bippity boppity boo.

so, as many of you know the mister is a marine officer. hot, right!? we've been married to the military for  over 3 years and i would be lying if i said it was all rainbows and sunshine, but despite that the military is really been good to us. we currently live in a small town about 25 minutes north of wilmington, nc. it's a great place to spend our 6-10 months before moving to the west coast. every year the marine corps celebrates it's birthday with a ball. for the first 2 balls, i went cocktail chic wearing short gowns that got me some dirty looks from girls wearing prom dresses from the 80's. c'est la vie. this time our ball was in myrtle beach, a sort of red neck rivera, so i decided to go a bit fancy. come on, how often do you get to dress up like this!? i took advantage. i got dressed in a super hurry. so my hair and makeup were all done in less than 30 minutes. yikes!!! a fairy godmother with a magic wand would've been mighty helpful. anywho, i was pleased with my end result even if i was running around like a crazy person. i was working with 2 of the biggest zits on the planet. thanks life. but praise the lord for dermablend 'cause those bitches were practically invisible. practically :/ my camera takes the woooorst pictures indoors in low light, so here are my blurry hipstamatic pics. love that app.

my dress was a purchase from my days at melissa sweet. after a sample dress goes out of season they sell them to the employees for 20 bucks. that's right a 400 dollar dress for 20 dollars. my headband was an anthropologie splurge and the bracelets were super cheap j.crew knockoffs at forever21. the shoes i wore for less than an hour were charles david and my god were they uncomfortable, that must be why the last time i wore them was my wedding.

so, there you go. ball fun. if any of my regular camera pictures can be salvaged i'll totally post them. love.

i seriously can't live with out...

okay, so i am a product whore. there is no other word for it. i love face creams, nail polishes, fancy body scrubs, lip glosses in every single color known to man, etc. you understand! it's part of being a girl! a fabulous, exfoliated, sparkly, sweet smelling girl!!!! now, with the mountains of products i have purchased there are a few that seriously complete me... so here are my top 5 can't live without products. you are gonna freaking love them!!!!

5. Obagi Professional-C Serum 15%. I started using this 3 months ago and wow. i don't use it every morning, but anytime i am going out in direct sun or driving for a while, i put it on. just a few drops take care of your entire face. add your sunscreen on top and you are good to go! take that evil sun! haha. i win.

4.Kiehl's Lip Balm SPF 15 #58B. this is the perfect chap stick. the red undertone brightens up your lip without adding saturated color. not to mention it's moisturizing and has spf, my favorite thing in the world! this is always in my bag! brilliant.

3. CoverGirl LashBlast Mascara. this stuff is the shit. i have literally tried dozens of mascaras and this is by far the most perfect everyday mascara. annnnnd it easily layers for night. it's wonderful. i'm serious. my favorite ever. i don't go anywhere without this stuff. one flick of the wand and i look awake and happy... without any spidery, clumpy nonsense.

2. Laura Mercier Oil-Free Tinted Moisturizer. i bought this stuff on a fluke purchasing frenzy. i just wanted to buy makeup. my skin was terrible and i was trying EVERYTHING. well, little did i know that i stumbled upon the greatest makeup of my life. this stuff is a light to medium coverage that perfectly evens out your skin. i can't even tell you. it's perfect. you get this fresh glow without any of the heavy makeup. obsessed.

1. Clarisonic Mia. the clarisonic brush is the greatest thing i have ever purchased. hands down. it's pricey, i know, but buy it and watch your skin change before your eyes! your products work better. your face glows. it's really worth it. i use the sensitive skin brush head every single day. i apply my cleanser all over my skin, rinse the brush with warm water then buff. it's ah-mazing. seriously, i can't say enough genius things about it!