Nov 8, 2012

Cult Nails Review

This last weekend I was able to attend The Makeup Show Orlando with Phyrra and many other bloggers from Florida.  While at the show I was invite to go to a Blogger event with Phyrra put on by the show.  We were presented with items from many companies and given items to take home.   I will be reviewing many of those items soon.
 
Aside from all the events I got to meet some of the most wonderful people including Maria, the owner of Cult Nails.  I loved the fact that she is a mom of three and a business owner like myself.  She is such a strong beautiful woman. She runs her business, takes care of her family, and still manages to look like a million bucks everyday. 
 
Ok, on to the Cult Nail Polish review.  Cult Nails  Lacquers are all  4 free, cruelty free, and made in the USA.  They are $10 per bottle and can be purchased on their website.  
 
I purchased 4 jars including
Get it On -
  Perfecting base coat
Wicked fast-
 Top coat that dries in 2 minutes for people like me who can't still still much longer than that.
Nevermore -
Captivated- coral jelly base, chunky gold and orange glitter, and a stunningly sophisticated glow.
Bitten-
A new color coming soon to their site.
 
Overall I am very impressed with their formula.  I get longer wear time than I have with other polishes in the past.  the formula is not too thick or thin and goes go just right.  They are well pigmented so you will not need 3 or 4 coats.  I only did one coat in the photo below.
 
 
 
 
 
Here I am wearing Cult Nail's Black nail polish in Nevermore.  Out of all of the colors that I purchased this one is my favorite.  It went on with great coverage, did not chip, and has a great glossy finish.  I think everyone should own this polish. 



This is a just a few of the colors that she has.  That green "Deal with It" is next on my list. I just saw
 a review and some swatches for it over at Temptalia.

 
This is me with the owner of Cult Nails at The Makeup Show Orlando.
 
 
 
 
 
Products purchased by me.

Nov 7, 2012

Tis' the season to eat turkey!

 
Whole frozen turkeys usually go on sale fairly cheap this time of the year. That makes it a great time to buy a couple for the freezer and cook a couple to use in recipes.  Today I picked up a few for .59 cents a pound at our local store.  I plan to cook one as soon as it thaws, debone it, and freeze it for recipes.  These are also great for leftover turkey.
 
Here are a few recipes that I might try this time.
 
 
 If I make this I will boil down the bones and use the broth in the soup also.
 
 
 
 
This recipe is great because I need to use some of the cream of mushroom soups that I got really cheap couponing last year.
 
 
Not sure how to roast the turkey?  Check out Butterball's Roasting Instructions
 
Need tips on cooling and freezing your turkey.  EatTurkey.com  has all that covered..
 


Oct 29, 2012

Current and Recent Projects.

I got this beautiful antique buffet table on Friday.  I was going to refinish and resale it but I am going to refinish it and keep it for myself instead.

I got these ugly silver glass candle holders for $1 at a thrift store along with 3 small frames for .25 each.  With a little paint, wood for the inside of the frames, and paint I made these cute little stands.


This one was made by my brother using an old endtable and some scrap lumber.  My cats want to keep it but it's for sale!


This small child's desk started off as an old broken magazie rack and a potty chair.  We are planning to add a little more color by painting the chair and adding a design to the desk top.

Oct 28, 2012

Countdown to Candy Halloween Sign


A local friend made this sign for Halloween after seeing the one below on Pinterest.  I have found that there are so many people in my area making cute projects that do not own blogs.  I started asking them if I could blog about their projects.  I recently did Karla's Baby Dresser Project.
 
  This would be a great way to use up some scrap lumber and make a cute sign for Halloween.  I am going to try to think of one to make like this for Christmas. 
 
 

To see how she made this count down to candy sign visit The Corner House Blog.

Oct 21, 2012

End Table Dog Bed



After seeing this project on Pinterest my brother and I made this fire station inspired dog bed to sell on Highway 50 Finds and Designs.  As you can see the cat loves it!

Want to make your own end table dog bed?

Check out these how tos-

Lucy's Designs
DIY


Sep 5, 2012

EOTD (Eye of the Day) using BFTE

 
My eye of the day using pink, purple and a bit of blue.
 
 


Products used on my eyes-

Wet N Wild - Idol Eyes Cream shadow stick as a base (was not impressed with this product.  It creased within 15 minutes)

Loreal cream shadow stick - used as a base on the brow bone.

Color Tattoo  - also used as a base on the bottom

BFTE's-
Tickle Me- used on the bottom lash line
Zaniah ( the COTW)- used on the lower lid
Spider Venom- used on the crease and blended up
Lace- used as a highlight for the brow bone
Peacock and Black Out Gel Liners



 
 
Other products used today include-
BFTE Mineral foundation in medium
BFTE mineral veil in Angel
Cover Girl blush ( I forgot the color.  It was a couponing freebie)
Lip gloss is from the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette
 
 
 
Some products were purchased by me and some were provided by the company. All opinions expressed on my blog are my own.  BFTE products are always provided to me due to the fact that I own the company. :)

Aug 29, 2012

BFTE Cosmetics Sale

Blushing Bride Makeup Set from BFTE
 
 
BFTE Cosmetics is having a sale until September 9th on Get The Look Collections
 
They are 15% Off.  No code is needed.  Discount will show up at checkout.

Aug 28, 2012

Rachel's Bridal Shower

 
 
I recently hosted a bridal shower for a friend and wanted to share some of the things that I made for it.  I wanted a cute shower without breaking the bank.  I was happy with the results.
 
 


This is a pink bucket from the $1 section at Target.  It actually cost $2.50 though.  I added some shredded paper and a tiny watermellon to hold my fruit kabobs.  All of it can be done ahead and put together the last minute.



For this homemade cupcake stand I covered two box lids with cotton fabric.  The top is held up by empty green bean cans covered in pink cotton fabric.  It cost less than $5 and only takes about 10 minutes to make using a glue gun.


 
These .97 Walmart vases were painted on the inside with 1.00 craft paint to make a custom vase that matched the decor. Simply paint the inside with paint and a brush and allow to dry. Repeat until it has a good coverage.
 
The table runners were made out of wrapping paper.  Super cute and afforable!
 
 
Individual veggies and dip in clear glasses.  Cut the veggies up the day before to save time.
 
 

 
No shower is complete without something fun!  We broke up into groups and make toliet paper wedding dresses.  The timer was set for 15 minutes and each group was given 4 rolls of toliet paper and a roll of white duct tape.  This is a photo of the bride's friend in her winning design.

 

Aug 22, 2012

Weight Loss and Fitness Update.

I have not posted much lately because I have spent my time with my children, working on my weight loss, and running a business www.bftecosmetics.com).

I plan to get back into the habit of blogging very soon, starting with a move to WordPress next month.

Here is my update photo.



The first photo was 2008, then 2010, 2011, and today.  I started at 258 and currently weigh 166.  I would like to lose about 15-20 more pounds total.

Want to know how I did it?

I cut back my calories to 1,500 a day at first and I am now down to 1,000 a day.  I also walk 3-5 miles every night before bed.  I plan to bump the exercise to take off the last 20 pounds. 

My next blog will be about my favorite treats that are lower calorie. 





Jul 30, 2012

Ice Cream Slices



We were eating at a frends house when I caught her slicing her ice cream from a half-gallon brick to serve.  I just had to grab the camera and take a few photos.  She folded open the carton and sliced the ice cream with a sharp knife.  Can you imagine this with a bit of fresh fruit and whipped cream? We will be doing this at home also.

Jul 9, 2012

Karla's Baby Dresser Project.

This project is brought to you by Karla H.  She is expecting a baby and wanted a fun baby dresser.  She got creative and this is the result.  We love it!



The dresser before.


Drawers removed and it was painted using Rust-oleum brand spray paint in black semi- gloss. Two good coats should be enough.


The drawers and old handles were removed then she stapled foam batting down.


The finished project.  It is a great way to dress up an old dresser.


This would be great for a child of any age and would be easy to make match any room decor.

Jul 7, 2012

Time Shares- Eat in or Eat Out?

Our family recently stayed at the Marriott's Desert Springs Villas II in Palm Desert. I thought it would be great to post about some thoughts that I have on timeshares.  This will be the first post of several.

One of the things that we love about timeshares is that most have full kitchen facilities with all the cooking utensils and grills a few feet away.  We have the option of whether to eat out or cook meals.  We like to do both.
Our Timeshare kitchen.

We went to the grocery store to get---

Breakfast foods for 6 days (milk, eggs, sausage,pancakes,orange juice, waffles, bread, bananas,and butter)

Food for 5 meals (a bag of chicken breast, pork chops, lettuce, pasta, pasta sauces, salad dressing, fresh salmon, french bread and some veggies)

Extras- ( some mini bottles of wine, oil, salad toppings,chips, dip, microwave popcorn, juices, waters, a big chocolate cake, coffee, sugar, and cream.)

We paid a total of about $150.00 for all of the above.

Breakfast for 5 - $30 a day for 6 days = 180.00
Meal out for 5- $40 each for 5 meals= 200.00
Total if we ate out all these meals= 380.00

Our first timeshare meal included grilled salmon, a salad, bread, chocolate cake, and wine.  The whole meal for 5 people was about $23 dollars. (Yes, it was cheap wine at $1 per mini bottle but that is just fine with me)


A tip to save even more- bring your spices from home.