Uncategorized

Hey all you cool cats & kittens.

November 4, 2020November 4, 2020by Elise GioveLeave a Comment

2020 has been weird. & the worst.

I decided to fall back into the world of blogging. I’ve been more private about life lately and I am hoping that if I blog again I can connect with just one person out there that feels as lonely as me. I’ll give you a brief summary of my life to get you caught up.

I am thirty [something]. Married for 5 years to a workaholic of the century. Working [part time] now with COVID-19 running ramped throughout the world. I was full time and thats why my blog took a backseat. Our hours are shorter and I honestly couldn’t be more thankful. Part of my job is working with the public and you people are effing AWEFUL. Who raised you. Honestly.

The rest of my life I’m either thriving or barely surviving. I struggle with a LAUNDRY list of mental disorders and that was partly where my blog was born. In the mess of highs and lows and semi regular therapy I found myself here. I wanted to throw myself into something where I could share openly, talk about my struggles and things that make me happy. We’re all some sort of normal after all.

I don’t think I really caught you up at all. But, thanks for being here.

kisses.

Beauty, Makeup, Uncategorized

Hello September

September 1, 2019August 28, 2019by Elise GioveLeave a Comment

Hi SEPTEMBER. Only the best month to ever exist. (coming from a September Virgo so clearly theres bias.) ANYWAY. Its my Birthday month. I’m going to be 31. CUTE. What is cute tho is that I look younger than most of my friends cause, SKINCARE. Wash your damn face. And I’m pale as paper, so I never was a lay in the sun and get brown kinda girl. So, I’m sure that helped. Here’s some skincare I’ve loved for a million years. (or like 30) whatever. I have dry skin. Kinda like the Sahara desert. Except my chin is oily. CUTE.

AM|RISE AND SHINE.

Wash. Moisturize. [eye cream]. Makeup.

Cleansers | Tarte of the Sea Cleanser & Origins Ginzing Scrub.
You can buy them at Sephora.

I don’t know what to say about it, takes off gunk and makes my skin feel nice. I promise everything else will have a real explanation as to why I’m loving it.

Moisturizer |Origins Ginzing Ultra Hydrating Energy Boosting CREAM [also comes in a gel version]

Screen Shot 2019-08-27 at 9.10.03 PM

Don’t let them fool you. It’s not new. They just deleted it for a month off the site and put it back on with a clean at Sephora sign, “NEW” and boosted the price $2. BUT ITS THE SAME. AND Great. Also smells like citrus. Major plus in the AM. Good wakeup. Buy it here.

I also use the eye cream. [Origins | Refreshing eye cream to brighten & Depuff] Brand & Jar looks almost exacstly the same, [so I’m sorry there will be no pic] but you can check it out here.
PM | Nighty Night.

Remove Makeup. Wash. Exfoliate[sometimes]. Moisturize.

Screen Shot 2019-08-27 at 9.13.53 PM

Micellar Water |Makeup Remover [Bioderma]

Use this magic water on a cotton round and it will remove, EVERYTHING. Even your worst regrets from the weekend. (kidding) But, its great, and gentle, and doesn’t rip your eyelashes out of your face when trying to remove mascara. MAJOR plus. I buy mine on Dermstore.com – If you create an account and “favorite” items, you can buy them at a 10% discount. WHICH WHO DOESN’T LOVE THAT? also, easy to find and replace products you LOVE.

__________________[just wash using one of the two I mentioned above. You don’t need anything special for night if you are taking your makeup off]_______________________

Screen Shot 2019-08-27 at 9.17.18 PM Chemical Exfoliant [don’t let the name scare you. It’s awesome]

I don’t recommend using a chemical exfoliator often, but I do once or twice a week. And this one will make you look like a baby. Smooth skin. No little bumps. Really amazing honestly. It’s one of two products I actually notice a difference in my skin when I don’t use it. AND THATS MAGIC. Buy it on Paulaschoice.com

Screen Shot 2019-08-27 at 9.30.16 PM Nighttime Moisturizer | Korres Vitamin C brightening Sleeping Facial

I saved the best for last. The most expensive at $48.00 a jar but also honestly the most life changing. Anything worth putting on your face as far as moisturizer goes comes in a jar. Tubes are for 12 year olds. Will never buy anything else, holy grail till I die night moisturizer. I can tell if I have used this the night before or not. Its wonderful. And smells like roses. Vitamin C is awesome for brightening the skin. The next morning my skin just looks alive. If you don’t believe me, try it for yourself. You can buy it on Sephora.com. They also have a daytime version, which I think is great, but if you’re going to get one. NIGHT is where its at.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you try anything [and if you love it].

Kisses.

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Cats, Drinks, Uncategorized

Fall, Is that you?

August 28, 2019August 28, 2019by Elise GioveLeave a Comment

Hi. So. Basiciallyyyyyy Fall is the most magical time of year (or like almost), but for real I am ready. And for someone who isn’t too fond of the cold I am rather excited to smell the crisp fall air and drink all the apple cider and Carmel vodka. Its legit the most magical fall drink I could have ever found. Go to your local orchard and get some LEGIT cider & buy Smirnoff Carmel vodka. YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT. (unless you drink too many) But thats not really my fault cause, um. Self control people. We’re adults here. Or.. at least trying to be. Many fall posts to come, but I’m gonna warm you up with this super sweet photo of my cat in her new Unicorn costume, because… its so darn cute. What couldn’t be more fun then 11 whole pounds of pure fluff and tie dye unicorns with iridescent wings? I honestly don’t know.

Kisses.

Self Love, Uncategorized

failure.

October 2, 2018October 2, 2018by Elise GioveLeave a Comment

I started this blog to occupy my time and to share my life with the world. I know I don’t really ever say much thats super private, but I think you deserve to know why I started, posted twice a week, dedicated my free time to blogging, photographing, and whatever else I was doing, but all while I was trying to distract myself I happened upon the job that saved my life. LITERALLY. As you know [or will now know] I have anxiety, depression, and OCD. cute. Lots of diagnosed, “disorders” and they really get in the way of a normal life sometimes. but what really is normal. ME. I’m normal. Sometimes ab-normal, sometimes kinda normal, and sometimes not at all normal, but regardless.. here I am living life just like the rest of you.

My mom came to visit me here in the [sort of] north.. which is really more like the middle of the lower peninsula of Michigan [aka the greatest state that ever was]. And we hopped around town and happened upon a place that was hiring. A place that was RIGHT up my alley. A Bakery. YEP. I am now going by the title; small business owner, sometimes blogger, cat mom, bullet journal novice, wife, graphic designer, cake & cookie decorator extraordinaire. YES. I KNOW. pretty exciting right. SO I’ve been busy working OUT OF MY HOUSE, making friends, BEING IN THE REAL WORLD, WITH HUMANS. FULL TIME. Like, not sitting around feeling sorry for myself and hiding behind a computer. Its been the best thing that I could have asked for I think, and I wasn’t even searching for it. It just happened.

SO, now I look back on this blog I started about a year ago with less than 100 followers, probs ZERO people even care, but I DO. and I failed. I just kind of abandoned it. I wish I could have posted like, once a week, or two weeks, or even a month. I didn’t fall out of love with my blog, I just fell in love with something else, more. sorry. forgive me? I’ll be back now and then, with really fun content. I PROMISE. kisses.

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Dinner, Eats, Lunch, Uncategorized

Garden Variety. Healthy.

April 3, 2018March 27, 2018by Elise Giove1 Comment

Garden Variety. Salad.

Here are two salads I’d eat [lets be realistic here] 2x a week. Like each one, one time. Other than that I’m an Alfredo eating, popcorn popping, banana and peanut butter, cottage cheese and blueberries kinda girl. I’m a grazer, if you will. Just munching through life. Also, hating salads cause in Michigan its 10 degrees for months & I just want to eat something hot. Here’s my favorite salads anyway.

Garden Variety. Serves 1.
1 Compari Tomato
1 Baby Cucumber [I only like these because the skin isn’t hard like normal sized ones]
1/4 Orange Pepper
4 Baby Carrots
1/2 head chopped romaine lettuce
1 large handful baby spinach/spring mix [comes in a box combined at my local grocery]
Feta Crumbles [optional]
Dressing of your choice. I prefer an Italian. I REALLY prefer Olive Garden Italian. Which I can find at my local grocery. [super tight]

— I’m not about to tell you how to make a salad, cause… you know. But I chop the lettuce up pretty good & any of the other baby spinach/spring mix greens that are large & I ditch all the stems.
— Cut your veggies however, but [pictured above] is how I prefer mine. I also will sea salt my tomatoes if I don’t care about my cholesterol that day.
— Sprinkle everything all pretty & cute on top of your lettuce/baby spinach/spring mix. If you can do dairy, aren’t vegan, or lactose I’ll add some feta if I have some as well.
— I measure my dressing out according to the label and only use one serving, it’s usually 2 tablespoons for a serving. If you don’t measure it out all that added sugar in the dressing will become your whole day’s allowance if you aren’t careful.

Raspberry. Strawberry. Blueberry. Whatever I have in my fridge.

In Michigan we can’t always get the BEST produce. BUT this is my favorite salad and the grocery occasionally has excellent strawberries in the middle of winter, if they have blueberries, I’ll also throw those in. This time, I was not so lucky.

Strawberry Pecan Salad. Serves 1.
4-5 Strawberries
Crush Pecans [heaping tablespoon or so]
Small handful of blueberries [if available]
Dried Cranberries [heaping tablespoon or so]
1/2 head chopped romaine lettuce
1 large handful baby spinach/spring mix [comes in a box combined at my local grocery]
Feta Crumbles [optional]
Dressing of your choice. I use [and will only use] Raspberry Vinaigrette from Kraft. Super fancy. I know. and I only use the 1 serving allowance because there’s a LOT of added sugar in the dressing, and this salad naturally has a lot of sugar from the fruits. I’ve heard some people use balsamic vinaigrette, but I tried it once and threw the whole thing out. But you do you.

Sorry this salad has no real measurements. It’s just how big the salad is, and how much fruit/ad ins you want.

I LOVE & live by these salads. They are actually salads I crave [which for me is absolutely wild] I hope you enjoy! Leave a comment about your favorite salad! I’d love to try some different ones & fall in love with others. Kisses.

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