Quick Catch Up: End of 2014

I'm going to make this quick and try not to bore you with long posts about where I have been the last two months. I know. I've been slacking major time. But that's about to change!

// We went to Branson back in November. If you don't take a little family getaway trip once a year you SHOULD! We had a great time and it really kicks of the holiday season on a great note.

// I started an Etsy shop making custom baby headbands.

// I hosted our 3rd Annual Bake-Off. We made lots of cookies and drank wine. It was uber fun!

// I started a gift-wrapping business and actually had some customers! I probably wrapped 100 gifts this year!

// I went to the PRI show in Indianapolis and then went to Michigan to check our new boat.

// I got engaged!

bling bling!

// And had an awesome Christmas.

// Neely and I hit up some after-Christmas clearance sales.

And we both got awesome "holiday trees"!

// For New Years Eve we enjoyed time with family at Neely's house where we all made artisan pizzas and drank champagne.

And that's where I've been! I had such a great holiday season and was so thankful I was able to be at home and not traveling. Sometimes, I can be such a homebody!

Anways... stay tuned for more posts and regular blogging around here. I truly miss my random rants and filling this little corner of the interwebs with silly ramblings.

Winner Winner, CLARISONIC!

Boy am I one naughty blogger! I haven't posted in a month and some BIG THINGS have happened. I have been so busy! I'll catch you guys up on that stuff later, though. Today I am devoting this whole post to thanking one of my favorite bloggers, Shasta Anne! I won her giveaway for a Clarisonic!

She announced the winner on August 25. I was out of town AND my stupid iPhone wasn't connecting to my gmail account so I wasn't getting some of my emails. Then she commented on my Birthday Wishlist post telling me again that I had won. (I'm a horrible giveaway winner, I know.)

I finally saw her comment and e-mail when I got home on the 26th. I can assure you I was ECSTATIC! I was sitting in my office screaming

"OH MY GAWD!!! I WON A CLARISONIC!!!"

The guys were like "What is a Clarisonic?"

And my dumbass replies "It's this face-scrubber thing that vibrates!!!"

and they say "You won a vibrator!?"

ummmmm... kind of?

men...

I was so very happy that I won. I have wanted a Clarisonic for a few years and have struggled with whether to buy one for myself or put it on my wishlist for Christmas or my birthday. The stars must have aligned because winning one is way better!

When I got it in the mail, I was pretty happy.

Shasta packaged it so beautifully with a glittery "T" and pretty tissue paper.

I got to choose between the MIA in white, teal, mango, or pink OR the MIA 2 in white. I selected the MIA 2 in white.

I have been using it about every other day and I can definitely feel my face is cleaner than just washing it with a cleanser. And so far I haven't experienced that "Clarisonic breakout phase". My acne is hormonal so I don't think it will really help with that but it will definitely keep me looking fresher and promote new cell turnover which is great for me since I have oily skin.

Again, big thanks to Shasta! This is one of my absolute favorite birthday presents!

This girl got a new domain name!

My old web address was www.tristancollins.us and after some thought... that is just confusing. The name of my blog is "Sunshine!" so why not have a domain name that has the word sunshine in it?

Duh, Tristan.

So if something seems different or you have any problems finding my blog, that is why!

I hope you are having a great weekend!

Confessional Friday {Link Up with A Blonde Ambition}

Helloooooo Friday!!!

I confess that I missed my blog's First Birthday. I'm such a bad blog-mom!

Let's have a little celebration!

That was fun!

moving on...

I confess that I love me some Big Lots! I got a 20% coupon a few days ago that is this Sunday only.

Yes I cleared my schedule for a Big Lots shopping trip.

No I am not crazy.

Yes I am.

I confess that my Invisalign is really freaking annoying. I told myself that I would not be one of those people who piss-and-moan about orthodontic work but omg these things are freaking weird!

I feel like I got punched in the teeth and there is one spot where the plastic is rubbing on my tongue. I'll go in to more detail on another day.

welcome to My Grill...

I confess that I have filmed two videos regarding my Invisalign experience and I'm just not digging it. There are some people that the camera just does not flatter. I am one of those people. More on this later...

I confess that I am lusting after a YMCA membership. I have always found myself more of a gym-rat than an at-home-gym-mouse. I just can't get motivated at home!

I confess that I got two rain jackets at JCPenney the other day and I can not wait for it to rain so I can wear them!

And finally I confess that I just want to go back to bed. My teeth hurt, I talk funny, and I'm grumpy... nobody wants to be around me so I vote YES on going back to bed!!

Have a great weekend!

Five Things

I saw this little Q&A sesh over at two of my favorite blogs.

Real Life, Real Estate, Real Dana

and Lesley at The Dream Tree

Of course I must participate even though I'm sure most of you don't give two sh!ts!

Let's begin!!

five things...

...you'll find in my purse

1. iPhone

2. Wallet

3. Coach Pill Case with Advil, Benadryl, and Pseudoephed (no I'm not a drug dealer)

4. digital camera

5. Eos lip balm

...you'll find in my bedroom

1. hand lotion

2. a bottle of water

3. iPad

4. Vick's Vapor Rub

5. Eos lip balm

...I've always wanted to do

1. go to Brazil

2. learn ballet

3. Go on a vacation to a tropical destination and do absolutely NOTHING! We always have an agenda when we go to Miami and it drives me nuts because all I really want to do is lay on the beach!

4. buy a Ferrari

5. design my own home

...I'm currently loving

1. Mac Studio Fix Fluid foundation

2. Dove Body Wash Pomegranate & Lemon Verbana. It smells SO GOOD!

3. YouTube-- makeup collections, vanity tours, tutorials, and hauls

4. TJ Maxx and JC Penney. Sales are my favorite!

5. Jennifer Lawrence. She is hilarious!

...quirks I have

1. I have to fall asleep with the TV on... but it can't be just anything... it has to be something I have seen before like Keeping Up With the Kardashians or Pawn Stars.

2. When I order tea at a restaurant, I order a "half-and-half"... half sweet, half unsweet. I don't like unsweet tea and I also don't like it when I pour sweetener in to my tea and it all settles on the bottom.

3. I turn everything off before I get out of my car. My stereo, seat heaters, climate control, headlights, EVERYTHING! Tyson hates it. i'm weird.

4. I cannot go to bed until I take off all of my makeup and brush my teeth.

5. When I go to Wal-Mart or Sam's and I get a sucky cart, I will go back and find another one that doesn't have a bum wheel. I absolutely hate it when I am shopping and I have a cart going "thump thump thump thump". Such a distraction!

That's all for now. It snowed last night so I am still in my pajamas... and I have no intentions of changing any time soon!

Happy Tuesday!

Welcome to Blogland, Mallory!

Can I get a warm welcome for Mallory and her new blog Memoirs of a Missouri Girl?

clap clap clap YAAAAAYYY

She joined the riot!

I'm so glad Mallory started her blog! Now I can really stalk her every move! ha

Mallory and I go waaaaay back.

We met in 4th grade.

I hated her guts.

She thought I was crazy.

By 5th grade we were best friends.

I basically moved in to her house that year.

6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th grade we were still besties.

11th grade I joined the dance team so we could shake it together.

Continued to shake it through 12th grade.

then we went to college...

Different colleges...

She went to Mizzou and I went to SFCC.

But that didn't stop us!

We had dinner over Christmas break...

I helped her in a pageant...

We went to friends' weddings...

She came to my homecoming...

and then her boyfriend, Seth, proposed!

And she asked me to be her maid-of-honor!

Then last summer I was in her wedding!

plus so much more!!

Lookin friggin sexy in middle school.

Mallory and I at Dixie's... I think she this was the day she went brown for Golden Girl tryouts.

Summer of 2007 we were gas dock attendants at Millstone

...tough job... lol

In '08 I ran for homecoming queen (and lost) but Mal came to support me!

And Mallory won Miss Dogwood a few months later!

Last summer I made her this awesome penis cake for her bachelorette party.

And she got married a few months later!

You will love her... trust me! She is so down-to-earth, honest, caring, and oh-so-sweet. She is in her last year of veterinary school, has an adorable doggy named PJ, and she knows how to castrate horses.

She has an auctioneering-reffing-coaching husband, an eye for fashion, and a Kitchen-Aid mixer. You will want her to be your best friend, too!

Sunshine News!

Hello!

I have some news for you!

I have decided to start making video blogs (vlogs)! I already have a YouTube channel that I post random videos on. Nothing fabulous, just some boating and fun stuff that I capture on film. With that being said, I feel there is some content that I can add to YouTube that is somewhat of an "untapped" area.

Boating will definitely be involved in some of these vlogs. I am going to film everything that goes in to our poker runs: preparing, driving/hauling the boats, fuel stops, break downs, high speed runs, the parties, EVERYTHING! I think it will make great content and give viewers an idea of what REALLY happens at poker runs. Not the "rich guys with fast boats" stereotype that we usually get stamped with... I'm going to show the nitty-gritty.

The other vlogs that I am going to film will be my experience with Invisalign. I went to my consultation on January 14th and I have a huge journey ahead of me. When I started researching videos of other patients with Invisalign, I found their content was extremely informative regarding the treatment, but most of what I found were "minor to moderate" Invisalign treatments. Mine is considered "severe". Yikes. Sounds scary just typing that! Mostly I hope to educate viewers and help anyone in their decision to get Invisalign. It's a HUGE investment and takes a lot of thought and homework before taking the plunge.

This is going to be a lot of work but I am ready. I have already warned most of the people around me that I am going to be filming everything! Strangers will think I'm crazy but I don't care! It's going to be fun and rewarding. I will post links once I get some videos uploaded. We are leaving this Friday so my filming begins soon!

Wish me luck!

Saw It. Pinned It. Did It... Peel-N-Stick Cabinet Floors

Today I am linking up with Steph at BEAUtiful mess! Every Thursday her and Katie at Keep Calm & Carry On do a link-up for Pinterest projects!

Let's jump right in to this!

I saw this on Pinterest:

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Tristan on Pinterest

So I ran down to the local cheap flooring store and bought some vinyl tiles so I could do it, too!

Hello beautiful-under-sink-cabinet space!

Before:

ummmm yuck?

I know, right? Gross!

You can tell I place a high priority on this specific cabinet... NOT!

Considering my sweet hunny...

1. Painted the interior of the cabinets black... making for absolutely ZERO light reflection so you NEVER know what might jump out at you...

2. Is insanely obsessed with running wires through anything he can drill a hole in.

3. Is also obsessed with this yellow foamy crap called "Great Stuff".

This had to change... I am losing valuable cabinet space!

I got a box of 12 18" tiles for $15.00 at our local wholesale flooring store. I wanted solid white peel-n-stick but the lightest color they had was a light stone color.

I also bought a cabinet door shelf at Lowe's for $8.77.

How I did it...

Empty the cabinet

Vacuum-out all the disgusting foreign objects

Scrape the bottom of the cabinet in case anything has stuck to it that didn't vacuum up

Vacuum that crap up

Clean the entire cabinet with some sort of disinfectant

Test-fit your tiles

Cut to fit

Slap those babies in place

TA-DA!

Shiny new cabinet floors!

Easy to clean... brightens the cabinet... only takes 5 minutes!!

 

Graphic Image Desk Diary Unboxing

About a week ago I received the Desk Diary I won over at Style Me Swanky!!

I was out of town so when Tyson called and told me I got something in the mail I honestly couldn't think of what it could be.

Then he said

"It's from Graphic Image"

and I said

"YAAAAAAYYY!"

When I got home this beautiful cream box was setting on the dining room table waiting for me.

 When I opened the box I found my new desk diary inside, wrapped in cellophane. 

 It says "2013" on the top right and "TPC" on the top left in gold... it's absolutely beautiful with the bright pink  crocodile embossed calfskin leather.

 I was really surprised how large it was. Almost as large as this PB Teen catalog.

 The gold page edges are stunning.

 The desk diary has a lot of great information inside like this Weight and Measure Conversion chart. Very handy!

 It has Monthly Views...

 and Weekly Views.

I absolutely love it! It is GREAT quality and so luscious I didn't even want to write in it for fear of spelling something wrong or writing sloppy. I feel like this is what the Queen would use to keep her schedule straight... but we all know she has people that do that for her!

Rosella at Graphic Image was very easy to work with to get my desk diary sent out to me quickly. Thank you so much!

And thank you Megan for this amazing giveaway! I love this datebook and have already put her to great use!