FabFitFun Box Review

Hello!

We're finally past that grey week between Christmas and New Years, and it's time to get back to work! Back in November I saw a sponsored ad on Instagram for the FabFitFun Monthly Subscription Box and was actually intrigued. Normally I find sponsored ads irritating, because they ruin the steady stream of cute puppies and cute babies on my Insta.  (Is that the proper usage of slang? I'm trying to be hip and cool, but a mom of three that loves Harry Potter is bound to struggle.)

I went searching for reviews and there was tons of positive ones, but they were all from people that had gotten the box for free. I don't know about you, but no matter how many times a blogger says that free stuff doesn't influence their decision, I don't really believe it. Free stuff is always better, right?

So, here's my review of their new Editor's Box, and I paid for it, so you know I'm telling the truth. Well.....I did use a coupon code since it was my first one, but you get the idea.

I had a couple of friends ask what this was. The FabFitFun is a subscription box like others you may have seen (BirchBox, Ipsy, Sock of Month, BooklyBox, Bark Box, Nerd Box...there's literally a subscription box for everything) As the name may suggest, it's full of items that are either beauty related (the fab part), health related (the fit part) or just fun. Instead of doing a monthly subscription, they do a box every 3 months (each season). The box I got was the Editor's Box so it was a mixture of the "favorite" (aka leftover) items throughout the year's other boxes. So it wasn't quite as seasonally themed as some of the other ones are. Nothing in the box is a sample size..it's all full size. Also, they promise each box has a retail value of at least $200.00. So, for $49.99 (or $39.99 with a coupon), it's a pretty good deal.

I decided to try it out because 1) it's a pretty good deal, 2) I thought it would be a fun treat for myself every couple of months, and 3) I'm no longer getting Christmas card mail and I need something to fill the hole left in my heart from not getting cheerful happy mail.

Now that I have broke down what this box is all about, let's take a look at what I got in my 2016 Editor's Box.

Here's what the box looked like when it arrived. OoooAhhhh.

Opening the box it was all nicely wrapped up. I'm a fan of a good packaging job. 

Yeah...I'm not going to use that gift card for Hello Fresh. Please see last post about my utter disdain for all things cooking related.

The first item was a dainty gold necklace that said "dream." I'm a sucker for a dainty necklace so I'm happy with this.

I'm also a sucker for a blanket scarf. Just ask my husband about the scarf rack behind our bedroom door. Blanket scarves are the best. It's like you're lounging around in your house with a blanket over you except it's fashionable and hides the food stains I have created down the front of all my shirts. 

Although I never know what to wear these scarves with. Just solids? Mix with stripes? I'M LOST PEOPLE. HELP.

Hair oil stuff. I have no idea how to use this. I shall use the Google machine to figure out this mysterious ointment.

Lip gloss. I don't wear lip stuff like ever (except my one tube of Lipsense that I really do like) Hopefully this isn't like a neon green color.

Ooo..it's kinda dark. The color is "Lucky" It's actually very very nice. See obligatory selfie below.

Lotion. Smells good. It fulfills what I require of lotions.

Coffee cup. Ah. I love coffee cups. I would dedicate half of the kitchen I rarely use to coffee, and its associated drinking apparatuses if I could. Husband hates my ever growing cup collection. He's just jealous of my affection for coffee.

Mineral Peel Face stuff. I do have to say out of all the things I got out of this box, this is surprisingly my favorite. I don't do a whole lot face cleansing wise (I also don't wear make-up...I'm trying to be authentic. Ha! Mostly just lazy and cheap) so this was a surprising favorite. It smells good and it seems to really work. (Oh and please don't comment about how I should try R + F. I don't have the money, time, or interest for that. I don't want to waist your time pitching to me.)

Nail Polish. I have nothing witty to add here. It goes on your fingers or if you're my son, you're entire foot.

I have to admit, when I saw this color, I was kinda like, "Welp, there has to be some things I'm not going to like in the box." So I tried it out on my daughter. It's actually surprisingly neutral on, and I was digging it. My daughter, however, did not because it was neon colored with sparkles. 

Coloring book. I have like a million of these, and I am still happy to get them. They are really great for vacation or camping when I'm avoiding technology.

So here's the lip gloss. I'm actually really liking the color. I've thrown it into my purse to put on when I remember. 

Selfies aren't really my thing. Don't I look half asleep? Ah, I probably was half sleeping...you know. Baby and all. Here's the scarf. I like it. Still...send help on how to wear it. Please.  

DIY Sunday: The No Good Terrible Paver Patio Project

Hello!

We had a wonderful weekend with friends. The weather was pretty perfect especially out on our new patio and firepit! 

Our patio was one of those projects that wouldn't seem to end. We bought the pavers when they were on sale about 2-3 months ago. We finally started digging about a month ago, and we finished last weekend. 

We decided to go with pavers after my in-laws gave us over 200 free paver bricks. The same week Lowes had pavers on sale 3 for a $1.00, so we figured, why not?

Because it sucked. Dear lordy. For someone that hates to measure, it was the fifth circle of hell.  First of all, digging up the grass was fast with a tractor but getting it to anything that resembled an even surface was work. Then you have to try to keep it level as you add in the different layers. Ha. That's funny. With two children that saw it as either a sand box or a starter hillbilly pool (depending on the day) we gave up on that myth early on. 

         

While we only spent maybe $300 or so on the pavers, the paver base and sand can add another $400 to the cost. We were lucky because my father-in-law knew a guy that could hook us up with some free rock and sand. (No. He's not in the South Dakota gravel pit mob)

When it came time to level out the sand, we just about screamed. My husband threatened to put an ad on Craigslist to find someone to finish the project. The kids removed sand at the rate we added it. They made sand castles in the area we just leveled.

My husband decided to take a nap at this point. I kept forging ahead. I decided to lay the paver edging while he slept. I got all the different tools I thought I needed to lay the patio. I worked on laying a perfect 12 by 12 square for about 3 hours. 

Husband comes back out refreshed, and the first thing he says is "uh. That's not square" I step back and look from a different angle. Yes. It's not square. At all. Commence the string of expletives that would make a sailor blush. 

At that moment we made a decision. How much did we value a level professional looking patio? We decided we valued our sanity, children's lives and marriage much more and just started laying bricks. We tried to keep them level as we moved along, but it isn't perfect. Which is really a metaphor of our life with two young children. 

Of course, it couldn't be that easy. Remember those free bricks we got? The ones we just were sure were the same size as the bricks we bought? The free bricks that were the only reason we decided to proceed on this aggregating quest? 

Nope. Not the same size. Just a hair wider and longer. Shoot. Me. Now. 

So we stared at the patio in the 90+ degree 450% humidity weather. Our brains were a burnt out melted mush. The Craiglist threat became a viable solution. Finally I realized we could just do a border with the free bricks, and we survived. Since we couldn't use the free bricks, we were 92 bricks short. We just made our tri-daily trip to Lowes and got it covered.

The kids were creating some sort of building with sand, bricks and wood.

Once we laid the pavers (over several days) we felt victorious. We had finished the patio. We had done the seemly impossible summer project. We no longer had a hole of mud in the backyard.

Then comes putting sand in the crevices. Easy right? Get the polymorphic sand they said. It will be easier they said. ("They" are the online tutorials I read and mostly ignored during this process) 

Well once I read the side of the bucket I realized the sand wasn't going to be all that easy. Apparently you can stain the brick if there is any sand left on the surface. (Specifically, red colored brick had a higher likelihood of staining) They recommend using a paint brush to sweep into each crack. That sounds like a ton of fun. We tried with the broom first. It became very clear that we didn't have enough sand. Awesome. Another trip to the store. (Face Palm)

Also, with polymorphic sand, you're racing the clock because you need to finish and let it dry 24 hours before it rains. We checked the weather report. No rain for days. We are good to start. Next day I go back to do the second bucket. Weather report now says it's going to rain for three days starting tomorrow evening. Well that's great. I've got to get the sand down immediately.

After doing a bit  more reading on the Young House Love blog, I found I could have used less sand and had an easier life if I wouldn't have just poured the sand right on the pavers the first time around (which was what the directions on the bucket said because they are capitalist pricks that want me to buy extra sand ;) ). The Young House Love blog suggested putting the sand in a ziplock bag, cut a corner and poured it in the cracks directly ala frosting bag style. That worked way way better. I even sat there and cleared every brick with a paint brush. 6 hours of paint brushing and filling cracks later, the sand was done. I wet it down and did an "anti-rain" dance

I woke up in the morning feeling rested. My bed was nice and cool, there was a nice breeze coming in, and I heard the gentle sound of rain drops on the roof. Yeah. Apparently weathermen are right on par with the accuracy of palm readers. (Bright side: I have a long life line and should have four kids)

Well the sand kinda survived and after spending 6 hours in the sun on a hot patio with a paint brush, I wasn't doing the process over again.  I moved our patio furniture out to the patio and drank a glass (okay, bottle) of wine and enjoyed our patio.

Would I do the project again? Sure. I would totally hire someone to do the project again. Ha!

Check back next week when I talk about our much easier (and cheaper) firepit addition to the deck. Now that was a highly rewarding project I would recommend. Positive attitude restored.

#FreshinFifteen Challenge

Happy Friday!

I'd like to invite you to do a little jig in celebration for the forthcoming weekend. We are in full "finish patio or die trying" mode this weekend. Then I'm going to do another little jig to be done with that train wreck of a project.

While we're working on that, I thought I would do something a bit out of the craft wheel house. Kate at the Small Things Blog (if you haven't read her blog or watched her tutorials, please do. They are fantastic!) had a little challenge she posted this week. She's challenging people to look #freshinfifteen. Basically take 15 minutes for yourself in the morning and have a speed beauty routine. Since I work from home, my beauty routine usually involves me rolling out of bed, putting on socks (because who in their right mind sleeps with socks on?!?) and sitting in a chair. If I'm feeling really crazy, I might put jeans on instead of sweats. I know. I can barely contain the excitement in my life.

However, there is something to be said for the extra productivity and confidence you get for taking 15 minutes to get yourself put together. Also, if I decide to meet my husband for lunch or run to the store after work, I'm not trying to pull something together to avoid being put on the "People of Walmart" website. Now, if I'm going to be working on a DIY project, I don't really sweat going to Lowes covered in paint. I hope that it's obvious that I'm in the middle of a project and changing isn't real high on the ol' priority list.

Any who. Challenge accepted. Here's my #freshinfifteen.

As scary it is, this is what I looked like when I rolled out of bed this morning. Charming I realize. I don't know how my husband manages to leave in the morning when I'm looking so smoking hot.

So, I'm not much of a make up person. I wear some tinted moisturizer sometimes. I have real adult make up for nights out (as opposed to Lipsmackers lip gloss), but I don't bust that out too often. Children really stop the "going out with the girl friends to Carey's" lifestyle I had during law school. I did make an effort a few months ago to get some less dramatic every day makeup so I could do something on a more regular basis. To speed up my routine I have different make-up bags for night and day shades.

So, here's the post make up picture. Bare Minerals make up, Younque fiber lashes and some E.L.F. make up mixed in. Nothing earth shattering but at least you don't see my "cursing at the patio in 100 degree weather" blemishes. Yeah. That's a real thing. I'm actually kinda surprised there is such a difference. Maybe I should try this make up stuff more often.

As for my hair, I don't wear my hair down on days I know I'm going to be working out or working on projects (like today). Especially with the bangs that I thought "would be a good idea at the time and then realized as they were being cut they were an absolutely terrible life decision." Bangs are never a good idea. I feel like I need to get that tattooed on my arm, because I keep forgetting it never works. I'd tell the stylist I want bangs, and she'd look at the big warning on my arm and tell me that past self is reminding current self that bangs = annoyance and ridicule for months. Not a terrible idea except the permanent tattoo part...

I did a couple fast curls at the straight crazy ends and pulled everything into a braid and a mid knot. The mid knot tutorial is from the Small Things Blog (click here for the tutorial), and pretty much is my go to style now.

So, that's pretty much it. I do feel quite "fresh". And yes, I'm wearing flannel because it's 50 degrees out. Got to love Midwest weather. This whole fresh in fifteen business does make it a bit more difficult to sit at home for work. My dogs aren't nearly as appreciative of my effort as I feel like they should be.

DIY Sunday: 2:00 am Home Improvement

Good Morning....or Evening...


I've been pulling some late nights on a boring work project. Tonight isn't an exception. It's easy to be productive when all the humans and dogs in the house are asleep. As often happens while I'm up late, I decided to do some home improvement. What, you don't grab a hammer at 2:00 am on a regular basis? My PJs and grub clothes have slowly merged into one lovely wardrobe of cut offs and paint splatters. No Mad Men inspired robes in my house. Just old D-Days shirts and mismatched socks. My husband is a lucky man.

Tonight, I was taking a break from my work to read a bit on Young House Love. Talk about inspiration! Easy simple projects with some down to Earth people. I finished my timed break (timing is essential or I'll see the sun rising while reading how to install a light fixture), I got up to get some recharging fuel and looked at my red back splash.

I hate that $%&%#$ back splash.

My husband stole my thunder a few weeks ago when he installed my dishwasher. Since the cabinets he had to move had a lovely kick board of red tile, he got to be the first one to remove tile. Such a simple pleasure taken from me. *Tear* Okay. Not really. I was loving the dishwasher until a few days ago. Then I realized we never bought detergent so now I'm hand washing until I finally remember detergent. (Three trips in and I've managed to forget every. single. time.)



As what normally happens during 2:00 am home improvement, I decided I was going to tackle a project with whatever tools were sitting within grabbing distance. (Today it was a window scraper for paint and a screwdriver). I earned the right to attack some of that red tile myself.

The first one popped off without removing any drywall. "Look at that. That wasn't so hard" I thought to myself. So I kept going. On my fourth one or so, I wasn't so lucky. A big chunk of drywall came off. Oops. I think I better stop going to town with my paint scraper and screwdriver. If my husband asks, it was a gang of women from the Ugly Kitchen Brigade that broke in and started the project.

In an unrelated note, I was motivated by my Thirty One conference to do more active and passive things to help other people. We started collecting pop tabs to donate to the Ronald McDonald House. Perfect use for this random jar we had in the overflowing pantry!

However, I think this week is the week. The week I've been looking forward to for six LONG months. We have to remove the tile. All of it. Even the entire wall of it behind the fridge and the pieces that were haphazardly attached to the ceiling. (yes...CEILING). My husband and I are taking the plunge and buying kitchen cabinets next weekend. I finally did the due diligence of getting estimates from all the local places, and we're back to the original plan of installing an Ikea kitchen. More to come on that on a different post. We've decided to install the main kitchen cabinets while we wait for the mysterious price quote on removing the ugly sci fi wall comes through.

That tile is coming down this week. I am pretty sure the heavens will open up, wars will end and my daughter will start cleaning her room. Or maybe it just feel like it as the waves of joy hit me with every tile in the trash. Weeeeee! (Did I mention it's now 3:00 am and I need sleep?)

Title of this post should be "Blurry iPhone Pictures Galore" My dog is driving me insane by sitting down and chewing dirty off her paws. My carpet is littered with mud and the noise is driving me batty.