Life Lately

We had a very uneventful weekend. Just lots of movies and eating, so instead of giving you a play by play of my weekend, I thought I'd tell you what is going on in my life lately.

First, here are all the movies we've watched this week.

Killer Joe - terrible movie..I absolutely hated it

Beasts of the Southern Wild- Even worse than Killer Joe...awful

Les Miserables - I'm not a super big fan of full on musicals where every single word is sung, but overall, I really liked it a lot!

Jack Reacher - loved it! Great movie!

The Hobbit - super long, but a good movie!
Arbitrage - so-so...I liked it okay.

And here are a few things that have been happening lately.

It's finally cold here! I love getting to pull out my sweaters now! (I'd gotten to wear them a few times, but it kept warming back up after a few days.)

I bought some Christmas fabric on sale for cheap and hope to use it to make the ruffle tree skirt I'm sure you've seen on other blogs and on Pinterest. 

 

Rodney and I didn't buy a gift for each other to unwrap this year for Christmas. His gift from me (and I guess to myself kinda) is a trip to Utah. We're going to the Sundance Film Festival and are going to ski a couple of days while we're there. I've only snow skied once and Rodney never has, so we're a little nervous. He has been like a little kid picking out the movies we're going to watch while we're there. He's so excited and has always talked about wanting to go, so I can't wait for the fun we're going to have!

Our neighbors that back up to our backyard are going through a foreclosure right now. I think they have gone the "destroy" route while they're heading out the door because there are boards in the windows, the yard is torn to pieces, and many many other things. I heard a loud noise from the back yard recently, and I looked to see them cutting through the wrought iron fence that we share. I don't know if he was taking it to sell for scrap metal or what, but we no longer have a fully enclosed fence. Needless to say, I'm not too happy about the way it was handled. Oh well..nothing we can do now. 

How's that for a random assortment of information?  :)

Hope you all have a safe and happy New Year's Eve!

Christmas Recap & Photo Dump

We're finally back home from the Christmas family fun. These last few days of the year after Christmas are always a let down to me. 

The house is always so cheerful from all the pretty Christmas decor, and once I take it down, it seems like there's something missing. 

We went to starbucks this morning, and I got a plain white cup. How boring! I still want to drink out of a pretty red holiday cup! 

We've had so much time visiting with friends and family, and now Rodney and I don't know what to do with all this free time just sitting around. 

We've eaten such delicious food all week, and now we're stuck with my plain ole cooking. 

Does anyone else have these thoughts? Oh well...something to look forward to come next Christmas! :)

I got a ton of clothes, shoes, jewelry etc. I'm really excited to try out the shellac at home manicure set I got. Also, we got a Nikon DSLR camera. I'm kinda scared to use it because I'm still pretty intimidated at this point. But...something to look forward to on the blog is fewer grainy iphone pics!

I'm always so happy when spending time with family, and everyone knows I'm always happy when my belly is full. Those two together made for a very happy Christmas for our little family!

Sweetest Thing Ever

Hope you find this video as adorable as I do!

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

May you pause to remember the true reason for the season. :)

Weekend Update -- Christmas Edition

We're home for the holidays and so excited to be spending time with family! Here's a recap of our weekend.

Friday -- Rodney was off all day, and I took a half day (hallelujah for no work until the new year!). We went to watch The Hobbit, and we both really enjoyed it. My favorite part of those movies is definitely the scenery. My goodness at how beautiful everything is! After the movie, we watched Magic Mike at the house. I know there was a ton of girls ooohing and ahhing over the movie, but I honestly thought it was pretty bad. The story line was weak and there was no resolution. I'm glad it was a Netflix and not one we bought.

Saturday -- We laid around the house all morning putting off our packing. When we finally loaded up the car and came home, we immediately met Rodney's parents and drove another hour to eat dinner and watch another movie. (Our hometown is not near much of anything, so you have to drive to eat or to the movie theater.) We watched The Guilt Trip, and we thought it was cute. My mother in law was hee hawing the whole time because she said she could relate to the actions of the mother. The highlight of the movie was definitely my father in law falling asleep and snoring in the theater. Too funny!

Sunday -- We drove a few hours to see my dad's mother in Birmingham, AL. 

Me and Hannah ended up be unplanned twins on our bottom halves.

And we also made silly Step-Brothereque pictures to entertain ourselves.

Can you tell that Rodney was a little tired?

After visiting my grandma, we ate lunch at Jim & Nick's. Yummm.

And finished up our trip with a fast mall run to the Summit.

I am so excited to be spending some quality time with the family as we celebrate the birth of Christ!

Hope you and yours have a very merry Christmas!!

Holly Jolly Ornament Swap

I was so excited to participate in my first ornament swap and was partnered with a sweet girl right down the road from me. A fellow Rachel over at {simple.little.joys}. 

Let's just say when I opened her package, it put my ornament packaging to shame. I literally grabbed a bunch of extra bags I had laying around the house and stuffed them in the box for filler. So, I would like to apologize for my lack of creativity. (I guess that's typical for me though. ha!)

Look at this sweet note and cute gift wrap. Don't you just love getting mail like this?

(of course anything other than bills is a welcome piece of mail.)

How adorable is this ornament?

Thanks for co-hosting the ornament swap and for the precious ornament! I love it! It's definitely a great addition to our tree!

I'm trying to get motivated to get off the couch and pack to go home. Maybe after I finish my Starbucks? 

Hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend so far!

 

Ipsy December Makeup Bag & An Easy Pin

I have an easy pin for you today. I had this pinned for a while and have tried it several times. Each time I tried, my hair kept falling. The original author says that short hair works fine for the hairdo, but it wasn't working well for me. I finally was able to pull it off this past weekend. This literally took a couple of minutes to do and is a cute alternative to a ponytail.

via

Wow..putting those two pics together really makes my hair look bad. Ha! 

I forgot to take a picture until we got home, so this had been up for a while..and I obviously didn't do a fabulous job of hiding my bobby pin. And my hair was kinda falling. Oh well. Live and learn. 

The point is it's easy to do. You should try it! (and rest assured yours will look better than mine!)

And now for some beauty reviews...

I was going to sign up for the monthly and better known Birchbox, but they had a waiting list. I am definitely not a patient person, so I decided to sign up for Ipsy instead. Each month for $10, you get makeup products in a little makeup bag. The products are all full size which I think is awesome!

Here's what the December bag looked like.

 

1. Mirabella Primer for Face & Eyes $29

I just recently started using Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer Light, so I automatically compared the two products to each other. The Smashbox is a little more expensive at $36, but the Smashbox is better and worth the higher price in my opinion. I have naturally oily skin, and the "light" version of the Smashbox primer is more creamy and less greasy. Mirabella doesn't have a creamy light alternative, so I will definitely be sticking with the Smashbox brand. 

2. be a bombshell lip gloss in hot mess $14

 This stuff is really pretty and stays on for a long time! Per the directions, you can apply to the bottom lip only and rub your lips together for a less dramatic look, or you can apply to both top and bottom. The color is definitely out of my comfort zone, but I really like it. 

3. Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Zero $19

I really like this stuff a lot! It applied very easily and stayed on very well. In the pic below, it's only on my bottom lash line. I have a problem with my eyeliner on my upper lashes always wearing off onto my eyelid crease as the day wears on, so I didn't even try it on my upper line. I would definitely buy this!

4. NYX Ultra Pearl Mania Eyeshadow in Walnut Pearl $3

This stuff is like a loose powder consistency, and it was a little messy. When I opened the bottle, some automatically spilled out. I think this made it easier to apply though since I didn't have to dip my brush into the container. I had seen several reviews online where users purposely poured it out. I really liked it a lot and for $3 would definitely buy this!

 

5. MAI Couture highlighter papier $28

I was a little confused when I first saw this because I thought it was a greasy face blotter paper thing (like my technical term there?). It's actually paper with makeup on it. You just rub the sheet on certain areas of your face and it highlights with a beautiful peachy shimmer. I had to work a little bit to blend because it made me look borderline burned suntan face. After I fixed it, I thought it was really pretty. I don't know that I would pay $28 for it though.

Have you tried any of these products before? What did you think of them?

Linking up today with Steph & Katie today! Thanks for hosting ladies!

I Am a Literary Junkie

Our book club had our first twitter party last night, and it was seriously so much fun! I'm not used to having anyone to discuss my reads with. I usually try to explain them to my husband, and I'm pretty sure he just pretends to listen. So last night's party was a welcome change! :) 

Here are the linkup questions for the week. 

 1. What are you currently reading? Tell us about it.

Here's the synopsis from goodreads:

WICKED above her hipbone, GIRL across her heart
Words are like a road map to reporter Camille Preaker’s troubled past. Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, Camille’s first assignment from the second-rate daily paper where she works brings her reluctantly back to her hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls.

NASTY on her kneecap, BABYDOLL on her leg
Since she left town eight years ago, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed again in her family’s Victorian mansion, Camille is haunted by the childhood tragedy she has spent her whole life trying to cut from her memory.

HARMFUL on her wrist, WHORE on her ankle
As Camille works to uncover the truth about these violent crimes, she finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. Clues keep leading to dead ends, forcing Camille to unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past to get at the story. Dogged by her own demons, Camille will have to confront what happened to her years before if she wants to survive this homecoming.

With its taut, crafted writing, Sharp Objects is addictive, haunting, and unforgettable.

For those that don't know, this is the same author that wrote Gone Girl. This is the first book she wrote, and I think you can definitely tell it's her first book. The second and third are much better, but I would certainly still suggest reading this one as well. I actually just finished it yesterday, and it has some definite jaw dropping moments. Great book!

2. If you could choose any author in the world to write a story based on your life, who would you choose to be the author? Why?

Hmm...this is a really difficult question. Maybe Cecelia Ahern? She has a way of writing so eloquently even when it's not the easiest of topics. I obviously haven't lived the perfect life, so maybe she could use her eloquence to make the bad times not seem as bad.

3. Tell us about your favorite place to read.

Anyplace there's not a lot of movement! I'm easily distracted, so there can't be a lot going on while I'm reading. I do fine with noise, but when people start moving around the room, my eyes dart to wherever the movement is. If we could lock the doors at Starbucks and not allow anyone to come in the door, that would be perfection. The smell of coffee and a book. Love!

4. What books would you buy for lovers of

(A) suspense/mystery

Any Greg Iles book

or any Jo Nesbo book--love them both!!

(B) chicklit

Any Sophie Kinsella/Madeleine Wickham book

(she writes under both names--same author)

Her books require no thought whatsoever, but it's a nice break after you've read a super intense Nesbo or Iles book!

 (C) literary fiction

The Passage by Justin Cronin

(D) nonfiction

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

or The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls

(E) Comedy

Any Janet Evonovich - Stephanie Plum book
I always end up shaking my head at the hilariousness in each book!


Come see me tomorrow to hear my thoughts on my first Ipsy makeup bag!

Linking up with the lovely ladies with Literary Junkies & Shanna!

Weekend Update!

Friday

We celebrated a friend's birthday with sushi for dinner and watched Battleship after we came home from dinner. Battleship was pretty cheesy, but it was neat seeing people from the shows we have watched on television in a movie together. (True Blood's Alexander Skarsgard, Taylor Kitsch & Jesse Plemons both from Friday Night Lights..as well as Rihanna which was really weird. She should stick to singing.)

Saturday

After a day full of errands, we had a really fun night with great friends! First, we ate dinner at Aldo's Pizza and then watched Jersey Boys at the Orpheum. It was really good! Even the boys loved it!

 

Sunday

My mother & father in law come into town, and after church, we ate lunch with them. The rest of the afternoon was spent taking my MIL around shopping for Christmas presents. I lurrrve shopping! (especially when you're just shopping for gifts for someone else to give you!) :)

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend as well! 

 

Friday's Letters

Dear Friday, This is how I feel about you...

Dear Memphis drivers, Please learn how to drive without wrecking or stalling out. I'm tired of you making my already long commute to work even longer than it should be.

Dear Click Magazine,  I really appreciate you putting our picture in your magazine, but I thought if we wrote our names down like you asked, you would actually spell them correctly.

Dear husband, I know you're wise to my shopping ways, but running out of hangers again? Yeah..sorry about that.

Dear internet browser, You're seriously freaking me out. I don't want you to show me banners and ads for the things I just google searched. Plus, you're making it impossible to buy any surprise gifts if you're just going to display in picture format everything I just looked up. Not cool.

Dear Literary Junkie Book Clubbers, I'm so so super excited to be a part of a book club. I just wish we could actually meet in person, but hey...next best thing, right?