Staying on Track + #JanuaryJumpStart2015 Printable

Do you guys follow my talented, hilarious Bright Night sister, and totally down to earth friend Amazon_Ashley on Instagram?

No?

Why!?

She's seriously one of my favorite people, and she's been going through an entire Whole30 lifestyle journey that is SO awesome to follow along with. 

Do you want to know the best part of following her - besides the amazing recipe ideas, cookbook printables and pretty pictures? 

She MESSES UP and CHEATS! Like... she's a REAL person, who has three little, adorable, messy kiddos, a husband who works a lot, and issues with her weight and eating that she's learning to conquer, just like most of US!

This was one of my favorite Instagram posts of hers, EVER:

I was seriously laughing SO hard, that I had tears running down my face. LOL

Alright, so the purpose behind this post ISN'T to announce that I'm jumping on the hard-core Whole30 bandwagon (and BIG respect for all of you who do it!)... but I DO love and eat a LOT like, and Ashley has some of the best resources for healthy, REAL, affordable, quick, yummy (and yes, Whole30 and Paleo diet approved) recipes that I've ever seen!

If you follow us at @houseofsmiths on Instagram then you might have seen that I posted about Ashley's first Clean & Colorful downloadable cookbook a few months ago, but for those of you who didn't get a chance to buy it then, you're in luck, because it's over half off now on groopdealz. YEOW!

She's also got this free downloadable #JanuaryJumpstart2015 printable that's genius! I LOVE everything it includes, and I totally printed out like 15 of these and gave them to everyone at the office a few days ago. haha!

I think it was a forced effort, but hey, I do what I can :)

What are your tips and tricks for staying on track when eating right, setting a goal or just trying to stay on track with a healthy lifestyle?

Personally, I love the idea of actually marking off something. It's strangely satisfying. ha!

My One Little Word for 2015 #OLW

I’m a big fan of choosing One Little Word (OLW) each year, to help me stay motivated, focused and driven towards reaching goals that I’ve set for myself… however small or big they may be. 

After a LOT of thought, this year, my word is ELEVATE. 

I love the definition. 

Basically, I want to rise above all the:

excuses

drama

negativity

reservations

fear

hurt

circumstances 

anger

doubt 

and insecurities.

The amount of love, healthy energy and positivity in my life has tripled the past year… but not without a few huge hurdles in my way to jump over.

I want 2015’s good vibes to be on a whole new level!

Moments and friendships filled with ONLY genuine happiness, sincerity, confidence and optimism!!!

Whenever I feel myself going to a place where I want to make justifications for not doing something, or find myself slipping into sedentary, motionless, negative or idle ways… I’m just going to get UP!

ELEVATE myself.

Lift myself up to a higher place (emotionally or physically).

Raise my spirits.

Put my thoughts into a better, higher state of mind. 

I've gained about 40 lbs back from where I was when I was REALLY happy with myself in my weight loss journey. 

Yes... that's a lot. 

Yes... I'm hiding it well.

Yes... I said I'd never go back once I lost it. 

Yes... I'm human. 

and YES... I'm going to RISE above the feelings of disappointment, annoyance, anger and frustration, and start again. 

ELEVATE myself above all the negativity that I feel towards this freakin' obnoxious trial in my life, that yet AGAIN I have to tackle head on. 

Rise above the excuses of falling off the wagon, because of moving to a new house, starting a different job, and a husband having back surgery.

Im ready to not just LOOK happy on the outside through a silly, well-staged Instagram or blog post... but to actually FEEL happy and content on the inside too! Because I know that once your confidence level about how you feel and look rises above what you wish it could be... you can be a SERIOUSLY happier person!!!

Okay, so enough about me.
What's YOUR One Little Word for 2015?

xoxo

MAC Lipstick & Liner Faves!

Guys, I'm obsessed with lipstick... we all know this by now, right?

So with the help of a few cute girls at my work, I wanted to share my top 5 MAC faves with all of you!

These are seriously PERFECT for so many different kinds of hair and skin types, as you can see below... so I don't want to hear any of this, "Oh, but I just could never pull that bold look off" nonsense. 

Why MAC?
I love this brand of lipstick and liners, because even though pricey, they are SUPER great quality. They have a huge color selection, are really concentrated (meaning you only need a little to go a long way, so they last forever!), and they've got lots of different finish options (matte, satin, gloss, etc).

Okay, so here are my faves ... for today ;)

1. Candy Yum-Yum w/ Shock Value liner
2. Ruby Woo w/ Cherry liner
3. Show Orchid w/ More to Love liner
4. Rebel w/ Fashion Boost liner
5. Impassioned w/ Dynamo liner

Application:
When I apply one of these BOLD, awesome lip colors, I always make sure I have a smooth lip to work with first. I recommend doing a lip scrub to get off all of that excess loose, dry skin.
One of my faves is from LUSH. It's an edible lip scrub, and it's called Mint Julips.

Just start with clean lips, apply a little of the scrub with your finger onto your bottom lip, and then rub your lips together. Once you've exfoliated enough, just lick your lips, and you're done!

To get the best, most saturated color for a bold lip, I always apply my chosen liner ALL over my lips first, and then add my lipstick of choice. This guarantees the longest, best wear for you color!

1. Impassioned 2. Show Orchid 3. Rebel

Have fun rockin' those fierce lips!