Finally!

Something that turned out right the first time! Sewing is MUCH more enjoyable when I follow a pattern (an easy one that includes step by step instructions with photos) and just take things slowly. Talking to myself while I work seems to help to. :)

I used the Peasant Top/Dress pattern from Whimsy Couture and added the sash with the flower. I'm loving the sash idea and I've seen it a lot. It's a nice option to make the dress something special and you can use the flower or not (it's on a clip) and you can tie it in the back or the front, in a bow or a knot... so versatile!

I have a couple of options for Eden to wear for Christmas, but I really wanted to make her a dress myself.

So I did it. And now that I've done one, I'm not as scared to try to make Arielle's.

Gotta Love a Deal

I always get excited about saving money... not the kind of saving money where you don't spend any at all, but the kind where you spend less than you thought you might have to.

I've been Ebay hunting and I discovered a listing about 3 days ago for the Laura Mercier foundation that matched my skin so well. It goes for $42 full price and this listing began the bidding at 99 cents. (is there really no cents sign on my keyboard? hmmm) I was the first bidder and the only bidder for 2 of the 3 days. Needless to say, I was getting very excited about getting it for $4 including shipping. Then the inevitable happened and someone else bid $10. My cap was $14.50 because that's about all that's left in my part of the budget this month, so I went for it, afraid I would forget to be in front of my computer in the last few minutes of bidding. Apparently the other bidder wasn't interested in paying more than that either because I won it! $17.50 total for a $42 product. Yea! That's almost like buying a "high-end" drugstore brand like Physician's Formula.

Being Someone Else

Here's today's hair experiment. I watched a bunch of YouTube videos on hairstyling last night and got inspired to try something new. I never ever tease, but It makes hair much more interesting. I think that my side-swept

pouf is a bit too "perfect" and therefore looking dated. I don't know what era, but it's not looking "rocker girl" like I envisioned. maybe it's the choice of adornment that's adding to lack of modernity...

Anyway, I decided to try and wear this out and I felt very much stared at and very much not myself. But it was kind-of fun to be someone else for a while, whoever else it is that would do their hair like this. :)

All By Myself

I don't know how I can get some really good lighting but here's a picture of me with my own take on a make up look using some of the things I learned from my makeovers. I'm sad you can't see it very well, but I'll tell you what I used anyway.

I primed my face with the oil-free primer sample from Lorac I got with my Sephora order. Then I used some of my Arbonne liquid foundation in shade 1C. Unfortunately, this foundation is SPF 8 and I'm trying not to use SPF on my face for a couple of weeks to see if it helps my acne issues, but maybe having the primer on my face first will protect it. ??? I then used my BareMinerals powder foundation as a concealer around my eyes, and nose and all over my eye lids as a base for shadow and liner. I used a drugstore brow pencil in an auburn shade to define my brows. I decided to go with the more dramatic MAC eyeliner look on the lid using a drugstore brown liquid liner. I used Queen Phyllis (my daily sandard) shimmery gold powder shadow from BareMinerals on my lid and tear ducts and then accented with a blue-green color called Freedom on my lower lash line. I used the NARS blush/bronzer duo for my cheek color and contour and finished it off with BareMinerals Buxom lip gloss in Bunny.

We went out to see an air show earlier today and there was definitely some dewiness involved (that's the girl term for sweating), but my makeup really lasted. This picture was taken at the end of the day and probably the only thing that needed touching up was my lip gloss. I'm really noticing the difference of using a primer. Not only does my makeup have more staying power, but I'm having to use less to cover.

Onward in my makeup adventures.

Talent

I promised that by the end of the week, I would make a post about some "deep thoughts" I've had. It's only a few more hours until the end of the week, so I'd better get crackin'.

We went to a different church on Sunday. We attended a Vineyard church in Augusta and thought we'd probably want something different here in Jackson, but the familiar is easy and comfortable. We tried the Jackson Vineyard this past week and, boy was it a great week to go! I'm so, so happy we visited. This may not become our new church, but we were really blessed by this Sunday's service.

They had a guest speaker, but even before he spoke, I was impressed by the pastor's (I'm assuming he was the pastor) opening prayer. He prayed that we would show Jesus to the people we saw through the week and that we would seek boldness from the Holy Spirit to share Jesus with those whose paths crossed ours. Boldness... good stuff.

Worship was very lively. There were lots of people, men and women, raising their hands. There were also a couple ladies dancing on one side in the front and a young girl with some flags on the other side. I like to see that, of course. The "skit," as the pastor called it, was a duet of the two dancers I had noticed earlier in worship.

Everyone was dressed VERY casually. There was a whole troop of bikers and the congregation seemed generally to be lower to middle class... just judging from the cars in the parking lot... um... and by the haircuts and fashion choices.

I have to be totally honest here and say that I felt like I really didn't fit in. I had to confront my snootiness (snootiness I didn't even know I had!) and realize that it would probably be really good for me to get out of my own "class" and mingle with people that aren't exactly like me. Huh, imagine that.

Now I'd like to share the main thing I took from what the speaker said. He was a former member of a band called Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section aka The Swampers. He had a radical conversion experience and now plays his guitar for Christ and speaks. He used to pastor a church as well. The first thing that struck me was how he could play guitar, and play well, and I felt drawn to worship, directed to worship. I grew up with parents that were uncomfortable with guitar solos during worship. Something about guitar and it's relation to rock music, which they don't care for... They were just always distracted by a guitar solo. The felt like it detracted from worship and brought focus to the musician. I, by default, have had the same discomfort in the past.

I think I posted here about the minister who came to Christ Life a couple of times and ministered with singing before he preached. I was just uncomfortable with that, but then I had to ask myself why it would be different to dance to direct the congregation toward worship. I didn't have an answer, but all I knew is that I felt like his singing performance did, in fact, detract from worship and make me focus more on him.

So, same question here. Why was it any different for him to play his guitar for us (for God really) than for me or others to dance a performance? Well, in this case, I didn't feel it was any different at all. I wasn't made uncomfortable by his playing. It brought me toward God and I was able to appreciate the talent God had given him and be inspired by the fact that he was using his abilities to honor the One Who had provided them.

He said, in between songs, that he used to play only mediocre guitar in church settings when he first got saved because he was afraid of just what I've been talking about my parents and I feeling. But then he thought "Why should I play worse for Jesus than I did for the Devil!?" I thought that was a really great "aha" moment. That's just so true. He went on to say that to waste or diminish his talent didn't make sense, ESPECIALLY in a setting of worshiping his Creator. That clicked for me.

All that being said, I think that there is a very present temptation and danger of slipping into self-promoting performance. But I totally think that if your heart is fully towards worship that using your talents with excellence and sharing them in the corporate worship setting is completely acceptable. It's all about your heart.

He said a lot of other really great things, so many nuggets that were worthy of an audible "That's right!" from me.

God is so good. We were both so glad to have the chance to be blessed by Him and that guest speaker.

MAC Makeover

Back to YouTube again. Blogger doesn't like my videos apparently.

My MAC experience was very different from my Laura Mercier experience. I really appreciated the consultant being honest with me about her opinion of MAC's products, but what she had to say pretty much let me know that I didn't need to be using them. There's soooo much buzz on YouTube about MAC cosmetics. They seem to be somewhat of a standard of comparison for other cosmetics, so I just assumed they were awesome. Not for me.

Check it out if you're curious.

Impromptu Laura Mercier Makeover

I'd like to share with everyone the results of my free makeover at the Laura Mercier makeup counter in Maison Weiss. I do tend to babble on (I've really got to work on that), but if you've got 12 minutes, you might learn a tip or two about makeup. I thought I knew how to do my makeup well, but the makeup artist did some things with me today and told me some things that I would have never known otherwise.

I also mention my awesome new glasses and my awesome 40's inspired 'do. :) Totally unrelated, but... I knew you were dying to feel totally up to date on my life in the minutest detail. right?

I couldn't get it to upload here this time, so it's on YouTube here. Scratch that... My rambling on got me in trouble. YouTube vids must be 10 min. or shorter apparently. I'm going back in to re-edit.

Ok, now I've done it. Here is the link, for real.