let me love you.

The overwhelming amount of great memories I have of all the different Valentine's day is amazing. Some of my favorite childhood memories are how my Mom and Dad always made that day so special. We would all wake up to our favorite candies on the kitchen table with a gift! We loved it. As I got older, my Dad would always send me flowers, which of course as every girl knows, makes you feel like a million bucks. Through high school, my friends and I grabbed a movie (usually The Notebook, lets be honest) and ordered in a heart shaped pizza... or two or three. Friends and sisters are always the greatest Valentines. The memories of funny things that we did and gave to each other is too long to list. To this day we still laugh and tell our husbands about our former hilarious single days and the stupid things we did. Sometimes they laugh and sometimes you get the look that says "that is only funny to you and your friends." - which I have to say, is usually true. To me though, I think the true value is in the memories that were made, the joy that is brought in those gifts, and the time spent together. 

The greatest joy that I receive is in giving love and the many different ways that we can show it. 

Here are some of my favorite things I have made / given / received!

made by me this year for my Mom & Dad

the card I made for my younger sister, Cait, this year

my gift for Josh this year ...

the phone case I got Josh this year for valentine's

my valentine from my boyfriend, Luke, this year

the card I made for my younger sister, Jamie, this year

my baby sister, Addison, with some of the things I sent her

the card I made for my Dad, Laura and Addison this year

my tea from my friend Jayne two years ago

cupcakes sent a couple years ago from my favorite bakery by my Mom & Dad

probably my #1, my first valentine's day card from Josh two years ago

& valentine's day last year from Josh

-----------------------------------------------

Love is such a gift. The beauty of love is all it's different shapes and forms that it takes. The way we love one another is a reflection of who we are and how we choose to feel towards another. This past week Josh and I read through The Five Love Languages and we really learned a ton. We realized so much about how we feel loved, what we need to feel loved, how we can better love one another, and just how special that is that we are all so different. I love that we are different. I love that Josh feels love in another way than I do and now I know how I can better communicate that to him. So far, in the tiny steps we have taken to express our love to one another, through quality time and the simple hand on the back, we have both felt better loved. 

I love that God has blessed me with being Josh's wife and being able to love him in a way that only I was created to love him. As we enter into a new part of our relationship, passing the 2 year mark of being together, we have found the chapters of each part of our story to be so different but equally beautiful. Realizing that you can't live on a mountain top, that there is beauty in each phase of life, and seeing growth in both good and the bad has been a huge blessing to us both. Falling in love with each other daily in new ways, loving each other when you fall short, choosing to show each other love when you are tired and just want to go to bed... this is the beauty of our God to me. I love that He has modeled the perfect relationship and reflection of love. Thank God, because I fall short everyday. But Josh loves me the way that our God loves him, with mercy, grace, and unconditionally. 

This Valentine's day was better and different than any other because of that man and the love we have been given. I hope everyone else has had a great love day, whether it was being silly with your sisters or friends, sharing it with your parents, or with the man / woman you love. 

xoxo

this is the year that I...

My New Years resolutions have always been rather vague, or rather, they have simply not existed. They tend to consist of the typical, "loose weight" or "work out more," but this year though, I felt inspired. Maybe it's because I have already been trying to start these habits and this is the best time to say, I am starting today. Period. End of story. And, to my delight, so far so good!

Along with my resolutions, here are some of my must have products to make sure I can keep up all of my resolutions! 

1. Have a better self image - no. matter. what. 

This is a confidence that I pray for every day. As a woman, we are always striving to be our best, and especially in my line of work, there is always "something" to make your "something" better. 

So my prayer has changed to...

 [God, just let me love myself the way you love me, so I may love others that way. Let me not focus on my "short-comings" as you do not see them that way, but let me see my uniqueness as beauty.] God loves me exactly the way I am, five pounds lighter or heavier. Prayer that when I feel disappointed in myself, remembering, HE is not. 

I love to journal my prayers and my favorite journal is this leather one from Target.

2. Take my vitamins! 

Biotin is great to add to your everyday multivitamin to help your hair grow and it does wonders for your skin and nails too! Also, I take my vitamins at night with a big glass of water after dinner. That way, at least in my mind, you aren't just peeing out all your supplements. It gives your body time to absorb them properly. Just food for thought. 

3. Moisturize!

The best time to really hydrate your skin is right after the shower. Your skin is going to absorb the most moisture after the warm shower has taken a lot of it's oil and nutrients, so you need to replenish it.  I am loving the cocoa butter gel right after the shower at night - but it is too heavy for the morning, for me at least.

4. Use a make up primer. Consistently. 

I just got a sample of this guy from Sephora and I am so pumped to use it without having a to buy a bottle of it and be stuck with it if I don't like it. Elle and Allure both rave about it though, so I am guessing it'll be a home run.

This, on the other hand, is what I have been using when I do take time to put on primer. It is really light and matte so it's great for oily/combination skin like mine. It makes your face so soft and smooth and makes your skin the perfect pallet for your foundation. 

If you have tried these and aren't a fan, I have a couple other tricks up my sleeve, so message me if you need other primers to try.

5. Do my makeup for work everyday & try something new!

Being a low maintenance girl in a hair and make up world is tough sometimes. This lil puppy leaves me excited to try out new makeup every morning! I have been eyeing it for a while, and people that have it, rave about it, so I finally caved. It is sold out like 95% of the time at Sephora and Ulta, so get it when you can. There is also a Naked 2 pallet now as well, I stuck with the original for now. Excited for my make up today and pumped to test it out on my clients that are going to prom this weekend! 

So, now not only are my resolutions written in my journal, but they are here for the world to know. No turning back now. Happy 2012 everyone!

DIY costume challenge

Every year, people pay way too much money for a cheap costume that falls apart. It's usually because we don't want to or don't know how to make our own. I am very guilty of this too.  

This year I challenge you all to make your costume/throw one together with what you already have. Those are usually the best costumes any way! This forces you to be creative and to think outside the box, plus I am saving you money. Aren't I sweet :)

I want to reveal what me and Josh are doing so bad but I just have to save it for a surprise. It's good though, I promise you that.

I want to almost make this a competition, that if you email your costume or I see it somehow, that I'll crown the best costumes... We'll see what you guys come up with :) 

HAPPY HALLOWEENER!!!

Just to inspire...

it's too good.

Jake and Karissa Yeager everybody. I mean they should be everyone's inspiration and competition. 

memories on paper

Over the years, I have been semi-hoarding all the cards, notes, and letters that I have gotten from friends and family. There are too many funny, loving, caring, sweet, full of life memories that I can't just toss. It also seemed just as pointless to let them sit in a box in a cabinet where I never get to see them either. Lucky me, I stumbled upon a blog that showed her great idea for saving your cards! The way that she made hers was using a whole punch and keeping them in a small binder. It was really cute, but I wanted to personalize it for me. 

I have an addiction to journals. I can't help it. They are beautiful and I love to write. So needless to say, I can't finish one journal before I fall in love with another one. This actually happened to be perfect though! I had this amazing journal I had bought at Anthropologie and had been dying to do something really cool with. Seemed like with all my cards and this gem, I finally had that opportunity. 

It's gorgeous, right?

 

Pick your favorite memories! Cards, notes, letters, whatever! I used ModPodge to glue the cards to the paper.

( The second picture is Instagram'd- if you aren't addicted, you should be. )

This was my first page but you can decide to put whatever really.

just because's :)

Christmas cards

I love the way this came out! It is just so fun to flip through and see all the sweet words of encouragement, love, and joy that people wish you on graduations, birthdays, and for no reason at all. I am so blessed to be so loved by amazing people and their words are something I cherish so deeply and now they look adorable in my journal. Hope you guys can do something fun and special to you with your memories!!! 

I have been so glaze-y.

Call me shinyhair girl.

NOT because it's oily either, yew.

 I am struggling to fully commit to my next hair color for fall (red? keep my brunette ombre? ugh, decisions.). So, while I am not currently dying my hair (it's been 6 weeks!) I have found my go to. I guess it's really just an old friend! Did mine yesterday in between loads of laundry and I feel like a new woman. 

 I love Cellophane by Sebastian or PM Shines by Paul Mitchell. Both of the glazes (or gloss) are demi-permanent hair color, which is between semi and permanent. The lines are both deposit only, so it won't make you blonde if you are brunette, it simply just adds a tone or shine to your color you already have or will darken your color. Both of the lines have clear, reds, brunettes (golden-auburn-ashy), and golden blondes. Stick to your tone your stylist already gave you and just use these to up your shine or add vibrancy, not to change your overall color!

The Cellophane is an easy at home home product because it doesn't require processing liquid and only takes 20 minutes. The shine and feel that the product gives your hair is that just dyed shine and it actually makes it feel healthier too. The results last for about 4-6 weeks, depending on how much you wash. 

PM Shines is available only by professionals only. 

Cellophane is available at local beauty supply stores or by a professional. 

glamour girl curl

"That glamour girl curl is so hot right now."
Hot Tools recently came out with a ceramic curling wand in a couple different sizes, I went with the 1 1/4". I prefer my curls to be bigger and a little bit looser, but if you prefer them to be a bit tighter, than go for the smaller wand.  It curls so fast and is so easy to use. It gives you the very glamorous and retro curls that we all love and are so in this fall.

Hot Tools Nano Ceramic Wand

It's so easy to create the glamorous waves that stars are wearing a lot right now.

Here's how:

1. Section off your hair in 1 1/4" wide sections,  pulling majority of it up into a clip.

2. Wrap your hair around the wand in about 1" increments. 

3. Repeat with every section doing your whole head.

 *When you get close to your face you might want to do sections smaller so that the curl holds higher up on the hair shaft, keeping it's shape.

4. Spray hair with a lighter-medium hold hair spray and let it "set" or cool down for about 5 minutes.

5. Run your fingers or a brush through your hair and maybe one more spray of hairspray and TADA!

Jessica Alba

Annalynne McCord

Sienna Miller- this is the similar to the way mine came out yesterday

and of course, Taylor Swift, the queen bee of bringing glamour back to the curl world.

Coming Soon!!!

I am going to do a video soon of how to curl with a straightener too for those messy beach curls that I LIVE in...