February 2013 Favorites - Beauty, Craft, Food and Lifestyle

I tend to wait until the last few days of a month to think back about the products I used the most in each month. Sometimes it changes a lot from month to month and sometimes it stays the same. I was quite surprised to see just how many products stayed the same this month - and how many more I added!

And now on with the show!

Beauty

Beauty Blender

I know a couple of months ago I thought my new stippling brush was the most amazing way to put on foundation. Boy was I wrong! I am totally in love with the Beauty Blender. It makes putting on my foundation, and getting even coverage, so easy! Let me know if you'd like a full review of this - though I'm sure a quick Google search would also lead you to tons of reviews.

BloggyCon 2013 Here I Come!

In case you haven't noticed the addition of the little button to the right, I'll just let you in on a little (not so) secret now: I'll be attending Bloggy Conference 2013 at Cedar Point in Ohio in September!

So what is Bloggy Conference (henceforth referred to as just BloggyCon)?

According to their website:

...Bloggy Conference is first and foremost designed with community and information as its cornerstone.  Our goal is to provide real and useful information to further your social media longevity, to help you build strong connections, to provide support and resources in your areas of interest.

It starts Friday, September 13 and goes through Sunday, September 15. It looks to be a weekend full of having fun, making friends and sharing ideas.

I'll admit that I'm a little nervous since I have never been to a blogging conference, but my sister is going along so it should be ok!

The schedule hasn't yet been posted, nor has the list of speakers or sponsors but I'm sure they'll be great. I've read up about some of the past conferences and they seemed to be amazing - lots of food, fun and friends!

Another reason I'm excited is that Cedar Point is just a fairly short drive from my house! It's so close!

So far I'm unsure if I'll be wanting or needing sponsors of my own to attend. However, please don't let that discourage you from contacting me if you're interested in sponsoring part/all of my trip!

Are you attending any conferences this summer? Which ones? What are you most excited about?

Project Pinspiration Survey

I'd appreciate it greatly if you could take a minute and help out with this Project Pinspiration survey. I'd like some input from my readers about what project(s) to do next!



If you have any other suggestions, please feel free to link to the pin or blog post in the comments below and I'll add it as a possiblity to the Project Pinspiration board on Pinterest.

Thank you!

Life Update - February 2013

Already February?! What?!

I know, I know. I'll probably say it a lot, but I feel like the older I get, the faster the months tick by. Months turn into years and before I know it I'll have just turned 40 instead of having just turned 30. Yikes!

The job is going pretty good yet. I managed to work 8.5 hours of overtime one week. Another yikes! Thankfully 8 of the 11 extra hours I picked up were an asleep overnight. I really don't know how people can work a ton of overtime hours and be awake for all of them. Since my work is scheduled in a 2 week rotation (and the schedule is the same for each 2 week rotation), I generally work 37 hours in Week 1 and 35 hours in Week 2. Magically that makes me full time.

Everything else in life is slowly chugging along. I go this week to talk to my doctor about further testing to see if my one remaining fallopian tube is open or blocked. My gut says there's something wrong with it, but my gut has been wrong before. If it is blocked she said she would probably refer me to a reproductive endocrinologist who may have more insight into things and/or information about starting the IVF process. I really don't want to jump too far ahead of myself, but I think that's the most likely scenario.

In other medical (somewhat) related news. I had my first dental cleaning in several years recently. I went in because I had a cavity bugging me and also got a cleaning while I was there. I ended up getting 1 cavity filled and another refilled because the existing filling was eroding. I go back in March to get another 2 small cavities filled. I'm so glad to have dental insurance now.

My last surviving grandma celebrated her 87th birthday on the 19th. We took her lunch, a cake and presents at the nursing home. As always her moods are hit or miss - sometimes both in the same conversation! - but for the most part she was glad to have all the attention on her. So glad she enjoyed the meal with her daughters and two of her granddaughters.

What's new in your life lately?

Strawberry Ice Box Cake - Foodie Friday - Project Pinspiration #6

When I saw this recipe I just KNEW I had to try it. It looked so delicious and strawberries were on sale at the grocery that week. It was destiny - or at least a great idea with some potential savings at the grocery store.

My version turned out a little different because I just made a half recipe due to the size of pans I had.