Friday, December 20, 2013

Five on Friday

Happy Friday Beauties!
Can you all believe this is the last Friday before Christmas? I hope I'm not the only one who  thinks this year has flown by! Today I'm linking up again with my favorite ladies April, Darci, Natasha, and Christina for my favorite post each week...Five on Friday!

[ONE]
Yesterday Josh and I decided to take a little day trip to Charlotte to do a little shopping and grab lunch in one of our favorite cities. I remembered on our way down there that the new Tupelo Honey opened a few weeks ago right off of South Blvd. and let me just tell you Charlotte bloggers: if you have not already gone you MUST! I have always wanted to go to the Tupelo Honey in Asheville but never have, so this was a treat for both Josh and I. 

Their sweet tea is thebomb.com

Every meal comes with a salt and pepper biscuit that literally melts in your mouth

Also with the biscuit comes fresh honey and jam...Josh and I ended up buying some of both to take home and place in our parents stocking stuffers. 

While I love the main dish, I'm the type of girl that loves good side dishes. Luckily Tupelo Honey is a place where you can make a meal plate out of 3 side dishes. I swooned over mac-n-cheese, mashed sweet potatoes, and "southern popcorn" aka okra!

[TWO]
Today is the 2nd Annual Christmas party for a group of college-aged adults that I have had the honor of working with at mission camp the past three summers. We all gather at a  local eatery that is central to us all decked out in our tackiest Christmas sweaters and eat! We then head back to our hide out for the night to play a mean game of White Elephant filled with homemade snacks and Christmas Card writing to the families we have been able to serve the past 3 summers. Speaking of food I still have not made my dip yet...best get on that! Here are some pictures from last year's party: 



[THREE]
Josh and I had date night on Wednesday and searched all over Winston to find a ginger bread house...well really we only looked at one Target...but were still sad we didn't find one. Josh had the idea instead to bake Christmas cupcakes and those could be his treat to bring to the party tonight. Let me tell y'all, he did not let me touch any of his ingredients or help him mix. He truly did it on his own and I think they turned out pretty good!



[FOUR]
I have a new little cousin y'all! Since being on the road with my job starting in July, my family added a new little bundle of joy to the family name and I got to meet him for the first time this past week! He's almost four months old now but I'm excited to experience Baby A's first Christmas with him next week! 


[FIVE]
With this being the last link-up before next week, I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!




Wednesday, December 18, 2013

My Favorite Makeup of 2013

2013 has been a year of makeup experimenting for me. I was never one to wear much makeup in high school or even in college. My face was very prone to acne breakouts and I always believed that the more makeup I put on my face the worse it would potentially break out. However, I made a promise to myself when I started student teaching back in January that no matter what, I would put myself together every morning even if my foundation was very light. Because of this new daily routine, I have fallen in love with makeup. I know there are many products out there and we all have different skin types but I personally always find it helpful to hear what worked best for others before trying something out on my own! So here we go with my favorite makeups (and other products) that I have discovered this year! (Please note that I have oily-dry combination skin and heavy scarring on my jawline from acne.)


1- Make Up For Ever/High Definition Foundation ($42): I have always had a hard time finding a foundation that doesn't look orange on my skin. I found this foundation on Pinterest one day and figured I might as well give it a try and to my surprise I fell in love. It is a heavy coverage but one that feels so light. It also stays on all day and doesn't sweat off. 

2- bareMinerals/Mineral Veil Finishing Powder ($20): Trying finishing powder for the first time had me a little nervous but I love the way this places a smooth finish on my face. It also helps to absorb any oil.

3- NYX/Pore Filler ($13): This product is like magic. You know those pesky pores right on your upper cheeks that always seem to poke through your foundation? This product by NYX literally fills them right up. I love the super light feel that it provides and how it evens out your skin. It also looks great just wearing it as a base by itself. 

4- Neutrogena/Deep Moisture Night Cream ($11.99): While my skin is oily during the spring/summer months, it becomes very dry during the winter months. I am so thankful that a dear friend led me on to this deep moisture cream that literally has changed my dry skin to normal in just 6 nights. 

5- L'Oreal/Magic Lumi Concealer ($10.99): This is the best under eye concealer I've been able to find. It is great to wear on top of your foundation and then place finishing powder on top of it. Using this concealer almost completely hides my under eye circles!

6- Maybelline/Volum' Express Mega Plush Mascara ($5.99): What girls doesn't love beautiful lashes? Place two coats of this mascara on and your eyes will be looking beautiful all day. 

7- Jane Iredale/Zap&Hide Blemish Concealer ($26.00): By far my favorite product I've found this year and I had to travel all the way to Texas to find it...now I'm hooked. At one end you have a gel that zaps blemishes and makes them smaller. It also doubles as a gel base for the concealer. The other end provides you concealer that is so strong it completely covers up my acne scars. Yes you read that right, it covers my purple acne scars. I never thought I would find something that would, so as soon as I found this in Texas I grabbed three of them. Luckily I was excited to find I could purchase it on the web.

So beauties, what have been your favorite makeup products in 2013?

Monday, December 16, 2013

Free Winter Printable

Happy {almost} winter my sweet friends! It's hard to believe that our first official day of winter is 5 days away and the funny thing is, North Carolina is expecting 70 degree weather that day?!? Crazy, I know! 

I am finally on a three to four week break off the road from work where I can enjoy being home with family and friends. Over the past few years I have really gotten into making printables. During last semester when I was student teaching, I had a new printable on my desk every week. With free time on my hands now and a new design software update, I decided to make you all a free chalkboard winter printable for your own enjoyment! Let me know how you like it and happy Monday!

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Stocking Stuffers for Her

Over the past few years, I have really fallen in love with Christmas stockings and the goodies that can fill them! Josh's grandparents have a long tradition going of hand making each grandchild a stocking when they are born and then filling them throughout the year with gift cards and small items. These are then part of the gifts they receive on Christmas day. I've been lucky enough to have been added to the stocking receiving list two years ago and now get my own beautiful stocking full of goodies every Christmas. I decided to create a post for things that any girl would swoon over if they landed in their stocking this year... and better yet, they are all $25 or under! 



1. Kate Spade Thermal Mug: $18
2. Kate Spade Tickled Pink Card Set: $25
3. Coach Poppy Rollerball: $22
4. Essie Nail Polish: $8
5. Victoria Secret Color Drama Lipstick: $14

What's on your stocking stuffer wish list?

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Wishful Wednesday

Hey blogger friends!

Happy Wednesday :-) Apologizes once again for no post the past few weeks! I have been traveling to a new school/state every 4 days so once I catch my breath it's time to move again. However, I'm currently enjoying my last week on the road before Thanksgiving in beautiful Alabama! 

With Christmas (and my birthday) upon us, I decided to show you all some of the top things I'm being wishful for this year! Let me know what you think:







A trip to the Baltimore House 

What are some of the things you're wishing Santa will bring to you this year?