On my face...

Recently I've had a few of you ask me about my daily beauty routine. To be honest, most days, I barely wear any makeup at all. Most days I wear mascara, blush, and a nude lip. When I'm feeling fancy, I'll either play up my eyes, or add color to my lips. I have a few staple products that I always head straight for in the drugstore. I'm a drugstore makeup gal, I don't spend much on my makeup. The only thing I splurge on is Bare Minerals Foundation [It's amazing! It honestly lasts forever, and feels like you're wearing nothing! I lovvvve it.] Here's what's in my makeup bag...

1. Jergen's Natural Glow Face Lotion [This stuff does wonder to my pale face in the winter!]

2. Noxzema Clean Blemish Control Face Wash

3. Loreal HiP Crystal Eye Shadow in Ombre Crystal

4. Covergirl Lash Blast Fusion Mascara in Very Black

5. Revlon Color Stay Liquid Liner in Black [Super easy to use, and it doesn't smudge!]

6. Revlon Color Stay Eye Liner in Brown

7. Covergirl Lash Curler

8. Revlon Just Bitten Lipstain in Gothic [This works wonder. It stays on all day, and it moisturizes.]

9. Revlon Lipstick in Nude [My go-to.]

10. Revlon Lipstick in Berry Haute [Great alternative to red.]

11. Revlon Cream Blush in Berry Flirtatious [I prefer cream blush, because it doesn't take much to add color.]

12. Covergirl Trublend Mineral Bronzer

13. Bare Minerals Medium/Beige Foundation [This stuff is so lightweight, it barely takes any powder, and it blends skin really well. I love this stuff. It's worth the splurge.]

Are there any products you always head straight for in the drugstore? Any products you splurge on? I'd love to know!

"Modest is hottest." straight from the husbands mouth.

{ necklace/watch/bag: Nordstrom; shirt/dress: Old Navy; shoes: Ross; bracelet: JCrew; bangles: F21 }

I just love maxi anything. Maxi's are quite possibly the most comfortable trend at the moment. If you're having a "not-so-skinny-day", put one of these suckers on, and your feelings of body insecurity are zapped. Even if you're short [like muah] you can still wear a maxi. Thank you stores for selling longer, looser, more flattering skirts/dresses again. I knew the day would come. Because, let's be honest, not too many people can pull off the short, tight skirts [unless you're a preteen or an airbrushed model]. I mean, realllllly, who finds it fun to constantly be worrying about gross cellulite, if your legs are showing too much, or having your underwear show every time you sit down [that's the worst]! I know some boys might agree to disagree, but if you're being honest with yourself, you don't want to be with a boy who likes you for your tight clothing. Thankfully, I married a man [not a boy], who finds modest sexyyyy. That's right, real men do exist. And sexy can be modest---I promise.

From the mouth of my husband:

"Modest is hottest. Babe, that's why you're sexy, you're modesty shows self-respect and confidence in who you are. I love knowing that that is all mine, and no one else gets a sneak peak of all that goodness." 

Yep. He said that. And yep, I just shared that. Because, I want all you girls to know that being wanted, loved, and feeling sexy doesn't necessarily mean wearing less. 

Tuesday Nights

Younglife college girls group is back in action. The head count was 85+ college girls last night, which is so unbelievably awesome. That means there are 85+ girls who want to know more about Jesus, and desire a community full of fellowship, honesty, acceptance, and growth. Two extremely wise women spoke last night, and they will speak for the next three weeks. Tonight's talk was about having a relationship with Jesus. "Jesus has given us freewill, but with that freewill, we have a beautiful responsibility." [Jesus Calling devotional]. That beautiful responsibility is to follow Christ. Doesn't matter where you are in life, you can surrender your life to Christ, and he'll immediately forgive you and walk beside you. Thank the Lord I believe in a God who constantly forgives me for my daily mistakes, and for a God who was the same yesterday, today, and will forever be the same. He will continue to mold me, and turn me into the woman he desires me to be. I will continue to fail, but that's the beauty of being a Christ-follower---He loves me the same. 

Thanks for letting me preach at you :] I'm just really excited about what the Lord is doing, and all of the things He will continue to do this year in and through these beloved women. 

Tasty Tuesday: Crockpot Pumpkin Spice Lattes

I'm so glad it's finally beginning to feel like fall. 

Last Saturday, my whole family came down to tailgate before the Oregon State football game. I thought it would be fun, in honor of fall, to make pumpkin spice lattes. I had seen the recipe for these lattes on pinterest, and thought I'd try them out myself. Next time, I think I'd brew a little stronger coffee. They were still a huge hit though!

Crockpot Pumpkin Spice Lattes

Serves: 8 

Total Time: 2 Hours

{Ingredients}

-8 T of pumpkin puree

-8 T of vanilla

-2 t of cinnamon

-8 cinnamon sticks

-4 cups of strongly brewed coffee

-6 cups of milk

-8 T of sugar

-whipping cream [optional]

{Instructions}

-Combine the milk and coffee, and pour into the crockpot. Whip together the other ingredients [minus the cinnamon sticks and whipping cream] and pour into the crockpot. Mix together well.

-Cover the crockpot, and cook on high for 2 hours.

-Serve in mugs. Generously put whipping cream on top of the lattes, and add a cinnamon stick for extra flavor.

-Enjoy all you pumpkin lovers!

Happy Birthday, Old Man!

I am one lucky girl to have a dad who loves me for who I am, and spoils me any chance he gets. Dad--- You are one-of-a-kind, there is no one like you. Everyone knows who Carl is [or should I say James Bond]. As I get older, I not only consider you to be my dad, but I also consider you to be a friend. You are so easy to talk to, and I have loved talking life together. Thanks for spoiling me and making me feel like a million bucks on our yearly dates, it's a tradition that I know Brad will do someday with our daughters. I hope this year is a great year for you! I'm so proud of you! Love you, paps!

Wishing you a very happy, happy birthday!

My Go-To Updos

{1} The Poof paired with a low Ponytail.

How to create the Poof and low Ponytail: Tease the back of your hair with a round brush and hairspray. With a comb, smooth over your teased hair, to round out the look. Put all of your hair in a low pony. With the tips of your fingers, start at the top of your ponytail, and push up towards your poof to add extra volume. Next, take a strand of hair from your ponytail, and wrap it around your hair tie, fasten with a bobby pin. To finish the look, spray your hair like crazy. Voila! The poof!

{2} The High Bun.

How to create the High Bun: Put all of your hair into a high ponytail [the higher, the better]! Hairspray your ponytail. Tease the hair in your ponytail with a round or flat brush. Twist and wrap your hair around your ponytail, pin like crazy using bobby pins. Spray your bun with hairspray. Voila! You have yourself a high bun!

{3} The Twist into a Low Bun.

How to create the Twist into a Low Bun: Part your hair as far over as you feel comfortable. Twist your hair at away from your face, all the way down to your ear. Take the rest of your hair secure all of it into a ponytail. Twist your ponytail into a bun. Spray your hair with hairspray. Voila! You're now rockin the twist. For fun, I like to add a headband, but it looks great without one as well!

Sorry for the bad quality, I took my photos on my computer, making it hard to take clear pictures. I hope these hairstyles were helpful! Hope you rock them!

Autumn Inspiration

1. Leather heels, $124
2. Tibi cableknit sweater, $255
3. Sequin top, $80
4. Blair from Atlantic-Pacific wearing wide leg trousers paired with a cape
5. Leopard print paired with forest green, khaki, and deep blue [via]
6. Wide leg pants, $230
7. Essie Going Incognito, $8
8. American Apparel face jewelry, $100
9. Helene Berman cape coat, $292
10. J Crew leopard print scarve, $60
11. Haute Hippie longsleeve shirt, $235

Can you tell I'm a huge fan of forest green for fall? I'm a lover of all things green. Green has been my favorite color since I was wee big, and for it to be the hot color for fall--- I'm not complaining--- Especially forest green [swoon]. Sorry for going overboard this week with me obsessing over green. I'm just a little over excited.

What's your favorite trend for fall?


ps. Happy first day of Autumn!

That's right, hubby. I know how to use a sewing machine.

My poor husband---I am always looking for ways to either 1. Add more pillows to our teeny tiny apartment. or 2. Sew new pillow cases, and replace the old ones. In this case, I didn't add any new pillows, I just wanted to redo the pillow cases I already had. I also say I'm going to stay about from green, but who am I kidding? Green is and always will be my favorite, and will most likely always be in my home. I had a lot of fun sewing these pillow cases. They aren't by any means the best sewing job in the world, but they will do, and I'll stand proud of them :] That's right husband, your wifey is a homemaker. I will continue to practice my sewing skills, and soon I'll have pillows back up on my Etsy account! Do you like the chevron print? I have a variety of colors, and that's the main pattern I plan on using for pillows to sell on my Etsy!

Thoughts? Opinions? Like? Dislike? Preference of color? Worth selling?

Country meets Sailor

{top/ankle boots: Target; belt/skirt/watch/purse: Nordstrom; bangles: F21; bracelet: JCrew}

I really hope stripes never go out of style. And can I say, Praise the Lord, that flowy skirts are in right now. I don't know who thought that tight, short skirts were ever a good idea. I'm glad that the maker of trends decided flowy, longer skirts were a good idea again. Oh, did I mention that this skirt is from middle school---Yep, it is. I don't know what's more embarrassing, the fact that I admitted this skirt is from middle school, or the fact that I'm wearing a skirt from when I was thirteen. Either way, it's from middle school, it's cool again, and I'm glad I held on to it.

Tasty Tuesday: Pumpkin Oatmeal

I am, and always will be, a sucker for pumpkin. I know it's not technically fall yet, but I couldn't help myself when I went to the grocery store last night and saw big cans of pumpkin on display. 

I saw the idea of a pumpkin oatmeal via pinterest, but I tweaked the recipe slightly, due to the fact that I didn't have all of the same ingredients. It turned out heavenly, and now I crave pumpkin flavored anything more than I did before.  It's a good thing I stocked up and bought two huge cans of pumpkin [hey, you never know when there's going to be a shortage of pumpkin, I want to be fully prepared if it does]! 

Pumpkin Oatmeal

serves 4

{Ingredients}

-Walnuts

-1 cup of gluten-free oats

-1/2 cup pumpkin purée

-1 t of cinnamon

-4 egg whites

-honey to taste

{Directions}

[1] Cook oats on the stovetop until they are almost done.

[2] Quickly stir in the egg whites, then add in the pumpkin purée and cinnamon. Stir until it's well mixed, then wait until the the oats are completely finished.

[3] When the oats of done cooking, divide the oats into four separate bowls, and top with walnuts & honey.

[4] ENJOY.

And a special congratulations is in order for Raquel who is the winner of the MyMemories Giveaway! Email me, and I'll give you the information for your free software!

Weekend in Portland

{leather jacket: F21; dress: Nordstrom; shoes/clutch: Target; necklace: Gift; lipstick: Berry Haute by Revlon; nail polish: Rimmell Black}

On Husband: {shirt: U/O; shorts: JCrew; shoes: Sperrys}

{necklace/watch/purse: Nordstrom; sweater/pants/shoes: Old Navy; bracelet: JCrew; Nail Polish: Rimmell Black}

New shirt from Anthropologie {$19.95}

Favorite Decorating Book

The most delicious peaches!

Homemade Pizza {Gluten-Free Crust: Against the Grain}

Hubs and I had the most wonderful weekend.  I can't even put into words how needed this weekend was for us. It's was the "calm before the storm" weekend that we needed.  I say that, because this year is going to be pure madness/craziness/busyness.  We have so much going on this next year, making quality time together extremely important. Unfortunately, we won't be seeing much of each other.  We both have our student teaching [in different towns]+work+young life ministries+girls group+guys group+school.  Not to mention the changes that we are facing this year: moving+looking for real people jobs [scary and intimidating thought].  I already feel overwhelmed. Oy vey. So, as you can tell by my hyperventilating through blogging, this weekend was heavenly.  Hubs and I did whatever we wanted to do, and it was awesome.  

Friday, we went to the Zac Brown Band concert at the Rose Garden, which was amazzzing!  It was the best concert I've been to, yes, even better than John Mayer. Saturday, we walked around the Portland Saturday Market, shopped in the Pearl District, watched Football, and vegged out alllll day. I mean, serious vegging out occurred. The kind of vegging out where you wake up the next morning and your not hungry until dinner. I literally only want to eat spinach for the rest of my life after Saturday. We dominated in the junk food department. [Side story] In high school, we were known as the "chubby couple", only because we were so good at pigging out---It only comes natural to us. It's a good thing we work out, that's all I've got to say. Sunday, we took a very long walk all around SW Portland. AND we finally went to the Sister's Coffee Company in the Pearl District. Our weekend rocked. I'm so happy we were able to spend so much time together. I'm so in love with Brad. I'm so thankful that he's mine, alllll mine, forever.