Ellie and Renard » a blog of personal style, love, and all things aesthetic.

who knew one week could go by so fast and so slow at the same time. this is the first time nic has been away for so long (he’s gone camping before for 4 days, but that was for fun). to say i’ve been on edge and freaking cranky today would be an understatement. i’m afraid i might break several teeth due to clenching and grinding them so much today. i’ve been so anxious for nic to get home. i’ve missed him so much!

i was doing okay sleeping by myself for the whole week, until really early this morning, i was having a bad dream that me and another lady were almost kidnapped. but i saved our lives by being obnoxious to the two guys that were trying to take us. they didn’t want to have to deal with me so they left us alone. i woke up from that dream and felt like something was horribly wrong. like someone might be in our house. or at least would be. i couldn’t fall asleep. so finally after shuffling several times, i grabbed nic’s handgun and went through the house. nothing was out of place and there was no one there. i went back to bed and still couldn’t sleep.

i finally shut off my brain and 20 minutes later had to wake up and get ready. that could be another reason for my bad mood today.

i’ve never been so grateful for nic’s warm body sleeping next to me every night until now. knowing that he would protect me if anything happened. a mound of cold pillows just isn’t the same. as much as i wish the pillows would do the searching of the house, they just wouldn’t.

only 3 more hours and he’ll be home. holding me tight.

i love being married more than anything. people argue that getting married young makes you miss out on life opportunities. that you can’t travel as much, get good schooling, or live on your own before marriage, etc. i feel bad for the people that plan to wait until they think they’ve “mastered life” before they get married. they’re missing out on the greatest joy. i love being able to talk about goals and cheer each other on. to pray together. to learn together. to laugh uncontrollably together. to grow together.

i love that this time alone has made me appreciate and love my husband more. i’m so grateful that he is mine for eternity. and that these 7 weeks are so miniscule compared to this grand eternity that we have.

the saying is so true, “absence makes the heart grow fonder”.

my heart will be pretty dang fond of this boy in 7 weeks.

a few posts ago i promised that i would review some products i’ve purchased recently that are my new favorites. and today i’ve finally had the time to gather and photograph them, because i have today and tomorrow off from work. i feel like there was a product i forgot to include. if i remember, i’ll save it for next time. ;)

clockwise from left:

back to basics shampoo& conditioner // this is the most expensive shampoo and conditioner i’ve purchased. but oh my goodness. the price is so worth it. it lasts a really long time. it smells like heaven. and it makes my hair feel and smell so good that i want to eat it. if i showered at night and slept on wet hair after using any other shampoo and conditioner, my hair would be super oily when i’d wake up in the morning. not with this shampoo and conditioner. i could just kiss it.

up & up moisturizing lotion // i’ll be honest, i’ve NEVER used face moisturizer before. so i don’t have anything to compare this moisturizer to. but, i will say that it does make my skin feel so healthy. and i love it. i don’t know how i never used moisturizer before.

lorac pro mascara // i asked my sweet friend becki of whippycake what mascara she would recommend. for the past 5+years i’ve been using covergirl’s lash blast (which was a decent drug-store mascara), but i was ready to buy a higher quality mascara. becki said this was her absolute favorite. i bought it and loved it. at first i was a little disappointed by it not being waterproof, but as i kept wearing it, i became grateful for the non-waterproof-ness. because i love that it just wipes off in the shower and i don’t have to buy any heavy duty makeup remover (yeah, i suck and don’t remove my makeup every night, but hey, my face doesn’t complain by breaking out, so i’m okay with it).

e.l.f. brushes // these are a “drug-store” buy. but i feel like they’re really good quality for being so cheap. and i love the sleek black. they feel professional without the high price.

l’oreal infallible lipstick // this particular shade is “beyonce red”. this is my new favorite lipstick (thanks to a friend from work for telling me about it!!). it’s like a paint brush and you just paint it on your lips. and it stays on and looks good for at least 15 hours. the only thing you have to touch up is the lip conditioner (which smells like candy. yum. and who wouldn’t want to smell candy all day long underneath their sniffer? party poopers, that’s who.). the only thing i would warn you about is that if you try to put it on in the car, you could possibly end up looking like a clown. it dries quickly and the only way to get it off is with an oil based makeup remover (or i use olive oil). and don’t sleep with it on. your lips will be so dry in the morning and i noticed it was much harder to get it off after such a long time.

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do you have any products that are your fave? tell me about it! i love trying new stuff.

may, it’s may. where the heck did april go? and march? i’m not ready for summer. where did spring go? i haven’t even had a chance to do my spring cleaning.

i’ve been thinking a lot about social media, relationships, clutter, and simplicity/minimalism over the last couple of days. (inspired by Malia of The Lady Waits.)

everywhere i look i see clutter. i see clutter in a house, with a mouse. in a box, with a fox. i see clutter here and there, i see clutter everywhere.

i see it in my facebook news feed, bombarded with updates from a million sources of photography (images from other photographers, products, forums, etc), some big music artist’s update on their new album that i could care less about. and in my friends list, filled with people i’ve never met in person, people i’ve met only once in my life, people who i hardly talk to anymore, people who i think might care a smidge about my life (but really don’t all that much), and the people who i love and who love me. there’s so much clutter that i mindlessly scroll past each update, liking a few things that i’ve only glanced at. the same with my instagram. that has gotten out of control.

i see clutter in my office, in our kitchen, in our storage under the stairs, in our storage outside, in our bedroom, in my car for cryin-out-loud.

i see clutter in my time. and how i spend it. wasted with shows on netflix that won’t mean a things because we’ll have already mindlessly watched all of the episodes/seasons by the end of the week. time wasted on social media. just so much time being thrown away without a second thought.

i see clutter in my thoughts. thinking about 5 billion things at once. not being able to fully focus on the task that is in front of me.

and you know what i think about this clutter? it has GOT TO GO. with all of the extra time i’ll have during the week while nic is in training, i’m sure he’ll come home to a sparkly clean and de-cluttered home every weekend.

i’ve come up with five goals that i want to accomplish this month:

one // organize and get rid of most of the stuff in our outside shed. get ceiling bike hangers to hang our bikes in the shed, clean up our bikes so we can go bike riding.

two // declutter our house. maybe plan a yard sale with all the lovely stuff that we have no need for anymore.

three // plant an herb garden using a wooden pallet.

four // make an effort and be a better friend, surprise a friend with a fun and thoughtful gift.

five // put together an official wedding pricing/info guide, to help simplify some clutter on the business side of my life.

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i can’t wait to get started!

xoxo,

sarah

today i had intended to blog about may goals and some thoughts about clutter. but that can wait until tomorrow.

i have some news that takes precedence. are you ready for it?

no mom, for the millionth time, i’m not pregnant. ;)

drum roll please!

buhhdududududududuhhh…..

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NIC GOT THE CORRECTIONAL OFFICER JOB!!!!!

is this real life? i bawled with happiness as soon as he called me. it’s going to be really hard to focus for the rest of the day, because i’m still in la-la-land from the exciting news.

he starts training on monday. training is 7 weeks long and is in tucson, but he’ll come home on his days off. it will be so hard sleeping without him for so many nights and not laughing with him every night, but it will be so worth it. on the bright side, he gets to stay in a dorm for free and i think he gets 3 meals a day too. plus, paid training. and hey, maybe i’ll be able to get stuff done around the house and maybe cross off some May goals that i’ll be posting about tomorrow. win-win.

i can’t wait to celebrate for this wonderful new adventure with him on friday!

God is seriously so good to us. He heard our prayers and answered them. so incredibly grateful, because nothing is possible without Him.

also so grateful for my sweet husband and his willingness to work hard and support us. he has been such an example to me lately.

life, why are you so wonderful?

i hope you get some exciting and good news too. it’s the best feeling.

until tomorrow,

sarah

my sweet husband and i had the pleasure of going to the temple for our endowments last friday, and being sealed on saturday.

i’m just going to say it now.. i LOVE the temple so much. and i can already feel the wonderful blessings from it in just the last week since we were there.

it has been a long time coming for nic and i. we’ve been together for over 4 and a half years. and to finally make it to the temple is a huge burden lifted off of our shoulders. i know we did things backwards, but i wouldn’t change our trials for anything. it has made us so much closer than i ever could have imagined. and the long wait made our temple sealing even more special.

not going to lie, one of my favorite parts about the temple (besides being sealed to my eternal companion) was getting to wear G’s. i’ve always wanted to wear them. i knew they were special. but oh goodness, now that they’re mine.. mine, all mine.. i’ve realized just how special they are. the morning after our endowments, while getting ready for our sealing, i looked at myself in the mirror and saw a more beautiful me than the me i saw in the mirror the day before. not only because the Carinessa G’s are soft and slimming (and the best things since sliced bread), but because of the sacredness of them and what it meant for me to be wearing them.

and they’re so comfy. i’ve heard so many people complain about having to wear G’s and how uncomfortable they are. not for me. the second i was able to put them on, i just knew i was meant to wear them.

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on another happy, spiritual note: i’m so grateful and humbled by a loving Heavenly Father who proves that everything is in His timing.

it’s been a while since we’ve heard from the department of corrections. we’ve been praying and praying that we would hear something soon. and of course, just as we were about to give up on it, and have nic start applying to other places, he got a phone call this afternoon and had a phone interview for the background check. (the funny part is that Nic’s mom had said, “watch, you’ll hear from them really soon after you get sealed” referring to the blessings that come from going to the temple.) God knows the desires of our hearts. He loves us so much. I’ve felt His love in ridiculous amounts these last few weeks. and i’m so so grateful.

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i’m in a children’s musical, written and directed by my mom. our opening night is tonight. i didn’t think i would be so nervous. but as it gets closer and closer to 7pm, the more knots i get in my stomach. wish me luck. if you’re in the phoenix/east valley, you should come! go HERE for more info on where and what nights we’re performing.

wish me luck!

i hope your week is going wonderfully.

adieu,

sarah