Random Files: March 2014 Favorites

1) Sarabeth's Pineapple Mango Spreadable Fruit - Using this to make a vinaigrette-type dressing using MissGlamorazzi aka Ingrid's recipe has resulted in me actually CRAVING salads. And as you can see by the amount left in the jar, it was pretty much salads for lunch (and sometimes dinner) for almost the whole month of March (which is probably 10x the amount of salad I have ever eaten in my entire life prior to this discovery...healthy eater, I am not)

2) Trader Joe's milk chocolate bars - Speaking of unhealthy, I have also been having a serious craving for chocolate this past month. It is most likely due to all that salad-eating that is going on...my body can't take that much goodness. These bars are the perfect size as they are smaller than normal bars of chocolates, so  if  when I end up devouring the whole thing, I won't feel too guilty

3) bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipstick in Get Ready - This came in my March Ipsy bag, and I am IN love. First - it is a mini lipstick (who doesn't like miniature everything?!) and the color is an amazing wear-everyday color (which is an area that need some help since I prefer buying bold lip colors. That probably explains why I have 50 red lip products) and the formula of the product is intensely hydrating. I have other colors I want to try in my Sephora cart, all ready for their VIB spring sale event that is slotted to start this Thursday

4) Racinne Ultimate Youth Power Serum - I got a deluxe sample of this in one of my now-unsubscribed Blush.com Mystery box from last year. I am always leery of trying random products from unknown brands, so that's why this has been sitting untouched for months. But in conjunction with my resolution to take care of my skin (rather than spending the money on makeup to cover up), I realized that I should start using a serum. This serum is meant to help with aging (not something I gravitate towards, but should, now that I have reached my 30s) and oh my....My skin was smoother, makeup applies more evenly and the scent was amazing. I found that I subconsiously looked forward to the moment when I can use this product during my morning and evening skincare routine. I've since purchased the full size version during Dermstore.com's Friends & Family event a few weeks ago, along with the eye serum (which had rave reviews, since it was part of another beauty subscription's monthly box last year)

5) Embrace series by Jessica Shrivingon - I am an avid reader, and recently have been including Young Adult books into my stack to be checked out at my local library. These books have a fantasy twist to it - like Twilight is to vampires, this is to fallen/cast-off angels with a biblical theme. The heroine is quite annoying at times (not unlike Bella in the Twilight series!) but overall, I have really enjoyed them. I am currently on the third book, and I just saw that the fourth is to be released later this year.

6) Ovaltine - Given that I grew up in Malaysia, my preferred choice of chocolate powder mix is Milo. But I saw this in Target a few weeks ago, and decided to try it for ha-has. You can mix this directly into cold milk and voila -- chocolate milk! This is a malt mix, so it has added vitamins and minerals, and is now a firm favorite for both my daughter and I.

7) Amazon.com - Like I've mentioned here, Amazon is one of my favorite sites to scour for items I never knew I needed to have. My credit card statement from March is littered with charges from here because you know my life is not complete without a potato ricer, a case of Korean Ramen noodles and a 3D Victorian Doll House pop-up book, amongst other things. Yes, I have issues.