You know you want to read it.
During the springtime in Boise, I discovered a type of flowering tree I had never seen before (yes, I have lived in Boise for 4 years…I am just very unobservant, apparently). They are the most beautiful trees I’ve ever seen in my life and I have decided I must have them in my future yard. Anyone know what they are?
I went to the Smithsonian, and as soon as I saw my first Rembrandt, I got teary-eyed. Yes. I am a nerd.
I love Monet.
I love Van Gogh!
I also saw Dorothy’s ruby slippers from the Wizard of OZ. I can now die happy.
You know you're a nerd when you get a euphoric feeling looking at THE ruby slippers
Also, I realized that I am extremely fortunate to be married to a man who appreciates art. Maybe he wouldn’t cry over it like I do, but he loves to look at it with me 
There are several art galleries in the Smithsonian and we didn’t get to look at everything, so we’ll have to go back again!
Ruby slippers and priceless artwork….can you think of a better way to spend your time? No, no you cannot. And if you can…well, you’re just not a nerd.
Here are a few extra pictures:
Me and my seester-in-law Julie on the train to DC
The fellas.
Hmm 
Love you babykins
You know what I’m talking about. It’s warm. It comes from other people’s butts. It’s in your chair. It’s nasty. It’s butt warmth.
‘Nuff said.
Barbie facts:
If Barbie were a real person, she would be six feet tall.
If Barbie were a real person, she would weigh about 100 pounds
If Barbie were a real person, her measurements would be 39″-19″-33″
If Barbie were a real person, she would wear YSL Rouge Volupte in #7 (Lingerie Pink)
It's pink lipstick!
Look past my blemish and undone hair and see the inner Barbie, if you will. This lipstick is amazing. I normally hate lipsticks because they feel so thick and smell funny and they generally look terrible on me. This one is by far the best I have ever used. It is so incredibly creamy and soft, not like normal lipsticks at all. AND it smells good! For the longest time I couldn’t figure out what it smelled like, and now I know. It smells like tangerine Altoids candy. I think I am in love. Sometimes I’ll take the cap off and just sniff it like a weirdo. Ever since I first saw the scene with Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard in the taxi in Breakfast at Tiffany’s where she says “A girl can’t read that sort of thing without her lipstick.”, and pulled out this beautiful light pink lipstick, I knew I wanted one just like it. I looked forever and never found one quite like it, and they were all so thick and just terrible. I settled for pink lipgloss and gave up the search.
UNTIL
I stumbled across a channel on YouTube done by a girl named Lorraine Stanick called TheCurrentCustom. She does makeup tutorials and quite a few “haul” (that word seems a little crude to me, personally) videos as well. I haven’t had the chance to watch them all yet, but in one of them she talked about her favorite lipstick, which happened to be Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Volupte in Lingerie Pink. She revealed the most beautiful shade of light pink lipstick I’d seen since my Audrey exposure.
Of course, I needed it.
So thank you Lorraine, for this fabulous Holly Golightly/Barbie lipstick (I can’t think of a better combination of people who’s lipstick I’d like to copy, can you?)!
I’m not quite sure what I was thinking when I packed for Virginia.
I assumed it would be a lot like how Florida was when we arrived there last May: hot, sunny, and humid. I made sure to pack my new fancy Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Cream with SPF 55 for those oh so hot and sunny hours alongside the pool.
When we arrived, it was 60 degrees outside and slightly cloudy.
60!? In the middle of May?? In Boise it was 80! My, my, my.
So, I have put my sunscreen away for the time being, and have since encountered another problem which has disturbed me greatly: my skin is dry. So dry. I am suffering greatly from the dryness. I ordered some products from Sephora which I’m hoping will help. The first is a facial exfoliator from fresh called the APPLEseed Brightening Exfoliant. I’ve only used it once so far but it smells amazing and it really does seem to leave my skin looking brighter and less flaky, which is the main goal.
Also, I got a sugar scrub from Sephora for the rest of my bod.
AND, I had to go back to my old moisturizer. It is a little expensive, but I have never used a better moisturizer than Clinique Superdefense. It is so nice. So very nice. It’s like a long drink of cool fresh water for my skin. And ever since I haven’t been using it, I have actually broken out more. Coincidence? Perhaps. Perhaps not. I was using benefit’s Do it Daily moisturizer, and frankly, it sucks. It feels nice on your skin at first, but it is so watery and flimsy that my skin is left feeling dry only a couple of hours later. I thought I was being more money savvy by buying it, but honestly it’s not worth the savings. It also smells funny and only has SPF 10, as opposed to SPF 25 in Clinique Superdefense.
GOOD
BAD
One final thing: I’m going to attempt to switch facial cleansers. I have been using Proactiv Since I was about 16, and it has always served me well, however it really hasn’t been doing it’s thang lately and I’m wondering if my skin has outgrown it. I find that it leaves my skin feeling tight and dry after I use it, and that can’t be a good thing. I’m really scared that I will break out at first, but if I can get my skin used to another cleanser that is more gentle, it’s worth a shot. I’m trying out fresh’s Soy Face Cleanser, which has gotten awesome reviews on Sephora.com.
I’m sure you’re terribly interested in my skin and my opinion on these products, so I’ll be sure to keep you abreast of everything that happens with it.
Yes yes, I’m back. I just couldn’t stand the guilt of knowing that I was disappointing my three loyal readers. And… it also might have something to do with the fact that I am now a housebound housewife with nothing to do all day save cleaning and watching YouTube videos.
First thing’s first…Photos of the drive to Virginia:
We also made a video but I fear I am not technologically savvy enough to figure out how to upload it. Perhaps when hubby gets home.
The drive was strange; our GPS took us on quite a few back roads and through some very questionable looking towns…one looked like the perfect setting for a murder movie, with myself and Thomas being the unsuspecting couple traveling across the country who stop in to spend the night and are subsequently slaughtered by a demented person who seemed slightly odd at first but we thought nothing of. I was seriously scared to go to sleep.
ALSO
If you happen to be traveling and you wish to stop and spend the night at a hotel, DO NOT stay at Super 8. I should have taken pictures of it just to prove how terrible it was. First of all, the guy at the front desk was DRUNK, and when we finally got up to our room (after lugging two suitcases, a laptop, a litter box, litter, food, cat dishes, our two cats in their carrier, and my toiletry bag upstairs, mind you), it was DISGUSTING. There was ice and a piece of wrapped up gum and a hair in the sink, the bathroom floor had hairs all over it, the bathroom garbage wasn’t emptied, one of the beds looked like it hadn’t been made properly (disheveled covers), the floors hadn’t been vacuumed, AND there was some weird substance splattered all over the TV and the table it was on.
I know what you’re thinking: WHY did we stay in this room? Because it was nearly 1 am and we had been driving for 14 hours, and we had already dragged all of our junk up to the room and didn’t want the hotel to know we had two cats with us. So, we didn’t call down to complain. So, I put on socks, long pajama pants, and my zip-up sweater with the hood. I put on the hood and slept without covers, curled into a ball with the hood over my head so my face wouldn’t touch those nasty pillows, which, by the way, were the cheapest matted hard cotton pieces of crap I’ve ever laid my head upon. I woke up at 6am and got ready without showering (no way was I setting foot in that bathroom). I have never been so disgusted or had a worse night’s sleep in my entire life. Yay Super 8.
But, on the bright side, I am still alive. Who knows? Perhaps my immune system was strengthened by my exposure to those deplorable conditions?
