Whats Up Wednesday!

YALL! Happy Wednesday :)

Today is What's Up Wednesday!

As always for this Link Up, I am joining with two of my favorite bloggers!

 Mix & Match Mama and Sheaffer Told Me To!

What we're eating this week:

Monday: Chinese take out! The best!

Tuesday: Buffalo Chicken Meatballs with Brown rice

Wednesday: Tortellini bake with sausage & broccoli 

Thursday: Salmon Burgers

Friday: Still up for a decision :) 

What I'm reminiscing about:

I would have to say last summer and everything we did. Summer is our jam and we always have a great time adventuring, boating and spending time with family and friends!

What I'm loving:

My new anthro candle I bought!!!

The smell is AMAZE and I have been burning it like crazy since I am not home all day!

Everything But The Bagel Sesame Seasoning 

Good HEAVENS!! I am addicted to this stuff!

I keep putting it on my bagels lol but I swear it will be amazing on anything!! 

What we've been up to:

Pat celebrated his friends bachelor party this weekend and he is finishing up his last two weeks of work :)

I am in FULL summer mode and enjoying my time cleaning, organizing, and sleeping in!

What I'm dreading:

This is a hard one! Probably not anything right now!

What I'm working on:

Grad school class number 1!

And revamping the blog :) With all my free time it needs some TLC!

What I'm excited about:

Pat FINALLY being off next week from work! BBQing, boating, camping together!

What I'm watching/reading:

Watching: We just bought an amazon fire stick so I have been BINGE watching season 13 of Grey's Anatomy. I have been a loyal follower since the beginning when it aired on Sunday nights :)

Reading: Still working on The Magnolia Story.

(grad school reading ruins my free time reading lol) 

What I'm listening to:

Lots of country music this time of year!

Preparing playlists for the boat.

What I'm wearing:

Yoga pants and more Yoga pants :) Perfect summer outfit!

What I'm doing this weekend:

Well the weekend calls for rain... again.

SO hoping it moves out!!

We will probably start the boat, clean it and take care of business before we set sail this summer!

Sleeping in, cooking and relaxing!

What I'm looking forward to next month:

Our best friends are getting married!!!!

WOOO HOO!!

#soontobesophie

We have been counting down and we all cannot wait!

What else is new:

Summer has put me in a cleaning mode. I have been able to take care of places, spaces and things I didn't have time for during the school year!

BONUS**-  My favorite vacation spot:

I cannot just choose 1!!

So here are my top three ( in no specific order)

1. Lake Tahoe 

2. The Homestead (In Glen Arbor, Michigan)

3. The Outer Banks (OBX)

PHEW!!!!
What a WHATS UP this week :)
See you tomorrow!
xo

Summer! Sunscreen Time

Well look at this.... we got a little summer action going on over here!!

The weekend was LONGG and great!

We both had great weekends! Spending time with friends, family AND the 

Midwest weather was divine :) 

Today's post is dedicated to caring for your skin all summer long.

My love for Trader Joe's is through the roof lately! Anything and everything I LOVE 

from there!

Recently, my dad shared with us that Trader Joe's SPF 50 sunscreen received a score of 100 on the consumer reports for sunscreen.

These were on the Consumer Reports BEST sunscreens for 2017.

I have always wondered what makes a GOOD sunscreen, and why there are so many options out there.

Too many people do not know how to but the right kind and don't understand how often you NEED to reapply. 

To be honest.... this is me. I never balance the sun and reapplying properly. 

Of course after the report on the news, my dad scooped up some bottles for us all. 

This weekend my parents were in North Carolina and used the spray each day.

I laid out and used my bottle as well.

I have VERY VERY light skin and red hair.

Obviously yes the perfect combo for burnt skin.

I have to say when it comes to sunscreen I am picky....

I HATE looking like a ghost when I put too much on. 

I HATE when you can see it coming off and floating on the top of the water.

I HATE the sticky-ness of all the sprays. 

When using Traders brand, it sprayed on evenly, had a great summer screen smell to it, and I didn't feel like a sticker laying in the sun.

I decided to write this post about skin care with the summer sun for a few reasons.

- I am so tired of burning my skin every time I am in the sun and I am so over it.

-I hate the feeling of sun burn and want to protect my skin. 

- I have beyond fair skin and I want to get a summer glow but want to be safe doing it.

If I could go back in time and tell me teenage self to stay OUT of tanning beds and use more sunscreen I SO would. 

I recently had a mole removed.

This mole appeared a few years after I was jumping in and out of tanning beds.

The mole lied right where my bra/swim top would lie.

So when it appeared I was so confused as to how it got there.

It then hit me that due to the tanning bed exposure, this mole appeared. 

I was mad and angry at myself.

Years ago I had it checked to make sure it was OK and it was.

But recently it had shrunk and changed color, so I was very nervous. 

I went to the dermatologist and to be safe she wanted to scrap it and have it tested.

OF COURSE I freaked out.

Thank goodness that the results came back negative.

But this was truly a WAKE UP call.

I realized no matter how much I love a nice summer glow, I MUST always protect my skin.

I had stayed FAR away from tanning booths and will NEVER go again.

I tell all my high school students to not go and share my story of the mole.

Here are a few sun tips I have to share:

1. Shades. Protect your eyes! Always  have a pair or two on you.

2. A hat. I LOVE my summer hat and I always make sure I have it with me or I have a baseball cap packed!

3. Wear it. Wear sunscreen. From what I shared above, talk with your family and kids to decided what kind you will be purchasing. 

Sheaffer Told Me to

Is one of THE Best fashion blogs I follow.

On her blog Friday she shared some summer essentials.

She shared this mineral setting powder that has SPF 45 in it!!!

I don't wear a lot of makeup in the summer because my little tan does enough for me, but when I do I like my makeup to protect my skin and last all day.

SO this mineral powder is on my list to get in the next few weeks :)

On her page she is sharing a coupon code to get 20% off your order!

Head on over to see her FAB reviews and do some shopping!

Final thoughts.....

Protect your skin. Your future self will thank you!

xo

Friday Favorites- School's out!!!

Like Alice Cooper says.... "SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER!"

Oh yes it is!!

Today is my first day of summer vacation and I am beyond excited!

This is entire post could be all about today itself, but I have some FAVS to share :)

As always I am linking up with Momfessionals, TabandErika and Grace&Love 

ONE.

Costco essentials. The La Croix pack was MY FAV!!!
We also used our ENTIRE rotisserie chicken this week and it was the best!

TWO.

This. Her. The Song. That's all :)

THREE.

Pretty Flowers.
Now... They were a favorite for like 2 days because they did not survive!
So even though they were a fav, this is the last time I will be buying
flowers at Trader Joe's.

FOUR.

THIS SEASON. Def not one of my favs but still really good.
Brad should have won hands down. He was my favorite all season!

FIVE.

Not sure this would be a favorite because this my high schoolers spelling....
but it sure made me laugh!

SIX.

My 90's post yesterday was AMAZE! It brought back so many memories :)
You can check it out HERE!

SEVEN. 

We headed out to eat last night to grab some good food and our favorite
local restaurant Brandt's never disappoints!
Our server loved what I did with my patty melt that she said she was
ordering it for her dinner :)
All the sourdough. All the grilled onions please!!

EIGHT.

This school year is by far a FAVORITE! I loved everything about the year. The ups, the downs and everything
in between. I grew as a person and an educator! Some well deserved rest is what we all need right now :)
#HHS

NINE.

I mean does this need explaining?
It is SUMMER YALL!!!!!!

Not much on the agenda this weekend. 

Relaxing, eating and some shopping will do :)

Since Monday is a holiday, I will be back Tuesday!

HAPPY SUMMER TO THOSE ON BREAK!

xo

Memory Lane- Bring back the 90's

YALL!!! HAPPY LAST DAY OF SCHOOL TO ME!!!

This year was amazing, challenging, full of growth as an educator, and fun!!

I am BEYOND ready for rest and relaxation! 

Today is a special post dedicated to one of the greatest things EVER:

The 90's.

Now I enlisted some help of two people who I could trust with this post....

My brothers: Kevin & Erich.

Kevin born in 88

Me born in 91 

Erich born in 94

SO we truly hit all areas of the 90s and everything we LOVED about it.

Sit back and enjoy a trip back to the 90's.

Shows/Movies

                               

My dad NEVER let me watch this as a kid, but
Kevin could!

Lunette the Clown. Thinking back, this show was
actually CREEPY!

AGAIN this show was so scary for a young kid!!

               Disney had the BEST original movies!!!

By far these 3 were favorites from all of us :)

Toys/Games/etc.

POGS!!! We would collect HUNDREDS

Tamagotchi. UNREAL!! I had 3. I don't
think I really ever knew how they worked....

Crazy bones! We would battle on the floor

From the real things, to McDonald's happy meal toys,
we had a TON.

THIS!!! It played like 30 sec of the BEST
and popular songs at the time!

I wore my skip out one summer. Mine was purple!

SUCH classic games!!!

Legit. We had this EXACT version. 

Starter Jackets. UNREAL. I would want to wear my brother's all the time.
I thought they were SO COOL!!!
SO many kids wore these!

Food/Snacks/Candy

my FAV!!

THIS was so good but it was like sand texture!!

Still a fav :)

                                  

                                             Candy Cigarettes... WHO thought this was ok!!

My mom NEVER bought these but we
would have them at friends houses!!
STRAIGHT sugar!

Wrapper was a tattoo :)

Again full of sugar! How were these a snack??

Music

They SO Wanted to be like NSYNC

BSB!!!

Fresh Prince

Played this CD on repeat!!

Would sit in my room, play her CD's and memorize the
lyrics.

I SO wanted to be baby spice!
I always rocked the pig tails
while I sang in my room!

Ok so CD came with a poster on the
inside and I hung
the poster on my wall in my room
thought I was THE coolest :)

To be honest... this was SO fun and I could talk

about how AWESOME the 90's were all day long!!!

Leave a comment and share your favorite 90's memories :)

Enjoy!

I wish we could stay in the 90's......

xo