Finish This...

I've seen this link up on quite a few blogs recently but I always forget about it until it's too late.  I finally remembered in time to participate this week!

My favorite makeup item is ..
Mascara!  I look so tired without it.  But that's boring, so I'll share with you my other "can't live without" product, Benefit Erase Paste.  It covers under eye darkness like nothing else I've ever tried!

Benefit Erase Paste

The best book I've ever read was ____ because …
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George.
Don't judge me, it's been my favorite book since I was a kid and every time I read it, it's just as good as the 1st time.  I love getting lost in Sam's adventures.

My Side of the Mountain

My favorite TV show is …
Nothing is really coming to me on this one.  We don't watch a whole lot of television.  Do NHL playoffs count because I just can't get enough of them right now! {GO PENS!}

The most spontaneous thing I’ve ever done is …
Of significance?  Married my husband.  We never got engaged, we jump straight from dating to marriage and it was the perfect decision for us.

I prefer DOGS/CATS because …
DOGS!  Because I'm allergic to cats.  And this guy, this guy made me a dog lover for life!

Buster

I met my significant other …
Through a mutual friend On Facebook, through a mutual friend, thanks to this gorgeous photo.  Almost 9 years ago! 

Carissa's Bridal Party Scavenger Hunt

In between the bridal shower and the bachelor/bachelorette party, we had a bridal party scavenger hunt.  I will admit I was pretty skeptical about how this was going to go down but the best man's wife did a phenomenal job putting it together.  There were 5 categories and we had to complete, at minimum, 5 tasks from each category.  We split into guys vs. girls and did things like:

Spell "love" with your bodies

Get a stranger's autograph and pretend they're a celebrity.

Take a photo of a stranger walking a dog (totally staged at Walmart).

Take a photo with the brides new initials (laying on the floor at Walmart should have earned us bonus points)

Have a pretend BBQ in the lawn & garden section of a store. 

Work out pose.

Stand with a mannequin in a show room or store front (we got bonus points for wearing the same outfit as the mannequin) 

Take a photo with the Bride's parents (her dad was napping so we all piled into bed)

I didn't see the official scores but apparently the guys won.  I call BS because the unofficial score had us winning by over 100 points, but we all had fun and that was the point!

Less than 2 weeks until the big day!

Carissa's Bachelorette Party

In addition to the bridal shower last weekend, we also celebrated Rob and Carissa's upcoming wedding with a joint bachelor/bachelorette party while I was home.  There is a local night club near my friend's house that has 80's night one night a week and who are we to turn down a good excuse to dress like teenagers we did as kids.

I love that we unintentionally dressed inversely of each other.

I cannot wait for these two to become husband and wife.  Only a couple of weeks!

Buster

Today was one of the hardest days of my life.  I knew it was coming but it didn't make it any easier.  We said goodbye to Buster today.  Jason took him to the vet yesterday where they drew some blood.  The Vet called today to tell us that his asdlkfhaskjd ga sdlkfhasdk;fh levels, or something like that, were elevated 6 times what they should be causing some fluid to be released into his stomach, likely causing him intense pain.  Once she told us, I knew there was nothing to discuss, our decision was "easy".  I had prayed and prayed that he would go peacefully in his sleep but that just wasn't going to be the case.  Thankfully my husband is amazing and handled everything with strength and grace that I just couldn't muster.  We cuddled in bed, fed him a delicious bacon and egg breakfast, took a last "walk" and some photos, he took a nap, then I said goodbye and Jason handled the rest.

When my grandparents passed away and we agreed to keep him, he was very unhealthy and over weight, we thought we'd have him for a year, tops.  Next month would have been 5 years, 4 years more than we ever dreamed we'd have with him.  We did so much in that time and it honestly makes it a little easier knowing that he had such an incredible life.

I love this guy and our home will never be the same without him but I know he lived a good life and I pray he's been reunited with his 1st parents, my grandparents.

Stitch Fix #3

Last week, the morning before I left for my trip back to Cincinnati, I received an email alerting me that my Stitch Fix had been delivered.  I wasn't expecting it until the following day when I'd be on the other side of America, and I didn't have time to stop home after work so I did the only logical thing, I ran home on my lunch break.  Because I couldn't possibly wait until I returned home from my trip, that would be absurd.  I didn't even get my door unlocked before I had the box open.  When I saw that they had found my beloved jeans, I practically shimmied out of my skirt right there on our porch.

If you live under a rock have no idea what I'm talking about, here's the gist:

1. Go to StitchFix.com and create your style profile by answering some questions about your wardrobe preferences. 

2. Schedule a fix!  This can be as frequent (or infrequent) as you would like,  I get mine once a month.

3. Your fix arrives and you try everything on in the comfort of your own home with clothes you already have in your closet.

4. You are charged $20 styling fee for each fix, however, if you keep anything from your box, that $20 is automatically applied to your purchase.

5. You have 3 days to mail anything you don’t want back to Stitch Fix in a pre-paid shipping envelope. If you keep all 5 items from your fix, you get a 25% discount.

This is what my fix included this month (I apologize in advance for the crappy photos in my messy bedroom, I literally had like 5 minutes to try everything on and get my butt back to work.  I promise to give my fix proper attention next month and take some decent photos):

Item #1:  Under Skies, Breena Floral Print Sleeveless Blouse {Adorable, fit great, and it's outside my comfort zone/something I would never have picked out at the store, exactly what I look for in my box each month.  KEEP}

Item #2: Just Black, Adora Skinny Jean  {I had these in my 1st fix, fell in love with them, kept them, and then they were stolen after I'd only worn them once!  I was so bummed.  I literally squealed with delight when I saw them again in this fix!  This company is great at listening to your feedback and they truly try to give you exactly what you ask for.  I've been more than blown away by the customer service at Stitch Fix!   KEEP}

Item #3: Le Sample, Kahlo Embroidered Racerback Tank {Meh.  It fit great, had an interesting shape/cut (it's hard to tell in this photo but it's longer on the sides and shorter in the front/back), and was super comfy but I really didn't like the color combo...see the close up photo below.  RETURN}

I'm sorry, I just can't get behind the olive/neon combo.  If the stripes were black or grey, I might have kept it.

Item #4:  41Hawthorn, Harriet Aztec Print Fit and Flare Dress  {When I saw this in the box, I thought it was going to be a keep but the fit was just ok.  It's cute but nothing special.  RETURN}

Item #5:  Zad, Andover Enamel Floral Bib Necklace {I'm not a fan of pastel's or flower shaped jewelry so this was a no brainer for me. RETURN}

Like I said above.  I have been blown away by this company.  They read my blog posts (HI!) and appropriately stalk the Pinterest page I linked in my profile where I pin all the clothes I'd like to have in my closet to gather intel about me and my style and I can see the results in each fix.  If you haven't joined this rapidly growing company, I highly recommend you do so (and I'd appreciate it if you use the link I provided in this post so I will earn a referral credit!),