Funk-y Town

I've found myself to be in a bit of a funk for the last few days. I think my funk is two fold. The first being that KC's deployment is starting to wind down, and the thoughts start to stir around in my mind. Thoughts that range from his safety as he travels to home, the concern that I have about the start of fighting season and how that might influence him and the others around him as they prepare to and as they actually leave. I wonder about when he does get back. Will things be weird and foreign? Spending over half a year away from the one you love is tough. With limited communication for that entire time period and then seeing that person face to face seems so strange. The thought of our first embrace, where I can hold his face in my hands, to know his touch again, is hard to imagine because the last time we did so was over two hundred days ago. My hope for his return is that we can fall right back where we left off when he deployed, but be that much more connected because we fared through such an uncertain time without so much as a hiccup in our relationship. I will continue to have that tug in the back of my mind though, the one that wonders what he's doing at that exact moment, until he is home with me and out of harms way. I cannot wait for the moment when we can both look back at our first deployment together and see how much we've grown as a couple. To look back at it and see how strong and even more independent it made me. To know that our relationship is Deployment Strong...It doesn't get much better than that :-)

As far as the other fold of my funk, that one isn't solved as easily, but I think it is in the process of mending. Friendships for me have always been pretty easy. Easy in the way that I don't have much, if any, conflict with my friends. We all just want to converse about reality tv, clothes, food, and other dumb stuff like that. We also talk about serious stuff too!  My friends and I are laid back, and that's how I like it. This world has enough crazy things going on everyday that a girl needs some respite from it all. Girlfriends are best for that. However, when a friend fails to see how certain actions taken affect the quality of her friendship with others, it causes the normalcy to go away while also causing a rift in the friendship. Not to be skimpy on the details, but it's a situation I'm currently experiencing. After spending a lot of time thinking up a plan of action, I've come to the conclusion that this is a situation where one has to experience and realize first hand the lesson, they cannot be told. It may take time for it to resolve itself, but I will be patient until it does happen.

It feels that after two days of being in Funk-y Town, I am finally emerging from it. Sitting on my balcony while the sun shines on my feet, and Feist streams through my earbuds has a way of making a girl feel good. Maybe it's because I'm a Seattleite. I think the only thing that would make this afternoon better would be a glass of wine, but it's early so there's still a possibility on that wine.

Weekend Shenanigans

Ughh Mondays! Why does the weekend have to be over?+-.

 

This weekend was pretty good. I had some fun (a friends birthday celebration on Saturday night), and was super productive! 

(Going clockwise in the collage)

1. I have become obsessed with the Detoxinista's Blog. She has SO many amazing recipes on her blog. I had to try these PB and Choc Chip Blondies when I was having a sweet tooth craving. I substituted almond butter for the peanut butter though. These are super yummy!

2. My mom came down on Saturday so we could go walking with her doggy at the park. Sad part: it was pouring off and on the whole day so we just ended up getting coffee and going to the pet store for treats!

3. Friday night midnight Skype sesh with the BF. SO good to see him, can't say the same about his creeper mustache though! It had been three weeks since we've heard each others voices so this convo was way overdue. Also, Sunday marked 7 months deployed. We are in the home stretch!

4. My silly little kitty keeps getting the barfs when she eats. I'm attributing it to the fact that she wolfs down the food too fast. She appears to be perfectly fine afterwards so I went searching to figure out a solution to the problem. Ice cube trays! Totally works. She has to dig each piece out before she can eat so the rate of ingestion has significantly slowed down.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Things I learned while in Norway

Norway was my first experience of traveling abroad. I have done Canada and Mexico, but no other countries. I have been stuck on this continent for way too long. I researched a bit before I flew over to Norway to see what the country would be like. I was extremely relieved to discover that most all Norwegians speak English. That little tid bit alone made me feel a lot better. The fact that I would be able to communicate with the citizens on my first ever travel abroad trip was comforting. It was almost as if I was dipping my toes into the water and warming up as opposed to just jumping head first into the pool. 

I thought that it would be very fitting to start out my posts of Norway talking about the things I learned while I was there. Feel free to add yours to the comment section if you have traveled to this Scandinavian country, I'd love to hear them!

1. America is all over Oslo. (at least where food is concerned) They cannot deny it. First, there are 7-11s everywhere! I was told it's the best place to get coffee. It is considered to be the fast food of Oslo. It resembles our 7-11's here, but nicer. They love their bacon wrapped hot dogs in too. I didn't partake, but theirs did look a lot more appealing than American 7-11 dogs. One of their dogs is called a Hell Dog. "Looks like hell, but tastes like heaven." Yeaaah, not the advertising I want to read before eating my hot dog. Burger kings and McDonalds are also very prevalent. I avoided both but noticed them frequently when I was out exploring. They love the Body Shop. I didn't even realize this place still existed! There was like three in the airport and another five around the Oslo city area. I saw multiple HUGE TGIFridays restaurants which is crazy because they went bankrupt in America. Maybe that's how they stay afloat, pushing American style restaurants in other countries. Norway is pretty Americanized when it comes to food.

2. Things are EXPENSIVE. You can't find beer for less than $15 a pint. Meals are at least $25 at a sit down resturaunt. Delis and kebab places are a bit cheaper. See that picture above? Yeah, that is a lamb stew. I had that along with two Guinness beers for lunch one day and it was $56 American dollars!! PBR type beer over there was around $12 a pint. Good beer started at $15 a pint. If you do find yourself over here, make sure you've saved up some funds because you're likely to drop a significant amount on food alone.

3. Which means NO TIPPING. Everyone in Norway is salaried so they don't need tips. They aren't struggling workers being paid nothing so hey, the one bonus of dropping big bucks on food. You don't have to stress about adding a tip on top of it!

3. Although food and booze is expensive, health care isn't! If you get hurt, it'll cost you $40. If you have pnuemonia it'll be $40 to see a doctor. If you need open heart surgery it will be $40 to fix ya. Not a bad price at all. Norway is a socialist country so that's one of the bonuses.

4. Everyone speaks English. Kind of awesome because they come up to you and start speaking norwegian and then you say I'm sorry, I speak only english. Then they say "Oh no big deal, just tell me. I have no problem with that"

5.The public transportation is AWESOME. I rode around norway by plane, train, bus, tram and ferry. Only once was I asked to see my ticket. I guess they're pretty lax about that stuff here. If you just hop on public transportation, there are no questions asked they just expect that you paid. Honor system to the degree the US would never have.

6. I have never felt so safe. Oslo is a cute little city filled with cobblestone walkways and gorgeous old brick and stone buildings. You almost feel like you're on the set of a movie because it is so different than everyday American surroundings. Oslo's biggest crimes revolve around pick pocketing and ID fraud. Heck, Norway doesn't even feel that their Army needs to be that big. They only have enough people in the Norwegian military so that they can defend their country until back up arrives to help them. When I heard this I couldn't help but laugh. Can you even imagine?!

Nail Files

Happy Friday, Bloggers!

I cannot believe it is already Friday. It's been one of those weeks that always happens when you get back from a trip. One where you're car gets stolen, you win $40 dollars and a coors light t-shirt at bingo, your car gets recovered, and you beat your butt so bad at the gym that you don't want to move. When you have a week like this, nothing gets done on the homefront and that includes blogging. SO I promised myself I will start the blog posts on Norway tomorrow.

For now though, here is this weeks nails:

 

I wanted to try something a little bit different, and I thought that nails "dipped" in gold sounded fun. 

Have a great weekend!

Back in America.

Good Morning!

Watching Breakfast at Tiffanys

 I made it home from Norway late on Friday night. There is something so wonderful about being back in your own bed, and cuddling with your kitty cat. I spent all day Saturday getting my jet lag taken care of. It was a day full of laying on the couch catching up on my shows and watching Netflix. Today I plan on being a little bit more productive :-) 

Stick around because the Norway recap is about to make it's appearance on the blog!

Farvel Amerika!

Happy Friday, Bloggers!

I am off to the beautiful country of Norway today! I will most likely be MIA from the blogging world for a little bit, but you'll probably be able to get some glimpses on my instagram though :-) I'm so excited to share my travels when I return. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

What I wore: Easter Edition

This is a little delayed as far as posts go, but the fact that I'm even attempting a post of what I wore is pretty good progress for me. So humor me a bit on my first 'What I Wore' :-)

 

 Top: Banana Republic 

Jeans: Dorothy Perkins//Save//Splurge//

Bracelet: Gold Pave Bracelet//Exact//Splurge//

Sandals: Dolce Vita// Exact//

Bag: Kate Spade

Easter was low key for me and the fam. We hung out in the sun sipping on GF (gluten free) beer, playing with the doggy, smoking the salmon in the smoker, and concocting new and yummy side dishes.

Subscription Box Share (March)

Hey ladies!

I was really excited for this months box. I was bored at work one afternoon when I received an email telling me that my BirchBox had been shipped, but while I waited I could check out the YouTube video to see a preview of this month's box. Seeing that video got me pumped up to receive my box. The two items that grabbed my attention was the headband they mentioned and the nail polish strips. I waited for ever and ever (it seemed) for my box to show up. When it did I excitedly ripped it open and what do you know: NO nail strips or headband! Ha!

I still feel like I got a good box though. The box was pretty full this month too. Here's what I got:
(Descriptions taken from enclosed card)

-Benefit Cosmetics, Benetint

        Originally created for a San Francisco burlesque dancer, this budge proof stain is now a cult classic.   Use it to give cheeks and lips a rosy flush. Full-size, $29

-Macadamia Natural Oil, Healing Oil Treatment

         Quicker than a trip to Hawaii, this featherweight hair treatment woos us with a combination of lush macademia nut and argan oils. Bonus: It cuts down on drying time. Full-size, $39.95

 

-Supergoop! SPF 30+ Everyday UV Lotion for Face and Body

         Shield yourself from harmful UV rays at all times with this weightless, oil free lotion. Full-size, $14-$48

-Whish, Shave Crave Shaving Cream

          The organic she butter in this foam free shaving cream makes for an insanely close shave and leave skin incredibly soft. We love the exclusive blueberry scent. Full-size, $20

BEAUTY EXTRAS

-Macademia Natural Oil,  Deep Repair Masque

           Made with macademia and tea tree oils, this rich treatment strengthens strands from the inside while  also adding major gloss. Full-size, $36

-Madewell for Birchbox, Emery Board

           We teamed up with Madewell to create this adorable mani savior, patterned after a print from their new spring collection.

   
MY thoughts on this month's box:

This box was full of products that I will use completely. The Benetint gives off a good color when applied, but I feel that it doesn't stay on your lips that long. Maybe I need to apply multiple layers? I really like the idea of putting healing oil into my hair which is why I like the Macadamia Natural Oil. It claims to cut down on drying time, and I HATE blow drying my hair so the fact that this is supposed to alleviate some of that pain gets high marks in my book. The Supergoop! I have yet to try this, but I do love trying out new sunscreen. My pale body usually needs it. Although I have been refraining from using it because we've had some wonderful sun the past few weeks. Gotta get that Vitamin D while I can! Ummm blueberry scented shaving cream?! Has anyone ever heard of such a thing before it came in their Birchbox?! Not me! I absolutely LOVE the smell of this Whish stuff! I tried the Deep Repair Masque last night and wowzas! It made my hair so dang silky when I combed it through my hair and then rinsed it out. I couldn't tell all that much of a difference when I dried my hair though. I only used half the sample so I plan on running it through my hair again soon. I'm pretty sure Birchbox read my mind when they sent me the Madewell Emery Board. I was in serious need of a new nail file, but my forgetful mind always forgot to buy one when I was at the store. 

Tell me: What was your favorite item from your March Birchbox?

Ps. Really excited for this new subscription box share link-up! I'm new to subscription boxes so I'm interested to see what everyone subscribes to.