Tuesday, November 27, 2012

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Hello my pretties!

Do you like the new snowflake look for Sugarfee? I decided to change it up for the holidays :)
Speaking of the holidays...

I know, I know, EVERYONE loves Christmas, and how could you not? My love/ obession for this time of the year is beyond just that, it is my PASSION! I absolutely live for Christmas, and this whole season in general. December is my all-time favorite month of the year, so in honor of the season, I am doing BLOGIDAYS! I will be blogging at least once per day every day in December!Get ready for recipies, festive looks, gift guides, and anything else you all want to see! If you have any requests, PLEASE let me know! I had requests for the first few days of December already, but it is not too late!

If any of you are doing Blogidays/ festive blogging, let me know so I can check out your blog!!
Let's spread the holiday cheer!!

X's and O's,
Amanda

Monday, November 26, 2012

Brushes on a Budget!

Hello Snowflakes!

Brushes are an essential part to anyone's makeup kit, but let's be real.. they can get REALLY expensive! To make things worse, you see these makeup collection videos on Youtube, and they have hundreds of brushes in their collections! How many brushes does  one girl need, and how does one aqquire them without going broke?? Don't worry, I have got ya covered ;)


First off, how many brushes do you need? I am a hoarder, and have mulitiples of everything, but one of each of the following would suffice:

~Complexion/Powder brush
~ Foundation Brush
~ Flat Shader brush
~Crease Brush (can double as blending brush)
~ Angled liner brush

So, contrary to populr belief, you don't HAVE to splash out alot on brushes. Several brands offer very affordable options. Here are my top 3 choices!

~ E.L.F. offers their normal line of brushes for just $1 each. These are not super quality, but they do function. Their Studio Line is much better quality, and each of those brushes is offered for just $3 a brush.

~ For those of you who are looking to get as many brushes as possible for your money, I got a fabulous brush set at Target. They are the Sonja Kashuk dual sided brushes. Each brush has a dual end, so they each function as 2 when you turn them over. The brushes are amazing quality, and I only paid $19.99 for the set!!

~Target's own brand also offers makeup brushes. I have seen them range from $2-6 depending on the purpose of the brush. I absolutely love these brushes! Excellent quality!

I hope some of you found this helpful, happy brush shopping!!

X's and O's,
Amanda

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Product Review: Maybelline's Color Show Nail Polishes

Hello, and happy Saturday!
Did any of you go Black Friday shopping? I was wishing to be in the states yesterday just for the shopping! I will catch it next year, though!

Today, I really wanted to discuss a product that I was pleasently suprised by : The Maybelline Color Show nail polishes. I had read very mixed reviews on them, and noticed that they were super inexpensive at the store, so I was skeptical. I did pick up three of them to give them a go, and I love them!


The three shades I own are Wine Shimmer,Blue Ocean, and Lavender Lies.Now, these polishes do require more than one coat, however, once you have built up the color, they are stunning. They also have really long wear, mine didn't even begin to chip for over a week! The packaging is cute, and the price is a can't beat deal! They are sold here for 2.25 Euros each. These would make the perfect stocking stuffers or small gifts for friends! I am going to pick up Candy Apple Red next!

Do any of you own these polishes? How do you like them?

X's and O's,
Amanda

Friday, November 23, 2012

Review: The 30 Day Shred Program

Hello beautiful ones!


So yesterday, I had a little accomplishment...  I completed the 30 Day Shred by Jillian Michaels!
I feel so, so good, and couldn't be happier with the results! I wanted to thouroughly review this program, and hopefully inspire some of you to give it a try!

What it is:

The 30 Day Shred is an exercise program designed by Jillian Michaels. The goal of the program is to get you "shredded" in 30 days time. It consists of three levels, each lasting ten days. Each workout is 20 minutes long ( a few minutes extra with warm up and cool down), and is set up in circuit training. There are three circuits per workout : 3 minutes strength, 2 minutes cardio, 1 minute of abs. This program claims that you can lose up to 20 pounds in 30 days.

How I did it:

The program reccomends that you do not take any days off for resting. I followed this, and I feel like I got fit faster. I felt pretty sore at first, but it is your body trying to get used to the new workouts! I think your body adapts faster if you just push throught the soreness. I really enjoyed that the workout was only 20 minutes long, it was super easy to fit in to my sometimes hectic schedule! As far as diet, I already eat very clean and healthy due to my Celiac Disease, so there was not really any modifications. I did try to be more concious of portions, though. I lost ten pounds on this program, got toned, and I feel so much stronger and fitter now! I couldn't be happier, but I am also aware that this program is more of a kickstart to a better lifestyle, and I will need to continue to exercise to maintain results.

Here are the pros/ cons of the program:

Pros:
~Very short, is easy to fit into any schedule
~ Can be watched from Youtube, so it is free if you choose!
~ requires very little equipment. You only need 2-5 pound weights. I used 2, and it seemed too easy at times, but defintely provided enough resistance.
~ It isn't a super long term program
~ It offers beginner modifications for most of the exercises, so it's perfect for people new to exercise or with injuries.

Cons:
~ The specific diet plan is only available if you are a paid member of Jillian's website.

My tips if you try the program:

~ Don't skip days, even if you're sore. Pushing through it will cause your body to change faster.
~ Weigh yourself before you begin the program, but do not get on the scale for at least 2 weeks. I made this mistake of getting on the scale day 5, and was horrified to see that I gained 4 pounds! I later learned that this is because your muscles swell up and gain mass faster than fat goes away, but you will start noticing results shortly afterwards!
~ Don't deprive yourself, but do exercise portion control.

I would reccomend this program to anyone looking to get a good kickstart to a fit healthy lifestyle! It's easy and anyone can do it! If you have any questions, or want the youtube links to the videos, let me know! Happy Shredding :)

X's and O's,
Amanda

Monday, November 12, 2012

Healthy Living : My Disease, and Diet

Helllooooo!

So good to be back and blogging! I've had a crazy amount of stuff going on, and a huge chunk of that has been my health.

As I have talked about in a previous Healthy Living post, I am anemic, and have a low-functioning thyroid. But recently, my doctor diagnosed me with something that not only explains the anemia, it explains the past 10 years of my unsolved health mysteries. My diagnosis?

Celiac Disease.

For those of you who have never heard the term, it means that my body cannot process Gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. When I eat food containing Gluten, the villi in my intestines are damaged. Unfortunately, my villi are pretty destroyed. My doctor believes that the onset of my disease was about age 11. At age 21, that means that I have been destroying my stomach for 10 years, and the damage shows in my tests. This has not only affected my intestines, but my liver as well. The good news? My villi will repair themselves over time as long as I stick to a strict, gluten free diet. The bad news? I have to be on this diet for life, and EVERYTHING has gluten in it! Ugh!

Despite the challenge to find good, gluten-free foods, I feel amazing! I have truly never felt better, and I have lost 7 pounds in the  last 2 weeks. I have so much energy, I look healthy, and I haven't suffered any tummy aches( before my diagnosis, tummy aches were almost daily!).

I know many people go on Gluten-Free diets to aid in weight loss even when they don't suffer from Celiac or other Gluten Intolerances. I have never heard anything negative, people really do feel better! I would reccomend everyone to try it. So, now that I have explained Celiac, I am going to go over how to go Gluten Free the healthy way, and how a gluten free diet can aid in weight loss.

First, let's talk about how people gain weight, or have trouble losing on a Gluten-Free diet. When you see chips, breads, pastas, cookies, etc. labeled 'Gluten Free', most people's minds translate it into "healthier". Let me clear this up. Gluten Free does not mean 'calorie free', 'carbohydrate free', 'fat free', etc. In fact, most gluten free products have MORE carbs than the regular products do. "Gluten Free" is not a license to eat loads of carb-rich/ fatty foods. It's all about portion control! I reccommend reading labels and measuring food so you can have a clear idea of how much you are consuming. I also reccommend limiting carbohydrate-rich foods. Another thing to keep in mind for those of you who are actually Celiac patients: because your villi will be healing themselves, they will eventually be able to absorb more of the nutrients from the foods you consume. Without a good, monitered diet and exercise, this can cause weight gain. I'm not big on calorie counting, but it is a good idea to talk with your nutritionist (or find a trustworthy online calculator) to learn approximately how many calories you should be consuming, and try to stay at or under that limit daily. The easiest way to do this is with the use of a food journal.

Now, onto the weight loss/ being healthier tips when going gluten-free:
~ Use a food journal. Recording everything you eat not only helps keep you aware of calorie consumption, it gives you an idea of where you should increase/ cut back. If you can look back in the diary and see that most of your calories came from breads, and there weren't many veggies, you can be more concious of where those calories are coming from.

~ Make sure to get the majority of your calories from Fruits and Veggies. Fruits and veggies are naturally gluten free foods, and are high in fiber, hence, more filling. I have been eating fresh foods and eating little to no processed foods. I have lost 8 pounds in just 2 weeks.

I hope you found this information helpful! Are any of you on a gluten-free diet?

X's and O's,
Amanda