Influenster// Jolly Vox Box

Happy Friday!! I hope you're just as excited as I am about the weekend! It's been a long week in our neck of the woods!

Last week I finally recieved my first Vox Box from Influenster, which I was so excited about! Influenster is a rating company that rates products. Companies that want their products rated give them products and Influenster put boxes of different products together to mail out to raters. ( kind of like a care package)

So this was the Jolly Vox Box. It consisted of some fabulous...

1. Rimmel Show Off Lip Laquer 

The color they sent me was just perfect do skin tone. I loved how the coverage was like a lipstick but it went on like lip gloss. Just fabulous! If you follow me on Instagram, you probably saw the selfie I posted wearing the lip product. (I really dislike selfies.)

2. NYC New York Color HD Color Trio Eye Shadow 

This little eye shadow was a nice nude, natural trio. I really like to keep my eye shadow nice and light, nothing too drastic. It went on well for the money and had just the right amount of shimmer in it.

 

3. Skinny Cow Chocolate in Peanut Butter 

These were the best 130 calories I've had in a long time. Each box brings 6 packs of 3 good size chocolates. They were divine. Seriously, for 130 a pack you cant beat it!

4. Puffs Ultra Soft & Strong Tissue Pack

These guys were great for my purse. The tissues themselves were really soft and didn't tear.

5. Ducklings Mini Rolls 

This is a roll of mini printed duck tape! Mine was a purple and teal leopard print. And I loved it because for instead of having to cut duck tape with scissors, which is nearly impossible, you can just this little roll. Its almost just as wide as scotch tape. 

**All of these products were sent to me to test complimentary from Influenster.

Have a great weekend!!

xoxo

Elda 

Goals for the New Year...

1. Try at least one new recipe every week. 
I tend to cook the same meals on a regular basis. I am pretty tired of eating the same things...I am ready to mix it up a little bit. If you have any delicious recipes that you'd like to share, send them my way!

2. Choose healthier options for me and my family. 
Before my husband and I got married, I was such a health freak. I was that girl that watched and counted every single calorie. Then I got married and I don't know what happened. Little Gus is starting  to get used to eating too many "junk foods" and I am not liking it one bit.

3. Stay on a mass routine every Sunday.
My husband and I are Catholic and we are raising our little ones Catholic. However, it has been really hard for us to get into the habit of attending mass every Sunday. Somehow, something ALWAYS comes up. To teach our children and set an example for our little family and set a good example we really would like to go to mass every Sunday. no matter what.

4. Try and save time so I can spend more time with my family.
I want to manage my time better with the daily tasks around the house. maybe use the crock pot to make dinner more often instead of laboring in the kitchen every day for an hour and a half while two babies are tugging at my clothes because they need something. I could use that time to sit down and spend quality time with them.


5. Read.
Take the time to sit down and read a good book. I want to read something that will contribute to who I am and make me a better person. Something that will make me a better wife, mother, daughter, friend and sister. I want to learn something from it. If you have any good suggestions let me know!


6. Do random acts of kindness. This world can never have enough kindness.
It feels so good when you something for someone else. Not always does it have to be something big. Maybe hold the door open for an elderly person or the pregnant lady walking in front of you. Maybe pay the toll for the person behind you. Give a smile to a stranger on the street. You never know, you could have made their day with that simple smile.

7. Laugh. 
This is a hard one for me. I tend to be a bit of a pessimist. Try and forget about all the negative in your life or how negative my day has been. Think about the positive. Think about what I have to look forward to. Laugh about it. Life is short. Be happy.

8. Reach 500 followers.
This is one YOU can help me with :). If you are a regular on here let's make it known! Follow me! It's quite simple! I want to know who my readers are!

xoxo

Elda

Holidays 2013 Re-Cap: Christmas in Atlanta, New years in Miami

Man, it's awhile since I've posted. I feel like I neglected this blog during the holidays. I guess they really took a toll on me ;). I hope you and your families had a fantastic Christmas and New Years together! We sure did! We were in Atlanta, like I mentioned in my Christmas Day post, for a week with my family. My parents and brother are there and although my sister lives in Mobile, due to her new position she accepted this fall she had to work Christmas Eve and Christmas Day :(. But she came down the 26th and was able  to spend a couple days with us, which was nice!

There really is nothing like family around the holidays, I had never really realized it until I got married and moved to Miami.

The kids had a blast. They basically did whatever they wanted since they were in grandparents' territory. They ate too many sweets, went to bed wayyyyy past their bedtime (we are still trying to sleep re-train them and it's not going well), and did lots of fun other things. Gus and I got to sneak away and had a day date ;). We got some last minute Christmas Shopping done and went out for drinks with some old friends of mine. It was so nice to have some adult time and re-connect.  

 My family has always had the tradition to attend midnight mass as a family, which is such a beautiful service. However, since the kids are still little it is a little hard for us and we have started to attend Christmas morning mass at my parents' parish. The service was beautiful. After opening presents Christmas morning it was really nice to celebrate Jesus' birth, by going to mass and kind of stopping and realizing what Christmas is really all about.

Another tradition we have is to make Baby Jesus a birthday cake, sing Happy Birthday to him and do a procession putting him in his manger. We did this growing up every year. This year Little Gus loved EVERYTHING about this tradition! (He is going through a phase where he loves to sing "Happy Birthday" and blowout birthday candles.)

Goodbye's are always hard. I wish we could be living closer to my family. I know my parents do too. So they could just stop by and say hi. Take their grandkids out on the weekends. Be there for EVERY holiday. But that's not reality. God for one reason or another wants us here in Miami right now. Maybe in the future he will show us what he has in store for us.


On our way down to Miami, my in-laws called us, asking us to take a detour and stop in Tampa. My father-in-law had some family in town that they wanted to see. So we agreed. little did we know we would get stuck in bumper to bumper traffic. it was awful. I think that was the worst roadtrip I have ever been on. According to the GPS it should have taken us about 6 hours to get to Miami. Instead it took 9. That's almost what it took us to get from Miami to Atlanta. Anyways, we had dinner with the family that night and the next day we went to a little Greek Town, Tarpon Springs, famous for their Sponge Docks. It was beautiful! We enjoyed some great food, lovely ambiance and some live music played by some locals.

New Years we spent with my husband's family like we do every year. This year his cousin and his wife threw a party. There were Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, etc.,a lot of people. We had a blast. Little Gus I think enjoyed the party just as much, if not, more than the adults. He didn't fall asleep until we put him in the car to go back home. And little Miss Olivia was able to watch her first New Years countdown! She fell asleep awhile after midnight. I was so surprised she even lasted that long!

I hope your holidays were as fabulous as ours!!

xoxo

Elda