Monday, October 20, 2014

Weekend - Who, What, Where

Hi dears! Hope everyone had a great weekend :)
Today it was 35 degrees when I woke up in Meriden! Too cold for me! Don't go skipping Fall on me now!!
I slacked a bit with blogging last week, my apologies. I really do want to stick to this! I am really enjoying it :)


Here is another segment of my Weekend - Who, What, Where!


MAC LIPSTICKS


http://www.maccosmetics.com/product/shaded/168/310/Products/Lips/Lipstick/Lipstick/index.tmpl?SKU_ID=SKU3036
Mac's "Captive"
On Friday, I left work a couple of hours early for a doctor's appointment. On my way home, I remembered that I had a $25.00 gift card for Macy's waiting patiently in my wallet to be used. (Whenever I have enough credit car rewards points, I almost always use them toward a Macy's gift card.) Why Macy's you might ask? Well, my dears, it is because Macy's is the only official MAC Cosmetics distributor near me.  I have been craving  a new work-appropriate lipstick for the past couple of weeks, so it seemed like the perfect idea. 
I approached the MAC counters with clean hands just waiting to be swatched upon! After swatching for at least 10 minutes,  I ended up deciding on a Satin finish, berry/mauve shade called
"Captive". This color is PERFECT for the kind of lip look I go for on a normal, everyday basis. I asked one of the lovely MAC makeup artists to help me pair it with an appropriate lip liner that would suit my new addition and a few of my other normal colors that I use. We both agreed, that "Soar" was a perfect match.  There is just something about MAC lipsticks that makes me super excited. 
As of last week, my collection consists of 19 lipsticks, half of which are limited edition lipsticks which I actively seek out to collect, and half of which are shades that are always available in stores and online.
(I plan to make a blog post primarily dedicated to my MAC lipstick collection very soon. This may only intrigue some of my few readers, but I am genuinely excited to get the post/photos/swatches up for people/myself to see)


BABYSITTING


Yes, that's right, babysitting. I am in my mid-twenties and I still actively babysit a couple of nights a month for close family-friends. I have been babysitting these girls since I was about 13, and I have seen them grow up and change; honestly it is more than just babysitting to me now.

Around the time that I turned 19 or 20, I began to realize how much I enjoyed watching and hanging out with the girls. Some nights were more difficult than others, but for the most part, we always had a fun time.  The transition of becoming a teenage-babysitter to an adult-babysitter was quite easy for me. I truly enjoy spending time with the girls (and two pups) and I have even grown to consider their parents to be friends. 

I can honestly say, that whenever I do stop babysitting them (which will probably be soon, because the oldest is approaching her teenage years) I will want to stay actively in touch with them, and continue to hang out with them as they continue to grow up. I want them to be a part of my life and my future children's lives.


BARKBOX


Not sure if anyone has ever heard of Barkbox...but if you are a dog lover and a subscription box conessur, this is the box for you! I tried out Barkbox at the beginning of this year, when I saw a link for a discounted price on facebook. They have an option to try out one month, 3 months, 6 months, and a year- I wanted to try out a trial box before taking the leap and purchasing a few months worth.
I remember seeing videos of pups digging into their Barkboxes when they came in the mail, so when Max's first box arrived, we got the tape off of the sides, opened up the flap, and set it on the floor. "Max, look! A barkbox!" From then on we were HOOKED!


Each month there are at least 4 different types of treats and 2 different toys for your pup. Per the Barkbox website: "When you sign up for BarkBox, every month you will receive a box in the mail with four or more carefully selected products and presents for your dog – anything from toys, bones and all-natural treats to hygiene products and innovative new gadgets"

This month, Max's Barkbox was Halloween themed! The box came wrapped with special Barkbox, Halloween paper, 2 Halloween themed toys, and 4 different treats! The website asks you to pick a size of pup when you sign up, so since Max is 50 pounds, I selected the largest option. Some toys that Max has received have been a bit too soft for him, so he destroys them within the day, but there is always at least one perfectly suited toy to him.

One of Maxxie's Halloween-themed Barkbox toys
Right now I am on the 6 month subscription plan, and it was $80.00. Greg and I really think that Barkbox is worth the money because we will never need to buy him new toys or special treats when we have an active subscription! One good, sturdy dog toy can run you $10-$15 sometimes, so if you think about it that way, the subscription pays for itself within the second or third month. And believe me, with how excited Max gets when he hears "Max has a Barkbox!", that definitely worth more than the $80.00 I spent. It is priceless :)
   

VINEYARDS/WINERIES 


This Saturday, Greg and I went to a vineyard/winery in Clinton, CT with a few friends. I have only been to 3 vineyards so far since turning 21 a couple of years ago, and they have oddly enough all been during this year. I am not sure what exactly took me so long after I turned 21 to get to one of them, as I have always loved wine since forever, but I am truly glad that I finally made it to one. 


The vineyard we went to this weekend is called Chamard Vineyard, and I must say that it was the nicest one I have been to so far. The views of the vineyard, the building grounds, and the building
itself were absolutely gorgeous! Not to mention, their wine was pretty darn great too. I ordered a bottle of their Stone Cold Red Wine and Greg ordered a bottle of their Stone Cold White Wine.
I ended up drinking the entire bottle over the 3 1/2 hours we were there on a pretty empty stomach, and paid for it on the way home... Due to my empty-stomach-wine-drinking stupidity, I am, as a result, down one Jessica Simpson purse, while Greg and 2 of our friends are up a few too many visions of me paying for my stupidity....more details on that, I am sure, are not needed. 

Aside from the not-so-great ending to my Saturday, I enjoyed the day very much. Clearly I enjoyed the wine a little too much, but what can I say..we have all been there, right?




  

SLOW COOKER


I woke up pretty darn early on Sunday morning after my early/not so fun night after the wine incident. After I realized that I somehow did not have a hangover, I got some toast and water into me, took a well-needed shower, and went to Big Y to shop for our dinner for the night:
Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff. (Beef Strog for short) Greg and I had made this wonderful dish once before in the slow cooker, and we adored it! It was definitely a good day for an easy, wholesome, and tasty home-cooked meal, so we decided to try the beef strog again.

I LOVE using the Crock Pot. It is so easy to prepare a meal, the clean-up is pretty simple after we eat, and there is ALWAYS left overs. It is a wonderful day for Dana if all that needs to be done is put the meat in the pot, add condensed mushroom soup of some sort, add onions and garlic, turn the thing on, and allow the aroma of the food being cooked waft through the house for the few hours before it is ready. Who ever invented the slow cooker..I salute you. Thank you for your wonderful and perfect donation to society. 




Thanks for reading guys!
You are the best :)
xo Dana

3 comments:

  1. Hey Dana! I can't wait for your post nly on MAC lipstick, my sister uses it and I've been dying to try it out too! Great post, super cute (don't worry I'm in my 20s and still babysit sometimes too ;)).

    Marly Rae

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Marly! I am hoping to start the lipstick post this weekend and have it up next week!
      I have so many that I love SO much! They really are great quality.

      Thanks for reading :)
      ~Dana

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  2. Very nice pictures, great post, and adorable dog :)

    DiscoverMe

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