It's my birthday!

It's finally here! My birthday! (Or New Years Eve if you celebrate that...) A couple of posts ago I told you all about the top 10 reasons having a December birthday sucks, so today I want to move on to something I have adopted to make my birthday more fun. A bucket list. I made the decision a few years ago to try and visit some of the top places to celebrate ringing in the new year. Even more fun is I am celebrating today in one of these cities listed. Can you guess which one? It was a birthday gift to me from my other half and I am going to keep it a secret a little longer. (Hint: Follow me on Instagram to see some clues of where I am!)

/*/ New York City- Checked off in 2006 into 2007!

/*/ Disney World - Made it here for Christmas in 2008 but never New Years!

/*/ Vegas! - Made it here for the summer of 2005 but never New Years!

/*/ New Orleans

/*/ Nashville

/*/ London

/*/ Australia

/*/ Singapore


So I still have quite a bucket lists of places to get, but no matter what it is, my birthday is always anything but ordinary! I always celebrate with friends and in style :)




Happy New Years everyone! I hope it is a good one! Stay safe and have fun! See you in 2015!!


Image Map

Year in Review- Final Countdown!

Hey folks! Hope you all had a fabulous Christmas! For some of us, today is back to work before the new year. Those some of us folk include me. Rats. I need to find a job that gives me all the time off between Christmas and new years... Anyway. Today I am showing you my last quarter of my year. This goes right through today. You are just going to have to come back next year to see how my year ended ;) If you are interested in how the rest of my year went you can do so: (January February March) (April May June) (July August September). I hope you all had a great year and continue it right into 2015!

October 

*10/1 I talked about mental wellness on the blog which prompted me to take a hike at this beautiful site on 10/4. Nature can really help clear the head!
 *10/17 I had an impromtu Halloween party and whipped together some quick and cheap party decorations. I made sure to blog about it on 10/20!

*10/19 I took a work field trip!

NOVEMBER

*11/1 Finally settling into my new office now that the "promotion stage" is over.

*11/6 Sweet dreams are made of these.. I talked about the things that help me relax at the end of a stressful day.

*11/8 I got a library card and decided to participate in a Winter Reading Challenge!

*11/12 See why massage is saving my life.  

*11/17 We got out first "real" snow. Isn't it pretty?!

*11/23 Finally fit into those boots a little better and headed to a baby shower!


 *11/27 Happy (White) Thanksgiving! I got up to go to the gym and we got this!


DECEMBER 

*12/7 I visited my hometown and did my birthday tradition a little early!

*12/9 Got together with some friends to bake cookies!

*12/13 Got the bling out for my work holiday party!

*12/17 Talked about holiday freebies on the blog! So much fun!

*12/25 Spent Christmas with my parents and this cutie!

*12/26 I hosted my first swap this year.. a Tea Swap! Today I linked up my 6 participants! Hope to do it again next year! :)

My year has been pretty great on this blog. I started to build a readership and meet some new people. I can't wait to see what next year holds. I hope you stick around to find out! 

Don't forget to check out the rest of my year!




Let's talk about tea baby! + Link up!

Hey there! I hope you all had a great Christmas and are still enjoying it through the weekend! Back at the end of November I came up with the great idea (At least I thought so) of hosting a holiday tea swap. I also said I was going to host a link up so everyone who participated could link up their goodies. I had 6 participants with me included and it looks like everyone including myself received their tea last week. I call that a success!


Today I want to show you what I received and let anyone who participated link up their goodies!
I was paired up with Kate over at The "Florkens". Kate sent me some of her favorite teas, and I am now a fan!


What I got:

Lipton Green Tea Super Fruit- This stuff is AH-MAZ-ING! I don't know how she knew I loved fruity teas, but this sure did it!

Stash Ginger Peach Green Tea - I am normally not a fan of Stash teas but I really liked the flavor to this one. I may have to buy a box.

Peppermint Tea- Like Kate said, you can't have winter tea without a peppermint tea! She is absolutely right!

Tazo Berry Blossom White - I tried this one first. Kate drinks this one before bed. I see why! It was so yummy and relaxing!

I am so pleased at how my first swap turned out! I plan to do a few more swaps this year so stay tuned!


Now while we are still on the subject of tea, I also want to talk about another favorite that I have been sipping lately. Celestial Seasoning makes a yummy holiday tea called Candy Cane Lane Green tea and it is perfect! I was super thrilled when I opened up my Influenster Frosty VoxBox and saw another sample of this amazing goodness.

 If you haven't tried this and you are a peppermint fan, you are missing out! Get going and try it today! Now if you participated in the tea swap link up your posts about what you got! If you didn't participate in the swap link up your posts about tea!

Merry Christmas






Shopping for others is my nemesis!

I hate shopping. Yeah I said it. I am a girl, and I hate to shop. This makes shopping for Christmas gifts like a strategic war game that I will never win. I get a few ideas for the couple of people I actually buy for and then talk myself into all the reasons why no one will like them. No, Dad will HATE this Roku for the TV and Mom is going to roll her eyes at that pair of slippers that I thought she'd love.

Holidays

I hype myself up for a trip to the mall. "It's going to be great! My list has awesome ideas on it and I'm gonna get in and get out with all those fab gifts!" Fast forward an hour later. I am walking around aimlessly through the mall trying to decide if I should go into Best Buy or Target. I window shop and "oooohhh and ahhhh" over some of the items, but still can't bring myself to go in and purchase anything. What's wrong with me?

Maybe it's because I have a problem with parting with my money. I have been training myself over the past 2 years to think before I splurge. There is no need to buy on impulse and I have gotten really good at researching the best prices. I usually find all of the gifts I want to buy on a good deal. Maybe this is why I hate to shop. It reminds me that I need to save and can't go crazy just because it is the holidays.

Maybe it's because I take after my dad. He shops every year on Christmas Eve. I find that procrastinating makes everything more stressful, but hey! I still get the good presents. Right? Nothing more festive then rushing around the mall on Christmas Eve with all the other last minute shoppers. Enough to raise the blood pressure and possibly start on that grey hair.

Maybe it's because I think to much about what everyone is going to buy me. Will Jamie get me a gift card? How much is Rob going to spend? Where is Mom going to shop for me? I need to purchase something as equally cool as they buy me. Oh darn if only I knew what they all bought. It would make this so much easier!

Maybe it's because I dislike the cold. No matter how bundled up I get, I still feel like I could freeze when I step foot outdoors. Snow is pretty but it deters me from wanting to go out and shop for people. Ice makes driving a load of fun. Can't I live in Florida? My gift shopping mood may change.

Maybe because I insist on making all of my Christmas Cards. I can't give a gift without a card! Oh look there is only 2 weeks til Christmas and I STILL haven't come up with a theme for this years card. Maybe I can buy some instead. No NO, I will make them. I always make them. Maybe if I make no cards, I won't have to buy gifts. NO that makes you a bad person. Okay I will get out my paper and glitter.

So there you have it. Christmas shopping is my nemesis. I always come through in the end but man do I make it hard on myself. How about you? Do you have any issues with shopping? What plans do you set up to get it done?

HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVE!

Unboxing of my Influenster #FrostyVoxBox


Hi guys! So today I have done something a little out of character for me, and that's uploading a video! I decided to do an un-boxing of my Influenster Frosty VoxBox. I had a lot of fun with this!

 

So what do you guys think? Pretty sweet box right? Oh and I am loving that I can see the bling coming off of my sparkly nail polish! It's my New Years party color. Test driving it this week to see how I like it. Anywho back to the box. Just in case I went to quick in the video I wanted to give you quick list of what was in the box. Stay tuned in the next few weeks for more in depth reviews on these items!
  • McCormick Gourmet All Natural Thyme (Full size)
  • Red Vines Fruit Vines Bites in Cherry (Full size)
  • Candy Cane Lane Green Tea by Celestial Seasonings (Sample)
  • Eco Tools Sleek + Shine Finisher hair brush
  • NYC Expert Last Lip Color in Sugar Plum (Full size)
  • Rimmel London Scandal Eyes in Black (Full size)
  • Rimmel London Just Let It Go Gentle Eye Makeup Remover (Full Size)
  • No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Advanced Serum (Sample Size)
I absolutely love Influenster. I get to try out products and give my opinion. I also get to go on a write reviews on products I am already using, as well as check reviews on items I am thinking about buying. If you are not a member, you are missing out!


I hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday! Only 2 days til Christmas! EEEK!

*Influenster sent this box to me for free to try out these new products

Year in Review- Part 3

Hey there lovlies! Welcome back to another round of my year in review. I have already went over January, February, and March in week 1. Last week I recapped April, May, and June.  (Click on the group of months to recap if you missed any!) This week I am bring you my 3rd quarter. The busy months as I like to call them! Summer! Sit back and enjoy!

July

*7/2 Had an internal interview at work in which I ended up getting the promotion!

*7/4 Fourth of July! My boyfriends brother puts on a show every year and we get front row seats.. From a boat on the lake :)



*7/12 I went to my nephews dinosaur themed 2nd birthday party!

*7/23 I decided to take a vacation in my own city and gave tips on how to do it in yours!

August

*8/12 Today was my mom's birthday and I stayed in a BRAND new hotel! I wrote about it in September but I will post it here with the picture: Brand New Holiday Inn!

*8/13 I had a date with myself in a large mall. It was fabulous! Check out how you can do the same!

*8/24-8/26 I visited Maine for vacation! We visited Portland, Lubec, Campobello Island (In Canada) and Bar Harbor It was so beautiful!





*8/21- 8/25 I co-hosted the first annual Blog-Staycation! We had a blast and got so much done for our blogs. Stay tuned for another staycation soon!

September

*9/1 I launched a new series called Defining Lifestyle, It was 7 weeks of bloggers talking about how they define lifestyle!

*9/7 Went to my nephew's Mickey themed 1st birthday party!

*9/5 I officially became dot-commed!  No ore blogspot in the url :)

*9/20 Went apple picking! My favorite time of the year!

 *9/27 Headed home for my goddaughter's birthday and stopped at one of my favorite views!

*9/27 A cake fit for a princess! Such a wonderful 5th birthday cake!


Well there you have it! the 3rd quarter of my year! I had a busy summer and I am blessed to have had so many great experiences!

Don't forget to check out the rest of my year!




10 Reasons December Birthday SUCKS!

So many of you know, I share a birthday with a little holiday call New Years Eve. Have you heard of it? Oh you know, it's only one of the biggest party nights of the year! I have read a lot of lists on why December birthdays suck, but at least if you were born on December 19th you still get your own day so to speak. It's still rough, but it's not a world holiday. I wanted to share with you 10 reasons why December birthday, specifically on New Years Eve suck!

* Everyone is out of town. They go home to visit friends and family. Because of course no one calls their current town home anymore, its where ever they last lives for more than 5 years.

* The people who didn't go "home" have a party to go to. Cause lets face it, if your party isn't  "happening" then your plans ain't happening!

* Bakeries get a little thrown off when you ask for a "Happy Birthday" cake. Don't know how many times I've been asked to "come again?"

*Christmas happens. You just got a gift for Christmas. Why do you need another one for your birthday? Isn't one enough?!

* You get a "December birthday" card every year from at least 4 people (IF they remember at all). Can't anyone just forget its December and just send me a normal card?

*You try to be reasonable and move your birthday festivities to the beginning of the month. Your response: I just spent all my money on black Friday. I'm broke.

* You re-think your reasoning and realize early December is to early, how about mid-December? Response: Sorry I have a holiday party to attend! Darn!

* Your best friends swear they are throwing you the best birthday party yet! You walk in to streamers, noise makers, HAPPY 20?? everything, and 50 of your closest friends. Um awkward?

* Shoot! I live in the north. There's a foot of snow outside, its below freezing, and having the strength to look cute gets harder by the minute. Aren't sweat pants sexy?

* And my all time favorite reason why having a NYE birthday sucks: I get another 365 day to think about all the wonderful plans I want to make for next years birthday bash! Sweet! A girl can dream right?







The Holidays with Freebies

It wouldn't be the holidays around here on The Trish List without talking about freebies. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't tell you all that there are LOADS of freebies and giveaways around the holidays. Companies new and old want you to buy with THEM and them alone. They will offer up all kinds of goodies and shiny discounts to nab your attention. Now I'm here to show you how it's done.


First thing you want to do is "like" all of your favorite brands on Facebook and "follow" them on Twitter. This will let you be the first to know when they are giving away stuff or offering amazing discounts. You aren't anyone until you have tons of social media friends. #AmIRight? This is one of the main sources for those free holiday gifts. True story. I have won many of my presents over the years.

Next thing you want to do is Google "25 Days of Christmas". Yes I know I am little late on this post, but you still have plenty of time to get in on some pretty sweet giveaways. Many companies host these types of giveaways along with Advent Calender type offers. Every day they "open" a new gift for you. The good news is, is once you are registered for these events, all you need to do is enter your email each time you enter.

The last thing I highly recommend if becoming members of a couple of sites. These sites are always looking for people to review products and will offer up some pretty cool swag. The holidays seem to be a good time to come out with a bunch of neat things. On Monday alone I received 2 boxes full of goodies to try and review, all free.

Check out Influenster. They offer up "VoxBoxes" that come with an assortment of products and have been know to send out Keurigs!

Another favorite is BzzAgent! They have been giving out lots of toys for the holidays.

And FINALLY check out Smiley360. They have some pretty cool campaigns and I have certainly been included in a lot of great studies.

So what are you all waiting for? Get out there and get some freebies!


Year in Review Part 2

Its time for the second quarter of my year in review! Today I am talking about April, May, and June. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy recapping just as much as I do! If you missed last weeks you can find that here----> Year in Review- Part 1.

April

*Went to a Real Simple event in a penthouse in NYC!



May

*Visited my best friend from kindergarden after not seeing her for over 10 years!
5/1/14- My new blog went live!
I started a fitness series! Check it out here: Fit-Trish

June

*Father's Day! My dad visited and we went to the falls in my area! So much fun!
I went camping for the first time! Check it out here: Camping!


Make sure you check out how the rest of my year went!




That time I went through my old room at my parents house..

So I got that look from my mom this weekend. You know the one where you are still storing all your crap from high school/college/first apartment stuff in their home? Yeah. I got THAT look. So I decided it was time. That stuff I HAD to keep 10 years ago probably isn't going to be used any time soon in my life. That doesn't mean it wasn't fun to look through it all. And I have been missing my social security card so going through some boxes wasn't exactly a waste of my time. There was a little mission.

One of the first things I noticed was all the boxes of Mary Kay makeup. Once upon a time I was a rep. I had tons of foundations, cleansers, and makeup. This stuff is about 4 years old at this point and probably should of been disposed of 2 years ago. It was hard to let go. It was a fun time in my life where I met some great people and experienced some fun events.


Next thing I noticed were the boxes from an apartment I lived in 4 years ago that I moved back into my parents house and then moved 7 months later. No idea why I didn't just take them all with me, but I just knew that is where I would find my SS card. There was a box full of beauty products. Most likely from my bathroom. Face masks that I loved, body butters with barely anything left, vitamins that were expired, nail polish that had separated, and hair products I probably won't ever use.  Almost all of this needed to be thrown away.


Another box had tons of cards, letters, and papers. Most likely from my desk. There were pictures, pens, markers, and change. A mug from my college graduation, earrings that I haven't seen in years, makeup brushes, expired credit cards, AND my social security card! It brought back so many memories. Some happy. Some sad. A part of my life that seems ages away.

Then I saw stuff from my time out in Los Angeles. I interned out there for a marketing company called Fanscape. I had business cards, movie stubs, and my Price is Right name tag! Back when Bob Barker was still hosting. And yes he did get talked into saying "The price is right bitch!". You know from Happy Gilmore? Great memory!


One of the last things I came across was all of my old compact disks (CDs if you will)!! I had a lot of them with some of the biggest artists of the late 90's and early 2000's.  Behind them were some VHS tapes! Oh my! Again lots of great memories.


I ended up bagging up lots of stuff, including clothes and toys. Someone else can get use out of these things now I'm sure. I picked out some sentimental things and packed them away for later. I'm happy. My mom is happy. It's a win-win.

Have you went through your childhood room? Did you find some great treasures from your past? Tell me in the comments!


Year In Review - Part 1

I stumbled upon Shane's link-up over on Whispering Sweet Nothings and I thought it was a wonderful idea! The link up is basically a year in review, 3 months at a time, or quarterly if you will. I have been thinking about doing something similar anyways on my own, so why not join in the fun and link up!

January

I was not blogging yet so I do not have any favorite posts to share but I can share how my month went.

Started off the new year feeling shiny and bright! Went from birthday mode to new years mode!

I was kitty sitting this little lady all month while her mom was on a work trip!

Everything else I remember from this month was COLD! We had the polar vortex this year so I remember staying indoors as much as possible. Thank goodness for the kitty to keep me warm!

February

 2/7 I hosted a girls night with sangria and baked goodies. We of course had to paint our nails and do each others hair!

2/14 Received these beautiful roses from my love for Valentine's Day!

2/23 I visited Paris! (In ice that is.. ) AND did my very first review blog post! The beginning of my blogging journey! Check out my first post ever HERE!

March

3/4 Mardi Gras happened! We always have a King cake at work and the person who gets the baby has to make the next cake. I got the baby one week so I made this variation of the king cake!
3/16 I was prepping to go on a 3 day weekend getaway so I posted a review on a new ladies razor I had been using. Check it out here: Spring is in the air..  

3/22 I went away with my other half for a long weekend to Baltimore, MD! We had beautiful weather and loved the hotel we stayed in. I was so impressed I wrote a review on it here :)


Well there you have it! The first quarter of my year! Now go check out the rest of my year!