Friday Roundup

Hey friends, it's time for the Friday Roundup!

1. If you read my last post you'll know that on Tuesday I became a citizen! Pretty exciting stuff.

2. Another exciting post here-I reviewed a new product for Birchbox before it even came out! They've also featured my review in their online magazine, along with nine other bloggers.

3.No picture evidence but I've been LOVING oatmeal this week for breakfast. But not just by itself, oh no. I mix it up hardcore with chia seeds, peanut butter, cinnamon, fruit, whatever!

4. I got to go with my dad to work for the first time ever! While it wasn't a super eventful day, I was able to edit his business' website and hang out with him all day, which I really can't complain about ;)

5. This little monkey got a haircut. Here you see her in all her derpy glory before the cut.

What have you been up to this week?

Until next time, God bless.

E


Disclaimer: All pictures from my instagram @middlemuse.

Thankful Thursday

Hey friends!


Sorry for my absence, I've been getting back into the swing of things with this last semester. As late as it is I'm here for another round of Thankful Thursday :)


This week I'm thankful for:

The future. I've been doing some research into opportunities for after I graduate in May, and I'm definitely getting pretty excited!

Citizenship. For those of you who don't know, my family and I are from England but have been living in America for almost 12 years now, and we became citizens on Tuesday! The ceremony was pretty interesting, and there were over 1000 people there from 114 different countries. Pretty amazing!

And finally, my new job. My little sister and I are saving up to take a trip somewhere warm this Spring Break, and my new job (which is obviously my financial source) has been calm and the people welcoming, so I've appreciated that.


How about you, what are you thankful for this week?

Until next time, God bless.

E

Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm

Hey friends! A while ago I promised to do reviews of my new skincare goodies, so here's the first installment of that. 

I've never been a fan of makeup removers, as they've usually resulted in left over make up or stinging eyes. Until my junior year in college I  never really cared all that much for skincare in general, *shocker*, but even when I did start to love it, the idea of an ADDITIONAL step in my admittedly lengthy routine just didn't appeal to me.

And that's where cleansing balms come in. These bad boys do the job of two products. Since learning more about skincare, I've really wanted to try one out, because Cetaphil was just not doing the job of taking off my make up and cleaning my face. Brief side note: I switched back to Cetaphil after running out of a more expensive cleanser, and the difference was pretty apparent. My makeup wasn't being removed entirely, and I developed really sensitive eyes and random dry patches. Now that I've stopped using it they're almost gone and I don't wake up with mascara still on. Take what you will from that. End side note. When the great and powerful Ms. Hirons recommended this one, I decided I wanted to try it pretty much instantly, and once I finally got my hands on it (thanks to a generous younger sister ;) I was not disappointed. 

In the pot it is just a solid, white balm, but once you've taken out the small amount you need and start massaging it into your skin it quickly melts into an oil. It takes off every bit of makeup on your face quickly and without hassle, including stubborn waterproof eyeliner and mascara, and you can massage it over your eyes and into your lashes with no fear of stinging. I haven't experienced any break outs or clogging as a result and neither has my sister whom I share it with.

Ingredients: Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Carthamus Tinctorius (safflower) seed oil, Caprylic / Capric Triglyceride, Sorbeth-30, Tetraoleate, Polyethylene, Peg-5, Glyceryl Triisostearate, Water/Aua/Eau-Tocopher-ol, Phenoxyethanol

As you can see  it has got no fragrance or mineral oil in it, both big pluses in my book!
I like to use it as my morning cleanse if I'm having a good skin day and my first night cleanse, wipe it off with a hand-hot, wet flannel or muslin cloth, and then go in for the second cleanse with something a little stronger.

So, what are the pros?

Because you need such a small amount it will last for ages.
Good for pretty much any skin type, even sensitive/oily, due to its lack of fragrance and other break out inducers.
Takes off stubborn make up quickly and without stinging.
Not too expensive, I would call it mid range.
Washes off nicely, leaving no residue.

Cons?

Pretty much nothing, but don't use it alone on days when you're looking for something to really nourish your skin. This is a no mess, no faff cleanser without bells and whistles.

Possible hygiene issue with the dipping pot style, but as long as you wash your hands before you cleanse (which you should do anyways) there should be no issue.

Final Score: A-

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is looking for a cleansing balm/cleanser for taking off make up and leaving their skin soft and clean!

You can find it here for $28.50.


*Disclaimer: I received this as a gift and was not paid to give my opinions. No affiliate links.

The Big Reveal: Beauty Protector Protect & Oil Argan Oil Hair Serum!

Hey friends.

I've been hinting over the last few posts that there would be an exciting one coming up, so here it is!

I'm what you call a Birchblogger, which means that I am a blogger for Birchbox, an awesome beauty and lifestyle subscription box company. I'm a huge fan of Birchbox because it's only $10/month with free shipping and they send you 4-5 "deluxe" samples of beauty or lifestyle products. Not only do they send you great samples (tailored to you by a survey on their website) but the boxes are pretty much always worth more than that, I've had some worth over $40! Occasionally you get a full sized product, and you also get "Birchbox Points" whenever you review a product in your box or buy something from their website. Collect enough points and you can put them towards a purchase on their site. All in all it's a great deal, so if you're interested in signing up you can click my referral link below. PS: They also have a men's box, which has a lot less beauty products in it ;)

Back to business. So recently, Beauty Protector (Birchbox's best selling brand) created a new product. This product has yet to be released and was sent to just 10 Birchbloggers to try out and review on their blogs. Guess who was one of the 10? ;) This girl! Words can't express the excitement I felt on reading that email, and I'm happy to announce that the new product is:

                                             The Beauty Protector Argon Oil hair serum!*

Now fortunately, I live in an apartment of women who all have different hair textures, which makes testing out a hair product wonderful because you have the opinion of several different women with different hair types. Roommate 1: Long, dyed a good number of times, thick, dark, Eurasian hair with a slight curl when left to dry naturally. Roommate 2: Long, dyed only twice, thick, blonde, Caucasian hair with a very curly (in places even ringlets) texture. Me: medium thickness, colored blonde Caucasian hair, mid length and with a very slight wave.

But first, lets talk aesthetics. I love the packaging.  It comes in a beautiful 4 oz matte black bottle with gold writing... so gorgeous. It arrived as is, with just a clear cap and no box, and has all the ingredients listed on the back:

 I realize it's a little hard to see everything, but that's what happens when you try to take a picture of a round bottle.

Unlike a lot of other hair oils I've seen on the market, this one has a pump, so it's pretty easy to get the small amount you need. It also smells amazing, very sweet and vanilla-ish (new word alert ;) and the texture is like a gel and oil mixed together.

In terms of ingredients, one thing to possibly be aware of is that it does have silicone in it, which can weigh down fine hair or thicker hair types if it's used in excess. However, I didn't have this issue and neither did my roommates-I just thought it should be said.

The product promises to "[keep] hair healthy, shiny and happy. Beauty Protector Oil will guard against UV rays and heat, while it's smoothing and strengthening qualities work tirelessly".

Reality: Well, it's pretty much impossible to verify the first two claims if you haven't used the oil for a good long while, which for the sake of a deadline I couldn't. Its promise to protect against UV rays and heat does make it unique though. As for smoothing and strengthening, we all felt that it made our hair softer and cut down (though only marginally) on frizz. My hair tends to get weighed down by product pretty easily so I only used one pump and had no issues. #1 used a pump and a half and said the same.

Final thoughts: While #2 and I both liked it, we didn't think it was a miracle worker. #1 absolutely loved it, saying that it made her hair really soft and she loved the smell. She and I both thought that our hair would see more evident results given continual usage. Update: Now that I've used it several more times, I've definitely noted a marked difference in my hair when I don't use the serum.


I promised an update on the price and here it is: You can buy it here for $21.95 and free shipping :)

So, pros:

Smells delicious
Gorgeous and practical packaging
Cuts down on frizz
Leaves hair soft
Adds a little bit of shine
Cuts out the added step of a heat protectant
Protects against UV rays
Will last a long time due to the small amount needed

Cons:
No big results-you will most likely have to wait and use it several times before you see a more noticeable difference
Contains two different types of silicone which could weigh hair down if too much is used 

Overall Grade: B. While I won't be shouting from the rooftops about it anytime soon, I would recommend this product to a friend.


I hope you've enjoyed this review, and if you want to learn more or give an awesome beauty and lifestyle subscription service a try, click here.



Disclaimer: By clicking on the links above I will benefit via Birchbox points.While this product was sent to me to review, this is my real and honest opinion.

Friday Round Up

Hey friends, here's the Round Up!

If you're on a mission to lose a few pounds or are just interested in nutrition, read this, aptly titled "How to Win an Argument With a Nutritionist". My awesome friend Bekah (who was my very first roommate!) posted this fantastic article on FB the other day and I loved it. It definitely clears up some common nutritional myths.

Chia Seeds, baby. It's all about the Chia Seeds. Click here to get a quick and easy jam recipe and learn more about this awesome super food. 

An awesome package arrived on Thursday with a couple of products I'd ordered from the Body Shop. They're having an amazing sale right now (up to 70% off!!), so I'd definitely recommend hopping over to pic up a few goodies.

I've definitely been having a bit of a Merlin binge recently. It's one of those shows that I started watching and then got phased with, but have recently started rewatching. I'm on the last season now and sad that it's ending!*

I uploaded my New Years Resolutions post and this week's edition of Thankful Thursday. Take a peek and leave a comment if you haven't already.

That's it for now! Hope you've enjoyed this week's Friday Round Up. Sneak peak at next week: Get ready for an exciting post on a product that hasn't come out yet, and a review of a great cleanser. I'm really excited for the big reveal!

Until next time, God bless.

E

*pic source: www.freelyspeaks.com

Thankful Thursday

Hey friends!

It's time for another Thankful Thursday. This week, I'm thankful for:

My health. Abi came back from her conference quite sick...and I managed to catch it. Thankfully I've been able to get a lot of sleep (over 11 hours the other night!) and am pretty much better now.

Provision and Conviction. I'm really grateful for how God provides what I need, whether that be a job, money, food, whatever. He's also really been convicting me recently of things in my life and heart that aren't of him. It's not fun, but I'm grateful that he has the grace and love for me to do it.

The fact that it's 11° F right now. Seriously. It has been SO cold (in the -20s!) these last few days, to the point where all schools in Minnesota were shut down on Monday and Tuesday..yikes. You can probably understand why 11° seems pretty great right about now.

For my awesome friends who I get to hang out with tonight and tomorrow. They're pretty great :) 

And that's it for this edition of Thankful Thursday. What are you grateful for this week? Comment below and let me know!


Until next time, God bless.

E

New Years Resolutions

Hey friends.

I hope you're ready for some real talk. I realize that this is a little late, and for the sake of honesty I'll admit that I actually already wrote and published this post once before feeling compelled to take it down. Why? After I published it, and even when I was writing I had this nagging feeling that my goals were selfish. They didn't glorify God, and they weren't a true reflection of me as his daughter. It's not that they were evil, or even misguided, but even good things can become bad if they are done with the wrong motivations.

 Over break I was reading 2 Timothy 2:22-26:
   
So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil,  correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. * (emphasis mine)

It made me evaluate how I spend my thoughts, time, and money. How do I act around those who don't follow Christ, how do I think, and how do I treat others? So after prayer and reflection, these are some things that I feel God is putting on my heart. I also just want to say that these are not things that will just happen because I "work on them", but through depending on and trusting in God to change me from within as I obey his word and grow in my relationship with him.

So:

Put others before myself. Real talk: I struggle with selfishness, of thinking of myself and my own benefit before others. I want to focus on how I can serve people more, whether it be in big or small ways.

Be more humble. *face palm* This one is probably going to be the hardest for me...I'm so competitive, even with my poor dad! It also goes hand in hand with my first resolution.

Quit with the gossip. I'm a naturally curious (see: nosy) person, but while I don't consider myself a gossip hound, there's definitely times when I stick my nose into business that has nothing to do with me. Not only is this harmful, but it also doesn't reflect Christ in me to others. It's important for me to learn to be content with keeping my mouth shut and not knowing but also to try and be an example to others, believers or not.



Spend more intentional time with God. I don't believe that the only time we can pray or be in God's presence is during a "quiet time". God is always with us, and in this age of technology we can pray/read the bible at any time and anywhere. That being said, it's also important, especially as a new or maturing believer to spend intentional time in the word, communing with our Father in Heaven. I read my bible and pray everyday, but I rarely take the time to actually soak in what I'm reading and learn what the Holy Spirit wants to teach me. I can always tell the difference when I'm skipping my one on one time with God.


So that's that. While I do have other goals like eating healthier, exercising more, etc, what I wrote above is much more important to me, and so other goals are going to be put as lower priorities.



I would love to hear about your resolutions :)


Until next time, God bless.


E





*From biblegateway.com

Raspberry Chia Seed Jam

Hey friends!

I made a new discovery: Chia seeds.
 

From my instagram @middlemuse

No, they're not bird feed, as my dad loves to joke, they're a super food! In the past I've been a little skeptical of so-called "super" foods: acai berries, anyone? The name itself is so pretentious. And, they don't even taste that nice! Blah, blah, blah...*end rant*

Anyways. Chia seeds are a pretty cool food. I read up on them on various blogs/websites but for the sake of credibility I found some good sources, like the USDA (I'll link all my sources at the bottom). According to my research *pushes glasses up nose*, these bad boys are a nutritional power house. Not only are they full of healthy omega-3 fatty acids, carbohydrates, antioxidants, fiber, and calcium, they're a complete protein, meaning that they have all nine of the essential amino acids, a vegan's dream. While I'm not actually a vegetarian or vegan, I'm definitely trying to eat more "clean" foods this year, and these are a great ingredient for that! I found mine at Target, but you can also find them online or at Whole Foods (correct me if I'm wrong).

Ok, on to the good stuff. How do I incorporate it into my diet? Another great aspect about Chia Seeds is that they don't really have a flavor, so you can really incorporate them into most foods and even drinks...you wouldn't believe all the ways they can be used in cooking and baking. Smoothies, pudding, muffins, oatmeal, salads, meat balls, and much more. So far I've only tried out two different recipes, but you can find more here. The one I'm writing about today is a crazy delicious raspberry jam. To be honest, I'm not usually a jam girl. Too sugary for my normal breakfast cravings, and waaay too sticky. But alas, I thought, why not? The results were not only healthy, but also very appetizing. Unfortunately, I totally failed on the picture front (unless you love low quality, off-center pics), but you can find the blog post that I found the recipe on (which incidentally has lots of amazing pictures of it) here!

The great thing about this recipe is that you could really mix it up and use any type of berry/berries that you wanted and still get a great result. The sky's the limit!

To make the jam, you'll need:

• 1 cup raspberries
• 1 tbsp chia seeds + 2 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp honey

Put the seeds and water in a small bowl to soak for 10 minutes. They will form a weird but awesome gelatinous texture which will bind together your jam.

While the seeds are soaking, put your raspberries and honey into the blender.

Once the 10 minutes are up, add the chia seeds and water mix and blend until everything is combined.

If you prefer a thicker texture, leave it in the fridge for a few hours and it'll thicken nicely.


And you're done! No added sugar or bad ingredients. I had it on my dad's homemade wheat bread. Yum! Enjoy your delicious jam and come back soon for some exciting news :)





*Sources here, here, here, here, and here
*Everything used was either bought by me or my lovely parental units and all opinions are my own.

Friday Round Up

Hey friends, it's time for the Friday Round Up!

Here we go.

1. Now that I've been home for a bit, I've been taking time to make some great homemade food. The first pic is a ridiculously easy, no-knead bread recipe that I found here. It is so delicious, so simple (only four ingredients!) and frankly, just beautiful to look at. The next is a smoothie I concocted! My parents have a VitaMix which I like to take full advantage of, since my blender can't even look at soft fruit without dying. I bloomin' love healthy smoothies, and don't tend to follow recipes...I prefer to just throw in whatever I can find in the fridge/freezer. This one has ice, a banana, frozen pineapple, blackberries, plain greek yoghurt, lemon juice and lots of spinach. I LOVE adding spinach/greens to smoothies because it gives them a really fresh flavor without tasting like you've just thrown handfuls of veg into your blender. Here's another great idea for a delicious and healthy smoothie that I can't wait to try.

2. This bad boy just arrived in the mail. If you read my last Friday Round Up, you'll know that I'm a big fan of Caroline Hirons, skincare extraordinaire. Pixi Glow Tonic is not only a cult product, but also comes highly recommended by Ms. Hirons as a fantastic dupe for a much more expensive toner called P50. This will definitely be reviewed in the next few months after I've had some time to test it out.

 

 3. This little girl (aka the cutest dog in existence) has been so much fun to spend time with :) This particular picture was taken because our Roomba ("Ricky Roombio") was doing its work, and she has a serious rivalry with it. She decided to jump up and hide next to me, which was pretty darn cute.

4. If any of you are Sherlock fans, you'll know that the new season has finally arrived. I watched the episode and it does not disappoint.

 5. I was browsing the interweb the other day and found this great article about a family who had $118,000 in debt. I really enjoyed reading the tips they had for paying off large quantities of debt, especially since I've had to take out loans to pay for school. My debt isn't anywhere near that large, praise the Lord, but still...a tip's a tip.

And that's it for now. It has been a fairly uneventful week, but I'll be starting my new job on Tuesday and the LAST semester of my undergrad pretty soon, so things will be picking up!

Until next time, God bless.

E

*No affiliate links. All pictures were taken from my instagram (click the button on the side to see more). I payed for the toner...blah, blah, blah.

Thankful Thursday

Hey friends, it's Thankful Thursday!

This week I'm thankful for:

1. My little sister's return! She was at a great conference put on by Cru, the college ministry we're a part of. She had a fun time and learned a lot, but I'm glad to have her back :)

2.  The new year. While 2013 was great, 2014 means graduation, forging my own path, and all the rest. I'm excited to not be in school after a good 16/17 years of it.

3. Friends, new and old!

4. My parents. These last few weeks have really reminded me of how generous and loving they are towards us. They're the best!

5. Books! Over break I set a goal to read at least three chapters a day, and so far its been great! I've finished Wuthering Heights and have started North and South, by Elizabeth Gaskell. I'm excited to see how many books I can get through before next semester starts.

What are you thankful for this week?


Until next time, God bless.

E