Darbie Dear

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Archives for January 2018

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Products Your Face Needs: Nip+Fab Glycolic Fix Night Pads and Pixi Glow Tonic Glycolic

Several years ago, I ran across UK beauty guru Caroline Hiron’s blog and it totally changed the way I treat my skin. Two products she introduced me to are Nip+Fab Glycolic Fix Night Extreme and Pixi Glow Tonic. Caroline was totally right, Nip+Fab and Pixi Glow are both great glycolic acid products that will change your skin!

Before we go any further, I am not an affiliate for Nip+Fab or Pixi. I just really love their products. So, if it should seem like I’m trying to make a hard sell, I’m not. I have seen results with these two products. I believe in them. And like any good friend would, I want you to know about them too. Glycolic acids really are amazing. Pixi and Nip+Fab know how to formulate them for amazing results at a good price.

What is Glycolic acid and Why Should You Care?

Great questions! If you haven’t used glycolic acid before, don’t let the word acid scare you off.

Glycolic acid is classified as an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA). AHA’s are naturally occur in certain foods, like fruits. Glycolic acid has some of the smallest molecules in the AHA family. This allows Glycolic acid to easily loosen the dead skin cells on the top layer of your skin, revealing younger, heathier skin.

Glycolic acid doesn’t stop at just removing the old, dull skin cells. Research has shown that glycolic acid stimulates collagen and elastin productions. This means that glycolic acid accelerates the skins healing process and reduces environmental damage.

If your skin has acne, blackheads, enlarged pores, or hyperpigmentation glycolic acid may help to improve those conditions.

Nip+Fab Glycolic Fix Night Extreme and Pixi Glow Tonic, The Differences

Both products have 5% glycolic acid as their main ingredient. While they do not smell the same. Both glycolic products have nice clean, soap like scents.

Nip+Fab

Nip+Fab Glycolic Fix Night Extreme’s presoaked pads have 5% glycolic acid, salicylic acid, lactic acid, and hyaluronic acid. Wow! No wonder it’s called extreme, that’s a lot of acid!

Nip+Fab Glycolic Fix Night Extreme’s 4 acids throw a major punch at skin issues. The first 3 acids, (glycolic acid, salicylic acid, lactic acid), are going to work together to gently exfoliate, help fade discoloration caused by acne, unclog pores, fight blackheads, reduce blemishes, smooth skin. Then the hyaluronic acid works to pulls moisture to the skin improving hydration, making it plumper and soft.

I will attest that Nip+Fab Glycolic Fix Night Extreme does everything the acids are said to do. My acne and acne scars cleared up quickly. As in I noticed blemishes had healed more by the next morning! Over time my crow’s feet were less noticeable. Skin discoloration faded and eventually was unnoticeable.

However, all the awesome power in Nip+Fab Glycolic Fix Night Extreme means that you can only use it 2-3 times a week. If you have sensitive skin, use it only once a week.

I started out using Night Extreme once a week. After a month and a half, I was able to work my way up to two days a week. During the time I could only use it once a week I still saw results with my acne. A little bit of this stuff really works.

Pixi Glow Tonic

Pixi Glow Tonic also has 5% glycolic acid and touts itself as being gentle on all skin types, and you can use it morning and night. How is that possible?

Pixi Glow Tonic is a gentler glycolic acid toner due to the soothing ingredients of witch hazel, aloe vera, ginseng, and other “botanical extracts”. While the glycolic acid is exfoliating and dealing with your dead skin cells, the aloe, witch hazel, ginseng, and botanicals will sooth and repair the skin.

Unlike the Nip+Fab Extreme, Pixi Glow Tonic is not a presoaked pad. I kind of like that about it. I like controlling how much product goes onto my cotton ball. I’m such a penny pincher, that it makes me feel like I’m getting my moneys worth. Other the hand, Nip+Fab Extreme has presoaked pads, that remain damp after I have used them. I feel like I am wasting product. This could just be a me hang up, I will completely admit that.

Pixi Glow Tonic’s glycolic acid and soothing ingredients claim, “This mini miracle-working toner helps to brighten the complexion resulting in a healthy glow.” It scores 5 out of 5 stars on Pixi’s website with reviewers agreeing that their skin glows and looks healthier than it has in a long time.

I have to agree; my skin does seem to glow and look very healthy. I haven’t had any problem using the Pixi Glow Tonic every day. I regularly use it once a day, but on the days, that I have used it AM and PM, I have not noticed any irritation. However, I did not notice a healing of acne or discolorations as quickly as I did with the Nip+Fab. I do attribute that to the fact that Pixi does not have the same acids that Nip+Fab does, making Pixi a gentler product.

To Review

To wrap it all up, if you are looking for a way to help your skin glow, sloth off the dead skin cells more efficiently, promote healing and nourish your skin, glycolic acid treatments like Nip+Fab Glycolic Fix Night Extreme and Pixi Glow Tonic are worth checking out. Plus, they smell nice and clean!

Both have 5% glycolic acid. Nip+Fab Extreme is so powerful that it can only be used once a week for sensitive skin, 2 to 3 times a week for normal skin. Pixi on the other hand claims to be gentle on all skin types and can be used twice a day, every day.

What do you want?

If you are looking for something gentle, affordable, and you will notice improvements to your skin over time, then Pixi Glow Tonic is a good choice. The fact that you can gauge how much product you will use, is a bonus in my book.

However, if you are looking to see plumping of the skin, watch scaring, acne, discoloration, and environmental damage disappear or minimize in a relatively quick fashion, then you may want to try Nip+Fab Glycolic Fix Night Extreme. Possible draw backs are that it can only be used a few times a week and their presoaked pads.

Don’t Forget

Whether AM or PM, follow your glycolic acid product with a serum then moisturizer.

If You can only use glycolic acid once a day, I highly suggest making it at night. Night is when your skin and body repair; so, this is a great time to use Glycolic acid for maximum results. Again, follow with a serum, especially at night when your body can take full advantage of the extra nutrients that a serum provides.

Where to Find Them

You are probably wondering after all this, where you can get these glycolic acids so you can see the results for yourself.

To locate a brick and mortar store for Nip+Fab or Pixi just click, and as always, you can order Nip+Fab Glycolic Fix Night Pads Extreme or Pixi Glow Tonic online.

Have you used glycolic acid products in past?

Do you have a skin care product or make-up that you can’t live without?

 

 

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Spezzatino: Italian Chicken Stew, Easy Comfort Food

Spezzatino

I am sharing one of my favorite recipes with you, Chicken spezzatino. Spezzatino is Italian for stew. With that in mind it is no wonder that spezzatino is a hearty, flavorful crowd pleaser of a soup.

I have made this spezztino countless times for friends, family, and children. Yes, children. It has become a winter comfort food in our house.

What I like best about this spezzatino, is that it is easy to make, but tastes like you have been in the kitchen all day. The pancetta on top adds another dimension to an all ready flavorful dish.

Later, No Problem

Don’t be afraid to make this soup ahead of time. I make it for dinner parties. I’ve brought it to a sick friend or one who has just had a baby. Every time, I hear it was amazing. So, go ahead make it the night before. Throw it in a crock pot or reheat it on the stove the next day for an amazing, comforting, hearty soup after a long day at work.

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Spezzatino, AKA Italian Chicken Stew

Spezzatino is a hearty, flavorful, easy to make soup. With sprinkles of pancetta for garnnish and gorgeous chunks of chicken, your guests and family will think you were in the kitchen all day.This soup is so flavorful and hearty, it  will soon become a go to comfort food.

Course Soup
Cuisine Italian
Servings 8 People

Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1 4oz Pancetta Package already diced. You will probably find it in the deli area of your grocery with the high grade salami and such.
  • 3 Carrots Chopped into circles.
  • 2 Celery Stalks Sliced, not too chunky
  • 1/2 Onion, yellow
  • 1 Tbsp Minced Garlic Slightly heaping
  • 1 tsp Salt More as you see fit
  • 1 tsp Pepper More as you see fit
  • 2 Tbsp Better Than Buillion, low sodium roasted chicken base, follow directions could substitute with 48 oz of low- sodium Chicken Broth or Stock.
  • 1 Cup Fresh Basil leaves, packed
  • 6 oz Tomato Paste
  • 2 tsp Thyme
  • 2 Bayleafs
  • 1 tsp Oregano
  • 2 Chicken Breast with Rib Meat
  • 14 oz Canned Artichoke Hearts, drained and rinsed Cut into 4th or smaller.
  • 15 oz Cannellini Beans Could substitute with white northern beans

Instructions

  1. Everything you do will be taking place in the same soup pot.

    Before you start, grab a plate with a paper towel on top and a slotted spoon, if avaliable. This will be for the cooked pancetta.

    Heated your olive-oil and pan on medium heat. Add your pancetta. Cook until it is crispy and brown. Baby sit the pancetta as you would bacon. It cooks quickly. 

    Once crispy and brown, using a slotted spoon, place the pancetta on the paper towels. Put it aside. Maybe hide it from yourself and little fingers, until you are ready to use it at the end.

  2. Into your pancetta grease / olive oiled pot, add your onion, garlic, chopped carrots, celery, bay leaves, salt and pepper.  Cook until the onion is translucent. Stirring the mixture so that the garlic and onions do not burn.

  3. Add the Better than Bullion liquid or chicken stock, tomato paste, thyme, oregano, and chicken. Making sure that the chicken is submerged. If not, add some water. It's like making chicken soup, but fancier.

    Bring it to a simmer. Allow to simmer, uncovered for about 20 minutes. Turning the chicken and stirring occasionally.


  4. While the chicken and veggies simmer, slice your basil. An efficient way to do this is to stack several basil leaves on top of one another. Roll them long ways, kind of like a burrito, hold it down gently on the cutting board, and slice ribbons from top to bottom. Set aside.


  5. Add your cannellini beans, cut artichokes,and basil to the soup. Cook until the chicken has cooked through.

    Once the chicken has cooked through, remove it and allow it to cool, about 10 minutes. Allow the soup to continue to simmer.


  6. Once the chicken is cool enough to be handled, remove the meat from the bones, and cut the chicken into bite-size pieces.

    Add the chicken back to the soup and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes.

  7. While the chicken is warming back up, use this time to add salt and pepper to taste.

    Once it's done, remove the bay leaves.

  8. At this point you can serve your spezzitino, or you can serve it later. I have made it ahead of time so often. I feel it tastes even better when re-heated and served later.


  9. When the time comes for you to serve the spezzitino, once ladled into a bowl, don't forget to garnish with pancetta. Your taste buds will thank you for it.

Recipe Notes

I have made spezzatino ahead of time so often. I feel it tastes even better when re-heated and served later.

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13 Apps to Help Your New Year’s Resolutions Stick

We are almost to the 3rd week in January also known as the point at which New Year’s Resolution’s start losing steam.

What if you had a little buddy to help turn it around and make your Resolutions stick? A friend to cheer you on and maybe walk you through how to reach your goal? With these 13 apps your cell phone or tablet can become that buddy!

Many of these apps have optional community features, where you can connect with a community to cheer on your weight loss, healthy eating, budget goals, or even gas deal finding.

Most of these apps aim to not just help but educate as well, enabling us to change our habits for good.

Diet, Eating Healthier

Fooducate

Touts itself as more than a calorie counter and exercise tracker. Fooducate will teach you how to eat “real food”. Scan the barcode of 250,000 food products and Fooducate will give a food grade of A-D, then suggest a healthier alternative.

Fooducate allows you to personalize the app with not only the usual height and weight, but food allergies, health conditions, the rate at which you hope to achieve weight loss, to name a few. However, some of the personalization may require an upgrade to the premium feature.

IOS and Android- Free

Daily Water Tracker: Hydration

With our bodies being about 60 % water, staying well hydrated is critical. Researchers have found water to aid in weight loss, improved skin, joints, and so much more.

Daily Water Tracker takes the thinking out of hydration. Choose whether to measure in ounces or milliliters. Log your water intake with the tap of a screen.

They will help you recognize your water goals and celebrate you as you work toward them.

IOS and Android- Free

Lark 24/7 Health Coach

For busy people or someone on a budget, Lark 24/7 is the Health Coach that fits into your life, purse, or pocket depending where you keep your phone.

Lark 24/7 will motivate you, communicate with you, and help to revamp your health.

Lark 24/7 has won numerous awards and it is easy to see why. As the name implies, a Lark Health Coach is available 24/7 to answer your fitness and nutrition inquiries within seconds. As well as to text motivations to you throughout the day.

Lark has free sleep and activity tracking; as well as free Stayfit coaching. From there you can move up to memberships that include nutritional coaching, mood and condition check-ins, diet analysis, blood sugar, and carb tracking.

IOS and Android- Free for basic features

Oh She Glows

The Oh She Glows app is brought to us by Angela Liddon. Angela is a New York Times best seller and award-winning food blogger. Her blog Oh She Glows is filled with gorgeously photographed plant based recipes that have been taste tested and approved by her family and friends. Her app does not disappoint.

Oh She Glows app presently has 95 plant based meals and 75 gluten free meals. As new recipes arrive to her blog, they will also make their way to the app. In addition, there are free recipe bundles for you to “unlock”.

An important note, the app allows you to filter your search by food allergy, very handy. Now go ahead and figure out how you can prepare that chard in the fridge so the whole family will enjoy it. Or is that just me?!

IOS and Android- $0 .99-1.99

Exercise More

My Fitness Pal

My Fitness Pal has been downloaded way over 1 million times, making it the most popular fitness app out there. There is not much this app doesn’t do!

My Fitness pal has exercises, they will track your water intake, food, nutrients, movement, recipe importer, food insights, goal setting, habit changing, and so, so, much more. It is a very comprehensive app, like I said, there isn’t much it doesn’t do.

IOS and Android, Starting at $9.99 a month

7 Minute Workout Challenge by Fitness Guide Inc.

With 7 Minute Workout Challenge we no longer have an excuse to not work out! Whether you are in your PJ’s or workout clothes, in 7 minutes this app guides you through 12 interval exercises.

7 Minute Workout Challenge has both male and female instructors that motivate and guide you through these effective, no equipment need exercises. The app also tracks your progress and you unlock rewards as you continue to exercise.

IOS and Android- $2.99

Down Dog by Yoga Buddhi Co.

Get your Zen on with the #1 rated app for yoga. With more than 100 classes for free, you will have plenty of time to see if you would like to pump up to a paid membership level.

Down Dog allows you to customize your yoga level and length of time you would like to practice that day. Never practiced yoga? No problem! Down Dog has an intro level class for newbies complete with detailed instructions.

On the road and afraid you might not have a good internet connection? Never fear, download your practice ahead of time. Down Dog makes it easy to practice selfcare almost anywhere.

IOS and Android- Free

Lose Weight

C25K 5K Trainer

C25K 5K Trainer is a couch to 5k trainer app. Don’t let the 5k in the title intimidate you. C25K is made for the new runner or would be runner. Their program starts out with a combination of walking and running. Their goal is to increase your confidence and stamina with 30-minute training.

This app is easy to use. It tracks your stats for you as well as being compatible with some pedometers.

If you like to listen to music while you train, C25K is compatible with Spotify, Pandora, and more.

IOS and Android- Free, 1.99 to remove ads

Noisli - Focus, Concentration & Relaxation

You might be wondering why I have included a relaxation app in the weight loss category. Science has found that stress and lack of sleep can actually cause weight gain and impede out ability to lose weight. I learned this the hard way.

The Noisli app is a color and relaxation sound app that can be useful during work or travel. Decide on the ambient noise you would like and help drowned out the noisy people around you.

You can tailor your Noisli experience by setting timers with a fade out function, selecting from a variety of sounds to suite the occasion, and it can be used offline.

A little relaxation and good sleep might just be the little extra that your weight loss plan needed.

IOS and Android- $1.99

Mediation apps Zen Friend and MindFi : Eye Opening Meditation

Mediation is another way to calm and destress our minds and bodies. Meditation also allows us some quiet time to listen to our bodies and how they are feeling so that we may better address those needs.

Doctors have found that mediation can lower high blood pressure and help you manage stress. Managing stress can help us to avoid stress eating and high cortisol levels both of which help us to hold onto unnecessary fat stores.

I’ve included two meditation apps, Zen Friend and MindFi, because I feel they both are good for novice to more experienced mediation practitioners. Both are easy to use, have timers, and the ability to track your meditations in some form. The big difference between the two is that MindFi is meant to be done with your eyes open.

MindFi has meditations as short as 3 minutes. The hope of the MindFi app is that you can use it in the office, on the train, in the bathroom, all without drawing attention to yourself. You pop in your ear buds and re-center discreetly and effectively.

Zen Friend also allows you to meditate for shorter intervals also. After your meditation, you can record your thoughts in the app and set a meditation remainder for a later date.

Both apps aim to help their users develop a schedule friendly meditation practice.

IOS and Android- Free

Save More, Spend Less

Gas Buddy

Gas Buddy is the #1 gas saving app claiming to save its users an average of $340 a year on gas.

This app allows you to filter your gas station search by price, location, and amenities such as car washes. Gas Buddy will also alert you to price hikes.

IOS and Android- Free

You Need A Budget (YNAB)

The app, You Need A Budget has a goal for you. YNAB wants to help you stop living paycheck to paycheck. Once YNAB is done, they hope to see you paying for March’s mortgage with February money. You Need A Budget is so confident, that they offer a 34 day free trial. To further show you how confident YNAB is that you will save money and learn to budget, while using their app, YNAB offer’s a 100% money back guarantee!

So how do they expect to teach us to budget and like it? They have a four-rule approach to budgeting:

  1. Give Every Dollar a Job
  2. Embrace Your True Expenses
  3. Roll with the Punches
  4. Age Your Money

YNAB syncs with your credit cards and banks. They have goal setting tools and debt paydown tools. An added bonus, they have personal support as well as over 100 free workshops. They want to teach and encourage their users to have a healthy relationship with money.

With this unique approach to budgeting, You Need A Budget’s app users, on average, save $600 in the first two months and more that $6000 in the first year.

IOS and Android- Free for the first 34 days.

Digit

Digit wants to help you start a savings account, effortlessly. If you have a goal of saving, but your mind glazes over at the mere thought, let Digit help.

Digit is a smart app that analysis your income and daily spending habits. It then moves money to your FDIC insured Digit savings account every day, if you can afford it.

You can withdraw from your saving account whenever you like, without penalty. However, if you leave the money it will accrue 1% annually, which is paid out every 3 months.

Digit securely protects your sensitive banking and personal information with Bank-level SSL 128-bit encryption.

IOS and Android- Free for the first 100 days, $2.99 after

Resolutions aren’t Easy

How are you doing with your New Year’s Resolutions? Do you already use apps to help you with your goals?

I’ll be honest, I have yet to use my crock-pot, but I did cook at home every night this week, woohoo! I am continuing to work on saving more, paying down debt, and slowly getting organized.

I look forward to hearing how all of you doing!

 

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New Year’s Resolutions and How to Keep Them

New Year's Resolutions Tips and Hacks

Happy New Year!

I’m back after a vacation hiatus. I hope your holidays were joyful and that you are having a good start to your New Year. Can you believe it’s the New Year already?!

I’ve been thinking about New Year’s resolutions lately. There’s just something about the start of a new year. For me, it feels like a chance to start fresh. I must not be alone, 60% of people polled say they plan on making New Year’s Resolutions too.

The top 6 New Year’s Resolutions for 2017 were:

  • Diet or eating healthier
  • Exercise more
  • Lose weight
  • Save More Spend Less
  • Learn a new hobby or skill
  • Get more organized

Attainable

The consensus seems to be that only 8% of people who make New Year’s resolutions actually keep them. 8% is not very many people! If we want to be one of the 8% that keep our New Year’s resolutions, according to CNBC, the trick is keep our goal attainable.

Baby Steps

We can keep our goals attainable by breaking them into baby steps. Say you are like 32% of Americans in 2017 who had the goal of saving more and spending less. Try breaking the goal down into baby steps. If you have a Starbucks habit, instead of buying 5 lattes a week purchase 1. Start a savings account by putting away $10 every paycheck. Resolve to eat in more than you eat out.

Accountability

Another suggestion, is to put the New Year’s resolution bench marks on the calendar. Resolving to eat better in 2018? If your goal is to eat 1 new vegetable a day, plan ahead of time, and assign a vegetable to each day of the week. Experts say that using our calendars help to hold us accountable and allow us to see the progress we are making.

A workout journal or food diary can also be a good way to hold ourselves accountable and see how close we are to meeting our goal.

For many of us, the reward of actually accomplishing the baby steps gives us the motivation we need to keep going and build on what we have started.

Making a New Year’s Resolution

I’ve read some good New Year’s Resolutions lately: like traveling more, saying Yes, becoming more organized, making more time for oneself. These unique resolutions inspired me to start thinking about making my own.

This year I’ve decided on some quirky resolutions and traditional ones.

  • Use My Crock Pot more
  • Save More, Spend Less
  • Paydown My Debt
  • Become More Organized

I’ve been trying to get into the habit of using my crock pot more. For me, the problem is it usually requires a little prep and organization. However, if I can become more organize, it will help me reach a goal of using my crock pot once a week. Using my crock pot even once a week will save money since we will eat out less. As I save money from spending less on food, I can put more of that toward our debt.

To be honest, prior writing this, I did not realize how my resolutions have the ability to work together! I love it when stuff like that happens.

What are your New Year’s Resolutions? Why did you choose them?