Simply Glowing: Water Lantern Festival 2019

This past Saturday, I attended the Water Lantern festival.

Hosted by One World LLC., the water lantern festival is a traveling event that plants its stakes into different locations throughout the United States, and is expanding. 

My ticket (presale) was only $25 this year, and well worth the enjoyment and chill vibes felt through the evening air. Strangers were kind, inviting and relaxed. Volunteers and staff of the event were excited to have you, like a long time friend waiting for your arrival to their party.

The event had music, games, food trucks and street vendors selling glow sticks and other fun souvenirs.

The Water Lantern’s guided host counted down the evening’s agenda to the crowd as the time approached the latern launch, and let’s just say, people were full of emotion. As you can decorate each latern to your own choice of words, images or quotes, many were in tears to remember a loved one, or filled with excitement to set intentions for the future. The takeback was rewarding as the feeling of solitude washed over the crowd as they watched their words drift on the water in a warming glow. 

I cherished this evening, and would definitely recommend it to new timers. Go alone, go with friends, family, your boyfriend, girlfriend, or kids, but at least try it, once. It’s definitely a heart-warming experience. 

water lantern festival

Hot Chocolate Marshmallow Cookie Recipe

Sunday's are a day of rest; to reflect on your life's journey, count your blessings, and do something that makes you feel happy. While I would have enjoyed a few extra hours of sleep, I had to run a few errands. While waiting in line to purchase some Christmas gifts, I had an idea to try something new today, so I searched up a new cookie recipe, and the rest is history.

Have you ever heard of Hot Chocolate Marshmallow cookies? You heard right, "hot" chocolate.

The name stunned me for a moment as well, until I realized the recipe called for chili powder.  And it all made sense, however at first I was a bit weary, but as it turns out, you can't even taste the chili!

And trust me when I say a few were sampled rather quickly in my home.

If you're up for a challenge, or just want to try something new, follow the directions below and enjoy a batch of your own!

Ingredients:

• 1 roll pillsbury™ refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough 
• 1 cup Nutella® hazelnut spread 
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened baking cocoa 
• 3/4 chili powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon  ground cinnamon 
• Large marshmallows, cut in half 

Directions:

STEP 1 Heat oven to 350 degrees. STEP 2 In large bowl, break up cookie dough. Add hazelnut spread, cocoa, chili powder and cinnamon. Mix with electric mixer on low speed about 5 minutes or until well blended.STEP 3 Shape dough into two-inch balls. Flatten each ball into three-inch round. Add 1 marshmallow half into the dough and cover it completely. Repeat with remaining dough rounds and marshmallows. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets.STEP 4 Bake 12-15 minutes or until surface of cookie appears cracked and marshmallow shows through. Cool 5-10 minutes, remove from cookie sheets. Serve warm or store tightly covered. 

Enjoy!

We Love Our Public Lands: How You Can Help

"Today, the President announced his plan to dramatically reduce the size of two national monuments in Utah—Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante. This is the largest rollback of protected lands in American history. The decision also undermines the integrity of the Antiquities Act, which 16 presidents from both parties have used to designate and protect national monuments over the last 111 years."  --REI, American retail and outdoor recreation services corporation.




On December 4, 2017, our United States President spoke of his plan to drastically reduce the size of two national monuments located in Utah.  The decision followed Administration’s four-month review (April 2017 to August 2017) of 27 national monuments designated during the last two decades.




During this time of review, more than 2.8 million Americans submitted comments to fight for protection of these monuments. The voices were snubbed by administration and the decision was made, and took away 2 million acres of public land. A decision that has caused extensive outrage amongst all Americans who love the outdoors and appreciate it's beauty, including what it does for the welfare of people and the ecosystem. Large outdoor supplier and clothing store, REI has created a full page dedicated to helping those interested in voicing their concerns to our administration. To learn more, go here.


I am personally heart broken to hear what our admin would do to such precious places that millions of Americans call home. It's time to fight back so that our children and their children can continue on a legacy of God's beauty.


Show your colors and place this image on your social media platforms with the hashtag #UnitedOutside

In Honor of National Pet Day: We're celebrating by talking all things dogs with PuppySpot!

It's a big day for our fur babies as today (April 11) is National Pet Day!

This holiday is all about appreciating and celebrating all the special pets in your life.

For me, that means kissing and cuddling my adorable girls, Bella and Lulu.

According to the ASPCA approximately 6.5 million companions enter the Unites States' shelters nationwide each year. On average, 3.3 million of those are dogs. 

For most pet owners, choosing and falling in love with a dog is instant,  but some times the experience of finding the right pet can be a little overwhelming, and that's where PuppySpot is here to help! 

PuppySpot created a "Find Your Perfect Dog Breed" flow chart to give you some guidance on spotting your next new buddy. Simply follow the questions below and let's see what happens.

 

So is it a husky, bulldog or irish setter that you matched with best? Or, was it recommended you wait a bit? Looking for a smaller, hypoallergenic dog? We have recommendations for those, too. 

Regardless of your outcome, there's a perfect dog for you!

PuppySpot offers a variety of dogs ready to go to their forever homes. Their service is committed to helping responsible breeders place their puppies into caring homes. With a screened and vetted network of responsible breeders, PuppySpot makes fetching your new best friend incredibly simple. They use a personalized approach catered to you and each breeder that is invited into the PuppySpot community is held to the highest standards, with health and safety for all dogs (not just puppies) as top priorities. The PuppySpot comprehensive screening process for breeders significantly reduces the allowance for unhealthy breeders and allows less than 15 percent of breeders into the PuppySpot exclusive  community.  

Pretty awesome, right? Check out the puppies for sale here.

 Ok, so I promised to share a little more about the hypoallergenic breeds. Both Bella and Lulu are hypoallergenic, perfect for a girl prone to allergies. Bella, the Maltipoo (Maltese and Poodle) and Lulu the Yorkshire Terrier, are super easy to manage with minimal hair loss (shedding).

PuppySpot sent over the girls' breed cards to share with you.

ADOPTION OPPORTUNITIES

In addition to the great options on PuppySpot there is one other company dog team I'd like to introduce you to. Their name is Bichon FurKids Rescue.  

This sweet team of dog lovers goes above and beyond to show case the most adorable little Bichon puppers, highlighting their personalities. Most recently they posted on their social media Instagram account about Cody. 

Cody is a sweet little playful two-year-old Bichon boy that loves belly rubs. His glistening brown eyes caught my attention and I was instantly smitten. Cody currently resides in San Diego, California and is looking for his forever home and a human to call his own best friend. If you'd like to meet Cody, please contact Bichon Fur Kids.

Whether you're ready to adopt or purchase a sweet pup, you have some awesome and healthy avenues to do so and with Bichon Fur Kids who foster sweet dogs like Cody, to good breeders found through Puppy Spot, you are well on your way to find your new fur baby. 

I wish you luck and a ton of joy for the blessing that will leave paw print marks on your floors and a whole lot of love in your heart! 

IMATS: 2017

It came and went and I was up front and center. The International Makeup Artist Trade Show (IMATS), is a hub for makeup artist to visit with  thousands of fellow artist working in film, TV, fashion and the red carpet. 

The first original IMATS opened its doors in Los Angeles in 1997, and has since become the go-to event to stock up on supplies, mingle with fellow artist and learn new techniques from youtube gurus and celebrity makeup artist. 

This year's event had amazing rows of brands, such as: Dose of Colors, Tarte, Kat Von D, Sigma, Anastasia Beveryly Hills, CoverFX, Wolfe, Koko and Violet Voss; and this is ONLY naming a few. 

Sigma Beauty

Skindinivia

Bad Medina

Lit Cosmetics

Crimes of Beauty

Violet Voss

In addition to GREAT shopping, snagging samples and getting VIP Treatment from brands such as Dose of Colors, Kat Von D and Skindinavia -- it was pretty incredible to meet amazing makeup artist, Evelyn @evilyn_mua and Lilit @makeupbylilit . 

The fun didn't stop there. Dozens of "creatures" and "heroes" walked around the convention center floor captivating on-lookers with their unique prosthetics. 

Additionally, Make-Up Artist magazine, which produces IMATS hosted Oscar winner Joel Harlow, as he led a panel discussion on unique make up tactics and creations from movie sets such as Star Trek Beyond. As a makeup artist for 30 plus years, Harlow has witnessed remarkable cutting-edge makeup for high-caliber films and television projects.  Oh, and let's not forget, he's Johnny Depp's make-up artist. (SWOON!)

I digress. The IMATS was perfection this year and although it's never disappointed me before, every year has a different energy, a different vibe and this one radiated upwards. Until next year!

What I Learned in 2016

Can you believe we only have a few more hours until we say goodbye to 2016 and hello to 2017?! It's crazy, right? 

With so many world events that have taken this year by the horns, I'm sure we've all had a few  personal experiences we'd wish never made a pit stop, but what is life without some downfalls? We can't have it all, and life is never perfect, but we can learn a lot through these ups and downs and make the best out of it, or perhaps even learn from them. 

Here's what I learned this year:

• I'm a Go-Getter

This isn't something necessarily new to me, but it's definitely worth acknowledging. I can't sit still. I don't like wasting time and I definitely function at a higher speed than most. Whether it is about health, fitness, work or organizing my closet and then reorganizing it again, I must see things progress. Everything has an order; a place in this world, and in order to see these things fit into their proper space, I create a hands-on approach to make sure it gets done. I guess you can say I'm a type-A personality. Although mostly wonderful, this type of personality can be difficult to have at times because it can make me a perfectionist and allows for frazzled moments with others who are inactive to pursue their dreams or resolve health issues. This leads me into the second thing...

• Accepting People As They Are

People show you who they are every day. Whether happy and make every situation positive, negative and dismissive or smile to your face and live a secret life behind your back (trust me it happens). People will show you who they are, the type of person they connect with and what you can expect from them. Don't make anyone be who you want them to be, but rather listen to what they are saying to you. You'll spend less time problem solving, and more time living your best self.

• It's OK to Say "NO"

It's definitely ok to say no. Your life and your time is precious, and spending it with who and as you wish, is and SHOULD BE a definite priority. 

• New Things Are Scary but Worth a Try If Your Heart Is In It

This one is pretty straightforward, but we all need a little reminder that stepping out of our comfort zone can be a bit scary, and that's normal. When I started my new job a year ago, I was pretty scared. It was something I had wanted to do for years, but never had the right opportunity. Then with a LOT of persistence (TYPE A), a lot of patience, learning from others and weaving in my own skills, I landed the job of managing a magazine for a large organization. A huge dream come true; and a huge goal accomplished. My heart was there and so was the fear, but if I let the fear outweigh my heart's desire, I would have never pursued this job, and I'm so glad I listened to my heart. 

• God Has A Plan For You

Simply put, everyone's journey is their own. God intended yours to move just as fast (or slow) as needed. The route may change course and your abilities, function or outlook may change from time to time, but you are right where you need to be. Trust Your Journey.

Now that I've shared what I learned, it's time to set out some new goals for 2017! I'm very much ready to do this, and I hope you'll join me. Grab a pen and paper and write out a few goals of your own. There's no rush, take your time. Vision your goals. Let's go!

Goals for 2017:

1. Do Yoga 1 to 2xs a week. 

2. Drink More Water (with lemon)

3. Say "No" to Things You Don't Want To Do

4. Be OK with Your Fitness Journey and Progress 

5. Spend More Time Doing what You love

6. Get More Sleep

7. Do More Things Outdoors 

~ Now for a little fluff, here are some pictures to share my favorite IG posts of 2016 ~

Happy New Year! May Your Blessings be Abundant!