Pixi Lumi Lux Radiance Powder Review

Are you using your "Summer" makeup? I am, for the first time, really getting into bronzers and powders that add that sun-kissed glow to my skin.

I was excited to receive the Pixi Lumi Lux Radiance Powder to review. It retails for $26 at Target.

The design of Pixi products is always so cute- this is a slide-out powder.


However, you can see the downside to this--- I nicked the flower with my fingernail when I was opening it to photograph- see the part of the flower right by the P in Pixi?

I tried to swatch the powder on my skin, but it's so natural, it's hard to see! So here's a swatch on a cotton pad.... it's a nice rosy peach.

Per Target,

This silky, all-over illuminating powder palette adds light, radiance and
luminosity to the skin and creates an angelic sheen. It's ideal for
counteracting tired skin as an instant pick-me-up on cheekbones and
eyes.

I used a skunk brush to swirl the colors together and applied like I would a bronzer.... to my temples, cheekbones, and nose. I followed with my normal blushes and loved the look.

If you are looking for a new illuminating powder to add some radiance to your face, this would definitely be perfect!

Fun Week

This week I volunteered to take pics for my son's baseball team. We missed the official picture day (plus they are CRAZY expensive when you buy the official pics) so I thought I'd dust off the skills I picked up in my photography classes last fall and give it a shot (pun intended).

I am so pleased with how they turned out! Doesn't P look so grown up? He'll be 8 in August and I continue to be so proud of his good attitude. Baseball has been hard for him (there are 2 balls coming at him at a time you know!) but he gets out there and tried hard.

And last night at practice, he hit 11 balls! Amazing, really. Our end-of-season tourney starts Monday, and although I am ready to not have to sit in the 101 degree heat for games anymore, I will really miss it. Baseball is totally my favorite sport.

I didn't charge the parents for the pics, and emailed the hi-res images for them to print their own, or use however they like. Since I planned on ordering wallets and such from www.mpix.com (they do rounded corners and use Kodak Endura professional paper), I offered to order anything the parents wanted at cost. Quite a few took me up on my offer and I just got them all sorted out and ready to deliver. It was fun!

How has your week been?

Too Faced Eye Love Eyeshadow Palette

I recently got the Too Faced Eye Love Eyeshadow Palette as a 500 point VIB reward from Sephora. I love saving up my points and redeeming them for something full-sized rather than those 100 point sample sizes!

Although I didn't picture it, this also comes with a mini sized Too Faced Shadow Insurance, which I love. It'll be a great size for travel.

Basically, this palette offers up two shades from each of the following palettes: Naked, Smoky, Natural, and Romantic. These palettes run $35 each, so this VIB reward is quite a steal!


(click to enlarge)
Also included on the inside is a diagram showing you an example for each look.

(click to enlarge)

The Muse has some more pictures as well as swatches if you'd like to see them. I am so pleased with my reward and suggest you snatch it up if you've got 500 points lying around.

The 5th(???) Edition of "Sasha's Been Living Under a Rock": My Drunk Kitchen

Have you been watching "My Drunk Kitchen"?

As usual, I am sure I am the last one alive to stumble on this, but OMG it's hilarious. So far there are 6 epis and a new one is out tomorrow..... I need a tshirt too. I am deciding between "The Cheese is Trapped" and "Jargaritas".

Mwahhhhhhhh

Music Monday: Hell on Heels

I'm joining in with Hairbows and Guitar Picks for Music Monday today.

Have you heard of Pistol Annies, the new girl group that Miranda Lambert is a part of? They just released their first song, Hell on Heels, and I LOVE it! It's available for download of $1.29.

What are you listening to today?

P's Vison Issues

It's been a while since I have done an update on P and his vision issues, and Kelly's Korner is hosting a Show Us Your Life about special needs today, so I thought this was a good time. Honestly, his Exotropia diagnosis just floored me, and the subsequent surgery and therapy have been all-consuming.

P turned 7 years old in August 2010 and started 1st grade. We knew when school started last fall that his reading skills weren't quite up to par with his peers. But since we were dealing with some Sensory Processing Disorder issues like his sister also had, we weren't too concerned. We figured that as his SPD issues improved, his ability to sit still in class and concentrate and learn would improve too. Testing after school started actually showed him to be at the level they expected for entering 1st grade. However, at home he still continued to have difficulty with reading, getting frustrated and often saying "I just can't!". So we took a pretty laid-back approach and didn't push him, and I most just read to him, rather than have him try to read to me.

After the holidays, I found out that he had been put in a remedial reading group at school. I was surprised, because he is so bright and to think that he had learning disabilities was just so unexpected.

I first thought we needed to rule out vision problems. Both Mr. Sasha and I started wearing glasses as kids, and even though P had a perfect eye exam report before K, I figured it wouldn't hurt to have another exam and see if there had been a change.

They gave us our diagnosis within a few minutes of seeing him- Exotropia. Basically, the muscles in his eyes were causing his eyes to turn out, and he was having to work extra hard to try to keep them focused. The condition had evidently been there for quite a while, and up until trying to learn to read, he was pretty good at keeping his eyes focused together. But because reading was a stress on his eyes, they would get tired and he was losing the ability to bring them together himself. And he had lost his binocular vision, which is the ability to use the eyes together.... so when he could focus, he was seeing double. No wonder he couldn't read!

The pediatric opthamologist said his case was severe enough to schedule surgery the next week. The suggest surgery when the measurement is over 10-12, and his was a 20. (I wish I remember exactly what those measurements meant, but I have so much info swimming in my head these days....)

During the surgery, a muscle on the side of each eyes was cut and moved to the correct location. The doctor said the surgery went well and he'd see us back in six weeks. So we left thinking that in 6 weeks, P's eyes would be able to work together and our problems would be solved.

FF 6 weeks, and sadly, he just wasn't where we thought he'd be. Cosmetically, his eyes were lined up correctly. However, his brain hadn't quite figured that out and he was still seeing double and didn't have any depth perception. The doctor said sometimes it takes the brain longer to figure out how to use the eyes correctly. I had read a bit on vision therapy and the doctor said he didn't recommend it because in his experience the brain would figure it out on it's own and he's see us at the 6 month post-op mark.

This is where my momma-bear tendencies kicked in. 6 months? We couldn't wait 6 more months!

Thank goodness for the Internet and Facebook! I posted about our struggles on Facebook, and a friend who has experience in things like this put me in contact with an out-of-state OT who was nice enough to discuss our case over the phone and recommended strongly that we find a vision therapist. My friend also referred me to a special needs teacher who does reading tutoring using the Lindamood-Bell method.

So we've been doing vision therapy (one hour long in-office session a week, with daily eyes exercises at home) and the hour-long reading therapy twice a week for a few months, and we area already seeing some progress. He even got a hit at the baseball game last week, which is quite a feat when you see two balls coming towards you!

What I am most proud of is P's attitude. He's excited to go to his therapy appointments, and has even willingly left a swimming birthday party to go to an appointment. Although the home eye exercises are hard, he tries hard and we are figuring it out together. I feel so blessed.... I know it may be a long road, but we'll get there!

This is Us

Last year I told you about my father-in-law, who was battling leukemia and preparing for a bone marrow transplant. The Be the Match Foundation was offering free signup to be on the national bone marrow registry, and amazingly, so many of our friends and family signed up to be on the registry in his honor.

Sadly, he passed away last week. Having some time to prepare, he let the family know he wanted his funeral to be a celebration rather than a ceremony filled with sadness.

And it was! My husband's cousin prepared a fabulous slideshow of pictures set to music, and it was amazing to see all the wonderful memories he created over the years with his family. He was truly a man who lived life to the fullest and enjoyed every single day.

One of the songs played during the slideshow was Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris singing "This Is Us". This was a song I had never heard before, and am now obsessed with. It's as if my in laws are singing it themselves! A perfection description of them.

(Every time I try to embed a youtube vid, my browser shuts down, so here's a link to hear the song.)

http://youtu.be/ey9kdeOjT3o

Hopefully we can all take something from this- make memories with your family. They are priceless!

Idea from Pinterest: Favorite Things Party

I saw this on Pinterest and can't stop thinking about how fun this would be.

Here's how it works: Each person brings their favorite thing (anything you like.. your favorite lip gloss, favorite kitchen tool, favorite gift wrapping supply, a gift card for your favorite frozen yogurt, etc.).

It can't cost more than $6, and each person brings five of the same thing.

When you arrive at the party, you write your name on five slips of paper and throw them in a big bowl.

The bowl is passed around, and each person takes five names (making sure you don't pick your own.. or two of the same name).

One at a time each person introduces their favorite thing and then reads the five names they picked from the bowl, passing out their gift to those five guests.

After everyone at the party has presented their favorite thing, each person should end up with five gifts to take home.

Doesn't this sound FUN?????? I totally want to do this and need to find a good night in the next month or so. Or does anyone local already have a kid-free weekend night coming up and want to host at their house?

Three Favorite Makeup Products

First off, full disclosure, I purchased all three of these products myself. This review is sponsored by no one other than my own personal pocketbook. I truly love these products and just wanted to tell you about them!

All of the sudden, Beauty Balms, or bb creams, are all over the place! Of course I had to try one! The general idea is that a bb cream is a moisturizer, sunscreen, and treatment serum, that also hides imperfections.

I tried the Dr. Jart+ Water Fuse Beauty Balm, purchased from Sephora for $32. I've been wearing it as my foundation, applied with a damp foundation brush, and I love it. This only comes in one shade, and just seems to be perfect for my skintone (light/fair, with yellow undertones).

For a finishing powder, I am LOVING Too Faced Primed & Poreless. Absolutely loving it. Also purchased from Sephora, this is $28. I have somewhat oily skin, and I used to have to blot or re-powder my t-zone mulitple times a day. Somehow this powder seems to magically solve that problem, and I don't re-powder AT ALL. Love that.

Sometimes in the summer I don't want to mess with eye shadow application, but still want something on my lids. I have found that my favorite primer, Too Faced Shadow Insurance in Candlelight, looks wonderful on it's on. It's a light shimmery wash of cream shadow that lasts all day. So pretty! (Purchased from Sephora for $18.)

Have you found any new makeup this summer that you are loving?

It's Pinteresting!

Since I haven't been able to collect my thoughts enough to form a complete sentence for a blog post, I've been hanging out at Pinterest lately. Quite a bit. And I'm in love. It's oh-so-easy to drop in for a few minutes, here and there. And a few minutes is about all I feel I have these days.

If you aren't familiar with Pinterest, my friend Megan did a fabulous explanation and tutorial-of-sorts last week, so I'll let Megan fill you in.

Still not sure when I'll be back to blogging, but you can follow my pins. They're pretty pinteresting to me!

BBQ Beef Rolls

Tuesday was a wild and crazy day and I had about 40 minutes to make dinner and feed the kiddos and two friends before baseball at 6.

BBQ Ranch Chicken and Cheddar Pizza Roll 'em Ups
(recipe from Jenny Flake at Picky Palate)

I remembered seeing the awesome recipe above on Picky Palate one day so I printed it out before I left the office. I knew I had a roll of pizza crust in the fridge, and of course we always have shredded cheese. Ever the short-cutter, I figured I'd nix the ranch and use a tub of ready-to-eat shredded BBQ that I could pick up at the grocery store. I hoped to find pork or chicken, but my small neighborhood IGA only had BBQ beef, so beef it was.
It seriously took me about 5 minutes to prep it and get it in the oven. 20 minutes to bake, and that would leave us about 15 minutes to eat.
It was a HUGE hit! All the kids loved it, aside from WC who is a fruitatarian and doesn't count in the equation.

Side note: my finished product did not look nearly as pretty as Jenny's, but since they tasted so good, and my customers were 7-9 years old, I wasn't too worried about presentation!

Do you have any good dinner-in-a-hurry recipes to share?

My modified recipe:

1 Roll Pillsbury Pizza dough in can

1 container refrigerated pre-cooked BBQ meat (chicken, pork, of beef)

shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Open can of dough and press into rectangle. Spread meat on top then top with cheese. Starting at long end, roll dough into a log shape. Using a sharp knife, cut 1 inch pieces and place onto a greased baking sheet. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until golden brown.

Trying to find my mojo

Oh Running.

You clear my mind. You relax me. You are my only "me" time and I you so much!

I tend to be quite an introvert and really value alone time..... I think that comes from being an only child and spending so much time entertaining myself growing up. So running is the perfect sport for me. No classes to rush to, to be late for. And it's such a variable exercise- feeling sluggish? Just take a slow jog and see how it goes. Feeling energetic? Go for a PR time! Just have a 30 minutes? Go for a quick 3 miler. Have a whole morning to yourself? Go for 12 miles- two hours of deliciousness!

Last week was a bit crazy and I did not get one. single. run in! It was terrible.

But I decided to do all I could to make this week better and carve out some me time. Both Sunday and Monday nights, after dinner, as the sun was going down, I set out and got 4 miles in.

It was fabulous! Made even better by the audiobook I checked our from the library Friday- Ree Drummond reading her book "Black Heels to Tractor Wheels".

I of course have read most of the story on her blog, but there is something about hearing her read it out loud- her fellow Okie twang just draws me in and makes me feel like a good friend is re-telling a story to me.

Absolute delight.

PreK Graduation (sniff sniff)

WC graduated from PreK this weekend! So hard to believe that she'll be going to K this fall. I've been hard at work getting things set up for her for next year (gotta warn those school admins about the tornado that is about to come their way!).

Last Friday afternoon, her teachers had a fabulous tea party for the graduates and invited the parents to attend as well. Earlier in the week, they sent home a note that said:

Girls can wear princess dresses or church dresses, and boys can wear
king/prince or superhero costumes.

Ever an equal-opportunity gal, WC took the opportunity to wear HER favorite superhero costume. In a sea of beautiful pink princess dresses and tiaras, she certainly stood out. And was quite proud of that! It's so interesting to see her personality develop, and we marvel every day about where she gets it, since the Mr. and I are both happy to be in the background most of the time!

But I am oh-so-proud of her and an anxious to see her continue to grow and change and can't wait to see what she makes of herself- because I suspect whatever she does, she'll make a mark on the world.

Tonight

I am making a tap dancing video for DancingMoms.com.

Swear. I don't know where my tap shoes are, so it will be sans the clack. But there will be a buffalo, a few times steps, and possibly a pullback or two. Maybe, just maybe, some wings.

Read here for all the background. I pink puffy heart Big Kid. (and Ashley too of course)

Ebates 12th Birthday

It's still super busy around here, but wanted to make sure all my online shopping friends know about this fabulous deal.

Ebates is turning 12 years old and they are celebrating by offering 12% back at 114 stores. And I don't know if you noticed, but my favorite store of all, Sephora, is included....... Squee!

Ebates will be sending me my latest Big Fat Check on Sunday, and that brings my total rebates from Ebates to...... $1198.59, and that's CASH folks. Can't beat that!

Hiatus

It's time for Sasha Says to go on hiatus.

The blog has always been so much fun for me, and I have enjoyed it so much over the last 4 (!!) years.

But life has dealt the Sashas a very busy hand of cards right now.

Hopefully I'll be back soon. No promises though. Love to you all!

Comments are closed

Let's All Be Country Chic

Yesterday P and I ran by the mall to grab him some shoes for Easter Sunday, and I stopped in Bath and Body Works to check out the new Country Chic scent that I had been hearing about. A blend of wildflowers, woods, and citrus. Since I am so sensitive to smells, I have to try them out before I buy. As in, put it on and see how I feel about it 2 hours later.

It's delightful! You know I have The Spring Fever, and this fits right in!

But I did not want to brave the mall again, so I just did my purchase online and got quite a great deal, so I thought I'd share it with you- I got 5 full-sized products for $33, shipped. And don't forget about ebates.....

1. I went through ebates and will be getting 3% back.
2. Right now BBW is running a special- Buy 3, Get 2 Free.
3. I used code S114069 to get $10 off.
4. Even after tax and shipping, I figure I saved a few bucks compared to going back to the mall.

What scents are you loving for Spring?

WC is Movin' On Up

At 5 years and 3 months, WC is finally about to hit 40 pounds (39.4 yesterday) so I bit the bullet and ordered her a booster. We moved P to a booster (a Britax Parkway SG) the week he started K at age 6. I chose to wait until age 6 mostly because boosters in general don't seem all that safe to me. The fact that they just sit in the seat, unattached to anything, is so strange. I do understand they are just meant to position the child in a safer place in relation to the seat belt.

But Britax took Boosters one step further and their newest Parkway, the SGL, includes a lower latch connection system that "secures the booster seat to the vehicle, preventing it from becoming a projectile when not in use, and stabilizes it during a crash". It also has the feature that sold us on the Parkway in the first place, Secureguard, which "works with the vehicle safety belt to prevent the child from sliding under the lap-belt portion of the safety belt (submarining) during impact, thus minimizing the risk of abdominal injury".

Hot Damn! That's genius! I am even thinking about replacing P's boosters with the newest model. It sound so much safer!

I Just Set My Tivo

to record Lemonade Mouth tonight on the Disney Channel. (And I did that right here at my computer at work, via DirecTV's website... love that technology!)

Although I'm most likely not in their demographic, I love me some teenage music movies. Plus Lemonade Mouth just told me on Twitter that it was totally OK for a 37 year old to watch their movie tonight. Phew.

Ask the Product Junkie: Clinique Repairwear

Sassy Gal said... I am DYING to try the new Clinique Repairwear Laser Focus Wrinkle and UV Damage Corrector? Not that we need it or anything, but just curious?

Oh, but I DO need it! Even though I've done several laser procedures at the cosmetic surgeon's office, I still have quite a bit of hyperpigmentation on my cheeks- it always seems to come right back. I'm guess I'm just very prone to it, even though I am very good about wearing sunscreen every day.

And I thought I remembered getting a few samples of this from Sephora, so I went back through my sample stash and found two .5 oz samples, the equivalent of a full-sized bottle. So I'll be testing this out in the evenings over the next few weeks and will report back with a full review. At $44.50 for an ounce, it's pretty pricey, but since I scored some samples, I'm game to give it a try.

Here's the product description from Clinique's website: Potent serum gives every skin a second chance against lines, wrinkles, sun damage. In 4 weeks, see obvious reduction in lines, wrinkles, improved texture. At 12 weeks, the visible wrinkle-reducing power is remarkably close to a dermatological laser procedure. 63%, to be exact. Different commitment, different results. And yet impressive results guaranteed.

Anybody try this already? Let us know in the comments.

Are you MiO-ing?

I have no idea what the name of the product means, but I am loving MiO Liquid Water Enhancer. Anytime I see those initials I think Made In Oklahoma.....

So far I've tried Berry Pomegranate (super yummy) and Sweet Tea (still on the fence on that one).

But the concept is fabulous and perfect for moms on the go. I paid $2.50 for mine since I used the $1 coupon that was in the Smart Source insert on 3/27.

Have you tried the other flavors?

Top 2 Tuesday: Drinks!

Thought I'd join in on Top 2 Tuesday at The Undomestic Momma.... because I need a drink today! (But isn't it just Monday??????)

1. I have a ice-cold can of full-sugar Coke every.single.morning. Can't live without it! It's my coffee!

2. My alcoholic drink of choice for years has been Mike's Light Hard Lemonade or Cranberry Lemonade. 98 calories of pure bliss! (note that it was hard as hell to find that information out!)

Last fall, I started having trouble finding it, and a beer delivery guy at Target told me it was discontinued..... which led to my devastation and also to this:

Note that the Shiner box and the one next to it are full of Mike's Light.... you just can't see it!

But guess what? They really just reformulated it..... now it's spelled "Lite" (stupid spelling!) and has 109 (Lemonade) and 119 calories (Cranberry Lemonade).

I'm super glad it's still around, but I might not have stocked up for Y2K if I had know this tid-bit of info! Well, maybe I still would have..... having that stash in my garage is quite a conversation starter. :-)

Navigating the Waters

Drowning somewhat.

I'm in the midst of figuring out what sort of accommodations WC will need for K next fall (I'm telling you, these people need to be PREPARED for her) and also working on getting P the vision assistance he needs.

I am not feeling very welcome in Holland.

It's not at all what I planned. I wish I was an eloquent writer and could adequately express to you how I am feeling right now. I love my kiddos with all my heart, and can't imagine life without them, but UNCLE.

WC's IEP evaluation is tomorrow morning, and the Mr. is researching a local vision therapy place today for P. If all goes like we think it will, he'll be doing vision therapy twice a week along with twice a week Lindamood-Bell reading tutoring.

Other issues as hand: losing 30 pounds, continuing my running (next up: a 13K relay leg in May), and cleaning up/organizing our on-going home remodel. The Mr.'s dad is in the hospital, the dog needs a bath, and I don't like my nail polish today.

So how you doin'?

Ask the Product Junkie.... Mani Tips

Jillian Inc. says: Totally agree with Mr. - that you could make a career. This isn't so much about a particular product but, in your opinion, what is the KEY to a good at home manicure? (base, top coat, etc?). How do you do yours? I really need to do mine myself but they always turn out looking like crap. Thanks!

Great question Jillian! I've been painting my nails since middle school, and through the years, I've found there ARE a few things that make a difference. I have a post here when I discuss the products I use and the order in I use them in. However, I think two of the steps are by far the most important so let's discuss them here.

1. Cuticle care. My mother was strangely incessant about pushing my cuticles back when I was growing up. Every morning she'd use a pencil eraser to ease them back. Although I hated doing it at the time, my mother was on to something: Taking care of your cuticles equals less problematic nails. Less splits, tears, and breaks.

Although I don't push my cuticles back with an eraser anymore, I do two things in particular to take care of my cuticles. First, a few times a week, before I apply fresh polish, I use a product like Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover. This softens the cuticles and allows them to be pushed back off the nail very easily. Having your cuticles pushed back allows a better, longer lasting application of nail polish.

Second, I use a cuticle cream with AHA at least once a day to keep them moisturized and maintained. Poshe Cuticle Care and CND Cuticle Eraser are two good ones.

2. Top Coat. A quick dry top coat will change your life! My potion of choice is Seche Vite, but there are quite a few different ones you can try- from what I read, based on body chemistry, some people have better luck with other choices. Others to try are Poshe, Out the Door, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri..... there are quite a few out there- you'll just need to figure out what works best for you. Most quick dry top coats need to be applied immediately after the last coat of polish is applied.

I usually start my mani about 9 and am done by 9:30 and go to bed at 10 and have perfect nails when I wake up.

Hope these tips helps Jillian!

Any CD Purchases Planned?

Amazon is offering an extra 20% off CD purchases through April 20th with the code MUSICOFF if you have an Amazon.com Rewards Visa (which I of course do.)

You don't? You need one!

(Thinking about getting the Adele CD and also I just cancelled my order for the Glee Warblers CD and re-ordered using the code and saved $2! Woot!)

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon referral links.

The Product Junkie Says....

Liz asks..... i have to know what color of creamy, nudey lipstick those kardashian gals wear. i loooove it! i don't think this fair skinned white girl can pull it off but if you hear anything, let a girl know!

Liz, I admit I was super afraid to use the words "Kim Kardashian" and "nude" in the same google search.... but just for you, I did some Nancy Drew-ing and came up with this answer.

Kim usually lightly applies MAC Lipliner in Stripdown ($13), then tops MAC Lipstick in Angel ($14.50) with NARS Lip Gloss in Turkish Delight ($24). For a very nude, matte lip, Kim wears Nars Lipstick in Belle De Jour ($24) paired with MAC Lipliner in Subculture ($13).

Ask the Product Junkie

It's been a while since we've done this.... have a question for me? Are you wondering about any new products you've seen? Makeup questions? We're talking food, cleaning products, candy, beauty products, clothes, anything.

Cause here's the deal: If it's new, on an endcap, or there's a coupon for it, I've probably bought it. And believe me, I've got opinions. Mr. Sasha is convinced there's a career out there for me in product review, but I'm not so sure. I'm a little like Rosie Perez's character on White Men Can't Jump, I know a little bit about a lot of stuff.

Anyway, leave me a comment with your question and I'll post some answers later today!

Would You Tell Me About

your clothes-cleaning/drying machines??????

Unbelievably, both our washer and dryer have gone kaput within the same week. I've been being all college-student and dragging my laundry baskets/potions over to a friend's house. In fact, I made 5 trips over there yesterday!

So I need to know, do you have HE models? Do you have the stands? We are leaning towards getting a set, but sans stands.... is that a bad idea?

HALP!

Spring!

Are you tired of me talking about The Spring Fever? I hope not! I have never been so excited about the changing of the seasons before. Bring on the sunny days please. Since I was displaced from our master bath due to the installation of our new flooring this week, I had a pack a little overnight bag to take to the other bathroom. I tried to pack some multi-purpose items so that I wasn't dragging my entire stash of makeup to the other side of the house.

Luckily, the new Stila Garden Bliss set that I purchased arrived just in time. Unlike the $10 Stila Travel Palettes, which included a cream convertible color, this palette has a *powder* blush. And this powder blush is a great shade for me! If you're warm like me, you'll love the eye shadows in this set as well- the golds and browns are just perfect and make for a quick eye look.

Check out The Muse's review of this set for some swatches- I can't seem to locate my camera right now due to our remodeling project.

If you haven't tried any of the colors from the new OPI Texas collection, you're missing out. The shade I'm wearing above is Big Hair, Big Nails (3 coats). I think it's a perfect color for spring- so cheery! I haven't yet picked it up, but I'm also wanting to get Guy Meets Gal-veston after seeing Scrangie's swatches last week.

Last night I spritzed myself with Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh, and OMG, I'm in love! I have a very hard time finding scents that agree with me since I'm super-sensitive to smells. Anything that I don't love and that's too strong makes me absolutely sick to my stomach, so it's got to be PERFECT before I can wear it. And this is....... but alas, it's pretty expensive. Sephora's got a set that includes at 2.5 oz bottle of the scent along with a 5 oz tube of lotion for $75, which is more than I usually like to spend. But it's just lovely and it's calling my name, LOUDLY.

What products are you loving for Spring?

Can I Stay At Your House Tonight?

The Casa de Sasha is getting new flooring throughout as we speak, sans kids rooms, and one thing has led to another, so we are pretty much remodeling the kitchen as well. New counter tops, back splash, sink, ceiling, light fixtures, adding a pantry, etc.

Which I am super-excited about, except notsomuch the fine layer of dust and inability to use any of my appliances at this time. I can't find the phone either. And my DVRs are unplugged, so I am missing all sorts of good stuff.

Remember that Shel Silverstein poem about little Peggy Ann McKay? My list is sounding a bit like hers, huh?

2nd Half Mary.... Done!

or maybe this post should be titled "The reason Sasha wears bangs.....". Goodness, I do have a huge forehead. I am jealous of Rhonda's nice petite forehead. She looks fabulous without bangs, doesn't she?

Yesterday I ran the Dallas Rock and Roll Half and knocked a few minutes off my prior time of 2:18. I finished this one in 2:13 and I am so happy with that. I set off to run with a goal of 2:15, but said I'd be happy if I finished in 2:18. Instead of taking a 7 minute break at mile 6, I just took a 3 minute break, telling myself I'd stop for 3 more minutes at 10 if I needed to. When I hit 10, I just kept on going.

Longer race report to come!

Spring Has Sprung.... on my nails!!!!

(this was posted today on Manicure Mommas, but I couldn't resist sharing here as well.....)

Sally Hansen Real Nail Polish Strips in Girl Flower

I've been dying to try these, but for one reason or another, hadn't gotten around to it. Now that I have The Spring Fever, I thought it was a perfect time to use them.

I LOVE that the pattern is forgiving..... if you look closely at the tips, you can see that I didn't do that well at ripping off the extra... but since the pattern is varied and has some white flowers, it's not that big of a deal. In person, you cannot tell at all.

Application time took me about 18 minutes, and I imagine it would be less next time now that I know which sizes fit my nails.

I can't remember exactly what I paid, but I believe I got these in a BOGO 1/2 price sale... I also have Misbehaved.

I added a top coat of Revlon ColorStay in clear because I heard that a topcoat extends the wear.

I will definitely report back and let you know how long they last for me.

New Shoes!

I pretty much wear black or grey slacks every day, along with a company shirt. Since I'm just barely 5'3", I prefer to wear a slight heel to give me a little extra height.

I needed some new black pumps for my dorky work uniform (I figure at least my shoes can look cool!) and I found these Madden Girl Women's Upskale Pumps locally and I LOVE LOVE LOVE them! (Hate the name though- I have an aversion to purposeful misspelling.)

They are ultra comfy, and I think the black ruffle is just so cute!

My only issue- I paid about $50 locally, and now I see them on Amazon for $25 with free shipping! Drats!

Guess I'll have to average down and order a back up pair..... Hmmm.... I see they also come in grey and raspberry......

The Spring Fever

I has it!

Last week was Spring Break here, and toward the middle of the week we decided we needed to get away for a few days. Slim and family recently moved to Arkansas, so we gave them a call and asked if they'd like to meet us at a lake house on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs. They were game, so off we went.

We had an absolutely fabulous time that involved sitting on the deck drinking beer (us, not the kiddos), eating out, and more sitting on the deck listening to music and catching up. We were right on the lake, so the men and kids did some fishing and took some canoe rides. Slim and I did some more sitting on the deck drinking beer.


We did *not* want to come home yesterday!


Also, since Mr. Slim played Gin and Juice covered by The Gourds for us, I am obsessed with it! Perfect music for some deck-sitting-beer-drinking. (for some reason Blogger won't let me embed a youtube vid.... any ideas?)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4hGSR5njZE

I've also pulled out my Coach Violet Parker bag for the season- love love love this bag. The side pockets are perfect for my phone since I can never find anything in my Mary Poppins bag.

How are you celebrating the new season?

Mardi Gras!

I always have the best intentions, but for some reason I never get around to doing things timely! I am sure you all know that by now! So here's my Mardi Gras party report.... over a week later.

A few months ago I signed up at House Party. A House Party™ is thousands of parties across the country, hosted by people like you. Each event is sponsored by a leading brand and focuses on something cool that the sponsor wants its best fans to experience firsthand and share with their friends. (from their website)

I put in an application for a Zatarain's Mardi Gras party, telling House Party all about my fabulous neighbors and all the fun get-togethers we have every year- the block party each May, our adult poker party, our chili cookoffs..... we have the absolute best neighbors and I can't imagine living anywhere else.

And yay, we got chosen! We got a really cool party package with Zatarain's mixes, coupons for more Zatatrain's products, Mardi Gras items like beads and masks, recipe ideas.

Mr. Sasha got to work cookin' up some crawfish.

One of the items we had for our main course was Blackened Chicken Alfredo.... it was so good! I purchased a family-size package of this frozen dinner at Sam's.

The Wild Child had made a mask at school that day and was so excited for everyone to come over and for the party to get started.

We whipped up some Pat O's Hurricanes (how is it that I don't have a picture of that???) and also made Zatarain's Dirty Rice, Red Beans and Rice and Jambalaya. All the dishes were super easy to make- I just wished I had more burners! We ended up transferring things to crock pots to keep them warm and that worked great.

Zatarain's even had a Pandora Mardi Gras station for us to use for party music! I pulled it up on my iPad and it was great.

We planned on having the party outside, but of course the weather didn't cooperate! We ended up cleaning out our garage and putting our outside table and chairs in there so we would be out of the wind.

I think The Wild Child needs a few more beads, don't you?

Looks like Bella had a little bit too good of a time, huh?

We had a fabulous time! Thanks to House Party and Zatarain's for including us in your event!