100,000 Miles of Memories

Good Morning,

I have been talking about writing this post for such a long time and I honestly don't know why I haven't, but none the less I haven't and I thought it was about time. Everyone has been asking to see pictures of the new truck and although I don't have a ton of great ones I thought I would come and share what I did.

I won't lie in all our talks about buying a new truck which has been going on for quite some time now I had very mixed feelings, believe it or not I don't like change.. that may seem shocking to anyone who knows what our lifestyle is like but I really don't care for change and tend to struggle with it until I get settled. I didn't see why we had to get rid of the truck that we had, there was nothing wrong with it.

You see when Jason bought that truck when we were first together, I remember talking about it so much and thinking how awesome it was that he really cared about what I thought and liked. We spent lots of time reading about trucks, and going truck shopping and when he finally decided we took our first trip to Maine together to pick it up. It was such a happy time in our lives and relationship and since than that truck has been the only real consistent thing in our lives besides each other. We have driven that truck literally almost 100,000 miles, its been apart of every big journey in our life.

As I mentioned we've done a lot of truck shopping this time around as well, the last time we were home a good portion of our time at home was spent visiting dealerships. When we got the old truck Jason had been between the GMC and Ford and this time around he seemed pretty set on a Dodge Ram but Ford was never out of the question. Sadly Dodge changed the newer Rams and added a rotary shifter and neither of us were on board with that, in buying a new truck the only thing I wanted was a console shifter and heated seats, everything else was whatever Jason wanted. We started looking around and Jason wanted a 2013 Dodge Ram which was the last model to have the console shifter but he had a lot of other specifications as well and when we talked to sales people they either didn't call back at all or said he was looking for a needle in a haystack and would never find it. So Jason was out running around one day and came home and said there was a Ford we needed to stop in and look at. The truck was INCREDIBLE but the price tag was far too high, and there was a lot of things on the truck that we could have done without. So we figured we would just wait.

As I mentioned before the day we arrived in Maryland the exhaust we put on the truck many years ago rusted off basically, it definitely wasn't what we were expecting but none the less the truck has endured terrible conditions over the years (horrific winters in Alaska and Saskatchewan, horrific roads in New Jersey) and so we had no choice but to replace it. Jason was not impressed at all, we didn't want to put a bunch of money into the truck knowing we were going to get rid of it, plus he hates when things break and he had to rely on other to get to and from work.

The first Sunday we were here I believe we decided to go to breakfast and Jason mentioned running over to the Ford dealership on the way home. When we got there it turned into HOURS of talking and test driving and looking and looking and they found Jason the truck he wanted. We were sold and they said they were bringing it in from Pennsylvania and we could pick it up in a few days. As excited as I was for a new truck I was horrifically sad to get rid of the one that had been so good for us for so long. Jason went to work on Monday and emailed me and said talking to Dave at work about our truck made him really sad to get rid of it as well.

Jason got a call prior to the truck arriving and they told him that they were driving the truck from PA instead of putting it on a truck and bringing it down, Jason was not impressed at all. So we went on Wednesday to pick up the truck and it had just under 500 miles on it, Jason was so mad and we left! I'm not going to lie I wasn't impressed, I had spent the day preparing myself to get rid of our truck and I felt Jason was being unreasonable considering the amazing deal that we had gotten on the truck and it was absolutely everything we wanted.

Jason spent Wednesday night thinking and talking back and forth with the sales guy who was so extremely patient and Thursday he decided he wanted the truck. It was time to say goodbye to the old one....

Cleaning out the truck was really sad and after the long run around at the dealership and all the papers were signed getting the last few things out of it was really hard. In fact against my better judgement I offered to get the stuff while Jason finished on the phone with the insurance and he said he wanted one last look. Ha! We are both saps! I wont lie.. leaving was hard, 100,000 miles of memories. I know it was time, things were starting to go wrong and once a vehicle has 100,000 miles on it the trade in value decreases significantly and knowing we were going to get rid of it made this the perfect time.

So introducing the new guy.. who let me tell you has big shoes to fill!

The moon roof is literally the entire top of the truck! Only the first half open but at least the back seat has a view too. Believe it or not the seats in the back are heated as well. 

He's pretty... pretty tough looking! Haha 

The interior is my favorite part!

The truck is a 2015 Ford F150 Sport! It has the heated and cooled front seats and heated back seats, plus a heating steering wheel! Heck ya! 

Basically its fully loaded with navigation which we needed because Jason and our GPS have a hate hate relationship! I cant get over all the storage in the truck which is absolutely amazing, it has two tone leather seats, plain leather and perforated. The truck also has carbon fiber accents, I had originally wanted to the wood accents because they weren't your typical clear coated wood look but really rustic natural looking but that was the only thing that I compromised on and Jason absolutely loved the look of the carbon fiber. 

The truck has more options than I could even detail here, every single time we get into the truck we are discovering new things which is pretty cool. We are extremely grateful and excited for the new truck and the fact that we love it so much has made it a lot easier dealing with the loss of our old one. 

You can click HERE if you want to read more about the truck and see more interior pictures. I think the only difference for sure on ours from the fully loaded one online is that ours have 20" tires and rims rather than the 18" which is because I believe someone custom built this truck basically meaning changed a few things such as the tires and then didn't want it. We have the full 4 doors, which I cant remember what that is called as well, but the amount of room in the back seat still absolutely boggles my mind! 

One thing I will say is I don't know how I ever lived without a backup camera!

So there you have it, the new truck has officially been introduced, I will keep you posted as Jason transforms it! 

If We Were Having Iced Tea...

Good Afternoon!

Its hot a hell outside and has been for two weeks, I am a lover of summer and the heat but I am so over it! Its not enjoyable to be outside, you burn and sweat literally instantly.. Its miserable and no one is more surprised that I am saying that but me! Anyways I thought I would stop by and chat today over iced tea, or iced anything really.

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If we were having iced tea... I would tell you that I meant to blog yesterday and I don't know what happened because I just didn't. I had a few ideas of what I was going to write about and then I just never did. Oddly enough the days never seem long, in fact they fly by and generally sometime gets pushed to the side or forgotten, yesterday it was blogging.

If we were having iced tea... I would tell you that not so shockingly I have been sleeping like crap lately, I fall asleep no problem but staying asleep doesn't seem to happen. Not to mention most mornings when Jason's alarm wakes me at 5:30am I am then up for the day.

If we were having iced tea... I would tell you that your suggestion to make the most of the morning because I am up is a great idea and while I do get as much done as possible around the apartment its still way too hot that early to get out and do anything. Honestly people, you can walk out the door at 6am and your glasses will fog up its so damn hot!

If we were having iced tea... I would tell you how I have been planning to blog about the new truck for a dogs age and I really have no reason as to why I haven't. I am going to try and write that post tomorrow, its seriously my intention and I now have all the pictures saved on the computer so I really have no excuse.

If we were having iced tea... I would probably being telling you that although it was really hard to get rid of our old truck this one is pretty epic! Jason and I are constantly discovering new amazing things it can do. Plus the whole new world of a moon roof makes my day.

If we were having iced tea... I would tell you that driving the new truck around these parts makes me INCREDIBLY nervous on account that literally EVERY.SINGLE.TIME we go out we encounter a major car accident. Once we saw a motorcycle literally stuck in the front of the truck that hit it.. super scary. The other night we came home and in front of our apartment someone had hit an mini cooper and pushed it up across the medium into oncoming traffic where someone else hit it! Its unreal.. literally, every day!

If we were having iced tea... I would tell you that every Friday we have been getting together with friends at Dave & Lindsey's for dinner and its been great. Its really made the transition here a lot easier seeing friends so often.

If we were having iced tea... I would tell you that you should never ever get Verizon Fios because our nightmare of a situation with them just continues. They have the absolute WORST customer service I have ever dealt with.

If we were having iced tea... I would tell you that although the days seem short this week has felt really long, I'm sure because I am so excited to be going home on Friday!

If we were having iced tea... I would tell you that Jason is already knee deep in ideas to make changes to the truck. He ordered a tonneau cover last night and plans to have the windows tinted while we are home. The list is extensive about all the things he plans to add but in the end I think he will be really happy with the way it looks.

If we were having iced tea... I would tell you that although I am super excited to go home on Friday I feel terrible that we are missing Ava's second birthday party on Saturday. We arranged with Dave and Lindsey when we would take our two weeks and go home because Lindsey is due to have the new baby at the end of the month and we are going to watch the girls, so although we are sad to be missing the party we will get to spend quality time with the girls while Dave and Lindsey are in the hospital for the arrival of baby Colton!

If we were having iced tea... I would ask how things are with you? Enjoying summer?

If we were having iced tea... I would tell you that I am thrilled to be taking home as many of the totes and boxes we have laying around the apartment because we have no where to store them and I am sick of looking at them. You see we don't have a tonneau cover at the moment and Jason is convinced whatever we put in the back of the truck will fly out on the way home, I don't see how but what do I know?

If we were having iced tea... I would tell you that I am officially obsessed with Polar's flavored sparkling water. I basically love sparkling water in general but Lindsey turned me on to Polar and it literally is the best tasting sparkling water I have ever had. I am really into the Cran-lime, pomegranate and lime.. the thing about flavored sparkling water is it often tastes fake but these don't at all!

If we were having iced tea... I would tell you that having Jason around so much has been so fabulous and although I know if wont last forever I am so happy we have the time now!

If we were having iced tea... I would ask you to please keep the Sisti family in your prayers. If you are part of the blog world you may know Leslie the beauty behind A Blond Ambition, sadly Leslie passed away on Monday leaving behind her husband and two small girls under the age of two. The story is absolutely heart breaking and I cant imagine what her family is going through at this awful time. I have read Leslie's blog for such a long time and although I didn't know her in person I feel sad to know she is no longer with us and that her girls will never know the amazing woman she was. A 'Go Fund Me' account has been set up for Leslie's daughters and if you would like to donate you can do so HERE.

If we were having iced tea... I would have to excuse myself as dinner has to be made and I should probably write a blog post of something!

I think we covered everything over a refreshing Iced peach green tea lemonade (because that's my favorite iced drink) and although I have loved our time together all good things must come to an end!

Thanks for spending some of your day with me, I hope the rest of it is wonderful!

Monday Mood

Good Morning!!

I suppose its almost afternoon and I'm not going to lie it feels like it! I haven't been sleeping well the last few nights and this morning I got up at 5:30am with Jason's alarm and couldn't get back to sleep. It wasn't a huge deal on account that GE was suppose to be here between 8am and 12pm to fix the dryer but its 11:20am and they still haven't shown up. Go figure. (The literally knocked just after I typed that).

I had intended to post about our new truck and truthfully our old truck today but I am just not into it. I have the whole post planned out which would lead you to believe it would be easy to write but sadly I'm just not into it. Maybe I am still a little emotional about getting rid of our old truck, except the new one is pretty epic! This week, I promise!

I feel like the next few weeks around here the posts are going to be pretty sporadic so I really wanted to make an effort to get here this week and post regularly because the two weeks that follow I'm not sure how much I will be around but honestly I don't feel like I have anything to say or post about.. which I suppose happens.

I feel like with settling into the apartment, getting things we need, the new truck, installations (you read that we've already tried two internet/cable providers), maintenance issues and so on we have been pretty busy almost every day! Not that I'm complaining about that on account that I am looking forward to going home and the time we've been here has been flying but also because lets be honest it is always good to be busy!

Our weekend was really good, Friday we had our cable installation for Comcast which went great and we couldn't be happier with the service. This is exactly what we had in New Jersey and we definitely prefer it, so although I am pissed at Verizon Fios for their crap customer service I am happy that we made the switch because we are much happier.

Saturday we did a bunch of running around in the morning and then got together at Dave and Lindsey's for a pizza making party which was fantastic! Dave made homemade pizza dough and cooked them directly on the grill and I was so impressed with how they turned out! We all crafted our own which I love and after they were done Blanca turned me on to topping my pizza with arugula and balsamic vinaigrette, it was amazing!! We had a great night!

Yesterday was laid back, we were both up early so I got the apartment cleaned early and then we headed out to run some errands and get grocery shopping done for the week. Its been SO HOT out this last week so we spent the afternoon at the pool before coming home for dinner. I am all about summer weather but for some reason the unrelenting heat is getting to me just a little, I was so happy to wake up to thunder this morning and I wont lie I hoped it was going to stay gloomy and stormy all day but the sun is really trying to peak out!

Overall we had a great weekend, its so strange that Jason is home so much on this job but I really love it! We get a ton of stuff ton and so much time together and its been great!

Anyways because I've been up since really early I thought I would share some interesting articles I've read this morning with you all, I haven't done a post on articles I've been reading lately but I should.. maybe this week!

• How scary is THIS????

• THIS is so terribly sad, regardless of the fact that we had an idea it was coming its absolutely heartbreaking. 22 years old is far too young to leave this world, I really hope they find answers to what lead to her demise. Read more HERE. 

• I read THIS article this morning and had to wonder why two 14 year old boys were even out in a boat alone in the ocean, is this allowed? I thought you had to be driving age (16-17) with a boating license. 

• I am dying to read THIS book and see the movie. Have you guys read it? If so, what did you think?

• I will take all the help I can get, read HERE for 10 superfoods that will help you sleep. 

• THIS cracks me up, you have to love Blake's sense of humor.. but can I just say I am entirely SHOCKED still by their sudden divorce. 

• If you don't follow The Daily Tay, you really should! She is HILARIOUS! Check out today's post HERE. 

• One of the bloggers I have followed for years recently started her own boutique and she has some amazing stuff, if you are a clothes lover like myself I highly recommend checking out the Ollie Marie Boutique HERE. 

So that's it for today guys! I hope you had a wonderful weekend and are soaking up all of this summer weather we are having! Thank you as always for stopping in! 

Have a great day!! 

New Apartment

Good Afternoon,

Last night when Jason came home we managed to get our pool passes which makes Jason very happy in this hot and humid weather, and when we got home I mentioned taking some pictures of the apartment to share here and that Jason's phone takes better pictures. I was really pleased that Jason was totally up for taking pictures and said that he would do it! Perfect!

Keep in mind the apartment is still coming together, we are planning to look for bar stools when we go home and we have pictures at home that we plan to bring back and hang to make it our own. We didn't bring all those little things not knowing what the space would be like and we didn't want to have more crap laying around that we wouldn't need.

We also have totes laying around everywhere which I am hoping to take home when we go at the beginning of August but as of right now the new truck doesn't have a tonneau cover on it and Jason hasn't found one so I'm not sure how that is going to work out. Speaking of the new truck, we will trail off for a minute just to mention that the new truck is ready to be picked up tonight and I'm hoping Jason can get over the little things when we got to pick it up.. none the less it should be an interesting night.

So here are a few pictures, as we make changes which we definitely plan to I will try and post more pictures. We should be here longer than we are generally at a job and therefore we are planning to decorate a little more than usual because it wont seem like such a waste.

If you have any suggestions I would love to hear them, as well as share them with Jason because he is terrible to deal with when it comes to decorating, hence our empty house! So the more I have on my side the better.

These pictures aren't in any particular order of how you would walk through the apartment but none the less you will get a better picture of how things look.

You can't tell from this picture but the tub here is absolutely HUGE and sooo deep, that alone makes me so happy. 

Lots of counter space and storage in the bathroom which is amazing. 

The bathroom has two doors, one from the hallway and one from the bedroom which is great for us and for company. Looking from the bathroom into the bedroom there is a little hallway with closets on both sides. 

I'm not including a lot of pictures of the bedroom because I think it needs the most work! 

This is the entrance, for some reason there are two coat closets which is weird but I am thankful for the storage space. When you go out the front door you are not in a hallway either you are outside which we totally love. I like not having to share a hallway with people and smell what everyone is cooking. 

This is from the entrance hallway, when you walk forward you come into the dining room and kitchen area. 

Looking from the dining room into the kitchen. We really love the hardwood floors here. 

From the kitchen into the living space. The edge of the counter has a hangover so that is where we would like to get bar stools for. 

We just got the new couch on the weekend and I couldn't be more in love with it! 

From the living room into the kitchen. The closet to the right is the washer and dryer, which is full size!! Then the door to the right is into the bedroom. 

The apartment is brand new, never been lived in which is really great because its super clean and really modern. We really love the layout, the space and all the different decorative accents. We are super happy with this apartment which doesn't often happen so it has made the transition here a lot easier than I would have thought. 

Like I said I will keep you updated as we change things which I'm sure we will. I am off to get a bunch of stuff done because we plan to have an early dinner before heading over to the dealership! 

Thank you all for stopping by, please tell me what you think would be a great addition to the apartment!! 

Have a great day!! 

Not an Apartment Tour... Oops

Good afternoon!

I planned to post an apartment tour of sorts today but I need to use Jason's phone to take pictures or wait until I bring the camera from home because I couldn't get good pictures on my phone. I will try tonight with Jason's phone and see where I get.

Truth be told I have nothing really to say because I updated you guys yesterday and we are still trying to get situated with the apartment and everything inside.

Yesterday I had a big fight with Verizon Fios and cancelled our less than week old service with them so if you happen to be one of the people I sent our new number to you can just disregard that! We weren't really happy with the setup of Verizon compared to Comcast but figured we would just get use to the different layout, but then we realized that they actually get us the wrong internet modem and wrong cable box. Jason called and explained the situation and was under the impression someone was suppose to come out yesterday and change everything out for us, although he didn't seem to know a time. I decided to give them a call and they told me that they weren't having anyone come out that we would have to go and pick all the stuff up and send the stuff we were exchanging back to them. I wasn't pleased about this as we paid for installation and didn't see why we should have to go through the hassle when they were fully aware that the error was on their part! They said they acknowledged the error was theirs but it would be easier if we fixed it ourselves.. easier for them! At this point I was pissed, I don't see why our time is less important than theirs. I continued to make a fuss and so they said they would send someone out but they were going to charge us $100.00.... say wha???? This is when I proceeded to tell them to shove their service up their ass! What kind of customer service is that???

I immediately called Comcast who gave us all the same stuff we had setup with Verizon for a cheaper monthly rate and extremely good customer service.

I'm truly shocked at Verizon's customer service, although they are separate we have had cell phones with Verizon for years and never had anything but great service. Neither Jason or I are impressed. So Verizon will be disconnected on Wednesday and we will have Comcast setup Friday! I'm very happy about this!

That's pretty much it, I believe the new truck should be ready by Thursday although Jason isn't happy with them either! HA! Apparently they called him yesterday and told him that the truck was in PA (which we knew) and they would be driving it down here. We were under the impression that it would be put on a truck and brought down therefore not to rack up the miles on what is a brand new truck. Apparently that is not the case and PA is 4 hours away and Jason is super unhappy that the truck will have a bunch of miles on it. I'm not sure exactly how many but none the less when we got to get it I'm sure he will make a fuss.

I'm really sorry if you popped in today looking for apartment pictures, it was my intention.

I will be honest the blog is going to not be as consistent this summer as it generally is. With the fact that we wont have internet for a couple of days again this week and that we will be going home for 2 weeks at the beginning of August but will be doing some traveling in that time I just wont have the internet access or time to sit down and write. However I will make sure to pop in every chance I get and fill you in on whats going on, share pictures of our adventures and hopefully get back to normal around here come the middle to end of August.

Summer is a hard time for bloggers, I have noticed my bloglovin account to be much quieter these days on account that bloggers like to enjoy the summer too and unfortunately during the nice weather posting falls a bit in priority ranking. Sometimes its just more important to live life and enjoy it than write about it.

Don't get me wrong I have no intention of abandoning this space all together, in fact I cant imagine but I wanted to make sure you all knew that things will be less than routine for awhile and daily posting will most likely not be the case.

I appreciate all of the time you all put in around here too, taking a part of your day to stop by my little part of the internet to check in and see what is going on, it really means a lot to me! I will see what I can do about pictures of the apartment tonight!

Hope you are all having a wonderful day and enjoying summer to the fullest! Sadly before we know it, its going to be over!

Here There and Everywhere! We've Moved Again!

Good Morning,

Long time no see right? I'm really sorry for the radio silence around here, I didn't know what would happen in the time of our whirlwind move but I didn't figure I would make it here very much and as it turned out I was right. Things were really hectic and we are only just getting internet and getting setup so I thought I would stop in today and fill you in best I can with all that has been going on!

So last we talked we were getting ready to leave New Jersey and head home for a short time before moving on to Maryland! Because we had just been home less than two weeks before it was nice that we didn't have a ton of stuff to do while we were there, or so I thought!

We left Jersey on the morning of the 10th I think.. everything is kind of a blur but I am pretty sure it was the 10th! We did really well with traffic getting home and were there are 2:30pm I believe. Obviously having not much time there we wanted to get home as early as we could on Friday to add another day basically. We dropped off all our stuff at the house and turned everything on and then figured we would get grocery shopping over with so we wouldn't have to go anywhere else for the day.

After we finished all of that I decided to unpack everything on account that I didn't want suitcases laying around the entire time we were home, I wanted it to actually feel like we lived there for awhile. Generally when we go home its not for long and the loft space upstairs is full of suitcases the whole time. While I unpacked Jason was out in the yard doing things, and at one point came in and hollered for me to come and check out a baby bunny in the backyard. I went out to see and soon realized it wasn't exactly playing in the yard, it was slumped up against the back fence. I freaked out and thought it was dead, I begged Jason to bury it! Long story short my amazing husband dug a whole in the back yard where I requested to bury said bunny and when he went to get it it amazingly perked up and ran away. Thank god. He had gotten so close to it before and tapped on the fence right beside it and it didn't move at all, turns out he was just a really deep sleeper!

Friday was really relaxed and it was so good to be home, we grilled and just enjoyed the day! Saturday we planned to look at trucks because we have been talking about getting a new one for quite some time. Little did I know this would turn into an all day event! We by no means found what we were looking for but none the less it was an interesting and informative day. By this time though we were both STARVING and felt disgusting at it was well over 100 degrees so we decided to stop at one of our favorite places for lunch, Jason's Deli.  On the way back from a late lunch we got a call from someone who wanted to buy our travel bed that we listed on Craigslist and were extremely happy to sell! They came and picked that up and we spent the afternoon puttering and just enjoying the day!

Sunday we needed to find a bed because we had sold ours and were moving and needed it. I really wanted to wait until we got to Maryland to look but Jason felt that we had already ordered the Uhaul and basically needed to fill it with a bed or all our stuff would bounce around on the trip. It made sense but mostly I didn't want to have to move the damn thing! We headed out first thing on Sunday and toured around a bit and long story short found a bed.

Jason really does his research! 

I feel like I don't even know how we spent the rest of the day on Sunday.. believe it or not the time we were there flew by as it always does. It was hot, we were busy and it was over before we knew it. 

Monday we had to pick up the Uhaul but we knew that once we had it we wouldn't be going anywhere else so we decided to have lunch at the Twisted Fork because we absolutely LOVE their food. 

Jason ordered these southern brined and crispy wings and let me just say.. they were amazing! 

I went specifically for the fried green tomato BLT and it did not disappoint! 

After that we picked up the Uhaul and spent the afternoon packing.. not fun at all. We had a bunch of leftovers for dinner which worked out really well and basically just relaxed before moving the next day. 

Tuesday morning flew by and we got on the road just before 10am. The drive ended up being just under 4 hours which was great and we arrived and filled out all the paperwork and started moving in. I cant tell you how thankful we are for Dave who came over after work and helped Jason unload the Uhaul, it was such an amazing help and made everything go so much quicker! We are on the second floor with no elevator and there was just absolutely no way I could have helped Jason bring up the bed or dresser! 

After we got things moved in Jason went to take back the Uhaul and it became very apparent that something was wrong with the truck. Long story short, worst timing ever but the exhaust had rusted out on the truck and was ready to fall off, it ended up going in the next day to have a whole new exhaust put on it.. not exactly what we were expecting. For the last week we have just been getting things situated, getting familiar with our surroundings and so on. 

I plan to do an apartment tour as it has pretty much come together, so stay tuned for that this week! 

Also yesterday we bought a new truck. I thought we were going to breakfast which we did.. but then we spent the afternoon at the dealership. More on that later as well, we get the truck early this week so I will make sure to share pictures and what not. 

Not much else to report, we went to Dave and Lindsey's for a BBQ Friday night which was really great, being on this job not only has us closer to home but closer to friends which is really great! 

Jason playing with Lily & Ava. 

Jason & Lily Swimming! 

I'm waiting on the Verizon guy to show up so I need to get some stuff done so I will leave you with some pictures from our walk the other night. I will do an apartment tour this week as well as fill y'all in on the new truck!! 

Thank you as always for stopping by, I hope you have been well and have a great day!! 

New York Color BB Creme 5 in 1 Instant Matte Skin Perfector Review

Good Morning,

As I have mentioned before I have been in love with the Maybelline Dream Pure Skin Clearing Perfector BB Cream for quite some time now, but as my skin type has changed from the dryer side to the more oily side (so annoying) I have been finding that the Maybelline BB Cream just isn't working as well with the change in my skin so I needed to look for something else.

I was flipping through a magazine a couple of weeks ago and came across a picture of NYC cosmetics and amongst the goods was a picture of their 5 in 1 Instant Matte BB Creme, so I took a picture on my phone so I would remember to check it out! While we were home last week I grabbed it while at Target one day and have been using it since. I think I have used it enough to form a good opinion so I thought I would stop by and share it with you guys!

NYC 5 in 1 Instant Matte Skin Perfector BB Creme 

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Now because I had only seen a picture in a magazine I was basing my interest on the fact that it was a BB cream which is what I wanted as well as the fact that it said 'instant matte' which is exactly what I need right now. Unless your skin is super dry I think the matte option is great for summer in general, unless you are really going for the super dewy look! 

When I picked it up in Target it said 5 in 1, which is referring to offer the following:

1. Provides instant mattifying coverage

2. Minimizes appearance of pores and lines

3. Beautifies & Smooths skin

4. Minimizes appearance of skin imperfections

5. Brightens skin tone for healthy, flawless complexion. 

I will say I absolutely agree with all of the above except maybe number two! I'm not sure it really minimizes my pores at all but 4 out of 5 isn't bad and if that is an issue for you there are definitely primers that will take care of pores that you can apply prior to the BB Cream. 

This product cost is $3.49 compared to the $7.49 for the Maybelline one that I have been using which is a plus considering I will definitely say I like this product better. If you have dry skin with dry patches this will definitely NOT work for you as it will cling to your dry patches no matter what. If you are interested in trying this product there is a regular option as well as a bronze radiance which will add a slight tan like tint to your skin. 

I really love this product, it absolutely brightens my skin while still leaving it completely matte. I am really impressed about how well it holds up in the hot summer weather, naturally nothing is going to hold up perfectly against extreme humidity but I am really impressed with how long it does last. Obviously an oil free primer as well as a setting spray will also help the length of time your makeup lasts. 

The product itself is thicker than a lot of BB Creams I have tried therefore a little goes a long way and I don't find that it looks cakey on your face by any means. In the past I have always applied my BB Creams just like I would a foundation, with a dense kabuki brush and buffing it in but I have been applying this one with my fingers (make sure to wash your hands first, so not to spread bacterial all over your face) rubbing it in like I would a moisturizer and I really like the way it applies. I think you could use a brush and it would give you a more sheer coverage then it already it but the product itself is buildable if you would prefer to use a brush and just add an extra layer. 

I am really happy with this purchase, I have tried quite a few BB Creams and always end up returning them because I don't like the way they apply, sit on the skin or couldn't find a good color match for my skin. I will say the color range for this product is limited which is a downfall, I am really fair and 01- light is a great match for me, but I highly recommend swatching it in stores before buying it to make sure it will work for you. 

All in all I highly recommend this, I don't know why when looking at makeup I always skip over the NYC section, but now that I know they have great products these are a few things I would consider picking up in the future:

1. NYC Sun 'n Bronzing Powder - $4.49

You can purchase this in Tan which is matte or Radiance which would give you a sheen. 

2. NYC Color Wheel Mosaic Face Powder (Blush) - $4.49

This as well can be purchased in a variety of colors depending on your skin tone. 

3. NYC City Proof Eye Shadow in Brooklyn Mocha - $2.79

This is a chubby stick cream eye shadow which I really love, I have recently been into cream products and I find they look a lot more natural and in the summer last longer! 

Have you tried anything from the brand NYC? If so what did you think?

Just a side note, we are heading home really early tomorrow morning! Today is Jason's last day of work here and then tomorrow morning we will be on the road again. We will only be there until Tuesday and I am hoping that between now and then I will be able to pop in and give y'all an update but if that doesn't happen there may be some down time on the blog until next week when we are settled and have internet and stuff again!

I hope you all have a great weekend! Thanks as always for stopping in!

Fourth of July Festivities 2015

Good Morning,

Are you all recovering nicely from the holiday weekend? I'm sure Monday was rough but at this rate you are already half way through the week basically!

Although we had a pretty low key 4th of July I thought I would stop by and share what we did do because I thought it was worth a mention. Besides although obviously not all posts but some posts I write I think will be great to look back on later and see pictures and read about the things we have done and where. If you know me at all you know my memory is crap so I need all the help I can get!!

Jason worked on Saturday which pretty much sucked, although I am use to him working all the time it always seems to bug me just a little bit more on a holiday. Having said that it really is the norm so we just roll with it and make the best of the time we do have. Jason had intended to only work until noon but that ended up turning into 3:00pm so by the time he got back here and showered and we got out the door it was a little later than we had expected!

We had considered booking a late night dinner cruise in Manhattan to have the option of watching Fireworks from the boat which would have been amazing but I wasn't keen on paying the large price tag, especially when Jason's work schedule is so unreliable! We considered going into the city to watch fireworks but sadly with the terror threats they were being extremely strict in the city and I worried that with Jason working late and them putting a limit on the amount of people allowed in certain areas (the best areas to see the fireworks) we wouldn't get there in time to actually get a decent spot.

In the end we decided to go to Liberty State Park in New Jersey, they were having a fair with food trucks, carnival rides, games, entertainment and so on! Plus they put on their own huge fireworks display and we figured if we got to the right spot we would be able to see not only the Jersey ones but the ones Macy's was putting on over on the East River as well.

Finding parking and getting into the park was OUTRAGEOUS! I expected it to be bad but not nearly as bad as it ended up being! We managed to get parking at the Liberty Science Center which was pretty ideal and then walked over to the park. By the time we got there we were both starving so we scoped out the food trucks!

Aren't these little rescue vehicles amazing? I thought that was such a great idea!!

Guys, how excited was I to see the Nuncha's food truck there!! I am a sucker for a good empanada and I have had these quite a few times and they are AMAZING! If you happen to come across one of these, the spicy chicken empanada is where its at! 

Jason's converting to a truth southerner and went directly for the Carolina BBQ. Pulled pork sandwich and baked beans! The Pulled pork was on point, the beans were not Carolina Style though.. we were not impressed!

Lady Liberty in all her glory! 

People were legit camped out! There were tents everywhere and people had brought their own charcoal BBQs and what not, I wish we had the whole day and could have had a setup like that, it looked like a really good time! 

Manhattan from Liberty State Park. 

After eating we spent a ton of time just walking around the park and enjoying the beautiful day! They had a TON of food and live entertainment and of course the park is on the water which is always really nice. After touring around for a long time we decided to go back for more food. I just wanted an ice cream because its something we really never have but Jason decided he needed to have a smoked turkey leg. Jason's been talking about smoked turkey legs for quite some time now and even looked at them in the grocery store last time we were home but decided not to get one. After his BBQ we continued walking and when he saw them he absolutely knew he had to get one, but he needed to walk off his first meal. 

Generally smoked turkey legs are just plain but this particular venue offered Buffalo, Bourbon BBQ as well as plain so Jason went with the Bourbon BBQ. 

Jason's shoes are a size 12 and this thing was as book as his foot!! 

That's basically as far as he got, he put a good dent in it. The lady sitting a few feet away from us was eyeing him while he was eating it and eventually her husband went to get them some. When he came back Jason made sure to warn them all that the key to eating one of those things was to pace yourself, he said that he forgot this time. HA! Jason hates to waste food. 

When Jason was done eating we decided to just hang around where we planned to watch the fireworks! It seemed like a really long wait because they didn't start until 9:30pm but really it wasn't, neither Jason or I are overly patient. I will say though it was soooo worth the wait! The fireworks display put on by the park was absolutely AMAZING and we got to see the Macy's display right behind it, it was perfect! Jason absolutely LOVES fireworks and he was beyond impressed and overwhelmed. Liberty State Park actually put on two displays, once on either end of the park so no one missed a thing, and if you were in the right spot you got to see the same show in two places simultaneously! 

This is a crappy picture but you can see the Freedom Tower lit up red, white and blue at the top and to the right you can see part of the Macy's Fireworks display. 

The Macy's fireworks display right in the center, the barges were behind the buildings on the East River but the fireworks went high enough that we got a perfect view. 

Getting out of the parking lot was the worst part of the drive home, mostly because people drive like assholes. If every person let one other person in, it would go so smooth and everyone would get out but instead no one wants to let anyone in and people are honking and so on.. its outrageous! 

The drive home was nice, there were fireworks everywhere which was great! We didn't get home until quite late so it was straight to bed as Jason had to work on Sunday. Although we didn't get to spend the day having a big BBQ and all that jazz I am really happy with what we did do!

I hope you all had an amazing holiday and enjoyed your festivities to the fullest!!