Tip of the Week: Do You Own Facial Waxing...

I'll be honest-I'm hairy, that's right, hairy.. I've got eyebrows that would put Oscar the Grouch in second place.. Add in a fuzzy lip and chin and this is a HUGE problem.. And let's face it, Facial waxing is EXPENSIVE!! It can cost anywhere from $5 to $10 PER SPOT WAXED..

Being unemployed, this was becoming a serious problem for me.. I couldn't afford to get waxed, But I soon figured out a way to remedy that issue.. Waxing my OWN face..

One day while I was browsing in Sally Beauty Supply, I noticed that Wax Warmers only cost around $25 (and some only around $20, depending on how much wax you want them to hold).. Of course there's things you need to buy to go WITH the warmer-wax, muslin strips, applicators- but all in all, that's a good deal considering you could potentially pay $30 for one session of brows, lip, and chin.

The problem that I foresaw was actually getting the brows right.. I didnt want to end up with one brow.. or worse, half a brow on my entire face (the lip and chin wouldnt be tough at all).. I thought about it and thought about it and came up with an idea, then firmly asked for a Wax Warmer and supplies for Cmas.. My mother got them for me :) and even gave them to me early..

My idea was a good one. It's worked out GREAT, so I thought I would pass it along to you here.. Bear in mind, I am not professional waxer. I'm just a girl with big eyebrows who needed a cheaper solution..

Here's my Idea: Depending on how fast your brows grow (mine grow fast), go out and pay for a professional eyebrow waxing.. Make it a good one too because you're going to use it as a guide.. Use the line where the hair is barely starting to grow in as a line for your wax, after all, a Pro did that line and did a good job at it.. use a THIN applicator.. They have different sizes for varying amounts of hair coverage.. the thinnest applicator is best because you can get right there in the line without going past it..

So a week before I got my wax warmer I went out and had my brows done professionally.. When I did my own, I took my THIN applicator and followed the professional line, both above and below my brows.. When you do your own brows, be sure to push the muslin strips down into the wax really well, and rub in the direction that the hair grows (ex: Your right brow grows to the right, so rub the muslin strip with your finger, pushing with some pressure, to the right) and then pull the strip off the other way.. Do one section at a time. It's really easy..


Then once you're done waxing, use the brow brush to brush down your brows. You do this to check and see if there's any stray hairs going all willy nilly.. I always have one or two that do this. All you have to do is pluck the stray hair with tweezers and viola.. I recommend using a wax remover creme to be sure all the wax is gone from the face and to soothe your skin. I've also seen people use baby oil for this, but given that I've got oily skin already, I stick to the creme..

Here's the warmer that I got: The GiGi Space saving wax warmer and It holds a large size wax (I used the honey wax)..

Remember to buy applicators, muslin strips, wax, and some sort of wax remover. All in all it costs around $50 for everything, but considering you can use it TONS of times, as many times as you need to, this is a SUPER deal. It pays for itself in no time.. Two waxing sessions..

OH, and a FYI... If you are just doing your lip or chin, all you need to buy is craft popscicle sticks.. They're not huge, not small, just right for waxing and a heck of a lot cheaper. You can get a really big pack at the Dollar Tree for a buck..

And another FYI, if you buy the really thin applicators for brows, break them in half. They are REALLY long, but one side is all you will need.. This way one stick does two brow waxings.. I'm all about saving money.

If you have any questions or if you like this, PLEASE let me know :) And tell your friends. I'm really wanting some followers lol...



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Still Snowing in Georgia...

We had a white Christmas yesterday, and it's still snowing today.. This is a very unusual thing for Georgia.. Usually it snows during the night and after the sun comes up, it's gone...

Since it's nice and cold, I figured I'd show off my new earflap hat.. I got it for myself for Cmas :)

The snow is falling in front of my face and it looks like something's stuck on my face lol.. I am also trying not to start giggling in this pic.. :)

My Wish List...

My Christmas gifts have been given and received.. I didn't have a lot of money to give things this year, so I only gave to a select few.. I got mostly money for Cmas, but given that I am Unemployed and stuck in the gap between the extention and nothing, I had to use most of it for bills and such.. Now I am stuck lusting for things I can't have... Maybe Ill get one or two for my Bday in January :)

Things I desperately want

1. A 3/4 sleeve sequin jacket, not cropped, but not long either. I have yet to find one of these in my size..

2. Vintage jewelry or jewelry parts. I am getting back into making my own jewelry again and I'm in love with vintage :)

3. Torrid's black lace oxford flats.. I love that Torrid has size 12s.. Big feeted people like me have a hard time finding cute shoes that fit, and these rock..



4. Peacock print crossover smocked dress from The Avenue... Unfortunately this is sold out in my size, but I' hoping to get lucky and find it on Ebay.



5. Some pairs of my favorite brand of jeans, Z. Cavaricci.. I LOVE LOVE LOVE their skinny jeans. They fit like a second skin and feel great doing it..

6. Avenue's Studded Mini Wedge boots..



7. Cavaricci Couture Grey Missy wedge boots from Torrid.. They are sold out online, but may still be in the stores..



8. Just about all of the Cavaricci Couture line from Torrid. I love all the pieces, especially the studded back vest.

9. The Via Accenti "Mac" wide calf boots from One Stop Plus.. They're heels, but they're not sky high, and they're sporting the wide calf.



10. The grey crinkled chiffon casual dress from One Stop Plus. It was love at first site with this dress.. I give a lustful sigh everytime I see it.



11. And last, but not least, I want some awesome doilies so I can finally make my Doily Scarf :)

Merry Christmas!

I just wanted to wish everyone a wonderful and safe holiday season. Merry Christmas!!!

I found the most awesome ring!

I went out walking around some antique stores today and I found THE most awesome ring! for $3! It's handmade from vintage pearls and it's stretchy! I'm in love with it. My mother already tried to steal it lol..

I have a hard time with rings because I've had surgeries on both hands and they both swell.. But this ring stretches with me AND it's made from vintage. I love it. :) here's a couple pics. Please ignore my awkward hands :)

Just My Size Ruffle Flyaway Cardigan.. a Review!

Just My Size Ruffle Flyaway Cardigan!~

I saw this cardigan online and I wasn't really sure what I thought about it.. Lately I have a thing for cardigans, but this one looked a little bit... well, bland I suppose. Also, beyond the general tees and sweatshirts that they make, I generally find Just My Size clothing to either look cheap or akin to something my grandmother wouldn't even wear.

Tonight I was at Walmart and my store had put that sweater out on the floor.. WOW, it looks a million times better in person.. I eyed it carefully, picked it up, put it back... walked off... came back and picked it up again..

I went and tried it on and I fell in love with it! No way was it bland like I had orignally thought. It was super soft, surprisingly warm for such a thin sweater, and seemed to run a tad bit big, which is GREAT for layering.. And best of all it was only $16! I find it terribly difficult to find something I love for that little bit of money.

I brought that sweater home with me, and I don't regret it for one second.. :) Maybe this is just the beginning of better things for Just My Size!

Overhaul...

This blog is going through an overhaul. I am wanting it to be a combo of daily life and fashion... So stay tuned and we will see if it works lol

And the Heavens Opened...

I went to Cartersville today to April and Kevin's house to hang out and have dinner, and WOW did it ever rain! It literally flooded the streets after about 15 to 20 minutes of raining! April and I were out trying to get a movie and some things from the grocery store when it started.. This is the view from April's van after it had been raining only about 20 minutes!



I found out later on tonight that the Cartersville Hobby Lobby had been struck by lightning and the roof had collapsed! Since they are closed on Sundays no one was inside. Thank goodness for that! It could have been a rela tragedy had people been inside! But losing my favorite Hobby Lobby store is bad enough..

Ahhh the weekend...

Well the orientation I went to at the GDOL on Friday was a joke.. Well, rather DALTON is a joke. My friend Kay went to the same orientation in Cartersville and hers lasted 3 hours. Mine lasted MAYBE 15 minutes.. Maybe.. It was supposed to start at 9.. Didnt get started til almost 10 after. Then we had the "orientation" (and i use that term loosely), met with the DOL lady, I looked on the computer for more jobs, AND was halfway across town by 10am.. So wow.. nice huh? In Kay's orientation they were given a HUGE list, front and back of a page, of jobs they could apply for the on the job training at. We were given one job to choose from.. one whole job.. Dalton is just pathetic. I am going to try and go to Cartersville and see if they can help me sometime this week. OK so I will quit whining now.. On to other things.

After I got home yesterday I had a nice nap and woke with lots of energy. I got up and swept every room except the kitchen and livingroom.. moved more things around.. changed my decor, or rather TWEAKED it, again, made dinner, and watched "My Bloody Valentine 3d" all before bed.

I woke with more energy again this morning. I unloaded and re-loaded the dishwasher, cleaner my counters, swept the kitchen and livingroom floords, swept my front porch, cleaned out the refrigerator and freezer, took out the trash, and moved some stuff out to storage.. All this before April got here for lunch.. She was so sweet and took me out! We went to Papa's Pizza.. They had this thing..not sure what it was.. but it was kinda like a calzone (on the buffet) with ham, onion, mushrooms, and cheese.. It was freaking awesome.. Papa's Pizza blows Cicis and Stevie B's out of the water, in my opinion. A very good local place to go.

Anyway, I came home and started in again on organizing my HUGE magazine collection.. Then I faded.. I took a nap and I just couldnt wake up. I slept for HOURS.. I think I just got bored and lonely and depressed so I crashed.. That's one thing I've been battling since being laid off. I do not do well with boredom.

Anyway, Kay is coming to help me with working on my dining chairs again in the morning. After lunch sometime Im going to April and Kevin's for dinner. Maybe that will perk me up. When I get to be with my friends.. Also, looking forward to Sam and Wil's visit this week! YAY..

Well Im off to make dinner then get back to organizing magazines.. Everyone have a good weekend!

A Return to Being Personal...

LOL well, in this blog anyway.. I figured I could use this blog to vent and ramble a little. As most of you know, I got laid off on June 6th. I had been working at the same job for 10.5 years. The sad thing was that I wasnt upset about it other than missing the money and benefits. I despise Mohawk and all that it does to its employees. A stray dog gets treated better. Anyway, Now I am on Unemplyment and dying of boredom. Basically I have enough money for bills and food. well, a little for food.. My friends and family have been awesome. I may have about $20 a month to spend on me.. And thats if I get no gas LOL.. So it's sucking right now. I hav about 100 resumes in though, so I hope something good comes along soon.

Since I've been laid off I've done a TON of craft and decorating projects that I had left undone.. There's still more to do, but I'm getting there! My friend Kay has been coming over and helping me with a lot of them.. I've also started tutoring Kay this week. I'm tutoring her in Criminal Law. I had that class and aced it, so I'm helping her right now with her class. Her professor sucks, though. She doesn't even make up her own exams. She uses the ones from the book. How lame and lazy is that? But I am enjoying it so far. I like to teach people things. and I am good at it. I was always the trainer at work too..

Anyway, tomorrow I go for this Orientation at the Department of Labor for an on the job training program. I'm hoping that I can get my foot in the door somewhere with that program and go from there. Basically you work and still draw your unemployment. You get a small amount more. And after 6 weeks they decide if they want to hire you. If they do, you decide if you want to take the job or not. If you don't want to then you still get to draw your unemployment benefits.It sounds like a good program to me.

Well I guess Id better stop rambling and get to bed so I can MAKE it to the program in the morning lol.. Wish me luck that I get on with a good company!

My First Trip to IKEA...

When my friend April found out that I had never been to IKEA before she said that she HAD to take me! We made several planned trips and something always came up, but FINALLY this past Saturday we got to go! I was kind of in awe.. I guess I'm a small town girl.. I had never been to a store that big! It was amazing.. I had an awesome time just looking at everything. It's mind-blowing what they can do with 250 sq ft..

The only downside to the trip was that my coat got stolen.. It was hooked onto the little cart thing and I had my hand on the cart the ENTIRE TIME! Whoever took it had to be as bold as brass to take it. Thanks to that I had to walk around the rest of the night with short sleeves in freezing weather! But I had a great time with April and at IKEA..

Of course, I bought too many things, but they were all great bargains.. I bought 3 of the Ung Drill Frames (1 for me, and 2 for my dear friend Kay@Country Sunshine).. They are goegeous in person and HUGEEE! I also bought 4 of the stomach sleeper pillows for 99 cents each, 3 small red wooden mirrors for $2.99 each, a ton of candleholders for gifts, some knives for my friend Amber for her birthday, and one of the $9.99 down alternative queen size blankets to use on my bed for summer. They arent extremely heavy and since I get hot hot hot when I sleep I thought one of those would be a good solution for my bedding issues.

Anyway, I'm going to do a project with the mirrors for my livingroom so stay tuned for that..

Finally got a Haircut!

Well I finally broke down and weighed my fear of having a different stylist cut my hair against being annoyed at my hair. I decided I was more annoyed at the state that my hair was in than I was terrified of a new stylist.. SO, I kept asking around and couldn't get a good answer about stylists.. I kept hearing commercials for Great Clips on the radio talking about how they keep notes about your styles and such, so I decided to go there. I was terrified and I told the stylist this.. I think it made her a bit nervous but more careful. She did a GREAT job AND she told me I have beautiful, shiny hair lol.. I'm a happy hair camper once again..

Hair Gone Wild.. UGH

I am usually pretty anal about my hair.. I figure that my hair is the one thing I can control about my looks.. I cannot control oily skin or blemishes, but I CAN make my hair shine-and I do! BUT.. and this is a HUGE but.. lately my hair has grown out of control.. It's literally hair gone wild. For some strange reason I cannot reach my stylist and havent been able to in a few months.. She is the only person to cut my hair since 1999 and I am TERRIFIED to let anyone else cut it.. Therefore, crazy hair.. I've got curls going everywhere and I cannot control them at all. It's driving me insane! AND since I just moved to this city not long ago I have no clue where to go for a really good haircut.. Add that in with the fact that I'm terrified of other stylists anyway and it's a recipe for hair disaster.. Here is the evidence..



(Notice the hearts on the door in the pic.. that's our office at work. Kay and I have decorated for Valentine's Day and it's driving the men crazy hehe..)



Pray to our father in Heaven above with me that I find a good stylist in town VERY soon!

Auctioning for my Birthday! What Fun!

Since Saturday was my birthday, I got to pick the activities.. My friends and I (including my MIA friend Amber, who I hadnt seen since Halloween) ended up going to Ruby Tuesdays for dinner and then to an antiques auction here in town that they have once a month. I had never been to an antique auction at all. I had been to a merchandise auction before but not since I was in kindergarten or so.

We took a quick look around before the auction, and I found several things I really wanted. As the auction got underway though I noticed that a couple store owners in town were there and buying a lot, including anything other people showed a major interest in. It got annoying really quickly because they seemed to have an endless money supply-something most of us do not have. I got outbid by them twice on the items I really wanted most, but such is life. I got some really nice things for some good deals though!

I got 3 mirrors (yes, my obsession, 2 chairs, 2 pictures, a lap desk, a magazine rack, a pretty shelf, 2 chandeliers (for $1!!!), and a mish-mash of things on a table (funded by birthday money from my Aunt and my friend Jennifer). AND my friends April and Kevin got me this amazing accent table for my birthday!

I got a really nice birthday haul too.. From Amber I got dinner at Ruby tuesdays, an owl pocket planner (I love owls!), an owl pen and paper set, and one of those cool little gadgets that unfolds and holds your purse into a table (in zebra print). (also late Cmas gifts of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince DVD, complete with Marauders Map, and a Collector's Edition Lord of the Rings Checkers/Tic Tac Toe game..) I got 2 really cool Iron fleur de lis finials and a handmade Coca-Cola cake from Kay. I also got a cool stone trivet with fleur de lis (another obsession) that came from the Shakespere's Tavern in Atlanta from Kevin and April.Add that to the money that supported my auction buys, my accent table, and the Clawfoot antique dining table from my mother and it was an awesome birthday..

My birthdays have this tradition of going notoriously wrong! Disasters, plans gone awry, and much worse.. This was the best birthday I have had in years!!!

A Wish... Thrift Stores...

I wish that our local thrift stores were cheaper! I look around at all the blogs online and see the amazing deals that people get and I think "WOW, are our thrift stores overpriced or what?".. I went to a few today before work.. One has SOME cheap things, but it's broken down into booths and people make their own prices. The other is a charity thrift store and their prices on some things can sometimes SHOCK.. A lot of times they are more expensive than a regular store.. *sigh* Maybe I will run across some better stores one of these days.

Happy New Year!!!

I hope that everyone has had a wonderful holiday season. May this year be one of your best...