link love

Here's a dog that swam out to sea to rescue his blind friend.

My mom sent me this little post about ways to tie a blanket scarf. Can you tell I'm pining for fall?

I'd really like to try this vegan vanilla clove lip balm from Meow Meow Tweet.

This story from retail is hilarious.

As a future dietician, this article where Americans and nutritionists disagree was pretty interesting.

I think I'd like to give this homemade ginger ale recipe a shot.

Don't feed bread to the ducks.

How adorable is this knitted snail tea cozy?

Have you tried out Mintvine? I've gotten enough for a payout in just a few weeks!


Leave your links in the comments! ♥



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on blogging & being a "blogger"

I consider myself a blogger. I don't make a living doing this, and I have a full time job that sometimes prevents me from writing blog posts. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love blogging and everything that entails. I love having something to blog about. My life isn't the most interesting, but maybe someone out there wants to read about it. Haha!

My main reason for blogging is my mother - she lives six hours from me, and though we talk on the phone every day, there's things I forget about or are best told with written words and pictures. Even a post with a recipe gives her insight into how I spend my time.

Other reasons I blog? It passes time. I enjoy getting feedback on posts. I can document my life, things I love, photos, and more to look back on at a later time. It makes me stop and think about things I do on a regular basis. I put more thought into the things I buy, because if something isn't good enough to recommend to someone, why would I spend money on it? Although I will say that I don't buy things for the sole purpose of writing a blog post about them. A large portion of my life goes un-blogged.

I've had this little piece of blog heaven since 2008 (or at least my domain that long), and before that I dabbled in Xanga and Livejournal. No worries, they've long been deleted. I've been around in the blogging world for a while. Since I was so rooted in hobby blogging and other things, my blog never really grew. Here I am eight years later with less than 250 followers. Still. And some days that bothers me and some days I couldn't care less. I was reading blogs when the big dog blogs were just wee little online spaces. And what's happened? Now they've morphed away from blogs and more toward online magazines. Now, though, I really enjoy reading blogs about "real" people and how they spend their time.

Other times, blogging can be a burden. If too much time goes by without a post, I get antsy and try to hurriedly make something happen. It's hard to blog on your "own time" when others are churning out blog posts five times a week. It gets stressful, even without a huge following. I sometimes find it hard to distinguish between whether I'm writing for the enjoyment of blogging or whether I'm trying to just please people.

Well after that verbal flood, I have to say that overall, blogging has been good to me. Sure, there are negatives, but I thoroughly enjoy the world of blogs.

Any recommendations? ♥

hatteras island trip 2016

A couple weeks ago my mom and stepdad headed down to Hatteras Island in the Outer Banks for a week and invited us to stay for a couple days.



They have a fabulous RV so we stayed with them at a really nice campground. THERE WERE DOGS EVERYWHERE. I petted a Newfoundland, a giant Schnauzer, a Westie, a Walker Hound, and so many more!

We had a lot of fun! I hadn't done any kind of tanning since a friend's wedding in 2013, so I lathered up the first day on the beach...and still got burnt the hell up. Thank goodness I have decent skin and it either peeled or soaked in fairly quickly.

Though we weren't there long, it was a relaxing time. I didn't have to wear makeup or brush my hair or anything. I can say I successfully did not care what I looked like on this trip. We ended our beach venture with a sunset walk on the beach and gathered seashells. ♥ ♥



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empties #3

These posts are a great source of joy for me and I can't explain why. More empties this month. :)



Simple Soothing Facial Toner // I've had this toner for forever and I've been using it every day! Sadly, Simple tests on animals so I will not be repurchasing.

Matrix Total Results Repair Shampoo // This was a hotel bottle that I took with me when we went on a trip. It was pretty good shampoo but Matrix isn't cruelty free.

Estee Lauder Pleasures Sample // I don't remember requesting this sample, but somehow I got it. It smelled alright, but I'm not a big perfume gal so that combined with Estee Lauder not being cruelty free, I won't be getting this again.

up & up Apricot Facial Scrub // When I exfoliate my face I like to have a product that I can feel working - this did that. Unfortunately, like I've said before, up & up isn't cruelty free.

L'Oreal Smooth Intense Ultimate Straight Shampoo, Pre-Conditioner, and Conditioner Samples // They worked. But 1) not cruelty free, and 2) I have enough to do in the shower, I don't need to "pre-condition", too.

Too Faced Shadow Insurance Eyelid Primer // cruelty free // I received this in a Sephora order, and there was quite a bit of product in this little sample. I got a use out of it, and initially the product is very wet. It takes a smidge longer to dry than the primer I use now. However, it gets nice and tacky and provides a nice setting for eyeshadow. I'd try out the full size if Too Faced removed the animal products.



The Honest Company Face & Body Lotion // cruelty free & vegan // I liked this lotion at first. Then about ten minutes after I applied it to my hands, they felt dry. If I was given a tube of this I'd use it, but I don't think I'd spend money on it.

Dr. Bronner's Pure Castille Soap in Peppermint // cruelty free & vegan // I grabbed a sample size of this at Target one day and I enjoyed it. I used it as a body wash (though it has tons of uses) and I definitely want to try out a full size.

That wraps up another empties post. Yee! What have you used up lately?

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birthday trip to tennessee

I turned 26 at the end of April. No, I don't want to talk about it. I've had about six mid-mid life crises. But I did have a great trip out to Tennessee to see my mom!



We packed up and went out Tuesday evening and had a great time. We jammed to Amazon Prime Music all the way out. It was a gorgeous day to travel.

We didn't get out til later that evening, but Mumma had made some delicious spaghetti (as always) and then, after six hours of travel, we went to bed. She even had the birthday flag out for me!



Wednesday we woke up, got ready, and headed to Knoxville! All of my photos from Knoxville and Market Square were on Snapchat and apparently I didn't save any of them. That's how much fun I was having! We had lunch at Yassin's Falafel House, which I loved, but they aren't huge falafel fans. There was a dog store in Market Square so of course I had to go in. And come out with mixable dog ice cream and a new hardcore chewer toy.

Thursday we took it easy and took naps on the couch or out on the hammock. The weather was gorgeous!

Friday we went out to The Island in Pigeon Forge. I'd never been, and it was a nice little shopping experience - definitely check it out. And there's a Margaritaville! I'm not a Buffett fan in the slightest, but we had great margaritas (definitely try the Last Mango in Paris) and they had veggie burgers!






We strolled around the shops and I checked out two candy stores since I like to see what other places do compared to the shop I work in, picked up some taffy, and stopped at the Ole Smoky Moonshine distillery and did a small wine tasting at Bootleggers. We picked up a bottle of blueberry and peach to bring home.



It was a pretty fantastic trip and I had a very happy birthday. ♥