Now that I feel all caught up with July’s post, it’s time to turn over a new leaf.  I’m tossing around the idea of trying to post everyday for a month again, just to give myself another kick start.  I’ve gotta do something.  Got so, so, so many ideas rolling around in my head of stuff I want to write about and suss out and I just need to give myself a good kick in the butt.

But let’s end August and start of September the right way – with a monthly love post.  There were SO MANY THINGS to love in August and I am thoroughly addicted to each and every one of them.

We kicked off August with STAYCATION! We were supposed to go to Pennsylvania but circumstances and finances didn’t work out so we decided to take a week off together and spend it in the Charleston area just relaxing and enjoying time sight seeing in our area and enjoying time together that we don’t normally get because we’re wrapped up in normal lives and when we do travel, we’re usually visiting friends and family.  So we slept in and cooked dinner and baked food.  We went fishing at the new Mt. Pleasant Pier (well, Steve fished, I read books all day on what turned out to be an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day!), watched a bunch of movies, drove around exploring the Lake Moultrie area, which we had never really been too, and even went to Savannah for the day.  Overall, we had a great time and a much needed rest.  It allowed me to recenter myself and reconnect with Steve and just overall have a wonderful time.  It was such a great way to start off the month!

I can’t have a monthly love post without talking about food and I tell you what, I’ve had only ONE addiction this month: Whole Grain Goldfish crackers.  I CANNOT get enough of these.  Seriously, they are all I snack on these days and I’d like to say it’s because they’re like $2 a bag, but that doesn’t count when I can finish a bag in a day/night of snacking.  I eat them at work, I eat them at home.  That picture below is of my cabinet – those are FIVE bags that I just bought this weekend because they were cheap at Wal-Mart.  What you do not see is the two packs of 9-bag snack packs at work or the countless number of bags that I have finished this month.  I don’t know if it’s their cheesy, salty baked goodness or the whole grain, but something about these particular ones make them better than the original and it doesn’t hurt that they’re probably slightly better for me than the usual things I reach for, which is ice cream.  Or Oreos!

Another discovery: Bacardi Puerto Rican RUM.  I know, I know – it’s just rum and yes, I knew what it was long before this month.  But I didn’t know I LIKED it until I didn’t have any wine one night and wanted a drink so I mixed it with Diet Dr. Pepper and damn, is it delicious!  It has a nice, sweet, smoothness and it doesn’t give me a headache like hard liquor has previously done in the past.  So hello, Bacardi, you are my new friend!  Hope you like partying with goldfish because you’ll be seeing them in my stomach with you.

In the entertainment category, there’s nothing but Dexter!  Holy shit, DEXTER! What an awesome, amazing show!  We started watching it because others had recommended it and it was available on our Netflix Instant Queue and wow, why didn’t we hear about this show before?  I have never wanted to root for a serial killer but I love Dexter.  I love the stories, the mysteries and the unique and unpredictable twists and turns.  I love the characters: Batista, LaGeurta, Masuka, even Quinn.  I thought Jimmy Smits was phenomenal on the third season!  (I hate, hate, hate Deb but I see her as a necessity to play against Dexter)  And I’m so very excited for the fourth season.  Seriously, if you are not watching Dexter, you should start.  Right now!  Like yesterday!

In the beauty category, I decided to try something new.  I’ve been a Bare Minerals foundation user for about two years.  I liked it because it was light and didn’t feel so heavy and cakey on my face.  But this past month, I started noticing that the powder actually began to cake and settled into my pores and sometimes, it made my skin feel irritated.  Plus, it was $25!  So I decided to switch it up and picked up some Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse.  I picked it up because they said it was good to help disguise large pores and it still provided the coverage of a liquid with the feel of a powder and man, am I glad I did.  It definitely helped disguise the pores, the coverage is nice and even, it goes on softly and smooth and it makes my complexion look flawless.  It is my new love and is even cheaper than the Bare Minerals but about $15.  So that’s make it all worth it!

There was also a rediscovery this month.  A rekindling of a flame, per se, with my Canon 50mm f1.4 lens.  I bought this lens when I originally bought my camera, forgoing the kit lens for this one at the advice of many others.  I used it as my primary lens in the beginning but a 50mm focal length was hard for me to get used, having jumped for a point and shoot that had a wide zoom lens and focal length.  So I bought a cheap 18-55mm kits lens to allow myself the ability to get more in the picture and began to rely heavily on that one because I hadn’t gotten used to 50mm yet.  But I went back, because overall the 50mm is faster, has a crispier focus and does bokeh and depth of field wonderfully.  And I’m so happy I did because I do love this lens so much!  It’s going to take some getting used to again but I think I can handle.  Practice makes perfect right?

And that’s about it!  There are some other guilty pleasures, like the Real Housewives of Atlanta, the joys of cooking and baking goodies in my own home and coupon clipping from the Sunday paper (because, holy crap, they have coupons and great savings, in the PAPER! I would always look online and it never even occurred to me to look where women have been looking for years! DUH!) but I don’t find them guilty at all because I thoroughly enjoyed them and didn’t feel bad about it all.

Overall, August was a great month with wonderful finds!  Here’s hoping to a productive and fun September.  I can’t believe it’s three quarters of the way through the year.  And I seriously, cannot wait for FALL!

I want a chill in the air, hoodies, sweaters and jeans!