Since I was cranky last week...

I had to make time to come over and post when I'm NOT cranky. B/c well... I'm rarely cranky...and I rarely post these days...and I don't like seeing my most recent post as spewing rants. (I like using the word "spewing" in everyday language.) So, instead, here's a heap of random before I've had coffee. 
* I think I need an intervention with my "must save all the dogs." Don't get me wrong... I LOVE that. But.. well.. I've friended so many groups and rescues on Facebook that my feed is like one rolling replay of the sad scene from Old Yeller. I think I just need to maybe organize what I'm seeing on a regular basis a little bit more. B/c seriously...I think Eric is fairly concerned I'm about to grab a posse and go Red Dawn on some puppy mills. I guess I just like to think that if everyone was educated about what went on, they wouldn't ever get a dog from a bad breeder (bad breeders=puppy mills). But sadly, that's not true. It seriously makes me SO upset that people can just turn a blind eye b/c what they don't know can't hurt them. *sigh* I just never knew that most puppies online were from mills. I never knew that those places could register their dogs with the AKC b/c there's no real regulation. And while I have rescued and consider myself informed, I still never knew. I never knew that some of the worst puppy mills are maintained by the Amish (what?!). (Seriously- read this). So I'd think that if I could help educate others, they would do their research... But I've learned some people still wouldn't...and that makes me so sad and disappointed in humanity. To me, it's just sensical to go MEET the dog in person...to meet the breeder...see where the dog lives (unless of course you rescue...which I'm obviously majorly a fan of). B/c good breeders...they WANT to meet the buyer b/c they want the dog to end up somewhere good and safe. The ones set up on the corner of a parking lot? Maybe not a solid breeder. The ones who will ship you a dog from the web without any references or meeting you? Not a solid breeder. Anyway... I've gotten really wrapped up in it lately and it's sort of impacting my sanity. It feels good to be so impassioned about something, but it also feels a little helpless to just read about all the dogs that need help. So... must clean up the Facebook feed and shift focus to organize my efforts a little more before I decide to start a literal one man army and march in for the puppy mill apocalypse. 
* So haaaaaay...how about I talk about something else... Like these amazing leggings. For real, people. These are the best leggings in the history of leggings. (Is there a history of leggings? I'm sure there is...) Anyway, on one of my recent work trips to Houston, I visited the Galleria (seriously the only think I do to entertain myself in free time there). I popped into Loft and tried on some leggings with a sweater I thought I "needed." The sweater was a toss back. But the leggings... wow. I didn't even expect to like them. They were just to gauge the sweater...but gosh I.love.these.leggings. They're ponte so they're thick and they fit so well. They hold their shape, hold their color after multiple washes, don't pill (at least mine haven't) and are actually quite warm! They're very dark black and matte...not sort of shiny like some can be. I mean...shiny can be good but not when you're wearing something super tight on your derriere...haha...Anyway, I'm 5'7 and the length is great for me, but they also have them in petite. I'm typically a 4-6 and went with a small and they're great. I only say that b/c sometimes I go with a medium in tights/leggings but the medium was too big in these. Small was perfect. They're 50% off today and you won't regret it if you get these leggings. Trust me. I hadn't found a pair of leggings I liked...ever..until these. I mean they have like 600 positive reviews. Can't go wrong there. 

Link to leggings at Loft

* Eric and I met with our builder again last night and I think we're thisclose to final plans for our new house! We are both SO excited and so thrilled with what we've come up with. January will likely start demolition! We're moving the kitchen to another room, which will then move the dining room where the kitchen is and increase the living room space. We're adding an outdoor sitting area, a master suite and some other really fun stuff! I can't freaking wait to get started! That said, I'd better buy all the leggings and other stuff I can now b/c something tells me Eric is about to ground me from shopping when this gets underway...haha... And admittedly, I'm thrilled but also kinda bummed that this is likely the last Christmas in our little cottage house. I love this house! We just need a leetle more room for a potentially growing family (at some point...not yet). Wanted to share a pic of our tree and stockings in our casa this year. :) I really love our little decor set up this holiday. It may or may not need to stay up well into January... 

Annnd that's all I've got. Except I bit my cheek and now it's all weird. Don't you hate that? Aside from that, Tuesday is looking pretty good... I hope you have a good one, friends!

B/c maybe my coffee hasn't kicked in yet...

My life is FULL of things to be thankful for so to even rant or complain is often just...well...dumb. But when I re-read my posts and am all sunshine and daisies, that doesn't feel very authentic...haha...I mean we all get annoyed at things, right? So, while the things that annoy me are admittedly first world problems, I'm going to share some anyway...
* When people say "You aren't going to even pay attention to those dogs when you have kids someday." I hear this one A LOT. And I have to preface... It's not from friends, family or people who I know really well. It's typically acquaintances or pseudo strangers. And while friends/family have made allusions to it before and it still bothers me, it's more like "Oh goodness..what are you guys going to do with your fur kids when you have babies..." in a teasing/sweet way. But not rude like "YOU WILL DISREGARD ALL OTHER LIVING THINGS WHEN YOU HAVE BABIES." And yes...that is exactly how some people communicate it...maybe without the yelling caps lock on, but that's how it feels...lol! 

But anyway... here's my thing... Why even say that unsolicited comment? It's like you telling me "Look at this awesome thing I love" and me saying "Well, you won't even like it once you have something totally different that doesn't even relate at all." How is that even tactful or appropriate...or sensical?! And actually...it's not even like that b/c I am usually just hanging out and make a passing comment about our dogs when the unsolicited comments occur. And no, we don't have kids yet, so I feel as though any defense I have is basically fruitless to these comments and ends up just making me angrier, so I just say "Well, we'll see..."And okay... I get it. I'm sure we'll get frustrated at the pups more than we do when we have human babies...and won't baby them as much as we do...fine fine. But really... you're talking to someone who just joined a freaking legislative advocacy group to fight puppy mills. I love dogs. And I REALLY love mine. I didn't get a dog as a placeholder for a baby. I didn't get a dog b/c I thought it was fun. I got dogs b/c I love dogs. So for someone to say something like that to me is not only disrespectful, but also hurtful b/c they're insulting my love for my FAMILY. 
Sure...they're furry family...but they're my family. And really.. why say anything at all? Why the comparison I didn't even ask for? Dogs are not kids. Kids are not dogs.So yes.... they will be treated differently. I just don't get it. And it's not like we treat them like royalty now... I mean we walk them, we play with them, we enjoy them, we love them...I don't have sceptors or crowns for them. I don't get it. 
* Are you up to date on Walking Dead? If not...stop reading.... Have you stopped? Seriously.. Stop. B/c here comes a spoiler... I am mad they killed off Beth. Just when I was starting to like her. *sigh* I will miss her songs and goodness. Also she was starting to kick some butt and I liked that.   * I don't love allthedry skin. Allthedry is totally one word. I used to be on the swim team so with regular swim practices in high school, I grew a hatred for dry skin induced by chlorine. I am pretty much addicted to moisturizer. But I feel like nothing is working. Recommendations appreciated. :)
* Debates on Facebook. Good grief I can't stand that if I post something fairly benign, someone can fine a way step in and debate on it. If I was that person always engaging in debates or posting politically charged statuses, fine. But goodness. I have entirely better things to do than stir up stuff on Facebook. Sheez. It actually happened to me today on a post I never anticipated would create a debate...about our college's ex football coach. Sheez. Anyway....
* I travel to Houston for the last time this year later day...and I am so thrilled it's the last time! B/c I am over traveling. I want to be home. And let me say.. I love my job and am so thankful for it and the people I work with. But I'm just ready to settle in for the holidays and not have to pack all my toiletries in a one quart baggie. :)
If these are my biggest annoyances as of late, I'm doing pretty well, I think. Also the baby photo I posted in this post that found on a meme site sort of made my day...haha... Happy Wednesday, friends. 

Self-timed Christmas (cards)

I've been traveling a lot. And scheduling Christmas card family photos didn't happen. We remembered the weather was supposed to get bad this past weekend (and it did) so last weekend, Eric and I decided to (read: Jackie pressured Eric into) take some self-timed photos with the dogs in hopes of getting one for a Christmas card. I mean..."It can't be that hard, right?" (hahahaha.. Famous last words). 

Approximatly 150 photos (seriously) and my leg falling asleep from kneeling in the same position forever and we got ONE with both dogs looking at the camera and us looking normal...haha.. Really, it's not my favorite pic of Eric and me of the bunch, but the dogs are looking so we're going with it. The order is already in for cards. (In retrospect, we really should have bribed a friend to come over and call the dogs names so they'd look and snap a few pics, but whatever. We're self-sufficient). 

We make this look easy. haha...

This one was my fav, but Winston is apparently watching a bird/leaf/tree/squirrel...

And a few demonstrating the hilarity of the day that took us to the above pics...

Winston wanted to face the pool. *sigh*

Forcibly holding Winston down so he doesn't run...haha...

Eric: "I look like I'm strangling Gracie." Me..."No you...well...yeah. You do. Crap. Let's do another set."

Admittedly, it really wasn't that bad. It took us like 45 minutes or so of dedicated efforts and we got a usable pic. Works for me! As a fun part though, we took all these in the backyard of our new house. :) We're meeting with our builder tomorrow to see some plans he's come up with and I'm so excited! They're saying January is ambitious but very doable to start everything. (We sort of got about 4 months behind schedule from where we wanted by waiting forever to get started, but whatever...). I really will post some photos as we start actually DOING something. At this point, it's like "Here's the house we're going to change. Hooray!" haha... But when we get some demo pics rolling and plans, I'll come back and share more.
Hope your work is slowing down in anticipation of the upcoming holidays. I know mine is. (I should really knock on wood as I type that). I guess my work isn't slowing as much as the people who I do stuff for are out of the office a lot more... Lots of very tenured people at my company with lots of vacay time to burn = quiet holidays, I hope. 

Vacation by the numbers

Also known as the "I don't want to get back into the swing of things" post. 

I haven't posted in forever. Let's just forget about that. Eric and I just got back from our first wedding anniversary vacation! We went to the BVI/Virgin Gorda for a week and it was awesome. :) 

4      The number of books Eric and I each read.

0       The number of guests besides us at our hotel for the first few nights! It was the end of their slow season and starting to pick up..but it was a small resort, too. It was super cool (and a bit weird) to be the only people on property...haha). We ended up meeting some other really cool people at the resort, but having it to ourselves for a couple of days was sort of awesome.

5      The number of mosquito bites I have left...and I cherish every one...haha... (In denial vacay is over).

20     Number of times Eric and I said something about moving to the Caribbean, buying a boat, renting a boat, learning to sail, etc. You get the gist. 

2      Number of times our power went out at our little beach cottage b/c of an overnight storm! Crazy!

20+  Number of pina coladas consumed by Eric and me. 

2      Number of hours it took for us to hike (mostly vertically) to another resort for lunch. Views were fantastic, but we later discovered there was a much easier path...haha.. Oops. We're glad we took the one we did, but it was just funny. 

1      Number of lobsters caught on a snorkeling trip!! (Our guide caught it, but we videoed it. That counts). 

200+  Number of GoPro videos we took. I mean they're short clips and you have to take a lot b/c it's hard to tell if you got anything. But still..It's going to take awhile to get through those! ha!

1     Slightly terrifying flight in a puddle jumper from Virgin Gorda back to St. Thomas to get to the main airport to go home. In a storm. With no visibility (even the pilot said there was no visibility). Ferries were all cancelled due to the weather. It was pretty nuts. 

I have no idea how it went by so quickly! I feel like one minute, I was on the beach thinking "Thank gosh it's only Saturday!" And then the next, it was Friday and time to go home. Blerg. Europeans have it right with that whole "holiday" thing where you take off like 30 days..haha.. So thankful we get to go some gorgeous places and I wouldn't trade our trips for the world, but goodness I would love to stay even longer b/c I'm greedy like that. :) 

We both want to explore Europe- specifically the Mediterranean- before we have kiddos, but relaxing beach vacays are just so hard to beat. Who knows. Maybe next year. :)

The thing about traveling is that it makes you want MORE. It's sort of awesome and frustrating in that way. And you meet other people that travel, too. And some of them have boats, etc and just sail for months! And it's like "Sooooo how do we figure that out?!" haha.. So needless to say coming back to work is a challenge. 

Anyway, this vacay was much needed for the two of us. If you've been reading awhile, you know how we love our beach getaways...but this year was just a long year and a relaxing vacay was so very appreciated. I changed jobs and travel a LOT more (40% of my time or so) and Eric's work has been so.freaking.busy. So some months, we've sort of been like windup toys. Just wake up, wind us up and we go until it's time for bed. It's been a GOOD year. I mean, we got an amazing house (updates on renovations soon!), I took a great job, Eric's work, while insanely busy, has been challenging and rewarding. Our families are happy and in good health (despite a slight scare with my mom earlier this year, but all is great now so barely worth mentioning). We are lucky. We are thankful. We are blessed. But good grief we needed a getaway...haha...

I feel so lucky that Eric and I decided to use some of my old travel miles and his miles to go to St. Lucia the first year we dated. B/c I think that sort of set the bar to try to take an annual trip. And it's made me a firm believer that getting away is worth it. Even if it's just a short getaway. Or a close getaway. It doesn't have to be a beach or the Caribbean or a week or two long. Just that down time to reconnect is oh so amazing. :)

Tahoe Top 10

If we're friends on Instagram, you know we just got back from Tahoe with Eric's side of the family! :) It was a really great time and a nice little getaway. I have more photos that I'm sure I'll bore you with, but for now, thought I'd just share some fun Top 10. :)

In random order...

#1 The super awesome clear blue water. I haven't ever seen a lake that gorgeous and pristine.

#2 Catching my first fish...ever! I'd never been fishing and caught my first lake trout on a morning fishing expedition...and then got to eat it later for lunch when Eric grilled!

#3 Hiking! I freaking love hiking. I wish we had more places to hike around here. Oklahoma is gorgeous, but it's also pretty flat. ("Where the wind comes sweeping down the plains...") Don't get me wrong... we have some trails and Turkey Mountain and all that... but hiking in the real mountains...unbeatable. We hiked to a little waterfall...I also freaking love waterfalls so that's an added bonus!

#4 SUPing. Eric, his brother and I decided to SUP all the way to Emerald Bay from the Camp Richardson area (for those who know the area). We quickly realized that was a bad idea with the 30mph wind, but the SUPing was fun nontheless! (I'll spare you the story of almost getting carried out to the middle of the lake by the strong winds and Eric yelling "TURN TO SHORE!" b/c he didn't think I could hear him... as I yelled "I'm trying! STOP YELLING AT ME!" It was a special moment, friends....hahaha...It reminded me of the Friends ep where they're moving the sofa and Ross is saying "Pivot...pivot...").

#5 Being there for one of the biggest storms in recent times and losing power for several hours...We had to get a bucket of water from the lake in order to fill up the back of the toilets to flush since our house was on a water well (electric powered). It was pretty hilarious. :) And well...lemme just say... the storm was legit, but these Okies felt right at home in a good old thunderstorm...haha!

#6 Gondola ride to the top of the mountain. It was gorgeous. I'd love to see that place covered in snow. :) I'm sure the locals would too, since snowfall has been lacking in recent years...which also impacts the lake. I hope this year delivers for Tahoe snowfall.

#7 Boating all over the lake. It was cool to see everything from the water. Eric wakeboarded until his legs went a little tingly from the cold water...haha..

#8 The sunsets. It stormed for the first couple of days we were there off and on, but those storms delivered some amazing sunsets. There's just something about a gorgeous sunset over the water..*happy sigh*

#9 Not needing A/C! Don't get me wrong.. I'm a Caribbean beach vacationer to the core...but sometimes escaping from the hot Oklahoma summers for cooler weather is just divine. A light sweater and shorts? Yes.please.

#10 Last but certainly not least... Getting to spend fun quality time with Eric's side of the family. I don't have siblings so it's such a different experience to me to have a group of people to go do things with on vacations. It's really fun because everyone can really do their own things and have a great time. :)

 

 

My Cubs hat made lots of appearances on this trip b/c (1) I didn't want to do my hair and (2) my derm said to be careful burning my sun-damaged scalp. I looked back at photos and laughed at how many I have wearing that hat. Go Cubs! lol! :)

 

 

Turning 33 and accomplishing "all the things"

Hi friends. So I'm now blogging as a 33 year old! :) I'm considering this my last year in my "early 30s" since I'll be in my mid-thirties next year...right? (Don't answer that). Anyway, I had a great weekend celebrating my birthday and Independence Day! (It doesn't suck to be born on the 3rd and always have the day off after your birthday...just saying).

 

32 was a really big year- I got married, changed jobs, bought a new house (my FIRST house)...so 32 was pretty landmark as far as ages go. :) Excited to see what's ahead for 33. And with so many things last year, I'll even be great to just have a calm and solid year. Isn't it crazy how much can happen in just one year? And not going to lie... my 30s have been really good to me. I'm definitely a lot happier than I was in my 20s on an overall basis...Not that I wasn't happy (just had flashes of fun memories in my 20s like a superfast slideshow in my brain)...but it's a different kind of happy. A more comfortable-in-my-own-skin kind of happy if that makes sense.

Anyway, I had a goal of writing a post about 33 things I've learned...or something similarly creative and thoughtful... but it just didn't happen. That said, I've still been doing some thinking. And, for some reason, it's recently dawned on me that there's only so much time to accomplish all the things. What are all the things? All the things... Ya know...the things you mentally list that you plan to do "someday."

(No I am not having a quarter/mid life crisis. I had that in my mid twenties. It was weird. Be glad you weren't around).

For example... So...it's no secret that I big puffy heart the beach and beach towns. If it's warm, quaint and coastal, I'm pretty happy. I've always wanted to live at the beach (and so has Eric, so that helps). I think if when I'm old and wrinkly and reflecting, I'd be sad if I couldn't say I'd lived at a beach at some point in my life when I was young enough to enjoy it. For some reason, I really started obsessing about it in the past month or so...I didn't want to tell Eric b/c well... we just bought an awesome house. And I LOVE Tulsa. Like...if you ever come to Tulsa, I will pull out my Tulsa pom poms and practically do a cheer for you (I don't really have Tulsa pom poms). But I really started thinking about it...and finally mentioned it to Eric. And...I could list the zillion reasons why I love my husband and why we're a perfect match...and one of them would be that he "got it." Like...didn't even have to explain or justify. He just got it and was like "Well let's do it then...We can make a plan." (Love that he plans... The A-type chick in me gets all warm and fuzzy with plans.)

No, we're not talking this year...or next... or even the next few. There's not a rush. We're excited to renovate our house and settle down in it. But sometime in the next handful of years or a little more, you might read a blog about us picking up and going coastal. Which coast? Who knows. Maybe it's a phase... sure. So I could link this post someday and be like "haha.. how silly I was..." But...maybe it's not. And if it's not...then why not do it, right? Life is only so long.

I think some of this is coming from getting older (and wanting to do all the things...duh.. I said that)...and some of it is coming from just being happy. It sounds like it's restless...but it's actually the opposite. I'm really happy in this 33rd year of my life. And it feels good. I'm with the person I plan to spend the rest of my life with and start a family with. I'm really satisfied with my career and the place I've reached in that regard. I've got great family and friends. And importantly, I'm happy with who I am. That doesn't mean there aren't bumps and bruises along the way, sure, but the glass is half full the way I see it. And I'm enjoying the present...but also thinking "okay what next?" and I'm not thinking that with a frustrated sigh but more with a big smile with sunshine in my face. Cheesy...I'll give ya that...but it's true.. Yes, there's family planning too among the "things"...and while we definitely want that, we're also not in a hurry (even though that seems to break some people's brains and make them comment with strange, slightly inappropriate things but that's for another blog), but there's definitely a feeling of "Let's do it!" regarding all the things... things like living at the beach someday, among other items.

So no deep thoughts about being 33. Just a happy post about life being good and new horizons yet to discover. :)

And now that you've read my rants for a few minutes of your life you'll never get back, I'll share some pics from my birthday! 

 

Birthday breakfast at Wild Fork :)

 

...where, if you don't order the sourdough french toast, you're just out of your mind.
 

This guy. :)
 

Okay, so I've wanted to go shooting. Eric kept avoiding taking me (which I'm sure has nothing to do with how clumsy and high strung I can be... exactly the kind of person you want with a weapon). Anyway, I actually rocked it. And I had a blast!
 

I've been wanting to try our new blowout bar so I thought it was a good birthday treat. I kinda wanted loose, beachy curls and got tight, bouncy curls.. so there's that. But, I couldn't have done it myself so it worked. And it was fun. They gave me wine. That didn't suck. I'd go back.

Pre-dinner photo with these guys. And you'll notice the curls fell quite a bit like she said they would. I liked it more when they did. :)

We took a selfie like this in our first real photo alone together (not in a group), so naturally, I wanted to re-enact it outside Prhyme after dinner for some reason. It turned out pretty cute, I think. :)
 

The rest of the weekend was spent birthday lunching with my mom, pooling it up at our new house with friends and then with other friends watching fireworks. Add some r&r, some errands and that's the weekend! Hope you had a great holiday weekend!

Grand Lake weekend

This week has been BUSY so far. I left Monday morning for Houston, got back yesterday and had a work thing last night. So here I am...recapping the weekend on a Wednesday. Whatever.

For Father's Day weekend, we headed to Grand Lake. (Fun fact: Oklahoma has more shoreline than the East and Gulf Coasts combined). Eric's parents rented a fabulous condo at the newly-renovated Shangri la. Not all the living spaces have been fully renovated yet, but it's so awesome to see the Oklahoma landmark breathing again with a new owner and lots of work. It had become so overgrown and stuff, it was just sad. Anyway, I digress...

Really fab rooftop condo with our own little private pool and patio! The pool came in handy, but that's a story in a minute...

We arrived, opened some adult beverages, and played Cards Against Humanity. Even Eric's parents played...which made it even funnier. It's weird to think someday we'll be parents and our kids will assume we don't know any bad words/inappropriate sayings, etc.

Random selfie

 

 

The view from our terrace :)

 

 

 

Saturday, guys played golf then we did lunch at the marina and planned to go out on a boat.... 

But....

 

The wind was exceptionally insane...and the temperatures weren't typical June temps in Oklahoma. Normally, I wouldn't complain about any of this, but on a boat... it was a little chilly for the lake and the water was like being in the open sea...haha...

 

This is pretty much the only photo we got on the boat...as we re-entered the marina to return it to the doc 20 minutes after taking it out. The water was so choppy that our pontoon took in about 2.5 feet of water at one point and the motor was up in the air...haha! #lakeproblems #everymanforhimself

 

Please notice my wet hair from just being in the boat 20 minutes. It was a rough ride, people.

So, at that point, we were thankful to have the pool back at the condo...

 

With my pretty sis in law :)

 

Then, that evening, we grilled out on our patio and just chilled. Perfect evening. :)

 

We thought we might take the boat out Sunday morning, but alas, we woke up to insane rain and lightning. It was still a great weekend even sans boat, though. Actually loved just getting a chance to chill and hang out. Plus, while it was a bit cool for boating in high wind, temps were perfect to sit outside and enjoy the day...which is rare this time of year in Oklahoma.

 

We're all headed to Tahoe next month for a week and I'm pretty excited. It'll be nice to get away. (Any and all Tahoe recs appreciated). Eric and I are also still hoping for a beach getaway later this year, but TBD. The whole "let's remodel our new house" thing might influence that...

 

Hope you're having a happy Wednesday! We're on the downward slope, friends...:)



Our wedding video clip

Happy Monday! It was a solid weekend- Eric and I chaired the 10th annual wine event for our alma mater benefiting the scholarship fund, we got a little pool time in at the new house, saw some bike racing at Tulsa Tough and made time to veg out since the next few weekends are a little busier. I have some pics, but I'll work on that later.

I was preparing a wedding post b/c I fully intend to someday finish posting about the wedding/honeymoon....and it dawned on me that I can share the little video preview thing our videographer did for us. It makes me happy. And happy things are always needed on a Monday. So, while I doubt it'll make you as happy as it makes me (although it totally should..duh..haha), wanted to share...



So many memories in this 3 minute clip... :)

Casa de Griffin!

(I hope all these pics pull up. A lot were just copy paste from email, so let me know if they don't por favor).

 

Hi friends! Guess what! Guess what! We closed on our house on Thursday!



Everything went fabulously and we had keys (and beers) in our hands by lunchtime Thursday!

 

Wahoo!

 

We decided to wait to celebrate since Eric had to work Friday (It was my every-other-Friday-off Friday). So on Friday, I went to my hair appt. And randomly decided that new house= new hair! ha! I'd really kinda been admiring the new shorter cuts like Emily from Cupcakes and Cashmere and Kaley Cuoco's bob (Apparently as of today, she has a pixie cut. Thanks, google).  

 

 I wasn't planning to cut it yet, but was definitely feeling the urge. I showed Candice (my friend and stylist) the pics I like and she was like "OMG let's do it!" and the rest, my friends, is...well... a big pile of hair...

 

Anyway, I loved my long hair when I curled it, but it's so stick straight normally that it was looking really stringy when I didn't curl it. So.. hooray for a fresh cut! :) Sometimes I think I just grow my hair out so I can cut it again...and vise versa...haha!

 

So...back to regular programming... Friday night, we went back over to our house to meet with another architect! And took a selfie. In our living room! YAY!

 

Then Mexican food and cocktails happened. 

Saturday, we decided to hit up the pool store, bought some nice raft things, loaded up a grill and headed to our new house. No, we haven't moved anything else over. Just pool rafts. Priorities.

 

I have a feeling this isn't going to suck in the summer... 

And we had our first dinner at the new house! Our table was a storage tub, plates were paper, champagne was in plastic glasses...and it was perfect. :)

 

The yard extends beyond the trees/bushes behind the pool. They kind of create a nice private area around the pool. :)

 

Eric was really wanting to eat in this photo.. I was like "Please I want to take a selfie first! No wait...another one b/c you can't see the food...okay that's good..." I'm pretty sure he was about to kill me...haha... :)

Yesterday, a couple of friends joined us at the new house for some pool time and we took the pups over for the first time! They LOVED it! They didn't so much love swimming, so we didn't force them, but they ran around the big yard and explored so much. It was adorable. I have videos but no photos. Oops.

 

I have some photos of the house, but I have better ones saved on my home computer so I'll upload soon. I like the way the house looks completely empty. The only photos I have handy have the former owner's stuff in them. Plus, I think it will be cool to talk about what we want to do with some of the photos. :) We have meetings with a handful of architects this week, so we'll get an idea of who we want to use and then be able to get started with planning!! We've heard to do the existing footprint first and then do the master add-on we want in phase two. But then we've also heard to do the master addition first and existing footprint after since it will be easier. So we just don't really know. It will likely depend on timing and cost for what makes the most sense. Our phases will be pretty close together, but we just aren't sure where to start.

 

So it was a pretty fantastic weekend for the Griffins, not gonna lie. Also... Do you know that no one at my office has noticed my hair cut? NO ONE. I cut like 10 inches off, people! ha! So observant, so observant.

 

Happy Monday, friends!

 

 

Memorial Day Weekend + A New Self Tanner Fav

It was a really busy Memorial Day weekend! I kid... We actually did nothing of merit, which was pretty fantastic in and of itself.

Eric and I kicked off the weekend with MiCo mambos and dilemmas (Eric is holding the dilemma...I can't have more than one dilemma or I turn into hot mess).



 

I finally bought the maxi I'd been obsessing over at Dillards. Despite my serious selfie face, I really do love it.

 

Why so serious?

 

(I also found some awesome supersoft tshirt dresses at Target. Highly recommend. On sale now. There were more colors in my store than online, but here's the link. If in doubt and you want to order, order two sizes and take one back. My normal size small clinged just a bit too much to my backside and chest for my liking for a casual dress. I liked the way the medium fit better.)

 

Anyway, I digress...

 

We saw X-Men...and it was awesome! Did you know I'm an X-Men junkie? Well you do now and it was really freaking good. I heart Hugh Jackman Wolverine. 

 



 

We avoided storms and traded out cars so the older car was out and about with us in case of hail... #oklahomaweatherproblems

 

 

I'm not even complaining about the monsoons rain we've had the past couple of days b/c we needed it, but maybe Mother Nature could do some things in moderation? Eh? Just saying... 

 



Our driveway turning into a lake

We also celebrated a friend's kiddo's 5th birthday, watched the Thunder win, and had dinner with some friends. A good long weekend for sure. :)

 

And now... onto the random diatribe you can skip if you don't care about tanning. (But who doesn't care about tanning?! - says the recovered tan-a-holic with a standing annual dermatology appointment. *sigh*).

 

I found the best self tanner on earth. Okay, slightly overdramatic but this stuff is amazing. I'd read about it on The Northeast Girl's blog awhile ago but just hadn't taken the initative to order it. She has such great color and I was so glad she did a post to share her secrets earlier this year. (Side note: You should follow her. She has great style and mixes affordable pieces almost every day.)  Anyway, I finally bought it and couldn't wait to try it. I read online to use plastic gloves and I am so.glad.I.did. This stuff will dye your hands.

 

I watched a youtube video first to make sure I didn't jack up the application, but it's really pretty fool proof. Even though it will go on streaky, it doesn't stay that way once you shower the next day (I wear it overnight). I mean, I rubbed it in as well as I could, but it's okay if it's not perfect. It's paraben free and not tested on animals. I dig that. I put it on my face and it was fine. I don't have really sensitive skin though, so if you do, just maybe be careful there. It smells great...unlike so many of those other stupid tanners. It smells like Jergens cherry almond lotion scent if you're familiar with that. It does get that frito smell as it develops so you'll want to shower when you wake up or several hours after you apply...whatever your preference. But... then after the shower, the smell is pretty much gone! FREAKING AWESOME. Most tanners leave their smell with you even after you shower, but this one really doesn't.

What the bottle looks like

 

Here are the strengths in this tanner in my opinion...

* Easy to apply

* Since it's a lotion, it's much less mess than something like Fake Bake spray. I wanted to love Fake Bake, but I just couldn't get the application right and always ended up with more hassle and mess than it was worth.

* Dries really fast. I did my legs first and they were completely dry by the time I finished my stomach (the next place I applied after my legs).

* It works FAST. I noticed a difference in just one application. And I feel like I have really great color in just two applications.

* Pleasant smell for application and the developer smell mostly goes away after a shower. Not overpowering like some.

* It's not really sticky...at least not as sticky as the Jergens I've been using.

 

Stuff to consider:

* It's not cheap. I found it on Amazon, but the seller I purchased from isn't selling it right now so I didn't link it. I only paid $20, but I read a ton of reviews about the seller first to make sure I wasn't getting screwed. Amazon has it, but just make sure to read up on the seller. It's probably fine, but I just didn't want to link something I wasn't 100% certain of in the blog. Here it is on the Derm Store for quite a bit more cash, but at least you know it's authentic. I think some beauty supply places have it, but I couldn't find it in Tulsa.

* Make sure you select the color you want. I got "Dark" because there's a "Medium" and an "Ultra Dark." I was okay falling somewhere in the middle b/c I'm really pale normally. And I didn't want to look dirty. Since I'm so pale, a super brown tan looks weird on me. The dark is a great color for my skin tone.

 

Anyway, I didn't mean to write that much about it, but wanted to be full disclosure and I'm excited about it. I have only applied it twice so I don't know how it will fade, so TBD there. I could be a blotchy mess in two days. If so, I'll report back and strike this whole thing...haha...But, I really think I'm going to stick with this self tanner. I'm not patient enough for the super gradual ones but don't have time or an endless tanning budget to always go get a spray tan. I still really love the Hawaiian Tropic one, but it's become really hard to find. So if you have a lotion you like, go with it. But if you wanna try a new one, I highly recommend this one. Safe and sunless for the win!

 

Oh and the photo of me in the maxi dress above was after one application. I really wish I would have taken before/after photos. Arg. I just didn't think about it. That said, it really does vary for everyone and your own skin tone, so before/afters are hard if you ask me...

 

Anyway, that turned into a diatribe. I hope you had a great long weekend, friends.  

If you can't trust the internet, who can you trust? ;)

 



Obviously overdramatic, but have some recent observations.

 

1. I've started to notice a few folks looking awfully flawless in photos on social media. My thoughts went from "Wow, awesome skin!" to "Wait...that looks fake and doesn't match his/her neck." So I googled it. I had NO idea there are apps out there to basically airbrush your face! You can lift cheeks, add blush, apply lashes... WHAT?! 

 

* Who has that much time? B/c seriously playing with an app took me like 10 minutes for one photo!

* It's a selfie, not a resume for America's Next Top Model.

* Doesn't it make your other normal, unedited selfies appear subpar? Then you're forced into some pattern of constant editing?

 

Obviously some deep thoughts by Jackie. So I got one of the (free) apps I read about, Perfect 365. And people, it's weird. I didn't even go drastic, but check out the below difference.



 

Left: edited, right: not. Not like you needed me to point that out.

I mean, sure it makes me look less sleepy and like my skin is that of a 16 year old...awesome. But, really...I still think it's weird. While I probably could have applied more under eye concealer the day of this pic, I still like looking more like ME. Don't get me wrong. I still love me some instagram filters. Duh. But this just seems like a lot of work for a photo.

So know that if you're reading this and using the apps and feeling offended, I am 99.9 percent sure this isn't even about you. I'm talking about people that pretty much gave themselves a tan that didn't match their neck, widened their eyes and basically just went all extreme makeover through an app...haha... Fixing a blemish or some under eye circles? You go, girl.

But did you know these apps even existed?! Bizarre.

Anyway...

2. Why are so many people on social media selling things these days? Body wraps, skin care, food products? Iamsoconfused. But I am admittedly also intrigued by the business models. I mean, I obviously trust my friends so if they say it works, I'm automatically interested even if it's something I dont need/want. Genius. Anyway, just have noticed a lot of this stuff lately.

3. I really wanted to try a certain self tanner. I found it online on Amazon for $10 cheaper than anywhere else... and that price is consistent with other sellers on Amazon, so it's not some rogue seller. So I ordered it. But then I read a review like a page and a half in that says "this isn't the real stuff and won't work." Well crap. But the other reviewers love it and say it's the real deal. And the seller is legit with good reviews. So, friends, if I was deceived, prepare for my coffee stained self to do a post about scaring small children with my "tan."

End rant.