His Plan, Not Ours: Random Friday (plus Julep spoiler)

I just got back into town a few days ago, so Random Friday won't be super long this week. We have had a few things happen in the past week and we've done a little more work on the kitchen. I've received a few goodies in the mail. And I have a few books that I'm about to start reading. I also found out the Julep nail colors for September when they were leaked a couple nights ago. So since the cat is out of the bag and you can easily find these online, I thought I would post them for anyone interested. And if you don't want to see the colors, don't read the last item on my list. But if you want a sneak peak a few days early, go right ahead. If you want to get in on the action, sign up for Julep for just a penny HERE. Use the code COLOR2012 or PENNY and you will get your introductory box of either three polishes or two polishes and pedicure cream for just a penny and you'll receive an e-mail on August 20 so you can order one of the September boxes (shown below) or skip the month.

1. Cows are maybe just a little scary.

While I was visiting family in Georgia last weekend, my aunt and I took Owen to the University of Georgia teaching dairy farm where my uncle works to show Owen some cows. He was pretty scared for most of the trip. Cows are pretty big and even the littler ones still try to lick your arm off so he was not amused. He's starting to cry in the first picture. Still, it was pretty fun to show him that cows exist in real life and not just in his books. We did find a couple barn cats and those were a big hit with the little man. And the little attention-starved kitties loved seeing us too. Below are some photos from our little field trip.

2. What's on my Nook.

The next book on my reading list is "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein. It's a historical fiction novel set during WWII when two friends are captured and interrogated by the Germans. Here's a synopsis from Amazon: "A British spy plane crashed in Nazi-occupied France. Its pilot and passenger are best friends. One of the girls has a chance at survival. The other has lost the game before it's barely begun. When 'Verity' is arrested by the gestapo, she's sure she doesn't stand a chance. As a secret agent captured in enemy territory, she's living a spy's worst nightmare. Her Nazi interrogators give her a simple choice: reveal her mission or face a grisly execution. As she intricately weaves her confession, Verity uncovers her past, how she became friends with the pilot Maddie, and why she left Maddie in the wrecked fuselage of their plane. On each new scrap of paper, Verity battles for her life, confronting her views on courage and failure and her desperate hope to make it home. But will trading secrets be enough to save her from the enemy?" The book has received some really great reviews so I'm looking forward to reading it.

I also have the second book of the Mortal Instruments series - "City of Ashes" by Cassandra Clare. I really enjoyed the first book and I'm interested to see where it goes after several huge revelations and twists at the end of the first book. There are I think three more books in the series at the moment. I'd give you a synopsis of this book, but it includes some spoilers from the first.

3. Julep Mystery Box.

My mystery boxes came last weekend and I received some pretty colors and new products. I received, from left, travel-sized glycolic hand scrub and hand brightener, Lily, Lynn (a duplicate, but one of my favorites), Charlotte, Diane, Sandra, Megan, basecoat, and a lip balm. I also got the color Ellen, but I'm trading it with a woman from the Julep Swap webpage where you can trade colors. The swap page is my new favorite thing and I have recently traded one of my new colors and a couple older ones that I never used for ones that I like better. It's a great system! Overall, I'm happy with what I received, but I am starting to prefer knowing what I'm going to get before I order. The mystery boxes are fun for the surprise, but they typically don't have the colors that I want in them. I don't think I will order another mystery box for a while. Someone please remind me of this when they introduce one and the temptation is hard. My sister-in-law won a big mystery box and got a lot of new colors (about $200 worth). And my friend Katie won a gold box last month and received all the new colors from August. So I'm hoping this next month is my turn to win something big. Fingers crossed!

4. Love with Food

The special deal that I got for my Love With Food box last month automatically renewed so I received a surprise box this month. The theme for the month was "Traveling Treats." I received pretzel sticks, lime and ginger-flavored mustard, gum, ginger candies, dried cherries, two vegan cookies, and a bag of coconut toffee peanuts (my favorite of the box). It was a really fun box and I really enjoyed it. If you want to save two dollars on a box and try it out, go here and use the coupon code AUGLOVE through August 31. Its not a referral link, just a regular link to their website.

5. Bridesmaid dress.

I went shopping with my cousin on Sunday to find my bridesmaid's dress for her wedding. Her only requirement was that it be orange-ish and coordinate with the other bridesmaid dresses. This was easier said than done, but after looking at at least five stores and trying on lots of dresses, we were able to find a dress for both me and for Johanna's other cousin Hannah. My dress is made by Jessica Simpson and was actually 65 percent off. Yippee! I think that I'm going to replace the sash with a leather belt to better match my cowboy boots.

6. Kitchen progress.

While I was in Georgia for an extra couple days, Tim got to work on painting our kitchen. He primed and painted about a quarter to a third of the kitchen and it's so crazy to see our paint choice on the walls. It looks so very different from the original green color. I think it looks a lot cleaner and prettier. And I think the kitchen itself is going to look larger. I can't wait to finish painting (hopefully, this weekend!) and start finishing off the kitchen renovations soon. At least the ones we plan on doing now. New countertops will have to wait. You can see our newly painted gray wall on the left. What do you think?

7. The Honest Company.

I received my trial pack of diapers and wipes and some household products last week and was really impressed with The Honest Company. Using a deal from Plum District, I got our first month's supply of diapers and wipes for about a third off. I ordered the skulls, anchors, and blue gingham diapers. They are really cute and so soft. And they don't contain any extras like scents and chemicals. This is really important because Owen has been having bad reactions to his diapers lately (Pampers specifically). He has a rash around the edges of his diaper and has been scratching himself a lot. I also ordered some of their household cleaning and beauty products and I am interested to try them as well.

8. Julep mystery boxes - Spoiler alert!

Through some sort of sneaky means, some people on the Julep Facebook page figured out the top-secret colors for the September boxes a few days early. The company typically sends out e-mails revealing the new colors on the 20th of each month, but the boxes were leaked this month. I had a feeling that they would be these Trina Turk collaborative colors because I had seen them on sale on another site online recently. They will also feature a new product from Julep - mascara. I'm not that excited about the mascara, but I really like a lot of the colors and it will be really difficult once again to choose which box to get this month. I will be getting my box for free again based on their referral program. If you want to join in the fun this month and aren't a Maven already, check my link above to join the subscription box service for just a penny! And that way you'll join just in time for a new round of boxes. Which box would you get? What colors are your favorites? I am a Classic With A Twist, but I have always switched to Boho Glam in the past.