Christmas at Biltmore

If you have seen Downton Abbey and live in the Southeast USA, then I am sure you have heard of Biltmore. Heck, you probably knew of Biltmore before, however I did not. I found out about the Biltmore Estate when I heard they were holding a Downton Abbey exhibit there. Needless to say, I was not disappointed. My love for everything antique and historical was made greater by visiting this elaborate "castle" as my kids called it. It was even more beautiful during the Christmas time. It was freezing, and packed of course, but it did not deter us. I thought I would share a few of the hundreds of photos I took.

Biltmore House, constructed in 1889 by George Vanderbilt, took six years to complete. This "castle" has over 250 rooms and is certainly a maze to say the least. The main floor has a breakfast room, dining room, library, music room, sitting room, etc. The basement has the servant rooms, kitchen (which even to day would be a dream to cook in for me), bowling alley, swimming pool, gym, etc. There is even an entire floor dedicated to guests where they have their own bathrooms of course, as well as sitting area which I can say without a doubt has more square footage than my entire house.

Later, they built a dairy and winery. There are blacksmith shops as well.

During WWII, this estate housed many works of art from the National Gallery of art in Washington D.C.

Later in the 21st century, the hotel was put in as well as the Antler Hill Village where visitors can shop, and the Village Inn.

Originally, this entire Estate covered 125,000 acres.

Google Image of Biltmore 

Biltmore at Night. There were about 11+ Christmas trees lit up which gave us the light for this photo

The dining room at Biltmore and three of the 65 fireplaces.

My favorite room! Lady Edith Vanderbilt's bedroom. 

Napoleon Bonaparte chess set. 

Another favorite room, the Library. 

If you haven't had the pleasure of visiting regardless of it being during the holidays or not, I would suggest going. If you're a history nerd like me, you won't be disappointed. You may even leave with a better appreciation of it. 

College Baseball Hall of Fame

One thing you may not know about my sweet husband is that he has played baseball his entire life. From the time he could hold a ball and bat, still in diapers, he was playing. He played baseball at a junior college before transferring to a four year to finish up his bachelors and play ball there. He played ball at Belmont Abbey in North Carolina. Back in September I want to say, he received a letter in the mail saying he was going to be recognized along with the other ball players on his team that year and they were going to be inducted into the baseball hall of fame. The expression on his face was priceless. If I were to describe it, it is comparable to someone getting a scam letter or phone call saying they won a lot of money. After a few facebook messages to long-lost fellow teammates, it was legit and he was ecstatic. It was a well deserved moment of excitement. October came and we were on the road to North Carolina. He showed us the building he stayed in, the hill he almost fell down when he was on crutches after knee surgery, and the cages he had batting practice in. He even got a few swings in in the same exact spot he did in college. That was a big moment for him.  I was so proud of him for this moment. I took a candid photo of him during the ceremony and he wasn't hiding the pure joy he had of being there. Like a kid in a candy store for the first time. He would kill me if I posted it. HAHAHA! Food, fun, and fellowship, followed the rest of the night and I am elated he was able to catch up with friends he hadn't seen or talked to in years.

The team. Way to go boys! 

Same handsome man, same old cages. 

My only hope is that it doesn't take something like this for him to see his buddies again and we keep in mind how important friendship is, no matter how far apart we are in distance.

The Day I fell in Love With a City.

You guys, it has always been on my bucket list to go ice skating at THE Rockefeller Center. You see, I grew up in a two red-light town (maybe there were three.. let me count..) and was the child of two people that knew everyone. When I say everyone, I mean when people saw me, they always asked how my parents were doing. Going to the corner store, "how's your mom, Tiffany?" pumping gas, "Hey Tiff, tell your dad I said hello!" Seriously.

I digress.

Park Lane Hotel 

View from the room at night 

Justin surprised me with the absolute BEST Christmas present. He took me to New York! *side thought* Am I the only one that automatically thinks NYC when I hear or see New York? No? Just me? Figures. Moving on. Justin's job is a bit hectic at times so we only had a few days to spend there. I fully believe that you cannot see NYC in two days. If you see that little picture to the left here of Tiffany and Co. you'll notice its obviously a stock photo. However the one below is MINE! EEEK! I am still in shock that me, a small town girl, finally made it to the big city! I was also able to scratch off that bucket list and go skating at Rockefeller.

That's me looking all touristy. 

Isn't he gorgeous?!

We stayed at the Park Lane Hotel right at Central Park. It was absolutely incredible with a fantastic view. We left the curtains open the entire stay because the view was just to amazing during the day as well as at night. I envy people who live in the city.

We had brunch at Sarabeth's which was next door to the hotel. The food was nice, but the service, well.... again, its NYC so we can't expect too much hospitality. Speaking on that, the entire time we were there we met ONE New Yorker who was the nicest, most generous person. He happened to be our cab driver from the Airport. He even took us to breakfast one morning and to be honest, kinda worried us at first because honestly, who in NY is THAT nice? Anyway, he told us about this little bakery in Brooklyn called the Peter Pan Bakery. The donuts were absolutely amazing. I am never surprised to find the smallest places have the best food.

Brunch at Sarabeth's

This place has the best atmosphere! 

We also went to see Chicago on Broadway! Our amazing cab driver told us before hand not to buy them offline or for full price because there was a little booth we could go to in Times Square at a certain time of day that sold them at a discounted price. We braved the 19 degree weather and waited in line with some other "out-of-towners" for tickets. The tickets were also in a fantastic location. I think we were maybe five rows from the stage. We also saw the run that had Cuba Gooding Jr. in it and he was fantastic.

The rest of the time was spent exploring the Times Square and Central Park surrounding areas. I can't wait to go back before they take down the tree at Rockefeller and all the lights because from what I hear (and see on Hallmark) Christmas in New York can't be beat.

Hello 2020!

It's been almost over two years since my last post. In my defense, I have mentioned many times that I am not very good at keeping up with blogs. There hasn't been much happen in this 'existential meltdown' life of mine. We moved to Georgia not long after my last post. If I can say one thing, military life is never short of busy. Since we have moved here, I lost my motivation to workout and all love of the gym. I don't know what it was about this place specifically that "ruined me" but I know it was this place. I got a job at a gym when I first arrived. Saying that I loved my job was an absolutely understatement. I have never had a job that I loved as much as this one. I was there for six months. Six months is what it took to be taken advantage of and be unappreciated. Let me back up a bit. When I was hired on, I was basically hired to 'maintain' the gym, which included cleaning, putting up weights, checking credentials, etc. I liked to stay busy so I was constantly cleaning something. From wiping every square inch on every piece of equipment in that gym to scrubbing showers full of pubes and man-pee, I did it. Being a personal trainer, I also helped patrons when they needed it. It wasn't until a certain someone was hired on that I began to lose my love for my job and respect for my boss. You see, this person was supposed to have been hired on earlier but "there were some shady sexual assault things on his background that he needed to get worked out before he could start". The sad part was it didn't stop after he was hired. Having patrons come up to me complaining and then me taking it to my boss did nothing but cause a rift between me and everyone else that worked there. I know they say "if you continuously have a problem, the problem is you" but that wasn't the case here. I had individuals who witnessed these situations as baffled as I when nothing was done. Picking favorites much? I wouldn't last much longer at the job I loved much longer and apparently neither did he. He quit less than a month after me. Had I known, I would've stayed, but it wasn't like they were fighting hard to "keep one of the best employees they've ever had".  

Moving forward, I finally graduated college! It only took three years going year round to do so, but I am not done yet. Let me tell you, that was a shit-show. I have never heard of anyone needing three years to get an AS in pre-nursing but when you have schools that are only wanting money, that happens. I think I finished with 92 credits. I have now applied to two one nursing school in Georgia (because the other can't seem to get their shit straight) and I hope I hear something back soon. 

We are set to move again this April. My gorgeous, amazing husband has advanced in his career and I couldn't be prouder of him. Ya'll, let me tell you, I have been with this man for 9 (NINE) years and almost married for 8 and it feels like we just got married this weekend. I fall more in love with him everyday. Sure, we can drive each other bonkers sometimes but that is few and far between. I honestly do not know what I would do without him. He saved me and if you have been following along with me this entire time (I don't know why you would HAHA) you know he saved me.  

My gorgeous man and I going home for Thanksgiving.

We went down to visit family for Thanksgiving this year. It was so nice being able to see family that we hadn't seen in months. I don't think I had seen my mom since August, briefly, and then before that....... goodness, I think it was last year. 

Well, that is all I have for now. See ya'll in two years.

Current Makeup Favorites

I mentioned in a previous post that I would list my current makeup favorites. Well, as I sit here watching Pinocchio, I shall do just that. 

These are the current Makeup products I used to create the very simple look above. I am not very talented when it comes to contouring and highlighting or even eyebrows for that mater because let's face it, I am in the gym 5 days a week and I do not wear makeup there. When I do go out, this is usually my day face. I will also link everything below . 

Primer: Smashbox photo finish pore minimizing

Foundation: Smashbox Studio Skin 15 hour (1.2) 

Forgot to add my concealer but it is It Cosmetics Bye Bye undereye in Light

Bronzer: Tarte Tartiest Pro Glow to Go

Highlighter: Also Tarte but also used Too Faced Sweet Peach

Blush: Too Faced Papa don't Peach

Eye shadow primer: Too Faced Shadow Insurance

Eyeshadow: Lorac Champagne Dreams

Eyebrows: Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz (medium brown)

Eyeliner: Stila Stay all Day (intense black)

Mascara: Lancome Hypnose Drama (excessive black) MY FAVORITE! 

Lipstick: Dior Dior Addict lipglow in pink ( I used over the Tarte Lipstick which the color is Rum punch) 

Primer

Foundation

IT cosmetics concealer

Tarte Bronzer

Too Faced Sweet Peach Glow

Too Faced Papa Don't Peach

Too Faced Eyeshadow Primer

ABH Brow Wiz

Stila Eyeliner

Lancome Mascara

Dior Lip

Tarte Lipstick

It's The New Year

New Years came and went. I am trying to stick to my resolution, are you? We had a little "shindig" if you will, here at our house on New Years Day as sort of a NYE party as well as an Alabama game party (ROLL TIDE YA'LL!) Tonight is the night Tomorrow we are going to see what our boys are really about. I have found over the last few weeks why I have such a hard time keeping up with a blog and it's really because I do not do much that is interesting. I go to the gym everyday. I MAY go out shopping on the weekend but here lately in Virginia with this 10 degree weather, this Alabama native would rather stay in hibernation. Yesterday, we ventured out to TJMAXX. God love that store. I always find something in there that I "can't live without". I saw a meme a while back that said "You don't go to TJMAXX to get what you need, you go to TJMAXX for TJMAXX to tell you what you need." That couldn't me more true. I ended up just getting a couple of things because shopping with two children is close to impossible.

My gorgeous man and I at our NY Day shindig

My first thing I bought was the charcoal toothpaste. Yes, I jumped on the bandwagon because I wanted to see what the fuss was all about. So far, all I see is mess. Have any of you ever tried it? What do you think about it? This was the one I got.

I also grabbed some of this. When i got my hair done for my competition, my stylist used the whole Sugarshine system on my hair and I swear it smells so good. Literally, sugar. 

So, of course I am also trying to slowly redecorate my house because when we lived in Germany, as newlyweds, everything was Ikea and now with kids, its all broken Ikea. So I bought this cute pitcher. *I'm currently laughing at myself right now because I realize how silly this sounds* I loved the detail and tried to weight the pros and cons and "do I really need it?" thing and the answer was "yes". I really needed it. 

I totally get that it's not the "Rustic Farmhouse" look I am going for, but like I said, I couldn't pass it up. 

I currently received a lot in the mail with more makeup products and I will definitely blog those next! But for now, coffee and church. Love you! 

Oh, hi.

So it has been a year since I have posted. If I can say one thing about myself it is this, I cannot stick to a blog to save my life. However, as today is New Years Eve, my resolution is not to join a gym, get fit, eat healthier or anything along those lines (and I will fill you in on why a little later) but ONE of my resolutions will be to actually stick to a blog. At least twi...once a week.. at least. Now to fill you in on my year skipping all the boring details.

1. I competed in a bikini competition. Came in 2nd. Qualified me for nationals and currently on "Offseason" prep for my next show July 2018. The reason why my resolutions aren't to eat healthy and get fit is because well.... self explanatory.

2. I went back to school. Super proud about this one.

3.  My family and I joined a church. Also really proud about this. 

4. We found out were moving soon! Georgia, here we come!! 

5. We added another member to the family. Her name is Harper. 

6. Annual trip to Disney. 

That pretty much sums up our year. Like I said, I left out the boring details.