Self-Care with VIIcode O2M Oxygen Eye Mask

January 2, 2019 Beauty, Uncategorized 2 Comments

Happy New Year Friends!!!

You all know how much I love beauty products! It’s a bit of an obsession! And, I am all about self-care! Yes, I am fighting the aging process the best I that I can! As you know, the earlier and younger you can start the better! I am going to be sharing so much more about self-care with you this coming year! I am super excited about all that I have in store for you and hope that you are excited, too!

When I comes to self-care, I look for products that easy to use and effective – isn’t that what we all want? So, when I was contacted by VIIcode to try out their O2M Oxygen Eye Mask for Dark Circles, I jumped at the opportunity!

The VIIcode Eye Masks are the perfect addition to any anti-aging skincare routine and literally make you look like you’ve slept hours even when you haven’t. Say goodbye to tired eyes, dark circles, and fine lines!

VIIcode – The Beginning

The origins of VIIcode dates back 200 years when Byrne Victor created the “Ageless Mystery” and became the first person to serve customized skincare.

In 1800, Bryne brought the “Ageless Mystery” to Queen Josephine (wife of Napoleon) and was then, at the requirement of the Queen, made a promise to keep the mysterious formula as a secret until the queen’s death.

Forward to 1945 when one of Bryne’s offsprings, VII Bryne Victor, established the first luxury club (VII Identity Club) for customized skincare in New York – this is how VIIcode got it’s name.

After learning about this amazing history, I was even more excited to try this product!

The Details

VIIcode is an 8-hour overnight treatment that uses a cool gel to conform to the shape around your eye, infiltrating the entire area in soothing botanical extracts as well as targeting specific issues like fine lines and dark circles. That means it works as you sleep to help you appear instantly more awake in the morning!

VII code Eye Mask for Dark Circles offers incredible defense against all of the factors that cause concern around the eye area as stated on their website:

relief from tired eyes or lifestyle factors
increased blood flow and lymphatic circulation
boosted oxygen intake to combat wrinkles and over-pigmentation
plumped smooth skin

My Results

I will admit that first time I tried these, I did not read the directions and I put them on over my eye cream. Make sure not to do this as it will cause the eye patches to slip and slide. Make sure place them on clean and dry skin. Once I wore them properly, not only did they not budge, but they really worked their magic! I woke up feeling like my eyes appeared brighter, well hydrated, which indeed made my fine lines appear less pronounced. I really loved the ways my eyes looked in the morning!

Having used these for a few weeks, I think that these eye masks would be a great addition to my current skincare self-care routine.

If you would like to try these, you can get them from Amazon Prime! Here is the link for the VIIcode O2M Oxygen Eye Mask and the VIIcode O2M Oxygen Eye Mask for Dark Circles.

Cheers to the New Year & more self-care!

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Wooden Ships Knits – Sweaters with a Purpose

January 1, 2019 Style, Uncategorized 9 Comments

Gorgeous Sweaters with a Purpose!

Name: Best & Easy Detox Weight Loss Soup
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 45 min
Yield: 12 servings
Ingredients: 2 cups Small onions chopped (any variety ); 1.5 cups carrots chopped; 1.5 cups celery chopped; 1.5 cups zucchini chopped; 1.5 cups cut green beans; 2 cups sliced mushrooms; 2 cups Broccoli; 1 red bell pepper chopped; 1 yellow bell pepper chopped; 4 cups cabbage chopped (I use a bag of shredded cabbage ); 2 14oz cans whole peeled tomatoes rough chopped; 1 packet Lipton Dry Onion Soup; 1 14oz can beef broth; 1 46oz V8 Spicy Hot Vegetable Juice

Made with love!

If you have been following me for even a hot minute then I am sure you know that I am all about comfy. If it’s not comfy, I am not going to be wearing it. Another thing, that I am sure you know by now is that I am all about quality as well. So, when I found Wooden Ships, my heart began to pitter patter! The quality of the Wooden Ships sweaters is beyond amazing! The moment I opened my package, my heart skipped a beat. I am not joking! The sweater I am wearing is the Mini Stars Metallic V-Neck and it’s absolutely gorgeous and you can see that it was made with love! As a matter-of-fact, each star is hand printed, so no two sweaters will be alike!

Made to order!

There is so much more to love about this company than it’s gorgeous collection of sweaters! All pieces are made to order! They believe in lean production, a no waste approach to production so there is no stock, little to no waste, which greatly reduces their carbon footprint. They pay extreme attention to detail, so they have a phenomenally low return rate.

Giving Back!

Wooden Ships gives regularly gives back to numerous organizations which you can take a peek at here.

In 2014, they participated in a program to help the orangutans and the rain forest in Indonesia. Together with over 90,000 Avaaz members, $1 million was raised to buy a 389-acre chunk of rainforest in Borneo. By purchasing it, they helped protect 700 of the world’s last remaining endangered Bornean Orangutans.

Wood Ships also believes in fair and ethical production. They own and operate the factory in Bali where they go beyond fair wages and conditions, provide extensive training and opportunity for growth, and so many amazing benefits that you can read about here.

I am hooked on Wooden Ships and I can not recommend to you enough!

You have to go check out Wooden Ships. They have so many great styles to choose from and you can get 15% off your Wooden Ships purchase with code: EVERYDAY015! Added bonus: They have free shipping on all orders!

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Get Fit & Healthy Guide – All You Need to Succeed

December 31, 2018 Health & Fitness, Uncategorized 22 Comments

New Years Resolutions

It’s that time of year when we all want start the new year off right by getting fit and healthy. It’s perfectly normally for everyone to make this their New Years Resolution (each and every year). I make the same one, too! Let’s face it, we have all been indulging on all the holiday meals, treats and drinks! Tis’ the season! And, with all the hustle and bustle with all.the.things, we don’t work out as much or at all during the holiday’s. So, starting the new year off with a meal plan and getting to the gym is everyone’s plan. But, rarely does anyone succeed and they give up after a couple of weeks. Want to make this year different? If yes, then read on…

First, you need to know that I am not a nutritionist or a fitness trainer. I am just a regular mom of three kids and I have figured out what works for me and it just might work for you, too!

First, let’s talk about where everyone goes wrong and sets themselves up for failure. New Years Day comes around and…

You join a gym (or start going again) – Along with everyone else on the planet.
You sign up for ALL the classes – for some reason you think after not working out at eating all.the.things you can do that hour long intense class five days in a row.
You decide to do one of latest fad diets – it’s sounds like a great idea to cut calories and eat healthy even though you are going to start working out like crazy.

Now onto what works for me and I am hoping will work for you, too!

First let’s start with your diet!

A huge component of getting healthy and losing unwanted pounds is your diet. But, if you start some crazy fad diet that is super limiting or time consuming then you are most likely setting yourself up for failure!

A better approach is to cut out foods that are bad for you the best that you can AND limit your eating hours, so you are consuming all your food within an 8 to 10 hour period.

Scrap the Fad Diets and Follow Guidelines

Let’s talk more about the diet portion first. When I am looking to clean up my diet and lost weight, I follow that Arbonne 30 Day Challenge guidelines (no, I do not sell Arbonne). This eating plan works and is extremely easy to follow. I also feel that Arbonne has the best protein powder on the market. Not only is it delicious, but it’s soy free, dairy free, and gluten free. You can follow me on Pinterest and follow my Arbonne 30 Day Challenge board to find all the food guidelines and recipes. It is so easy to follow and you aren’t boxed into some crazy diet that will cost a ton of money or will be hard to maintain. You do not have to use Arbonne protein powde. You can use your favorite protein powder for your shakes just make sure they aren’t too high in sugar.

My Protein Shake recipe:

1 scoop Arbonne protein powder

1 scoop collagen protein

1 tsp fiber boost

Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting, otherwise known as IF, is where you limit your consumption of eating hours to a shorter window of less that 12 hours to allow your body to fully digest and start to use your stored fat for energy. The longer you can go the better, but I personally stay within 10 to 12 hour range. True IF is 18/6 (fasting for 18 hours and eating for 6 hours) and that is just way to much for me and it can be unhealthy long term especially for women. Remember the goal is try to create a lifestyle that you can maintain. You can read more on IF here.

Find treats that are within your diet and allow yourself a treat now and then. If you don’t allow yourself treats that you love every now and then, then you might find yourself binging and ruin a lot of your progress. I have a huge sweet tooth, so I need sweet treats in my life or I will find myself obsessing over all the sweets that I can’t have and I will end up binging! Here are some of my favorite treats that help with my need for sweets. If you haven’t tried these yet, you are missing out!

If you have been following me, then you have already seen my Weightloss Detox Soup Recipe! Friends, this works! Eat this soup for your meals and snacks! One pot will last you several days!

In addition to the above listed diet tips, I also use and believe in the Teami Tea Skinny Detox Pack. The morning Skinny Tea suppresses your appetite, which helps to curb your hunger, which allows a longer fast. The Colon Tea is consumed every other night and it really cleans you out! I just started using Teami Detox Pack a few months ago and I love it and it helped my keep off my extra pounds. You save 25% off with code 25Holly if you shop directly from the Teami website or you can order from Amazon Prime.

It’s always a great idea to keep track of what you are consuming. Not only does this allow you to monitor your daily calorie intake, but I also feel that if you have to write it down, you might not eat it! You might think twice about eating those two M&M’s, because 1. it takes time to input those into your tracker and are two M&M’s worth that time? and 2. you won’t to waste calories on two M&M’s! I used M&M’s as an example, but know that I getting at. I use the app MyFitnessPal, because it is extremely user friendly and you can keep track of your weight, set goals and see your overall nutrition intake.

My Fitness Pal — My Favorite Food Tracker App

The Workout Plan

Okay, so now that you have the nutrition part down, let’s talk about the workout!

This is mostly for people like me that fall off the workout wagon in December or those of you that fell off last January or anywhere in between. Please do not start your healthy, lower calorie diet and think you can start working out hard core by taking classes you haven’t taken in months, years or ever! Just don’t do it! I don’t even do that and I work out pretty regularly! The key is starting out slow! Let your body ease into working out again and with your lower calorie intake, you will want a lower impact workout or your will be fighting an uphill battle. If you are doing a crazy intense workout, you will be starving and your body will be demanding more calories and you will most likely cave and eat more than you need – possibly grabbing something unhealthy since your body is starving and screaming at you.

Now, if you have been following me since the beginning then you already now that I have found the best 15 minute workout ever and it’s FREE! Yes, it is only 15 minutes a day, you can do it from your home, you don’t need any equipment, and it’s FREE! Sound too good to be true? It’s not! I swear by The Betty Rocker 30 Day Body Weight challenge and I love it so much that I wrote a blog post all about it here!

This is the best workout to get you back in the game and you can even continue on with this workout after the 30 days and just build on it! For the first several years, I did this workout all year long! I just recently purchased The Betty Rocker 90 day Home Workout Challenge and I love it!

Another HUGE tip that I have for you is to workout first thing in the morning. Not only will this ensure that you get it done, but you will also be working out in your fasting state which will burn more fat! Just get up 20 minutes earlier and get it done! No excuses!

Bonus Tip: Sleep in your workout clothes! This allows you to just roll out of bed and do your workout! No excuses!

And, there you have it! Everything you need to conquer your New Years Resolution of getting fit and staying healthy!

I hope you find these tips helpful and useful!

Cheers to a fit and fabulous 2019!!!

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Formulate Customizable Shampoo and Conditioner – A Review & Giveaway

December 20, 2018 Beauty, Uncategorized 6 Comments

Let’s start with the facts: I have crazy kinky, thick, color-treated and heat-style damaged hair that I only like to wash every 4 or 5 days. And, I am pretty picky about my what I put in my hair, only sulfate free and paraben free will do! So, when I was given the opportunity to try Formulate customizable shampoo and conditioner, I was over-the-moon excited!

The Process

I love how thorough yet fast the questionaire process went of formulating my personal shampoo and conditioner. It took about 5 minutes and I feel they covered everything.

First you start out describing your hair type and scalp sensitivity.
Next, move into your hair goals.
Then, you cover what hair products and tool you use on your hair.
Finally you get to pick your scent and and strength of scent.

You can check out my personal Formulate profile here.

The Product

First impressions are always about the packaging and Formulate does not disappoint! The bottles are gorgeous – clean and modern. And, the fact they come with a pump is huge plus! Huge! Another important factor that can make or break a product is the scent. I chose the scent Tidal, because I love tropical smells over all scents and I am obsessed! It smells so good! It’s definitely a scent that will work for both men and women. I also appreciate that all Formulate formulas are sulfate free, paragon free, dye free, preservative free and cruelty free.

The Results

I’m impressed with my results! First of all, I am obsessed with the smell! So good! I had to use a little more shampoo to get a lather than my other shampoo, but I also feel that I could go longer in between washes, so I think that it’s a wash – haha, see what I did there? All in all I really love how Formulate makes my hair and scalp feel. My hair feels hydrated and my scalp feels amazing. Mostly, I love that I could go longer between washes.

If you have been struggling to find that perfect shampoo and conditioner then make sure to tryout Formulate!

Click here to enter into a giveaway to win your own customizable shampoo and conditioner from Formulate!

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Easy Detox Weight Loss Soup – Paleo, GF, 21 Day Fix

December 11, 2018 Food & Drink 10 Comments

Well, it’s that time of year again…. hello extra pounds! During the holidays, those extra pounds are inevitable. We all know they are coming and they certainly make themselves right at home on our belly’s, thighs, and arms among other places. Come Thanksgiving and all the way through New Years Eve, I start to accept what I call ‘My Winter Fluff”. When January 2nd comes, I am ready to say goodbye to those extra pounds and every year I make this delicious soup that helps me shed those pounds quickly. I thought I would get this recipe to you now, so you will have it for the new year! It’s super duper easy and will last you several days, which is an extra bonus – no cooking for several days! Woohoo!

You are seriously going to flip out when you see how easy this recipe is and you feel free to omit the zucchini, mushrooms or green beans if you aren’t a fan. And, it’s not really spicy even though you see that I use V8 Spicy Hot. It truly adds just the right amount of flavor and it really makes the soup amazing. Now, I am sure you notice that it’s a bit high in sodium due to the beef broth and Lipton Dry Onion Soup Mix (note this contains gluten) , so if you have any blood pressure issues, then might want to use low sodium beef broth and try this recipe for a lower sodium and gluten free alternative to the Lipton Dry Onion Soup Mix.

When trying to shed pounds and lowering my calories at same time, I switch to a really fun and low impact 15 minute workout that I absolutely love. I love it so much that I wrote a whole blog post about it! It’s a free workout that you can do at home and it only takes 15 minutes a day! You can check it out here!

Detox Weight Loss Soup — The Ingredients

I hope that you make this soup and if you do, please let me know! I would love to know your thoughts! Enjoy!

Best & Easy Detox Weight Loss Soup

This is the easiest and most flavorful detox weight loss soup.

Course

Soup

Prep Time

20 minutes

Cook Time

45 minutes

Passive Time

45 minutes

Servings

servings

Ingredients

2 cups Small onions chopped any variety
1.5 cups carrots chopped
1.5 cups celery chopped
1.5 cups zucchini chopped
1.5 cups cut green beans
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 cups Broccoli
1 red bell pepper chopped
1 yellow bell pepper chopped
4 cups cabbage chopped I use a bag of shredded cabbage
2 14oz cans whole peeled tomatoes rough chopped
1 packet Lipton Dry Onion Soup
1 14oz can beef broth
1 46oz V8 Spicy Hot Vegetable Juice

Course

Soup

Prep Time

20 minutes

Cook Time

45 minutes

Passive Time

45 minutes

Servings

servings

Ingredients

2 cups Small onions chopped any variety
1.5 cups carrots chopped
1.5 cups celery chopped
1.5 cups zucchini chopped
1.5 cups cut green beans
2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 cups Broccoli
1 red bell pepper chopped
1 yellow bell pepper chopped
4 cups cabbage chopped I use a bag of shredded cabbage
2 14oz cans whole peeled tomatoes rough chopped
1 packet Lipton Dry Onion Soup
1 14oz can beef broth
1 46oz V8 Spicy Hot Vegetable Juice

Instructions

Place all the veggies in to a large pot. Add in the onion soup packet, beef broth, V8 juice and enough water to cover all the vegetables. Mix everything together, bring to a boil and then simmer until vegetables are tender. This will be enough for several servings for several days. Keep refrigerated and enjoy!