How To: Clean Your Makeup Brushes

Okay, I haven't done a How-To in a while. I feel this one is very, very necessary though. Ladies, listen carefully.
Okay, I have very acne-prone skin. It's a toughy subject for me to talk about because I'm so insecure in this fact. And bad skin isn't something you can just ignore so easily. It's just so...there. On your face and in everyone elses'. So you can understand I go to lengths to cover up my imperfections as much as possible. Meaning: cover up and foundation.
I have a special, very soft brush I use for my foundation. I love it.
However, a week ago I really started noticing how it was feeling on my skin...it was very...gunky feeling. Weighted down. Gross.
When I originally got the brush, it was white. Now, it was dark brownish. Yuck.
So I decided to clean my brush. (And all of my brushes)

I got this method off of Pinterest. (Ah, my love!) It's really easy. All you need is Olive Oil, Water, Shampoo and some Paper Towels.

First, run your brush under some water. You can really see just how dirty it is when the water hits the bristles.

After you've wetted your brush, put some Olive Oil in your hand and twirl the bristles of your brush in the oil. Then you can start massaging the oil into the brush; make sure you do this over sink! It gets messy. You really get to see all of the gunk that gets stuck in your brushes. Yuck!

This was just me, it didn't say to on Pinterest, but I started squeezing out my brush while massaging the oil into it. I did this for a good ten minutes and I was still getting huge globs of makeup out of my brush. I'll be cleaning it more often, I can tell you that much.
After you've massaged your oil into the brush, run it under some water and squeeze the water (and makeup) out of your brush! Hot or cold water, it doesn't matter. You'll be amazed at the gunk that comes out!

Yuck! I sometimes wonder what I'm putting onto my skin...it just looks so...bleh! I can only imagine the bacteria that could just live in that...it makes me sick and so, so glad I did clean my brushes! 

After you rinse your brush pretty good, you don't have to get every out, then you'll move onto shampoo. Try to use a mild shampoo or baby shampoo. You don't want to ruin your brush's bristles. Gently lather the shampoo into your brush and try to keep the shape of your bristles. You don't want to cause breakage. 

Then rinse when you're satisfied. And repeat if you wish. I shampooed mine twice. 

You can then squeeze the water out of your brush with paper towels then lay it out somewhere safe for a couple of ours. My brush took overnight to dry, but it's thick. Yours might dry quicker. 

I'm more confident in my brush now. It's so soft and feels great! You can bet I'll be cleaning it a great deal of a lot more often. At least once every two weeks!

I'm thinking about making a Natural Foundation soon...keep in touch!

Thanks for reading!

 

Day Out With The Girls

I love a good girl's day, especially when it's my family. We haven't had much time together lately, so we all just made the decision to go to Lexington and eat and hit the mall!
We left at 9:30 this morning (early-ish, but Rachael had to be at work by 3:00 sooo-), so I got up at 7:00. Thirty minutes early! Woot! (I'm actually really tired right now, but I'm texting Austin, so you can bet I'm not sleeping just yet!)
But we ate at the Olive Garden! I love that place, the food is so, so good! I love their endless soup and salad deal. I get so full! Chicken and Gnocci for the win! Who else is with me?

This is my younger cousin, Amber. She finally is old enough to go with us on our Girl's Days!
Yay! I love her :)

 The poor guy serving us was constantly re-filling our salad and drinks. We're veggie-freaks. And bread-stick freaks. And alfredo-sauce-freaks. (Well, the rest of my family is, I don't really like the stuff...the alfredo sauce. I love everything else!)
Then we got dessert. We NEVER get dessert, but I guess today was just...special.

I forgot the name; maybe it was Zoppoli. Anyway, it was really good! The squares are like doughnuts, except more...sugary...and then you had chocolate sauce to dip them in. I almost died, it was so delicious! I took great deal not to think about all the calories I was consuming...it was just so good!

Then we went looking around the Fayette Mall, which is always fun, because none of hardly ever get to go! We went into a few stores, nothing major. Rachael was a total shopaholic though. Going into every store...she sometimes wears me out when it's just me and her. I'm not as much as a shopper as she is. I like my hard-earned-money too much.
There was one thing that I was looking at though.  Just looking of course, it's not like I could get it for myself...well I could, but that would be freaky, weird and inappropriate.

Yes, it's a ring! Not just any ring, but an engagement ring! I know. I'm jittery just thinking about it. I was walking around in JCPenny's one day with Rachael and I remember seeing this one. It's so simple and small, and not the price that most girl's would be appreciative of, but I love it. It's not even really an bridal ring, it's a promise ring. I've been hesitant to say much about it, but Austin and I have talked about getting married. I mean, we're waiting until the right time, but we have talked about it.
I'll have to put the whole story in another post, because there's too much emotion and just...awe-ness in it to put in this one.
It needs a post of it's own.
But anywho, I think the ring is beautiful, even if it's not a huge rock on a gold band. I don't feel I need that and honestly, I don't like those. I feel like a ring with a big diamond would get in the way a lot. I want a simple ring, that's still equally beautiful, still with a small diamond (or my birth stone) that I can wear all time and be able to show off!
I think this one is beautiful and unique. I would love it. What do you ya'll think? I thought about sending the picture to Austin via text with a winky face. It never happened. I'm not bold enough for that. :)

These are pretty and I like them. More expensive too. I still like my cheap, promise ring better though.

And once my mom and mamaw saw that I had started looking at rings, they came over too. Had the lady at the counter take some out and let me try some on. The nice lady was just telling me all about them and said that it wasn't unfamiliar for a woman to come in and take pictures...said she's a few men come in and actually buy them afterwards. I should have gotten my ring size while I was at it ;) Lol.

It was a great day though. I loved it. I've said it a million times and you'll see it on here a million more; but God has blessed me. So, so much. I couldn't even begin to thank him. I couldn't even start to try.

Thanks for reading!

-Sarah

An Amazing Easter Weekend

Okay, I understand that I've been absent this weekend, but for a good reason!

Austin came in this weekend. Yes. Yes. YES! I had forgotten if he said he was coming in for Easter weekend or the next...so it was kind of a little surprise when he called me Friday morning and was all "Hey, I'm home. Wanna come over?" I had to work at four but it was only nine-thirty so I was all for it. I swear, it was the fastest I had ever gotten ready.

I met up with his family and him at his grandparents house and we went out to lunch. Goodness, I'd missed him. It was great spending time with him and his family all at the same time. They're all such cut-ups and so comfortable to be around. It's just a fun time with them all together.
After lunch we went back to Austin's house and him and I watched Family Guy and David Chapel (not sure I'm spelling his name right...) on Netflix.
Then I had to woooork. Blah. But Terry, my boss, let me off early, bless her heart : )

Saturday I had to work from eleven to four, which wasn't bad. Afterwards I met up with Austin and his little brother Matthew at his house. They were planning out some strategies for an online game...or something or another like that. I wasn't too sure. He's such a nerd, but he's my nerd, lol.
We just kinda lazed around at his house until it was dinner time. We went over to Aust's grandparent's house and feasted on lasagna, salad and garlic bread. It was so good!

Easter was fun. I got ready in the dress I got for the occasion. (If you look to the right, you'll see the picture of me I stole from my mother. She won't mind...hopefully.)
When I got to Austin's that morning, him, Matt and his grandparent's were waiting for me in the car...I was a little late. It was all good though, we got there at a good time. In fact, I probably did them a favor.
After the early morning service at mammi and pawpi's (what I call Aust's grandparents) church, there was a ton of food to eat! I got some fresh fruit and I home-made cinnamon roll. It was all soooo good.
We went back to house when we were finished and everyone ('cept moi) went to go change and get ready for the actual church service at our normal church (Vally Baptist).
I was goofing around with Matthew on the piano when Jesse, Aust's dad, yells out "Sarah, you're going to have to close your eyes! And not open them for the rest of the day! Don't look at my kid!" I was clue-less.
At least until Austin walked out.
He was in a brand-new black suit I hadn't seen before, complete with a greenish-teal colored tie that went beautifully with his eyes. He looked so, so amazing! Tanya (Austin's mom) took some pictures of us; I'll share them on here with ya'll when I get the chance. I mean, I'm conflicted to share them with you guys 'cause I don't want you staring at my Austin for that long...he looked so good. Just...ahhhhhhhhhh....

The church service was awesome. You could just feel God there. Tanya taught our women's class and I was just about in tears with her re-telling of God's arising. She put so much emotion into it. I felt like I was there. I felt like Mary, in confusion and heart-ache, wondering where they had moved my Lord's body. I was just moved. I felt God and I loved it. I wanted more.
Our pastor talked about how so many people get dressed up and go to church on Easter Sunday. Thousands of people who normally don't, go and sit and listen to the service, but don't ever come back 'til the next year. How can you love God only 1 day out the 365 in a year? (Not to say you don't love God if you choose not to go to church; that's your personal relationship with Him and I would never judge anyone like that.) My heart just aches for those lost. I want to do something about it.
Austin surprised us all by saying the opening prayer. It's stupid, but I just felt this pride-thing seeing him up there. It sounds stupid, but I did. Austin has a really good voice. I don't mean that sound-wise (well, good sound-wise too but that's not the point I'm making) but speaker-wise. He seemed so at ease up there...
He sat next to me the whole time and held my hand when I didn't need it to turn pages in my bible. I loved it.
I love him.
But I hated it when he had to leave. Which, of course, he had to. We left a little bit early from church because they had to be on the road by 12:30 to make it to his flight back to North Carolina. He was flying out of Louisville, which is about 3 hours away. His flight was at 4:15, so they had to get a move on. After getting teased for our goodbye kisses and sweet-nothings, Austin and I parted ways. I drove Matthew home and he made jokes and kept me laughing the whole way home. Maybe my defeated-mood was noticed.

After I dropped him off, I went over to my nanny's house. She was having an her Easter Dinner. We feasted and told jokes and laughed and just had a great time together. Everyone asked after Aust and wanted to know where he was going next and what he was doing. That's what I love about my family; all of them. They care.

And I special thank you to my sister, Rachael! When I woke up Easter morning, this is what I found. I have the most amazing sister in the universe and beyond and I wouldn't trade her for a thing. I named the teddy-bear "Austi". "He's supposed to keep you company," Rachael said.

Yeah, I had the best Easter weekend. I really did. I hope everyone's was as good as mine. I know I had real blessings this year.

Thanks for reading!

-Sarah

Easter Dresses and Sore Throats

First things worth stating; I have a sore throat, ribs, an aching headache and I'm coughing like a Nazi. (No offense to any of ya'll. We're all bros here.) I even had to take off work early yesterday after our KY Wildcats game started. Which I was also sad to have to miss...
It's almost noon though, and this cough isn't going away. I'm going to have to make the decision to call in today or not. If I do, I'll probably hit the doctor's office today.

I haven't got to hear too much from Austin this week since he called last Tuesday. Call me greedy, I miss him. I guess it's that our schedules really don't mix that well; him working all the week days and me working most weekend days (plus Friday and Monday). That's life though! Hopefully I'll get to see him around Easter. If not, well, I'm hoping to make another trip to see him maybe sometime next month anyway.

Speaking of Easter, I've been Easter dress shopping twice and nothing has struck my fancy. Well, a few dresses have, but I don't know. I went to Rue21 and found a few I liked, but I'm so wary of their clothes now. They have great prices, but the clothes don't really seem to be...made that well. I've had a few things rip in my time.

Of all the dresses, I kinda liked the blue one the best. It would have been around $30 dollars with tax though (and the others were even more), so I'm still on the rocks. I don't want to pay so much for so little material, which seems to be the way clothes are prices these days. I need to hurry though, Easter is right around the corner...

Thanks for reading!

-Sarah

I Put the "Pro" in Productive

Hello everyone! 

Hope you've have an awesome day. I've tried and have, for the most part, succeeded! It was a productive day, I love those days. Very much. 

I woke up early this morning and was on the road by 7:30am. In rush hour. Going to Lexington.
The roads were pretty clear however, as you can see to the right. It was a pretty peaceful drive until I actually got to Lexington.
Which tore my little nerves to pieces. If I've learned something it's that people get dumb and loose their ability to drive in the early hours. 

It was still a good morning though. I had my coffee. :)

I got to BCTC around 8:30am for my appointment. I got out at around 10:45am. I had to go to four different offices to finally get around to where I needed. I was in the Financial Aid Office, then the Administrative Office, then the Admissions Office and finally back to the Financial Aid Office where they gave me a paper to fill out and mail back. 

or in my case scan in and email back. i don't trust the post service anymore either.

I figured that the horror I endured that morning gave me some leave-way to a little relaxing window shopping. Which turned into real shopping when I found a pair of American Eagle Moccasins for only $8 at Plato's Closet.

It was just too good to pass up. (I'm thinking about sewing some beading into them for some color though...) But they are super, super comfy. 

Then I found myself in the mall to spend some Wet Seal gift cards that I had left over from Christmas. I used them on some for sale items. 

Mhmm. 

Oh and I got my taxes filed today! Finally! That's always a plus. I can't wait to get that check in the mail. That'll be a big help.

But I'm home now and will be for about two more days. I don't work again until Friday. I don't work on Wednesday anymore. I switched a girl for working Mondays...so I have three days off in a row now. I have so much free time I don't know what to do with myself. I could be working on those college classes right now...

I got a call from Austin a bit ago though he seemed busy. I never got a chance to bring up my trip to see him...he said he might call back tonight. I won't count on it, but I hope he does. I'd like to get this thing planned out if I'm gonna do it. He seemed good. Might be switching to another unit. He mentioned California and getting deployed again too...

Which makes me all that more eager to get to see him! If I cut a few things, I should be able to see him in February after all. I mean, it's only been about a month since I've seen him (which isn't long in the scale of things) but I just miss him. Getting to hear Austin's voice is just a blessing. 

Cross your fingers guys. I'm off to get some housework done I guess. 

Thanks for reading!

-Sarah   

Joyous Days

Hey everyone! Hope your weekend was joyful and full of R&R! Someones had to be. I had to work all weekend...but money is good! So I'm blessed to get the hours I did I suppose.

 Monday. Monday happens to be the world's most hated week-day. I love it though. Why? 'Cause it's my day off. And I love my days off. :)

I mean, I slept in and everything! It was about dinner time before I even made a move to get out of bed. Then I get a message from my mother asking if I was coming with her to take my sister to the hospital to get her last X-Ray. 

(Background info: My sister got into a terrible car accident that crushed and cracked a small part of her spine. She's been wearing a back-brace for about five months now.)

The appointment was around 2pm. We had time to spare, so where else should we go but Goodwill? I gotta say, I love Goodwill. I could stay in one of those stores all day looking at everything. There are a few out there that are pretty "blah", but if you find a good one, you're really in luck. I think about 45% of my wardrobe is from a Goodwill store. People give me weird looks when I tell them; but I don't care. I feel pretty good when all I spent on my outfit was around $7 for when you spent $30 on yours. I ended up buying two long skirts and loose, comfy and thin v-neck cotton tee that I plan on using for a project. I'll post pictures when I'm finished. Promise!

Please don't tell me I'm the only woman to find the skirt on the left attractive...my sister said it looked horrid!

But yes, our shopping excursion couldn't last too long, hence only the two skirts and the v-neck, and pretty soon we found ourselves waiting in the x-ray waiting room. For two hours, may I add. And I really don't get that. You get to the hospital 15 minutes early so you can sign a chart and wait for two hours, only so the doctor can see you for 10 minutes? Whatever...
Anyway, soon the waiting was over and we got the good new! Rachael, my sister, didn't have to wear her brace anymore!!! As soon as she walked out of the doctor's office, we took her brace off and she walked down the hallway all tall and proud...mom and I had tears in our eyes. It was just so great after seeing her wear it for so long. We decided we were gonna keep it though and use it as paintball armor, if that makes sense.

Of course, how could we not celebrate? And we did, at the Golden Corral. The food was amazing, but maybe that was only because none of us had eaten all day. So we feasted and I ate what I wanted; 40 Day Challenge be darned. It was a joyous day, and I was enjoying it!

Diabetics; turn your heads.

It was a good day.

- Sarah

Thanks for reading!