Make-Up Fun

One of my most favorite pat of a special night out is getting all dolled-up! I know that sounds so old fashion but as a stay-at-home-mom there is no need to spend time on hair and make-up. For the record I know that I am beyond blessed to be at home with my children plus have special nights-out, too. So I try to enjoy all of it!

This year for the CC Ball I used some tried and true make-up, as well as a couple of new products. Since my dress was navy I was not sure if I should go with brown make-up or grey, but the wise women of Nordstrom told me that I needed a little blue in my life. They promised it would make my eyes "pop". Per usual, they were right!

Tried and True

Maybelline's The Colossal Volum

Lorac's Behind The Scenes Eye Primer

Nars Blush  (You know what one. The one with the name that makes me blush saying it out loud.)

YSL Touche Eclat Radiant Touch

Stila's Lip Glaze

New to Me

Smashbox 'Halo' Hydrating Perfecting Powder

Bobbi Brown 'Sparkle' Eye-shadow in Pebble

Bobbi Brown Metallic Eye-shadow in Lapis

Trish McEvoy 'Intense' Gel Eye-liner

I was pretty happy with the results for the big night! Do have any "go-to" make-up for a night out on the town?

Fun With Moonshine

Hubby has been waiting a long time for Catoctin Creek Distilling Company to open the doors on their new facility. CCDC is the first family-owned distillery in Loudoun County since before Prohibition. So this past weekend I lined up a sitter for the kiddos and told Hubby that I was more than happy to be his chauffeur for the evening. 

In CCDC's new facility you can see a working distillery in production, including a 400 liter custom-made Kothe still and condenser. CCDC also holds tours which highlight the process of making distilled spirits, including fermentation, distillation, aging and bottling. While Hubby was impressed with all the technical "stuff", I was impressed with how they renovated their historical building. CCDC was able to make this space look new while retaining the character of the old building.

Hubby here and now I get to take over since Eileen was kind enough to play DD....

When you visit CCDC you can either try three small straight shots of their Mosby's Spirit (unaged white whiskey, essentially moonshine), Roundstone Rye (their aged whiskey) and Watershed Gin or try the three in a small cocktail. I was mostly interested in trying the Mosby's Spirit because I had the Roundstone Rye and the Watershed Gin before so I went with the three small shots. I enjoyed the Mosby's Spirit and I definitely plan on trying a larger glass next time we are at a restaurant where I can get one. Those moonshiners were on to something!

Excelsior

Early last night a bunch of sweet Hubbies in NoVa took one for the team. (Hubby's note- Yes. Yes we did.) They watched their kiddos so a group of us ladies could go out to the movies together. I cannot begin to tell you how grateful I am since we had the best time!

We went to see "Silver Lining Playbook" and for me it totally lived up to all of its Oscar buzz. Some how this movie is a comedy, drama and romance all rolled into one. Plus it also touches on the fact that we are all a little crazy and that it is a good thing. 

Some of the ladies in the group might have laughed at me when I pulled out not one but two packs of tissues. But let me tell you that everyone was happy when I had enough tissues for all in our group.  It was a "we laughed and we cried" kind of a movie!

So in the spirit of "Silver Lining Playbook", I hope your week moves ever upward.  Excelsior!

Yeah Us!

I know this is not going to mean anything to most people but we found a new restaurant that we can add to our limited list.  With all of our food allergies finding places to eat is difficult so this is a major accomplishment. Plus the fact that 2 out of 3 kiddos really liked their dinner. It would be an understatement to say that I am over the moon!

After a ton of running around at the Dulles Town Center, we stopped in PF Chang's for dinner.  I had taken B there for her birthday lunch and heard from other moms that it was very allergy friendly.  And PF Chang's really was!  You simply tell the manager what food allergies each guest has and they will print out a personalized menu.

I will admit that this extended our stay since the printing of the menus and cooking time took longer than normal.  But I felt like PF Chang's went above and beyond!!!!  Normal restaurants that have peanuts on their menu don't want to serve a customer with a nut allergy. They really did a stand up job!  And we were able to past the time with self-taught chop stick lessons which the kiddos thought were hysterical!

Not a single hive!  But L claims that he will just order a hamburger next time....