High Five for Friday!

Woo hoo! I really needed this work week to end.  Between repeated software crashes, non-stop phone calls and crazy blackouts at work, I am done.  DONE with this week.  So let's get to my five things that were better than all the mayhem, shall we?

1. WE ARE OFF ON MONDAY!  I can't even tell you how much excitement this brings to me.  I always think weekends should be three days anyhow, and the universe listened this time.  Solid.

2. I received my Oribe Dry Texture Spray in the mail this week.  Oh. Em. Gee.  That spray is hands-down one of the best things to ever grace my hair.  I was able to get volume and texture and for the first time ever, I was able to have 3 day hair that looked freshly washed, because it acts like a dry shampoo as well.  That stuff will always be a repeat purchase for me; I don't care how much it costs.  I am excited to put it to extra good use at the weddings I am going to in the next few months.

3.  I went fall shopping at Target again.  Target clothes are such a hit or miss for me.  This summer I really didn't like anything there and barely bought anything but fall has been a game changer.  I am excited to wear everything but not too excited, yaknowwhatimean?

4.  I got to hang out with my best girlfriends on Sunday for some much needed catch-up time.  Well, we decided to peruse Michaels for their Halloween decorations and they did not disappoint.  I bought the cutest stake for the yard and a sign for the front door (or somewhere in the house, dunno where that's going yet).  I don't have many Halloween decorations, so I am starting to add to my collection.

5.  We finally got our sprinkler system and seed for our lawn!  We should have a green yard in a couple of weeks and I am so excited!  Just in time for fall.  I have big ideas about putting up cornstalks and hay bales and pumpkins for the blustery season.

So that's that for the week!  I'm hoping to get some nice rest and relaxation in this extended weekend and maybe tackle a few home projects that have been calling my name as well.  But as for tonight?  Hubs is having the NFL Draft party for Fantasy Football with some friends and family.  Kroger fried chicken for dinner, y'all. Woot!

50 Facts About Me

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Lately I have been wondering about what makes me, me!  Sometimes I feel like I have so many different likes and interests, I feel like I'm 12 people in one.  That can be a wonderful thing, because I don't get bored easily but sometimes I feel scattered, too...like I'm not sure where to pour all of my energy and focus.

I figured that since I do have so many things that make me who I am, I should put them down in one space.  I might even surprise myself!  Here we go, in rapid-fire random style:

1. I love to crochet.

2. I love roller coasters.

3. I'm not a huge fan of bananas, but I'll eat them.

4. I don't like candles, but I love Scentsy.

5. I love love love to travel.  I have so many destinations on my bucket list!

6. I like vegetables more than fruit.

7. I am a huge Lucille Ball fan.

8. I am a huge Robin Williams fan, and always have been. *sadface*

9. I like to do lots of impersonations of characters, people and dialects.
10. I am not a cat person, but I always want other people's cats.

11. Me + heels = true love.

12. I like to paint.

13. I used to like to scrapbook, but that takes so.much.time.

14. My birthstone is Emerald.

15. The numbers 5 and 15 are my lucky numbers.

16. I'm a homebody.  I love having nights with nothing to do.

17. My dream job was to become an actress.

18. I hate doing the dishes.

19. My favorite color is purple.

20. I have zero patience with figuring out computers/tech gear.  Good thing my hubs does that for a living!

21. I am scared of spiders.  Keep those jerks away from me.

22. My style icon is Victoria Beckham.  I would LOVE to meet her one day! (I would probably faint).

23. I have always, always struggled with acne. Ughhhhhhhhhh.

24. My three favorite YouTubers right now are Tanya Burr, Zoella and Claire Marshall.

25. I am a Taurus.

26. I love going to church.

27. House of Cards is my current television/Netflix obsession.  Is it February yet?!

28. My feet are always cold.

29. I get really crabby if I don't get enough sleep or if I'm really hungry.

30. I hate anything cherry flavored or scented.

31. Cheese sticks are my jam.  The deep fried ones, obviously.

32. I love chocolate.

33. And brunch.

34. And nachos.

35. I am a grammar/spelling cop.  (Deal with it.)

36. The beach is my favorite place to be.

37. I once auditioned for an Oscar Mayer commercial.

38. I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

39. Art fairs are one of my favorite things to go to.

40. I make an awesome homemade spaghetti sauce.

41. I married my hubby on September 18, 2009.

42. I am colorblind.

43. I hate wet bath towels on the floor.

44. I like to sleep in but I never do.

45. I am a coffee addict.

46. Kate Hudson is one of my favorite actresses.

47. My guilty obsession is the Kardashian sisters.

48. I love Elvis Presley.

49. I love decorating for holidays.

50. I wish I had a chef.

So there you have it!  I thought I would get stumped after about fifteen of these but it wasn't too bad!  Now I tag my sisters, Brooke and Ashley to do the same!

Blushin' It

I have been pretty obsessed lately with watching and re-watching my favorite beauty YouTuber's "Favorites" videos because I am on the hunt for a new blush.  I can say with confidence that this is definitely a lacking part of my makeup collection.  For some reason, I never felt like I needed to wear blush (DUMB).  I am fair skinned and tend to battle a little bit of redness at times, so I guess I felt like adding blush would make my face look too wind-burned or something of that sort.

I only have two blushes in my collection, and one is a cheap NYX blush and the other one Clinique.  The NYX blush is pretty hard to work with because I feel like I need to use tons and tons to get any color payoff.  It also has a chunky gold shimmer in it, which I don't want all of the time.  Since I tend to add dewiness to my face with a highlighter, I don't feel like I need the chunks of gold in there, especially if I want to go with a more silver toned highlighter.

The Clinique one was nice, but it seems a little to...I don't know the right word...boring?  That's the best way I can describe it.  I guess it just seems to fall flat on my face instead of adding a pretty flush to it.

Anywho, I'm not feeling either one.

Obviously, I will need to consult someone at a counter to determine the correct color for me, but the next three are the brands I have been hearing over and over again as being the best.  So YouTube beauty gurus pretty much have me narrowed down to three I am trying to decide between:

MAC Powder Blush - $22

Everyone raves about how beautiful MAC blush is in Well Dressed.  I like that it's not shimmery, but I am not sure if this will be too pink for me.  I would love it if this would add that beautiful 'from within' color on me!  At $22, it's not horribly expensive, so it would be nice if I like this one the best out of the three!

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush - $26

Tarte's Amazonian Clay blushes keep being lauded as one of the best with great color payoff and staying power.  There are so many colors, I will definitely need to swatch these in Sephora.  Some of them have quite a bit of shimmer in them, so it will be interesting to see what works best for me since I don't want too much.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush - $35

This just looks delicious.  The Hourglass Ambient Light Blushes are quickly becoming a favorite among beauty bloggers.  I have a thing for marbled-looking makeup, so these look absolutely beautiful from the packaging all the way to the product itself.  I have heard that they look shimmery in the pan but don't look that way on the skin.  At $35, this one is the most expensive option, so I will have to make sure I am in love with this before I spring for it. 

Any experiences with these blushes or other ones that you love?  I am excited to head to Sephora and do some major decision making on these.  Since fall is right around the corner, I am excited to add another piece to my collection to hopefully keep that 'glow' throughout the cooler seasons!

Cars, man. Cars.

This week has been some.thing.else.

Ever have one of those weeks where nothing really bad happens but it's enough "out of the ordinary" crap that throws everything out of whack?

Meet my week.  And let me remind you that it's only Tuesday.

Rewind to about two months ago.  Our Focus is only 4 years old but the air conditioner began to get warmer and warmer when it ran.  Ok, no biggie, we just figured it needed some more freon or something to perk it back up.  We planned on taking it in soon because it needed new brakes anyways.  And then one week passed, then two, then SIX and hubs had a ridiculous work trip to and from Erie, PA sweating his Polish dupa off for five hours with the windows rolled up because he was on a conference call.  (Don't worry, I found this hilarious.  Him, not so much).

Well, evidently, not getting the AC fixed quick enough caused the Focus to get all sorts of super pissed, because then engine lights went on and the temperature gauge decided to play a game of yo-yo.  Ok, NOW we have to take it in.  Still in my optimistic state of mind, I'm all "oh, well, it probably just needs reset, maybe the sensors are messed up"

Wrong, Heather.  Wrong.

You know squat about cars.

Turns out the engine sensor and PC module (an engine has it's own PC?) went to crap and apparently, I am slacking with my housekeeping duties because the engine was "filthy".  I'll be sure to add that to my cleaning rotation ::eye roll::.  They gave us a nice little estimate and told us that was where we were at BEFORE they even touched the AC.  Lovely, no?

So yesterday and today I had to bum a ride with my sister, Ashley, since she had a running vehicle and thankfully we work at the same place.  Yesterday was fine, I hop into her Focus and away we go.  We chit chatted about how cars are dumb and she casually mentioned that when she got her car checked before her trip to Virginia Beach, they told her she would need a new serpentine belt soon because hers was cracking.

Then today when she came to pick me up, she was driving Mom's car.  BECAUSE HER CAR WOULDN'T START.  (I might have laughed hysterically.) Turns out, it wasn't even her serpentine belt, her battery just decided to give out.  She probably got off a lot cheaper than us with her fix but whatevez.  I guess I am relieved that neither of us ended up stranded somewhere considering the circumstances.  And I'm happy that I get my own car back tomorrow.

At least our pit stop to Dairy Queen yesterday cheered us up a bit.  Gettin' fat on ice cream makes life more bearable.

Creating an Oasis

Ever since we moved into the new house, I have become a bit obsessed with decorating.  With so much more space in this house, we have a lot of new areas to fill with color and comfort.  I am excited about this, because since the house is a blank slate, I can start from the ground up with wall colors, furniture and texture.  Sure, I have done little projects, like buying wall hangings and cute little end tables and knickknacks, but we haven't jumped into painting just yet.  More space = a lot more walls to paint!

The obsession with decorating has also turned into an obsession with home decorating blogs and Pinterest.  Oh, Pinterest.  Have you ever searched "master bedrooms" or "home decor" on Pinterest?  It's pretty much a never-ending onslaught of gorgeous rooms that DO NOT look like anything I have goin' on up in here right now.

I have really wanted to start with the master bedroom, because that is the one room that I so look forward to relaxing in every night.  I want it to be cozy and lovely and soft and fluffy!  (When did all of the accent pillows become a thing?  Regardless, I want all of them.)  I want texture and pattern and statement pieces...I just need to get my brain to put together a cohesive look.  I have stumbled across quite a few pictures that give me some great inspiration.

Take this one for example:

BHG

I adore the color scheme, and the subtlety of it all.  There's a large print, but it's monochromatic, so it's not too loud.  The fluffy ottoman's at the foot of the bed add lovely texture and I just adore that chandelier.  It's so feminine and soft, but keeping the neutral color palette makes it perfect for a couple.  Not to mention, I would love to have a headboard like that in my bedroom!

And then there's this room:

BHG

Totally different!  Although I love neutrals, I picked this room because of the wall color.  I wouldn't necessarily pick this exact color, but I like that it definitely adds interest without making the room closed in.  I like the eclectic mix in here.  Nothing seems too match-matchy, which I have been liking lately.  That end table?  Adorable.

And the big thing I have been thinking about doing in the master?  Something like this:

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That gorgeous, painted tray ceiling.  YOU GUYS.  I am dying to do something like this.  Add in a fabulous chandelier and some fluffy pillows and I am in Heaven. 

I can't wait to get started on the master bedroom project!  Until then, I guess I will just keep adding all of these lovely rooms to my Pinterest boards ;)

My Random Quirks

Hey everyone!  Since I have tons of blogs in my Bloglovin' feed, I usually come across one or two that spark my interest and get me thinkin'.  Over on Mandy's blog, she was talking about the random quirky things about her that make her unique.  I started to think about what my little quirks were and came up with quite a few, so I figured I would give this a go myself! Let's start, shall we?

I HATE AVOCADO.

Yep.  Can't stand the stuff.  I have tried and tried and tried to get used to it and I just can't.  I can't even tolerate guacamole.  I know how wonderful avocado is for the body, so I have tried multiple ways to disguise it.  The only thing that really works for me is putting it in smoothies with other greens like spinach, kale, celery and some fruit to mask the flavor. At least I'm trying to sneak it in there, right?

MY FAVORITE CHORE IS VACUUMING.
I think this is one of my favorite chores because I can space out when I do it.  It's kind of nice after a long day of work to do something mindless and methodical.  It gives me a chance to decompress.  And, I kind of have a thing for vacuum tracks.  It makes the house look so much better so quickly after a fresh vacuum!

I LOVE MULTI-COLORED WRITING UTENSILS.
This one stems from my Dad.  I always watched my Dad highlight his blueprints for his work when I was growing up.  He always had so many different colored highlighters and pens and I just loved them.  He would always let us borrow them, but he would tease us and say "I better get my markers back!"  Don't know how often he did though ;)  I have multi-colored ink pens on my desk at work right now :)

I'M AFRAID OF SCARY MOVIES
Yep, I'm a wimp.  Can't stand them.  I would much rather put in a rom-com any day.  If your a fan of the rom-com, come on over!  We'll pop some popcorn and ogle Ryan Reynolds or Matthew McConaughey :D

I ALWAYS HAVE TO HAVE COVERS WHEN I SLEEP
I don't care how hot it is, I always need something covering me and something that I can gather up and put up against my face.  I know I have a pillow but I guess I just like extra fluff around me when I sleep.

I CAN'T BURP.
My husband can vouch for this one.  I am unable to burp.  I mean, I do, but never the big, belching, loud, noise-making burps from the gut.  My burps get as far as my throat and then they fizzle out.

Well, that's a good list to start with!  Sometimes after you admit to things, a lot more people that actually have the same quirks!  I will probably be back with a round 2 at some point, since I will probably be catching myself doing other weird things at some point.  What are your quirks and habits that are strange to others?  I want to know!