what i loved about july...

Ahhhhh. 

Favorite time already! HERE. WE. Goooo!

(ps - I don't think anyone gets as excited about this as I.)

Lips: 

Covergirl: Hot Passion

Why? Um.. I don't rightly know, but I am trying to step out and be a little more bold. I feel like each time I put this on, I allow myself to dab just a tad more than the time before. 

I'm enjoying experimenting with new lipstick. I also tried the Milani Coral (can't remember the exact name) and I don't think Coral is a good route for me, unfortunately...

Revlon: Pink Sugar

When in doubt, go nude. 

Okay, that wasn't my best advice, but..with lips, why not?! 

Sure, it has a little pink to it, but this is so sheer. 

It has somewhat of a sparkle to it, also.

Naturally Upper Canada: Pressed Olive Avacado Lip Butter

I found this at Cracker Barrel last weekend, and I am IN love!!

I love all chap sticks, basically, (except for Black ChapStick and Yellow Carmex) so this is no huge surprise. What I love about it is that it is pressed and somewhat hard, but once you apply it, it seems to melt. It isn't greasy or too flavored, and it stays on well. 

It's also organic :)

Nails:

I have been a slacker this month, but I have not neglected completely!

Orly: Primetime

Go. 

Get.

This.

Now!

It is like $.69 at Sally's, and your nails won't even know what a "chip" is. For real.

China Glaze: Pink Voltage (Neon)

It may not look very Neon-y here, but it is. I have worn this on my toes since I got it, and I wish I had it while we were at the beach. I love my toes with this color!! It's so much fun.

Face:

Philosophy: Purity 

Now, before you say "that junk is expensive"... I already know. I drool over the Philosophy line while I'm in Ulta because I love their product names, but I will NOT break down and buy a $32.00 facial cleanser.

Birchbox included a sample of this in this month's package, and while it smells a tad like hospital soap, it lathers soo well, and it is a very thin consistency.

Physicians Formula: Organic Wear Mascara

This does something outrageous to my eyelashes.

It also does something outrageous to my left eye (like, make it water uncontrollably? I look like I sprung an oil leak with it running down my cheek.)

Hm, that may have been somewhat of an exaggeration, but it does cause my eye to mysteriously water at random times which is highly unfortunate because I love the product.

*ps - you can "buy one get one free" with Organic Wear at Target now!

and Clearly, it's organic! :)

Aveeno: Positively Radiant Tinted Moisturizer 

I haven't ever used a tinted moisturizer until now, but I decided it would be a good investment since I don't like wearing foundation during the summer. So, I've been applying this, skipping moisturizer, and then using a setting powder. I love it! It isn't oily at all, not too much coverage, and it has an SPF too. 

ANNNND it's organic :)

Hair: 

Amika: Oil Treatment

I also got this in my June Birchbox, but I stuck it in my bag to take with me to Honduras as well as the beach in place of my heat protectant, and I love it. It is comparable to (*MY HOLY GRAIL ITEM*) Chi Serum, and although it is still in second place - I have enjoyed this stuff. It isn't too heavy on my hair, and it doesn't have too strong of a smell, either.

Food:

Cracker Barrel

Oh, don't get excited... I don't "loooove" the CB now, but I DO love their grilled chicken fingers.

More restaurants should offer them! 

I especially love their Honey Mustard. 

....and their Coca-Cola cake....

(confession.)

McDonalds: CinnaMelts

*droooooooooling...............*

Okay, now I want to leave the computer abruptly, go get one of these babies, and slobber while eating it.

I'm really not kidding, I could eat this for every meal.

I. love. them.

WHY am I just now finding out how amazing they are?! 

WHERE HAVE I BEEN ALL MY LIFE?!

moving on....

Random:

DKNY: Be Delicious

Yummy! It's such a fun, fruity summer scent! I don't own it, but I spray it everytime I see it in a store.

I found it 25 dollars cheaper on Amazon, but I haven't placed my order yet!!

Special K: Fruit Crisps / Strawberry

Like pop tarts?

On a diet?

If you answered yes to both of these questions, call now....

1-800-IM-KIDDING

just run to the grocery & grab these.

because they're good.

and you can have 2 for 100 cals.

and you'll thank me.

and love me foreverrrr.

Lastly, my new favorite place to look at makeup sale racks.

and nail polish.

and travel size junk.

 I think I'm a makeup-nail polish hoarder who needs intense rehabilitation.

isn't the first step admitting??

Songs:

"i love you" - eli young band

"one summer gone" - ashton shepherd

"dear God" - avenged sevenfold

"apologies" grace potter & the nocturnals

"gone" - ashley monroe

Memories of the Month:

We saw Aunt Mary at the beach, and we had dinner with her.

I went on my first deep sea fishing trip, and I can't wait to go back.

Daddy I & went out on the boat for the first time together.

Natalie & I played more rounds of UNO than I could begin to count.

AND.... 

Matt and Hannah got engaged on the beach this past Friday!

:)

*none of these photos are mine, and i take no credit for any of them. 

just so y'all know...

I have not fallen off the face of the planet.. just the blogging world.

I plan on enlightening you all on the trip to Honduras, but I can't guarentee when that will be! Tomorrow I have to pack again to leave for the beach on Sunday, and I've been trying to finish up online class stuff before leaving.

I decided to do a little blogging tonight because I have missed it severely, and I hope to be cramming in some more giveaway's on my Photography Blog as soon as I can.

I updated my Blog playlist, and I was going to give you some insight as to why...

I try to let music speak my mood for me, and most of the time it portrays it pretty spot on. Lately, I have had an array of mixed emotions from the last trip I got home from, the things that happened before I left involving something that's been a pretty major part of my life for quite sometime, PTSD from being home from Honduras (as well as being happy about it), and so on! Life has just been a winding road for the last month, and music has been the only way to explain it. Some things grip me towards reality, and others take me back to a video in my mind of the past.

"Sweetest Goodbye" - Maroon 5

Does the title not say enough?

"..and if it never ends,
 then when do we start?
I'll never leave you behind
Or treat you unkind
I know you understand
And with a tear in my eye
Give me the sweetest goodbye
That I ever did receive."

"Orphans of God" - Avalon

This song is the epitome of a soundtrack to the Honduras trip. 

I found myself humming it in the back of my mind so many times,

and I especially did once we got back.

"..Come ye unwanted and find affection
Come all ye weary, come and lay down your head
Come ye unworthy, you are my brother
If such a thing as grace exists
Then grace was made for lives like this."






"Apologies" - Grace Potter

"..my love is like a blanket

That gets a little too warm sometimes

I wanna wrap somebody in it

Who can hold me in his arms

Cause when it got a little too hot in there

He was always stepping out for air and he froze

Oh, he froze;

He said it's crazy how love stays with me

You know it hurts me 'cause I don't wanna fight this war

It's amazing to see me readin through this scene

of love, and fear, and apologies."

"Fireflies" - Ron Pope

For some reason this song takes me back. Back to high school, back to almost summer nights when things were perfect, but for some reason I didn't realize it at the time. It allows me to reminisce into that time and remember how I thought that things were tough then... 

"..when the streetlights come on and the fireflies flicker,
I am walking her home making plans.
With her shoes in her hands, I am watching her dance,
As the hem of her dress gently kisses the grass.
It suddenly rains on us,
She is laughing and turns up her hands.
Like autumn turns leaves, winter will breathe, 
cold on her necks, snow in our paths.
Wherever she goes, all that I know about us is that 
beautiful things never last,
That's why fireflies flash."


"Ache" - James Carrington


This song just puts my emotions into chords. Most of the time I want to scream this from the highest mountain I can climb. 


.."i'm sorry, but I meant to say 
many things along the way; 
this one's for you - 
have I told you I ache for you?"




Now you know the reason behind my strange music. I don't ask you to like it, agree with it, or try to analyze whatever situation you may want to put it with - but I do ask you to appreciate it because just because it isn't your genre of music doesn't mean it's a bad genre. I'd also encourage you to pay more attention to the lyrics of songs you do listen to, to the style you like, and the sound as well. Expand. Explore. I promise, you may think you waste your time, but it's one of the better ways to spend three or four minutes of your life - AND you may find something new out about the kind of music you like.


That is all of the wisdom I have for today.


Adios, Amigos!

everything we see is beautiful.. like you.

Beautiful Like You - Lee Dewyze

Everybody wants to
look into the mirror
feel little better now
And everybody wants to
know there's someone out there
waiting for you to come around

And I wish that
You could feel it
But you don't choose
To believe it
Cause I know that
You can't see it that way
That way

If you could only just stop stop stop running
If you could only take a second to breath it in
Everything that you know would be beautiful
Like you
You know they're never gonna stop stop stop your love
Let's pretend that the world is waking up
Everything that we see is beautiful
Like you

Everybody wants to
Tell someone their secrets
Why don't you tell me now

new tunes!

SO! 

I got tired of listening to the same ole' songs every time I got on my blog site, so I did us all a favor & changed it up. 

Some are old, some are new. 

Some you've probably heard, some you may not have heard. 

Glorious Day - Casting Crowns

Sing for Me - Yellowcard

Two Sparrows in a Hurricane - Tanya Tucker

Vicious Circles - Aaron Lewis

a little variety? Yes. Sure. Why not?!

...and this concludes my pointless yet informative blog entry for today! 

I'm off to shower numero two for the weekend, and after that - a Honduras meeting. 

Have a pleasant Sunday!

ps - 12daysofclassleftandicannotwait.

What have I enjoyed today? / Pioneer Woman Mention...

Thanks for asking!

Reasons that I've enjoyed today:

Today has been beautiful.

Come to think of it, the weather over the last few weeks has been beautiful.
I love weather, though.

I don't know many people who absolutely LOVE rain. Granted, I don't like the bottoms of my jeans to be soaking wet, and I'd prefer not to have to walk to class it in, but a good Sunday or Saturday rain? You can't beat it. Rain at night is also an instant lullaby for me.

The snow was so innocent & white, too. I hate ruining it by the touch of the soles of my shoes, or by the marks of a four wheeler tire, but it is irresistible. I love the crisp air, and the site of the snow falling all around me. I love how the snow seems to bring out ones inner child, especially around these parts. When it snows, you're whatever age you want to be. I love how it confines us to one area, and even when most people feel trapped while being confined - I temporarily enjoy it. Cabin fever will set in eventually, but around the time it does - the snow melts anyway.

I also love days like today. The days that make you wish the sun was never made to go down, and the wind was never meant to cease its breeze. I love these days when you can't imagine bad weather: snow, sleet, ice, hail, ran, tornados, thunder, lightening - because it all seems impossible that blue skies could fill with such darkness. I love days like to today because they're encouraging enough to remind me that a new time is near. This is only a season in this year.

Music adds instruments to my life story.

Seriously, it seems like no mattter WHAT is going on in a second of my life, there is a song about it.
The main ones singing about my life right now are Mumford & Sons. I loved their popular song, but once I heard them on the Grammy's, I decided that I ultimately loved their actual voice, and their instrumental diversity compared to many other recording artists. Yes, they may seem like a typical Alternative band, and I guess in some ways they are, but they don't fall into the same category to me as some artists do (Ex: Goo Goo Dolls, The Fray). Granted, this is solely my opinion, but they stand out. Some may say it's because they're just plain weird, but me? I say it's because they're different in an amazing way. It may be their English accents, but I read in an article about them that they "are making music that matters without taking themselves too seriously." (SN: If you're curious about what song I am LOVING right now, it's called "White Blank Page", and I more than likely have/will add it to my music queue at the bottom of my blog, so search & play it.)

Valentines Day is 364 days away.

I despise V-Day, and so thinking that it's that far away from now is comforting to me for some reason, and that's good for today to be a GREAT day.


UPDATE:

for all of you who know about The Pioneer Woman (and for those who don't, check her out! Amazing photographer, cook, and woman in general!) I thought I would share with you...

She hosts Pioneer Woman Photography Assignments randomly throughout the course of the year, and she always has a different theme. I got interested in them about a year ago, and I started entering soon after that. This week's topic was on "Love", and I entered this photo:

taken at Tyson & Brandi Smith's wedding, October 2010.

It just so happened to be mentioned today, and I am awestruck, thankful, and shocked! She is phenomenal, and to have a photo of mine catch her eye means the WORLD to me. I am so grateful, and I [not so secretly] wish I could hug her neck for that! 

If you want to see the entire group (AND I encourage you to check out the rest) Here is the link.