When I first started this blog, I used to do a lot of beauty related content and I really miss it! I fell off the beauty wagon, so to speak, for awhile but now I’m back and there’s so many new interesting things to try. I wanted to share a few of the things I’ve been liking recently .

Facial Sprays

Suddenly, facial sprays seem to be everywhere. I’ve always thought they were a bit silly (surely that Evian one is just water?) but I use a setting spray all the time, so why not a spray toner or moisturizer? I started with the Trader Joe’s Rose Water Facial Toner, which is an affordable option if you don’t mind rose. I then got the St. Ives Face Mist, which is supposed to by hydrating, and the Mario Badescu Facial Spray which I use as a calming spray when my skin feels particularly irritated. The jury is still out a little bit for me if these really do much, but they’re fun to use and relatively harmless.

Skincare 

Speaking of skincare, I’ve started using The Body Shop Drops of Youth as a nightly serum. I’m trying to get a little more serious about my skincare regime. Too many nights of just using a makeup wipe and then going to bed....


I also recently purchased this silicone brush from e.l.f. For applying face masks. The days of putting messy masks on with my fingers are over! I think this brush was only $6 so it was a really great deal.

Makeup

For years I’d used all sorts of brow products trying to find the right match for my hair color and I finally caved to the hype and got some Anastasia Beverly Hills products. This powder duo is amazing and I love that there’s a warmer and an ashy color so I can match with my makeup or outfit. Brows make such a difference!




I made my first PoshMark makeup purchase and got the Zoella x ColourPop collaboration palette. It’s honestly SO much better than I expected it to be. The colors are rich and blend really easily. I haven’t gotten up the courage to try the dark blue shade but I’ll definitely post it on my Instagram if I ever do!

• First of all, my big exciting news: I lost my job. Yeah, wow. It was a shock to say the least, and I’ve been spending most days this month in a state of perpetual panic, refreshing indeed.com over and over. Maybe I’ll write more about it someday, but basically my position was “eliminated” and I’m now job hunting. Losing your income is scary, but so is losing my health insurance (and my dog’s health plan). Bernie 2020 is all I have to say about that. I sadly realize I had been putting 120% into a company and structure that didn’t care about me, and I am now trying to figure out how to have a social life again - I feel like I’m emerging from a cave back into the light. I also lost about 95% of my confidence from this experience so if you have any tips for getting that back, let me know. 
• I’ve signed up for a cookie decorating workshop next weekend, so I can finally officially learn some techniques. I’m really excited about it, it’s in this funny little shop that reminds me of the craft store I worked at for my first job. I’m looking to up my cookie decorating game so I’m interested to see what tips and tricks I can pick up. 
• Harry and I are taking Ada to her second round of obedience classes and so far this session is going really well! We love the trainers we’re working with and they’re giving us some much needed reassurance about where Ada’s at and what she’s capable of. She’s been a very tricky dog to raise and we’ve had a lot of ups and downs with her. But we love her anyways!
• Our lease is up in October, so we’re hoping to move out and find a house with a yard for rent so Ada can have some more room. Moving again after only one year in our place stresses me out a bit, but it would be so worth it if we can find the right place. It’s crazy how this place shrank in my mind after Ada came into the picture. 

Is part of getting older just falling into a well of true crime obsession? Or is this just the fad-du-jour? What I mean is, everywhere I look there's some new exciting way to get into true crime - novels, documentaries, dramatized true-life series, and podcasts. I saw a joke someone made about their wife only liking two things on Netflix - baking shows and murder. And I've got to admit, sounds like me!

My favorite way to indulge in the macabre side of life lately is to listen to a podcast - usually in the car to and from work or on a walk with Ada. Here are my favorites lately:

1. Crime Junkie

This is by far my favorite right now. Ashley and Brit host this true crime show which usually focuses on one story per episode, featuring a murder, missing person, or a serial killer. They have great hosting chemistry and their storytelling abilities draw you in and keep you engaged. And they also have a little recurring segment at the end of some episodes where they feature a heartwarming dog-related story, which is a nice palette cleanser.

2. Criminal

There's just something about Pheobe Judge that makes me feel completely comforted - the cadence of her voice makes me feel safe. Criminal is a fascinating podcast where each episode is completely different, focusing on different aspects of the world of crime.

3. Man in the Window

If you've already read I'll Be Gone in the Dark, this might feel a little bit like a repeat, but still worth listening to! This podcast follows the Golden State Killer, through the stories of the victims. It's a terrifying look at one of California's most notorious serial killers.

4. Dirty John

This podcast will literally have you shouting "NO!" out loud while you're listening to it. It tells the story of a scam artist and how he fooled numerous women and it's HORRIFYING in a "how could anyone be so blind?" kind of way.

5. Atlanta Monster / Monster: The Zodiac Killer

Season 1 follows the Atlanta child murders, and then they switch gears for Season 2 and follow the Zodiac Killer. Really interesting if you don't know much about either of these cases, and also *spoiler* deeply unsatisfying because they still don't know who either of the killers were.

6. Cold

This podcast follows the story of the Powell family disappearance and murders and IT. IS. CRAZY. While this case is covered in other podcasts, I find this one to be the most comprehensive.

That's it for now! Inevitably once I listen to every episode of one, I go searching for another so I'm sure I will add more to the list soon. What's your favorite true crime podcast?

Hello friends! It's been a minute since we've chatted. I hope you're doing well. Life has felt very hectic since Ada came into our lives, and my social life and free time have both hit a real dry spell.


Ada is now 7 months old (???HOW???) and is a little terror and love at the same time. She's spunky and grumpy and loves other people and wants to play with every dog. She chews up weird things like my exercise bike and the slats under the couch, and destroys every single toy with stuffing except her little wolf we named Peebo.


Our days are mostly spent going to work, getting home, running Ada outside and then on a walk or to the dog park, shoving some kind of food in our mouths while we watch one episode of something or other (food competition shows, Pretty Little Liars, or if Harry gets me on a good night, a horror movie) and then passing out. I've lost the ability to keep up with any of my hobbies, including photography and this blog, which is bumming me out! I'm hoping things will sort of even out soon.

I'll level with you - having a dog (well, a puppy) isn't exactly what I thought it would be. Ada is her own dog, with all her own thoughts and she's definitely opinionated! Getting her to even walk with me is sometimes a huge pain, she'll just decide she doesn't want to anymore and plant her feet. It's frustrating because I'd imagined going on long walks and cuddling with her on the couch, but she hasn't been so enthusiastic about those ideas. And I've had more than a few crying meltdowns wondering if we made the right decision (should we have gotten an easier breed? I often wonder). But we're working on it, and housetraining seems to have finally clicked so that's one less thing to worry about! We do love her - there are just some good days and bad days.

We're starting to make plans to move to a house with a yard for Ada sometime in the nearish future. I'll keep you posted!

If you know me in real life, you know that I've wanted a dog for at least the last 5 years (more really, but I think 5 years ago is when I really started trying to figure out how to have a dog-friendly lifestyle). Specifically, I have wanted a bull terrier. I grew up with Australian Shepherds and they are amazing dogs, but we always had plenty of land for them to run around on. I knew an Aussie wouldn't suit my future non-farm lifestyle so I started researching other breeds. And for some reason, I fell head over heels for bull terriers.

Turns out, bull terriers are sort of hard to find! I had no idea until we really started looking. I checked Craiglist, PetFinder, Adopt a dog, and local shelters constantly (obsessively) and we kept our eye on a local rescue for months and months, but so many of the dogs that came up for adoption had dog aggression issues, which I wasn't super confident I could deal with. I also want to bring my dog into my office, and dog aggression definitely won't work for that. We had some weird experiences with Craigslist people - a strange woman who told me her whole life story for 3 hours and then gave her dog away to someone else, a man who sent me a photo of his bull terrier with a rat in its mouth (???) - so we gave up on that pretty quickly. SIDENOTE: If someone on Craigslist gets mad at you for asking questions and seem like the money is the most important part, RED FLAG. Don't buy from them.

So after a long saga of trying to find the right fit, we decided that a puppy might work the best for us right now. We started looking around at some breeders in Oregon, all of whom breed mini bull terriers and made some contacts. The price for a reputable breeder's puppy is quite high, but we felt like this was the only good option we had. And then weird fate intervened.

My friend Liz stumbled across a Facebook post from some people about 3 hours away from us who had a litter of bull terrier puppies, and after contacting them and chatting a bit we got a good feeling and decided right then, on that day, to drive all the way out to meet them and the puppies. There was one girl in particular that we liked and wanted to see how she was. The couple was really nice, answered all our questions (cue me googling "What to ask puppy breeders" and "how to pick a puppy" on the drive over) and we ended up loving the pup we had liked initially, so we put down a deposit and left. And then spent the whole drive home freaking out!

On Jan. 19, two weeks after we met her, we brought home Ada, our 8-week old bull terrier pup. She was so tiny and cried and pooped all through her first night with us.


She is now 11 weeks old (!!!) and has chunked out a little more, loves to play and bite us and is starting to really show her hilarious and stubborn personality. We have been on a roller coaster of emotions since day one - we have some really good days and some really rough days and feel like we're doing amazing and then feel like we're failing. Potty training and bite inhibition are HARD you guys. And having a dog in an apartment is also really tough. But we're working through it, taking it day by day and trying to really cherish the moments where she's having fun and loving on us (and not the ones where she's biting our hands or throwing a tantrum).


If you want to follow her adventures, I post a lot on my instagram and I created an instagram for her @ada_the_bullterrier