5 Years Blogging, A Few Favorites, and a Giveaway!

Tomorrow marks 5 years writing on this blog.  I have never marked the "blogiversary" before.  As I said before, I don't like to look back and read too much of what I wrote.  Until I just recently checked, I never knew when I started writing here.  Normally I wouldn't make any deal out of it, but I figured 5 years is a long time.  So for those that have been around a while, thanks for reading and encouraging me.  If you are new, thanks for stopping by, and I hope you'll continue to follow me on this journey.  While I blog for me, I also enjoy connecting with all of you.

Now I just wanted to talk about a few of my favorite things lately.

I blogged about Benefit's They're Real mascara last month.  I still really love it.  I recently had a sample of Korres Volcanic Minerals Volumizing Mascara.  I made my husband take before and after photos of my lashes.  I was going to post a comparison the two, but honestly, you couldn't see much of a difference in the photos.  Up close my husband liked Benefit's They're Real a little more.  I like the smoothness of the application with They're Real too.  They're Real is creamy and thick, whereas the Korres was a bit drier during application.  So for right now Benefit is my go to mascara.

Winter is hard on my skin.  I am always looking for something to keep it hydrated.  Also, I'm getting a bit old and need to worry about wrinkles and lines.  So anything with anti-aging properties is on my list to try.  A few weeks ago I purchased Josie Maran Argan Oil.  They should just call this miracle oil.  There are so many ways you can use this:  in the bath for total body moisturizing, on your face as a moisturizer/treatment, on your cuticles, on split ends, pretty much for anything dry.  You can even use it on your baby as it is 100% pure Argan oil.  Leah had a very dry area on her lower belly, probably from the diaper wicking moisture.  I had tried several diaper creams and nothing was working.  After one day of Argan oil, the red, dryness was gone.  I'm not joking.  After that I was sold on this product.  Seriously give it a try.  And if you are afraid of oil breaking out your skin, most of the reviewers say that it hasn't for them.  Plus the other reason I love this is because of the Josie Maran Cosmetics company; their slogan is "Luxury with a Conscience".  Not only does she have an organic beauty line but she also gives back.

For Valentine's day Pat surprised me with an iPod Nano.  I had a really, really old ipod shuffle from about 8 years ago....seriously old school.  One of my goals this spring/summer is to get running.  I hate running, but I love music so hopefully that will keep me moving.  Pat also got me some iTunes gift cards to load some music.  It was so much fun to pick out music.  I think I may be addicted to iTunes now.

Since I'm celebrating my 5 years on the blog, I wanted to do a giveaway in appreciation for those of you that take the time to read what I write.  I sincerely appreciate each comment/e-mail you leave me.  While I don't blog to have "followers", it is nice to know people care about what I have to say and what is going on for me.  So as a thank you, I'm giving away a .5 oz Josie Maran Argan Oil, a travel size Benefit They're Real Mascara so you can try it yourself, and a $15 iTunes Gift Card.  You don't have to "follow" me to enter, but I would love it if you did stick around ;)

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