Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday always makes me miss Mamma Kay.  This is her favorite holiday & she is the queen of Easter baskets!!!

On a bright note ~ it was in the 60s! And sunny!  Truly an Easter miracle :)  Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of James & I after church...  but I got to wear a silk dress, nude heels & NO TIGHTS!  Can I get an AMEN?

Easter tulips!   Should have taken the photo Saturday, but still pretty :) 

My own "Easter Basket" aka 3 Reese's Eggs from the grocery store :)  I should have bought 300! 

Happy Easter & time of celebrating our Lord to each of you! 

Outlet Mall!

I went on a marathon outlet mall excursion.  It was surprisingly disappointing.  It has been forever since I've been to our outlet mall (thanks work trips to the Philadelphia Premium Outlets!)...  The mall is really going down-hill :(

One of my new budget-friendly techniques is to look for seasonal or non-classic pieces at outlet stores/Target/online sales before I go to a higher end store like J.Crew or Banana.  I figured sun-dresses & sandals for vacation would be a great stop for the outlet mall!  FAIL.  

Usually my MO at the outlet mall is to park by Banana & only visit a few stores all close together (Banana, Gap, Old Navy, Nine West).  However, I did not see anything in the Banana outlet that I liked.  That never, never, never, NEVER happens!  I was starting to get worried.  Ditto to the other usual stores...

I ended up walking around the WHOLE CRAZY outlet mall looking for something to take on vacation.  I think the mall now caters to baby teenagers or big & tall stores with white suits and alligator accessories.

I did manage to salvage the trip by picking up a few accessories at the Marshall's Outlet.  Not quite vacation clothes, but hey you can't come home empty handed!  At least my hair will be pretty for vacation!

1)  Cynthia Rowley sunglasses - $9 !!  
I always prefer to take cheaper sunglasses on vacation in case something happens to them, James hates my Jackie-O style sunglasses, so these were a nice addition.

2) Rusk body and texture amplifier - $8.99 !!
Love me some big hair :)

3) The Body Shop hair butter for colored hair - $3.99 !!
Smells fabulousa!

If buying high-end hair care products at Marshall's is wrong, I don't want to be right.

~ you can quote me

Rock It ~ Return It

I have had some random crazy tooth pain this week, after a trip to the Dentist who punted me to a Neurologist...  I am finally feeling better.   I gladly stopped in at CVS for some vacation goodies :)

(I need to figure out how to take better pictures of products... any tips?)

Ok.... lets rock & roll!

L'Oreal Lineur Intense
in Carbon Black 
I purchased this after seeing a video on MakeupbyTiffanyD (she's fabulous at makeup tutorials & reviews).  She said it was easy to use & featured it in her 5 minute makeup tutorial.  I did not find it easier than your typical liquid liner (I need more practice obviously!).  Although I did like it just as much as my Makeup Forever liquid liner & it is significantly cheaper!  Due to that fact I am glad I purchased it.  Another neat feature is that with light pressure it makes a thin line & with heavy pressure it makes a thicker line.
Verdict ~ ROCK IT!!

Sally Hersberger Glam Waves
Texture Spray
This is one of my old favorites :)  Kinda unfair for "Rock It Return It" but I haven't used it for a while & wanted to make sure I still loved it!  I DO :)  This is the best 'beach spray' that I've ever used.  It is not salty, it is not drying or frizzy, and it is amazing at reviving tired curls.  This is a magic product that creates pretty curls yet has natural oils to make hair soft & pretty.  I love using this on beach vacations.  This was the only hair product I used my entire honeymoon!  Ready for the beach!
Verdict ~ ROCK IT!!

TRESemme Dry Shampoo
Volumizing for Fine Hair
I have been on a massive hunt for the perfect dry shampoo.  This is the best drugstore version I have tried so far.  I like the scent, the size of the bottle & that it helps with volume.  I do want to try it a few more times...
Verdict ~ Undecided

Jergins Natural Glow for Face
for Fair/Medium Skin
If any of you have seen any winter pictures of me, I could be an extra on a zombie movie with my insanely white skin!  I need some color up in my life! :)  This year I have decided to phase tanning beds out of my life & get better at sunless-tanning.  I do like the moisturizer a lot, it has a slight tanning smell but that wears off after 5 minutes.   I did get a spray tan for my vacation after using it 2 days, so cannot yet report on the color progression, but I do plan to use it to keep color on my face.  :)  Is it summer yet?????
Verdict ~ ROCK IT!!

Milani Brow Fix Brow Kit
in Medium 02
I purchased this after the Elf brow kit was not a success for me.  They only have one color at Target & it was too dark for me!  This one was about $7, so twice the Elf price, but in my opinion much more quality & useability.  It comes with two browns for your brows, a highlighter for just under your brows, tweezers, brush & sponge applicator.  I love this kit!  And I'm glad that big bold brows are in (thanks Dad)!
Verdict ~ ROCK IT!!

L'Oreal Colour Riche Balm
in Caring Coral
I am so excited about all the coral colors popping up this spring :)  I typically stick to very natural colors, for some reason I am able to venture into coral land easier than bright pinks.  Maybe I still have nightmares about Mamma Kay's bright pink '80's lipstick she used to try to rub on me "Put some color on your face!!"  I digress...  I am NOT a lipstick girl (see previous comments) and prefer balms, sticks, etc.  I am a big fan of the formula that is like a very moisturizing balm & a very pretty color.
Verdict ~ ROCK IT!!


Always fun spending a free day at CVS :)

Wine Not?

James & I used our Groupon for a Wine Tasting Class last night at The Vino Gallery!  It was awesome :)  We went with our new church friends & had a great time!  It turned out to be more of a class on how the professionals taste wine - less of a schmorgazeboard of wine to taste.   James wasn't as into it as I was.  I absolutely LOVE school.  Although I was uncomfortable being in a classroom setting where I didn't know all the answers (nerd alert)!!  I want to study & take the class again (major nerd alert)!

The teacher, Rachel, is part owner of the wine store / art gallery & she is a certified sommelier, studying for an advanced designation.  And by "studying" she means drinking LOTS of wine!!!!!!  I was so jealous ~ James told me not to get any ideas...  She will be offering more classes soon & I hope to take some :)

It was all I could do to hold back & not ask her for the PowerPoint notes... 

James & I :)  So sweet of him to drive me to Wine Class :)

"You have to have a quality rosé for Easter" ~Rachel, my new favorite teacher! 

She also suggested taking notes on each wine you try so you can learn what you like & don't like.  There are apps for that!  How fun :)  I might have to go looking for them, or the gallery sold cute journals for wine tasting notes :) 

Snowpocalypse

Welcome to St. Louis.  Where the natives are always unhappy with the weather :)  Every time it snows more than a few inches the news declares a "snowpocalypse."   Not that I enjoy snow measured in feet rather than inches, but we do live in the Mid-West people.  It snows during winter.  Oh well :)

I am soooooooooo glad I asked for Wellies for Christmas!!  They have been a life saver!

Here are some photos of "snowpocalypse" ~ and forecasts are saying it will be 60 one week from today on Easter Sunday!

This is a picture of James' car! 

Photo credit: James (like I would go outside in this weather!)

View from my bedroom when I woke up :)  

Okok... "our" bedroom

If I wasn't über excited about vacation already, I sure am now!!!!  GET ME TO THE BEACH!!! :)

  

I spent the snowed-in day making a big pitcher of Arnold Palmers!!!!

And trying on dresses for JJ's destination wedding! :)

"Despite the forecast, live like it's spring!"

~Lilly Pulitzer

St. Patrick's Day

James & I got very lucky for St. Patrick's Day, a new couple to our church invited us to a Blues game!  I am not the biggest hockey fan, but I do love a good fight :)  We had really good seats & the Blues won.  And we played the Ducks (many movie quotes).

I've decided hockey fans are just Nascar fans with a different accent & a little more clothes...

 Action shot!  I've never sat this close to the glass!

This was my favorite part!  Between periods there were baby hockey players!!!  Too cute :)

 Goal!!!  Let's Go Blues!!!

Blues win!! 2-1 in OT

WHY do I occasionally try the side-part???  When will I learn??? 

To Block or Not to Block?

I read a guest blog post by a childhood friend of mine that has been haunting me...

"The Truth About Your Relationship Status" by Andrea Lucado (her blog here)

It is a great post geared toward being content with your worth to the Lord regardless of relationship status.

Overall good read... check it out.

The part that got me was when she challenged us to block or hide the girl on our news feed who causes us to feel jealous or insecure.  Wow.  That's been rolling around in my brain for the last few days.  Crazy because the exact person popped in my head as I was reading it.   We went to college together and had a lot of classes together, although she was in the popular/rich girl sorority.  And every picture on Facebook has way too much makeup, expertly applied, perfect hair.  Basically I would have to live in Sephora & have the entire staff touch up my makeup through the day to come close.  Every item of clothing is designer, this season, how many LV purses does she own? More than my student loans? And she has a gorgeous house... Pictures of drinks at all the it places to be.  Really? It's exhausting me to see all the pictures.

Why do we let people like that taunt us? Feel insecure? Or angry at the have-nots?

Maybe all of Facebook is fake.  That would be nice because it's so annoying.  And addicting.

So..... to block her or not to block her????

(Sorry to any of you if my pics of food on dates or flowers James buys me affect you negatively.)

Estee Lauder & Lilly Pulitzer

I love playing with new products!!!  Yay!!!

Since this purchase I also noticed a GWP at Macy's & Mamma Kay got one at Beall's.  We don't have those stores "up here" but you southern ladies can check it out.  Each one had a different bag & slightly different products inside.

Overall I was impressed & the bag is super cute!!!  I think if I had seen all the options I would have gone for the set at Macy's, but hey, live & learn :)

I purchased another bottle of my Estee Lauder BB Creme (love it!!!!) and got all this...

Set includes:

1)  Lilly makeup bag ~  cute fun bag, nothing super special, but for the price of her makeup bags retail it was cheaper to buy the GWP.  Tried explaining that concept to James, he just accused me of using voodoo shopping magic to confuse him.

2) Eye shadow ~ has 4 colors, peach highlighter, pink medium matte, iridescent brown, dark brown matte.  I love the peach/pink combo.  The peach highlighter is almost too light for me!  But blending them together is very pretty.  The two browns were a little dark for me.  Always confuses me when there are such contrasting colors in one pallet.  But hey I'm not a makeup executive, I'm a pale girl trying not to look like I have raccoon eyes.  I do love the small size & spring colors, I don't think I would spend the money to buy the full size products at Estee Lauder.  Overall a good addition to my vacation makeup!

3) Sensuous Nude lotion ~ Not too crazy about the scent, it's a baby lotion.  That's all.

4) Sumptuous Extreme mascara ~ love love love!  This makes your lashes super LONG!  Very pleased with it :)  I like to use this after my volumizing mascara to separate lashes & give them a little extra length.

5) Advanced Night Repair Serum ~ I only used the serum with the creme, see thoughts below.

6) Day Wear Creme SPF 15 ~ I used these two for a few weeks.  I loved the scent (similar to my BB cream) lightly cucumber & the feel of the products.  I liked the way my face looked very smooth & supple.  I stopped using them because in the winter my skin is CRAZY dry & these weren't cutting it  (they are not made for super dry skin).  I will start using it again in spring when my face is normal again :)  I would strongly consider buying the full size versions I liked them that much!  Not sure the price though, that might change my mind :)

7) Apparently this also came with a lipstick.  That I don't know where is.  I only remember it being a boring pink color.  That should tell you how much I liked it :)

Overall I was glad for the purchase, the makeup bag, mascara & face serum/creme were excellent!