by Joey | Aug 18, 2015 | Throwback
This was my favorite ipsy bag yet! The nail polish is practically an exact dupe for that heavily swooned after
Julep Alexa polish I featured a few weeks ago. I didn’t need another polish in the same color so I happily gave it to a neighbor who had lusted after my Alexa manicure!
The eyeliner is the only thing that survived the Saturday downpour, so I guess it’s a keeper. A travel sized bottle of Batiste is like gold, hard to find and heavily coveted. So I was definitely totally pleased to find it in my bag.
Now, the lipgloss? I had “meh” feelings about it when I took it out of the box because how many merlot colored lip products does one girl need. But once I tried it out, I was in love. This is more like a liquid lipstick than a gloss. It’s full coverage, totally comfortable and long wearing.
Face of the day details:
Covergirl BB cream
Mary Kay mineral foundation
Rimmel concealer/highlighter in light
Rimmel Stay Matte powder
NYC Smooth Skin Bronzer in Sunny
Wet & Wild color icon blush in pearlescent pink
Urban Decay Naked 2 palette Booty call, suspect, YDK
Cover Girl Clump Crusher mascara
Hikari Lipgloss in merlot
Use
this code here to sign up for ipsy to skip the waitlist!
by Joey | Aug 17, 2015 | Throwback
Our twelve year anniversary is on Wednesday. We normally splurge and go out for a really nice dinner. I made reservations weeks ago at one of our favorite spots in Charlotte, Chima.
When I was leaving work on Friday, my boss mentioned that they were attending the Jim Gaffigan show Saturday night. J is a big fan, so I let the idea stew over night. Saturday morning, I threw it out there. Instead of spending the money on a fancy dinner, why don’t we go to the show? Moments before I bought the tickets, he asked me to double check the weather.
0% chance of rain.
Sold.
I had some work to do and errands to run on Saturday, so I took the opportunity to try to look less like a hobo with the whole “fashion journey” in mind. Now, this is a super simple, casual outfit, but I felt cute in it which I guess is what matters, right?
Nice view of the dumpsters, huh?
I’ll work on photo location eventually. Maybe.
Anyway, so we headed out for the show. We stopped for some quick appetizers, neither of us hungry enough for a real dinner. I found my beloved Red Oak on tap, so I was a happy girl. Once making it to the NC Music Factory, we ran into an old co-worker from our shared Capel days back in college. We weren’t there long before my bosses texted and we ran over to meet them for a quick drink. It had started to drizzle, but we could see the edge of the cloud.
It’ll pass quickly.
Famous last words.
We found a perfect little spot on the edge of the lawn and put down our blanket. As I sat down, J ran off to the bathroom. I’m not kidding you when I say the moment I saw him disappear into the crowd, the sky opened up. And there I sat, getting completely and utterly soaked all by my lonesome waiting for my husband to reappear.
It was raining so hard that I was afraid to open my purse for fear of ruining my phone. Finally, after 20 minutes of non-stop downpour, I braved it. 5 missed calls. Homeboy had sought refuge at the concession stand and was bone dry!
Let’s just say this, I was so wet that when I ran to the bathroom, I had a hell of a time pulling my shorts up. I felt like Ross in his leather pants!
Eventually, the rain let up and the show went on. I was completely soaked but drunk enough not to care. The show was great, and I was pleased that he was relatively clean. Not much (if any) cursing at all, and just good old fashioned funny without touching on terribly crude subjects. I’d definitely go again!
Note to self: wear waterproof mascara to outdoor events in the future.
I ended the night looking like one hot, wet mess! It was definitely a night to remember!
Oh, and those cute chucks I was wearing? I literally poured water out of them when we got home. They’re out on our balcony drying. I hope.
Happy last week of summer hours!
by Joey | Aug 14, 2015 | Throwback
I swear to you, if you could hug a day? I would hug Friday. This Friday in particular. This week was one that I’ll file away in the made my marriage stronger category. There’s nothing more rewarding (in my opinion) than coming out on the other side of life crap standing strong with your partner. Sometimes I can’t believe we had it right all the way back at 17.
Anyway. This week’s manicure was a tough one to capture but beautiful none the less. I have been obsessing over holographic nail polish for the last several years. It’s tough to do a holographic polish right. While this one was a little bit of a let down in that department (it didn’t give off the full holographic effect that say, the born pretty store polish or the color club polish did) the color itself is absolutely gorgeous! This one, I’d say, is more holographic in the sense that it has holographic micro-glitters that catch the sunlight. Either way, I got a ton of compliments on this one this week!
Julep: Mari
In other, not nail polish related news, I’ve been using my Emily Ley planner religiously. I had a few opinions about it right off the bat. And if I’m 100% honest, despite wanting to love it, I hated it at first. I loved the cover and the idea of it, but I was so let down by the quality of paper that I didn’t write in it until August first because I thought I might try to sell it.
Well. Having used it for half the month, I’ve changed my mind. Though the paper is quite thin, it doesn’t bleed through or leave a messy canvas for the next day. I’ve been using regular ball point pens as well as the Staedtler triplus fineliner pens.
I also had a bit of resentment that the dinner section was so big. Who needs that much space to write down what you’re planning for dinner? But as the weeks have gone on, I’ve been using it as a dinner section, sure, but also as a recap of what my night consisted of. It’s been a nice way to “journal” a bit as well as keeping track of intentionally relaxing vs. working myself into the ground.
I hope you all have a lovely day! Ours started with a 4:30 alarm blast, the new normal for the husband, so I’m sure it’ll be a coffee IV kind of day!
by Joey | Aug 13, 2015 | Throwback
So I got a text early Saturday morning from my neighbor. Why is a Crime Scene Investigator here? Being nosey that I am, I ran over to our main window to have a peek.
Yup. Something was going on all right. We poked around, trying to find out what the deal was. All we got was that a few cars had been broken into. Interesting, we thought, considering there wasn’t a spot of glass throughout the parking lot. No alarms had been going off. And that’s an awful lot of police for a few break-ins where “nothing major” was taken. Hmm.
Later that afternoon, we saw the cops talking to some guys that we know, and checking out their car. Obviously, we asked them what was going on. And apparently we’d gotten the half truth. There have been a series of break-ins. However, there was an actual grand theft auto that took place!! One of our neighbors had their car stolen out of our gated community. What in the actual heck? Sure made for an exciting Saturday.
++ I’ve been trying to fit in some fitness. That’s been easier said than done lately. Life, man. It’s not always possible to go out for a run. My outdoor running partner has been down (remember, her
leg injury?) and sometimes it’s just too late to go to the gym (probably not actually, but roll with it). I’ve been trying to sneak in a few minutes of jump rope on our balcony when I can. Dude, don’t let your childhood memories fool you. That’s some serious business right there! 15 minutes burns 170 calories. An excellent way to pop in some quick cardio!
Anyway. This week has been something else. And I’d be lying to you if I didn’t admit that I am so anxiously awaiting cuddling in bed with a book on Friday night. With that said, I have a little treat for you to brighten your week.
Okay. The end, you guys.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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by Joey | Aug 12, 2015 | Throwback
I’m good at making messes. Not actual, literal messes, though I am good with those too. I mean the life messes. I don’t know how they happen. I don’t think I’m an irresponsible person. But for some reason, I often find myself in the throws of a mess.
I can’t be sure if it’s me, exactly, or if life just picks us for the messes because we can handle them. I know people often say that we are only given the load we can bear. But I can’t help but wonder why our load seems heavier than most.
And for a long time, I let myself wallow in that fact. When something happens enough times, you start to let it define you. You stop trying to be anything else because why bother, right? It’s exhausting and deflating.
I think I’ve just come to the point where I’ve accepted our mess for what it is. And all we can really do is work our asses off and be nice to people. Nothing good ever comes for free. And it definitely doesn’t ever come easy.
I’ve always been a fighter. I don’t let life happen to me. I push back. I try to redefine things. Fix things. But the one real truth is, I’ve never had to do it alone.
I may not have some glittery career. I may not own a house or take fancy vacations every year. But when everything gets stripped away, what really matters in the end is who is standing next to you.
As a person who has suffered through a long-term lopsided friendship, it’s startling to me when friends step in and save the day, the week, the month, the year. Because I’m not used to it. I’m not used to people being the same kind of friend to me as I would be to them. I accepted it as fact, the constant imbalance.
Yesterday was a mess. And in the end, it was a friend who jumped in without even being asked and cleaned up what I couldn’t.
I know one thing for sure. I’ll take the mess any day as long as I’m standing in it with these people.
