Summertime Tan

Remember a few months ago I mentioned wanting to find a way to get a tan, without going to a tanning salon? I had almost given up trying, but I've finally found something that gives me the results I want without having to go to a salon!

It all started with an Instagram post from the fabulous Cameran Eubanks (from Southern Charm). She always looks on point on the show, so I love her tips and tricks she posts. When I saw this one, I was definitely skeptical because of the other tanning products I had tried in the past.

You ask. I deliver. For my fake tan I use the @lorealusa Sublime Bronze towelettes. Best self tanner I've used. They are cheap AF and you buy them from Ulta/Walmart/Target. My sis turned me on to these. They look like a baby wipe. Wipe your pale body down and then 4-6 hours later or overnight you transform into a golden goddess. You're welcome. Not paid. Not an ad. Cam don't play that game. 🙌🏻👉🙌🏽**edit I use these on my face too. Make sure you go into your hairline so you don't look weird.

A post shared by Cameran Eubanks (@camwimberly1) on Jan 3, 2017 at 10:53am PST

I thought, "What the hay?!", and gave it a try. After pricing it out to see where I could get the best deal on it, ya know in case it didn't work, I found that Target had the best deal. There was also a Cartwheel deal on it at the time! In the end, I paid between $7.50-$7.95 for it. I can't remember the exact price but a solid guess would be $7.74. The deal I got on it was exciting enough.

The main purpose behind diving in and trying this stuff was for a wedding I attended this last weekend in Tennessee. I never get enough sun up here because of winter and working all summer. So, when I go back to the South I definitely like to be tan. Plus I was very, very tan practically my whole life from living in Florida. After reading the instructions, I decided I would start using it everyday leading up to the wedding. The pack comes with 6 wipes, so I started on Tuesday and used one daily until Friday. These bad boys are SO easy to use, and for some reason just seem easier than the lotions you can use. The directions are really simple and if you follow them, you'll see a difference. Or at least I did. The best time to use them is after a shower, or at night before bed. They dry fast, so you don't have to worry about getting your bedding orange. Since I had 2 left in the pack, I've been using them 1-2 times a week to maintain the tan.

I LOVE THE RESULTS I HAVE SEEN! I definitely am darker, they don't smell as harsh as a spray tan, and they're fool proof (I mean, I figured them out). Plus, they are cheaper than most of the daily lotions out there. I previously paid around $9 for the Jergens tanning lotion, and felt like I never saw results. Before moving to Colorado, I never had to think about "fake" tans; I just always had a tan. My only two spray tans have been for weddings and were both done during the winter months. While they were okay, I just don't care to do them again. Now that I've found these wipes, I'm hoping I don't have to! Obviously I'd rather be outside getting my tan the natural way, because that means I'd be playing in the sun. However, it's just not as easy here as it was back home.

I honestly never thought I'd be looking for ways to get tan outside of being in the sun, but hey c'est la vie! What are some of your favorite ways to get a tan? Oh, and the lifeguard in me wants to say, "Please always put on some sunscreen!"

Until next time,
K. Shep

Ikea Hack: Bar Cart

This post is 100% inspired by this pin via Pinterest: DIY: Ikea Bar Cart Hack

I pinned this a year or so ago, and have been dying to try it ever since. Bar carts are an obsession of mine. I love the way they can fill a space, and are really popular right now. I've never seen them in stores, and now Target has been carrying them for a few months now. Unfortunately, those bar carts run $130 or more. Ain't nobody got time for that. This is where that pin comes in-buy a utility cart from Ikea, add some spray paint, and you have a bar cart. It's perfect and about $100 cheaper.

Rewind to March of last year, Connor and I are buying stuff for our apartment at Ikea. They have the cart listed in the pin linked above. Ultimately, we don't buy it because our apartment was too small for a bar cart and we had already spent enough money on other things. I figured I could just come back later and get it. Fast forward to living in the new house. We go to Ikea one weekend and I think about buying the Bygel cart to turn into a bar cart. They discontinued it!!! I was pretty salty. Until I was randomly on the Ikea website one day and discovered they had a utility cart similar to the Bygel for $30!!! It's called the Sunnersta, and you can find it here. I finally bought it a month ago, and this past weekend I finished it with some spray paint.

While it's not super fancy, it was fast, cheap, and turned out nice.

Honestly, all I did was spray paint the sides of the cart with some gold(ish) spray paint.
Pro tip: spray paint the sides before you put the whole thing together.

Let it dry for 24 hours, or at least overnight, and then put it all together. You've got yourself a bar cart! Let me know if you try it or if you have other awesome Ikea hacks!

Until next time,
K. Shep

Lessons in Life: One Year of Being an Army Wife

Even though we got married in February, March was really when we started "Army life" at Fort Carson. March was when I really became an Army wife and had to start to figure all of that out. Let me tell you, there was (and still is) a lot to learn. Here are some highlights of the things I've learned in our first year at Fort Carson:

• I still don't really understand what to do when retreat happens and I'm driving at 5 pm; like what if I'm at a red light and it turns green? what if I can 't pull over to the side of the road???
• I definitely don't understand why people don't stop for the flag at 5 pm
• Military/24 hour time still confuses the heck out of me; all I can tell is 1300 is 1 pm and 1700 is 5 pm- everything else I'm having to do the math on
• Being an Officer's wife has a ton of stereotypes surrounding it and I can guarantee you like 90% of them are not true...and they're really not true when your husband is a Lieutenant 
• Your military ID is the most valuable thing you own because you're honestly not even a person without it
• ACS is a beautiful program, especially here at Carson
• If you're completely new to being a full time Army wife, you should absolutely take AFTB classes
• I honestly thought I knew a lot from Connor being in ROTC, but there's SO much to learn
• Getting through the gate by myself used to make me nervous all the time (I honestly don't know why) but now it's just a part of everyday life
• Honestly just driving around post used to freak me out because I was sure I'd end up in a restricted area and get in trouble (lol ridiculous, I know)
• If you're a military family and not taking advantage of ITR (or ITT for the Air Force) you're crazy; you can get tickets and vacations at a serious discount
• Sometimes I forget other people (aka normal people) don't understand military abbreviations and I forget to explain what I'm talking about
• It really just depends on your family and where you're stationed, but I love living on post. We lived off post when we first moved here and while our apartment wasn't awful, we were broke trying to pay for it and hated our complex. Plus I feel so much safer being inside the gates.
• The Army 100% runs our lives, but it keeps us on our toes and I'm fine with it
• Learning the lingo really helps
• Knowing all the different ranks isn't vital, but honestly doesn't hurt to learn...I'm still learning like of half the ranks
• Going to the doctor when you're on Tricare is easily a month long process
• You can be super involved or totally hands off  Army life as you want; join the FRG or Spouses Club...or don't 
• I definitely recommend finding something to plug into; a lot of people don't understand this crazy life unless they're living or have lived it

Here are some things specific to Fort Carson:

• There are so many events and resources here, its incredible! While majority of them are for families with children, there's still stuff for couples without kids. 
• I kind of already mentioned this, but ACS here is awesome! There are a ton of classes and resources offered that are completely free. This is where you would take AFTB classes
• If you PCS here, do the Newcomer's Orientation. You get a tour of post AND Colorado Springs, which is extremely helpful
• MWR is also 10/10 here-there are a ton of gyms (aka personal fitness centers), pools, and programs here to keep you moving and exploring
• the 'get on the bus' trips are perfect during ski/snowboarding season, definitely something we have to do before we leave here
• Our PX is pretty nice, better than Peterson AFB (which is nearby)
• I honestly don't mind shopping at the commissary, it saves us so much money; if the Carson commissary is out of something (which happens often around paydays), we'll go to the Peterson one because it's pretty nice too
• sometimes we'll go elsewhere for select stuff, but that's more like if we want a brand of something the commissary doesn't carry
• A lot of people complain about Balfour Beatty aka on post housing. We haven't really had any problems with them, but I've learned all of this depends on the village you live in. So do some research on your village before you count them out.
• If you want to live off post, its pretty much buy your own house or live in an apartment
• Mountain Post Spouses Club is the spouses club here and it's definitely worth joining 
• Fort Carson is big! I still get lost once and awhile

I could honestly add on something to this post daily. I am always learning and discovering new things. This time last year, I was in such a different place. I'm thankful for this past year though, because I have learned and grown so much. It's not easy being a newlywed AND trying to figure out the Army, but what is life without challenges? Any Army wives read this blog? Give me your advice and share your stories with me!

Until next time,

K. Shep

TV Trash

My guilty pleasure is definitely what Connor and I like to call trash TV. You know, shows that you can just binge watch for hours. Shows you can just completely space out on and forget about life for a minute. Those shows. They're typically reality TV shows. I love them. Here are my top trash TV shows.

WAGS (only the original though, not Miami)

The Real Housewives of Orange County, New Jersey, and New York
Don't Be Tardy

Counting On

My Big Fat Fabulous Life

Toddlers and Tiaras 

Dance Moms

Teen Mom: OG
Teen Mom 2

Shows I love to binge watch that I don't consider trash TV:

Flip or Flop

Fixer Upper

Little People, Big World
Bob's Burgers (not trash, more like comedic genius)

Netflix shows I'm into (also not necessarily actual trash):
Master of None
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Chasing Cameron (I am fascinated by this kid creating a full blown career off of being an Instagram model???)
Orange is the New Black

Trash TV, for me, can only really be taken in doses. Honestly, these are probably most of my guilty pleasures. Do you have trash TV that you love? What is it?? Let me know so I can check it out!

Until next time,
K. Shep

March Bucket List

This is going up a whole week later than I wanted, but at least it's still pretty early on in March!

I feel pretty good about the February bucket list. I'd say a solid 6 or 7/10 things got crossed off. The most exciting being that we spent a weekend in Denver for our one year anniversary that included seeing the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Colorado Avalanche in overtime. Some of March's bucket list are boring responsible adult things. The truth is March will be pretty busy for me as next month minor league baseball kicks off. So, I'll try to have some fun but it'll probably be a lot of boring stuff.

Here is my March Bucket List:

We'll see how March goes, I'll try my best to keep the blog afloat!

Until next time,
K. Shep

Weekly Obsession [2/22/17]

This week's obsession: Fujifilm Instax Mini 8. 

I had been eyeing these little guys for awhile, but wasn't sure if I really wanted one. I thought it'd be really fun to have and something a little different. During an event I was working, I saw the host of the party using it to take pictures of guests. Then those guests could take them home and have a memory from the night, or the family could keep them as memories from the party. I thought about all of the awesome things I have coming up in the next year and how fun it would be to collect little memories right as they happened. I think I had finally decided I wanted one. 

Connor bought me one for Valentine's Day, and it's been a fun little gadget to have! I took it to Denver and to the Tampa Bay Lightning game this past weekend to try it out. I have to admit I still haven't 100% gotten the hang of using it yet. Some pictures come out too dark and others too light. I have a few pictures that came out nice though, and I'll show those to you via Instagram. 

I can't wait to take this lil camera all over and have these mini photos to keep with me in my purse or at my desk. Honestly, I constantly have the urge to take it everywhere with me but usually resist. 

If anyone has one of these let me know because I have so many questions! Should I buy a case? How do I get the best picture? What do I do when the picture comes out of the camera to make sure it develops correctly? Any and all advice is welcomed! 

Anyway, these things are fun (I used that word 3 times to describe it). I can't wait to share little (literally) snapshots of my adventures with this thing!

Until next time,

K. Shep 

Weekly Obsession [2/16/17]

This week's obsession: my Fitbit Alta.

Last Christmas, Connor got me a Fitbit Charge. I was so excited because I had really been wanting one. It was awesome; I loved it. Sometime around the following August, the band started to separate from the actual tracker. I was pretty sad. I decided to reach out to Fitbit about it, and the customer service was awesome! It hadn't been a full year so they told me they could replace it. Awesome. Turns out that they had stopped making the original Charge though, because they had just come out with the Charge 2 and a few newer trackers. Bummer. So, they told me they'd like to send me an Alta free of charge-back to awesome!

I told them that was great and I'd love it. I figured the Alta could only be an upgrade because it had text and call notifications and you can change the band on it. A few weeks later it came in the mail and so far I honestly love it! It has quite a few upgrades such as automatically tracking workouts and reminding me to get up and move every hour. I already have a black and a teal colored band and I can't wait to get more (aka the navy blue one). The only downside is that the Alta doesn't track floors, or how many flights of stairs you've climbed. I missed it at first, but honestly I never thought it was very accurate on my Fitbit Charge anyway because some days I'd have an outrageous number of flights of stairs when I knew I hadn't climbed that many.

Overall, I'd give the product a 9/10. I've only had one problem with it so far and it wasn't anything a simple reset couldn't fix. Who out there has a fitness tracker? A Garmin? Apple watch? What do you love about it, and what do you wish yours had? I'm pretty in love with my Fitbit, but I'm always curious about what else is out there. Do you also have a Fitbit? Add me and lets face-off in a step challenge-I love 'em!

Until next time,
K. Shep

Valentine's Day

I realized I've never shared any Valentine's Day stories on here! You guys are missing out because Connor and I have the strangest track record with this holiday. To elaborate, I'll tell you the stories of our past three Valentine's Day adventures with you.

2014: This was our first Valentine's Day together. I didn't know what Connor had planned because it had been a surprise. I had no clue what we were doing or when to be ready by or what to wear. I was hanging out in my apartment waiting for some idea of when and where we were going when one of my Kappa Delta sisters texted me. She asked if I wanted to go to Palace Pizza (aka the best pizza joint in Lakeland, FL) and even though I wasn't hungry I said sure. Since I had just been hanging out I was in like running shorts and a big t-shirt. When she got there I thought it was strange she asked me if I was going to change. I didn't change because we were just going to Palace, right? Anyway we go to Palace and order pizza...to go? Then she starts driving to Lake Mirror and tells me she wants to show me a playground she used to go to growing up. I didn't even think this was weird. Well she wasn't showing me any playground, she was taking me to my Valentine's Day surprise. Connor is the sweetest human being and planned a picnic by Lake Mirror for us. There were even Publix subs. I was definitely surprised and it was certainly cute but I was a little mad that I didn't end up changing. We still enjoyed our picnic and my sorority sister left to eat her pizza. The rest of the day we spent hanging out and then eventually spending time with our friends. It was memorable and went off without a hitch, but to this day I wish I would've at least been wearing make up.

2015: This one was an actual nightmare. I was interning for the Tigers at the time and I had an airport run that morning to pick up a coach or drop off a car. After that, I was going home to change and figure out what Connor's surprise was (see a pattern here?). When I was leaving Tiger Town (aka the stadium) my tire pressure light came on. I went home and told Connor about it, but he said it was fine and we could drive my car. I know nothing about cars, so I trusted him and we were on our way. I had no clue where we were going and my tire pressure light never went off. Turns out we were headed to Sarasota where Connor had planned for sushi dinner at a restaurant he loves. Absolutely none of this happened though because once we reached Sarasota, my tire went flat. My car doesn't have a spare tire, only something similar to fix a flat. I have AAA so I called them hoping they could come fix my tire and the night would go on, but this is where all the problems start. AAA doesn't show up, so I keep calling them. They continue to not show up. I eventually decide to just get my car towed to a tire shop and see what they can do the next day. Only AAA actually never showed up and I'll never forgive them for this. Connor decides we should call his mom and see if her spare tire will fit my car. She drives all the way to Sarasota and we end up leaving my car there overnight. At like 2 or 3 in the morning we get to Connor's grandma's house in Sebring and stay the night there. The next morning we go back to Sarasota to figure out how to get my car back to Lakeland. Somehow we get it to a Firestone and I get a new tire. This is the extremely condensed version, but after an exhausting 48 hours we get back to Lakeland and I got a new tire for Valentine's Day.
I still get annoyed over all of this, but we still loved each other after it was all over.

2016: I kept trying to remember what we did last year for Valentine's Day and then I realized we didn't do anything. We were so close to the wedding and Connor was here in Colorado.

2017: Since we got married so close to Valentine's Day, we really just combine the two. It works out nice and saves us some stress. We plan to do little things on Valentine's Day like flowers and chocolates. Celebrating our anniversary will be the bigger deal though.

Hopefully there's not a pattern here with Valentine's Day mishaps. If there is at least we'll always have stories to tell!

Happy Valentine's Day!
K. Shep

Weekly Obsessions [2/8/17]

I'm bringing back Weekly Obsessions and I'm switching some things up. My goal is for it to be up on Wednesday every week because I like the alliteration there with Weekly Obsessions on Wednesday (should I just call it WOW? lol). The change is that instead of picking things in categories, I think I'll just keep the focus one thing. Maybe it's music, maybe it's food, maybe it's something that happened that week-I'm going to try and mix it up. So here's this week's obsession: THE SUPER BOWL HALFTIME SHOW!!!

Last Super Bowl, Lady Gaga sang the National Anthem and I was obsessed with it. In fact, it was a part of my obsession post that week. Unless you live under a rock, you know that she did the halftime show this year. You probably saw it, but maybe you didn't. For you that didn't see it, please find a way to at least watch her performance. She sang and danced her way through the whole thing, and did it solo. Her outfits were awesome and she killed all of her choreography. She incorporated Texas into some songs and made her set personal. Of course I loved all of the American pride that kicked it off.  I can't finish this post without mentioning the drones that added to her performance and her being suspended in the air to open up her act. Overall, it was awesome and definitely what I'm obsessing over this week.

Here's some footage of it for your viewing pleasure:

California Dreamin'

The Sheps got to kick off the New Year by spending a weekend in San Diego. Since the minute we touched down back in Colorado, I haven't been able to get that trip off of my mind. We made the trip to celebrate a beautiful wedding of two people who deserve the whole world and then some. Even though the groom is Connor's friend, I've always admired both he and his lovely bride. So it was awesome to be a part of their big day. The wedding was Saturday night, so we still had pretty much all of Friday and Saturday morning to explore Mission Beach aka the part of San Diego we were in. Here are some of the highlights (read: things I'm still dreaming about) of the trip.

*cue California Dreamin' by Mamas & The Papas* (seriously, do it. it really sets the mood.)

I think the best way to do this is tell you all about the trip and inserting my favorite things along the way.

Since neither Connor or I had ever been to San Diego, I picked a flight pretty early in the morning so that we could explore on Friday. I think it's important to note that this was the first time Connor and I have ever flown together. Crazy, right? Anyway, we landed in San Diego at like 9 or 9:30 am and got our bags pretty quickly. From there, we had to decide what to do. There were 5 other people in our group for the weekend (God bless Air BnB) and we were the first ones there. Thankfully, the San Diego airport has a stellar USO. We decided to post up there for an hour and wait for another guy to arrive; and then another hour for another to arrive. After recharging both our phones and our souls at the USO, the four of us headed to Mission Beach. We figured we could find somewhere to hang out for an hour or so before the guy that booked the Air BnB arrived and then we could check in. Which leads me to our first stop: 

The Coaster Bar & Grill 

We needed a place to grab a beer, some food, and catch up. This place did not disappoint. I loved the breezy beachy feel of the bar, and our waitress was literally so friendly. If you make it here, you cannot leave without trying Latitude 33 Carolina Honey Hips Strong Blonde Ale. I wish I could get my hands on this in Colorado because I loved it. It's a California beer brewed in Vista. As far as food goes, I had some fish tacos. If you go to California and don't get fish tacos why did you even go??? Anyway, if you're looking for a laid back beach bar with great food and brews, this is your place. 

After that another (very gracious) member of our group got into town and drove us all to the Air BnB. That allowed us all to settle in and figure out what to do the rest of the day/night. I was so tired Friday evening/night that I honestly don't have too many exciting things to talk about. We did walk  down to the beach for sunset though, and it was then I decided I was never leaving Cali. Here are the perfect pictures:

#nofilter

We did go to PB Shore Club towards the end of the night, and it really was a fun place. You can get a vodka Red Bull slushie. I got one, but there was no way I could finish it. 

After a good nights sleep, I was ready for some brunch. Please know that I'm not lying when I say I'm still dreaming about this brunch. We went to the Duck Dive and if you're ever in Pacific Beach you have to go for brunch. Everything everyone ordered in our group looked phenomenal. There are $3 Bloody Mary's and the bottomless mimosas include a mimosa bar full of different juices and fruit to mix with your champagne. Some of the food ordered around our table included the dagwood, fruity pebble french toast (yes, there were really fruit pebbles on it), and biscuit & gravy sliders. I ordered the biscuit & gravy sliders and bottomless mimosas. Solid 10/10.

Seriously, I can't put in to words how amazing this place is. It was the perfect place to fill up before the wedding preparation began. We walked home from brunch and started getting ready to celebrate. Cigars were bought, beers were shotgunned, and I even curled my hair. 

The ceremony happened on the beach (gorgeous), and the reception was a short walk from there at Coaster Terrace. I'll share the like three pictures I took, but trust me when I say it was a great time.

Both of us at a wedding at the same time?? Weird. 

The next morning it was time to come back to Colorado. We flew into Denver, so here are some pictures of the Rockies and then the very strange Denver Airport. 

Like I said in the beginning, I haven't stopped thinking about our trip to San Diego. I loved every (warm) minute of it. Totally forgot to mention this, but the Thursday before we left and early Friday morning on the way to the airport, the weather was terrible. It was snowing heavily and the roads were super icy. So that made being in California that much more enjoyable. If you ever get the chance to go, do it. Stay longer than a weekend and soak in the good vibes. Definitely don't forget to go to the Duck Dive...and send me some of their awesome brunch.

So, that's how we kicked off the new year. We don't have any huge trips again for awhile, but I'm sure there will be some kind of adventure in between.

Until next time,

K. Shep

February Bucket List

A few things:
Wow, this post last year was all about getting married and moving! We've come so far in one year.
It's also been five months since I posted one of these. Whoops. Sorry!
Regardless, here's how those goals went. I definitely didn't put off packing! I think this was the most prepared I was for a move. It helped that it was just up the street. The new house rocks and I love living on Fort Carson. You could say I figured out the post season. In October, I was offered and accepted a full time position with the minor league team I've been working for out here. Since November, I've been doing that. It's a huge change, but I'm enjoying it. I FINALLY FIXED MY TURN SIGNAL AND IT IS FULLY FUNCTIONAL!!! I even got snow tires. As for the other things, I have been working out and drinking more water. I don't know if I've gone new places in the Springs, but we've definitely traveled a lot in the past two months.

Moving on, it is now February and I have a whole new list of goals. This month is one of the last where I can have some weekends off before we start gearing up for minor league season. I'm going to try my best to enjoy as much of it as I can. Here's the bucket list for February 2017 (lol, wut):

I can only hope this month is full of fun adventures. The only one I'm not confident of is #5, to be honest. Well, the only way to cross these off is to get out there and do them!

Until next time,
K. Shep