My Online Subscriptions

Stichfix, Ipsy, Birchbox, Julep, PopSugar, Bark Box - I could go on and on and on.

It seems like online subscriptions are all the rage right now. While I have prided myself by staying away from most of these (because I'm broke as a joke), there are still a handful I DO subscribe to.
Let's start with the bestest most amazing thing you SHOULD be signed up for shall we? While it's not technically a subscription box, it is a membership worth having.
AMAZON PRIME I know, nothing new right? Still, this has to be on here. It makes my life so much easier. Why I like it - Whether it's gift buying, restocking a favorite beauty or kitchen item, or pre-ordering new blu-rays for our movie collection, Amazon Prime is the shit. What's better than free two day delivery? Nothing. Really nothing. I know it's not "free" with the subscription, but if you use prime to order even 3 things a year, it's basically paying for itself. I mean I ordered a MATTRESS and got free shipping! Things to consider - nothing, just sign up and start being obsessed.
LE TOTE This is technically the only "box" I subscribe to. Imagine Netflix for clothes, jewelry and accessories. Unlimited amounts for $50 a month! Similar to Stichfix, you have a "stylist" that picks items for you for each box, usually including 3 clothing items and 2 accessories. Keep what you love if you want, or use everything strictly as a rental. Why I like it - if I'm actually on top of things in life (rarely) I can get about 3 boxes a month by wearing what I like and sending my box back within the week. So that's like 15+ new fashion items a month for that price tag! Also - no need to wash or worry about cleaning the items. Stuff them in the pre-postaged bag and drop in the box. Super easy. ALSO, prior to sending each box they email you so you can pick exactly what you want to be shipped! You can switch out anything your stylist picked for you, or keep it like it is. Bonus - you can "freeze" your subscription if $50 is over your budget that month. Things to consider -  my only issue with this subscription has been sizing. Sometimes I'll have a whole box that doesn't fit. That has gotten better now that they have added XL's and even plus size, but still - you can't expect everything to fit or look good you order online right? The good news? Just send it back!

#ootd floral and a pop of red! Loving the flowy floral top from @letote and basically I planned the outfit around the shoes... #newshoes #red #summerfashion #workwear #allabouttheshoes #cuffedjeans #tgit

A photo posted by lauranicolew (@lauranicolew) on Aug 20, 2015 at 8:44am PDT

JUST FAB / FABLETICS / ADORE ME I'm lumping these three together because they all work the same way. Just Fab is shoes and purses (although they have expanded into clothing), Fabletics is athletic wear, and Adore Me is lingerie. Here's the deal  - you have a monthly "subscription" or payment that is worth one credit of a certain value - usually one outfit/set/pair. That payment/credit never goes away, so whether you use it that month or not, you don't lose money. Why I like it - you can SKIP the month and not pay anything. For the most part, for all three of these sites, I skip almost every month. I still get customized "boutiques" sent to me each month for browsing, and when something intrigues me, I get free shipping on whatever I decide on. I've ordered just a few things from each site, and almost everything I have liked. Plus, they offer free returns and exchanges! Things to consider - if you were to pick just one of these sites, I'd recommend Just Fab. I have several purses and shoes from this site that get compliments EVERY TIME I use them. Things are fairly good quality considering the price (although I've sent back one pair of boots) and they have killer sales!

Some of my previous orders from JustFab.com

CHEWY.COM Again, not really a subscription box, but a membership worth having if you have pets! We order all of our pet food through Chewy.com. Why I like it - By setting up monthly auto-ship, we get free shipping (because our order is over a certain $ amount) and the bags of food are cheaper than what I'd find at the local pet store. It saves me a trip to the pet store for our fancy brand name foods, and shows up right at my door - I never have to worry about running out! Plus the people at Chewy are fantastic and sometimes there's stickers, notes or other goodies in the box. We also get treats free from Chewy for sampling. The boys go NUTS for them! Things to consider - nothing here either, just a great resource for pet parents!

What sites do you subscribe to? Any I should add to my list? Will you be trying any of these?  

Friday Favorites

I had high hopes of doing a "Fall Wishlist 2015" here today. Then after scouring Pinterest and the LOFT the idea just fell flat. Not because I don't want a lot of things, but because I realized a) I have a lot of this (or similar) stuff already and b) I can't afford any of it so why gawk over it and torture myself?
So onward with the classic Friday undertaking - a favorites list!
1 | Favorite Beauty Product - Eyelash Extensions. While this isn't necessarily a favorite, I did get mine done last week! Jury is still out. While I think they look GORGEOUS they definitely are not as dramatic as I was expecting. Plus I can't wear eyeliner/mascara with them so again, not as much drama as I'm used to. I will say it takes my face up like 10 notches when I'm sans make up though. Can these just be my real lashes please?

2 | Favorite Purchase - Just Fab Clearance Order. So remember how I told you my spending freeze went out the window? Yeah it did, and clearance sales didn't help it. I am a subscriber to Just Fab, and while I'm an avid "skip month"-er I still sometimes indulge. Like when they have an end of summer clearance... and I get 5 fab pieces for $40!!! These beauties are on their way!

3 | Favorite Feels Like New Again Item - My Food Processor. You know when you have a product for a long time, but never really realized how truly amazing it was until a certain moment? That happened with this bad boy this week. I have an old school, non-brand  name processor that my aunt gifted as a hand me down when I moved into my house. It still does a fabulous job even for it's age and it's a whiz at homemade Whole30 mayo, shredding potatoes and to my delight, easily chopping veggies. WHY HAD I NOT DONE THAT BEFORE?

Obviously this is not veggies, but a good shot of my little workhorse none the less

4 | Favorite Song - Thomas Rhett Crash and Burn. Seriously I can't get enough of this song!

5 | Favorite Happening this Week - See Spot Splash. I did a whole post on it last year, but each year one of the public pools in town throws a doggie pool party before they clean the pool out for the end of the year. It is absolutely one of my FAVORITE things that happens in my city each year. Monday night I took Gunner and he just cannot get enough of jumping in the pool tennis ball after tennis ball. It's a riot seeing so many happy dogs!

Pool jumping pro #gunnertheredgolden #seespotsplash #swimming #retreiver #goldenretriever #fetch247 #pooltime #jump #splash

A video posted by lauranicolew (@lauranicolew) on Aug 24, 2015 at 8:26pm PDT

Friday Favorites | Oh Hey Friday
Have an awesome weekend!

McCall, Idaho Bachelorette Party | Beers, Babes & Bubbly!

Weekend recaps on a Thursday? Apparently I'm making that a thing now. Since I did it last week too. This is mostly a little photo dump of the epic time had by all!

I had such an amazing weekend celebrating the bride to be. When you get 9 awesome girls in a lake town condo for a weekend it's bound to be a great time. 

The lovely maids (3) of honor did such an amazing job putting things together! When we arrived Friday evening they had out food, amazing decorations, and party favors.

There were even custom labeled champagne bottles and a thong cake. Yup.

Plus they took Pinterest to the next level making these gold penises. I mean I've seen the Easter eggs on there before, but doing the same thing for a penis shape? GENIUS. I'd say almost classy even.

Friday we spent eating tacos, playing games, drinking and laughing more than I thought possible.

Saturday was boating day!! We loaded everything up and made the quick walk down to the marina to rent our boat. I was DD for the day, A.K.A. Captain Laura. We took the boat up to North Beach and parked it for most of the afternoon where there was floating beer pong, shenanigans with Ferdinand the Swan, and not surprisingly, a bachelor party who happened to be on the same beach.

Even not drinking during the day I had a blast. Then we got dolled up for dinner and a night on the town! Since it's a small town there's really only 2 bars, but we made a stop at both, danced the night away and had (or at least me) way too much to drink.

The goodbyes and the drives home on Sunday we're a little bit painful. But all in all I'd do it all again with this group of ladies!

#HASHTAGHUMPDAY | I'm not feeling it

Oh heeeeyyyy. So I'm way lacking in the motivation this week. Maybe it was the drunken crazy weekend I had, or maybe I'm just lazy. It is what it is.
Still I couldn't just not show up for my own link up! Make sure you visit my lovely co-host Lauren @ Genuinely Lauren and give her some love while you're there why don't ya?

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 First a little business. Here’s the scoop:

• Each Wednesday create a post about what’s going on in your life and #hashtag each item or story. See an example HERE. Be as creative as you want! 
• Grab the button and include it in your post
•  Link up so we can all #creep on you and find out what’s new/funny/awesome /shitty in your life.
• Comment on at least one other blogger’s post from the link up (someone you don’t already know!) if there even is anyone who links up…
•  Share on all your social sites with #hashtaghumpday
• Have fun! #hashtagtheshitoutofeverything #whocaresifitsarealhashtag

Kapeesh?

First off, how the heck is it the last week of August already? #letsslowthisshitdown

Then again, I'm totally ready for fall, so I guess I'm a hypocrite? I just want to wear leggings and boots and sit around watching football and drinking pumpkin spice everything #canigetanamen?

I left work early yesterday because I was nauseous and had a head ache (and I just didn't want to be there). Both my coworkers and the BF said "maybe you're pregnant" #effyoupeople #dontfreakingsaythat

But really, it's just hard for me to be at work in general now because there's not a lot to do. I struggle with sitting around doing nothing all day, especially when there's zero motivation behind it #stillgottagetthatpaycheck #fakeittillyoumakeit #sobored #motivationwillcomeeventually

So basically I'm just waiting for the freakin' weekend like every other week #isitfridayyet #sooverit

How's your week going? Send me some of your motivation pahhleeeeze!?

TTFN,

An InLinkz Link-up

My Whole (ish) 30 Week 3

This is part of my Whole30 recap I'm doing every Tuesday! Week 1 here and Week 2 here.

I want this to be fairly transparent to you. All the successes, all the failures, and my sincere feelings and thoughts. If your looking for what I ate - scroll to the bottom!

Ok so after last week it's very obvious I can't really claim this a "Whole30" because life events have included two very indulgent weekends at this point. This week  I'm just giving you the week day stuff because for the bachelorette party this weekend - well - it was ugly. Delicious and amazing but oh so bad for me.

And that's ok.

Because you only have so many good friends and so many weekend cabin bachelorette trips. And limiting myself that weekend would have not only not been fun for me, but also would have annoyed everyone there.

I had a blast. I don't regret it.

And now I'm back on track starting my week 4, sort of. I plan on doing the next 2 weeks completely Whole30 compliant even though that would technically be like 35 days or something. I figure two really good weeks can help balance all the fun that was had these last two weekends at least.

Thoughts/Feelings:
Before this weekend I was feeling amazing. I was full longer, less snacking, and just felt good. I played two nights of volleyball and made it to the gym. I felt like I was on the right track and did not feel deprived or limited at all.

Also I had a couple compliments this weekend from my girlfriends who could tell I had made a change and said I was looking great! Always a good feeling hearing it from them, and in a swimsuit no less!

Cravings:
Salty, crunchy. As in potato chips or popcorn. I think I might need to make kale chips or something.

Successes:

•  Cauliflower fried rice with paleo bacon! Yum!
• A good batch of homemade mayo and more ranch.
• 3 super active nights this week!

Failures:

• BACHELORETTE WEEKEND!!!!!

If you're wanting the down and dirty here's what all I ate!

What I ate:

MONDAY

• Breakfast  - 2 fried eggs over  leftover sweet potato crust pizza and spinach (cheese picked off)
• Lunch - leftover pizza from the weekend
• Snack - chicken salad lettuce wraps 
• Dinner - leftover sweet potato crust pizza (cheese picked off)

TUESDAY

• Breakfast  - chicken salad scrambled eggs
• Lunch - spinach salad with prociutto, figs, onions and balsamic
• Snack - dried mangos from Trader Joes and fresh cut watermelon
• Dinner - chicken sausage sauteed with sweet potatoes, peppers and onions

WEDNESDAY

• Breakfast  - leftover dinner topped with a fried egg.
• Lunch - taco salad with leftover carne asada, sweet potatoe, avocado and homemade salsa
• Snack - watermelon
• Dinner -  cauliflower pork fried rice with crockpot pineapple chicken

THURSDAY

• Breakfast  - leftover Tuesday dinner (sausage and veggies) topped with a fried egg
• Lunch - leftover cauliflower pork fried rice with crockpot pineapple chicken
• Snack - 2 pickle spears wrapped with Whole30 compliant deli turkey
• Dinner - Chick-Fil-A market fresh salad, no cheese with oil and apple cider vinegar

FRIDAY

• Breakfast  - fried egg over leftover cauliflower pork fried rice with crockpot pineapple chicken

Weekend Trip!!!!!!!!

DRINKS

• lots and lots of water
• lots and lots of iced tea (unsweetened and natural with fruit flavor)
• La Croix!! 

Next week I should have a clean, no cheats, recap for you! I'm so excited to really stay on top of it this week and all weekend. Hopefully I'll have some new recipes to share with you too!

TTFN,

Idaho Wine Run Weekend

I know it's quite late for a weekend recap, buuutttt.... I HAVE to tell you about the amazing weekend I had.
My best friend came to town for the Idaho Wine Run!

Poor Whitney had almost double the drive time because wild fires closed down the interstate. So our girls weekend got a late start, which meant missing the play I had tickets for. We quickly got over that with some Mexican food and a bottle some bottles of wine.

Saturday morning we were up early and headed out to wine country! Idaho's Snake River Valley is a great wine region and I was so excited to have a mini tour of the area via our 5K. Unfortunately, because of all the wild fires in the region, the views of the area we're not the best. Visibility was less than a quarter mile so what would have been a spectacular view from our starting point wasn't so great. Still, we we're determined to make the most of it!

We walked and ran our little 5K, making sure to stop at the tasting booth just beyond the turn around point, because duh, wine run! After we crossed the finish line and grabbed our official run tasting glasses it was on to the main event - all the wines!

I think we sampled wines from around 6 different local wineries and vineyards. The lines were long, but with strategy you could sip your sample in line for the next sample. There were also vendors and food trucks for the occasion. Whitney tried some spicy spaghetti and meatballs from one of them and they it was definitely not Whole30 delicious! 

Luckily it was a beautiful morning so we sat out in the grass an enjoyed ourselves catching up as we sobered up before the drive home.

After quick nap and a grocery run, we made our signature meal that we do every time we are together. Whitney and Laura surprise. It's always pizza and it's always different. I have to say we really out did ourselves this time! One was a sweet potato crust taco pizza with carne asada, bell peppers, onions, salsa as sauce and topped with fresh avocado and cilantro. The other was a pesto sauce, with chicken sausage, prosciutto, caramelized onions, figs, arugula and a balsamic drizzle.

Is your mouth watering yet??? We gorged on pizza, took the dog for a walk, and watched entirely too many episodes of Say Yes to the Dress.

Sunday we cruised around in her mom's convertible that she had driven down, shopped, and had lunch with my parents. Another tradition of ours is that "Aunt Whitney" always gifts the pets with their holiday attire. So both Ted and Gunner are set for Halloween with their Mexican flare! 

We ended the night with a home-cooked meal at my parents house. We reminisced a lot about how we used to be - a weekend like this would have been overloaded with alcohol, full of poor decisions and a little fuzzy. Those were the good ol' days. Still I think we are both glad we are growing up and can have a pretty picture perfect weekend without all that!

I can't wait till I see my bestie again!