july & august birchbox

Since I don't have any mind blowing product reviews, there's no reason to spread these summaries out (unless you want to count another post as a valid reason... which it very well might be). I've been a little too busy to try out some of the things like face masks, etc. But I will say these were two of the best boxes I've gotten (my all-time favorite being the one where I got a beauty blender and large sample of this exfoliant all at once).

These boxes included a few full-size items (the lip pencil and eyeliner), which pay for the price of the box themselves (in theory, I would never spend $15 on eyeliner), as well as products I hadn't received (dry shampoo, eye gels), and useful products (hair mask, facewash, etc). Oh, and if the products themselves weren't enough to get me excited about these two boxes, the free year-long magazine subscription thrown into one probably helped!

July

 -Beauty Protector Protect & Treat Mask
"Developed by stylists, this argan oil treatment restores strenth and megashine to hair."

-LAQA & Co Sheer Lip Lupe Pencil (<< full size!! worth $18)
"A high-gloss, semi-sheer lip color that's perfect for summer."

-NAOBAY Body Radiance Lotion
"This Spanish favorite uses olive oil and avadao to naturally hydrate and soften skin."

-Suki exfoliate foaming cleanser
"Two-in-one cleansar and exfoliater that rejuvenates skin and smells deliciously lemony."

-Skyn Iceland Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels
"Peptide-packed cooling treatment to hydrate and refresh stressed skin under the eyes."

BONUS: Free, one-year subscription to Women's Health magazine! 

August

- amika Perk Up Dry Shampoo
"Weightless spray in the brand's signature Obliphica scent that refreshes hair sans residue"

- Harvey Prince Ageless Body Creme
 "Infused with grapefruit-sandalwood fragrance, this lotion leaves skin silky-smooth."

- Noir Cosmetics Long-Wear Eyeliner (<< full size!! worth $15!!)
 "Enriched with vitamin E, this creamy, waterproof liner glides on smoothly for all-day wear."

- theBalm cosmetics Stainiac in Beauty Queen
"Best-selling stain that gives cheeks and lips a sheer, rosy tint."

- Vasanti Cosmetics Detox Nutrient-Rich Purifying Facial Cleanser
"This foamy, sulfate-free wash gently removes pore-clogging impurities without overdrying."

weekend recap

Another fun and busy weekend in the books. Sandwiched between vending and campaigning we managed to find a little bit of time for an evening with friends and even an impromptu date of sorts.

The activities started Friday night with one of our friend's birthdays. We took a Pedal Pub ride downtown. A Pedal Pub, for those of you who don't know, is a giant bike for 10-15 people, or more like a trolley really that 10 people peddle to move. Fifteen people can fit on it (a lucky 5 didn't have to peddle), and you recruit someone to "bartend" from the middle of the machine, and then you can drive around the streets of Minneapolis taking in the sights from the road with an ice cold beer in your hand. 

Really I don't know how these things are street legal. There were times going down a one lane road, up a hill where we were maybe going 5 miles an hour and we had a line of cars behind us trying to navigate downtown.

We got to make a few pit stops along the way, which were much needed as moving that vehicle was a lot more work than I anticipated and it was about 10 minutes before I was fairly drenched in sweat. It was certainly a fun evening out with friends. 

Saturday evening was the next benchmark of our weekend- we got to work the Paul McCartney concert at Target Field. Expectations were quite high going in- the Kenny Chesney concert last year was a major money maker- although we were realistic that Paul would draw a different crowd. We didn't realize how different til we got there though. Not only was it a significantly older crowd (which was again, mostly expected), but it was a crowd not interested in spending money even though they had probably shelled out $150 just to be there. But any night that you get to make money, and take in a free concert is a good night. Here's a quick video I took of the performance.

 <technical difficulties, video hopefully coming later, in the meantime this pic will have to do>

And finally our weekend was brought to a close by the most relaxing Sunday we've had in months (excluding our vacation of course). We cleaned, we got caught up on chores, we got our internet fixed, we grilled, we had our little impromptu date at the park, and we unfortunately we missed church because we forgot it was still only an early service (not of course until we were driving there)- but hey, you can't win em all and this provided just a little more time for the above activities.

Back to the date though. David has an old middle school/ family friend who lives up in Grand Marais waaaaay up north near the Hauge's cabin. His parents ran into him last weekend and found out he was going to be down in Minneapolis for an art fair in Powderhorn park, which happens to be about a mile from our house. So we made decided we would spend an hour or two strolling through the booths and go find Cooper and see what he was up to.

There were hundreds of booths going all the way around the lake. It was certainly a fun event, but there were probably a few too many people for us to feel like we could really slow down, browse the booths, and enjoy. We did the whole loop once through, being powered by Jamaican empanadas seen above, and found Cooper's tent where we got to catch up, watch a live demonstration of hand carving a bowl (with a handmade foot powered lathe like this), and became the proud owners of our own walnut, hand-made bowl. 

Weekends should always be like that.