Everyday Essentials

I'll be the first to admit that beauty and style are not my forte. I tend to wear the exact same clothes over and over again, I rarely branch out of my comfort zone, and I haven't put on makeup in oh...about a month. Yes, this means I go bare-faced to work. Horrifying, huh? I'm sure my coworkers would agree!

But I do have everyday essentials that I rely on in my daily routine and I thought I'd share those with you today. I always like to get ideas of new drugstore products that are worth trying so I hope some of you find this interesting and/or helpful.

I buy most of my supplies at Target except for the eos products, which I can only seem to find at Wal-Mart or Rite Aid.

BODY

Dial Vanilla Honey body wash smells so good, but also leaves your skin feeling hydrated and smooth. This is one of the few body washes that I can still smell on my skin after a long day of work, including when I commute in on my bike.

Why are razors and razor refills so expensive? I have tried all different brands, but my favorite is Schick Quattro. I find that they don't dull as quickly as some of the others. I get the ones for sensitive skin because my legs are really dry so the aloe helps to keep them from getting itchy after shaving.

I recently wanted to try the eos shave cream. It's definitely more like a lotion. It doesn't foam up and sort of dissolves when it touches your skin so you can't see if it's there or not. It took awhile to get used to, but it keeps your skin soft and smooth.

FACE WASH

My skin is prone to breakouts even though I'm far from my teenage years. Adult acne is not a joke! I use a combination of things to help prevent breaking out or at least minimize it. Two or three times a week, I will use St. Ives Apricot Scrub, which exfoliates the skin and helps stop breakouts before they occur.

As a daily face wash I use Neutrogena Acne Stress Control face wash because 1) it smells good and 2) it makes my face feel tingly, which in turn makes me think that it's clean! Yes, I'm weird. I do like this face wash and it doesn't dry my skin out too much.

I read somewhere a long time ago that you should use a sponge to wash your face. I picked up these EcoTools facial sponges a couple of weeks ago at Target and I do feel like my face is getting a better cleanse when I use it.

MOUTH/LIPS

I can't tell you how many times people tell me how white my teeth are. Yes, I had them whitened...in 2002! The dentist told me that it would last about two years and I'm going on 9. I'm not sure why they're still so white, but I think it's probably because I don't drink coffee or coke and I use a whitening toothpaste daily. Trust me though, I'm not complaining!

I floss every single morning! My mouth does not feel clean if I don't. Plus it's good for your heart.

I brush my teeth with Colgate Total Whitening Paste. I actually do like it more than Crest, and I also like the paste way more than gel styles.

I can't finish this post without professing my love for eos lip balm! Not only is the packaging totally cute (albeit slightly less functional than a regular chapstick), but it really works! It's hydrating, smooth, and doesn't leave your lips feeling greasy. My favorite flavor is the summer fruit!

So those are my very basic everyday essentials! Feel free to let me know in the comments if I'm missing out on something wonderful!

Tuesdays at the Table (2)

I'm linking up with Cole over at All the Small Stuff for Tuesdays at the Table to share an easy and delicious breakfast recipe with you.

This is a combination of a couple of different recipes that I came across while searching for easy, freezable breakfast ideas. I would say I was most influenced by this recipe in particular.

Breakfast Burritos

Makes: A LOT (I got 16) / Prep: 10 minutes / Cook: 25 minutes

Ingredients

1 lb sausage (I used Jimmy Dean Reduced Fat)

1/2 sweet onion

1 bag shredded hash browns

11 eggs, beaten and scrambled

1 cup shredded cheese (I used a Mexican blend)

16 flour tortillas

Directions

1. Cook hash browns according to package directions.

2. At the same time, in a different pan, cook sausage according to package directions and add onion during last few minutes of cooking.

3. Add hash browns and sausage mixture to a large bowl to cool a bit.

4. Beat eggs and season with salt and pepper. Add milk or water to keep eggs tender.

5. Scramble eggs over low heat. Once done, mix in with the hash browns and sausage.

6. Add shredded cheese to mixture.

6. Using a 1/3 cup measuring spoon, place mixture in the center of a flour tortilla. Wrap and place seam side down on a baking tray.

7. Once all of the burritos are made place the baking tray in the freezer for about an hour.

8. Once fully frozen, place burritos in individual ziploc bags and store in the freezer for an easy grab-and-go breakfast.

To serve: Wrap your frozen burrito in a paper towel and heat in the microwave for about 1:30 to 2 minutes.

Here is my yummy breakfast burrito this morning! It is so good with salsa and sour cream also.

Friday Update

Hip Hip Hooray! It's Friday!

I have been so busy at work lately and that will likely continue until at least October. I've been trying my best to maintain my blog and get some posts scheduled in advance so it won't be dead air over here! And just as a reminder, you can click on the tabs located under my header to see any of my travel posts, recipes, bike stats, or to read more about me. You can also click on the flags in my header to be taken to my tumblr page (that I share with C, but it's mostly me using it) and my twitter feed.

GIVEAWAY WINNER

I used random.org to help choose a winner for my $25 Starbucks gift card giveaway. The lucky comment was 47. Congratulations to Laur from Sweets & Treats! Laur's go-to drink from Starbucks is black coffee and she will certainly be able to buy a lot of those.

PARTY PLANNING

So my mom, best friend, and I have made a lot of progress on Jenny's bachelorette party! I'm so excited with how everything is coming together, but I'm mostly excited about going home for a few days and seeing my family. My mom bought several glass apothecary jars, vases and bowls that will be perfect with the candy buffet. My best friend made the most amazing favor bags and invitations for the party, booked dinner reservations and found a place to paint our own pottery. And me? Well, I've ordered the corset cookies, found recipes for the dessert parfaits, and ordered most of the pink and black candies. Only 5 weeks to go!

WEEKEND PLANS

Is anyone else really excited about Cowboys & Aliens this weekend?! We have plans to see this and possibly one other movie. Right now, we're thinking about Captain America, Horrible Bosses or Friends with Benefits. If you've seen any of these, what would you recommend (or not)?

If it's not too hot, we'll do a bike ride at some point. (Which reminds me, I have not been doing so well at riding my bike lately. It's a combination of the hot weather, getting up too late, and a slow-leaking flat tire. I did reach 700 miles this week...FINALLY! I guess that's still pretty good for less than 3 months.)

I hope that everyone has a great weekend! See you back here next week for a new recipe (yum!), my everyday essentials list, and Part 2 of my bachelorette party ideas!

Etsy Love

Today, I just had to share a positive experience I had recently with an etsy seller.

As you all know, I enjoy baking cupcakes. I have always used regular store bought frosting tips from Michael's (like the 1M star tip), but have wondered how bakeries and other baking bloggers made their frosting so pretty, fluffy, and tall. I stumbled across a tutorial from the blog Decorate This! that was all about frosting tips and the different looks you can achieve by using extra large tips.

image via Decorate This!

From that point forward, I began my search for the tips. I found a couple of places that sell them, but either they were sold out of one style or their shipping was too expensive to make it worth buying from them. Luckily, I came across etsy seller, BakersBlingShop. I ordered the cupcake decorating set, which included all four styles of the the extra large tips, as well as 12 pastry bags (I think the cost was around $11)!

I was so impressed when I received my order. Not only was it packaged beautifully, but they also included a sample set of mini cupcake liners, a coupon code for my next order, and a personal handwritten note! On top of that, there was an extra tip included (not sure if this was a mistake or not).

I can't wait to try out these new tips and see what kind of different looks I can achieve with them. Hopefully I can decorate some cupcakes this weekend!

I've had many positive experiences with etsy sellers, but this is one of the best yet! If you are looking for unique cupcake liners, decorating tips, packaging items, sprinkles, etc. then please visit BakersBlingShop!

Will You Accept this Rose? Vol 4

This season's Bachey has had it's share of ups & downs (mostly downs), but I'm glad I watched! There were times when I wanted to shake some sense into Ashley, and other times when I was proud of the person she blossomed into, despite the constant invasion of privacy and inevitable criticism from the public.

Two weeks ago, Ashley went to each of the guy's hometowns to meet their families, and ultimately she decided to let Ames go. I was sad to see him go, but understood that their relationship had moved into the "friend zone" for Ashley. I was most confused by Constantine because from the very beginning there had been zero connection between him and Ashley.

That's why I wasn't surprised when Constantine eliminated himself in this week's episode. You could tell that he was unsure of how he felt about Ashley and wanted to be honest with both himself and Ashley about where their relationship stood. I respected his decision and I'm sure any other guy in Constantine's shoes may have accepted the fantasy suite invitation before bailing. {PS - I'll be going home next month and am determined to meet Constantine at his restaurant...wish me luck!}

On a side note, back to the hometowns...don't you wonder what exactly JP's ex-girlfriend did to hurt him so much? His family was very concerned with him getting hurt again, more so than just not wanting the normal trauma that goes along with a breakup. Thoughts please!

Back to this week, what was up with the return of Ryan? I've heard rumors that he will be the next Bachelor and if that's the case, I won't be watching! I did feel bad that he had to go through rejection again, but he has to be crazy if he thought he stood a chance with Ashley. Even last night, you could tell how disinterested she was. I also found his twitching, fidgeting, rocking back and forth and the look in his eye kinda disturbing.

Between the two remaining guys, I think it's obvious who the winner is. While Ben has captured Ashley's heart and she seems truly happy with him, it pales in comparison to Ashley's happiness when she is with JP. She is unable to contain herself around JP and each look they share is filled with love and passion.

I'd be so surprised if it's not JP proposing next week.

What are your final thoughts on the Bachelorette? Who would you choose and who would you have sent packing?

Personally, I love JP and can relate to why he has made it so far. Ben, not so much. I really liked him at the beginning, but he is too sensitive for my taste. Not very "manly" if you will (which is fine, just not for me). What guy has to be asked twice to put suntan lotion all over a hot girl? Apparently, Ben does.