Is this real life?

Yes, I’m back after what was a {too} long hiatus. Life gets in my own way in the summertime, y’all, you best believe it! Between wedding showers, baby showers, going to the lake almost every weekend, Blues Festival, cookouts, and many more exciting yet exhausting summer activities, I just haven’t had time to blog. By the time I get home on Sundays, I’m usually cleaning, getting my grocery shopping done, then taking a shower and falling into a nice, deep sleep.

First and foremost, since summer is slowly coming to a close, I have to say how excited I am that Razorback football is only 38 days away! Charles and I always have the best time during fall: Amazing weather, grilling out and making incredible food {especially Charles’ famous smoked ribs..lip licking good}, spending time with friends and family, and of course, FOOTBALL!

Fall for the Alley family also means our wedding anniversary! Can you believe it’s already been almost a year since Charles and I got married? Year one has flown by. We also get to spend our first fall in our new house, which I’m thrilled about! We have been working in the yard and purchasing patio furniture in preparation for the season!

Charles also has converted to Catholicism and he is about to graduate college with his leadership degree. I’m so proud of my hard working husband. I couldn’t imagine “doing life” with anyone else.

Let me share a bit of what has been going on through pictures..

Charles and I are both directors for the Riverfront Blues Festival, and here we are, directing on!

Quite a lot of boating has been occuring this summer

After Charles converted, I threw a small brunch for a few family members. We had champagne for mimosas in a cute bucket, fruit in fun, colorful little cups, spring colored flowers, quiche, and sausage balls. And of course rolls! I love the look of this setup. I also had cute, colorful little plastic mason jars for the mimosas for a cute little touch.

The BMW is no more, someone purchased her, so we got the new 2014 Ford Escape Titanium. LOVE IT, thanks so much to Hug!

Charles and I before Easter mass, right before he converted {dress - Suite One Boutique}

Backstage at Dierks Bentley thanks to my awesome sister in law! {Kimono - Suite One Boutique}

Our wedding made it into a local magazine here in Fort Smith called Entertainment Fort Smith. We had a two page spread, and my bouquet even made the cover! Thanks so much, E Fort Smith!

Funky fourth at Lake Ouachita! We like to be patriotic {kimono & headband - Suite One Boutique}

There's been quite a bit of grilling this season. Charles and I have taken to grilling pizza's in our Pampered Chef pizza pan, so there's bit a lot of relaxing on the patio, enjoying our time together

You can't beat a Lake Ouachita sunset. You just can't!

My BELOVED patio furniture! I scored the sectional at Big Lots for 20% off during a sale, I scored the rug which was a display rug at Wal-Mart for $30! They took money off of it due to it being a "display" which I thought was awesome! I also scored the pillow on clearance at Target. The umbrella was one I purchased 2 summers ago at Wal-Mart. So excited to relax on this sectional this fall while we watch football and grill with friends...

 

 

Well, friends, I'll be back again soon with more updates. I hope you've all enjoyed hearing from me, because I've enjoyed catching up with you!



As of late

When it’s winter and spring, I can hardly stand to wait for the summer. During the winter I just sit back and daydream about summer, thinking “The summer needs to hurry up and get here, it will be nothing but barbeques, lake time, tan skin, late nights, float trips, etc,” but when summer rolls around, it seems to be more like bed by 8:30pm, a different wedding every weekend, a baby shower every Sunday, and complete and utter exhaustion.

Nonetheless, I still get thrilled when my computer screen reads 4pm on a Friday. This weekend, it’s time for some lake fun! We have dedicated this weekend as “family weekend” at Lake Ouachita. My cousin and his new girlfriend are joining us, and will be coming in from Shreveport, LA to meet us for a weekend of fun in the sun. Also, since my sister and my mom are in Florida (white the rest of us non-teachers slave away at work this summer), my dad is coming to the lake with us for the first time. I don’t think people get how pleasant Lake Ouachita is until they actually get to experience it in all of its glory (trust me, it NEVER disappoints!)  Here below is a picture of Ouachita, so you can see why I love it so much:

Myself and our Min Pin, Cholla (such a lake dog!)

 

Since I’ve self-diagnosed myself with mild OCD and over-planning disorder (ok..so that probably isn’t a real thing, but if it was, I would have it HANDS DOWN), I like to do as much food prep as I can before we get to the lake (because honestly, who wants to spend their time at the lake chopping veggies and cleaning the kitchen, especially after a long, exhausting day in the sun?) In preparation for this weekend, I chopped up a red and a green bell pepper, as well as a white onion. We like to use these on pizzas (Friday night is typically pizza night at the lake, we like easy dishes because we are all tired from working all day) as well as some people (ahem..me) like them in their eggs or hash browns  for breakfast. I also like to make sausage balls ahead of time because they are easily freezable and easily cooked for simple breakfasts, and who doesn’t love a good sausage ball?

When thinking of snacking for a lake weekend, we usually go with a roasted red pepper hummus (the Marketfresh one from Wal-Mart is our favorite) and bagel crisps. We can’t get enough of that combination! I also really like to snack on fresh cherries! So delish on a summer day. Now I’m sitting at work, still have 3 hours to go before I get to go to the lake, and my mouth is watering. Maybe blogging about food on a slow day at work isn’t the best idea.

In other news, I got the pictures back from the Couple’s Shower. The theme for this shower, as previously mentioned in another post, was Casino Night (chosen by a highly excited Charles.) The wedding party did a SPECTACULAR job on this shower, y’all. I really do have THE best friends and family. I won’t torture you with a ton of pictures, but here are a few just so you can see a hint of what the shower was like:

The hostesses created these CUTE card decks as favors with our names on the back.

"A" cookies for my new last name (Alley)

I made this by getting an old picture frame, glittering the sides with spray adhesive and glitter, and using chalkboard paint on the glass! Totally DIY!
 

Close up of the cards

Some of the food, all with Cards that had the item description on them!

Lovin on my wabes

The wonderful Hostesses and nyself!



Well, all, I better get back to work! Maybe if I do, the afternoon will go by faster and it will be lake time (wink wink!) Hope to see you all back here real soon for a weekend re-cap!

Until next time, xoxo
Michele

 

 

Dog Days of Summer

Well we are officially in full swing summer in the south, which means long days, muggy afternoons, no rain, frizzy hair, and busy weekends, but it can also mean sunny days, barbecues, lake weekends, and tan skin. There are many ups and downs to the summer in the south, let me tell you!

Something I like to keep in mind during the summer is the theory that less is more (unless we are talking about clothing, ladies. Keep it covered!) When doing my hair in the summer, I use less heat (air dry that hair, ladies, and cut out that straightener, I know it’s tough but you can do it!) When I am doing my makeup, I don’t like to use heavy foundations, powders, etc. It’s too much for your skin, especially in the humidity of the great state of Arkansas. For the most part, this is proving to be a very cost effective sacrifice; I don’t have to dish out $40 on my Make Up Forever HD foundation like I do in the winter.  I also have to change my skin care routine (My oily skin gets worse in the summer, I can’t seem to shake it!) This summer I have been blessed to find very inexpensive alternatives to my usual beauty routine that are perfect for beating that heat! Here are some of my latest finds (a few are splurges, but most are very inexpensive every day options.)

 

I’m not sure if any of you have hopped on the bandwagon for the BB/CC cream frenzy, but if you haven’t, you should run to your local drugstore, Ulta, Sephora, etc. and pick some up. I started my love for these creams with a BB cream that I picked up at Wal-Mart. I really liked it, it did not feel cakey on my face and I felt like my skin could breathe, although it did not provide as much coverage as I would have liked. When I heard about the new CC creams, I knew I had to try it (similar to a BB cream, only a step up in my opinion.) They have sunscreen in them as well as they moisturize and provide color correction. I picked up two CC Creams from my local Ulta. The first one I picked up was the Almay Smart Shade CC Cream complexion corrector. I really like this CC Cream; it provides good coverage and has incredible shade matching. I highly recommend using this, especially for days when you’re going to be in the sun. It runs approximately $8.99 at Ulta. The next CC Cream I am obsessing over this summer is the L’Oreal Paris Visible Lift CC Cream. It has a scent to it, but it’s a pleasant scent. It creates a flawless finish and is extremely light. It runs about $12.99 at Ulta. I have really been enjoying mixing together a little bit of the Almay and L’Oreal CC creams together on the back of my hand and then using my Real Techniques Stippling brush ($9.99, Ulta) to apply to my face.  The stippling brush has become my new favorite way to apply foundations, it creates a flawless finish with minimal effort and it does not make your face greasy!

The next summer must have for my daily routine is the Olay Fresh Effects Shine Shine Go Away cleanser ($5.97 at Wal-Mart.) Y’all, let me just tell you, this cleanser is incredible and I don’t know how I went so long without using it. As previously mentioned, I have incredibly oily summer skin, and this cleanser takes away the shine in one wash! I am beyond thrilled with this product. Another benefit to this face wash is the fact that it has a pleasant scent, which is hard to come by for most face washes that are available. I use this daily and it keeps the shine at bay for a good 10 hours.

I was a little surprised that I even picked up this next product to try. I never seem to gravitate towards the Rimmel section in the stores, but I had heard good things about the Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in translucent ($3.99, Wal-Mart or Ulta.) I am so glad I decided to give this powder a shot. I am not a big fan of pressed powders in color, but some of the translucent powders out there are just too ghostly white, and instead of showing up translucent, they cast a white sheen on your face. With this pressed powder, it is not the case. It mattes your face while not adding any color. Absolutely spectacular for a day of fun in the sun to keep the oil at bay, even if you get a little bit sweaty!

 

My next summer essential is one I was shocked I took to so well. Maybelline Color Tatoo in the shade Bad to the Bronze. I am typically not big on cream shadows (oily skin includes the eyelids, y’all!) This shadow is easily buildable, so it can be used to create an easy day to night look. The shade is hard to imitate, so it’s an added bonus. I’ve been using it all summer and can’t get enough.

 

We have to protect our hair too, right ladies? I don’t know about y’all, but I have put my poor hair through a LOT! Finally, three years after all of the bleaching and absolute mess I put my hair through, my hair is finally starting to grow (hallelujah!) A BIG thank you goes out to my splurge product that is well worth dishing out the dough. The Macadamia deep repair masque ($18-30 dollars, depending on the size at Ulta) has been a Godsend. Not only does it smell absolutely divine, but it has restored my hair! It protects it from damage and it has been my go to whenever my hair starts feeling dry or brittle.

 

Ok, y’all, now that you know my summer must have’s, I want to hear about all of yours! I’m always, always, always on the hunt for new products that make my life easier, especially being in my early twenties, planning a wedding, and juggling career and family life.

Until next time! Xoxo

Michele