-
Let’s buy a car!
Last week dad received a job offer in the Raleigh area. WOO HOOO! The plan was for him to start training on Monday, in Richmond. The only problem with this is they only had one car and mom had to work today. Since dad was going to be out of town I offered to let mom use my car but I also offered to help her find a new one. They had decided that dad would keep their current car which is paid for and mom would get something new. After some convincing, I finally talked mom into a lease. More car, less payment.
We chatted a little over the weekend and I couldn’t nail her down on a day to go look at cars. She kept giving me the run-around with “I have to work.” So I decided to take matters into my own hands and force her to go. Matt and I had offered to let her borrow my car for a few days but instead of dropping off my car I decided we would just go look for her a car.
Yesterday I left work a few minutes early to pick her up. Then we headed down to the auto park in Cary. I had my eye on a cute little Kia Sportage in the color she wanted. Well we get to the lot and of course they don’t have that car. The guy shows us a few other options and we let mom drive one. We get back to the dealership and start talking numbers on the one she drove. Mind you this had more options then she wanted or needed so when that number came back high I started looking at other dealerships in town. The sales guy continued to work with us determined to sell us a car. Finally, he came back with one I had seen online that was about 30 mins away. We all agreed it would work if he could get the numbers to work. He finally nailed me down on a price and after a quick text to dad I agreed that if he could hit that we would take the car. All the while mom is shaking her head like Noooooo! hehe {I should note I’ve been buying cars with mom since I was 14 and we walked out of the Jeep dealership 3x. And more often than not the sales guys forget who the car is actually for since I end up making the deal. Mom said she was pretty impressed with my car buyin’ skills. I’ve apparently gotten better!}
A few minutes later we had ourselves a car! Woo hooo! They were even nice enough to offer mom a loaner {with NAV} since her car wouldn’t be ready till today. This worked out beautifully for me. Then we waited, and waited, and waited. Like I mean we waited around 2 hours to see the finance guy. At this point it was after 9pm and mom was getting grumpy and I was ready to go home. We get back with the finance guy, who apologizes, and do the speediest paper signing ever! He also informs us that due to the wait they are including a free car care package. SCORE!
This morning mom heads to the dealership so I text our sales guy to let him know she is on her way (note dad has the good cell and the prepay mom has is almost out of minutes). He then calls me to tell me they can’t locate mom’s new car. Whomp whomp. Apparently it got put on a truck and ended up in Wake Forest? I have no clue honestly. I received a text a little while ago that the sale guy was going to get the car when he got done with a customer but mom is at work till 9 so I guess she won’t get her new car today either.
I should note that this way of buying cars drives Matt nuts. We are a little on the impulsive side when it comes to car buying. It normally starts with us at a dealer and ends with a new car. There is no “scoping out the competition” nor is there “research.” It just happens. And unbeknownst to him, that’s probably how the next car we buy for ME will happen.
~k
-
Ready for fall?
I am working from home today since I didn’t sleep well last night. I’m hoping to squeeze in a lunchtime nap. A little while ago I ran to the mailbox and noticed how nice it was outside. I LOVE being able to have our windows open. To me, there is nothing better! So when I came back in I decided to open the kitchen window. There is a tiny breeze that I feel every so often and it’s making me yearn for fall.
I know I’ve said this before but there is something about fall in North Carolina! It is THE. BEST. SEASON! I used to spend my days yearning for Spring (might have to do with my birthday) but not now. Fall is where it’s at. I love the crisp mornings that turn into a nice day. Not too hot and not too cold. Just right.
I hope this weather stays but I know it won’t. We are about to enter into August so that should be fun. But I am really grateful for days like today which give you a small taste of what’s to come.
Hurry up Fall!
~k
-
A Tale of Two Curtains
A week or so ago I decided I wanted curtains for the master bedroom. I’ve known for a while I wanted curtains in our room but I’ve just been kind of at a loss as to what color I should do. Our walls are painted a soft grey and our bedding is a teal-y green and cream.
As you can see the green isn’t a common color and even though the white looks white, it has more cream undertones. Not that I wanted white curtains but I felt it would make it hard to use cream.
I found 2 sets of curtains that I like. One from Walmart and one from Target. I had the Walmart ones shipped to our local store. Then I ran to Target last weekend and found one of the panels that I liked from there. So now I have the Target curtain haphazardly hanging from a clothes hanger on the window. As you can see they are completely different. I love the ones from Walmart and feel they would add a splash of color and some interest to the room but I have no clue if the colors will match or even coordinate. The Target curtains are just a solid grey. These would make the room a bit darker I think, which is okay. I think the color coordinates with the bedding even though they are totally different colors.
Since I have no idea what color I want to use, I don’t want to spend a small fortune on curtains. Let’s face it, curtains can be quite pricey. This also leads to my next dilemma. We have 3 windows side by side but they don’t butt up to one another but they also aren’t spaced out far. I’m talking a 2 to 3″ gap between the molding. So do I do 4 panels or can I get away with 2? {I feel like 4 full panels will overwhelm the windows.} Or can I use 3 panels and cut one in half and do half panels between the windows? At this point I’m not really sure. I ran to Home Goods yesterday and picked up a curtain rod. Then I got a text from Walmart last night saying my curtains were ready for pick up.
I’m going to make Matt hang the rod this weekend. Then I will take pics of both options. Should the Target curtains win I’ll need to place an order for the other panel since I currently only have one.
~k
-
Gettin’ my craft on!
The past few days at work have been quite boring. To the point that yesterday I think I found the end of the internet. Last night while I was watching TV I decided I should start working on a craft project for a friend who is having a little boy in a few months. They’ve decided on a superhero themed nursery. I tried to think what I could do that would be superhero themed. PLUS, I thought it would be nice if I could work on it at work. 😉
Anyway, an idea came to mind and this morning I spent some time researching superheros. Then I spent a lot of time working on my project. hehe. {I told you we are slow.} So a few hours later I think my project is done. I’m currently waiting on some feedback just to make sure this is “the” final version. I actually think this turned out pretty well so this gift may be shipped sooner rather than later just so I can post a pic. 😉
~k
-
Olay CC Cream
I feel like I’ve done a lot of makeup posts lately but I keep buying new stuff. 🙂 Last weekend while Matt and I were at Costco I picked up some Olay CC Cream. It was basically buy one get one free.
I know I’ve raved on here about the Olay Total Effects Cream but Olay is really nailing it! The CC Cream is basically just like the Total Effects as far as consistency goes only I got the light to medium shade which seems to suite my skin tone a little better than the fair to light I have in the Total Effects. My plan is/was to still use the CC cream in with my Clinique Even Better foundation but yesterday I decided that since we were having a lazy day I would just apply the CC Cream. I can’t tell you how much I LOVE this stuff. I don’t think it’s really any different than the Total Effects but honestly I love that too.
The CC Cream offered just enough coverage to help even out my skin and then I applied a little Mineral Veil from Bare Minerals and bronzer. Add blush and mascara and I was good to go. This is my “quick” makeup routine. 😉
So where I really wanted to go with this post is to say that I think I like the Olay CC Cream better than the Clinique BB Cream. As I mentioned the BB Cream still felt a little heavier than what I would want from something that’s touted as a “tinted moisturizer.” With that said, buy the CC Cream! Even if you have a regular foundation, I don’t think you can go wrong with the CC Cream. It’s great to add to your foundation or for days when you don’t feel like spending a lot of time applying makeup. (I wonder if I could return the BB Cream?)
~k
-
Root rot
A few months ago our landscapers decided they needed to do some “drastic” pruning around the neighborhood. Well the bush under our deck was one of the victims! Needless to say I was LIVID to come homeland find our bush hacked to pieces.
After a few emails to the HOA, it was agreed that the landscapers would replace our bush. I did some research and decided on a fragrant tea olive bush. I must say I was a little annoyed when the new bush was finally planted. It was no where near the “mature” bush I was hoping for.
The past few weeks here in Raleigh have been crazy with rain. Almost everyday we’ve gotten rain, ranging from light showers to downpours with flood warnings. The other day I went around back to check on my gardenias and noticed the tea olive looks terrible. At this point I think it might have root rot from all the rain. Who knows really. All I know is that Matt and I will most likely have to replace this bush AGAIN in the fall or early spring.
~k
-
BB Creams
Another purchase from our outlet trip was Clinique’s BB Cream. This retails for around $40.00 in the department stores and that is just a bit more than I’d like to pay for a BB Cream so I waited until we went to the outlets. I stopped in the cosmetic store and found their price to be $29.95. This is a MUCH better price so I grabbed a tube in Shade 2.
Now from what I had heard, BB Creams are a lighter coverage makeup. Almost like a tinted moisturizer. You may remember I was mixing my Olay Total Effects with my Clinique Even Better foundation. This seemed to work well for me.
With my new BB Cream in hand, I decided to use it before going to the pool on Saturday. It contains SPF 30 and I figured it should be lightweight enough to be pool worthy. Man was I surprised. This stuff has a little more coverage than I thought it would. I’ve found myself actually mixing the BB Cream with my Olay as well. You still get a nice coverage but, to me, it appears a little more natural.
The left dot is the Olay and the right dot is the BB Cream. I’ve only used my new BB cream for a few days so the jury is still out as to whether I will purchase this again. I will not be purchasing it for full price, regardless. If you are near an outlet with a cosmetics store, I say def pick some up and give it a whirl. For $30.00 I think it’s a good summer foundation especially if you go to beach or pool a lot and you want a little coverage with added SPF.
Left to right: Even Better, Olay, BB Cream Notice all 3 are different shades. 🙂 Don’t worry, it works. ~k
-
Ode to Nine West
For the longest time Nine West was my “go to” for all things bags and shoes. Then Jessica Simpson started to win me over with her bags and shoes but this past weekend I rediscovered my love for Nine West. I may have a post here, here and here. 🙂
Matt and I ran to the outlets while we were at the beach. While we were there I stopped in the Nine West store. Almost everything was buy one get one free! I found a cute pair of black sandals that were super comfy but I decided to keep looking before I committed. Once we’d made our way around, I decided to go back for the shoes. Then the question was, buy one for half price or buy one get one free? They had a really pretty green so I decided to get the black and green shoes. I can’t tell you how happy I am I decided to get both pairs. They are BEYOND comfy and easy to walk in. I wore the black pair on Tuesday and the green pair today.
~k
-
Beach Blowout (We lost fuzzy!)
Wednesday night after work, Matt and I headed for the beach. Julio’s had a UTI for the past few days so I was kind of worried about him even though he took his last antibiotic before we left. The drive out of Raleigh was miserable with torrential rain, then we had to deal with traffic, plus 2 kitties. Once we got out of traffic I let Julio out his carrier and he seemed to ride pretty well. He would come sit in my lap, sit back in his carrier, walk around the back seat but he was being good.
We got right outside of Wilmington when we started to smell something. Matt said it was probably one of the chemical plants we were passing but as we got to Leland the smell got worse. We started laughing that Hal had poop’ed in her carrier. I needed a restroom break so we stopped at a gas station. I hop out and check on Hal. Sure enough she’s poo’ed all in the carrier and all over herself. I grab her out and take her over to a grassy spot. I tell Matt to get paper towels. So like 10 minutes later, after he’s futzed around in the back of the car, and finally gone inside, he comes over empty handed. I’m like “where are paper towels?!” He reaches in his pocket and pulls out a couple! WTF?!!?! At this point I’m super annoyed because I’ve been trying to corral a cat covered in poo. I tell him to watch her and run back to the car, grab my card, use the restroom, BUY some paper towels and ask the cashier for several bags. He bags up her carrier bedding while I use the spigot by the grass try to get some of the poo off. I finally get her somewhat acceptable, we put her in the carrier back in the car and head to the IL’s house.
About 3o minutes later we pull in and I immediately take Hal to the bathroom. As if it weren’t bad enough she didn’t feel well, she then had to have a bath. Poor thing acted like she was on the verge of hyperventilating when I finally got her out of the tub and wrapped in a towel. I cuddled her and then put her in our bathroom to dry off.
In the almost 14 years I’ve had Hal, she’s NEVER had an accident before – anywhere. The only thing I can think is that the can food I gave her before we left didn’t sit well, plus the stress of riding.
Unfortunately Hal’s favorite toy forever, Fuzzy, was in her carrier. Of course he was covered in poo. I decided I would try to save him on Sunday morning but having sat in plastic bag covered poo for a few days the stench was awful. I couldn’t bring myself to even try to wash him so he ended up in the trash. I feel really bad since Fuzzy is the only real toy Hal’s ever played with. She used to talk to him at night. Cutest thing ever! Since moving in with Matt and Julio, I don’t know that she’s really played with him but I always felt better knowing Fuz is with her. I’ve seen other Fuzzy’s around so he may reappear, though he will never be the same.
~k
-
Ramblings
It’s been a crazy week to say the least. My coworker is on vacation, which leaves me trying to keep things under control. All and all I think I’ve done an okay job. I mean I can only do what I can do right? Thankfully my week ends today! And thanks to a friendly little competition at work we get Friday off. (The challenge to the company was: sign up and out of the participants you must average 20 hours of workout time in the month of June.) A free day off! Hell yeah! So I signed up along with a my coworker. We decided we would walk for an hour during lunch. The kicker, if you worked out with a coworker you got double time. I think I logged close to 18 hours during the month of June so I get Friday, the 5th off! I think the winner of the competition logged something stupid like 60 hours. I mean come on, we all know I don’t like to work out. 🙂
As the June challenge ended we were given a new challenge to average another 20 hours for the month of July to get another PTO day. Of course I signed up so I’ve got some walking to do while we are at the beach this weekend. I will also resume my lunch walks next week.
Hopefully it won’t rain while we are at the beach for the rest of the week. I am looking forward to some sun and relaxation. We are also taking the kiddos so the ride to and from should be fun. I just hope we don’t run into a ton of traffic either way. I’m also looking forward to a little retail therapy. I think I’ve also talked Matt into playing Putt Putt since he decided to play golf 2x while we are there.
Now I just need today to be over, or at least closer to over so I can leave.
~k