New Eyes...

Have you ever noticed I like to start my posts with the reason I haven't blogged sooner? Well, for this post, I am going to blog about the reason I haven't blogged lately. Don't worry, it will be more interesting than you think. Maybe.

Last Wednesday, exactly one week ago, I had LASIK performed! WHOHOO!  

I have wanted to do this procedure for the longest time. And finally, this year, my eye doctor said my prescription had stabilized and I was a candidate. Without much thought or consideration, I scheduled my consult. 

I have heard a few personal accounts of people who had had LASIK and it took little to convince me that it wasn't the best option. Plus, NO ONE said they regretted it. (Duh... who regrets not having to deal with contacts and glasses anymore? Major pain.) 

I was told the procedure would be basically painless, and that afterwards I would sleep for several hours and wake up with my eyesight! Well...this is kind of what happened. I am not trying to discourage anyone, it really is great. However, I think maybe they should have been a tad more specific. Let me outline this. Because I love outlines. And because I should be outlining my research project, but instead I am outlining a procedure I had last week. Typical. 

A. Pre Procedure

    1. A lady talks to you for 30 min about what is going to happen. I was barely listening. I used to be a surgical tech. Nothing you say right now is going to alarm me.

    2. Same said lady administers Ibuprofen and Valium. She tells me I will be exhausted beyond belief. 

         a. I was not exhausted beyond belief. In fact, I felt no change. I wish I responded more appropriately to drugs. 

B. Procedure

     1. I remember above mentioned lady telling me that there will be a suction like process that will feel      like "pressure on my eyes."

          a. By pressure, she meant it will feel like someone is trying to suck my eyes out of my head with     a  vacuum hose mixed with the worst migraine I have ever experienced in my life. That being said, it only lasted about 30 seconds. But, seriously people. Pressure? Perhaps we should explore our terminology in the future.

     2. Color Show

          a. Again, above mentioned lady said that I may experience complete blackness during the procedure or "colors." I didn't expect it to be similar to a scene out of a drug trip. *note: what I would expect that to be like. 

C. Post Procedure

     1. Said lady (at this point I am wishing I had her name...) also referred to a "burning and stinging" that would occur for 90 minutes post procedure. 

          a. Again, with the terminology. Maybe I am a huge baby, but burning? Here I am imagining getting a little soap in my eyes....but no. This was more akin to lighting a match and dropping it in  your eyeball. I don't even know if I was crying or my eyes were watering. Both, I think. And 90 minutes is a substantially long time to feel this way. Luckily, the combination of Valium and Tylenol PM I had downed took over my body around the 90 minute mark and I was able to sleep for quite some time. 

     2. You are not allowed to open your eyes. Um, no problem. Because I can't without wanting to die. 

     3. After waking up (with my eye shields on, mind you....not cute...) I could see. My vision was a little blurry, eyes a tad bit watery, but I could see! Yay! And I didn't have  my contacts in. (Obviously.) 

Ok, so long story short, here I am... a week out. Looking back, I would definitely do it all over again. Anyone can stand a little pain that totals up to be around 2 hours long, right? I mean...seriously. No wonder no one mentions all those details. I practically already forgot about them because I love my new eyes so much! It's definitely a little bit difficult to see at night because of the light sensitivity (headlights, street lights, etc.), but I am told that will lessen as time goes on. 

So, its official. I can see. And I am THRILLED. And thankful that I was able to do this! 

If you are in the Lincoln area, and are thinking about LASIK, I had mine done at Sutton, Linder & Sutton. They were fantastic, and everyone I encountered throughout the process (and post process) has been super nice and informative! 

If you are a candidate for LASIK, you should totally do it. It has been WELL worth it! 

PS-Anyone reading who has had the procedure... I would love to hear about your experience! Feel free to comment or email! 

Yours Truly, (pen pal style)

Frost Yourself....

Any How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days fans in the house? No...?.. ok. So my title is lost on you.

I have so many fun things I want to share this week, but I got my first Ash & Ash (check out their Facebook page here) purchase in the mail and had to share with y'all. I am in love! Ash & Ash Co creates handmade and custom jewelry creations and are locally owned. I have been eying their pieces on Facebook for quite some time, but when I laid eyes on this bracelet, I was quick to act!

All I did was send an email and a check in the mail...and these girls were quick! You can shop Ash & Ash Co on their website. 

They have a lot of fantastic, custom items, and you can design your own jewelry as well.

This is my new purchase!

This is not a great pic... but I am loving it and can't wait for my next Ash & Ash Co purchase!

Thanks ladies!!

Slacker

I can't believe it has been two weeks since my last post. Don't worry, I am armed with excuses.

1. School. I won't whine about it further, but I am drowning. And counting down the days.

Ok, so I am not necessarily armed with excuses. That is my main one. My computer did have a minor lapse in judgement and decided not to turn on for awhile. I was angry and terrified, but we have since reconciled.

A couple main points to cover regarding the last few weeks:

1. Show me your singles was super fun! For all of the ladies who expressed interest in AJ via comment or email... I have passed on all of your information! It's up to him now! :)

2. Can we all just breathe a sigh of relief that Tierra went home on The Bachelor? Seriously. I was starting to have flashbacks to Ben's season. (Team Des!!!!)

3. Tonight I am going to Tenth Avenue North.... yay! I have been excited about this. Love them.


This turned into a very "listy" numerical post. Sorry about that. I do love lists though.

I have a couple of exciting and fun things  (for those of you who are fellow Lincolnites) that I will be sharing on here in the next week or so! Stay tuned!

Have a great weekend!

Show Us Your Singles!

So, Kelly's Korner blog (check it out here) is doing Singles Day! And... I can't think of anyone better to nominate than my cousin AJ! So we are linking up! 

Everyone...meet AJ! He is 26 years old and lives in Lincoln, NE.  He graduated from University of Nebraska-Lincoln with his Bachelors degree and is a Design Engineer here in Lincoln. 

I may be a little bit biased and all, but he is a GREAT guy. AJ is one of the funniest, most creative and caring people I know. I am lucky and blessed to have him in my family, and he deserves to meet the nicest girl! 

Here is AJ with his brother and sister-in-law. 

Yet another of AJ hanging out with one of his sisters. 

This is AJ and I on New Years Eve :)

AJ is an awesome, Christian guy who really cares a lot about his family and friends. I am thankful to have AJ as a cousin..he has always been like a brother to me! I get to hang out with him all of the time, so I can vouch for the fact that he is truly a great person. 

Of course, there is a lot more to know!!! 

If you are interested in finding out more about AJ, leave a comment here or email sweetandmodern@gmail.com and I'll get you in touch with him! 

Tanners Rejoice!

This is my dilemma:
For years and years I was definitely a tanning junkie. Who doesn't love to have a nice, colorful glow all year around? I don't know about you, but it always made me feel a little bit better, especially in the winter months when I would be otherwise transparent.

Well, in the past few years, I just stopped tanning. It was a combination of becoming increasingly aware of the dangers, and also my skin became very irritated by it. It wasn't worth the hassle, so I just quit.

But, I am blonde. And I am light complected. It didn't take long for my lack of sun to catch up with me in the winter months. Trust me, there is nothing cool about your lightest foundation looking orange against your ghostly skin.

I began exploring my options. Spray tanning? Lotions? Creams? Mists?

I tried it all.

I decided tanning lotion is a lot of work. It is extremely difficult to make sure you get it everywhere, AND streak free. However, if you like this, I think Jergens has the best tanning lotions.

I started getting spray tans a little more regularly, or just whenever I felt it was absolutely necessary that I didn't look freakishly white. For those of you in the Lincoln area, I typically get mine at Max Tan. I have always had a positive experience and the women who spray you are very good at what they do. You can customize your color and they will work with you on where you want to be sprayed.

However, here are my problems with professional spray tanning:

1. You basically have to give up 8 hours of your day. After the spray, you cannot come in contact with water or sweat.  This might seem easy, but unless you are able to get an appointment immediately before you go to bed, it's actually not! You are scarily orange until you are able to shower (8 hours later), so its not like you can venture out in public. Major inconvenience I think.

2. The tan only lasts about 5 days.

3. They typically cost around $45-50 (at least where I go.) Sometimes they run specials for $18-20, which is much better, but still. This is an okay price for me if I am doing it occasionally, but to maintain a tan at that price every week or so? Hmmm... no thanks.

So, enter my favorite new solution:

Casey, my fabulous esthetician at Sweet Jane Salon (you can schedule with her by calling 402-435-8601) recommended Tan Towels for a quick, tan glow. I have seen these little packets at both Sephora and Beauty First, but assumed they did not work for some reason. Last Saturday I picked up a couple of packets (you can buy them in single use packets at Beauty First for about $3-5). Basically, it is a moist towelette with tanning solution on it. You can get a arm or face pack, or a full body pack, which is what I did. The directions say to just rub the towel all over in a circular motion. Sounds easy, right? 

Well...the good news is...it IS! Using a towel is SO much easier than applying lotion and I was able to use the towel on my whole body. If you want a swimsuit ready look, I think I would actually buy two full body packets. I used one and did my full upper body, but just my lower legs. And I felt that my lower legs didn't get quite as tan as my upper body. (Possibly because I started with my upper body)

I am telling you though, this product is genius! I ended up with a streak-free, natural looking tan, and it is JUST now starting to fade a little. 

If you are craving a little tan in your life (especially in this weather! Hello snow!) I would pick up a few Tan Towel packets.  I think you will love them! 

Happy Snow Day....for those of you in Lincoln. Otherwise, Happy Wednesday!  

Love, 

The Scent Controversy

I am a firm believer that every room in your house should smell amazing. Upon moving into a new house or apartment, I always immediately begin working on making it smell great. That is obviously more important than unpacking, right? Anyways, my go-to was typically wallflowers from Bath and Body Works.

I love those things. I have one in every room. I stock up so much that I have a year's supply in my closet. They are fantastic.

They WERE fantastic.

In the last couple of years, I noted the gradual change to Scentsy products that seemed to be happening. I really didn't care. I considered myself well-armed in the scent department and not interested in a new product. Especially something I had to order from someone.

But, of course, one of my dear friends surprised me with a  Scentsy last year. I was (admittedly) super excited. I got that baby ready to go and plugged it in and... well... I LOVE IT. It's SO much better than a wallflower. The smell factor is amazing... and there are so many wonderful scents to choose from. I was easily sold. And now I am somewhat obsessed with buying and trying new scents. My favorite is still "Luna." If you are on the line about whether Scentsy is for you... I would go ahead and say it probably is.

Here is a pic of some of their new products this season. I recently purchased the warmer in the middle. It looks really cute!

Check out Scentsy here.

Disclaimer: I still buy and use wallflowers. They are just not as cool anymore. 

Important Announcement!

Just kidding. Not really.

Ok, but this is kind of important. Yesterday, I was rummaging around Lemon Days (yes...those of you who are in the Lincoln area, it IS Lemon Days at the mall right now) and I stumbled upon this little treat. 

I have been reading reviews on the TIGI Pro Blow Dryer for quite some time. Apparently it is some kind of miracle tool.  Well, yesterday I noticed it was marked down. Big time. As in, it was retailed around $200...and was marked at $60. Um, hello opportunity. Of course I acted immediately. So, after I showered, I purposely left my hair extra wet to test the authenticity of my new hair dryer (which comes with a  one year warranty, by the way). 

Seriously. I was NOT let down. I previously dried my hair in sessions because it took so long. With the TIGI Pro, my hair was completely dry, AND get this, somewhat straight, in LESS THAN FIVE MINUTES! I am sorry, but this is revolutionary. 

I may be way behind the times on this deal, but if you are frustrated with the lengthy blow drying process, I would highly suggest buying this! 

Go... now. It is on sale at Younkers! 

Happy Friday! 

Love,