#4 Invisalign
I've had fairly crooked teeth by whole life. When I was younger I had a space between my two front teeth and dentists hoped that that meant plenty of room for my adult teeth. Well....over the years the overcrowding in my upper teeth has caused by eye teeth to overlap my two front teeth. This arrangement makes for a pretty sweet "snaggle" tooth in photographs. Fun times. My bottom row of teeth are much worse than my top. I have a tooth in my bottom row that is almost a row of its own in the back. You may be asking why I didn't get braces as a youth? Well, rumor has it that my parents "asked" if I wanted braces as a teenager and I responded with, "no." Because the phrase "my teen knows what's best for them" is standard operating procedure for parents everywhere. I digress. So here I am as a 30-something woman who hates to smile in pictures. Boo. After my oldest daughter--who had an eerily similar bite and arrangement to my own--got braces and had awesome results, I told my hubs that I wanted straight teeth before I turned 40. One problem--braces are not cheap. Especially when you are already paying for child #2 to get braces. Through lots of consults and deal searching my oldest sister hooked me up with a great deal with Invisalign through the orthodontist she works for. I am currently in week 16 and am head over heels with the results. There have been tough and painful times (dang attachments) and adjustments (no gum, no sipping coffee, no snacking at will, a bit of a lisp, and a few other minor annoyances), but overall the process has been a breeze. The aligners are barely visible and the benefits far out weigh the drawbacks. Find out more here!
#5 Binge worthy TV
I just had to share with all of you how I've spent some of my "down" time. My husband and I enjoy a good binge worthy show as we rarely can watch TV shows when they air. We are the masters of our DVR and our date nights consist of wine (ooooooh that reminds me of my favorite wine--Red, White, and Blue by Tassle Ridge. If you are ever passing through Iowa--the only place to get it--snag a case) pillows, pups, and our favorite show of the moment. One show I was nervous to watch was the Starz period drama, Outlander. I had read the first book in this mega almost 9 book series and was deeply traumatized by some events in the book. I took a leap and watched the show from the protective arms of my hubby and ended up loving it. Don't get me wrong, the book series and TV show are not for the faint of heart as there is some fairly graphic scenes, some of which are sexual in nature. However, the storyline, romance, and acting are superior and so so enjoyable. Our other guilty pleasure binge watch was the DC Comic show, The Arrow. We were immediately sucked in by the tortured main character and his quest to avenge his father. There is also a spin-off show, The Flash that we love too. What did we ever do without NETFLIX!? Get your binge on!
#6 Plaid
I am not the only one obsessed with plaid these days. It is everywhere. Button ups. Scraves. Pillows. The works. I've tried each and every plaid trend and none have disappointed so far. My favorites tend to be my button up shirts especially those from J. Crew and Old Navy. I dress them up and dress them down and they just plain work. I also have blanket scarves in every plaid configuration and love layering them and experimenting with new ways to wear them. My obsession with all things Outlander (set in Scotland) definitely contributes to my love of all things plaid!
Old Navy Plaid Shirt
Plaid blanket scarves
Plaid pillows
