Fort De Soto Park

My parents, Mike, and I went to Fort De Soto Park this past weekend. My parents said they had taken me as a kid, but I couldn't remember it. However, it's such a great park! There are a million things for guests to do there, not to mention plenty of concession areas to eat at and clean bathrooms. We started our day by fishing off of one of the piers. I hadn't been fishing in a very long time and it felt so good to be back at it. I think Mom was the winner with the most fish caught (I was the loser, if you must know).

After fishing we stopped and ate some quick lunch at one of the food shack areas. There were covered picnic tables and a nice breeze. Then, we walked around the fort area and learned a little history of the area (I love stuff like that!). There was a great view of the ocean from the top of the fort! Once we were done exploring, we headed to the beach. Like I mentioned earlier, the weather was just perfect. It wasn't super hot, there was a lovely breeze, wonderful beach day.

Benefit Stay Flawless Primer Review

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Awhile ago I started hearing about Benefit's Stay Flawless 15-Hour Primer and how great it was. So, of course, I decided to try it for myself. I have been using Bare Minerals Prime Time Foundation Primer for a long time and really like it. I think it's a great product! However, since it had been awhile since I used anything else, I decided it was time to switch things up a little. I'll warn you that the Benefit Stay Flawless primer is a bit on the expensive side (in my opinion). Lucky for me, I had some Birchbox points built up, so I cashed those in for the primer. One of the first things I like better about the Benefit primer as compared to the Bare Minerals primer is that I don't actually have to touch the product. With the Bare Minerals primer you have to squirt the product into your hand and then rub it onto your face, whereas the Benefit primer you just rub it directly onto your face. I realize this is only a minor detail, but it still saves me time in the morning when getting ready because I don't have to wash my hands after rubbing my face. The Benefit primer goes on with a tacky feeling (almost sticky, but not quite) and I apply my foundation right after. I use a powder foundation, but I don't see why this wouldn't also work great with liquid foundation. I haven't tested it yet to see if the primer lasts a full fifteen hours, but it definitely lasts all day! My Bare Minerals primer would last most of the day, but by the time I got home from work my foundation was fading. If you are in the market for a new primer I would most certainly recommend this one. I think I'll be using for a long time!

High Five for Friday

Happy Friday once again! It's been a couple weeks since I've linked up for High Five for Friday with Lauren Elizabeth. I'm glad to be back and glad it's almost the weekend!

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1. I've been doing quite a few sewing projects lately and decided it was time to upgrade my sewing machine. I found one I really liked on Joann.com, and it was on SALE!! I had it delivered to my parent's house because sometimes shipping to an apartment complex can be problematic (anyone else have this problem?). It was delivered on Tuesday and my parents are bringing it to me on Saturday (thanks Mom and Dad)! I'm SUPER excited :)

2. Last weekend Mom and I took a crochet class. Needless to say, I've been addicted ever since. On Wednesday night I completed my first granny square. It took a while to find a pattern on Pinterest that I could follow, and even then I had to watch a few YouTube videos to understand what the heck was going on. Now that I've done it, I feel like there are endless crochet possibilities. I'm thinking pillows, afghans, and scarfs!

3. As I mentioned above, my mom and dad are coming on Saturday morning. We're meeting at our apartment and then heading to Fort De Soto Park for some beach laying, fishing, and fort exploring. It will probably be the last beach day of the year, as the weather finally starts to cool down. I should have some good pictures to share next week.

4. Saturday night Mike and I are planning on making imitation Bang Bang shrimp for my parents. We've made it twice before and it's turned out great both times. It tastes and looks just like the Bang Bang Shrimp from Bonefish. The recipe we follow can be found here.

5. Sunday we're all headed over to my aunt's house to celebrate my grandma's birthday! I'm in charge of making the cake. Mema has requested a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting (my favorite!!). I'm also going to experiment with using cake bunting for the first time. Usually, I just decorate a birthday cake by writing on the top of it, so this should be a cute change. I found a free printable on Pinterest which you can find here.

As I mentioned in yesterdays post October is a busy time for us, but it's full of adventures I can't wait to go on and time spent with family and friends. I hope you all have a great weekend and go on an adventure of your own.

What I Wore Wednesday...On Thursday

 

Okay, so realize I'm posting about What I Wore Wednesday...on Thursday. Life has been a little crazy lately and will only continue to stay that way throughout the month of October (I can't believe it's October already!). And, who am I kidding, now that we're entering the holiday season, life, most likely, will be busy until New Years. So I apologize for not posting as often as I'd like. It's not that I don't have any thing to post about, because I've got lots of ideas, but finding the time to prepare posts has been challenging. To be honest, lately I've been feeling tired. After working all day, coming home, trying to find time to go to the gym, or make dinner, or do some laundry, and then sitting down to work on a post or my shop just seems over whelming...so I've kind of been avoiding it. I try not to put too much pressure on myself, but sometimes I can't help it. So, especially as this holiday season approaches, I'm going to try to slow down a bit and not feel disappointed if I don't get to everything I would like to. I want to just enjoy the moment I'm in and the people I'm with.

 

 

So, about the outfit...I wore this outfit this past Sunday for running a few errands and doing stuff around the apartment. Normally, I think of this shirt as kind of dressy. It's silver and has some sparkly threading in it. I usually wear it to work; however, I think it looks really nice and casual paired with jean shorts and sandals. Not to mention, it was very comfortable. I don't think I've ever worn this combination together before, but I definitely will in the future!

 



While I'm catching up on things, I just wanted to post a few pictures from this past weekend as well. My parents came for a visit and some quality time with Mike and me. My mom and I went to a crochet class Saturday morning and we loved it!! I was a little intimidated, but it's actually easier than knitting. Afterwards, Mom and I did some shopping. While we were out, the boys went to the gun range and out to lunch. I think we all had a nice time doing things we enjoyed with people we love (that was a little mushy, but sometimes I can't help myself). My parents left Saturday afternoon, but will be back again this weekend! Later, on Saturday evening, Mike and I went to dinner at Skippers Smokehouse with our friends Nick and Lauren. The picture you see of food is what I ordered for dinner that night...blackened crawfish mac n' cheese. It was SO yummy!! We had a blast spending time with friends. Sunday morning I woke up and drank a nice cup of coffee and did some reading. It was a great weekend!

 

Our weekends for the month of October are pretty booked. We have a beach day, birthday celebrations, a Halloween party, a zoo trip, a pumpkin festival, and a craft fair all planned. It's all stuff I love and I look forward to each event!

 

Also, I recently updated my shop so please check it out!! You can get to it by clicking the link in the right sidebar or clicking here. I'm more than happy to work with anyone who wants something customized. Please email me or message me on Etsy or Facebook.