Friday, October 12, 2012

very random thoughts...and pictures...


i can't stand when people say "kiddos." no explanation...i just don't like it.

i love reading and thinking about anything organization related, but get overwhelmed when i think of actually doing it.


(picture of our banister)

when it starts to get chilly outside, i could literally live on soup, hot tea and pie.

i had a dream last night that i woke up with huge boobs.


(inside pottery barn)

i love lifetime movies even if they are so predictable and i know exactly what's going to happen.

i LOVE peanut brittle, but hate the peanuts. so i will always pick out the plain pieces and then chew around the ones with peanuts in them.



(a truck halfway over an overpass. this held up traffic for quite some time.)

i am so indecisive about some things and wish i could change that about myself.

i hate getting ready in the mornings. sometimes i will just stay home so i don't have to get ready.



(a cute outfit found on pinterest that i want to recreate)

 i have a constant struggle within myself as to if i want to only buy a few things, but good quality. or several things, but lesser quality. (clothing related)

i want to live in europe (just for a year or so.)

that now ends the randomness for today...

have a great weekend.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

what i wore wednesday


just a few things to show this week. linking up here.
thankfully, it's been a little cooler some days, so i actually got to bring out the boots!

i should have taken a picture earlier in the day when this outfit was still cute and i still had my sweater on, but it warmed up and i was so hot by this point, i just wanted everything off!

jeggings: kohls (lauren conrad)
shirt: j. crew factory
boots: steve madden

(looks like someone needs hi-lites. or i guess i could say it's ombre? ha.)

jeans: kohls (lauren conrad--her stuff fits me really good!)
shirt: old navy
mocs: jcp


jeans: gap
tank: old navy
sweater: target
scarf: warehouse sale
shoes: jcp or kohls

thanks for dropping by...see you next week.

Monday, October 8, 2012

birchbox august & september 2012

are you familiar with birchbox? i wasn't until a short time ago. it's a pretty cool setup. you "join", pay $10 a month (that includes shipping) and get a box of sample beauty products. you can cancel any time after your first box and are not under any commitment. mckinlee and i get so excited when it arrives! there are usually 5 items in the box and if i don't like something, she will and vice versa.
if you want to check it out and get a little surprise box every month, here's a link

august 2012

this month was a sample of viva la juicy la flour that smells so good.
a really neat hair elastic that actually keeps mckinlee's thick hair up.
a jar of shaving cream that was really creamy.
a lip or cheek stain that mckinlee loves.
and a hydro schick razor--it was ok. but i still love men's mach 3 razors.



september 2012 

this month was a good one!
i love that kate spade twirl perfume.
i tried the exfoliating cleanser and like it.
the tinted moisturizer i really liked.
didn't care for the color of the polish we got. it might work in the summer if i'm really tan, but just kind of made me look ill :(



also included were these 3 teas. i've tried 2 of them. that chamomile citrus was really good and the tea bag itself is so pretty!


we can't wait for our october box!

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

what i wore wednesday

linking up with the pleated poppy for some outfit inspiration.

when lindsay posted a picture with her in this dotty cardigan, i knew i had to have it! after many emails back and forth with her (so sweet), i finally found the last one in my entire city! 
needless to say, you will be seeing this sweater a lot. i hope to do a post soon of the endless ways you can style this sweater.

sweater: forever 21
jeans: nordstrom
flowers: made by me
shoes: old navy
purse: michael kors
(sorry about the squinty eyes!)


guess where is a great place to find party wear? kohl's! who knew?
gold pants: kohls (jennifer lopez brand, clearanced to almost nothing!)
black top: kohl's (hard to see the detail but it's so cute)
shoes and watch: target
necklace: dillards

same jeans
top: jcp
loafers: target
necklaces: walmart and forever 21

top: no idea
skirt and shoes: target
necklace: macy's

since it didn't feel like fall, i found some fall-colored clothes to wear :)
shorts and tank: old navy
sweater: j crew factory
shoes: target

another non-fallish day
shorts: j crew factory
shirt: resale
belt: forever 21
shoes: old navy

now it actually feels like fall a little bit and this weekend's forecast is looking so wonderful...the high saturday is supposed to be 55! 55!!!

Thursday, September 13, 2012

show us your favorite beauty products

it's favorite beauty products day. yippee!
(first let me apologize for the crazy set up of this post. blogger is doing weird things and i can't fix all the black spaces and weird placement of text. sorry.)

i have tried so many different kinds of skin care and i'm really enjoying these products.
for about a year or more i have been using mychelle dermaceuticals.
you can find it online or at amazon. it's also available in stores like sprouts, whole foods and central market. it can be a little pricey so i try to buy it when the stores are having a sale.
i really try to put organic or at least chemical-free stuff on my face. so many popular products now are filled with things you wouldn't want to be around, much less put on your face! 
i haven't had any problems with any of these products and like the way my skin has become clearer since using them.












even though this loreal product isn't all natural or necessarily "good" for you, it's a neat little product that my daughter encouraged me to buy! it gives your face a dewy, luminescent glow. who doesn't need that? 
i love the origins stay tuned make up. i found a color that works great with my skin tone and have used this for about a year now. also love pur minerals 4 in 1 compact. it's a concealer, make up, finishing powder and sunscreen all in one and it goes on really nice.










i think good makeup brushes can make all the difference. i got almost all of these (with the exception of the black one i got from target) from different bare minerals kits when i was ordering it off qvc. i have had them for years and they are still as good as new!










my favorite blush ever is nars in orgasm. (i always hate walking into the store asking for that! ha.) but i was out of it and decided to try the super orgasm. it's really pretty--a little pinker with more sparkles. i don't know what makes it so good, but i just think they make the perfect blush! expensive, but a little goes a long way.
on the other hand, i found the elf contouring and highlighting duo at target for $3. and i have to say, it does a pretty good job!

this is an item that i really think
everyone should own. the naked
palette from urban decay. these colors are so pigmented that just a little goes a long way. i love having one container that has all the eye shadow i need. this is a little bit of an investment, but it has lasted me so long and i still have a ton left! so much left, in fact, that i can't justify buying the new palette since the colors are very similar.







my absolute favorite lotion is origins ginger soufflé. the smell is amazing and it is so light and sheer. i wore this a lot this summer and didn't even put on perfume when i used this lotion. i had a coupon for it and would not normally have spent that much on a jar of lotion.

this summer i have really been enjoying this jergens self tanner. it's a tanner and has spf. it produced a really nice light tan that looked pretty natural.






my favorite perfume at the moment is coach poppy flower. i can get nauseous really quickly from smells, so my perfume can't be too sweet or sugary or powdery at all. this is light, floral and clean enough that i can wear it without making myself sick! 


























i don't feel super strong about hair products (maybe if i did my hair would look better!) but i really like kenra products like the thickening glaze. my favorite hairspray is freeze it. i buy it at walmart for $5. i alternate shampoos and my hair seems to do better. same with conditioners. i just got a sulfate free shampoo from ulta and am liking that. when i wear my hair wavy, i use a lot of mousse and some curl spray.

i've been using this flat iron from solia and have liked it. it actually does better on my hair than my chi did! 






 i'm a gloss girl through and through.
i love me a good lip gloss. the two i've used most of the summer have been the top two from victoria's secret. i think my favorite is called strawberry crush. the other two i got at bath and body works. they're nice too, just really fruity tasting.

the little tube of lip junkie came with my urban decay naked palette. it's a really pretty color, but it feels a little tingly like it has lip plumping in it and i don't really like that. the maybelline one i found on clearance at target and wish i'd grabbed every one of them! it's a glittery brown that i love and will be really good for fall (if it lasts that long!)

when i just need some moisture on my lips, i use this pomegranate burt's bees. love the smell and it has the sheerest tint.
a pretty brown color i found recently is smoky from maybelline. it's really dark, so i just put a tiny bit on and then put gloss over it.

i love this eyeliner from cover girl. the little smudger on the end is perfect and it goes on so smooth. i use gray on top and brown on the bottom. (i read somewhere that doing that opens your eyes up more.)
i ran out of the gray and got a free one from ulta. i like it too, but keep the cover girl one for the smudger!


my favorite mascara is loreal voluminous. i recently tried this carbon black and think i like the original one better.






so that's it...some of my favorite products.
i don't like to amass a huge collection of make up (i leave that up to my 13 year old! ha.) . i just like to find what works for me and use that.
i don't mind spending a little more on things that i know will last a long time or are really good for my skin. but if i didn't have the money to buy some of these things, i know i could find something less expensive that would probably work just as well!

what are some of your favorite products?

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

what i wore wednesday

linking up with lindsey at the pleated poppy and her what i wore wednesday groupies!
she started doing this as a way for her as a stay at home mom to get out of the "daily uniform" of yoga pants and give her motivation to put a little more effort into her outfit each day.
for me, i usually get dressed each day into something half-way cute, but i forget things i've put together. so i do this as a way to remember things i want to wear again and as a way to remember things i absolutely never want to put together again!

i call this my june cleaver look!
full gray skirt, tank and cardi: j crew outlet
necklace: goodwill
belt: target

 dress: downeast basics
necklace: goodwill
shoes: target
cute hubby: i'm pretty sure it's bachrach, head to toe!

tank and flips: old navy
skirt: kohls
(looking a little dumpy here--probably won't put that together again)

some goodies i picked up at h&m on our trip to chicago

wearing them on the way home

 evening of sightseeing in chicago
shorts: j crew
shirt: kohls
shoes: sanuk

skirt: from my sister
blouse: anthropologie via my sister
shoes: macy's
belt and flower: ??

as the summer wore on, my outfits got less and less creative!
shorts: my sister via j crew
shirt: j crew
shoes: target

shorts: old navy
shirt: jcp
shoes: sanuk
cute bracelet: sam moon

shorts and shirt: j crew
shoes: kohls

skirt: my sister via walmart (isn't that cute?)
shirt: h&m
shoes: dsw
necklace: walmart

those are my left over outfits from this summer.
come back next wednesday for my first installment of "1 item, 10 ways"
i know you're on pins and needles.
:)

Monday, September 10, 2012

summer 2012

so this summer has to have been the busiest one we've ever had...as evidenced by the fact that i have hardly blogged at all! i guess that's good--you know, living life instead of just recording it.
so here, in a very condensed version, is what we did this summer.
(if you follow me on instagram, sorry. you've probably seen all these pictures!)

*we went to a darling owl baby shower
 



*we went to waco several times. 
nana taught mckinlee to sew...

and we had a fun time with this girl.


*we went to the museum of art with a group of friends




*mckinlee had friends over to spend the night

*we went on vacation to a beautiful resort in san antonio with these guys.


*we went to sea world
(and let me say...we had fun, but third time to sea world and not much of anything has changed. this will be our last time there.)


*i planted flowers and almost all of them made it through this brutal summer!

*we went to the dallas aquarium where sadie met a new friend



and where we watched feeding time in the shark tank.


*we helped a friend prepare her classroom for her first teaching job

*our congregation finally split and this group of friends was divided.
(we went out for treats on the night of our last meeting together. hence the smiley/teary faces.)

*we watched cosmo find a new place to sleep every few days


*we were in the drama of this year's convention playing "the good parents" :)
(practice took over our lives from april to august! so much work, but lots of fun too.)

our "daughter" is the one on the left. the girl in pink was the other daughter.

*we went to the cleaning day before the start of all the conventions


*the girls were "reunited" at the convention

*mckinlee got her hair hi-lited for the first time,


 played in sadie's pool

and we went out for yummy lunches

*we got several treats like custard and freddie's fries


*we volunteered to work at two pioneer schools with these girls

*i read a lot


*we did some organizing

*chris and i went to chicago.
business for him, pleasure for me!
(a whole post coming about that.)


*i started collecting milk glass


*mom, danielle and sadie came to visit us.
sadie loved the bunnies on my back porch...

and uncle bruno!

*my hibiscus finally bloomed
(note to self: never buy a hibiscus at the same place you pick up bagels and bananas.)
 

*we went to the chiropractor a lot
(that should be a picture of me since i was there way more than mckinlee)


so that was our summer. now i see why i'm tired!
i hope to blog more regularly now that we are in more of a routine.
we made the decision to take mckinlee out of a brick & mortar school and enrolled her in k12. it's a public school, but she works from home.
she said the other day that she is liking it way more than she thought she would! and i am really enjoying it too.

happy monday everyone...have a good week!