It’s Friday, y’all! (WOOHOO!) As I am writing this, I have a stowaway under my desk…

Someone is too small to stay in the backyard by himself (well, with only the supervision of his older brother and sister) because he can fit under the fence (even though he is a little chunky…)! So he’s now a puppy audiologist in training. Luckily, I happen to work for a company that is not only okay with dogs at work, but actually encourages it.

It’s the first Friday of October, which I LOVE because it’s finally starting to look and feel like fall, y’all! 🙂 We spent the week celebrating Steven’s birthday, welcoming Gump into our family (with a drastic decrease in our sleep), and enjoying cooler weather! I’m excited to share 5 new things with y’all, so check them out below!

1. John Frieda Frizz Ease Extra Strength 6 Effects Serum 

Raise your hand if you are not as nice to your hair as you should be (this is the part where I slowly raise my hand very high…). I’m terrible to my hair.  I wash it everyday (unless I’m not planning to go anywhere or see anyone), which means it’s greasy if I don’t wash it everyday. And by washing it everyday, that also means I use heat tools on it daily. Some days I’m lucky enough to have time to let it dry by itself (so no hair dryer), but my troll doll hair requires at least some wrangling from a straightener or curling iron.

Recently I have been struggling with the idea of cutting my hair, or leaving it long. For a while, I thought it just didn’t look good long anymore, even though Steven likes it long. And then I realized, it doesn’t look good not because it’s long, but because it doesn’t look healthy. So, to truly decide whether or not I wanted to make a big cut, I had it trimmed first and started using this heat protectant and nourishment serum.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE. Y’all, it’s not fair to judge something only by it’s shortcomings- aka- don’t hate your long hair because you have 4 inches of split ends. It’s not your hair’s fault you have disgusting splits, it’s yours. And you will love your hair if you give it a little love.

I found this at Target, and have had good luck with all the John Frieda products. A little goes a long way, and I apply it mainly to the ends.

I love this product, but this is mainly just your friendly neighborhood PSA to use a heat protectant if you use heat tools on your hair. Your hair will thank you for it! 🙂

2. Love What Matters Podcast

I’m not super familiar with the Love What Matters Facebook page, but apparently it’s a place where people post stories about feel-good, uplifting stories going on in the world since we are often bombarded with so much negativity and unkindness.

Since college, we have been listening to the Bobby Bones Show, which is a syndicated morning radio show. It was based in Austin when we started listening and was on the Top 40 station, but they have since moved to Nashville to become the top syndicated morning show affiliated with country music stations. The show features the main host, Bobby Bones, along with co-hosts Amy, Lunchbox, and Eddie. Amy, whose story I have followed since they lived in Austin, is a Christian and has spoken out about their struggles with infertility and with their long road to adoption. They are currently in the process of adopting two children from Haiti, and are almost to the point that they are going to get to bring them home!

Where all this ties together is that Love What Matters recently approached Amy about doing a weekly podcast featuring stories submitted through the Facebook page. And there you have it– a weekly fifteen minute podcast hosted by Amy from the Bobby Bones Show featuring 3-4 stories featuring positivity, kindness, and love. It’s a little mid-week pick-me-up of love. And let’s just all admit that we could use a little more love, kindness, and positivity through our week because the world has gotten kinda mean, right?

I access it through the Podcast app on my phone, but you can also look for it on iTunes! New episodes go up on Tuesdays!

3. Crumpler Kennels 

Have y’all heard we have two lab babies? (Ha!)

These two munchkins are a pretty BIG part of our life, right?

We LOVE Crumpler Kennels, which is where we got these two. Bonni (Bonni Crumpler, of Crumpler Kennels) has the BEST process for puppies, and if you are at all interested in having a lab for hunting or retrieving, this is the place you need to be.

She will announce (typically via her Facebook page) what litters are upcoming, and what colors will be available in that litter. She is experienced enough to know what will typically be in each litter, so she takes a certain amount of pre-birth deposits, and the rest are put on a waiting list. You get updates starting the minute the first of the litter is born, and then weekly after that. Each week, you get an email formal update that includes a video of your pup with developmental milestones of the week, and then themed photos from a photo shoot she does. The email also includes weekly weights for all the pups so you can track growth, and any updates for the litter. These are some photos from some of Ruger’s and Gump’s photo shoots.

On the left, we have Ruger, with the theme “I’m A Keeper” and on the right, we have Gump, with the theme “The Best Part of Waking Up is Dog Hair in Your Cup”. Clearly Gump just can’t even with the photo shoots. These were both from when they were “Puppy of the Week” on the Crumpler Facebook and Instagram pages.

She also sends out videos during the week of the litter playing, when they are introduced to solid food, when they are introduced to wings, and when they are introduced to water. With Ruger, we got videos of them starting to kennel/ crate train, but Gump wasn’t there long enough to start that process with her. She likes to know names for the pups early because she will always call them by their names to help get them trained to their name.

Starting from day 1, she keeps the best detailed health records, so much so that our vet commented how fantastic Ruger’s records are when he went in for his first shots. She keeps all the paperwork lined out for each pup, and microchips them herself with the AKC chip that corresponds to their AKC paperwork.

We just could not imagine a smoother, better puppy buying experience, and these boys are definitely our babies. I’ve bragged several times before about how awesome Ruger is at retrieving and the strides he has made with obedience and training, and we are expecting the same from Gump. As long as they breed lab puppies, they will be our breeder. Bottom line, if you are looking for a bird/ hunting dog– look no further! (And please note, due to recent legislative restrictions placed on specialty breeders, Bonni can only sell to those intending to train these pups as hunting/competition dogs, not anyone just looking for a lab as a pet.)

Visit her Facebook page here for more information!

4. The Ranch 

Last spring, Steven and I discovered a Netflix original show called The Ranch that we actually both really enjoyed. It features Ashton Kutcher as semi-pro football quarterback Colt who just can’t make it and has gone back to Colorado to help his dad and brother with their fledgling family ranch. Having been away for a while, he is unaware of the trials and heartache associated with running a ranch, and learns how to help the family the best he can. Sam Elliott plays his old rancher curmudgeon father with little tolerance for Colt’s “big city ways”, and Danny Masterson plays his brother “Rooster” who ends up in most of Colt’s hijinks, giving the show both brevity and comedy. Debra Winger rounds out the cast as the boys’ mom, with an on-again/ off-again relationship with Elliott that adds a little something different. It is definitely considered a sitcom, but it has its more serious moments at times. It is witty, and smart, with some cheesy moments, but we definitely found ourselves genuinely laughing out loud more than once.

The first 10 episodes launched on Netflix on April 1, 2016 and the next 10 are set to release on Netflix today (10.7)! I would recommend checking it out if you are looking for a new sitcom!

[Disclaimer: Since it is a Netflix original series, it has more language than a network sitcom.]

5. Revlon Balm Stain “Romantic”

So, a few weeks ago I discussed that I was on the lookout for an easy red lip. And I think I may have found it!

I LOVE the Revlon Balm Stain and have been using the “Honey” color for years (which is like a darker pink), and I recently decided to see if they had a red option that I would love as much. And I do! The Romantic color is a good shade that isn’t too orange, but not too dark red. Since it’s a stain, it lasts most of the day, even after eating and drinking. It’s a little matte and not very bright, so you could add a shine if you’d like, or leave it not as shiny. They have balm stain colors in a true matte, but I haven’t tried any of them (I don’t really know how I feel about matte just yet).

It has a crayon-like tip so I feel like it goes on better without getting way out of the lines of my lips, which I usually find to be an issue with the red glosses.

I would recommend any of the balm stains because I like how they wear, so if you are looking for a “lipstick” that’s not really a true “lipstick”, but with longer wear, try them out! I bought the Honey at Target, but the Romantic at HEB, so you should be able to find them anywhere general make-up is sold.

 

That’s our five for the week! Thank you so much for stopping by and checking them out! See y’all next week!

Enjoy your weekend! (and this fat puppy selfie 😉 )

Oh, and Ruger and Gump both say Wreck ’em, Tech! Guns Up and Beat K-State!