Miracle Makeup

This was one of those late night infomercial purchases that I did about 4 years ago:

Now there are many things I say I can't live without and I was telling the truth about those, but if this stuff was taken away from me I really might not survive. It has saved my face for the last 4 years as I have dealt with my melasma and I am now a true blue Bare Minerals fan. It really does what it says it will do - cover your imperfections and give you an airbrushed look AND you really can sleep in it. It's so light weight and so natural that you will barely notice it on your face. There were times when my husband was surprised to see me at night when I took of my make-up. Not scared...just surprised because he didn't realize how bad my skin had gotten. Bare minerals did such a good job covering it up and making it look natural that he couldn't see the dark spots! And we look at each other's faces a lot...since we live together...and we're married...and stuff.

I have also tried Sheer Cover and Raw Minerals and while they are both good, they aren't quite as good as Bare Minerals. Sheer Cover is a little bit heavier and I kind of felt like a country singer when I put it on. Raw Minerals didn't cover enough, it was too light. Bare Minerals is the original mineral make up and I think it's the best! Another great feature is they are always have special offers where you can get a whole start up kit with everything you need including the brushes for a good price and if for some reason you aren't satisfied, they will give you your money back.

You want it don't you? Put it on your list as a stocking stuffer. You won't regret it!

Sweet Life Bags

Next up are the Sweet Life Bags from Amy Butler! I have this one:

and you guessed it...I LOVE IT! Her bags are awesome! This bag is huge and I use it a lot. It's a great carry on when I am traveling and I need to pack a lot of stuff for my kids, like coloring books, snacks, toys, etc. I also take it to church every week for the same reason. Or if I'm traveling alone I can fit my laptop, treats, book, magazines, jacket, wallet, and travel pillow in it. It's well made and very sturdy. Plus it's from Amy! What more can I say. She has other options that are smaller and are for every day use too. You have to get one for Christmas!

Pretty Jewelry...

My second favorite item of the year is this awesome jewlery made by Vintage Butterfly. I talked about it a couple of weeks ago, but it's so cute that I think it is worth mentioning again and I have much better pictures this time.

If you live in Utah you have seen this stuff pretty much everywhere you go, but everywhere else in the world I think it's unique. I haven't seen anyone else wear them in my neck of the woods and when I go out with one on, I get about 100 compliments! Even the Rocker Guy in the BUCKLE the other day was ooohing and awwweing!

I went to Utah a few weeks ago and was invited to the designers home so I could view her amazing selection and pick some out for myself. Naturally, I bought a bunch.

These are bracelets! Aren't they beautiful?

Guys...If you're girl loves jewelry and you're looking for something unique I think this is it! The chains come in various styles and can be short or long. Some have extra dangly's on them, like cyrstals and stones and others are just plain. The chains vary from $20-$40 and the charms are typically in the $20's. They have small all the way to Ginormous sizes in the charms. You can pick from what she has already made or you can special order your children's names, a picture of your children, mother, or grandmother etc...

Oh and she even had Twilight and New Moon charms! Any teenager, mom, or grandma would LOVE to get that in their stocking!

For more info contact Missy at: vintagebutterfly.missy@gmail.com or check out her BLOG.

I have often been told and I will be the first to admit, that I am very hard to shop for. As my husband says, "what do I buy for the girl who goes out and buys what ever she needs for herself all year long?"

I'm not weird, high maintenance, or a princess of some sort. I'm just a part of a special breed of women who like to be difficult to shop for. Not for the sake of being difficult, but because we like to challenge our husbands and help them reach their full potential as the ultimate gift givers! (I'll just keep telling myself that). I know there are many more of you out there just like me (admit it) and it makes our lives more adventurous! Don't you just love a surprise? I do! Besides that, don't our little competitive husbands love a challenge? Mine does, he just hasn't realized that finding me the perfect gift is the ultimate sport! I am actually still working that idea into his brain so to make things a little easier this year I thought I would post some ideas to help all the husbands, including mine, who are struggling to find the perfect gift.

Now those of you who know me personally, know that I stay up late and I sometimes watch those late night info-mercials. They have the coolest stuff popping up at 3am and I often times get sucked into trying things for free for 3o days. In my late night shopping adventures I have found some pretty sweet stuff! So all month long I'll be giving my feedback on some of these awesome items along with other things I have tried and purchased for myself over the last year. Things that aren't typical for a Christmas gift, but I think you would enjoy receiving it just as much as I enjoyed buying it for myself!

My first FAVORITE product of the year is:

Reverse by Rodan and Fields.

I literally cannot live without this stuff. Many of you know that I had a bad case of Melasma after I had my baby 4 years ago. The Doctor kept telling me it would fade, but it never did and anytime I go out in the sun it get's worse. Sometimes it turns so dark that I won't leave the house for days. So I pretty much look like a vampire all year long because the sun has become my enemy. It's kind of sad, but thanks to TWILIGHT the pasty white look is in right now.

Up until about 6 months ago I had tried everything possible to get rid of my mask. Expensive creams from Nordstroms, cheap creams from target, perscription creams, chemical peels, lightening facials, and all kinds of 30 day trials that claimed it would get rid of it. For the last 4 years I have tried it all and have found nothing! Then a few months ago we got some lovely new neighbors who told me to give this a try. They told me it would help with my melasma, lighten sun spots, age spots, and clear up my skin.

After about 2 weeks, I started to notice a change. My mask was fading, my skin was tight and glowing! For the first time in almost 5 years I got a compliment that I have so missed. Last week a women told me that I had beautiful skin. That was the best Christmas present EVER.

So if your skin is looking gloomy or you have some dark spots to remove, you have to try this stuff!

And try this too:

It removes your eye makeup and gets rid of wrinkles!

Thank you, thank you, thank you Nate and Courtney. You have literally saved my face :)

I am thankful for pumpkin rolls. The last two that I have made have been hideous, but they tasted divine. I'm going to try again tomorrow and I'll post the results if it turns out good. I'm thankful for other stuff too, but I'll leave it up to the clip below to tell you about that because I "diddo" everything they say. Click on the words below:

...Be THANKFUL...

P.S. I'm having a Black Friday Sale in my ETSY shop.

Time For Cake...

I have so many yummy recipes shoved into a bottom drawer in my kitchen that I never have time to make! It's really quite sad. However, I always find time to make this Delicious Lemon Cake. It is my most favorite thing in the whole world. I even requested it for my birthday!

So here is a little treat for you and your family. I hope your Thanksgiving is filled with love and a million things to be thankful for.

(Oh, and yes there is a slice missing in the back. I had to have a hot piece fresh out of the oven...Sorry!)

Scrumptious, Lick your Lips, Lemon Yogurt Cake:

• 2 Cups of All Purpose Unbleached White Flour (DO NOT eat flour with bleach in it! YUCK)
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup of butter softened
• 2 cups of sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 large lemon - grate for the lemon zest
• 1 cup of plain vanilla yogurt
• LEMON GLAZE:
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 2 cups of powdered sugar
• (you want the glaze to be kind of runny so if it's too thick add some more lemon juice)
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Generously butter a 10" bundt pan
• Into a bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside
• In a mixing bowl cream 1 cup of butter and the sugar.
• Beat on high speed until it is light and fluffy about 5 minutes.
• add eggs one a time while you continue to beat the mixture. Blend in lemon zest.
• Add flour mixture to the creamed mixture alternating with the yogurt.
• Pour batter into cake pan and bake for 55 to 65 minutes.
• Cool for 10 minutes.
• Drizzle with lemon glaze.
• Serves 12

Don't forget about the pattern of the month contest. It ends on December 9th!