6 New Things You'll See on #TMB

Helloooo, again, everyone!

I am back and you may have noticed... This Messy Business has a new look! It's pretty fantastic. Stream-lined, simplified, and easy to manage. Now that we've got a new look, we're also going to have some new content. I'm super excited about it!

Here are 5 of the things you'll spot on the new and improved #TMB.

1.  You'll still see house updates! I love my little house and plan on still sharing any and all updates that I've got going on. It may not be anything major, like a kitchen remodel, but it'll still be great and fun!

2. Finances! and our Debt-Free Journey. We are working on becoming totally debt-free (except the mortgage) by 30, so you'll see some tips on how to stay motivated, what happens when you lose steam, resources, and money saving help. This will be linked under the "Lifestyle!"

3. Clean living. We are also making a shift towards more clean living and eating in our house. From changing products to investing in our community and learning to grow our own herbs. We are working to minimize, simplify, and live more with less. Check out the "Cook Book" tab for recipes!

4. Fashion! Though we want to minimize and live more simply, I still love my clothes and shoes! So, that's gonna happen. You'll see more posts about that and more! Another one for the Lifestyle tab!

5. Colorado lifestyle and adventures. We are looking to take advantage of the great country and county we live in! We are going to go on some fun adventures this summer from helping with weddings, to camping, hikes, wine tasting, or whatever strikes our fancy. Find these under the"Lifestyle" tab.

6. Teacher Tips. I'm a high school English teacher and High School Speech & Debate Coach. I absolutely love my job. But it is hella hard sometimes. I'll be posting ideas on how to manage and balance teaching, life, and staying sane. Check these out under the "Teacher's Corner" tab!

Have something else you'd like to see featured on the blog or advice as i get restarted? Let me know in the comments below!

Find me on social media:

It's a Gutter Job

This last whole month has been filled with posts about the exterior of my humble abode! So here is another one for you as well. Last year all the gutters on the front of my house basically crumbled and fell off the house, or were knocked down from a falling limb or something equally dramatic. Here's a before of the entire front of the house, without gutters:

Here is also the back of the house, which from what I can tell, has never had any gutters at all.

It only took one short afternoon for the guys to come out and do my gutters. I did choose to hire them, especially with my Dad being so far away in New Mexico, I am quite sure this is one of those things you could DIY with the right means, but I don't think its for everyone.

Here's a beautiful view of the finished product:

It definitely gives the house a wonderful finished look and helps navigate the excess water from storms and other precipitation. The total cost was $678 on this bad boy.

The company that did it was called Guttermeister, click on their name if you're local and want to get in touch. I would definitely recommend them!

My house is feeling so grown up! New door, gutters, painted porch, new steps. I love it!

Summer Lovin. My Favorites.

I won't lie, I haven't had time to do anything at all exciting in terms of DIY this week. I've been overwhelmed with finals, teaching, projects, and assignments. I must confess I will be relieved when the semester is over and I never have to do a group presentation again. They are definitely my least favorite thing.

But anyways! I thought that I would share my favorite summer products! Just for fun. As a redhead summer is one of my least favorite seasons. I feel as though the sun is seeking out my poor white flesh and that I smell like coconut sunscreen for three solid months. The last couple summers I've tried to find the perfect mix of products. 

Let's call it: "Summer Survival of a Classy Redhead Tool Kit"

or something like that.

First and foremost to understand about redheads is we generally don't tan.

At all.

Whatsoever.

Period.

So I love sunscreen! But hate the smell. Here's some of my favorites:

 I've found this great Cetaphil facial moisturizer that contains SPF 50. Doesn't block your pores, doesn't smell nasty. Awesome. And Neutrogena SPF 100+ is my absolute favorite sunscreen. Especially for my neck and chest. It's light and doesn't have the consistency of glue, which is refreshing if you've ever tried to rub on anything over 60 proof.

Since I can't get a tan I love this Mario Bedescu lotion. It adds some fun shimmer and hydration plus it makes my legs look less shockingly white when I very occasionally wear shorts.

Makeup is also a hard one for redheads. Here's a few of my favorite makeup hits:

I worked at Ulta, the beauty store, for quite awhile and have since developed a fondness for high end makeup. I figure I'm single so I can buy the good stuff. Plus I have always struggled with acne so spending the extra cash on quality is totally worth it to me. BareMinerals Original foundation in "Fair" is my staple item. I love it. It matches my skin tone without making me look ghastly or masked and it keeps me from breaking out a whole lot.

BareMinerals Faux Tan (shiney metallic lid) is also a favorite because it allows me to add a controlled bronzed look without actually having to go into the sun. Total win if you ask me.

Pink nail polish in "Butterflies" by Orly, some volumizing mascara, and fabulous chap stick complete my easy redhead summer needs.



Luckily I do have some house related things to show you!

I've purchased some awesome flower pots! They're from Ross and ranged from $2.99 for the little one to $5.99 for the big ones. Cheap. Even more awesome.

Now just to plant some things in them and try to get them to grow. That will be the challenge. Oh and that's the table from my "Summer to-do list" that I need to put another coat of paint on. Yay.

What is your favorite summer product?



*all products were reviewed by me independently. cuz I'm like that. independent, I mean.

Fashion Action No 2

Time for round 2 of my Pinterest fashion show! I'm still trying to figure out how to take less Facebook-y pictures of myself for this but... So far no luck. Here's the look I was trying out this week! Awesome bomber jacket, layered woven button downs, lots of bracelets and necklaces. Awesome outfit. Purposefully effortless. I love it!

atlantic-pacific.blogspot.com

Here's my attempt:

 

I decided to leave off the 2nd button up shirt. That was wayyy too much for me, my arms were getting caustrophobic in my sleeves. But I have on my Hollister skinny jeans, the button down is from JCPenney and the accessories are mostly from American Eagle.

Wait! You gotta see my facebook scrunchy face!

Holla at your girl! Just kidding. I've been having fun with these outfits off of Pinterest, I just really need to figure out my camera settings a bit better lol.

Fashion Action! No 1

If you've been following me on Facebook you may have noticed that I came up with a crazy idea to do just a bit more of the whole Pinterest thing and challenge myself to try out some of the outfits and styles that I've been posting on Pinterest lately. I love a good outfit with perfectly coordinated accessories and a lovely bag.... ahhh the makings of happiness! So for my personal pinterest challenge I'm taking one photo that I've pinned to my board Fashion Forwarddd and will try at least one a week. If it sucks I'll share it or if it's great I'll share it. It all goes.

Feel free to join in and then leave me a comment with a link of what you tried out! Or post your pic on my Facebook page so I can see it there too!

Alright well here we go for round one. 

I thought I would start relatively simply, like this girl's outfit. Button up woven with a loose but still trendy sweater pulled over top, skinny jeans, and toms. Easy enough right?

And here's my take! Oh heck yes. Going back to the MySpace mirror picture days! But it works out! I used what I had already so that I wouldn't have to run out and buy anything for the outfit. The button down woven I've had since I worked at Hollister and I'm personally a huge fan of white so I put this white sweater from Wet Seal. A dark pair of Hollister skinnies and some knock off Tom's that I got from Rue21 for $4 dollars and VIOLA!

Perfect teaching outfit too. Not tight or revealing and besides... my glasses make it totally scholarly. Yay.

Oh what a happy day!

I really need to paint my nails. Don't look at them. Icky.

But wait! There's more! Check out my great bag! I bought it at JCPenney's! I had a $10.00 off reward card and a $10.00 off a purchase of $25.00. This bag was 27.99. Holla! I paid only $8.00 dollars after taxes! And it makes me feel very scholarly. All I need is my moleskin notebook and fountain pen and I'm practically the next Hemingway.

Alright so it's you're turn to tell me. Hit or miss? What outfits have you been assembling for fall and do you still take lame pictures of yourself in your mirror?