My friend Christina has good skin. It’s really pretty. Then a little while ago she bought a Clarisonic Mia 2 and now her skin positively GLOWS. Glows like it looks like she has on makeup when she doesn’t glows. I need to get in on that action. I’ve been blessed with a nice complexion but as I’ve, ahem, aged, I’ve noticed larger pores and rougher skin and other problems I won’t bore you with. I’d been using a handheld face cleansing brush with super soft bristles but it just wasn’t enough. So when we got our tax refund I took the plunge and made the purchase. Clarisonic cleansing systems are pretty much price locked everywhere and you can’t use coupons for them so I had to get creative to save a little money on my purchase. It pains me to buy anything at the full retail price! I found the Mia 2 model color that I wanted at Ulta. I normally shop at Sephora online but they didn’t have the Passion Fruit color. 
First I logged into Ebates. com then clicked on Ulta’s link from there. Now I’ll get $11.92 back from Ebates! Sweet! Ulta sent my Mia 2 really quickly and I was so excited to unpack it. I charged it up for the recommended 24 hours then I used it for the first time. The cleanser that comes with it really wakes up your skin! Since I’ve received the Mia 2 I’ve used it a few times and my skin is so smooth! I expect it will take a little while before I notice marked improvement with my pores and breakouts but so far I’m loving this! Fresh & dewy here I come!
Month: March 2013
March Birchbox
My March Birchbox came!
This month I received:
- MAKE Eyeshadow. In a beigey color.
- MAKE Face Primer with SPF 30.
- Nick Chavez Color Saver Shampoo. Sulfate free!
- Whish Shave Crave Shaving Cream. Blueberry scented!
- Madewell Emery Board.
Another fun box! Can’t wait for next month!
Painting with a twist
Friday night Christina and I went to Painting With A Twist. It’s an art class type place where you can bring wine and snacks. Although I don’t know how you can eat while painting but some did. So what you do is go online and check their calendar and pick out a painting you want to paint. We chose Beach Chairs At Sunset and Friday night.
Each class has a different painting.
You go in and they have a blank canvas, cup with water and the brushes you’ll need, a towel (for wiping brushes) and aprons.
That’s my friend Christina. They provide electric corkscrews. Well I’d never used an electric one and my wine bottle was spinning all over the counter! We drank a bottle of moscato my in-laws gave me for Christmas. I’d been looking for an occasion to pop the cork! SO good. An instructor stands up on a stage in front of the group and paints the same painting you’re painting, step by step. She calls out steps to you. So we started with the middle of the canvas. The sunset. 
An instructor stands up on a stage in front of the group and paints the same painting you’re painting, step by step. She calls out steps to you. So we started with the middle of the canvas. The sunset.
Let me tell you, that white canvas can be intimidating. That first brush stroke is scary! But then I got over it and moved on. We mixed our own colors so everyone’s oranges and yellows were slightly different. Then we moved on to the beach and the water.
Frankly they should start you out with the hardest parts because by the time we got to the chairs I’d already had 2 glasses of wine! ha!
Next we (THANK GOODNESS) had a stencil for our chairs. 
Can you see the white chalk lines? The chalk brushes off after the painting is dry. As you can see it was a rough stencil- not very detailed. But it helped SO much! Then we filled in the stencil and painted the highlights. 
Here we are with our finished masterpieces! 
We had the best time and can’t wait to go back! It was a great way to get my mind off things. And now we have a painting to go in our beach themed guest bathroom!
Gmommy
My Grandmommy died at 1:01 this morning. She had been battling Alzheimer’s for a very long time. Then in November she broke her hip and her health declined from there.
We lived with Gmommy and Granddaddy for a while after my parents divorced. Gmommy was always there for us. She came to my wedding and showers and had a great time. She sewed my cheerleader uniform. She cooked for us at every holiday. I always felt at home at her house. She recorded our height on the edge of a door in her house. She had a display for her necklaces in her bathroom that I thought was so glamorous as a child. She and Granddaddy would take us to the local Kmart. There was a little counter service restaurant in the back of the Kmart where they would take us to eat. My sister and I thought that was really cool. Grandmommy would sit in her recliner and let my sister and I play beauty shop with her hair for hours. We loved doing that. She saved every card and post card I sent her. Gmommy was a hard worker. She worked a full career then after she retired she opened up and ran a successful video/ tanning store. I worked there with her sometimes and she’d let me pick out the movies we’d watch when it was slow. When she developed Alzheimer’s my mom moved her into an assisted living facility much closer to us than her original home. I went to visit her as much as I could. When she forgot our names she’d call out “Family!” when we’d walk in. She danced all around the facility and made everyone fall in love with her.
I miss her already.
Adoption Update
As you know we submitted our home study for 3 little girls at the end of December. At this time we have not heard back about any of them. A dear friend of ours who’s been through this process said that this could happen. I just did an online search and one of them (the one with THAT name), is now on hold. Since no one has contacted us, I’m most likely correct in assuming she’s not on hold for us. So it’s back to the search I go. I just sent our social worker profiles on 4 little girls. She will submit our home study for them next week and we’ll start the waiting game again!
February’s Birchbox
February got away from me before I could tell you about February’s Birchbox! 
This month I received:
-Perfume sample by Juicy Couture– Couture La La
-Ghirardelli chocolate square
–Hair protectant & leave in conditioner spray
-Nail polish in a jade green color.
I’m pleased with this Birchbox. I’ve already tried all the items. I love little sample sizes because they are perfect for travel. I’m not too sure about the green nail polish. I know that Pantone has declared Emerald Green as the color of the year but it’s just SO GREEN. It’s really pretty in the bottle though and maybe it would look better on someone with a different skin tone. I’ve been wanting to try BB creams for a while now but I didn’t want to buy it and hate it you know? I’m going to give it another couple tries before I declare my verdict.
Can’t wait for next month’s!
Bless Your Heart 