Wednesday, December 5, 2012

November Favorites

Hi friends! I'm really trying to blog regularly again, and as motivation, I will be doing a monthly favorites post! (Inspired by my friend Alyssa over at "All Things Beautiful"!) So let's just jump right into it! (Also, I'm aware that it is already well into the first week of December, but bear with me!!!!)

Favorite All-Natural Discovery

APPLE CIDER VINEGAR. Hands down. It's the best discovery I've made in a long time!!! I had no idea how magical this stuff was! I have primarily been using it as a hot drink every night to rid my body of toxins (You can also make a toner too!). It is FABULOUS for your face/skin and has almost completely rid my face of all blemishes within 3 weeks. Maybe it will work for you too?

Here's the recipe I follow: 1 cup of hot purified water, 2 tablespoons of organic local honey, 2 cap fulls of Braggs organic apple cider vinegar. It smells awful in the bottle, but once you mix it all together, I honestly think it tastes like hot apple cider, but that could just be me :) I will probably do a step by step post with pictures later!


Favorite Makeup

I've been really into makeup recently. It's gotten pretty bad. (Right, Emily?) It's just been so frustrating for me to find the right foundation particularly for my acne prone DRY skin. (Not a common combination!) I've tried Covergirl nature luxe, Maybelline dream smooth mousse and L'Oreal true match (Loved the color, but it was too drying). THEN I FOUND IT! L'Oreal true match LUMI was the one for me. With medium to build-able coverage this lightweight foundation does not look cakey on me at all and actually hydrates my skin. I LOVE IT. I use the shade W1-2.



And another makeup product I have to talk about are the Revlon lip butters! (If you follow me on instagram you already know how obsessed I am with these! They are so creamy and have great color selections with good color pay off (mostly in the darker shades). I have a total of 8 now (but only ended up paying full price for 3 of them with sales and coupons!!!!)


From left to right: Peach Parfait, Cupcake, Strawberry Shortcake, Berry Smoothie, Tutti Fruitti, Candy Apple, Creme Brulee, and Fig Jam. (Maybe swatches to follow??)


Favorite Television Show

Once Upon a Time ALL THE WAY. It's just "charming" and so cute. It's especially fun if you were into Disney movies/Grimm's stories as a child (or now!). They do such a fantastic job with character development, and weaving all these classic stories together. So great. Go watch it, please! I will warn you though that sometimes it has it's cheesy moments, but they are oh so worth it. My husband even loves it and watches every single episode with me!!! Plus, it has Ginnifer Goodwin in it. And she's freaking adorable all the time.


Favorite Quote

"God understands that part of us which is more than what we think we are." Madeleine L'Engle 

I've SO been dealing lately with the concept of who I truly am and this just spoke to me. Ugh. I don't even have words for it right now, but I just have been sitting with this quote, letting it resonate. Love her.

Favorite Instagram Picture


This is from Wes' birthday on November 12th! So glad he was born :) His mom was able to visit us during that week as well, which was a welcome blessing as we are still adjusting to life on the East Coast!!



Monday, October 1, 2012

Prayer in the Midst of Anxiety

Loving and peace-giving God,
I so desperately desire that "peace that passes all understanding". My heart has been so full of anxiety and pain, and I know You aren't a genie, but I know You ARE life giving. I just want it to go away. I want to feel confident that this will pass...that I am always going to make it through. I know in my heart that I can stay strong, but my mind has a harder time believing it.


May I have peace, God. May I feel peace. May I show peace. Please throughout this day, whisper "I am here. I am with you. It will all be okay." And please come carry me if it feels too hard. Remind me that I am growing. I am growing EVERY DAY. And I want to grow to be more like You. Help me see what looks like you. Help me give You those sorrows I hold onto so tightly, so that I can focus on showing this world Your love.