random rambling...slowing down

like i said the other day, i try not to use the excuse of being busy, but seriously i have been so busy lately. work has been insane-more than it should be. a lot of the rest of being busy is self inflicted. i make plans basically every night of the week and weekend. i actually like having a lot of plans. my favorite thing is spending time with family and friends, but things have gotten out of control. my life has been so scheduled lately that I have zero time for the unexpected. 

things reached a bit of a breaking point last week. every single minute of every day and half the night was scheduled, and then the unexpected happened-a friend passed away. she was a healthy 32 year old girl. everyone was completely shocked. i felt very sad for her family and close friends, but i didn't have the time to properly mourn. i made time to attend the viewing because when things like this happen, you make the time. i ran from work to the viewing to a craft night with little time to even process. when 2 of your close friends tell you they are worried about you in the same day, it's time to stop and think. 

i am in california right now. it's been the perfect break from everything. it has given me time to slow down and realize that slowing down is exactly what i need. i need to make time for things that are most important to me and let a few other things go. it seems a little weird to make plans to slow down, but that's exactly what i'm doing.

30 days to bolder blogging

confession time (is it a confession if it's obvious?)...this little space has taken a beating the past few weeks. life in general has been pretty crazy. i've been working a lot of insane hours (like until midnight), staying out late working on a few parties, having fun with friends, etc. i love blogging, and i don't have any intention of stopping, but i did/do have to try to keep my life under control.

i have a lot of long term goals for the blog, but i don't always have the time to do the little things i need to do to actually reach those goals. i try not to let being busy be an excuse. we all have the same 24 hours in the day, and most people i know are pretty busy. sometimes blogging has to take a little bit of a backseat in the always growing list of to dos.

when i first heard about 30 days to bolder blogging, i had mixed feelings. my first thought was excitement for something to help get me on tracks towards my goals, but i also felt anxious about the time commitment and finding the time for 30 days. i decided to start and see what happened. i also really love the word bolder-not bigger or better or more or anything else. bolder sums up exactly what i want from blogging. 

even though the concept matches exactly what i want, the 30 day time frame isn't very realistic for me right now. i decided i would start and move ahead at my own pace. so far, that is working out really well. i am not making fast progress, but i also don't feel pressure to move ahead until i am completely ready. i can't wait to see where this takes me long term, but for now it feels good to focus on things one day at a time.

i want to tell you a little about the lady behind the 30 days program...

Stephanie Shar helps women wantrepreneurs leave their jobs and start creative, service-based internet businesses. Her mission is to help you achieve goals online so that you can find fulfillment + freedom offline.  She focuses on motivating fierce females to blog boldly, live fully, and love themselves more through e-books, e-courses, coaching and community.

http://www.the-loudmouth.com/ (blog)
http://www.the-loudmouth.com/p/coaching.html (coaching)
http://www.the-loudmouth.com/p/courses.html (e-course)
https://gumroad.com/l/loudboldblog# (the book!)

what one word sums up your blogging goals?

what would you do...with orange?

it's the second wednesday of the month which means what would you do. kimberly and i pick a theme, figure out what we would do with the theme, and invite you to link up with us. this month we want to know...

WHAT WOULD YOU DO...with orange?

all of my holiday decorations are in storage. my house is already all decorated for halloween so i knew i didn't want to make a big craft project. i found some orange twine at target and decided on a glitter banner.

i haven't used the silhouette since i moved. i was excited to use it again. i cut out a basic pumpkin.

glue doesn't work that great with glitter so i used packing tape. it was easy and fast and worked well. 

voila-banner done

do you have any projects, crafts, outfits, foods with orange? link up below.

next month we want to know..what would you do...with leftover turkey.

An InLinkz Link-up

beauty time tuesday...essie gel setter review

i always have my nails painted. i actually don't get super mad when they chip. i'm usually ready for a new color. i do sometimes wish my nails would last a day or two longer or at least hold up through tons of dishes or crafts.

a few weeks ago, i saw a post about the essie gel setter polish. i never saw the review, but it sounded good to me. i have a light to do my own gel nails, but i pretty much never use it. the thought of gel nails without the light is perfect for me.

this stuff is amazing. i painted my nails on saturday night and didn't change it until a week and some days later. i washed tons of dishes and did crafts all week, and they stayed on. they barely started chipping the last day.

this stuff is amazing! i really really love it. everyone should run right out and buy it.

weekend happs

the past couple of weeks have been insanely busy, and the weekend was no exception. celsey and i have been in full blown party prep for the past couple of weeks. we spent most of last week working on baby mavi's storybook birthday party.

i went over straight from work on friday. celsey made homemade chicken noodle soup (my fave) for dinner and we worked on the party. we got a lot done, and i left completely exhausted.

saturday morning i got up before the crack of dawn to run. i almost skipped, but i am missing the next 2 weeks. i'm so glad i didn't. we ran my favorite run. we saw a few fall leaves, but everything is still pretty green.

after running, i did a few quick errands and went to finish last minute party prep. everything was perfect, and it was the cutest party. everyone had a great time, and we were so happy with it all..and exhausted. full blog post coming soon.

after the party i went to laurann's house for a night of pumpkin, football, hot tub, and fun. it was the perfect night. we laughed our heads off. it was perfect.

sunday i went to church, took a big nap, worked on my what would you do with orange post, and painted my nails.

some weekends are more packed than others, but that usually means they're full of fun.

how was your weekend? any exciting happs?

rocksbox review

rocksbox is very quickly becoming my favorite. i loved everything in my most recent box. i was tempted to buy it all but decided i really didn't need to keep any of it. that's they beauty of it. i can wear it for a while and return it when i'm ready for new stuff.

photos by bonnie 

of all the subscription boxes, this one makes the most sense for me. i LOVE accessories, and it's fun to try out new stuff. use code aubreyzarubaxoxo to try it out for a month. 

wear it wednesday...hair extensions

let's get real here..i don't neeeed hair extensions. i have a ton of long hair, but i do want them. a lot of my friends have them, and even though i have pretty good hair, some days i just want better hair. there are several popular brands, but i had never heard of irresistible me until i got the chance to try them. i was pretty much in love the second i saw them. the color is so rich and matches my hair perfectly. 

i was dying to try them but didn't get the chance for a few weeks. i brought them over to monday night tradish last week, and lacey helped me put them in.

i've never worn hair extensions so i didn't have the first clue. it was so nice to have someone else do it. it makes sense to tease the roots of the hair a little so the clip in actually stays in.

i thought everything was going well until i saw amanda's face.

but then they showed me this picture and i was even more in love

obviously end of day/bad lighting, but i am so amazed! we put all the pieces in which i probably wouldn't always do, but i love it so much. i can't wait to wear them somewhere else.

stay tuned for more pictures including some real photos in better lighting.

i received these extensions compliments of irresistible me 

beauty time tuesday...ulta haul

i'm not usually a big haul poster-mostly because i don't usually buy a bunch of stuff at the same time. i pick of little things here and there when i need them and sometimes when i don't need them. i went to ulta a few weeks ago to pick up a few things from their sale ad. unfortunately i didn't pay attention to the dates, and the sale hadn't started yet. i still seemed to find plenty to buy. between sales/clearance and coupons i got a lot of product for a little money.

bastiste dry shampoo $5.89 (originally $7.99 plus $3.99 for travel)

OPI be dramatic 3 piece set $1.46 times 2 (originally $9.99)

ULTA makeup setting spray $4.42 (originally $6)

loveswept fragrance $16.58 (originally ($19.99)

OPI i sawu sawwe/vant to bite my neck times 2/russian navy $1.46 each (originally $9 each)

total=38.09 (i saved almost $50)

i love beauty products, but i hate paying full price. i was really happy to find such good deals.

since i love beauty products and ulta so much, i teamed up with some friends to give you a giftcard to ulta and some other fall fun. enter with rafflecopter below.

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

2015 goal update...FOCUS on...health

the weather has been really warm here still so i'm in total denial that summer is 100% over, and we're getting close to winter. i'm also in major denial that the year is almost over. 

SEPTEMBER was FOCUS on health

1. lift weights 2x/week-i missed a couple of days, but i did pretty well. i lift on tues/thurs.

2. run 1x/week besides saturday long runs-wednesday is sprint on the treadmill day

3. continue 21 day reset maintenance (food prep, 1 cheat day/week, whole grains, fruits/vegetables)-i started out great and went downhill. i need to recommit to this one

although my overall goal is being healthy, i definitely hope to lose some pounds. my reward for meeting this goal is going to be paying myself cash for each goal i accomplish each week.i didn't stick with my reward system at all. even though it wasn't an official goal, i tried to work on sleeping a little more. sometimes that means i don't make it to the gym, but i know sleep is also an important part of health.

OCTOBER is FOCUS on finances

lately i feel like i have been spending a lot of money on who knows what. i need to keep better track of where my money is going.

1. write down all money spent starting today (i should have started oct 1, but i didn't)

2. pay for all drinks (soda) in cash ($30 cash budget for drinks for the month. i did this in the past and have gotten out of the habit.)

3. save a little each week in cash (per the challenge from elder durrant in lds general conference to save a little each week and also ponderize-focus on a verse of scripture.

did you pick a word for 2015? how are your goals going?

churchy...lds general conference

i somehow completely missed my churchy post last month. i'm posting a couple of days early this month. this weekend is lds general conference. in utah (and a few other states), it means we spend the weekend listening to the prophet and apostles speak to us. we get to watch it on tv here, but it is also on the internet for others.

this weekend is about much more than watching people talk on tv, it's about inspiring messages from the leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. they speak on a variety of topics specifically for us at this time.

i love conference weekend. it is a good chance for me to reflect on my life, goals, and things i need to do. i look forward to the messages and the inspiration i know i will receive. visit lds.org to learn more about general conference.

13.1...huntsville half marathon

after the st. george marathon last year i decided to take a break from full marathons. without the pressure of a race to train for, running has been more fun, but i've also made more excuses. some of my friends started talking about running a half marathon. it was the push i needed to get my rear in gear.  the thing about my running group is we're pretty much always trained for a half. we keep a good 10-13+ mile base so I wasn't too worried. 
picking up my packet

my running story started nearly 10 years ago with ben and kate. it was fun to spend the night with them and do the race with her. 

waiting for the bus with my generation gap ladies

carolyn, judy, joann, renae and kate 

getting ready to start

the energy at the start is one of my fave things about race day

beautiful course

at the finish with the winner of the full

this race was one of the most beautiful races i've ever done. the weather was a little warm but also beautiful. i had expectations for a good strong fast race, but that didn't happen. my watch didn't work(only recorded time not pace or distance). my feet hurt like the devil(never happened before). i ended with the slowest time ever, BUT i met some great people and had an amazing fall morning in the sun. i could tell pretty early that i wasn't going to do very well so i made the decision to just enjoy the day. in the end that's what matters to me. 

how we wore it//fall transition

it's time for another round of how we wore it. here's how it works. brooke chooses an inspiration photo. we all style the look and post. check out brooke's post if you want to sign up for next month.

inspiration photo via Life with Emily

i love this look, but i was a little nervous about pulling it off. i didn't know what to wear on top until tiffany started showing me things in her closet. she had the perfect shirt. i already had the rest. since the weather is getting a teeny tiny bit cooler (high of 86 instead of 97), i am starting to go back to my signature cardigans so i added a cardigan to this look. 

shade cardigan|borrowed shirt|gap jeans|toms|michael kors watch|alex and ani bracelets|necklaces and earrings rocksbox (use code aubreyzarubaxoxo for a free box) photos bonnie check out how all the other bloggers styled this look.

Brooke at Silver Lining ..Robin at Penn and Quill ..Kyla at FordOlogy ..Bekah at These are the Days ..Sierra at Sierra's View ..Sharlee at My New Lines ..Aubrey at Aubrey Zaruba ..Jennifer at The Pepper Express ..Amy at Harris, Inc. ..Ashley at Absolutely Ashley ..Berkley at Berkley Anne ..Riley at Riley Jo ..Tayler at The Morrell Tale ..Jacqui at Drink the Day ..Stephanie at The Artist + The Architect ..Tori at The Doing Things Blog ..Ashley at Practically Imperfect ..Maren at Mark and Maren ..Brooklyn at Brooklyn Jolley ..Sarah at My For Real Life ..Kallie at Life Through a Lens ..Madison at Madison Custer ..Amy at Lamb and Ivy ..Alicia at Snowstorm ..Shelby at R + S Brereton ..Alexa at He and I