Find Joy Friday – 2
Hey there friends!
Can you believe it’s Friday again?! I mean come on! This week has flown. We have spent the month of January in cleaning mode. Being that we are stuck inside all winter, we like to use this time to purge all the things and get the inside of our home in order so that when “spring cleaning” comes it’s basically spent outside the home. For now…no one is aloud to come over to my house. It’s a disaster!!!
Anyway, the real reason for this post. My weekly favorites:
- Beautycounter’s Illuminating Cream Blush and Touch Up Pen Concealer. Where have these been all my mama life?
- Vanilla Frangelico Coffee. My lifeline to my daily grind!
- Label Maker. Organization is my jam!
Okay. So, let’s dive in.

2. Beautycounter illuminating Cream Blush and Concealer
So, confession time…I love putting on makeup. Not only do I feel good about how I look, but I love playing around with different colors and brushes to get the “ultimate look” I’m going for. But some days, I just need to hustle and get the job done…I’m a mom of 2 toddlers and no amount of coffee can naturally hide these dark circles. Enter Touchup Skin Concealer Pen! Now, asided from that S.O.S. Treatment I talked about last Friday, this stuff is a girls next best friend… Perfect for covering pesky spots (that you didn’t catch with the spot treatment) and those dark circles under your eyes from staying up later than you intended folding the 10th load of laundry or out to late to Wine-down Wednesday with a good friend – you know who you are! So, after I have applied my foundation and conceiler I usually will even dab a touch on my eyelids to make sure they don’t look translucent…next I’ll top off my cheeks and even a touch on my eyelids of the Illuminating Cream Blush. You all, this stuff is AMAZING! I love the color. I love the subtle shimmer. I feel like I actually look awake and like I have life with only a few products. Lastly I’ll throw on a touch of mascara. I have tattooed eyeliner, so mascara is a must! I look really silly without it! Like it kinda looks like I put in effort and then went, “Naw…nevermind.” Anyway…

2. Vanilla Frangelico Coffee – So, here is the thing. Before kids, I was a “candy coffee drinker.” I liked the taste of sweetened milk with a touch…and I mean the tinest bit of coffee flavor. Then I had our first kid and I sent out this desperate message saying I had no idea where the coffee maker went that we had received for our wedding (5 years earlier) was. Two days later (THANK YOU AMAZON PRIME) my dear brother-in-law had sent me a new coffee maker, filters, and a bag of coffee…LIFE SAVED! So the downward sprial began and now I’m one of “those moms” who basically needs to walk around with an IV of the stuff attached to her at all times. I try to stay reserved and all that, but the pounding headache that insues about an hour after I’m awake, has informed me that I will not win this fight and that another day will go by where I drink the majority of my water super hot and poured over fresh ground coffee beans. I still need creamer and a bit of something sweet, but lattes are a specialty that I have when I’m out with friends, not something I have daily. (Although, I am working on an add for the local newspaper for a live-in barista: “must bring own latte machine” might turn a few away.)
Wow, this post is a bunch of rambling! Sorry…
Anyway, I want to share with you my new favorite best found coffee. I still LOVE the Jingle Bell Java from my home town’s super fun coffee and food botique. But that can only be purchased during December…I needed soemthing I could snag year round. I like subtle flavors that aren’t over powering. Flavors that are smooth, flavorful, and not really dark. Enter: Vanilla Frangelico from The Butler Pantry in Saugatuck, MI. You can order it online here. But this stuff is amazing. Their description: “The flavor of fine hazelnut liqueur swirled with vanilla makes for a very popular, relaxing flavor combination.” So it becomes vanilla with an ever so subtle flavor of hazelnut. Friends…this is the stuff dreams are made of!
3. Label Maker – So, if you entered our home today you would wonder what actually has happened. There are boxes everywhere, our Christmas tree is still in the corner, and my office is basically an extra storage room! But, around here we try to do all our inside organizing and cleaning in the winter. That way, when spring hits, we can clean up the outside of the house and get our garage in order for whatever happens to it in the summer…which I am still very confused about! So, with all this cleaning, I need labels. Some are great with good ol’ masking tape and a permanent marker, but I have this idea that if you make it look good when you put it away you are more likely to keep it looking good for longer. Say hi to your new “organizing” best friend.
This little $10 thing is AWESOME! I love being able to label EVERYTHING in my studio…maybe I’ll show you one day ;). But seriously, this little guy is so great! I even made super cute labels for my laundry room (a post for another day). If you find you are having trouble remembering where something is…or helping family members know where things are, this is a great way to label things and have it feel clean and neat. I just love this thing!
Well, I’m off to a wonderful weekend of MAYBE taking down my Christmas tree…we will see. Have a good one!
