5 Things on a Friday

Happy Friday y'all!

1. We are currently en route to visit some friends (who are like family!) in Maine for the weekend! They are some of our favorite people and we have both been looking forward to hanging out with them ALL week! I'm sure it will be a jam packed weekend full of fun so I'll be sure to take some pics and post an update when I get back. :)

2. I feel like animal print is really having a moment in my world lately. No really. It goes with literally everything. I got a leopard print scarf this week and I'm having a hard time finding an outfit it doesn't match with! So if you're looking for a fresh update, grab yourself one! I found mine at Charlotte Rousse for $10! Totally a steal!

3. Maine is known for their lobster and I'm SO looking forward to having some. It's the best ever y'all! If you're at all a foodie, you have to get yourself up to Maine in the summer time and get some lobster. It's heavenly!!

4. Lately The Lord had been teaching me about gratitude and how it affects the heart of the Father and its really cool y'all. My step dad used to always say that the secret to happiness was gratitude and The Lord has really been showing me that in an awesome way. More on that later but I just want to encourage you to take a minute and look at everything around you that The Lord has given you and just take a moment to say Thank you to Him. You'll be surprised at how it changes your day!

5. There's a really good chance I'll be attending my first hockey game this weekend!! Ack! I'm so excited! Hopefully I survive the freezing rink!! Say a prayer for me y'all!

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend! What are your plans?

xo
Victoria

Prevage Lash

As I've mentioned before, I'm a mascara junkie. I mean seriously, I am constantly in search of those perfect long, voluminous, curled lashes! Anyways, one of the perks of my job with Elizabeth Arden has been the ability to try some of their fabulous products!! And as I mentioned before, my boss sent me a sample of some lash enhancing serum called Prevage Lash. I promised you girls a review, us southern girls are women of our word! 

This little package makes my heart smile! It looks like mascara on the outside but actually comes with a little tiny brush that looks like a brush for liquid eyeliner. All you do is paint the serum onto the roots of your lashes (with your eyes closed) each night before bed. Lashes should be clean and completely free of makeup. That's it! Once a day daily for the first month and then you can go to 2-3 times a week after that! It only takes 2 weeks to see results too! Wanna see my results?! I knew you did! 

The top was taken the first night I tried it and the bottom one was taken this morning after I got out of the shower. I think you can definitely see more length AND volume! I mean seriously I don't have any mascara on in the bottom picture! I've even been able to go a couple of days without it! I just curl my lashes really quick and I'm set!! And just so you can see how absurdly long my lashes are right now, check out the below picture (taken yesterday). I'm just wearing 1 coat of mascara here.

So long right?! I know, it's crazy. And it really has nothing do do with my mascara! It's fabulous! Anyways, Prevage Lash is $98 for a bottle, which is expensive but not really. Latisse is the only other thing like it on the market but it requires a prescription AND can sometimes cause discoloration to your eyelids or irises! Scary! Prevage Lash is clinically tested and ophthalmologist approved! It's fabulous! 

What are your thoughts? Is this something you'd try? If so, feel free to place your order through me! :)

xo
Victoria 

Perfect in His eyes

Have you ever seen one of those girls that looks exactly like her mom? Like they're totally twins? I love when I see that. I just think its totally adorable and so cool. Now lets go on a little imaginary journey! So picture a set of  mom and daughter "twins" together in, lets say, a bedroom getting ready to go somewhere together. You know, all the makeup and hair products everywhere, a little music, and of course lots of laughs. Now imagine the daughter looking in the mirror and suddenly going on and on about how ugly she thinks she is. Just naming all the features she can't stand and flaws she wishes she could change. Sounds pretty normal right? I mean I think all of us girls have those moments where we think "woah" and not in a good way. Imagine though, how the mom in the room probably feels. She's of course thinking that her daughter is absolutely wrong and that she's the most beautiful thing in the world. But also, she's probably getting a little bit hurt right? Thinking, "but you're not ugly, you look just like me." ouch.

So I was totally having one of those moments a couple of weeks back. I was putting on some eyeliner I think and just felt like I was looking in a scary carnival mirror because I just kept naming my flaws silently in my head. And the Lord just stopped me. And he showed me the mom and daughter scene I just described along with a verse that I really never related to beauty.

"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image and likeness...' " 
Genesis 1:26

Now I don't think this verse is strictly about beauty but I love how the Bible is such a living and breathing document that sometimes things you never considered totally come alive. It's so cool.

Anyways, have you ever actually considered the fact that God's word says you were made in His image? You were. Not His image minus your nose, huge pores, or frizzy hair. It doesn't say that you were made in his image if you have always been skinny. It doesn't say you were made in His image if you are 5'10" and look just like Cindy Crawford. It just says you are made in His image. So there's a couple of things we get from this!

1. God didn't make a mistake with you. Oh you don't like your frizzy hair or your big teeth? Well they weren't a mistake. God thinks you're beautiful (and so do I!). I mean seriously Cindy Crawford is beautiful but wouldn't the world be so boring if we all looked like her? Gah! I mean then we wouldn't have pretty girls like Emma Stone or Beyonce Knowles or YOU! Your unique features are God's creativity at it's best! 

2. When you criticize yourself and pick at your flaws, you are hurting the heart of the heavenly Father. Yes, you read that right. It actually hurts Him. He is the parent creator that says "wait, you think you're ugly? But I made you in my image. I think you're stunning." This is the part that really made me say ouch. Because the last thing I want to do is hurt my savior's heart. He died for us y'all, gives us the air we breathe, and beautiful things like flowers and sunsets and really how could you hurt someone like that?

So I hope the next time you look in the mirror you stop and take a moment to acknowledge the stunning beautiful person that you really are. The Lord made you like this on purpose and you are his precious child. Start acting like you know it! 

Love y'all! 

xo

Victoria

5 things on a Friday

Happy Friday y'all!

1. My brother-in-law's younger brother is currently in the hospital, intensive care to be exact, for an infection in his heart. He isn't doing great and could really use some prayer so if you get the chance, please send some his way! He is only 13. I know The Lord is still a healer so I am standing on His word that Diego will be healed!! I also believe there is power in agreement when it comes to prayer so it'd be awesome to have some fellow prayer warriors standing in the gap for him on this.

2. Elizabeth Arden is coming out with a BB cream in the spring!! I can't wait! Practically every other cosmetics brand has one (they're the latest craze y'all!) but I'm so excited for my company to release one! Incase you don't know what a BB cream is, let me explain! :) BB stands for Beauty Balm. Basically it moisturizes, evens skin tone, helps with blemishes, protects from the sun, and contains some color that provides a nice sheer coverage! Think tinted moisturizer on steroids! Exciting!

3. My husband and I have date night coming up tomorrow! We will probably do dinner and maybe a movie! My main love language (the way I feel most loved) is quality time so I love the fact that even though we are happily married, he still makes time to date me. It really makes me feel extra special. God is so good for blessing me with such a sweet man.

4. So a quick little tidbit I learned at work is that the best way to combat a winter dry face is to layer moisturizers. Let me explain: I usually use a clean and clear acne moisturizer that's pretty light and sometimes a little drying because of the acne medicine it has in it. This is perfectly fine for a humid summer or spring. But in the dead of winter, when I'm constantly going from hot shower to heated house to extra cold outdoors, it's not enough. So I've been layering an Elizabeth Arden visibly different moisturizer for combination skin over it and wow does my skin feel better! Believe it or not, if you're seeing acne during this time of year, it's likely that you're getting it due to dry skin. No joke! Anyways, don't be afraid to add one more step and hydrate that skin! Your makeup will thank you! ;)

5. I just have to shout out to my fabulous in laws for all of the delicious Italian food they cook and freeze for us to take home each time we visit their neck of the woods! We had some Pasta Fagioli for dinner tonight that was outta this world. Gah it was amazing!!

Well beauties, that's enough randomness for now! I hope you all have a fabulous weekend! I'll be at the counter so stop by if you can!!

xo
Victoria

Winter Wonderful

I know, I know, it sounds crazy to say the words winter and wonderful in the same sentence doesn't it?! But give me a second here, I'm trying! As you all know, I am most certainly a Texas girl (to the bone!) that is currently calling Northern New York her home. These two places could not be more different! Snow in April anyone?! Anyways, I have come to very much adore my home. No really! It's quite charming... adorable in the summer and serene (and snow covered!) in the winter! As you can probably guess, learning to dress for the winter has been quite the challenge! But I'm learning y'all and having so much fun! 

"I refuse to look frumpy because it's cold!" 

That's honestly been my mantra here. So in the spirit of all things fabulous, let's talk about some ways you can jazz up your winter outfits and add a bit of Winter Wonderful to your life! 

(Note: please excuse the quality of these photos. I wanted to use my own images but photography isn't my forte!)

1. Invest in a good pair of boots. This does not mean they have to be $400 Frye boots (Although I wish mine were), but get yourself a good pair! And for goodness sake, we are not in 2004 and you are not 12 so please don't even look at those Uggs! A good pair of boots can elevate an outfit, take you from day to night, or add an edge to your "girl next door" dress. You'll want a flat boot if you live in a snowy area and if you add a little waterproofing treatment to the leather, you're set! 

These are Steve Madden and I adore them. They go with everything. Also, if you have a caramel color (like these), try mixing them with a black outfit! So chic! 

2. Accessorize with color. I know you usually think of a bold bag as something you only do in the summer but do yourself a favor and try one this winter. I promise it will be totally refreshing to see some color with all that black I know you're wearing! ;)

This one is the gorgeous Michael Kors that my husband gave me for Christmas (and this picture was taken right after I opened it, which explains my goofy grin!). I adore the fact that it's red! It just makes me smile when I throw it over my shoulder in my black parka! 

3. Last but not least, grab yourself some colored jeans and wear the heck out of them! Seriously, colored pants are so of the moment right now and winter is the perfect time to take advantage. They're a great twist on that standard jeans and a sweater uniform I know we are all wearing lately! Also, pair them with not only neutral tops but complimentary colored ones too! Yes girls, get those color wheels out and have fun!! 

These are some oxblood jeggings I picked up at H&M for about $10. They're the perfect compliment to that denim button up I can't get enough of and as you can see here, a nice pop of color against my black parka and black snow boots! (side note: this was the first time seeing this crazy amount of snow fall at once so that's why I'm freaking out in this picture!)

We've got a couple more months of winter left, so I hope you'll use these little tips to help you add some wonderful to your winter! Do you have any others? I'd love to hear them! 

Stay warm! 

xo

Victoria

All things new

Happy 2013 y'all! I hope you all had a fabulous time this Christmas and New Years with your families. I had a wonderful time with my husband! He was so good to me! He let me bake all the cookies my house heart could handle, spoiled me rotten (Michael Kors and Marc Jacobs both made appearances under my tree! squee!), drank too much wine and spiked eggnog with me, and even listened to me obsess over what the appropriate amount of sparkle on my nails really meant! It was a great first married Holiday season for us. 

Now that the new year has begun, though I have been thinking quite a bit about whether or not I will be making a new years resolution. I mean, there really is something so inspiring and so exciting about a fresh start isn't there? Last year, my resolution was to stop drinking soda and I did it! I went from 3 Dr. Peppers a day to 0. It was tough but I stuck with it and as a result, lost 2 jean sizes! Once that happened, it was an easy resolution to keep! 

This year though, I wanted to do something a little different because the Lord has been showing me something pretty interesting. The Lord is a fan of new beginnings I think. I mean, if you really think about it, He says things to us like, 
Yeah you sin. and you've done some pretty awful stuff, but no worries, I died so you didn't have to pay for it. Just believe in me and we can start over. 
Or He says, 
You're my child, and despite everything you do daily, when I look at you I see my promises to you and not your mistakes.
Or one of my favorites, 
Today was rough, and yeah you probably shouldn't have said those things. But rest your head with me tonight and we can start over tomorrow because my mercies are new every morning. 
He is so amazing isn't He?!

So I've been thinking about how a new year, a new month, a new week, or even a new day can mean a new beginning. And more than anything I am just thankful for the chance for a fresh start, whether it's this month, for 2013, or just the chance to wake up each day to a God who loves me. I'm thankful that He looks at me and calls me His. So for 2013 I'm not really going to commit to increase my workout days or eat more vegetables, or anything like that. For 2013 I am going to do my best to wake up each day and treat it like the fresh start that it is. 

What about you? Do you have any New Year's resolutions?

xo

Victoria