What’s Up Wednesday

Hey Everybody!  We moved What’s Up Wednesday from last Wednesday to this Wednesday so we could dedicate last week’s post to ways to help with Hurricane Harvey clean up and restoration.  Click HERE if you missed that post.

This month we will have two What’s Up Wednesdays (today and the last Wednesday of the month)! Time to join up today with Shay and Mel and let everybody know WHAT’S UP with you this fine Wednesday!

WHAT WE’RE I’VE BEEN EATING 

The family is eating like the same 8 things we always eat for dinner.  #burgers #tacos #steak #shrimp #fajitas #etc.

However, I’ve been switching things up for lunch over here, and it’s been fun! I bought two more packages of the Butternut Squash spiral noodles I talked about a couple of weeks ago, and I’m officially obsessed.

I also tried out Cauliflower crumble “fried rice”.  I sauteed the “fried rice” in a tiny amount of olive oil till warm throughout.  I then topped it with chicken (I soaked some leftover grilled chicken in pineapple juice and soy sauce) and a fried egg.

It was actually quite delicious(even though it doesn’t look it). Ha!   I am a huge fan.

*********************************

WHAT I’M REMINISCING ABOUT

The week before school started, my family took a trip to Florida!  We met some friends and extended family there and all shared an incredible beach house (we’re talking 3 stories, a huge pool, a media room, an awesome kitchen, and I could go on) for the week!  There were 16 of us at one point.  IT WAS A BLAST.

I did a great job of going offline when I was there, and it was a great little break for me.  The blog keeps me on the computer and my phone A LOT, so it was nice to disconnect for awhile.  I just soaked up family time and my people! I did manage to get some pictures, but not near as many as I should have.

Our house for the week was in a grouping of homes that that had a private little beach, and it was wonderfully NOT crowded.  We also came the week that off season really began and lots of kids across the country had already started school.  It was delightful.

Ahhhh….

On the beach with my people and so happy!

Me and the girls (Averie and Monica).

Carter and Carson were like peas and carrots, just like they always are.  With Carter being an only child, I’m so thankful for his relationship with Carson.  (Carson is who I talk about that is always at the ranch with us. Carson is the grandson of Carter’s grandfather’s cousin.  Does that make them 3rd cousins?  I know so many people don’t even know their 3rd cousins, but these two are so close and love each other so much!)

We would spend the mornings at the beach and our afternoons at the pool!

We all decided that crab hunting was a great time!  Those suckers are QUICK, and we had many laughs chasing after them!

I MEAN.  You can’t get much better than this.

These two make me smile.

Yep, crab hunting was definitely the favorite activity of the littles!  There were sooooooooo many tiny little crabs, but we also managed to find some big ones!  We released them all back right after catching them, but “the hunt” sure was fun!

And a little night swimming never hurt anybody.

A wonderful time was had by all, and I’m already looking forward to our trip next year.

*********************************

WHAT I’M LOVING

So, if you’ve read the blog for awhile, you know I’ve loved Barrington bags for several years.  And this year, Colleen Rothschild skincare became a love for me as well.  When they contacted me to talk about their travel products, I was so excited to do so!

*USE THE CODE STMT20 – valid for 20% OFF regular-priced Colleen Rothschild items through 09/13/2017

*USE THE CODE STMTSAVE10 for 10% OFF your Barrington purchase!

Look. That’s me (in Florida) with a well cleansed and fresh face all excited to tell you about the products.  😉  You can find my pajamas HERE (from Target)!

Cosmetic Kit c.o. Barrington /Accessories Case c.o. Barrington  / Colleen Rothschild Discovery Kit c.o.

The large navy bag (they call it their “cosmetic kit”) is what I always take with me on trips.  Sometimes I use it for my skincare, and sometimes I use it to store jewelry!  It’s just an all around great travel companion.  It holds a really good amount of items, it is lined with Barrington’s soft micro-suede interior lining, and it’s trimmed in leather.

The smaller bag is what I use as my everyday make-up bag.

Both bags make great presents as well, especially for graduates and new brides!  And come on, every bride loves getting items with her new monogram!  Barrington gifts has a lot of products to choose from!

And ladies, if you’ve been wanting to try the Colleen Rothschild skincare line, but haven’t known where to start, this discovery kit is a great option for you.  And lucky y’all!  Right now it’s $69, and it’s regularly priced at $150.  That’s quite a savings! It contains many of their most popular products and would be a great way to give them all a try! Personally, I was excited to receive it, not to try the items (because I already own the full size of most of them), but because they are PERFECT for travel.

The kit includes the following

• Radiant Cleansing Balm
• Dual Enzyme Polish
• Clarifying Detox Mask
• Sheer Renewal Cream
• Extreme Recovery Cream
• Face Oil N°9
• Muslin Cleansing Cloth
• And an exclusive CR Travel Bag

With the exception of the face oil (it’s a bit to oily for my skin, but my mom absolutely swears by it), I absolutely love everything in the kit.

The cleansing balm (seen below) is a relatively new favorite for me. And I know this is going to sound dramatic, but it’s like an experience.  I don’t even dread washing my face anymore, and this balm is why.  It has the loveliest lightest citrus scent, and it’s like you’re giving yourself a spa treatment at home! You scoop it out, warm it between your fingers, and then apply it to your face.  It removes all make-up easily (even stubborn eye make up), but it’s not harsh. Now here’s what’s the most awesome…you don’t have to use water to remove it!  You can of course use water if you want to, but you can also use the muslin cloth that comes with both the cleansing balm and the discovery kit. You just wipe it off and you will be left with fresh and wonderfully cleansed skin!

My other absolute favorite products in the kit are the dual enzyme polish and the clarifying detox mask.  I look forward to using both masks.  I’ve been using the polish twice a week and the detox mask about once a week.

The polish is gritty and sloughs off dead skin skills, leaving you with super soft skin.  I’ve read before that if you don’t exfoliate properly, then all of the other products you are using (moisturizer, eye cream, etc), don’t really have the opportunity to do all they can do.  And I of course want to give all the products I’m using the best chance at working!  I have VERY sensitive skin, and most exfoliating problems turn me bright red.  This one doesn’t.  After using it, I feel like my skin is softer and brighter, and I love that it is then ready to maximize the benefits of the other products I’m using.

The clay mask feels so luxurious. Sometimes I use it all over my face, and sometimes I use it as a spot treatment (like on my nose) to draw out impurities.  Again, because of my sensitive skin, lots of masks I’ve tried in the past are way too harsh and irritate my skin.  Not this one!

Other products in the discovery kit:  the sheer renewal cream is a great daily moisturizer.  It doesn’t leave my skin feeling greasy at all, and I wear it on it’s own and under make-up.  I actually use this at night too because the nighttime recovery cream is a bit too much for my face.  I still battle the occasional break-out here and there, which is why I don’t consistently use the face oil or the night cream. The other products I do use don’t cause me to experience dryness, so the sheer renewal cream is plenty for me.  On occasion that I do have really dry skin (ex. after a day at the pool and in the sun), I will use the extreme recovery cream sparingly.  It’s super thick, and not oily at all.  I know lots of ladies are totally in love with this product  If you are interested in learning more about it, click over to read both the info. provided by the CR site, AND read the reviews as well.  They are often extremely informative.

Oh, I just thought of something!  I did use the face oil last week during the time that whatever in the air was trying to kill me.  I would have crazy sneezing fits, and the sneezing fits coupled with a runny nose had me wiping/blowing my nose constantly.  It was starting to get red and raw, but a couple of dabs of the face oil over a couple of days helped my poor chapped nose heal quickly!

*********************************

WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO

We’ve just been getting back in the swing of things over here with back to school!  I miss our late nights and late mornings something fierce!  We ROCK summer over here.

**********************************

WHAT I’M WORKING ON

I’m working behind the scenes and hoping to have some cool ways to continue to help Hurricane Harvey victims.  I’ll obviously share with you as I learn things, but I do have a cool tee to share with you today.

I followed my friend Carly’s lead and bought this tee for the two guys I personally know that selflessly went out in their boats…sustained damage to their boats….went without sleep and food…..to rescue people they had never met before.

My heart just swells with pride thinking about how COME HELL OR HIGH WATER, they were out there rescuing people, rescuing families.  I cannot even imagine how thankful those families are that all of these men were willing to JUST GO.

The company will donate 100% of the proceeds from this t-shirt to J.J. Watt’s Houston Flood Relief Fund, an effort of his Foundation, a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization, to help Houston recover and rebuild in the months and years ahead.

*Due to high demand, this t-shirt will ship out after September 15th, 2017. They appreciate your patience. 

I want to continue to talk about this every so often so we can all remember that these people are going to need help for a long time to come.  Think about it y’all….many (if not most) of the people that were affected by the floods don’t have flood insurance.  Flood insurance is expensive, and it isn’t required unless you are living in a flood plain.  Thousands of people affected didn’t live in a flood plain (I think I heard somewhere that this was an 800 year flood), and regular homeowner’s insurance doesn’t cover floods.  SO.  If you don’t have flood insurance, the way I understand it is that NOTHING is covered.  It’s absolutely heartbreaking and devastating to a family financially.  Let’s all keep on helping!

**********************************

WHAT I’M EXCITED ABOUT

I’M EXCITED ABOUT THE ARRIVAL OF FALL WEATHER!  Tonight it’s supposed to be a low of 55 here in McKinney!!!!  #allthepraisehands

I’m pretty much OVER shorts….BRING ON THE JACKETS AND LAYERS!!!!  This military jacket has a ruffle down the zipper.  DARLING!  This camo anorak is expensive, but my goodness it’s speaking my language.  And if I’ve said it once, I’ve said it 5,000 times….if you don’t have one of the Kut from the Kloth denim jackets, you need to fix this ASAP!  #itsforyourowngood

**********************************

WHAT I’M WATCHING

Bravo.  Lots and lots of Bravo.  #notashamed #okaymaybealittleashamed

And Big Brother.  I’m not as crazy as some of my friends are about this show (I’m looking at you Erika and Keely) :), but I’ve been sucked in.

***********************************

WHAT I’M LISTENING TO

As I write this blog post, I have Jerry Maguire playing in the background.  I haven’t seen it in years, but I’m thinking it might be in my Top 10 Favorite Movies of ALL TIME.

***********************************

WHAT I’M WEARING

You saw this outfit I put together last week……

And here I am in it!

First things first.  THIS TOP IS AWESOME.  I adore this mustard stripe for fall, but it also comes in white, heather grey, a black and white stripe, and they added a wine color!  I have no doubt this is going to be a staple for me all fall and winter long.

It’s definitely cute all on it’s own, but it will also look great under either a denim or military jacket as well.  AND IT’S ONLY $39.  The peplum!  The little pleats! I love it all!

I’m wearing a small in the top, which is true to size for me.  If you don’t have a large chest, you could even consider sizing down.  It was roomy for me, except for the chest.

I’m wearing a size 27 jeans (true to size) and they are awesome.  Stretchy, mid rise, easy to wear, and only $64. They have fantastic reviews.  At 5’4″, I did have to cuff them once to wear them with booties (which is good news for you taller girls).  Size up a 1/2 size in the booties.

peplum top / pajama jeans /multi strand necklace c.o. The Starfish Project / similar earrings / booties /monogrammed tote c.o. Barrington (use code STMTSAVE10 for 10% OFF your purchase)

Get The Look For Yourself Here:

************************************

WHAT I’M DOING THIS WEEKEND

This weekend my little fella turns 9 years old!  On Friday night we are having a small party for him (only 5 kids – last year’s 22 kids almost killed me dead) at Top Golf. Saturday we have a soccer game and are probably going to have people over for the OU game, and Sunday we have church and Carter’s actual birthday!  It’s going to be a great weekend!

*************************************

BONUS QUESTION:  TIPS  / TRICKS FOR SCHOOL LUNCHES

Guys.  I’VE GOT NOTHIN.  Carter has eaten one of the same 4 combos for lunch for the last 3 years.  BOOOORINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!

I cannot wait to hear y’alls tips and tricks!

See you ladies back here on Friday!

Now, don’t forget to link up!

Filed Under: Fashion 26 Comments