Miami Day 3

We started off the day driving to the Beach.  On the way to the beach we stopped at Buenos Aires which is a Cuban coffee shop.  Cindy kept telling us how good their pastries were and I kept thinking how I didn't really want to start my day off with a big, rich, pastry. . . but I was pleasantly surprised!  First of all, the place was packed!  It must be a local favorite.  It was crazy - you had to get a ticket like you do at the Deli!  Haha!  Cindy told us to sit and she would pick out the pastries for us.  She came back with about 10 small pastries for us to sample.  They were SO good!  They were the perfect amount of sweet.  They weren't overly sweet like most pastries.  Dave and Cindy also had little espresso shots of some sort of Cuban espresso.  I'm not a coffee drinker but Dave said it was pretty good!  And VERY strong!

The beach was a bust!  :(  We were there for an hour or two and it was nothing but clouds so we headed back to the house.  As soon as we got home it was nothing but sunshine so we headed straight for the pool!

After spending all day in the pool we were finally ready for dinner. Dave and I went on our own little date that night.  Cindy and Roberta highly recommended that we try a little (and I mean little) place right up the road called Blue Collar.  It was a new little restaurant that was connected to a hotel - but was not affiliated with the hotel.  It was a limited menu but everything was fresh!

I wasn't all that hungry so I picked a few things from their "Veg Chalkboard" which is basically a list of about 20 or so different vegetables (and 1 fruit).  There were a few common items on the menu like Gilled Asparagus, Roasted Carrots with Maple Sauce, etc.  But there were also some unusual choices like Buttered Baby Bok Choy (I've never had bok choy ever!), and Curried Cauliflower Puree.  I ended up getting a mix of both common and uncommon choices . . .Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges, Curried Cauliflower Puree, and The Fresh Fruit Salad with Honey and Yogurt.  It was all great!  I didn't get a picture of Dave's order but he had the Grilled Mahi Mahi which was sooo juicy and delicious!  He also had the Sweet Potato Wedges and Grilled Asparagus.  It was a great meal!

Miami Day 2

Our second day at Miami started by going to a local breakfast place called Bagel Bar.  It was very Jewish.  Most of the workers were Jewish.  I told you in my last post that there are a lot of Cuban's in Miami.  Well, there are a lot of Jewish people as well.  Anyway, it was just a typical little cafe/breakfast bar.  After we had breakfast we layed around the pool for about an hour and then it was time to head to Iron Flower for my first workout!  

When I go on vacation I still like to workout.  I would be the meanest, grumpiest person ever if I skipped more than 2 or 3 days of working out!  So before we left for Miami I did an online search of local gyms.  I found one called Iron Flower that had a TON of classes to offer and then realized it was in walking distance of where we were staying!  Sweet!

Here's an idea of what it's like when you walk in . . . 

It is so cool!  Hot pink couches and chairs, metallic silver couches, fancy chairs, bright pink rugs, etc!  It was awesome!  It's a girls only gym, by the way!  Haha!

They even had this bar/kitchen area!  There was a little sign on the bar explaining how you can have your birthday or bachelorette party there!  You could take a two hour class (anything from Zumba to Pole Dancing) and then have champagne and food, etc.  Sounds right up my alley!

On this day I took a TRX (suspension) class.  I had never taken a TRX class before . . . probably because I live in Kentucky and it takes us 10 years to catch up to everyone else on the fads.  We usually get things once they're not "cool" anymore.  So lame!  Anyway, my gym actually has a couple TRX systems and every now and then I'll do a few exercises on them but they don't offer a class.  I loved that after taking this class in Miami I was able to come home and do more exercises on the system on my own.

After class we spent more time in the pool!

I'm right where I want to be!  In the hot sun!  :)

We spent the majority of the day in the pool.  That evening Dave's sister made us the best pasta dish!  It was sooo good!  It was actually very similar to a couple different dishes that Dave and I make.  I guess we all have the same taste in food!  Her dish was comprised of big flat noodles, pesto, pine nuts, mozzarella cheese, little yellow tomatoes, and parmesan cheese.  It was delish!

Miami Day 1

Hello there!

I've been a little MIA but that's because I've been on vaca!  My husband and I went to Miami and stayed with his sister.  This is the second year in a row that we stayed with her.  It's a lot of fun and we hope to make it a yearly trip!  I thought I would do a few separate blog posts about each day that we were there.  Mainly because I think some of you might be interested in all the yummy food we ate!  I love eating in Miami!  They have great food and I always come home feeling healthy!  :)

I think Dave looks so cute in this pic for some reason!  This was when we were waiting for our flight . . 

And here's me . . .not looking quite as cute as my husband.  I was a little tired!  Haha!

And here is Little Havana.  Isn't this picture terrible?!  Haha!  This was from the first night we got there and I hadn't been so open about my obsession with picture taking yet.  But it didn't take long for that to come out.  Basically we at at Little Havana and I didn't take a picture but later that night Dave and I ran an errand so I made him drive real slow as we passed it so I could take a picture!  Haha!

Anyway,  Little Havana serves Cuban food.  It's always some sort of meat - usually chicken.  Whether it's baked, or grilled, etc.  Along with black beans, rice, and platanos.  And according to Dave's sister, Cindy, you have to ask for limes to squeeze over it!  It is so delicious!  Dave and I love this meal!  Cuban food is very big in Miami so you can find lots of little restaurants like this around.  If you get the opportunity to try Cuban food you most definitely should!

EWG

Hello there!  Today I want to tell you guys about a really cool website called EWG, or Environmental Working Group.  You can find their site at ewg.org.  If you care about using natural products you will really like this site.  I'll walk you through the site so you understand how to use it.

These are the two products I will show you how to look up on the site just because they are the sunscreens I use.  The Alba one on the right is the one I used last year and LOVED and the Coola one on the left is the one I bought for this year.  I couldn't find the Alba one this year which was disappointing because I really liked it :(

Ok, back to the actual site.  The picture above is the Home Page.  This is what you will see as soon as you go to ewg.org.  I know it's kind of hard to see but right under the box that says amazon.com you will see "More Tools and Resources" and the very first one listed is Skin Deep: Cosmetic Safety Database.  That is the one you want.

Once you click on that you should see a screen similar to the one above.  You can see all of the choices above such as sun, makeup, hair, fragrance, etc.  For this post we're going to click on the sun link.

I'm actually sitting in the sun right now while I type this [I'm on vaca :) ] and there is a glare so I can't see my screen well.  But I think it says there are 48 pages of different sunscreens.  That is a lot! You will notice that there is a green circle with a number in it for each product.  That number represents the hazard score.  Basically it tells you how toxic or bad for you a product is or isn't.  A score of 0-2 has a low hazard score, 3-6 moderate, and 7-10 high.  

If you already have a product in mind that you want to try or if you just want to check a product you already have at home you can do that too.  In the picture above you'll see the sunscreen I showed you earlier (the sunscreen I used last year) and you'll see that it has a hazard score of 3 . . . which is pretty good!  When I searched the sunscreen that I bought for this year I didn't find the exact product but I found it in a different scent and it had a pretty low hazard score as well.  So that's good!

I just wanted to share this website with you guys because I thought it was pretty cool and very helpful.  If you're really high tech and have a phone with the internet on it next time you're in the store buying bath/beauty products you can just pull up ewg.org on your phone and check the products hazard score before you buy it!

By the way, I really like the Coola Sunscreen.  It has a nice light beachy smell.  And I've realized that I really like the spray version of sunscreen.  It's really nice to not have to rub it in.  One thing I will say is that you can't get too many uses out of it.  Dave and I brought it with us on vacation and we probably only got about 15 applications out of it.  And it cost around $30.  So it might not be for everyone.  You'll have to decide for yourself!  :)  But hopefully you all find this post helpful!

April Favorites!

This post is a little late.  I meant to put it up on the last day of April or the first day of May.  But better late than never, right?

I thought I would share with you guys my favorite things for the month!  I will probably do this each month unless there really wasn't any new fun products/songs/tv shows, etc. for that month.

This month I have a few products that I've been loving. . . 

I got a sample of LaRocca Champagne and Shimmer Body Polish.  Don't let the word "shimmer" scare you.  It has no shimmer in it what-so-ever.  It's a little misleading.  But regardless, this stuff is amazing! It is a gentle scrub but as you start rubbing it into your skin the little beads or scrubbies melt away and turn into this super, super moisturizing cleanser.  And it's got a cooling sensation to it!  I love it!

I also have been loving nail polish!  The polish that's pictured is I Don't Give A Rotterdam from the Holland collection.  That is one of the colors I've been loving but there are quite a few more.  I didn't think I needed to picture them all.  I will mention one other one though just because it's so pretty (I was too lazy to go down two flights of stairs to fin it for the picture) and that is Butterfly Kisses from L'oreal.  Has anyone seen all the new L'oreal nail polishes??  There are like 30 new colors and they are all SO pretty!

The last product I've been loving is the LaVanilla Deodorant.  It is aluminum free, which is important.  I'm sure you've all heard that aluminum in deodorant supposedly causes breast cancer.  Who knows if that's true or not but I don't mind changing my deodorant - just in case!  I've tried a few aluminum free deodorants and haven't liked any of them until this one!  Most aluminum free deodorants help with smell but don't help with actual sweating - but this one does!  I find that it works just as good as regular deodorant!  I wasn't so sure about the scent at first (I have the vanilla coconut scent) but has grown on me and now I really like it.  It doesn't smell anything like coconut so I think that's why I didn't care for it at first.  Just because it didn't smell like I expected it to.

I also have some songs and a TV show that I've been loving this month!  As far as TV shows, I LOVE Giuliana and Bill!  I've always loved them and I will always love their show!  They seem so real!

The songs I've been loving this month . . . I should warn you - most of these songs are probably also favorites of every middle school girl right now!  Haha!  I can't help it!  I LOVE Justin Bieber's song Boyfriend.  I also LOVE Taylor Swifts Eyes Open!  (I can't believe I'm saying that because until this song I have highly disliked anything related to Taylor Swift)  I also like One Direction's song Beautiful and that new song Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen.

That's pretty much it!  Do any of you have any favorites you would like to share?

Summer Series: Fun Nails!

Remember this picture from my last post?

I already showed you what project I used the nail polish for and today I'll show you what those little Martha Stewart beads are for.  

Have you guys seen the new Caviar Nails trend?  The brand Ciate came up with the concept.  The Ciate Caviar Nails set just became available at Sephora a couple weeks ago.  The set costs $25.00 but you can create this look on your own for $15.00 or less!  A girl on YT suggested using micro beads that you get at craft stores.  (the set I got was $15.00 and I just used nail polish that I already had) And that's where those colorful little Martha Stewart micro beads come into play!

I wanted to use ocean colored beads but I wasn't sure which nail color to use underneath so I swatched a few on a piece of scrap paper.

I ended up going with the one on the far right . . . Revlon's Pure Pearl.

The first little piggy is painted!  Doesn't it remind you of cupcakes?!?

I painted one nail with the polish then took a little handful of the mixed beads and just dropped them on the nail.  Repeat this process until your nail is covered.  Then gently press the beads down onto the nail just to make sure the beads stick pretty well to the polish. Then move onto the next nail.

Ta Da!

I think it turned out really cute!  The girl (MissJenFabulous) from YT did it on her fingernails and said it only lasted for about 3 or 4 days before the beads started to fall off.  I thought it would probably last a little longer on my toes.  Plus, I wasn't really sure I wanted to wear my fingernails like that to work.  Not sure if my boss would like that?!  Haha!  I will let you guys know how long the beads last on my toes.  I put a layer of clear top coat on top as well so that might help it last a little longer.