Love Glam Peonies

Life Lately

2013-05-15T07:17:00.002-07:00

Oh where to start, where to start.. These last couple of weeks have been.. Eventful to say the least. So much went on all in the blink of an eye that it was hard for me to keep up with it all! Lets take a look at it all shall we?

About 2 weeks ago we found out that our orders were modified and we were no longer being sent to Miramar, San Diego... They're now sending us to 29 Palms. For those of you that don't know where that is it's about an hour away from Palm Springs. Note: the two are completely different from each other! Palm Springs is where people go vacation, 29 Palms is where they stick Marines and their families to be miserable.. Haha! I'm joking.. But seriously, it's nothing like Palm Springs. There's a million things I could complain and start whining about but I'm trying to keep a positive mind and be grateful that we'll still be in California.

May 1st was by far the best day out of the week because Thomas got promoted to Sergeant! He knew it was probably coming but he had no idea it would be this soon so it really caught him off guard. He found out a couple of days before he was getting pinned and all he could say was, "It doesn't feel real" haha! But it was real, and needless to say I was one proud wifey and was so honored to be able to pin him Sergeant! He's worked his tail off to get to where he is and God has been doing nothing but great things for him. We're both so thankful!

The following Thursday we attended a briefing for our PCS (move). They spoke Gibberish, they spoke Chinese, and they spoke about every other language tou could possibly think of except English! Haha! There's so much that goes into pcs'ing! Paperwork, procedures, rules and regulations, so many different options.. My head was spinning a little but I did manage to understand some of the foreign and in the end we decided to have TMO move us. Originally we wanted to have family come down and help us with the move but we thought it'd be best to just have the movers take care of everything.. but even that brings in a whole other slew of things! So at the moment Thomas and I are trying to prep for the big move. Which I must admit is pretty exciting despite all the work and stress that goes into it! It's not everyday you get to take a road trip across country!

Thankfully I had lots of time off that same week to be with Thomas before he left to his MOS school. It was full of errands, short work visits, lunch dates, fro-yo dates (yumm-oh!), cuddling, walks with our baby girl and gym time! We were even able to play some racket ball together at the gym- so fun! I think it's important that even in the midst of all the craziness and business life throws at you- you still need to find the time to have fun, relax, and enjoy the ride..

Happy Hump Day! :)

A Love Story

2013-04-24T17:28:00.000-07:00

Anybody who knows me well enough knows how absolutely and madly in love I am with my husband. I think I just recently started to get over the "honeymoon stage" after almost two years of being married.. Haha! He really is such an amazing, funny, sweet, compassionate, man- I can never get enough of him! Not only is he the love of my life but he's my best friends as well, I love him so much.
(Ok Amy, we get it.. move along)

Many 'til this day don't know our "lurrvv story", or how it all started. So, I'm here to share it with you all..

In The Beginning
In the summer of 2011 I met Thomas' sister working at a summer camp. I remember telling her how I was a sucker for "white guys" so she showed me a picture of her "hot Marine brother" whom I might be interested in. I saw his picture and really thought nothing of him. If any of you have ever seen a Marine's official military picture you would know how serious and may I say, unattractive they can sometimes look. Lips pierced, chin up, looking like a real Devil Dog.. Thank you, but no thank you.

(See what I mean? Not the best picture, right!)

A few months later I randomly came across Thomas' Facebook page and noticed we had a mutual friend. I became curious to know how they knew each other and found out that they knew one another from high school. To my surprise, we went to the same high school but never met each other. As I scrolled through his "normal" everyday pictures I thought to myself- "Oh, I was wrong. He's a hunk!"

(Much, much better picture.. Maybe it's the puckered lips!)

Love At First Type?

We began messaging each other, two 20-year-olds, living on different ends of the country, just friends, not looking for love. I was living in California going to school and working. He was stationed in Virginia serving in the Marine Corps. In a short amount of time, our conversations became more intimate and our phone calls became more special. Somehow, we just clicked. As I mentioned, neither of us were looking for love at the time.. But, without realizing it, our relationship grew deeper and I quickly became smitten- the feeling was mutual.

The Best 3 Days of 2011
Thomas came home to California for Christmas, and after months of countless phone calls, texts, and Facebook messages, it was finally time to meet face to face. I probably spent half the day getting ready.. My palms were sweaty, my knees were week, and I had these little things called butterflies causing a ruckus in my stomach.. the day was finally here and I could hardly contain my excitement. To make the long story short, we spent a total of only 3 days together before he had to be back in Virginia, and those 3 days were nothing short of magical. I know, it sounds extremely corny. But for the first time in my life, I felt things I had never felt before, I was witnessing my very own fairy tale with my very own Prince Charming.. and I was in love.

(By the way, our first meeting almost didn't happen. I got upset because he wouldn't give me an exact date to meet so I told him to forget it and get lost. He felt bad so he finally set a time and place to meet. I was extremely late and he almost left.. Thank God he set a time and day and thank God he didn't leave!)

(The first picture we took together when he came home for Christmas. We look so different!)

Reunited & It Felt So Good
Three months later Thomas was sent to be in 29 Palms (next to Palm Springs) for a few weeks. It was a 6 hour commute there and back but I knew I had to take the drive to see him again. Just as before, the time we spent together that week was amazing and I was more sure than ever that he was the man of my dreams and that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. By me making the trip (two trips to be exact) to go see him it gave him the reassurance he needed that I ,too, was the one for him.

(Once again, this trip almost didn't happen. I was going through so many inward doubts and issues about us and our relationship that at the last minute I had decided I wouldn't go see him and call it quits. But Thomas used his sweet persuasive words and assured me that everything would be ok, and it was. Thank God he didn't give up as easily as I did!)

I Said Yes
Thomas returned to California in June for another visit. While he was there he took the opportunity to take me to one of his favorite places, Laguna Beach. He took me to a cliff over looking the ocean, got down on one knee and proposed. And I said "YES!"

Cut To The Chase

Originally, we wanted to wait before saying our "I Do's". We knew we were young and should probably wait, and on top of that we wanted to plan the fairy tale wedding I always dreamed of .. But when love hits you, it hits you and you don't expect it. Eventually we grew tired of the late night phone calls and miles spread between us and we decided that we didn't want to be apart from each other anymore.. so we said, "Let's just get married. Let's get it over with".

I flew to Virginia on 4th of July and got married to the man of my dreams on July 5th, 2011. Our wedding was short, sweet and private- it was just me, him, and the officiant. We spent our honeymoon in the airport and less than 6 hours later were saying our goodbyes (so romantic). A month later I made the move to Virginia to be with Thomas for good and finally start our lives together.

(This almost didn't happen as well. There's a little funny store about me missing my flight, or getting off at the wrong stop or something like that, and I think there was some frantic crying and several extra hundreds spent for another plane ticket.. But we'll just leave that out)

The End

And that's the short version of our story. Being young, in a long distant relationship was hard, and it became even harder when we had to deal with unique challenges that the military threw at us. But we stuck to it and we didn't give up despite all the odds against us. We're still sticking to it, everyday is a challenge to keep our love and marriage as alive and exciting as it was in the very beginning But we're doing it, and I can truly say that I am happier now than I have ever been and there is not one day that goes by that I'm not thankful to God for putting Thomas in my life. I love him more than any words could ever express and I am so excited to spend the rest of my life with him.

"When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible"

Hello California!

2013-04-20T15:22:00.000-07:00

Yes, yes, yes! Finally, after almost two long years of missing home, missing family, missing friends, missing beautiful weather- we are finally getting stationed in California! :D I don't think anybody realizes how many emotions I have running through me. Thomas and I have talked about the day we leave Virginia to be stationed in San Diego since before we even made Virginia home! We thought it would have come much sooner but it didn't. We just kept waiting, and waiting, and waiting. But the wait is over, and it's here, it's.finally.here.

Though we had been anticipating the move to California for a while now, it still came as a surprise. Being that Thomas LAT moved (changed jobs) we were told we would have to wait until he graduated his MOS school (new job school) in late June for us to get orders. And even then we had no idea whether they would put us at a base in California or not. There was even some small talk of us possibly being sent to Okinawa... in Japan..... "Excuse me?"

Needless to say that didn't happen (thank you Jesus!), and we got orders to Camp Miramar in San Diego (we though we would get sent to Camp Pendleton in San Diego, but that's ok!) earlier than expected.. and quick orders for that matter. Typically, you're given orders about 6 months in advance, more or less. That wasn't our case. Our orders were given to us with just a little over 2 months in advance leaving us with little time to plan. As if that weren't stressful enough, we have to leave immediately after Thomas returns from school... Leave it to the Marine Corps to find a way to mess with you...

Regardless of all this, Thomas and I are beyond ecstatic to finally be where we belong and start a new chapter in our lives- though, it's also a bit scary and nerve wrecking. The move in itself is fearful.. Figuring out what method you're going to use to move, packing everything and moving across country, figuring out who, what where, when, why, how. And on top of that, we have gotten so comfortable here in Virginia. Not enjoyed it per-say, but you know, we just got comfortable, use to it.

Now, it's time to go elsewhere, live in a new place, start new jobs, learn new lessons, experience new things. It's intimidating, but all at the same time exciting. We've both grown, matured and learned so much during our time here in Virginia and can definitely say it's an experience to take with us, but our time here is done.

I'm glad to get away from these terrible allergies I suddenly developed while being here and the "much worse than L.A traffic" I got stuck in everyday after work. But I know I'll miss the snow in the winter time that makes the season feel that much sweeter. And those beautiful Cherry Blossoms that bloom all over the city during spring time. I'll miss having American history just a few miles away in DC. And I'll miss seeing Lamba play with her best friend- the only dog in existence she has ever truly loved to be around. Now looking back at it all, I guess it wasn't all half bad. Thanks for the memories Virginia, it was sweet- but this lady and gent are ready to go home! :D

How To Grow Long Healthy Hair

2013-04-16T09:42:00.000-07:00

This post is long overdue and I apologize for you ladies who have been waiting for it- but at last it is here! This is a continuation to my post on how to make your hair grown an inch a month, you can click here if you haven't read it yet.

When you're growing out your hair it's important to keep it healthy if you want it looking long and nice instead of long and damaged. Who wants that? In addition, if you don't keep it healthy an get too much breakage you'll be forced to cut it more often which if you remember from my last post is a cardinal sin when trying to grow out your hair! No bueno!

So here are the steps you should take to make sure your hair grows out as healthy as possible! And remember, even when your hair is at your desired length you should still make sure to follow these steps to keep your hair looking good!

1. Use A Deep Conditioner- Our hair needs to be deeply nourished to stay as soft, silky, and hydrated as possible. You should be using a deep conditioner 1-2 times per week. It will add shine, moisture and strength to your hair to help with breakage This step is especially necessary if you have bleached or color treated hair as it has been damaged more so than untreated hair has.

My all time favorite deep conditioner is Macadamia Oil Deep Repair Masque. This stuff works wonders on your hair and it smells divine!

Another good one is It's a 10 Miracle Deep Conditioner.

A more cost effective option is Extra Virgin Coconut Oil %100 Organic (any brand is fine as long as it's extra virgin and organic)

If you want to get even better results you can apply the deep conditioner, wrap a plastic bag around your head then blast it with your blow dryer for 15 minutes. Proceed to take a shower and let it sit wrapped up while you shave your legs, exfoliate, etc, then wash it off and feel your smooth silky hair!

Use A Sulfate-Free Shampoo- I've mentioned before in my Holy Grail Beauty Products post that my all time favorite shampoo is L'Oreal Ever Sleek Sulfate-Free Shampoo (and conditioner). If I talked about all the reason why you should use a sulfate-free shampoo this post will be much longer than it already is- so I'll spare you. I'll only quickly mention some of the negative side effects of using sulfate on your hair which are:
- Itchy and inflamed scalp (which probably means you're allergic)
- Reduce the quality of hair strands
- More breakage
- Increase in hair fall
- Lost volume (who wants thin, flat hair?)
- Remove hair dye (if you have color-treated hair)
These are just some of the side effects, if you'd like to no more just Google it.

Limit The Heat!- I think we all know how much damage heat causes to our hair yet we cannot put the hot tools down! I was one who thought I could never ever ever go a day without using heat on my hair, until I started on my hair growth journey and forced myself to! I only allowed heat on my hair once a week which is I would advice for you ladies to do. I got creative and learned how to make my curly or straight hair last for four days without using heat on it (maybe I'll do a post on that too?). Or I found other ways to make it look cute without heat. It helped me get out of the daily habbit of putting heat on my hair and damaging it by burning it! Now I don't feel the need to always use hot tools.

When you do put heat on your hair, please please please do not forget your heat protector before doing so! It's already damaging enough to style it with heat but it's even worse if you don't protect it! That's another cardinal sin!

Two of my favorites are

Tresemme Thermal Creations Heat Tamer Protective Spray

and

Fantasia IC Hair Polisher Heat Protector Straightening Serum

Do Not Wash Your Hair Everyday- This is another cardinal rule that can make a huge difference in the health of our hair but not every women follows it. Each time you wash your hair you're stripping it of it's natural oils (this is why we have to use loads of conditioner afterwards). I've heard women say that they simply can't skip a day or two of washing their hair because it's too oily.. I'm here to tell you that you can!

(This is the- "I should listen to Amy so that my hair stops looking gross and oily" face)

The reason why your hair may produce too much oil is because it feels the need to being that it feels it doesn't have enough since you're always washing it. The more you wash your hair the more oil your hair will produce to try and compensate for the natural oils you're washing off.. get it? Wash your hair less = less oily hair- It's counter intuitive I know, but it's true.

You'll have to essentially "train" your hair to be able to skip washes. Start off with skipping one day more than you already do for a week or two, then increase it by one more day if you'd like. Your hair will be oily at first because it's not use to it, but after 2 weeks or so your oil glands will learn to stop producing excessive oil since there's no need.

And if you need to hide some oiliness meanwhile, you can use a dry shampoo or some baby powder to soak up the oil- it works wonders!

Caution: Special Care When Wet- Our hair becomes very prone to splitting and breakage when it's wet which is why you have to watch how your treat it. Make sure you're not rubbing your hair in between the towel, or twisting it to wring out the water in it- that is no bueno! Also, brushing your hair while it's wet is a no-go, too! I promise you you're breaking your precious strands if you're doing any one of these. Instead, squeeze (don't twist) the water out starting from top to bottom. Then, if you'd like you can wrap your hair in an over sized shirt which is more gentle on your hair rather than a towel. If you want to untangle your hair either do so before jumping in the shower or wait until it's dry.

Night Time Care- Even when we're soundly asleep we still have to make sure our locks are being protected. Using a silk pillowcase helps from the snagging and pulling that a typical cotton pillow case does to our hair. You can also loosely braid your hair to help keep it from breaking while you're tossing and turning and snoring and kicking and... is that just me?.. Just kidding, I sleep like a peaceful angel :)

Keep Your Hair Away From Harsh Ponies- Putting our hair up is fine, except when you have it up all the time, in a super tight hairstyle. Hair is also susceptible to breakage from hair ties or "too harsh" hairstyles like super tight braids or buns. Again, it's ok once in a while but make sure you're taking caution of how often your pulling your hair taught.

That's about every piece of detailed advice I can give to you ladies! If you want good looking hair, you gotta look after it! Hope it was helpful, let me know if you have any questions!

Make Me Laugh Monday

2013-04-15T10:53:00.000-07:00

I know it's no secret that I'm a Pinterest ~~addict~~ enthusiast. How can one not be?! I'm always finding tons of inspiration on there. One of my favorite categories to go through is "Humor"- I love me a good laugh! I'm constantly finding hilarious memes and pictures and have no one to share it with but Thomas! That's a shame.. all that good humor to waste!

So I decided to start a "Make Me Laugh Monday" on this blog to help cheer up your dreadful Mondays with some funniness! I know what you're probably thinking, "What happened to your supposed weekly Favorite Things Friday?".. So I'll just say that I'll try to make this a weekly thing- that way you can't hold me up to anything! :)

So without further a do here is your first weekly dose of Make Me Laugh Monday- enjoy!

I know for a fact I'm not the only one!... Right??

I'm all for a plastered face.. but no amount of makeup could mask an ugly heart.

You bad, bad husband..

Haha! Again, I hope I'm not the only one who has fallen to be a victim of this. It happened to me just last week after washing my car! Darn you birds..

Oh Paula Deen.. Haha! I could just picture her saying this in her southern accent!

Poor little fella..

Happy Monday Everybody!

Life Is Beautiful || My Weekend In A Nutshell

2013-04-08T11:12:00.000-07:00

Sleep in. Sleep in a little more. Wake up and snuggle.. *swoon*- Talk. Laugh. Talk. Invite Lamba to bed. Hear Lamba whine in bed- "Can't she hold it in?".. Soak in the beautiful sumshine, thank God spring is here! Woop woop! Pandora. Ginuwine and Pac. What chu know 'bout that? Clean, clean, clean! Did I mention that we cleaned? Double woop woop! Call for a hair cut appointment. FINALLY! (Please don't chop my hair off!).. Go get hair cut. Yes, pamper me please! Discuss a possible ombre dye. Fall in love with my haircut.. Feelin' like a new woman! *Thank you*- Kisses for our baby girl. Try to wake Thomas from his nap.... FAIL to wake Thomas from his nap! There goes our lunch date.. womp womp womp.. Hungry. Ignore. Hungry. Ipad time. REALLY hungry! Grab a snack. The beast has woken! Talk. Laugh. Laugh. Talk. Time to wrestle. Tummie's a rumblin. Time for FOOD!- "What happened to our diet?" Buffalo Wild Wings- yum! Movie time. More cuddling. More loving- can't.get.enough! Too early.. Breakfast at IHOP?- I'm there! Joke. Breakfast at Denny's. Quality time. More laughing! Tummy hurts from laughing. Coffee coffee coffee! Take cars to get serviced. So chilly- baby hold me! Free car wash. SCORE! Grocery trip- healthy food restock! Back on the grind.. Fruit overload! Mmmmm! Play at the grocery store.. What else is new? Laugh some more. Fruit smoothie run! Addicted? Maybe. Take Lamba out, again.. Thomas' weekly haircut. I don't wanna do it.. Let's go get it done. New trainee. Witness Marine getting a bad hair cut by new trainee. Witness Marine furiously mad with new trainee. Laugh, laugh.. Give Thomas the eye.. Crack up! Mexican take out! Tacos and burritos! "Seriously, what happened to our diet?" Fried ice cream- delish! More cuddlin' more lovin'.. New couch snuggle approved! Fun weekend is over.

I had such an amazing weekend with Thomas! I hope you all had a lovely one, too!

Happy Monday! :D

Living Room Progress

2013-04-02T18:10:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know, I know.. I haven't blogged in what seems like ten centuries! To tell you the truth I have absolutely no idea why! Maybe it's because I've been too busy working out? Or maybe I saw that I hit over 9,000 page views (seriously, how the heck did that happen?) and was too in shock to write anything else? Or... maybe I just wasn't inspired? I don't know- nevertheless I am back and in full motion people, and I've got lots to write about! :)

I wanted to start by updating you guys on what we're doing with our home decor. If you remember this post I gave you a little tour of our living room and talked about wanting to re-decorate it. Originally I wanted a very neutral contemporary decor with a touch of glam.. but as soon as the hubs jumped on the redecorating bandwagon that quickly changed..

In my dream world I would have a husband who does not care what our home looks like and let's me make all the decor decisions, unfortunately (fortunately?) that's not the case! Thomas cares 100% about our home's decor and wants as much part in it as he can get. Bad thing about that is that we have completely different taste! I'm talking like ying and yang, day and night, chocolate and vanilla! (Mmmm) It can get really frustrating when one person wants the Lindo Beige slipcover and the other one insists on getting the Sivik Gray couch cover.. talk about stressful! So we made a deal, he would decorate our bedroom and I would decorate our living room- fair enough! Except when it came down to it Mrs.NiceWife over here couldn't set her foot down and say "NO!" to her husband and his Sivik Gray demands to get her Lindo Beige.. So we ended up with the gray.. sigh.

It may have been a good choice after all though (don't tell Thomas I said that) because the dark gray couch inspired me to go a whole different direction with our decor than what I was originally planning for. In someway I rediscovered my love for design and decor, it opened up my mind to so many different types of decor that I now love! And although I still really love the original decor scheme I was going for, I don't think it was "us". We're young and fun and have very loud and out there personalities and it would not have reflected that. With that being said, I still want to keep a neutral color scheme to keep it light and airy as I had wanted before but I want to add lots of personality and character to the space.

Alright, I'm rambling on again.. Take a look at what we've done so far! And please excuse the bad picture quality.

There you have it! Obviously it doesn't look the way it's suppose to because it's still in progress. The only changes so far is the Ikea Karlstad sectional, the Ikea cowhide rug (that thing feels sooo good under your feet!), and the thrifted Crate & Barel glass coffee table (steal!). Slowly but surely it's coming along!

I Still Need To:
Hack some Ikea curtains

Buy new lamps

Change those hideous sofa legs

Add decorative pillows

Paint the coffee table trim gold

Purchase a new entertainment center

Add finishing touches (art above sofa, portraits, coffee table accessories, etc)

Now that I'm writing it all down it seems like there's a lot that still needs to be done but it's all fairly simple since I already know what I want! Anyway, I promise to keep you guys updated and start blogging more.. I mean it this time. Haha! Have a good night everybody!

Hey Girl At Love Glam Peonies

2013-02-13T08:04:00.000-08:00

Ryan Gossling has not only swooned and swept many women off their feet but has also totally swept the internet with his "Hey Girl" memes. If you have no idea what I'm talking you more than likely are not a Pinterest addict, therefore you haven't come across any of these images. If that's the case, all you have to do is Google "Ryan Gossling Hey Girl" and low and behold, the yumminess appears!

I'm linking up with Kelly at View Along The Way to give our men the Hey Girl treatment.. what better Valentine gift than that?! Plus, my husband is definitely yummy enough for the Hey Girl treatment!

Take a look for yourself!

Oh look at that oh-so-sexy smile and oh-so-dreamy eyes!

Swooon!

Ummm, I'm sure I'm not the only wife who dreams of her husband taking her on a shopping spree and building her dream closet.. right?

Hubby hard at work while I pin away.. Who else is guilty?!

No comment! ;D

I must admit- I love me some Ryan Gossling.. but he, nor any other man in this world comes close to this sexy Marine.. or at least not in my eyes!

And if you're reading.. I love you honey! Hope you liked your very own personalized Hey Girl memes!

Happy Valentines Day!

How To Grow Long Hair Fast! (1 Inch A Month!)

2013-02-12T15:56:00.000-08:00

This post has been a long time comin'! I feel a bit guilty for not writing it sooner but as I mentioned in my last post I've been so busy! Nevertheless, I finally made the time to sit down and and write down the secrets to how I grew out my hair super fast!

But firs, I want to give you a semi-quick run through of my hair history because.. well, I simply feel compelled to do so and I want a pitty party for all the tragedies my locks have gone through!... If you simply don't care and want to skip through all this and get down to the nitty gritty, feel free to scroll down to the the bold How To Grow Long Hair Fast section.. no hurt feelings :)

I always had long hair growing up, up until 7th grade when I chopped it off to my shoulders and like most girls I immediately regretted it. I let it grow a few inches down but would get trims often which would keep the length just below my shoulders. Three years after that I went through the worst hair experience ever! I went in for a trim and came out with hair up to my ears, to say the least! I felt like a boy! Seriously, worst experience ever- I cried!

(...skipping the oh-so tragic stories of the times I fried my hair with an extra-strength relaxer, bleached my hair to look like Ronald McDonald, and ripped off plenty of hair from extensions)

Four years later my hair finally grew out to my mid-back and I was so happy! Then, I got that sudden urge we all seem to get once our hair finally grows out, and I cut it.. short. Into an A-Line Bob to be exact. Granted it was longer than your typical A-Line Bob but it was still very short. Although I liked it for the time being, I once again missed my long hair and swore not to cut it short ever again! I went on a quest to find all the possibles ways to grow my hair out in the fastest time possibly, and I did just that!

I buckled down, did my research (lots and lots of research!), set a regimen, and followed it precisely.. and you wanna know what happened? My hair began growing from 1/4 of an inch to a full inch a month! Yup, you read right- a full inch! Hair typically grows about 1/4 of an inch to 1/2 of an inch a month and I was more than doubling that growth! I can't even begin to tell you how ecstatic I was!

So now I'm passing my secrets to you (or maybe not so secretive-secrets). I just want to throw a disclaimer out there and say that although I am a beauty junkie, I am by no means a hair professional, this is simply what has worked for myself and the few others I have advised to do so. Get it? Got it? Good!

Now, without further ado here are my secrets to

How To Grow Long Hair Fast!

1. Single most important step in this hair growing regimen is to take your pills. You will need to take..

-5000mg Biotin (this is the max that your body can absorb)

-Prenatals (yes you read that right, even if you're not preggos.. I promise you it's perfectly safe)

-Multivitamin

-3000mg Fish Oils
- Optional: Folic Acid (I did not take these with my regimen but I have heard they are great for hair growth)

2. Second most important advice to follow is to not trim your hair so often! Ok, I need to elaborate on this quite a bit so let me try to brake this down for you. If you're following your regimen and your hair starts growing 1inch/month and you get a trim ever 6-8 weeks like recommended, your stylist will more than likely be cutting off that extra inch you just worked so hard to grow. I have yet to meet a hair stylist that will only cut 1/2 an inch when asked to.. we've all been there, we ask for a trim and get inches cut off.. they just can't do it they get too scissor happy! I can assure you, they will be cutting off most, if not all your new hair growth.

Every time I asked friends of mine, "How did you grow out your hair?" I always got the same answer- "I didn't cut my hair." It's that simple. Now, women all over the world will argue that getting frequent trims helps your hair grow but that is a lie that has been fed to us from the get-go! The fact that cutting off our dead ends send some type of "magical signal" to our roots to grow is complete bogus. It does't! What it does do is it promotes healthy hair growth which means that you will be cutting off your split ends so that your hair's not growing all split-endy and ugly whatnot. But, you should be taking care of your hair in the first place to prevent your hair from splitting so that you don't have to get trims as often (I'll be writing a separate post on how to keep your hair healthy while growing it out). I recommend only getting a trim 1-3 times per year, and 3 times is pushing it. So what did we just learn from all my babbling on? Don't cut your hair- that's right.. moving along!

3. Massage your scalp. I'll be quite honest and admit that I didn't do this as much as I should have but I'm sure I would've had even greater results if I had. By massaging your scalp for 3 minutes at a time about twice a day, you're stimulating your blood flow which in return helps your hair grow. You can opt to use your fingertips or a hair brush.

4. Do not wash your hair everyday! I think most of us know the cardinal rule of not washing our hair everyday, but not everyone follows it. The natural oils that our scalp produces are so crucial and nourishing for our both our scalp and hair! If you're not use to it start by washing your hair only every other day, if you want to take it a step further (which is better) than wash your hair every two days. I know some women complain that they simply cannot skip washes because their hair becomes one big oily mess.. trust me, I get it, but you can! You can essentially "train" your hair to not produce as many oils once you start skipping washes. I won't go much into detail on that because I will be writing a second post to go hand-in-hand with this post on how to grow your hair healthy!.. Cuz ya know I gotta do a whole 'nother post on that!

One last suggestion: Take pictures and measurements of your hair. When I first began growing out my hair it was hard to see if there was any growth at the end of the month until I measured my hair and compared it to the previous month's measurements. At the end of the month I straightened my hair, put on an old t-shirt that I had marked by half an inch, then asked someone to make a line where my hair ended with a marker. Once I took off the t-shirt the measurements showed me how much my hair had grown in a month, that simple!

So I hope this info helped! I know it was very lengthy but I like to give as many details as possible! Like I said, I'm not a professional but this certainly did wonders for me. If you do decide to try it please do let me know how it works out for you! Good luck!

Favorite Things Friday

2013-02-08T06:47:00.000-08:00

I am back with another Favorite Things Friday!

First up..

Favorite Discovery

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Oh my lanta.. I know this year has just begun, but I believe that I have made my biggest most bestest (yes I did just say bestest) discovery of 2013! It's an app called Poshmark that lets you sell, trade and buy from other people's closet! It's like ebay on crack, but better than ebay, much better! Take a while to look and figure things out. I will warn you though, once you start searching for products you've been wanting and see how cheap you can get them for, you will be hooked!

Favorite Space

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I am in love this backyard space! Besides loving old hollywood glamour and contemporary decor I also really gravitate towards this type of decor with a bit of rustic elegance and southern charm. The space seems so soothing and calming, I wouldn't mind spending a good hour two soaking up the sun in this backyard!

Favorite Quote

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My interpretation of this quote at the moment? Don't eat those chips that you're craving because they'll only get in the way of you getting those abs you want so bad.. BOOM!

(though of course this could be interpreted in many different ways depending on your situation)

Favorite Recipe

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Gahhh.. I just died a little! This strawberry and nutella stacked french toast recipe looks so scrumptious! With Valentines Day just right around the corner this could be the perfect quick breakfast fix-up that I'm sure any lover would approve of!

Favorite Product

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I saw this and thought "Who was the genius to come up with this amazing product?!" It''s called a Drivemocion. You place it on your rear view windshield and use the remote control to send 16 different messages to the driver behind you.

To name a few there is

-Sorry (when you accidentally cut someone off)

-Thanks (to those who let you merge in)

-Back Off (for tailgaters)

My personal favorite is Back Off! I can't tell you how much it infuriates me when drivers are on my you-know-what! Though it isn't legal in all states, I am still seriously considering purchasing it! Haha!

Favorite DIY Project

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How cute are these diy chevron candles?! As I mentioned in my last Favorite Things Friday post, I love chevron and I'm always up for a little diy project, especially when it's such a simple and pretty one like this one! Definitely going on my To Do list!

Favorite Humorous Picture

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Hands down, best.feeling.ever! And I'm pretty sure my face looks exactly like this little guys, too! Haha!

Happy Friday Y'all!

Favorite Things Friday

2013-02-01T16:31:00.000-08:00

I want to start doing these "Favorite Things Friday" posts on a reg. I feel like it'll be a good way to share some of my random favorite things and whatnot. Every Friday I'll post my week's favorite things, whether it'd be something I'm enjoying personally, one of my Pinterest finds (Yes, I am addicted), a random discovery, etc.. Lets start this thing off, shall we? :)

Favorite Quote/Picture

This fed right into my glitter obsession (which for some reason has grown that much more over the past 2 weeks)! Y'all know I love my glitter! Not only do I love the quote but I also love the bokeh effect (which kind of looks like glitter)! Such a pretty picture to look at..

Favorite Makeup Look

Anyone who knows me knows I'm a fan of big, bold, flirty lashes which is why I love this look! I secretly wish I could do my everyday makeup this way.. don't judge me.

Favorite Food

Thomas and I have been doing really well with eating healthy and one of the many healthy and oh so yummy foods I've been enjoying are avocados! It can add so much flavor to a plain dish and the health benefits are endless!
Quick Tip: If you have any left over avocado or guacamole spray it with some Pam before putting it in the fridge to prevent it from getting black- works every time!

Favorite Handy-Dandy Tool

Something else that has been a great help for me as far as my fitness and dieting goes is the "My Fitness Pal" app. You can track your intake of calories, carbs, sugars, workouts, etc. I've never counted calories in the past but this time around I really want to make sure that I'm staying within the limit of my carbs intake. If you need something to help you with your fitness goals definitely check out this app! It can be a bit tedious to do but it's worth it!

Favorite Space

Look how gorgeous this home office is! I absolutely love gold and chevron, both combined are a win win! I definitely think my future home office will look quite identical to this one..

Favorite Humorous Quote

Smart man that Bill Cosby.. Enough said.

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND EVERYONE!
:)

A Little Pick-Me-Up

2013-01-30T15:56:00.002-08:00

When you're 22 years young and married, the degree of your thoughts, dreams, ambitions and plans are no where near comparable to the average 22 year old. All of a sudden my mind started tossing and turning thinking about my future with Thomas.. "Where will we live? What type of house will we have? Will we have successful careers and love what we do? And hat about our kids? Will we have enough to provide for them? Vacations, toys, time? Will our marriage still be great 20 years from now?" I'm the guilty "over thinker", so suddenly I'm ten times more worried about meeting all my goals and dreams in life than your average Joe. I've always been a planner, I like knowing what I'm going to do and have it all planned ahead of time and be assured that its going to carry through..

But I realized something, sometimes life doesn't work that way. It throws you curve balls, it ruins your perfectly thought out plans, that's life! We've all been there, right? Things don't go as planned so we get stuck in a rut or become dismayed.. I don't want that, I don't want to ever put myself in that state of mind. No matter what my plans and dreams are, I need to be confident and strong enough to give them my all whether things get in the way or not. I'm learning to put my faith in God and know that whatever may happen, wherever I end up, everything will be OK.

My message to you is- No matter what you are trying to achieve in your life, no matter what has brought you down, don't.give.up! Pray unceasingly, and work endlessly to get to where you want to be! You only have one life, you might as well live it right. Do what you can, with what you have, where you are..

Kid President has a little pep talk he wanted me to pass on to you all.. He's got some good points, hear him out :)

Hope this pep talk helped, and I hope you all feel a tad bit more motivated to do what you need to do.

Winter Wonderland, The Cold, & An Update

2013-01-24T15:50:00.002-08:00

That's the beauty I woke up to this morning! Being a Californian I appreciate the snow a little more than others might. It snowed on Christmas Eve but it was pretty weak, nothing special, but today's snow was amazing! Definitely enjoyable! Though, Lamba didn't enjoy it much.. I took her out to do her business as usual, she saw the snow, she smelled the snow, and she was not having it! She was probably all, "What the heck is this, and why are you making me pee in it?" So of coarse she didn't pee and headed straight upstairs, that silly girl..

Thomas took these next two shots.. Aren't they the cutest? Nice job honey!

As some of you may know my blog was not accessible for sometime. I was trying to fix some glitches that were going on before writing any more post but I wasn't able to fix any of them! Regardless, I will keep blogging while trying to figure out the problem Within the next month or so you might be seeing a lot of changes going on with my blog. I'm trying to make it reflect me as much as possible so I'll be changing things up quite a bit to try to get it just right!

Aside from that I'm also working on some new posts. We'll see how long it takes before I get those up being that I'm sick and have little interest in blogging at the moment. At this very moment I am laying in our bed, bundled up with our baby girl, and I have blown my nose far too many times to the point where it feel like my nose just might fall off, yeah.. it hurts. Good thing about being sick though is that Thomas gets extra sweet and extra lovey dovey. Seriously, he's pretty amazing.. it's all rubs, hugs and kisses followed by, "Baby take this medicine. Baby layer on some clothes. Baby have you been blowing your nose?" Haha! I think he nurtures me more than my mother ever did!.. Can't complain about that!

I also can't complain about all the extra quality time we've been spending together. It's been about two weeks now since we got rid of our cable, something I thought I would never allow.. but Thomas somehow convinced me, and I must say I'm quite pleased! You don't realize how much valuable time t.v can take away from you until you don't have it anymore- we're so much more productive now! I admit, at times I do miss being lazy and sitting on the couch together watching Diners Drive-Ins & Dives (who's with me here?), but I rather look back twenty years from now and have memories of us chasing each other around our apartment and wrestling like little kids (that's still acceptable, right?) than sitting on those ugly black couches and staring at food we can't have! You kill me Guy Fieri..

If any of you have ever considered doing the same, don't hesitate, I promise you'll be much more efficient! We're considering getting Netflix or Hulu, just to have a little something, but we're still undecided. Do any of you have Netflix or Hulu? If so, would you recommend them? Please do share!

House Of Curiels- Living Room Tour

2013-01-15T11:37:00.000-08:00

When Thomas and I were newlyweds and got our first apartment we started with a futon cushion laying on top of an air mattress... and that's it, that's all we had- and it stayed that way for the following months! When I look back and see how far we have come I am so grateful to see how much God has blessed us. We have both worked very hard to be able to be where we are and have what we have but without His help we would have gotten no where. And though material things aren't everything, creating a place of comfort is certainly important. Since our air mattress and futon days, our little place has come a long way, a place we can now call home.

I never wanted to share pictures of our living space. I'm the type of person that only likes giving the finished product. If I'm doing your hair or makeup you better not peek till I'm done, if I'm making dinner you better not taste it till it's finished, and it was no different when it came to our home decor, especially that! Weird, I know. Part of it may be due to the fact that interior decorating is one of my biggest passions, I love it and I take pride in the work I put into our home, so naturally I want my hard work to do me justice and would hate to show anything that doesn't meet up to par with what I envision. With so many friends, family, even acquaintances asking to see what the Curiel's throne looked like, no amount of "Oh it's not complete" or "Can you wait till I re-decorate?" could get them off my back, so I finally gave in!

Now let me start by saying that when I first began decorating our living room I had completely different taste than I do now, I mean completely. Therefore, the decor we've got going on at the moment is by no means what I want it to be, but that will be changing shortly. It's cute for now (I guess), but my vision for the feel and the look of our home goes in a whole different direction then where we are at the moment. Hubby loves it, the wifey doesn't... so whata ya do? YOU CHANGE IT! :)

Within the next coming months or so I plan on bringing that vision I have to life and I would love to keep you all updated, starting with the inspiration board I've come up with! I came up with this quickly just to give you a rough idea of what I'm picturing so I may or may not change a few things here and there.. but you'll get the gist of it!

As you can see, everything is light, and neutral with little touches of gold and silver. What may seem like plain and boring to others seems like a little piece of heaven to me! There are two main reason why I like this design. One because I just love how light and airy the room feels. In addition, neutral color schemes such as light grays, blues, beiges, and whites bring a sense of calm and soothing peacefulness to oneself. I don't know about you but I like a room a room to be all sorts of cleanliness and tranquility!

Second reason is because I like re-decorating and changing up the look of a room every so often. Let's face it, who wants to walk into the same room all the time? BORING! You gotta change it up a little! And to be honest, my taste just might change yet once again, so by keeping the main furniture pieces neutral it allows me to switch out small things like curtains and accessories to add pops of color and the give the room a whole new look without spending tons of money! That's always a deal in my book! ;D

My number one priority with the living room re-model at is to get rid of those hideous big black couches (wasn't my pick- that was all Thomas)! Though they've served us well and are extremely comfy while cuddling, it's time for those suckers TO GO! I'm leaning towards replacing them with the Ikea Karlstad Sofas. Did you just say Ikea? I know, I know.. personally I love Ikea, I truly think you get a bang for your buck!.. But others may beg to differ, to each their own. Nonetheless, I'm thinking of the Karlstads specifically because I love the clean cut lines and the fact that you can customize them by replacing the wooden legs (which I plan on doing). I also like them because again, you can switch the sofa covers to play around with your color scheme without spending a whole lot, and they're easy to keep clean! Bonus!

As you may have noticed, all of our accent tables are black. Why did I purchase a black coffee table along with black side tables while already having black couches? Spur of the moment, a bump to the head, I don't know? But I can assure you that this gal has learned her lesson- never again! Therefore the coffee table has also become a priority. Though I have a few options I'm considering I think my little heart might already be set on the mirrored table shown above. Not only does it add a touch of glamour (you know I gotta have a little glam in my life.. or a lot) but it also helps open up the room by creating the illusion of an open space (acrylic and glass tables also do the same), and when you live in an apartment, you gotta take all the open space illusion you can get!

So those items will probably be the first ones I will be purchasing once I get down to the nitty-gritty. I can't tell you how excited I am for it, yeeep! I get super crazy happy when it comes to our home decor and going out shopping to complete it all, decorating is just so much fun for me! Anyone else feel the same?

Just to let you know, the living room will be the only space I will be sharing for the moment. Perhaps in the near future I'll get to our master bedroom and kitchen and so on.. but for now this is good. Sharing this is a baby step for me to get over my freako "You can only see it once it's done" ways.. Capisce?

Don't forget to subscribe to stay posted on the progress! :)

Holy Grail Beauty Products

2013-01-04T16:22:00.000-08:00

I am BIG into beauty, like huge.. I'm like an all-things-beauty junkie. I love trying new products and when I come across one that I love I'm usually a pretty die hard fan. So I rounded up some of my holy grail or most used products of twenty-twelve and decided to share them with you all! I was originally going to blog about my goals for this year but honestly, I'm not trying to bore the possible two readers I have so I tossed the idea... You're welcome.

Warning: This is a horrendously long post, but if you stick around an read it you might actually discover one or two great products you'll want to give a go! Though I do obsess over some products more than others they are in no particular order.. Ok, enough with the rambling, let's just get started shall we? Here are my 2012 holy grail beauty products.

BeneFit Hoola Bronzer

This bronzer is widely known in the beauty world. The color is so universal it looks great on all skin tones. It's dark enough but not too dark and it blends like a dream! I use it everyday to bronze and contour all around my face and I just now hit pan after maybe 9 months or so, a little definitely goes a long way and that's always a plus!

BeneFit Dandelion and Coralista Blush

I love these blushes! They are two of BeneFit's best sellers and I can see why! Dandelion is a super pretty baby pink, I love wearing it when I'm going for a more natural, simple look. Coralista gives you a nice shimmery golden color which looks great in the summer but is also subtle enough to wear year around.

Revlon Colorstay Whipped Foundation

Oh my lanta- this is a rave for me, like no joke this foundation is amazing! I honestly think it comes neck to neck with my two other favorite foundations which are Mac Studio Fix Fluid Foundation and Revlon Colorstay. I love that this foundation looks like second skin regardless of how many layers you add on. The consistency is so smooth and creamy, it's like buttuh (butter, in my wannabe New York accent)! If you do decide to try this product (which I highly recommend you do) I suggest you use your God-given tools and apply it with your fingers. As far as I'm concerned this is the best and only way to get a flawless look with this foundation.

L'Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black Mascara

I am self-proclaimed the Queen of Mascara! If there were a rehab for mascara obsession.. I'd be there! next to a flawless face, big flirty lashes are my thang! You feel me?! This mascara is meant for volumizing your lashes though it also gives you some length. The color is such deep, rich black that it makes your lashes stand out and gives you that BAM factor! This is definitely not my one and only favorite mascara (I have many), but I decided it should be the only one I mention since it has been my most used one for the past few months.

Physicians Formula Conceal Rx Concealer

This has actually been my go-to concealer for years now! It's very comparable to a tattoo concealer so it gives you great coverage. I use it under my eyes to conceal my dark circles and it does a great job at doing so, but it also does just as great of a job at covering up blemishes. I cannot stress enough how great this concealer works, seriously, go get you some!

Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder

I use this powder to set my under eye concealer and I love the finish it gives. I usually like to set my under eyes with a powder that has a slight shimmer to it because it makes that area pop and lightens it up, but this product gives you such a flawless finish that I don't even miss the shimmer.

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural

This is such a nice setting powder it gives a really pretty finish. My preferred method of applying it is to spray my brush with a spritz or two of water then swirl it in the powder and apply it to my face. By doing this it gives a nice natural sheen to the face and it looks absolutely gorgeous. I especially like applying it this way during the fall time when skin tends to look a bit dull.

Vaseline

Uhhh yeah.. you read that right- Vaseline. It's no secret that Vaseline is one of the best beauty products out there and for various reasons. There are well over 50 beauty related uses for Vaseline, though I won't go through all of them. I will however, share with you my top favorites. When I remember I like to apply some Vaseline on my eyelashes to keep them from getting dry and brittle (some claim that this also helps them grow), I also apply some on my cuticles for the same reason, and my absolute fave is on my lips! There is no better lip moisturizer than Vaseline!
Extra Tip:
After applying Vaseline to your lips take a wet toothbrush and lightly exfoliate your lips with it. Talk about smooth and smooch-ready lips! Yeahh buddyy!

Cocoa Butter Vitalizing Gel Body Oil

This is a product created by Vaseline so you know it's gonna be great from the get-go, but you don't know exactly how great it is until you try it! Oh.My.Word! Let's just say that if this product were to ever be discontinued I might just go haywire! This stuff is legit people! It's my secret to keeping my skin baby-bottom soft, beyond soft even! Best time to apply this is after you shower and are still semi wet, this will lock in your skin's moisture. The first few minutes after applying the gel it might feel slightly greasy, but just wait till it settles in to your skin, you will be amazed (cue the heavens)!

L'Oreal Ever Sleek Sulfate-Free Shampoo and Conditioner

Last but certainly not least are my all-time favorite shampoo and conditioner! I take pride in my hair care because I truly believe it can be one of your best assets, if you take care of it properly which is I make sure to use only the best (expensive or non-expensive) products on my hair. Obviously, it's a sulfate-free shampoo which has many benefits to it that I won't get into at the moment (maybe at a later time). It smells really nice, makes your hair feel super soft, optimizes your hair's natural texture, and cleans your hair without stripping it of all its natural oils or weighing it down. Love this stuff, I can;t say enough good about it!

So there you go! Those are some of my top holy grail products of 2012! I hope you all enjoyed this post and maybe decided to try a few products out!
Have a great weekend every one!

Sayonara Twenty-Twelve!

2013-01-02T15:45:00.000-08:00

It's 2013 and we're not dead! Congratulations on your millionth "end of the world" survival! Ha! Ok, ok, all jokes aside I must say I am much more excited for 2013 than any other year that I can recall. I think part of it may be that I'm particularly excited for where the military will be taking us. Thomas has been in the process of reenlisting and it has taken a bit longer than expected since he's trying to LAT move (change jobs), so that in itself has been quite the tedious process. But, we have hopes that everything should be getting done soon.. And when it does that means a new job for Thomas and it means back to California for the both of us!

We have both been away from home for about a year and a half and I cannot begin to explain how much we miss it! Not only are we estranged from all our friends and family but we're away from the most beautiful state in the world! We miss all that Cali has to offer us so we are ~~anxiously~~ patiently awaiting for the news of when exactly we will be PCSing back home! Hopefully these new changes in 2013 are kind to us!

Now, I don't have too many exciting moments to recap for 2012 because, well, I was just trying to get use to the Virginia lifestyle.. That makes me sound pretty lame doesn't it? Ha! I guess I could dig up a few moments worth mentioning. Okay, here it goes..

January/February- Both Thomas and I turned 21 (Society makes it sound far more exciting than it really is)! So blessed to be living another year.
My MIL came to visit us for the first time! She was also our very first visiter which made it pretty exciting!
Thomas got promoted to Corporal and this lucky gal got to pin him! I am so proud of the Marine he has become and I am eager to see his further progress!
April- We adopted another Miniautre Pinscher named Cash but eventually had to return him back to his shelter. Unfortunately, he was far too viscious for us to handle and a law suit would have surely been coming our way if we kept him any longer! Nevertheless, the time we spent with him was a great learning lesson, to say the least!
May- I got to witness a live birth! Can you say wowzers?! A dear friend of mine who also happens to be a Marine wife asked me to be with her during labor and I was so honered! It was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen and I will never forget the experience!
June- We purchased our dream cars!.. Well, sort of.. We traded in our Hyundai Sonata for two different cars. Thomas finally got a truck- I swear his grin was far too contagious, it was like a child on Christmas morning! And I got a fully loaded, and I mean, fully loaded Jeep Commander.
July-Llove was in the air! Thomas and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary! Woot woot! We celebrated the weekend with a little romantic getaway to Virginia Beach including an ocean front hotel and lots of yummy food! Oh, and a surprise dinner date by Thomas once we were back home! He set up the table with some scattered candles a dozen red roses- cutest thing ever!
October- We got rid of my gas-guzzling Jeep Commander and opted for a more (much more) gas efficient Hyundai Elantra. The Jeep was a beauty, but the mpg was beyond ridiculous!
I also started a new job and I couldn't be any happier! I really do love what I do!
December- Mama Cindy came to visit again! She's always a fun time and I am so greatful to have such an awesome MIL!

So that's my whole year in a nutshell! As I said, not too exciting but I'm hoping this year is a bit more eventful. I was originally going to post my new year's goals but this post is longer than expected so I'll be writing about that in my next post!
I'll leave you now with a few memories from last year :)

Guess I'm A Blogger Now?

2013-01-01T18:12:00.001-08:00

Hi there every one! Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful time with family and friends!

So, after much deliberation and tons of wishing and wondering, I decided to finally start a blog! I have always been so inspired by blogs that I follow so I decided to start this blog in hopes of doing the same for others. I mean, why not? The blogging world could use another one of us right?! ;)

I will be sharing little bits and pieces of my life. Everything from life adventures with my husband, beauty and product reviews, fashion, and trying to successively turn our house into a home while dealing with my ever-evolving decor style.. Seriously it can get pretty annoying sometimes, poor hubby.

I hope to make many new friends in this wonderful world of blog. To my family and friends, I hope this blogs makes you feel a little closer to Thomas and makes you feel as if you're a part of our every day lives while being miles away (booo)!

Don't forget to subscribe- you wouldn't wanna miss any post now would ya?! Till next time!