I'm in love...

And Birchbox is thy name!

I saw an ad on the local news a week or so ago and I thought I was seeing things.  Surely this box of happy service was made just for me!  I love trying new beauty products as you may have noticed.  I flip through my Glamour and Marie Claire mags actually paying attention to the adverts to see if there is anything that might possibly erase wrinkles, give me more energy, add sky high volume to my hair, jump higher, run faster  You get my drift.  I wouldn't dream of throwing the magazine out before I've opened each and every perfume sample and rubbed it on some part of my body, sometimes incurring the occasional paper cut.

The idea behind Birchbox is that for a mere $10 you can get a lovely box sent right to your front door which contains 4 - 5 deluxe size beauty samples for you to try at home.  You fill in a little beauty profile about yourself so they can customize your samples.  I signed up for the autoship which I can cancel at any time.  If you decide you like any of the products, you can purchase the full size version from their website at a reduced price. 

What!? What!?  Where do you sign up right?  AND...AND... The $10 includes shipping.  It's on like Donkey Kong...

Here is my first Birchbox!
J'Adore!

Treasures!!!  Some goodies along with a little tissue paper wrapped surprise...

WOW!  Elizabeth Arden Restorative Treatment, Shalimar Perfume, Zoya Nail Polish and more!

There is even a little card included with descriptions in case you're not sure what the product is and how much the full size is available for on their website.

I was soooo pleased with my first Birchbox, I can't wait to see what's in my next one.  I'm looking forward to trying each and every one and letting you know about it. 

Have you tried any of these products?  Are you a beauty samples junkie like me?

Have a Ball!

Ummm... Yea.  I saw this commercial the other night and it was so funny, I had to rewind it and play it again.  My hub missed it the first time so I had him watch too.  These are jeans that allow men to "crouch without the ouch".  I did not realize there were men all across the country crouching and being sterilized at the same time by their jeans!

Apparently it has become such an issue, that someone has finally come out and designed a pair of jeans that give the "boys" room to clack around!  Whew!!  One less thing to worry about... 

If you want to see the commercial, click the link below to Duluth Trading Co.:

Ballroom Jeans

P.S.:  This company also makes tshirts cut three inches longer at the bottom to prevent "plumber's butt"

Fall In New Jersey

I know a lot of people migrate to New England this time of year to watch the changing of the leaves.  Living in this part of the country my whole life, I never realized that not everyone gets to experience the beauty of the changing seasons - it's one of my favorite things about New Jersey.

Here are some snaps of the colors in my neighborhood right now.

Eat your heart out New England!

Do you get to see the leaves change color in your neck of the woods?

Hometown Shout Out!

Having been on hiatus the last 2 months, I was looking forward to getting back in the swing with the Inspiration Monday outfit from the ladies over at two birds.  How befitting that this week's pic is of Kelly Rippa because Mizz Rippa happens to be from Stratford, NJ, the town I currently reside. 

It was meant to be!

Here is Kelly looking so casual and cute:

I know she's still a Jersey girl at heart!

Here's my take on her outfit:

It's been so unseasonably warm lately, I really can get away with the short sleeves!

I hope you have a fab Monday!

Day Trippin...

Greetings!  Sadly, another glorious weekend is coming to an end.  I just love this time of year when there is a chill in the air but the temps hover around 60 degrees and the sun is shining.  The leaves are almost done changing colors and are starting to fall - hey, is that why it's called "Fall"???

Anyway, the hub and I took a trip to a local thrift store yesterday and when we were done, we didn't feel like going home so we just decided to take a road trip to the shore!  We were headed to Ocean City but on the way, we saw the sign for Lucy.  My hub isn't from this area and had never met her so off we went...  This is Lucy!

If you're from this area, chances are you know Miss Lucy.  She was built waaay back in 1881 - crazy right???  She's an old gal for sure - if her walls could talk!  Along the years she has been a night club and a tavern but is now a tourist attraction and Jersey landmark.  I remember Lucy since I was a little girl.  You can go inside but we didn't opting to walk the beach instead before the sun went down.

This is the best time to go down the shore - hardly anyone else around!  There was a little restaurant right across the street so we popped in for some steamed clams and liquid refreshment and went back to the beach to watch the sun go down...

So pretty.

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend too!

Beauty Product Review!

You may or may not remember that I'm a sucker for the latest and greatest beauty products that come out - as long as I can buy it at my local drug store! 

This was my latest challenge:

So if you don't know anything about gel nail polish here's a quickie of the need-to-know's:  You can get a gel mani or pedi in the salon but it requires the use of a UV light to dry the polish (up until now) and the advantage was that it would give you a super glossy finish that would last up to two weeks - chip free.

I was super excited to find out I could now do it at home with this new Nutra Nail Gel Perfect polish conveniently located at my local Rite-Aid.  There aren't many shades to choose from but I found one I liked and scurried home to give it a go.

It's actually a 3-piece set.  The first coat is clear and it says to apply to just one hand first then apply the color before moving on to the second hand.  First off, the clear coat smells like and acts like crazy glue so be careful if you try this at home - and the fumes!!!  WHEW!  Be sure to crack a window (or not!  teehee!) 

Fast forward  For me, this turned out to be more labor intensive than just using regular polish and touching it up a couple times during the week.  There's a bottle with cleaning fluid and you're suppose to wipe the brush and swish it in the fluid, blah, blah, blah.  Plus, I had to put on multiple coats to get the color even.  THEN when it came time to remove it - what a mess!  I even used the special wipes they sell and it took forever and was messy.

So all in all, I have given up on this after trying two different colors and multiple applying techniques.  I'll leave this to the pros and with a price tag of $11.99 for a tiny bottle (that's not a typo kiddies) it just wasn't worth the effort!

Happy Halloween! Oh, wait....

Yes, I know it was two weeks ago but I found myself here again (missed yas!!!) and didn't have any ideas for a post so...  I was really just checking to see if I remembered my password.  And I did.  So here I am. 

Since I'm here I figured I'd post a pic of the hub and I in our Halloween costumes that we wore to the totally rocking party thrown by my dear friend Dawn over at Suitcase Vignettes!  We DEFINITELY made a fashion statement this year! 

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Dog the Bounty Hunter and his bodacious wife, Beth!

Hope you all had a fabulous Summer!