Strawberry Coffee Smoothie yumminess

The last few days got me all revved up to buy some more strawberry coffee mix from Lip Smackin Creations, but when I went to their Etsy page, they were no longer around :-( I wanted to add it to the smoothies I've been having in the mornings for breakfast on my long train ride into the city since I can avoid getting in trouble for eating but still break my fast. I also like the idea of adding some caffeine to my morning without having to urgently poo during an hour and a half commute. Brewed coffee does a number on my princess innards. Le sigh. What's a girl to do? Well, figure out an alternative, obviously. Woot!

Strawberry-Coffee Smoothie Recipe

• a large handful of strawberries (I like them frozen) 
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee grounds (brewed coffee makes it too runny) 
• 1 banana, peeled (if you have bananas going to mush, stick them in the freezer then pull them out to make great frozen smoothies!) 
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds (this is a great way to add amazing extra nutrients as well as helping to create a fullness. Here is a great list of all the amazing benefits of chia seeds. I have become a huge fan.) 
• 1 scoop protein powder (I used vanilla protein powder by APS, their grass fed whey is great if you aren't a vegan. The whey comes from 100% grass fed cows with no antibiotics or hormones. You can actually buy it at Whole Foods and Albertsons.) I then tried it with the chocolate powder and it was amazeballs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract if you use unflavored protein powder
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk or Greek Yogurt

The coffee was a nice, subtle addition and gave me an extra energy boost without being overwhelming. The chia seeds and protein powder made it quite filling, which was especially helpful on a day when I wasn't allowed a lunch until 3 in the afternoon. (though I did sneak a yummy kumquat and persimmon fruit leather when no one was watching. I work for sadists :-)  That's a joke, please don't fire me!) 
Tomorrow I'm gonna try it with a chocolate powder and see how they compare......

Shaped By Hand handcrafted jewelry

A while back I received these sterling silver and czech glass earrings from Shaped By Hand in a sampler box. Very well made and quite striking with the hair worn down, they became one of my go to pairs. Recently I rediscovered them while unpacking and realized that I needed to check out their Etsy store and see if they were still around. Lucky me, they are! Whoo hoo! FINALLY I don't have to mourn the door shuttering of another indie business.

There is SO much gorgeous stuff on this page, I highly recommend you check them out. 

I want this necklace so hard it makes my face hurt. Mama needs to stop having an overdrawn bank account first..... Losing three months of work because of spinal surgery kinda puts a crimp in the old financials. 

Shoe Privee gone bye bye

It's amazing how quickly things change in the great big Interzone.... Shoe Privee was one of the first member's only discount shopping sites that I joined and I recently came across a pair of beloved shoes that I got from them. These shoes are fantastic. These shoes are crazy cool. These shoes require me to be wheeled around on a dolly because they're impossible to walk in....... So I went to go see what's current on their site (and to see if maybe I had a credit I'd forgotten about to give myself shoe cheering up) and POOF! So I looked at their Facebook page and they apparently just disappeared without a trace, not even giving members a heads up. That sucks because what if I DID have a credit that's just dust in the wind? That's one of the hazards with doing online shopping; you take your roll of the dice sometimes because no matter how legit a company may look, you never really know what's going on behind the scenes. And silly me, it makes me sad because they had some really wacky footwear. Fur ankle cuffs? For real? Sigh...... Just Fab, you need to get a little wackier and weirder sometimes and then you'll be perfect. 

My super awesome stilettos of funkiness

Support Handmade!

It makes me so sad when I go back to visit a favorite seller and they're gone :-( I realize that's the nature of the game; people move on, pick up new hobbies or sadly just give up. Because of my current invalidism, I decided to stop by The Button Bowl to pick up some more cute barrettes because I am trying to keep my hair out of my face while I wear my neck brace only to find them sadly hasta la vista. I had previously bought the barrette below from them and was hoping for more girly vintageness to keep me looking my best (er, better? Um, not like a hobo, anyway?)




So instead of saying, Oh I want some new hairpins, I'll get these Goody hairclips at Walgreens, why not take a few extra minutes and get something unique and handmade? When there's a handmade option out there, pay the few extra quid knowing that you're keeping the independent spirit alive. Keep America funky, one purchase at a time!

A reminder of why I love Zibbet's Sample Zbox

For those of you "in the know" about the indie handmade community, there's a lot more out there than just Etsy. Etsy may dominate the market, but there's other venues out there where you will find a whole slew of talented artisans just waiting for you to discover them. Thanks to the awesome ZBox Sampler, you can discover many of them in one fell swoop by receiving a box full of samples of their wares. The box is amazingly inexpensive and you will ALWAYS get your money's worth and then some. Some full sized items are generally included and for the jewelry lover, you'll be in heaven. I have been introduced to some of my absolute favorite handmade artists via this box, and can even call some of them my real friends now! Ah, the power of handmade! (Hi girls, you know who you are ;-) )



Just to give you a taste, here's a group of sellers that were included in a typical Zbox and a sample of their wares.To see an actual box itself, you can see my unboxing videos here.

I'm showing a full piece from their stores so you can see the sellers themselves.

Dancing Rainbows 

Rock Paper Scissors 

A Crafty Arab

Xquisitely Lady M

Izzy's Place

Body & Soul Natural Beauty Products

Rebecca's Jewelry

BreitWerk

All About The Buttons

Black Creek Crossing

Handmade Fuzzy

LOC Design Studio 

Hawks Nest Creations

Texas Eagle

Jewelry By Vee

Spanky Luvs Vintage

A Stitch And A Prayer

Ipsy- Party Perfect product reviews- Nailtini, Chella, Bare Minerals, theBalm, Starlet

this is a look back at a previous Ipsy bag and what I thought of the products inside. Ipsy is an amazing deal, this bag was valued at almost $50, not including the Just Fab $20 gift card. At only $10 a month, you can barely buy even buy a single drugstore item for that price, let alone a cosmetics bag with 4-5 items, mostly full sized!
If you'd like to join, I'd LOVE for you to use my LINK. Thanks!

I absolutely ADORE this Nailtini polish in Millionaire. Stunning and reminds me of the Nail Inc Feather Effect  polish that I'm wearing today but they had the look first! Long wearing, applies like a dream and is truly a showstopper. I've got a number of Nailtini polishes, and they always become a favorite in my mani arsenal. This is one of those polishes that makes people examine my nails up close and go "ooooh!" Simply put, gorgeous.                         

Chella Eyebrow Defining Gel
Is fantastic. I have very fair brows, but they also rival Ernest Borgnine's in sheer voluminousness.  While thicker, natural brows are in,Wilford Brimley with caterpillars glued onto his forehead is not. This stuff tames them, makes them look groomed and glam, keeps them in place and in general gives a more polished look. It's also excellent for using with brow powders to keep it from giving you fallout. Now a staple in my beauty bag of tricks.

Bare Escentuals Marvelous Moxie Lipgloss - # Dare Devil 4.5ml/0.15oz Contains natural ingredients exotic oils botanical extracts & antioxidants With a refreshing formula that nourishes lips for exceptional comfort Provides sheer vibrant color Creates a full satiny shimmering & mirror-like pout that lasts for hours This is not only a gorgeous color, but it feels fantastic on your lips. It has a lovely minty tingle that has the added bonus of sweetening your breath while also giving a slight plumping to the lips. They really DO look fuller! Not Angelina or anything, but they definitely make a difference without causing agonizing pain like some lip plumpers. Extremely shiny and smooth with a nice slick, non sticky feel that lasts and lasts.

theBalm Meet Matt(e) Eyeshadow Palette by theBalm Cosmetics 1 Eyeshadow Palette theBalm Meet Matt(e) Eyeshadow Palette by theBalm Cosmetics 1 Eyeshadow Palette

This is a regular use color for me; I keep it on my makeup table and am constantly grabbing it. I'm amazed that I haven't panned it out yet. A rich sable brown that goes on silky smooth with no fallout. It plays well with others and also makes a great basic day to day fast application 'out the door' shade that you can slap on and look like you tried. It has awesome staying power and will still be just as rich at the end of the day as when you started. And the retro packaging? Adorable.


There was also an eyeliner by Starlet Cosmetics, but they appear to have gone the way of the dodo..... Guess that sums up the general public opinion fairly well, eh? I thought it was fine. Nothing to write home about (and with my mom being who she is, we actually DO that, she just mailed me an article on the influence that the right shoes can have in the workplace) but a decent, inexpensive liner that didn't smudge too bad with a primer. Trust me, it definitely didn't smear as much as my hated bane-of-my-existence Elizabeth Arden eye pencil.

Spring Cleaning (and everything else) on a budget?

Get free printable coupons now from Coupons.com

I go there before every trip to the grocery store because you'll often find higher value coupons than what comes in the paper. LOVE this site.