Tarte

I'm always on an endless quest to find the PERFECT foundation. I want a foundation that covers any flaws or blemishes but doesn't look like I have makeup on. I want a foundation that is lightweight but still has the power to make my skin look flawless. Needless to say, it's a difficult process. In my teens and early twenties I never invested the time in finding the RIGHT foundation. I purchased from a drugstore and got either something that was on sale or the latest commercial I saw. Yikes. Once I started working for Clinique I realized that you truly, truly do get what you pay for in regards to makeup. That doesn't necessarily mean that you have to spend tons of money. But certain products do require an investment and foundation is definitely one of those products. I used Clinique Superfit makeup for a couple years and really liked it especially when using a foundation brush. But as luck would have it... it was discontinued. I switched to Clinique's tinted moisturizer which I also liked but it's rare for me to continue to buy a product after a couple times. I get restless and want to try something new. I found that the tinted moisturizer made my skin look a little TOO shiny... I'm looking for a happy medium, a foundation that is matte but makes my skin glow.

One of my best foundation investments was Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20. The product goes on nicely with or without a brush. Covers flaws and looks very natural. Great for hot, humid weather. The bottle lasted through an entire Summer and halfway through the Winter. The catch was the price, it was $42 and I couldn't find it anywhere local and it had parabens in it. Not a total dealbreaker but enough to lead me in a different direction.

Which leads me to my current beauty find. I went to Ulta looking for my "miracle product" plus didn't have parabens and strange ingredients. What I found was practically the holy grail. Tarte ~ high performance naturals. Tarte is a beauty brand that uses a lot of naturally derived ingredients, and eliminates preservatives and it's all in awesome green packaging. Read more here: Tarte Cosmetics!

Tarte Smooth Operator is an amazonian clay tinted moisturizer. This. stuff. is. A-mah-zing! Goes on smooth, feels very lightweight, and has an awesome finish that makes my skin look dewy, not oily! The SPF 20 is icing on the cake! I also purchased Tarte Provacateur (a Amazonian clay pressed mineral powder) to finish my look. So not only am I happy with the way the product looks and feels I'm even more happy to see that these Tarte products contain NO: mineral oil, parabens, petrolatum, phthalates, sodium lauryn sulfate, synthetic dye, or synthetic fragrances. But they do have Chamomile extract, Vitamins A, C, & E, sodium hyaluronate, amazonian clay, and mineral pigments. The cost WAS a little pricey: $36 for the tinted moisturizer and $28 for the powder. But definitely well worth it! I'm really all-around happy with my purchase. Now, I plan on going back and updating my eyeshadows, liners, and mascara... so that's a story for a different day!

Well said

When times aren't ideal and things aren't lining up in place like they should. Keep smiling and keep focused. God has a plan and you are a part of it. It's easy to become discouraged and stressed (almost too easy sometimes). Honestly, I have a tendency to get my feelings hurt, take things personally, and stress over things that are completely out of my control. This is something that I've been working on for some time. It's hard for me to just "let go" but I'm chipping away at it each and every day. I'm thankful for the road blocks that have held me back because those only make me stronger and more appreciative for the blessings I have received.  

Music: Miike Snow

Now this song is a great reason to bust out some crazy dance moves on the nature trail. Of course, I checked around for any witnesses before and after! Get ready to jam!

Supermoon

The Supermoon happened in early May of this year. As I was going through my pictures I came across a couple we had taken. It was pretty breathtaking how large and close the moon seemed that night. In fact, when we were taking the pictures it was about 10 pm and it still seemed like dusk since it was so bright. Supermoon means" …a new or full moon which occurs with the moon at or near (within 90% of) its closest approach to Earth in a given orbit (perigee). In short, Earth, moon and sun are all in a line, with moon in its nearest approach to Earth." Pretty cool, huh?

Proud, Proud, Proud

My little sister (in law) graduated with honors last month. It's amazing how she has grown in the years that I have known her. Leah is one of the most mature and grounded 18-year-olds I have ever known. She is beautiful smart, compassionate, and an incredible athlete! Next year is full of promise as she's going to the University of Iowa ~ Go Hawkeyes! Bill and I couldn't be more proud of her transformation (as lame as this sounds) from girl to woman. Leah, we love you so much and are so incredibly proud of all of your achievements!

Music: Of Monsters and Men

I'm loving this Of Monsters and Men.... like listen to the songs over and over type of love. Bill and I went boating on Lake MacBride over the weekend and invited some friends of ours and listened to some of the songs. We had a blast and I've determined that I need to go home and download the rest of the cd from iTunes. I love the musicality, emotion, and rawness of this band. It's so cool that they sound better than the cd LIVE, that's not easy!

Words to Remember...

Be silly. Be honest. Be kind ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Greenville

Say it isn't so! These are the last of the South Carolina pictures! Whew! We loved our trip. Our family. Our friends. Each other. We had an amazing time. Like I said before, when we were driving back we were already planning our next trip. South Carolina is such an incredible place. These pictures were taken on our last day in Greenville at the downtown Falls Park. Sam and I were able to relax and have some heart to heart chats while the boys played a very serious game of football! Huge thanks to the Ternes family, the Boland's, and every BBQ place in the South. We love and miss you dearly!

~Free By, Zac Brown Band~

"Don't be sad because it's over, smile because it happened!" ~ Dr. Suess

Sugarboogers

The bonus part of South Carolina was seeing my sweet cousin, Julie, her hubby, Scott, and my little cousin, Brandon. Time flies by and Brandon is going into high school this year and he looks destined to be on the football team! As most of you know, my Uncle Bob passed away this year. Julie and Scott were Bob's caretakers to the very end and we are forever grateful for them. There was a lot of reminiscing, serious talks, and later laughs as we took a trip up to Bob's house and packed up some of my Grandma's knick knacks and china to take back to Iowa. You couldn't ask for better people, and as you can see from the pictures we always have a great time! What we wouldn't give to have Dene or Bob in these pictures with us.... Oh and sorry Bill is absent, he was our photographer for the day!

~Family Name By, Peter Bradley Adams~

A New Chapter....

~Welcome to the world Jonah James Grabe: 8 pounds 5 ounces and 21.5 inches long!~

My husband's best friend/cousin, Dustin, and his wife, Sarah, had their first baby yesterday morning.

Both Bill and I were convinced it was a girl during her entire pregnancy but they gave us the ultimate surprise on Saturday when they announced it was a boy! Either way, we were thrilled that they had a happy and healthy little one. A new chapter is waiting to be written for their family. New questions and exciting answers are waiting to be discovered in this incredibly exciting and transformative time in their lives. We couldn't be more happy for them!