by Joey | Nov 16, 2014 | Throwback
Hi friends.
I had a post all set for today, drafted and scheduled and so on. But you know what? The whole point of this entire link up is to 1) show yourself some love and 2) to keep things real (and that it’s okay to keep things real).
And so instead today you get a candid view of real life. Because sometimes real life isn’t pretty. And I honestly just didn’t feel like letting the post I had go live because it felt phony after this weekend.
The last 48 hours have been hard. Exhausting. Stressful. Alarming. Frightening. And relieving. And as Saturday came to a close, I found myself sitting at my mom’s kitchen table trying to decide if I was making the right decision by going home to meet my (traveling) husband or if I should stay behind to keep an eye on my parents. I was tired. No. Exhausted. I was seriously debating whether I was awake enough to safely make the hour drive home. I told myself I was, but promised myself a trip through the Starbucks drive thru.
That took longer than it should have.
But after the day we’d all been through, waiting a few extra minutes in the drive thru really didn’t seem like that big of a deal.
And as I sat there, waiting, I turned the radio up.
Because why the hell not.
I laid in bed that night and thought about the day
And how my life is like a roller coaster ride.
The ups and downs and crazy turns along the way.
It’ll throw you off if you don’t hold on tight.
You can’t really smile until you’ve shed some tears.
I could die today or I might live on for years
I love this crazy tragic
sometimes almost magic
Awful
Beautiful life.
And it just hit me.
We’re no strangers to the twists and turns and the tears. But we’re also so familiar with laughter and joy and love. And while we can’t ever be prepared for the things that knock us on our asses, we have to remember that every valley is surrounded by peaks. And while the day, no-week, no–year, has been unbearably difficult in so many ways, I suddenly just felt loved and grateful as I sat in that Starbucks drive thru with the cheerful cashier at 9:30 on a Saturday night.
(for the sake of real-ness…this selfie was taken several days ago)
*****
Oh!
Because I know you guys are dying to know how it all turned out…
My parents’ tree is up AND STILL STANDING.
So I’m calling this weekend a win.
And yes…I know the star is crooked.
But I ain’t touchin’ it!
document.write(”);
by Joey | Nov 14, 2014 | Throwback
Polishes Used:
Orly Saturated
Sally Hansen Golden Eye
Happy Friday, friends! I hope you all have a lovely weekend. As you’re reading this I’m in Raleigh tackling the infamous tree. Here’s hoping for better luck this time, huh?
by Joey | Nov 13, 2014 | Throwback
>> Since I’m forever on the hunt for the perfect lip balm, I switched things up the last few weeks. We’ve entered the time of year when my lips just hurt constantly. Taking my own advice from this video, I had an idea. I started applying regular vaseline at night just before bed and again in the morning. My lips feel so much better overall! Give it a try!
>> Taylor Swift. Wildest Dreams. On repeat. I can’t even help it.
>> I accidentally hashtagged an instagram picture as “adult” the other day. I was doing it ironically because it was a picture of hot chocolate with an abundance of marshmallows. Because clearly…I’m an adult. Um. Luckily we can edit instagram photos now and I could remove the hashtag because holy penises.
>> I’ve been eating a really weird “dessert” lately. It’s mostly because I ran out of candy and haven’t baked in a few weeks. So this is sort of my when all else fails treat. Take a tortilla. Put it in the oven at 350 for about 8 minutes (until it puffs up). Spread nutella on it. You’re welcome.
>> I promise, if you’ll take just a few minutes to watch this video you won’t regret it. These are the two youtubers I mentioned a few weeks ago. They happened to hear this song on a pandora christmas station and couldn’t believe it was real! So naturally, they made a hilarious music video for it.
>> According to my fitbit, I needed more steps yesterday to make my goal. (Confession, I’ve been slacking lately. Whatever). My remedy for this? I walked over to the little market on campus for an ice cream candy bar. Makes total sense, right?
nails are WnW Megalast Fall Limited Edition in So Berry on Trend
Alright friends! It’s your turn!
document.write(”);
by Joey | Nov 12, 2014 | Throwback
Hi friends!
Gather round.
Grab a mug of hot chocolate.
It’s story time with Joey.
Sunday morning, I grabbed the dog and drove the hour to Raleigh. My parents have had a lot going on lately, so I thought I’d do something nice and put up their Christmas tree. I realize some of you may be cringing–a tree up before Thanksgiving, but I had a free day and I really didn’t want my mom taking on that challenge by herself.
So on went the Nsync Holiday Pandora Station (duh), and I set off dragging all the boxes out of hiding and lugged the tree in a bag up from the basement.
It’s a good thing I was skipping my workout that day.
After overcoming the first challenge (my mom’s artificial tree, which is the same as my artificial tree was missing its feet). I rigged up the regular tree base that they’ve been using for years and went along my merry way.
Until I hit lights. I hate the lights. I think that’s a pretty universal thing, so I was armed and ready to just plow through and get it over with as quickly as possible. Keep in mind, we have the same tree. I typically use 5 maybe 6 strands of lights. My dad wanted 10. 10!
So on went the 10 strands of lights. I feel like now is a good time to tell you… they set up a village underneath their tree–so the 8 foot tree sits on top of a 2 ft table. So picture me, if you will, atop a ladder (I know, Princess Accident Prone). It was quite a challenge. But I was pleased with myself! The tree was lit and no one died!
So I sat for a moment, thinking I’d earned a break. As my mom and I sat and chatted, enjoying the glow of the tree–the whole freaking thing went out. Dammit.
I must have blown a fuse.
So I trudged down into the basement, waaaaaaay back into darkest corner and held my breath while I opened the accordion door that I was sure housed a family of spiders and searched the breaker box.
Nothing.
Dammit.
So then it was just me and dark tree. I unplugged and replugged and reworked plugs. Finally, the tree was lit. But somehow I ended up with one random female end (please tell me I’m not the only one who refers to christmas lights as female and male. You know…you have to connect the ends together? You can’t end up with lesbian lights–that works for no one). After searching the tree high and low, I decided to just leave it. Whatever. The end result was that the tree was lit. Good enough for me.
I ran into a few problems with the star. But after a little encouragement, that sucker was in place.
On to decorations. Thinking like the adult that I am–I decided to decorate the top of the tree first. My sister and my niece were coming over later in the afternoon to help decorate. So I figured at least if I had to leave–no one else would have to climb on the ladder. See what a good daughter I am?
Thinking even more responsibly, I selected the most precious read: most breakable ornaments. With kids and cats, best to keep those up high where no one else can reach them.
I tell you all of this for one reason.
Dramatic effect, people.
You need to know all I went through with the damn tree.
It’s important. I promise.
So there I was, placing precious ornament after precious ornament, when I took a step back to admire my work thus far.
Well.
You see.
The tree was just a little bit crooked.
That just wouldn’t do.
So I adjusted it.
This picture is blurry because the tree was falling.
That’s my aunt, jumping into action to catch the tree.
The one in the blue?
Yeah.
That’s me.
When my mom was done snapping photos (I love that her initial reaction was to grab her phone instead of jumping in to help us), she joined us.
I did my best to right it. My aunt was losing her grip. My mom sat next to me, panicking that the base of the tree was going to fall off the little table.
We just need to scooch this over a little bit, she said.
Those are the words that did us in.
It’s going down.
I’m yelling timber.
In case you’re wondering how this saga ends…
Off with the star.
Off with the ornaments (which surprisingly, DIDN’T BREAK).
Off with the 10! strands of lights.
Off with the branches.
On to round two…
Yeah.
I needed wine when it was all said and done.
NEW VIDEO HERE!
by Joey | Nov 10, 2014 | Throwback
I can’t believe it, but Christmas is JUST around the corner! Since my husband has spoiled me over the last year with an iPad and a new computer, I don’t have any big ticket items on my wish list this year.
That can sometimes prove harder to shop for. So if you are in need of some gift ideas for a lady in your life, but you don’t want to break the bank, here are some great (in my humble opinion) options on a budget!
Plum Paper Planner (www.plumpaper.com). And if you were me, you’d want it in
this perfectly girly teal and coral cover with the first weekly layout option (morning, afternoon, evening), starting in January 2015!
Nail Polish. Specifically the Revlon Parfumerie in Autumn Spice (drugstore, Walmart, Target). Because all girls like nail polish. Duh. (Or do they?)
Starbucks Gift Cards (www.starbucks.com). I don’t think any girl would have a problem finding one of these in their stocking.
Fitbit Flex Accessory Bands (www.fitbit.com). If the women in your life are anything like me, they enjoy keeping up with their fitness. And they’ve probably already spoiled themselves with a Flex, so extra bands (especially in this perfectly girly 3 pack) are always a great gift! They can change them out with their outfits OR they can wear one for their exercise and the other for general wear. I have normal sized wrists (I think) so to judge, I wear the small bands. You can also skip the 3 pack, and just pick any fun color for an extra band! I personally like the
hot pink!
Bare Minerals Greatest Performers Gift Set. Bare Minerals is a brand you just can’t go wrong with. These set is an incredible value with a wide range of fun products for the lady in your life! I’ve heard amazing things about their ready shadows though I haven’t personally tried them myself yet.
Onesie (Target). If the lady in in your life is anything like me…they wouldn’t turn their nose up at an adorable, ridiculous, yet totally snuggy onesie. Much to my husband’s displeasure, I’m sure, one of these babies would totally get worn out around these parts.
