DIY Highlight and Contour Creams

You guys have these right? Beat up eye shadows that spent too much time getting knocked around in your purse or cosmetic bag. I'm going to show you an easy-peasy way to turn them into highlight and contour creams.

DIY Translucent Finishing Powder

I use this now on a regular basis and have been making it for pennies with ingredients that were already in my home. It's so easy!

Old jars into organizing solutions

Jamie's already talked to you guys about saving those candle jars, let me add save all your jars. Waste not, want not, right? If you don't need them I'll take them!

Step 1: Collect an assortment of jars

The stay-home vs work struggle

As a full time nurse and full time mom… I'm struggling with doing both.

•Day care is expensive, at almost $700 a month for full time.
•I don't feel like my almost 4-year-old is getting the education I'd like. A lot of his crafts come home looking like an adult assembles them.
•Although he's getting to interact with other children, he's also bringing home their bad words, back talking, and poor behavior.
•My daycare was the only option, local daycares are open 6-6. I work 7-730. It has to be somewhere convenient for Joe or my parents to pick up.
•I don't think they take my concerns seriously. (Ie clothes being on right when I drop him off and backwards when I pick him up, kids biting-he was bit 8 times last summer, lack of behavior reports-I wanna be an active parent and aware of his behavior)
•Every class does not have a teacher with a degree.
•Finding a babysitter has proven to be a challenge. All my friends and family work.
•My schedule varies (three 12-hour shifts)… day care is a set schedule. Which means I'm paying for days I don't need. What a waste!!! Right now, I'm paying for 3 days/wk. Some weeks, I don't need to take him at all because of my work schedule.

How marriage changed Ashley and Jesse

Marriage is a beautiful thing. I was recently honored with the opportunity to be a part of the ceremony that united two of my closest friends. Ashley and Jesse. I can't tell you enough how awesome Ashley and Jesse are. It's their sense of humor that tops my list as the most awesomest thing about them, but that's shortly followed by a long list of other traits.

Here are Ashley and Jesse before they were engaged to be married:

They look like an awesome couple right?

Surprise benefits of coconut oil cleanser

I've been using my homemade coconut oil cleanser once to twice a day for about 6 weeks now (click here for the recipe) . I quickly got past the initial flushing of the pores (which led to a few pimples), and have been enjoying smoother-clearer skin. In the past few weeks I've noticed a change that I wasn't quit expecting.... Longer fuller eye lashes. This is not at all a bad surprise!

The reality of losing a sibling; from the big sister. Pt 2

The reality of losing a sibling; from the big sister.

Part Two

Read Part One here

The days after Jeremy died were a blur. I'm going to share what I remember.

April 27, 2012

Upon entering the house, after telling my mom the news, we escorted her to the kitchen table. She missed the chair while trying to sit and the entire table almost toppled over. (Prior to her arrival, we had already discussed the possibility of having to call an ambulance.) My mother had a history of hyperventilating and anxiety. For a brief moment, I thought I'd watch her be carted away.  I don't remember what time the police came to notify us, but he died at 8:32am. The screaming phone call was sometime around 10am. My mom didn't get home until around 11am. The Chaplin arrived before the officer. Everything was backwards. I had taken my mom's cell, the house phone, and my phone. In between checking on my mother and calling family, I was holding my own grief in.

Family Message Center

These are some little projects I did several months ago, but I wanted to share the results and my goals for the future.

Previously we've used www.cozi.com to organize our shopping lists, calender, to do lists, and to even plan meals. Cozi is amazing, and has an app for our phones, my kindle fire, and our computer. Plus it's free!! Cozi was everything I dreamed of. When Joe and I both had the apps on our phones our calenders would sync, we could both edit the shopping list, and see the list when either of us stopped at the store. It seemed that with Cozi in our lives, the possibilities were endless. Cozi only failed us because Joe never used it.

4 ingredients = SUPER shiny hair!

This is Kelly's head. Isn't it beautiful? Kelly volunteered to be a victim in another homemade beauty remedy experiment. I'm going to show you how to use these 4 ingredients to get super shiny, super soft hair!

Save that candle jar!

How much money do you spend on beautiful candles in glass jars, just to throw those jars away? And how much money do you spend on containers to store various items in? Well here are some SUPER easy steps to save your jars!

Step one: Enjoy your candle!

Crayon Box

I'm about to share something so ridiculously simple that it seems silly to post it. But, hey, anything I can do to help you get organized on the cheap.

An old Huggies wipes container makes a great crayon box :)

And that's all I have to say about that!

How to hollow a light bulb

Here we are, with light bulbs going in the trash left and right... and Christmas coming quickly. I hate hate hate throwing things away! Here are some instructions to re-use that bad boy!

Step one: 

Begin by peeling up a corner of this do-hickey. I used a nail tip. You can use a razor blade, screwdriver, or anything else of that nature.

Unorthodox Diapering Step 3

The Truth About Cloth Diapers

Step 3: Have a system in place for storing and washing dirty duds

See Step 1: convincing my husband that cloth diapers aren't lunacy
See Step 2: Pick your diaper

My most serious concern about using cloth diapers was putting baby poop in my washing machine. I did a great deal of investigation on how to make sure everything was sanitary. My investigation didn't turn up many results that referred specifically to disinfecting the diapers and the washing machine. I was genuinely surprised, I know I am NOT the only one that thinks poop is disgusting and cringes at the thought of washing their clothes in it. I figured out how to keep the germs at bay on my own using vinegar and tea tree oil. Both can be used as a disinfectant and are natural so they won't irritate a baby's bottom. You can see how I wash and disinfect the washing machine in my post Wash the Washer.

Vinegar: Not Just For Cooking

Vinegar, most commonly used for food preparation, is making its debut as a household cleaner. Vinegar is becoming like Duct Tape in my house. The more I learn about it the more I think it can do anything! It can be an ingredient in a delicious recipe, disinfect a counter top, make your laundry softer, unclog a sink drain, and even make your hair shinier.

The National Geographic has an article that goes over a few ways they suggest for you to use vinegar as a natural disinfectant, click here to find out more.

I'm going to share with you some of the vinegar 'recipes' I use on a regular basis in my house.

DIY Household Cleaners

It turns out vinegar isn't the only thing I use to clean the house. I know you probably can't tell if you've read "Vinegar: Not Just For Cooking" but I also have a few homemade remedies for a clean house that don't contain vinegar. I make our laundry detergent, a Febreze like fabric freshener, a stain remover, and have a few DIY homemade cleaner experiments waiting to happen.