A Day Together

I LOVE being married. LOVE it. But, because we are on such different schedules, I find myself missing my husband a lot. Ryan's work week is Thursday-Monday. Mine is Monday-Friday. This means that we never have the same days off. I am gone in the mornings before he wakes up and on the weekends I try and get up before he leaves...but sometimes I sleep in. Sure, we get to see each other almost every night, and those hours together are precious, but its not the same as spending a full day together like many couples do on the weekends. So, since we are not taking an actual vacation this year, I decided to use some of my vacation time sporadically so that we can steal a day together here and there.

The first of these was yesterday.

And it. Was. Awesome.

We got up at a reasonable time and moved at a leisurely pace.

I  spruced myself up at bit.

Yes, my left eye is very puffy/red. Allergies. 

 

 

We hopped in the car and headed to The Local Diner for brunch. It used to be a weekend tradition.

Its been far too long since I've enjoyed my favorite cappuccino.

Ryan was busy watching bits of the news while we waited for brunch. I was busy watching him.

After we ate, we stopped by the grocery store on our way home. We usually do our shopping on Monday night. I dread it after working all day (I'm just being honest) and this trip was so much more enjoyable. 

On our way home from the store, we stopped by Red Box and snagged a movie. It's summertime in Texas which means I find as many indoor activities as possible. ;)

Since we'd eaten brunch around 10, we were hungry for dinner pretty early. Ryan made one of my favorite meals - Chicken Piccata.

After dinner I scrolled through the TV channel guide and found my all time favorite movie on TV.  What started as one rented movie soon turned into an unplanned movie marathon.

The Princess Bride

We watched it for a little while until another of my favorite movies, The Breakfast Club, came on - neither of us had watched it in YEARS. Of course, while we were watching movies I wanted to get a quick picture. I should have known better. I get one serious picture of Ryan out of every 100 taken. I snapped FIVE yesterday, and this was the most usable. Whatever, he's adorable, I'll take it.

It was such a great, relaxing, fulfilling day together. The best, and most bittersweet, part of the day? At 10:30pm I told Ryan I had to go to bed - and he got the sweetest/saddest look on his face and said "But I don't want this day to end..." Oh how I love him.

Product Review - Healthy Sexy Hair Hairspray

Hairspray is a tricky little bugger. And I've tried basically every drugstore brand known to man, all with less than exciting results. Too heavy, too sticky, too much alcohol, too much "hairspray smell", too firm, not firm enough. After exhausting those resources, I started stalking the shelves at Ulta, looking at the salon brands to find my ideal spray. I first narrowed my search by checking to make sure each product was cruelty-free. A MUST for me. From there, I tried and returned several brands. I always went into the store looking for SexyHair's Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Touchable "weightless hairspray". One of my favorite beauty gurus is always talking about it and I knew I had to give it a shot. The problem is, the amazing products are often the hardest to find, and this hairspray was always sold out. After 4-5 failed attempts, I finally tracked a bottle down. As soon as I got home I spritzed my hair, just to get a feel for the product. I was instantly impressed. It smells fresh and the fragrance is light. I loathe the hairsprays that cause you to run out of room after using because the overly-perfumey smell is too much. This just smells GOOD.

On top of the wonderful smell, it felt amazing. It was truly weightless, but added enough hold to keep a style going strong. My hair was still soft to the touch with lots of movement. I have to think that the addition of Argan oil to the soy formula is a huge factor in what puts this hairspray in a league of its own. In case you aren't familiar, Argan oil is the oil found in kernels of the Argan tree, which is found in Morocco. It has SO many benefits for hair. It adds moisture and helps prevent frizz, adds shine and protects hair from heat, breakage and UV damage. These benefits make it absolutely perfect for "daily" use. 

But the real test was with The Wand. When I add waves to my hair with my hair wand, I find that it adds a lot of body...but also a lot of poof/frizz.  So many hairsprays contain a lot of alcohol, which drys the hair and actually intensifies frizz, but I like to use a spray when "wanding" my hair, just to help the shape hold. After wearing my hair wavy for a full day, I was over the moon! The style held longer, felt better and looked sleeker than it EVER had before. I am not kidding. This stuff is legit.

 

It is about twice as much as a drugstore brand would be, but I promise you it is money WELL spent. If you're going to use hairspray, use this one. Your hair will thank you.

*Disclaimer: I am not being paid or sponsored by SexyHair or Ulta in any way. This is simply an opinion from my personal experience.

Be The Change

Today, while sitting at work, I got a text from my dear friend Linsday. She had sent me a link that she said made her think of me. I opened the link and found "21 Pictures That Will Restore Your Faith In Humanity". I was excited immediately. Lindsay knows what my soul craves!!! And as I scrolled through the pictures and read the captions, I was so moved. Tears were running down my cheeks but I was smiling. But then something made me stop in my tracks. We have satellite radio that plays over the speakers that are in every hallway of the office, and I kid you not, the radio was playing this song:

And suddenly, I was having a moment. Even tucked away in the four corporate walls of my office, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the world we live in. The Universe aligned for a moment and I had a million thoughts enter my mind at once. The strongest of those thoughts was simple. We, all of us, all living creatures on this planet, we need each other. We need to LOVE each other. And SUPPORT each other. And most importantly...we need to HELP each other. We spend so much time judging and hating each other that we leave so little room for much else. I think that the majority of people are innately good...but maybe we don't try hard enough to share that good with others. We get so wrapped up in our own daily stresses. The smallest of gestures could mean so much to another living thing. And in this link from a friend who means so much to me, there were 21 examples of people who looked outside of themselves for the greater good.

I urge you to take a moment. Listen to the words of the song and scroll through the 21 pictures on this website. I am not delusional. This quasi-hippie doesn't expect everyone to suddenly get along, but maybe it will make you stop and think, as it did for me, that maybe we can try harder to be better. Let's LOVE each other more. Let's SUPPORT each other more. And for goodness sakes, let's HELP each other more.

Saying "Goodbye" to a Piece of My Childhood

It's with a heavy heart that I write this post. Yes, I'm being slightly totally dramatic. If you know me, that won't surprise you. But, in all honesty, I have gotten teary-eyed a few times as I ponder this news, mostly for the memories it brings me.

Yesterday, as I was watching Nightly News with Brian Williams, he ended the show with story that stopped me in my tracks. (I'm being dramatic again. But this is a piece of my childhood we are talking about!) The hosts of NPR radio show Car Talk, brothers Ray and Tom Magliozzi aka Click & Clack, announced that after 35 years on the radio (and over 25 with NPR), September would mark their last new show. Now, NPR will run old episodes during their usual slot, which is why this entire post is over-dramatic, but it got me thinking. 

As I've mentioned several times, I was a serious 'Daddy's Girl' growing up. Don't misunderstand, I loved my Mom dearly, but my Dad traveled a lot. When my Dad was home, I'd stick to him like glue, spending every possible second I could with him. That usually included his Saturday errands. On Saturday mornings, he would get up and start his weekly ritual of making homemade pancakes. I can close my eyes and remember how it felt to wake up and smell the griddle. After pancakes, we would dress and Dad would make his list of errands. He would graciously take me along, even though I probably slowed him down. But he was an amazing Dad so, I like to think he enjoyed the time with me just as much as I enjoyed the time with him. 

But, I digress. 

We'd hop in the car and start on our journey of errands. This usually consisted of the post office, the copy shop, the bank and sometimes the cleaners, the hardware store and/or the liquor store. (Don't judge him for that. There were always tons of kids there with their parents, and the liquor store we went to always had a bucket of bubble gum or dum-dums, so it was a huge treat to get to pick out of the bucket when we left.) And in the midst of the errands, we would listen to NPR - specifically Car Talk. The Magliozzi brother's voices were my first introduction to a Boston accent, which I am in love with to this day. They made my Dad laugh, a sound that I love, and even as a kid, they made me laugh too. I tried to pay attention to the "car stuff" they'd talk about, even when it was often ridiculous but funny advice, but I always looked forward to the end credits the most. Not because the show was over, but because that was the funniest part to me. They'd rattle off the names of everyone who worked on the show - but they would give each person a nickname or a fake name altogether. Things like 'Doug "the subway fugitive, not a slave to fashion, bongo boy frogman" Berman' or 'Haywood Jabuzoff'. (Say that one out loud a few times. You'll get it.) 

And then, the part that is currently making my hair stand on end as I hear their voices in my head. They'd close the show with the same phrase every time. Ray would say, "Don't drive like my brother," and Tom would reply, "Don't drive like my brother." My Dad and I would say it along with them every time. (He'd take Ray's line and I'd take Tom's.) And while NPR will continue to run old shows long after September, it feels a bit like the end of an era to me. And that era happens to be the bulk of my childhood. So, thank you, Click & Clack, for over 20 years of Saturday mornings. I cannot imagine those years without you.