Best Creation Ever

Okay, so I know that taking a almost a four week hiatus was totally unacceptable in terms of running a blog. But I can assure you that it WILL NEVER happen again. The reason why I was gone for so long was because I was on vacation on the East Coast and I got tied up in everything that I was doing that I completely ran out of time to post. Life also got in the way and I found that experiencing new things were more important than making sure I updated my blog. So I am deeply sorry about my lack of updates and I promise that I will update at least two times a week.

Now, onto what this post is actually about: MY BRAND NEW 32 OZ. MASON JAR WATER BOTTLE!!!! 

I was just strolling through the store, minding my own business when I saw THIS BEAUTIFUL OBJECT. Yes, I know it’s a plastic water bottle, but it truly brings joy into my life. It’s very beneficial for me personally because I like to keep track of what I’m eating and how much water I’m drinking and instead of having to keep finding water bottles to drink or having to refill a smaller water bottle, I have this! I am actually bubbling with excitement as I write this blog post. I think that I was destined to buy this bottle. It was the very last one on the shelf!!!

Well guys, that’s about all I have to say about this wonderful water bottle. I know this post was probably boring and not my best, but I am in a rush right now and I decided that I would just type up a quick post to let you guys know I am still alive and that I will continue to post. Sorry again for my semi-hiatus!

Birchbox VS Ipsy (July 2015 Edition)

Since the beginning of summer, I’ve been hearing all about Birchbox and Ipsy. If you’re wondering what these things are, then they’re an online-based monthly subscription service that sends its subscribers a box of four to five carefully selected samples of makeup, or other beauty related products (according to Birchbox). Both of these subscriptions cost $10.00 every month. At first, I was unsure about which one I wanted to subscribe to. Originally, Birchbox cost $20.00, so I decided that I would try Ipsy out instead. There was no way I was going to spend twenty bucks on four little samples of makeup!
So, I subscribed to Ipsy at the end of June and waited ever-so-patiently for my bag to arrive. It arrived early July, and I was sort of disappointed. There was only one product out of the four I received that I truly liked.
The products I received were:  
– City Color HD Powder
-Octavio La Playa (sea salt spray)
-OFRA Eyeshadow and Highlighter in Bliss
-Teeez lip color Killing Me Softly

  The HD powder was very difficult to work with. Each time I would try to use it, it would not stay on the brush. It just disappeared! The sea salt spray made my hair super sticky, and the eyeshadow/highlighter was a brown color and could not be used as a highlighter with my fair skin tone. The lip color was the best product in my opinion. It gave my lips a nice, shiny, pinkish tint that lasted for quite a while.

After I received my Ipsy bag, I was pretty sad, so I convinced myself to try Birchbox, and if I didn’t like that either, I’d cancel it. When I went onto the Birchbox site, I was pleased to discover that they’d lowered the price to $10.00!! *Cue me jumping up and down and squealing with joy.* I subscribed to Birchbox and my box arrived mid July. It definitely outdid Ipsy.
The products I received were:
– Key West Aloe Save A Tan after sun moisturizer
– Stila lip color Beso
– Suki Exfoliate Foaming Cleanser
– Atelier Cologne
– Balm Desert Bronzer/Blush

  I found that Birchbox had more summer products than Ipsy did. I tend to wear less makeup during the summer and that means I rarely wear eyeshadow and powder. The Stila lip color is my absolute favorite lip product now. It lasted for hours and hours and it is very pretty for summer. The after sun moisturizer came in handy after I spent a long day at the beach. The exfoliate foaming cleanser works well, along with the bronzer/blush, which was a slightly darker shade than necessary for my skin, but I made it work. I ended up giving the Atelier cologne to a friend because she fell in love with it.

FINAL REVIEW: Birchbox wins it this month. I found the products more useful and appropriate for the season and they had a better quality than the products in the Ipsy bag. I highly recommend subscribing to Birchbox. It is beyond worth it.

Reaching Your Fitness Goals

It’s never easy changing your eating habits. If you’re used to eating fast food two to three times a week, it’s extremely hard. Up until about two months ago, I’d eat fast food at least three times a week. After a long day of being on my feet, I was too lazy to worry about my calories or working out. In fact, both of those things were the last things on my mind. Then one day, I woke up and realized how horrible my eating habits were. I turned to salads and water and cut fatty foods out of my diet.

I made quite a few mistakes when I first began my fitness journey. I wasn’t eating enough calories at first, and I would also still have two cheat days a week. When I wasn’t stressing about my calories, I was constantly weighing myself. Although I did end up losing six pounds in one month, I had one week where I ate really unhealthy and gained two pounds back.

The most important thing to remember is to eat enough calories. My all-time favorite app to count calories is MyFitnessPal. All you have to do is plug in the calories of the food you’re eating, how much water you’re drinking, how long you exercise for, and how much you weigh. It takes everything into account and then supplies you with a specific number of calories you should be eating each day.

It is crucial to not obsesses over the amount of calories you’re eating or how much you weigh. What’s crucial is your goal. You have to keep in mind that you will not reach your goal if you obsess over each and every calorie you eat and every little ounce you weigh. If you meet your calorie requirements, work out daily, and eat healthy, you will reach your goals.

If anyone has any questions about my own specific fitness journey, my workout routine, or the food I eat daily, just leave a comment below and I’d be more than happy to answer them.

Sweet Home Chicago

I was unsure if I wanted to vacation in Downtown Chicago for a multitude of reasons, but after a long night of second guessing myself and the trip, I decided to just go. And boy, am I glad I did. 

The first thing on my list was deep dish pizza from Giordano’s. BEST. PIZZA. EVER. Congrats, Chicago, you deserve it all. Next, was the Taste of Chicago and I have to say, it was my favorite part of the trip. Only cause of the food, obviously. Afterwards, I walked all the way to Navy Pier and rode the famous Ferris wheel, watched live bands and stayed for the annual firework display, which was absolutely beautiful. Again, congrats Chicago. Lastly, I just walked around the city and took pictures of almost everything I saw because I’m not sure when I’ll be returning. (Hopefully soon! Another trip is possibly in the works!!)

Here’s a few pictures I took while on my trip! 

    
    
   

Excitement

Big changes are coming for me and I’m very excited. I’ve recently restarted my fitness journey (I say restarted because I was on vacation and decided to not workout for a few weeks.) and I am super excited.

I’m also super excited to get this blog up and running. I know it’s sort of boring right now, but as I travel to more places, take more pictures, and come up with better blog posts, it will be a lot better. My blog posts will be a little longer as well.

I’ll be posting pictures of my vacation to Chicago in the next few days! I’m leaving for Michigan next weekend and I can’t wait to take pictures and post them as well.

Be sure to follow me on Instagram ( @hiitsbre ) and on Pinterest ( @hiitsbre ) and also on my blog! 

First Blog Post

Helloooooooooo and welcome to my blog!

My name is Bre and I’m new to this whole blog thing. I’m excited to begin posting things about my life and my fashion and fitness journey. I’m glad I get to share it with you!

This was only a short introduction and I promise that my posts will be more interesting than this!