Friday Letters On A Long Weekend

Friday Letters was always my favorite link up when I first started blogging... Although I don't believe it's a link up anymore (I currently only know of one person who still does it, and that is Ashley @ Run With Me. If you know of more, leave them in the comments!!) I'm still going to do it =)

dear fiance- i still can't believe i get to call you that. it's been three weeks that i've been wearing this gorgeous ring on my finger but i'm still giddy about it. i'm pretty sure i will continue to be giddy until the day i get to start calling you husband. dear memorial day weekend- thank you for giving me an extra day with my fiance. dear texas- it's time for this rainy/tornado-y weather to go away. i'm ready for sunny weekends at the pool. dear bachelorette- you legitimately look like you might be "the most dramatic season yet" #pumped. dear readers- look i posted three times this week! i'm trying to make a conscious effort to post a little more often/consistently because i really do love doing this.

happy memorial day weekend y'all!

Closet Purge: First Pass

My lease was up at my apartment at the end of April, and as much as I loved my apartment (seriously, it's gorgeous) I did not love the idea of paying $150 per month more on top of my already expensive rent... so I moved! In preparation of the move, I wanted to do a heavy assessment of my stuff all throughout the apartment and decide what really needed to come with me.

I am a bit of a pack rat and I really like to keep things for "sentimental" reasons. Unfortunately, most of the time that means I just have boxes/piles of stuff that is "sentimental" that has absolutely no true useful purpose in my life. Thankfully, I'm aware of this personal characteristic and I am doing what I can to combat my pack-rat nature and refrain from slowly allowing my closet to slip in to hoarder status.

Here are the simple steps I took for my first pass at getting rid of some of the clothes in my closet:

1. Clear The Things That Hadn't Been Touched Since Last Closet Cleaning
First up, there was a stack of t-shirts on the very top shelf of my closet- a shelf so tall I can barely reach it. These t-shirts had literally been there untouched since I moved in to my apartment nine months ago. Down from the shelf and on to the bed they went for sorting.

2. Scan Item By Item
Next, I went shelf by shelf through my hanging items- it is pretty easy to pick out the things that I know I haven't worn at all more than once in the last few months. Obviously it has been winter so some summer things are excluded from this assessment, but even with those summer tops or the "going out" tops that haven't been put to use it is not too tough to be honest with yourself and think back on how much use they got even when the weather was appropriate.


3. Consolidate Items Into Keep/Donate/Trash Piles
From there, all items selected for the purge went on to my bed for one last look through. This is where is gets easy to talk yourself out of giving things away. But stay strong my friends! With the exception of a few t-shirts (kept for sentimental reasons... maybe they will go in round two of the closet purge) I separated everything out in to items for the goodwill and items that were just for the trash can.

Next step, actually take those two trash bags full of clothes to the good will- since they are currently sitting in my laundry room...

What other tips do you guys have for making sure your closet stays current and clutter-free?

MAY GLOSSYBOX UNBOXING

Subscription beauty boxes have become quite the rage these days. Personally, I had never taken the plunge to participate in one but had always been intrigued by the products my friends got from theirs and by the frequent "unboxing" videos on YouTube. For those two reasons, I decided that a perfect birthday present would be a subscription to one of the many boxes that are out there. A told me he would get me whatever box I chose as a bday present, so I was off to figure out which one I wanted.

After watching a bunch of unboxing videos (Eleventh Gorgeous are probably my current favorites) and comparing many different boxes price/products etc. I decided on a box for me. 

I chose Glossybox and so far I am incredibly pleased with my choice! Glossybox is a monthly subscription box that sends you five luxury beauty products and retails for $21 per month. This May's box was actually my third Glossybox, and I thought it would be nice if I unboxed it with you guys.

The thing I love most about this box is that I always feel that the quality and size of the products makes the cost of the box more than worth it. It also exposes me to new products and allows me to try things I probably wouldn't normally purchase for myself.

Now, let's get in to what was actually in my May Glossybox.

Teeez Trend Cosmetics- Head Over Heels Nail Lacquer
This is a lovely peachy/coral colored nail polish that I have already tested out by painting it on my toes. The formula is a little runny (i.e. if your painting your toes keep those feet flat) but the color is gorgeous! I also love that the brush is thick, it makes painting your nails just that much easier.

Doucce- Mineral Matt Lipstick
I haven't had a reason to test this one out yet. The color is darker than one I might typically pick for myself but I'm intrigued by the description "...velvet matte finish. Infused with SPF 10 and vitamin E... [the lipstick] will keep lips hydrated all day, and won't feather or fade away."

Clearista- Retexturizing Gel
I'm a sucker for a good facial exfoliatant. To me there is almost nothing better than the feeling of freshly exfoliated skin. I tested this guy out in the shower and it was awesome. The beads in the gel easily buff away dead skin cells and it also claims to reduce pigmentation and skin imperfections!

GlamGlow- Powermud Dualcleanse Treatment
I was probably most excited about this product this month. I do not often buy myself face masks but I always wish I had some kind of mask product around on those lazy saturday nights when I feel like pampering myself. I am holding off on testing this out until I go to WV next weekend because A said he wants to do the mask with me. You can bet that pictures will be forthcoming. Follow me on twitter if you want to see those ;)

Sebastian Professional- Stylbrid 9
Hairspray is actually not a product that I use very often, but I was excited to get this because it's travel size and would be great to bring along on trips for those occassions when I actually do my hair and need some extra hold.

So that is my May Glossybox. I invite any of you that are interest in getting Glossybox to use this referral link to do so. If you get Glossybox or any other subscription beauty box, tell me about it below! I would love to read others posts/watch others videos.

All items were purchased with my own money unless specifically stated.  All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Typical (and Not So Typical) Wedding Questions Answered

All my friends on facebook/twitter/instagram are probably sick of my posts about getting engaged by this point (sorry guys... we are just really excited!) but for those of you that might still care- here are just a few of the typical (and not so typical) questions answered.

WHEN?
I am amazed by how many people have asked, "do you have a date?" Are we in the minority as an engaged couple who does not set the date immediately? For us, we are refraining from doing much planning until we have found our way to the same city. The earliest I foresee us getting married would be Fall of 2016- but even that might be pushing it. We are looking at a long, sweet engagement.

WHERE?
With me being from CA but living in TX, A being from MO but living in WV, and the two of us having met in OH we have all kinds of options for where to get married. There is even the possibility of adding another state to that list based on where work takes us in the journey of getting our butts to the same city. However, right now my thoughts are leaning toward St. Louis, MO. It's A's hometown, a city I have fallen in love with, and a pretty darn good central meeting point for all the people that are going to need to travel in for the wedding.

HOW?
What's our plan for getting to the same place? Good question. We don't have one. We both have new careers and want to give ourselves sufficient time to get good experience before one of us makes a move. Either one of us could be the one to move, it will all just depend on timing and opportunity.

Like any newly engaged girl I am so excited to get to planning. But for now, I will resign my planning to simply mass idea hunting on Pinterest and maybe the occasional search of venues on The Knot.

If you're engaged or married, what are the questions you got from everybody?

Happy Friday Lovelies!

We Are Engaged!

I guess it was appropriate that I put that "Why We Work" post up on Friday... because on Friday evening A asked me to to spend the rest of my life with him.

The whole evening was absolutely perfect. We walked to our favorite park in Columbus, sat on the bench where we said our first "I love you's", and spent a while just talking, cuddling, and people watching. Finally, he turned the conversation back to us (instead of the strange man laying on the ground taking pictures of flowers on the pond) said some incredibly sweet things that I only kind of remember, and asked me if I would marry him. Of course, I said yes.

Those first two pics were taken the night it actually happened. The rest of these were taken a couple days later when we realized we should probably take a few more (obviously we are selfie pros).

The whole weekend was an awesome combination of time for us alone together and time with friends. We spent Friday after the proposal calling/texting friends and family and later ate dinner at one of our favorite bars in Columbus. Saturday we got massages in the morning, had lunch with two of my girlfriends and their husbands, spent the afternoon being lazy together, and went out to a fantastic dinner at one of our favorite fancy restaurants in town. Sunday we got brunch with one of A's college buddies then went back to the park to enjoy the gorgeous day and snap a few more pictures.

It was a perfect weekend; without a doubt it was a weekend I will never forget. Ever since I've been home I can't shake the fantastic feeling that I get to marry my best friend, my love, my crazy partner in crime. I will likely do another post soon to answer what I'm sure are some of your burning questions (i.e. "But Ashley, don't you two still live in different cities? Yes. Yes we do.)

For now I'll leave you with my favorite picture from the weekend. I call this his "She said YESSS" face, and I think it is perfect.

Why We Work

I get to see my boy today!! This weekend we are heading to Columbus for a short weekend together and I am soooo excited. Today I thought I would finally share a post I wrote before my last blogging drop off about why we work.

Mary did a post like this quite some time ago- and I loved the idea of it so I just had to steal borrow it from her.

As I may have mentioned in the past, it took me too long to realize the amazing man that was standing in front of me putting up with my crap loving me for quite some time. We were some version of friends for almost two years before we started dating. In that time I was slowly learning why we worked, and since becoming a couple I've seen so much more.

We work because:

He is calm when I am a mess, and vice versa. I believe in him and he in me. We were instilled with/have developed some very similar values and beliefs.

He laughs at my ridiculousness. I love his dad jokes. We both love music, football, and HGTV.

He makes me smile in the times when I really don't want to. I know that rubbing his forehead will make him feel better if he is stressed or not feeling well. We tell each other we love each other multiple times a day (thank you long distance).

He loves receiving love letters and I love writing them. I can get lost in his gorgeous blue eyes. We adopt interests from each other, and tolerate those that we have no interest in adopting.

He is good at doing the little things and I'm good at doing the big things. I can be 100% me when I am with him. We take pictures like those above and both think they are fantastic.

He holds my hand in the car- whether we are driving to the grocery store or across the country. I could spend all day in his arms on the couch. Our love is bigger than 1000 miles of physical distance.

We always "figure it out".