[[Random Recent (Photo) Update]]

Hiii Beauties!

I've been doing a lot of product reviews, hauls, etc. and I just wanted to do an easy "what's going on in my life" update. :)

Our nephew Jack turned 1 this month, and we went to his birthday party. It was at the "Pavillion" and it was adorable because there was one room with a full-sized carousel and another room with a giant play place for the kids. Lexi loved it, and she met some new friends. It was really cute.

Lexi and the birthday boy, her cousin Jack.

Lexi and her aunt Asia. :)

Lexi && Me

Lexi and her new friend Olivia

Mike, Jack, and Jenny (Tom's brother, birthday boy, and Tom's sister-in-law)

A few days later it was Lexi's birthday. We did some fun little things with her on her special day but we're going to take her to Chuck-E-Cheese (per her request) this week sometime with the family. We wanted to do it this weekend but unfortunately some of our family caught the stomach flu && we wanted them to be there with us so we decided to wait. :(

Here are some other random photos we took today:

Me just messing around with my phone.

Proud of my "new" figure.

"She got a big booty, so I call her big booty." -- 2 Chainz ;)

My youngest daughter and I just hanging out. :)

01/18/2014

I recently lost more weight and everyone and their mom has been noticing. It's a huge compliment when people comment on it, and it really motivates me to keep going. I guess my squats have been helping too because some random lady the other day said "Girl, you have a black girl booty! Did anyone ever tell you that?!" I started cracking up but once again, it made me feel good about myself. I've lost almost 20 pounds and I'm almost at my goal weight. It was a very gradual weight loss but I'm proud of myself && I did it the healthy way.

What have you been up to lately? Let me know in the comments below. :)

xo, Sarah

Simple Necessit-ease BFF Period Undies Review

A few months back, I was contacted by Grace from Simple Necessit-ease. I was sent a pair of their new BFF Period Undies to review. When I saw the website I was really excited about trying these out because they were such a unique product. I haven't seen any other product like this.

I personally have a very heavy flow, and annoying leaks are a part of it. Unfortunately having a period every month is a part of being a woman, and leaks come with the territory. Sometimes my tampon will fill up too quickly, or my pad will shift and suddenly I look and notice I've leaked through my underwear. Ugh.

Photo taken from necessit-ease.com.

The BFF Period Undies are backup protection for your (dreaded) time of the month. They are made out of a comfy mix of cotton and spandex. I was really surprised at how comfortable these underwear are. I received the bikini brief in black. These undies come in black, nude, baby pink, and light blue. Grace asked my size and sent me a medium. (I'm normally a small in thongs, and a medium in boyshorts/briefs, depending on the brand. I decided to get a medium because I do have a booty and didn't want them to be too small.) Size medium fit me perfectly. They are really soft and have just enough elasticity. A lot of brief style underwear ends up being really tight at the leg openings, but these were perfect and not too tight at all. One of my favorite things about this pair is that they were very breathable.

I had received these a few weeks ago, but obviously had to wait to start my period to test them out. I started my period a few days ago, and decided to try these out immediately. Normally if I wear a tampon, I wear a panty liner as well, because I always end up with a couple dots of blood on my underwear. This time, I just used a tampon and skipped the panty liner. I was really surprised at how well these underwear worked. I did end up having a slight leak, and they did exactly what they promised. The leak did not go through the underwear at all.

Since the BFF Period Undies are machine washable, they were a breeze to clean. I threw them in with other laundry, used my laundry detergent and fabric softener, and used the delicate setting to dry them. When I took them out of the dryer they were back to looking brand new and didn't have one stain on them.

Overall I'm very impressed with my new BFF Period Undies, and give them 5/5 stars. They do exactly what they promise, and I'm excited to add a new product to my arsenal and have extra protection from embarrassing leaks. I'm planning on purchasing more pairs so I have enough to wear them throughout my entire cycle each month. I'm not dreading my period (as much) because leaking is a problem of the past.

You can get your own BFF Period Undies here.

xo, Sarah

Hair Product Haul!!

Happy New Year!!

I hope you all had an amazing New Year. Mine was pretty good. I can't believe it's already 2014!! Time is flying. I feel so old, I'm 25 already. I feel like I was 17 like, last week!

This morning Tom, Lexi, and I went out to breakfast with my aunt Denise (aka aunt Neicey), who is also my dad's twin sister as well as my godmother. We had a really good time and I'm so glad we finally got to see her. It's been way too long.

She came bearing gifts for all of us since we didn't get a chance to see that side of the family for Christmas this year. She also brought me a TON of hair products && a tanning lotion. I was SO surprised (and thankful) at the arsenal of hair products she brought me. I think I legit have enough hair stuff for the next 2 years now. No, seriously!!

Here's some of what she gave me:

Michael O'Rourke (Rock Your Hair) Spray It Hard Big Volume Hair Spray
I've seen this a few times and was always curious about it but I never ended up purchasing it. It doesn't have a crazy strong smell which is awesome and the packaging is f*cking ADORABLE!! It's pretty expensive in the store && it has really great reviews so I can't wait to try it out!! She gave me FIVE BOTTLES!! I'm sure I'll be using this a LOT. Lol.

Moroccan Oil Glimmer Shine Spray

I actually already tried this one and I fell in love with it right away. It's lightweight && still gives your hair a gorgeous shine at the same time. In the store it costs around $30 but it's so worth it. I will more than likely be using this every single day and repurchase it when I run out.

Moroccan Oil Luminous Hair Spray

This is a strong flexible hold hair spray. It has a strong fresh/clean scent that smells really good. This is another expensive hair spray and it also has great reviews. I'm excited to see how well it works!!

V05 Extreme Style Volume Blast Styling Spray

This product doesn't have much of a scent and it feels very light on my hair. It claims that it has a 24 hour hold which is awesome.

White Sands Volumizing Shampoo && Conditioner

I always love trying out new shampoo and conditioner. I rarely buy the same shampoo/conditioner twice in a row. I tend to rotate between my 4 or 5 favorites. These are also pretty pricey. They both smell so good and I'm excited to try them out!!

Sebastian Re-Shaper Strong Hold Hairspray


I've heard really great things about this brand so I'm excited that I get to try this out. This is my favorite smelling hairspray out of the bunch. It just smells so fresh and clean to me! Once again, this is another product that has amazing reviews.

Ed Hardy Billionaire Bronzer Tanning Lotion

I haven't had a chance to use this yet but next time I go tanning I definitely will. It smells really good, more like a perfume than a tanning lotion. I have a feeling I'm going to be really impressed by this tanning lotion.

My aunt also gave me a few other shampoos/conditioners but they're already in the shower. I didn't get a chance to take pictures of them earlier. I'm so thankful for all of the awesome things I got from her today. If you want me to a review on any of these products, let me know. I'd be more than happy to!!

Have you ever used any of these products? Are you interested in trying any of these products? If so, which one(s)? Let me know in the comments below!!

xo, Sarah

Nails of the Week -- 12/29/13 "Snow Sparkle"

 Happy Holidays everyone!!

I hope you all had a great Christmas (or whatever you celebrate)!! Mine was pretty good. I'll have a separate blog post up about that soon. :) Christmas is my favorite holiday and I love decorating and being festive. One of the ways I like to express my holiday spirit is through my nails. I wanted to show you all what I did with my nails this week.

I wasn't sure what to title this post because even though I do paint my nails every week (at least once a week), I don't always post photos of them. I should probably start doing this more. Ahhh, the life of a procrastinator. Lol. :)

Anyway, I got really bored yesterday and decided to do something different with my nails. After re-doing each thumb nail about 4x, I finally got them as close as they were going to get to looking presentable.

My sparkle snowflake nails...

A closer look...

Products used:

Rimmel London 60 Second Top Coat --210 Mintilicious

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri -- Clearly Quick

Sally Hansen French Manicure -- 1 Natural White

Essie Multi Dimension Top Coat -- Set In Stones

How I Did It:

1.) First, I used 2 coats of "Mintilicious" as a base for all of my nails.

2.) Next, I added "Set In Stones" to my two ring finger nails.

3.) After that, I concentrated on my thumb nails. I used "Natural White" to draw a few small snowflakes on both nails. The brush that comes with this polish is really slim so it made it easier to make the snowflakes. It still took a few tries though before they looked good enough for me. Lol. When I was done putting the snowflakes on my nails, I used the same polish and same brush to draw small dots around the snowflakes.

4.) Lastly, as always, I used "Clearly Quick" as a top coat over all of my nails. I never paint my nails without using this because it makes them dry to the touch within 90 seconds and completely dry within a few minutes. It also helps seal the color and makes polish last longer. This is one of my favorite top coats.

Have you used any of these polishes? Did you do anything special to your nails for the holidays? Let me know in the comments below. :)

xo, Sarah

SAMMYdress

I came across another website that I thought was blog worthy. I've seen it before but never really looked through all of the merchandise thoroughly until now. SAMMYdress.com offers both women's and men's clothing, jewelry, bags, shoes, lingerie, watches, beauty products, accessories, toys, home products, and so much more. I was really surprised at how much stuff they sell-- you can find almost anything on the website!! The best part is that their prices are so inexpensive!!

Here are some of my favorite things that I came across while browsing SAMMYdress:

Leopard Print Embellished T-Shirt

Leopard Print Embellished T-Shirt

Black Knitted Dress

Black Knitted Dress

Snowflake Pattern Leggings

Snowflake Pattern Leggings

7 Piece Knuckle Ring Set

7 Piece Knuckle Ring Set

Wall Sticker Decal

Wall Sticker Decal

There is so much more stuff that I want from this website, but I just wanted to show you a few things on my SAMMYdress wish list. Check out the website for yourself, it'll be worth your while. :)

xo, Sarah

[[DISCLAIMER]]: This is a sponsored post BUT all of the things written in this post are true && are my honest opinions. If I don't like a product or site, I won't post it at all or I will let you know what I don't like about it.

Casual OOTD-- 12/13/2013

I just wanted to do a quick OOTD since I haven't done one in a while. So let's do this. ;)

Sweatshirt-- Victoria's Secret PINK

Jeans-- Charlotte Russe
Scarf-- Wet Seal
Gloves-- Wet Seal

(I had on black knee high American Eagle boots with gray/white fur but I forgot to put them back on before I took these pictures. Duhhh?! Lol.)

Ignore the crazy red eyes. The flash was bright && I did the editing on my phone so I couldn't fix it. :-/

(Back view of the sweatshirt.)

Scarf -- Wet Seal

Metallic Chain Headband -- Burlington Coat Factory

Bangle Bracelet -- Gift

Leaf Ear Cuff Set -- Razzle Dazzle Me Jewelry

Midi Ring -- Razzle Dazzle Me Jewelry

Double Heart Ring -- Amazon

Pink Bow Ring -- Forever 21

This took FOREVER to post. Sorry for the delay. Hope you liked it!!

xo, Sarah

New Victoria's Secret Leggings

Over the weekend my fiance, daughter && I went to Woodfield Mall. I love Woodfield because it's huge (one of the most popular malls in the country) && I know it like the back of my hand. ;) (I can thank my shopping obsession for that.) I had some gift cards to spend from my birthday && Tom wanted to look at some hoodies && new shoes at Champs. I only ended up using one of my gift cards && holding onto the rest.

The first store we went into and the only store I ended up making a purchase from was Victoria's Secret Pink. It's definitely one of my favorite stores && I have to show extreme restraint to not make a purchase there every time I go in. Lol. I can't help it!! Everything in that store is either pink, sparkly, leopard print, etc. && those are some of my favorite things.

Anyway, after browsing the store for a while I decided to try on some leggings I found. I always do the hand test with leggings before I even think about buying them. If I can see my hand through them I won't buy them. The leggings I picked up are super thick and when I tried them on they were SO comfy. The material was soft, thick, and you could tell that the leggings were made with high quality materials. Usually I'm not impressed enough by basic leggings to write a blog post about them but these are the highest quality leggings I've ever owned and I know how hard it can be to find GOOD, quality leggings. I wanted to share with you guys in case you were looking for some.

Price wise they're pretty expensive. As you can see, they are basic black leggings with shiny metallic detailing down the sides. Normally I wouldn't pay $24.50 for leggings but they're a staple piece that you can wear all year long. It's a small investment-- you get what you pay for. These are the type of leggings that you can wear as pants && get away with it. It really drives me crazy when girls wear see through leggings as pants. No one wants to see your entire ass lol. Let me take that back--no other woman wants to see that. The leggings I bought are completely solid and worth every penny.

If you're looking for high quality, comfortable && cute leggings, I highly suggest you go check out the leggings at Victoria's Secret PINK. You'll thank me later. ;)

xo, Sarah

sheinside.com wishlist!!

I recently discovered a new website that I absolutely fell in love with called sheinside.com. This website is my style to a T. Here are the things that I'm dyingggg for right now:

Sweatshirts and Hoodies

1.) Sequined Sweatshirt

2.) Minnie Hooded Sweatshirt

3.) Nobody Knows Leopard Sweatshirt (Favorite!!!!!)

4.) Pink Gradient Sweatshirt

5.) Bat Print Sweatshirt

Leggings

1.) Cross Print Leggings

2.) Black Side Contrast Leggings

3.) Purple Galaxy Leggings

4.) Sequined Star Leggings

5.) Leopard Elastic Leggings

Accessories

1.) Gold Crown Ring

2.) Gold Bead Multilayer Chain Necklace

3.) Green Drop Gemstone Necklace

4.) Chain Rhinestone Antique Ring

5.) Gold Rivet Black Leather Bracelet

6.) Gold Diamond Bow Earring

7.) Black Clutch Crossbody Bag

There were sooo many things on the website that I saw and instantly adored. I can't wait to purchase some of the things off of my wishlist. Tomorrow is my birthday and Christmas is this month so hopefully I'll be receiving some of these items soon. :)

What are your favorite items from my wishlist? Have you ever shopped at sheinside.com?

xo, Sarah