TGI(almost)F!

Thank God, only 1 more day left to make it through this week!  It's been a pretty rough week as you can probably tell  =(  I'm hoping to post some more product reviews and recipe photos this weekend, but I honestly don't know if I will get around to it or not.  I've had an issue with fatigue for about a year now and, while it was doing better for a few months (but never completely went away), it has been coming back with a vengeance the past few weeks ='(   I've had several blood tests and tried different supplements and medications, but my Dr can't figure out what is causing it and nothing seems get rid of it. I really thought something was wrong with my thyroid based on other symptoms I've read about online, but nope, from all tests my thyroid appears to be functioning extremely well.  So for now I just have to deal with it and wait for things to get a little better again.   And hopefully I can spend some extra time sleeping this weekend  =)

Broadway Nails imPRESS Press-on Manicure Review

My first review from my College VoxBox!  =)

First, I have to say that I loved the design on the nails, they are super CUTE! (It's called WinkWink, btw.)

 

And the container they came in was so cute too!  In the shape of a bottle of nail polish!

 The instructions were VERY easy! And there was NO messy glue! 

 All you have to do is go through and pick out a cover to go on each nail and line them in the order they go on,  like this:

Then clean your nails with the pad provided, this ensures they will stick firmly to your nail.  Finally peel the tab off the back and place then over your regular nails.  

And voila! Instant manicure!

Now for the negatives:
I put the nails covers on on Thursday morning (I wanted to show them off for Thanksgiving dinner :) ) and one already came unglued by Sunday morning (with several more feeling loose, edges coming up).  The tips were chipped by Sunday morning as well.  Not so bad that it was highly noticeable by others, but it was definitely noticeable to me.  I tend to like "fake" nails over just painting my regular nails because they usually resist chipping for much longer, so I was slightly disappointed. 
Also, it was a little difficult to get the tabs off the nails once I had one hand done and I was working on the second, so I had to have my boyfriend help me.  Being able to put them on by myself was a large part of why I was so excited about trying these nails since there was no glue involved, but sadly I still couldn't.  I will say this may just be a problem I had, though, only because I haven't had long nails in a while so you may not have an issue with this. 
I loved the design on the tip of the nails, but you could clearly see the glue edge through the nails (even at arms length) and it made them look tacky and cheap.  I was honestly a little embarrassed to show them off because this flaw was so apparent  :(

Final verdict: I would recommend these nails if you need a quick manicure and don't have the time/money to get to a nail salon.  For $7 (average price online) they work and are fairly easy to put on, but don't expect them to last more than 2 - 3 days.  I did get compliments on how pretty the design was, but the nails just didn't last as long as I expected them to (package says up to a week).  The concept is great and there is hope for this product, it just needs some tweaking.  My biggest issue was the glue edge being visible and this would not have been a problem with some of Broadway's other designs.  You can see them all here. I may end up trying out one of the solid color/pattern designs (that aren't see through!) during the holidays with all of the parties that will be going on.

Here is what the package looks like if you are interested in trying them for yourself:

 And just a reminder, this product was provided to me for free by Influenster for testing and review purposes. If you would like more info about signing up with them, send me a message  :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you all have a great day with family and friends tomorrow!! Just finished baking 3 dozen cookies, now I'm exhausted and ready for bed!

Over the holiday weekend I will be posting reviews of some of the items I received in my College VoxBox from Influenster, make sure you check back to read all about them!  I will also be doing an update with new pics on the progress of my teeth whitening using my Crest Whitening Strips!

***College VoxBox!***

WOOHOOO!!!!!!!!!!!
I got my College VoxBox from Influenster yesterday!!!

I'm sooo excited to try out all of the products and review them!

So here's what I got in my VoxBox:

Broadway Nails imPRESS Press-on Manicure

NYC New York Color Show Time Glitter Eyeliner

Necco Tropical Wafers

 Sheets Energy Strips

 

Pentel RSVP Pen

Cookie-Candy-Brownies

As previously promised in my Yumminess post, I made the Cookie-Candy-Brownies!

The first step was to put cookie dough in the bottom of the pan (I cheated and used store bought dough since this was just a quick trial run).

 

Then I layered pieces of candy that we had lefter over from Halloween.   I used Reese's, Milky Way, Snickers, Twix and 3 Musketeers.

The third layer is brownies. Again, not from scratch, I used a box mix (actually, now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever made brownies from scratch....need to add that to my To Do list!). 

   Then you bake at 350 for about 45 minutes.  And get this:

The first trial didn't work so well because the pieces were way too big to eat (very rich!) and they were very crumbly.  

I ended up changing the way I did it a little bit when I made the 2nd batch to take to my family's Thanksgiving this afternoon.  Sadly, I was in a hurry to get them done, so I didn't have time to take any during pics, only one of the final result.

I only used Reese's and chopped them up to make a "crumble" as the second layer.  That way I could cut the pieces smaller and still have some of the Reese's taste in each bite/piece.  That also let me make the brownie layer smaller since it was overwhelming the first time. I was smart and lined the bottom of the pan with aluminum foil (and also sprayed it with Pam), so I could lift it out and cut it easily.

Here's the final product:

Possibly making candy stuffed cookies for Thanksgiving dinner with the other side of the family!  Pics to come if I have time to do it.  My other food project in the works is to make candy covered Oreo's! I bought molds at Jo-Ann that are Christmas themed and have things like snowflakes and Santa on them.

Operation Backyard: COMPLETE!

I HAVE A BACKYARD!!!  

My boyfriend and I are so blessed we have wonderful friends and family that helped us finally get our backyard cleaned up last weekend.  

Here are some before photos so you can see what we were working with, lol:

  Btw, all the green you see are weeds & vines, NOT grass!  

(And this was even after we coated 

the whole backyard with grass killer!)

The leaves were so thick, no photo could do it justice.  We only have a 0.25 acre lot and there are about 5 - 6 trees in our back yard.  I'm certain the prior owner/tenants NEVER touched a rake!  The limbs and brush were from some tree work we had some done. Some of the trees were hanging over the roof, so we had them cut back in case of a bad storm. 

Even though it was chilly that morning it was burning up by the afternoon, especially standing anywhere near the fire! 
I wound up getting so hot, I actually ended up with a heat rash  :(

Ahhh, the result of all of our hard work!  It looks sooo good....and HUGE!  I swear our backyard doubled in size!
 

 And needless to say, our puppies absolutely love it as well!  For the past 3 months the only "backyard'' they've had was a small fenced area on the side of the house that's maybe a 1/4 of the size at most.   I wish I'd had my phone on me when we first let them out, they were so cute running and exploring! It would have made a great video  :)

My boyfriend wants to pressure wash the back of the house, then he said we can replace the screens and have the windows open! 
Oh, and I may be trying to figure out how to sew new covers for the porch seat cushions (the current ones are a little mildewed and washing them with bleach did nothing)...this should be interesting!