A Must Read for Summer!!

You may have already read this awesome book, but I just finished last night. Sooooooooooooo good! "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett is my new favorite book. I'm not going to try to summarise it, for that you can go to Amazon. It is both heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time. I cried at some parts-but it wasn't one of those books that's too hard to get through because its so sad-in fact its a major page turner. It made me have a lot of questions about life back in the 60s (Ive put in a call to my mom-but she hasn't called me back). I'm actually sad now that I finished it, do any of you feel that way after you are done with a really great book? I'm not sure what to read next-but I'm headed to Barnes & Noble this afternoon to pick my next book. Happy reading!!

Skinny Secret: Fiber!!

Alright Bloggers, most of you who know me know that I am a dieter. Always have been, always will be (not while I'm preggo-but I'm still eating healthy and making sure I get my 30+ grams of fiber daily). I like being thin, love having clothes fit me and unfortunately when I eat what ever I want, I get big. So I have a few rules that's I follow-mainly things that I must include (not exclude) in my daily diet. My #1 secret to skinniness is fiber. Love it! Seriously-it is the key to maintaining my weight. It keeps me regular (sorry for tmi!) and keeps me feeling full. There are so many ways to get your 25-35 grams a day. If you aren't a fiber eater now-I suggest easing your way into it-don't shock your system and go for the gusto at once or you may have some GI issues. I'll share some yummy food products that are high in fiber in future posts. A great way to get fiber in your diet is through fruits and veggies-but I also get mine through bread, cereal, soups, crackers, etc.
Some high fiber cereals get hard to eat after a while(All Bran Buds for instance), but this yummy cereal is so delicious that I get excited for breakfast everyday :) It is Fiber One Raisin Bran Clusters and it is sooooooo yummy! I make it with a 1/2 cup of non fat milk. The nutrition looks like this (for 1cup of cereal with 1/2 cup of nf milk):
Calories 210
Fat 1g
Fiber 11g

Love it!! And by the time I finish eating it-I'm 1/3 of my way to my 30gram a day goal!!

Got Zits?

With this product-you won't for long!!! Let me start out by saying that this is a no no for my fellow preggos because it has salicylic acid in it. For everyone else: it's basically the bomb. A zit blasting bomb!! I love to hear about celeb's beauty must haves and I kept hearing about this dude Mario Badescu's drying lotion. I think I finally bought it (at nordies) after Jessica Alba said she swears by this stuff(isn't she just sooooo pretty?!). Let me tell you Bloggers-this stuff works! You would use it if you either have or are getting a pimple. After you wash your face, moisturize like usual (except avoid the zitty area) and then take a qtip, dip it in this little pink bottle and then dab it on the zit. It will stay pink which is perfect because then you know that you got your target. Sleep with it and wake up to better skin!!! Love it! Brilliant! The only not so cool thing is that it stinks like rotten eggs (Im guessing they used sulfur in the formulation which is great at zapping zits-but a bit stinky). But Id have a stinky face when I sleep if that means I have clear skin the next day!!

Cheap Chic Day 5: Simple yet Effective

Bloggers this is the last day of Budget Beauty. I have a bunch of other great inexpensive finds and will post those in the future. Today I'm posting about Olay Active Hydrating Beauty Fluid. I get the sensitive skin one and its a very nice, fragrance free moisturizer. This is a good summer time moisturizer-but in the winter Id step it up a notch with something a tad heavier. I use it morning and night after I wash my face and before I apply my daily sunscreen. It makes my skin nice and soft and is very affordable :)

Have a wonderful 4Th of July!!! Make sure to wear your sunscreen!!!

Cheap Chic Day 4: Easy Tissue Tees

Bloggers-I have a confession: Since leaving my corporate job about a month ago, I tend to wear work out clothes all day every day. Obviously if I have plans or somewhere that calls for cute, I will dress it up-but mostly I am working out, unpacking from our move and running errands all day-so it seems appropriate to stay comfy. I splurge on my workout pants(Lululemon!!!!) but for the tops-anything goes. Which brings me to my Budget Beauty item of the day: Mossimo Tissue Tees from Target. They are only $9 and they go on sale! The long sleeve white top pictured above is only $6 right now! These are great over the tank that I wore to exercise in. They are light and fitted-but not so tight that my expanding belly feels uncomfortable. I also wear these layered in the winter with jeans and UGGS. They are great bc if you get a stain on them its no biggie bc they are so darn cheap. Kevin always comments on how soft they are too!

Cheap Chic Day 3: Bronzer Bang for Your Buck

My husband is such a typical Southern California guy. He was born and raised in sunny San Diego (Del Mar to be exact) and he has always loved the beach, surfing and getting sun. So he definitely thinks that women having a nice tan=pretty. This would never have been a problem in my college years where I would bake myself all day, but now that I am hanging on to my youth with all of my might, I refuse to tan my face. My body on the other hand I do get color on but we will discuss that in a future post. So enter one of my top beauty necessities: face bronzer. Not the self tanner kind. I like a solid powder form and I put it on with a nice big fluffy powder brush. Once again-Ive done the hard research and tried everything from Nars to MAC to Cover Girl and I really like this Physician's Formula the best. Its about $10 at Target and as long as you don't drop it and shatter the powder-it lasts for a long time. I get lots of compliments of people saying "you are glowing", most of them say think the glow comes from being preggo but I know that it is from this Cheap and Chic bronzer :)

Day 2 Cheap Chic: Great Lash mascara is pretty great!

By now bloggers-I hope you trust that I am a sucker for all the beauty hype. This means I have probably spent hundreds (maybe thousands?) on mascara over the years. I started using the clear Cover Girl mascara at the ripe old age of 13. Since then I've tried every brand, formulation, color, etc. At times I would shell out $25 for Chanel, Lancome, Lauder, you get my point. I keep coming back to this preppy little tube of pink and green goodness. Maybelline's Great Lash Mascara in Very Black is my fav. It does what all good mascara does: lengthens, thickens, seperates and makes lashes look luscious. I hate the waterproof stuff bc I feel like I cant get it off at night. You can get this for super cheap at Target and I just saw it on Amazon for a buck. Now that is Cheap Chic :)

Cheap Chic! or Budget Beauty!

Hi Bloggers. I am going to blog this week about inexpensive beauty products. I know some of the things I have mentioned so far are a bit spendy and so I thought that a week of affordable beauty goodies was in order. My first Budget Beauty product is this nice big tub of Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream. I buy the 20oz tub from Costco. I use it everyday after I shower and it leaves me soft and moisturized. I'm always hunting for the best body cream/lotion that REALLY moisturizes and this isn't the best Ive found (but you know I will post about the best Ive found soon!), but it does a nice job, much better than most lotions, and it is very affordable. A few other good things about it is its thick-but not so thick that it doesn't rub in easy (like Nivea Cream-so hard to rub in!) and it is fragrance free. Love it!

Sales and Savings! (And a shout out to a sweet Bestie!)

Bloggers-I am obsessed with having good hand soap(not bar soap-only a pump will do), by all of the sinks in my house. I really like Bath and Body Works Antibacterial. It comes in so many yummy flavors and I think its a nice touch to a bathroom. Sooooo they are having their big sale where the scents that they are discontinuing are very cheap! I bought 16 bottles yesterday! I really stock up once or twice a year at their sales and then of course get a few Holiday scents in November. So if you need hand soap-please go check it out!

Another great sale right now is Lalicious is having 30% off everything until Saturday!! And Old Navy is having 30% off the entire store until the 30th(I think its the 30th-you may want to double check that one).

And last but not least, I'm headed to Catalina this morning for one of my dearest friend's bachlorette party. Leah and I have been friends for over 12 years now!!! Yikes-we are getting old! I met her through my sorority and am so happy that she is getting married next month!!! I posted 2 pics of me with the bride to be: the one of me smooching her is at my bachlorette in Palm Springs 2 years ago and the one of us smiling is at New Years. Love this girl and can't wait to soak up some sun and hang with my sweet girlfriends. Of course-Ive packed my Clarins SPF 40 and my Bronze Goddess!

Have a great weekend!!!

I Heart Martha!!

There are quite few women who really inspire me. Martha Stewart is definitely one of them. I know some people think she is a know it all and bossy, but hey I am both of those things too-so who am I to judge?!? I love every recipe, decor item, book, magazine, etc that she produces and this new line of cleaning products is just as fab! Martha Stewart Clean is sold at Home Depot and Amazon. I love the hand wash/dish soap but my favorite product by far the All Purpose Cleaner. Here are the highlights about it:

*Cuts through grease, grime, and dirt
*Safe on all surfaces
*Non-toxic plant- and mineral-based formula that is safe for children and pets
*Comes in a recyclable clear plastic bottle
*99 percent plant and mineral based
*All purpose cleaner
*Its Non-toxic
*No fragrances or colors, just natural cleaning agents
*Safe for children and pets

Great right? I used to be addicted to Windex-but I have problems w/ my cleaning stuff smelling so chemical-y and this one doesn't. Plus, being preggo, I'm trying to stay away from hash cleaning agents and this one is plant and mineral based. Ahhhhh, I think I'll go spritz my kitchen counters :)