L’Oréal Volumnious Mascara in Carbon Black Review and TP Roll Painting

Pin #1
My mom came up recently for a visit and we had this exchange (more or less).  <Tweak!> Mom, "Sorry, I just had to see if they we're real!"  "Yeah, mom, they're real."  We were talking about my eyelashes.  There's a big trend right now for wearing fake ones, but they're not for me.

I have really long eyelashes, like, I have to cut them to wear sunglasses and can't hold my head in certain positions while applying mascara.  But they're blonde so without mascara you can't really see them.  I have tried many, many brands of mascara and I am a brand snob - I admit it.

In my My Style pinboard a pin had come up, 10 Best Drugstore Makeup Buys that are Better than Department Stores, and in the list was L’Oréal Volumnious Mascara in Carbon Black, and I was intrigued - I hadn't tried this one before.

I made sure to open my eyes very wide to reach the very base inside my eyelid.  I find this mascara easy to apply and the wand worked well.  One coat for daytime or softer look, two for drama.  With any black mascara, make sure to get the corners and use the very last on the wand to get the inside wispy lashes.

Please be kind, I couldn't take a photo of myself with my phone camera while looking straight ahead.

one eye with, one eye without

****After using this for a month, I find that when I use more than 2 coats it clumps off, I'm going to try MAC Zoom mascara and then TooFaced mascara if the MAC doesn't work out!****

Pin #2

With a baby and a three year old, our lives revolve around nap time and feeding schedules.  Activities in our home need to be ever changing and easily child-directed.  Enter Family and Kid Activities pinboard, with many friendly and quick activities.  Today's activity, painting!  Hobby Lobby had a great sale on acrylic paint and brushes and Target's lovely dollar bins had no spill paint cups.  So the three year old had a blast using her new brushes, but I introduced one new thing, Toilet Paper Roll painting.  I bent the roll into a heart shape for upcoming Valentine's Day.  It was a success!  

How to Deal with a Child's Meltdown

My pin comes from my Parenting pinboard, and there has been a great need for this lately in my home. What to do with a Melt Down is a great way to teach young children and their parents several things: how to correctly identify and name emotions, how to label wants, plan out actions, communicate, and keeping calm in heated moments.  This pin works great with preschool age and older.

Balsamic Roast Beef

My pin came from my New Recipes to Try pinboard, and it was a hit!  Balsamic Roast Beef was delicious and so very, very easy to prepare.  I loved it, step 1: put your roast in the crock pot, and step 2: mix all ingredients and dump on top of roast.  Haha!  No chopping, peeling, or anything requiring more than 5 seconds - perfect for my day today.  And the best part, my three year old asked for some and quote,"Oh, yum that's good.  More please"!!!!!  My picky little eater, my wouldn't eat chicken nuggets for almost 2 years, my cries when I have to try one bite, my kid liked this roast!

I wanted to try this recipe because it claimed to be perfect for french dip roast beef sandwiches the next day and the Mister loves him some french dip - so that's tomorrow!

PS - I want to thank my dear friend Laura, who ran out into the freezing snow and met me on the street to swap me balsamic vinegar for cumin so I could make dinner tonight while my car is at the shop!

Dr. Oz Teeth Whitening

My pins come from my Homemade or Natural Remedies pinboard, I tried the Dr. Oz Teeth Whitening, which inadvertenly led to me using Baking Soda for Cleaning my bathroom sink!  The Dr. Oz teeth whitening mixes fresh lemon juice and baking soda into a paste, which you apply and leave on your teeth for a minute, then brush with toothpaste as usual.  This pin had some comments from other pinners stating two main concerns: that the acid in the lemon juice was harmful, and the baking soda too abrasive to be safe. Okay people, let's be smart here!  1: there is more acid in your diet soda, lemonade, and consumed fruits, like tomatoes and oranges, than the amount that makes it onto your tooth's enamel.  And 2: baking soda is used in commercial toothpaste already!  Look!

Whitening strips make my teeth sensitive so I wanted to try an alternative.  This was extremely messy and did not taste pleasant!  I end up using my toothbrush to apply the whitening paste because a cotton ball and q-tip didn't cut it.  I couldn't tell an immediate difference, but I'll give it a week to see any improvement.  Use what falls in the sink to scour and clean!

Before

After

***1 week later...

I see no noticeable difference in my teeth, bummer!  My dentist told me when I last went that I had the highest color of "natural white" for fillings, so maybe if you have some surface stains, or drink dark beverages, this could work for you.  I will probably try another pin, hopeful one that works and doesn't cost so much!  I went through way too much baking soda!

***Follow my next attempt at teeth whitening!  DIY: Wedding Day White Teeth!***

Feeding the Soul and the Belly

Tonight my pin came from my Church pinboard.

One thing that I really like about church is Visiting Teaching.  To me, being Visiting Teacher means being responsible to reach out to each other as sisters in Christ, to help and lift each other spiritually and temporally, to really live my religion.

We go in pairs, bringing something new to share - a treat, a new insight, a spiritual thought.  And some times we get new pairing and new ladies to visit which can really shake things up in a good way, and that's what just happened for me, so I'm pretty excited.

Plus, it's a great way for me to meet other ladies in the congregation that I might not know, share spiritual insights and ideas with others, to help out friends in need when they're sick, and, duh, visit!  I have made great friends this way, especially when I first move into a new place and don't know anyone or the local scene for things like, doctor referrals, or parks for play dates, or book clubs.

Each month The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has a new spiritual message for Visiting Teaching and Pinterest is full of cute printable handouts, like this pin.  This month is about sharing your testimony and missionary work.  One part of my testimony of Jesus Christ is that I know He cares for both our Spiritual and Physical well being, and that's what I want to share this month.

I used lds.org Scripture on-line search looking for my favorite story of Jesus feeding the thousands with loaves and fishes, and I found it:  Matthew 15:29-38.  This is my favorite telling of the story because after first feeding everyone spiritually, He feed everyone physically with leftovers to spare.  I printed out the story, made a loaf of homemade bread, and attached a personal message.

Some of the ladies I'm responsible for haven't been to church in a while, some don't invite me in the front door, that's okay.  I just want them to know that I care about them.

Red Lips

Red lips, that's right I'm talking #FF0000 baby.  Or as some of you may know as rgb(255,0,0).  Yeah it's late and my husband cracks me up.

My Style Pinboard is the inspiration for tonight's date night make-up:  clear and fresh face, with dark top eyeliner and, you guessed it, red lips.  Here are a few good pin links: Top Four Reds and 6 Rules of Wearing Red.  The first as a few go to reds and how to wear them for formal or special occasions and the second is a wonderful guide to apply and wear reds.

I have to say, that for lipstick, especially for dark bold colors, brands matter.  My top two brands for lipsticks would be MAC and Nars, they stick to your lips, aren't waxy, and they are opaque.  My red lipstick is MAC Brave Red.  It's a Cremesheen, meaning it has a soft sheen, not a high gloss.  I picked this one because it makes me feel sassy, in a retro pin-up way, makes my teeth look white, and it doesn't wipe off on my teeth!

DIY Cake Stand

From my For the Home pinboard I wanted to recreate this Cake Stand, but one shorter, so it wouldn't be so top heavy:

I wanted something that would match no matter what the decor in my kitchen is, something that could be used for food or as the other photo depics,  for soap and scrubbing tools.  After a trip to my local Savers for a .99 plate and IKEA for a .49 candlestick holder I was ready to go!
After my quick Crisco and blowdryer trick to remove the sticker label:

I used the E 6000 epoxy because it is clear when it dries.

I turned the plate upside down, the applied a thick amount of glue to the narrow end of the candlestick. I pressed the candlestick on the plate for over 1 minute, then let it air dry for about 30 minutes.

And voila!  The finished product!