Samples are the Cat's Meow!

     Confession: I love free samples; whether it's food...beauty supplies...anything...I love them. I look forward to any event in which I will sample something: Wine tastings...Costco...Trader Joe's...free beauty gifts from Macy's. I love it. 


     Ok, one more confession. If I have used your shower, I have probably used every product in it (except your razor of course). Even if you have 5 shampoos, I will wash my hair 5 times if I have to. That sounds super insane...but using someone's shower is an adventure into the world of unknown products! Duh. It's super tempting..and no one ever catches me. Well, It's no longer a secret. Please don't let this discourage you from sharing your shower with friends. They probably sample all of your stuff too, they just don't admit it like I do. 


     Israel taught me many things. I met amazing people and learned a lot about myself and others. Towards the end of my trip, a few amazing girls educated me about...

Birchbox

     When you sign up for Birchbox, they send you a box of various expensive beauty product samples and they are random every month. It costs $10 a month-you can end your subscription at any time...so you won't get stuck. It's super fun...and it satisfies my urge to sample everything.This way...I won't use your entire shower supply. So, you're welcome. This is my first box of goodies:

Color Club Nail Polish, Algenist Regenerative Anti-Aging Cream, Kerastase  Cristallist Lumiere Liquide  Fragrant, SPF 20 Miracle Skin Transformer, Kerastase Shampoo/Conditioner, and notecards/stationary that say XOXO (the theme was Gossip Girl)

  

     Jasper loves Birchbox too. I get the products...and he gets a new box to play with. Yay! If you are interested in this..let me know, I can invite you to sign up! 

     

     I would continue to type, but I feel as if you have gotten the point. Also...my cat keeps jumping on my laptop and rubbing his face on mine. I can no longer breathe. K bye!

     

BakedGoods&Siblings: In the same place at the same time.

     I am very blessed. I have five siblings. Four are Hersons and one is a Bell: Two half siblings...two full siblings...and one step. However, they are all of equal value to me as brothers and sisters. Whether we share both parents, one parent, or no parent...we are siblings and we are all different in our own way. 


     Scott lives in California. Emily lives in Virginia. Kathleen lives in North Carolina. Michael lives twenty minutes from me. Bradley lives in Towson. We are scattered. It is very rare that we are all in one place at the same time. 

Michael, Scott, Silvie (sister in-law), Dad, Bradley, Emily, and I

     My dad had his 60th Birthday last weekend! The Herson children decided to throw him a birthday bash with about 80 guests. Although I was stressed the entire day because stressing out is what I like to do on a regular basis...the party was a huge success. Why was it a success? Because all five Herson children were together at the same place at the same time. It really hit me, we will never live under the same roof again. We are adults. Strange. Heck...two of my siblings are now parents. I am an aunt, a crazy aunt. 

     Why else was the party a success? Because after about 5 glasses of wine (one gets me loopy...so you could only imagine)...I decided to hand out the brownies I baked earlier in the day. I chose to tell all of the guests that the brownies were special...even though they clearly weren't. You should have seen the excitement on these people's faces. I couldn't help but enjoy their reactions and continue to fib throughout the entire night. 


     Moral of the story...Hug your siblings, and if you don't have any...hug a friend. And if you don't have any friends..hug a tree :) Also, don't lie to people about your baked goods.  They will get really excited.