I'm a REDHEAD!

(for those who asked to see it!)

Bath & Body Works "Summer Isn't Over YET" Goodie Bag Giveaway!

It's time for a Bath & Body Works Addicts Anonymous meeting! 

I'm going to share some of my favorite B&B Works summer products
with one of my lucky readers!

{because Fall doesn't officially

begin until September 23rd}

What's in the bag:

Wallflowers Pluggable Home Fragrance Starter in Berry

Wallflower Single Bulb in Forever Sunshine

C.O. Bigelow Lemon Lipbalm

Slatkin & Co. Room Spray in Summer Melon

Liplicious lip gloss in Saltwater Taffy

Pocketbac Anti-bacterial hand gel in Fresh Lemon

Handibac Moisturizing hand lotion in Nectarine Mint

Travel size body lotion in Summer Vanillas Lemon, Summer Vanillas Berry, and Cool Aqua

*all hand-picked by me, for my lovely readers!

How to win:

Follow me!  My blog is always a good time. (1 entry)

Tell me what your favorite B&B Works product is (1 entry)

Blog about Bath and Body Works! (doesn't even have to be about my giveaway - just profess your love for B&BW! (2 entries)

I will notify the winner on Monday, September 13th!

Can't wait to hear from all of my fellow B&BW addicts! :)

GOOD LUCK!

Bath and Body Works Addicts Anonymous (Meeting #3)

It's Friday afternoon. I leave work, my husband and I go to Applebees for a late lunch, and then he says "I'm not ready to go home yet - let's run around."  I say, "if we're running around, then I'm running to Bath and Body Works - I've got a 20% off total purchase coupon (Coupin!) and a free travel-size product with any purchase offer, burning a hole right through my cheap kelly green vinyl wallet."


Next, Dark Kiss happens.

YUM.  The newest BBW Signature Collection fragrance is super sweet, intense, a little musky, and super sexy. A mixture of Twilight Woods, Midnight Pomegranate, and Black Amethyst, it's the perfect recipe for cool fall days and date nights!  The scent lingers, too - I can smell it on the couch throw pillows, blankets i've been curling up with in the evenings, and my bedding - and that's just from the trial size body lotion I used during the past two weeks! 


I'm still using the remnants of Forever Sunshine which I completely still think is the best scent ever (along with Twilight Woods, of course), so I purchased the full size Dark Kiss shower gel, body lotion, and body spray for my "travel beauty booty" bag.  It's a nice start to my travel beauty case, which is going to be an expensive task - as some of my readers may remember, I'm building a collection of all of my favorite health & beauty aid/makeup must-haves in full sizes for travel purposes only, because I have major problems forgetting items when I go somewhere, and I can't keep up with re-stocking too-small travel-sized products.  Now that I have Dark Kiss waiting in the travel bag, I can't flipping wait to go somewhere! Let's go!


If you're looking for a new fall scent, this may be the one to try just because I said so.  It definitely has nosehair-burning potential, so if you're not used to strong, spicy and sweet, I suggest starting gradual - like with a travel-size body spray, to see if you like it. The new scent is also sold in the form of small candles and Wallflower bulbs, so if it doesn't wear well on your skin (after all, everybody carries scents differently), then give it a try in the home! Or just buy some for the sake of spending $$$ (since we all have extra dough laying around, HA) and mail it to Stephanie Snyder in Athens, Ohio.


P.S. Bath & Body Works/Limited Brands does not compensate me in any way for writing these rockin' reviews - although, they totally should.  So i can use the money to go buy more of their stuff. I've contacted them regarding this issue, but no word yet!  They probably just think I'm a wishful thinking loser high on Japanese Cherry Blossom Anti-bac gel.

A week without makeup

...is like a week without sunshine. No, soft toilet paper. Wait, even worse - a week without chocolate - for me, anyway.

But I survived. A whole week without a full face of makeup. When I traveled down south to Myrtle Beach, I accidentally left my entire makeup bag in Ohio. I was completely distraught about leaving my cat, drove away from my apartment in tears, and left my coveted makeup bag behind.
I knew that I wouldn't "need" makeup for the morning/early afternoon hours at the beach, because I would be laying out, all slimed up in sunscreen. However, I had no face to put on after showering up to go out in the evenings. It just felt weird, and threw me completely off kilter the entire week of vacation.
I know what you're probably thinking - It's the beach, who cares?

The thing about makeup and I is that it makes me feel awake. It makes me feel "complete" - it's been a part of my daily routine for over 15 years. And going a whole week without it made me feel like I was forgetting something every single day! I felt kind of lost... and not like myself. It took me half an hour to get ready instead of 50 minutes. I looked strange. I looked sleepy and lifeless. I found an old, dried out tube of Revlon Colorstay Lipstick in Fabulous Fig,in my suitcase - which worn alone without the rest of my mask looked a little vampire-ish. It really looked stupid with a slightly sunburned nose! I trashed it after the first day and went Au-naturale the rest of the week.

For the most part, my makeup routine is simple. I use a tinted moisturizer for the face, just a little concealer here and there, lightly fill in my sorry excuse for eyebrows, apply coffee colored lipstick and eyeshadow, some liner, mascara, and bam - I'm set. However, if i neglect to wear any of the above on any given day, co-workers ask me if I'm sick. "Are you feeling ok today?" "You don't look like you feel well". "Are you sick?" "Didn't get enough sleep last night?" So you see, most of the problem clearly lies in what I think about what others think of me, not so much myself - I'm comfortable looking at myself in the mirror, completely makeupless. My husband can't tell a difference (at least that's what he says!)I just don't like being asked if i feel well four hundred times per day, and additionally, I feel super strange changing any part of my "getting ready" routine.

This past weekend, on our short trip to Pittsburgh, I forgot my favorite hair brush. Remembered the hair dryer... forgot my prized Paul Mitchell hair brush. The only brush that can smooth my thick, miserably nasty frizzy hair. So... i frustratingly finger styled wet hair as i blew it dry, which led me to this conclusion: I NEED DOUBLE EVERYTHING. I need to build a "travel beauty bag" and not have to pack things each and every time I head out on an adventure. The thing is... this is going to get mighty expensive. I hate travel size crap, it runs out too quickly and i have to remember to re-stock. I'm looking for full sizes of every single thing I use on a daily basis, including an additional Paul Mitchell hair brush and hair dryer. and hair straightener. I think I'm going to be on drugstore.com for a really long time! Anyone have any $$$ they can donate to this super important cause? (of course, I'm completely kidding.  But i look forward to sharing my Drugstore shopping cart with you when it's all said and done.)

One more thing: whatever happened to Caboodles? Can you still buy them?

Bath & Body Works Addicts Anonymous (Meeting #2)

It's time for our 2nd BBWA meeting!

Today, I'm reflecting on the Bath & Body Works products that I've either been using religiously summer after summer, or just recently fell in love with this season!

B&B Works Summer Top 10

10. Caribbean Escape home fragrance oil

9. Forever Sunshine wallflower fragrance bulbs

8. True Blue Spa Hold it Right There tan extending lotion

7. C.O. Bigelow Pomegranite Lemon Body Scrub

6. loofah sponges - so bright, huge, and soft!

5. True Blue Spa Need a Margarita? citrus body wash

4. Vanillas* Lemon gentle foaming handsoap

3. Forever Sunshine body lotion

2. C.O. Bigelow Lemon lip balm

1. True Blue Spa 29 & Holding sunscreen

I truthfully would die without 1, 2, 6, and 9 - I've used them daily this summer and will be very angry should the powers that be @ B&BWorks hq would for some reason discontinue any of them!

#1 is my biggest beauty secret - the way to tan pale, freckled skin but prevent sunburn during those hot, sunny afternoons when the UV index is 1532. 

The best way to treat an addiction is to talk about it, ya know... so what are your favorite products to use in the summer?  Not everyone is addicted to the same substance, so if you're frequently using another brand of product, feel free to share! I want to know everyone's beauty secrets!

Have a happy, beautiful day!
P.S. I'm linking up at Welcome Wednesday!

DON'T Strike While the Iron is Hot

... because if you would have struck while MY iron was hot this past Saturday, the outcome would not have been in your favor. While standing in my "stall", or "stable", ironing (i call it this because i do not move from it for hours at a time and i always feel trapped), I started smelling something wierd. Todd noticed the steam coming from my iron, and asked, "is that normal?" I sarcastically replied that Yes, it was normal - when you apply the steam settings, steam actually comes out of the iron. After about half a minute, I put the smell and the steam together... and THANKFULLY, it hit me! AHHHHHHH my Iron is about to catch fire! I quickly grabbed an old t-shirt and held the iron on it for a second - and burnt a nice big patch all over the front. NICE. So, I've officially destroyed my very first iron. I'm sure there will be plenty more to come in my lifetime. Of course, I had to purchase Iron #2 on Sunday morning because there was a whooooolle lotta ironing ("arning", as we West Virginias like to call it) to be done and I don't "do" ironing during the work week. I always thought of irons as torture devices, but not this new one! TOTALLY CUTE! And works so well! I recommend this for all of my girlfriends who are building wedding registries. :) I flipping hate household chores, but my new cute iron will make things a little more enjoyable for at least a couple of weekends. P.S. it comes in Blue & Green as well.

I recently submitted a card design to the latest Hallmark greeting card contest - which is a Christmas/Holiday theme. I have no idea what will happen with this as far as the contest goes, but I am very glad that I finally entered. Hallmark sponsors several card design contests per year, and I always chicken out at the last minute. I know I have the designing part down... it's the text that gets me. The inside text reads, "Wishing you a magical Holiday Season filled with Joy and Happiness!"... see, totally lame. I suck at words! but here's the design - First, the sketch - then the finished product:

I spent a lot of time on this baby, so if it doesn't win (which it probably will NOT - too many entries with mean naked babies chewing on santa claus' beard and stuff), i'm still going to do something with it this Christmas/Wintertime. Not sure what... and open to any ideas. In any case, my motto always stands: "You can't win unless you try".

I finished up a WV-themed wooden sign this weekend - it's already been claimed by one of my little lady friends back at home (Webster County, WV) - she will be giving it to her father as a present. They will be my guinea pigs - if they love it in person, then I will produce some more! I am still on the fence about whether or not the wooden sign business is something i want to get into - when I get the "right" amount and type of feedback, I'll decide for sure.

One of my friends is having a baby in just a few months - her baby shower is next weekend, and I won't be in town to attend- but I am going to get to work on a few things for her! I have entirely too much energy when it comes to this creative artsy stuff - especially the new, challenging projects. I've never done anything baby-themed before, and have no idea where to begin because I'm completely baby-stupid (I have no idea what to do with a newborn... i always end up petting them, or scratching them under the chin, like a kitten!) ...It's hard to tell what she will end up with!

Have you ever had, or do you have, those nasty ugly red bump rashy looking things on the back of your upper arms? I did... but NOT ANYMORE! A good exfoliant and moisturizer w/shea butter are all you need. I purchased a jar of C.O. Bigelow Lemon Pomegranate Body Scrub and Body Cream - AMAZING stuff. Cleared those nasty gross patches of red mystery right up! Two days... you will see results. Just FYI... it's awesome stuff. It literally makes your skin glow. :)

Enough rambling for the day - I thought it was about time to post something new, I'm sure my readers have been waiting for it! HA HA