products and plans

It's been awhile since I've told you what to buy, hasn't it? And what is blogging for if not educating one another about what products are worth a hard-earned dollar? Exactly. My bad.

#1 Best New Purchase Lately:

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Pur Minerals Disappearing Act 4-in-1 Concealer

YALL. I cannot emphasize enough how much I love this product. I am blessed with some BAD SKIN fo' sho', and I've tried a lot of drugstore concealers trying to cover that nastiness up. To be sure, I love my BareMinerals regimen-- but when I'm having a breakout, the BareMinerals concealer does NOT get the job done. I needed the big guns, so I went to Ulta and spent a month's pay on a variety of overpriced please God let one of these work Hail Mary-type concealer purchases. And I am happy to say that this guy rocked my socks off. And works perfectly underneath the rest of my BareMinerals stuff. So anyway. If you need a great concealer (I use it for both under my eyes and blemishes/redness), here's my latest and greatest recommendation. Buy some.

#2 Best New Purchase Lately:

So Delicious Dairy Free Coconut Milk Creamer

Even though I don't ramble on about it a lot anymore, we're still adhering to the Bird Food Diet about 90% of the time at home (and 3% of the time at restaurants, work breakrooms, church potlucks, and other people's houses), which means no normal creamers for our (decaf, sigh) coffee. Awhile back we got on a kick of making our own, which I talked about, and it was quite yummy but time consuming. So most of the time we just use plain almond milk instead of creamer, but it definitely leaves something to be desired. Anyway, we discovered these coconut milk creamers at Fresh Market (and later found them at Kroger, too) and are definitely converts. Both of the stores we've found them at carry only the original and French  vanilla flavors and we've bought French vanilla both times...but now that I look at the So Delicious webpage and see that they actually make WAY more flavors...I want to go whine and beg the grocery stores to get some more of them. Come on. The dairy-eaters and chemical-eaters get like 28294 yummy creamer flavors to choose from. I appreciate having 2, but 6 would be a lot better. Anyways. These actually have a bit more of the coconut flavor (shocking?) than the coconut-based creamer we made at home, which isn't bad but is...odd. But still, better than using plain almond milk. So if you're dairy-free, I'd say give 'em a try.

#3 Best New Purchase Lately

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eos Smooth Lip Balm Sphere

 Alright, so don't hate me, but the main reason I love this product is because it's cute, smells great, and it's big enough that I can (usually) locate it easily in my purse, and it's fun to apply (you sorta have to 'kiss' that big mound of wax-stuff). Is it the best lip balm product ever? Uh, no. I mean, it's organic and paraben-free and a bunch of other woohoo save the Earth! things, but it's not the best lip balm on the market. But is it way fun to use? Yes. Have I lost it yet? No. Does it smell awesome? Yes. I actually have one in a pink container, I think it's called Summer Berries or something...and it smells awesome. So all in all, this is a fun way to spend $3. Boom.

And that's all the fun products I have to share with you for today because I must return to planning an Ultra Top Secret Code Orange Project. I can't reveal anything here yet, but here are some clues about what's involved:

Recognize this guy? Yeah, that'd be Mattie...conveniently making sushi rolls in the breakroom at my work for our lunch. I know, I know. You all wish your husbands did this for you. Back up...I think we've already established that I will deck a ho who tries to move in on my territory.

Anyway, it's Matt's 30th birthday on Friday, which calls for some Top Secret Amazing Plans, right? Exactly. So my plan-making is well underway, and possibly the most fun part is asking Matt tons of random questions (under the guise of trying to decide what to do, even though we both know I've already decided) to help me plan. This is how these conversations went yesterday:

Me: How far are you willing to drive for a day trip? I mean, how many hours of driving would be too far?

Him: Four hours one way is the max.

Me: Great. Do you like porcupines?

Him: Ummmm....are we going porcupine hunting?

Me: Not telling. Do you like them?

Him: If we hunted porcupines, I could make a porcupine hat. That would be cool.

Me: Excellent. Now, you know how people use the term 'five-star' to describe something really great, but 'one-star' would be like...not as great? Well, instead of using 'stars' as the measurement standard, let's use BAND AIDS. [please recall Matt's great fear of band aids] On a scale of one to five band aids, what kind of day would you like to have for your birthday?

Him: Sick. I can't answer this question. Does this mean I'm going to get hurt? Are you going to cut me?

Me: Probably. OK, next question. On a scale of 'couch potato' to 'marathon,' how much exercise would you want to get on your birthday adventure day?

Him: Probably no more than a 5k.

Me: OK, a 5k running or 5k walking?

Him: Running.

Me: How many ks can you walk, though?

Him: Maybe 9.

Me: Excellent. Do you like sharks or rhinos better?

Him: Sharks.

See how much great information I'm gathering? This is going to be the best birthday adventure ever!!