Random Moments From Washington

I never got around to finishing this post from our trip to Washington last year. These were just some of the random moments I wanted to share that weren't quite enough for an individual blog post. So this is definitely a random assortment of moments from our trip!

My grandparents have always had lots of bird feeders and my grandma has always particularly liked hummingbirds so they have always had several feeders around. This time we were surprised at just how many hummingbirds there were! My grandparents had moved the feeders to a different window and apparently the hummingbirds liked that location better. It was fun to watch them dart around. And apparently they can be aggressive as I saw one use it's beak to grab another one by it's beak and yank it away from the feeder!

The hummingbirds seemed most active in the morning (when the light was the brightest) so it was a little difficult to get pictures with the bright sunlight in the background and the dark shaded foreground. But I'm pleased with the photos I was able to get!

One day while we were in Washington we drove out to Seabrook to walk around the town and then walk down to the beach. It was a beautiful day but was pretty windy and cold out. I always find it a little funny how on the west coast you see tsunami evacuation routes and signs and on the east coast it's always hurricane signs!

My grandpa has a side-by-side and my dad enjoys taking it out for drives in the woods. My mom and dad were out for a ride when my dad came back and said they had spotted a bear! He drove me out and I was able to get a few pictures of it. We've seen plenty of deer over the years but never a bear. My grandpa had only one other time seen a bear in all the years they've lived there so it was interesting to see. I've never seen a bear outside of a zoo. And we were pretty far away so I had to zoom in pretty far and crop the photo a bit so you could actually see it!

One day my grandparents came back from town and this baby goat followed their car home! The neighbors down the road have goats and apparently there was a baby. We went outside to see it and the goat took an immediate liking to my brother for some reason and would just not go home! We tried going back in the house and it would sit on their porch and cry until my brother went back out to pet it! It was funny but it sounded so sad when it would cry! We tried a couple of different times to get it to go home or walk it home and it just kept following them back. Eventually my brother was able to take it back to it's home and get it to stay home.

Making s'more is something we always enjoy doing while we are at my grandparents. I'm really good at cooking my marshmallow perfectly and then at the last second catching it on fire and burning the heck out of it. Either that or just slightly underdone. Haha

The day we drove up to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival we stopped for lunch at one of our favorite places, Bob's Burgers & Brew. The burgers are just so good and the fries are cooked perfectly. 

And while we were are the Tulip Festival there was this bald eagle circling overhead! It was pretty cool to see!

We also got to see my favorite band, Shinedown, in concert in Everett which was fun! It was the second time we got to see them on this tour. We saw them a few months earlier in Savannah.

We spent the night in Everett after the concert which mean I got to make a stop at my favorite coffee shop, Woods Coffee! I always try to stop if we're in the area I picked up a couple of bags of coffee for myself and also a bag for my brother. Nobody makes coffee like they do in Washington and Wood's vanilla latte is definitely the best. 

And nothing can beat this view when flying out of SeaTac. Except maybe a clear day view of Mount Rainier!

Have you ever visited Washington?

Recent Beauty Purchases 12

1. Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm in Pink Sugar: I liked the brown sugar lip butter balm so much I purchased another in the pink sugar! It was sold out last time I ordered so I was glad to be able to try it and I like it just as much as the brown sugar. It's probably one of the only lip balms I've ever tried that actually feels like it is moisturizing. It's glossy feeling without being sticky.

2. Dae shampoo & conditioner: This shampoo and conditioner smells so nice but seems like it's maybe a bit too moisturizing for my hair. I have pretty "normal" hair, meaning my hair isn't particularly dry or oily so it's hard to find something that isn't going to make my hair dry or oily. I like it every once in a while but it's not something I can use all the time.

3. Sephora brow pencil: I didn't really care for this brow pencil. It seemed kind of waxy when applying and it seemed like I used it up pretty quickly. I typically buy these $3 e.l.f. brand ones and I just felt like there wasn't enough of a increase in quality to justify the higher price point. The color selection on the Sephora ones is definitely better than the e.l.f. ones though. So overall just okay.

4. dae Cactus Fruit 3-in-1 Styling Cream: I did not like this styling cream at all and ended up returning it. It really didn't do anything for me. It felt sticky and weird on my hair. I was hoping it would help to tame frizz and flyaways but I just really didn't like how it felt.

5. Klorane Nourishing Shampoo and Conditioner with Mango: I've been using this shampoo and conditioner for a little while now and I like it pretty well. I have been looking for a good shampoo and conditioner for such a long time. I had been using the Amika Normcore for a while and I started to notice a lot of fallout when washing my hair. After looking at recent reviews it seems like a lot of people have had the same problem.

After using the Klorane I've noticed that my hair looks and feels clean after washing but doesn't feel stripped like a lot of shampoos will do. My hair feels really soft, has shine, and doesn't look quite as frizzy either. I really like using this in combination with the Bumble and bumble primer I talk about below.

This shampoo and conditioner is listed as being for dry hair, and as I mentioned with the Dae shampoo above my hair is pretty "normal", but, unlike with the Dae shampoo this doesn't seem to make my hair feel too moisturized (by that I just mean the feeling like there is a film on my hair or like it's too greasy from the conditioner.).

So while this maybe isn't the greatest ever shampoo, it's okay for now. I still would like to find something better.

6. BondiBoost Flex & Shine Hairspray with Marine Algae & Seaweed Extract: I really wanted to like this but the fragrance was SO incredibly strong I had to return it. It worked well and had just the right amount of light, flexible hold, but 3 days after applying the scent was just as strong as the day I sprayed it and I just couldn't take it. I am sensitive to fragrances so this was a huge no for me. It wasn't even like they were trying to make it smell floral or like a perfume type of fragrance, it just smelled like any cheap hairspray you would buy at Walmart or something. Which was disappointing because it's non-aerosol so it doesn't have all the propellants like the vast majority of other hairsprays have. It has more natural ingredients so I was really hoping this would have worked out. I just wish they wouldn't have added the fragrance to it!

7. Bumble and bumble Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil Heat Protectant Leave In Conditioner Primer: I really like this primer. I had purchased the mini a while back to try and then had to get the full sized version during Sephora's next sale. It works great at taming flyaway/frizz and helping my hair to look sleek and shiny. 

Art first I wasn't sure if this really made much of a difference, but I decided to not use it a few times and definitely noticed a difference in the amount of flyaways and frizz. I also like that it is a heat protectant. I don't blow dry my hair but I do heat style it 1-2 times a week.

So this is one product I would highly recommend trying if you deal with frizz or flyaways, if you're looking for a heat protectant, or just want something to make your hair look healthier or shinier!

Have you purchased or tried any new beauty products lately? Or do you have any products that you really love?

Visiting the National Museum of the US Army at Ft. Belvoir, VA

So this post has been sitting in my drafts since 2022 and I just never got around to sharing it. And I've since visited the National Museum of the US Army a second time and I really wanted to share since we really enjoyed the museum!

We were in Washington D.C. for an event a couple of years ago and decided to take a visit to the National Museum of the US Army! The museum is new, only having been opened in November of 2020, and is located in Fort Belvoir, VA. It's by the military base, but not on the base.

The museum is split up by war or conflict, so it's interesting to be able to kind of travel through time into each conflict starting with colonial warfare up to modern warfare and The Global War on Terrorism.

The museum also features a Medal of Honor section as well as Soldier's Stories, which is where you will begin your visit of the museum.

Admission is free but it is recommended that you reserve tickets (for a time slot) in advance.

We really enjoyed our visit to the museum. It was very well laid out, the volunteers were very knowledgeable and friendly, and overall the museum was just really interesting! I would definitely recommend visiting if you are ever in the area!

Have you ever visited a military museum?