Tips for a Great 3 Day Weekend!

Friday is Independence Day in the US, which means we have ourselves a short week and a 3 day weekend! YAY! I love three day weekends because they are like mini vacations spread throughout the year. They can be a great time to catch up on sleep, binge watch your favorite TV shows or finish a home project. So, here are my tips to making the most of your long weekend!

1. Plan Your To-Dos before the weekend begins: Before the weekend starts, I often find myself thinking how exciting it is to have a three day weekend ahead of me! THREE DAYS OFF! That seems like so much time to do WHATEVER I want! But inevitably by Sunday night I find myself wondering where the weekend has gone? It’s nearly over? HOW DID THIS HAPPEN!! I think you know the feeling! So, if you want to fill your weekend with fun and awesome things to do, you should probably plan out your time before the weekend starts! You don’t have to make an hour by hour schedule, but have a general idea of what you want to do and who you want to do it with. Make sure plans with friends are hammered out before the weekend begins so you spend more time having fun and less time getting people to agree on dinner reservations!

2. Put your space in order: Whether you have your own place or share with roommates or family members, get your space in order and tidy up before the fun begins. Get your chores done, send off your bills, and get your life in order so that you can maximize your weekend time and not have to worry about the minutiae of daily life for approximately 72 hours!

3. Have at least one adventure: By this I mean, leave the house at least once! Yes, you can break from your Orange is the New Black marathon weekend to run out for pizza or something, but make sure to get some fresh air! Lord knows you don’t get enough of it in the normal work week!

4. Manage your expectations: I know I am totally guilty of over hyping my weekends before hand and then feeling a major crash when everything doesn’t work out perfectly or when I don’t feel like I have done enough! Give yourself reasonable expectations of how fun/exciting/productive/amazing your weekend will be so that you can focus on enjoying everything!

5. Take time to breath and relax: The weekend is about decompressing from a week of work, and long weekends give you even more time to decompress. Make sure to relax and just enjoy your weekend, whatever it may bring so that you are recharged for work and life in general once the work week rolls back around!

How do you like to spend your three day weekends? Share more of your tips for a great three day weekend by letting us know in the comments!

Work Hard, Play Hard: Summer Fun Tech Wallpapers!

It’s that time of year again and I have some new tech wallpapers for you! This Summer Fun edition is dedicated to my mantra for the summer months, “Work Hard, Play Hard” and I designed these with some fun summer colors, neon pink and gold glitter! Hope you enjoy them and feel free to leave me any ideas for future tech wallpapers down in the comments! I love hearing your feedback and getting new inspiration from you so that I make these wallpapers as custom as possible for you!

Work-Hard-Play-Hard-iPad — iPad/Tablet Wallpaper

Work-Hard-Play-Hard-iPhone — iPhone/Smartphone Wallpaper

Work-Hard-Play-Hard-Mac — Laptop/Desktop Wallpaper

Career lifestyle

What I want to be when I Grow Up

I recently had a conversation with a friend and former colleague about the importance of knowing “what I want to be when I grow up.” She and I were discussing career paths and what sort of job she would like to have next within her company, but she was unsure which path to take. Should she look for a promotion, should she move to another company, where was her life and relationship with her boyfriend headed? In the midst of our conversation, I asked her “well, what do you want to be when you grow up?” She thought the question was funny, “obviously, we are grown up, but what was it that you always thought you would do with your life and do you still want to do it,” I asked.

She really didn’t have to think about it because she immediately knew the answer, she wanted to work for the company she had spent a year interning for after college. She knew it was the time of her life and although she knew she would want to go back in a different role and work in a different side of the business, she at least was able to articulate it.

“Okay, so go work for them,” I said, very matter of fact. “I can’t do that,” she replied, “[my boyfriend] owns a home here and he would never move.” The conversation went on from there and we discussed that ever confusing ambiguity of life where women are expected to manage their personal life and their career, and how to know if you are with “the one” or not. Clearly, neither of us are experts on the subject so I’m not sure the conversation ended with any sort of resolution to her issues, although I like to hope she was at least able to frame herself and her situation in new light.

The reason I am sharing this story here on my blog, is because I feel like for so many women out there, we struggle to find a career and a life that is fulfilling, but then we openly reject what it is we know we want because it may require our lives to change. My friend was probably right, her boyfriend probably won’t want to move to allow her to pursue her dream career, but does that mean that the career is wrong or the boyfriend is wrong? I think pragmatists would say, leave the boyfriend and pursue the career you want, romantics would say, find another career and keep the man. Who is right? Who is wrong? It doesn’t actually matter. The opinions of others don’t really matter when it comes to our own life choices. People will always have an opinion one way or the other, but we have to find the courage to make the choices that bring us happiness and fulfillment. The issue isn’t about choosing career or choosing love, the issue is choice itself and understanding that you do, indeed, have a choice in how to live your life. You can choose to be a passive participant in your life or you can choose to have the courage to be an active one!

lifestyle

Who are the Happiest People You Know?

I have been thinking a lot about happiness lately and happy people in general. The other week, when I stopped at the gas station, I was confronted with the notion that you really can’t predict who is going to be happy in life and who isn’t based on their situation in life. I was thinking about my regular gas station attendant and how he is always upbeat and happy despite having something of an undesirable career to most people. By all means, I am sure if I was in his position, I would certainly be miserable, and this is not meant to offend anyone who themselves works or know of someone who works in such a position, but for me the idea of standing outside, or sometimes sitting in a little glass box, at all hours of the day through extreme heat and bitter cold would be hell on earth. I’m not someone who could handle such a simple, repetitive task, even one as common as pumping gas for eight hours a day, in fact, I am sure I would botch it. Yet, the same gas station attendant is always there waiting for me, happy as can be, glad to be of service.

After that day, whenever I looked around, it was glaringly obvious to me, that many of the happy, outgoing people I would come across were found in the most unlikely places but they all had something in common, they were all making the choice to be happy, friendly, and genuinely nice people. This may not be news to any of you, the fact that we choose to make our own happiness certainly wasn’t news to me, but I find that whenever I am confronted with these sorts of situations it jolts me back into reality and forces me to look inward to my own feelings and why I make things harder on myself by not choosing happiness more often.

I challenge all of you to stop, take a look around you and search out the happiest people in your life. I bet that for the most part these folks aren’t necessarily always the most wealthy, attractive or even healthy people, but still they find happiness because they choose happiness. I hope for myself and for all of you reading this that we can make that choice for ourselves everyday and remember that it’s not our social status, job, friends or significant others that make us happy, but that it is we that make ourselves happy. Today, I am going to be happy, no matter what!

lifestyle organization Quirky Uses Solutions

5 Quirky Uses for a Filofax

5 Quirky Uses is a new periodic feature for Strange & Charmed. For each post, I will select an everyday item and suggest five alternate uses or ways to upcycle the item in a fun or unusual way. Keep up with these posts with the Quirky Uses category!

True story, everyone! For some reason or another (all completely legitimate in my mind) I own four Filofax style planners. Two are actually Filofax brand name, one is my lovely Kikki K Time Planner (discontinued) and one is my personal sized Kate Spade! Now, the thing is, although I bought each planner with some grand idea of how I was going to use it in a slightly different way, I have recently woken up to the idea that these planners need to be repurposed or sold. Since, I like many other Filofax enthusiasts own more than one planner and refuse to sell any of them (are you kidding me, they are each beautiful and unique!) I have opted for repurposing the extra three I never use. So, I came up with a list of very useful ways to use a Filofax style planner, so we can all justify our obsessions and have them all!

1. A Home Binder: This would be perfect for any extra A5’s lying around because you can store documents folded in half and punched! A home binder is a place where you can keep all the important information for your home and items in it. Warranty information, insurance paperwork, schedules for regular maintenance and even home decor information (like the color paints and types of flooring used in case of repair). Anything that refers to your home (owned or rented) can be stored away inside in case it needs to be referenced.

2. A Dedicated Blog or Business Binder: If you run a side business or a blog from home, having an extra binder around that stores all your important information and schedules is a great way to repurpose a Filofax. Yes, some of your business information may also be important in your day-to-day planner, but having a dedicated place for business information, projects you are working on and specific business contacts means that you don’t have to cram it all in your daily carry and I think giving your blog or business its own binder that you leave at home and only take with you when needed is a great way to actually help you “switch gears” throughout the day.

3. A Gratitude or Happiness Binder: I am a major proponent of the importance of gratitude journaling and I think that it’s an awesome idea to repurpose a beautiful planner or Filofax into a place where you can store and write about all the things that make you happy and thankful in your life. In a way it could be like an inspiration board but instead of posting things on a single surface you have pages and inserts to decorate and theme out for each element of your life that makes you happy and grateful. You can keep gratitude lists, lists of your favorite things like books, movies, people and places. You can include pictures, sketches, or collages; the possibilities are endless, and at the end of the day it can be your happy place to help you lift your spirit and find joy in your life!

4. A Personalized Devotional: No matter what your religion or spiritual status, many people like to find peace and solice in a daily devotional. You can use a Filofax style planner to create your own with your favorite verses, prayers and inspirational stories and create your own schedule for private study. There are so many people out there who are trying on a daily basis to create a closer bond with their religious or spiritual side and creating a personal devotional is a wonderful activity that would give you time to both create and reflect on the subject.

5. A Health & Wellness Binder: If you are struggling with a health issue, trying to lose weight, or just want to keep a closer eye on your health in general, having a dedicated binder for your Health & Wellness may be a great way for you to track your day-to-day condition, the foods you’re eating and even your mood. I think a Filofax would be a wonderful place to store information like healthy recipes, exercise routines and important information about your physical and mental health so that you have all that information with you when you visit your physician. I think even expectant mothers would find this sort of binder useful as they track and almost journal their experience of pregnancy into motherhood that can then be something of a keepsake for them and their family.

I hope you have enjoyed these tips and if you currently use a Filofax for any of these purposes, please let us know in the comments below and be sure to leave your tips on getting started or elements that would be helpful for others to include if they were to start one of these binders for themselves! As always, if you have any additional uses for a Filofax, please leave those below so we get even more inspiration from the community!

books lifestyle

In Progress

I’m one of those people who starts reading more than one book at a time and then never seems to finish any. Lately, I have been “reading” a few books that just never seem to end because I can’t seem to focus enough on getting through them properly. Maybe its me, maybe its the book, but I don’t like when I don’t finish things, so I am making it my goal to get some of these in progress books off my book shelf by actually finishing them up!

Tell the Wolves I’m Home: A Novel by Carol Rifka Brunt

Amazon Synapsis

1987. There’s only one person who has ever truly understood fourteen-year-old June Elbus, and that’s her uncle, the renowned painter Finn Weiss. Shy at school and distant from her older sister, June can only be herself in Finn’s company; he is her godfather, confidant, and best friend. So when he dies, far too young, of a mysterious illness her mother can barely speak about, June’s world is turned upside down. But Finn’s death brings a surprise acquaintance into June’s life—someone who will help her to heal, and to question what she thinks she knows about Finn, her family, and even her own heart.

At Finn’s funeral, June notices a strange man lingering just beyond the crowd. A few days later, she receives a package in the mail. Inside is a beautiful teapot she recognizes from Finn’s apartment, and a note from Toby, the stranger, asking for an opportunity to meet. As the two begin to spend time together, June realizes she’s not the only one who misses Finn, and if she can bring herself to trust this unexpected friend, he just might be the one she needs the most.

An emotionally charged coming-of-age novel, Tell the Wolves I’m Home is a tender story of love lost and found, an unforgettable portrait of the way compassion can make us whole again.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling

Amazon Synapsis

Mindy Kaling has lived many lives: the obedient child of immigrant professionals, a timid chubster afraid of her own bike, a Ben Affleck–impersonating Off-Broadway performer and playwright, and, finally, a comedy writer and actress prone to starting fights with her friends and coworkers with the sentence “Can I just say one last thing about this, and then I swear I’ll shut up about it?”

Perhaps you want to know what Mindy thinks makes a great best friend (someone who will fill your prescription in the middle of the night), or what makes a great guy (one who is aware of all elderly people in any room at any time and acts accordingly), or what is the perfect amount of fame (so famous you can never get convicted of murder in a court of law), or how to maintain a trim figure (you will not find that information in these pages). If so, you’ve come to the right book, mostly!

In Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, Mindy invites readers on a tour of her life and her unscientific observations on romance, friendship, and Hollywood, with several conveniently placed stopping points for you to run errands and make phone calls. Mindy Kaling really is just a Girl Next Door—not so much literally anywhere in the continental United States, but definitely if you live in India or Sri Lanka.

The Paris Wife: A Novel by Paula McLain

Amazon Synapsis

Chicago, 1920: Hadley Richardson is a quiet twenty-eight-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness—until she meets Ernest Hemingway. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group—the fabled “Lost Generation”—that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Though deeply in love, the Hemingways are ill prepared for the hard-drinking, fast-living, and free-loving life of Jazz Age Paris. As Ernest struggles to find the voice that will earn him a place in history and pours himself into the novel that will become The Sun Also Rises, Hadley strives to hold on to her sense of self as her roles as wife, friend, and muse become more challenging. Eventually they find themselves facing the ultimate crisis of their marriage—a deception that will lead to the unraveling of everything they’ve fought so hard for.

A heartbreaking portrayal of love and torn loyalty, The Paris Wife is all the more poignant because we know that, in the end, Hemingway wrote that he would rather have died than fallen in love with anyone but Hadley.

Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World by Gary Vaynerchuk

Amazon Synapsis

New York Times bestselling author and social media expert Gary Vaynerchuk shares hard-won advice on how to connect with customers and beat the competition. A mash-up of the best elements of Crush It! and The Thank You Economy with a fresh spin, Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook is a blueprint to social media marketing strategies that really works.

When managers and marketers outline their social media strategies, they plan for the “right hook”—their next sale or campaign that’s going to knock out the competition. Even companies committed to jabbing—patiently engaging with customers to build the relationships crucial to successful social media campaigns—want to land the punch that will take down their opponent or their customer’s resistance in one blow. Right hooks convert traffic to sales and easily show results. Except when they don’t.

Thanks to massive change and proliferation in social media platforms, the winning combination of jabs and right hooks is different now. Vaynerchuk shows that while communication is still key, context matters more than ever. It’s not just about developing high-quality content, but developing high-quality content perfectly adapted to specific social media platforms and mobile devices—content tailor-made for Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and Tumblr.

So, have you read any of these books yet? Let me know what you thought of these books and also let me know what’s on your In Progress list by leaving a comment below!

lifestyle Solutions tech

My EV Experience for the #EVSelfie Contest!

Have you guys submitted your #EVSelfie to Twitter or Facebook and tagged @ElecGen for a chance to win a $250 gift card? What are you waiting for? All you have to do is snap a photo or video of yourself with an Electric Vehicle or some symbol of EV Culture (a charging station or a sign)! Remember, you can use this website to find a local charging station or you can do what I did and take a test drive of one of the many EVs available on the market! Let me tell you, its an eye opening experience that will totally change the way you look at Electric Vehicles!

Last week, I went on my test drive of the Nissan Leaf and had a blast learning about and actually driving the vehicle! Of course, I made a video documenting my experience which I am going to go ahead and link below, but I also wanted to take some time to give you guys some interesting facts that I learned from my test drive!

EVs are AFFORDABLE! They are pretty competitively priced with other similarly sized vehicles and the Nissan Leaf that I tested was filled with cool technology and really felt like a luxury vehicle!
EVs are money and time savers! Driving an EV instead of a gas vehicle will save you nearly $9,000 over the course of 5 years and you never have to waste time at a gas station. Fill up on electricity at home to the tune of $550 dollars of year for the electric (based on driving 15,000/year) and say bye bye to oil changes, tune ups and transmission problems!
EVs are perfect for the modern commuter or two-car family. With a range of 75 miles for a full tank, you have plenty of power to get yourself to and from work as well as a few pit stops for shopping and activities!

I go into much more detail in my video, so if these fun facts are piquing your interest, I suggest checking it out! And don’t forget to take your #EVSelfie! I am telling you, once you open your eyes to the world of Electric Vehicles you begin to notice them everywhere! From charging stations at your local convenience store, to EVs parked in a neighboring driveway, they really are more prevalent than you think!

So, will I see your #EVSelfie before the June 26th deadline? Feel free to tag me @MissTrenchcoat as well in your entry so I can check out your pics and videos as well!

DIY lifestyle

3 Simple Bridal Shower DIYs

This past weekend I had the honor of hosting a bridal shower in honor of my brother and future sister-in-law. I have been to quite a few bridal showers in my day, but I have never hosted one so this was quite an experience but one I was ready to take on head first! I didn’t have quite the amount of time or money that I believe normally goes into an event of this importance, but I still wanted to make the day special and personal for those attending. So, I headed over to the bridal mecca which is Pinterest and found some great inspiration for a few DIY projects I took on for the party!

DIY #1 Initial Letter Blocks

While I was browsing around Michael’s Arts & Crafts one day, I came across an end cap of wood block letter initials and symbols. I was immediately drawn to them because I thought they were the exact sort of sentimental DIY decor that I could use for the party and that the guests of honor could then take home and have as a memory of the event. So, I picked out the letters I needed plus an ampersand, some bottles of acrylic paint that coordinated with the wedding theme, some sponge brushes and of course a pack of sand paper!

This DIY was pretty simply but turned out lovely! All I did was sanded down the letters (they had rough edges) until they were nice and smooth, and then painted the letters. I ended up doing about three coats of paint and let the letters air dry for about an hour in-between coats. I then let them dry out overnight before packing them away for the party. I ended up using them as decor on the cake table and they were a big hit!

DIY #2 Date Night Jar

I found the inspiration for this DIY on Pinterest! Basically, the Date Night Jar is something of an activity for the shower guests and again, another sentimental take home for the couple. You take a decorated mason jar, and fill it with large popsicle sticks that guests at the shower will write date night ideas on. When the couple gets the Jar home and want an idea for date night, they pull a stick out of the jar at random. Obviously, this isn’t something the couple have to use, but I think it’s a super cute idea and it was an activity everyone enjoyed participating in.

Assembling this DIY was super simple and I was easily able to find all the items I needed from my local craft store. For this DIY you will need a mason jar, popsicle sticks (I suggest the wider sticks that are easier to write on), embellishments (ribbon, twine, labels, etc), and then markers for the guests to write on the sticks during the party! I used a label to name the jar, wrapped yarn around the neck of the jar and added a custom little poem I made up to piece of craft paper that I then threaded through the yarn. Again, super simple, very inexpensive, but highly personalized and a fun activity for the guests!

DIY #3 Marriage Advice Box

Again, I found the inspiration for this DIY on Pinterest. The idea behind this activity is to put out a pretty box where guests can leave notes filled with their marriage advice for the couple. This is pretty self-explanatory, but once the couple return home after their wedding, they now have a treasure trove of advice from their friends and family waiting for them in a lovely box!

This was probably the simplest of the three projects, because I really didn’t need to do very much except arrange the elements. In the original pin online, a large trunk style box was used, but I knew that would be too large for my needs, so I picked up one of those lovely book shaped boxes from Michael’s in their home decor section. Once I picked out the box that fit with the wedding and shower theme, I picked up a few packs of blank notecards from the dollar bins at the craft store to go inside. I found lovely monogram cards that were perfect and seemingly personalized! I then took a small journaling card and embellishment sticker from my own craft supply collection and fashioned a little sign inside the box so that people knew what it was! On the day of the shower, I displayed the book box open on an inexpensive frame stand also purchased at the craft store. I passed around the notecards and guests deposited their words of advice in the box throughout the event. Super simple, and yet super sweet!

Do you have any other simple and inexpensive DIY ideas for a bridal shower that you could share this wedding season? Let us know in the comments below!

lifestyle Solutions tech

Driving Forward One #EVSelfie at a Time

When I was younger, I had high hopes for what life would be like when I was an adult. I was pretty sure that by the time I graduated college, the human race would have colonies on far away planets (or at least the moon), we would all wear clothing that slightly resembled a space suit and we would drive electric-powered flying cars. You can blame Disney World, television, and books for my overactive imagination, but I am beginning to realize that the reason none of those things exist is because, we, as the population of Earth, haven’t prioritized those sorts of endeavors. The technology exists or it could exist if we actually started demanding it from our leaders and businesses. Technology currently has the power to solve many of our day-to-day problems, but most of us don’t realize it’s out there. Heck, I really thought that by now we would all be driving around Electric Vehicles to save our wallets and the planet from the dependence on gas!The truth is though, there are plenty of people who are living this dream right now and we all could be if we just educated ourselves to the presence and growing popularity of Electric Vehicles aka EV’s!

That is why I have partnered with the Edison Electric Institute (or EEI for short) to help raise awareness for the EV Movement. Whether or not you realize it now, EV’s are everywhere! And I’m not just talking about the glamorous Tesla Motors Model S that has been making headlines lately, but a variety of other manufacturers now make EVs as well! There is the Honda Fit EV, Nissan Leaf, Toyota Rav4 EV, Mitsubishi e-MiEV, Electric Ford Focus, Fiat 500e, Smart fortwo Electric Drive, BMW i3, and the Chevrolet Spark EV to name a few of the most popular. That’s a lot of Electric Vehicles available on the market, so why don’t more of us drive them? Price can’t be the issue because most of these vehicles are actually competitively priced with other similar sized gas-powered vehicles, not to mention the amount of money you would save on gas over the life of the vehicle is nothing to roll your eyes at. Okay, what about charging stations, the electric equivalent to gas stations? Surely, those must be few and far between or you would need to pay an arm and a leg to install some special charger for your vehicle? Nope. Charging stations are actually more prevalent than you might know. I have no less than four within a 5 mile radius of my home. Use the PlugShare website to see how many are near you. Speaking of home, you don’t need to install any high-tech, high dollar charging unit in your garage to fill up your electric tank overnight, because most EVs can charge off a standard household outlet! Seriously, that’s even more convenient than having a gas station down your block, when was the last time you were able to gas up in your own driveway? Hmm, so we’ve covered that EV’s aren’t prohibitively expensive, and that charging them is more convenient that you may have original guessed, so what else is stopping you from switching out your gas guzzler for an EV? What about maintenance costs? An Electric Vehicle sounds pretty high-tech, maintenance is probably going to cost an arm and a leg, right? Wrong! Think about it, without a gas engine, an EV doesn’t need things like oil changes or tune ups, they don’t need fluids drained or gas filters replaced. They just don’t have most of those parts that routinely break! What they do have, however, are tires just like other cars that need to be replaced similarly to gas-powered cars and they have brake pads that actually ware down at half the rate of a gas vehicle.

Charging-Station — Here’s one of the charging stations 1.5 miles from my home! Pretty neat, huh?

Alright, I know what you’re thinking, I have drunk the Kool-Aid and I am seeing the EV world through rose-colored glasses. You’re right, it’s not all roses with owning an EV. The truth is, like with every different type of car out there, EVs aren’t going to be the right fit for everyone, but they are definitely a great option for certain people. So, who could benefit from owning an EV? First and foremost, commuters. If you use your car most of the time to drive back and forth to your job and then maybe a little around town to do errands, than an EV may be the vehicle for you! EV’s are low powered vehicles so they aren’t the right car for people who drive heavily throughout the day or for people who travel a lot via car, because they need to be charged more frequently than a gas powered car needs to be filled up. Now, even if you’re a commuter who does occasionally need to drive long distances, an EV could still be the right second car for you if you belong to a two car household! Many couples and families own more than one vehicle, and if one of those vehicles were to be an EV, all the bases are covered and money is definitely being saved in the long run!

Okay, so this was a lot of talk but when it comes down to buying a new car, some good information and a positive review aren’t all it takes to make such a big decision! That’s why I am going to be taking a test drive of an EV and sharing my experience with you guys here on my blog and on my YouTube Channel! That’s right, I am going to get behind the wheel of one of these and let you know if I could see myself in an EV one day! Now, I challenge all of you to open your mind and your eyes to the world of EVs around you!

The Electric Generation is hosting a contest through their Facebook Page called the #EVSelfie Contest! What is an #EVSelfie? Glad you asked! An #EVSelfie is just like a normal #Selfie but it incorporates either an EV or some element of the EV world in the image! Take a picture or video of yourself with an actual Electric Vehicle, a Charging Station or other icon of the EV Movement, post the photo to Twitter or Facebook with the #EVSelfie hashtag and tag @Elecgen for a chance to win one of four $250 gift cards! Also make sure to “Like” The Electric Generation on Facebook and follow them on Twitter! Head on over to their Facebook page for more examples of the #EVSelfie and complete rules and details! Make sure to keep your eyes open to the EV world, you never know where you may see an EV, a charging station or even an EV related sign or bumper sticker, so take as many photos as you can before the contest ends on June 26^th, 2014! You get up to 20 entries!

Good Luck Everyone and I can’t wait to see your #EVSelfie on Twitter & Facebook!

lifestyle

I Love Summer TAG!

Hey Everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful and safe Memorial Day Weekend! Since this was a nice relaxing three day weekend for those of us who live in the US, I thought I would kick off the unofficial start of summer with a fun TAG! I don’t do these sorts of TAG questionnaires frequently enough, but I thought this would be a fun little treat!

1. Favorite bronzer for summer?

My favorite bronzer is the Bourjois Bronzing Primer! It is a cream bronzer that you can use as a primer or mix in with your regular foundation to give your skin an extra glow. It is very very similar to the Soleil Tan De Chanel but a fraction of the cost. Only problem is for US citizens there are only a few places online were we can purchase it, but I will link it below in case you want to give it a try.

2. You’re relaxing in a hammock, on a tropical island. What are you sipping on? (Favorite summer drink)

A Margarita! On Ice! To be honest though, I am not a big drinker, so as a non-alcholoic alternative I would probably be drinking a bottle of ice water with some lemon!

3. Favorite summer lip product?

On the high end, definitely the YSL Volupte Sheer Candy in Cool Guava! It has an awesome scent and its such a light, moisturizing wash of color! On the drugstore end, I am loving the Rimmel London Color Rush Balms. They are like a dupe for the Revlon Balm Stains but they are like half the price and have a delicious candy scent!

4. Pool or Beach?

Pool! I grew up at the beach so it has lost its luster. Plus, I just can’t stand how sand tends to get EVERYWHERE!

5. Summer = crazy hair! What’s your must-have styling product?

Frizz-Ease 3-Day Straight Styling Spray! I have naturally super curly hair that is also very thick and coarse so I always straighten my hair. I have never found a holy grail product that prevents my hair from getting frizzy, but I think the Frizz-Ease Spray is the best I have found so far!

6. Sun bathing or fake tan?

Hmmm… neither? I don’t like to fake bake or use self tanners, but I also don’t like laying out in the sun for fear of burning. I do like a tanned look, but I use bronzer for that for the most part. See question 1 for my favorite bronzer!

7. Favorite summer nail polish?

All the nail polishes! Well, I guess if I had to pick a nail polish I liked the most, I think I would say Sally Hansen’s Complete Salon Manicure line.

8. Any summer traditions?

During the summer I usually make a few trips down to my father’s house because he lives by the beach in a seaside town! My husband and I usually also like to take a trip to the casino’s in Atlantic City as well and usually hit a few awesome seafood joints!

9. Favorite summer scent?

During the summer I usually prefer to wear body mists instead of perfumes because I find the scent is lighter. I love fun fruity scents and my favorite is Love Spell from Victoria’s Secret. Let’s be honest, VS does the best body mists!

10. Favorite BBQ food?

Grilled Italian Sausage! Yum, yum, yum!

11. What’s your favorite summer-proof product?

Waterproof mascara is one of my must have summer products. My current fav is Covergirl LashBlast Clump Crusher Mascara, Waterproof formula in Very Black!

12. Any summer vacation plans this year? No plans? Tell us about your dream summer trip!

This summer I will most likely be making a trip or two to my dad’s house, spend some serious time swimming at my community pool and relaxing with the air conditioning on!

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So, that’s is folks! I would love it if you guys took part in this I Love Summer Tag as well! Feel free to answer these questions on your own blogs or on your social media feeds and let me know if you do so I can check it out!

Here’s to a wonderful summer!