Why not make it three?

It has officially been two weeks since my last post.  I'm officially embarrassed.  Consider this post my apology letter.

I'm sure their are millions of people out there just dying to know what I've been up to, so here's a brief run down.  Snow, Concrete Ball, more snow, more Concrete Ball, work, Pilates, huddle in front of the space heater, repeat.

Not much blog fodder from that, unfortunately.  We finally completed a few projects I started almost a year ago for the house, so I'll have a post about that soon.

For now, I'm sitting in the Atlanta airport, waiting for my flight to depart to Aruba!!!  I cannot wait to get to some 80+ degree temps.  The cold weather and snow has been awful this winter, and it makes me tired.

Hope everyone has a great week and stays warm!

Five on Friday! Otherwise known as things I should not buy...

Hello!  It's late in the day, but I'm finally getting around to linking up with April, Christina, Darci, and Natasha again this week for the five things I'm loving this week!  Check out their blogs if you wanna join or follow the great style tips, recipes and musings they post!

Y'all, I have been in the biggest blah mood these days.  I blame this crappy weather and lack of vitamin D!  So in an effort to combat the winter blah's, I'm choosing to focus on my upcoming trip to Aruba!  

Every vacation requires one or two new purchases, right?  Below is what I have been coveting the most!

1.  Carolina 2 Striped Ballet Flats by Tory Burch.  Lord knows the last thing I need is another pair of shoes, but I have a problem with navy.  And stripes.  And ballet flats.  And anything by my girl Tory!  Hey, lady!  Can you put these on sale?  Please and thanks!

2.  Yes, more shoes.  From Tory Burch.  I actually need (this is a relative term) a pair of neutral wedges.  Seriously, I do.  I promise.  Either of the three above would suit me just fine!

3.  Every beach cocktail party needs a fun dress, right?  This adorable caftan by Lilly is right up my alley!  Wouldn't it look great with those gold wedges????  (Sorry for the crappy pixelated photos this linkup.  An internets genius I am not!)

4.  Okay, so this has nothing to do with my upcoming vacation, but I seriously need a new couch for the family room.  I have been drooling over the one above from Arhaus for the better part of a year now.  I'm in love with the Talbot fabric in Natural.  You know, just in case my fairy godmother is reading and needs ideas.  Ha ha!

5.  Speaking of drooling, this beer has made my taste buds do the tango this week!  Pliny the Elder by Russian River Brewing is by far one of the most sought after and hard to come by beers that I've heard of.  Keep in mind, I don't hear about much, though!  Luckily, I have this awesome boyfriend that saved me a few bottles to take home with me from my trip to Colorado.  If you ever get a chance to try it, I highly recommend!  Delish!

So with that being said, I'm off to finish the work day, day dream about Aruba, and then go home to organize the basement!  Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

Colorado NYE

For those of you that don't know, New Year's Eve has been my favorite holiday for about a million years.  I love any excuse to get dressed up and drink champagne.

Who wouldn't, right?  Well, the answer to that would be almost every single one of my friends.  Over the years, its gotten harder and harder to find something to do that suits all of our desires and schedules.

Well, this year I was lucky enough to be dating someone that lives 1000 miles away in sunny Colorado.  Yes, it's super sunny there.  It's also freaking cold, but whatever.  Moving on.  

Because the boy (herein referred to as Justin) can't come home for the holidays, I packed my bags (large bags, both hitting the weight limit) and headed for the airport a few days after Christmas.

We had a great time and I got to spend more time in Denver than I ever had in previous visits.  Lots of good food, delicious craft beer (Justin is an expert.  Seriously, that's the industry he works in.), and beautiful mountains.

I'll let the pictures talk, my camera is more talented than I am.

Denver has an awesome Natural Science and History Museum.  I spent a few hours there one day when Justin was at work.  The dinosaur exhibit was the bee's knees!

Lots and lots of craft brews that you can't find in Kentucky were sampled.  Unfortunately (fortunately?) for me, I am a complete lightweight and the altitude didn't help, so only a couple per night.

View from a roadside lookout point over Boulder.  This was the one pretty day that I could get some views without snow or clouds.  Did I mention it's freaking cold there?

This one is my favorite from the whole trip.  Too funny!

TSA was nice enough to unwrap all of Justin's presents for him.  I guess that's what happens when you check the maximum amount of alcoholic beverages you can (Founder's Beer).

I don't know why I can't pack the appropriate clothing for vacations.  Check out the cute head warmer I got at REI while visiting.  I also had to buy a warmer coat.  I am not a good packer.  I'll tell you about what I brought when backpacking through Europe after college one day.  It's amusing.

Drunk Octopus is throwin' 'bows.

Funny disclaimer at what might be my favorite beer bar of all time.

Justin put up a little tree so we could have our own Christmas.  Super cute!!!

If I could choose a demeanor for Riley to adopt, it would be Mystic's.  She's an excellent cuddler and doesn't try to run away when she's off leash.  That must be nice.  

So anyway, it was a great trip!  We had a blast on NYE with Justin's friends, had some awesome champagne, and I might have busted a move for a split second.  

Can't wait to head back out this May when I can inevitably pack the wrong clothing again and be forced to go shopping.  I swear I don't do it on purpose.

Happy Hump Day!

Post Christmas Product Review

So are any of you creatures of habit, like I am?  If so, you will understand my pain.  

I am pretty boring when it comes to hair care, makeup, and skin care.

I very rarely change my routine, but this past year I did just that with a lot of my beauty essentials and was surprisingly pleased.   Cue Murphy's Law, and not months after I became hooked on a product, it became discontinued.

Enter Philosophy's line of skin care.

  A year or so ago, I switched to Purity by Philosophy  face wash and haven't looked back since.  My skin is sooooo much softer and less prone to dry spots and peeling.  

The same time I switched to the cleanser, I started using the Keep the Peace moisturizer.  It was like a Godsend.  Seriously.  I have super sensitive skin, and I immediately fell in love.  Not too greasy, and it didn't irritate my skin, unlike most sensitive skin formulas.  I am not kidding, my skin is insane sensitive.

So, anyway...I went to reorder the lotion for the second time (one jar lasts for months!!!) right before Christmas, and lo and behold, it does not exist.  Arg.  So this is what I ordered instead.

All I can say is, meh.  Not the same.  And it smells like Christmas trees.  Not what my sensitive skin needs.  So if anyone that works at Philosophy reads this, can you please bring back my favorite moisturizer????  Please and thanks!

Next up, Kiehl's Centella Skin Salve.  Good lawd, this stuff is a life saver!

So, ladies, does your man friend have stubble?  Because mine does, and it freaking tears up my skin.  I'm talking huge red scabs on my chin and flaking skin for weeks.  Not fun.  Not fun at all.  

So I discovered this salve many boyfriends ago and it has made a world of difference!  

I highly recommend.

So I just added this much blogged about blush to my repertoire.  It took me some getting used to, but I have come to love it.  All the hype is correct. For the record, this is the Nars Blush in Orgasm.

Next, a tried and true detangler/conditioner.  I'm going to tell you something, and it's probably going to make you pissed.  But here goes; I don't use conditioner.  Or product.  Or anything.  I have awesome, straight, thick, manageable hair.

Or I did.  Until I grew it out and realized that combing through forty pounds of poker straight, wet hair is a pain in the ass.  

I've had a bottle of this around for as long as I can remember, and I've finally been able to use it on a semi-regular basis.   I don't actually leave it in like you're supposed to though.  I just use it as a wash out detangler.  Pretty good stuff.  And it smells yummy!

Something else I noticed as my hair got longer (and my age got larger, ahem); my hair has a bit of a wave in it on the right side.  Totally weird, right?!?  

So instead of blow drying it with my hair flipped upside down, I now have to actually paddle brush that side while drying instead of just aimlessly blowing dry with my fingers.  Boo. 

 I thought the product below might help, but really it just made my hair feel gross.   Save your money, ladies.

Okay, last hair product.  I was in a pinch for some light hair spray when I was in Colorado this past week, so I ran to Target and grabbed this in a hurry.  Let's just say that all those years of not really have to put forth much effort into hair styling have left me clueless.

This stuff was hard to use and left my hair looking clumpy.  I'm pretty sure it was operator error. 

That's what I get for trying to be fancy.

So there you have it.  An idiot's guide to skin, blush, and hair.  I hope some of you find this useful.  But I kind of doubt it.  Because my skin and hair is weird and I'm a special, precious snowflake. 

Anyway...happy Tuesday, y'all!

Christmas Decor…Finally

I know, I know, this post is dreadfully late.  Like me.  Every day.  I am not a punctual person.  I've come to terms with this and so should you.  Hee hee!  

Anyway, being that this was my first year in the new house, I had plenty of room to put up a tree, and I hosted the day after Christmas get together for my mom's side of the family, so I went all out with decor this year.  Or as all out as I'll ever get.

Dining room table decor.  I finally had an excuse to bust out the nice Sferra napkins I bought on sale this summer.  Yay!  And no, I do not iron my table cloths.  Ever.  I don't iron anything.  Ever.  

Do not judge me.  Martha Stewart, I am not.

Please ignore the fuzzy iPhone photo above, but it just looks so much better with presents underneath!  By the way, I could absolutely curl up beneath the tree and take a nap on the skirt.  I found it at T.J. Maxx for next to nothing and it's crushed fleece.  Super warm and soft!

That's me when I was almost two, I think.  I love that I finally can put all my ornaments that I've been given over the past 32 years up.  I have quite the collection, a large number of which are cow themed.  Don't ask, I'll never tell.

Family room table decor.  I put my green Pomegranate linens to use for this one.  Please also ignore the dying poinsettia in the middle.  I am not a gardener.  Or even a house plant gardener.  

My favorite part of the holidays is all the sweet cards I receive, especially now that most my friends are having babies!  I love seeing how much they've grown over the year!  This twine display is the perfect way to show them off until they get moved to the fridge for the remainder of the year.  Yes, I keep them up all year.  

So there goes it for my festive decor.  Or at least the highlights.  Obviously, a professional I am not.  But at least I put them up.  AND, most importantly, they are all put away in a timely fashion.  Unlike my mother, who one year left the tree up the entire year.  I am not even kidding.

You can't make this stuff up.  This is my family, and we are nothing if not bizarre!  

That's why they are my favorite!

Anyway, posting will be light for the next little bit, but certainly not lighter than the past month!  Next time, I'll tell you all about my post Christmas/NYE trip to Denver!

Much love this new year!