November/December Birchboxes

There are two blogger highlights every month: My Cara Box & My Birchbox Well, because of the move my November Birchbox got lost. They sent me a new one, but it came a couple days before my December box so I decided to just combine the two posts.
If you don't know what Birchbox is, you should!
It's like a magazine subscription, but instead you get amazing beauty samples to try. I LOVE it!!!

November Box

November's box was focused on Giving. It came out right after Hurricane Sandy.

Their holiday gift guide had a ton of good gift ideas and fashion advice for the holidays.

I got an awesome gift certificate to Chromatic.

I LOVE this Oscar Blandi Volume spray. when I curl my hair it gives me a ton of bounce and keeps my curls separated (:

I received this vintage-y postcard and perfume to try.

Close up of the perfume...it's a musky type of scent - different from a lot of the samples I have from the past.

I also got this Stila highlighting cream. It's really luminous and gives your face a young looking glow.

Lastly, this purple little box...

This little chocolate bar was so creamy and so delicious.

...and Skin Vanish. I need to try this out more before I can give it the verdict - but it supposedly evens out your skin.

December Box

A LOAD of holiday goodies...

Their welcome note explaining all of the products and a little brown bag gift tag

$50 to Rent The Runway

La Fresh Oil-Free Face Cleansers
I REALLY like these because I have super sensitive skin and these don't cause me to break out!

Apothederm Anti-Wrinkle Serum
I'm excited to see if this works long term. I love finding anti-aging products that truly perform.

I'm still judging this shampoo. It's Clarifying Shampoo and I want to make sure it really gets the gunk and product buildup out of my hair.

Lastly...

I LOVE this shadow. It's natural and perfect for every day wear...

Adoring this scent. As you can see you get perfume frequently in your Birchboxes. I swear I don't have to buy perfume anymore because of this!
I loved these two months of Birchbox. I definitely think I get more than $10 worth of product in each box and I LOVE trying new products without being forced to buy full-sized items. Their trial sizes last 1-2 months, so it's a great deal!
So if you wanna get in on Birchbox, just head here!

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Newlywed Lessons: Learning To Man Up Your Home

Hi! I'm Sarah and you can usually find me over at The Pitts. As an avid reader of Wifessionals, I quickly realized that I could absolutely relate to her series on Newlywed Lessons. I've recently found myself in a place that ALL newlyweds come to after getting married. Though not a newlywed myself, I am lucky enough to be newly-cohabitating with my significant other!

When it was finally decided that Mr. PG and I would be making it official – in the living-together sense, that is - my never-ending quest to perfect my apartment has entered a new phase that I began to affectionately call "Manning Up".

While I love my baby blues and greens and pristine white furniture (kind of), it's time to move on. With the addition of a male to the abode in mere weeks, my apartment seriously needs to man up. With all that comes with the journey of cohabitation – space, spats, spending, spooning – redecorating was, for a long awhile, in the back of my mind. But it struck me during one particularly long conversation regarding the specifics of our impending move that I had A LOT to do.

Like, a lot.

If you're thinking of beer pong tables, beer posters and a keg in the corner... well, to be honest, that's what I was thinking too.

Panic attack ensued.

Not my beautiful apartment! And then I woke up and realized I wasn't moving a fraternity into my one-bedroom.

Thankfully.

No, redecorating wouldn't be a disaster - it would be an opportunity to change things up and maybe expand my comfort zone a bit! I mean, cohabitation is all about comprise – right?

And then I got excited.

And then I shopped.

Thanks for nothing Cyber Monday - love, Sarah's Wallet.

I still have some things to do that we're going to do together to make sure that he's adequately represented in the space, but I definitely got a great jump-start.

My Manning-Up To-Dos:

1. Bedroom: The black furniture theme in my room was a good foundation for the revamp, especially given how it contrasts with the new colors I was adding. My old color scheme was baby blue, green and white, but now...

A rich garnet quilt to layer on top of my white duvet cover to create contrast.

Boom! Mustard! Love the combination with the garnet quilt, and will go great with my gray carpet and Euro shams.

Balances out the bright colors, and matches well with the dark furniture. Plus, it's just the best pillow I've ever seen.

2. Closet: Ok, cue the tears.

Everyone... I need to clean out my closet. And I mean REALLY clean it out. I'm beside myself. Not like "Hey I'm going to give some stuff away today" cleaning out, like "I need to make room for someone else" cleaning out. What?! But I welcome the challenge. If any co-habitors have any suggestions for me on how to best accomplish this (other than get a place with bigger closets), I'd be eternally grateful!

3. Kitchen: HA, it is what it is. Moving on.

4. Living Room: Now this re-do required no twisting of the arm whatsoever.

I've been dying to do it for awhile, and saving up just incase an occasion arose that would really push me over the edge. And here it is! Right now I have a white couch with light brown pillows and throws. Now I'm thinking...

Blue and brown rug to stand out against the beige carpet, and coincide with the accessories I already have.

Deeper, more masculine tone, but a beautiful compliment to the light blue rug.

Matching ottoman that opens up to reveal a secret storage space. Perfect to reduce clutter!

And now that it’s all done, I couldn’t be happier!

Really, I swear.

The apartment is just… warmer knowing that we share it, and love everything about it together.

Now time to focus on the important things like, oh, I don’t know, actually living together :) SJ

Need a great stocking stuffer idea?
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Christmas & A Funny Video Of Yours Truly

Excuse the hideousness of this post...I chose to go without makeup or grooming for the 24 hours surrounding Christmas Day.
Yes, as you can see, I was the stocking elf this year. I got to pass out all stockings to family members wearing horrible Christmas sweatshirts...
Rewind to pre Christmas Eve.

We got this brilliant idea to make hideous Christmas sweatshirts. Shortly after this picture, multiple bottles of wine were consumed and this idea went quickly downhill.
Let's just say my husband wrote "Junk in the Trunk" on my mother's sweatshirt, I decorated my sister's with a magical horse named "Sparkles", my sister helped make sure my dad's sweatshirt featured a naughty snowman, and Ryan's sweatshirt featured a whispering, joker-smile santa claus.
Fast forward to Christmas Eve.

I woke up and helped my dad make his famous American Beauty Red Velvet Cake.

I set up our beautiful Christmas table.

We all got ready for Christmas Eve service

Mom & Dad

Mikabear & Me

And the two of us

After church it was time for dinner.
I went for a Southern feel.

I saw this idea floating around on Pinterest. I think it came out really well!

Then I made this cornbread stuffing rosemary stuffed chicken...It was extremely delicious

Homemade crockpot macaroni and cheese

Gorgonzola & Walnut Green Beans

And of course, cornbread and sweet tea

Some self-timer family photos:

We got some pajamas before bed....

CHRISTMAS MORNING!!!!

I made my yummy Cinnamon Roll Pumpkin Pancakes

PRESENTS!!!
'Roni got her stocking and gifts first...

I got a ton of thoughtful and sweet presents from my family. My highlights were:
1. Homemade frame of mine & Ryan's moves so far - From: My sister

Nashville: where Ryan & I met and got married

2. The cutest doorstop you will ever see - From: My parents

Marcy isn't sure she likes him....
3. Two free meals to Chick-Fil-A - From: My sister

She actually slept in front of a new Chick-Fil-A to win a year of free meals from them. And she succeeded. So nice of her to share two of her free meals....
4. AH-mazing shoes - From: My sister

5. Camelbak FSU water bottle - From: Ryan

I have wanted one of these FOREVER!!! Seriously the best water bottles.
6. Maya Brenner Initial Necklace - From: Ryan

Oh my goodness. I was SO excited to get this. I love that I can keep a reminder of Ryan around my neck wherever I am (:

7. Drum roll please.....A Silhouette Cameo!!!!! - From: Ryan

AHHHHHH!!!! Ever since my blate with Miss Tiff, I NEEDED one of these!!!
Ryan heard me and listened!!!!
Lastly, I had a VERY sweet gift arrive in the mail....

My dear friend Clara sent these cute hairties in the mail with a beautiful card - thanking me for helping her with her blog. It was so unexpected and so sweet.

AND NOW....
for your viewing pleasure....
I have a horrible habit of zoning out when I'm blogging. Anyone else?!?!? Anyone?
I scheduled out two weeks of posts so that I could enjoy uninterrupted time with my family when they were here.
The one post I couldn't schedule was my Cara Box post. I was waiting for it to arrive and it did - on Christmas Eve.
So I nicely explained to my family that I need 30 minutes tops to post my reveal and then I would be done with the computer...
Well, this video makes me pee my pants...I had absolutely NO idea of my surroundings...which was my husband acting like a complete weirdo with his new drumming sticks from my mother...
'Music Strike Your Soul' Enjoy...

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