TGIF!

Phew..what a stressful week. THANK GOD ITS FRIDAY! I am so ready for a pamper filled weekend. 

Monday night I barely slept because Tuesday morning my pup went in for surgery. He had an enlarged testicle (which the vet said was most likely cancerous, but almost certainly hadnt/wouldnt spread) that we were having removed, and I was soo nervous. Hes a pretty old doggo. Hes probably around 14 years old.. and I had been told before by another vet, that the older the dog the higher the risk when going under anesthesia. And although the vet who was operating on him told us not to worry, there was less than a 1% chance of anything going wrong, that was still going through my mind all day. He went in at 8 am and by 1 we still hadnt heard anything so we gave them a call. A huge sigh of relief when they told us he was fine and we could pick him up at 3:45. A little added stress when the doctor told us when we picked him up that if he had taken a look at Rascals blood work before he did the surgery he never would have done it at all. His white blood cell count was really low and he was at risk of bleeding out on the operating table. Which is so terrifying, my heart stopped when I heard that. Luckily, he didnt bleed at all and everything went over great. But he is now on special food for his kidney. He has a cone for 2 whole weeks, but he is doing so well. Hes eating pretty good, although yesterday he went most of the day without eating (which is okay, we were told its normal for him to lose his appetite for a day or two) He is getting around really well, it took him a day or so to get used to the cone, and he still has trouble with it when he wants to lay down, but Im here to help him whenever he gets caught up. And on top of all this with my dog, I woke up Tuesday morning feeling like I had gotten hit by a truck. I am starting to feel a little better now, but Im definitely still relaxing and getting in plenty of rest to kick this thing in the butt. 

So finally, now its Friday, and I think Ill start my pamper weekend with a little shopping. Lane Bryant is having a sale on jeans and its also time to redeem real women dollars. ($70 jeans for $20, why the hell not?!) I also want to get myself a new lens or two for my Florida trip coming up in March. Then I think Ill give myself a little pedicure while I do a facial mask, a hair treatment, and some teeth whitening. I still have a few shows on Netflix and HBO I have to catch up on. (I should have my new book arriving in the mail today too) So while Im sitting there looking like a weird monster, Ill probably sip on some tea and watch some great TV, with my little cone head by my side. Theres nothing better, after a stressful week, than an awesome pamper weekend. And its great to start of your next week (especially after being sick) feeling all new and refreshed! 

I hope you all have a stress-free weekend yourself & maybe do a little pampering of your own. Always stay humble and kind. <3

Colgate Optic White Toothbrush + Whitening Pen Review!

I've tried many different tooth whitening products. This one is unlike any I've tried before!

The Colgate optic white line just added a new product! This is a tooth brush with a built in whitening pen that goes right in the bottom of the brush! 

Super convenient!

It says you'll have whiter teeth in just 2 days! Which is awesome.

A lot of other products claim to whiten in just 2 days but that's using time consuming products 3 times a day for 15 minutes each time. This pen is as simple as applying a gel over your teeth and you're done, it absorbs in seconds. You don't have to worry about rinsing or using a mouth guard or your teeth rubbing the product off! 

I have used te tooth brush and my only complaint is that it's a little large for my mouth, I prefer a slightly smaller brush. And the handle is pretty big, but that's because the whitening Pen goes in there!

I haven't really used the whitening pen but when I do I'll be sure to include before and after photos! I did test it out and it seems quick and simple.

I got this sample in a VoxBox provided by Inflenster. If you are interested in becoming an influenster member and getting free VoxBoxes packed with fun new products leave me your email in the comments (ill leave it unpublished so no one else sees it!) and I will send you a referral! 

Twilight Teeth Whitening System Review

Ive tried a few different whitening products over the past few years. Some worked, some didnt. Some were much too time consuming, some were quick and easy. Some caused sensitivity, some didnt. Some were affordable, and some were ridiculously expensive. It isnt easy trying to find a combination of those things that worked for me.

So over the summer I tried a new product I had never heard of before. Twilight Teeth. It was also a new kind of system that I hadnt used either. Twilight Teeth uses whitening gel, a mouthpiece and an LED whitening light. Everything I had used in the past just used a mouthpiece, I had never used an LED light before. I had heard of it, but thought that was something only used in dentist offices.
The idea of using an LED light at home was so interesting to me. So I did a little more research on Twilight Teeth and found that it was use in a tanning bed, so you can whiten while you tan. You place the mouthpiece in and apply the gel just before getting into the tanning bed.
But they also have an at home version which comes with the LED light to use at home! Which was perfect for me, because I have never in my life used a tanning bed.

Over the summer I started using the system every night.
All you do is (on clean teeth) put the mouthpiece in, apply the gel, then insert the light. Let it sit for 20 minutes and youre done. You dont even have to rinse. I did find that if youre sitting up while using it you will drool an awful lot, so I just do it while Im laying in bed at night.
I had only been using the system for 3 or 4 days when my bestie said to me "your teeth look really white!"

One thing I dont like though is the mouthpiece isnt very wide, so I feel like half of my teeth that show when I smile wont be as white as the rest. I just kind of stick the brush back in there and get some gel on them and hope that its still working!

After a few weeks of using it I went on vacation and had forgotten to bring it with me, so of course when I got home I couldnt get back into the routine of things >:(
So I gave it a break for a little while, and noticed my teeth werent quite as white as they had been, so I think this product really only whitens temporarily. I dont think it gets the deep down stains, so the whiteness kind of fades after a while. So to keep your teeth white you really have to do it on a regular basis. But after you get to your desired whiteness Im sure you could just do it once a week or so to maintain your white! And that is no problem for me, because it didnt cause any sensitivity or discomfort.

While this is a wonderful system that gave me noticeably whiter teeth, I still dont think its the system for me. I am looking for a whitening system that lasts and gets the deep down stains, not just surface stains. I will continue to use it until I find the right system for me!

What whitening products have you used? What is your go to product?