just had to try it on. I love anything with a peek a boo back because I like to show off my tattoos so the surprise sheerness was what made this shirt a definite contender.

I’ll admit, I was slightly nervous to try this shirt on because I didn’t want to look like a freaking goon but I was so pleased with the results! The top in itself really isn’t very edgy, which is what I like. However, I was able to alter the sweetness of the shirt with my piercings and tattoos and that turned it into a very cool and unexpected piece to add into my wardrobe. This button down will also be great to wear year round which is another bonus, in my opinion.

The black cardigan with white crosses decorating it was obviously a no brainer. It has everything that I like on it – my favorite color, my favorite pattern, and just the right amount of rocker edge that I love. As soon as I saw the cardi, I knew that I would be purchasing it. I’m actually wearing it right now as I type this! My style is very distinctive, so when I find pieces that scream out “Lil Red”, like my new cardigan, I just have to splurge!

Currently, I’m rocking my new cardi with my snakeskin patterned black skinnies, a graphic white tank, my black cross dangle earrings, and my Michael Kors combat boots. I plan on wearing my button down with my mustard yellow suede skirt from H&M, a cool pair of heels, and a sharp little jacket for a fun take on a woman on the go outfit. I can’t wait!

I’ve been very bored with my wardrobe as of late and have fallen into the pattern of wearing the same things over and over again. I definitely needed a clothing pick me up and my new button down and cardigan were the perfect pieces to do that with. I’m looking forward to incorporating both tops into my day to day outfits to freshen things up and make my old clothes feel like new again. Thanks for the cute new clothes, Target! ❤

So there you have it, my latest Target Haul! Where is your favorite place to score some new clothes? Who has recently had a haul for themselves? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Best Friend Christmas Haul

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Best Friend Christmas Haul

Helloooo everyone and happy 2016! My best friend, Lea, and I were a little bit late in celebrating Christmas with each other but it finally happened this past week and it was glorious! We had such a wonderful time opening our presents, eating Taco Bell, and girl talking to our hearts content. Take a look at what I was gifted with by my darling:

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From Lea I got:

  • A cozy fleece blanket (which I’m wrapped in right now!)
  • A to go coffee mug (which I’m obsessed with)
  • A Starbucks mini ornament
  • Bath & Body Works lotion
  • A coffee mug filled with bath and body products

I love everything that Lea got me so much but honestly I didn’t need anything from her. Our over seven years of best friendship is enough for me! It was a bit funny opening our gifts, however, because we got each other very similar presents. I got my girl a new mug and bath and body care goodies, as well, among other things! We seriously know each other too well and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I’m so looking forward to a new year full of hang outs with my best girlfriend and I’m so thankful for her friendship and the beautiful Christmas gifts I received! You’re such a doll and I love you, Lea!! ❤

I hope everyone is having a wonderful new year’s weekend! Make sure you tune in with me for this week’s Monday Update so I can tell you about how I rung in the new year! Until then, how did everyone celebrate the arrival of 2016? Who has been doing some last minute Christmas gifting to your friends and family? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah