Eight Weeks Pregnant!

Yeah Jon and I are expecting another little munchkin pie!! 

We just found out yesterday that I'm 8 weeks pregnant! 

I was so relieved when I saw the pregnancy test positive, I felt like if I wasn't pregnant then there was something really wrong with me, moody, exhausted, emotional. 

We are so thrilled. 

Many blessings and much love!

~ Marie

Motives Monday/ On The Road

At this time that this post is being published I am driving in our faithful pickup truck up to Michigan for a half a week of Makeup! Top makeup artists will be there giving a 3 day workshop for those who wish to become makeup artists! I was invited to be apart of a team that will be hosting the makeup, which of course is Motives. I am so excited because I will be hopefully doing lots of makeovers and lots of custom blends which Motives consultants specialize in. Best of all my trip was taken care of because my friend who said she would only come if I could in which I was invited by the laddie who is putting this grand event on with all expanses paid for! THANK YOU LORD! YIPPE :)

So I don't have a tutorial this week because I ran out of time but no worries, I shall be back next week with tons of exciting new makeup knowledge dear readers! 

I sure had a blast taking the Motives Monday pictures this week.

I wish everyone a Classy Monday! 

Please be blessed as you all carry on your week.

Much Love

~ Marie

Baby Zane/ Fun Pics

I haven't had much time lately of getting pics of the Munchkin Pie Zane. I had to scrounge around my Iphoto looking for some fun ones because my eyes are craving a Munchkin Pie post. This little guy is getting to move around so fast now. One minute he is at the kitchen door yelling at the dog outside to come close and the next minute he is shuffling (crawling) to the front door yelling at the kitties outside to come close. I have to keep my ears tuned to his little body routine of play now. I can always tell when he is up to something naughty. I usually hear his little body shuffling around and then it gets quiet. Hmm, wonder what he is up to? Ahah!! Found him in the kitchen putting his sticky fingers in the turtle tank. Or putting something in his mouth that he shouldn't be (dog food for instance). He sure pulls the charm when he is in trouble though. Jon was burning some papers in the wood stove one day and Zane kept us busy because He wanted to eat, touch, and see the stove Lol!!, finally Jon got tired of picking him up and placing him somewhere else in the house, so he said, "Zane, baby that is NO" And what did Zane do under such discipline? He lifted up his head and opened his mouth to give his daddy a nice big wet kiss which he only gives away on very important occasions  Lol! The verse that comes to my mind, Proverbs 15:1  "A gentle answer turns away wrath but a harsh word stirs up anger"
Of course Jon and I both have to hide our smiles and giggles when he is getting scolded now because he is just too cute for words.
We sure LOVE that baby boy!!!

Motives Monday/ Winged Eyes

"The ideals which have lighted me on my way and time after time given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. . . . The ordinary objects of human endeavour -- property, outward success, luxury -- have always seemed to me contemptible."  

*Albert Einstein

Tonight's review/tutorial is going to be on " Eyes with a Wing".  Now this is a lesson for me because much searching and study has gone into this tutorial. I have always wanted the "perfect" Winged Eye look but have always felt discouraged at my attempts. 

First off I want to go into the tutorial by clarifying what products I have tried and what worked best for me. 

As you can see with the picture below that my favorite eyeliner tool is the Lux Precision Eyeliner pencil. Not a surprise that it is Motives. Now let me tell you why, this product is I say one of the VERY best out in the market right now. Using this pencil you will find that it is waterproof, (which is amazing for those of you who get oily eyes or have trouble keeping your eyeliner on for the whole day) and also because it has the Precision tip which is like using a pen. I had bought a liquid eyeliner a couple of weeks ago from the local drug store just to compare the difference and I found it HUGE. The regular liquid liner was so easy to make a mess with and because the brush was way more difficult then the Precision pen. After applying my eyes with the Precision liner it was so much easier for me. I found the tip I could control a lot better then the liquid brush. Also I didn't feel like I was going to drip paint on me because it was all about sketching and not about painting.

So, thats the review, now on to the tutorial.

First off I learned that there is NO one set rule for this technique. Just what you are comfortable with, remember this is something to have fun with and not to take too seriously, which I had to remind myself Lol!!

 I want to give you all several ways you might want to try applying your Winged Eyes. 

1. Try applying your liquid liner by tracing a small thin line first, this makes it easier to touch it up if you wish it to be bolder and stronger. If you start with a big large line you usually look overdone so start with a nice thin base line that you can fill in later if you wish to. 

2. Another way of applying is to sketch three small little dashes, one from the inner corner of your eye, one in the middle lash line and one near the tip outer corner of your eye. Then you may fill it in from the outer corners to form one nice even line. I always increase my outer wing after I have established my line.

3. Another tip I got from my friend Julie is do a Dot To Dot and then just fill in the dots. 

Now remember practice makes perfect. I had to practice this look several times before I started feeling more confidant to wear it in public. 

4. You can also use a eyeliner gel with a makeup brush, I find this also much easier to applying a winged eye because the makeup brush is easier to control and the eyeliner gel is so easy to trace or smudge on. I use this gel in another tutorial if you are wondering what I am talking about :)

I wanted to write a little bit about why I am doing my Motives Mondays and what I wish to accomplish from them. First off they are entirely pure selfish ambition on my part. They are an outlet for me to actually learn and experiment  with and also they create new ideas for applying makeup. Or just talking about what I am enjoying at the moment is really fun for me. I hope to accomplish new techniques and looks from these tutorials and improve my photography skills along the way.

I hope everyone a beautiful and blessed week. Thanks so much for reading my blog. I so appreciate all your encouragement. Also the relationships I have made on this blog has blessed me in so many ways. 

In Christ

Marie

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.  ~Hellen Keller ~ 

Tea In The Garden With Honey Man and Baby

This afternoon Jon, Baby and I lounged in the Garden and enjoyed Tea with 

Peanut Butter Banana Bread.

One of my bloomers hiding from the ferocious puppy who has been eating my flowers

and everything else in the yard.

Peanut Butter Banana Moist Bread:

INGREDIENTS

* 2 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 

* 1 tsp baking powder 

* 1 tsp baking soda

 * 2 cup jaggery ( I just used a 1 cup and 1/2 regular sugar )

* 1/2 cup butter 

* 1 cup milk 

* 2 eggs lightly beaten

 * 2 mashed bananas 

* 1 tsp vanilla

 * 1 cup crunchy peanut butter ( I also altered the 1 cup to 1/2 cup Peanut Butter )

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 160 deg C.  

2. Coat a pan with butter to grease it.  3. Mix flour, jaggery, peanut butter, melted butter with a wide spatula in a bowl till it becomes a crumbly mixture. Reserve one cup of mixture for later use.  4. Make a small well right in the middle of the mixture and add milk, eggs, mashed bananas, vanilla, baking Powder and baking soda.  5. Mix all the ingredients well into a batter.  6. Pour the batter into the greased loaf pan and top it with the reserved crumble mixture.  7. Bake the cake for about 40-45 minutes and ensure that the top mixture (crumble layer) does not get burnt.  8. Check if the cake is ready by inserting a toothpick after 40 minutes. If it comes out clean, it’s ready to be taken out of the oven.  9. Place on a wire rack to cool and then remove the cake from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I wish everyone a delightful weekend!
Much Love
~ Marie

Drinking A Fine Cup Of Coffee

I was contacted again to do a review for bathroom vanity store but this time I could choose any item I wished, and So I picked through their many other items and found this espresso set which I am excited to get in the mail. 
I have always loved the small size and the white clean look of espresso cups and saucers, and how they "clink" when you set them down. I just hope I don't get addicted to caffeine now that I am getting them!
I hope you will be joining me for a nice cup of hot espresso real soon!
Love
Marie

Motives Monday/ SunBeam Lipstick

Happy monday everyone. 

Tonight I selected Sunbeam lipstick as my review for todays Monday post.

This color is gorgeous.
I just loved how it glows on my lips. 

I am a lover of gold on blonds and burnets.
I think you can really spice up your evening look with gold lips and gold cheeks. 

When I was a kid I remember when we studied Ancient Egypt and at the end of our studies my mom threw us a party in which we had to dress up as Egyptians. Us girls spray painted noodles in gold which we put in our hair and wore white gowns with gold sashes.
My mom painted lovely cat eyes which really gave us the egyptian look.We also studied the food and found recipes to make for our party.
Ever since then I always have had a fascination with the color gold.
Such fun memories :)

Well, I hope everyone has "gorgeous" week! 

Have fun putting your wardrobe together and please remember

 that

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

*Proverbs 31:30

Love
~Marie

Happy Mother's Day Mom

I wanted to share a little about my mom on this special day.

Looking back as a child I have such a fond memory of my mom capturing everything that she saw as beautiful in her everyday life and creating a way to teach it to us kids. Words can't describe what my my mom means to me. Everything she puts her hands to, turns out lovely. She decided to teach us four kids at home all by herself without having a college education. She schooled us from kindergarten to seniors in high school. She was not only my mom but also my devoted teacher. She always felt the burden of not giving us the best education and trying to make sure we were above what we should be at each grade, but she never realized that she gave us even more than what most parents are able to give for their children. I so appreciate all that she has done for me. I so admire and esteem her. Her patience, her love, her wisdom and courage is something that is so beautiful and priceless. I wish some day that I will be 10 %  of what my mom is in this world.

Thank you Lord for my Mom.

Russell In The Navy

Zane was so proud of his uncle Russell graduating from Naval boot camp.

Russell, looked so hansom in his uniform when we got to see him last week. He not only was so hansom  he also had acquired excellent gentlemanly gestures for us ladies, ( my mom and me ) He would always open the door for us, he also kept his uniform impeccably clean, he wasn't sure if he should even venture out onto the sand while we were visiting Lake Michigan because of fear of ruining his polished shoes. :)

It was so fun being able to see my parents. Yes we were only gone one night but 2 whole days with them was so delightful. They ate up the little Munchkin Pie. He kissed them goodbye when we left. It was such a bitter sweet weekend. 

Zane just loved the sand in his feet. He also loved it when my mom and I went for a walk beside the lake side. It was such a beautiful moment. The weather was just a little breezy and we laughed when we saw this shaggy dog chasing Seagulls and swimming in the water.

We also got to celebrate Jon's Happy Birthday while we were there. 

He is now a whopping 27 year old. He says he is loosing his memory already. He still thinks he's 25 and I have to remind him now Lol!

Memories like these are so precious to me. I am so glad we have pictures and blogs to capture them. 

Motives Monday/ Basic Smokey Eye

Today's tutorial is a basic smokey eye.

Step 1 I used Motives Creme Shadow Gold Dust. I love this shadow, its water proof and its a great base for pressed shadows. It is also so pretty just wearing it on its own. 

2nd step I used the Black Tie shadow as my second primary color. This color is a shimmery grey. I applied it only to my lid.

The 3rd shade is the Hazelnut which is also a shimmery color. It is used as the contouring color. I blended this in my crease and made a v shape on the corners of my eyes.

I am still trying to improve my skill when it comes to taking pictures. I am having a hard time getting so close to the eye and capturing the exact color of the eye shadows without making it blurry. I realized I need to get another special  lens that can handle this performance. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful Monday. 

Many blessings to all my lovely readers!

In Christ

~Marie