Nerium Trial

A friend gave me a bottle of the Nerium day and night cream to try for a week. Nerium is derived from the Nerium Olieander plant and from what I can tell from a little googling is that the scientist behind it thought they could use the plant to fight cancer as it is a toxic plant. It couldnt, BUT they found it had some anti-aging properties. For better info you can contact my friends Heather Tichelaar heathertichelaar@gmail.com and just to clarify Heather asked me if I’d be interested in trying a sample, she did not ask me to review.

Please don’t judge my makeup free, un-photoshoped pics, that wouldn’t be nice. The before pics are ones where I look naked, you’re welcome.

You leave your face damp after washing it at night and then use four pumps of the night cream all over your face neck and chest, rub any leftovers onto the back of your hands. The night cream feels like a face mask drying, kind of tightening. Then it dries and feels very hydrating.

The day cream seems pretty regular…and I was disappointed to learn that it doesn’t have any SPF in it. So in addition to the day cream you’re going to have to add a sunscreen on top. I at least feel like the best thing I can do for skin is to wear sunscreen. My friend did explain that Nerium left the SPF out because some people are sensitive to it, I suppose this is just a point of preference.

I don’t have problem skin, It’s really neither oily or dry and I only really break out during my period. I have a few wrinkles on my forehead that I don’t mind, but would love to take better care of my skin to keep it looking young. You can see in the above pics that I have a red dot on cheek (right below those lovely dark circles), my dermatologist had a fancy name for it, but basically its a tiny red mole. I will say it appeared slightly less noticeable after a week of the Nerium.

Overall I’d say that I liked the night cream, my skin felt hydrated and smooth. The day cream didn’t seem to be any different that anything else I’ve used. I feel like the things Nerium claims to do are for people trying to reverse the aging process and I’m just not there yet. My mom took samples to Florida and will be using them for the next 10 days and I will post her pics in the next week or so to see what her results look like.

Again, you can see more facts on Nerium at http://www.tichelaar.nerium.com This is just my personal experience with Nerium.

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Pumpkin Spice No Bake Cookies

If you know me then you know I can’t bake very well. My chocolate chip cookies usually bake and run into one giant cookie or they puff up like muffin tops. They taste delicious! I’m just not one to ‘follow a recipe’ or ‘measure very accurately’ or ‘remember to set a timer’. You would think I’d have found no bake cookies a lot sooner if life, but this was my first attempt and I will be making them again! I made a double batch and handed them out to neighbors, you don’t have to, but it would be really sweet of you and you’d probably earn some good karma points.

Here is the Recipe- adapted from onceamonthmeals.com (they use pumpkin pie spice, I made my own)

3/4 of a stick of butter

1 1/2 Cups sugar (I used Sugar in the Raw)

1/2 cup brown sugar

2/3 Cup Milk (feel free to try almond milk etc, I used whole)

1 box (3.4 oz) Instant pumpkin spice pudding mix

3 1/2 cups quick cooking oats

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice ( OR 3 dashes cinnamon, 1.5 dashes ground cloves, 1 pinch fresh ground nutmeg, 1 dash ground ginger) No I don’t know what a dash is, I eye ball it until it all looked to be about a teaspoon and go heaviest on the cinnamon)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Melt butter in a sauce pan and add sugars and milk. Bring to a boil and then let boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add pudding, spice, vanilla. Stir to combine and then pour over oats (you can add your oats to your sauce pan, but as I said I did a double batch and needed a larger bowl). Take a spoonful and drop onto wax or parchment paper. Let cool, or place in refrigerator for instant gratification.

Reviews:

Lulu (4) “Mom, this is the best cookie ever.”

Addy (8) “Mmmmm, can I have one in my lunch tomorrow?”

Wyatt (1) Ate a few bites then used his hair as a napkin to wipe off the stickiness.

I personally found them a bit sweet, but I tend to go for savory over sweet unless I’m PMSing.

Thanks for reading and please leave me a review once you make your own!

xo Kate

Bloom the Workshop

I had a hard time sleeping last Wednesday night in anticipation for Bloom the Workshop. Whats Bloom you ask? Just two amazing girls who collaborate together perfectly and want to share their skills it took years to hone to all us novices out there.

Michaela and Ashley, friends through blogging, set up amazing workshops across the country teaching Blogging, Photography, and Interior Design. Not to mention its just an amazing day of networking, socializing with like minded individuals, beautiful scenery and amazing treats.

Here is the back drop, Hydrangea Blu Barn in Rockford, MI. www.hydrangeablubarn.com Check it out if you are looking for a wedding venue in Michigan. Easy to access and beautiful grounds.

Inside that adorable barn, I spent an entire day absorbing all I could about blogging, I realize my blog does not show how unbelievable Michaela and Ashley are, but let’s not hold that against them, shall we?

This is the amazing tablescape Michaela walked us through, let’s just say after this my kids could not figure out why mommy was making our dinner table so “fancy”. I’d insert a pic of my attempts, but I’m waiting for my gold utensils to arrive….

And this is a pic I took on my iphone while Ashley taught a photography section. I have since purchased a camera, but at the time you make do with what you have, I didn’t think it turned out too badly…but to be fair, I’m no photographer.

An inside look at the barn, and a chandelier that one day will reside in my home.

We went home with a incredibly well thought out and generous swag bag, but my favorite item was my coffee mug. Not only did it keep my hands warm until the barn warmed up a bit, but it really summed up the day for me.

Please take minute to check out

  www.michaelanoelledesigns.com

www.ashleyslaterphotography.com

http://www.bloomtheworkshop.com

And if you live in the Atlanta area they are coming to a venue near you!!!

Ode to Target

I had an hour to kill why my girls were at gymnastics, so Wyman and I decided to hit up Target. He’s 1…He had no choice but to join, but I like to think of him as my partner in crime.

I’ve mentioned my love of a good deal and here are the two deals I went home with today:

Threshold Target Pillow Sham

Two new pillow shams: Threshold $5.98 a piece

Threshold Target

Reversible Threshold Target Pillow Sham

The shams I had on these pillows were the identical color gray of our bedding, and I just felt like it was time to change it up, a little ‘Fall Freshening’ if you will. My Husband and I have been discussing new bedding, but we never agree on anything. Why wouldn’t a man want to sleep on some beautiful cream and pink flowers every night? I’ll never know. So this is what I have for now, but I don’t like being matchy matchy, and I feel like these shams will be a great base for whatever duvet/comforter/quilt comes into our lives next.

Oh and Yes, my walls are basically black. You’ll also notice that I didn’t show anymore of our room, basically our walls are bare still. I have some paintings/pictures up, but nothing feels just right yet. For another day, as with most things in my life I concur them day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute…you get the idea. I wait for the mood to strike.

To thank little man for tagging along today, he didn’t go home empty handed.

Target Rug $13.48

He got a rug…as you do.

Until life’s next adventure,

Kate

Welcome!

Welcome to My Blog

I’m a stay at home mom to 3 kids, Addy 8, Lulu 4, and Wyatt 1.

I love running and hot yoga, I do boot camp out of necessity not because I love it. I enjoy cooking, until I don’t enjoy it anymore and would rather just eat cereal. I love finding good deals 🙂 More than anything I love my life and my family, all the crazy imperfections that come along with it. I also have a love of other peoples blogs and the connections being made through them. Finding people in the same walk of life, and living vicariously through others whose lives look nothing like my own. Thanks for coming along on my Journey.
XO,
Kate