Our 3rd Annual Wine Tour in Oregon's Willamette Valley

For the past four years, my friend Nigel and I celebrate our May birthdays by gathering some friends and heading out for a wine tour.  You can view our first and second annual trips on the blog.  Last year we were all set to go back out with our favorite tour company, but did not realize how much busier and more popular they are now.  We began planning a couple months out, only to find out that they were all booked up for any available dates that we had open.  So for our third year, we had each friend bring a bottle of wine (or two or three) to our house for all of us to sample and enjoy.  We drank, played games, and had a great time.  But we also vowed to begin planning our wine tour way in advance the following year.

And so, we started six months ahead of time this year - choosing open dates, inviting friends, and then reserving our day and our favorite guide, Dillon, well in advance. It was a really lovely day with a couple new attendees, three new-to-us wineries, gorgeous weather, cute winery dogs, and lots of laughter and fun.

What I Wore: Once Upon A Dream

I'm finally back with an outfit post for y'all!  We hosted Bunco this past weekend, which always means a week of cleaning and reorganizing and doing all the house chores we should have been doing and working on all along.  Sean and his mom worked on the overgrown yard while I worked on the inside of the house.  Then we decided to make an Ikea run and get extra storage for the office. That resulted in me spending a week sorting through boxes from when we moved five years ago, moving furniture around, deep cleaning, and getting rid of stuff.  I'm still not totally done yet, but I made good progress.

So now things are sort of back to normal, minus this mid-week holiday that throws the whole week into this weird, segmented, I-can't-get-motivated type of situation.  Despite all the cleaning and running around we've been doing, all I have wanted to do is either curl up on the bed and cry or sit in a chair and read and nap.  All of which I have not had time to do in the slightest.

But I have this great dress I really want to tell you about, so here we are.  I wore this dress on my latest KATU Afternoon Live segment, and multiple times since then.  I absolutely love it!  Read all the details on this dress, which is on sale for 30% off right now!

"Build Your Face" Makeup Series: Episode 1 - Primers and Color Correctors

A few weeks ago, I started toying with the idea of doing impromptu videos for y'all so I could talk about a variety of subjects.  I asked the folks over on my Facebook page if they were interested in seeing me do some Facebook Live videos, and what they would want those videos to be about.

Doing a FB Live video is helpful for me, versus making a video for YouTube, because I don't have to edit or upload a video.  I can simply log on and talk to you as friends.  This facilitates my ability to still talk to you about the topics that interest us, but I don't have to worry about the time-consuming task of presenting a sleek video to the world.

So from here on out, we will be having FB Live Hangouts on Thursdays at 5PM Pacific Time.  I will post on my Facebook page at the beginning of each week to let you know if we are still on for Thursday, and what the topic will be for that week.  I certainly hope you can hang out with us live, where we can chat, ask and answer questions, and get to know each other better.  However, if you can't make a Live, you can still watch it after the fact and ask questions that I can respond to.  I am so excited about this latest supplement to the blog and look forward to hanging out with all of you!

Today's post features the first of our episodes in a series I call "Build Your Face", where I take you through my personal steps of putting on makeup and the products I use.  I also talk about other products in those categories that I have tried because I like to give you as much information as possible.  First up is primers and color correctors. AND, if you are reading this prior to Thursday evening, today's Live is unboxing June subscription boxes.  Enjoy!

Unboxing May Subscription Boxes + Join Our Weekly FB Live Hangouts

A few weeks ago, I started toying with the idea of doing impromptu videos for y'all so I could talk about a variety of subjects.  I asked the folks over on my Facebook page if they were interested in seeing me do some Facebook Live videos, and what they would want those videos to be about.

Doing a FB Live video is helpful for me, versus making a video for YouTube, because I don't have to edit or upload a video.  I can simply log on and talk to you as friends.  This facilitates my ability to still talk to you about the topics that interest us, but I don't have to worry about the time-consuming task of presenting a sleek video to the world.

So from here on out, we will be having FB Live Hangouts on Thursdays at 5PM Pacific Time.  I will post on my Facebook page at the beginning of each week to let you know if we are still on for Thursday, and what the topic will be for that week.  I certainly hope you can hang out with us live, where we can chat, ask and answer questions, and get to know each other better.  However, if you can't make a Live, you can still watch it after the fact and ask questions that I can respond to.  I am so excited about this latest supplement to the blog and look forward to hanging out with all of you!

In today's post, I'm talking a little about this process and introducing you to my first FB Live Unboxing video!  Future unboxing vids will be at the end of each month.  Enjoy!

KATU Afternoon Live Companion: You Have the Right to Bare Arms!

Today I am back at KATU Afternoon Live to encourage you to push past your comfort zone and bare your arms!  I'm also going to show you different styles that can give you some coverage if you just aren't comfortable doing that yet.

I chose this topic for several reasons.  This is very much an issue I struggle with daily.  Last summer, I finally decided I needed to make big efforts into working through my loathing of my upper arms. While I have been reluctantly sleeveless on various occasions previously, I have always been incredibly self-conscious and uncomfortable doing so - even at my own wedding.  I was always the girl shrouding herself in layers and shrugs and the like no matter the cost, situation, or temperature. Despite my lack of comfort with the idea, I pushed myself to wear various sleeveless tops last summer.  Those little victories really helped me to start to embrace my arms as they are now.

It is getting hot out there and you have every right to be cool and comfortable like anyone else.  The world doesn't end if you show your arms.  Nobody says anything negative about them (and if they do, they are obviously POS that don't deserve to be around you).  Also, life is too short to be sweating because Becky thinks you have fat arms.  There are bigger, more pressing matters happening in the world.  Your arms are not cause for alarm.  Sure, baring my big upper arms can be a rebellious act in this society that values thinness above all else, but I'm feeling like a rebel lately.

What I Wore: Red Dress + Glitter Crocs Tutorial

This year was our first ever Red Dress Party!  This event has been going on since 2001 as a fundraising effort to support queer youth, help community members living with HIV and AIDS, to help fight domestic violence, and serve community members in need.  This year the beneficiaries were Bridging Voices, a youth chorus for gay, straight, and questioning youth; and Rock N Roll Camp for Girls, a camp that helps build girls' self-esteem through music creation and performance. Our friends have been going for years, and we finally had a chance to join in on the fun.

The rule of Red Dress is that, yes, you must wear a red dress to get in (red separates are also fine).  I love a theme, so I was excited to start putting my look together.  However, red, glittery, comfortable shoes in an 11 wide are incredibly hard (some might say 'impossible') to find.  I decided to make my own, frankly, because I can.  I'm including the tutorial for you just in case you need glittery comfort in your life.  It was a learning experience, so I can share with you what I did wrong and what I got right.

What I Wore: Spring To Summer

Man, it has been a month!  I struggled through the usual springtime depression I get having to deal with Mother's Day and the anniversary of my father's death.  I tripped around on my anxiety leading up to my dentist and endocrinologist appointments.  I cheered as my friend Brandon released his album.  I was whisked away to the beach for my birthday weekend.  Then I came home to clean the entire house, finish a time-sensitive craft project, and pack my suitcase for our anniversary vacation. That week I also had the aforementioned doctor's appointments, culminating in the Red Dress Party the night before we left for vacation.

Once back from vacation, I had a migraine for most of last week.  I decided to cater to my body and rest (not that much can be done during a migraine anyway).  But this week, I am back in business!!  I've been working on more ideas for blog and social media posts, editing photos, and trying to get back in the swing of things.  I'll be working on these latest adventures first before catching you up to all previous adventures, of which I am still making time to edit photos.  Also, I want to add that when I say "edit photos", I am referring to making sure the lighting is good (I usually need to lighten them up a smidge), cropping them, resizing the photos for the blog, and adding a watermark.  I saw some very obvious photoshop jobs done by some bloggers recently - bloggers who claim to be body positive and full of acceptance - and it rubbed me the wrong way.  Everyone is going to do what they are going to do to be comfortable but I think photoshopping your body in photos, especially when you tout yourself as being body positive and full of self-love, is a hypocritical move.  I digress.

In today's post, I am showing you two looks I shot for a spring project that got pushed back.  I really like both of these looks, so I wanted to make sure you got to see them.  I imagine they won't fit with the project when/if it is done at another time. (I am not in control of this project, but was asked to participate. Fingers crossed it comes back around!)  Enjoy!

At Home Fitting Room: Tops

It has been much easier for me to do these smaller groupings of At Home Fitting Room posts.  Today, I am showing you various tops I have collected over the winter to present.  Some items are no longer available, but I still think seeing sizes and info helps.

The usual spiel: I shop too much and want to use my experience to help you navigate brands and sizing. Let's get to it!

What I Wore: ThredUp Finds & Universal Standard Review

I'm terrible at coming up with titles for my posts.  It is my least favorite part about writing on the blog.  Today's title is all practical and no frills.  I put together a slightly layered spring look for one of our first sunny days this season.  It was finally warm enough to wear this short sleeve Torrid top that I found on ThredUp but, because of the wind, cool enough I needed to wear jeans.  So I'm also reviewing these Universal Standard jeans as well.

Friday Feels: Reunited

Time for the second ever Friday Feels post.  I've been contemplating, working through, and trying to sort my thoughts for this post.  It comes way later than intended for those reasons.

It won't happen every week, but when I am feeling so inclined to work though issues or share more personal stories or feelings, it will be on a Friday.  I feel like I'm taking a huge leap because I don't often share these types of feelings with anyone other than my husband Sean.  It may be messy.  It won't always have a tidy ending or any resolution, but I think I'm ready.

So without further ado....