Monday Musings / Weekending: Memorial Day Weekend

It was a great weekend! The weather was beautiful and I got some great one-on-one time with my baby girl because Jake took the boys on a fishing trip with his dad all weekend. I missed them, but I can't lie, it was a nice break!

Friday night started with my neighborhood wine night...we chit-chatted, danced and as usual, had a great time.

Saturday I got Farrah and myself ready early to beat the crazy tourist beach traffic. It was a great day out, but it was a little windy, so we only hung out on the beach for about an hour and then spent the rest of the time talking to some of my friends at the Windjammer.

We hung out at Isle of Palms for a few hours and then we came home so she could nap and I could get some house cleaning done.

That evening we went to my friend Suz's house to hang out.

On Sunday, I won't lie, I had a lot of chores to do, so we didn't do as much as I thought we would. I wanted to go to the beach again, but the thought of battling the traffic just wasn't worth it. Farrah and I played, did chores and went to Target to stock up on some necessities. She developed an interesting way of sitting in the cart.

On Monday, the boys came back from their trip in the morning. I managed to get some much-needed gardening done quickly {putting some plants in our pots} and we all went to the pool that afternoon.

I just spent the evening prepping some healthy meals for the week - it is time to get back on that bandwagon...it was quite a "cheat" weekend.

Hope y'all had a wonderful long, holiday weekend as well!

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Five on Friday

Happy Friday! Hopefully most of you are in for a fun, long holiday weekend! I don't have much planned other than Jake will be taking the boys fishing with his dad, brother and our nephew all weekend, so it's just Farrah and me! {Is it bad that I'm totally OK with that?} On the docket is my neighborhood wine night tonight and I'm definitely thinking of hitting the beach tomorrow with Farrah...maybe Sunday too! I do also plan to take advantage of the practically empty house and get some things done around here.

Here are my five for this week!

{one}

I sold my double jogging stroller this week and purchased a single. I was a little sad because when I decided that I'd need a double this time around, it's because I knew I would be home all day with Breckin and an infant Farrah, and we'd really need to be able to get out of the house and into the fresh air, plus, I had wanted to start working on losing that baby weight, pronto. I loved our walks/runs...and I loved being home with them. I will always cherish and remember those times with them.

But now, I'm working, so my running time is in the evenings when Jake is home to help, so I no longer need to take both of them with me. It was time to get a single. I ordered basically the single version of the double I had because I loved it so much. And they had it in pink!

Baby Trend Expedition Jogging Stroller

It should show up on Tuesday. I'm way eager to get back out running more.

{two}

Last Sunday at the beach, I got soooooo burnt on my legs {forgot to apply the sunscreen there}. Well, I will say I didn't forget, the plan was to give them about 30 min in the sun because they are hard to get color on and then apply sunscreen. Well, then I forgot.

As I'm beginning to fall more and more in love with my essential oils, I find that I'm reaching to them more when I have an ailment. I applied a few drops of lavender mixed into coconut oil and rubbed on both legs. I did this for a few nights and it took a lot of the initial stinging pain away as well as kept me from peeling. The redness is mostly gone now too. And bonus: soft skin! What I love about lavender is that it's so versatile...this same mix being on my legs at night, also helped me get a good night's rest!

If you're interested in hearing more about Young Living essential oils, send me a message!

{three}

I don't believe I've shared these here yet, but I got the cutest pictures of Breckin and Farrah from their daycare picture day. Breckin was quite the little ham for his, I was so impressed with how photogenic he is! Farrah could have smiled...she looks like she has no idea what is going on.

And of course, his graduation one:

Just love them!

{four}

I've been awful this week with workouts. It has just been one of those weeks. Not the end of the world, but certainly not a week I'm proud of in terms of fitness. My painful sunburn put me out as far as leg workouts earlier in the week. I feel like I'm so behind on Body Beast that I might as well start over. Which I think is the plan. I think between Body Beast and running with Farrah in the evenings, I'll be good. I'm looking forward to having our nightly jog before she goes to bed...we don't have the bottles anymore, so it will be something that hopefully soothes her and gets her tired for bedtime.

{five}

I don't have much else other than to say, have a fun holiday weekend! But please do remember what it's really about.

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My Week on Instagram

I'm linking up with Mama Kat's Writing Workshop this week and here is the prompt I chose out of the five offered:

5.) Your week in Instagram photos!

So here goes! {If you already follow me on Instagram, well then lucky you, you get an extra dose of my insta-awesomeness!}

Arm party I showed off this Memorial Day weekend...and also wearing again today!

Cutie McPuppy {aka Sugar} sunbathing with me on the back deck when I was sans kiddos on Saturday...

Enjoying the pool sans kiddos while Daddy had them out fishing with Papa and Uncle Jesse for Memorial Day weekend. It was bliss...

 

 And a Memorial Day weekend sunset...

Guess I wasn't super-Insta-crazy this past week! I'll do better next! xoxo

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Memorial Day Weekend Recap & Skincare in Your 30s

Wow...coming off a long weekend and heading back to work can prove difficult. For starters, my hair looks like this today:

And I'm not sorry.

It was a great weekend. Jake's brother, his wife and kids came to town and all of the boys went fishing with Papa up at Lake Moultrie both Saturday and Sunday. This made for a lot of free time for Momma. I spent it at the pool mostly. So while my boys were out looking like this:

My view was pretty much this:

I got to do a lot of reading on my Kindle - really enjoying The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. And I've got a hint of a tan now...been wanting to get a little base started before we head to Florida in less than two weeks. I'm using SPF though...don't worry...so it will probably be a while before I have any good color. I just really don't want to burn myself in order to get color anymore - the risks are so not worth it. This is what I'm using - SPF 12 was the highest I could find in a tanning dry oil {please let me know if you know of another that is higher!} So I just reapply often.

{source}

I took the boys to the pool late Sunday afternoon after they got back from fishing and then again on Memorial Day. We avoided the beach as the tourist traffic is just insane and getting to the beach could take over an hour...not to mention also when you were ready to head home from the beach. Just not worth it - we can go anytime.

I went to Target on Saturday to get some skincare products to add to my regimen. Megan of Style Me Swanky had some great products to suggest and I definitely wanted to try a few. She said she has combination skin, so I thought what worked for her might also work for me. I really want the Clinique items she is using because I have always loved Clinique, but I only had time to get to Target, so I may just order them online from Sephora.

Here's what I did purchase:

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This foaming gel cleanser by L'Oreal looked promising. I had not heard of it before, but when I read the back and it seemed pretty gentle and was what I needed to get my makeup off at the end of the day, I decided to give it a go. So far so good. It doesn't irritate my skin and it gets all of my makeup off without a problem.

{source}

Megan had recommended this facial cleanser by Neutrogena. I'm reading The Honest Life by Jessica Alba, so I've been a little more careful about choosing products with the least chemicals in them, so this definitely fit that description. I use it after I remove my makeup with the L'Oreal cleanser. To apply it, I wet my face, neck and decolletage with warm water and then use this:

{source}

Megan uses the Clarisonic, but I didn't have the means to spend that much on a face care item at the moment, so I opted for this one I found by Acne Free. It was only $14.99 and came with 2 removable brush heads. So far, I really like it and my face feels really clean after using it. My pores are looking a lot cleaner. All it takes is a pea-sized amount of the cleanser applied on the brush head and it thoroughly cleanses all of those areas.

After that step, I pat dry and then using a cotton ball, I apply a light layer of pure grapeseed oil. This was a tip I read about weeks ago and I really like the results so far. My face seems clearer and brighter...and the fine lines are less harsh.

Now that I'm 30, I know it's a good idea to start using a retinol product. Megan suggested this one by Neutrogena, so I picked it up:

{source}

A little dab goes a long way. I've been using it every night so far, but it does say if it starts to irritate, to go to once every other day. So I'll let you know if I have to do that.

Then lastly, the night cream I've been using for a couple weeks now is L'Oreal's Revitalift. I have no complaints so far.

{source}

So that's my new nightly skincare routine. I'll let you know how I like it in a few weeks after I have a chance to hopefully see some positive results. I will say though, in just the couple of days I've been doing this regimen, my skin looks a lot smoother, brighter and clearer. My pores are definitely cleaned out! I'm hoping to see some improvement in the "crow's feet" and expression lines I've started noticing the last couple of years.

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Memorial Day Weekend

While I of course want you all to have a very happy and fun-filled Memorial Day weekend, I wanted to pay tribute to what this "holiday" truly stands for. Please honor and think of all those that have lost their lives fighting for our rights and freedoms...those that have survived...and those that are still fighting. And don't forget their loved ones who go through so much so our soldiers can do what duty calls them to do.

I have a little something to spill...I think I'm going to start a fitness blog...again. I know, I know...I really just need to make up my mind already. But I've got a new angle and I'm working on getting some things ready before the official launch. Bottom line is that fitness is really important to me, and for whatever reason, when I'm blogging about something, I tend to be even more about it than I already am {like seriously, I never shopped so much in my life before Style Oyster}. And right now what I need is to get fitness-focused. So I guess I'm just going to go for it. I'll be sure to let you know when it launches...and I hope you'll become a follower there too. xoxo

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