Going out in public without makeup.

Guys have it so easy. It takes them five minutes to get ready and they never ever have to worry about make up. For women, we feel like we look completely different without makeup, and that may be true, but I started realizing in the last few years how much work it is to get ready just to go to Starbucks drive-thru. 

As I have mentioned before, I have been fairly lucky with my skin. I don't often break out, but when I do I'm always on high alert. It makes me absolutely crazy to have as it pop up in the middle of my otherwise well-cared-for face. Right now, I'm on your high alert because I have a few things on my face that are really pissing me off. But I know that putting makeup on top of them is only going to make them worse, so I have resorted to not wearing make up the last couple of weeks. 

If it were up to me, I would also be sporting yoga pants on the regular. Who am I kidding, I totally do that. I hate wearing jeans because they're so uncomfortable, and I am just so jealous of the girls who wear workout clothes and look clean and thin and well put together. When I leave the house I'm somehow always covered in dog hair, my black yoga pants have faded, and I look like I just rolled out of bed. Hot.

But I'm still boycotting. I'm finding ways around getting ready on a daily basis. Working from home definitely helps with this, but not wearing makeup is tough! And I'm not even the type of girl who wears a lot of make up! But I think it's so important that we learn to like ourselves for what we look like without makeup, and that our men do too. Mine sees me without makeup more than with, and always make sure to tell me how beautiful he thinks I am. So on those nights when I do put makeup on, he thinks I'm a supermodel! I just hate the fact that as women, we are expected to look fantastic every second of every day, in case we run into that girl we really don't like the grocery store, or an ex-boyfriend at the mall. Screw it. I'm not wearing make up. 

Ok... Maybe a little concealer. 

Life with Dogs.

Its 12:47am and I'm in my usual routine: just came down from my office after slaving over Photoshop for the last five hours, crashed onto the bed and I have Scandal paused because God knows I'm gonna miss all the tiny important details if I'm over here blogging away.

I'm listening to our puppy attack something in the backyard. We've had some trouble with him lately. I'm not naturally a dog person- I truly believe there's nothing like the love of a cat- but when we got Lucky, our old man last year,  he was so sweet and loving and EASY. So I figured a puppy would be no big deal. Oh, it's a big deal. A big shitty deal. Ok, it could totally be worse. He could rip our couch apart or shit in the house but knock on wood, we haven't experienced that as of yet. However, my life is dogs. They're everywhere. And if they're not with me, their hair is. Mainly Crash's (the puppy). I swear I have never in my life seen clumps of hair just appear somewhere the way they do not. And he's not even a super shed-y dog!

And don't even ASK about our floors. He chewed through the cord to my brand new Shark floor steamer (literally brand new. I had just bought it.) and then decided "screw my parents, I'm gonna track mud in on an hourly basis. Kill me. Thank God for hardwood floors or the dog might be dead right now.

I am definitely not taking life as a dog owner well, but then I look at how happy they make my husband and it seriously warms my cold, frozen heart. Just a little, but it does. Sigh. Crash is attacking our bedroom door now. Gotta go. 

Where in the World Have I Been?

Great question. Horrible answer. I've been here all along. Literally with my phone in my hand working nonstop on my shop, with little contact with the outside world. You'd think that because I'm always on the phone and computer, I would be caught up on social media and texting and blogging but the truth is, I spend upwards of 14 hours a day answering customer emails and filling orders and have little time for anything else. And I'm not good at turning my brain off! It's been a crazy ride, but I'm happy to announce I am officially doing this full time! This little piece of glorious equipment has saved my life!

I left my job in marketing and sales when my shop became so successful that it was paying all the bills- and more. But when I resigned, they offered me a new, remote position as Social Media Coordinator! A whole position created just for me! Could anything be more perfect? I can't wait to really delve in and watch their numbers and internet referrals grow. But balance is something I must practice to keep it all together, because right now I am a hot ass mess. 

Right now I am working on creating an Instagram content calendar for the shop. I am trying to buckle down and follow in the footsteps of Freshly Picked and Little Hipsqueaks, two brands I greatly admire and aspire to be like. They are both run by successful, independent women who love what they do and started out just like me! Proof that dreams really can come true.

If you are interested in becoming a sponsor on the footer of our store, here are our stats:

Instagram followers: 7200 as of 3/19/14, up 3,000 from 1/19/14

Facebook fans: 800

Bloglovin followers: 210

Twitter followers: 250

Site views: 750/day average

Please email me at enjoyessential@gmail.com

If you are interested in advertising with us. I am offering very low introductory pricing this month with the launch of the new site!

Blog Hop!

Welcome to the Let's Be Friends Blog Hop!

A blog hop is a set time frame for current or aspiring bloggers to find new blogs and quality content. It is a great way to make new friends and find inspiration! It is also a fabulous way to promote your own blog and posts.

Dear Friends,

What a day to celebrate! This is the 57th week of the Let's Be Friends blog hop! Thanks for joining us on this special day. Chelsee and Tiffany are extremely delighted to see the way this hop has grown and love to see your faces each week! 

Join us every Tuesday at 7am (MST). This blog hop focuses on content. LINK UP YOUR FAVORITE POST from last week in this fun content-sharing blog hop! I love the idea of blog hopping, but I love the idea of reading posts and quality content on new blogs I've never been to even more. Instead of simply linking up your blog button, you are now able to link up your favorite post you recently wrote. Have a delicious recipe to share, DIY tutorial, or heartfelt post? Share it with us! All hosts and co-hosts put up some unique and fun content from the past week. Make sure to check them out. P.S.- you may still link up your blog button and blog name, but it is encouraged to link up your favorite post instead. You will get more page views and interest if you do so! Some of the most successful blog hops I have participate in focus on content rather than just exchanging follows. You never know who will become a loyal follower or pin that delicious new recipe you posted!

The BEST part of this blog hop? Each week there will be a WINNER! That's right, each week we will choose one lucky blog to feature from the previous week's hop. This hop receives thousands of page views every week, so your blog will have the chance to be center stage for free. You must follow all the hosts and co-hosts in order to win. Only those who link up a specific post are eligible to be featured! *You must follow all the hosts and co-hosts in order to win.

The last exciting change is that the co-host spots will now be available to all sponsors of  The Dwelling Tree or Southern Beauty Guide. If you are interested in co-hosting the blog hop, email Tiffany or Chelsee about sponsorship opportunities and how to co-host the weekly hop!

There are a couple of great giveaways going on right now at Southern Beauty Guide and The Dwelling Tree. Go check them out! :)

Let's Be Friend's Blog Hop Guidelines

1. Link up your favorite post from your week.

2. Follow your hosts and co-hosts.

3. Grab the button and post it on your blog so we can share the love.

4. Visit 3 other blogs and follow them along!

5. Tweet about this blog hop, using #letsbefriends

6. Pin the button on pinterest so we can spread the news! 

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***Once a week, one blog will be chosen to be the featured blogger from the previous blog hop. 

Meet your hosts: 

The Dwelling Tree: Blog, Bloglovin'

Southern Beauty Guide: Blog, Bloglovin'

 and your co-hosts:

Cady from Boughtin Baby and Bride

Megan from All That Glitters 

Micaela from Mind Your Madness

Kendra from Open Spaces

Suzanna from One Hoolie Mama

Jenna from The Year of Life

***This weeks featured post from last week's hop:

Source

Army Ever After

Shrimp Scampi Recipe!

Hi Loves! This is Chelsee this week! I had the pleasure of picking a winner this week and I must say it was a hard choice. Each of you linked up fabulous posts that I enjoyed reading. I do want to mention that you must link up and actual post and not just your blog to win. Now onto the winner!

Elizabeth is a Army wife living in the great state of Hawaii. I knew the moment I saw the picture in this post that I had to try this recipe. I found that Elizabeth gave easy to follow instructions on how to create your own delicious Shrimp Scampi. I live on the coast and love some seafood, so finding recipes like this is pure treasure. I find scampi sometimes to be quite difficult, but when I saw this post I knew that it was a great one. 

So if you like what you see above or just want to read this great love story, check out this awesome post. I have to say that I love reading all of your posts and can't wait to see what you all link up next week! 

Keep posting awesome content! You make it so fun for me to read all your posts! If you can, please link up a specific post. It makes it easier for us to come and visit! 

*Remember YOU can be next weeks winner! :)

An InLinkz Link-up

$160 Target Card Giveaway

WHO IN THE WORLD DOESN'T LOVE TARGET?

I DO.

I like really, really love Target.

And I want this gift card. So you're gonna have to beat me to it.

Enter to win using the Rafflcopter at the bottom of this post!

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