June has definitely been the fastest month of the year - I seriously can't believe tomorrow is July. It was quite a stressful month, but a few recent events have made it the best of the year so far.
Beauty
This month I took a long, hard look at my beauty spending. I wrote a post this week on how I'm going to stick to a spending ban because the amount of money I've spent this year alone on beauty is insane - I requalified for VIB Rouge for next year in MARCH. I did a huge declutter and managed to fit everything back into the little acrylic storage units and Ikea drawers I originally got for makeup storage. It's been so nice to have everything back in one place, and I'm sure Brett's super happy about it being out of the living room.
I've still been loving a few products despite downsizing a bit. My favorite release of the month was Glossier's Birthday Balm Dotcom (20% off here) - I always have at least two Balm Dotcoms nearby, and now I have a whole new obsession. It smells just like fresh out of the oven vanilla cake and has a little bit of holographic shimmer in it that makes it really pretty on the lips as well as cheeks and eyelids. When I haven't been slathering that on my lips, I've been going for the Buxom Wildly Whipped Liquid Lipstick in Devious Dolly - I was sent the White Russian shade earlier this month (post here!), and I fell in love with the formula so much that I got this more wearable rosy shade. The formula is super comfortable an looks beautiful on the lips, although it doesn't last as long as other liquid lipsticks I've tried. Other honorable beauty mentions have been the BECCA Sunlit Bronzer in Bali Sands, which I have now officially decided is the best bronzer I've ever tried, and the Milk Makeup Flex Concealer. Both have been helping me look much more well-rested and awake.
Speaking of looking awake, I'm also on my second month of Ritual vitamins, and I've been loving them. This month I got one of the new bottles that have a tab infused with peppermint oil in it, and it makes the experience so much better - before I found they had a fishy/seaweed taste, but now it's just minty and refreshing. I've noticed my moods and energy improving now that I'm taking them consistently.
Books/TV
Since I've become obsessed with My Favorite Murder (I'm so close to catching up, and I don't know what I'll do when I have to wait a few days between new episodes), I've started also reading a few true crime books. This month I've been reading The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule, all about Ted Bundy - the cool thing about this book is that Ann Rule worked with Ted Bundy before he became a serial killer, and she was assigned to write about the murders that were happening around the University of Washington campus before anyone knew who was behind them/before she knew she actually had been friends with the killer. I'm about halfway through, and it's such an interesting read. I've got a book about the Night Stalker on my to-read list next.
Brett and I have also binge-watched The Keepers on Netflix, and it was so good - even better than Making a Murderer. It was so hard and harrowing to watch at points, but it was such a great documentary. Now that we've finished that, we've started Bates Motel, and we're hooked.
When we've been looking for something a little more lighthearted, we've been watching old episodes of The Office - you may have seen me putting clips from the Dinner Party episode in my Instagram Story because it's my favorite episode of any TV show, not just The Office, ever.
Other Highlights
I'll start out with the biggest highlight of the month - we're buying a house! We started seriously looking at houses this month with a realtor (who's awesome!), and just last week we put an offer on one that was accepted! The inspection is happening today, so hopefully everything else in the process moves forward smoothly and we can be moved in by the end of the summer. We're both so excited to have our own house and start this new adventure. I can't wait to be able to paint and decorate exactly how I want.
We also passed our pre-anniversary this month - we're getting married June 8, 2018, so we spent the day of June 8 this year together. We also had a dinner tasting for what food we want served at our reception this past weekend and have all of that picked out now. My sister's maid of honor dress came in, too. It feels like everything is slowly starting to fall into place, and I'm so glad it hasn't been too stressful yet.
What were the highlights of your month?