My Cousins Visit To Alaska

In September my cousin came to Alaska for the first time!  She was here for the weekend and we had a blast!  One of the places we visited was the Ice Museum at Chena Hot Springs Resort.  This was my first visit to the museum, and it had exceeded my expectations!  We took so many photos that I wanted to share with you all, and instead of showing them individually, I tried making a few collages!  I hope you enjoy these photos!

On this collage I accidentally put the same photo twice and left one photo out.  The photo in the bottom middle was taken at the Alaska Pipeline Viewing area.

I hope she will get to visit again when the weather is better and there is more to do!

Thank you for stopping by!
-Juliana

DIY With Essential Oils

I love making my own stuff, especially with essential oils!  Essential oils have so many great properties, and I love seeing what they can do to help my day to day life.  Here are two things I've made recently that I thought you might be interested in. 

The first thing I'd like to share is a rollerball blend that I use to help me sleep at night.

I mixed lavender oil, Eden's Garden Relaxation blend, and Eden's Garden Four Thieves blend with Sweet Almond Oil.  I reused a rollerball bottle I had and kept that label.  Every time I make this blend I change things up a little, but generally, I add about 8 or 9 drops each of Relaxation and lavender oil, and one or two drops of Four Thieves, then fill the rest with sweet almond oil in a 10ml rollerball.  Every night, I apply this blend to the bottom of my feet and sometimes to the back of my neck.

The next idea I'd like to share is DIY Poo-Pourri.  The idea behind this product is to spray it in the toilet prior to going poo... and supposedly no one will know.  I've made this as a funny gift, but it actually works, and I've had people request I make them more!

I got the recipe from here.  This recipe makes a few bottles, which is perfect for gifts or multiple bathrooms.  I've made this spray with many different blends of essential oils, it's fun to play around to come up with different combinations.  The last time I made this, I used a blend of grapefruit, bergamot, and lemongrass. 

What kind of DIY projects do you like to make?  Would you ever use an item like Poo-Pourri?

Thanks for stopping by!
-Juliana 

Alaskan Road Trip

A couple months ago my sister and I took a roadtrip to Seward, Alaska.  We took many pictures and I wanted to share them ALL with you!  Instead, I chose five to share.  The drive was absolutely beautiful, and we had beautiful weather the whole way.  Thank you sis for such an awesome weekend!

Have you been to Alaska?

Thanks for stopping by!
-Juliana

Colour Alike #511

A while ago I was checking out Jessica's Instagram, she posted a lovely polish from Colour Alike.  I knew after seeing that polish that I had to order!  Colour Alike is based in Poland, their polishes are 5-free and cruelty free!  Here is the first color I tried, #511.  Most of the polishes don't have names, only numbers.

On the ring finger I added Pure Ice Shimmer-Wing Rose.  It didn't show up in the photos as much as real life.  I liked the added subtle shimmer!

Under a daylight lamp

 

 

 

 

 

The formula on this polish is amazing!  The bottles of their polishes are 8ml, and are affordable.  The shipping wasn't too bad, either!  I will definitely order from this company again.

Have you heard of this brand?  Have you tried their polishes? 
 

Thanks for stopping by!

-Juliana

More Empties

I have some more empties for you! After my last post I decided I wasn't going to do empties for a while because I had company coming and needed to toss all my trash.  However, after a while, I decided to start saving my trash because I enjoyed showing it to you last time!  So this does not include all my trash since I last posted. 

* Olay Shine Shine Go Away-got this in a Walmart Box and I liked it. I don't have a shine issue, but it felt nice.  I won't repurchase only because I like other cleansers better.

* Dry Oil Body Spray I made-I LOVED this stuff.  I'm going to make a post about this eventually.  I'm going to make more later on.

* Bath and Body Works Fresh Sparkling Snow hand wash-I love these hand washes, but I'm not going to purchase many more because they are pretty spendy (but they do smell delicious!). 

* Clear Scalp and Hair Therapy for dandruff- I don't have dandruff, but I LOVE this shampoo.  Cleans my hair nicely and smells wonderful.  Will repurchase when I need more. 

* St. Ives Apricot Scrub-I love this scrub.  I've used it several times over the years.  I like it, but will probably make my next scrub.

* Dove Go Fresh Body Wash in Mandarin & Tiare Flower scent- this is the second one of these and I like the scent.  Dove makes great body washes.

* Mally Perfect Prep Under Eye Brightener Pen- I'd wanted to try this product for FOREVER! So when I finally got it, I was excited.  However, my skin is far too light to notice any difference with this product.  It felt great and blended well, but I didn't see a brightening effect.  I won't repurchase.

* Beauty Rush lip balm from Victoria Secret-I love this lip balm, it is nice and thick for night time.  Will repurchase.

* Josie Maran Argan Balms- I bought a couple sets of these a while back and have been using them like crazy.  They are amazing and feel wonderful on my skin.  I mainly use them for my hands.  I will repurchase.

* Nivia Soft Cream- This felt strange on my skin, so I tossed it out after using it twice.  Will not repurchase.

*Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh perfume sample- Love this perfume.  Would repurchase if I needed more perfume, but I don't :)

* Loreal Magic Perfecting Base- I loved this face primer, and I'll probably repurchase.



Have you tried any of these items?  What did you think??

Thanks for stopping by!
-Juliana

Ebelskivers

A while ago I was gifted an Ebelskiver pan and mix.  I had never heard of Ebelskivers before, so I had to do a little research.  Turns out they are Danish pancakes that can be filled and are oh so delicious. 

Here is the pan I have-it is a Nordic Ware pan.  It is a great pan and worked well for me. 

Here are the wood tongs used to flip the Ebelskivers (I think any skewer type object would work, but these feel super fancy!)

Here is the mix I used.  I have enough mix to make another batch.  After that, I'm going to try to make some from scratch.

The Ebelskivers in the pan after I poured some batter in, added some jelly, then topped them off with more batter.  They only took a couple minutes to cook until I turned them over.

And the final product.  I added some syrup to mine, which was not necessary, but still tasted yummy nonetheless.  I forgot to take a picture of the inside goodness when I was eating them, but trust me, they were delicious. 

Next time I make them I would like to try to add some chocolate inside.  Have you ever tried Ebelskivers?  What are your favorite recipes and fillings?

Thanks for stopping by!
-Juliana

#summernorules 2015 Nail Challenge

This summer I've been participating in the #summernorules 2015 nail challenge.  This challenge has been put together by a group of lovely ladies, and it is always fun to participate.  Here is a list of the challenges:

#summernorules

 

 

Since the challenge started a couple weeks ago and I have not blogged about this until now, I'm going to include the designs I've completed up until now.

On to the nails!

June 21- First Day of Summer.  I used Daily Hues Nail Lacquer in Juliana (love the name!) and added a couple Sinful Colors Nail Tattoos.

June 23- National Pink Day.  I used Pure Ice Flirt Alert, Sonia Kashuk White Lie, and Icing OMG.

June 26- Fav Neon.  I love neons, and can't pick just one favorite one.  Here I used two coats of unnamed Dollar Tree skull polish on top of a white base.  I added Loreal Masked Affair on the ring finger, but it turned out streaky.

July 01- Canada Day. I had a hard time finding a red nail polish, so I tried a technique using red acrylic paint.  I mixed a little water with the paint, dabbed it on my nails (base is Sonia Kashuk White Lie again), then removed the excess water with the same brush.  These nails look a little Dexter-ish.  Besides them looking like blood splattered nails, I like how they turned out.

July 04- Independence Day. Cinema Swatch Lacquer Chiyo (blue base) and Sonia Kashuk White Lie with Kraftygurl Designs Liberty Belle on top.  Love the glitter topper!  It is so fun and festive!

July 07-Chocolate Day.  I used MDJ Creations Lumina with Loaded Lacquer Dark Chocolate Truffle on top. 

This challenge goes on through the end of the month, and I'm looking forward to the upcoming prompts!  I hope you've enjoyed what I've done so far, and I hope you will join us!

Thanks for stopping by!
-Juliana

#30daysofcolourchallenge May Day 19 Matte/Stamping

Day 19 for the #30daysofcolour May is Matte/Stamping.  I love matte nails, and love trying to stamp as well, so I combined the two.  For this manicure, I used Violet Abnegation from the Divergent set from Sephora, and Stamped with Mundo de Uñas Cream.  I absolutely love my polishes from MDU!  They stamp nicely, and have a large color range.  I used Zoya Matte topcoat.

Thank you for stopping by! Stay tuned for more nails!
-Juliana

#30daysofcolourchallenge May Day 16 Holo

I fell behind with posting my #30daysofcolour challenge photos!  I'll continue to post them because there are a few beauties!

Day 16 is Holo.  I love holo and have several holo polishes.  There is one that stands out and instantly became a favorite-Loaded Lacquer Clark, Glitter's Full from her 2014 Ha-Ha-Holiday collection.  This polish is such a beauty and has great formula.  Another lovely polish from Heather!

Loaded Lacquer Clark, Glitter's Full 

What are your favorite holo polishes? Thank you for stopping by today!
-Juliana

#30daysofcolourchallenge May Day 13 Glitter

Day 13 for the #30daysofcolourchallenge is Glitter.  I've been trying to use a bunch of untried polishes, and here is another one.  This is Buddy Vampire by Superchic Lacquer.  This polish is so gorgeous and has beautiful red and purple glitters throughout the deep purple base. I used three coats for opacity. They applied nicely and cleanup was not an issue.

Superchic Lacquer Buddy Vampire

Here is a list of the prompts

Thanks for stopping by!!
-Juliana

#30daysofcolourchallege May Day 10 White/Leadlighting

Day 10 prompt for #30daysofcolourchallenge is White or Leadlighting.  I've never done leadlighting, and quite frankly I don't know much about that technique.  However, I did have a white polish I've been wanting to use for a while now, and I thought this was the perfect opportunity.

This is Darling Diva Polish Soap...Poisoning.  It has a very sheer milky base with glitters that are meant to represent soap bubbles.  I used three coats here and didn't like how it looked on my nails.  However, I think this would be a beautiful polish layered on top of something more opaque.

Here is the list of prompts if you'd like to join in!

Thanks for stopping by!
-Juliana

  

#30daysofcolourcallenge May Day 7 Green/Gradient

I absolutely adore gradients.  They are one of my favorite types of nail art, so I was excited to try out a few new polishes for this prompt.  Well, the blue did not work out well for the gradient.  I was a bit bummed with the blue not working well, however, they remind me a bit of tie die nails.  I used two unnamed colors made by Mariposa (purchased in Canada last year).

After doing this gradient, I also decided I need to purchase some kind of barrier product to help with clean up.  Do you have any recommendations?

Here are the list of prompts if you'd like to participate in the challenge!

Thanks for stopping by!
-Juliana

#30daysofcolourchallenge May Purple/Dry Brush

I am new at doing the dry brush technique.  The first time I ever tried it I hated the outcome, I tried it again and it grew on me.  However, I haven't tried the technique again until this challenge.  I'd like to practice some more!! 

For this manicure I used Mentality Sunny, Icing Walk of Fame, Butter London Thames and Loaded Lacquer Fig. 

Here is the list of prompts if you'd like to join! 

Do you like to do challenges?  What are your favorite ones to participate in?

#30daysofcolourchallenge May - Gold/Dotticure

Polish Sleuth introduced me to a fun challenge last month which is #30daysofcolourchallenge.  The challenge had different colors and nail ideas for each of the days in April.  This month I am doing the challenge again, and there are 11 manicures.  The first one is gold/dotticure.  I decided to do both and this is what I came up with

I used Kraftygurl DesignsThe Cat's Meow and Hotsy Totsy (gold) and topped it all off with KraftyGurl Designs Gloss It! topcoat (one of my two favorite top coats!!).

Here is the list of all of the prompts if you'd like to join in!

#30daysofcolourchallenge May 

Ethereal Lacquer Rapture

I purchased Ethereal Lacquer's Rapture a while ago and have just now gotten around to wearing it.  On one hand I'm saddened that I haven't worn it before now because it is so gorgeous, but had I worn it earlier, I'm not sure that I would have experienced the full beauty due to lack of sun.  This polish definitely shines in the sun!  I can't stop staring at them. 

I hope you enjoy this color as much as I do!

Loaded Lacquer No Bra and Condemned

I've been a longtime fan of Loaded Lacquer!  Heather is an awesome glitter mixologist, and is such a sweetie.  A while ago I wanted to do a mani and couldn't figure out what to do.  Loaded Lacquer No Bra and Condemned were sitting next to each other, so I figured I'd try to do something with both of them together.  Surprisingly, the colors work very well together! 

Both colors have fantastic formula and are super gorgeous.  Loaded Lacquer can be purchased here.
Do you own any Loaded Lacquer polishes?

Sephora Color Festival Blockbuster Palette for 2014

My mom sent me an awesome Christmas gift last year (seems so long ago, right!!).  It is no longer available, but I wanted to share this post to let you know how awesome these Sephora brand products are.  This palette includes 72 eyeshadows, 28 lipglosses, 8 blushes, 4 two in one creams for cheeks and lips, 18 cream eyeliners, 6 makeup tutorials and 2 mirrors.  Here are some pictures from the palette!

I absolutely love this palette.  The shadows and blushes have great pigmentation, the lipglosses feel lovely, and the eyeliners add a nice subtle look.  I love how this palette looks like a bow when it is all put together, and it looks so neat when you open the "arms" on the palette.  I loved everything in this palette!  If you haven't tried any of the Sephora brand products, I suggest you give them a try!