Let's Talk About: Skincare

The I'm not sure many of you know, but I went to Esthetics school in 2004-2005. I'm obsessed with finding that miracle cure for troubled skin. 

While I was in skincare school, I was diagnosed with Tuberous Sclerosis, and I found out after seeing a dermatologist for  an unknown skin condition.  

The TS caused these angiofibromas all across my cheeks and above my eyebrows. They looked like acne, and it was a serious confidence killer for me. So I was always trying new things. 

Luckily, after my daughter was born, the angiofibromas cleared up. There's no medical research showing this has ever happened before, which leads us to think I was possibly misdiagnosed. But I still had acne, so my search continued. 

I've tried it all!  

And finally, I found it. My skin care "Holy  Trinity". 

I'm currently super into Lush, and can't get enough. My best friend recommended the AquaMarina cleanser and I haven't looked back since. 

It looks funky, it's pink from calamine powder (yes like the mosquito bite lotion!) and there's flecks and pieces of seaweed inside.

It smells a little weird, but Oh My God. Leaves my skin clean, smooth, and breakout free. FINALLY 

I follow Aqua up with another Lush product, Mask of Magnaminty. It's a minty green mask with peppermint, kaolin clay, and aduki beans for a gentle scrub. It's packed with other ingredients that help deep clean and spot treat breakouts!

And the last is a new discovery for me. I was noticing that as great as the AquaMarina was at cleaning my skin, it wasn't great at taking off my full face of makeup. And I really don't enjoy those makeup removing towelettes. I've seen Micellar water all over social media lately as a great makeup remover and skin cleanser so I decided to give it a try. 

I got mine at Target, and it's by the Simple brand, so I know only necessary ingredients are inside!  And it's so simple, just pour some on a cotton round and wipe!  Eye makeup comes off in a snap!  And I wear some pretty difficult mascara. Not a problem for this stuff. 

So I start with the Micellar water, wash with the AquaMarina

, and about 2-3 times a week use Mask of Magnaminty  

And guys. I'm serious. My skin has never looked better!

Kat

Do you use Lush products? Leave your favorites in the comments!!

Crest 3D White Brilliance Daily Cleansing and Whitening System

**I have a post brought to you by BzzAgent and Crest today. I received these products free for testing and reviewing purchases. I did not purchase these products.**

I have wanted whiter teeth forEVER. Basically since I got my braces off at 15. I've tried at home whitening strips. But never long enough for real results. And I want to do the zoom white at my dentist, but that can be pricy!!

Enter BzzAgent. I was selected to receive this new system by Crest and they sent me the whole set. It's a daily toothpaste and a whitening gel that you use twice daily. Using the toothpaste, you brush as normal, spit out the junk in your mouth and DO NOT RINSE. 

That part is so hard!  I'm so used to rinsing right away.  Don't even rinse off the toothbrush. 

Then put the whitening gel on the toothbrush and brush again for one minute. After you spit that out you can rinse. It's almost like brushing your teeth with the gel from those whitening strips they make. So the taste isn't the best; rinsing is necessary. 

I took a picture before I started using 

And I will take another one Sunday morning, as that will be one week. The packaging says you will notice results in one week. We shall see!!

On another note. Since we are talking about WHITENing products. My last name is Whiten. Pronounced just like the color (or as my mother in law says "what bleach does to your clothes).

 So many people call me Whitten though like the football player for the Dallas Cowboys. Not that I would mind football player money. But that's it my name.  Anyways the point is...

...do people look at a tooth whitening product and read that it WHITTENS your teeth!?

I'll leave you with that thought today

Kat ❤️

Double the Homes!!!

The I've been so incredibly busy.  Once again.  But for good reason; we closed on and moved into the new house! 

From the moment we closed I've been going back and forth. And back again. 

Painting and cleaning in the new house. Packing and cleaning at the old house. 

Meeting contractors to fix small problems at the new house. To meeting handymen to tune up appliances at the old house. 

I'm exhausted. Everyday. Of course I also started working every day as soon as we closed, so that hasn't helped. 

But that hard work has PAID OFF. Omg this house is everything I wanted, and everything I never knew it could be.  It's about 300 square feet more than the previous house, but it feels palatial in comparison. 

We have a 15x20 lofted master with its own ensuite bathroom and walkin closet. We have a third bedroom that is a guest room and playroom for now. We have a DINING ROOM.  Say what!?  No more eating in front of the TV. #lifeisgood

The house was in good condition when we bought it. But I upgraded with paint and my own touches of course. 

Audrey picked out her own room decor. I haven't really seen her room all put together.  Because honestly it's not at all put together. Her bed is up, and her dresser and closet are full of clothes.  But she instantly had toys strewn about the entire room. 

                      #princessbed

Everything else is done though!  What a great feeling. To have a new place and everything is exactly where it should be.  

Gone are the days of just shoving things places because we have no space. No more clutter, no more mess!!

      *deep peaceful breath*

There's much more to be seen!  Coming soon to part two!!

But this might be the most impressive.  The inlaws brought over all the bourbon they have been given and didn't like (don't get my started). So let's get this collection started!  Do you have to keep them all full for it to be a collection?

Of course it's not over.  There's still the old house to clean. And get rented. But for now, I'm done.  And home!!

Is it time yet?

Sorry for the lack of updates, but man have I been busy!!  Not only did hubs and I buy a new house, but my baby sister also bought her first house. 

Which means big sis is obligated to help her move in. It wasn't bad. She's lived at my parents forever so she didn't have an entire house or apartment to move. So it was quick and relatively painless. 

We painted this weekend. And cleaned. I'm not sure her sellers ever cleaned their house. The walls were gross, the white doors were black. And they left a bunch of shredded cheese (not in a bag) in the fridge door for us!!  

But now that she's done, it's my turn. And I realized today juuuust how quickly time is flying by. Yes I have just about a month to go before we close. And over a month until the official moving day. But I had nothing done. 

Minus purging. I purged a lot. Everyone should move every few years just to purge. I still have more to get rid of too! 😍

Anyways. I started packing today. I did pretty well I think. I got all the non essential things (pictures, knick knack stuff I can't seem to throw away) packed away. Including my home fragrance. With the exception of one measly candle. And a wallflower. 

Which probably explains the massive shopping trip on bathandbodyworks.com tonight. But when they say $9 three wick candles, a basic bitch like me can't say no!  So $135 later (which was really only $50 shipped for the sale) and I'm not so patently awaiting my order. I'll post that haul when it arrives. Promise!  

And I'll have an IKEA haul coming Wednesday too. That won't be pretty. For my credit card, not aesthetically. 

See you then!

Kat ❤️

Can't get enough

I have to check in to buying stock shares in Target. I'm seriously there once at day (at least) on the weekends. 

And now that we are moving, I can't help but spend money on stuff for the new house. 

Thank god for clearance. 

These are perfect for my new kitchen. I love decals, and I LOVE wine!  Seriously the one thing I will miss about the current house is the wine rack built into our kitchen cabinets. And hello! Clearanced!!

Please don't tell my husband, he may take my redcard away. 

Who am I kidding, he would never do that!

Well It's About Damn Time!

Holy shit y'all!  After 7 years of asking and showing him properties, and asking some more, more properties being shown to him...WE ARE FINALLY MOVING!  

Say good bye to my 750 square foot ranch house (well, see ya later, because we are renting it out when we move)!  Hell-ooooooo 1100 square foot cape cod of my dreams. 

I'm not sharing pictures of it yet, since we haven't closed on it. We have to wait until June for that. But I do have some stuff figured out already. 

It's in great shape already, so all I have to do before moving in is clean the carpet in the master and paint. Oh em gee! I love to paint rooms. So I have paint colors picked out from Lowes already. 

The princess has requested a white room with pink and purple hearts, so I found some decals on Amazon for $15 shipped. And I'm painting the kitchen, dining room and one wall in the master. 

Classical violet is going to be an accent wall in my master and Coastal Jetty is going in my dining room. The other two, Lyndhurst Celadon Green and Green Tea Leaves are going in my kitchen. They are picking up rather mint in the picture, but aren't that bright in person.  All these colors are Valspar colors. 

And the one other thing that is figured out is the princess's bathroom. We have two FULL baths in the new house!  So the downstairs bath will be kid friendly decor, but it's also our main bath when guest are over, so it's not in your face kids!  Like the Frozen set she picked out. Sorry Kiddo

 

How stinkin cute is that!?  I love the owls, I think it's something she can continue to grow into for a while, and it's still appropriate for a main bath. And it was all on clearance!  I think I paid $35 tops for all of it?  #targetforthewin

Can I admit something?  I've never (never) been to Ikea! *Gasp!*  But I'm going!

Soon!

In May. I have a dentist appointment, and there's an ikea close by. That haul will be a completely separate blog post all on its own. I had better bring cash as a budget. Haha who am I kidding!?

Wish me luck

Kat

Door to Door Organics

The The I'm not usually an organic eater. Honestly, I think Organics are very pricey and I don't usually purchase them.  

But I had seen an add for Door to Door Organics all over my facebook news feed last month!  They were having a spring sale for new customers. 51% off any box, so long as you were new. No commitment, you could do just the one box if you wanted. So I decided to check it out. 

With the sale, I was able to get their largest mixed fruit and veggies box for $26 delivered. I can barely buy all our fruits and veggies for the week for $26, non organic!  Audrey loves (LOVES) fruits and veggies. 

It took a few days to decide to pull the trigger, but I did. They preselected items to bring to you, but you have the option to switch out things for a select few others. 

I chose to have my delivery day be Tuesday because I don't usually work then. That way I can bring the box inside as soon as it's delivered. Otherwise, if you're not home any of the delivery days you can leave a cooler outside and they will put the box in the cooler for you. 

I waited all day yesterday for my box; I love deliveries. Finally as I was making dinner it arrived, just in time too. I wanted the lettuce I was getting for dinner!

I quickly opened it and found layers of goodies awaiting me!

Organic bananas, baby carrots, grape tomatoes, strawberries, two pink lady apples. 

Organic mandarins, Swiss chard, romaine lettuce, asparagus. 

Organic cameo apples, Fuji apples, avocado, garlic, grapefruit, Yukon gold potatoes, Bosc pears, and blood oranges. 

About those blood oranges. I didn't think Audrey would go for it. Because she's five,and they don't look like a typical orange. She can not get enough. Josh on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with it. Mostly because he couldn't get over the name. You win some, you lose some. 

But look how gorgeous these are:

That one in the middle that's almost orange to deep red ombré. Love. 

I can't believe I paid $26 for all that food to be delivered to my house! Now to figure out what to make with Swiss chard. And the grape tomatoes. Because Audrey has decided that she doesn't like them anymore. More five year old antics. 

If you're interested in Door to Door Orangics, and live within the states that they are currently delivering in, leave me your email address and I will send you an invite. You will get $15 off your order!  Unfortunately, the spring sale has since ended, but they have a variety of boxes at pretty good price points!  Be sure to check them out!

Kat