Homemade Facial Scrub

Edited-I'm sharing this older post with Kim @ Today's Creative Blog

There are so many things that make life beautiful. For me one of the most beautiful things is my family. I've got three amazing kids and one awesome husband that totally enrich my life. These guys truly make life beautiful. Unfortunately, sometimes they also make life stressful too-leaving me without much time for myself. Finding balance in this area helps as I seek out a beautiful life and look to see the beauty all around me every day.

It's not uncommon to fall into bed at the end of the day, face barely washed and teeth half way brushed. It's not because I'm lazy, it's simply because I'm beat. Because of this beauty routine I find that sometimes my skin needs a bit of help.

Sometimes I just need to exfoliate. I've noticed that my skin doesn't always look it's best, once upon a time a regular bar of soap would do the trick.

Those days are gone. Now I wear makeup, and lately I've realized the need for waterproof mascara.

Why do I need waterproof mascara?

Because of my inability to slice any onion without sobbing,

because I am regularly brought to tears by my three kiddos (yeah, sometimes they're happy tears), because of those silly hormone fluctuations, because the raccoon look is not for me,

and then there are those Hallmark commercials and really because, I'm a girl and sometimes I cry. For all these reasons and more I wear waterproof, smudge proof, cry proof mascara. And so, I need industrial strength makeup remover. I use those wet already facial things and they really do the trick. But I find that I've got a need for some polishing, and I'm not talking about my silverware.

In the interest of frugality I looked and looked online for a facial scrub recipe. I found a great one and I love it.

Now I wish I could tell you where I found it, but I can't. I don't remember. But I'm sure you could Google it or something and find lots of other yummy facial scrubs just like it.

Here's what I've been doing: mix up one teaspoon of plain yogurt with a half teaspoon of honey. Just before you're ready to slather it on your face add in one teaspoon of granulated sugar. Mix it all around and smooth it on your face.

Let it stay there for about 10 minutes or until The Office is over. Rinse it off and moisturize as you normally would. When I'm all done with this routine my face feels baby bottom smooth-really, it does. Well, maybe not like that. But it's pretty smooth. Don't you remember how smooth and soft and wonderful baby skin? It's that nice.

And it's virtually free because chances are you've already got those things in your kitchen.

If smooth, exfoliated skin is what you're after this will do the trick. It totally works.

And be sure to pop in over at Melissa's for more beautiful ideas!

image credits: jupiterimages.com (mascara)

gregqualls.com (soap)

themedattraction.com(onion)

pro.corbis.com (woman scrubing)

How To: Frame Some Fabric

Find a really big frame, for free. I found this next to my neighbor's trash can.

Ask neighbor, casually, "So, what's with the big huge frame that's been sitting there since November? Could I save you a trip to the dump?" That way they think you're being all nice about it and helpful. What they don't know is that you've got ulterior motives.

Find some fabric you love and some other goodies from the thrift store. The fabric was on the remnant table half off. I bought two yards for about 13 bucks. I also found a hideous lamp, a cool urn and a wire basket. (More on the lamp and the urn in a later post.) Then wait for a warm sunny day.


Get the kids busy with a project.


And distract them with snacks.


Then spray the frame a new fabulous color; after you clean it off and clean the carpet from the mud that was on the frame. I did say it was by the trash, right?

I used black but you could totally do a bright springy color if you wanted to. It's your frame now, you can do what you want.


Then, bring it inside. Check on the kids to make sure they are still doing what they should be. Then place the fabric on the back of the frame, like you see above. Grab your staple gun and get stapling. I just pulled the fabric tight and stapled all around the frame, probably in about four places along each side.


Once that's done trim around the fabric. See how nice and straight I cut? This isn't rocket science. And it really doesn't matter what the back looks like, right? No one will see it anyway.


Once you're done trimming it, your done. Turn the frame over and admire your work.


Now, what to do with your beautifully framed fabric? Check back on Sunday to see what we did.

Learning

This week we are learning to read.


We are learning to write our name.

We are proud to dress ourselves.

And sometimes we are getting along with each other.

And every once in a while they are giving their mom some peace, if only for a moment.

Beautiful Wall: Beautiful Life

Today I'm linking up to Melissa's Beautiful Life series. Be sure to stop by and see how others are making life more beautiful this week.

Here's what we're doing around our house.
We like to make our home more beautiful and inviting by adding art. It gives such a personal touch, especially if it's created by people we love (like our kids).

A new piece has come to live with us, a beautiful painting done by my beautiful mom. It's of nearby Benham falls, a place we love to hike and visit. I love this painting not only because it's of somewhere we love but because it was lovingly made by someone we love.

This green wall is on our landing and catches your attention as you walk in the front door, it's been waiting for the day when this beauty joined our home. Now it's complete.

I only wish I could hangout and live on the landing-I love to walk by it and luckily I get to do so often as much as I'm up and down the stairs around here!

Thanks Mom, for making our home more beautiful and more us. We. Love. It.

10 Minutes to a Room you Love

The Nester is having a series that shows us how easy it is to transform your room in 10 minutes or less. Seriously! Ten minutes that could very well change your life (well, at least your day and your attitude-it worked for me!)

The only thing required is that it take 10 minutes and cost nothing. You can so do this.

Here's what I did.

I was craving some change in our room. Something lighter and fresh, and of course I had zero budgeted for this.

Here's what I had before:


And after:


All I did was flip the comforter over and take off the shams, I just used our new white fancy hotel sheets (a TJ Maxx find at $35-600 thread count! Nice!) and went for the unmade look, on account of three little monkeys.

You know the ones, you may have some at your house. They're the ones who squeal with delight to jump and bounce on a freshly made bed. Since they quickly change the look of the bed from nice and neat to freshly unmade I figured I'd beat them to punch. And it's a lot quicker to fall into bed at the end of day!


Ah, nice and inviting. Oh yeah, the Nester says turn on the lamp!


Click the button at the top of this post to see what everyone is doing in 10 minutes or less. You're sure to find some inspiration for your home!

Oh, and to read all about the bedroom transformation click on this post: The $12.34 Bedroom Redo.

Them Are Good....

I know you've all been waiting (all 10 of you). Wondering how they were, did they turn out....

The Valentine's Day present from my hubby became a yummy, tasty treat.
My food photography skills are a bit lacking, but here's the finished product. We really did make chocolate covered cinnamon bears; and they were so, so good.

All we did was melt about a cup of milk chocolate chips in the microwave. I put them in a microwave safe dish and used 50% power for 30 seconds, took it out and stirred. I did that one more time and stirred till it was all melted. If you heat it too much the chocolate will seize, that's not good (still tasty but not useful for dipping).

Once the chocolate was melted I just threw the bears in the bowl, one at a time and used a spoon to cover the bears with the chocolate. I placed them on wax paper until they got hard. And then we waited, very impatiently.

Once they were cool they didn't last very long. Go make some, and them hide them-quickly. They'll disappear before you know it!

Hey, those are mine!

An Undivided Heart: Motivate Me Monday

photo credit: HowStuffWorks.com

"I will walk in my house with a blameless heart." Psalm 101:2 provides us with a glimpse into King David's desires for his home. Another version states, "I will walk within my house with a perfect heart."

What is this perfect, blameless heart that David was referring to? A perfect heart is one that is not divided, it has integrity and wholeness (Warren Wiersbe: Prayer, Praise and Promises). David wanted to walk through his home with an undivided heart, one that is focused on God and his authority and plans above all else. A blameless heart that placed the priority on what God wants to do and accomplish, not on what we feel must be done.

As women and homemakers (whether we stay at home or work outside of it) we have the great task of walking through our homes with an undivided heart. I know that I often struggle with a heart pulled in many directions. What I want to do around the house and what I must do in my roles as wife and mom do not always match up. When they don't I find that the pulling I feel creates tension and stress in my home. My job and goal should be to create a place of peace, this can only be found by surrendering my thoughts on home to God's thoughts on home.

We are reminded in 2 Corinthians 10 to bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. The Mofffatt translation states it this way"...I take every project prisoner to make it obey Christ." As a homemaker this struck me. How often do I take on every project that comes my way, without running it by God first, without checking on his timing?

All of what I do as a homemaker should reflect Christ's priority and Christ's leading. Do I jump into projects around the house without thinking through the process? Will a great idea (like painting or redecorating, remodeling, moving the furniture around....) enhance the spirit of my home? I would say no if in the process I neglect bigger things; time with my husband and children, finances (yes, most projects take some cash) or even my own health. How may of us have stayed up too late to finish one more thing, or grown stressed out because we can't get it done just right, or can't even get it done at all?

Yes, a new project may make my home look better. But if in the process I neglect the spirit of home, my home and all who live there will suffer for it. I am encouraged and reminded today that I must surrender all of my heart to God, the part of my heart that wants time for little projects around the house and the more important part of my heart that wants to be the best wife and mom that I can be. Sometimes the most important calling will ask us to lay the other desires of our hearts aside for a season. We must pursue Christ's best for us, in doing that we take every project prisoner and choose to walk in our house with an undivided heart.

What if we're in the middle of a project that just is not working, do you find yourself fighting to get it all done? Ask God for his perspective and his ideas on how and when to complete it. Maybe it's time to lay it aside for a bit. It will still be there next week or next month. What if your thinking of beginning a new project, big or small? Pray about it first, seek Christ's perspective. If it's the right thing for you and your home God will make the way. He'll provide finances or creativity in lack of finances, he'll provide time, and he'll provide the grace to get it all done on his schedule.

My first priority as a homemaker, as a woman, is to create a home-not a show house. The spirit and heart of my home is the most important thing. If I put that first, the rest will come at the right time. It's a matter of my heart and surrendering it to Christ.

Visit Sarah Mae at Like a Warm Cup of Coffee for more motivation and encouragement.

Happy Heart Day

What do you get when you cross these:

With these?

The best Valentine's present, given to me by a husband who really knows his wife.

There's a local candy store that sells chocolate covered cinnamon bears. They are good, addictive good. But, they are spendy. Too much for anything other than a rare indulgence.

I mentioned to my quick thinking, fast to take a hint husband how I thought we could just make our own. All it is chocalte and cinnamon bears. How hard can that be?

Well, he rushed out and bought me two bags of cinnamon bears and two bag of chocolate chips and presented those to me this morning. Happy Valentine's Day to me.

I think I've got an afternoon project ahead of me! Yumm, yumm!

Simple Valentine's

We keep Valentine's pretty simple around here, it's more about celebrating with the kids than anything. So we enlist their help in the decorating.

This year we cut out lots of pretty hearts from paper raided from my scrapbook stuff and hung them over the kitchen table. On each heart we wrote the name of someone we love. Every night at dinner the kids take turns picking a name to pray for. I love the simplicity and how it keeps the focus on others. And the hearts make things pretty too.

Last year we did a bit more, click here for a peek.

Motiviate Me Monday: Being is His Light

image courtesy of StaddonFamily.com

A friend of mine blessed me big time one day last week by taking the girls for the morning while big brother was at school. I celebrated with a long run. Really, I did. I could have taken a nap, cleaned the house, worked on scrapbook projects, read a book....I had options. I choose to run. I guess that makes me a runner? Well, that's a topic for another post; on to the long run.

It was a beautiful clear day after a recent snowfall. Most of the snow had already melted away; but the places in the shade, where the sun doesn't hit were still snowy and icy. As I ran I started noticing the patches of snow here and there, and noticed a long stripe of snow along the curb where the sun just hadn't hit it. It occurred to me as I saw that long strip that the sun sure makes things warmer.

Profound, huh? Yes, the sun does in fact warm things up. I pondered this great truth as a I ran, it kind of sounded like this in my head: "The sun makes things warmer, the sun warms things up, the sun changes things, oh-The Son changes things. The Son makes things warmer." Instantly I began to hear what God was saying.

In John 8 Jesus tells us that he is the light of the world and promises that whoever walks with him will not walk in darkness. An interesting thing happens when we allow ourselves to stay in the dark. When the sun does not hit the snow it doesn't melt; or it melts only a little, leaving things slippery and dangerous. When don't allow ourselves to have time the Son we become cold and uninviting. Have you ever spent time with a cold and bitter person? You come away feeling that way yourself, like your some how less then and lacking. Contrast that with the feeling you get after being with a warm and welcoming friend. Just like when you spend time in the sun, you come away brighter and refreshed and warmer yourself. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5 that we are to walk in His light and to display His light to those around us. We can only do that by basking in the presence of the Son.

Slippery snow is treacherous and dangerous. As I ran I found myself changing my course at times, running wide around a corner or darting to the other side of the road to avoid the hazard of ice. When we don't spend time with the Son we can sometimes push others away from us. We may not even realize it but our attitudes and actions may cause others to go the other way and avoid us altogether. Why? Because people like to be around people who are open and warm and welcoming, they don't like to be around people who are cold and icy.
As I had to change my course I often found myself going into other dangerous places-mostly the middle of the road. Where we live that's not really a big deal, traffic is light and usually very cautious. But that is not always the case. You see, when we are cold and untouched by the light of Jesus we can become a hazard to others. Attitude is contagious and a cold unwelcoming attitude rubs off on others just as a much as positive warm one.

When I spend time with the Son I become more like him. My life will reflect his light and his warmth to those around me. I don't want to be cold and uninviting. Today I will purpose to be in the Son more, to bask in his warmth and let his light touch those who I touch. Would you join me? We could all use a bit of time in the Son.

For more encouragement go visit Like a Warm Cup of Coffee.

You've got to be kidding me...

Seriously, this must be a joke.

This was in the mail for me today.

Yes, for me.

I kid you not.

I know I've reached that magical milestone, the third decade, but come on. I've got a good 25 years for all that other stuff.

I know I hear that "o" word from the youth, then there's lots of backpeddling and explaining that they really didn't mean old, just older.

Um, yeah, like that's any better.

I don't even read Sunset. Just saying....

The $12.34 bedroom redo

This is an older post that I'm sharing today with Today's Creative Blog Get Your Craft On Day. Be sure to head over there for fun, cool, crafty projects!

So, you've probably been waiting with breath held-watching for a new bedroom. Right? You have, haven't you? (I kid, I totally kid.)

Well, wait no more.

I can't find the before picture, so you'll just have to see the room here.

I loved the cozy room but wanted something fresh, new and totally free. I got that, almost totally free and fresh and new.

I wanted new bedding, soft ivories and creams and simplicity. And I wanted it to not break the bank, well really-I don't even want to have to go the bank. I wanted beauty and I wanted it free.


I think I did that, I got the look I wanted and I only spent a little bit. Here's how I did it.

Ready, brace yourselves now...

I flipped over the bedding to the reverse side. Yep, even the shams. You can see the right side in the first picture, it's simple turquoise with brown and cream stitching. The reverse is above, khaki and cream and just the colors I wanted. Who knew that I had what I needed all along?

To hide the seam in the shams I just used another sham found years ago, strategically placed in front. I found a cozy blanket from the guest bedroom bedding. (Don't worry mom, you can still use it when you visit.) I swapped the drapes for simple tab top ones I've had for years and made a simple (but awesome) ragamuffin garland.

For the arrangements on the bedside I got creative and thrifty. I have a set of really cool place mats. They're round and have great texture but they're turquoise. Nothing a can spray paint can't fix.


I blasted those babies with spray paint and hung them on the wall. I also had two bracket thingies that we found on clearance at Lowe's or something. Five dollars a pop made them seem too good to be true. They came home with us and sat on a shelf while I thought about what to do with them. They got a few coats of paint and have found a home.

I found the tiny frames in the playroom, dusted them off and painted them while I was painting the bracket thingies. Then I raided my button stash slapped the little pictures together.


There you have it. Simple and easy and pretty quick, I seems like it took longer to write this post than to actually do the room. And the results: we love it. It feels so much more inviting to me now, we're all spending more time there. The kids love to snuggle under the covers and we do too. I wanted to make it inviting, but not as inviting for everyone!

So, ten bucks for the brackets and $2.34 for s hooks for my new jewelry storage and it's done.

For us this all about finding beauty in what you have. Learning to be content with the things around us and not always needing to go out and buy used things. That's one my goals this year-being content with what I have and learning to live with a bit less. Because we don't really need all the extra stuff, do we? I find it only complicates things. And honestly, we don't have the extra to spend on this kind of thing. I'd rather get new curtains for our big slider than new bedding!

For more awesome bedroom ideas go see the Nester's post: 10 Minutes to a Room You'll Love and head over to Melissa's to see how others are finding beauty this week.