30 Minutes of Wonderful

Wrapping up a pretty good weekend tonight. Nothing terribly exciting, but good, nonetheless. Owen and I started Friday with some shopping in Houma. I had to make a return at Target. The travel mug in the Grinch Christmas mug set I bought the day before was cracked. Unfortunately, there were no more in stock. Sad, because I love me some Grinch and looked forward to drinking my coffee with him every morning. Ah, well. I'll check back soon. Ended up hitting the dollar spot, though. Bought Owen a few books & picked up 2 magnetic Christmas note pads and a set of A Christmas Story pens for myself. (I'm a sucker for pens & stationary.) Also bought O two cute plates--one Christmas and one Thomas the Train. Oh, and I picked up a clearance nail polish. Because, you know, the 100+ other polishes I own aren't enough. It's "Kardashing Through the Snow" from Nicole for OPI. I've been on a glitter kick lately. We stopped at the mall for cookies (Great America...

my backyard I live in south Louisiana and grew up on the bayou. It was literally my back yard...named after my family & flowing along the 18 acres my grandfather owned. Lots of great adventures there over the years, but this one stands out in my mind.  I was 15, a sophomore in high school. There was a huge square chunk of concrete in the water, right along the bank, that had a smaller square on top of it. It was a perfect seat for reading. I spent a lot of time out there, book in hand or just watching the water. On this particular day, I sat reading while my German Shepherd, Sasha, wandered along the levee. The property across the bayou from us was a small farm. They had goats, sheep, and ducks. I saw a mama duck & about a dozen ducklings drop into the water for a swim. I smiled at how cute they were and went back to my book. Then something else caught my eye. An alligator popped up behind the ducks. Mama Duck went into a frenzy, trying to get her ducklings to safety....

This was my first month to receive an ipsy bag.Overall, pretty impressive! First off, I love anything chevron-patterned these days, plus red/white/black are a favorite color combination of mine. The bag was an instant win. I was also excited about all of the products.  The Coastal Scents eyeshadows are great. I love the colors (set #6) and the quality was surprisingly good. I'm a self-admitted Urban Decay snob when it comes to shadows. However, the CS palette blended easily & the pigmentation is wonderful. The Be a Bombshell eye liner in onyx is like a felt-tipped marker. I've never tried one before, so I'm curious to see how easy it will be to work with. Sad but true, I only learned how to use eyeliner in plain old pencil form a couple of years ago, and I'm almost 32!  I also got theBalm "What's Your Type?" mascara in "the body builder". It's black, which is always a winner. I've used it a couple of times now and I rea...

So I got an e-mail on Tuesday of last week informing me that my Birchbox  had shipped. And then later in the day, I check my mailbox and find said Birchbox in it. Because it actually shipped on the 6th. No complaints, though. I was excited to have it so quickly! I resubscribed last month for the first time in over a year. Last month's box was pretty good.  It's just "meh" this month. I got: beautyblender sponge (full size=$25.95 for a pack of two) Chantecaille Brilliant Gloss (full size=$33) DDF Wrinkle Resist Plus Pore Minimizer (full size=$85) Marie Veronique Organics Anti-Aging Oil+ (full size=$80) Lifestyle Extra: LUNA Lemon Zest (full size=$18.75 for a pack of 15) I've been curious about the beautyblender for awhile, and nearly bought a knockoff at WalMart last week, so that's kinda cool. I've been using it & I really like it. I wet it first and it blends my foundation nicely. Tried the LUNA bar. It wasn't terrible, but...

I took advantage of nap time today to tackle a crafty project I've wanted to do for awhile now. Saw this on Pinterest awhile ago and thought it'd be perfect, since I can't get rid of cards! It's nice to go back later & read the sentiment. Of course, I can't find the pin now to link here, but it's simple enough. You'll get the general idea! So today, after Owen crashed, I popped Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince into the DVD player, brewed a fresh pot of coffee, and settled on the living room rug with my hole puncher, ribbon box, book rings ($1.88 for a pack of 8 (4 small, 4 large) at Walmart) , & a pile of cards. I sorted them first, into 4 piles-baby shower 1, baby shower 2, baby's arrival, & 1st birthday. (Yep, I was very luck & had two showers--the first by my in-laws in north LA and the 2nd by my parents here at home.) Then, I punched a hole in the top corner of each and put the book ring through. To finish it off, I knotted a ...

My Wednesday started off with a funeral. My great-aunt passed away on Monday at the age of 85. She had been sick for awhile. I'm glad she isn't suffering anymore, but I'm sorry that my great-uncle and cousins now have to go on without their matriarch. My dad, my son, & I went show our support this morning. Owen was incredibly well behaved and friendly. Being a toddler, I'm never quite sure how he'll react to a bunch of relative strangers. Sometimes he's Mr. Social and sometimes he's hiding behind mommy. But today he was happy to greet everyone & give high-fives.  I don't believe in sheltering children from death. It should absolutely be handled in an age-appropriate manner, but I think that the earlier children know about death, the less scary it will be for them. Owen is two and has been to a few funerals already, although today was the first time he ever went up to the casket. I expected him to ask if Aunt E was asleep, but he said nothing. H...

Brooke is giving away a Fall/Halloween Softlips two-pack on her blog . Go check it out! You can also enter on her YouTube channel  here . And Coley's  giveaway is almost over. Hurry over to Allie's blog to enter, then follow all of these lovely ladies. You'll be glad you did! :)