Life: Family

There are lots of big words in the dictionary, but the word, family to me carries the most weight. I took a days break to celebrate! My Dad came for a short visit. It was so nice. I got to cook for him (my famous shrimp quesadilla's) , and talk, and we just visited with one another. It was the nicest visit that I've had in awhile. I live roughly 2 hrs from my hometown, and right now since I moved closer to where I'm from, (closer than I've been in the past 4 years), sometimes that distance feels like an entire ocean's length away from me! I start to miss my Dad. I miss him a lot, even now, and when he leaves it gets difficult for me emotionally. I don't know why, but it just does, fact of the matter is I love my Dad.

Here's a little background, my parents divorced right as I was becoming a teenager. Right when I was trying to figure out who I was everything around me was just crumbling! It's still the hardest thing that I've ever been through. Most of the time, I ignore my feelings about the whole situation but then my conscience likes to play the anxiety battle with me. Oh right, I forgot to mention that too ... anxiety. I've been suffering from anxiety and panic attacks since I was about 5. The first time that I ever had one I was in Kindergarten, and my teacher accidentally locked me in the bathroom with the lights off. She was trying to shuffle several kids out of the bathroom that was connected to our classroom, of course I went in last decided I needed to go, and she shut the door behind me. No lights, just me in the dark. I was never a screamer or a cryer, which means that I held it all in until I just broke down. I held it until our student teacher found me in the bathroom couched down next to the toilet, and she just picked me up and hugged me. (If you know some one in the middle of a panic attack, please ask before you do this.) I cried for about 5 minutes, but quickly got over it. It was neither of their faults, but I was deathly afraid of the dark and even more afraid of being locked in a room with no windows. There's more to it, but that's enough right there to know that if you also suffer from this little demon named anxiety then you are NOT alone. I still have them, all the time!

This weekend my Dad came and helped me with some house things that I needed to get done, and also took us to do some fun stuff. We went to the Airborne Special Ops Museum, and got to see all the neat things there. They have 2 new expos, one was about the war in Somila and how the U.S. aided in that conflict. If you've ever seen the movie Black Hawk Down, it was a break down in real time of what happened with archive footage, interviews, and collected artifacts. I'm one of those freaky girls who was quietly studious and loved history. I liked History, Government, and English in school. For whatever reason, I spent a bulk of my later childhood obsessed with World War II and the 1940's because of what I learned in school. I pretty much wanted to live in my rag curls, and wear winged eyeliner, and be in an old school USO show. I just thought it was rad!

Right now a section of the lawn outside the museum is the grounds for the Field of Honor. It's a pretty moving sight to see all of those flags flying in one place, and each of them is dedicated to someone whose served, currently is serving, or whom has died in the line of duty. I come from a family where my grandfathers made the military their careers, and I thought of that as I stood there on the steps looking down on this field. Each one of those flags meant that a person out there belonged to someone else, or that someone thought enough of them to sponsor a flag for them. It's just moving! Hunter asked me about the flags as he was taxing his brand new helicopter across the steps, and we looked at them together for a few moments. The reality is, I didn't have an answer for him I was just too moved.

It seems like a heavy weekend, but really we had a blast. It's almost Independence Day too, and guess what? We're headed to the lake house! I'm so excited for Hunter to get to spend his first holiday there.  It's literally going to be magical, and of course, there will be FIREWORKS!

xo,

My First Haul

I did my first haul!

This was so much fun,and I have so many more ideas now. I feel like by doing these videos I'm doing something good. You know what I mean? Just feels good!

I have a list of everything in the info for the video. I even found the link for the Target candle, which I'm still not sure who makes it. However, he's a quick recap.

Stella & Dot
The Jetset Bag (in Marine Blue/Blue Fishtails) and the Pouf (in Navy Stripe)
Printstagram
Target
Candle in Pink Magnolia
Julep
Eat This, Not That
Versona Accessories
Bag (in Chevron Stripe)

xo,

Style: The Dottie Dress

I love clothes, but up until recently and my lifestyle changes, I haven't really loved the clothes I was living in. Lately I've been changing it up, and right now I'm all about dresses! I go to church, as protocol Sunday's I am in fancier clothes than usual. My typical picks come from places like TJ Maxx, Target, or clearance at JcPenny but I've fallen in love all over again with a store called New York & Company. I'm investing in my wardrobe now in ways that I never thought of before.

In my teenage years, when everyone else was plastered head to toe in Hollister and Abercrombie I was struggling with my body becoming itself. True story, one of my D (and then eventually by the time I was 18 DD boobs), would stretch the letters of a cute Hollister tshirt with wild abandon. It would stretch them out without the slightest idea, of the misery I was feeling not being able to fit in them. I just wanted to fit in! Long before Taylor Swift, before girls wore tee's emblazoned with Marilyn Monroe or Audrey Hepburn I was dreaming up perfect little polka dot dresses. I dreamt of  the day that I would be just as lady-like as they were minus the constant pop culture nods. I'm happy to say, I've finally hit my stride! They make lady dresses for girls like me, and that is deeply gratifying on a human level.

You see this dress and the silly look on my face? Fashion, my body, and life, are syncing up like the Bermuda Triangle!

I had to take bathroom selfies, because after lunch I went home to change.

I love everything about this navy polka dot dress from New York & Company. This dress specifically is apart of the Eva Menendes collection, and I have to say as compared to some of the others I tried on the fit of this one is phenomenal. The fabric is the softest cotton and only a little spandex. Not a single displaced polka dot, my boobs are happy, and I feel like a woman. Mission accomplished!

xo,

Vlog fail!

I did a vlog thing. It's not my best, nor do I look my best.

Things you should know;

1. I was running late.
2. I just got back from a workout and put things on my face.
3. I'm never wearing my hair up again.
4. I promise it'll get a lot better.

Anyway, here it is.

xo,

My favorite thing since Facebook.

My favorite thing is Facebook creeping. I kid, even though let's admit, we all do it from time to time. My second favorite thing on Facebook, is Stylit! 

What is it? Basically the greatest personal shopper ever, in the entire universe. Stylit knows my preferences and what kind of accessories I like with certain outfits. All I had to do was answer a few simple questions, and voila! All the magic happened.

This is one of my outfits that was chosen for me this week by a team of stylists. Can you believe it? This is exactly like something that I would wear in my every day life, right down to the shoes even though 3 hours in I'd most likely end up in flats. It's a simple concept, but we all know how daunting it is going to the store to only come out later empty handed. The best part is, I don't have to hunt for lower prices because they even know my budget!

So, why should you sign up? Why not have someone championing you all the way to the dressing room? Rock that outfit, or try something different! Have the courage and the comfort to be yourself in your clothes, with a little help from Stylit, one of my most favorite things.

If you'd like to sign up check out their Facebook, click the start here tab, and take the quiz.

What's in your closet?

xo,

Life: Sunday Fun-day

Sunday Snaps

Sunday is probably my most favorite day of the week, because it's when we really get to hang out with our immediate family. I love the cooking, and stories, and the small talk. Since it's just Hunter and I, a majority of the time, spending Sunday's with our family members is crucial as I find it helps ground us.

This weekend we had to do some quick grocery shopping, and we had lunch at our favorite diner Highway 55. They have this frequent diners card thing, and if we're ever in NC that's usually where I stop. They make fresh burgers but they're diner style, so they're messy and delicious! I could make these at home, so I intend to perfect my version within my next month of meals at home. A specialty of NC, (especially in the area that I live in), we put chili, mustard, and coleslaw on our burgers and we refer to it as all the way. It's pretty good, but sort of an odd combination if you're not from here, and I once caught myself asking for it out of state where they looked at me like I was completely nuts! If you're ever here, try it just to say that you have because it's pretty darn delicious.

Here's monkey having a sip of Sprite with what he call's crunchy ice, or for normal people, finely ground ice.

This is where I fail at being a girl. Also I switched to these flats after church, but they totally don't match my dress whatsoever. Anyway, flats by American Eagle for Payless.

Funny story times! 

"Oh Caroline, did you just get a run in your stockings?" 

Are you kidding me? Nope. I got dressed in the dark of my walk-in closet this morning, because my puppy likes to only jump on me when I'm dressed up, and I came out looking like I just got into a fight with a rabid, wild dog all by my own accord.

"You didn't notice it getting into the car?" 

Nope. 

"Did you notice it when you got out of the car?" 

Nope. Wrong again, someone started talking to me to say good morning. So I was polite, and looked them in the eyes instead of at my gaping holes in my flibberity gibbity stockings.

 "So what your saying is, you fail at being a girl most of the time?" 

I mean, I'd say you've got it, but you've just got it!

I went through half a church service before realizing I had not one, or two, but THREE runs in them and I looked like a total moron. It's 9,000 degrees with about 90 percent humidity you're lucky I had clothes on this morning! Also, I couldn't reach the zipper on my dress which is why being a girl with ginormous boobs is a burden at times which is why I had flop sweat when I was trying to fix my frizzy hair business. Anyway we made it, and we were early, and I rocked huge runs in my stockings because LIFE. I also was wearing heels, which basically was like. "let's give this wolverine girl with runs in her hose a little more leverage to show off those sexy, holy, tummy sucking in support stockings because she's too cheap to go to Nordstrom's."

Here's an OOTD for Hunter:

Shirt: Polo by Ralph Lauren

Pants: Baker by Ted Baker @ JcPenny

Shoes: Sperry Topsiders

Belt: Dickies

For the most part, Hunter picks out his own clothes and completely dresses himself, except for his shoes. This morning I suggested this new shirt for him and I actually liked it a lot. He looks so adorable in Polo, and I love that it just matches his personality; bright, sporty, and happy! (Please ignore all the wine behind him, for some reason this is the only aisle he likes to stand still on otherwise, he might as well be in the jungle swinging from trees or trying to break open fruit with his feet.) 

What I'm trying to tell you is life with a 4 year old little boy is like living life one bated breath to the next. Just stock up on Tums now, because you'll have constant anxiety inducing spasms which make you feel like you're living on the edge of death almost every second of their life. He's so adorable, but sometimes he just scares the bejesus out of me!

That was all of our snaps from this Sunday. I'm hoping to make this a weekly thing, and so we'll see you next week for another installment. :)

xo,

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Health: Addicted.

(Image from tumblr)

I can't be the only girl on the planet whose done a late night Taco Bell run, but we're not always honest about is the following morning, the next day when you wake up feeling absolutely horrendous! Split minute decision turns into weekly trips to the drive-thru, and then the weekend, well ... then you've got the Reader's Digest version of,  what I did in my early 20s. A very close family member to me has been really making an effort to change it up, and she's gotten super healthy and she's really started motivating me without even saying anything. (This is why she's one of my favorites!)

So ... what are we going to do? Eat as clean as possible, at home, for ONE month.

Is there a possibility that I could fail? Of course! I'm really going to try and keep those feelings at bay though with exercise, and a good attitude. I really just want to do this up right though and see if I can make this a committed, personal lifestyle change. Hunter and I ran the Color Run this past May and I loved every single second of it. It was so empowering, but I also loved how I felt that whole day afterward when I realized that I had completed almost 3.5 miles in one go. This October I'm committed to another run, (although I'm not sure if Hunter will attend this time even though he was a trooper in the May race), but I am super excited!  What I would like to change is my goals for the race, and that is decreasing my first run time of 1 hour 10 minutes to around 45 minutes. I know I can accomplish this but my training has to start now.

Currently I've been experimenting with a lot of home workouts in addition to taking early morning walks with our puppy Finn. I get a lot of them from The Lean Machines, (they have a whole playlist worth of 10 minutes workouts here but also check out their youtube as well), and I love yoga so I've tried out PsycheTruth where they have a whole beginners series of 20 minute yoga workouts. Yoga does work, but you need a good teacher if you're just starting out so you do the moves correctly and you'll notice the significance as to how you feel later. As always, since the pavement is the cheapest gym I try to do runs when it's not too hot but lately since we've been hitting 100 degrees or higher here I've been indoors.

If you need cooking ideas, there's so many great books. I love the Eat This, Not That series because I think once you get to the maintainence level of fitness, they can help you make better lifestyle choices when it comes to meals. Just remember if you're just starting out,  or for those people like me, who are maybe restarting again for what feels like the 1,000th time you don't have to be perfect all the time to be healthy. If you feel it, you are, and if you truly feel it then let that keep you going! I have a long way to go, but as we all know it's about the journey not the destination. We need to be happy along the way, because once we reach our final goal if we aren't inwardly happy with ourselves then we've already failed. In the mean time, cooking at home it one of the easiest decisions you'll ever make for your health. I'm obsessed with Jamie Oliver, his cooking is so good and he has a whole youtube channel dedicated to easy things you can make at home! No DVR required. I also like healthy southern comfort foods from The Deen Brothers, and if you follow me on Pinterest I have a whole board dedicated to good eats. Please check that out if you're ever in need of inspiration.

I think that's it for now, but be sure to look out for future posts about my progress.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Life: The Lake House

I know these probably look like dark, drab photos, but in retrospect to me they're pretty spectacular. I love North Carolina. I love it in the Fall, the Winter, and even in the Summer when it's so hot it feels like you could stir the air with a wooden spoon. Some of my happiest memories growing up occurred during my Summer's going back and forth to this house. The first photo is Hunter on the floor next to a stool playing Barrell of Monkeys, and this one stood out so vividly for me when I got back home that afternoon. I used to play cards with my Great-Grandmother on top of that stool, or sit in front of her on it while she asked me about school, whatever state we lived in at the time, or did I want another dill pickle?

I loved my Granny! This house was our sanctuary. Luckily it's stayed in the family, and even though my Granny is long gone now these pictures stung a little when I finally sat down to look at them. We have so many happy memories in life sometimes we forget about the hard one's. We have such a good time in that house still, even now it's hard to think of her not being there. I love visiting. I love being there where Hunter is learning to swim in the exact same water that I learned in, and now I'm learning to paddle board. I'm just amazed. Life is so incredibly quick.

Every single day that I watch Hunter grow, the more fond I grow of him being himself just in the moments that we have now.  I loathe the day when he'll be too shy, or too cool to dance around, or sing a song in the middle of the grocery story. I realize this is all apart of the growing process, but it's hard watching a little baby grow up into a child. For now, we'll go back and forth to the lake house, and I'll keep taking pictures with Hipstamatic.

xo,

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Beauty: What's In My Bag? (Part 2)

Part 2

Ok, so we're off and running for part 2 of What's In My Bag?

I love eye makeup. You would have never guess, right? Kidding. My eyes are one of my favorite features so I try and play them up as much as I can. The first product in the far left picture, that magical pod of purple. That just happens to be Color Play cream eyeshadow in Orchid-ing Around, by Flower Beauty.  I actually won this one in their Facebook contest last year and I've been through 2 pots since then. The cream shadows from this line are incredible! They are long lasting, and I like to toss this pot in my bag for touch-ups as this color goes great on light or darker for a night time change-up.

Next to that eyeshadow is my favorite brow pencil, also by Flower Beauty. Raise Some Brows in Blonde is the perfect in between brow shade for me. I usually get mine darkened in the salon but in between I like to play them up with this pencil. I have naturally dark eye lashes and brows, but in the Summer obviously everything lightens up pretty quickly from the sun light which is why having a good pencil or powder is an excellent addition to any makeup starter kit. If you're out of mascara or forgot it, always, always kick up the jams on those power brows!

The next two pallets are mostly browns, and highlight colors which I wear pretty much all the time. The top shades are from Julep, and so is my favorite eyeliner in the entire world, Kajal Eye Glider in, Brown Shimmer, and Carbon Black. I'm a contacts wearer, so I'm picky about what I put near my eyes. Mostly because my eyes get irritated easily, and also because contacts are expensive! The pallet has one highlight, and 4 progressively darker shades of brown. You could go nuts! I really like them, and it's also the only other pallet I've purchased lately that's had a mirror in it. The bottom pallet is from the Glam Eyes line from Rimmel in 028 English Breakfast. I've used these since I was in high school, and I love Rimmel makeup in general. It's skin friendly, and the mascaras are as good as most department store bands I've bought. It has all my go to shades if I can't make up my mind in the morning, and I always get lots of compliments about it.

Next up, LASHES. I was literally born with monster lashes, and even though they've lightened a lot since I was little they haven't lost an inch of length. I still curl my lashes even though I don't really need to. Rimmel has two mascaras that I love, and they are Lash Accelerator Endless in 003 Extreme Black, and Volume Accelerator in the same shade. I'm almost out of the second, and I'll probably give it up after this tube since I've really into Accelerator Endless at the moment. It doesn't flake, or irritate my contacts and I love the coverage. It never runs!

The last two pallets are one's that I've recently picked up. The Rimmel pallet is in 001 Smokey Noir, and I wore it to a super fun house party in my hometown which is about 2 hours from where I live now. I put it on at around 6PM, but unfortunately the color didn't last as long for me as the other shades that I have. I love the black but it just didn't hold, even after setting. I was super disappointed, but the grey's in this do last a long time and I've been able to do a funky night out look with it. Lastly, the ELF pallet in, #71404 Smoky was my most recent purchase, in fact I just got it last week. The highlight color in the middle is insanely beautiful and I love the dark brown, as well as the glittery navy shade. Navy was a little out of my comfort zone, but I thought it turned out beautifully.

As for tools, most of my brushes are last minute buys. Although, I finally found Real Techniques brushes in the US in a store. (I almost screamed during a super busy afternoon in the store!) I've been huge fans of the Chapman sisters for a long time. In fact, my first beauty blogger that I ever watched was Pixiwoo and I've learned so much from them and Louise (Sprinkleofglitter). Seriously, between their videos I felt like I finally had the confidence to go to Sephora and not feel like an idiot!

I hope you enjoyed these rather long (sorry), what's in my bag, posts. They're super fun, and I promise I'll get better :) Until next time, just remember it's always about the girl that wears the makeup, and not about the makeup that makes the girl.

xo,

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Beauty: What's In My Bag? (Part 1)

PART 1

Firstly, these are actual things from my makeup bag. That's it right there, that overstuffed blue thing. Some of these products are used, and well loved, and I'm showing you this so you know know I really do use them! I love makeup packaging, and branding. Typography and fonts can really be so beautiful but half of the things I've bought in the past just plain don't do the job for me! That's the funny part though right? That's how they get us. I'm not above buying something that looks pretty only to find out later that it doesn't work at all. For now, this is a little selection of what's in my bag.

I'm lucky in that my skin is pretty easy to handle, but incredibly sensitive and delicate. I can never leave the house without SPF on (neither should you),  and I can't exfoliate too often without turning out like a tomato in the noonday sun. Learn from 16 years of hard lessons, skin care is essential regardless of how much makeup you wear! I cannot stress this enough. Right now my skin care regimen consists of using the Olay Pro-X Cleansing Brush with Garnier's The Ultimate Cleanser, and  Target brand's, Sensitive Skin Moisturizer with SPF 15. I try and do a face masque once a week and my favorites are by the Montagne Jeunesse brand that come in packets. They are usually at Target for less than $3, or if you watch the clearance shelves at Wal-Mart sometimes they're even cheaper! My favorite masque is the Brazillian Mud Fabric Masque. It's like a gigantic Biore strip for your face, and it just feels lovely afterward when you're slathering on moisturizer.

Right now I'm loving the Powder PaletteⓇ Multi- Colored Custom Bronzer for Brunettes from Physician's Formula, as well as the Custom Blush. They are both glittery, but the blush has a much smaller particle of it. In the Summer I like to contour with bronzer, so I use Flower Beauty's, Ready, Set, Glow! (Shade BD1). I love using those two products together, as I feel like they compliment each other so well. Flower Beauty's bronzer has no shimmer in it, but comes with a blush that has a small amount. Obviously my compact is almost out, but if you wanted to wear those two shades alone I can attest that they are the longest lasting that I've ever used. The color literally stayed put all day. I also love their line of cream blushes, and if it's not too hot I opt for Win Some, Rouge Some in shade Pure Petunia. It's like pink and coral colored, and it's so beautiful ... I just can't!

Oh snaps, forgot to mention foundation! Right now I'm trying out Neutrogena's Skin ClearingⓇ oil-free makeup in shade 30 Buff. I break out a little bit in the Summer going from water, to land, and back again. A good foundation that does double duty, is a lifesaver. So far, I've been really pleased with it and the coverage is great! Sometimes I can even get away with wearing no concealer, which is always a plus for the mornings that I'm in a rush. I set all of my makeup with translucent powder, and I have a small compact that I picked up at CVS which I sprinkle a little in for when I'm out. Since it's something I use a lot, I like having a big tin of it and Airspun Original Formula Loose Face Powder (in shade, translucent extra coverage 070-41) is my tried and true essential for every season. It also has a familiar scent that reminds me of getting ready with my Mom when I was a little kid and it holds everything in place.

This year I've planned to expand my horizons to places likes Sephora, Ulta, and MAC, so that I can better understand the art of putting things on your face that I missed out on. No one in my family really liked makeup, or did the minimalist approach to it, so once I was old enough everything I tried to learn came from magazines.  Then came, the beauty bloggers and I adore them! I think they make the planet a happier place, and they've helped grown up Caroline learn how not to look like the crazy bag lady. I can do the basic work, but there's tons more that I want to do. I love makeup! I love trying things, and most importantly, I think every girl, woman, single lady, or Mom should feel beautiful. For the record, no matter where you come from, or what you look like, that should never stop you from having those happy, fluffy cotton candy feelings about yourself! Everyone has low moments. Everyone feels not so pretty sometimes. I'm telling you this now, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL! You woke up just like you did, acne spots, freckles, and all. Those things matter like sprinkles on cupcakes, let's face it we're just going to eat it anyway! In other words, if it's 100 degrees, with 100% humidity then go get a cupcake and stop worrying about runny eyeliner.


So go play a little, and do it with your makeup.

:)

xoxo,


****Stay tuned for part 2!


Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Welcome to the sahweet life!

Hello world :)

My name is Caroline, and I'm 26. I'm a Mom. I like makeup, and clothes, and more clothes. You're right! You guessed it, I'm a girly-girl. I love traveling, and I've lived all over the US. My favorite states are; Georgia, (where I was born), North Carolina, (which is home), Washington, (where we lived for 3 years), and lastly but most certainly not least, California, (where I figured it all out). 

I have the sweetest little 4 year old boy named Hunter, and he's the center of my universe but sometimes motherhood can feel kind of isolating. Although we keep busy, sometimes its hard to come into your own when you're raising another human being whose also becoming their own person. (The struggle is real!) I have some of my single-ton friends, Mommy friends, and all the oldies but goodies of our immediate family who make our life beautiful. 

I'm going to write about our life, and start a youtube channel, and be silly, and brave because my goal for this year was to embrace the things I'm most scared of. We're going to talk about organizing and planning especially for holidays, because I'm mildly obsessed with Christmas and of course by mildly, I mean majorly. I'm Southern so no holiday is actually ever small. I'll also write about makeup, and clothes, and crafty things that interest me.

I'm here to inspire you and make you think happy thoughts, which I hope I can accomplish. Life is too short, and we should intended to get out there and live in it!

xoxo,

Follow my blog with Bloglovin