Oh, Summer Television

I remember back in the day when there weren't over a million TV shows on throughout the year, TV just kind of stopped once Summer rolled around. Which meant staying out late to play outside and catch lightning bugs. Now, there are so many shows on TV that they all take a hiatus midway through one season instead of breaking for the entire Summer. I suppose that's okay with me now... ya know, now that I don't have any lightning bugs to go catch.

I'm not sure if you know this already, but I am a huge Pretty Little Liars fan. Huge. It's really the only series TV show I tune in to anymore. So, let's talk about what I have been DVRing and then let's talk about what's really important here: PLL. Because the new season starts tonight!!

On my DVR:

+ The Real Housewives of Orange County - How could I ever live without this show? It better not go off the air. Ever. I mean, how could they ever run out of content? Did anyone else want to cry during that tender Tamra/Gretchen moment last night?

+ Dance Moms - As a former competitive dancer, this used to be my life. Okay, it used to be my mom's life. Just... not nearly as dramatic.

+ The Voice - I'm a big-time fan of this one too, although, I must say... I'm not totally digging this season because I'm just not that into country. Can I just vote for Adam?

Look at that face.

I'm in love with this man.

+ The Bachelorette - Duh. Loving Des so much more than Emily. Just sayin'

+ The Real World: Portland - Yes, I am the only person who still watches The Real World.

+ 90210 - I am still in denial that this show was cancelled after five years...

AND...

+ PRETTY LITTLE LIARS!

Will we actually find out who A is? Or shall I say, "Red Coat"? I have no idea what thrills and shocking secrets and twists to expect this season. All I know is that this show has yet to disappoint me in its first three seasons.

If you don't watch this show already, hop on over to Netflix and start watching NOW! All three seasons are up so there are no excuses ;)

Where are all my Pretty Little Liars? Who will be tuning in with me tonight??

#gotasecretcanyoukeepit

Weekend–But really I’m just excited for The Bachelorette

Because I went to the dentist Friday afternoon and had sore gums for the rest of the evening {blog post on that to come}, I thought it would be best to take it easy this weekend and just relax. That said, it wasn’t the most eventful of weekends. But, I do have a few pictures to share with you!

Never in my life did I ever think I’d wear Vans shoes after the 1990’s. But, they’re all the rage in Utah so I’m trying to jump on the fad bandwagon… but failing miserably. I think this is the second time I’ve ever worn them.

P.S. Is there anywhere good to thrift in the Salt Lake City area? Because everywhere I’ve gone has pretty much been a flop.

I’m sure you’d be very surprised {sarcasm} to read that a portion of my weekend was spent at The Humane Society. I know, I know. Look at this little guy named Ted. He’s a brown-haired cairn terrier and let me just tell you this… I LOVE cairn terriers! I’ve gone back and forth about if I got a little dog, what kind it would be. Pomeranian? Cairn terrier? Mini Australian Shepherd? In case this dog looks familiar, he probably reminds you of Toto from The Wizard of Oz. That’s because Toto was a cairn terrier! Look at that little face!! He is going to be a great “watch dog” for someone :) He loves to just be on the look-out!

I don’t know what it is about Rottweilers but I’ve always had a fascination with them. Okay, I think it might be because of the Carl books. Did anyone else read those growing up??

{via}

Carl was a sweet, little dog in the books. While I know life isn’t like what we read or see on TV, this Rottweiler/lab mix named Bubba was definitely a sweetie. He loved playing catch and The Humane Society claims he knows a lot of his commands. Hmm… maybe he was just a little rusty with “sit.”

The good news is that the number of dogs at The Humane Society has decreased these past couple weeks. In fact, I’ve never seen it so bare before! I’m hoping this means, not only is the number of adoptions going up, but the number of homeless pets is going down too!

Oh, and I also watched The Bachelorette: The Men Tell All {and could not get enough of the hilarious bloopers!} Which means… THE FINALE IS TONIGHT!! Who do you want Ashley to say “yes” to? I’m hoping for JP. While I wouldn’t be upset with Ben because it seems like she has a great connection with both of the guys, the love and camaraderie just really seems to be there between Ashley and JP :) We shall see!!

How was your weekend? How did you enjoy your last weekend of July? Scary, right??

e.l.f. Cosmetics Haul

While perusing the make-up aisles of Target a few months ago, I saw some stellar price tags next to a ton of make-up by the name of e.l.f. Cosmetics. I had vaguely heard of it before and figured it was at least worth a shot. I needed some brown eye liner and decided on buying the liquid eye liner in Coffee for a whopping $1.00!

I hadn’t used a felt-tip liquid eyeliner before so it took a little time to get used to applying this. The coffee color is dark and has a little glimmer to it. It seems to stay on almost as well as the Stila Smudge Pot I’ve been using for years (at $20 a pop!)

I recently went back to Target and picked up a few more e.l.f. products. I’ve been running low on lip color and although I’m allergic to most lipsticks, figured I’d give this $1 lipstick a try! I picked up the “Classy” shade.

So far, I actually really like it. It’s very creamy and goes on smoothly AND I haven’t noticed any irritation or swelling yet! The color is a soft rosy pink, a little more bright than what I normally wear but it’s nice for a change. It doesn’t last super long which I sort of figured but, for $1.00 I think it’s something great to pick up and throw in your purse for some added color on the go!

I have been using a concealer stick from Avon for a while now. The longer I used it, the more feeble the stick got and eventually split into two inside the container, making it kind of tricky to apply to my skin. So, I was needing a new concealer. I had used a liquid concealer a few years ago which I had been pretty satisfied with so, when I saw this liquid concealer by e.l.f. I picked it up!

 

 

I selected the Tone Correcting Concealer in “Apricot Beige” and it ended up being a perfect match! This liquid concealer comes with a sponge-tipped applicator which I love. The coverage is great, it blends in very well, and lasts all day! I will definitely be purchasing this concealer again! Only $1.00!

Lastly, the fabulous Lindsey over at The Bargain Blonde highly recommended the e.l.f. Studio Makeup Mist & Set so I knew I had to give this a shot as well! This was the most expensive item I purchased… $3.00 :)

 

 

I applied all my make-up except for my mascara and gave my face one spritz of this setting spray. I’m the type of person who doesn’t like to be startled. For example, I can’t do eye drops. So, that’s the one thing I didn’t like about this setting spray… the anticipation of it hitting my face. Other than that, it dries quickly and you would never know it was on your face. It’s not sticky at all. I haven’t been consistent in using it every day but I have noticed a slight difference on the days that I did put it on! The real test will be if it keeps my makeup fresh after a long, humid day in Virginia!

Aside from MAC eye shadows and a few other pricier items, I tend to be a drug store make-up kind of girl. I love finding quality products for less and I’m so excited about trying new e.l.f. products!

What about you? Have you tried e.l.f. yet? Thoughts? What are some products that I definitely have to try?

P.S. The Bachelorette last night. I’m not going to say much because I’m sure some of you have a date with TiVo soon. All I’m going to say is that tears of joy may or may not have filled my eyes on Ashley’s date with JP. Okay, bye :)

 

All images via e.l.f.

Active | Reactive

I’ve been inspired to write today’s post after watching The Bachelorette last night and after reading today’s message over at The Daily Love:

“How people treat you defines them, how you respond defines you. What happened is what happened. What you choose to do from here will determine the future.”

This encompasses everything: whether you say ‘thank you’ if someone holds the door for you, or what you choose to do when someone throws the first punch. What are your responses/reactions and what do they say about you?

This takes me to last night’s episode of The Bachelorette. (This is the first time since the first Bachelorette that I’ve watched the show from the start.) This is also a spoiler alert if you have not yet watched last night’s episode. I warned you! So, there is this guy named Bentley (who just so happens to be from Salt Lake City) and he basically defines the word “jerk” if you ask me. I’ll let you be the judge. Would you want a guy like this in your life?

• “"I would literally rather be, like, swimming in pee than trying to plan my wedding with her."

• "These tools, like these freaking idiots — all the guys know that I'm the frontrunner because they see my connection with Ashley. She's more into me than anyone else. But none of them have any idea that I don’t care about Ashley."

• "I came in thinking that Ashley was not attractive at all. I'm not feeling it . . . I'm gonna make Ashley cry. I hope my hair looks OK."

Real winner, right? I’m sure this guy will be compared to Michelle Money (from the last season of The Bachelor) whose commentary on the show was also repulsive and rude. She later explained it was just her sense of humor – that she’s very sarcastic. Oh, okay. That’s fine then. Uh, no. There will never be an excuse for Bentley’s actions. Whether he’s a total clown and just wanted to catch a few good laughs before heading home (that’s right – he lied and told Ashley he had to go home to be with his daughter) or he really is a downright heartless, insensitive jerk, it makes me sick that people can act that way and say those things.

Needless to say, Ashley chose to ignore the warning she received from her reliable source (Michelle Money) and fell head over heels for Bentley and his “charm.” Do I think the guy was drop-dead gorgeous? Absolutely not. Did I enjoy the sound of his monotone voice? Heck no. Can I see how Ashley fell for his confidence and suaveness and his knight in shining armor move he pulled while she was crying over William’s joke? Sure. You gotta hand it to her – the girl had no idea what he was saying behind the scenes. See above.


Earlier on in the show, the guys went out on a group date to perform a “roast” at a comedy club. Some of the guys played it safe and roasted each other, but not William. William knew what would hit the audience (and didn’t consider Ashley’s feelings as much as he should have.) He joked about how all the guys wish she had been Emily or Chantal (the last two girls standing on The Bachelor) and that they were disappointed when they saw it was just Ashley. You could see the hurt immediately hit Ashley. That was the one thing she had been scared about from the beginning and it was hitting all too close to home for her. Once the comedy show was over, she ran off to a corner and cried. Cue Bentley’s knight in shining armor move.

After she was “consoled” and let out a few more tears, Ashley confidently approached all the men. Her response was strong and I think it’s a great example of being responsible for your reactions. She simply addressed the fact that showing up and having the guys be disappointed was her biggest fear going into this so the comment that was made really struck a chord and hurt. She was polite and respectful and didn’t target anyone in particular. A a result, the guys realized just how hurt she was.

I like to think of the Golden Rule: “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Just know that many people won’t always do unto us as we’d do unto them. We also can’t expect people to react a certain way after our reaction. For example, as much as Ashley would hope that her talk with the guys would truly resonate with them, she had no control over that. Later on, Ashley chose to open up to Bentley about the news she had heard regarding his intentions of being on the show. Of course he denied the whole thing and Ashley took his word but she had no control over his next step. His next action was to leave the show and return home, all the while breaking Ashley’s heart. However, as the above quote says: “What happened is what happened. What you choose to do from here will determine the future.”
We are the only ones responsible for our actions and reactions. As much as someone may hurt us or betray us in their actions, our reaction can be what makes us stronger and what shows our true character.

Two wrongs certainly don’t make a right. I’ll be the first to admit I’m an active/reactive person. I’m full of emotion and there has been more than one occasion where I’ve found myself having to bite the bullet, but if someone really hurts me, chances are – I’m going to cry. For me, crying is what helps me get in touch with my soul. It lets me feel whatever it is that I’m feeling and from there, decide what to do next. It helps me connect my thoughts and feelings to what action I need to take to determine my future. Which brings me to my last Bentley quote:

"It's so annoying to hold a girl who's crying. And crying. And crying. I talked to her like a girl I'm really interested in. Only, I'm not f-ing interested."


Such a sweetheart.

Photo: We Heart It