Things You Will Never Hear Me Say

1. I seriously love that I can see your butt hanging out of your shorts! So. Cute.

2. Oh this top knot? I didn't even try, really.

3. I am such a morning person; I love waking up before 9am!

4. Oh don't worry, I totally don't mind that you didn't text me back for a couple hours.

5. Cooking just comes natural to me, I don't even use recipes!

6. Please don't tell me how you're really feeling, I love playing this game of "guess which kind of emotion I'm feeling towards you today."

7. Can we please stop watching Netflix?? I have watched way too much today.

But you know what they say, never say never, right?

"I Love You"

Oh, the first time. If I'm being honest, Dillon was not the first boy I said those three little words to. But with said other boy, they were just words with no meaning behind it. I was a silly 15 year old and had absolutely no idea what it really meant.

With Dillon, it was different. Although I still have to say I don't think either of us knew exactly what it meant to say those words. I believe that we both loved each other at the time, but it was still a puppy kind of love. I think we have been learning throughout our entire relationship what love really means. We learn what it means to love each other every single day and there will never come a day where I know everything there is to know about loving him and being loved by him.

Our first ever picture together.

Wow that got real sappy real fast. My bad. Anyways, onto the story. It was about three months into our relationship, which at the time seemed like forever, but now I can see what babies we were. I remember it being night time, and we were in the parking lot of Fry's Grocery Store. We were arguing about who knows what when all the sudden he kind of threw up his hands and said "I love you, okay? I just - I love you." And you know what I did? I just stared, smiling, like a total crazy person. I was seriously so surprised that he left me speechless. Eventually he was like "Well, aren't you going to say something?" Poor guy looked so sad. As if I wasn't going to say it back! And then I did. I said those three words and my life has changed forever. Maybe too dramatic? But probably not. He has changed my life, this love has changed my life. Super romantic though, right?

Our first trip together - up to Oregon! Three months after the first "I love you."

Again, sappy. Sorry! But you want to know the funny part? Dillon and I were talking about it when he was here last weekend and he has a completely different memory of our first "I love you." The way he remembers it, it was very calm and he said "Emily, I have something to tell you. I love you" all sweet and romantic like. I'm pretty sure I'm right, but I can let him have this one if he really wants. ;)

Ipsy Favorites

It took me a while to decide whether or not I wanted to write reviews on my ipsy glam bags I receive each month. January was my fourth month and I have been very impressed with my bags! I have decided, however, not to write a monthly review. Instead, I will make one post every few months of my favorite items I have received. My main reasoning is because everyone is different. What I like and dislike will most likely be different from what you do, but I would rather share what I like in hopes that you will like it as well, rather than sharing what I dislike and swaying you away from a product that you could actually love without my review. So here we go!

October//The Art of Beauty

Eco-Beauty Facial Cleanser Wipes - I absolutely loved these facial wipes! One reason is because, since it has been cold out, my faucet takes forever to heat up, so these were perfect for the mornings when I didn't want to waste water. They have a scent, but it was very subtle, so it didn't bother me. They are 100% biodegradable which is pretty cool, and can double as a light make-up remover. Find them here.

November//Glam It Up

Pixi Beauty Bronzer - I was kind of nervous about this because I have never used bronzer before. I didn't really know how or where to apply it (I know, that's embarrassing, what kind of girl am I?) but after looking it up I tried it out, and loved it! Since I don't have anything else to compare it to, I really can't say that this is the best bronzer ever. But I loved how it looked on me, and found myself putting it on almost daily. My color was Summertime, but it also comes in After Beach Glow and Subtly Suntouched. Find it here.

December//Glam It Up

Pop Beauty Naturally Bare Eye Shadow - So I'm actually obsessed with this color combo. It is so perfect for my skin tone; it's not too dark that I look like a raccoon when I put it on, but not too light that you can't even tell I'm wearing make up. It's just a sample pack but these three colors are perfect together. I put the gold (middle) as the base color, the grayish color (right) as the "smoky" effect on my outer corners, and then the white sheer (left) as the highlighter under my brow and in the corner of my eyes. When applied with the Mirabella Eye Blender Brush, which also came in this month's bag, it goes on and blends perfectly! Find the full size product here.

NYX Extra Creamy Round Lipstick - I am not a big lipstick fan. Actually, I don't think I had ever put lipstick on since my red Belle lipstick from when I was 6. And you know what happened to it? A boy who came to my mom's daycare ate it. Yes...ate it. So I was wary to try it, but I ended up loving it!! I got the Goddess color, which was so perfect. It was a very subtle shade and is true to the name, going on very creamy and beautiful. Find it here.

January//19 Reasons

Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Tri-Wheat Leave in Conditioner - Geez that's a mouthful! I have a leave in conditioner already but don't use it too much. But I was really impressed with this product. It smells really good and doesn't leave my hair feeling greasy or anything unnatural. And it definitely helps detangle my hair! Find it here.

And that is that! My five favorite products I have gotten so far from my ipsy glam bags! That's not to say I didn't like the rest of the things I have gotten. So far, there really hasn't been anything I didn't like. But these are definitely my favorite and the ones that I find myself reaching for to use again and again. And if you are interested in getting an ipsy subscription yourself, you can sign up here!! It is probably the best purchase I have made for myself.

My Sweet Valentine

First of all, thank you so much for all your support about my Facebook page for my blog, which I mentioned in this post. It was comforting to know that so many people feel the same way I do! It is a scary thing, putting yourself out there, but I'm so grateful for all the support I have.

So...thank god I was able to see Dillon this weekend. It had only been a little over a month since I last saw him but I swear it seemed like six. We had been going through a lot which didn't make the time apart any easier. This weekend together was exactly what we needed.

I have to say though, our weekend wasn't too eventful, so I won't bother you with an exact play by play. I was wanting to do something fun and exciting. My suggestions ranged from getting a tattoo to skydiving to going on a hike. Unfortunately, since I hurt my neck I wasn't really feeling up to anything adventurous. But here are the highlights of the weekend:

Picking him up at the airport. I cannot explain the amazing feeling I get when I see him walking towards me. I get the dumbest smile on my face and the first hug and kiss is just perfect. And then his first words..."can we go get food?" Just melts my heart. ;) I even tried to curl my hair for him, but I turned out looking more like a lion.

Night out at Azian. Two of our friends from high school work there so we decided to stop by and see what it was all about. We sat at the sushi bar and had a sake-politan, which I thought was pretty good! Truth is, I actually hate sushi. I hate anything fishy. It creeps me out. But it was actually pretty cool being at the bar, and I even ate some of the sushi and didn't absolutely hate it!

Hanging out as a family. We took Tuck out of his tank and let him walk around the house a little bit. In order to not lose him we tried tying the balloon Dillon got me for our four year anniversary to him, just in case he tried crawling under a couch or something.

It didn't last very long. As soon as he started walking it slipped off and it is now hanging out on our ceiling which is too high for anyone to reach. Whoops! We also took a family photo, which I think is pretty darn cute.

Seeing Dillon's family. On Sunday we decided that we would drive up to see his mom and brother. I have to admit at first I was being a little selfish and just wanted it to be only us. But we got there and played tennis with his brother and watched the Olympics together and it was a lot of fun.

Just being together. Despite the very low-key weekend, I am just so happy we got to spend time together. We mainly spent it sleeping, watching TV, cuddling, and kissing. And I wouldn't have it any other way. The fact that we can simply hang out without needing to always be doing something shows me that I can spend the rest of my life with him.

Cheesy enough for you?? Sorry about that. ;) I hope you all had a great Valentine's Day weekend! Our presents to each other was his plane tickets, and I wouldn't have it any other way. :)

I Joined the Dark Side

So it happened, blog world. I made my own Facebook Page for my blog. I don't know how I feel about it. For some reason I am just very hesitant to do anything involving the blogging world. As much as I would love to grow my blog, it also scares me in some ways? I remember the first time a blogger reached out to me and asked if she wanted to do guest posts for each other, I totally freaked out. I have no idea why, she was so extremely sweet. But I was like what? All the big bloggers I admire have guest posts...I'm not cool enough to do that yet, am I?? But that is how everything has gone when it comes to my blog. But it is my goal to grow this blog, and dammit I will! Even if it scares me. Even if I try and fail. So whaddya say? "Like" me on Facebook??
And I just realized how funny of a post this is on Valentine's Day but what the heck. This will be my Valentine's Day present to myself! ;)

I Threw Out My Neck

How does one even do that? I have no idea, but I did it. Yesterday morning my alarm went off just like any other morning. And just like I do every morning, instead of getting up right when my alarm went off, I opened up Instagram to stay updated on all the lovely picture happenings of my friends and strangers. In order to do that, I apparently felt it necessary to turn from lying on my left side to lie on my right side. Mid turn, however, I heard some seemingly small cracks in my neck and then a searing pain in the left side of my neck.

I have never been in such pain before...I could barely move without it hurting, and when I did get up to go to the bathroom I felt super nauseous and the pain was so severe I almost passed out. After looking up stuff on the internet (word of advice, don't) I called my mom in tears. I was honestly scared. She told me to wake my roommate up and have her take me to Urgent Care.

So can I just take a moment to say how absolutely thankful I am for my roommate Brittany? She woke up hours before she normally does, helped me get dressed, drove me to urgent care, brought me back home, picked up my medications, AND brought me food. She's in the medical field and called her professor to check if she should even try to move me since I was in so much pain, and then skipped her classes for the day to help me out. I cannot express how grateful I am to her for all her help yesterday, and her continued help today. I feel so blessed because I probably would have had to call 911 or something if she wasn't there.

So thank you, Brittany! I am treating you to these drinks as soon as I am feeling better!!

Basically the doctor told me it was like how people throw out their backs, but with my neck. I just turned my neck the wrong way at the wrong time, and instant pain. Nothing serious though, so thank goodness for that. I got pain meds and muscle relaxants and although I am not back to normal, I feel significantly better than I did yesterday. This has also meant that I have been unable to go to work both yesterday and today. These are the first days off I have had since I started working on January 6th. Yes...I worked every. single. day. up until yesterday. I feel terrible for not being able to go in, but I do not feel comfortable driving since I can still barely turn my head to the left. It is definitely for the best of myself and the kids. I'm just really hoping I'll be feeling better tomorrow so I can go back to work and get back to the gym!

Has anything like this ever happened to you? How long did it take to recover?

The One With the Wedding

Anyone understand the title?? Four for you if you do. Also if you understand that reference. Moving on...

My best friend Becca got married. And it's a hell of a story. Becca and Lance had been dating for over five years when they finally decided to tie the knot. But it wasn't even that simple. Becca and Lance are LDS, and Lance went on his mission to Montana in December 2011. If you live under a rock and don't know, LDS missions are two years, which means that he came back in December 2013. And do you want to know when they got married? December 27th, 2013. Exactly 20 days after he returned. Crazy, right?!? Becca actually had to ask us to be her bridesmaids before Lance even popped the question! Which led to this adorableness:

Then came the bachelorette party! It wasn't anything too fancy, but it was a lot of fun and (I hope) exactly what Becca wanted. We started off the night by silly stringing the crap out of her (and our house...there is still silly string hanging from our living room fan), putting on some obligatory bachelorette gear, and then heading to Toby Keith's for dinner. There was a live band, which was really cool, and we all sat there talking and laughing and enjoying our delicious meal.

We even got Tuck to join in!

And then the wedding! Becca and Lance were sealed in the San Diego Temple.

After they were sealed and we took some pictures, Dillon and I explored San Diego together. We went to Mission Beach and I must say we went a little crazy...

That's right, we got tattoos. The fact that they're henna is just a minor detail.

That night we spent the night at a hotel together, I made him watch BlackFish, and we had some drinks and played some blackjack at the casino.

The next day was the reception! It was held at their local Stake Center and it was extremely casual. There was a small ring ceremony which was really nice since us non-mormons, including her family since she is a convert, were not able to see their sealing in the temple. It gave us a chance to share in their special day(s) with them and to really celebrate their marriage. Afterwards there was food, cupcakes, dancing, and talking.

Those LOVE letters was a DIY project that I made for Becca! They really did take a good amount of time, but I think they turned out great.

And that was that! They left with a sparklers exit and now they are married! I am so so happy for Becca that she is finally able to be with the love of her life. Two years was too long, but now they can spend every minute together in their lovey dovey newly married way (which I get to see first hand since I live with them). Congratulations Becca! I love you!

Linking Up: Let's Be Friends

Guess What I Just Realized

I was able to cross my first thing off my 30 before 30 list! How awesome is that?!? That's right, I graduated college and it feels so gooood!

And being able to cross that off my list made me want to cross more things off more lists. So I'm making some goals for myself, which are going to be extremely random. But it's going to happen right here, right now!

1. Work on Growing This Blog - I love this blog of mine. Despite my frequent blogging breaks, and still not being able to completely throw myself into it, I really do love it. So my goal is to grow in my writing, my readership, and my involvement in the blogging world. I already took the first step by purchasing my own domain for my blog! I have to say, I am extremely excited about it! Also, I feel like putting money into my blog will cause me to focus on it more. See why in number 2.

2. Continue to Work Out - I have been working out pretty consistently for about a month now. If you have not tried Tone It Up yet, I highly recommend it. I feel so incredibly inspired by those beautiful women! I think what people don't realize is that it really isn't about being skinny, it is about being fit and feeling confident about your body. And I feel more confident than ever! This ties in with number one because since I purchased a gym membership, it makes me want to get the most of my money and get my butt to the gym!

3. Make a Budget and Stick to It - My last semester of college I took a personal finance course that honestly has changed the way I think about money. That sounds so silly, but it's totally true. If you have never read All Your Worth by Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi, I recommend you get right on it. I now feel so confident that money will not be a big issue in my life because of what I learned in this book. However, with how I am paid (hourly and not on salary, and my hours change weekly) it is really hard for me to create and stick to a set budget. I'm hoping I can figure it all out and stick with it soon.

So three goals are better than no goals, right?? Here's to really hoping I can stick to them.
Do you have any goals you're working on right now?

.

Ten Favorite Things - That Special Someone

I am so excited to finally be linking up with Brianna over at Endlessly Beloved! 

To be honest, when I first heard of this link up, I didn't know if I could do it. D and I are having a really rough time right now. We have so much going on in our lives and not enough time together to figure everything out. But now I see that that is precisely the reason why I need to do this link up. Despite all our hard times, I love that man, and it's always good to reflect on why. So here are my 10 favorite things about him:

1. He loves me - I know that's cheesy, but it's an amazing feeling to be so loved by another person. To know that no matter what trials we are going through, he loves me.

2. His humor - He can always make me laugh, even if he's not meaning to. He has a very sarcastic sense of humor, but I love it. I also love that he gets my sense of humor...or not. I'm pretty sure they are just pity laughs, but that makes me love him even more.

3. He's supportive - I have been feeling incredibly insecure about my new full-time job. But he has been so incredibly supportive of me and what I am doing, and I honestly don't think I could do it without him.

4. His determination - He is determined to do well in everything he does and to be a better person. He fails sometimes, just like everyone else, but he has enough determination to see where he went wrong and try again. 

5. He's outgoing - When we first started dating, I would have been perfectly fine with staying inside all day and lounging around. He always wanted to get up and out and do something. And I love him for that, because he has made me a more outgoing person.

6. His smile - I don't know what it is, but that man's smile just makes my heart happy. It's so charming, and my favorite time to see him smile is when we see each other for the first time after being apart. I just melt into his arms.

7. He cares - I am a girl. I get emotional. If I had it my way, I would be told every second of every day how amazing I am (because I am, duh). But that's not always how relationships work - we're busy, tired, we argue, etc. But every time I question things, he turns around and tells me/shows me just how much he truly cares about me.

8. We can joke around - I love that we can joke around with each other and still know that we love each other. I like to make fun of him because he's scared of anything he can't control (roller coasters, sky diving, etc). He likes to make fun of me for not always understanding jokes (he's constantly saying "you don't get it baby")

9. His arms - Our relationship is in no way all about the physical stuff, but there is nothing better than being wrapped in a big hug from him. Along with his smile, it's the best thing ever to get that first hug after months apart. There is something so safe and comforting about being in his arms.

10. We just...work - I don't think there is any one thing I can say makes us so good together. We are different in so many ways, including what we each consider being "adventurous" and "daring". But we are also so alike, including that we would both love to travel the world.

I could think of more, of course, but this is called TEN favorite things. Thank you for letting me be cheesy and talk all about my love!