City Girl Secret #2- Sunless Tanner

God made me redheaded and pasty. Supposedly, that was "beautiful" but as a teen I just felt like a sheep in a herd of cattle. Texas women are supposed to be tan, with big hair and lots of make-up, right? Not really :) But you get what I am saying! When I was 14, my mom introduced me to sunless tanning creme. Even though I immediately turned streaked orange and smelled a mix of sunscreen and cheap perfume, I was hooked! Looking back I was not fooling anybody, but in my head I had finally joined the club. Unfortunately for my poor friends and family, I stayed in this smelly, streaky, orange state until my late teens. Randomly, my senior year of high school I started tanning for real and my angel kisses (freckles) disappeared... I didn't question it, I just reveled in my new bronze color and layed out whenever I could! Well, thank goodness I have the pictures to prove it because about a year or two ago the glory days ended. I am back looking like my old teenage Scandinavian self- white, freckled and staring skin cancer in the face if I try to fight it. But after an 8 or 9 year hiatus, I was thrilled to find ... there are some really amazing sunless tanners that actually turn you TAN!

My mommy lola always says, "A good tan is the quickest way to lose 10 pounds!"

Sign me up, right?!?!... here are my faves:

1. My all time fave- airbrush tanning that a stylist actually hand sprays on you with something resembling a gardening hose! Beautiful, perfectly tailored and even. A yummy splurge for a big event or a confidence boost during one of those yucky weeks.
Works: Immediately! But can't shower for 8-10 hours
Cost: $30-75 depending on retailer (*tip- the people you find on Internet or yellow pages will be cheaper than ones you find at department store or spa)
Lasts: 1-2 weeks
Con: Have to have an appt and takes about 30-45 minutes start to finish. You will get addicted!

2. Versa Spa- the updated "Mystic Tan" (at most larger tanning salons). Looks very natural, not streaky. Only takes 5 minutes if there is no wait at the tanning salon. A great cheaper alternative!
Works: If you choose the (more expensive) bronzer solution it activates within four hours but this can rub off and ruin your clothes. The clear solution that I have gotten activates in about 12-16 hours, but you can shower after 6.
Cost: $10-20 depending on the shade you choose (the bronzer solution is $20-30- unless you are on a time crunch I would rather pay the extra $ and get an airbrush)
Lasts: 1-2 weeks
Con: Only you will able to tell, but it is not quite as even. Not good for a pool party, comes off in chlorinated water. Also, make sure you wipe down your palms and nails so it does not turn them orange.

3. Jergens Natural Glow- A cheap, great alternative if you have a lot of time. Skin gets super soft and smells good.
Works: Over 2-4 weeks with regular application. Also, a great way to extend a spray tan.
Cost: $6 tube for body lotion, $10 for face lotion
Lasts: Hard to say for sure, maybe a few days once you have reached the color you want if you do not continue application.
Con: Takes dedication (daily application) to reach the color you want, but easy to maintain once you get there. MUST wash hands after application or your knuckles and palms will color orange.

There are so many products on the market, it is a little overwhelming to try and figure out what actually works without having to pay the price of walking around like an "umpa lumpa". This is only what I have tried with success.

Will you tell me what you know?

Summer Fun

Wow! When I get off track... I REALLY get off track! Sorry bloggy friends, I really have missed you! Nothing wrong just a summer haze :)

West Texas has had one of the worst droughts EVER this year! In fact the current stats for the area we live in say it's the worst drought since the Dust Bowl. So if you have ever seen the movie Giant or Gone With the Wind, you might be able to visualize my back yard (if you have not seen Giant or Gone With the Wind your to-do list just got a little longer :). Well, after a glorious getaway last week to a land of still skies, humidity and cloud cover, I found myself moping around at the prospect of going home. However, every cloud has silver lining right?! I came across this DIY kite and I have been dying to make it ever since! It may be dusty and hot but it's sure WINDY!

Hope you are having a great summer! xoxo

Whose bed have your boots been under?

My sweet Molly chewing on one of my favs- thanks!

Love, love, love Shania Twain... I have got to add her to my playlist... "and who's heart did you steal I wonder, this time it feels like thunder baby, and who did you run to..." But sadly she is actually not on my mind right now- just the song BECAUSE I have had boots on my mind! I love my family, my dogs, my pictures- they are precious to me!

But in a fire, assuming the before-mentioned things are safe- I am going for my one-of-a-kind, irreplaceable BOOTS!

To some this may sound silly, but to me they are defining- as defining as my red hair. City/ country, single/ married, skinny/ over-weight, wealthy/ poor, casual/ the country club/ many, many parties/ my debutante balls/ the bar/ the ranch- my boots have been with me and are irreplaceable. And even more than that, they are actually irreplaceable because they ARE (often old) and USED.

Every pair of boots I have purchased since I can remember is used, has their own story, history, long before I ever placed them on my feet.

I like to make up stories in my head about who might have worn them- cowboys, movie stars, politicians- highly unlikely at a cost of less than $30, but a girl can dream. Nonetheless, I hold them close to my heart. At any given time I have owned as many as 25 pairs or as few as 5 picked from various flea markets (Canton's First Monday is my favorite), eBay, antique stores, vintage clothes stores, goodwill... you would never believe the cool boots you can find! I have given them as gifts, shared with my mom and sister and traded with friends. I actually went to a true boot outfitter recently with Clay at his urging to see if I would like to get something- heck NO! I am totally spoiled... basic Justin or Ariat boots are nice but there is no creativity to their look, nothing vintage, nothing unique- all the boots that I even kinda liked were over $300! Maybe someday I will buckle down and get something when the teasing gets to be too much, but until then my charge to you- don't settle! Take pride in your boots, enjoy the hunt, have something re-soled, get the leather treated if it's amazing. But most of all don't pay $200 for average boots. Your clothes will show their age at some point, random jewelry can get boring, average shoes will go out of style/ fall apart, but boots get more comfortable with age and even when they do they tell your own little story.

I still have the boots I got engaged in, debuted in, sported all through college, play at the ranch in, and have my first boots as a toddler...

maybe it's an ode to my mother and our special 'boot hunts' or my fierce love for my state and everything it represents or a foreshadowing my life to come. But no matter, next time you see a really cool pair of vintage boots I hope you will stop and take a closer look.

Adventure a Car Ride Away

A city girl at heart there are a few things I just won't do: wear camo (there's nothing wrong with solid green and khaki), watch Nascar, ride a motorcycle, use Crisco, wear a bedazzled belt... I could go on, the point is a girl has to draw the line somewhere. Notice I didn't say never, I have done a lot of things I never thought I would do: camping, shoot a shotgun, ride a four wheeler, swim in a creek... and had a really great time! Camping I could've lived without, I mean it was OK for the 6 or so hours we did it, just not my thing.

But as my Grandma Val puts so well, you have to try a "no thank you portion" in food... and in life.

This weekend I tried my "no thank you portion", so to speak, of hiking! Every once in a while I will surprise myself and try something I madly fall in love with, like sushi or asics sneakers. But hiking is a whole new category of love, like totally enamored!

Living on the college budget, our travel category has changed from 'where does Southwest Airlines fly?' to... 'where can we drive?' and I am always surprised about how much our sweet state has to offer. Most recently we went to Caprock Canyons State Park. We were able to get there in under two hours and have five BEAUTIFUL hiking trails to choose from (of different difficulty). We did a middle level one (Lower Canyon Trail- over river beds and through the lower canyons), hopefully we can work up to the higher trails next time. The beauty was daunting and a perfect workout- right at two hours of hiking or 6.5 miles. Also, at this particular park there was a buffalo reserve where you could go spy on them in their natural habitat, super cool! There is just something I loved about traveling somewhere beautiful AND feeling like when you left you did something really productive. And drum roll... only cost $3, beat that! I am already planning our next hiking adventure! Here's a link to find your local Texas state parks... Texas Parks and Wildlife Enjoy!

^{Psalms 8:3-9}

^3-4 I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous, your handmade sky-jewelry,
Moon and stars mounted in their settings. Then I look at my micro-self and wonder,
   Why do you bother with us? Why take a second look our way?

 ^5-8 Yet we've so narrowly missed being gods, bright with Eden's dawn light.
   You put us in charge of your handcrafted world, repeated to us your Genesis-charge,
   Made us lords of sheep and cattle, even animals out in the wild,
   Birds flying and fish swimming, whales singing in the ocean deeps.

 ⁹ God, brilliant Lord, your name echoes around the world.

Happy 175th Birthday Texas

Country or city I will always have a love affair with my sweet state,

Steinbeck says it best...

Texas is a state of mind. Texas is an obsession. Above all, Texas is a nation in every sense of the word... A Texan outside of Texas is a foreigner.

-John Steinbeck

Click here for some funny Texas sayings.

Were in Texas... Let's talk beef...

God definitely has a sense of humor...
Remember when McDonald's was 'the place' to have your birthday party? Yes, Dallas, circa 1988 Mickey D's was cool. Happy Meals, some poor teen in a Ronald McDonald costume, play gym, cupcakes... can you see it? Well, I think between 4-6 I went to a dozen McDonald's birthday parties. Let's just say each time my mother reached the mailbox to find that her darling daughter was once again included in one of these posh affairs she was probably crying inside. But like the wonderful mom she was she packed me up, present (with bright curly ribbon) in tow- for me to go have yet another temper tantrum in the middle of the restaurant. I'm sure my words between the tears were something like:

gross, you know I hate hamburgers, why are you forcing me to eat this again, this is not a HAPPY meal!

While I did learn some manners with age... I was just really more a chicken girl (and a cheese, mustard, pickle girl when necessary). Then I met dreamy, tall cowboy. He is not the fake cowboy... his family really has cows, in fact beef is their whole business and they eat it... daily! And even without his family he eats it... daily... with potatoes. And if your excuse is not wanting to eat "potatoes" again, he will offer to cook the potatoes in new, different ways for you... and call his mom or grandmas for recipes.... he will even go buy the ingredients to show you how these potatoes will change your whole view of the "potato"- lovely. Well after a year or two of this, even starting to plan a life with this carnivorous, potato-loving (but oh-so-dreamy) thing, I started to think if you can't beat 'em join em right? (Part of my motto in my new country club cowgirl life). Five years into it I have discovered, thank you Jesus, that God really did make some yummy-ooey-gooey-feel-it-in-your-core (in more ways than one) BEEF! From a former temper tantrum-er and currently very spoiled daughter-in-law, my advice:

start with the tenderloin!

Tips for novice beef connoisseur (well, my experience):

• If you are if-y about beef don't try the ribeye to start- very tough, often fatty.
• If you ever get filet mignon or tenderloin (short loin) be sure to specify how you want it cooked, they should be asking you if you are paying that much for a steak BUT just in case you want it MEDIUM WELL or WELL DONE... some people think it tastes great all chewy and bleeding... not novices, yuck!
• SAY NO to calf fries... trust me.
• "Pure Angus" or "100% Angus" beef is a rip-off, it is no better than any other type of beef. Angus is a type of cow and it is a marketing ploy. What makes beef more valuable is the cut (where it came from the cow, see above) and the marbling (is the fat clustered? or are there just a lot of tiny white lines throughout? better)
• Short loin most valuable... least is debateable.
• Grass-fed beef and veal are less fatty/ greasy and sooo good.
• You can mask most not-so-good-steak with a good horseradish sauce, but when in doubt... sit next to the dog.