Friday Favorites: Hair and Beauty

I know I've shared about this line of hair products before but I seriously LOVE it.  I rarely use anything else but on the rare occasion that I do I can tell a difference.  I always have more little flyaway hairs when I don't use my Monat products.  Though it's not pictured their dry shampoo is by far the best dry shampoo I've ever used.

I have a drawer full of lipsticks and lip glosses but the one I always fall back on the very first tube of lipstick I ever bought.  It is Bamboo Pink by Clinique.  I love how it gives my lips some color and shimmer without being too bright.

I have dry skin year round, but this winter my face has been insanely dry.  I've had such a hard time with my make up this winter because of it.  I love a good face sheet mask and will do those on a pretty regular basis but I needed something I could use daily.  This moisturizer from Lush is IT!  I put this on my face every night before I go to bed and will sometimes use it as a primer in the morning before I put my makeup on.  It doesn't take a lot of it so this little tub will last me such a long time.

Once every couple of weeks I do a sheet mask in addition to the Lush moisturizer.  I've only tried two different kinds: Sephora's brand and this Tonymony from Ulta.  I love both of them so I haven't ventured out to try other brands.  I recently discovered a face mask subscription club so I might do that as a way to try others.

Five on Friday

one.  My sweetheart is coming home today.  I could not be happier.  He has be gone for 10 days.  10 very long days.  I am ready to go pick him up at the airport later this evening.

two. My latest swimsuit from Lime Ricki arrived today.  I am in love with it.

I normally only purchase from their clearance section so when I first saw this swimsuit I knew I would order it as soon as it the clearance section.  Then they sold out of it.  I was so upset.  When it came back a few weeks ago during a 25% off sale I splurged and ordered it.  I cannot wait to wear it.  I love Lime Ricki.  Cute & modest swimsuits.  I don't own any other swim suits anymore.  And they aren't giving me anything for saying this, I just love their swimsuits.  

three.  I had an orthodontist appointment Wednesday.  Pretty routine.  Teeth are moving like they are supposed to be and Dr. Lay was pleased with my progress.  I sweet talked his assistant Stacey into changing my bands so I could have a new color.  I was over the teal.  Now I have pink!  You can hear more about my appointment here.

four.  I've been wanting to do something different with my hair.  I'm thinking I might be ready to grow it out again.  I bought a curling wand earlier this week to try something different.  I found a video on youtube that inspired my purchase.  I haven't tried it yet because it's summer.  I'm not one to fix my hair to sit at home alone.  But I might try it out tonight before picking up the husband.  If not tonight then I will definitely try it out next week since I have workshops ever day and have to actually go out in public.  Do any of you use one?  I'd love to hear what brand/kind and any tips that you have.  

five. Andrew and I recently went through and cleaned out our closets in preparation for our upcoming yard sale.  I realized I have no khakis.  Mine were in rough shape.  I'm going to need new ones before school starts.  Khakis are an easy way to be comfortable on those days I don't feel like getting all dressed up.  Do you have khakis that you love?  Where are they from?  

Our Valentine's Day 2014

Andrew worked in the Little Rock office yesterday and since I was out of school I decided to go with him.  The idea was that we could go out to eat some place nice when he got off work.

After I dropped him off at work I met up with my BFF and former boss for breakfast.  It was so nice to just sit and talk with them.  We did that every day when I worked at HG and it is probably the thing I miss most about working there.  We sat there visiting until the lunch crowd starting showing up.  

After breakfast I piddled around going in different little boutiques and stores.  I was hoping to find something new to wear to dinner but I wasn't really in the mood to buy anything.  I found several cute tops but ended up putting them all back and not buying anything. 

I was able to roam around Target for awhile.  Oh how I miss Target.  

Our little trip to LR also allowed me to get my haircut my regular stylist.  Thank goodness Ellie could fit me in.  I've decided that instead of trying to find a stylist here, I'm just going to have Andrew schedule his LR office days around my hair visits.  HA!

After getting more opinions than I ever expected and a lot of debate on my part I made my decision about which haircut I wanted.

Call me old and boring but I went back to this haircut.  

It's what I'm most comfortable with and I feel like it makes me look a little closer to my age.  

After my haircut it was time for dinner.  I picked up Andrew at 5:00 and we headed to Outback.  We really thought we would beat the crowd.  

We were wrong.  

They told us it was going to be an hour and a half wait.  We decided that in that time we could already be home.  We'll just have to use the Outback gift card another time.

So we drove home and ended up eating at our favorite local BBQ  restaurant.  The one we ate at for our anniversary.  

Then we went home and went to bed. 

It's what Big Mama refers to as Old Love.

We're just not big on Valentine's Day.  Some years we do gifts and some years we don't.

Andrew bought me flowers this year.  They are absolutely beautiful!

This year I decided to give him a little something everyday starting February 1.  I think his favorite gift was probably the Legos.  HA!  He's a kid at heart and I love that about him.

Random Tuesday Thoughts

{one}

Yesterday was definitely Monday.  I could feel it.  I had a bad case of the Monday blues.  It didn't help that they have been talking about lots of snow for several weeks and now there is none in the forecast for my area.  Bummer!  I guess I should be thankful since we've already had nine snow days.  I just really like sleeping in and staying in my PJs all day.  It's no fun to have to go outside when its this cold.

{two}

I had an appointment today to get my teeth cleaned.  I talked with my dentist about having those four teeth pulled so that we can start the process of getting adult braces. When it was all said and done I had an appointment scheduled to have four teeth extracted next month.  You know you have a good dentist when he convinces you that have four teeth extracted isn't that big of a deal and won't be that bad.

{three}

An appointment that I'm a little more excited is my hair appointment scheduled for Friday morning.  I've been torn between three different looks, but I think I finally know which one I'm going to go with.

{four}

I got a sneak peak at my new blog design and I can't wait to share it with you.  I love it!!  Miranda is so talented and such a sweet friend.  I felt like I didn't give her much to work with for this design but she is coming up with exactly what I had in mind.  Check her work out here.  You will not be disappointed you chose her to give your blog a makeover.

{five}

I just finished reading The Antelope in the Living Room by Melanie Shankle also known as Big Mama.  I have to confess I had never read her blog before.  I'm not sure what led me to read her books especially since I read Sparkly Green Earrings first and I don't even have children.  But I am so glad I read them.  They were hilarious!  I'm a fan.  If you haven't read them, you need to.  I was laughing out loud.  Andrew would just look over like I was crazy.  It was that funny!

Snow Day #9

I'm home enjoying yet another snow day.  Today makes #9 for my school district.

Goodbye Summer Vacation!  It was nice knowing you!

Seriously...I don't remember ever missing this many days in one year.  

But I'm trying to choose a positive attitude and enjoy the time at home and not think about having to make up all of these missed days.

Our little town is beautiful right now.  

Andrew has been working at home so Snow Days have allowed me a little extra time with him.  We get to sit down together and have lunch each day.  

Snow Days mean trying new recipes and laughing when they completely fail.

I tried a new recipe from Pinterest last night.  It was a MAJOR fail!  

I have yet to try to a recipe from Pinterest that wasn't a fail.

I'm going to blame Pinterest! 

It can't possibly be me or the fact that I don't like cooking and am not very good at it.

I posted this picture last night of the aftermath of our dinner.

The caption included some of the quotes that came out of my sweet husband's mouth over the course of attempting to eat this chicken crescent roll thing.

"Would you be interested in taking cooking lessons?"

"Now we're figuring out how to eat this."

"Time for dessert.  What do you want?  A turkey sandwich?"

 One thing is for sure...He makes me laugh.

Snow Days also mean lots of time to watch my new favorite TV show.

I've also had lots of time to search Pinterest for a new haircut.  It is time for a change.  My hair is pretty thin and does better with a shorter cut.  

I sort of like this cut, but it is WAY out of my comfort zone.  I've been texting it to my friends to get their opinion.  So far the look has gotten mixed reviews.

Andrew isn't a fan at all.  I'm not sure I'm brave enough to go this short.   

I just know I'm ready for something different.

Unfortunately, snow days also mean time to work on taxes.  YUCK! 

But it has to be done.

Have to focus on the positive...like my beautiful view of Sugarloaf Mountain.

God's creation.  It's amazing!

Spring Break 2012

I am on Spring Break this week and loving every minute of it. It hasn't quite been as productive as I had hoped thus far, but that's okay. It's only Tuesday.

Friday after school I was able to hold Sydney Faith for the first time. I went over to Jill's to take a gift to the girls and pick up some things I needed to borrow for a baby shower. Sydney is just the sweetest little thing. Andrew's mom says she looks a lot like Jill and Andrew did when they were babies. :)


Sunday I helped host a baby shower for my best friend from high school. I felt so blessed to be a part of the celebration. Miss Macy will be here in the next month. I can't wait to meet her and love on her. Mandy is going to be a wonderful mom.

In trying to move the pictures from my camera to my computer I accidentally deleted every picture I took at the shower. I feel sick! Just trust me that the mom to be was beautiful. :)


Yesterday I took the dogs to the vet for a minor surgery. I probably shouldn't even call it that. They had their teeth cleaned, but because they put them to sleep to do it they consider it a surgery. They also had their yearly shots and nails clipped. Poor Liberty Belle just doesn't do well with being put to sleep. She was not her self last night. At times you could tell she was struggling to control her body. She would lean against furniture because she couldn't stand. She was very calm and serious last night, which is complete opposite of her norm. She is usually wild and crazy. It just broke my heart. I'm thankful she woke up her crazy self this morning.





I have an appointment to get my hair cut and highlighted tomorrow. It is so blah and I'm ready for a change. I have an idea of what I want but haven't decided 100% for sure yet.

Right now I'm torn between two cuts. I'm hoping you can help me decide.

Look # 1





Look #2

What do you think?

Sunday News

***It's snowing!! It's coming down hard. I love it! I'm pretty sure there will be no work for me tomorrow. Andrew says if it keeps coming down like this and continues to stick, he will be working from home.


NEWS UPDATE: NO SCHOOL TOMORROW!!!


***Though I haven't blogged about my goals for 2011, I have them. One of them is to get and keep our house clean and organized. Darlene over at Time-Warp Wife has a housekeeping schedule. I'm using it as my guideline. Of course I have some major cleaning to do before I can keep a maintenance schedule like this one. I made myself a calendar and I'm hoping that will help me. I hate cleaning, but I love a clean house. Since we can't afford to pay someone to do that for me right now, I'm left with no choice but to be a grown up and clean my own house. :( I had big plans to work on this Friday night and Saturday, but we ended up taking an overnight trip to Tulsa. The husband had to do so me work at the Tulsa office so I tagged along. I graded papers for the first part of the day and then went shopping the second part of the day.

***Do you remember this post about new paintings for my living room? Well, they are finished. And they are beautiful!!! AND HUGE!
This picture doesn't do them justice. I absolutely love them and can't wait for the husband to get them up on the wall. My sweet friend, Amanda, is the artist. God has truly given her a gift. She does amazing work. She even painted a baby shower gift for me on very short notice. By short notice, I mean I asked her Wednesday and the shower was Thursday afternoon. Yeah, she rocks!!! She recently started a blog so you too can have some of her artwork. She graduated in December with a degree in education and is currently jobless. She is taking advantage of this time to share her talents with you. Her blog is Splash of Design. It's brand new so I'm not sure she has pictures of her work posted yet, but keep checking back.

***Every time I decide it's time to cut all my hair off I have a good hair day and change my mind. I let it air dry on Thursday and wore it wavy. I got so many compliments. So many of my kids walked into class Thursday and told me I looked pretty. So sweet!!!

***I should have a new look here at the old blog in the next day or too. Miranda over at Little Sailor Design is in the process of creating my new design. The drafts that she has sent me look great! I'm excited about it. She did a FAB job. If you are looking for a new look, check her out. She does a great job, is easy to work with, is fast, and is affordable!! I give her two thumbs up. My new look is going to contain my very own button. It will be my first one. Be sure to grab it when you get a chance.

Fighting the Static

After looking at our photos from Saturday, I've decided to keep my hair long. At least for now... I just really like the way it looks in the pictures. I'm going to keep going with the way it is, at least until next month. I might do something different over Christmas break.

But, I have a daily battle with static. Actually it's an hourly battle. I don't know what to do to tame the static. I've been known to carry a sheet of fabric softener in my purse. That works well.

I'm thinking there has to be some hair product out there for this little problem. I haven't even looked. Do you know of anything?

Every morning after I straighten my hair, I look like I've touched that big ball they have in museum. You know...the one that purposefully makes your hair stand on end.

Rapunzel or Ramona?

In June 2009 I went and had a mini make-over which included getting my hair cut.


In 2009, I decided to grow my hair so I could donate it to locks of love, an organization that makes wigs for cancer patients.

So...it hasn't been cut since June 2009. It is getting really long, at least for me it is.



I really want to get it cut already. You are supposed to have 10 inches to donate and I have that...it will just be shorter than I prefer after I cut it. I'm really torn. I really don't like it this long. I feel like it just hangs on my head all flat and yucky. It ends up in a pony tail 99% of the time.

But...Andrew really likes it long and though I know ultimately it is my hair, I respect his opinion. And every time I cut my hair short I always hate it. I feel like Ramona Quimby age 8. And for those of you who aren't familiar with this great books....

LOL! I've said all my life that I look like her when I get my hair cut really short.

So I'm torn. I really want to go ahead and cut it, but Andrew and I are having a little mini photo shoot next weekend. I think no I don't like it now, but what if I hate even more. I'd rather have long hair in a pony tail for these photos than short hair I hate. But I'm just so tired of all this hair!


So I don't know...what do you think? Long or short? Rapunzel or Ramona?