This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here
Starbucks is currently running it’s Starbucks For Life promotion. Lucky winners can win Starbucks every day for a week, month, year, or “life” (30 years). If you want to learn more about the promotion, see my last post.
This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here
I told you I would keep you updated as I found the best Starbucks Refresher recipe, and I think I’ve found it! Since my last post, I’ve done a lot of research about the Berry Hibiscus Refresher and what goes in it. Sources at Starbucks tell me that it’s just “Berry Refresher Juice”, Water, Ice, and Dehydrated Berries. Seems simple enough — but what is in this Refresher Juice?
The first ingredient? WHITE GRAPEFRUIT JUICE! Yes! So, with that in mind, I set off to recreate this summertime (year-round) favorite!
This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here
The Nike+ Running App has gotten a recent update that now provides a “coaching” feature to help you train for your running goals. You know that I already love the Nike+ Running App, so I was excited for what this update could do to help me train for that half marathon I told you about back in November. 
The update helps you to train for a 5K, 10K, Half Marathon, or a Marathon each at either Beginner, Intermediate, or Advanced levels. You can select whatever skill level you want, but the App recommends a level for you based on your history of runs which is pretty neat. I selected the Half Marathon goal and was excited to get back on track with my running. I was definitely slacking during the holidays. The App recommended that I start at the Beginner level which I would have picked anyway. It was weird though, because it recommended the Beginner level when I selected the Half Marathon, but the Intermediate level with I clicked the full Marathon. After, I selected the race I was training for and what level I wanted, I was on my way to 12 weeks of training. I was curious to see what the “coaching” part was like. Was there audio feedback? A pre-run pep talk? I already knew about the run reminders, but what was the training program like?
Basically, the App tells you what your workout will consist of for each day of your training. You can click to see what it has in store for you each day. For my Half Marathon plan, it has me doing 58 runs over the course of 12 weeks. The first week is a Warm Up week with four days of running, two days of rest, and a day of cross training. There is no audio feedback with your coached workouts. 🙁 You just click the workout scheduled for that day and read what you’re supposed to do. If it is a running day, you can click Run from that page and run the way it instructs. After you complete the run, it will be marked complete. If it’s a cross-training or rest day, you have to go in and manually mark it as done.
I was really hoping for some audible feedback — more than just the usual “average pace” and “distance remaining” updates. Especially when one of the training days included 2 miles of fartleks. It would have been cool to have it tell me when to speed up/slow down without having to time myself and look down all the time. Those three minutes are very long when you’re trying to run at a faster pace.
Overall, I’m please with this update and don’t forget, this App is free! So awesome if you are training for something or just looking for a way to track your runs.
This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here
This book is all about improving your life by being mindful of what is happening right now. I first read this book a couple of years ago and it’s great. How many times are you walking to class or your car or at the mall and you’re on your cell phone? Or how often are you thinking about the XYZ you have to do tomorrow or next week instead of paying attention to what you are doing right now? All we have is the present — this moment. Skillful Means is all about living in the moment you are in; being mindful about what is going on around you. No distractions — just really being self aware and clearing your mind. It’s a great book that will help you focus and appreciate what’s happening all around you.
From now until October 1, Starbucks is doing their Star Dash. Basically, it’s another incentive for you to go to Starbucks during certain times of the year in order to accumulate stars to earn a gift card. This “Star Dash” is different from the stars you earn with the Rewards Card, although, you do need a rewards card to participate. Separate from the regular stars you earn with the Rewards Card, these “Star Dash” stars will give you $5 or $10 gift cards depending on how many you get before the deadline. Each transaction will ear you one star. I’m on my way to earning the $10 gift card!
New favorite sandwich for sure. I was looking for some meatless options at different restaurants and a friend suggested I try this sandwich from Panera. It’s amazing — lettuce, tomato, cucumber, red onion, red peppers, cilantro/jalepeño hummus, and feta swiss cheese (I prefer swiss) on tomato basil bread. I bought ingredients today to make my own version at home! YAY!
I love the clean look and feel of the iOS7 update. I have the iPhone 4S and my camera app is faster and I really like having the “live filters”. Command Center is great and I really like all the new ringtones/sounds. It’s neat to have the option to block contacts and to be able to multi-task between apps.
Clear is a simple task management/list application. It’s clean and easy to navigate with lots of color schemes to choose from.
iTunes radio is basically like Pandora. I prefer it because it’s already integrated into iTunes and it remembers the songs I’ve listened to and makes it easy for me to purchase them if I choose. You can create your own “stations” and mark that you like certain songs. There’s even a Top 100 iTunes radio and you can listen to a shuffle of all the Top 100 songs on iTunes. I think this is awesome for getting high quality audio for more than just a preview of a song you might be interested in buying.
It was actually through iTunes Radio that I first heard “Shot At The Night”. ^^^
The Killers songs are always a little vague, but this one seems to be about taking this once in a lifetime opportunity to get out of a situation that is stale and move on to a life that is exciting and full of happiness. I love this. Plus who doesn’t love a nice 80’s synth ballad! Yay for new music from The Killers! I’m excited for Direct Hits to come out in November.
This mirror is great for applying makeup or tweezing your brows. With 8xs magnification and 360 degree rotation, you’ll be sure to see exactly what you are doing!
I’m surprised this brush doesn’t have better reviews online. A lot of people are saying the brush sheds, but I’ve never experienced any shedding. I really like this brush. I use it to apply my Marc Jacobs Genius Gel Foundation. The brush gives my skin an even, airbrushed yet natural look. The natural and synthetic fibers work together to give a streak-free application that looks great all day.
This dress is super cute. I bought it for a friend’s wedding next month but I can see myself getting a lot of use out of it. The lace design is really pretty, but durable — this isn’t some dainty-be-careful-or-it’ll-rip lace. The A-line makes it flattering for all body shapes and it’s very comfortable on.
This post may contain affiliate links; all opinions are my own. See Disclosures here
Sephora’s Instagram posted yesterday that, courtesy of SephoraShares, you can download A Beautiful Mess for free. This app cost $.99 through the iTunes App Store, but it’s free if you go through sephora.com/sephorashares. Yay!
I had wanted to download this girly photo editing app before this free download, but the numerous reviews about all “the good fonts and effects” only being available through in-app purchases and the initial $.99 price seemed like a waste. I’m glad I got it for free through Sephora though. The app has enough cool fonts and doodles to make your pictures more fun.
It was super easy to download onto my phone
Thanks for the free app, Sephora!
Starbucks has a similar program through their iPhone app; you can download a free song of the week and sometimes, a free app as well. Definitely a cool way to discover new music/apps!