Big Things Poppin'

Hi everyone!! Its been a while-- again! There has been a lot going on!

On Tuesday we had a little get together since Charlie was leaving for Spring training the following day.  It was good to have family and friends together to celebrate his amazing accomplishments in his baseball career! Proud cousin right here!

On Wednesday there were two VERY fun things that happened.  One: I got my tickets to go and see Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z during the Legends of Summer tour :)

And, two... I was nominated for the Bozzuto Management Awards!!!  This is a huge deal to me!  I have worked for Bozzuto now for almost a year and a half.  I have loved my job since I started in November 2011.  I was nominated by others that I work with (not sure if they are in my office or not) within the company.  The category is Outstanding Commitment to Company Values.  So excited!

The BMA's were a lot of fun last year and I cannot wait until this year's!  They are on March 13th at the National Building Museum.  Such a gorgeous location!  I have been struggling figuring out what to wear recently and am happy to say that I found a really pretty BCBG dress!!

Cannot wait to show you guys pics of my outfit, make-up/hair and the event!!  Wish me luck!

Firefly Music Festival 2013

So, the lineup for the Firefly Music Festival was announced and COULD NOT be any more pumped! It will be awesome!  I couldn't go last year and I am def going to go this year... I am not sure what days I will go.  The price for all three days is totally worth it to me!  It will be a great 28th birthday present to myself :)

"Firefly Music Festival is the East Coast's premier music experience. Firefly offers three days of unforgettable musical performances, enhanced dining options and interactive entertainment set among lush wooded landscapes in the heart of the East Coast." -Firefly Music Fest Website

I am not sure who all of the bands are... but I always end up loving most of the bands that I see at larger festivals like this.  I fell in love with Matt & Kim at VirginFest a few years back!  I have a lot going on this summer and I think this will be an absolute add to it!

Take a peek at the announcement of the lineup and tell me it doesn't get you going!

Yayyyyyy live music!  What shows are you going to this summer?

Disappointed... Disappointed!

 

So, I just left the movie theater after seeing the new movie "Save Haven."  I was, of course, super excited to see the latest installment of the Nicholas Sparks' film adaptations of his novels.  I am a huge fan of all of the movies that have come from his books; The Notebook, Dear John, The Last Song... blah blah blah-- I have loved (and own) all of them.  I know-- pretty cliche' to love all of the girliest movies possible.  Come take a look at my movie library and it is basically every girly movie known to exist.  I really don't care what people think; I am a hopeless romantic!

Well, I loved the movie... until the last 5 minutes when Sparks threw in the DUMBEST ENDING POSSIBLE!! I won't spoil it for those that want to go and see it, but wow!  I was so disappointed in the ending!  I understand that not all of the films have the most realistic plot lines, but at least they COULD happen to someone.  I literally sat up at the end of the movie and said "What a stupid ending!"

I will let this one pass Mr. Sparks-- we can pretend like you had a little momentary lapse in judgement and forgot what you were writing. We will just pretend like this n e v e r happened.


Have you seen the movie?? What did you think of the ending?  Were you as disappointed as I was?

Long Time No See :)

hi.

(i've missed you)

Well hey there! It has been about a week since I posted last-- sorry about that! I have been super busy at work since there were two new hires!

It has only been a few days, but I feel like a lot has been going on!  I was able to play the role of "Grown-Up Carlye" today with the purchase of my very first set of new tires!  I was sadly unaware of the actual price of tires... did NOT know how expensive good tires would cost me... womp womp!  I also filed my taxes today!  Thats right! A whole two months before the actual due date!  Look at me go!

I have fallen off of the "diet" wagon and hit a few rocks on the way down.  I have been a guest at the classy Mexican restaurant Plaza Tapatia at least two times in the past week... I have also had a few sodas.  I haven't been the proudest of these decisions, but ohhhh man did it taste good!  What I have discovered is that my suspicions were right-- I have issues with dairy and gluten.  I want to get back into the swing of my healthy eating and am going to make a point of exercising more.  My co-worker, Veronica, and I have talked about meeting at work early and taking advantage of the free gym we have.  I think it would make it a little easier for me to have a partner in the gym trips and that she will also help to hold me accountable. 

I have been hating that I would cause some disappointment in those that have been such amazing cheerleaders in my journey.  Keep the faith!  I want to be able to reach my goals by this summer!  I love you guys and have appreciated all of the uplifting and kind words!

Subscription Boxes-- Yipee!!

So I jumped on the bandwagon a little late, but I have joined the world of Beauty Subscription Boxes.  I did my research online and tried to find which one I may be happier with.  The most popular that I had found (based on the beauty gurus of Youtube) are as follows:

Beauty Army:   $12 per month  This is a subscription service which asks you to take a beauty profile quiz based on your likes and dislikes.  The results of this quiz reveal a store of sorts with 9 samples.  From the 9 samples you can choose 6 to put in your Beauty Army box.  If you don't like your samples you can retake the quiz.  If you still don't like it you still have the option to skip that month.  I didn't choose this box because after taking the quiz it seemed to present me with a set of samples of products that I can find during any regular shopping trip.  I really wasn't excited to try samples of products that I could find at the mall or Target.

I would be SUPER happy with that Nars Lipstick lol...

BirchBox: $10 per month.  This subscription service hand-picks 4-6 samples and is delivered monthly.  Birchbox does offer some really great rewards for their subscribers such as earning points by reviewing products, inviting friends and even just from ordering.  I didn't choose this box for a couple of reasons.  One reason is because of the fact that I am STILL waiting on a response from my request for an invite.  Another is because when I took a look at the reviews on YouTube a lot of them said that it was a lot of foil packets and perfume samples.  There was the occasional good sample, but on the whole it was a bunch of stuff that you wouldn't really be interested in trying again.

Ipsy Glam Bag  $10 per month.  This subscription service was actually created by YouTube beauty guru Michelle Phan.  She was constantly being asked what her favorite beauty products were, so she created Ipsy (formerly MyGlam Bag).  Each month Michelle and her team of stylists choose different beauty products and they get sent to your door.  This subscription is also interactive in that you get to see the stylists all talk about the products and explain them.  It was honestly a toss up between this one and the one I chose.  I ended up not choosing this one because I had seen a few reviews and they were all mixed.  I may try this one further down the road.

Finally-- the winner! I chose to subscribe to GlossyBox :)  $21 per month.  This subscription is new to the US (within the past year).  It is now a popular subscription service in 15 different countries!  This box will include 5 travel size products based on your beauty profile that you create when you subscribe.  Each month a box is mailed to your front door.  They sometimes collaborate with different beauty brands/companies and create specialty boxes (Like mine this month).  I chose GlossyBox for many different reasons.  When watching the reviews on YouTube this was the hands down favorite between most of the channels that I watch.  I also loved that it said "travel size" products instead of "sample size."  This automatically told me that they would be larger than most.  I also chose it because of the brands that it was associated with.  These are brands that I may not try because they are up and coming or more expensive than I would normally try.  


This month, January 2013, GlossyBox teamed up with The Man Repeller and created an awesome box!  My box was a little late (apparently this month was an overwhelmingly requested month) and I got it today.  Here is what I got to open today!!

The box cost me $20 (I chose a 3 month subscription for a discounted rate) and after looking at all of the samples and averaging out the cost of the travel size my box came out to be worth a total of $52.16!!  I have to say... based on the products and how accurate they are to what my beauty profile says... I would say so far, so worth it!!  Plus-- I got two full sized products-- the O.P.I. nail polish and the Vincent Longo lipstick (swatched to the right).  Overall, I am very pleased with my choice!

Which subscription box would you like to try?

Fourth Week Down!

Oh hey everyone!  I hope everyone is feeling great after last night's big win!  I have to say... I have never really been a huge football fan (I may or may not have asked where the yellow line was at a real football game-- years ago lol), but I have to admit that I have become more intrigued throughout the championship games this year.  I was actually watching the game all alone and holding my breath during the last 2 mins of the game last night!

OJ Brigance on the field.

I think one of my favorite parts about last night's game was when the Raven's dedicated their Super Bowl victory to the team's inspirational member, OJ Brigance.  I knew that Uncle Nut was beeming upstairs!  Brigance is such an inspirational and remarkable fighter-- just like my Uncle Nut!

On to some more exciting news!! I am done with week four and I am down some more! I have to say that I was completely surprised when I got on the scale this morning!  I am down an additional 1.4 lbs!!  That is a total loss of 10 lbs in 4 weeks!!!  Woop woop!!  I was surprised mainly because I was not so disciplined this week.  I have only been drinking water; however, I did have a few meals that I had missed during the 21 day restrictions.  I was fairly certain I was going to gain.  Since I did lose I am quite happy--but that means that I really need to buckle down!

What was your favorite moment of the game??

Happy Anniversary!

I would like to take a moment to be a 16 year old girl and say "Happy 1 Month Anniversary!!!!"  I cannot believe that it has been a month since I started this blog!  I have loved every moment of this process!  It has been incredibly therapeutic for me.  I have been able to explore parts of my life that I never would have wanted to share with other people that aren't close and personal friends.  The feedback and support that has come from strangers, folks that I haven't seen or spoken to in a while, friends and family has been amazing!

My journey with The Virgin Diet has been a hard one, but so worth it!  I have made some really great and healthy changes in my lifestyle. I am looking forward to this summer and the things that are to come!  I have a full schedule of weddings and Bachelorette events and I cannot wait to actually feel good about myself and enjoy every moment of that time with my best friends!

I am really excited about exploring more ideas for posts in the future!  I have started to redo my bedroom and will post pics of the makeover when I am all done-- so keep your eyes out for that!  I want to start doing more exercise posts too; this is an idea that benefits me and you lol... I want to actually do more exercises and get the ideas and inspiration to others!

I hope everyone has enjoyed the blog so far and I look forward to many more posts in the future!!

Do you have any ideas for new posts? What would you like to read more of?

<3 Carlye