Olay Simply Ageless Covergirl Makeup

Before Covergirl/Olay Makeup

Ok, so I am a BzzAgent which is basically a product tester. I was sent a makeup kit that contained a concealer, corrector, foundation and blush. I took a before and after pic. I have to say that I was surprised by the great coverage of the foundation and the light and natural look and feel, something that is lacking in traditional liquid foundation. The foundation comes in a compact and has swirls of the Olay product mixed with the foundation. I still like my usual foundation which is Bare Minerals, better. I didn't think the corrector or concealer were anything special. The blush is nice although I like my Bare Minerals bronzer better. I think it's a great product and I can totally see myself switching to the foundation once I get more wrinkles because Bare Minerals seems to show off creases and wrinkles due to the iridescent quality of the product.

After

Crazy Carpet Conundrum

Before: With the house having been abandoned and left literally to the dogs, the carpet was in horrible condition.

We tried cleaning it, but it still smelled and the stains wouldn't come out. What options were there?? Unfortunately there weren't hardwoods underneath the carpet.

The estimate to carpet the house with budget carpet was about $4,000.00.

Since we hadn't sold our house, that was out. So we went on a hunt for remnants with bound edges sold at Jabara's, but even that would have been pricey and only temporary, not too mention that would be mis-matched. I know that God heard my plea for a solution....see below

After: Gorgeous carpet for a bargain price....and a little hard work:)

I was searching Craigslist for carpet or remnants or rugs...anything. I stumbled on an add for the sale at the Broadview hotel, they were selling the carpets out of the guest rooms for $25 each with a minimum purchase of 5 rooms.

 Only catch....remove and haul yourself! Easy huh??? Well not really, they told us to come back on a Sunday so could use the freight elevator. We went through 60 hotel rooms trying to pick the perfect stain-free, smell-free carpet. We found 5 good size rooms to buy.

 So we went on a Sunday and guess what wasn't working???? Yes, you guessed it...THE FREIGHT ELEVATOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, we(Don and our friend, Nick(I was supervising;)) had to roll it up fold it in half(not an easy feat!) and smoosh into the ancient small guest elevator. That took forever and we were running out of time, so guess what we discovered??

 Apparently carpet rolls down stairs(4 flights) pretty darn well when it's tied up with old phone cords!(only thing we could find)

Okay, so now we have the carpet home and we hired an AWESOME carpet guy named Vinny to install it. For the price of 1 room of carpet, we have a house full!!!

God is AMAZING!

Axe-Murderer's Kitchen turns Modern Cottage

Before: Axe-Murderer's Kitchen

Our lovely Realtor, Laura enjoy's the decor...

Black wooden plank flooring with huge bolts, blood red soffits(sp), hinges, and knobs, dingy white painted cabinets and off white walls.

After: Modern Cottage Kitchen: Design elements We can't afford an extensive remodel at this time, so we went with a budget friendly face-lift for the kitchen. We painted the walls Peeled Cucumber, the floors with Green Pear(a darker tint of the Peeled Cucumber)Finally, a fresh coat of Ultra white paint on the cabinets.

I spray painted the hardware and hinges in a Satin Nickel finish along with a Wood Applique applied to the sink base to tie it all together.

The curtains under the cabinet hide the trash/recylcling.Aahh...Sweet Serenity!

I'm posting this renovation in Thrifty Decor Chic's Before and After Party...Check it out at http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/

Springtime Fun!

This is so easy, even a baby could do it!

Just like big brother, Noah, Charlie wants to help mow.

Math Cookies, baking is actually a great way for the kids to learn fractions, a few times a month, they talk me into substituting baking for Math....when it turns out this sweet, how could I say No??

Walking with Dinosaurs!

Don and the kids had a great time at the new arena watching "Walking with Dinosaurs". Don took some videos and it's amazing how realistic they seemed. My wonderful Aunt Janet treated them, what a blessing!! They were even interviewed on KSN!

How Not to Clean a Swimming Pool....With your BUTT!

THE POOL BEFORE Tonight was very productive and we managed to scrub down several walls in the house and we have completely drained the in ground swimming pool except for about 6 inches of sludgy goop at the bottom. The pool slopes to a depth of 10 feet and made of fiberglass with a vinyl liner. I was standing on the side spraying around the perimeter to scrub the sides to loosen debris so I could spray it off better. While wearing my very well-worn traction-free flip flops, I decided to climb in and I got a little too close to the slopey part of the deep end and down I went over and over again.....with my kids sitting on the edge watching in horror. I realized I couldn't get out without a little help, so I sent the kids in to find Don. He came out with his hands on his hips and yelled.."What are you doing down there?" He repeated his question 2 more times, I can not publish on this lovely blog my response, but the gist of it was..."Stop asking me and throw me a rope so I can climb out!" Anyway, the part where my butt slid down is much cleaner. Mission partially accomplished!
Of course, I had to apologize to my better half for my unlady like response, and he said he was sorry he was so slow to respond but he was in shock because "Honey, you don't usually do such stupid things." Yeah....usually! We all laughed about it on the way home and the kids asked if after the pool was all cleaned out if they could ride on "the slide".

Not So Green Pastures: Our "New" House

I always tell the kids.."Life is an adventure." And this certainly will be that! We purchased our new home in foreclosure, it had been abandoned by it's previous owner. It needs lots of attention, having been neglected and abused. Benny has given the house a nickname..."The Dirty House." We have been cleaning, and cleaning...like cRaZy! I didn't know it was possible to have so many layers of grime. On a positive note, the house being empty and all has AWESOME ACOUSTICS, so we have been singing up a storm while we scour. I'll be posting updates and pics as we go.....we are just praying our current house sells soon!!