The Beauty in Birchbox

Have you heard of Birchbox? Well let me clue you in...

Birchbox is a monthly subscription to samples of beauty products and treats for only $10 a month.  Each month you receive a cute box of about 5 surprises (eye liner, mascara, power bars, perfume samples, lip gloss, etc.).  It's a great way to try new brands that you probably wouldn't know about if you're like me and never shop for beauty products. 

So far I've received 2 Birchboxes and have really liked the samples of products.  Although sometimes they're not just sample sizes.  One box contained a normal sized masacara! Awesome!  It came at a perfect time when I was running low on mascara. Score!

The point of my story...

Yesterday I realized the liquid eye liner that I thought was awesome, is just really not that awesome for a novice like me. It's difficult to put on and it turns out looking sloppy. Then I remembered my December Birchbox... there was an eyeliner in there.  I tried it this morning and it's the best eyeliner I've ever used.  It's like a pen with a foamy type tip. There's no dipping a brush or messing with a flimsy brush tip.  You can make super thin lines or apply it on thick. Didn't I say it was awesome?

Here's some information on it at Birchbox.  It's full proof and perfect for someone like me who is terrible at applying makeup. After googling it (Did you know that Webster added google as a verb in the dictionary?), I found out you can purchase it at Sephora (a store that I've never ventured into, seems intimidating, but now I might have to visit it so that I can stock up on this eyeliner.).  It's made by Eyeko and is called Skinny Liquid Eyeliner.

The descriptions say that it doesn't fade or smudge, but since I've only been wearing it for a few hours, I can't attest to that quite yet as my full review is not complete.  I'll be back to update my review later...

Update: The eyeliner stayed on perfect all day! I'm in love!

P.S. I realized this morning the eyeliner that came in my Birchbox is the olive color. No wonder it seemed like a light black, but, surprisingly, I still really like it. I wouldn't have purchased it in the store thinking it would seem like I had a bright green ring around my eyes, but I like it.  It's opened my eyes to colored eyeliner :)

Christmas Joy!

Christmas comes and goes so fast.  That's what everyone says right? I felt like it took forever for Christmas to get here this year, but it sure went fast (especially because my better half was sickened with a nasty stomach bug and cold, yuck!).

We did the usual Elfster gift exchange (if you don't know of elfster and you have a secret santa gift exchange or want to create a wishlist for your birthday, perhaps, you have to check it out) and we ate delicious food, of course, but this year had a few new things. 

My sister and I insisted that we play Michael Jackson on the wii.  It's my most favorite game on the system for multiple reasons! We only had time to squeeze in a few dances (Black or White, Speed Demon (that's what my brother and I are doing in the pictures), and what was the last one? Oh! Thriller... how could I forget since I finally beat Ashley's high score!) Goodness, I love that game! I, sadly, cannot play it at home because my dog would go crazy with me moving around so much, so I try to play it anywhere else that I can, which doesn't happen often. Sad face.

Another addition to this year's festivities was my 5 year old niece purchasing gifts for us that she bought with her own money (I'm not sure how she earned that money. Bribery?).  It was such an adorable gesture that proves her heart is so very big and full of love.  We each took a picture with our present (except I forgot Caster, my dog, in the collage).  My dad (Pop Pop) received a nut cracker, my mom (Grandma) received a coffee mug, Uncle Mike received a toy gun with suction cup darts, Caster received a stuffed animal bone, and the best of all.... Jordan and I received reindeer antlers.  Isabel also picked a pair of antlers for herself so that we could match.  She really put some thought into them (or is that just how kids think?).  We ended up completing a family of reindeer with Papa, Mama, and baby. I love those antlers so much that I wore them until I had to take them off to drive home. They might have been my favorite gift (the dog biscuit maker kit from Jordan's parents was a close second). 

A day with Isabel wouldn't be complete without her making us all laugh a million times, but my favorite laugh caused by her hilariousness was when she opened a gift from Pop Pop and Grandma, then kindly stood up, walked over to Grandma, and said "Now I can tell my secret." We all looked at her a little funny (you never know what will come out of her mouth).  She put her hands on her hips (pictured above) and said, "Grandma, I knew I was getting that because I heard you on the phone asking Shannon if Aislinn would like it, too."  How in the world did a 5 year old keep that secret from EVERYONE for weeks? She just didn't want to ruin Grandma's surprise. I guess Grandma better watch what she says on the phone...

What a fabulous Christmas we had and I'm so glad Jordan was well enough to join us on Christmas day after he spent Christmas Eve evening home in bed by himself (that makes me sound like an uncaring girlfriend, huh? I promise I'm not. I love him very much!). 

I hope everyone had a merry Christmas, too!

Cathedral of Learning: Nationality Rooms

Our family has been trying to plan a good time around the holidays to see the Nationality Rooms at Pitt for years and years.

We finally made the visit this past Saturday and it was worth the wait. Each room was dedicated and decorated for a different nationality (i.e. German, Italian,  Welsh,  Polish, Chinese,  etc.).  We visited all rooms while carrying around a tape player (one that resembles the tape players we used in small reading groups in elementary school) which took almost 2 hours.

The rooms are beautifully and intricately decorated to represent each nationality. I highly recommend visiting them, especially at Christmas when they're decorated for the holiday and you're given information how each nationality celebrates Christmas.

Here's a little sneak peek at what the rooms look like (we even got to see a wedding party taking photos in the cathedral)...

Sunday Morning Bliss

Sunday mornings are cozy. We usually don't have anywhere to be, so Sunday mornings are for cuddling and laziness.

Today was different. I had to set an alarm. Gasp.

I met my brother at the mall to do last minute Christmas shopping and we were up early to beat the crowds. (Thank goodness!)

After a hectic start to the day, I got in the car and acoustic sunrise was on STAR 100.7 and the sun was shining bright. Yes!  I love Sunday morning radio because of acoustic sunrise. If you haven't experienced it, you must. It'll instantly put you in a good mood. Just be sure to tune in before 10am.

Happy listening!

Christmas Crafting!

I openly admit that I'm a Pinterest addict.  It's like heaven for me.  One place to share, collect, and organize endless data, it's genius!  Sometimes I have to take a break from it because my mind goes on overload with a billion of projects I want to try.  Here is a craft that I stumbled upon when I allowed myself a few hours to get back in touch with Pinterest after a short hiatus...

Glass etching.
As my friend, Amanda, and I found out, the opportunities are endless (pyrex dishes with your last name as Make It and Love It shows, wine glasses as Happily After All shows, and beer mugs as The Yummy Life shows).  For Christmas gifts, I wanted to make beer mugs for the uncles and wine glasses/cocktail glasses for the aunts (I'll get to those later).  Does that give the impression that my family likes to drink?

This was my first attempt at etching and the tutorials I found were great! The tips and tricks helped to get the etching just right, although it's really not a hard thing to do.  The hardest part was finding the etching cream (Hobby Lobby came to the rescue!).

Materials

Etching cream (Armour Etch worked great)
Contact paper (or any sticky paper to make the stencils) or etching stencils
Glass (dollar stores have a lot of glass items, SCORE!)
Rubbing Alcohol
Gloves
Paper Towels

1. Wipe the glass clean with rubbing alcohol to make sure any residue on the glass is removed.

2. Prepare your stencil.  I used a Cricut machine to cut the letters onto contact paper.  This worked really well as it adhered to the glass and didn't allow any cream to sneak underneath.

3.  Once the stencil is applied to the glass, apply etching cream to the glass and allow it to set for 5-10 minutes (I did 10 minutes to make sure I got a good etch).

What can't a droid do?

 4.  Put on gloves and run the glass under warm water to remove the cream.  Peel off the stencil and wipe the etch with rubbing alcohol again to remove any excess cream.

5. Admire your etched glass! Amazing, right?!

Go try it! It's easy and awesome! You can etch the glass on your fish tank, candle hurricanes, shot glasses, beer mugs, wine glasses, everyday drinking glasses, pyrex dishes (no one will ever be able to steal your pyrex dishes at the next party if your name is etched on it), and the list goes on...  Happy etching!

It's a polka dotted life!

Hello and welcome!

This is where I intend to share my polka dotted life, my interpretation of things that make me happy.  Whether it be an adorable picture of my cute (but sometimes bad) dog, a quote I received in my daily quote email, a recipe I tried, a craft, or something new that I learned, I intend to share it with all of you in hopes to add another polka dot to your life. 

I love sharing my experiences and knowledge. I feel it's a great way to learn more, to pass along more polka dots. I'm inquisitive, my family and friends know this very well.  I ask a lot of questions to add more polka dots to my life.  Here, take some of my polka dots (please give credit, where credit is due.)

Your polka dotted friend,
Beth