-
Super Moon
A couple of months ago there was a Harvest Moon. I actually missed but not before I tried to take pics of it. It had happened the night before. Anyway, before I realized this I decided to try to take some pics of it. I put my camera on the tripod and went out on the deck. I got everything set up and then starting playing around with manual mode. Since I really had no idea what I was doing, I decided to google it. I found the settings I needed but it still wasn’t working. I ended up calling my dad at 11:30 to get a quick crash course on shutter speed. Turns out I hadn’t gone up far enough on the dial to get where I needed to be. So yes, I’m admitting I’ve just now figured out manual mode. Mostly because I didn’t understand the shutter speed settings on my camera. Whomp whomp.
After a few tries I actually got a few pics of the moon, not the Harvest Moon, but the moon. It was a step in the right direction because something about this task made manual mode finally click for me.
Fast forward to Saturday night. It was the first of 3 Super Moons this summer. As Matt and I left dinner, I noticed how big the moon looked. Dad had texted me to see if I was going to take some pics but I wasn’t sure I’d be able to see it from the house. Once we got home, I looked out and saw I had a pretty good view of the moon. I grabbed my camera and tripod and headed outside. I got everything set up and started taking pics. Much to my surprise, they looked pretty good on the screen.
I waited till I got to work this morning before I looked at the rest of the pics. There were a few that sucked, but overall the majority were pretty good (and they turned out!). You can’t really get the full effect of how big it was because I didn’t have a good backdrop for comparison. I mean the neighbors roof wouldn’t really add much, right? But the big win here is that I FINALLY took a pic of the moon! 🙂 And I know how to do it again!
Super Moon! 
Super Moon! 
“Harvest Moon” As you can see, my moon pics drastically improved from my non-harvest Harvest Moon pics. (The one above is really the best one I got.) Plus, by the time I figured out what I was really doing, the clouds were starting to roll in. Regardless, I’m really impressed with my latest try!
~k
-
Fourth of July Weekend
Due to a competition at work, I ended up with July 3rd off as well as the 4th. Matt and I both decided to also take Monday off so we could have a long weekend at the beach. As the week started, a tropical storm formed off the coast. By Wednesday it was headed for the beach but looked like it should pass by late Thursday and be out of our way for the weekend.
Thursday morning we woke up to discover the storm was ahead of schedule and it looked like we would probably end up driving through it. Ooops. We got the car packed and the kiddos in and we headed out. We hit one really rough patch of rain about an hour outside of Raleigh but it was over about as quickly as it started. By the time we got to Wilmington though, Hurricane Arthur was getting closer. We drove into the rain and a tornado warning. Thankfully the rain wasn’t too awful and we never saw the tornado. We arrived at Matt’s parent’s house around 2:30ish and sat back and watched the storm. And by watch the storm, I mean we watched the rain. It wasn’t until about 6:00pm that the winds really picked up but at this point, we were only getting the backside of Arthur. Seeing as we had driven through a hurricane to get there, I was determined to go and check out the beach. About 7:30 the winds had died down enough for us to head out. I was pretty disappointed at how calm the sea was. I mean it was rough, but not what I expected it to look like right after a hurricane.
Friday was just gross hot. Matt and his dad played golf while his mom and I went to the pool. We only stayed about 2 hours before it was just too hot to stay out anymore. Saturday and Sunday were both amazing, low 80’s and partly cloudy. Matt and I lounged on the beach most of the afternoon both days. I didn’t get quite as much sun as I had hoped for. I was a little overzealous with the SPF 30. 😉 I do at least have a bit more color though.
I managed to remember my camera this trip so I have quite a few pics to share. The first few are driving into the storm and after the storm.
-
House Hunters
Or should I say, House Hunter?
The last few weeks I’ve amped up my search for a house. Matt isn’t exactly on board with the whole buying a new house thing but I figure, what can it hurt? It’s no secret I’ve wanted a “house” house for a while. We are currently in a town house, and while we technically have enough room, I’d really like a better layout and more importantly, a yard! A great yard is at the top of my list, while Matt wants a 2 car garage and flat driveway. Boys are silly!
We finally sat down and talked about what we thought we could afford and it was quite a bit more than my original price range. This really opened up a lot more possibilities. We also discussed locations since I’d only been looking in our current area but Matt said he would be open to looking all over the area when the time comes. This also drastically changed our search. I’ve now found we can get more in other locations and that is very appealing.
I found an adorable house about 2 weeks ago that had been on the market for a while. (When I say a while, I mean like 50 days.) The front and back yards sold me, but the house itself was cute and move in ready. Matt was a little more iffy and now it’s under contract. 🙁 That house is my new comparison for all the others and so far nothing is hitting it out of the park. I’ve run across a few that I wouldn’t mind seeing but nothing that makes me super excited. And since we aren’t technically looking, should they go off the market it will fine. I’ve run across a few today that were interesting only to find they were currently pending! Ugh!!! Real estate in the Triangle is pretty good and things just don’t stay on the market very long. My hope is to continue looking for the next few months and hopefully a house will jump out at both of us and cause Matt to get in the game. 😉 We aren’t in a hurry but I also don’t want to be in our current house very long either.
Until then, the house hunt continues.
~k
-
Benefit Brow Bar at Ulta
Over Christmas I went to the Bobbi Brown counter to have my makeup done. After being told I had “crappy” eyebrows, the girl proceeded to spend an hour trying to give me a smokey eye. Anyway, the eyebrow thing has stayed with me and since then I’ve tried a little bit harder with them (meaning I actually bought an eyebrow pencil). I’d been letting them grow out in hopes of being able to actually shape them. I even bought some Lash Accelerator from Rimmel since it could also be used for brows. When I saw an advertisement in my Ulta catalog for Brow and Tint services from the Benefit Brow Bar for $32.00 I figured what the heck. What’s the worst that could happen? HAHA!
Last week I booked an appointment for Friday afternoon. After my last brow experience I figured my eyes would be red for days so Friday afternoon worked the best. I headed to Ulta after work and Stephanie was ready to go. We talked about my current “non” shape. She showed me where they should be compared to where they were. She even drew them on so I could see the difference. Umm, big difference. Once my brows were tinted she started with the waxing. It definitely hurts a little but it wasn’t too bad. When she was finished waxing she filled and shaped them for me but she also showed me how so I could do it myself. She applied some concealer to cover the redness and I was on my way. To be honest, I kind of felt like a freak as I was leaving the store. I’ve never really had eyebrows so this was new and different for me.
By the time I got home, I was feeling pretty gross so I washed my face but not before snapping a pic of her handy work. Actually, the more I looked at pic the more “okay” I felt about my brows. She was actually able to give me a little bit of an arch. I’ve had a few days to test out my “skills” and I think I’m starting to get the hang of it. Today they may not look as good but yesterday I think I’m doing a pretty good job. I know it will just take some practice.
All in all I am very pleased with the results. My eyes were only red for a few hours after which was a pleasant surprise. I’ve had my issues with Ulta services but this is one I would definitely do again!
The left is the finished product. The right is right after I washed my face. You can see the actual shape a little better in that one but they are easier to shape into an arch now.
-
New car smell
When I met Matt I was on my 7th car, he was on his 2nd. I’d never had brand new cars though. I just don’t keep cars more than a few years. Maybe it has to do with buying used cars with 50k+ miles. They would always be good for a year or 2 but at the first sign of problems I would trade them in.
Two years ago Matt and I decided we needed another SUV. I had traded in my old crappy Trailblazer for a cute little new Jetta right before we got engaged. At the time, gas was almost $4.00 a gallon for regular and I couldn’t continue paying almost $80.00 every week and a half to fill up my tank. The better solution seemed to be the VW sign and drive deal so that’s what I did. I got a basic little Jetta and LOVED it! It was my first brand new car. It was almost way more economical and the payment wasn’t much more than my crappy old Trailblazer.
When we started looking for SUVs we looked high and low. The deal was, Matt would trade in his current Audi A4 (which I didn’t care for) for a SUV and I would get said SUV when the Jetta lease was up. You can read more about that experience here and here. Anyway we decided on an Audi Q5 which I’ve been driving since about 6 months after we got it. You can read about how that happened here.
A couple of weeks ago, we realized the Audi lease would be up in a few months and we started talking about new cars. I really wanted a Ford Escape (foot liftgate, hell yes!) but Matt said they were too small. He liked the Explorers but I was leaning more towards the Edge. When it came down to it, they were both around the same price but not the same size, which just didn’t make sense. Then one day he mentioned someone in his parking lot had a new Jeep and he thought they looked pretty nice. I grew up with Jeeps since that’s all mom has had since I was 14. I knew a Jeep would be a great option. We started looking and found they were in our target price range with a more room, which we also wanted.
Last week we found a Grand Cherokee Limited Diesel with all the options I wanted (the diesel was a bonus). I ran to the dealership at lunch to take it for a spin and took Matt back on Saturday to buy my new car. After spending a decent amount of time at the dealership, we realized they weren’t in the mood to make a deal so we walked away. Matt proceeded to blast emails to several other Jeep dealers in the area in hopes of finding someone to work with us. On Sunday he received an email back from another local dealer. The girl emailed him with details and told him she would make sure the car we wanted was on the lot on Monday and let him know. Throughout the course of the day on Monday, she and Matt worked out the pricing so we headed over there after work. The car had literally been pulled off the trunk that morning and rushed to get ready for us to see that night. I immediately loved the car! I’d been waivering over 2 colors and only that morning decided I really wanted the Granite color. As soon as I saw it, I knew I’d made the right decision. It had all the options we wanted plus a ton more! An hour and half later we were signing the papers and walking out the door with a brand new Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland. YAY!!!!!
I would also like to mention the salesperson we worked with was AMAZING! Clearly, I’ve had my fair share of car buying experiences and this was by FAR the best! The girl was amazing! I felt like I was dealing with a friend and not a stranger. She was so personable and friendly. She also made the experience totally painless. Honestly, I’m not sure I’ll ever go back to a lot looking for a deal. This is our 2nd time buying a car from an internet salesperson and I think it’s they way to go. There seems to be less BS and they probably have to work a little harder to get your business since you aren’t dealing with them face to face.
~k
-
Flowers! I have flowers!
A few months ago I came across a bag of Gladiolus bulbs at Costco. When I lived in Austin, I used to always buy Gladiolus from the grocery store. The H.E.B would always have bundles for around $10.00. It was a great way to keep fresh flowers in my apartment, so when I saw them at Costco I couldn’t resist myself.
When the weather warmed up I planted about 15 under our deck and a few more on the side of the house. Well the ones under the deck, which receive almost full sun, have done GREAT! For the past week, I’ve been waiting for them to start blooming in full force. As of yesterday they were getting there.
I can’t decide if I’m going to resist the urge to cut them and bring them inside or leave them outside. Part of me thinks it’s a waste to leave them outside since they are on the back of the house under the deck. No one (ie me) will ever see them. But there is the other part that feels they should get to grow outside. Who knows what I’ll do. Probably cut them! 😉
I also have a Gerber Daisy that is taking off. Mom gave it to me last year and I keep it in a pot on sidewalk. It gets full sun most of the day and in the past few weeks it has really started to grow. I told Matt I had a blooms on the Gerber Daisy, to which he responded “the weed looking thing”. HAHA! Yes the “weed looking thing”! I know I’ve said this a few times but I am super proud (and slightly impressed) with my gardening skills. Mostly I’m just happy I can plant things and for the most part they live.
-
Bathroom Makeover
Over the past few years, Matt and I have slowly been updating our house. We have replaced the carpet, upgraded all the lights, and painted everything but the 2 upstairs bathrooms. I just cannot find the motivation to paint the bathrooms. But this is will have to happen soon.
A few weeks ago our bathroom lights started going out. We had one of those Hollywood style lights over the vanity. Well instead of replacing the 2 bulbs that had blown, I told Matt I’d rather just replace the whole light. We’ve been racking up Amex points for a while now, so he ordered a few Lowe’s gift cards. Before he left to play golf on Saturday he handed me the gift cards and told me to run to Lowe’s and “spend some money”.
We’d already looked at lights and had one picked out so when I went to Lowe’s I grabbed the light and globes. Unfortunately they didn’t have the globes we’d originally looked at so I had to find new ones. I might have also picked up a few more plants. Whoopsy! 😉
Sunday, once we got up, Matt started working on the light. When he took the old light down, he realized there wasn’t a junction box and had to run back to Lowes. After fiddling with that for a while, he finally got it to work and he installed the new light. We both really like the new light but it just emphasizes the fact that I HATE the mirror. Originally we were going to buy a kit and frame it but the new light is so close to the top of the mirror and honestly, I want new mirrors.
The past couple of days I’ve been looking at my options and I finally found a couple I liked at Kirkland’s. I called the store by my house but they didn’t have 2 of the ones I wanted. I was told there were more at the Cary store so today at lunch I ran over there. I had to search for the ones I’d seen online and in the process I found another one I really liked. When I compared the 2, I realized the new one was a tiny bit taller and I liked the pattern a bit more. They were both the same price so it didn’t really matter.
Now I get to go home and see how they look. The verdict is still out as to whether 2 mirrors will look okay with just one light. If we had plans to stay in this house I would have made Matt split the junction box so we could have had 2 lights but that seemed like a lot of work for a house we don’t plan to stay in long term. I’ll post some pics once we decide on the mirror situation but here is a pic of the light and the current (ugly) mirror.
~k
-
Anniversary Re-Cap
This year’s anniversary wasn’t quite as fancy as years 1 and 2. For our 1 year anniversary, Matt and I went to NYC for a long weekend and celebrated with dinner at Scarpetta. It was pretty amazing! You can read about that trip here. Last year we went to Jamaica for a long weekend and were able to have a candlelight dinner on the beach for our anniversary. As you can see, the bar was set pretty high.
Tuesday, after Matt and I got home from work, we just lounged around until it was time to get ready for dinner. He bought me flowers and I bought him a leather shaving bag along with some funky socks. We don’t normally exchange gifts but I felt like I should get him a little something since we weren’t going anywhere. We had a 7:30 dinner reservation at Margaux’s. It was supposed to be a nice, upscale restaurant pretty close to our house. Matt had been several years ago but I had never been. There were only a few people dining when we arrived but the restaurant itself was nice. We were seated and ordered our starters. We also received some crab cake tapas while we were waiting. Since Matt can’t eat shellfish, I got to eat them. They were quite yummy. Matt ordered a Caesar salad to start with and I ordered the Ahi Tuna. For our main dishes, Matt had the Panko Crusted Chicken Breast and I had the Braised Short Ribs. After dinner Matt ordered the Profiteroles and I had the Sorbet. All in all, dinner was really good but not really as exotic as years past.
I’m hoping we will be able to take a few long weekend vacations over the summer since we don’t have any big vacations planned for this year.
~k
-
Happy 3rd Anniversay
Three years ago today, Matt and I were standing on the lawn at the Sandals La Toc in St Lucia overlooking the ocean, promising our lives to one another. You can read all about our wedding here.
I would have to say the last 3 years have been pretty good! Sure, Matt and I have had our ups and downs but for the most part, things have been really good. We’ve had our share of hard times, but there is no one else in this world I would rather face those times with. He is my rock when I need someone to lean on, he is always there to hold my hand or give me a hug. He’s wiped more than his share of tears from my face. He is my everything! I can’t imagine spending my life with someone else. What started with friendship has turned into a beautiful love.
It’s hard for me to imagine my life without him, bed burritoing and all. 😉 (And if you know me, you know I am a bed FREAK! haha) I LOVE YOU, MATTE!
~k
-
Scrub a dub dub
Since this has turned into a beauty blog, I’d like to share a new product I found at Ulta. It’s the Freeman Facial Polishing Mask with Charcoal and Black Sugar. I stumbled across this a few weeks ago but I wanted to try it out a few times before I reviewed it. I’ve used it several times over the past few weeks and I’m impressed! For $3.99, this stuff is GREAT! I try to use it about 2x a week and after each use I notice my skin tone looks more even, not to mention my skin feels really soft. I haven’t had any big break-outs while using this either. I’ve had a few small ones but I don’t know that I can contribute it to the scrub.
I start by removing all of my makeup and I lightly pat my face dry. Then I apply the scrub. It’s not quite as “masky” as I thought it would be though. I’ll include a pic so you can see what I mean. I leave it on for the recommended 5-7 mins, normally while I’m brushing my teeth. Then I wash it off, I also use it to scrub my lips. After, my skin tone looks so much more even, even more so than with the Mary Kay Microderm kit I think. I think for the price, you can’t beat this mask. It’s pretty great!
~k
