The Foundation that has Stood The Test of Time

This makeup though.

 

This makeup is amazing.  

Merle Norman Powder Based Foundation has truly stood the test of time. 

I have tried a lot of different foundations and this is the only one that can withstand a full day of teaching and then take me to Zumba class and rock me out without getting clumpy and nasty on my face. 

This foundation has been passed down for three generations with my family.  My great grandmother wore it for years and years and when she was 99 she died with beautiful skin.  My grandmother wore it off and on and my mother wears it on a daily basis.  My mother's skin is truly remarkable for a woman her age. 

When I was 20 I started wearing this makeup on a daily basis and within the week that I started wearing it my acne cleared up almost completely and STAYED gone for good!  

I have even used this for stage makeup and it has done better than Ben Nye and doesn't clog my pores and skin all up.  

The main ingredient listed is zinc oxide which makes this makeup a natural sunscreen of about 50 spf!  HOW COOL IS THAT!  So when I go out all day in the sun, you better bet you I am rocking my merle norman powder based foundation!  

This foundation and powder combo go on thick but quickly melt into your skin and become a second skin blocking out any nasty stuff our environment may throw at us.  But make sure you have a good bronzer and blush ready when you use it because it is going to correct all of your skin tones! 

Following the foundation with the translucent powder gives it a beautiful matte finish but also keeps it going strong for the entire day.   The powder comes in this huge container and lasts FOREVER.  I think I have had this for 2 or 3 years now.  

PRO TIP: wash your puffy things to apply the powder in the washer with your towels so you don't have to buy new ones all the time! (You should have seen my husband's face when he found that in the wash! LOL)

I do have to worn you that it has a very strong sent.  I love the smell because it reminds me of my mother and grandmother but other people say it smells like a grandma.  It probably does, but I like to think it smells classic.  

If you want to try it for yourself, go to your neighborhood merle norman store and ask for a sample!  If you don't like the powder based foundation, try something else there.  I am obsessed with all of there products.   

Have a wonderful day! 

My Feelings on Fall

I really like being super positive and always having something good to say, but sometimes a girl has to rant!  So if you are one of those people chearing about pumpkin spiced lattes and sweaters stop reading now because you are not going to like this. 

I have been super upset about fall.  Yep, fall.  I know it doesn't make any sense.  It comes every single year!  Why would I be so upset by it?  

Well here is why.  Fall means it gets cold and I hate the cold!  I hate having to wear sweaters and I hate having to put leggings underneath everything I wear!  I hate pumpkins.  I hate fruit being out of season.  I hate stew and soup. I hate being pasty white.  I hate being trapped in my house.  I just want to be in my shorts, getting a tan, going on vacations all the time and eating fresh fruits and veggies!! 

UGHGUHASLJKFLKJAHSDLKJHASDLKJHSDLKJAHSDLKJHSDLKJAHSD

So, I have decided that as soon as I can, I am moving to Florida where there is no fall. 

Here is a picture of me warm and happy in my short skirt and crop top enjoying the warm Mexican weather!  TAKE ME BACK!!

End of rant.  

Have a nice day! 

9 Reasons why I pluck not wax my eyebrows

1. I can control them

Ever since I saw one of friends get a hack job of an eyebrow wax at a very nice salon, I have not trusted anybody except myself.  I know when to stop plucking and when I stop they look nice now, not in a few days.  Also, I don't have to worry about the beautician taking too much off because of a difference in opinions.

2. I can do them every day if I need to

I have recently gotten into the habit of plucking one or two stray hairs every day.  This has many benefits but the fact that you always have beautiful eyebrows definitely prevails.

3.  I can shape them how I want them

I tend to love big bushy eyebrows.  I like that I don't have to go to the beautician with the skinniest eyebrows around and defend my case as to why I don't want them all ripped off.

4.  If you do a little everyday it doesn't hurt or turn your eye lids red

Since I pluck a couple eyebrow hairs every couple of days, I never have to worry about having beat red eyebrows from a waxing.  I can go right into a very important meeting just hours after plucking them, and feel confident that my eyebrows will look fabulous.

6.  It's not that hard

It really isn't.  As long as you don't go pluck crazy you will be fine.  Just remember, pluck a little, step back and look from farther away, check to make sure it is matching the other eyebrow and you are fine!   Go for it!

8. You don't have to wait until your eyebrows are wildly out of control to clean them up

This is a major plus!  You can't wax your eyebrows without having hairs there and who is going to go pay for a wax every time a stray hair pops up!  My eyebrows are always neat and trim, no awkward growing out faze.

9.  It's a heck of a lot cheaper!

I think I paid around $8 for my tweezers (which I thought was a lot!).  How much do you pay EVERY time you get your eyebrows waxed?

I will post later about my eyebrow philosophies.  =)

Valentines Day Date at the Charlie Creek Inn

Before I delve into how wonderful our Valentine's day was I want to point out something for those girls that might think, "why doesn't MY boy do this!?"  Well, I used to be one of you.  In fact, for the last 3 years I have CRIED on Valentines day.  Yes, CRIED.  Eric had no idea how important valentines is for a relationship and it took him this long to figure it out.  However, until this year I had not communicated that Valentine's day was important to me.  So, how did he figure it out?  Because I realized that I needed to spell out exactly what I wanted and expected from valentines day. Men just need that sometimes.  Too many women expect them to know every expectation that we don't vocalize and it is simply unrealistic.  He thought that I was different from every other girl on the planet and that I didn't care about being romanced.  WHY?  Because he is a man and he was clueless.  

So this year I was very clear about what I was hoping for and he did excellent.   It was a classic valentines date and was a very special night for the two of us.  

Here is how it went...

After lunch, Eric showed up at the school with a bouquet of red roses and handed them to me.  He was planning on coming already but I did not expect him to come clad with roses!   He stayed to see my last two classes, just because he wanted to see what a day in my life looked like.  It made me feel really special that he wanted to come to work with me. 

When I came home I found a bouquet of white roses and a rose gold watch waiting for me! 

The watch is absolutely beautiful and I love it!  

Also, it's really hard to get a good picture of a watch. 

After much squealing and rejoicing about the watch and roses I got ready to go out!  We didn't take anymore pictures on the date.  Sometimes it is better to just live in the moment.  

We drove to Wabash Indiana to a wine and chocolate tasting at the Charlie Creek Inn, which is this really cute, historic hotel in downtown Wabash.  The tasting was really fun.  We got to taste 7 or 8 different wines and chocolate pairings and walk around the romantic inn.  It was fun just talking and enjoying each others company throughout the tasting.   I always have so much fun with Eric, everywhere we go. 

After the tasting, he had made reservations at the hotel restaurant Twenty.  This is probably the nicest restaurant within 50 miles of Peru.  It has the best French onion soup on this planet!  We both started out with the soup and then he had lobster mac & cheese and I had filet mignon and shrimp scampi.  Yum! We had a very nice, lingering dinner there and again enjoyed each other's company.  

After the restaurant I really wanted a scoop of chocolate ice cream so we headed over to the chocolate shop in the hotel.  They were closing in 5 minutes and gave me a scoop of hand-dipped "Death by Chocolate" ice cream for $1!  It was perfect timing and perfect pricing!  Also, the ice cream was to die for. 

After all of that we drove back to Peru and spent the rest of the evening in.  It was a very romantic, nice night that I am sure we will remember for years to come.  I am proud of Eric for finally figuring out how Valentines is supposed to be and for myself for communicating my desires to him.  

End table

Does your family have that one piece of furniture that nobody wants but nobody can get rid of?   Yep, that is this end table that I am about to up-cycle.   It was all scratched up and out of date but it was my great grandmas and nobody could get rid of it!  So, of course when we were in desperate need of furniture, I took it!  I knew I would paint it and turn it in to a beautiful table.  Here is how it went!

This was before I discovered bonding primer and I had to sand around all of those little spools.. ugh.  It took forever! 

I didn't have any primer so I just started with the paint.  I used a white eggshell paint.   It took about 3 coats to finish it completely.

Even though this is extremely poor picture quality you can see how beautiful it is now!  We love it and it adds to our look in the living room.  

What do you have that would look great with a coat of paint on it?  

Up-cycled Fancy Bed Board

When Eric and I were moving into our apartment, the goal was to not spend any money on furniture.  That's right, I said ZERO DOLLARS.   I think we accomplished that (or at least spent no more that $50 all together)   How did we do it?  We searched through relatives basements, attics, and sheds to find things that could serve a purpose for a little while or that could eventually be turned into something magnificent!  We did buy a few things from garage sales, but only if they were the right price (practically free).

This head board is one of those free things that we got!  Nobody wanted it in our big extended family so it ended up in my mother's basement with a mattress in it!  Eric, who struggles to see how things can be transformed, was not too fond of the bed when we first got it.  I didn't like it either!  It was old, outdated, and just ugly!  But, I saw past the fake wood finish and saw the potential that this head board had!  After living with it for the past 5 months, I finally tackled it during one of my many snow days I've had.

This is what it started as….  ew.

I was REALLY not looking forward to sanding in all of the cracks, so I went to Ace Hardware and I found this amazing stuff!  It's called bonding primer and if you use this, you don't have to SAND!!  IT'S A MIRACLE!  

So, I began priming.   It is always so excited to put the first brush of paint on something.  I just love seeing the transformation begin from something looking so ugly and mundane to looking beautiful, with just a simple coat of white paint!   This is after the first coat, the wood was really dark so I think I ended up doing 2 coats of primer. 

After two coats of primer, I just did one coat of paint. I probably should have done two, but we were sort of in a time crunch so we settled with one.  It looks great!

 I just used regular eggshell white latex paint.  

We let it dry over night and then put it back on the bed! And voila, our bed is transformed!  It went from looking like a random bed from a relatives basement (oh wait, it was) to looking like a beautiful master piece that truly belongs in this room!  Our bedroom is starting to look more like a cohesive environment, everything is slowly getting painted white because it was so ugly to begin with.   Notice the lamp-stand next to the table, that thing was SO UGLY before.  I really wish I had a picture. 

These little doo-hickys are supposed to go on the ends of the bed but we only have one.   I'm currently searching for something like this to put on it.  I'll let you guys know when I find them! 

Here's a closer look at the finished product. 

So here it is!  The final full transformation! 

Thanks for reading and go paint something ugly and make it beautiful! 

How to "Pretzel" Anything

Ever bite into one of those pretzel buns and thought, "Hey, this is just a regular bun with a pretzel outside!"  Well, that's because it is!   Basically in order to turn something into a pretzel you make your normal bread dough and then you do the following steps.  Enjoy your pretzeled life from now on!  But be careful, pretzeling may cause excessive eating of such things that are pretzeled!!

I have made a couple different pretzel recipes and this is the technique they always use, but the first time I did it I seriously felt like I was doing everything wrong.  That is why I decided to take pictures and write this post so you all can feel confident and know that you aren't doing anything wrong. 

First you just start with your normal dough for whatever you were making… bread sticks, rolls, buns, bread, whatever!  After it has risen all of the way you begin the process.  I am using rolls now. 

You mix water with baking soda (I put 6 cups to 4 tablespoons of baking soda) in a large frying pan and let it come to a simmer. 

It starts to steam baking soda everywhere and it looks like you are a mad scientist! 

Then you put the raw dough in the lightly boiling baking soda water for 30-60 seconds on each side.  I know, it seems really weird and I doubted myself horribly when I first did this, but it's right! 

After they have been boiled in the baking soda on each side take them out and place them on your greased cookie sheet.  They look really old and gross when they come out. 

Next you are going to whip up an egg white and baste it over the top of them

Then you grind salt over the top. 

Since I was making rolls, I sliced them down the middle to create a nice split when they baked. 

Then you bake them until they look like pretzels and voila everyone thinks you are an amazing cook!

If you pretzel anything, tell me about it on here!  I want to know!

Here are the directions put together so you don't have to scroll =)

What you need:

6 Cups Water

4 Tablespoons Baking Soda

1 Egg White

Salt

Dough from whatever you are making

1. Start with your normal dough for whatever you were making… bread sticks, rolls, buns, bread, whatever!  After it has risen all of the way you begin the process.  I am using rolls now. 

2. You mix water with baking soda (I put 6 cups to 4 tablespoons of baking soda) in a large frying pan and let it come to a simmer. 

3. Then you put the raw dough in the lightly boiling baking soda water for 30-60 seconds on each side.  

4. After they have been boiled in the baking soda on each side take them out and place them on your greased cookie sheet.  

5.  Whip up an egg white and baste it over the top of them

6.  Grind salt over the top of them

7.  I sliced them down the middle to create a nice split when they baked

8.  Bake them until they look like pretzels, everything is different