So I know today is Thursday, which is usually devoted to Thinking Out Loud; and I know that May isn’t technically over yet, but I wanted to share my May favorites with you guys a little early. The reason being that tomorrow is Foodie Penpal reveal day, and it just kind of made more sense to switch today and tomorrow’s posts around. I’ll keep my intro short because these posts usually end up kind of massive, so without further ado, here are some of the things I’ve been loving throughout the month of May.
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. food .
May was pretty low-key when it came to new foods. I didn’t end up buying a lot of new products since I was trying to get rid of some old ones, but I did go back to one of my old favorite: oats.
I know these guys aren’t exactly anything new, but after going 6+ months without them, being able to have my beloved oats again has kind of been a big deal. It’s a little upsetting to think that I may have to cut them out again, but our forbidden love affair was nice while it lasted. And at least I have something to fall back on…
Have you ever tried Kashi’s Blueberry Oat Clusters & Flakes? If not, I definitely recommend doing yourself a favor and picking up a box. I know I’m supposed to be emptying my pantry rather than adding to it, but after trying these at my parents’ place, I couldn’t help but get my own box. I was hooked. The flakes themselves have a subtly sweet blueberry flavor, while the clusters add a nice variety to the texture. Big fan.
And I suppose I could mention my newest snacking obsession…
Fruit soup. Combining plain yogurt with vanilla almond milk is genius, and when paired with fruit, cereal crumbs, and nut butter? Swoon. I could probably eat some version of this all day and never tire of it. And I realize that all of my food favorites this month revolve around oatmeal or cereal, but what can I say?… I’m a girl who likes her breakfast foods.
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. beauty .
I swear, I should just give up on sharing all my other favorites and just devote these monthly posts to beauty finds – those seem to be the products that I can go on and on about. Can we say beauty junkie? Yes, yes we can. In any case, I’ve got quite a few things to share with you guys, starting with my most favoritest (yes, it’s a word) beauty find from this past month…
MAC’s paint pot in Painterly. This is technically an eye shadow, but I call it a godsend. I know it doesn’t exactly look like anything special or mind-blowing, especially because it’s basically the color of skin, but that’s the beauty of it! Eyelids are thin and sensitive. They’re prone to redness and discolouration, and have a tendency to let pesky veins show through – not really a good look for anyone. But one coat of Painterly and you’ve got yourself a perfect neutral base to work with. Not only does it even out the skin tone above your eyes, but it helps keep your other eye makeup from smudging throughout the day. I’ve heard people rave about this product for years but put off buying it because I didn’t think it would make a big difference. Bad idea. I’m still kicking myself for not picking this up years ago.
Next up, we’ve got Tarte’s Amazonian clay blush in Tipsy.
I love adding a touch of blush to my cheeks for a nice healthy glow, but my biggest issue with most blushes is that they tend to fade throughout the day. Tarte claims that their blushes will stay put for 12 hours, and while I can’t speak to those exact numbers, I can say that this blush definitely lasts a lot longer than most other blushes that I’ve tried. Another thing I love about it is that it’s free of parabens, sulfates, phthalates, and fragrances, which can irritate sensitive skin and contribute to breakouts.The color payoff is fantastic and blending is a breeze – I’m already looking to pick up a few more colors.
And speaking of blending… Makeup is only as good as it’s application. If you’re not careful, you could very well end up looking like a clown, and while a lot of that depends on the hand you apply it with, good tools don’t hurt. Let me introduce you to one of my all-time favorites…
The Beautyblender. This little egg-shaped miracle will take your makeup application to a whole other level. I know it seems a bit pricey for what is, essentially, a sponge, but it’s amazing at helping you achieve a flawless finish with basically any type of makeup you use on your face – liquid, cream, powder, or pressed. If you use it gently and wash it regularly, it’ll last you a long time and basically become your best friend. Trust me. The hype surrounding this thing is definitely well deserved.
But if you’re looking for something that’s a little more economically friendly, or if you’re a bigger fan of brushes, allow me to recommend these…
These brushes from Real Techniques are amazing, especially given the price. I picked up the core collection from Walmart, which gave me 4 brushes for something like $20. I was a little skeptical at first, but the quality of these is definitely comparable to some of the higher end brands, and they have a great selection for both eyes and face.
Last, but certainly not least, Philosophy’s Turbo Boost C Powder…
This stuff is basically a high-potency vitamin C for your face. Why do you want vitamin C on your face? Because it helps protect your skin against premature aging, while brightening and evening out your complexion. And let me tell you, it works. I’ve been using it for a few weeks now, and I’ve definitely noticed some big improvements. Not only is my face less blotchy and more even-toned, but my skin feels a lot smoother and more hydrated. All you have to do is mix a small scoop of the powder into your daily moisturizer and let it work its magic. This is definitely going to be part of my beauty regime for… ever.
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. fitness .
Two words, three syllables. Out.door.walks.
I’m so ridiculously happy that it’s finally warmed up enough for me to be able to take my daily walks back outside, you have no idea. There still hasn’t been anything really new on the fitness front around these parts, but I’ve been considering getting back into something. I’m not quite sure what or when, especially since what I’ve been doing has been working just fine, but you know how it is… it’s always nice to be working towards some kind of goal.
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. TV show .
Gossip Girl. I never seem to be able to keep up to date with current shows… Part of this probably comes down to the fact that I don’t have cable, but I think the fact that I don’t like having to wait a week for a new episode to air to find out what happens plays a bigger role. I used to watch Gossip Girl way back in the day when it was still on TV, but I stopped somewhere around the 4th season and took a couple of years off. For whatever reason, I kind of got sucked back in this month, and by sucked in I mean: watching 3 or 4 episodes back-to-back pretty much every day. I can’t help it! I need to find out what happens…
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. blog .
May is one of those strange transitional months that doesn’t usually end up seeing a lot of action. Things have been pretty quiet for the past 30 odd days or so, and while I did experience a few noteworthy changes in a couple different areas of my life, I’m still not quite ready to talk about them just yet. Instead, I:
- … Spent a little bit of time talking about some of the changes I’ve gone through surrounding diet and exercise. I opened up about what happened when I stopped exercising, and looked at my current diet through the eyes of the girl I was in my past [disordered] life. It’s definitely nice to look back and see how far I’ve come.
- … Examined some of the goofy things that people do, like following The Starbucks Diet and polluting the minds of kids with thoughts of calories.
- … Let you in on the secret that you won’t find happiness in a smaller pair of jeans.
- … Didn’t come up with any new recipes (goal for June, perhaps?), but I did add some variety to my eats by cooking this chicken enchilada casserole and challenging myself to use up the products that were hiding in the depths of my pantry.
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How was your May? Anything exciting happen? Good, and YES… but I’ll share more in time.
Any embarassing makeup stories to share? I’ve got plenty, but the first one that comes to mind is the blue glitter eyeshadow phase that I went through when I first started playing around with makeup. Not a good look for anyone, and I cringe just thinking about it…
Tell me some of your favorites from the past month!
I always love your monthly faves posts! I love Tarte! I started using it when I first got pregnant to avoid some of the nasty stuff in other makeup. So good.
Living in Australia, I miss my Kashi (especially Go Lean Crunch…). And Sephora. :*(
I’m skeptical of this yogurt + milk cereal combo—I normally trust your food instincts very well though, so I’m thinking I should try it if it’s as good as you say it is! And I can’t wait to find out what this exciting news is!
almond milk and yogurt? i thought i was crazy to be mixing cereal with cottage cheese or greek yogurt, but milk + yogurt + cereal + fruit sounds delicious! i’ll have to try that next time 🙂 ive been seeing those beautyblending sponges everywhere, i may have to invest in one of them… when i actually do bother to put on makeup, which is like once a month. but when i do, i admit that i do look like a clown 😛 cheers to may!
so embarassed to admit it but after reading your blog I was inspired to clean out my make up bag so I could justify trying some of the cool new stuff you have talked about…glitter everywhere! ha ha ha. May has been a month of just getting through- my hubs being gone, my training amping up for the June 9th race, I am so ready for June 🙂 ready for a warm summer of sunshine, May has been super cold here- we set some records for longest winter this year UGH! my fav posts this month have been the ones with all the beautiful food photos & the ones about ED- I love seeing new ideas for food mash ups & also hearing about people who have odd eating habits like me, things I thought were weird but now I know there are others out there too & I am not an oddity! keep up the good work- you are an awesome writer!
Thank you Morgan! I hope June is a better month for you, and don’t worry about being an oddity… with all the strange foodie combos out there, I’m pretty sure that normal no longer exists. In fact, some of the strangest combos end up being some of the best.
I stumbled across your blog and so glad I did!! You are an inspiration. I am sloooowly recovering from an ED. It has been 10+ years and I finally got real and went to a treatment center for 45 days. Everyday is a struggle but reading your story gives me hope 🙂 And that cereal looks yummy!
Just jumping over from Commitness to Fitness. That fruit soup looks AMAZING!!
Hahaha! Good old glitter… I used to use a green sparkly eye pencil from Claires. Remember that weird late 90s phase when everyone had feather pens from Claires? Good times.
I totally need that egg sponge now – I have large pores, and even tinted moisturizer looks cakey on my skin.
I’m so interested to find out YOUR news!! But my news this month is definetely my Australian! I am just falling fast and hard! We are having a lot of fun getting to know each other and it’s been a while since my last serious relationship. I’m gong kayaking Saturday 🙂 But that’s June talk. Back to may I also got my hair colored- oh I am now addicted and will find the space in my budget to return every 2 months! Not sure if this is poitive or negative (definetely negative for my bank account) but I love the rich dark brown- my hair has been getting lighter the older I get- transforming into a gold red brown which I didn’t mind- but wow loving the statement of the rich chocolate!! Also got over glandular fever- just in time really considering I found someone to kiss the last half of the month 😉 If I ever visit you, or you make it to Italy you must become my yoda of makeup! Sam (sprinkles) is already yoda of Canadian food lol Xo Sophia
Ah positive not poitive lol- sorry
I’m so glad to hear that May has been so good to you, Sophia! You deserve all that and so much more! 😀 And I can definitely relate to the hair color woes. Mine used to be a really, really dark brown when I was younger, but it’s turning into more of an auburn the older I get. I’m seriously thinking about getting colored as well because I miss the rich chocolate!
Grazie Amanda! Too kind 🙂 Oooh in your photos your hair looks fabulous and rich already beautiful girl! But Chocolate does seems to be universally a good thing lol- I can see why J.K made it a healing first aid 🙂
My gosh it has been long… remember me? 😉
In other news, I LOVE the beautyblender! My makeup artist used it for my photo shoot last week and it was incredible. Definitely getting my own… perhaps it will improve my makeup skills, but I doubt it- that would be quite the task!
Of course I remember you, girl! I’ve been lurking 😉
I haved recently tried out a couple of Tarte items. I am loving the BB cream and I bought some Tarte blush in Blissful and it is great. I love how it stays on and the color is wonderful.
As you mentioned, Kashi is a definite favorite of mine, as well. This month, I discovered for the first time, Kashi Indigo Morning and Simply Maize, two cereals which I absolutely now love! It is light, but filling and has a subtle flavor, which I very much appreciate. Also, I’m liking Liberte’s Peach and Passion Fruit Greek Yogurt!
I wish I had beauty favs. That would imply that I know a thing or two about beauty of beauty products… which I clearly don’t. haha
You still look gorgeous, though!!
I love that Kashi cereal! I seriously eat it by the handful, straight from the box. Whoops.
Haha we have the same post theme today! 🙂 Great minds think alike.
That blush looks amazing! I love Tarte’s products; I’m obsessed with their mascara.
May was horrible for me because I had all my exams. But today was my last one 🙂 June will be much better.
Some of your favorites from the past month have actually been inspired by you!! After seeing the cereal messes you eat for breakfast, I was really intrigued and wanted to try it. Cereal is one of my fear foods, but I really wanted to try it, so I ordered a box of Puffins and one of Kashi cinnamon harvest cereal and had breakfast Amanda style. I loved it so much that I have been having some sort of cereal concoction involving those 2 particular brands every day at least twice a day for the past week or so!! I’m obsessed!
Another favorite that I discovered this month is feta cheese. I have been so afraid of cheese since my ED, but this week I decided to start having some feta because it’s one of the “safest” ones in my mind. I am so glad I bought it. Next week I will be moving on to goats cheese. And I am going to tackle all my fear foods like this, one by one.
That’s so great that you’ve been tackling so many fears, Letizia! Overcoming my fear of cereal was seriously one of my happiest moments. I can’t believe there was a time where I managed to convince myself that I don’t like it… I could easily eat it 2 or 3 times a day and be perfectly content.
I’m so intrigued by the vitamin c powder.. wonder if I could mix it into my foundation or bb cream? Sounds amazing! I’m totally gonna try it out!
This month I fell in love with Korres lip butter in Jasmine.. it’s wonderful.
I also fell in love with Vanilla Chai tea from Tetley.. seeing as I blow so much money on more expensive teas like Davids, Yogi, and too many assorted other ‘high end’ (can I call tea high end really?) brands, I’m so happy to be loving something much cheaper, but it’s also so yummy.
I’ve also been obsessed with catching up on Entourage! Similarly, I watched a few seasons years ago, and somehow just lost track and didn’t watch anymore.. but I picked up where I left off and cannot stop.. Its such a great show! Don’t know your tastes, per say, it’s a little, er, “graphic” sometimes haha but if that doesn’t offend ya, it’s awesome!
Good luck with your exciting changes! And it’s always great to have something to work towards, I fully agree. Lately I’ve been thinking more about personal, spiritual, emotional type goals, just because I feel like goals these days equals weight loss/fitness. And there are so many other things and parts of life to make accomplishments in! Just my thoughts 🙂 Hope the weather is as LOVELY in your part of Canada as it is in mine!
Hmm. I’m not too sure if you could use it in foundation because it has a tendency to make the things it’s mixed with a little more watery, so the change in consistency might not be the best if you’re looking for coverage. But you can use it your moisturizer at night as well. I’ve heard really good things about Entourage, but I was thinking about getting in to Lost next. So many people rave about it, but I’ve never even seen one episode!
May was awesome – one of the highlights was finishing a year of grad school.
Love MAC makeup. An embarrassing makeup story though… remember body glitter? Yeah.
May was good 😀 I got the news that I will be heading to Costa Rica in July to teach 😀 so that’s exciting!
Some of my favorites from the month are sesame pretzel crisps, weekend trips, and teaching new programs!
i used to be such a beauty junkie…but i don’t get up early enough to “put my face on” anymore. i’d call it “the natural look” but it’s really just pure laziness! you’re beauty posts always make me want to revert back! fun tidbit of information – gossip girl is filmed where my dad works…there’s actually an episode where some girl yells at a doorman for not holding a cab door for her or something, and my dad is that doorman! only episode i’ve watched =)
No kidding?! That’s pretty freakin’ sweet! Nothing interesting gets filmed in boring old Edmonton 😕
Thanks for the Kashi recommendation. I always LOVE their cereals! I have been getting a bit bored with my cereal routine, so this sounds like the perfect thing to spice it up!
I agree that breakfast foods are definitely one of my favourite things – I do not know what I would do without my oats/cereal/pancakes. They’re all just so good!
I’m loving outdoor walks at the moment too (well when the weather is good anyway..not so much when its chucking it down with rain haha).
May has been pretty good; although I was caught up in a fire which was pretty scary!! Other than that its been pretty pleasant ahah :).
Goh don’t get me started on past make up mishaps..I used to do my eyeliner SO heavy when I was younger..I looked like an Egyptian! Not a good look haha.
I feel so chic when I read your blog and you post about makeup, probably because I am so makeup challenged haha. Don’t even get me started on my younger days with glitter and blue mascara. HAHA. It’s been a crazy month for me, but I am glad it’s coming to an end!! A new month hopefully means a clean start (or at least that’s what I am telling myself) and new beginnings! I am loving outdoor walks lately too!! WHOO HOO!
Ugh, glitter eye shadow. I spent far too much money on different colored glitters in my youth. Another embarrassment? The days when I was “emo” and wore wayyy too much eyeliner with hot pink glitter eyeshadow. Yikes.
My favorite television show… New Girl. My mom and I became obsessed this season and it makes me laugh every.single.episode. I love it.
My favorite coffee… Dunkin’ Donuts Dark. I love dark roasts. Mmm.
I had a heavy eyeliner with really extreme eyeshadow color phase as well… Oi. And I seriously wish we had Dunkin’ up here 🙁
I love Kashi cereal! I pretty much like any of their flavors, but I have to agree, the blueberry oat clusters and flakes is definitely on the top of the list. It’s delicious!
I’ve heard SO much about the beautyblender sponge, but have yet to give it a try. I didn’t realize it works for powdered make-up too. I’m an avid BareMinerals users, so maybe it’s about time that I give it a try. Also, the Philosophy Vitamin C powder sounds pretty interesting. I definitely have some uneven skin tone and nothing I’ve used to far has really helped.
Nothing too excited happened this month for me…it just went by soooooo quickly. I can’t believe Saturday is June 1st! Crazy!
Not like I’d be generally opposed to you talking about beauty favourite but … we can hardly find any of them around here. So I’d be very interested in picking up some of the products you’ve been mentioning in these kind of posts but it’s a bit frustrating to know I can’t. Boo. That being said the clay blush sounds amazing as I’m bummed by how quickly mine seems to fade, too.
We have something in common now: right today I got some exciting news related to changes in the future but am not ready to share them [at least with the blog world] yet. Still, I want to hear about yours baaadly!
Ooooh I need to find that Painterly… and that sponge, I’ve heard great things about it already too. I need to start eating cereal again, besides the one you mentioned in this post, do you recommend any others?
I really, really love Kashi’s Cinnamon Harvest and cinnamon Puffins. Weetabix is another favorite, but I’m not sure if you guys get that down there in the States.
I’ve been thinking about buying a Vitamin C serum for some time now. I was hesitating between this one and the Skinceutical, but after reading your glowing review I’ll give the Philosophy a try first!
Love the Tarte blushes! My favorite shade is Blissful. Also can’t live without Tarte’s Park Avenue Princess matte bronzer. I blend it a bit with my moisturizer and it gives a warm and natural (and most of all matte) glow.
Have a nice day Amanda, hope the good weather keeps on going 🙂
I was debating between Blissful and Glisten as well, and I’m pretty sure that I’m going to pick up that bronzer the next time I’m in Sephora. I’m almost finished my NARS one and I really want to try something new.
How do you clean your make-up brushes? I just cleaned mine for the first time yesterday (I know, I know), and just kind of winged it. & oh man, looking back at photos from junior high, I cringe. I used to wear the thickest black eyeliner UNDERNEATH my eyes, it looked horrible – no idea what I was thinking! Same goes with my hair styles haha. Can’t wait to hear about your recent excitement 🙂
I use baby shampoo! It sounds crazy, but it works wonders and it’s a lot cheaper than all the brush cleansers out there. All I do is wet my brushes, squirt a little shampoo into my hand, and swirl my brush around in it until it works up a nice lather. Then I rinse it out and repeat if I feel like there’s still gunk to get out. Just make sure not to lay the brush flat to dry so that the water doesn’t go into the handle and weaken the glue.
I’m with you on the fruit cereal concoction.. mine is slightly different but I love to add vanilla soy milk (or regular/whatever I have on hand), to a mix of yogurt and cottage cheese. Looks so gross, tastes like magic 🙂 Or just really good.
And keep on talking about make up please, I know next to nothing about makeup and need help lol.
Kashi’s Blueberry Oat Clusters & Flakes are SO good! Although I love anything Kashi. I love reading about your beauty favorites of the month, because I know literally zero about anything beauty related. You’re slowly educating me one product at a time. 🙂
Teach me your makeup ways! Please! I’m helpless. I have one makeup routine for all occasions. I need to up my game.
P.S. I just feel like I should tell you that I absolutely adore you. For real. Happy Thursday!
Oh girl, I could talk makeup until the cows come home! And just so you know… the feeling is mutual <3
Yay the beauty blender! I love mine too! It’s the best thing.
And I adore that tarte blush as well. The color pigment is amazing.
Clearly we’re beauty junkies;) I like how we have the same things haha.
Gossip Girl is one of my favorite shows. I only say the first 2 seasons and the last one, so I think I really should catch up on the rest…
Happy Thursday love!
A lot of the middle seasons were a little far-fetched and part of the reason that I kind of gave up on the show. You’re not missing much! And which color do you have from the blush? I want to get a few more but I’m not sure which…
I have adored and natural beauty! I prefer the adored since it’s more of a pink tone, but they’re both nice…especially for my super pale skin…I just have to be careful with application otherwise I’ll look silly with blush;)
Haha, even though I’m not missing out on the gossip girl, a part of me still wants to see what I missed!
I need that beautyblender and some vitamin C for my skin, thank you for sharing!! My mom taught me so well how to do my makeup, so fortunately I did not have embarrassing make up moment ar least none that I know of 🙂
Can’t wait to hear your news!!!
My favorite of May was definitely my trips – to the mountains and to Spain. Happy Thursday love!! (No package yet- Swizzy’s are soooooo slow!! :-))
I love cereal! Of course that is a great food to have as your favorite 🙂 my favorite cereal is usually the oatmeal variety though. That vitamin C powder sounds interesting. I have some bad skin issues and have never thought of using that.
Oh Amanda, you are my makeup guru. I definitely have discolouration around my eyes (my lids are naturally a pinkish-purple) so I definitely need to look into that Paint Pot. And I’ve been seeing that cereal lately, I may just have to pick up a box!
I’ve been (for the most part) loving riding my bike to work and taking Atti on daily walks…in the winter I hibernate, but I would spend all day outdoors in nice weather if I could (and you know, be in the sun for more than 15 minutes without dying of a sunburn). Yay finally some nice weather!
And speaking of Atticus, he is definitely my favourite from May 😀
Let me start by saying… Nothing against you… but the blue glitter eyes shadow phase of the world was the reason I didn’t start wearing makeup until I was a junior in high school. lol. I just didn’t like the look and refused to look like other girls who did their makeup wrong or a bit over the top. I stuck with foundation, and mascara for the longest time. Now I LOVE playing around with makeup. I watch youtube tutorial videos all the time. That’s basically how I learned the do’s and don’ts but I for sure have had my share of, “Oh wow’s,” when looking back at pictures. Most have to do with foundation not blended and the wrong color…. can we say, oompah loompah?
Haha! Oh believe me, I cringe when I look back at that phase of my life too. And ditto on the Oompa Loompa-ness… or even worse… rocking the look where there’s a huge difference in color between your face and neck *shudder* I look back and wonder… where was my mirror? And I’m constantly watching beauty gurus on YouTube as well. Who are some of your favorites?
I love carlibel55. The first girl I watched was from Pursebuzz.com. Since I first watched the site has really grown and changed but I still like it.
I remember Pursebuzz 🙂 I also really love missglamorazzi, AnnieJaffrey, and pixi2woo.
I love more neutral eyeshadow! I think that it looks the best for more of an everyday look and gives you a more flawless but natural appearance :).
I also use a bit of blush everyday. It really helps to put some glow on your skin!
If you love neutrals, have you tried any of the Naked palettes from Urban Decay? All of them have a really gorgeous selection of neutral colors that basically eliminates the need for any other eyeshadows. I use them on pretty much a daily basis.
I haven’t! I’ll look into them though :). I usually don’t like to wear bright colors on my eyes and go with neutral browns instead so those palettes sound perfect!
Ahh I’m SO curious about what you arent ready to share quite yet. and btw i LOVE your beauty tips. they’re so good and easy to follow and I’m obsessed. i really want that turbo booster c powder. i can’t believe may is almost over. this year is really flying by. i loved your post about not finding happiness in smaller pair of jeans, that one just rang so true 🙂 and arent outdoor walks the best? they make me so happy, and they’re great exercise. have a wonderful thursday my dear 🙂
Mmm i don’t wear too much make up since i usually end up looking like a clown haha. May wasn’t too bad…we moved, i ran my second half, signed up for a full, had our first bbq for our friends, and i’m currently enjoying my first long vacation from the new job…not too shabby at all 😉 i’m excited to see what you’re sharing in the next few weeks 🙂
Definitely not too shabby!! Moving is a huge deal in itself (I love your new place, btw), and so is hosting your first party… something I’ve yet to do!
HA! I can relate to the awkward blue glitter eye shadow stage myself….ugghhh