magazines = useful.

If you run out of wrapping paper, as I did this last Father's Day, use a pretty page from a magazine. Works like a charm. (Note: Inside is To Kill a Mockingbird. I loove the cover for their 50th Anniversary edition...but I digress.)

Anyway, so fun with magazines: It goes along with my philosophy about containers--you pay good money for them, so why not put them to good use? I used mine for a bunch of cards this last weekend:

Above: Raul's birthday card, from me. Kind of random, but I liked the imagery of the books--he's growing quite a stack on his nightstand--and using my tiny word stamps. I used them quite a bit in this bunch, actually.

Okay, so no magazines for this one... I had wanted to print a picture of Liv on photo paper to frame, but instead it printed on regular paper...so instead I used it for her birthday card to her daddy. (He had asked for a baby last year for his birthday ;)

I used up some scraps I've had for YEARS on the card below...patting self on back... The lyrics are from the song Soul Shine, a song both I and my father-in-law like. This was his Father's Day card:

I really wanted to use some Elvis or Beatles lyrics for my dad's Father's Day card, but nothing really seemed apt... so I'll try again for another holiday. Maybe he'll get a Blue Christmas card this year...? Too much? :)

Here's a card I made for my sister-in-law, who sent a bunch of cute books for Livvy with my neices on their trip here a couple of weeks ago. They were bundled very similarly as the bunch in the magazine photo. Cuuuute.

More cards need to be made... as well as some other projects. We're actually revamping Liv's room a bit, too, which I will share with you... I just need to get some fabric first. :) More soon.

A friend of mine asked me a few weeks ago if I wear makeup, which tickled me. I wear just enough so that it looks like I don't, which kind of made me think, well, what's the point of wearing it then? {But isn't that the point...? To look au natural?} Okay, too many questions.

Anyhoo, her asking me prompted me to go through my stash, weed out the old stuff (as in REALLY old) and add a couple of new items (mainly blush brush and some new foundation). I decided to squeeze my daily regimen into a cute little mug, which now sits on my dresser. Since I've run into a couple of makeup posts lately, I thought I'd add my two cents.

So. Two cents:

From left to right...

Ulta's powder blush in Fame. I've read that to choose a cheek color, it should match the inside of your lower lip... this one does the trick.

NYC Dual Eyeliner, Through The Storm. I just bought this, and so far so good. It's a cheaper brand, but for as minimally as I use it, it works just fine. I love the dual black and purple colors.

Maybelline's Blackest Black Mascara. I love the rounded brush, and have been using this brand of mascara since I started wearing it... I've tried lots of other brands, but keep coming back to this one.

Neutrogena's Healthy Skin Makeup in Natural Tan. Goes on light, feels good, and the best part is that it has SPF20.

Ulta's lip liner in Chocolate. Not much to say about this one, except I like how subtle it is. I haven't quite found a lip liner I love yet!

I also have a few shimmery eye shadows, but that's about it. Makeup is fun, but to be honest, I don't know how to apply some of it, and I can't bring myself to spend more than a few bucks a pop. I walked past a Sephora store in the mall this last weekend, and while I was tempted to look, I knew I wasn't going to spend anything... Maybe if I had more knowledge I'd wear more? {thinking} Nah. I like wearing Just Enough, and admiring those of you who wear exciting eye shadows and lip liners well. :)

Growing up, I had awful skin. Just when I thought things were beginning to clear up, I became pregnant with Livvy; my hormones went wild, and back came the acne. Pregnancy caused me to change a couple of products though, which helped hugely. Here's my regimen beFORE I put makeup on (which is what I actually enjoy more anyway!):

Neutrogena's Fresh Foaming Cleanser. If you don't have a cleanser you're in love with, please try this one. It takes off makeup, is gentle on your skin, and really leaves you feeling refreshed. I switched to this as my other cleanser had salicylic acid (a no no when pregnant), and actually think it works better.

St. Ives Timeless Skin Apricot Scrub. With alpha-hydroxy acids (ok with a bun in the oven} and exfoliators, this scrubs away dry skin. Feels awesome. Note: I am all about exfoliation these days. If you only have a few minutes to pamper yourself {and it's important that you do from time to time!}, go with a nice face and body scrub. Throw in a pumice scrub on your heels in the shower, and you will fall into bed feeling like a million bucks.

St. Ives Body Polish - Oatmeal and Shea Butter. Not impressed with this product...Smells great, and feels good initially, but the exfoliation pieces dissolve pretty quickly. Boo. I've had this forever, and should probs use it up soon.

Aveeno Active Naturals Smoothing Body Wash. Yum. Smells awesome, feels great, and the beads or rice or whatever is in it don't dissolve as soon as the water hits it. Bonus!

Olay Complete Face Lotion, SPF 30. A nice lotion. Normally, I use Neutrogena's brand with SPF 15, but my mother-in-law gave me this and so far I like it. I'm not too picky when it comes to lotion, but I do have very dry, tight skin, so I need it!

I taught my neices this last weekend about the fun of facials, as you can see in this creepy pose {we were trying our hardest not to laugh!} It's become a new tradition, I think:

What are your favorite face/body products? Do tell.

baby cupcakes

As soon as I saw this fabric, I knew I had to make something with it for a friend of mine who just had her sweet baby. My favorite burp cloths for Livvy right now are homemade out of flannel, so I thought I'd pass on the softness. These were easy to make, and turned out as sweetly deilcate as Merjen, the recipient.

Welcome, little one!

snapshots of summer

Don't you love sun tea? Even though our AC is broken, I'm loving the sunshine... This brew is a mix of regular black Lipton tea along with a bag of mint green tea. All it needs is some ice cubes and a sprig of mint. I was inspired by this post I saw the other day...yum.

Okay. So remember my last post, about the mystery vine? After some research, I found that it's called Virginia Creeper, and is a fast-growing vine that is incredibly beautiful in the fall, as shown here. I was tempted to grow it up a trellis, but the girlie side of me won out--I kept thinking about it overtaking the fence, then the house, and being filled with all sorts of creepy crawlies... (And I call myself an aspiring gardener. I know, I know, I need to get over the bug thing...)

It sounds like it's one of those things where if you commit to it, you commit to it. and I don't think I'd like to commit just yet. So after reading post after post, I went outside and pulled it up--it had already began creeping under the fence into the neighbors yard, so I'm glad I grabbed it when I did.

After cleaning everything up, I looked at the bed for awhile, a la Linus. "It's not such a bad area," I told Dex, and decided I'd like to transform it into a cutting garden for next year. Once that thought popped into my head, I became super excited I stumbled back here in the first place. So now the research begins for summer perennials I can plant this fall. I have literally hopped foot to foot at the idea--how fun will that be??

Other things we're growing this year:

From front to back:

-Mixed wildflowers

-Strawberries

-Basil (boxwood and sweet)

-Another mystery plant...woohoo! (seeds I received from my mother-in-law last year)

-Serrano peppers
-Acorn squash (not pictured)

-Mint (not pictured)

-And a few other seedlings--chives, lavender, anise, & basil--who have yet to emerge.

It will hopefully be a leafy season indeed, and I wish the same for you. :)