My Beauty Routine

I talked about my favorite hair products a few weeks ago, so it only seemed fitting that I talk about the rest of my morning beauty routine too.

I have skin that likes to go crazy.  My chin and my forehead are super greasy and my chin breaks out fairly regularly. My cheeks and my nose are super sensitive, dry and peel fairly regularly.

I ether use Cetaphil or Murad Soothing Gel Cleanser to wash my face and then I carefully apply Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion to only my upper cheeks and nose.  If I get the lotion down near my chin it looks like an oil slick by lunchtime.

I apply a Murad Invisiblur primer to my whole face and let it set for a few minutes.  It is a little pricy but I like that this primer does many things all in one.  I then put on Sephora 10 Hour Liquid Foundation with a big fluffy foundation brush.  Depending on how my face is doing that day I also put on a bit of pressed powder.  Sometimes the liquid foundation is enough coverage but not always.

The rest of my make-up routine varies quite a bit depending on what I am doing that day.  I have pretty much blonde eyelashes so I wear mascara if I am going to work or dressing up for some other occasion.  I have been using a variety of mascara samples recently but haven't settled on my favorite yet.  I add eyebrow color, blush and something on my lips for work and then I am out the door. I have a whole assortment of lip colors but I have currently been alternating between two Nars lip crayons.

I wear more make-up if I have extra time in the morning (haha, I wish) or if I am doing something special but this is my basic daily routine.  Any product suggestions are welcome!

My Week in Pictures

Sam Hunt, Hunter Hayes and Lady Antebellum in concert! Best concert of the summer so far.  Lady Antebellum is so good live!

The sky at Shoreline was just so pretty

Prom pose at my sister's going away party!

Big group picture at my grandpa's 90th birthday party

Yay! I made it to Thursday! Long week at work despite the fact that it was only a four day work week.

 This sign is on my wall next to my computer just in case I need a little reminder.

















Hope everyone has a great holiday weekend!

Favorite Summer Shoes

Today I am linking up with Andrea and Erica for some Favorite Things.

Today is all about my favorite summer shoes!

I had a pair of silver glittery sandals that I loved, but when I was out shopping last weekend they broke...the nerve!  I wore these sandals all the time during the summer (ok, I live in California, so really all year), so I knew I needed to replace them.

I ordered a couple of possible replacements and these were my favorites.

I have only worn them twice so far, but they are really comfy and cute.  It didn't hurt that the name of brand was Naughty Monkey.

I cleaned out the shoe section of my closet a few weeks ago and got rid of all my heels that I hadn't worn in forever or were just not in good shape anymore.  I don't wear heels too often anymore, but these sandals are just the right height to be cute.

These shoes look pretty good with my many maxi dresses and I am pretty sure I could wear them all day to work without killing my fee.

Everyone needs a good pair of flip flops for a tropical vacation, so before my trip to Hawaii I ordered these beauties.  I ordered a pair for me, both my sisters, and my mom in our favorite colors to wear on our trip.  

My shoe selection really doesn't change that much with the seasons, and my go to shoes for a regular day are some sort of ballet flat.  Over the years I have had pretty much every color of flat, but these are the ones that are in my frequent rotation right now.  

Enjoy!

What's Up Wednesday Again!

I had fun doing this last month so I am linking up with What's Up Wednesday again.

What we're eating this week:  It has been quite warm this week so I am trying to eat foods that don't heat up the condo too much.  I made these tacos over the weekend and have been eating leftovers this week along with a really easy chicken salad that uses greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise.

What I'm reminiscing about: I am looking forward to the Lady Antebellum concert this weekend so I am reminiscing about the Brad Paisley concert I went to a couple of weeks ago with my sisters.

What I'm loving: I am loving that tomorrow I can officially reserve our wedding reception location.  We have picked a date and tomorrow will be one year until I get to marry the love of my life.  AKA my forever person!

What we've been up to: These past few weeks we have been kind of laying low and just doing things around the house.  In the last few months both my fiancee and I have started new positions at work so we are focusing our energies on learning and embracing our new work challenges.

What I'm dreading: I am dreading the heat of summer since we live on the second floor in a condo without air conditioning.  The fan is our best friend in the summer

What I'm working on: My fiancee and I have kind of come to the conclusion and given in to the fact that house prices are just going crazy again in our area so we going to have to wait out the market.  Any sort of house in a decent part of town in our area is running at least $600,000 and those are the fixer uppers.  With the fact in mind I am working on making our condo as clutter free and comfortable as possible since we are going to be here at least another year to 18 months unless something crazy happens.

What I'm excited about: Since we are planning to get married one year from tomorrow we are having a little preversary (made up word combining pre and anniversary) celebration.  We both love the Shrimp Kisses from McCormick & Schmick's but it is not the cheapest place to eat. We are working on saving money for the future so I have decided to try and make them at home.  Wish me luck!

What I'm watching/reading: Still working my way through all the seasons of Survivor on Hulu.  I have a few more seasons to go and I am open to suggestions as to what show I should watch next.  I am reading The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt.  I am not far enough into it to really give an opinion but I will let you know my final verdict.

What I'm listening to: Mostly whatever comes on my Pandora which is usually a mix of country and a random mix of 90s-00s pop music.  Everyone needs some Britney in their life every once in a while.

What I'm wearing: I am planning to wear my new romper to my sister's party on Saturday.  I managed to break my pair of silver sparkly sandals last weekend so I ordered 2 pairs from Nordstrom to try out.  They are both scheduled to arrive this week so if one of them fits I will probably pair them with my romper.

What I'm doing this weekend: What am I not doing this weekend? Friday night I am seeing another concert with my sister.  Saturday my fiancee and I are driving down to my parent's house and my sister is having a going away party.  She is headed off to medical school in a few weeks so she is having  little get together before she leaves.  We are spending the night at my parent's house for the night because on Sunday we are having a party for my grandpa's 90th birthday.  His actual birthday was Monday but you can't turn 90 without some kind of celebration.

What I am doing for the 4th of July:  I am a huge fan of fireworks so I am hoping to get to see some.  Last year we went downtown to see the fireworks but it was quite crowded and my fiancee is not too keen on going this year.  We will see if I can convince him to go.  We can always walk to the raised light rail station and see various shows from around the area.

Strawberry Chipotle Shrimp Tacos

Yes, I know that strawberry, chipotle and shrimp sound like a weird combination but the combination of the sweetness of the strawberry and the spiciness of the chipotle really go well together. The strawberry is used as part of a salsa and the chipotle is used in the shrimp marinade.

Strawberry Salsa

8 oz of strawberries cut into pieces
1/2 a small red onion
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 jalapeños mostly seeded and chopped (completely seed it if you want less heat)
A dash of salt and pepper
The juice of one lime

Mix everything in a bowl or tupperware and the put in the refrigerator so the flavors can meld.

Shrimp & Marinade

1 pound of raw shrimp deveined and tails removed
2 tablespoons olive oil
Zest of 1 lime
The juice of 2 limes
A dash of salt and pepper
2 cloves of crushed garlic
1 to 2 tablespoons of the adobo liquid from a can of adobo peppers (use less if you want less heat)

Mix everything together in a bowl or tupperware and put in the refrigerator to marinate for about 30 minutes.

After the shrimp has finished marinating heat a cast iron pan or frying pan over medium high heat and cook the shrimp 1-2 minutes per side. While the shrimp is cooking get the rest of the taco ingredients ready.

Shredded cabbage (I am lazy and buy the already shredded kind)

Queso fresca (if you don't live in an area with a large Mexican population and can't find this you can use goat cheese but I won't be quite the same)

Corn tortillas

After the shrimp is cooked assemble the tacos and enjoy.  This makes 4 servings.

Why yes these tacos are quite delicious with a margarita!

New Season, New Decorations

I have had my spring decorations up in our condo since I took our Easter decorations down.  Spring is about to end so I figured it was time to move onto the next season.  Summer is really the hardest season to come up with decorations for.  The only holiday that occurs during the summer is the 4th of July so I decided to embrace some patriotic decorations for now and worry about the rest of the summer in a few weeks.

Some pretty towels to dress up my kitchen just a little.

A patriotic star to hang on my laundry room door.  Gotta love the Target dollar spot!

Rather than put away my "grass" I just added some red, white and blue garland and made it look like the stars were growing in my grass.  Don't mind everything around my wooden bowl.  My fiancee was sorting some paperwork on our table and I didn't want to mess up his sorting by moving the papers.

I love this garland and how festive it looks.  It is patriotic but could also just be used for a birthday or outdoor party too.  It is longer than all of my other garlands but it covers up our heater control (which we definitely don't need) so I like the way it make the wall look.

A few more Target dollar spot finds add a little patriotic spice to our bar.  I love fireworks so these make me smile.  Speaking of fireworks I am anxiously awaiting my next trip to Disneyland because there is a new 60th anniversary fireworks that have premiered since the last time I was there.  Come on August! Get here faster!

I didn't have the too many ideas a few weeks ago but don't worry now I have a few summer decoration ideas up my sleeve for when I take down my 4th of July decorations down!

My Garden Update

Ok so maybe garden is a bit of an exaggeration for one pot of flowers but they are the closest thing to a garden I have.

Remember this little six pack of flowers my mother in law gave me a few months ago?

It is still alive and now looks like this:

We live in a condo so having an actual garden is out of the question but these little flowers will have to do until we move and have an actual yard.  I am quite impressed that I have managed to keep my plant alive for so long.  In case you haven't heard California is having a drought so all of the watering of this plant has been up to me!

I think now that I know I can keep one plant alive I might venture out and get a few more.  I would love to grow something I could eat but I will need to do a bit more research into what would actually grow well on a balcony.  With a few more plants I might actually be able to say I have a garden on my balcony.