Thankful Thursday

After taking a couple weeks off Maddie and I are back at it with out weekly installment of Thankful Thursday. We love using this series as a way to always reflect on the great things we have in our life. We would love for you to join us! Just grab our graphic and link back to one or both of us! 

 Last week I had the pleasure of going to Orlando Florida with 2 of my very favorite girls! This weeks Thankful Thursday is dedicated to how thankful I was to be able to go on such a wonderful vacation. I will forever be thankful for the lasting memories :)

1) Thankful For Laughable Moments

When we arrived at our hotel we had a heck of a time trying to get our toilet to flush. We all spent about  5 minutes examining the toilet from top to bottom looking for some sort of sensor or handle to make it work. Maddie and Taylor even starting pulling random strings that they thought just might make the toilet flush. Finally Taylor called up to the front desk to ask how to flush the toilet (not embarrassing at all ;)) Just as the lady at the front desk was telling Taylor about the button on the top Maddie found it hidden under a spare roll of toilet paper. This one moment kept us laughing all week long!

2) Thankful For The Disney World Experience

This was my first trip to Disney World and I loved it! It truly is such a magical place. I'm so thankful to have gotten to experience it. Can't wait to go back again :)

3) Thankful For Great Food

Well this is pretty self explanatory, but let me tell you those nachos at the bottom were amazing! We got them at Splitsville  in Downtown Disney, and we shared I didn't eat them all myself ;)

4) Thankful For New and Old Friendships

 Thankful isn't even a strong enough word to describe how I feel about these girls! I'm so blessed to have known Maddie since middle school, and I am equally blessed to have gotten to know Taylor so well this week. They are both truly amazing women! We shared so many great laughs and moments while we were in Florida and I know they won't ever be forgotten.

Just a Few More Pics...

It's not a vacation without a selfie ;)

Made out of Lego's... Too cool not to share!

Because I wish I was there right now!

I honestly don't think I could have had a better week! I'm so thankful that Seth was okay with me going and spending a girls week in Florida. As awesome as vacation was I'm thankful to have a wonderful husband, home, and family to come back to. Oh and I can't forget I'm thankful my furbabies still remember who I am ;) Hope you have the best Thursday possible!!

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My Hair Dilemma

Hello my lovely readers! Oh how I've missed you :)... I was in Florida on a much needed vacation last week (vacation recap post will be coming shortly!), and I'm just trying to get back into the swing of normal life.

Lately I have been feeling super "blah" about my hair. Usually when I feel like this I just chop it off and go with a nice short angled cut, but there are a few problems with that option.

1) I'm in 2 weddings this year and I always prefer long hair for formal events.
2) The last time I cut my hair short I absolutely hated it and regretted it.
3) I've been growing my hair out for a year and a half and it's FINALLY getting really long.

This is pretty much where my hair is at right now

All things said though I'm just really bored with where it's at! I even recently added blonde to my hair, but it still just wasn't enough to make me love my hair again. So I've been browsing pinterest for ideas and I'm hoping I can build up the bravery to go through with one of these options.

Bangs:

Layers:

Color:

For When I Chop ;)

I would love some input on these ideas! Who knows maybe I'll get bangs, layers, and color my hair ;) Hope you all have a GREAT Tuesday!!

 

DIY Detox Bath

So I've been told that I'm kind of a "fad" person. I will get really into something for a little bit and then just kinda stop doing it. For example I haven't met my Fitbit goals in months, I gave up trying to drink 64 oz of water a day, I've only used my elliptical a handful of times, and so on and so forth.

Recently I've been in a phase where I love baths. I don't mean like a quick 15 minute bath, I'm talking set up the laptop and lay in the tub for 45+ minutes while watching Netflix. If you have never done it, trust me it's a fabulous way to spend your time.

To take my bath time fad one step further I started doing research (on Pinterest ;)) about Detox Baths. They are supposed to have A LOT of positive effects on your body: removing toxins, decreasing inflammation, helping you get over colds and sickness, and even some claims of weight loss. Since I already love me some bath time I decided to do a little experimenting on one type of Detox Bath.

Know first let me share what I read about this Detox Bath before I tried it.

Ginger: Ginger offers numerous health benefits when ingested. But what’s good for the inside the body is good for the outside as well. Ginger is a miracle ingredient. Both topically and ingested, ginger can relieve muscle spasms, pain from arthritis, nausea, menstrual cramps, headaches, and cold and flu symptoms. Ginger also promotes sweating, allowing your body to get rid of toxins.

Epsom Salt: Epsom salt is well known for its multiple benefits for the body. Most commonly used on our feet to soothe them from continuous wear and tear, applying Epsom salt to your body has all the same benefits and more. Epsom salt is not a salt at all. It’s a naturally occurring mineral compound of magnesium and sulfate. Epsom salt works on a chemical level to rejuvenate our bodies mentally and physically. Stress, the most prominent and reoccurring antagonist to our body, drains our body of magnesium and increases our levels of adrenaline. Adrenaline is not something we need constantly active in our bodies because it causes an unnecessary increase of our heart rate, blood pressure and anxiety. When dissolved in water, Epsom salt dissolves and our body absorbs the magnesium, helping to relieve stress. Magnesium also helps release serotonin, which is a feel good chemical that increases energy and stamina. For this bath, you’ll get the extra benefits of muscle relief, anti-inflammation, revitalization of your nervous system, and most importantly, a detoxing of heavy metals and other toxins from your body. (information from Here.)

Ingredients (what I used):

1 Cup Epsom Salt

2 Tablespoons crushed Ginger

The first thing to know about this Detox is that drinking water is essential. I would recommend drinking water before, during, and after the bath. The 2nd thing to know is you are going to get very hot and sweat (but that's the point!) so you may want to keep a towel near by to wipe off your face. 

So here's the method!

1) Start filling your tub with as warm of water as you can stand.

2) Mix the Cup of Epsom Salt and the 2 Tablespoons of ginger.

3) Pour it into the stream of water as it is filling.

4) Fill the tub as high as possible so the majority of your body can be submerged.

5) You will want to stay in the tub for at least 20 minutes, but no longer then 30.

I can tell you from experience that it worked just like they said it would! I was sweating a lot and could feel the effects of the bath for the next couple hours after. in the future I would recommend taking my detox bath right before bed, because it really relaxed my muscles and made me very sleepy. 

I'm thinking about purchasing a set of Young Living Essential Oils from my sister and then I would definitely do more experimenting with using the oils in my detox baths. 

Other Detox Baths to Try via Pinterest:

 

Let me know if you try any variations of the detox bath and what your experiences are! I plan on doing more experimenting as time goes on :) Have a great Tuesday!! 

Linking up today for "Tuesday Talk"

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday Everyone! Today I'm linking up with Andrea, Erika, and Narci to share my Friday Favorites!

1) Rise N' Roll Donuts

Earlier this week Seth stopped by the Rise N' Roll Bakery and got us a dozen of Caramel Cinnamon Donuts - more prominently known as Amish Crack Donuts. Let me just tell you this is now my Favorite donut of all times! It seriously just melts in your mouth. You can check out the website for the bakery here.

 

2) Chambray Shirts

I recently am obsessed with Chambray shirts, and the worst part is I don't even own one.

I have been eying this particular jacket from Charlotte Russe for a couple weeks now, but I just cant bring myself to pay full price for it. 

I really just need to get a basic chambray top so I can wear it in all these super cute ways:

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 3) Next Week's Forecast

Next week here in good ole Columbia City we are supposed to have highs in the 50's! That is most definitely a favorite because I am SO over this cold winter.

4) 9 Day's until Florida! 

Sorry had to throw that out there ;)

Hope you all have the greatest weekends ever! 

Thankful Thursday

Hello my favorite readers! It's Thursday!! So glad you are joining me and my Bestie Maddie as we continue our weekly link-up, Thankful Thursday. If you want to join in on all the fun just grab our graphic and link up with one, or both of us :) 

 

1) Pinterest

Call me shallow, but I am VERY thankful for Pinterest. I mean why wouldn't I be? It helps me plan meals for the week, get exercise ideas, and is just a great place to let my mind wonder!

Here are just a couple of my favorite boards if you want to check them out :)

2) Caffeine

Okay Okay I get it my thankfulness is not very deep or  profound this week, but I'm just being honest! If you read my post earlier this week you know that I've been SUPER tired lately and caffeine has been my rock to get me through.

On Tuesday Seth was in Fort Wayne for a Dentist appt. and when he stopped at the gas station he picked me up a special treat.

This little gem as 160 MG of caffeine per can and let me tell you it shows. Not to mention the Pina Colada flavor is on point.

3) Spring Break Update

I realize I'm going crazy with excitement about my upcoming trip to Florida, but I literally just can't wait! Yesterday I got a text from Maddie with a picture of my Magic Band for Disney World!!!

Tonight I'm going over to my sister Anna's house to raid her closet of her spring and summer clothes! I'm so thankful she is letting me borrow clothes (even if I have to make a list so she ensures a safe return ;)),  it helps so much so I don't have to spend near as much money. If you knew me and Anna when we were in high school you know that sharing clothes did not come easy for us, we had some major blow ups about it. I'm so thankful that now I can't remember the last fight we had and we are closer then ever. :)

I honestly have so much to be thankful for I'm a truly blessed person! I hope you guys join us today because its always great to reflect on the positive things in our life. Have a Fabulous day lovelies!!

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