The Weight is Over

After all my summer travels, I had eaten too much good food. Lobster rolls, donuts, clam chowder in sourdough bowls, burritos, you name it! I came back to Utah and realized that I needed to get back on some kind of diet/workout regimen, which is where WiO came into play. This program is designed to give your body the proper balance of macro and micro-nutrients to help with symptoms of Metabolic Syndrome. 

Above is what I received each week for my diet so I could make my meal replacement shakes. I did the diet for 2 weeks, which was a great jump start to eating healthy foods in healthy portions. I lost a total of 5 pounds! While it was pretty rough the first week to get started, I reminded myself of some of the healthy benefits of the diet: low carbs, digestible protein, gluten free, natural sweeteners, and whole food vitamins and minerals.

It was awesome to have a WiO coach to help me through the diet along with an extremely informative scale that measures weight, dry lean muscle mass, body fat mass, intra/extra cellular water, body fat percentage, total body water, and lead body mass. It was so cool to see the numbers change each week! I'm happy that this diet set me on the right track to continue on with my fitness journey :) Check out the posts Rachel and Jenny have done on their WiO progress!

Post sponsored by & product c/o WiO Diet

The Husband's Summer Shave

*This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.*

Ryan loves rockin' the facial hair and while I like it, I think that he's just as handsome without!  He's tried most styles in the book, the most memorable being his intense mustache. Now that I've convinced him to shave off that mario-mustache we are now stuck with the beard! I actually like the beard as long as it's cleaned up, meaning no neck beard action. #SmoothSummer

Ryan is a skunk (as shown above) when it comes to new products. Although, he knows that I research about men's grooming products before I purchase them. Therefore he has to trust me ;) I stopped by my Orem Walmart to pick up his razor and shaving cream because it's so convenient and affordable! While he was shaving he loved that this Gillette Flexball Razor was electric because it "massaged his skin while shaving" and that the flexball makes shaving so much easier. Hooray! 

For his summer shave Ryan cleaned up the neck beard so there's a nice clean line. He also trimmed it up a bit so it isn't a huge mountain man beard! Love a clean and manly beard :) Below is a before and after of his clean summer shave with his new favorite Gillette Flexball Razor! #CollectiveBias 

Follow Krystal's Kitsch's board Smooth Faces of Summer on Pinterest.

Amara Glam Spa Night

A couple of weeks ago I was invited along with some other bloggers in Utah Valley to enjoy a spa night at Amara Spa, Salon & Boutique! There was literally the red carpet rolled out for us, a fun photo booth with props, food catered by The Wild Zucchini Grill, drinks by Sodalicious, and beauty services courtesy of Amara!

I snacked on delicious desserts while Amara held giveaways every half hour, it was fun to see all the products gifted! I ended up winning a Sodalicious gift card...figures ;) I had my eyebrows waxed and a 15 minute massage from a couple of girls who work for Amara. Let's just say my brows look fab and that massage was heavenly!

Jade from Kissable Complexions is the gorgeous lady who hosted the party, she was such a sweetheart! It was fun meeting some new bloggers and chatting with my blogger friends. We all took home a swag bag at the end of the night and it was amazing!! So excited to try out all the different beauty products. Thanks Amara Spa, Salon & Boutique and everyone who helped to make the night happen! 

Photography: JessaKae Photography

Hosted: Amara Day Spa, Salon, and Boutique

Hostess: Jade from Kissable Complexions 

Treat Table: The Wild Zucchini Grill

Soda Bar: Sodalicious

Food Truck Roundup + $25 PinkBlush Gift Card Giveaway {CLOSED}

Provo has so much to offer during the summertime, it makes surviving the horrible winter all worth it!  I've gotten Ryan into the weekly Thursday night Provo Food Truck Round Up because it solves all our date night problems. No more deciding where we're gonna go out to eat, we can eat anything our heart desires! 

I mean...come on. Gourmet food trucks? Aren't you drooling already?  

These pictures are a mix of the last couple of weeks that I've hit up the Round Up, and I styled this dress again for a more low-key setting. I always like dressing up, so this is my version of casual! Check out the first look I styled with this dress.

This dress is insanely adorable and I want you to treat yo 'self to something snazzy on the PinkBlush using my discount "BREEZYDAYS15" for 15% off! It's only valid until July 31st, so hop to it! Before you stop by PinkBlush though, enter the giveaway below to win a $25 gift card. It's a total win win! Hope this brightens up your Monday a little bit :)

Photography: Mandy from Thimble & Thistle

Dress: Mint Green Floral Print Textured Dress c/o PinkBlush

Blouse: Ann Taylor Loft (old)

Purse: Steve Madden

Sandals: TjMaxx

Earrings: Francesca's Collections 

Sunglasses: Anthropologie (similar)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Minty Fresh Floral feat. Pink Blush

First off, lets excuse the hideous zebra sunburn on my calves. It's from the Provo River float a couple weeks back and I know that it looks SO DUMB. I'll never be using sunscreen in a spray can ever again, that's for sure. Although it looks ridiculous, I won't let it stop me from showing off adorable dresses like this one from Pink Blush! :)

When I first saw this dress I knew that it had to be mine. Floral, bright colors, blue, fit and flare style...right up my alley. This is the first way I styled it, more of a dressy casual feel which is perfect for a summer lunch date with an old friend. Can't wait to show you how I styled it next at the Provo Food Truck Roundup last week! :)

Photography: Mandy from Thimble & Thistle 

Dress: Mint Green Floral Print Textured Dress c/o Pink Blush

Necklace: Francescas Collections

Sweater: Ann Taylor Loft (old)

Shoes: Ross (old)

Don't Have a Summer Beauty Meltdown

*This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #WalgreensBeauty #CollectiveBias*

With it being so hot outside, I'm having a mental and beauty meltdown! I'm constantly sweating, my hair is flat, and makeup is falling off my face. Lucky for you, growing up in southern California made me equipped for these summer beauty catastrophes. Here are a couple of fast, easy, and affordable beauty tutorials that will keep you looking fab through the heat! #WalgreensBeauty

Here is all the essentials for my makeup and hair tutorials below, and I picked them all up at my Walgreens here in Provo. I gravitated towards the Revlon Colorstay Moisture Stain because it duh, stains my lips ;) I don't need color melting down my face! 

If you hit your local Walgreens between 6/29-8/30 and spend $20 on beauty and/or personal care products (which won't be hard with the amazing selection) remember to print this coupon beforehand so you can score a FREE travel-size make-up brush kit!

I'm typically low-key with my make-up routine, and even more so in the summertime. Ain't nobody got time for that!

Products used:

Rimmel Stay Blushed! in Pop of Pink 

Revlon Colorstay Eyeliner in Black 

Rimmel Volume Accelerator Mascara

Maybelline 24 Hour Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze

Revlon Colorstay Moisture Stain in Cannes Crush 

Instructions:

1// Work NYM Beach Babe Texturizing Hair Cream into damp hair, then blow dry with a diffuser

2// Grab big chunks of hair and wrap around curling rod, alternate direction to create a messy look

3// Spray NYM Clean Freak Dry Shampoo at the roots, it really creates volume!

4// Spray NYM Beach Babe Texturizing Sea Salt Spray into hair, break apart curls, and mess up your hair

5// Spritz some hairspray for hold & voila! Messy beach waves without the beach :)

Products used:

Not Your Mothers Beach Babe Texturizing Hair Cream

Not Your Mothers Beach Babe Texturizing Sea Salt Spray

Not Your Mothers Clean Freak Refreshing Dry Shampoo

Some of my favorite hair products EVER. Affordable and effective. I'm not kidding, go buy them then come back and thank me with every fiber of your being ;)

I'm so glad that Walgreens is not only so close to my home, but that I can indulge in high quality beauty products for small prices! Now I won't be melting like the Wicked Witch of the West all summer and neither will you :) #CollectiveBias

Husband Appreciation With Connections by Hallmark

*I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for Collective Bias and its advertiser.*

Ryan is such a hard worker, and I love to surprise him with unexpected gifts or treats for when he comes home. Or if I'm feeling really ambitious, I'll surprise him with a clean house haha ;) I made this appreciation basket with some of his favorite goodies and topped it off with a hilarious card from Hallmark! #TrendyCards

This clean room and nicely made bed may look normal to you...but only a few hours before this photo was taken it was covered in a massive mountain of laundry. Not only did I wash, fold, and put away ALL the clothes; but I made the bed and left this cute 'lil basket on it...#WifeFTW!

I picked up his favorite flavor of Monster for his long days at work, some turtle Chex Mix to nibble on in between sales calls, some gum (because he always needs to have gum on his person), and Men's Health magazine. This card when opened up says "Hap-pee pool day," and it also served as a coupon for a pool or river trip all about Ryan on his day off! Can't wait to spend the day with him tanning, or in my case burning, and enjoying one another :)

The card was easy to find because I instantly gravitated towards the huge "Funny" sign! Hellooooo, I'm hilarious so my cards need to be too. I picked up my card along with goodies for Ryan's husband appreciation basket at my Orem Walmart. You can even be a part of the Hallmark Card Rewards Program where for every 5 cards you purchase you'll earn a reward! Perfect, because I'm already shopping at Walmart all the time to hold tight to our budget! #CollectiveBias

Make sure to check out Connections from Hallmark to sign up for Hallmark Rewards. To see other great content from bloggers join the #TrendyCards conversation on Twitter!

Simple Summer Recipes

I'll be honest, I'm not one who enjoys cooking...but I do enjoy eating :) I gravitate towards recipes that are simple, easy, and delicious. The least amount of effort, best kind of ingredients like at Fine Food Specialist, with the most delicious result is my kind of cooking.  Which is why most of my Recipe Pinterest Board is comprised of simple yet tasty recipes! Here's a compilation of some easy summer-y recipes I'm excited to try! 

Rustic Strawberry Peach Tart 

My stomach is grumbling just looking at this! Fruity deserts just scream summertime because they are so lightweight and tasty! 

Grilled Salmon Kebabs

I've been trying to use our grill as much as possible before the summer comes to a close, and this salmon kebab would be a perfect recipe to test out!

Fruit Cheesecake Sugar Cookie Cups

How can you go wrong with fruit, cheesecake, and a sugar cookie? The answer is, you can't. Not one bit.

Mini Chicken Pot Pies 

While this is probably more of a cold-weather recipe, I feel like it is worthy for this list because it's mini size! Just throw all the ingredients into bowl, mix it up, and toss it in the Pillsbury roll cups. Quick and easy!

Cowboy Caviar 

Anything with avocado in it and I'm game. My best friend Alexa has made this recipe a couple of times for potluck parties and Ryan just eats this with a spoon. It's a great cold dip to make during these hot summer months!