Christmas Time!

With only 2 days until Christmas I decided to share pictures of my little decorations.

I have added a few things since this picture but this is really it.

I got the fabric reindeer last year from target after Christmas for half off.

My two candles are from bath and body works

I have fresh balsam which smells just like a Christmas tree

and 'Tis the season smells like a cinnamon apple orchard.

My mom got me this ornament last year because I have a golden retriever so this is an ornament for him.

Last year I started a tradition where I wanted my husband and I to pick out an ornament each year. The star was my pick and the Darth Vader was his of course.

This year I decided to go with the classic Starbucks cup since I am absolutely addicted to coffee and it fits me perfectly. I picked up the Yoda for Patrick since sadly it was the only star wars one they had at Target this year since I waited too long to get us ornaments. I like the Yoda though it's very detailed.

This last picture was taken before I got the other candle and the Yoda ornament but I still like my small little set up. I absolutely LOVE the deer. Last year it was the last one there and I had at least 3 people stop me and ask where I found it.

My Christmas Tree 2014!

***Everything was purchased at Target. Except for the candles, those are from Bath and Body works.

The Pinterest Tag

Today;
I am going to do the Pinterest tag.

Tag Questions:
1. How many pins do you currently have? I have 1,536 pins.
2. How many boards do you have? I have 19 boards.
3. How many Pinterest followers do you have? I have 52 followers. (I'm not huge on people following me, if they want to they can, if not I will live haha.
4. What is the general theme for how you use Pinterest...recipes, crafts, motivation, decor ideas, etc.? I pin things mainly by what they are, food, home, funny, style. I put things where they belong.
5. Do you utilize Pinterest to help boost traffic to your blog/vlog? I do have a few pins that lead to my blog here but I put them under categories that are already on my Pinterest, I don't have a blog board.
6. Do you pin to any community boards? I have no idea what that is =/ I would love to know though.
7. Do you have any Pinterest pet peeves? When links don't work and I really like the pin. Also when people write dumb comments that don't have to do with the pin haha.
8. What is your favorite board to pin to? I really like my food board, Also I have really been into my style board.
9. What is your favorite pin that you have completed? Definitely the lasagna roll ups. I made them for everyone in my family and everyone loved them. I have made them twice. That's the first time I have ever made something on Pinterest twice that has worked out.
10. Do you Pinterest stalk anyone? No.
11. Do you utilize secret boards? If so, for what? No, I don't mind if everyone sees my pins, however in the future I might.
12. Have you attended a real life Pinterest party? No, I have no idea what that even really is.
13. What is one thing you'd change about Pinterest if you could? When you create a pin I want the option to add a link right when I create it. I hate adding it and then having to go to it and click edit and then add the link. Would be so much simpler if I could do it in one go.
14. What is one Pinterest tip you have? When creating a pin, add a reliable link.
15. Tag 3 fellow pincers. I don't have anyone I want to pin so if you are reading this I tag you! Leave your tag in the comments and I will check it out!

Ways to: Earn Extra Money From Home $$$

Today;
I am going to share my two favorite ways to earn some extra money from home.

First is OpinionOutpost

This is a site that pays people to take surveys, basically you get paid for your opinions. 
There are all kinds of surveys, from beauty products to food to political opinions. Most of the surveys pay out from about .50 cents to $1.50. I have gotten a few $5 surveys and I even received a $10.
The down part is most of the surveys that they send you you probably will not qualify for, you do get 1 prize drawing just for trying and you get entered into a quarterly $10,000 giveaway. I have yet to win that but I honestly doubt I will ever win. (I can dream though)
The best part is that once you get 100 points, which is the equivalent of $10 you can redeem that into your pay pal account. They also have amazon gift cards where you only need to earn $5 to redeem it. Then they send you an email with a code to redeem your money.

It is fairly easy to earn money through this, it just takes some time. When I first joined I made money pretty fast and earned about $60 the first month. However I wasn't working or going to school at that time so I had a lot of free time. Some of these surveys can be very very time consuming with a low pay out rate. But some of them are the opposite so it really really just depends. I joined in January of 2013 and to date I have made about $700 in gift cards and redeeming to my pay pal account. So you really can earn some good money with this site. If you have some time and want to earn some extra money relatively fast then this site is definitely for you. 

Second is Swagbucks

This is a site that pays people to take surveys, watch videos, search the internet, and so much more. I have found that this site takes a very long time to earn money, however I do find it relatively easy to earn points on it. My favorite way to earn points is to watch videos, I watch the animal videos since they are the shortest. When you watch 10 videos you receive 3 swagbucks. I will just open it up and then go to a new tab and browse the internet and click back on it once in a while to see if the video has stopped and click on the next one.

Another way that I earn swagbucks is I do the discover break, sometimes its quick and easy and I can just watch a video or explore a few websites and in 30 seconds to 1 minute I have earned 2 swagbucks. 

100 swagbucks= 1 dollar. Like opinion outpost they pay off to pay pal also, however you have to have at least 2,500 swagbucks which is $25 to pay off. Also something I don't like is it takes about 10 days for the money to appear in your account. Definitely a major downside. 

But with this site you can earn 50-100 swagbucks for taking one survey if you qualify and right there you already have $1.00....it can be a very slow process but if you work hard and have the time you can a good amount of money at the end of it. What I like is that for one amazon $5 gift card you only need 450 points versus for most gift cards you need 500 points.

Another positive to swagbucks is that they offer more than just amazon gift cards you can get, target, starbucks, sephora, a visa rewards card. They honestly have everything. All of the cards are given via a promo code that is sent to your email.

So if you have the time and the patients, you can earn 100 swagbucks a day and in 5 days you could have a starbucks gift cards, or $5 for something you want off amazon.

Or if you save them like I do you can save up for something you really really want.

I have been using swagbucks since about July and have made $100.

REFERRAL CODE

for swagbucks

www.swagbucks.com/refer/DarthPanda

Or go to

www.swagbucks.com

REFERRAL CODE

for opinionoutpost

http://tracking.surveycheck.com/aff_c?offer_id=1915&aff_id=2619&aff_sub=rafPage&aff_sub2=ZLP0a8y8Tbgnh7VabbcnsYR18uK6yp9h 

Or you can just go to 

opinionoutpost.com

which ever you feel comfortable with =)

I am not being paid to talk about these companies, all opinions are my own.

Influenster: Venus Embrace Sensitive

I was approved for the Influenster VoxBox and in it I received the Venus Embrace Sensitive razor.

This razor came with 2 replacement heads. 

It is for sensitive skin.

It has 5 blades.

This is the second Venus razor that I have owned. The first is the pink one (I can't remember the name of it)

I think I like this one better because it is specified for sensitive skin which I do have.

It provided an even clean shave.

Thank you Influenster for sending me this product!

Anyone can sign up for Influenster its free and they randomly select people each month to try out new products.

https://www.influenster.com

(I was sent the product for free to review, all opinions are my own I am not sponsored) 

Eclectic Wall Decor

Today I will share with you my new wall decor...

This is my mini eclectic wall that I have started.

The & sign is from TARGET

The Arrow sign is also from TARGET

(it also lights up if you put batteries in the back)

The smaller sign is from MICHAEL'S

The bigger sign is from ROSS

The mirror is also from ROSS

I am no where close to done. I am planning to add some picture frames to this and also a cute clock and possible some sort of ceramic animal. 

For now this is what I have and I love it.

Ways to: Get Exercise

Today;
     I decided to share 4 ways I can think of getting some sort of exercise in everyday.

Number 1

Getting a gym membership. If you are paying for something most of the time you don't want to waste that money. Also they have all the equipment you could ever need. Some gyms will give you one free training session. Also a lot offer classes of zumba, yoga, and many other things to get you moving.

Number 2

If you can't afford a gym membership then just work out at home. I recently have gotten into workout videos on youtube. My favorite right now is blogilates. Cassey is amazing and her upbeat personality will make you WANT to work out.

You could also easily buy some weights and just do some workouts with them while watching TV or just any mundane every day activity that you could add a weight into.

Last is to follow some sort of calendar. Even if it is just one of those small ones where they want you to do 5 sit-ups one day. 10 sit-ups the next. It is still something you can follow.

Number 3

Do you have a dog? He/She probably would love to walk with you. Walking or jogging is one of the easiest way to get exercise in during the day. Just walk around your neighborhood for 30 minutes its super easy. You could also go to the dog park and while your dog plays with others you can just do laps around the park.

Number 4

Lastly is probably the most simple way to get some sort of exercise in your day. Do you have to make a stop at the store? Well instead of driving around trying to find that "ideal" spot just park in the back and make the walk to the front. After you grocery shop or just have some sort of bags with you just think of it as extra weights on your way back. 

A few quotes that have stuck with me when it comes to exercise is:

"working out for 1 hour is only 10% of your day"

"no one ever regrets working out they just regret NOT working out"

2014 May Favorites

Today we will be talking about the makeup that I loved using in MAY!

The blush I have been loving is the hervana blush by Beneift

It has a swirl of 3 different pink colors. It has a slight shimmer and has

been my go to blush and will continue to be.

Although this is a new addition to my collection I have had a lot of fun 

experimenting with different looks. I love the colors and can not wait 

to play around with it more. 

My last blog post is an in depth review of this palette.

I received this eyeliner in my birch box last month. It is the best waterproof 

eyeliner I have ever used. Eyeliner is the only makeup item I wear everyday

and I have worn everyday for 7 years so I am always on the hunt for the BEST

ones. This one is very black as seen below. It doesn't last all day but it definitely

lasts for a good portion of the day. 

I got this eyebrow duo brush from sephora. I was skeptical because it was an 

$18 brush and I was like do I really need something like this? The answer is YES.

It is very soft and dense and has been a great addition to my eyebrow routine.

Maybellines the rocket mascara is the newest addition to my mascara collection.

It is extremely volumizing probably duo to its huge brush. It is always very very 

black. Even though it is not a waterproof mascara it acts as if it is. It is kind of

difficult to take off at the end of the day. A small price to pay though for the great

volume that I get out of this.

I didn't know a pair of tweezers could be THIS amazing but they definitely 

are. I absolutely love these and can not imagine life without them anymore.

I received this as a free sample with my online sephora purchase. It was 

my first powder foundation. I loved the way it make my skin look and feel.

It is very natural looking even for a powder. I definitely will be purchasing the

full size as soon as possible.

I finally jumped on the band wagon and got the NARS radiant creamy concealer.

The name says it all. Very creamy and covers up my blemishes, redness and under eye 

circles like a dream. It also stays on all day long. Unless I constantly touch my face

I really do not feel the need to reapply at all.

Makeup Review: Stila in the garden palette

Stila: In the Garden Palette

I decided to purchase the Stila in the garden palette.

It has a light green packaging with a nice full mirror on the inside and a magnetic closer

It includes 10 .28g eyeshadows and a full size waterproof smudge stick in the color starfish

I took some close up shots of each color so you can see them more clearly.

From the top left we have:

Chinois- Matte creamy off white

Breeze- Shimmery Beige

Bark- Shimmery Taupe

Nector- Matte Beige

Honey- Metallic Bronze Gold

Again starting from left to right excluding Bark

Freesia-Shimmery Violet Blue

Rosetta- Metallic Pink Violet

Sage-Shimmery light green

Moss-Olive green with shimmer (however in the picture it photographed more orange but in person it is much more green)

Juniper-Shimmery forest green

Last is the eyeliner in starfish which is a brown green with shimmer

Here are the swatches. Chinois does not show up very well on my skin tone so it will be the perfect highlight. However the rest of them swatch very very well.

The main reason I got this palette were because of the bright colors. I think they will be great for simmer and I can not wait to wear that pink and blue. I am trying to venture out from more than just neutral colors on my eyes. With summer coming up I think this palette is perfect for that.

This is the swatch of starfish.

Dinner

Tonight I had parmesan crusted tilapia 

with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and a piece of bread and butter

I got the fish from target. 

The mashed potatoes were from a box. 

It was very very delicious

This comes out to only 270 calories

and is very filling.

I added a bit of cheese to my 

mashed potatoes.

A piece of bread always is a good side. Normally you can add a salad but I was a little bad tonight.

The entire meal was only 435 calories and I was full and happy afterwards.

I even had left-overs which I am taking to work for my lunch.

Birchbox: MAY 2014

Today I finally got my Birchbox. This was the latest it has ever arrived. Normally I get it between the 10th-13th. However I received it on the 23rd. Birchbox was very kind though and credited me $10 for the delay even though I still got my box. That was very kind of them.

This is a list of all the products and descriptions of what is in the box.

I got the beauty protector Shampoo&Conditioner

I am interested to try these out since they are a pretty decent size and

 I think I can get a few uses out of them.

This is the Greenleaf candle

The box was already opened when I got it however the smell of this candle is amazing. 

I wish it had come with a holder so that I can burn it. I think I will just burn it 

on my scentsy warmer and that way I can reuse it after its melted.

This is an oil-free mineral sunscreen

I am not too excited about this product since it is so small. I think I can only get 

maybe 1-2 uses out of this product. Also the full size is $20 and I feel like that is 

way too expensive for a sunscreen.

This is a pixi tinted lip balm.

I am very excited for this. The color is perfect for summer. It can either be 

sheer or it can easily be built up. Also it has quite a shimmer to it and 

its very pretty.

All in all the box was OKAY I am excited about the candle and the lip balm. 

We will see how the shampoo&conditioner are. I am definitely not impressed 

with the sunscreen. Also this box took way too long to get to me. Each month 

I keep thinking about canceling my subscription but I really like how you can 

review products and get points on the birchbox site. Next month will be 

my one year of having birchbox so if next months box doesn't impress 

me I probably will cancel.