about turning 24!

Hello Friends!

Fun Fact: This past Sunday, July 27^th, 2014 …I turned 24! Cue the cheesy celebration music! Honestly, I can’t believe how quickly the time flies by once you hit your 20’s.

 

I thought I’d recap my birthday festivities for you starting with the wonderful and generous gifts I was given by some truly amazing people.

First of all, I have to say thank you to my mom because without her I wouldn’t be here. I don’t know how you did it mom, but thank you for sacrificing, enduring and loving me enough to go through what you have for me. I don’t know how you did it. I love you.

This Harry Potter Owl Post messenger bag was a gift from my mom. I love the design of this bag and how casual it is. I can take it camping or out to dinner with friends and it fits in perfectly. It’s big enough to hold all of my things and then some without being too big and bulky to carry comfortably. Also, it’s Harry Potter, how can you not love it? Keep an eye out for this bag. It may be making another appearance in the future, in a rather, shall I say, magical post ;)

SPOILER ALERT: For those who haven’t read the Harry Potter Books!

July 27^th is also the day in the 7^th book when Hedwig sacrifices herself for Harry and dies in his place. This broke my heart into a million pieces when I found out. Happy Birthday to me :(

END OF SPOILER ALERT

My friends Christa, Bunky and Jerie gave me the best card ever created. 

 If you’re wondering, yes this is the accurate level of our maturity. 

 

They also gave me a set of Real Techniques brushes, the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette, Hollow City by Ransom Riggs (the sequel to Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children) and this bright peachy orange nail polish.

These Real Techniques brushes are so incredibly soft. I haven’t stopped rubbing them on my face long enough to actually use them with makeup but I’m excited to try them. Sam and Nic Chapman are the soon to be sister in laws of the lovely Tanya Burr and they also own their own line of beauty products and brushes. If you don’t know Tanya Burr, she’s a YouTube makeup guru whom Christa and myself are completely obsessed with and you should look her up right now. Sam and Nic also make makeup tutorials on YouTube so you should check them out while you’re there. I didn’t even know their products were available here in the United States so I was extremely surprised to receive these.

The Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette, oh my God, I can’t even tell you about this one without getting giddy. As an obsessive follower of all things makeup I’ve seen this palette so many times being used by the best of the best in beauty. Never in a million years did I think I would ever own one. I was so excited that I used this right away, so I apologize for the close-ups where you can definitely tell that it’s been used. 

Then again, #sorrynotsorry because this was my gift, it was my birthday and I wanted to feel special, damn it. The palette itself is just so pretty that I couldn’t stop taking pictures of it. 

Without flash

With flash

The eye shadow colors are a beautiful spectrum of neutrals that work so well together you almost don’t have to try at all. I’m in love with everything about this palette.

Hollow City is the follow up sequel to Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. I first learned about his books while camping in Gettysburg last year. I picked up a strange looking book filled with old black and white photographs and an eerie sounding description and I knew I had to have it. The story is anything but ordinary, however to avoid spoilers I’ll just tell you this. Read them. They’re a fun escape from reality with a hint of danger and darkness. The characters in these books are unlike any others and you’ll fall in love with their weird, quirky ways. The other neat thing that I love about these books is that the photos in the book are real. The author actually hunts down vintage photographs and forms a story through them. I think these are the most creative and imaginative books I’ve come across and I’m so excited to see more by this author. 

This China Glaze nail polish in the color Sun of a Peach is so bright and summery. I’ve been looking for a peachy shade that was more playful for the warmer months. I tried to recreate a nice sunset nail art look that I found on Pinterest and unfortunately this is what happened. 

Oh well, I tried. Also, I found out later that my nails look a lot like Port Wine Cheese, which if you haven’t tried it you don’t know what you’re missing. 

I’m not a big cheese fan but this is probably my favorite kind. It’s pretty to look at and tastes good on crackers, what more could you want?

My Aunt Pam, who is also my godmother, gave me these lovely hair things that she found in New York. The first is a gold hair barrette with stones that sparkle in any light. The second is a fun headband with a giant material flower for a cute boho look.

She also found this cute little coin purse with a dragonfly on it. There’s a spot on each of the dragonfly’s wings that shines bright gold in the light. She finds the coolest, most unique gifts for me and I cherish them.

The night before my birthday we ate at a pirate themed bar called Mutiny, where the items on the menu have the best names like Kraken Tentacles (Calamari) and Shiver Me Tenders (Chicken Tenders). I was serenaded after dinner by a, very possibly drunk, individual with a guitar while I blew out my candle. My loving boyfriend Chris, who puts up with all of our shenanigans, purchased these fun and hilarious t-shirts for Christa and I while we were there. 

Yes, they say Ship Happens. My new life motto.

By far my absolute favorite present this year was something that wasn’t material or physical at all. My best friend Christa filmed, edited and uploaded a secret video filled with pictures and memories from our past 12 years of friendship. I laughed and cried my way through her video but the smile never left my face. I am so lucky and honored to have such an amazing person like her in my life. We both grew up together, leaning on one another for emotional support and I honestly wouldn’t be half of the person that I am today if she hadn’t been by my side for all of those years. I wish I could be anywhere near as selfless and caring of a friend as she is.

 Click here to watch my surprise birthday video made by Christa!


I didn’t spend my birthday out at some fancy restaurant or out at a hot nightclub where the ground pulses with the beat from the speakers. I spent my 24^th birthday surrounded by some of the closest friends a girl can have and a bottle of Captain Morgan while we all played Clue (that’s right, the board game from our childhood) and you know what? That’s what I’ll truly remember. Not a room full of strangers but a room full of friendship, laughter and love. It sounds cheesy and made up but it’s true. These people mean the world to me and I’m thrilled beyond words that these simple nights together making each other laugh until it hurts are what I’ll remember when I’m old, gray and probably senile. That's what it's all about, folks.

See you soon friends,

Lynn

about running away and living in the woods (Day 2).

Hello Friends!

Day Two

Sunday, July 20th

I slept horribly, as you do in a new and unfamiliar surrounding. After sleeping just two hours in the car, I woke up at 7 am. This is the view I woke up to. Not bad, right?

If you know me, you know I’m not a morning person and waking up early isn’t one of my talents. Honestly, the only time that I see a sunrise is if I haven't been to bed yet.

After sitting and shivering a bit in the cool, misty, morning air while having a meaningful conversation about potato chips with Chris, our friends began to slowly stir.

We showered in the pleasantly warm and empty shower stalls and explored the camp grounds a bit. 

Outfit of the day take one!

We found some strange, poisonous looking berries growing next to a trail and dared each other to eat one, which thankfully none of us took as an actual challenge.

 

Suddenly, the sun came out and was so mercilessly hot that we had to make a hasty wardrobe change.

Matching tank tops!

Outfit of the day take two!

We headed back into town in the Gettysburg area, this time in the daylight to find some entertainment.

We chose putt putt golfing at Mulligan MacDuffer Adventure Golf. 

This place was so interesting. It looked like a golf course that had been crafted in someone’s backyard. It had rock steps that you had to climb up or down to get to the next hole and there was a watery cavern you had to putt in where you were sprayed with water. 

By this time we were all starving and my stomach was making some serious growling noises. We went to Friendly’s for dinner where I ordered a Chicken Quesadilla, but of course forgot to take a photo of it. On our way back to the campsite we saw a giant hot air balloon carrying some very small looking people. It looked like a giant full moon in the stormy sky and I couldn't resist taking a picture.

Sadly, this was the end of our camping adventure and we left for home. We made some wonderful memories with some incredible people and we'll be back again some day.

See you soon friends,

Lynn

about running away and living in the woods (Day 1).

Hello Friends!

My friends and I, all of whom you probably already know, took a trip into the wilderness this past weekend. We decided to go hide in the woods for a few days and enjoy the simple things in life like sunshine, laughter and citronella candles. The insects there were definitely out for blood. So, we chose a campsite at Cunningham Falls State Park, which is just a short drive from the famous Gettysburg, PA.  

Day One 

Saturday, July 19th

We arrived at the campsite Saturday afternoon and checked in at the office to get the appropriate papers and such. They had a giant, enclosed turtle pond with one massive turtle lounging in the background. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a picture of him. Next, we headed into Gettysburg, or “town” as we referred to it, where all the shops and restaurants are located. We found ourselves at the historic Farnsworth Inn that strangely enough has an outdoor Beer Garden. 

You can’t just pass up something like that so naturally Christa and I ordered a Screwdriver (not as sonic as I would prefer) and sat at one of the charming, metal rose, garden tables scattered around the area.

The boys waited for us to finish our drinks, many a picture was taken and then we did a little late night site seeing. 

Me and Christa

Chris, Jerie and Bunky

...unless it's in your stomach.

All of the shops were closed but it was still fun to roam the dark, empty roads and goof off a bit. 

As hardcore Sweeney Todd fans we were extremely excited by this sign.

 

 

Actual bullet holes that were left in the side of the building from sharpshooters long ago.

Here's a little bit of history for you.

 

We decided to stop for a late dinner at Tommy’s Pizza and the food was delicious. 

It was getting late so we headed back to camp and sat around the campfire that Jerie and Bunky kindly provided. We all took turns creating an elaborate, ridiculous and very inappropriate story about two brothers fighting a mini werewolf.

 

At 3:14 in the morning we heard the one sound you never want to hear while camping in the pitch black woods. If you’ve ever seen the movie Silent Hill you’ll know all about the siren that plays at dusk warning the citizens to seek shelter in the church. Well, we heard it first hand in the middle of the night and I can tell you that sound is enough to give me chills no matter how often you hear it. 

 Click here for the audio recording of the siren we heard.

It was nearing 4 in the morning so Christa and I headed into the bathroom to get ready for bed and ran straight into a Black Widow spider crawling across the floor. We later found a nest of them in one of the stalls and deemed that the Death Stall. 

Outfit of the day!

We also, ran into this funny little leaf bug who thought we couldn’t see him despite being the only green, leafy thing in the brown and cream, tiled bathroom. Good try, little guy but I think you failed.

He also followed me around wherever I went, showing up in my shower stall the next day.

When we got back to camp we all said goodnight to each other. Chris and I decided that we would be sleeping in the car because someone (not naming any names here...*cough* Chris *cough*) forgot to pack our air mattress. It was comfortable enough in the reclining front seats while sharing a sleeping bag. I also made him open the moon roof for a bit so that I could see the trees. I mean, how often do you get to sleep under a canopy of leaves in the wilderness?

That's the end of our day one camping adventure!

Stay tuned for day two!

See you soon friends,

Lynn