Showers, Parties, Mother's Day, Babysitting {BUSY Weekend Recap}

My, oh my! What a busy weekend! I enjoyed a long one since I was off work on Monday too!

Friday night as soon as I got off work, I motored it down to the theatre to see The Great Gatsby in 3D with Brian. 1) You MUST see it in 3D. The scenery and effects are amazing! 2) I loved the modern music set in the 20's era 3) Such a tragic story! Yes, there is one scene that I could have done without, but otherwise there is no nudity and the language is tamer than most PG-13's. Brian noted a lot of "skanky girls" dancing in the movie, but honestly, they were more covered up due to the 20's era clothing than movies set in modern times (*ahem* Fast & Furious or Iron Man *ahem*). For a full parental review, I always love to go to Plugged In Online which is run by Focus on the Family. Here's a link to the parental review HERE.

Saturday Brian and I double-teamed on showers. I attended a bridal shower honoring Caitlyn (which is Brian's best friend's fiancé) at the home of one of my pharmacy school professors! In the meantime, Brian attended a "virtual" baby shower for his cousin, Nathan, and wife, Thy. What is a virtual shower, you ask? Since Nathan and Thy live in Colorado, they had a web-cam shower for family here in Tennessee. Yep, our family is more technologically savvy than yours. ;o)

After the morning showers, Brian and I got to spend time with my Aunt and Uncle visiting from Alabama. We met up at a restaurant on Madison called "Local" with my cousin Katie, and husband, Bradley. You may remember my wedding post about them HERE.  It was my first time at Local, and I was so impressed with the atmosphere! Such a cool hang-out spot!  I definitely recommend the "fish and chips" (the parmesan fries are tasty!) and the "warm blondie brownie," which I managed to snap a photo of. Yes, that is BACON on a blonde brownie with vanilla bean ice cream. And yes, it tastes amazing! How could it be anything but?

We managed to get an afternoon nap in before celebrating with Zach and Caitlyn at their college graduation party on Saturday night. They are also getting married in 10 days! They have a lot to celebrate!

Sunday, as you know, was Mother's Day! I was blessed to celebrate the morning with my mom. Brian and I got her a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Apple and some lotion from Origins. My brother brought her some Russell Stover's chocolates, and my sister painted her a landscape painting.

My mom with my brother

My sister displaying her painting with her cell phone

My sister's gift to my mom. Isn't my sister so talented?

Me & Brian

I love this sign! Don't you wish everyone abided by this?

After lunch we visited with Brian's family, then got a few chores done at home before it was time to leave again for another shower! This shower was a BBQ couple's shower for Brian's former coworker and fiancé (Nate and Amber).  Amber is currently in pharmacy school, and I had the best time chatting about pharmacy and meeting new pharmacy friends! Brian and I also got to catch up with some high school/church friends that we haven't seen in a long time.

Monday I was off work and ran a few errands around town before babysitting these cutie-pies!

We had a great time watching Tangled, Juliet cooking for me in her kitchen & twirling in her "strawberry dress", and Collins crawling like a champ & showing off that infectious smile. I love my sweet nieces!

Try and beat that busy weekend!

Friday Frownies

Yesterday seemed like nothing but bad news, especially in the media. 

First off, we saw a relationship split:

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Not Nina and Ian! Say it ain't so! Our favorite Vampire Diaries costars have broken up after 3 years of dating. Here's to hoping it won't affect their on-screen relationship!
  

In other upsetting news, Angie Miller was kicked off American Idol! Say what?! This was a huge shocker for me and Brian. We thought she was going to win it all! I love me some Candice, but in my book, Angie takes the cake!

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The most tragic of all was finding one of the baby birds I talked about earlier this week dead on my driveway last night. I suspect foul play from a cat I've seen wandering around the neighborhood. 

Let's take a moment of silence for Baby Bird. 

Wow what a depressing post! I can't leave you with all this sad news. It is Friday, after all!

I know just what you need to put a smile back on your face, courtesy of Jimmy Fallon and John Krasinski. Watch their epic lip sync battle HERE. You're welcome!

Throwback Thursday {Self Tanner Reviews}

Good morning, lovelies! Today is Throwback Thursday, so I thought I would repost some self-tanner reviews I did on my previous blog. These are from 2010, but the products are still available today. I am still in search of the "perfect" self-tanner, but I wanted to let you in on my self-tanner journey. 

So here we go:

[[I have tried so many self-tanners in the past few years, definitely leaving a small dent in my wallet!  I wanted to share my thoughts on the products that I have tried so far.

The Great Pretender   It is pretty affordable at $21.50.  I really wanted this to be my go-to self-tanner, but unfortunately, it did not work wonderfully for me.

Pros:

• Very pepperminty smell - I just love the smell of this lotion going on!
• Affordable
• Easy to apply - I never streaked with this tanner.  It works into your skin well with a shimmery color guide

Cons:

• Did not last long - I could see color the first day I put it on and the day after, but it was gone after that!
• Did not build in color - I applied this lotion EVERYDAY while in Orlando on vacation. I never saw an increase in color with daily use.  

For reference: this is me in all my fair skin glory on the left, then me while using Origins The Great Pretender on the right (I also had a little switch in hair color):

Not a noticeable difference, right?  I was a little disappointed! If you are looking for a VERY subtle glow and are willing to pay $18.50 a bottle, then I say go for it.  However, it did not give me the color I was looking for!

Next up is Sevin Nyne lotion.  I'm sure you've heard of it as Lindsay Lohan's self tanner. There are many things that I like about this self-tanner, but there is one huge dislike that I will get to in my cons section.

Pros:

• The smell is bearable - you will have a "smell" with this lotion, but it isn't the horrendous self-tanner smell that I've come across in the past.  I'm very particular about smells, and this smell did not bother me.
• It has a very dark color guide - you pretty much have a "glow" immediately after putting it on, but this leads to my major con (see below)
• Moderately easy to apply - it is a very thick lotion, so I advise rubbing your hands together to thin it out before applying to your skin and then working into your skin with a circular motion

Cons:

• The initial "glow/color guide" washes off with water!!!  BEWARE self-tanning with this lotion the morning of a rainy day because you will come home with white dots all over your arms and legs. VERY embarrassing! However, one way to solve this is to apply at night and take a shower in the morning to wash off the color guide.  Unfortunately, the darkest you will be on this lotion is the first day you apply it because of the color guide, so if you wash it off, you will not be as tan.
• No building of color with daily use - I'm starting to think there is something wrong with my skin holding on to the color because I have no luck so far on self-tanners building with repeated use.
• Pricey! - $35/bottle

For reference, again "white" me on the left and the day after application with Sevin Nyne on the right:

Again, there's not a huge difference in my skin color, although I feel like I got more color from Sevin Nyne than Origins.
Next up are 2 drug-store self-tanners:

1. Jergen's Natural Glow Firming Moisturizer in Medium/Tan
2. L'Oreal Sublime Bronze Luminous Bronzer

Jergens Natural Glow Firming Daily Moisturizer in Medium/Tan is a gradual self-tanner. It also runs for around $9/bottle.

Pros:

• Pleasant Smell
• Jergens has really improved the smell of this lotion since the original lotion came out several years ago.  My husband even told me that I "smelled good" after I put it on, which is unheard of!
• No Streaking
• Although there is no color guide, since this is such a gradual self-tanner, you really don't have to worry about streaking.
• Affordable

Cons:

• The color did not gradually build on me
• Maybe my skin is unique, but I get no building of color.  I have friends who have used this lotion and love it, but somehow it does not work for me.
• Everyday applications do not appeal to me

Unfortunately, although I know this is a popular favorite, it was not what I am looking for.

 There is nothing good that I can say about L'Oreal Sublime Bronze Luminous Bronzer Self-Tanning Lotion, so I will cut to the chase. I only applied it once and knew it was NOT for me.  Even with a meticulous application, ensuring that no part of me would streak - the inevitable happened and I had streaks all over.  I realized that it was mainly in areas where my skin folded (the backs of my legs and inside the bend of my arms).  I had read reviews before buying it that this very issue had happened to others, but I thought maybe they were new to applying self-tanner and didn't wait for it to dry, etc. Obviously, that was not the case and this is a real problem with this tanner. Also, the smell was the worst of any self-tanner that I have tried recently.  The color it gave was very orangey. And on top of all this, it was super glittery.  I felt like a disco ball!  Not a good look. 

Finally . . . for my FAVORITE self-tanner of all the ones I have tried . . .

Bare Escentuals Faux Tan!

Thanks to one of my classmates, I found out about Faux Tan recently.  I noticed her natural looking tan, and asked what she had been doing.  She told me about using Faux Tan.  At that point, I was so burned out on trying so many self-tanners,  I told myself that I shouldn't buy it right away.  I could only hold off for a week, though, and found myself running to the Bare Escentuals counter in the mall for a bottle.

I absolutely LOVE this tanner!  It is the most natural color that I have gotten from a fake tan!  It runs at $26/ 6 oz bottle, and you can find it at Bare Escentuals stores or Bare Escentuals counters in department stores. My thoughts:

Pros:

• Gorgeous, natural-looking color
• Fading color guide 
• The color guide is a dark muddy brownish-green.  It is very scary initially because it is so dark.  However, when you start working it into your skin, the color guide shows you where the lotion is going and then fades away, resulting in no streaks!
• Almond-cherry smell
• This lotion definitely smells like almonds in the bottle, and I pick up on a hint of cherry-like smell as well.  After putting it on, the smell fades away.  I actually like the smell of this self-tanner!
• Long-lasting
• I apply this self-tanner every 3 days to keep the tan up, but even stretching it out farther- I still have some color.
• No transfer onto clothes/sheets
• I apply this lotion before bed after showering and exfoliating.  It is very quick to dry, and I have not noticed any transfer onto any of my clothes or sheets.
• Basically, everything I was looking for!

Cons:

• More expensive than drugstore brands: $22/bottle
• Requires a careful application
• After showering and exfoliating, I apply a moisturizer to my kneecaps, elbows, ankles & dry areas of feet and allow the moisturizer to dry. Then, I do a full-body application in small sections, washing my hands VERY THOROUGHLY after each section. Then, after I am done, I wash my hands again with soap and then with whitening toothpaste (a tip I picked up from a review that I read).  The color guide is so dark that it can really stain your hands if you don't wash, wash, wash!  I don't like using gloves, but that would be another option to avoid this.

So why do I use self-tanner?

I thought it would be good to share why I no longer go to the tanning bed.

• I am in pharmacy school, and I have learned a lot about different disorders and disease states. Learning more about skin cancer scared me a lot, and made me realize that laying in a tanning bed is a lot like smoking cigarettes.  Both are known to cause cancer- fatal cancer - so why do it? There are safe alternatives to looking tan, so I say use them!
• I have super fair skin- enough said!

Happy fake tanning!]]

Hope you all enjoyed my somewhat informative Throwback Thursday post! I am planning on trying some new self-tanning products pretty soon, so I thought this "history" would be a good intro :o)

 

What I'm Loving {Link-Up}

Happy Wednesday! 

I'm loving the signs of new life Spring is bringing. We have baby birds hopping around our front yard right now, not quite ready to fly. I counted 3 little ones yesterday. 

I'm loving International Delight Iced Mocha Light! It tastes like fat-free chocolate milk with a splash of coffee flavor. I love it! It definitely gives me the caffeine buzz I need to get me through the work morning. 

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Way back when I told you that I was loving Laura Mercier Lip Glace in Rose. I am still loving this color so much I had to go buy another tube yesterday. This is my go-to gloss for every occasion! It is the perfect pinky-red lip, it's incredibly moisturizing, it smells good, even after it's gone it leaves a hint of a pink stain so your lips aren't naked . . . basically it is just perfection. I get mine at Sephora.

Me wearing Lip Glace in Rose

I'm loving my new chair for my bedroom.  I got it for my birthday at Homegoods. I just think it's the cutest chair I've ever seen!

I'm loving these Pins for shelf decorating. We have built-ins in our new home that are currently empty. I need to get some inspiration:

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I'm loving a Facebook clothing and jewelry boutique called Bella & Blush. They post a "deal" most nights around 8 pm central time. If you want it, you comment with your size and paypal email address.  So far I've bought a dress, maxi skirt, and 2 necklaces. I'm loving my purchases!

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Finally, I'm loving my Grizzlies win last night against the Thunder! Round 2 is now tied with one win for each team. Go Grizz!

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Linking up with What I'm Loving Wednesday // Oh, How Pinteresting

Twofer Tuesday {Gatsby & JT}

Hello!!! Aren't you glad Monday is over? Whew! 

Yes, it is Tuesday. And yes, today I will be sharing TWO things I am super excited about this week. So here we go:

1. The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby opens this weekend! I'll be honest and admit that although I read this book in high school, I can't for the life of me remember what the story is about. But who cares- Leonardo DiCaprio is in this movie! Anyone who knows me knows that Leo is my absolute favorite actor. I don't always get to see his movies since some aren't very family friendly, but this one is PG-13 so I'm hoping it will be a good one! It's also from the director of Romeo + Juliet (also starring Leo) which is one of my favorite movies!

2. Justin Timberlake is coming to Memphis!

Did you hear me? Wooooo!!! It was announced yesterday that our very own JT will be coming home to the FedEx Forum, and this girl will be first in line to get tickets.  I have been dying to see him live since his 'N Sync days! He will be in Memphis on November 18, so set your calendar, Memphis ladies!