The holiday season is definitely the thing I’m loving most this week. From festive cookie exchanges to beautiful decorations and twinkling lights, it really does feel like such a magical time of year. I can’t wait to hop in the car next weekend and head to my parents’ place in Jacksonville for the week!
But I’m getting a little ahead of myself… Let’s jump into our usual Friday fun and chat about what we’re loving this week. As always, feel free to share something that is making you smile in the comments section of this post… It just might count as an entry into today’s Happy Holidays Giveaway Week giveaway!
Things I’m Loving Friday
- A New Gym Job (…but I’m still keeping my other gym job, too!)
About a week ago, one of my favorite Pure Barre teachers passed my name along to the manager of a small corporate gym at a local business park. Then, earlier this week, I went in for an interview and am happy to report I’ll be picking up some more classes and working a few days a week at another small local gym! Both gyms where I’ll be working (the one I’ve been working at since November 1 and this new one) are very small and quite different from what I was used to when I taught at the YMCA in Ocala. I am enjoying the change and really like the intimate atmosphere!
These cookies are just the best. I made them for my cookie exchange party earlier this week and baked another batch yesterday before our last Girls On The Run practice of the season. The girls absolutely gobbled them up and raved about them which naturally made my heart happy. My grandma’s oversized, fluffy sugar cookies were my all-time favorite when I was a little girl and I always knew I could expect to see her big glass cookie jar overflowing with them whenever we’d go to Gettysburg to visit. (And yes, that’s Mimi’s handwriting on the recipe card above. Love!)
- Pandora Rockin’ Holidays Station
If you’re looking for an upbeat holiday Pandora station, check out the Rockin’ Holidays station! It’s full of energizing Christmas songs and I’ve been playing it non-stop since the day after Thanksgiving!
- Beautycounter Glow Sugar Scrub
Ryan and I had such a nice time with our friends Amii and Walt over dinner last weekend. As we ate Amii’s amazing baked ziti and sipped on fabulous wine, Amii told me a little bit about some of the beauty and skincare products she’s been loving lately since she’s heard me complain about my skin a time or two. She let me take home a few of her favorite samples to try from Beautycounter (she’s a consultant – and not pushy at all), and I quickly fell in love with the Glow Sugar Scrub and Peppermint Lip Conditioner. The sugar scrub is unreal (it smells like refreshing lemongrass) and only uses real sugar and pure essential oils to exfoliate skin for a healthy glow. The mineral-rich evening primrose, sweet almond, apricot kernel, and sunflower oils leaves my skin feeling soft and so, so hydrated which is much-needed since my skin cannot soak up enough moisturizer in the colder months. I’ve been using it when I shave in the shower and adore it!!
Our realtor is absolutely the best! Earlier this week, I arrived home to find the sweetest package of holiday chocolates sitting on our doorstep from Diane which made me smile. She’s so incredibly thoughtful and clearly has the best taste in chocolate because every single piece of Davidson Chocolate included in the giant solid-chocolate star box I’ve tried so far has been fabulous!
- Happy Holidays Giveaway Week Winners
Congratulations to Bre (grand prize) and Molly and Arianne (runner up), the winners of the Lorna Jane giveaway! And congratulations to Karen G. ($250 gift card) and Rachel W. (Skyscapes), the winners of the Reebok giveaway! All winners were emailed first thing this morning.
- Birchbox Giveaway
I first started subscribing to Birchbox, a monthly subscription beauty box, last year. Each box includes five beauty samples from high-end brands and my ongoing subscription has led to some of my all-time favorite beauty product discoveries, including theBalm Stainiac lip stain, Klorane dry shampoo, Dr. Brandt skincare and more.
It’s so much fun to receive a pretty little box filled with fun beauty samples each month and I think it would make a great gift for the beauty-lover in your life! Thankfully, Birchbox was kind enough to agree to host an awesome giveaway on the blog today in honor of Happy Holidays Giveaway Week!
One grand prize winner will receive a 6-month Birchbox subscription and a Cynthia Rowley Beauty Palette! And a runner-up winner will receive a 3-month Birchbox subscription!
To enter this giveaway, please answer one (or both!) of the following questions:
- What is one beauty product you’d love to see in your first Birchbox? Maybe you’re dying to try a new kind of eyeliner. Or perhaps you could use a better cleanser or lip gloss? Let me know!
- What is one thing you’re loving this week?
I will randomly select a winner next Friday. Good luck!!
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I would love to see some great organic makeup!
I would love to try new mascara. Also, I’m loving that I’m a new new home owner, this week.
i would love to get a moisturizing lip gloss. I am loving the misfit flash and jawbone up move. I got it for fam and am trying it out for them 😉
Happy Friday! Just was browsing Birchbox and saw the Laura Mercier Flawless Face Book! Love her stuff and would love to try.
I would love a new neutral colored eye shadow!
I would love a new lip color! This week I am loving the new Christmas wrapping paper I bought.
I have been wanting to try Birchbox! I would love to try some new products like a new eye liner
I have recently been trying to switch all of my makeup and skincare to natural solutions. This has been a long process. So receiving samples would be super helpful!
A new eye shadow! I always wear the same boring shade, but I’m not sure what new ones to buy!
My husband and I are heading out of town for an overnight getaway on Saturday, to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary! We are going to see a production of the Nutcracker (one of my fave holiday traditions since I was a little girl), go shopping, go out to dinner. It’s also my first overnight away from our 13-month-old daughter so I have mixed emotions! But she will be in the loving hands of my parents and I’m so grateful that we are able to take a little trip because of their help.
That picture of your grandmother’s sugar cookies has me more than convinced to give her recipe a try!
I could really use a new moisturizer for these dry winter months! My skin can’t keep up with the dry Midwestern air in Minnesota.
I’m loving the new gallery wall that I’m working on at my office! 🙂
I’m always on the hunt for a great face moisturizer with SPF – I’ve never landed on the perfect one that hydrates enough but doesn’t feel greasy/oily.
And I’m right there with you on holiday spirit – I found peppermint whipped cream at the grocery store this week and it’s been making my morning coffee super festive!!
I need a blush that actually stays on for more than an hour. Maybe a cheek stain? And this week I’m loving my $10 fresh Trader Joes wreath!
I would to try a new volumizing mascara!
I’m loving that I’m working from home for half the day today and my best friends from college are visiting tonight! And it’s Friday 🙂
I would love a lip balm that keeps my lips moisturized for longer than 15 minutes. Signed, compulsive chapstick user. 😉
I’d love to try a new eyeliner!
I’ve been dying to try Birchbox! I’d love to try a face serum or dry shampoo 🙂
I would love some extra moisturizer lotion for these winter months!
I’m in finals right now so I can’t say I’m loving too much at the moment, but my Farsi professor is having my class over for dinner tonight for Iranian food and I’m excited about that!
I would love to try dry shampoo, new lip gloss, and eye shadow.
I am loving that my 2 month old is sleeping longer, which means I am too. Maybe soon I can start incorporating my beauty routine back into my life 🙂
I’ve been wanting a new cleanser and to try out dry shampoo. One thing I’m loving this week is that clients have been bringing goodies by the office…I had one amazing lemon bundt cupcake yesterday!
I would love to find a good primer in my first Birchbox! They are so hard to come by!
I’d love to see some hair volumizer or moisturizing lip color that stays. My favorite thing this week is having the chance to help children grow and feel special. I teach 2nd grade so it’s both challenging and rewarding.
1. I would love a sparkly eyeliner to try out for the holidays this year! It would be something new and different for my makeup routine.
2. I’m loving adding my green juices back into my daily life post workout to rehydrate and maintain good health during the holidays even though it’s still cold!
I did Birchbox for awhile, but started accumulating too many samples. I stopped the membership, but now I need to start back up! I love the products and it is so fun to try new things. My faves were a liquid liner and a spray in conditioner. Both great products!
The one beauty product I’d love to see in my Birchbox is new mascara! And the one thing I’m loving this week is decorating my (own) very first Christmas tree!
A small Naked palette!
I’d love to try new eye shadow colors or mascara
New eyeliner! The one I’ve always used has been discontinued and I’m still searching for one that I love. One thing I’m loving this week is Starbucks peppermint mocha latte! It’s addicting.
I’d love a bright new lipstick!
This is a great giveaway! I would love to try the Klorane dry shampoo actually. I tend to shy away from dry shampoo because of the way some of them smell and make my hair feel sticky. I think we have the same type of hair texture so I’d be willing to give that one a try!
I would love for a new skin care system and would love to be able to try a variety of brands and products. I am in my late 20s, so it can be hard to find a skin care system that is not for teen issues or for wrinkles (Not their yet PTL!!! Thank you sunscreen!)
My new Christmas nails! I have Christmas trees, stockings, a Christmas cupcake, snowflakes, and glitter on my nails! Makes me smile!!!!
FUN! I’ve been dying to try Birchbox and would love a subscription! I personally like lip glosses (the non-sticky ones!) and am in need of a new dry shampoo, too! It’s always fun to find new faves.
I would love to see a concealer/coverup in my first Birchbox!
I’ve been wanting to try Birch Box for so long now, and just haven’t pulled the trigger. I’d love a fabulous moisturizer and/or a great mascara in my first Birch Box if I win.
I have been getting a bit lazy with my make up and would love some new samples to try out-plus any mail is great!
One thing I would love to see in a Birchbox is a new lip gloss or lipstick. Lips are the one feature I am never adventurous with. This week I am loving the book Unbroken. I am simply astounded by how much some tragedy people can endure. It’s a great read and has been making me extra thankful for my blessed life.
I have heard so many good things about birch box! I would love a new “long wear” lipstick and this friday I am loving hot chocolate! It’s finally cold down here in florida and it’s so nice to drink hot chocolate in the cold!
I’d love to try a new mascara! I’m always hesitant to stray from what I normally buy.
I’d love some new lipstick, and some eye shadows!
I’ve been wanting to try a new mascara for awhile now. My go to isn’t cutting it anymore
What I’m loving? Clinique’s All About Lips. It’s so dry here that this moisturizer/scrub is saving my lips from being done for the season.
What I would love to try? Anything! I’m such a chicken when it comes to trying new beauty products…
I would love to see nail polish or skin care samples
I’m loving my fabulous company that is giving us a turkey for the holidays! Free turkey! Woop!
I’m always looking for new skincare items! I’d love to get a Birchbox with some!
I would love a lip color or stain. I usually never wear anything besides Chapstick and I want to try something else before taking the plunge and buying one!
I’ve been wanting a Birchbox subscription for so long! I’d love if the first box had some mascara since it’s my favorite beauty product and I love trying new brands!
One thing I am loving this week is hot black tea in the morning- Tazo Awake is my favorite.
I would love to try some lip scrub
Birchbox sounds awesome! I would love a good eyebrow pencil or shadow. I’m loving getting to babysit my nephews while my sister is out of town