Just in time for our visitors!

Chex-headerI was invited to a Holiday Entertaining Event with Chexâ„¢ Party Mix and DIY Expert, Brit Morin. It was yesterday morning and I received the utmost royal treatment as they arranged for a limo to pick me up, and drive me both ways to MakeShop which is located in ‘The City‘ as Californian’s like to call San Francisco.

Make-Shop-San-FranciscoMakeShop is a fun little spot owned by Brit + Co., where you can make things, and buy things. There are laser printers, 3D printers, and supplies to make jewellery and other fun creative things. It’s a great spot!

First I’m going to talk about the sweet ride, then jump into the blogger event.

CadillacI have never felt so fancy.

Palm-trees-and-CadillacsI documented it all.

Selfie-in-limoMy driver told me it was a fully loaded 2015 (3 weeks old) Cadillac SUV. Sure felt fully-loaded with all the gadgets I had to play with, while getting chauffeured.

selfie-rainbowIt’s been pouring this entire week, which is what California desperately needs. So the drive up was a little foggy and wet, but I spotted a rainbow! A rare treat, in California.

Brit-and-Co-HQ

As a creative individual (I’m a Graphic Designer and I love to paint!) I had a blast hanging out with all the bloggers, making Chex Mix. Which I mean, hello — just in time for our visitors! My parents-in-law will be arriving later this afternoon, my sister-in-law the day tomorrow, and this is only the beginning of our December visitors. I’m super excited to entertain!

Decorating-tinsWe learned how to prepare easy-to-make delicious Chex™ Party Mix recipes. I know Muddy Buddies are popular, but my favourite type of mix we made was the peppermint. SO GOOD. We also decorated tins to put the Chex Mix in.

I-heart-ChexI’m not entirely sure Chex is available in Canada, so this was all new to me. Well, I love you now Chex.

Brit-and-Co-Chex-PartyIt’s starting to look a lot like Christmas!

ChexMagic

Snacks-with-Chex

Carla-and-Nancy

Chex

Christmas-place-setting

Photo-booth-and-decor

Chex-Mix

Brit-+-Co-exclusiv

Chex-SpoonCheck that out!, It’s the spiffykerms logo is laser cut into the Chex spoon. Side note do you like my miniature Ikea Christmas tree hanging out on the kitchen counter? I think it’s adorable.

Holiday-tins

Carla-and-I

Chex-Oatmeal

spiffykerms-spoon

Chex-Oatmeal-boxes

sbux-and-cadHuge thanks to Chex and Brit + Co for hosting a fun Christmas event!

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Meet FitBit

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Fitbit through their partnership with POPSUGAR Select. While I was compensated to write a post about Fitbit, all opinions are my own.

By now you have probably seen me wearing a Fitbit on my arm if you’ve scrolled through my photos on the blog, or follow me on Instagram.Wearing-FitbitFitbit logoI have been wearing the Fitbit Flex for a solid three weeks and have only taken it off twice to charge it when I knew I’d be sedentary, sitting at my computer. It’s even safe to wear in the shower! While it doesn’t stand out on your arm nor is it an eyesore, it’s still a piece of rubber on your arm. You’d be pleased to know one of my favourite designers Tory Burch has teamed up with Fitbit, creating gorgeous metal bracelets and pendant necklaces for sleeker ways to track your fitness.

Lifting-AlfieYou know that I’m not a person who likes to go to a gym and do weights or run on the treadmill. I prefer taking it outside and go rock climbing or do yoga. I’ve recommended a ton of stuff to you guys in the past. I’m always honest and truthful with you, if I got the product for free to review, and I always tell you the pros and cons about a product. While I’m a bit disappointed that it doesn’t track my yoga (since I’m barely moving) nor does it seem to significantly track my bouldering or top roping sessions, it does track me going for runs outside, and taking Alfie for long extend-o walks, think of it as a fancy pedometer basically. You can use the Fitbit as a motivator to get your daily steps in, but please remember in order to get your daily exercise in, you need to get your heart rate up. Walking around a mall for 4+ hours to get your ten thousand steps in shouldn’t count as your cardio for the day. With that being said, I did burn a heck of a lot of calories sweeping our front porch and not many during a yoga class. So keep that part in mind.

On-the-trailsHowever, Fitbit flex can be a great little motivator for those who need the extra push to get moving. When I tap my wrist to see how highly active (or lazy) I’ve been that day, it keeps me accountable for my health and well-being. Because I know darn well I can easily sit at the computer all day long with only grabbing a bite to eat and taking Alfie out every now and then. I don’t want to slowly watch my weight pile on!

I’d like it to fit more snug on my wrists so I swapped out the one that is in the box for the smaller one that came in the starter kit I received. I’m happy to report they kept in mind the people with smaller wrists, a rare treat! If you don’t want to wear the rubber bracelet on your arm, or are worried about it falling off (even though it’s clasped in really well and is almost a bit difficult to remove) you can take the tracking chip off the wristband and put it in a zippered pocket if you’re out on a run. The Fitbit has pre-set a 10,000 step distance for you to keep track of and sync with your computer online.

Fitbit-Sleep-trackerEach morning I check it to see how much sleep I got that night, how restless I was (and let me tell you guys, I’m pretty efficient when it comes to sleep. I can sleep in a room crowded full of people with music blasting and I’ll still get 98%+ sleep efficiency, so I wasn’t surprised at how well I slept.) But I was curious to see how much I tossed and turned, because each movement of the arm during the night reflects “restlessness” according to Fitbit.

Once I’ve been wearing it for 6+ weeks I plan on handing over the Fitbit to my husband. I’d be interested to see how much The Guy and I differ between our sleep and workouts, seeing as he gets terrible rest, and a ton more running and biking in than I would ever think imaginable. Dude goes non-stop.

Overall it gives me a pretty good idea on how my fitness is (or isn’t) during the run of a day. I’m obsessed with the sleep tracker, and especially the silent alarm. If I’m waking up earlier than The Guy I try not to disturb him and the BlackBerry alarms are still pretty loud in the mornings, this one has a silent alarm that vibrates to wake you.

While the $100 price tag won’t break the bank, I am still debating whether or not I’d spend the money on it myself if I didn’t get it to review. Though my Fitbit does motivate me to get up, out and around – I’m not sure it’s suitable to the workout regime I do. I do have to say, since this thing has been on my wrist, it’s definitely kept me accountable for not grabbing a pizza right after my bouldering session (it happens at least twice a month) — and whoopsie totally happened yesterday. With that said, I know my husband is dying to try it out since he runs and bike’s on a daily basis. So I’ll keep you guys in the loop if you wanted to hear more about his thoughts on it.

How do you #findyourfit? How many days a week do you exercise?

What’s your favourite way to workout?

Think you’d benefit from a fitness tracker like Fitbit?

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Keep that sunkissed glow year round

bareMinerals-touch-up-to-glowBy now people are jumping into the winter scene, recommending how to take care of your skin during the colder months. Products that work on your skin during the summer months mightn’t work during the dry months. In fact, many make-up artists recommend you switch up your foundation when the seasons change. While I agree to it somewhat, I don’t agree that you should go from completely dewy and sun kissed during summer, to a flat matte face for winter. With the dry skin I have, matte doesn’t look good on me and I always prefer to have glowy skin year round.

Here’s the thing. You’ve searched high and low for your holy grail foundation, only for the seasons to change and make up artists are telling us we should switch out our foundation for the summer/winter months! What to do? Rather than go out and buy another foundation in a darker/lighter colour, I have a solution! If you are going into summer and your foundation is too dark: apply a gel bronzer to your foundation: instantly warmed up. If your foundation is too dark, I suggest adding moisturizer to it: creating a lighter shade suitable for your winter skin.

You guys know I have to be reppin’ Canada at any moment possible. Leave a comment if you guys have the exact same pair of mittens, from The Bay! Here are some ways I keep my sun kissed skin for a winter glow.

Glowing-Skin-in-Winter

1. Exfoliate. 2. Self-tan. 3. Apply serum. 4. Moisturize. 5. Apply foundation.
6. Dab concealer where necessary. 7. Add warmth to the skin with bronzer.
8. Apply highlighter. 9. Make your eyelashes flirty with mascara. 10. Add lipgloss.

While you should exfoliate your skin regularly to get rid of dead skin cells, it’s important to also do it when the air is dry and cold in order for your foundation to sit nicely on the skin. To prevent your foundation from looking cakey on your kin, try mixing it with a bit of moisturizer.

Swap out your lightweight summer moisturizer for a thicker one during the winter. I amp it up and use philosophy no reason to hide serum, and a thick moisturizer to really penetrate into the skin to achieve a youthful glow for that, I reach for philosophy back to nurture. I have been using philosophy products since 2011, I know it works so I don’t fuss with my skincare routine one bit.

bareMinerals-touch-up-glowTo make that glow last throughout the day I like to have my cheekbones catch the light. I dab illuminating powder from bareMinerals on the upper corners of the cheekbones, and sometimes if I’m getting really glammed up, I put it on my brow bones, and the inner corners of my eyes. Go for gold undertones if you have warm skin, and silvery pinks if you’re fair. Though, there really are no rules when it comes to applying make up.

close-up-touch-up-to-glow  touch-up-to-glow

Here’s what touch up to glow looks like on my cheek bones. I’m thinking it looks pretty decent, right? My skin definitely has a bit of a sun-kissed glow to it, but it’s not over the top. I’m definitely going to be sporting this makeup look tomorrow when I go to a fun blogging event in San Francisco. I’ll tell you all about it on Thursday though!Winter-Glowy-Skin

Most importantly: remember to hydrate! Your skin will suck up all that H20.

If you’re into wearing make up and don’t mind an extra step, use a primer before foundation as it creates a barrier for any dry spots you may have on your face. Foundation can often accentuate dry patches and if you want to look extra flawless, use a primer. I haven’t used many, and I have tried a sample of Benefit Porefessional, which I enjoyed.

Philosophy and bareMinerals products were sent for review.

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