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

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

Weekend - Who, What, Where

This weekend was wonderful! I don't know about you, but I spent this weekend going completely at my own pace. Greg and I had nothing we HAD to do, nowhere we HAD to be, and just got to be and do whatever we wanted. We slept in, we cleaned, we watched Netflix, and we managed to do fun Fall things all at the same time!
Here is my Weekend - who, what, where.. A compilation of some of my favorite things from this weekend :) Enjoy!

BOYFRIEND/PUP 

There is seriously not much better than coming home to Greg after a hard week's work. Nothing better than being greeted at the door by Maxxie :) I love weekends where I can come to Greg's right after work on a Friday. However, there is one horribly annoying, completely unavoidable part that I could do with out. That would be: Friday-at-five traffic... THE WORST. Takes me an hour to get to Greg's instead of the normal half hour. (I do tend to make the best of the longer drives with my favorite tunes though)

Now, clearly that is a horse behind us and not Maxxie,
but it is a pretty cool pic!

DRIVING TUNES

My current favorite driving songs:

Bang Bang - Jessie J feat. Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj

Bailando - Enrique Iglesias feat. Sean Paul

Best Night Ever - Gloriana

Shake it Off - Taylor Swift

And a nice little throwback for you!:

All For You - Sister Hazel

THE FOLLOWING

Kevin Bacon and crazy, murder mystery all rolled up into one entertaining (and at times disturbing) television show. Greg and I were looking for a new show to start together on Netflix, and we decided on The Following. Brief synopsis of the show via imdb.com:

"A brilliant and charismatic, yet psychotic serial killer communicates with other active serial killers and activates a cult of believers following his every command, while an ex-FBI agent (Kevin Bacon) works to catch him." 

It is super entertaining and really has a way of pulling the viewer into the story right from the get-go. It can be pretty disturbing and kind of gross at times, but what shows aren't nowadays. I don't think this one goes too over the top. The show is going on it's third season. Check it out if you are looking for a new, creepy show to watch for this Halloween season!

Watch The Following on Netflix and on FOX!

BEER

And at the moment, that favorite beer is Yuengling...Well, technically, it's a lager.

Now, around here in Connecticut, this is Yuengling's first rodeo. CT just began being able to sell Yuengling at the beginning of the season and it has been quite a hit. Not sure if it is just the initial hype, or what, but I have been seeing EVERYONE with this beer. I tried it for the first time last weekend and it was the only thing I drank this weekend. Now, mind you, I am not a big drinker, but when Greg and I go out with friends, I usually chose the beer route. I find that it is easiest to work with whilst being out and about. Normally I gravitate toward Budlights and Coronas, but Yuengling is now definitely in running of my new beer of choice. (Sorry, lager) If you haven't already, give it a try next time you are in the bar.

Yuengling Lager - New to CT this season

FARMS/ORCHARDS

Greg and I went apple/pumpkin picking this weekend! One of my favorite fall traditions. Such a simple yet enjoyable experience each year. My family and I have been visiting Hickory Hill Farm in Cheshire, CT since I can remember. It isn't an overwhelmingly large farm, but it gives you everything you want and would expect from a cute, country farm. The farm building itself is all made of wood and is decorated with every fall decoration you could ever think of. Best part is, every decoration you see is real and/or homemade! The top floor of their farm house is entirely dedicated to Christmas too! I love checking out the Christmas decorations no matter how early in the season it is. They have a large array of apples to pick in their orchard and a perfect collection of pumpkins to chose from in their farm yard. They even have at least 2 horses grazing in the pasture that lies in the middle of their orchard. Then top it off with some amazing apple cider donuts, and I am pretty much the happiest girl in the land.  (Shout out to Bishop Farm in Cheshire, CT as well- they have my FAVORITE apple cider donuts - YUM)



All purple everything - very festive! 

Never too early for Christmas decorations!

PUMPKIN CARVING

We each picked our pumpkins at Hickory Hill and brought em home to get to carving! Pumpkin carving is no joke..I get really into it and want it to come out pretty much exactly like the picture I copied from the book. This is sometimes not a realistic way of going about carving, as there is major room for error with a pumpkin.. that room mainly consists of my lack of carving skills. Needless to say, it is still fun and is one of my favorite Fall traditions to take part in. This was actually my second time carving this season already! (Maybe if I keep practicing, I'll be really, really ready for next year!)

Our Pumpkins!

FOOTBALL

I don't know if you guys remember, but I am a NY Giants' fan. I like to think I am a loyal fan to my team, and I can genuinely say, that I have not missed a game in about 3 years. Well, Sunday night's game against the Philadelphia Eagles was the first game I found myself wishing that  I missed...

The Eagles ran huge, fast, and well-organized circles around the Giants almost the entire game. It was pretty tough to watch. I wasn't even angry at them or anything, I just felt sad for them. You hate to see your team not perform well. And then, to make all matters worse, Victor Cruz gets a season-ending knee injury. SO SAD...I literally shed a tear when I saw Cruz's reaction to the realization of the impact his injury was going to have on him and his season - it was heart wrenching. 

I have not lost faith in my team, though. It was just a bad game with a lot of room for improvement. I look forward to this week's game against Dallas. It should be a tough one, but hopefully not anywhere as near as tough as last night's. (pretty please!!) 

#80 - Victor Cruz

Hope you all had a great weekend too!
Thanks for reading! Let me know if you like this concept for a weekly or biweekly post :)

Have a blessed week and a good night, dears!

xo Dana

My Take on Romantic "Chick-Flicks" // The Proposal

Thursday nights are “mommy-nights” for me. Every Thursday after work I head to moms for dinner. She either cooks us a tasty meal or if we aren't too exhausted after work, we venture out for a meal on the town.

I got home from dinner with mom at around 8:30pm this past Thursday. My roomie was home already and was chilling on the couch watching TV. After I unpacked my work bag and put away some laundry, I changed into some comfy PJs and went out to the living room to join her. While we were discussing how our days went and such, she began aimlessly flipping through the channels to find something new, when a most wonderful sight was seen: a glimpse of Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock carrying luggage off of a plane…The Proposal was on!!!

First of all, is there anyone that doesn't like this movie? I personally have not met a soul that doesn’t like this movie in some way, shape, or form. I mean, Ryan Reynolds shirtless + Sandra Bullock “getting low” + cute fluffy puppy appearances + Betty White chanting around a fire = AMAZING entertainment. (a very long equation, but very true nonetheless)

My roomie put the remote right down once we realized that the movie was on. First thing out of my mouth (besides “OMG, would you look at the bod on that fine man”) was “This may literally be the best movie ever”. Now, I think I was just ultra-excited that the movie was on when I said that, because I do think there are other movies out there that can be considered “better” films, BUT there is something about The Proposal, that makes it really stand out. I think it has all of my favorite things rolled up into one hilarious ball of perfect.

In the last scene of the movie, Andrew
(Ryan) turns up at the office to find Margaret (Sandra) to tell her not to go back to Canada because he loves her despite her craziness. After I shed a tear or two, I turned to my roomie saying “Seriously, I miss watching chick-flicks with girls.”  Of course I would watch this movie with Greg (he loves it too), but there is nothing like watching a good, old-fashioned, romantic, chick-flick with one of your girlfriends.

I don’t know about you guys, but when I watch a “chick-flick” with my girlfriends we comment on things we feel led to comment on, we tell stories of stuff that has happened in the past as it relates to a snipet of the movie, and we stay silent together at that, always amazing, “Awwwww” moment at the end.

A classic romantic "Chick-Flick" has the following:

1. Good looking male lead (Matthew M, Channing T, Bradley C, pretty much anyone named Ryan ect.)

2. Pretty female lead (Jennifer (Lopez, Lawrence, or Aniston), Sandra B, Katherine H, ect.)

3. Hilarious drinking or dancing scene (getting low around the fire in The Proposal, “Benny and the Jets” in 27 Dresses, pot brownie in the club scene in Never Been Kissed, ect.)

4. Random funny best friends to both male and female lead (usually cute or dorky in personality)

5. Other female character you love to hate (biotch in 13 Going On 30 -damn her!) OR another male character that you end up feeling a little bad for at the end  (Hot Irish man from Grey's Anatomy (Kevin McKidd) in Made of Honor)

6.  One or more hot kiss/love-making scene (the rain scene in The Notebook....) *cue heart palpitations*

7. At least one cute child or animal that has some odd, yet important role

8. An intense moment about 3/4 of the way into the movie that makes your heart feel as if it is being ripped out of your chest (I believe this is called the climax of the movie)

9.  A chase of some sort back to the other person. (when you cant possibly contain your excitement that the torture of the "climax" is almost over....wait, what? oh never mind)

10. And finally, 9 out of 10 of these movies have some kind of a "happy-ending"

Although most romantic comedies/"chick-flicks" are fairly predictable, and a lot of the time incredibly similar to each other, they never lose their luster to me. I may go through phases where I am not interested in the classic "love story" but they never last long and I am back to wanting to see the newest chick-flick that is set to come out in theaters soon.
Right now, that movie for me is The Best of Me, staring Michelle Monaghan (also in Made of Honor) and James Marsden (also in 27 Dresses). (Some actors are just REALLY good in love stories)

The Best of Me is set to be in theaters this Friday (October 17th). This is the first love story in a while that I have been legitimately excited to go see. I do not think it will disappoint. I suppose my next step will be to warn Greg that there is a tear-jerking, lovey-dovey, "awwww"-moment-filled, movie theater trip in his future. ;)

My Top 10 favorite Romantic "Chick-Flicks" thus far (in order):

10. Never Been Kissed (1999)

9. Titanic (1997)

  

8. 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)

7. While You Were Sleeping (1995)

6. The Notebook (2004)  

5. When Harry Met Sally (1989)

  

4. Moulin Rouge (2001)

3. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003)

2. The Proposal (2009)

1. The Wedding Planner (2001) 

Honorable Mentions

 Love Actually ('03), The Ugly Truth ('09), Crazy, Stupid, Love ('11), The Holiday ('06), Just Like Heaven ('05), He's Just Not That Into You ('09), 27 Dresses ('08)

Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading :)
Have a great weekend!!

xo Dana

*all movie photos via imdb.com

Monday Look of the Day / MAC Rocky Horror Lipstick Review

Well, Happy Monday everybody!! (Did you get my intense sarcasm there? No? Darn, I was really going for it.) Anywhooo.. I do hope everyone had a nice Monday. It is Monday night now for me.

I had a great weekend..aside from being sick, that is. Relaxed a bunch with my man and my doggie, my Giants won, annnnd I ate a lot of tasty food! Hope your weekend was superb as well!


Wanted to share, with you, my look of the day...
Wore a navy blue/black 3/4 sleeve shirt and paired it with a navy blue smokey eye and a red lip! :)

This look was different for me, I almost always use a light, matte brown or gray toned color in the crease, never a color. I slept at Greg's house all weekend so I only had some of my makeup, so sometimes I find I do my most unique looks when I am at Greg's house.

After I shower in the morning, I go into the spare room where all of my stuff is strewn everywhere, put some PJs back on, and set myself up at Greg's dining room table- yes, the dining room table.

See, Greg has this huge mirror in his dining room that is at the perfect height for me to stand and do my makeup and I work best when the mirror is very close in front of my face. I am sure this is mostly due to the fact that I am pretty heavily nearsighted, but I also just feel most comfortable applying makeup when I am like 8 inches from the mirror. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!


So I spread all of makeup on a place mat at the table and get to work. I bring the bare minimum when I go to Greg's house so as to not pack unnecessarily when I stay there. (Now to me the bare minimum is probably more than the average girl, but maybe I can do a separate post for that.. ;) )

One eye shadow palate that I almost always bring with me is the It Cosmetic's Naturally Pretty palate. This palate comes with 14 matte, beautifully pigmented, shadows, and one shimmery, champagne shadow. I personally, only use the matte shadows, I am not a huge fan of the shimmery one (Transforming Pearl is the name of that one)

I used Sheer Joy and Midnight in this look - Palate is available at ulta.com

For this look, I ventured away from my normal cool toned browns and grays in the palate, and went to one of the darkest shades in the palate, Midnight.
This is an amazing Navy blue. It is SUPER pigmented, and blends so well when used with a light hand and a great blending brush. I worked this color (very lightly) into the crease until I was comfortable, then I used the color Sheer Joy all over the lid. I feel this pinky-toned, white shade really made my eyes pop and complimented the darker color in the crease. I blended more with Midnight until I was fully satisfied and I finished by smoking out my lower lash line with my tried and true Rimmel Scandalize Eye Pencil in brown. Little bit of foundation, blush, and mascara and I was good to go.







Intentional Fish Face

Now for the lips...

I, my friends, am a lipstick hoarder....and not just any lipstick... MAC lipstick. Yes, I am one of those.. and I LOVE it. I specifically, and religiously, collect limited edition MAC lipsticks. (That will definitely be another blog post) I recently ordered from a brand new, limited edition collection from MAC: The Rocky Horror Collection! Now, the movie itself freaked me the heck out...I don't even think I really enjoyed it. (I liked the Glee episode more..) BUT, this lipstick on the other hand is my cup of tea. There were 4 different colors to chose from in the collection, and I went with one of the red shades: Strange Journey.




Strange Journey is an Orange-toned, matte red shade. I really like the matte lipsticks from MAC so I did have high hopes for this one. The packaging is not the normal, satin-finished tube you are used to seeing with a MAC lipstick. This one is the same black color, but it has a shiny, glossy finish with the famous Rocky Horror lips on the front.


A quick swatch of Strange Journey

Strange Journey has a Matte finish

Packaging does not disappoint!

The Famous Lips!

Tim Curry!

I really do love the color, it glided on really nicely, and I felt like it really complimented my eyes shadow look well. I was a bit worried since I did a darker smokey eye than usual, but I think because I used the white shadow on the lid, it balanced everything out.









I adore the packaging of this lipstick as well. My favorite thing about the limited edition MAC lipsticks is that they usually make special packaging for each collection. Some changes may be more obvious than others in different collections, but I get flipping excited about anything that is new at MAC. My only semi-negative thing I would say about this lipstick would be the scent/taste of it. I cant quite put my finger on it, but when I put it on my lips today, I felt like it tasted distinctly like something other than how MAC lipstick usually tastes. Perhaps it comes off a bit more artificial than some of the other shades I have. However, I do not buy a lipstick for its taste or smell.. I buy it for it color payoff (and awesome packaging), and for that, this lipstick DID NOT disappoint.



I am sorry to say that all 4 of the lipsticks from this collection sold out on the MAC website about 24 hours after it was released...BUT I know for a fact that you would be able to find any of the 4 new shades through eBay. They will be more expensive than if bought when the collection was first released, but if you collect or if you really love the shade, it is 100% worth it in my opinion.

I, for one, have purchased quite a few limited edition babies off of eBay, and I have not been disappointed once. (just make sure you are buying them New and not Used! EWWWW!!)


Thanks for reading guys!! Off to bed for me.

Sleep tight! Don't let them bed buggies bite!
xo Dane

Side note: Maxxie enjoyed having mommy home-sick this weekend, I think...

I ended up being the perfect-sized bed for nap time!

I was a "Dog-Person" and I didn't even know it!

So my boss sent me home early today. I, my friends, am sick. Sick as dog, if you will. (will be more funny once you have read some of the post) I came to Greg's house straight from work and got to spend a sick, yet very nice, afternoon with my Maxxie until Daddy got home, hence how I got the idea for this here blog post... Enjoy!

I only remember having negative experiences around the few dogs I came in contact with when I was younger. It was just my mom, dad, and I until I was 11, and literally no one in my family had a dog. My father is from Syria and in his country, dogs are more often wild and much less used as family pets, so I am pretty sure dad didn't really like dogs. This is surprising to me because he was a pretty tough looking dude when I was young, so it is hard to think that he was scared of anything. My mom never talked about wanting a dog and I never really wanted one due to my unprecedented "fear" of them, so it never came up in family discussions.

I thought I was a "cat person" for the longest time. My aunt and uncle always had 2 kitties running around their apartment, Nicki and Jerri, I never cuddled with them or anything, but I wasn't intimidated by them the same way I was of dogs.  

My best friend at the time had a dog named Nellie. Nellie never did anything that scared me, but I always remember having a fear that she could easily hurt me. Nellie was probably a foot and a half tall and maybe 20 pounds at the most; now that I think about it, she was probably the nicest dog ever, but I always had this relentless stigma that kept me away from dogs in general.

One very clear memory I have involves a very rambunctious, and at the time horrifying, black lab puppy. When I was in 3rd or 4th grade, one of my other good girlfriends and her family got a black lab puppy named Midnight and one day I got the courage to go to her house to meet the little guy. When I heard the word "puppy", I naturally pictured a small baby thing..well, to my surprise, Midnight was huge. I was always a very short, little girl (I still am), and Midnight was probably 5 months old by this time and, in turn, not small.
My friend had Midnight tied to a rope outside in her back yard for my first meeting with him, so I walked out the back door, saw the pup, and walked right up to him. Puppies are puppies, they are excited by a dust bunny let alone a new human being at their house, so naturally, Midnight was super excited and began jumping and running around like crazy. Somehow, someway, I got wrapped around in Midnight's rope and he was jumping up at my face over and over, seemingly to me, to bite my face off. (He probably just wanted to kiss me, but I didn't know) I remember feeling like I was trapped forever, when in reality, I probably just needed to calm the heck down, lift my feet up over the rope, and get un-stuck. My friend came to my rescue, saying "He is just excited to see you! It's ok!" while I just cried and screamed that I wanted him far away from me. After she got me free, I ran into the house and I am pretty sure I went home for fear of my life. (Drama queen much?) 

Well that experience really did me in, and my fear for dogs continued until I was probably about 11 or 12 when my Uncle adopted the sweetest 7 year old, German Shepherd-mix named Buddy. Buddy was a gift from God for my entire family. He made us wonder how we had never had a dog in the family for this long. Buddy was quite a timid pup, however. He was abused since he was a puppy in his former home, and because of this, was quite afraid of many things, and kept very quiet for the most part. Buddy never lashed out at us in any way due to his past life, he always stayed so well-behaved. My uncle retrained Buddy to know how to do "normal" doggie things, like play, how to not be scared of everything, and seek out affection from those that would happily give it to him. I remember Buddy as the first dog that I let lick my face.  From then on, I felt so much more comfortable around dogs. Now, when I saw dogs in my day-to-day life, I wasn't scared at all anymore; I wanted to know what their names were and wanted to pet them if I could. Buddy allowed me to see what being a dog-lover really was. In his time with us, Buddy battled two bouts of doggie-cancer, and unfortunately passed away during his second bout in 2012.

Here is Buddy a few days before

he passed away <3 RIP

My Uncle got Astro a couple of months after
Buddy passed. Hi Astro!

There's Coaster!

When I started dating Greg, his family had a little dog named Coaster. Coaster was a 16 year old Bison-Poodle who had just about everything wrong with him in his old age. He was deaf and blind in 1 eye, and occasionally suffered from seizures, but he was still kickin and livin life like an innocent pup does. Not long after I started dating Greg, Coaster's old age got to him, unfortunately, and he was put down. Coaster was 17 when he passed away.. 17! And he lived a wonderful 17 years with Greg and his family. He and Buddy are probably partying it up now in doggie-heaven.

Love at first site!

Enter: Max.

Greg adopted Max in May of 2012 during a time when we were not together. Max is a Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier. I had never heard of this breed until I met Max. Since Greg brought Max home, he stole the heart of everyone he came in contact with. Greg raised and trained Max in his parent's house for about the first year and a half of his life, and he did a fantastic job. This dog is amazing, I swear, and I know a great deal of it is due to the tender love and care that Greg, and his parents, gave him as he was growing up.

Baby Maxxie!

I began to truly know Max when he was about 11 months old, and I quickly fell head over heels in love. Max was a very rambunctious, energetic pup at that age (as, again, all puppies are) and it did take time for me to learn how to make sure he treated me with respect and as a "master". There was a long time when I didn't quite know how to act and train a pup to respect me because I never knew how to do it. Greg gradually taught me how, and Max and I have come a long way in our human-pup relationship.


I remember a specific turning point in our puplationship where Max and I really bonded and we both learned a bit more about the roles in each other's lives. Greg and his family were away on vacation and Max was staying in a kennel  for the week, I agreed to pick Max up 2 days early and spend the last night that they were away alone with him in the house. Something changed after that short period of time together, it was definitely for the better.

Since that time, Greg and Max moved out of his parent's house, and I spend a great deal of time there. I feel so much better when Max is around, and I miss him dearly from the moment I leave Greg's house, to the moment I step back into the house on Friday afternoon. I feel the most amazing sense of happiness when he is near me or wants a cuddle. I believe it is similar to what a mother must feel for their child. (Don't worry, I know Max is not a human being..don't worry. But I am sure most dog-lovers will know exactly what I am talking about.

Such a photogenic pup

Max is our son, and we are one happy little family. He is such a blessing, and I believe, in his own pup way, Max helped Greg and I be the strongest we have ever been.

In closing.. I am SO a "Dog Person". No ifs, ands, or buts about it. (Cats are ok too...if you catch them on a good day...) ;)

Xo Dane :)

Look of the Day // a little bit more about me :)

A random post for today, my friends.

A little bit about my YouTube makeup guru obsession, my makeup obsession in general, and my daily routine. Enjoy!

Before I go to bed, I usually watch around 3-4 makeup YouTube videos. Some of these videos may be skin care routines, hauls, or fashion posts, however the videos I enjoy watching the most are tutorials. Watching a makeup tutorial gets my creative juices flowing and makes me legitimately excited for the next morning when I go to apply my makeup. Some tutorials are a touch out of my league or a bit too dramatic for an everyday work day, but others are right in my realm of understanding.

After I turn my iPad off, call Greg to say goodnight, place my glasses on my side table, and turn my light off, my mind begins reeling over ideas for my makeup and/or outfit for the next day. (Don’t get me wrong, sometimes I’m just so darn tired, I don’t think about a thing, I just fall asleep) Once I have a broad idea in my mind of what I want to do the next day, I find that I quickly fall asleep.

I always set my alarm for an earlier time than I know my body will allow me to fully wake up. If I want to be out of bed by 7AM, I will set an alarm for 6:45 and 6:50 AM. This process usually has me up and at ‘em by 7:15AM. (always later than I plan for) Most mornings I drag myself out of bed, walk into the kitchen and start the coffee maker, (I love smelling fresh brewed coffee when I open the bathroom door after my shower) I straighten out the living room from whatever may have befallen it from the night before, and I go and turn my shower on. (Let it be known, the shower in my apartment needs AT LEAST 1 full minute to get from bitterly cold to a comfortably hot temperature. ESPECIALLY in the winter…ahh the wonders of a cheap apartment.. but I digress.)

While in the shower, depending how awake I am by that point,  I think about what the day has in store for me, what I might want to do after work, what a dream I may have had the night before means, and what outfit I plan to wear.

By the time I sit down at my makeup table, I usually have a pretty good idea of what kind of look I’m going for. Some days I feel like doing something simple and quick so I just throw a matte brown in the crease and a shimmery champagne color on my lid, slap on some mascara and be done. Most days, however, I have a full on creative fun fest at my makeup table. Sometimes I whip out a pigment or a bright Infallible shadow to play with, sometimes I use 3-4 different shadows all over my eye to create a fun, new look. No matter what I do on my eyes, I always enjoy the entire process of applying my makeup. I do not dread getting ready, I don’t find myself wanting to rush through application, I genuinely find that it relaxes and excites me at the same time.

I woke up this morning knowing that I wanted to do something with green shadow. (I love wearing green shadow as I feel it truly brings out the best in my eye color.) I decided to pair my dramatic, green smokey eye with one of my favorite blazers, which also happens to be bright green.

Here’s the look !

Early morning selfie in the car to show off my eye shadow 

my FAVE green blazer

Shadows used:

It Cosmetics Naturally Pretty Palate – Soft Light and Mocha in the crease

Milani Bella Eyes Gel Powder – Bella Emerald all over the lid and inner half of lower lash line

L’Oreal Infallible Shadow - Bronzed Taupe in outer half of lower lash line


Thanks for reading guys! Have a great rest of the day :) :)

xo Dane

    Side note: Here is Maxxie looking super duper cuters.. <3 <3