It's Cold Outside! : Pets are people too linkup

Hi everyone! I live in southern California so it doesn't really get too cold here but when it does, a majority of us are wimps and complain about freezing when its probably only about 50degrees out. I say only because I'm pretty sure a lot of you live in places where it can be significantly colder. I'm not going to lie, I like the cold because it allows me to layer up BUT I complain about being freezing cold when the temperature drops below 60. My dogs aren't used to the cold either! Tuck in particular. I will open the door first thing in the morning to let him take care of business and he'll run outside, immediately run back inside, realize he can't hold it, run back out to potty then race back inside to the warm spot on the bed and curl up in a little ball. This has been his morning routine this past week. It has been really cold the past couple nights so Tuck and Jeice snuggled up together in the crate!

These boys haven't slept in a crate in months but with the cold weather they both decided to sleep in the same one willingly.

I normally don't put clothes on my dogs and they usually put up a good fight to not wear anything but haven't had a problem lately. They wear these sweaters like champs <3 handsome champs at that!

Luckily it's usually only cold in the morning and at night so during the day they are able to drive around with their dad with the windows down. They're both huge fans of putting their heads out the window! We invested in a Kurgo zipline with attachments, sort of like seatbelts, so they won't fall out:) The wind was a little cold at this moment, so they decided to pay attention to the road instead.

Afternoons are made for the beach no matter what the weather is! The boys had their own beach adventure the other day. Where else can you go to the beach around the holidays without freezing your tail off??

To the pet parents, how do you and your pets stay warm when it's cold out?

Check out more awesome pet posts here:

Talk to you soon! xx

Weekly Wishes #2

Hi! It's time for weekly wishes:) I know I mentioned I was going to be back on my normal posting schedule this week but I failed miserably and have just been super busy with school. Thankfully there are only two days left then I will be able to get back into my blogging routine!

*this weeks picture theme was colorful. I chose this photo that I took when I visited Oahu, the blues and greens definitely give off a relaxing feel which is exactly what I need for this week*

1|  Start Christmas shopping. I'm starting later than usual this year and although I plan on making a lot of the gifts this year, I would like to finish Christmas shopping, have everything wrapped and ready to go. I really don't like when I forget people so this will give me the opportunity to make sure I remember everyone on my list!

2| Get back on schedule. My pride and joy of a blog has taken a hit the past couple weeks because of school and work. I want to get back to daily posts and get started on my new blog design that I have had planned for the past month.

3| Catch up with good company. I would love to see and spend time with some of my friends this week. I haven't really had much of a social life lately because my schedule has only consisted of school, work, Tucker....in that order. It would be really nice to just hang out and not worry about having to be somewhere or finish a project or study.

How did I do last week?

I am glad to say that I accomplished two of the three which is definitely better than none! I went hiking about three times last week and dedicated some mornings to pilates. I was able to clean up the house quite a bit and get things back in order. Having a clean home was definitely a highlight of my week lol! I unfortunately didn't completely finish all of my final projects. I am currently working on my last one right now but decided to take a little break for this instead :)

& now to conquer the rest of my finals!

Talk to you soon! xx

SG Cosmetics Holiday Palette

Hi everyone! I have a review today for the Studio Gear Cosmetics Holiday Smokey Eye Palette. Now, I have had this palette for a little while but I wanted to test it out a couple times before giving you guys my opinion.

I want to start off with the packaging.

I think the packaging is adorable and absolutely perfect for the holidays! It is so sleek and would make a perfect stocking stuffer or to carry in your bag for any event/party because it doesn't take up much space. I also like how it provides a guide on how to achieve the perfect smokey eye using the shadows and blush provided as soon as you open up the product.

As far as color pigmentation goes, the shadows and blush look great and swatch really well but I couldn't for the life of me achieve what I consider the right smokey eye on myself no matter what technique I used. I think it may have to do with the shadows having more shimmer than I personally like wearing. However, I tested out this product on some of friends with a lighter skin tone than me and this palette looked stunning! Here are some swatches of the shadows that I swatched on myself:

(from left to right: Frost, Coal, Glimmer and Platinum)

Unfortunately, I couldn't get a decent swatch of the Snowy Glow blush because it didn't show up too well on my skin. Like I mentioned earlier, the blush gives a beautiful glow to lighter skin tones but it kind of gave me a washed out sort of look.

All in all I would recommend this palette! The shadows are stunning if you are into shimmer which is perfect for the holidays. I just personally don't like wearing much shimmer, if any at all, but I do like the way it looks on other people. The blush is the only thing that kind of threw me off a bit just because it looks so pretty on the palette, it just doesn't show as well on me as I had hoped.

Right now you can get this palette for only $25 (reg.$40) AND Studio Gear Cosmetics is giving you 10% off your entire purchase if you enter in the code SGHOLIDAY when you check out.

If interested, visit http://studiogearcosmetics.com/shop/eye-make-up/holiday-smokey-eye-palette/

*This is a sponsored post, however all opinions expressed are my own.

Talk to you soon! xx

Weekly Wishes #1

Hi everyone! The next two weeks are going to be pretty hectic for me since I have finals coming up. No doubt about it I am definitely starting to feel emotionally and mentally drained. There is a lot of work and studying that need to be done but I keep telling myself to suck it up because I'm almost done! On top of school, I have a job that gets ridiculously busy around the holidays. I am usually incredibly patient and probably the most patient person you'll ever meet but I have been a little short tempered lately. I feel bad about that and I'm pretty sure it is the result of all the pressure I'm under with school coming to an end.

In the midst of the craziness, I like taking breaks from everything by reading a book or catching up on blogs that motivate and/or inspire me. One of my favorite bloggers, Melyssa at The Nectar Collective, created the Weekly Wishes link-up that I have been following for awhile and finally decided to participate in! This is where you can post about/reflect on your wishes, goals, challenges, etc., find and give motivation, and make awesome new friends. *This week's photo theme was "animals" so I found this to be more than appropriate :)) you can see Tucker isn't as thrilled as Jeice to be wearing antlers!

1| Clean up and get organized. I have been so busy lately where my house has become a complete disaster. There is laundry that needs to be put away or washed, papers that need to be filed or thrown out,  unfinished projects, gifts that need to be wrapped...all these things are no joke laying around different parts of my house and it's starting really bug me. Something must be done!

2| Stop making excuses and get back to exercising. Ever since the week of Thanksgiving, I have stopped my exercise routine. Not necessarily because I don't have time because I do have a couple hours every the morning to walk my dog, eat breakfast, etc.but I have had the "I'll start tomorrow" mentality. It's been "tomorrow" about six times and I still have yet to jump back into it.

3| Stop procrastinating, get it over with! I have been putting off my final projects for about a month. They are all due the middle of next week but instead of dragging them on until the due dates, I want to get them over and done with this week so I can get a head start on enjoying my winter break.

If you would like to participate in this link up as well, click the link below! I'd love to read about your weekly wishes! I'm going to move this post to Mondays :)  I really wanted to get this up yesterday but I literally got home late and was extremely tired. Tucker Tuesday will return next week or possibly later today!

Talk to you soon! xx

Rosemary + Garlic Roasted Potatoes

Hi everyone! For those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you all had a wonderful day with your families and friends :) I know I did! I started of the day with a super long hike...it definitely was NOT easy (I don't know what I was thinking. I was exhausted after and my body was so sore, but it was all worth it:)) then came home, freshened up, and started making all the delicious food. I unfortunately was so wrapped up in everything and forgot to take pictures of my first Thanksgiving spread (some of you know this was my first year hosting). Everything was a success, at least, that is what everyone told me. Today I want to share with you the favorite side of that evening.

The roasted potatoes were a HUGE hit! This dish is absolutely delicious and super easy to make :) 

ingredients:

1lb potatoes (I used the little ones from costco)

2 sprigs rosemary

5 cloves of garlic (smashed)

salt and pepper

extra virgin olive oil

black truffle oil(optional, but this makes it taste amazing!)

directions:

-Preheat oven to 500degrees and coat bottom of oven safe baking dish with extra virgin olive oil (I used about 3 tablespoons).

-Once oven is heated, place dish with olive oil in the oven for about 3-5 min to heat up.

-Prep potatoes and cut into fourths or cubes, whatever you prefer. 

-After olive oil is heated, add the cloves of garlic, rosemary sprigs, and potatoes.

-Place in the oven for about 30-35 minutes.

-Remove from oven, stir potatoes to coat with the now garlic/rosemary infused oil, add salt and pepper then drizzle the top with black truffle oil.

Let it cool for a little bit and enjoy!:)

--

I didn't really do much Black Friday shopping mainly because there wasn't really anything I absolutely needed to get that I can't get any other day. I can't believe it's finally December!! I am definitely looking forward to what this month will bring and all the Christmas shopping/decorating I get to do. 

I love this time year <3 

Talk to you soon! xx