I know today is technically My Meals Monday but it's also the first of June which means it's time for me to announce the winners of the June Giveaway!!! So Kriesten Paige and Sarah Baker you are now the proud owners of a Hello Hair, Hair Mask, I have already messaged you via the youtube messaging center so look for that.
So now for July's giveaway...2 of you amazing people will be winning a Benefit BrowZings, this will be shipped directly from the company as they do have 3 shades to choose from.
I recently purchased the Bondi Sands Fake Tan in Dark and thought with summer on the way this is the perfect time to do a review for you guys...So lets jump in!
In this collage you can see my legs taken before (which I'm so embarrassed of my flip flop tan lines lol), during and after the tan, you can see that it gives a nice beach glow, versus the ever dreaded ''orange-fake tan glow", which in my opinion is a major plus, I never want to look like an umpaloompa (or how ever you spell that).
The next positive thing is the scent, this smells like coconut which to me is a huge plus because most fake tan smells horrible and my husband makes me sleep in the guest room when I use it lol, also the shipping was so fast, I ordered this and received it in 5 days, in fact the shipping was so fast that I had actually already used the fake tan and it was already starting to fade, when the company sent me an email with the tracking number!
Now for the bad...There actually isn't a lot of bad but I feel like the blend-ability is lacking a little something, it felt almost like it was too much work to blend it into my skin verses say the SiennaX, but to be far Bondi Sands is a mousse and SiennaX is a liquid, but I still felt like it would have been nice if I didn't have to work so hard to get it blended into my skin, the other issue I had was with the tanning mitt, it was around $10 and yet after 4 pumps of the mousse it was already bleeding through the mitt onto my hand which completely voids the point of using a tanning mitt.
After I used the tanner 2x (I did it every 7 days) I then let it fade completely to see if it would get blotchy, and it did get a little bit blotchy but nothing too bad except on my forearm, which Don says thats because it was like the underbelly of a fish (because I was so white lol).
In the end I would say get this fake tanner especially if you are new to fake tan, the only thing I would do is using a cheap foundation brush blend it into your hairline (you don't want to be one of those people walking around with the "orange-halo" because they didn't blend their tan correctly), as well as use it to blend the tanner into your skin on your wrists, fingers, knees, ankles, and toes.
If you would like to see the video for this you can find it here...
Awhile ago a subscriber asked if I could let you guys choose the Monthly Giveaway items, I asked you guys if thats what you wanted and the majority said yes, so we are trying this out for the month of June to see if this works out well. Here is the June Giveaway options, please feel free to research them before voting, but make sure you get your vote in by Saturday as I will be announcing on June 1, 2015.
I purchased Kayla Itsines BBG about 6 months ago and then never did anything with it, actually thats a lie I did 2 of the workouts and that was it, so I decided I am completely dedicating myself to this guide in the hopes that after I complete the full 16 weeks (4 weeks of pre-training and 12 weeks of full on training), of this guide I will be ready for my Caribbean island hoping vacation!!! So that means for the next 16 weeks Workout Wednesday is going to be completely dedicated to Kayla Itsines BBG, after that I would like to purchase her second guide that carries you through another 12-16 weeks, but lets finish this one first. Part of the BBG is taking progress pictures so I will be posting a new progress collage every week, and it will include all of the previous weeks as well so they are there for comparison. Before you look at my picture please understand how incredibly difficult this is for me to post, not only am I at the heaviest I have ever been, but because of my many issues with my knees there was very little I could do about, but now that I am 100% cleared by my doctors I am hitting this full throttle, so here is my "Before" picture. Also just a quick note this is my "Goal Bikini" for my vacation do thats why I am using it for my pictures.
I had just got out of the shower so thats why my upper back looks wet.
When I did the workout it was supposed to be circuit 1 rest 30 seconds, circuit 2 rest 30 seconds, and then repeat, well sadly I am so out of shape that I actually completed circuit 1 and circuit 2 and thought I was dying and couldn't go on, so I wasn't able to get the full workout in but I'm glad I was able to do atlas half.
I also did not have bench to step up on so I just used a step stool, it's not ideal but it's better than nothing.
Here is my week 1 of PreTraining if your looking for a little bit of a laugh hahaha.
For todays Tutorial Tuesday we are doing the worlds easiest waves, it is so simple and takes a total of ten minutes which means you get a few extra minutes in bed each morning.
For this you need a hair scrunchy (like full on 90's style no rubber bands here), and TRESemme 24 hour body Mousse. With your hair damp massage mousse from root to end through hair, then twist up into a messy bun and allow to dry (overnight is how I do this), the next morning take it down, gently brush it through and bam you have super easy and natural looking waves.
Today's My Meals Monday is completely different from all of my others, (I thought you may be getting tired of all the oatmeal hehehe).
So I started my day off with 1 poached egg (I still can't get them all round and cute, what am I doing wrong?), 2 slices of grilled bacon cooked on the George Forman so all the grease came off, 1 slice of toast with strawberry jam and cream cheese, my coffee and water.
Then after completing the gym I got a cookie and a coffee from Starbucks, i did get a smoothie too but I gave it to Don as I forgot to get him something oops!
For my snack I tried to have a beautiful nectarine but when I bit into it it was so green and gross I threw it out.
For dinner I had chicken baked in a bag, and my own mashed cauliflower recipe that is so good its better than mashed potatoes, and yes I will be doing a video on this bad boy!
As you guys know I post a main channel video, a daily vlog, and now Im posting gaming videos daily, I would love it if you could take the time to vote on this quick poll to let me know the best time to upload my videos, what ever time has the most votes by the end of this week will become my new upload time for all my videos.
I know I did an Old Navy Haul just a few weeks ago, but here in the US its is Memorial Day weekend so I hit up the Old Navy sale and got some little goodies I thought I would share with you guys. You're probably starting to realize that Old Navy is like my favorite store ever, simply because they have such a range of clothes from super loungie to super business like, and its all for a half way decent price.
For myself I got a San Fransisco Giants Racer-Back, Cuffed Sweats, Black Skinny Jeans, and a pair of Blue Skinny Jeans (not Pictured). For Matthew I got an Ornage Sweatshirt, Black Skinny Jeans, an Orange Ombred Top, and lastly 2 baseball hats. For Sophia my little diva I got her a knotted Tank and Lacy White Shorts.
Just because we all love a little diva here are a few pictures of Sophia....
I feel like she looks like Elvis in this picture!
Every girls gotta have her gym gear!
Her Christmas Style!
Her Spring-fling look!
If you would like to see the video for this haul you can find it here...
As you guys know I have rejoined 24 hour fitness, and I have been hitting the gym hard this week, even though it's only Wednesday I have been to the gym 4 times on 3 days, (I told ya I was going hard lol), because I have been going so much my body is really starting to feel it so I thought I would do a post on what I do to help ease the "back to the gym for the first time in months pain"!
The first thing I do after I work out is take a hot shower, not only do I do this because lets face I stink from being in the gym, but also because the heat really allows your muscles to loosen up and relax from all the work they have been doing.
The next thing I do is pop 3 ibuprofen, I use ibuprofen because thats what my doctors gave me for my knees as it's an anti-inflammatory , but feel free to use what you like. I only do this on days that I can actually feel significant pain from working out, as I don't want to over use ibuprofen because I don't want to build up any kind of tolerance to it since I need it to work on knees at times.
The next step is to drink lots of water, when you sweat in the gym you need to replace that water loss or you can get cramps from being dehydrated so I drink pure water no soda, teas, gatorade, or any other "sports drinks" as they have too much sugar, just good old fashioned water will do the trick.
You also want to take 5 minutes 2 times a day and stretch, even though its just a quick 5 minute stretch it really helps your body and the pain you feel when you stretch to allow any tension you are feeling to work its way out.
And finally pull out that foam roller, this is the most painful thing you will ever feel aside from giving birth, it looks and sounds so easy but let me tell you its not, you are literally rolling your body back and forth on this foam roller (its hard as hell though) and it is working every single knot, sore muscle, and tension.
If you would like to see my foam roller and the video for this you can find it here...and here is todays Daily Vlog
About a week ago I posted the above picture on Instagram,Facebook, and Twitter, and within minutes my twitter was blowing up asking how I made them, I then asked what video you would like to see for Tutorial Tuesday and you also said "the cupcake video", so here we go...
The recipe I used is from my favorite cupcake book Martha Stewart's Cupcakes, and the recipe is Tiramisu Cupcakes (page 38), and here is what you need for this recipe:
1 1/4 Cup Flour
3/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Coarse Salt
1/4 Cup Milk
1 Vanilla Bean, halved and seeds scraped out
4 Tablespoons Butter Chopped
3 large eggs plus 3 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
Coffee-Rum Syrup (in the book she used Marsala wine but it didn't have enough flavor so I switched to Meyers Dark Rum, also the alcohol in this is completely optional)
1/3 cups plus 1 Tablespoon fresh espresso
2 ounces Meyers Dark Rum
1/4 cup Sugar
Mascarpone Frosting
1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
8 ounces Mascarpone Cheese
1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
Unsweetened Cocoa Powder For Dusting
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F, line your muffin pan with cupcake liners and set aside. Mix together Flour, Baking Powder, and Salt, then set aside. In a small sauce pan add the Milk, Vanilla Bean Pod & Seeds heat just until little bubbles form on the edge of the pan, then remove from heat and whisk in butter until melted, then let stand for 15 minutes.
With an electric mixer mix all the eggs and sugar until completely combined, then set the bowl over simmering water, then whisk by hand until the sugar is completely combined and the eggs are fluffy and thick but not like custard.
Remove the vanilla bean pod and adding the Milk and Flour in 1/3 amounts at a time, GENTLY FOLD into the egg mixture DO NOT STIR THIS MIXTURE, if you do it will cause your egg mixture to collapse and your cake won't be sponge like. After everything is completely combined spoon into your muffin pan and cook for about 20 minutes (until done).
While that cooks make your espresso-rum mixture combine all ingredients into a small bowl and stir, you want to make sure that the sugar doesn't sink down to the bottom of the bowl, it needs to be completely dissolved.
After your cupcakes are done allow them to cool in the pan, once cool take a small hole out of the center of the cupcake, I used an icing tip to twist the center out. Once all of your cupcakes have their holes in them pour a small amount of the Espresso-Rum mixture and swirl then brush the top of the cupcake and allow about 15 minutes for it to completely absorb.
Whiles that is setting its time to make the frosting, the first this we are going to do is mix the powdered sugar and the Mascarpone together, then whip the heavy cream until it forms stiff peaks, DO NOT OVER WHIP! After your cream is whipped mix in the Mascarpone mixture.
Now its time to frost your cupcakes, I choose to use a piping bag as it is a little messing using just a spatula, but first fill your holes, you want them to be so filled they are ever so slightly overfilled, then go over the tops of each cupcake. Finally dust over the cocoa powder, the easiest way to do this is line the cupcakes up on a cutting board or parchment paper and sprinkle over all the cupcakes at one.
And your ready to enjoy your cupcakes! If you make this cupcakes post a picture using #KatieBeeBaking so I can see your amazing baking skills.
This week I am trying to focus on eating healthy and making sure I get enough water, whilst also going to the gym daily.
So I started my morning off with a coffee and a 6 ounce glass of water, I have changed this from my normal 10 ounce so that I can get through my morning workout without taking a bathroom break :)
For breakfast this morning I had my usual oatmeal but lately I've been livin a bit crazy (for me anyways), and I add a little sprinkle of Pumpkin Pie Spice, this does not contain any sugar just some yummy flavors for my boring oatmeal.
For lunch I had my leftover calamari steak and grilled vegetables, this is so yummy I wish I could eat it every day but at $32 a pop, once a month will have to do.
For dinner I had an organic grass fed steak with black truffle butter, which really adds so much flavor, with a cucumber-tomato salad.
And lastly I had a slice of rhubarb pie, my store got this for the first time in 10 years, sadly they will not be getting it again because the rhubarb didn't sell because most people here don't know what to use it for as it is not something that can grow here in Hawaii because it is too warm.
The other day I was in my local drugstore buying my beloved Aussie Miracle Moist shampoo and conditioner, when I spotted the Aussie 7N1 Dry Shampoo, I instantly bought it and couldn't wait to try it. After using it I was devastated to realize this is a product that I would never be purchasing again...
The first thing I noticed about this Dry Shampoo was the scent, the bottle claims its a very pleasing scent but to me it actually smells like cherry cough syrup, which is not something I enjoy when I'm sick let alone walking around smelling like.
Then after spraying the product in my hair I learned there would be an even bigger reason to never purchase this again, it literally made my hair feel hard and I was unable to even run my fingers through my hair let alone try and actually work the product into my roots. In fact my hair was so hard and I was struggling to run my brush through my hair so much that I grabbed the bottle and read the label again just to make sure I didn't accidentally buy hairspray (and yes I did shake the bottle before using).
After using the product and finally getting it worked into my hair I noticed that my hair looked really dull and felt really straw like, which is not normal for my hair and that I think has to do with what they called the Matte finish, which I was hoping was going to be something really cool like matte nail polish but unfortunately it means it makes your hair look and feel dry and damaged.
Writing this review was actually really difficult for me as I am a HUGE Aussie fan and I use their products on a regular bases, in fact I would go as far as to say they are my favorite hair care brand, but I have always strived to give 100% honest reviews, so while I will not be purchasing the Aussie Dry Shampoo again I will continue to use my shampoo and conditioner.
I happened to be Vlogging the day that I used this so i inserted that clip into my video review which you can see here.
When I turned 18 I joined 24 HR Fitness and went everyday, then when Don and I moved back to California there wasn't a local 24 Hr Fitness and so I no longer went to the gym...Fast foreword 2 years and we returned to Hawaii, by this time I had gain 20 pounds and was unhappy with the way I looked. Don and I started going to the little gym that my complex had but it wasn't quite enough for me...Then we again moved back to California in 2008 (Don is in real estate and that is were his whole business is located), I decided then to join Sun Oaks Tennis and Fitness, it was AMAZING, not only is the gym the best one I ever joined as it has 1 lap pool, a normal pool, around 5 outdoor tennis courts, 4 indoor tennis courts, 3 racquet ball courts, a cardio room, a weights room, classes up the wazoo (pilates, yoga, spin, zumba...), and daycare, but the people that work there were the kindest most supportive people I have ever met. I went to this gym daily for a year and was finally had my body back to where I wanted it. Then we again moved back to Hawaii, and started going back to our little depressed complex gym, in this gym the only thing available to me is a treadmill and elliptical, so after a year of going I had gained the 20 pounds back, and so began my long road of yoyo dieting and exercising, I tried everything Atkins, the zone, Jillian Michael's, T25, nothing seemed to be a long term fix for.
Last week I told you guys I had rejoined 24 HR Fitness, this I feel like is the best fit for me, (and not because 24 HR Fitness is so amazing my local one is literally just cardio and weights), I have proven through past history I am a gym bunny, I excel at my fitness goals when I have access to a well equipped gym, and cannot be trusted to workout from home.
So now is a good time to ask yourself: Should I join a gym?
If you can commit an hour a day and hold yourself accountable enough to get yourself there everyday, I would highly recommend a gym, if however you are a total superhuman with the ability to consistently workout at home (I'm super jealous of you BTW), then continue on your path and best of luck.
What ever you decided it comes down to being honest with yourself, I had to face a hard truth a few weeks ago, I had to come to terms with the fact that I have allowed myself to go from being incredibly happy with myself and my life to being disgusted by my own reflection and doubting everything I do in my life, and I allowed this to happen in just 5 short years. So that is why I am making a commitment to myself, to go to the gym everyday, to focus on doing things that make me happy, and to remember that I am blessed to live the life I lead and to remember that only I am responsible for my happiness.
Last week we did part 1 of this look, part 1 is vital to getting that dewy summer look so if you haven't read last weeks post please read it now.
After you have finished your skin care and allowed it to set for 20-30 minutes (I would suggest doing your hair in this time), then you get to do your makeup!
I am starting off with the ELF Corrective Concealer, the green one, because I have a misquote bite under my eye that is very red and green cancels out red, I'm choosing to do this just to the eye that has the bite which as a makeup artist goes against what i believe in (what you do to one side you must do to the other), but this is a summer dewy look and if you layer too many products it can get thick and caky which is not what we are going for.
Next up we have the Maybelline Dream Lumi Concealer, this is great for highlighting and concealing at once but don't go too crazy with it because it is a highlighting concealer so if you apply too mic you get that white triangle under your eyes.
Then I used my L'Oreal Lumi Foundation, (I added a drop of Illimasqua Rich Liquid Foundation because my L'Oreal is a bit too light for me right now), and first tapped it lightly into my skin, then I went back over my entire face buffing it in to make sure I got it nice and blended. Please remember to take this down your neck and over your ears, I cannot tell you how many times I have seen people walking around with mismatched ears and necks :)
After doing my foundation I always do my brows, I like to move from top to bottom on my face, I am using the Benefit Browzings in medium, this has to be my favorite brow product of all time, it has the wax and the powder and both look very natural.
Now I am using my Naked 2 palette starting off with Foxy, we are taking this from lid to brow bone, this is going to set the concealer we used and prime our eyes.
Then use Bootycall and take this over your brow bone and down into your inner corner tear duct area.
Then use Half Baked and apply this all over your lid, do not put it over the Bootycall that we just used but make sure that you blended it into the Bootycall or you will have a line where they meet.
Then we are using the color Tease in our crease to create extra dimension to our eyes and get a little bit of the smokey effect.
Then use Blackout really finely along your top lash line, we want this to add depth and warmth without looking too dramatic.
Then use Snakebite and lightly run it under your bottom lash line, this also adds depth and warm but because it a bronze-brown color its not heavy and dramatic.
Then using Rimmel Natural Bronzer in 027 Sun Dance I'm taking this over my Cheekbones, forehead, temples, jawbone, and down my neck. This bronzer is really great as it has shimmer in it but not too much so it's doesn't look over done.
Now I'm using Maybelline Blush Stick in 10 Just Pinched Pink, this is a great blush but it is very pigmented and highlighted so only do two light swipes on the apple of your cheeks then blend up toward your temples. As this is so highlighted I would not recommend using any other additional highlighter.
Now I'm using Rimmel Airy Fairy, (Anna SacconeJoly talked about this so much I had to have it, and now I totally see why its the perfect shade!).
And finally I am applying Revlon Lipgloss in Peony over the center of my lips to give them the illusion of being fuller.
I would love to see pictures of you guys after you complete this look so tag me on Instagram,Facebook, or Twitter, or leave me a link below!
Today ended up being a super crazy day for me and unfortunately my food intake suffered, I tried to make the best choices possible for my current hectic day.
I started my day out with my normal iced water and coffee, the only difference was that made an iced coffee rather than a hot coffee as it is now summer in Hawaii.
As mentioned before I had a super crazy day so I mad Lox which is just Smoked Salmon with cream cheese on a bagel but mine was on toast as I didn't have any bagels in the house.
At Costco the other day I saw these 130 calorie cups of Cranberry Almond Chicken Salad, I will say it was filling and I did like all the different things in it, but (and this is coming from someone who likes almonds), this thing had way too many almonds in it, and they needed to be chopped more as they take your teeth off guard when you think your biting chicken and its an almond :)
All of the sudden it was 2:30 and I missed lunch so I chopped 1 Large tomato, and 1 whole cucumber I then had it with baba ghannouj that my neighbor from Egypt made me, it is grilled eggplant, tahini, garlic, and olive oil, it is literally the most amazing thing ever!!!
For dinner I had a steak as when I was at Costco I purchased a pack of Filet Mignon, and Don doesn't eat red meat so I had to eat it all by myself which was fine, until it was day 4 of steaks lol, this has a black truffle butter on the top that adds so much amazing flavor.
That is everything I had today, I would love to know what you guys ate!
I went to Ross and Old Navy to pick up a few things to add to my Summer wardrobe, below are pictures of everything I got sadly one of the pairs of shorts I was actually wearing so I had to take an awkward selfie so you can see them.
