Celebrating my Birthday at the Beach!

My birthday is this Sunday- I really don't want a big party, I just want to get away from everything and relax. My original plans were to stay at a beach house in St. Augustine for a few days, but EVERYTHING that I like is already booked! But let's be honest- it's mostly just laziness because I don't want to pack {mainly because I want to be that girl who only packs a weekend bag- but I am actually the other girl who ends up bringing her entire wardrobe + some!}- way too much work for me! One day I will be wealthy enough to hire someone to pack my clothes like they all have on the Real Housewives- where do I sign up?? Just kidding- no way that I could handle all of that drama!

When I told my boss that I was going to St. George Island- he warned me not to go to Buccaneer's Inn -apparently, {according to my boss} that is where all of the drunk rednecks like to hang out. So happy that he warned me, that would not have been a good birthday surprise- just saying..although it could make for interesting people watching..

So basically since I couldn't find a beach rental that I liked {& that accepted my doggie fur-child} & I am too lazy to pack, I have decided that I am going to the beach on Sunday with the hubby & the dog for just one day. I just want to walk the beach, lay in the sun, have a picnic and read a few books- perfection, in my book. And let's not forget the best part- I get to open my birthday presents from the hubby!

What do you do to celebrate your birthday?

au Naturale Review

Over a week ago, I had a phone meeting with Ashley from au Naturale to see what type of products that I would like to review- first, can I say how awesome she is? She patiently worked around my hectic Monday schedule and was so friendly & helpful with everything!

She also threw in some extra lip & cheek tints, lip glosses, foundation samples, etc.

For the daytime- I love the natural look of this makeup- I can see where the name "au Naturale" comes from. In this picture, I am wearing their Flirt lip-gloss.

For a night look- I would add more powder & cheek tint.

The lip-glosses that I received- Flirt & Coral Bell. Flirt is a very pretty natural pink- very pretty. 

I have already received several compliments & also questions on where to purchase!

I also really liked the Coral Bell- I feel like it is perfect for going out for date night or a fun night with friends!

I received the Organic Creme foundation in the Marino color- I loved how easy it was to apply the creme foundation- it felt really smooth going onto my skin. I also received the Powder Foundation in the Marino color- it also included an enclosure inside to keep the powder from spilling everywhere- brilliant idea! 

I really love that their cosmetics are cruelty-free AND vegan. Their products are also paraben-free, non-toxic and gluten-free which for me = no breakouts! I can't wear most makeups because of the weird ingredients that some companies add to their cosmetics. If you are looking for a natural makeup then I would definitely recommend that you try au Naturale!

Thanks again to au Naturale for allowing me to try these products!

*The au Naturale products were sent to me to review free of charge, however I was not paid any money to do this product review. Any products that I review are of my own personal opinion and experience with said product.

Alive & Radiant Review

I am going to be completely honest here & admit that I have been stressed out lately and Saturday night may have included 1/2 a bottle of wine + 1/4 bag of chips + watching brainless reality shows. Not my best idea, considering I woke up feeling like someone punched me + my face was all puffy- not fun..

That's why today I am eating healthier- I am in need of some serious detox! Today, I snacked on these kale chips that Alive and Radiant sent to me to review.

When you hear Arugula Cabbage Veggie Krunch- you don't think, "oh hey that sounds amazing", but you really have to trust me and try it for yourself- so good and so many amazing ingredients. 

Even my husband liked these- so that is definitely saying everything.

Ingredients: Cabbage*, Arugula*, Sesame Seeds*, Lemon Juice*, Pumpkin Seeds*, Chia Seeds*, Nutritional Yeast, Garlic*, Extra Virgin Olive Oil*, Himalayan Crystal Salt, Apple Cider Vinegar*, Caraway seeds*, Dill*

Honestly, the Kale Krunch taste so much better than regular chips plus they have so much added nutritional value. My favorite was the Quite Cheezy- I could seriously eat these all day!! 

The really great thing about Alive & Radiant products are that they are Raw, Certified by the CCOF- made with 90% organic fruits, nuts and vegetables, Gluten-Free, Vegan and Dehydrated- not baked or fried! 

For chip-addicts like myself- this is the perfect replacement for that bad habit. It feels so much better to get back to healthy eating that is for sure!

What is your healthy go-to snack?

*The Alive & Radiant Kale Krunch & Veggie Krunch products were sent to me to review free of charge, however I was not paid any money to do this product review. Any products that I review are of my own personal opinion and experience with said product.

One King's Lane Decor Collage + Collaboration

Recently, I was contacted by Chloe at One King's Lane to collaborate on a design collage based around their chair style guide. Obviously, I thought this would be fun, especially since we will be decorating our new house this year and I will be starting from scratch- literally!

I would say that my style is more Glam Cottage meets Cozy/GCC- I am pretty sure I just made that style up- but that is what my style would be. I like little bits of modern, glam, cozy + different/funky all mixed together- a bit like myself :)

Sarah Chair + Elvia Perring/Timing Print

Silk Chevron Ikat Pillows + Aspatong Media Center

Mounted Roe Deer Antlers + Ikat Wastebasket

Arteriors Winslow Lamp & Every-man Library Poetry books

If you had to choose a chair style using One King's Lane Chair Style Guide- what would your collage look like?

One of those days..

Just wanted to stop in and say hi and hope that you are all having a great week. I don't really have a lot to say today- just one of those days that I am tired and want to curl up in the bed & just sleep for 10 hours. I'm not sad, but I could really use some rest and renewing..

{Which should be happening fairly soon- seeing how I just took some Valerian to knock myself out}

Ever have those days? 

100 % Pure Makeup Review

What girl doesn't love cosmetics? Last week, I was excited to team up with Amanda at 100% Pure to try out some of their products + do a little review. I really love the fact that most of 100% Pure cosmetics are vegan, gluten free and 100% natural- right up my alley, considering I only use natural products on my skin.

I opted to try the Powder foundation in white peach- I have olive skin so this ended up being a little too light for my skin, so next time I will go with the Golden Peach. As far as application, I love how easily it applied and how soft it made my skin feel and look.

Can I just say that I am obsessed with this mascara?! I already have long lashes, but after using this mascara for 1 week I feel like the fruit pigments really helped make my lashes healthier! I'm pretty sure it was all of the amazing fruit pigments & black tea that contributed!

The concealer was also smooth and made my skin soft- like butter on my skin- the coverage was amazing and helped to cover up blemishes. The white peach color that I chose was a little too light for my olive skin, so if your skin color is like mine, I would suggest trying the golden peach instead.

I thoroughly enjoyed trying out the 100% Pure cosmetic products. They have so many additional products, that I haven't tried yet, from body-washes,skincare and even gift sets-I am excited to check out some more of their products online!

What are some of  your favorite go-to beauty products + brands that you enjoy?

*The 100% Pure Beauty Products- were sent to me to review free of charge, however I was not paid any money to do this product review. Any products that I review are of my own personal opinion and experience.

Happy Love Day!!

Happy Valentine's Day Lovelies! I had a special surprise when I arrived at work this morning- my boss & his wife brought me a bottle of organic wine for Valentine's Day- how amazing is that?!

Anyone have big plans? We pretty much plan on having wine & a cheese/fruit plate and veg out watching movies together. My sweet husband did buy me an orchid & gave me the sweetest card and I ordered a lovely photo book that did not arrive in time for Valentines day- but oh well, it's the thought that counts. I'm excited to see how it turns out!

I'm currently making his + hers cappuccinos & organic chocolate chip cookies at the hubby's request, then we are watching another movie so I'm off to enjoy the rest of the night with my sweetie. Hope that you all have an amazing night with your sweetie!

Root Science- 2 week Skin Detox Review

Recently, Gigja from Root Science sent me a 2 week detox kit to review. It included their best selling youth serum, the RS facial scrub, the RS beauty bar and the RS reborn facial mask. 

One thing that I really love about Root Science products are that they are cruelty-free and not tested on animals- I don't think people realize how many beauty products on the market are actually tested on animals. Root Science also makes their products fresh and organic, these beauty products aren't just sitting on a shelf somewhere for months and you can tell the high quality of these products when they hit your skin. 

RS Beauty Bar- I liked the beauty bar, it made my skin nice and soft & smelled really nice.

RS Facial Scrub-I loved the facial scrub, it had a nice mint smell & I liked that it was a gentle scrub, not harsh on my skin like most facial scrubs.

RS reborn facial mask- I have never had a mask that tightened so much! Very easy to apply & remove- not messy at all! I felt like my skin was tighter & more glowing after.

RS Youth Serum- this stuff smells amazing! Lavender is my favorite herb- so this was at the top of the list for me. 

I personally loved all of the products and felt like the 2 week detox kit really helped to tighten & give my skin a more youthful look & well that is the point, am I right?

*The Root Science 2 week Detox Kit was sent to me to review free of charge, however, I was not paid any money to do this product review. Any products that I review are of my own personal opinion and experience.

Taking a much-needed Break!!

Life for us has been extremely hectic lately with the house planning, full time jobs and my blog work that we haven't had a chance to just have a relaxing day. So this Saturday, we took the day off to just have fun!! We hung out at Catalina Cafe & enjoyed Con Leches, had lunch at Jason's Deli and shopped the day away! 

{Can I just say how gorgeous my husband is? Even after 17 years together- 

he just gets more & more handsome}

{I loved this striped dress, but it was too short- I was so sad}

{I did buy this leopard shirt & black leggings- both on sale for a total of $6.00!!}

Giveaway Winner!

{via Sequins & Stripes}

Thanks to everyone for entering the Manna Organic Bakery Giveaway! I really would love to choose more than one winner, but unfortunately, there can only be one winner and that winner is.....Jordan!! 

Jordan, please email me at melindapollard{at}gmail{dot}com with your address details and choice of 2 breads, nut butter & 1 manna munchie. Congratulations!!

Stay tuned for more upcoming giveaways and have a fabulous weekend!!

Conscious Box Review

Most of you have probably noticed that I have been making a few changes to the blog. I wanted to give a shout-out to  Jana Tolman who designed my new blog ad button (which by the way, please grab & add to your blog!). She not only designed it, she also installed it for me, when I was having a difficult time doing it myself. She really went above and beyond and I will definitely be using her again when I decide to spruce up my blog some more! If you are in need of a blog or a blog makeover- do yourself a favor & go by and check her out!!

This week, I received a package from Conscious Box- I have been seeing this all over the blog-world and was excited to see what my little box had inside!

I love Yogi tea & these two did not disappoint- the Caramel Apple Spice was my fave!

My picky husband ate that entire bag of OrganicSaurus Snack

This Therapeutics Mustard Bath was my favorite item included in the box- it smelled amazing 

& I swear I stayed in the bath for over an hour enjoying it :)

You choose your box- Classic, Vegan or Gluten-Free. Conscious Box then sends you a box full of all of their monthly top picks- and you get a fun surprise box- that's my favorite part! You can also send a Conscious Box gift to someone- if you need my mailing address, I can email it to you- I kid, I kid!

Tomorrow, I'm announcing the winner of the Manna Organics Bakery Giveaway- so stay tuned!

Manna Organic Bakery Review + Giveaway!!

Recently, I was lucky enough to be able to try out a few goodies from Manna Organic Bakery! Manna Organics, LLC is a family owned and operated bakery. All of their products are vegan, kosher, organic and carefully hand-made.

I have some very exciting news- Manna Organic Bakery is going to send one winner 2 loaves of their bread, 1 Manna Munchies and 1 Nut butter- and you get to choose the flavors you like!

So read on to see how you can win some of these amazing goodies!

Sun-seed Manna Bread: Sprouted organic wheat kernels, filtered water, organic sunflower seeds, organic sesame seeds, organic flax seeds, organic millet, organic poppy seeds, organic caraway seeds.

This Sun-seed bread was very chewy & I loved how it paired with the Cinnamon Date butter.

Another one of my favorites were the kale chips- they were pretty much gone in the first night- I now have my husband hooked on these. I never thought I would see the day that my husband would eat kale chips!

Bread crumbs Ingredients: Filtered Water, Organic Brown Rice flour, Organic Sorghum flour, Organic Corn Starch, Organic Sunflower Oil, Sprouted Organic Sunflower Seeds, Organic Millet, Sprouted Organic Amaranth, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice Crystals, Organic Flaxseed, Sea Salt, Sprouted Organic Quinoa, Xanthan Gum (non-GMO), Yeast, Sprouted Organic Chia Seeds

I absolutely loved all of the products that I was sent to review- the gluten free breadcrumbs made for an amazing oven-baked chicken- my husband raved about the chicken (he had no idea how healthy it was- which is the best part!)

To enter to win a box of goodies from Manna Organic Bakery, here is what you need to do:

1. Like Manna Organics on their Facebook Page
2. Like My Life Being Renewed Facebook Page
3. Follow Manna Organics on Twitter
4. and Follow me on GFC [Google Friend Connect] on the sidebar

It's that easy! Good luck to everyone!

Look-back on January Goals!

It's that time, today is the first day of February- so let's look back on January Goals!

January Goals//

Spiritual- I did great on this one. I have been praying more, listening to more sermons & growing/learning.

Health- I have been doing great on drinking more water, hot teas, taking my vitamins, I did go to the gym about 5x and also walking around the lake.

Relaxing Time- I have been taking time to read more, watch at least 1-2 movies on Netflix per week, take long baths- it definitely feels nice to unwind after a long work week!

Blog- I had a blog makeover! I'm so happy with how it looks now! I have also been doing more local restaurant & shop reviews, along with my product reviews.

Finances- I have not done badly this month (in my opinion), but I am not really a budgeting type of girl. I did buy several pieces of jewelry, 3 handbags and a couple of shirts. I think that's all- honestly, that is a really good month for me + I didn't do any online shopping!

Career- has been going great- I have been busy planning for our first Senior Living Expo and I love being busy all day and getting things accomplished! Plus it helps that my boss is really happy with my work- on Friday, he came into my office and told me that he was extremely happy with me and the all of the hard work that I have been putting in! It's nice to see when you work extremely hard every day and it pays off! So motivating and it just makes me want to work that much harder!

Travel & Fun- I really want to go and do something fun, but we have been really busy with house stuff- but I'm not complaining!

House (New Construction)- We finally have some labor & materials quotes that we are happy with and will be meeting with the bank on Monday to get everything going. House construction will be starting in a few weeks!! I am beyond excited- this has been a dream for a while now & with lots of prayer and patience, it is finally going to happen!

Self- The closer relationship that I have with God, the more I am loving the person that God created me to be. Through praying, I am growing up more spiritually and not letting things bother me as much and letting negative things go that others have done to me. At the same time, I am not letting other people walk all over me, I am standing up for myself and speaking truth when necessary. I am no longer that girl who is so oversensitive and easily hurt- I have been praying for a thicker skin and to keep my tender heart- and lately, I have felt the shift.

Family- This is a big one for me. I have been through lots of hurts with my family- things that shouldn't have been done or said, but I have forgiven them & hope that we can move on and have a healthy relationship. After taking a 4 month break from family- it's such a great feeling that I am now able to be around my family and feel the love & support that I have been wanting.

For the month of February, I plan on continuing to work hard at my job & continue to work on my blog- social media marketing, sponsors, product reviews, etc and hopefully gain some new readers. I also want to continue my daily praying, growing spiritually and taking time to relax at home by reading a new book or taking a relaxing bath. Of course, for this month, I am most excited for our new house construction to start!!


How are you doing on  your 2014 Goals so far?