February was the month of new beginnings for me! I’m so excited for what I have coming up. I won’t share it quite yet, but I’ll share an update in the future. With these life changes, I feel like I’ve started trying new beauty products, an updated gym split, and new foods that I’m excited to share with you.
During February I rediscovered my love for makeup. I use to live and breathe makeup – all day, every day. Then I went through a period when I decluttered a ton of my makeup, including 75% of my lip stick collection. I also cleaned out the majority of my individual eye shadows, except my Makeup Geek and MAC pans that fit into a Z Palette. Personally, I prefer eye shadow palettes for getting ready in the morning for work so that’s what I stick to these days.
With some of the changes going on, I wanted to update my gym split by combining two lift days during the week and adding in an additional day of cardio. My five-day split (quads, back/biceps, chest/triceps, glutes/ham, shoulders) is honestly the best and if you’re an advanced lifter looking to build muscle I highly recommend it. But it can be time consuming, and with spring coming I want to have more flexibility to go outside for cardio or move my lifts around. Now I do shoulders, chest and triceps on the same day, with a few shoulder movements on my quad day. I’ll share my updated gym split after I’ve had a few more weeks to try it out.
Anyways, let’s move along to my 2018 February favorites!
Persona Identity Palette | Recently Jessica Braun was raving about this palette designed by fellow YouTuber Sona Gasparian created for brown eyes. Jessica is one of the few beauty influencers who’s opinions I trust and I almost always enjoy the products she recommends. I happened to be on the hunt for a new eye shadow palette for fun, and easy daily looks for work, and this was perfect! The palette has a great mix of intense shimmers and mattes for blending. This has been perfect for quick looks and I could also see it being great for traveling.
Pixi by Petra MatteLast Liquid Lipsticks | I have a love-hate relationship with matte liquid lipsticks. They’re great for their wear time, they last through most meals, and they have amazing color payoff. However they can also be quite drying and tend to where off in a less than flattering way. These Pixi lipsticks are a great combination of everything I love about liquid lipsticks without being drying. The product dries down completely and stays put for hours at time. I even ate a huge bowl of froyo with Evening Rose on. I own three of the shades – Evening Rose, Petal Pout, and Au Naturelle and recommend all of them. You can purchase Pixi products online and in-stores at Target.
L’Oreal True Match Super Blendable Powder | In the process of shopping my stash, I rediscovered this amazing drugstore powder. This product comes in a variety of shades and in three different undertones, so there’s going to be something for almost everyone. The powder is finely milled, goes on evenly, and sets my foundation perfectly. This pressed powder is just as good as my MAC Minerlize Skinfinish Natural which I only own in my summer shade.
ONE Bars & Muscle Milk Protein Bars | I’ve been on the hunt for a new protein bar to have handy in my purse for busy days. During my search I tried the Maple Glazed Donut and Cinnamon Roll flavors from ONE Bar, and they’re my new favorite. The bars have a nice glaze on top and are the perfect sweet treat. I ended up trying the Muscle Milk bar in Cookies and Cream because my grocery store offered it as a freebie. I also like that both of these bars have under 20 grams of protein, which I prefer since my daily protein goal is on the lower side.
So Delicious French Vanilla Coconut Creamer | After using the seasonal flavor coffee creamers over the holidays, I wanted to swap back to something a little healthier for me. This creamer is dairy-free, has mostly natural ingredients, and also the best macros for the serving size. I usually have one serving per day of this creamer adding in a dash of almond milk if I’m craving a bit more creaminess.
Black Bean Burgers | Instead of going out to eat for Valentine’s Day, Jake and I decided to spend the evening together and make dinner at home. That week I had been craving burgers, but I wasn’t really feeling chicken or turkey so I suggested black bean burgers and he was all about it. I found this recipe on Pinterest and it turned out amazing! I really love the bit of zing that the chilies add to this recipe that I didn’t think of before. If you give this recipe a try, I highly recommend rinsing and thoroughly drying the beans so the mix turns out thicker for easy pattie molding.
Aldi | I’ve officially made the switch to Aldi at the turn of the New Year, and I don’t see myself going back anytime soon. I’m really focusing on creating meal plans and meal preps in advance, buying only the groceries I need, and eating the foods I have at home. If you haven’t seen my blog post that goes in depth on my flexible dieting Aldi grocery list, be sure to check it out!
Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD | This has been the show that I I’ve put on in the background while working on my blog, folding laundry, or cooking dinner.
