Summer Date Ideas {guest post}

Hello!

My name is Jessica and I blog over at Being Mrs. Kirk

It's all about wedding planning, relationships, life lessons and the occasional random posts about us.

John & I will be getting married next month

I am a step-mom to his beautiful little girl

and we also have a little dog named Chance.

I'm doing a guest post for Emily while she's enjoying Cancun

yes, go ahead and get tan Emily

I'll be here at my computer, blogging, and being albino.

No big deal.

Bring me back a souvenir at least. Sheesh!

Today I'm blogging about Summer date nights.

There's so many great ideas, but I'll just post my top 5.

1. Picnics- In my opinion, it doesn't matter where you are. John & I keep a blanket in our vehicles, and it's great to have when we have a last minute decision to have a picnic. It could be in the park, up on the mountain, or on our back patio. You don't have to have a fancy picnic basket, usually we have Subway to go, or paper plates on our back patio, and sometimes even just a zip loc bag with pb&j's are great too!

2. Star Gazing- I grew up sleeping on the trampoline, or camping in the backyard with my parents. We always looked at the stars and tried finding the constellations. I love laying outside in the warm summer heat listening to the crickets and gazing at the stars. We recently took a twin blow-up mattress and put it in the bed of John's truck with pillows & blankets and it was so comfortable, perfect for star gazing or a camp-out. 

3. Take a walk- If hiking is your thing, take a hike! Make walking a part of your nightly/morning routine, just spending 20 minutes together walking- that's an hour and a half of alone time each week. We live in a small town so we can easily drive downtown and park, walk to the restaurant, to the movie theater, and even go get an ice cream all on foot. If you live downtown, ride your bikes together!

4. Lake Day- Who doesn't enjoy a day at the lake? Sand/dirt beaches, a big long beach towel, and a book. For a date, leave the book at home, take some squirt guns, floaties, and just act like a kid! If it's night time, go skinny dipping...no one's going to judge you ;)

5. Backyard Weenie Roast-  What's better than curling up with each other by a fire? Whether it's a weenie roast, or foil dinners (the best), or even just roasting marshmallows. You can get that "camping" feel in your backyard, even when you have to wake up for work the next morning. 

Hope you guys got some good ideas

Go schedule a date night with your special someone :)

Till Then Smile Often {guest post}

While Emily is off getting a tan, and making us jealous about being in Cancun she is letting me take over her blog for today.  A little about me, I'm Kerry and I blog over at Till Then Smile Often. I am not as sassy or smart assy as Emily (who is though right) but I love to post recipe, do Random Acts of Kindness, and share my take on the world. Enough about me though, today I am going to make her jealous by sharing with you a super yummy alcoholic concoction.  She'll be sad she missed this one. I will try not to think of the cabana boys that are probably serving her drinks. Whatever, we will make our own!!

Ingredients: A massive amount of ice (or at least enough to fill a blender - details, details) ~ 6 oz of your Vodka of choice (I used Smirnoff Orange Vodka) ~ 4 oz of Blue Raspberry Mix ~ 16 oz (2 cups) of Lemonade

Directions: Fill the blender 3/4 full with ice. Add in the Vodka and the Blue Raspberry Mix.  Top with the lemonade and blend! What you were expecting it to be harder?! Not happening, now go make a batch. Then make another for a friend. ;)

Thank you Emily for letting me share you space today!   

  What is your favorite summer drink?  

  

Field Trips {guest post}

"Field trip to Gold Bug Mine, Placerville, CA 2005"

If there is one thing I know for sure (besides the fact that my niece Emily Osborne is cooler than you) it is that I instilled a love of learning and adventure into my girls. I like to think that is something I have done well, besides all the other things I didn't do so well. So maybe there are two things I did well:

1. Letting them know I love them regardless
2. Showing them that girls should go into the unknown and figure things out. Follow your passions. Go into the world and explore. This is how you really learn.

You can call this "experimental learning" like teachers do (because we love jargon) or you could say learning by doing and experiencing. By touching, tasting, climbing, questioning, smelling, eating, talking, walking, and seeing. Young children naturally do this. They are hardwired with a curiosity that is the envy of every jaded adult. Seeing the world through a clear lens and asking questions. Children naturally want to ask questions and will continue asking until they get a satisfactory answer.

"Why is the sky blue?"

"Why is the ocean so big?"

"How do ducks float?"

They aren't scared of looking stupid or worrying that they should already know the answer so they don't ask. That's how adults think. So while you're children are young, that is the time to take them out into the world and cultivate that curiosity. Go on an adventure. Take a field trip.

How many of us loved field trips at school? That was every child's favorite thing about the school year, the field trip. Unfortunately, most schools have completely done away with field trips. I know the reality of budget cuts, liabilities, and involved parents. This is a tragedy because seeing the world and actually GOING PLACES teaches more than you can learn in a classroom or from one adult teacher. Thankfully, technology helps us take virtual field trips to any spot on the globe. However, that does not take the place of taking a child with an interest in trains to a train station, or a child who has an interest in stars to the planetarium.

Truly, how do you nurture a passion in a child unless you show them and let them experience a process, or a place, or a person? And you don't have to travel long distance or pay an exorbitant amounts of money to expose a child to something new. Open your eyes to the people and places around right you. Pull you child (and yourself) away from a screen, and get out in the world and explore. Your child will learn something new and gain knowledge and experience, and who knows? You might rekindle a passion for learning in the experience.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is my Aunt Annette, she is seriously the best.

She's a high school English teacher in CA & she's got a passion for everything.

Like tree's and this guy... haha we still love him. 

Check out her blog here & get inspired!

xo

Homemade Vanilla

Do you wanna make some delicious homemade vanilla?

Don't get excited or used to this because {as you well know!} recipes are not my
forte. However, I'm making an exception for this vanilla post. It is heavenly!

   

Every time my mom visits my aunt in Cali, she comes back with something awesome.
This last time she came back with a homemade journal & some homemade vanilla.
Like, what?! Why am I never invited?!

After getting instructions from the master, I made my own.
Here's my how-to in 3 easy steps!

what you'll need:
buy the cheapest bottle of vodka you can find.
i bought barton vodka. it was like $7. bottom shelf.
~
buy 6 vanilla seed pods. whole foods is the cheapest, bulk area.
if you live in utah, whole foods does not carry them in bulk. so we ordered them online locally here.
tip: DON'T buy them in the jar. it's a waste of money & you don't want them dry.

step one:

first & foremost, scratch off the tacky label & clean the outside of your bottle.

step two: 

take your vanilla pods and cut them open from stem to end lengthwise, but not in half!

step three: 

after you cut open your pods, put them directly into the vodka bottle.

{pretend you're a creative cathy & decorate the neck}

~

put your bottle in a dark cupboard for 3 months.

the vodka will take on a lovely dark caramel color and turn into the most delicious vanilla extract you've ever tasted.

every few weeks shake the bottle before it's ready.

resist the urge to drink straight from the bottle!

This is not only great for you to have, but it's great for gifts!

Snag some tiny bottles from Hobby Lobby & you can fill each one to make the cutest last minute presents.

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This was written as guest post for Miss Mama Me!
Whit asked me to guest post for her while she & her family vaycay in Cabo. 

WHAT a bitch.

While she is basking in the sun, drinking Mai Tai's & getting massages by a shirtless, toned Juan Pablo, I 

have to write a guest post so her blog doesn't sit dormant as she frolic's about in Mexico.
It's fked up.

Just call me Glamorous Glenda.

So I was asked to Guest Post over at abeautyfulhigh.
It's a beauty blog & well.. you know me. I'm beautiful.
I knew you guys would appreciate my sharing this with you as well. You're welcome.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Hey there! I'm Emily & I blog over at My Life in Words. And it's just that, my life in words.
My most consistent postings are of my 3yr old homeboy, Dreydan. He calls me mama.
Then I've got my main sqeezy, Tyler. He calls me wife. I'm his #1 hoe.
And then there is everything else that comes along the way.

I love to blog, I love my blog & I'm so happy to be here blogging for you!
 Don't call me a "lifestyle" blogger tho... I'll punch you. I don't even know what that means.

When Chanda asked me to guest post for her I thought "oh my gosh, I don't have ANY beauty knowledge! How?! Why?! Nooooo!"
And then she made it even worse by telling me I could write about my daily beauty/fitness routine & how
I incorporate that into having a busy toddler. I agreed.. but guess what? I may or may not have the most boring beauty routine ever. So here is the other side of beauty!
That being said, get your popcorn bowls & Snuggies because here I go!

When I think of the phrase "beauty routine", I shit you not I think of like someone standing in the mirror for
an hour every morning & night applying creams & exfoliating with the most expensive products out there.

Would I be wrong?

Some of you are probably like no we don't do that... And then the rest of you are like how did she KNOW?!

I don't do anything out of the ordinary for myself. I'm pretty basic when it comes to my beauty regime.
I like reading what people do to make themselves look better, brighter, shinier... but when it comes down
 to it at the end of the day, I just don't have the motivation myself to do them.
That's not an excuse to take care of yourself, I know. Stop judging me!

I also do a lot of things I'm not supposed to.
Like tanning.
I don't like bronze lotions, I don't like the sprays & I don't like being white.
(i should know better considering half my family has had cancer)

So what exactly DO I do/use in my everyday life?

one. Mary Kay's Timewise Repair line. I don't care what anyone says, this stuff works for me. I don't think I've tried anything from Mark Kay that I haven't liked. It's expensive, but worth it. I use as directed & I've never had any problems with my skin. My personal rep is Jennifer Pelley. She is AWESOME! Full of knowledge, tips, & tricks about each and every MK product. She has personally used each one & will give you honest answers about how they worked for her. 

two. Crest 3D White Strips. I use this entire line of products. Loveee! I use the whitening strips about every 6 months & I brush 2-3 times a day with their toothpaste. I've had my dentist tell me that I need to stop using mouthwash so often. Twice a day is my limit haha, who knew. 

three. Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush lip balm. I live for this you guys. I've always got their lip balm and/or lip gloss with me. It's my fave! It doesn't absorb into my lips at rapid speeds, smells yummy & who are we kidding, it's adorable. Only problem, no SPF. If I'm at the lake or going to be in the sun all day, I will use my chapsticks that have SPF in them. My lips were burned once because I was using non-SPF chapstick {EOS lip balm! yea i'm calling you out... your shit made my lips burn} and to this day I still hate myself. Worst pain ever!

four. Yup. Maybe it's Maybelline. This is all the makeup in my makeup bag. I don't wear eye shadow, foundation, base, lip liner, blush, lipstick... I don't wear or use any of it. Eyeliner & mascara are all I've got. I'm a plain Janer! One would say it's because of my natural beauty.... But no. It's because I'm not coordinated enough to figure it out! I've tried caring about makeup, I just can't. I'm not about that life! Plus, Tyler prefers no makeup on me. He thinks I've got what it takes to be au natural! So if my man is happy with little to no makeup, then so am I.

five. Coconut oil. So far, I use this as a mask for my hair once a week. I'm still learning everything there is to know about it & that's why I'm having Chanda put together a guest post for me that will be all about Coconut Oil! {it will be posted next week, stay tuned!}

six. Jergens lotion. I'm a little lotion obsessed you guys. I lather myself with it right after I get out of the shower, before getting dressed. I do it at night before getting into bed & I do it all throughout the day. I've done this since I was in like 6th grade. I don't use anything fancy, expensive or imported.. just Jergens. 

This is what I look like most days... yours truly.
stop staring.

Someone please tell me I'm pretty.

I haven't changed up my "beauty routine" style in forever because this is what works for me.
Basic Betty.
To each their own, right.

Not to mention my busy toddler who needs my undivided attention constantly.
Again, that's no excuse.. stop judging me!

Stalk me & my everyday life on Instagram @eemilyosbornee!