A Little Birdie Told Me…Vol. 3

There are so many amazing blogs out there on the internet, it's hard to keep up with them all! Here are just a few of my favorite posts from the last month.

Coastal Scents Revealed 2 Palette

A recent impulse purchase of mine (after hoarding Birchbox points) was the Coastal Scents Revealed 2 Palette. It debuted a while ago, but as per the usual I was a bit late to the party. This gorgeous palette features 20 different neutral shadows that lean toward the rose and pink-toned end of the spectrum. I couldn't remember ever having tried any Coastal Scents products before, but with amazing reviews I thought this palette might be a good place to start. Needless to say, I was not disappointed.

Birdie Bites - Brown Sugar Salmon

Salmon is one of my absolute favorite dishes to bring to the dinner table. It's easy to prepare, cooks in a flash, and tastes pretty flippin' delicious. It's also extremely versatile as far as fish goes, jiving with a number of different flavor combinations. In particular, I think salmon lends itself really well to savory-sweet preparations, which is where I got the inspiration to come up with this recipe. Brown sugar, with it's rich molasses notes, seemed like the perfect complement to my favorite fish.

Getting Organized - The Look-Ahead Pink Poppin Planner

Last week was a stressful one, and toward the end of it I felt like I needed a little pick-me-up. Naturally this translated to walking to Staples on my lunch break and browsing through the back-to-school displays. I don't know what it is about brightly colored office supplies, but they make me happy. I then realized that the perfect thing to get me back into a motivated mood would be a new planner. As much as my phone does an awesome job at helping me keep track of my life, I've always been a sucker for the paper kind.

That being said, at the end of 2013 I couldn't find one that I really liked, and I couldn't bring myself to buy an Erin Condren Life Planner (although they are flippin beautiful). It is surprisingly difficult to find a planner that is reasonably priced, utilizes space well, and is also pretty. I've perused the isles of Target, Wal-Mart, Staples and the like many a time without success. This time, I also thought I was going to leave empty handed, but the stars finally aligned. I noticed this guy on one of the island displays. It's The Look-Ahead Pink Poppin Planner and it is everything that I was looking for.

Budget Beauty Alternatives

Beauty splurges - we all have them from time to time. Sometimes it's worth spending the extra dollar for that super-smudge-proof eyeliner, or foundation that perfectly matches your skin tone. But let's be practical. A lot of us out there have the kind of budget that is much more suited for shopping at the drugstore. That's not to say that our cosmetic bags need to be lacking in quality products. More than ever, drugstores are carrying affordable alternatives to popular prestige products. Need some proof? Here are a few of my latest budget-conscious finds that will make you think twice about dropping tons of cash on their high-end counterparts.