I must gush for a second, because I am coming off of a weekend high. Every year my family spends Easter weekend at my grandparent's lake house. My grandfather passed away in January of 2012, and I miss him terribly. But the lake house is where I feel his spirit the most, and I love every minute of being there. The story of how my grandparents picked out the perfect piece of property and put their blood, sweat and tears into that little piece of heaven is one of my favorite stories. Every time I make a trip to the lake I am reminded of how lucky and loved I am.


My mom only has one brother and he lives in Austin. So he can't always make it to our Easter weekend festivities, but luckily both sides of my family are really close so my dad's siblings always join us for the weekend. I am extremely thankful to belong to such a close, loving, strong and beautiful family that actually enjoys being around each other.

Our Easter weekend usually consists of relaxing, candlelight patio dinners, breakfast outdoors, endless hours of fishing, boating, adult beverages, and memory making. Those moments are some that I would never trade.

So I will leave you with a few pictures from my weekend.

Thank you, Cable Television

Throughout the week I am super busy. My daily routine generally consists of waking up, getting ready for work, my extremely AWFUL commute to work, work, working out, errands, home, shower and then sleep. Rinse and repeat.

So when I have some free time on the weekends I like to catch up on some of my current guilty pleasure shows (thank you, Jesus for On-Demand). I am not extremely proud of these shows but for some reason I have found myself entertained and frequently viewing these little gems.

Dallas

I know what you are all thinking "how can someone actually watch this show?" Let me state my case... So I have lived in Texas my whole life and I love the fact that this show actually films in Dallas, Texas. Go, Texas! Also, it is so dramatic that it reminds me of a telenovela. Ummm have you seen the actors on this show? They are HOT (automatic watch points)! Lastly, my dad and I watch it together - any opportunity to enjoy something with dad is a win in my book. If you have an hour to spare you should check out this show. Enjoy!

Southern Charm

So I found this show by total accident. I was home sick for a couple of days and had the opportunity to search the On Demand for some time fillers. This show plays on Bravo, and it follows six socialites from Charleston, South Carolina. The people on this show actually have interesting backgrounds with deep historical roots. It is pretty much like a "Real Housewives of..." series except it follows the males as well.   After watching one episode you will conclude that everyone on this show has an alcohol problem. Now, I am not casting judgement because I too enjoy a nice adult beverage, but these people take drinking to a whole new level. I have done my share of day drinking and drinking in general, but I think I would need to prepare my liver for weeks before going out for drinks with this group. All in all, I love this show. Totally worth 45 minutes of my time!

Chrisley Knows Best 

Now, I am not even sure if I should label this show under "guilty pleasure" because I am a big fan of this family and what they have to offer. The best way to describe this show is if Garden and Gun Magazine and a way less trashy version of Keeping Up With The Kardashians plus Dance Moms had a baby - Chrisley Knows Best would be the product. 

So maybe after this post you will make some of my current guilty pleasures your own.  Or you will totally judge me for liking shitty television? I am totally okay with either one, as long as you continue to read my blog ;)

What are your current guilty pleasure shows??

- The Modern Americana

Beauty Product Review: Girl, let me see your nails!

So I am all about trying new beauty products, and I have had my eye on this product for awhile now. The product is by Julep and it is the Freedom Polymer Top Coat. I heard about this top coat sometime ago, but every time I walk into Sephora to purchase this item I get distracted by the other goodies in the store  - which results to me forgetting to purchase the top coat.. Sad day. BUT then one day it was offered to me as a sample and my day was instantly made!

Now, to be 100% honest I am not the biggest fan of getting manicures on a regular basis. I think it is because the manicures never really last that long and I hate to spend money on something that is only going to last 2-3 days. I will get them done for a wedding or an event, but I rather just paint my own nails. So with that being said, I am always on the search for lasting top coats.

I used the Butter London Foundation (which is awesome), my polish of choice was OPI'sTickle My France-y (I love nail polish names) and then the Julep Polymer Top Coat.

This was right after I painted my nails. The top coat went on nicely and added a nice shine.  

4 days post painting! They still look pretty good. The nail color actually looks different in the natural sunlight, but top did a pretty good job. I didn't experience any chips until the 5th day of wear.

I will give the Julep Polymer Top Coat a 4 out of 5. It got the job done and added a nice shine. 

What is your favorite top coat?

- The Modern Americana

Second Quarter Goals for 2014

Can I just say how much my life has changed during the first three months of 2014? I am pretty sure I went through hell and back again at least a couple of times. In-between hell and back I found peace, new life-long friendships, strength in current friendships, an even greater gift of love and support for/from my family and most of all how to truly enjoy the little things in life.

I am determined to make the rest of this year a better one. I know I cannot control every little thing that happens in my life, but I can certainly control how I react, accept and adapt to those things that are out of our control.  Those are things that I will keep in mind and continue to practice indefinitely.

Goals:

#1 Continue running. I recently joined a free running club - basically you meet up and run a 5k once a week, and by run I mean I run for 3 minutes and walk for 2 minutes until I finish the 5k. I have improved my time the last couple of weeks, but more progress needs to be made. I don't have your average runners body, but that does not discourage me.. If anything it makes me feel more powerful because I am doing something that people smaller than me are too lazy to do. My goal is to run a half marathon by the end of 2014 or the beginning of 2015. It. Will. Happen. #runfattyrun

#2 Clean out my closet.  I am a girl so I feel like this goal doesn't need an explanation. This goal actually deserves it's own post.  #confessionsofashopaholic

#3 Meal prep all of my breakfasts and lunches.  This goal needs to happen, because momma is running out of money way too fast! I wonder where my paycheck goes and then I will look into it and see the number of charges to Salata on my debit card. Whoops! Those meals add up way too fast. So I will really do my best to work on this one. #moneydoesntgrowontrees

#4 Go to Church.  Now I am not the most religious person in the land, if I am being honest. I have often struggled with my religious beliefs as well, but I feel that I was in a happier place in my life back when I attended church on a weekly basis. If I can't make it every week  then I need to at least attend once a month. #jesusismyhomeboy

Let us now see how this next quarter of my life in 2014 goes. Will you be along for the ride?

I will leave you with some of my favorite pictures from the first quarter of 2014.

What are your second quarter goals for 2014?

- The Modern Americana