Pie and Pits November 24, 2009

If you have yet to make your Thanksgiving pie(s) for this year, may I suggest this beauty? Just looking at it makes me drool.  It’s like the best of three worlds–pumpkin, pecan, and cheesecake all rolled into one!

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Also, once I use up my shampoo, I’m considering going ‘poo free, and today I read this post about natural deodorant, and my mind is churning on that one, too.  After all, our skin our largest organ, and as Katie (in the deodorant article) puts it, “One of its job is to absorb.”  I want to be as aware of what I’m putting on my skin as of what I put in my mouth.  Have any of you ever tried either?  If so, what were your results?

My Experience with MAC Cosmetics November 9, 2009

Normally, I am that girl who doesn’t venture beyond the aisles of Target when buying make-up.  But last month my buddy Ingrid visited from California, and we decided to go to the MAC Cosmetics store in the Mall of America and get makeovers.

Let’s just say I left with my wallet a little bit a lot lighter.  After using the products, I wanted to review them for you here, in case any of you are considering making purchases there.

1. Holiday Brush Bags – I purchased this one since it had the foundation brush I wanted.  It also included a blush brush and three good brushes for eyes.  I am not impressed.  To be fair, my consultant warned me that the brush sets aren’t as high quality as the individually-sold brushes because they are machine-made, not hand-made.  But when I pay $49.50 for 5 brushes, I don’t expect them to shed 47 bristles onto my face every morning, which is exactly what the foundation brush does.  I end up having to use a different brush to get those bristles off my face.  I have a brush set I got at Target last year for $10, and those brushes are, in my opinion, far superior to the MAC ones.  They are softer (making application less harsh-looking) and have hardly shed a single bristle.  Save yourself $40 and buy these somewhere else, ladies!

2.  Fab-racadabra Bronze Face Kit – Another one of the holiday kits that I bought to try and save a little rather than buy three separate items (bronzer, blush and iridescent powder).  I’m pretty neutral on this one.  It gives my cheeks a nice glow, but I’m not sure it’s that much better than my previous Cover Girl blush.  I may change my tune in a couple weeks when my skin has taken on its usual “death” pallor for winter.  That bronzer could be a winner.

3.  Mineralize Skinfinish Natural – Though, again, much more pricey than my normal Cover Girl pressed powder, this one is worth the money ($25).  I get a nice finish by dusting it over my makeup with a brush, and I’m not greasy (I’m prone to that in my T-zone) for hours.  Sometimes I don’t even have to reapply it all day!  It also works great when I don’t have time for anything but a little mascara.  It goes on more evenly than the Neutrogena mineral makeup I was using for those gotta-get-out-the-door-now mornings.

4. Paint Pot in Rubenesque – Far and away my favorite product purchased.   This glorious, shimmery little pot acts as a base for eyeshadow, but unlike another color they sell, Painterly, Rubenesque has enough color to it that it can actually function as eyeshadow if I don’t have time for anything else.  And the most amazing part–it lasts ALL. DAY. LONG.  No creasing, no smudging; this stuff stays put.  Even after an 8-hour day behind my camera, which usually has my eye makeup in ruins, I came out looking virtually the same as when I’d started that morning.  Worth every penny of $16.50.

5.  Eyeshadows – My consultant informed me that I would save money by getting a palette of these and inserting these little pots ($11 each), but that they contain the same amount of product as the individually-sold eyeshadows ($14.50 each).  I currently have three colors – one for filling in brows, one for my crease, and one for highlighting below the eyebrow.  I am still waiting for them to call me telling me they have re-stocked the fourth one (for my lid), and Rubenesque has been filling in as my main shadow.  MAC is known for their highly-pigmented products, meaning you have to use very, very little to get a saturated look.  I merely tap my brush on top of the makeup and it’s enough to begin application.  No smushing or swirling my brush to get enough on, which is nice (plus, it doesn’t leave layers of eyeshadow dust all over everything!).  These shadows also stay put (I’m sure partially due to the paint pot product) and will no doubt last me a long time.

6. Fluidline Eyeliner – Normally an eyeliner pencil will last me several years.  I just don’t wear enough to put much of a dent in it.  So when MAC girl put what looked like a thick black inchworm on my upper lashline, I wasn’t terribly excited.  However, I decided to give it another chance and had her switch it to a dark brown.  This looked much more natural on me.  After a couple of days, I got used to applying my liner with a brush rather than a pencil, and again, this takes very little product to make a huge impact.  It will probably not last me as long as a pencil, but it doesn’t smudge all over my face like pencil does, either.

There you have it–my experience with MAC.

I have continued to use my own cheaper mascara (Maybelline Great Lash Waterproof–love the stuff!  And pros use it.) and foundation (Cover Girl TruBlend), since I had just purchased new of them both and I didn’t particularly care for MAC’s version of either (my face was THICK with foundation; I looked fake).

What makeup do you use?  Have you ever gotten a counter/store makeover done?  Did you fall for it as hard as I did?  Have you stuck with any of the products?

Price My Space July 16, 2009

The Nester is having a little Price My Space thing over at her blog (actually she posted it Sunday night, I’m just late to the party because it’s been One of Those Weeks).  Normally, my house does NOT look this clean/uncluttered.  We were staging it for pictures for selling, but it provides a clean canvas for my little numbers and this fun project.  Check out everyone else’s spaces, too. There are some fabulous decorators out there!

Here’s my entry, part of my living/dining room:

1. End table comprised of a $10 rummage sale suitcase and a 1/2 price basket from Michaels at $24.

2. Set of two wicker chairs from Pier 1, meant to be indoor/outdoor for our deck and living room, around $200 for the pair plus cushions.  The pillows were freebies I stole from my mom, who didn’t like them (they came with her sofa).

3. White coffee table I couldn’t live without, purchased from my favorite furniture store in Fargo, ND, Funky Junque, for $150.  I’ve had it for two years now, and I still love it.

4.  Probably our biggest investment piece, a leather couch from HOM Furniture, coming in at $1100.  We hope it will last at least 10-15 years.  I like it because it’s comfy and durable yet doesn’t have the untailored “stomach roll” look of some leather couches.

5.  The softest of soft pillows (whose life has been rubbed out of them–they’re like the family pets) also from HOM, for $20 each.

6. This is where it starts getting sickening.  Cute green sewing cabinet, free, gift from my mom.

7. Old, but in perfect condition, pecan wood dining table (expands to be HUGE, seats 14!) and chairs (in not-very-good condition), free, from Husband’s grandmother’s home after she passed away.

8. Beautiful antique china cabinet with curved glass, free, from my grandmother’s home after she passed away.  Full of gorgeous antique china and American Sweetheart depression glass my other grandma collected for me since I was a child and gave to me as a wedding gift.  This is the “Anja, don’t you dare touch anything” zone.

9.  Wood bookcase, free, also from Husband’s grandma’s place.

10. Hot-glued and upholstery clipped “curtains,” about $40 total for fabric and hardware.  There’s another one at the opposite end of the room that can’t be seen.  Idea stolen for free from The Nester.  :)

11. In the area you can’t see is a big, comfy green armchair we got in the discount section at HOM for $300, a little plant stand, free, from my mom, my grandparents’ piano, free, and a big honking balustrade hung on the wall, $75 from Funky Junque.

I have a new dining table, a custom-made harvest table that hopefully will be everything I’ve ever dreamed of, coming this fall, and that will add $850 to the mix (VERY reasonable price considering the quality of the piece and that I got to pick my size, my finishes, and all the details), so if I’m honest and add that, my grand total for living and dining rooms combined is: $2,789.  To me, that’s not a bad total considering we have several heirloom-quality pieces plus two major investments.

This set of rooms is where we have spent most of our money.  The rest of the house, combined, probably cost us about $450 combined (more if you count Husband’s electronics), because we have received so many hand-me-downs, incredible gifts, and have picked up quite a bit of curbside stuff and salvaged it.

Sunday Sunshine 05.17.09 May 17, 2009

Oh, will this site make your jeans shopping easier!  I used it to find my best fitting pairs on Friday, then took the list with me Saturday jeans shopping.  It was the best experience I’ve had trying on jeans in a long time.

I spent some time on Cake Wrecks the other night, and this one nearly made me pee my pants.  And this one is just FREAKY.

Lastly, I was privileged to walk with a small group member of mine in a Walk for Life yesterday.  The proceeds of our team (and of all the other teams walking) went to support a local crisis pregnancy center.  God sure made us earn those pledges, by golly!  It was 38 degrees out!  I wore 3 shirts, a fleece jacket and a stocking hat!  There were two ladies who spoke before we walked; they both had come to this CPC looking for help, and both of them had their sons with them at the walk!  One was a teenager, the other was a toddler.  It was awesome to meet children who would have been aborted but were saved through this ministry.

We still have a few days to collect donations since we did our fund-raising online.  I don’t want to post a link to them directly on my blog, but if you are interested in donating, please send me an email and I’ll be happy to direct you to my fund-raising site.  My team’s goal is $1000, and we still have a ways to go to meet that!

I Heart Faces – Hats! May 5, 2009

This week’s theme at I Heart Faces is “Hats.”  It’s been weeks since I’ve had time to enter, so I grabbed Anja, still in her pajamas, and had her model her white hat that I love so much.  Note the traces of oatmeal around her mouth.  Klassy, we are!

Here’s my adult entry. We were getting ready to go out sledding the day after Christmas and digging through the bin full of scarves and hats, and I found this lovely from my childhood to put on Husband. He was less than thrilled but still let me snap his photo. What a guy, huh?

For more photo entries in this week’s contest, visit:

Dinkytown Vignettes May 4, 2009

high fashion on your
10-speed with your
statement sandal and backpack

mod sunglasses protect your
long lashes over your
expressive eyes
looking in your hobo bag

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sipping a caramel latte
at an iron mesh table
smoking a wide-mouth
Camel in cuffed pants
contemplating that tree
living in a high-rise
with two guys
and a girl
striding away into a bleak future

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drummer boy
tall black pants and a ‘do rag
on a funny mo-ped
little wheels turn this
road well-traveled into
a highway to your
big break

I’m the Apple of His Eye January 19, 2009

Or at least my reflection is in his wicked awesome sunglasses.  Ha!  Another one of Husband this week.  We took Anja sledding at my Mom’s house after Christmas, and I grabbed a random hat out of the “outerwear bin” for him to put on.  He didn’t even realize it had an embroidered deer on it (even! more! awesome!) until I told him quite a while later. It’s my entry in the adult category for I Heart Faces this week.

Check out more stuff at

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t borrow these on occasion January 19, 2009

Remember back in November when we had my Blogiversary Giveaways?  Well, I ordered more products from both vendors, and I just had to show off these cute little clips Anja got.  Love ‘em!

My Best Craft EVER January 15, 2009

Now, don’t be expecting much here.  I am not known for my crafting abilities.  However, I do enjoy taking on the occasional project.  This, here, is my piece de resistance (You’ll have to pretend that had the correct punctuation.).

I made this apron for my sister-in-law for Christmas.  I intended to make 3 others for additional relatives but quickly realized how stinking much time that would take me.  I started in September and finished the week before Christmas.  It’s two-sided.  It has hand-stitching to make it look more “professional.”  It was hard to part with.  But, of anyone, she would appreciate it the most.  So…here I am modeling the flipside before I wrapped it.

My sis-in-law told me she would appreciate a dress made in a similar fashion for next Christmas.  I love you, A, but fat chance!

If you’d like the pattern, buy it here.

The Ugly Eagle Shirt November 17, 2008

Amy is having another “getting to know bloggy husbands” edition at her blog today, and I couldn’t pass up the chance to expose something my husband owns that I would like to burn, throw away or see eaten by a shark (without him in it, of course).

The Ugly Eagle Shirt has been in Husband’s life for 10-plus years.  Here, in no particular order, are the reasons I hate The Ugly Eagle Shirt.

1) It has a big eagle on it.  Husband is not a Confederate nor is he Native American.

2) This shirt has air conditioning.  Big time.  See?

3) The Ugly Eagle Shirt actually talks.  Here is what it says: “Me ‘n’ Bobby Mark, we use ta go muddin’ back der in da crick*.  No need fer enny fancee ATV er nuttin’, we jest souped up Bobby Mark’s ol’ 1978 Chevrolet pick-up.  The same one we use ta lay a little patch a rubber in front a the courthouse.”  Then I usually interrupt The Shirt.

4) Husband has been known to actually wear The Shirt in public when I am with him.  It is for this reason that I hide The Shirt.

Thankfully, since it’s just a shirt and not actually attached to his person, I can usually overlook the atrociousness of it all.

*This is another contention between us.  Since it is spelled with two Es, I cannot possibly imagine that creek could be pronounced “crick.”  But that’s just how Husband says it.  :)

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How about you?  Anything your other half does or owns that drives you nuts?  If you’re planning to post about it, let me know because I’d love to stop by and hear!