Lake Weekend

A few weekends ago Eric's nephew Bill (lil' Bill) celebrated an entire 5 years on this great green Earth and to celebrate he "planned" a pretty sweet family day at the lake! 

Well, he actually met us at breakfast and let us know that we could do some farming, if we wanted to, but that there would be cake and presents too! But as soon as the word "lake" left anyones mouth it was lake this and lake that with a mixture of "I'm gonna go fishing!" and I said I'd join him because in all of my 26 years.. I'd never been. 

Shocker, right? Big city girl like me, never fishing! In my defense, these guys have never gone surfing or explored the beauties that is hiking with my family. Can you feel the sarcasm with the family comment? Don't get me wrong, love them, but my sister hiked in a skirt once and I haven't heard the end of it since. 

So we headed out to a damn lake (that is the technical term) and from the shore I proceeded to swim and feel at home for the first time in a very long time. Water is my life and always has been. I luckily got to swim with lil' Bill and Bailey for a good while, even in a short rain storm, which was heaven! There is nothing like sitting on a beach, drenched, having rain fall from the sky and be totally okay with the fact that you are the only one there because everyone else is scared of a little rain ;). 

Now there wasn't a lot of picture taking on my part, I've been trying my best to leave the phone and be in the moment, but thankfully others caught the glory of me catching my first fish! I mean, it was a catfish and my goodness was that sucker ugly. I wouldn't take it off the hook or touch it, but I was more than happy to pose. I promise that as the summer goes on, I will learn to unhook a fish and even clean it. I wish you could see my face. 

Actually, that up there is a great picture of my face. That fish re-hooked itself about 4 times before Eric could get him back in the water! 

Showing Bailey my fish, which she was much braver and willing to poke it. 

All in all, it was a wonderful day! Cut short by some thunder and lightening, but what else can you expect from the Midwest? Sorry, Northern Plains. 

Until next time! 

**PS** lil' Bill did not catch a fish, but that kid is seriously good at casting! 

Summer Beauty Faves

It is summer time and if you're like me you are looking to minimize your beauty routine. It's time for lighter makeup and that bronzy glow, which I don't hate to say is how I feel the entire year should be! But I am a sucker for a paler complexion and those berry colors come fall/winter, so I suppose we can save the glow for the summer.  These are the things I reach for on a daily basis when getting ready, day or night: 

1//2//3//4//5//6//7

I love the hope renewed lotion because it's light, doesn't clog my pores and smells amazing! Think of a very light, floral, scent that you just want to be smothered in. That's this moisturizer. Creepy? Nah. 

As for my "foundation" I choose to use Tarte's BB because it's natural, enough coverage to make me look like a human and doesn't make me feel like my face will fall off from the heaviness. Pair that with boing by benefit and you have a duo that works for 90% of the people in the world. I usually use Tarte's amazonian bronzer as a contour-type powder and dust the apples of my cheeks in Nars' orgasm. Use Make-up Forever's HD mineral powder and top off with gifted (Tarte) mascara and you basically have everything on my face in seven products. I may add a smokey light eye with my Naked 3 pallet and definitely use the Bite Agave Lip Mask (yum) for just a little color to my lips, but not all the time.

On top of sharing my favorite beauty products with you, I wanted to share this: 

Yup, cut my hair! Summer usually was a time for me to go from brunette to blonde, and then realize that I can't afford to be blonde. This year I've decided to go from medium-long hair to collarbone length! It is definitely a lot lighter and I feel like works well for me with my get up and go type of personality. 

Until next time! 

**I should mention that this is in no way a paid advertisement for any of the products above. I just love them and like to share!** 

Wild + Free | Photography

Since getting into nannying I have had a lot more time to do sessions that are more for me and my business style and less for getting in that one or two sessions to make ends meet. About a week ago I went out to East Grand Forks with my friend Laura to do a mini-styled session with the flower head wreaths I made. This session made me incredibly excited because it turned out fantastically! I can only hope the other sessions I have planned will be just as wonderful. 

No Tribe

I remember when I was 12 and starting the 7th grade? If you're anything like me you had to go to a whole new school -holler to AZ being one of the only places that puts 7-8th in its own school- and I was nervous. The night before my first day I mapped out the bus route, both of them, and I put on the new outfit my mom bought and showed up extra early so that I wouldn't miss anything. 

I walked off the bus and into the courtyard and saw hundreds of people I didn't know and some you did. I immediately latched to my big brothers group of friends and quickly realized that these guys think I'm Keelan's dumb little sister, and I do not belong. 

I had no tribe and I would never really have one. I am a loner-extrovert, the girl who can be the center of attention but stand on the outside, never getting close to anyone. 

I found friends, don't get me wrong, and I still talk to a few of them.. but we aren't close. These people can tell you my first and last name.. possibly my birthday and that I like dinosaurs.. but they don't know the nitty gritty. I knew from a very young age that you do not let people close because people can hurt you and it's better to be lonely than hurt. 

Now that I'm in my mid twenties the ramifications of not ever having a tribe, a group of people I could count on, has hit home. Not only have I distanced myself emotionally, but physically. I don't live near anyone I know and when I want or need to talk to someone.. I have to either wait until the weekend to call my dad or try and reach out to one of my siblings. The ones I'm not close to and who I just don't feel I can bare my soul to, or ask to pray with me, they aren't that kind of people. 

So here I am, 26 and no tribe. While most of my friends are busy finishing up grad school, starting families and planning weddings I'm in this weird middle ground of not those things. 

But I want a change. I want a tribe, or a friend here, that I can call on and vice versa. I want friends who serve each other as God calls us to and who want to have lunch or coffee, not just take pictures of their kids. These are the things I look forward to most as I creep ever closer to 27 and further away from those I grew up with. So I'm trusting God with this, I'm making the efforts that I've been called to and hope to meet my BFF4LYFE (I had to) on this journey.

Eric's Birthday Weekend

This last weekend Eric turned the big 3-1 and since we couldn't head over to the Twin Cities like originally planned, we did a little local celebrating. 

Grand Forks had its annual art festival going on downtown, so after spoiling Eric with a breakfast and spending almost 2 hours at the dealership getting his oil changed, we headed that way. I'll give Grand Forks some credit with their festivals, they do a good job! Eric was excited to break in his birthday gift of a Vivofit and get in his steps, which we definitely did.. and then some.

After walking around for a bit we went down to the Toasted Frog for dinner. An amazing restaurant that never, ever disappoints. I had the grilled fish tacos and he had a steak gorgonzola pizza. Desert was a pear pie with cinnamon ice cream. The pie was eh, but the ice cream was so so soooo good. After dinner we were definitely tuckered out so we headed home because the next day we were to take the 2 hour drive to Itasca State Park with Diane, Eric's mom, to finish up the epic birthday weekend. 

The next day we woke up incredibly early to get on the road which included lots of talking, Starbucks and of course Eric and his mom pointing out that I'm a terrible navigator. I hate to say this is true, but it's because I refused to read maps and only look out windows and now I move to ND and have to watch for deer?! But I digress, while pulling into Itasca we saw this grumpy lookin' guy! Sherman is his name and no I didn't get close enough for him to snap my fingers off. 

So a fun fact about Itasca is that it is the headwaters of the Mississippi! It's a little crazy to go into the waters of the Mississippi since I spent my early childhood playing at the banks and in a creek down the way from my grandparents.. and no, the water wasn't cold. Now for a photo dump! A few things we did: Hiking the headwaters trail, taking the Charles Chester II and had some walleye chips at the Douglas Cafe. The only thing I would not do again is the Charles Chester, we figured it was an hour long ride, nope, it was 2! Took up most of our day, but because it was raining it was okay. I like to think this was a great birthday, and I'm sure Eric would agree. 

Half-Year

In 6 months of dating I've found someone who accepts me, pushes me to follow my dreams and cherishes me. 

I've never been with someone who, literally, can't stop looking at me or smiling. Someone who continually tells me how much they love me, I'm beautiful and a treasure to them. 

I waited, rather impatiently, for someone like Eric to come into my life and made a few mistakes along the way.. but goodness I'm so happy I decided to move here. I could've stayed in Washington, but I wouldn't have met the most amazing, intelligent and handsome man in my life. 

Thank you for shushing me and loving me as I am.

Here's to the rest of the year! 

My favorite picture of us :) 

LOVE YOU! 

This is Home

So a few of you may remember when I was on Twitter asking about places in SC that you would recommend to live in, and what other states you might consider? Well, Eric and I had talked about moving within the next 1-2 years.. but then people were getting murdered, riots and of course extreme weather issues happened. 

We talked then, and still talk now, about the pros and cons to living in North Dakota as a long term possibility. I definitely didn’t see myself staying here long term, but the more I look at the rest of the world, the more I really don’t want to leave. 

I grew up knowing the following:

-Real friends are few and far between. 

-Most people just want you to do things for them and have a one sided friendship. 

-It is better to be a loner. 

Guess whose parents were wrong?! Mine. 

Moving here was definitely an eye opener. For starters, most of the people here are genuine. Seriously! Second, I’ve never had people offer to help me with so much before. When I had to unexpectedly move out of my first apartment here, my friend of less than 5 months was eager to help me move! That’s insane, usually I have to bribe people, but here its just something people do. I’m not saying everyone is like this, but  a lot of people are. 

Now the other good things about ND? 

-Close to Eric’s family. 

-Good school system. 

-It has jobs, lots of them, and that’s awesome. 

-The Northern plains bubble, it’s a thing. 

Not so good things? 

-Cold. I was raised in AZ and the coldest place I’d been to before this was up in the mountains of AZ or OR.. which doesn’t even compare to this place. 

-Long distances from city to city. 

-The closest Ikea, “big” Sephora and Cheese Cake Factory is 4 hours away. 

Granted some of the not-so-great things are things that are sometimes seen as a good thing. Do I like long car rides? HECK YES! In fact, I like driving in general so maybe that’s not too bad.. the whole Ikea thing? It’s a treat to go to the cities and see friends which makes it that much better. 

I guess in all, what I’m trying to say is: This is home. 

This is where we will probably get married and someday, God willing, have children. 

Exploring Locally | GF & EGF

This last weekend Eric and I decided to commit to walking and exploring local areas over the weekend as a way to get out and live a healthier lifestyle. This last weekend we took it upon ourselves to head out to the Lincoln Golf course and walk the trails. 

First thing I thought when seeing the course is that it looks like a fun time, and it is. There are putting areas free to kids to practice, trails open to the general public that link up in East Grand Forks (EGF) and Lincoln Park and of course the fact that it's less than 10 minutes away doesn't hurt. 

So the biggest thing I can say about living in Grand Forks is that I can literally walk to Minnesota any time I want, and we do quite frequently! We hopped over the Red River to East Grand and enjoyed a leisurely stroll through the woods. Ironically we were near a "Rhinehart" road and since Eric is a Reinhardt we kinda giggled about that. Below are some shots taken both Saturday and Sunday. 

I can't wait to further explore our town and to hopefully find some nice spots for holiday and fall portrait sessions! 

What did you do this weekend?