Travel Essentials - Bath & Body

Hi everyone!

Travel for me is a mixed-bag.  On the plus side, it is always exciting and fun to get out of town and be someplace else for a while.  On the minus side, you are away from your creature comforts and its not always fun to live out of a suitcase.

Here are some of my favorites that I make sure to pack when I go away:

The "Body Wash in a Sponge" by Spongeables has to be, by far, the most important thing I pack.  I always make sure to buy this well before my travel.  I keep some back-ups on hand as well.  This is a sponge with body wash already inside - all you do is add water and scrub away.  It is disposable, so you don't have to worry about packing a gross, wet sponge or loofah when it is time to come home.  I always find these at Ulta.  Spongeables also makes one for men too!

Travel makeup wipes (I try and change up the brands I use each time I travel) are a life-saver.  Especially when the water is very different at your travel destination - be it harder or softer water - these guys do most of the heavy lifting when taking off your face is concerned.  I usually take my makeup off first with the wipes and wash my face with a gentle cleanser.  This way, the exposure to the crap-tastic water is minimal and less abrasive to my skin.  (If you guys want, I can do a post on "How I Clean my Face" and include some of my favorite cleansers, toners, and moisturizers.  Let me know!)

My hair is naturally curly, but for the last two years or so I have been getting those Brazilian Blowouts done on it.  Its pretty much stick straight now which is fine with me given that the first 32 years of my life I was taming the curly beast - they say change is good sometimes.  The knack to maintaining the Brazilian Blowout is using their shampoo & conditioner.  I am odd in that I don't like to deposit hair products into travel sized plastic containers - I find that I don't use everything that I pack and then it gets wasted, old and gross sitting in the plastic container waiting for my next trip.  I found a very good "dupe" to the Brazilian Blowout shampoo and conditioner in the Macadamia Natural Oil Rejuvenating Shampoo and Moisturizing Rinse.  These are sulfate and paraben free, and are offered in travel sized bottles.

Who doesn't love the "old school" Jergens lotion with the cherry-almond scent?  This is my everyday lotion - a true holy grail product for me.  Lately, I have found travel sizes of this in CVS and Harmon Face Value. 

 

Venus now sells a "one pack" or individual razor (whatever you want to call it) which is nice to pack in its plastic packaging (I did not have a one-pack handy to photograph).  Otherwise, you run the risk of the dinky plastic cap falling off in your toiletries bag, and then cutting yourself on the razor blade when you are reaching for something else.  Then, you are wounded and away from home - not good.

What kinds of things are travel essentials for you? 

Just an FYI - I purchased all of these products with my own funds.  I did not receive any compensation in exchange for these reviews.  These are my honest opinions on these products.  Cheers!

What I've Been Eating ...

A quick update on my Weight Watchers - I have to say its been really hard at the beginning of this year to get motivated and stay motivated.  Its been so coooold!! I am blaming my lack of motivation on the polar vortex. 

Seriously, though I have been trying to take it day by day, make better choices, and watch my portions.  Now all this being said, I did lose six pounds after about a week and a half (probably water weight etc.) just by following the plan.  Sadly, I have not budged from that six pound loss.  I need to stick it out and see how it continues to go.

Now, onto the photos - here are some snapshots of some of my meals from January 2014:

 First Breakfast of 2014!!

 

 This salad is pretty delicious - I cooked up some chicken breast to go with it. 

This was a cheat meal - a Paul Newmans' thin crust pizza (8 points on weight watchers) and a huge salad on the side. (Here is where I realized I need to watch my portions)

 I love lemon water - especially in the afternoons.  I have heard it is very good to have first thing in the morning as well.

This is a "Wholly Guacamole" 100-calorie serving of guacamole.  Delicious!

Gorton's Crunchy Fish Fillets - 6 weight watchers points.  I think those sun, moons, stars potatoes were 5 points.

As you can see I am a fan of eggs and fruit in the morning for breakfast.  I could probably just have the egg and one of those fruit options.  Again - being more mindful of portions.

This is a Campbell's Sauce - Fire Roasted Tomato - that you add to beef stew chunks.  It is pretty amazing.  There will be a review of this product soon.

This was a well done egg sunny side up with laughing cow cheese, the tomatoes and fresh basil on an Arnold sandwich thin.  I am in love with that sandwich.

What kinds of things have you been eating????

Silly Thirty Reviews Cinema Secrets Brush Cleanser

Happy Wednesday everybody!

I'm here to discuss something important, something that the average woman talks about, but doesn't always get around to doing: Cleaning their makeup brushes.  It's kind of like re-organizing your sock drawer - you always say you will 'save it' to do on a rainy day when you have nothing else to do. Then it never gets done. Because honestly, who wants to spend a rainy day doing a tedious task like that?

For those of you who feel the same way about cleaning makeup brushes, or if you have never really cleaned your makeup brushes in the first place, then let me introduce you to Cinema Secrets Professional Brush Cleaner. 

(As you can see the packaging is very no-nonsense and gets down to business.)

I first learned about this product online. I think I Googled make up brush cleaning or something similar and found a video of a woman doing a demonstration with this stuff.  All she would do is pour the cleanser solution into a bowl, take a dirty brush, swish it around, and then wipe it on a paper towel and the brushes were good as new. I couldn't believe it was that simple. If I did not see the video, I don't think I would have tried it myself. 

Well, take it from me: this stuff works!  I have been using Cinema Secrets for about three years.  I went through about four or five of the eight ounce size bottles before I recently decided to "go big or go home" with the 32 ounce size that is pictured above. It was well worth it for me.  Cinema Secrets takes off - dissolves actually - all of the makeup from your brushes, while disinfecting and conditioning the brush hairs at the same time. 

So how does it work?  It is as simple as what I described above:

1. Take a bowl or a cup

2. Pour some of the cleanser into said bowl or cup

3. Take your dirty makeup brush and swirl it into the cleanser 

4. Wipe off all of the makeup onto a paper towel

5. Reshape your brushes and lay them flat on their side to dry

No need to rinse with water, once they are dry you are ready to go!

Don't let the bright blue color (Doesn't it look like the stuff that hairdressers use to sanitize combs?) of this stuff scare you - it won't stain your brushes or anything like that. As far as how it smells, if you are sensitive to heavy smells then this may not be the right cleanser for you - it has a heavy vanilla scent that stays with the brushes after cleaning.  The scent of it does go away after a few makeup applications.  Or, you just get used to it - I do not notice it anymore.

I have tried cleansers from MAC and Japonesque - the MAC cleanser is OK (the results from the MAC cleanser as far as how well it cleaned my brushes was similar to Cinema Secrets) but neither of these compares to Cinema Secrets. Cinema Secrets provides a quick and effective way to clean your makeup brushes.  You do not need to work so hard to get your brushes clean with this product.  Using the MAC cleanser, you still have to rinse the brushes with water and it becomes a process.  After trying the Japonesque cleanser, I found that it is better suited for quick cleaning if you have a limited amount of brushes and you need to use the same brush for two different colors, applications, etc. 

Here are a couple before-and-after photos of some of my brushes so that you can get a better idea of how well this product works: 

I would recommend this for anyone regardless of whether you think you have cheap, crappy makeup brushes that aren't worth the time and effort to clean, or if you have an expensive set that you would like to maintain.  The fact of the matter is you need to clean your makeup brushes regularly.  These things go on your face and around your eyes daily.  Think of how much bacteria and dirt they can harbor over time.  Also, your makeup will apply better and look better on your face when your brushes are clean.

You can find Cinema Secrets online at their website (click on the "Cinema Secrets" hyperlink), Amazon, and at beauty supply stores.  How do you clean your brushes?  Do you use Cinema Secrets? Let me know in the comments below!

Silly Thirty Cooking: Weight Watchers 2014 Edition

Happy New Year everyone!!!

So I ended up taking a little end of the year break from posting on the blog - it happens!  I feel like the holiday season started for me on October 1st.  Halloween came around with a vengeance - all of the candy and prospects of parties and festivities!  All I know is October 2013 for me was the month of chocolate. Then came November and December with a flurry of holiday parties and lunches and dinners.  November and December 2013 consisted of more chocolate, cheese, carbs and wine.  

Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I definitely had my fill of all sorts of rich foods and drinks. Needless to say on January 1st I was kind of disgusted with myself and everything I ate.  I was actually craving salads - you know its bad when your body just wants to nosh on lettuce and carrots!! 

With all the holiday eating, has come the holiday weight gain.  I feel it for sure and sometimes it seems to me at any moment when I look down that I will discover planets orbiting around my backside.  (An exaggeration I know, but isn't that a hilarious thought?)  I finally mustered up the courage to go on the scale the other day. What I saw on digital screen was quite scary - I now weigh 167.6 pounds.  

I don't think I have ever weighed that much in my life.  165 is usually the code red number for me on the scale.  So what would this be considered - code black?  Now, I know that some of it is water weight and wine weight, but still - that is a scary number for me.

I am not a small framed person - I have what could be considered a medium sized frame, so I can definitely put on some pounds before it becomes really noticeable (and my clothes start getting to tight!!), but to give you a frame of reference, here I am back in late November 2012 all gussied up for a formal event that I attend every year for work:

And here I am in late November 2013 all gussied up for the same event:

As you can see, there is a little bit of a difference.  I have a "fuller" look going on in 2013 that is the result of overindulgence at the breakfast, lunch and dinner tables.  In 2012, I looked more toned and fit and I would like to get back to that. 

So, for vanity (I'm not gonna lie about that) and health reasons, I am going to start on Weight Watchers.  I have used Weight Watchers off and on for the past four years or so, but never consistently, and never long enough for me to reach my "goal weight".  I guess you could say that my New Years Resolution for 2014 isn't so much losing weight, but following through with a plan in a consistent manner to see the results that I want to achieve.  

For those of you who don't know about Weight Watchers, you can find out about it on their website: www.weightwatchers.com.  But to give you a general idea , you are given a certain amount of "points" per day to use up/eat, and food is assigned a specific amount of points per serving.  You have to stay within your allotment of points per day, make sure to drink water, take a multivitamin and generally you will find that you will lose weight each week.   You have to record what you eat at each meal, so it keeps you accountable for your daily food intake.  There are no "bad" or "forbidden" foods - so it is up to you to use your judgment about how you want to eat your points.

The times that I have followed the Weight Watchers plan, it has worked for me - I have lost weight.  So now it is time to start it again, but this time I want to try to be more consistent with it through the entire year.  Historically, everything seems to go down hill for me come Memorial Day (bbqs, margaritas, and ice cream!), which then turns into autumn (stews, soups, hearty meals!), and then the winter and holidays (carbs, wine, carbs, wine!!!), and here we go again!!!  

I am going to check in with you on Fridays and give you the "low-down" on how I am doing - Am I staying within my points?  What kinds of things am I eating? Am I losing weight?  The hope I have right now, is that putting myself out there like this online to you guys will keep me on track and help me realize my goal.  

So, what exactly is my "goal "?  I just want to get down to between 140 and 145 pounds.  This number is not "too skinny" for me - in fact, it is within what would be considered a normal weight for me, BMI wise.  I almost did it before the beginning of summer 2012 - I was down to 147 pounds.  I was probably between 150 and 155 pounds when the 2012 picture you see above was taken.

So wish me luck everyone!  Obviously, as a result of all of this my food posts will be more health centered going forward with a few "cheat meal" ideas sprinkled in here and there.  

Is anyone else going to be doing Weight Watchers or another type of diet?  Let me know in the comments below!  Maybe we can cheer each other on and provide some support for one another along the way.

Talk to you soon!