Favorite Thing #184 - Bronze Booster™ Glow-Boosting Pressed Bronzer

Thanks to my friends Robin and Shannon for introducing me to my winter bronzer. It's by Physicans Formula and it's the Bronze Booster™ Glow-Boosting Pressed Bronzer (that's a mouthful). It's the perfect shade for my skin in the winter months (no more tanning bed for me). It gives me great all over color and I don't look orange. I use the light to medium tone. It doesn't last as long as I would like but it's affordable enough that I can have two (one at home and one in my purse).

Still love and wear Favorite Thing #84 - J.Crew Scroll bracelet. I wore this bracelet a lot this summer with all the weddings we had.

Happy Thanksgiving

Today I will be celebrating with my family at my parents house. Hubby and I rotate holidays with our families so I really treasure each time I come home. Today I am thankful for my wonderful husband, our families, God for blessing me with such an amazing life and I'm especially blessed this year to be celebrating with my grandparents (I'm very lucky that I still have all four to spend time with). What are you thankful for?

This weekend we have a lot of things planned - Black Friday shopping with my dad, taking my grandmothers to play slots at the casino in Bethlehem, hanging out with my cousin and her husband, enjoying my favorite local foods, and spending time with my family.

Hanky Panky Boutique!

Rue La La is having a Hanky Panky boutique tomorrow starting a 7pm EST. I'm hoping to get there to order some for myself and as gifts! Other boutiques tomorrow include Tommy Bahama, Junior Drake and Jura-Capresso. Don't forget Rue La La is giving $10 to each new person that signs up!

Rue La La is a By-Invitation-Only Sample Sale site. Click Here to sign up using my personal invitation link. This link will grant you immediate access to the site after you sign up. (FYI - If you just sign up the regular way you will just be put on the waiting list.)

Happy New Job to Me

I decided to treat myself to a new watch since I got a new job. I got this beauty from Invicta via Rue La La (I would never spend $700 on a watch). It's a chunky watch which I like because it feels more like I'm wearing a bracelet. I also think it goes really well with my wedding and engagement rings. Sorry for the picture quality, I took the pics myself with my blackberry.

Perfecting My Skin Care Routine

As many of you know I've been on the hunt for a few months now for an affordable right skin care regime for me. After searching and researching and trying lots and lots of products and help from Peach.Love.Lipgloss I think I've found what's right for me. Here's a rundown of my routine both morning and night.

MORNING
Cleanse - Aveeno Positively Radiant cleanser
Tone - Clean and Clear Deep Cleansing Astringent (only in problem areas when breakouts happen)
Eye Cream - RoC Retinol Correxion Eye Cream
Serum - Regenerist Regenerating Serum
Cream - Regenerist UV Defense Regenerating Lotion SPF 50
Spot Treatment - Neutrogena On-the-Spot Acne Treatment, Vanishing Formula

EVENING
Cleanse - Glytone (from my dermatologist) and I cleanse with the Clarisonic.
Tone - Clean and Clear Deep Cleansing Astringent (only in problem areas when breakouts happen)
Eye Cream - RoC Retinol Correxion Eye Cream
Serum - Regenerist Regenerating Serum
Cream - Neutrogena Ageless Intensives Deep Wrinkle Moisture, Night
Spot Treatment - Epiduo (prescription from my dermatologist)

Peace.Love.Lipgloss sent me some samples of cleansers. I've been using some of them too and might replace the Glytone with one of them. Also she recomended Skinceuticals Phloretin CF for the day. I think after the new year I will purchase that. It's $150 so I will use some of my Christmas money to get it.

I love my Snuggie!

I'm the proud owner of a WVU snuggie!!! Thanks Hubby! I love it!

I've been a bad blogger!

Sorry I have been so MIA! There has been sooo much going on in my life that it's been hard to find the time to blog. The main reason for my absence is because I got a new job! I'm VERY excited about this new opportunity. I've never discussed my job and I think I will keep it that way. I can tell you that I will continue to work in public relations/communications. My new job starts December 7th. I will end up having four days off in between jobs and I definitely plan on relaxing! I've got a facial and a massage booked. I'm gonna meet up with friends and do lots of organizing (that is relaxing to me).

Other than that we've been busy on the weekends with guests and hanging out with friends. This weekend I saw New Moon with a bunch of girls. I loved it! It was really true to the book which I enjoyed. It makes me want to go back and reread New Moon and Eclipse. I also saw The Blind Side. AMAZING story. It was such an inspiration. I definitely recommend seeing it.

Yesterday was probably my most productive day - grocery shopping, Christmas shopping, picked out and ordered our Christmas card, updated addresses for Christmas cards, and made one of my Hubby's favorites - Chicken and Dumplings.

This week is going to go by fast. I'm only working two and a half days and then we are headed to Allentown to spend Thanksgiving weekend with my family. I've got a couple of posts lined up this week and promise I will be back to my one to two posts a day.

Review of ideeli

I was contacted by ideeli a couple of months ago about their site. ideeli is a site just like Rue La La that offers "limited-time sale events that feature the most sought-after brands in fashion, home and beauty -- at up to 80% off." Membership is by invitation only and there is no fee to join. Click here if you would like sign up. When the rep from the site contacted me I was given $25 in credit. I struggled for a month to actually find something that I really liked and was available. There are two things that I don't like about this site

1) They have a 1st row membership. What that means is for $6.99 a month you can a first access to all the merchandise before anyone else. I don't want to pay a fee to shop, it's just not worth. This makes it harder to buy their stuff because the good stuff goes fast and you don't even have an opportunity to buy it. I know stuff on these sites go fast but at least with Rue La La you have an equal chance of buying it.

2) The designers that ideeli features aren't very well known (or at least to me they aren't). I like that Rue La La has a lot of brands that I know and are comfortable buying online.

This all being said i did take advantage of the $25 credit that they gave me and picked up this cute Calvin Klein dress. I couldn't be happier with this purchase (the shipping took several weeks, much longer than Rue La La). The dress fits perfectly and is very flattering. I also love the color. It's a wine color that I normally wouldn't have picked but it looks great. Here's a picture I took of myself in the dress the other day at work.

Need your help!

I want to start using my Crock Pot more and I need your help with recipes. Please email me some of your favorite ones - christinasfavoritethings@gmail.com

Closet Clean Out

It's time for some more closet clean out. Check out my ebay items here. I've got Ugg boots, Seven Jeans, BCBG top and more up on the site. Happy Bidding!

Vegas Vacation!

We are back from Vegas and we had a blast!!! So much fun with Hubby and our friends. Here's a recap of our festivities.

Friday - We arrived around 5 and after checking in the hotel we decided to do a low key dinner at In-N-Out burger since we never had it before. After devouring our delicious burgers we headed back to the strip to do some exploring. We went to Caesar's and the the Paris. At the Paris we hung out Napolean's, a super fun piano bar. I had an amazing pear martini there. After that we headed to O'Sheas a small casino that had cheap black jack tables. We had so much fun that Hubby and I were almost up for 24 hours.

On Saturday, Hubby and I did some exploring of the strip. We did a little shopping and lots of walking. We ended up at The Mirage where we had lunch at BLT. Another yummy meal! We decided to play more black jack. We headed back to the hotel after winning some $$$ to get ready for the night. We saw LOVE the Beatles and it was AMAZING!!!! I can't say enough good things about the show. There was so much going on I didn't know where to look. The performers are so talented. The music of course awesome. I would definitely see it again! After the show we headed to Serendipity 3 for dinner. I was very disappointed in the meal (it was like they rubbed my sandwich in salt) but our ice cream was yummy!

Sunday morning I was up and ready to get going but Hubby wanted to lay in bed. I decided to head down to the casino at our hotel and try out the 2 cent slot machines. After playing for a little I ended up winning the mini jackpot which was $40! I was super excited.

That night was our last night in Vegas so we headed to dinner at Strip Steak at Mandalay Bay. The meal was AMAZING. They started you out with a sampling of their gourmet french fries and dipping sauces. Then you got some potato foccia bread (sooo yummy). We all got steaks and I ended up eating a 10oz. filet. It was sooo good. By far the best steak I ever had.

Photo Hobby

I haven't been able to play around with my camera too much lately because we have been so busy. But I did snap a few shots about a month ago when we went to the lake with Hubby's family.

Favorite Thing #183 - Mexican Train Domino Game

My brother-in-law and sister-in-law introduced us to this favorite thing and we are absolutely hooked! Mexican Train Dominos is just that a game with dominos. It's hard to describe the game without doing it in person so I'm getting some help from Wikipedia.


Mexican Train, also known as simply Trains, is a game played with dominoes. The object of the game is for a player to play all the dominoes from his or her hand onto one or more chains, or "trains", emanating from a central hub or "station". The object of all Trains games is to be the first player to place all dominoes drawn at the start of a round. Dominoes may be placed onto the player's train, onto the Mexican train if available, or on the trains of other players under special circumstances.

Unfortunately, Hubby and I didn't get to make Favorite Thing #83 this year. Our schedules have been so busy we didn't get a chance to carve pumpkins so therefore no pumpkin seeds.

Viva Las Vegas!

This morning Hubby and I are boarding a plane for Las Vegas! We will be spending three fabulous night there along with our friends Shannon and David. We don't have that many things planned but I can tell you that we are staying here...


And seeing this...


And eating here...


And playing a lot of this...

Follow me on Twitter and I will be posting about my outfits and all the things we are doing.

Favorite Thing #182 - Clarisonic

After the advice from you guys and a $100 Sephora gift card I gave in and bought the Clarisonic. And it instantly became a favorite thing! Since using it a couple of weeks ago I've seen such a difference in my skin. My pores seem smaller, less blackheads, my makeup goes on smoother, and all around my skin just looks better. I didn't buy the whole system, just the brush. Right now I'm using it every other night before bed. I wipe off my excess makeup and then use the Clarisonic with the cleanser from the dermatologist. Next on my wish list is the travel Clarisonic!


Favorite Thing #82 is definitely still a favorite things. It's sitting at my desk right now as I type this. I feel lost if I'm not carrying it around. It's the only way I drink enough water during the day.

Upcoming Rue La La Sales

You should definitely check out Rue La La this week because there are some great upcoming sales:

Tomorrow - Tibi
Thursday - Rue La La
Friday - James Jeans

Rue La La is a By-Invitation-Only Sample Sale site. Click Here to sign up using my personal invitation link. This link will grant you immediate access to the site after you sign up. (FYI - If you just sign up the regular way you will just be put on the waiting list.)

Some recent purchases...

Over the past month I've purchased several items but haven't had the time to review them on the blog. If you follow me on Twitter than these pictures will all look very familiar.

I picked up this Target shirt the other day and I absolutely love it. The colors are purples and blacks (my favorite) and it's so flattering. The main reason I got it was for under suits. I want some non-button down alternatives for suits and this was perfect. I can't find the shirt online. It's made by Merona and was also offered in a blue pattern.

I absolutely LOVE this Banana Republic skirt for a while and finally decided to pull the trigger and buy it when it went on sale. The skirt did not disappoint. I absolutely love it!!!

Another Banana Republic purchase. I got this shirt because I loved the colors and I thought it would work well for work or play.

I went to Anthropologie last week with my good friend Shannon to pick up a gift card for our friend and I ended up walking out with two dresses (on sale of course). This cotton one is ADORABLE and I LOVE it! I can't wait to wear it next year.

And the other dress I got my friend Shannon also got. It's a super cute silk dress that you could definitely dress up or down. I love the colors - deep purples again!! I might bring this one to Vegas this weekend!

I'm back!

The one week blog hiatus turned into two weeks but I definitely needed it! I'm back in action and have lots of things to post about. Hubby and I have done a lot in the past two weeks - babysat my nephew overnight, celebrated my nieces first birthday, watched the Eagles beat the Redskins during Monday Night Football, celebrated my friend Robin's bday, and this past weekend we enjoyed a visit from our friends Ben and Jill. Here are a few pictures from the past two weeks. Things around here aren't slowing down. Hubby and I leave for VEGAS on Thursday morning! Can't wait!!