Where to Go??

Josh and  I have decided that our next cruise is going to be a European cruise.  That's actually a lie ... we may do an Alaskan cruise in 2015, or we may go to Disney.   However, we are definitely doing a European Cruise in 2016, and we want to book as soon as dates are available.  The main cruise line we are looking at is Celebrity since Casey gave it such great reviews.  The other is Norwegian.  The maps I'm about to show you are all from Celebrity, but NCL has basically the same ones.  Our choices are:

Right now our top 3 are: the last one (because Josh wants to go to Rome), the second one, and the fourth one. 

If you have any experience with any of these places, I'd love to hear your opinion!  Or which one would you choose if given the chance?

Half Moon Cay, The Bahamas

One of the stops on our Cruise in 2012 was to Carnivals Island, Half Moon Cay.  Josh and I loved our day here and would definitely love to go back :).  It's also where we got engaged, so maybe we're a bit biased ;)

The Island was absolutely beautiful!  It is also where we did both of our excursions. We went Horseback Riding on the beach, something that I've always wanted to do and it definitely lived up to my expectations!  We even got to ride in the water!  Our second excursion was Kayaking.  We enjoyed it but our guide was pretty much useless. 

We used a disposable waterproof camera for the excursions so the photos are pretty bad, but that's OK.  For our next cruise we're buying a digital waterproof camera.

It was actually really cloudy and a bit rainy when we got there.  Luckily it cleared up about 10 minutes before our first excursion and ended up being a beautiful day! :)

Josh and I rode in the water separately so we could take pictures of each other.  Josh is in the back in the red shorts.

I am on the white horse in this photo. 

After our excursions we spent the rest of the time relaxing at the beach and playing in the beautiful water :)

We loved Half Moon Cay and would definitely like to return!  The other plus was that all food was free because it's Carnivals Island, so the price is included in your cruise price!  If you ever find yourself here, definitely do the Horseback riding excursion!  The guides were great and it was so much fun!

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!