Audis, bad toupees, and drugstore cosmetics...

As you know, because I admitted it in blogworld, I'm about to turn 40! Yes, it's true; I've checked my birth certificate there isn't any denying it. So, that being said I think I'm having a mid-life crisis. Now, if I was a super, mega rich person I'd probably buy an Audi R8 Spyder...or if I were a balding middle-age man I'd probably buy a bad toupee...but I'm neither of those (too bad on the super rich one!). So, what does an approaching 40 stay-at-home, home-schooling, mother of three buy...well, that's easy she buys drugstore cosmetics. Lots of them. Some are for wrinkles (yuck). Some are masks, peels, and scrubs. Some are BB Creams, and moisturizers. Some have been hits and sadly, some of have been misses. All in all it's a cheaper crisis than an Audi and hopefully looks better than a bad toupee! Here are some of my favs...

This stuff is AMAZING and it's only $3 at Dollar General!

Makes your face so soft!

The best American BB cream out there. Yes, there's a difference in BB creams but that's another blog post!

everybody's got one...

I'm a people watcher **not a very good one according to my sweet hubby, and he's probably right, but don't tell him** but anyway I like to watch people; well actually I just like people in general I like to talk to them (surprising I know), I like meeting them and learning about their lives. 

So, back to what I actually meant for this post to be about...

I read this quote on Pinterest today, "Fashion is what you buy, Style is what you do with it". I was struck with how true this is. I have heard many a gal say how they just don't have any style or maybe they just get in a funk of wearing the same thing over and over. The fact is we as women all have a style; yep, "everybody's got one". It just may be hidden under a lot of everyday responsibilities we all as women have too. 

Now not to say that everyone has to LOVE "Fashion" as much as some (achemmmmm... me!!) but we can all find a "Style" that suits us and makes us feel good about ourselves. No matter what we may tell ourselves to the contrary our clothes can make us feel good or not so good about us. How many times have we actually gotten dressed and purposely not looked in the mirror because we didn't want to see ourselves? Many I'm sure...me included.

But I don't think it has to be like that. Having a style is NOT dependent on what you weigh wether it's what you want to weigh or not. Having a style is wearing what makes you feel good on the inside. I heard a story about a lady who wasn't real good at putting outfits together but she knew what she liked. So, she kept a "file" of outfits and randomly choose things that matched her "file" to wear. Sort of like my dream wardrobe on Pinterest and yes, I have prepared outfits to match my "fashion/make-up" board on Pinterest. They are some of my favorites!

So that's what has been brewing in my head all day...yeah, it's been a slow day here! Oh well anyone have any thoughts on this...


BTW I also read this quote today too "I have an irrational fear of wasting a good outfit on an insignificant day"; I admit that this is a thought I have had once upon a time...but really do we ever have insignificant day's!!

*GASP*....No, it can't be true!!

I'm going to tell you a secret...it's a BIG one...I mean REALLY BIG...this year I turn the BIG 4...0...Yeah, I can't believe that I just put that secret out in blog-land! 

I know what you are thinking, "No, way is Kirstie almost 40. She can't be more than 34!" but alas, it's true. On May 28 I will turn 40! Mostly I don't mind, mostly, I think I am doing great. I have an amazingly blessed life, God has been so good to me. But, girls, really you know what I'm saying, "40!", back when I was 16 40 was ancient! 

I have a great friend who says "40 is fabulous!" and I mean really who wouldn't want to be fabulous; no matter what the age! To celebrate this milestone I'm doing something I've never done before. Another great friend has challenged me to run a 10K with her. I have done some 5k's (well, two actually) with her before. She had a great point to celebrate 40 I should go all out. I'm excited about it; to see if I can really get my body (my 40 year old body at that!) 10K ready. Now if I could ever get rid of this sinus funk I could start training! I'll let you all know how it goes!

and FYI...I finally got around to trying the Spicy Buffalo Cauliflower Bites and yeah, not so good! May have to tweak it a bit! 

Thank You, Pinterest...

Thanks to Pinterest, that fun place we all love to go when we are bored, I have found the best website. I love it. I read it daily. I have learned things from it, and I have taken advice from it. I am pleased with everything I have purchased as a result of something I read on her site; not to mention that everything she talks about can be found at drugstores all over America. It's the best. If you're interested you can find a link to her site HERE. You certainly won't be sorry that you did.  Did I mention that her claim to fame is experimenting with drugstore cosmetics, finding how they rate when compared to high-end cosmetics, and giving us inexpensive but high-quality choices? Here are just some examples of things I have purchased and love...all in all I've spent less than $20.

I loved this...and I would still be using it if I hadn't accidentally flushed the powder down the toilet. I will be replacing it ASAP. 

Longest wearing lip gloss I've ever used, ever.

This really works. I admit I was skeptical, I mean it only cost $1.72 could it really work? but yep, it can, and it does! Love this look!

All of the above cost around $12...not to mention the lip gloss had a coupon on it (thought you would appreciate that JM!)

Fun fact: The mascara I just wrote about last week just so happens to be one of her favs! Great minds think alike I guess. Did I mention she has my dream job??

stocking stuffers, mascara, and a hubby who really knows me...

No denying that I really like Christmas; I mean I really really do, promise! I love it so much it's really hard for me to decide on one favorite aspect of it for me. However, stockings rank pretty hight on my list along with: the Christmas story of Jesus' birth, Christmas Carols, and Elf on the Shelf. I love stockings so much that Terry and I still get each other stockings stuffed full of all sorts of stuff! Terry is quite possibly one of the best stuffers around. Even better than me! He always gives me cool stuff that he knows I would love but might not buy myself. He heads down the make-up section and just loads me up. 

Now, it's also not a big surprise that I'm a pretty big girly girl. However, that being said I must admit that I HATE mascara. I know all about how we should wear mascara above just about any other make-up, but I just don't like it. It flakes. It looks impossibly bad on me. That is until this Christmas...so, lets go back to my sweetie's great stocking stuffing ability. In this years stocking, I received this...

Now, I admit I was just a little bit concerned when I saw this in my stocking. Actually, I was thinking that this was just a colossal waste of money because I would never wear it. First off its mascara (I've mentioned that I don't like it, right) and secondly, it's waterproof. Much to my great surprise. I LOVE this mascara. I mean I really love it. I wear it all the time. This just goes to show just how much my Prince Charming knows me...

Soul Searching....and a good friend!

Continuing on my journey to knowing who God wants me to be I come to the weekend I help my friend re-do her hair salon. Now, when you get married you expet to "inherit" certain things from your spouse--great in-laws (which I have), cool brother and sister-in-laws (got those too), and if your really blessed great nieces and nephews (have those!) but what I really never thought about aquiring was a good friend, who also happens to be the best hair styliest I've ever been too. But that's what I got. I got Michelle. Terry and Michelle enjoyed one of those very rare boy-girl friendships in high school that continue still today; in fact it is so funny to watch them interact because they are more like brother and sister in how they bicker. When Michelle decided to go out on her own with her own salon a year or so ago, Terry and I where there to help her in deorating her new space. Then this year she looked at me and said I need a change, so, I gave her one! I think I made her happy...I hope! Here's the results!

Soul Searching and Sweet Baby Lydia's Party...Part 1

This summer I've been doing some soul searching (scary I know), to see what and who I should be. The obvious answer, of course, is who God wants me to be but I mean more than that, or maybe what does that really mean. I'm not a doctor (the mere thought of blood makes me sick...yuck)...I'm not a scientist who will discover the cure for a major disease (again, the blood issue)...I'm not a financier to solve the country's money problems (hate math!)...so, what am I? This is a question for some reason that has plagued me this summer. I wonder, am I the only one who asks themselves this sort of crazy question? Well, like He often does, God has answered this for me over this past month; He has answered it in a way that I never expected. The answer revolved around four consecutive weekends full of fun work for different things. I discovered that I like to make people happy; corny I know, sappy yes, but also none the less true. I like to make people smile by making things pretty. God, I believe, has gifted me with the strange ability to look at something find some way to make that something pretty and at the same time make someone happy (I hope) with it. How did I come to this realization, you ask? Well it all started with baby Lydia's first party!

Our sweet dear friends, the Kelley's, are expecting their first bundle of Joy, a baby girl named Lydia. It was my pleasure to plan Amy's baby shower that our church gave to her. It was so much fun as I thought about how much Amy's new mommy's heart would be touched and excited as she experienced this first shower. So, I poured my heart and soul into making it pretty, fun and memorable to Amy. That's when I knew, if work like this, that will benefit someone else still makes me happy, it has to be God's calling for my life. I know it's not like solving the worlds problems, it's not feeding the hungry, it's not saving lives, but if I can put one smile on some one's face and bring them joy isn't this a good thing? I hope so!

So, with the help of some vintage china from my Mom (thanks Mom), we set out to create a beautiful non-traditional Tea Party baby shower...I think she liked it!!

Merry Berry's Coconut Wave Cake...it defies  description how great it was!

Tea at a Tea Party is a must!

My great-grandmother's shoes!



The non-traditional corsage for our non-traditional shower!

The Food! Now, I didn't make all this. Cooking I'm still working on!

What I Want vs. What I Have...and What Makes it Better...

I love Terry, I mean I really, really, love him...good thing right! If I tried to list all the reasons why I loved him you guys would be bored! So, I'll just list the reasons that have to do with this blog post...I love him because he really doesn't care how "girly" I am. He doesn't care how many purses I buy, or how many shoes I own, or how much jewelry I collect. Really doesn't care...BUT...and it's a pretty big BUT to me! He absolutely refuses to be OK with my wearing fake finger nails. And since he's so good about every other thing I feel bad about making a big fuss about this one little issue. So, I suffer in silence. While I dream about beautiful long perfect french manicured nails, the reality is far from that. However, I have found something that makes my suffering much easier. So, I thought I'd share it with all the other girly girls out there!

Yep, Sally Hansen, been around forever, but works like nothing I've ever seen before. I'm on day 4 and not a chip in sight. So, if you want a salon like manicure without going to the salon pick up a bottle of this for about $4.65...and Sarah, it really does dry in 10 seconds!!

For the Love of Hot Chocolate...

One of the many, many reasons that this is my favorite time of the year and summer is not; is the smell of coffee. I know when I smell Terry making coffee fall is on it's way. I love how coffee smells; it beats any candle. However, I hate the taste, and believe me I've tried to like it. The closet I've come is Wendy's Twisted Frosty Toffee Coffee...yes, it's as good as it sounds but I'm sure it has very little coffee! So, with coffee out; I"m left with Hot Chocolate, but that instant stuff just wasn't cutting it. I'm on a mission...to find and perfect the best Gourmet Homemade Hot Chocolate recipe. I made some today...it was very good might just have to make some small adjustments!

I HEART Fall...

Yeah, we may be in the middle of a heat wave, and it may not feel anything like fall, but I HEART fall. I mean I really, really like fall. Don't believe me take a look...

Just for Me...

All the decorating I do in our home, (and that's a lot!!) one could argue that it's all for me, especially Terry. However, my recent redo is definitely for me. I decided that I hated my laundry room; for more reasons than most women hate their laundry rooms! No, this was a deep hatred; that room was messy, unorganized, a little bit dirty, and very ugly. I mean there was nothing of ascetic value in there. So, I decided to do something about it. With just two days and $10....I went from this...

To this...

It's certainly still a laundry room...but now it's just a little bit prettier!

My Heart Stopped....

As Terry and I were taking a routine trip to "The Ray", or otherwise known as, Ray of Hope today....I found this...YES, you guessed it, I had to have it...for the mere price of $1.99 (for the lamp).

These I saw after I had checked out BUT I had to have them and they were only $.59 each. Terry KNEW these gems were there, but didn't bother to tell me, of course, he says that he was going to tell me before we left...

I couldn't wait to get them home!!

Oh, it was a good day for "Vintage Hoda"!!