Word Vomit In List Form

Life these past few weeks has been nuts!  My work schedule has been crazy because of people needing off; I've been racking up the overtime and we've been all over wedding stuff.  So, I'll just share life in list form!

1.  We got Josh's vest and shirt for the wedding.  Now all he needs is a new nice pair of jeans and boots.  Yes, this is going to be a very casual wedding.  Josh is just not a suit guy so putting him in one made no sense.

2.  On the 23rd, my girls threw me a fabulous bridal shower :) (I wasn't planning on doing a full post on this but after trying to narrow down pictures, it has to happen)!

3.   I have my wedding dress fitting tomorrow after noon.  I shouldn't need much work done ... really all it needs is a bustle *crosses fingers*.

4.  I have an amazing opportunity on Saturday and I hope I have good news to share with y'all in the coming weeks.  That's all I can say about it for now.  Totally not trying to jinx myself!  I will be traveling to Princeton, NJ for this though so hopefully I'll have time to explore a bit.

5.  We met with our venue lady on Thursday and she was super helpful!  We picked our food, linen colors, and a few other smaller details that I would have never thought of!  I am definitely very thankful that we chose a venue that really seems to care.  Plus, she said if I can get her horses to come to me, I can take pictures with them!  Favorite person ever!

6. This week has been exhausting and these last few days ... let me tell you!  Tonight is my last night of working 13 straight days.  Saturday, I sprained my wrist by closing the truck window on it and this morning my food made me really sick.  On top of that my phone is completely not working (out of the blue) and my upgrade wont be here til at least April 18th.

Book Club Friday: City of Fallen Angels

City of Fallen Angels

By: Cassandra Clare

Read: 3/22/14

Pages: 424

"The Mortal War is over, and sixteen-year-old Clary Fray is back home in New York, excited about all the possibilities before her. She’s training to become a Shadowhunter and to use her unique power. Her mother is getting married to the love of her life. Downworlders and Shadowhunters are at peace at last. And—most importantly of all—she can finally call Jace her boyfriend.

But nothing comes without a price.

Someone is murdering Shadowhunters, provoking tensions between Downworlders and Shadowhunters that could lead to a second, bloody war. Clary’s best friend, Simon, can’t help her—his mother just found out that he’s a vampire, and now he’s homeless. When Jace begins to pull away from her without explaining why, Clary is forced to delve into the heart of a mystery whose solution reveals her worst nightmare: she herself has set in motion a terrible chain of events that could lead to her losing everything she loves. Even Jace.

The stakes are higher than ever in the #1 New York Times bestselling fourth installment of the Mortal Instruments series."
{GoodReads}

I think with this book I started hitting that point of series burnout.  I have mixed feelings about this book and I'm still convinced at this point that it should have been a trilogy, but I'm still going to keep reading the series and see if my opinion changes.  Jace really annoyed me in this book with his "woe-is-me" attitude.  I liked his character so much better at the beginning of the series.  One review I read put it perfectly: "This frequently feels like reading Twilight all over again. From Jace/Edward there was a disproportionate amount of, "Oh, Clary/Bella, I love you more than life itself...but I know I'm going to hurt/kill you so I shall ignore you for your own good and nurse my tortured soul in a quiet corner where I can be anguished and angst-ridden for eternity."  I have a really hard time being Ok with that, to me it just makes the character seem weak and annoying.  Also, I made my feelings about Simon clear in the last review and I think part of the reason I had a hard time with this book was because there was a lot of focus on Simon.  I'm also a bit lost about Camille's place in this.  I am starting to like Clary a bit more, though.  Overall, this book was OK but I just couldn't get into it like I did with the others.  I sort of have a feeling that this book was a "setup" for the next one, but we'll see.

I gave this book a 3/5 on my Goodreads.

Being a Humane Consumer: No Good Products

Right now I am trying a few new haircare products that are Cruelty-Free and I want to be using them for at least two weeks before I review them, so this week instead of sharing Cruelty-Free products, I want to share some products that are definitely tested on animals and that are probably in your home right now!  

I think its just as important to know what products you should stay away from as it is to know what products are OK.   So, today I am going to share only a few of the many products to stay away from if you want to be Cruelty-Free - which is obviously the best way to be ;)

All of the companies listed above still test their products on animals.  Of course, they are not the only ones.  An unbelievable amount of companies do.  A good way to know right off the bat if a company is testing on animals is to find out if the product is SOLD in China.  China requires products sold in the country to be tested on animals.  Also, this is a very helpful list that I take with me when I shop: The Vegetarian Site.  

Skyline Drive: Virginia

Skyline drive is a place I visited a few times during my time living in the Shenandoah Valley and it's definitely a super beautiful area with some great views and great hiking trails.  Since these last few days have been super long and stressful, I am just going to overload you with photos from my first trip there.  Plus I really don't have much to say - the photos speak for themselves!

Happy Tuesday!

Being a Humane Consumer: The Kitchen

Today I'm going to share a few cruelty-free products that we have in our kitchen.  As I said last post, I love Method Home products and they have taken over my kitchen.

Method Dish Soap
I told you you'd be seeing Method around a lot.  Method is definitely my favorite dish soap.  This stuff smells great, is really good with breaking up grease, and you only need to use a small amount at a time.  I have used several different scents but my favorite is Fresh Currant.   This product is also biodegradable, so it's easier on the environment.  This product is found at target for 3.99 per bottle.

Method Kitchen Hand Wash
Another Method product for the win!  I love all of methods hand wash products!  My favorites are the foaming hand washes!  If it gets all the crap off Josh's hands after he gets home from work, it must be a beast!  And we've tried quite a few smells, including some of their seasonal ones, and LOVE them all!

Method also has dishwasher tabs but since we don't have a dishwasher, I've never used them.  Once we move I'll definitely be giving them a try.

Some other great Kitchen products listed on Leaping Bunny are:

Mrs. Meyers, Seventh Generation, Sound Earth, Greenwood Naturals, and Aspen Clean.  There are quite a few others listed but these are all of the ones I have experience with.

Also, check out this adorable video of BFP rescues seeing the grass for the first time!  P.S. Have a box of tissues ready!  I ugly cried, but this is exactly why I donate to them!

Blog Love: Volume 2

Since there was no way I could possibly fit all of my favorite blog posts into one post, today I am sharing the second installment of amazing blog posts and series by my favorite bloggers!

Found Love Now What?: All I Want for my Birthday is an Elephant!
I love this idea!  For her birthday, Belinda asked fellow readers to make a donation on her page which would go to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.  What an amazing thing to do for your birthday!  With the donations, Belinda announced that we were able to adopt 4 baby elephants!  Belinda's blog is the one I go to when I need a dose of positivity in my life and this is exactly why!

Stamp in My Passport: Tourist in Your Hometown
I love Jess's series about being a tourist in your hometown.  It's a great series and a good reminder that you don't have to go thousands of miles away to find an adventure!  Some of the places featured are actually really close to where I live and I definitely want to check them out!
(I actually loved this so much that I participated).

Unlocking Kiki: True Love
This is a great post about the love between dog and human.  As an obvious animal lover, I love this post.  Kaelene's story about the love between her and her beautiful Golden Retriever is definitely a reminder of why I love animals so much.  There is definitely a special bond between dogs and their owners and I absolutely love when people share that bond!  Plus, her dog is too freakin cute!

From There to  Here: Thoughts on Ethical Travel
Jay's post on ethical travel definitely struck a chord with me.  There are definitely times when countries are under the microscope for different things that they do that we consider unethical and I like Jay's take on it.  Basically what it comes down to when traveling is choosing what you can overlook and what you can't.  For example, I have no interest in visiting China because I can't get past their laws that are causing people to kill their baby girl's and also because they require that products sold in their country be tested on animals. However, I could look past Amsterdam's legal prostitution if I decided to go there, even though I don't agree with it.

A Home Away From Home: Uganda & Rwanda
OK, so I couldn't just pick one post!  Uganda and Rwanda are areas of Africa that I really want to get to!  I get weird looks from people when I say this because of the histories of the countries, but seriously, look at Jenna's photos!  They are both such beautiful countries, I couldn't not have them on my list!  I also love the post about the non-profit she visited in Rwanda which is helping women to better their skills and earn an income!  Any organization that truly helps rather than just throwing money at people is great in my book!

These and the others I shared are just some of my favorite posts by bloggers I love!  This will definitely not be a weekly thing but I'll be saving posts I love and will post a Blog Love post at least every other month :) maybe more.  I love sharing posts by other bloggers!

Philadelphia, PA

After Josh and I toured the Franklin Institute and the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit, we decided to walk around Philly for a bit.  We didn't really have any plans but we figured why waste the day?  We just walked around and saw Independence Hall and Washington Square.  We also cheated and saw the Liberty Bell from outside of the building.  I was so not about to stand in that line.

Happy St. PADDY's Day

The Irish in me has to say it ....

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

On My Bookshelf

My too read list is forever long.  I mean like 300 or so books.  There are obviously some that are higher on my list than others, and today I'm going to share some books that you may see reviewed around here in the nearish future.   If you've read any of these I'd love to hear your thoughts.  Also, suggestions for future reads are definitely welcome!

Being a Humane Consumer: The Laundry Room

I want to start this new series of mine by starting with the easiest products to find.   The laundry room products that are cruelty-free are so easy to find it's not even funny.

For Laundry Detergent I use Seventh Generation.  Not only is it cruelty free, but it's also better for the environment and for you.

I use blue eucalyptus and lavender laundry detergent.  What I love about Seventh Generation is that they are available at major retail stores such as Target and Wal Mart.  And guess what??  They are only a few cents to a dollar more expensive than Tide.  ALSO, they are 2X concentrated which means that you use less per load for the same result.  

Another that I use is Method Home.  I use this for a lot of things including Laundry Detergent.  I switch between Method and Seventh Generation depending on sales etc.  I love both products and both are cruelty free and environmentally friendly.   Method products are in the same price range as brands such as Tide and are also available at Target.   I use Lavender Cedar laundry detergent.

I love the method detergent because the bottles are light and all you have to do is squirt a few (2-6) pumps into the washing machine and you're done.  You hardly have to use any detergent and your clothes will smell great!  Oh, and the bottles are refillable!

My go-to for dryer sheets is Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day.   While I'm not a big fan of their laundry detergents, I love their dryer sheets!  They smell so good and are both cruelty-free and environmentally friendly.  All Mrs. Meyer's products are also found at Target!  I buy these in - you guessed it - Lavender!

 These are the products that I use, but all of these companies also produce fabric softener, stain remover ect.  All of which are cruelty-free with a  bonus of being environmentally friendly!

 All of these products are also available at Target!  Even I have a Target nearby and I live in the sticks, so these products are definitely accessible to just about everyone.

Blog Love: Favorite Posts by My Favorite Bloggers

Today I am definitely short on inspiration and short on things to talk about. So, I want to share some of my favorite posts that my favorite bloggers have written.

The Daily Tay: Inside a Woman's Mind In Target

Seriously, it's like she was inside my mind when she wrote this post!  It's so funny and so true!  Taylor is definitely one of the funniest bloggers out there!

True Colours: The Truth About Traveling: The Hard Truths of Our World

This is hands down the best blog post I've ever read.  I was literally staring at my screen for five minutes after reading this.  Everything Casey mentioned is something that I've experienced while traveling and I also hope to one day see a change in this.

We Took the Road Less Traveled:  VLOGs

I love these vlogs that Casey did with her husband, David.   It's fun to watch vlogs and actually hear and see our favorite bloggers.  I think they did a great job and the vlogs are so fun to watch!  They cover some great topics including travel and relationships.

Oh, The Places We Will Go: Tell Me a Story

I loved this post!  This is a great post about the travel moments you will never forget.  It is also a great post about how amazing it is to experience a different culture. Memories like this are the best which is why I loved linking up with Selena for her travel moments link-up.

Bell Bliss: Riding Elephants in  Chiang Mai, Thailand

I love this post, not only because I think riding and elephant would be so cool, but because Mackenzie talks about how important it was for her to find a place where the elephants were treated humanely.   The place she found looks amazing!

OK, so this is definitely going to take more than one post!  When I started writing this I didn't realize how many amazing posts I would remember!   So, stay tuned next week for some more amazing blog posts!

The Dead Sea Scrolls: Philadephia, PA

When I heard that the Dead Sea Scrolls were at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, not seeing them was not even an option for me.  I bought tickets in advance and Josh and I made a day trip to Philly to see the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The exhibit was much more than just the scrolls.  They had pottery from the times they were written and other artifacts from that time period.   If you know anything about Archaeology, you know that because of the material, ceramics are one thing that usually stays in tact through the years.  Any thing made of wood usually disappears and finding clothing and metal depends on the climate of the area.  Sometimes clothing is fully in tact and sometimes it's completely gone.  As such, there was a lot of pottery on display along with some arrowheads.

A lot of my pictures from that day are blurry because flash photography was not allowed.  We also were not allowed to take photos in the room where the Sea Scrolls were kept.

In case you don't know, the Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of 972 texts which were found in a cave northwest of the shore of the Dead Sea.   What makes them special is that they are the oldest surviving texts of works included in the Hebrew Bible.  These texts are estimated to have been written between 385 BCE to 82 CE.   If you are interested in the history and significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls, check out the Digital Library.   There is so much information and the history is so interesting.

via

It was so neat to see them in person and I am definitely glad we went!  If they are ever displayed in your area, I highly recommend a visit!