Review | Nice! Disinfectant Wipes

One day I was running out of disinfectant wipes and these things are like, my life. I can't function unless I know I have them around (has to do with my OCD). So M went out to go get more for me but they were out of Lysol, which is the ones I've been using for years and he comes home with... this.

At first I was a little ehh thinking that you know, these are store brand, they can't possibly work as good as the legit Lysol ones... right?

The problem with the Lysol wipes is that the liquid is so strong that it strips my hands of all its moisture depending on how often I use them (and I mean, per day). So it irritates the eczema on my hands and it even got to the point once where my fingertips were so dry and messed up I couldn't touch fabric like silk for months because it would catch on my skin. I know, that should be a sign that maybe I should stop using them, right? But again, OCD. Your mind can really be your worst enemy sometimes.

Ever since that day though, that he came home with these I've been hooked. I don't know what it is about these that I suddenly prefer but I refuse to go back to Lysol. These are less harsh on my hands, they're cheaper and they work just as good, if not better. The only problem is that since they are store brand you can only find them at Walgreens. 

I use to reach for the lemon scented ones but now I just get the regular ones. And I'm pretty happy with them.

I've tried a number of Nice! products and so far I've been extremely pleased with the majority of them.

Motivation Monday

[ discovered on Addicted To Success Facebook page ]

If there is one thing that peeves me it's when people spend the majority of their time discussing other people. What this person is wearing, how over/under weight they are, the sound of their voice. Whatever. 

I get that everyone has an initial opinion of someone, that's natural. Over it's out of shock or awe. But there's a difference between voicing these opinions or just letting them go. Obviously if you admire something about someone and you just have to say something, by all means. But I don't believe in walking up to someone (especially someone you don't know) and saying something nasty based on your initial opinion of them. Nor do I understand the need to continue bringing it up days later.

Perhaps it's just me? I don't spend a lot of time judging other people because they have nothing to do with my life. I'm too busy focused on my hustle, too focused on improving myself to worry about who's doing what with their own lives.

Your opinion of someone else doesn't reflect them, it reflects you. Remember, big minds discuss ideas and small minds discuss people.

Just something to think about. 

Let's spend some time this week focused on ourselves rather than focused on someone elses life.

Freebies Round Up (2)

I know it's been awhile since I've posted one of these but I haven't really been hunting for samples lately. 

But there's some pretty great things I got lately!

• LE Oreo in Marshmallow Crispy
• Gain Fireworks in Original
• Emergen-C in Super Charge & Citrus
• Folgers Gourmet ground coffee in Vanilla Biscotti
• Coupon for free 12 pack of Coca-Cola *not pictured

I'm incredibly excited to try the new Oreo's, I ironically bought the Cookie Dough ones the night before I got this package and I did not like them so I'm hoping the Marshmallow Crispy will be different. Also I totally thought the Folgers sample I was going to get was of like an actual Biscotti... it's funny because I pulled out the sample and felt the package and thought oh no my Biscotti got crushed up in the mail! and I read the package and realize it was actually ground coffee... whoops. Haha. 

Do you look out for free samples? Where are some of your favorite places to get them? 

Motivation Monday

[ credit Pinterest ]

It seems like a lot of people hate Mondays and I never really understood the deal with that... I've always loved Mondays! But I've also always worked weekend jobs so you know, Mondays meant the weekend was over. Plus I'm one of those people who hate going out on the weekends because everyone is going out on the weekend. Can I just find a parking spot so I can get my damn box of tampons and go? Goooooooooodness.

So I came up with this weekly feature called Motivation Monday because I know some people could use it. And as far as doing blog work, some Mondays I need it too! But really, I come across all these motivational quotes and things and I needed a reason to share it haha.

~*~

When it comes to chasing your dreams it can be a bit intimidating. Especially if you don't know what the heck you're even doing or where to begin and there's no one there to help you. Everything might seem like a big fat fail at the moment because you're just starting out. And it shouldn't be that way, you should look at these things as stepping stones because in reality, that's what they are. They're blocks for your to step on as you learn your  way around.

But maybe something just isn't really working out the way you want, at all. No matter how you try to twist and turn it. Maybe this particular project just isn't fully developed yet and maybe in some other aspects of your life goals and situations could just be a fail and there's no way around it.

So. You can do one of two things: you can give up (and spend your life wondering what if) or you can pick yourself back up and try again.

That's the beauty with life, there's never really a final say in things.

So next time you feel like you've failed at something, remember that you haven't. You've just hit another stepping stone.

New Layout!

Looks a little different around here, doesn't it? :)

I got a new layout done by the wonderful Stephanie over at Hopeless Romantics! This is the second time I've worked with her and it's always such a pleasure! She's totally understanding and patient with whatever you're requesting or requesting her to change. 

So if you're looking for a new layout, I totally recommend her! 

Thank you so much again Stephanie!

Now to get started on those Valentines Day posts....

Bonjour Février!

[ made with Rhonna Designs & Studio app ]

Ahh, the beginning of a new month. There's always something refreshing about new beginnings. Is it just me? And there's a lot to look forward to in February --- Valentines Day (who doesn't love seeing pink and red everywhere? There's something that just lifts your mood!), the beginning of Spring, warmer weather, new makeup and fashion launches...

And with every new month I do that thing to myself... where I make a list of goals I may or may not accomplish but it's okay! There is nothing wrong with wanting to work towards something.

• Get back into the habit of sleeping & waking up at a specific time
• Discover 2 new products
• Attempt to make homework the first priority of the week
• Come up with Valentines Day posts and videos
• Tidy the living area
• Make a lightbox
• Build that dresser
• Read more!
• Learn how to knit
• Fix up "About Me" pages
• Make homemade Gum Drops
• Stay focused

That's not too bad... I think I can live with this list. I really need to start sleeping early again and forcing myself to wake up at a certain time instead of constantly hitting the snooze button. I always start my day off late and honestly, it irritates me. 

→ I want to discover at least 2 new products this month mostly because I don't have a January favorites to film since I didn't really discover much. While I have a few products to talk about, I don't have enough to make it worth making a video for and that kinda sucks. 

→ I want to tidy our living area because it's been a mess since... we moved here and it keeps getting worse! We have no storage space at all in our tiny apartment but that doesn't mean that clutter can just build anywhere. I need to get more storage boxes from Target if anything and just start throwing things in a box or away if I really have no use for them. 

→ With that, I also want to tidy it so I can have a place for my light box! Right now I'm just using a desk with left over pretty Christmas garland bunched up and while that's fine, it doesn't give me a big enough range to shoot. 

→ I reallyyyy want to learn how to knit those beanies I love so much. I think that'll be fun! I need to fix up my "About Me" pages for all my blogs. I have one blog where I haven't updated it since 2010. Yeah. Crazy right? So I need to fix that. I kind of feel like your about me page is sort of like a resume. For your blog. 

→ I came across this recipe for homemade Gum Drops. I've never had Gum Drops. But I love homemade confections. And anything rolled in powered sugar so... why not?

→  I lost my focus a bit towards the end of last month because hubby got the flu and I spent a ton of time waiting for it to hit me (which it never did, thank goodness) and I think that in itself caused me to waste a lot of time so this month --- stay focused!

What are some of your goals for this month?

Review | Minted.com

Minted.com is a easy to navigate website that allows you to fully control and customize everything from family holiday cards to birth and wedding announcements and even journals and party supplies! 

I first heard of minted.com when a recently engaged friend of mine was sent a stack of samples of from their wedding invitation collection and there were a bunch of gorgeous ones to choose from! I honestly wish I had known about this site (wait, was this site around in 2009? I have no idea... but if it was!) when I was looking for wedding invitations of my own! I ordered mine from Party City and yeah, the quality wasn't that great. Plus it was super expensive. And I had two cards missing, yeah. Really. Not only does minted.com offer invitations in card form but you can also order them as magnets (what a cute idea!) or postcards! I'm digging the first and third on the first row and the third on the second row. Well I am getting re-married sometime within the next five years so... I think I'll just go ahead and grab myself a sample bundle!

Another cool thing they offer is birth announcements and they have some adorable templates you can check out here! 

How cute are these templates?! I'm totally digging the second and the third one on the first row. Would it be weird to have puppy announcements? I mean, they're furbabies... that counts, right? And as you can see on the left you have the option to choose what gender, what format you'd like and if you want to make it a magnet as well! I'm loving this magnet option!

One thing I absolutely find myself surfing when I'm on this site is their business cards! I'm one of those weird people who get really excited about a pretty business card.

Look at all the pretty designs! Digging the last one on the second row. There was a handful I really really liked but I couldn't get them all to load on the same page and show you guys.

So if you're looking for an easy to navigate website to customize your newest business card or wedding invitation or even supplies for a themed party I would highly suggest Minted.com! There are so many different products to choose from and so many ways you could design them!

*Disclosure: I recieved merchandise credit in exchange for a review of the website. All thoughts and opinions are my own.