Spice Vox Box

I have been woefully absent from "Girl Named Fiddy" lately. The last thing I posted was about three weeks ago, and it was a 12x12 post about "The Casual Vacancy." Before that, I had a pretty good excuse for not posting - I was trying to figure out my social media presence, and what I really wanted to post on here given that I want to be employable. Since then, I've just been so overwhelmed with school and work and finals and choir that I've barely had time to think, let alone blog. And what was I going to blog about? Being stressed? Yeah, because no one else is experiencing stress this time of the year... ;)

Anyway, I received a Vox Box through Influenster a week or so ago, and I'm just getting around to blogging about my thoughts on the products!

 Yogi Tea - $4.99 for a box - A+

It should come as no surprise that I love this brand of tea. I've been getting it for months and been so happy with it. The two flavors I've been getting consistently are the "Detox" and "Green Tea Triple Echinacea." Every time I've tried a Yogi brand tea, I've been thrilled. They have great, bold flavors, and it reminds me why I've always been a tea girl. I got these two "Energy" teas in this Vox Box, and I was happy with them. J tried the Sweet Tangerine flavor and loved it, and I tried the Vanilla Spice flavor. Given that neither of these flavors are really my thing, I really enjoyed the Vanilla Spice! It wasn't too sweet and made me feel really peaceful. 

SoapBox Shampoo & Conditioner - $5.99 for 16 oz - A+

I really can't say enough great things about this product. First, I knew I was getting this Vox Box right when I ran out of shampoo and conditioner, so I was already pumped to not have to buy new stuff. Second, this stuff smells like angels: coconuty, sweet, tropical angels. I love the smell of coconut, and both of these products smell like coconut tanning lotion. It brings me back to summer beaches with my family, and just smells good, you know?! Third, these products make my hair feel amazing. It doesn't try it out or strip it, but it still cleanses. The conditioner is light, but powerful. I swear to God, after I used it for the first time, I got TWO compliments on my hair on the same day. TWO. It's madness. Lastly, I think it works really well for different hair types. My hair is thick but really fine, which means I want a product that gives me shine, volume, and softness. J's hair is thick, a *little* coarse, and he hates that his hair gets frizzy after he washes it. I begged him to use this product, and after he tried it, he was so happy with how his hair looked! It still got a little frizzy from the wash, but he said it was miles ahead of how his hair usually feels and looks after he washes it. On top of all of that, for every product sold, SoapBox gives a bar of soap or a month of clean water to a person in need. Did I really need to love this product more?!

Botanics Organic Hydrating Day Cream - $12.99 - B+

As you probably already know, I typically use coconut oil as a facial moisturizer and I've been very happy using that. Still, I was willing to switch it up and see how I liked this - and in general, I really do! It definitely does a great job moisturizing and it smells great, so I can't complain. Also, a tiny bit of this product goes a very long way, which I love because I hate spending money unnecessarily  The biggest deterrent for me is that the product feels really thick on my face afterwards, so that it feels like there's a thin layer on, even hours afterwards. I've been used to really lightweight products, and this change is not altogether a great one. I still think the product's great and will be continuing to use it, especially as the winter months get drier!

Foot Petals, Give 'Em The Boot - $18.95 - B+

I got these boot inserts, but it's been so warm in New Hampshire recently that I didn't really have an excuse to wear them... but decided to try them out in these boot/slippers I have. They have basically no support, so I wanted to see if these would make a difference. I really didn't feel that these inserts gave support per se, but I did love that they were soft, fluffy, and made these shoes a lot more comfortable! They definitely warmed up those boot/slippers, and I can see them being really useful this winter when it starts snowing nonstop!

 Good Health Veggie Stix - $3.99 - B

I was so excited to get a bag of veggie sticks in my Vox Box! I'm maybe a little bit obsessed with veggie sticks, as J can tell you. I basically beg to get multiple bags when we go to the grocery store. The biggest issue I had with these is simply that they're not the best I've had. My favorites are this kind that are super thin , super crunchy, and gave a good kick of salt. These are a little thicker, but aren't hollow at all, which means they don't have that same crunch that I love in veggie sticks. They also aren't as salty as I would like. They almost have this sweet tinge to them, which I didn't mind (I ate practically the whole bag), but I wasn't thrilled about. There's nothing wrong with this product - it's just not my favorite of this kind of product.

Not Your Mother's Whip It Up - $3.00 for 2.1oz - A

I'm already a huge fan of the "Not Your Mother's" brand, so I was not surprised that I loved this product! I already have the dry shampoo (my absolute fav) and the beach spray, so I was excited to try a new product. I don't usually use mousse just because I'm super low-key when I get ready in the mornings, but now I wonder why I thought using mousse was not low key?! It's been so simple to incorporate it into my daily routine - either after my shower and let my hair dry curly, or when my hair is damp in the mornings. It does exactly what I want a styling mousse to do: it adds volume and curl without making my hair look or feel crunchy!

Sinful Colors SinfulShine Nail Polish - $2.99 - B-

Full disclosure: I am not a nail polish girl. I bit my nails for years and still do it from time to time, even though I've gotten a ton better at it. I'm not the kind of girl who's like, "Hey, I have extra time - let's go get our nails done!" It's kind of a chore for me. The last time I got my nails done, I got a gel manicure for J and I's engagement photos. Point being, I was interested in this product and loved the color they gave me, but wasn't sure how much I would like it. I did my nails yesterday and, needless to say, it was an emotional experience. I was already feel frustrated and stressed from finals, and in hindsight, it was not the day to do something as time-consuming as doing my nails. I cried at one point, (I'm not proud of it) because the color actually takes forever to dry. I was supposed to do two coats of the color and then do the top coat, but it was drying so slowly that I ended up doing color, top coat, color, top coat. 

As a product, I wasn't that impressed. The "2-step" manicure just means that you use a top coat on top. Not really revolutionary - I would have used a top coat anyway. The manicure turned out alright, especially given my terrible nail-painting skills. I just don't see a difference between this product and any other nail polish. If it's supposed to be this special "2-step," process, then that doesn't work for me. The best thing about this polish is the color I got, which I really do love. It's similar to the color I got during my last gel manicure and I adored it.

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I was really happy with this pariticular VoxBox! It had a good variety of products, and I really loved most of them! It was a great distraction (albiet a stressful one as well) during finals week. :)

Have you tried any of these products before? Do you love "Not My Mother's" products as much as I do? Would you give the Veggie Stix a chance?

12x12: The Casual Vacancy

The Casual Vacancy

by J.K. Rowling

J bought me this book right when it came out... about three years ago, when we were still living in Iowa City. I'm terrible, I know. I think I didn't read it right away at the time because I was already in the middle of another book and I am NOT the kind of reader who can go back and forth between them. I must have started this at some point back then, because I found pressed flowers in the book when I opened it up this time, and the first chapter seemed familiar.

What I Loved:

• I really love the way J.K. Rowling writes. I think she does a great job conveying emotions and developing characters, and this book really showed those skills. There's a TON of characters and character development throughout the book, and they do seem like real people. They're flawed, they're emotional, and I thought the writing was great throughout the entire book.
• Once I got into it, I really couldn't put it down. I don't know if that was entirely due to the book and not a tiny bit because I could read another Harry Potter book after, but there you have it. Probably the last third of it, I was dying to keep reading and things started moving a lot faster.
• It gave me some insight to life in England in a distinctly non-wizarding way. It made me think about how people live in small towns, as well as our biases and bigotries. It was definitely the most "adult" book I've read in a long time, and in a way, I think that in and of itself was good for me. People in the book deal with a lot of complex, mature issues, and it was a lot darker than I expected - but in a good way.

What I Wasn't Crazy About:

• Boy, this book was hard to get into. For example, I'm currently reading the 5th Harry Potter book right now. I started it on Friday. Today's Thursday, and I'm almost done with it. I started The Casual Vacancy in AUGUST. It's now NOVEMBER. There was a long period of time where I was stressed because of school, but my theory is we find time to read when we want to read. And to be honest, I wasn't sure if I wanted to read this book. It's very adult-y and has the feel of a murder mystery, which is not my genre of choice. 
• More than anything, the chapters switch viewpoints between characters. Is this normally a problem for me? No, not at all. But there are about 10-15 characters to switch in between, and J.K. Rowling doesn't explain how they're connected right away. You'll hear about "Simon" and have a whole chapter from his point of view. Then three chapters later, "Andrew" is the narrator and it takes you a page and a half to realize that he's Simon's son. The characters don't look at the same events from different perspectives - time keeps moving, so you're getting bits and pieces as you go along. It's a complex way of writing a book, and while part of me loves it for that reason, it also made it really hard to get into the book because you're not allowed to be attached to any characters. About halfway through the book, you get used to the characters and format and it gets a ton easier to read, but that first half is difficult to plow through.
• This is probably stupid to think, but I was a little shocked by some of the descriptions in the book. Some of the characters are teenage boys, and they're thinking about sex and talking about  getting "pants-feels" as I will call them, and ALL I CAN THINK ABOUT IS HARRY POTTER. I literally just kept thinking, "Did Harry Potter have pants feels like this? What if J.K. Rowling had written the Harry Potter series and talked about boners and stuff? That would  have been strange!" Reading J.K. Rowling write about sex felt kind of like listening to your parents discuss sex. Unfair of me to feel weird about it? Totally, but there you go.

Would I Recommend This Book?

• It depends - if you like mystery or detective books, you may like this a lot! Personally, the genre just wasn't for me, but I did find it really enjoyable as the book went on. It was definitely different than what I'm used to reading, but again, it was really well-written and I applaud J.K. Rowling for doing something different after the Harry Potter books! This has been made into a series on HBO and I'm actually really excited to watch it now that I'm done with the book.

Have you ever read this book? What did you think about it? Would you recommend it?

Life Lately {vol. 52}

I got these dried apples at the Co-Op near our apartment and they were AMAZING! So tart, delicious, and crisp! J and I went on a trip to Salem, MA a few days after I bought these, and I brought them with as a snack. I really didn't think (a) he'd like them that much and (b) we'd eat them, but it felt smart to bring a snack just in case. Well, we ate them all while walking around Salem, and it was the perfect treat for a day of walking.

I went to Boston to meet with another attorney! I took the T again from an outer station and it ended up being so much easier now that I've figured out how to add money to my Charlie Pass! :P

As I said, J and I went to Salem a few weeks ago on a Saturday. We had lunch at O'Neil's, which is the pub chain my friends and I spent most of our time in London at since it was just down the street. Being there brought back so many memories, even if it was in New England and not actually England. :)

Obviously I had a Magners to celebrate!

J doesn't like raisins but he does like cranberries... So I made ants-on-a-log with cranberries! Honestly, it's a small change but it's a revelation - sooo yummy!

I don't know if I've mentioned before on the blog, but I joined a choir in town with my friend Jay! I've also discovered how useful beanies are in covering up hair that isn't cooperating, which means I wear a beanie literally as soon as I can once I'm off work, haha!

I bought two dresses from Modcloth recently and got a fall surprise package because of it! In the package was a bag, a dark blue beanie, and a really beautiful thermos. I've really never owned a thermos before, but now I'm using it non-stop - it just feels so very, "Fall in New England," especially when I wear plaid. :)

My friend Jay got married last month, so J and I got to dress up and drive to Portsmouth with our friends Abby and Andrew! This is one of the dresses I got from Modcloth, and I'm completely in love with it. I got so many compliments that night, and I think it's because the dress just fit me and my personality so well! More importantly, the wedding was gorgeous and everyone had SUCH a fun time celebrating the newly married couple!

The Sunday after the wedding, I walked over six miles for breast cancer awareness, along with a bunch of people from the law firm I'm working for right now! It was really fun to get to know some of the staff better, and it was the first day I can remember where I easily hit my Fitbit step goal - I actually broke a new record for myself of over 15,000 steps in one day! I also raised $175 for the American Cancer Society thanks to my friends and family who donated!

I've been avoiding adding stickers to my computer, but I've had this one since May and I decided to just take the plunge!

One of the topics discussed for my legal residency was confidence, and in honor of that, I added a Kanye West quote to my desk area. I have not regretted it yet.

I ordered another 7-pack of Tapatio Doritos from Amazon and it was such a good decision. This happened a couple weeks ago, and I'm proud to say we still have one bag left!

My choir had a Saturday rehearsal at this small church in this small town near Concord! They provided coffee, too, which was much-needed and much-appreciate.

These church rafters though! *heart eyes*

I made a new friend near my apartment! He was super friendly but looked a little dirty and I didn't want to get my cats infected with fleas or anything, so I didn't pet him. :(

I went for a long walk by myself the other evening in Concord. The trees and leaves around here are to-die-for beautiful!

How cute are my guys?!

I made fresh, homemade salsa the other day and it turned out to be sooo amazing! J - the kid who grew up in Arizona - told me it was amazing and that I should enter it in a contest, which obviously meant a lot to me. Plus, it was cheaper to make than buying it!

How is he real though?!

J and I went to the law school Halloween party on Saturday! I went as Margot Tennanbaum and J went as Shaun of the Dead. I also had a (fake) fur coat, but it got really hot when I danced.

I bought my first red cup Starbucks drink of the season on Wednesday! Gingerbread Lattes are back, and they are to me what Pumpkin Spice Lattes are to other people. I wait 10 months of the year to have these, and I am SO glad they're back already, even if it does seem a little early.

Hey friends - it's obviously been a while since I've posted. I've been struggling with what my blog is and what it should be. I was at a law event a few weeks ago that discussed looking for jobs, interviewing, and hiring, and one of the things that was talked about was our internet presence.  It's not like I think this blog is a "negative" presence for me online, but it is a way that a potential employer could find things about me that he or she doesn't like. Maybe it's best that they figure it out early, but still, I don't want to hurt my chances. I also worry that a juror on a trial could find my blog and it would completely mess up the trial, no matter how they feel about it. In a lot of professions, an internet presence doesn't really hurt, but in law, it's a little riskier.

Anyway, it's just made me think a lot about the kinds of things I want to post. What I love about blogging is that (a) it's an opportunity for me to share and connect with people, (b) it's an outlet for me to express myself, and (c) people seem to like it alright, haha. I want to continue to share and post things that I like, but I also don't want to be a liability, either for myself or for a potential employer. I haven't quite figured out a balance yet, which is why I haven't been posting.

In other news, I've started a new fitness routine: BBG! I've done two weeks of it so far, but I've been pretty terrible about doing it this week. I may re-do this week next week, just to make sure I'm getting out of it what I need. I really like it so far, and I've been super sore, which I think is a good sign! :)