Frosty Voxbox review

Hello! Today I will be sharing my first Voxbox! I was excited to be picked for the Frosty Voxbox and was happy to see it was filled with some fun items!

 

 I already use McCormick brand spices and am pleased with them. I have used the thyme in several recipes already (calzones, herb blend for my Christmas turkey, and chicken pot pie.). The thyme has a good, strong flavor and I would definitely recommend this!

 I was happy to find a hairbrush in my Voxbox because I really needed a new hairbrush! I had never heard of the Ecotools brand before, so this was my first experience trying one of their products. I actually really like the brush! The shape of the brush and the spacing of the bristles help it to not snag or pull my hair. I would definitely recommend this brush!

I have tried the Rimmel London makeup remover and it's okay. I will have the full review next week.

Review coming soon!

I'm not sure if I will try this, since I really do not have a need for any anti-aging products.

 Full review coming next week.

This NYC lip color isn't a color I would have typically picked out for myself; but I like it. It's pretty close to my natural lip color, so it isn't too bold. I would definitely buy lipstick from this brand. 

I really did not like these Fruit Vines. I like the traditional Red Vines, but these fruit ones were terrible. They were so sticky and stick to your teeth really bad! I shared them with my family (without saying if I liked them or not) and no one cared for them. I definitely would not purchase these myself.

Overall, I am pretty happy with my first Voxbox, and I hope I am picked for another one again soon!

I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes in exchange for an honest review. All reviews and opinions are my own.

Five for Friday

Hello again! I'm going to do things a little differently today, I'm going to post 5 things I hope to change/start/do differently this year. Since it's the beginning of a new year and all!

1. I really want to branch out more in my photography. I want to try new things and take more pictures!

2. I hope to do some more traveling this year. There are so many places I want to go and things I want to see, I hope I will be able to see some new places this year!

3. I really hope to grow my blog more this year! 

4. I also want to be better about planning and scheduling posts. I always start posts and then end up finishing them late the night before I need to post it.

5. Lastly, I would like to get better at French. I have been taking it for a little while now, and I would like to be able to have an actual conversation in French! Luckily I have a brother who speaks French fluently, so I have someone to help me with it.

And for the record, I don't think you have to wait until the beginning of the year to do new/different things, I have already been working on most of these, I just thought I would post them to share what I want to do.

So, do you have any goals or resolutions for the new year?

Goodbye 2014

Well, it's hard to believe that 2014 is coming to an end. To be honest, I am grateful this year is just about over. This year has been kind of frustrating. Most of the year was pretty uneventful, there were a few high points, but it's hard not to focus on the lows. We did get to do a little traveling, such as going to Salt Lake City a couple of times, we went to Seattle, visited my grandparents in Washington, and my brother and I also got to go to San Francisco, which was pretty awesome!

My aunt and cousins came and visited this past summer, which was really fun too!

Anyways, here's to 2015, which will (hopefully!) be a much better year!

Christmas

Hello everyone! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! The night before Christmas we were surprised to find it was snowing outside! We only got about half an inch, but it was definitely nice to have a white Christmas! 
Christmas morning we all headed downstairs and checked out our stockings. We all got some fun things! I got some candy, a calendar, nail polish, gloves, some scrapbooking stuff, and a few other things. After our stockings, we did presents! 

In my family, we separate out all the presents, then take turns opening them. We all like being able to see who get what and who the present is from. It took us about an hour to get through the presents and we all received some great gifts! I got a vintage clock, a jewelry stand, some gift cards, an Instax mini camera, and some other neat things. I really like giving gifts, so it is always fun to see everyone's reactions! 

We had breakfast, lounged around for a little while, then we started on dinner.

Our table settings.

The aftermath of everyone's crackers. We opened the crackers, put on our crowns, and then read our jokes before starting dinner.

Michael and I./Hannah with her drumstick.

Family picture!

Dessert! We had nanaimo bars, pumpkin pie, and apple pie. 

After dinner we went for a walk through our neighborhood to look at Christmas lights. Once we got back home, we watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (REALLY stupid. Don't waste your time if you haven't seen it. We agreed it was one of the stupidest movies we'd ever seen.) Then we watched Home Alone before heading off to bed. Overall, we had a pretty great Christmas! Too bad we have to wait another 364 days until Christmas again!

Christmas Eve

Hello! I can't believe it's Christmas Eve already! Presents are all wrapped and under the tree and everything is ready for tomorrow! We will be spending tonight watching Elf and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. (We watch Elf every year, but this will be the first time my brother, sister, and I have seen National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.) We always have snacks and finger foods for dinner while watching movies. We're having little pigs in a blanket, deviled eggs, summer sausage with cheese and crackers, chocolate popcorn and olives. Not sure if I'll be making anything else yet. We are also having nanaimo bars and what is left of our cookies. 

I am excited for tomorrow!

Hope you have a wonderful Christmas!

Joyeux Noël!

Christmas cookies

I spent this past weekend doing some baking. I made sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies. As far as Christmas baking goes, I still have to make some fudge and nanaimo bars, and then either my mom or I will be making a pumpkin pie and an apple pie for Christmas.

Hannah helped by cutting out the cookies.

We made regular gingerbread men as well as some ninjas!

Michael, my mom, Hannah, and I decorated the cookies. It was quite fun decorating cookies with everyone. There were some very strange cookies and conversations!

Michael's cookies.

My cookies.

Hannah's cookies. Hannah made the 10th doctor, and she tried to make a silence, but it looks more like Voldemort! Haha!

My mom's cookies. The gingerbread guy had a little accident. 

Have a great week!

Five for Friday

Hello everyone! I am linking up with Lauren Elizabeth again for Five for Friday. How was your week?

1. The biggest thing that happened this week is my brother and dad are back! We picked up my dad yesterday morning and my brother got in last night! I'm so glad they are both here!

2. I finally got the Christmas present I ordered for Hannah. I am officially done with presents! I have everything purchased, wrapped, and under the tree!

3. Michael brought back a pain au chocolat from Paris. It was really good!

4. He also brought back a bunch of other gifts. Including some special French Christmas candy that is SO good!

5. The tracking was finally updated on my Voxbox and it should be here today! I'm excited to see what's inside!

Have a great weekend!