Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Staunton Abbey

One of our good, good friends stepped into the exciting and unknown last week.

Something he has been excited to do for a long time.

And finally all the pieces fell into place.

Friends, I introduce you to:

A gourmet wine, cheese and chocolate (yes, I said CHOCOLATE) shop located in Staunton, Virginia.

If you are headed that way and/or will be passing through, you should go!

We drove up for the pre-opening party and were so glad.
I ate the chocolate in the car on the drive home.
For real.

Go getcha some.  You will not be sad.

Billy, we are so proud and excited for you!

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Top 5 Favorite Beauty Products

Today, because I just came home from running errands with my mom,
one of which included picking up some more makeup remover...

Because it was Free Gift Day at the Clinique counter and I was awarded a new cosmetic bag with lots of free goodies...

Because this inevitably led to the cleaning out of my old cosmetic bag, paring it down to the essentials and the meticulous cleaning off all of my little pots and tubes with all-purpose cleaner and paper towels because I am seriously OCD...

And finally, because i just cleaned my makeup brushes for the first time ever
(I know, right?)...

I bring you, the five people who care to read my blog, my five favorite beauty products.
These are the ones I continue to use over time and don't discard or switch brands on every so often.
These are my staples.
This stuff is the bomb.  I use it at least once a day and sometimes more than that if I have had an unfortunate incident of mascara run.  It is gentle and does not affect my contact lenses at all.
I am the lipstick queen.  Seriously.  Ask any of my college friends and they will give it to you straight.  I loved lipstick before it was cool to love lipstick.  I loved it even when all the magazines and beauty people were telling you that "lipgloss is so much better."  I never believed that lie.  And this is good stuff. I used to use this stuff in high school.  And then I discovered it again in college.  And recently I have rediscovered it for the third time in my life and have pledged to never turn away from it again.  It outlasts an entire day of ninth grade, approximately 12 cups of coffee, a workout, and sometimes even a full night's sleep.
For most of my life I have been an OPI girl, but I have recently started loving Essie.  Though I believe OPI has better darker red colors, Essie is great for neutrals and pastels.  I am recently loving "Nice is Nice," a nice lilac color.  I have gotten tons of compliments on it (Yes, mostly from high school girls, but they should know, right?).
I have been using this stuff for years.  I have really sensitive skin and this foundation does a great job.  It is very natural looking, feels great, has SPF in it, and is actually good for your skin (or so I have read?).  I love, love, love it. 
I actually bought this to put on my hand after a pretty bad kitchen burn but started putting it on my face after washing it.  It says it fights against fine lines and wrinkles (I can't believe I am actually old enough to think about preventing fine lines and wrinkles, but that is another blog post all together...).  It smells so good and is also really good for your cuticles and it last FOREVER because a drop is seriously all you need.

And there you have it.

This has actually led to thinking about my other "Top 5" things.
Top 5 Favorite Books
Top 5 Favorite Places in Town
Top 5 Things to Have in Your Desk when you Teach Ninth Grade
Maybe some other blog posts in the making...

What are your favorite products?


Saturday, August 6, 2011

July


So we've been a little MIA in the blogosphere... Sorry about that.
We've been a little busy with a lot of family and wedding and goodbyes and celebrations and, you know, living life to the brim!

At the very beginning of July, we had yet another family wedding.  Congrats to Andy and Jessica!

We've been camping and swimming and eating a lot of s'mores.

And we took a vacation!
We spent a whole week in D.C. sightseeing, catching up with Aunt Suzanne, visiting the National Zoo, grabbing a few precious minutes with Jan and Lucy and baby Joel, and hanging out with Dave and Katie.


And we made a little stop by the Grotto, where Patrick proposed to me on my birthday 5 years ago!

And finally, we were sad to say goodbye to the Australians.  We really enjoyed getting to spend so much time over the summer with them.  We are already saying, "Have they really already come and gone?"  We looked forward to their coming for so many months, it's hard to believe they have already gone.  
We miss you guys!! And love you lots!  
 

Is it really August already???