Welcome!

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Hey, thanks for joining me!  My name is Alyssa, I am a wife, mom, lover of all things health, fitness and food!  I am a bit of  nerd with a bachelors in Biology and Chemistry.  My favorite focus during school was anything Microbiology, A&P, Nutrition, Biochem and all things health related.

I am currently in what I feel is the most exciting, meaningful and at times exhausting journey in my life as a stay at home mom of two beautiful little people!  My daughter is 5 and starting kindergarten next week! I am so excited to see her grow and learn.  She is an extrovert, friendly, smart, energetic and fearless!  My son is 3 and also starting two half days of preschool next week!  He is the sweetest, most caring, loving and precious little boy!  I am also the mom to two fur babies Bear and Roo.  They are both male Yorkies, father and son ages 9 and 7!

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I absolutely can not leave out my most important role, a wife!  I am married to my high school sweetheart!  He is my best friend and favorite person of all.  The first time we dated goes back to 2002!  We were off and on a bit while growing through high school and the first couple years of college and have been together ever since 2006!  My daughter is very much like her daddy!  They are both outgoing, energetic, often at times a little too loud but have the biggest hearts.  He is the hardest worker I have ever met and an amazing provider for our little family.

So welcome to our family!  I am so excited to be starting this blog!  I have always enjoyed reading and keeping up with a handful of bloggers and with the kids both starting school I now have some time to start my own.  I am going to be posting about the things I enjoy most in life!  My family, favorite recipes, product reviews, health and fitness plus tips I find useful in my life!

Function of Beauty!

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Well, hey there!  Sorry for such a long pause in my posts.  Funny how life has a way of reminding us things don’t always go as planed.  I truly thought once the kids started school I would have all this extra free time on my hands, well lets just say life laughed at that thought 😆! It took longer than I thought it would for us to settle into our new routines.  Plus it didn’t help that I decided to completely redo my sons room, paint included.  Then the seasons were changing so it was time to shampoo our carpets upstairs.  I like to shampoo the carpets seasonally.  Seems like there was one thing after another to keep me busy.  Well I finally feel like I’ve caught up some in life and can get back to posting! I have a few posts lined up that I’ve been anxiously waiting to share!  Today’s post is a product review on Function of Beauty, personalized shampoo and conditioner!

I’ll be honest, there is something that I LOVE about subscriptions!  With Function of Beauty you can choose a one time buy, monthly, bimonthly or trimonthly. Of course you can cancel anytime or change your order as needed!  Function of Beauty is individually formulated shampoo and conditioner that was created by scientist and MIT engineers! The products are cruelty, paraben and sulfate-free, made in the USA and completely customizable!  You are able to customize the size, color, scent (also scent strength!) and hair goals!  There is a quick quiz that helps determine what would be best for your hair.  The quiz asks about the below:

  1. Hair type
    • Straight
    • Wavy
    • Curly
    • Coily
  6. Hair Structure
    • Fine
    • Medium
    • Coarse
  10. Scalp Moisture
    • Dry
    • Normal
    • Oily
  14. Hair Goals – Can choose up to 5 of the below:
    • Deep condition, replenish hair, fix split ends, strengthen, hydrate, lengthen, volumize, color protection, thermal protection, anti-aging, anti-frizz, curl definition, shine, straighten, nourish roots, soothe scalp, or oil control.
  16. Fragrance – You are able to customize the scent strength or select a scent free option, they often add fragrances seasonally but the scents they consistently have are below:
    • Peony tail – an infusion of wild peonies and warm musk; soulful, soft floral fragrance!
    • Feeling (f)inapple – a blend of pineapple and coconut create an uplifting, tropical fragrance!
    • All (You)calyptus – eucalyptus, lavender, tea tree, rosemary, peppermint, and spearmint oils offers a tingly fresh, energizing scent!
    • Hibis(kiss) – sweet bubblegum and fresh linens; a sweet youthful fragrance!
    • Musk-Have – cedar wood and violet provide a sophisticated masculine fragrance!
  22. Lastly you get to name your formula and choose a color (also a dye- free option)!

I have been exclusively using Function of Beauty shampoo and conditioner since June and can honestly say I am hooked!  Around the same time I started coloring my hair, I first had a blonde balayage for spring and summer then recently decided to go back brunette for fall.  I admit I am new to all the color processing but have liked changing things up a bit.  I’ve always had long, layered hair and stayed away from coloring because I wanted to keep my hair healthy.

Photo By Heather – Check her out on Instagram!
Photo by Heather
Photo by Madi – Check her out on Instagram

Fortunately, Function of Beauty shampoo and conditioner has definitely kept my hair strong and healthy!  The first set of shampoo and conditioner I received I choose wavy, coarse, and oily.  My hair goals were shine, thermal protection, deep condition, replenish hair, and color protection.  My fragrance was Hibis(kiss), strong scent!

I didn’t really like the way the shampoo was working for me (they have a happy hair guarantee!) so I contacted their amazing customer support and they sent me out a new set with a few tweaks to my formulation.  The second set we changed my hair structure to medium and the scent to For(Shore) – a mandarin and sea salt scent with a touch of coconut!  This did the trick and the shampoo worked much better for me.  I wash my hair daily and per instructions I wash twice and condition once.  My hair feels clean, soft, healthy and I am in love with the fragrances!  I like that I am able to use much less product than I used to use and it has last me such a long time.  I have a little more than half left from my second set!  My next order is set to be sent in December and I am anxiously awaiting to see what new fragrance and color choices they will have available then!

If you would like to try Function of Beauty for yourself here is a link for $5 off your order! Link 👇

$5 off your first Function of Beauty order!

If you try it out let me know what you think!  I love feedback!

Love how even the box it ships in is customized!
Seriously cute stickers to decorate your bottles!

Big changes and a quick home tip!

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Hey again! So last week was a busy week filled with big changes and new adventures for our family! We had been out of town for a few weeks and came back to jump right into my little’s starting school. My daughter started kindergarten and my son started preschool! My husband travels often for extended periods of time for his job, so I got through our crazy last week all on my own. My personality does best with routine and structure, I thrive when I am able to have things organized! Now I’ll be honest, my organizational skills have definitely taken a bit of hit since becoming a mom but I sure try my best!

This post is going to be a quick tip I find useful in our home!  Our little ones are always on the go and eat like they are already teenagers!  So I like to have my refrigerator and pantry set up where they are able to reach healthy snacks on their own.  It also helps me keep track of when I need to reorder groceries for online pick up! I can quickly glance through our most common items and reordering groceries is quick and simple!

 

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Some of the snacks we like to keep on hand:

  1. Fresh fruit – this week I have precut our pineapple and honeydew. I like to always have apples within reach. We also have strawberries and grapefruit cups. We sometimes interchange with mandarin cups in 100% juice. Our fruit varies with whatever looks best at Costco.
  2. Yogurt smoothies and GoGurts
  3. Organic applesauce pouches
  4. Sugar snap peas and mini bell peppers. I will also switch out sliced cucumbers or celery sticks.
  5. Cheese sticks and cheese squares

I do the majority of my household shopping between Costco, Walmart – Grocery pickup and Target.  The bulk of our grocery and household items are bought from Costco because I find it is most cost effective for our family.  All the items we don’t need in bulk usually go on my Walmart grocery pick up order. Grocery pick up has become a favorite of mine and not only saves me time it helps me to be sure I don’t forget anything while keeping our budget on track by not buying any extras I might have picked up in the store. I also love that it lists my most common items so reordering is simple. Usually I order the night before I need to pick up groceries but love that same day is also an option!

If you have a busy lifestyle or just simply don’t like having to grocery shop I highly recommend giving it a try! For your first order you can use the link below for $10 off!

$10 off first Walmart Grocery order!

If you love it like I do be sure to download the app, they really couldn’t have made grocery shopping any easier!

 

Today’s lesson and being humbled

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Impromptu post on our drive back from the beach…

I try my best to teach my children kindness. I try to teach them if they can make someone’s day a little brighter to do it. If my daughter tells me she thinks someone is pretty I encourage her to let them know (she does this often). We can all use a random compliment once in a while. I try to teach them they should treat others how they want to be treated. I try to teach them if they see someone being left out to try and include them. I try to teach them that it is okay to be different, because how boring would it be if we were all the same? I try to teach them that if they can help someone, they should.

Back home we have a pretty large homeless population. We will often pack extra snacks or buy an extra meal if going through a drive through. I believe my kids are smart, able to handle real life conversation about the people they see standing on the corner holding a sign. I’ve explained that in most cases nobody makes an intentional choice to be homeless. I’ve explained sometimes it’s bad choices, bad luck or other poor circumstances that lead that person to be without a home. I’ve taught them sometimes it’s the result of drug use or that their mental health isn’t well. I try to teach them they should always be cautious but also not to judge people based on their circumstance. Which brings me to my point. Today at the beach a of couple men and a women sat fairly closely behind us. It was clear they were homeless. I try not to judge others, but in today’s world having little ones I like to be sure I am constantly aware of my surroundings. One of the guys looked drunk or impaired somehow so I judged them as unsafe. I asked my husband to be sure to keep an extra eye on our kids.

A few hours passed by, the guy that had seemed under the influence wandered off and it was only the lady and another man who was sleeping left. The lady had been making beautiful fish, crosses, flowers and other things out of palm leaves. As we were getting ready to leave the lady asked if it was okay to give my daughter a flower. I told her it was and we went over and visited with her for a while. She kindly gave my daughter a rose and a cross, she gave my son a fish. We talked with her for a while and she confirmed they were homeless; her name was Gypsy and she has been without a home for almost two years. She stated she would sell her crafts to get by but she wanted to gift the kids theirs. We thanked her and went on our way. As we were leaving my daughter and I were talking, she was sad Gypsy doesn’t have a home or food. I explained that she could use the items Gypsy gave her as a reminder of her and that she could say a quick prayer for her safety and that she is fed whenever she see them.

Today I was humbled and reminded the importance of kindness and that we should never judge a book by its cover. I will continue to pray for the best for Gypsy.

💚Lyss

FabFitFun Summer Box Review

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Hey all! So this will be my very first product review post and I am super excited to share my Summer FabFitFun box! The Fall box is just being released currently and I am so looking forward to my next box!

FabFitFun is a quarterly subscription service that sends full size beauty, fashion, wellness and fitness items! Your first box is $39.99 with the $10 off link below and the boxes following are $49.99! You are able to cancel anytime!

FabFitFun

I’ve done other subscription boxes and can say this is the first I’ve actually used every single product I received! I love that they are full size and come with an awesome magazine that gives you all the information about the product plus what the item retails for!

My Summer box had a Total Value of $343.99! Seriously, no joke! Over $300 worth of product for $39.99?! Plus I love that you are able to customize your box! I was able to choose three items I knew for sure I would receive which I love because I knew I had something to look forward to!

My first selection was this amazing Summer & Rose Beach Towel! I was able to pick this or a make up case. I was also able to pick the print! This towel retails for $55, it is oversized and made from microfiber so sand doesn’t stick! If you go to the beach at all, you know how important it is to have a great towel that is big enough to stretch out on and won’t carry 20 lbs of sand back home with you! This towel definitely did not disappoint!

My second selection was this amazing Tarte Tarteist PRO glow highlight and contour palette, $45! I’ve already used some Tarte products in the past and know they are great quality! The compact feels strong and sturdy plus comes with two good sized mirrors. It has six pigmented powder and cream shades that all look, feel and smell amazing!

My third selection was the Jaboneria Marianella Body Caviar, $48! This stuff feels and smells wonderful! It’s packed with natural ingredients that are meant to exfoliate, condition and hydrate your skin!

Another favorite from this box is the FOREO Luna fofo, $89! I already own a FOREO and have loved it the past two years! The Luna removes dirt and impurities using sonic power all while being 35X more hygienic than a standard cleansing brush! This one is a little smaller than my original so I was excited to now have a travel version!

Next is the Coola Classic Face SPF 50 with white tea, $32! This sunscreen is awesome, it is mostly organic, doubles as a moisturizer and protects up to 80 minuets in the water! I love that it has a great smell and texture! It is super easy to apply and doesn’t have that gross sunscreen feeling smell or texture!

Next is the Pier 1 Imports Marble Ring Dish, $14.99! This dish is beautiful and the perfect place to save your rings while doing household duties or crafts with the kids!

Next is the Elemis Papaya Enzyme peel, $45. I honestly didn’t have any expectations for this product but after the first use I was seriously impressed! My skin felt soft, looked smoother and honestly I even noticed a difference in the appearance of my pores after one use! I now use it weekly and love the way my skin feels!

Last but not least, the Maji Sports Loop resistance band, $15! This band can be used for biceps, legs, abs and back! Plus it doesn’t take up much space so it is easy to pack to be sure to get a workout while on the go!

I seriously was so impressed with every product I received in this box! I just made my selections for the Fall box and can’t wait to find out what else I will receive!

You still have time to snag a Fall box for yourself! The link below will give you $10 off your first box! If you decide to go for it, let me know! I’d love to hear your feedback and am sure you won’t be disappointed!

$10 off FabFitFun!

💚Lyss