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Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Curb Appeal




If you don’t know me personally – from these pictures you will see that I love color. I wanted to get rid of the black and spice it up! So one weekend Collin, Taran, and I went to Menards to pick out color for our shutters, trim, garage door, and front door. My gracious husband helped me dig up our dead shrubs so we could plant new ones. He did a lot of digging too, our house is on a concrete slab and the builders were pretty careless so my flower bed that is up close next to the house is concrete covered in dirt. We persevered and got most of the rock and concrete up so our new shrubs wouldn’t die. (Hopefully)

Before
 Before

Afterdisregard our grass...it is not better!! 
 After  
 After



I planted a boxwood, a holly bush, and a couple of other ones that I don’t know the name, but they were pretty and cheap. (That’s how I make most of my decisions – oh that looks pretty, I’ll take it!) J  I also planted Impatiens because my flower beds don’t get a lot of sun and they do great in  shade.  In the front area by the garage I planted a Weeping Peach tree, some lilies, and one lantana flowering plant. Then to make it all come together Collin and I mulched everything! I went with brown mulch this year instead of black because we painted over the black shutters and black door.


After painting the door and trim – I couldn’t stop there and found a creative and cheap way to make tall planters from East Cost Creative. So, I went back to Menard’s and for $20 bucks I got 4 plastic planters – 2 big and 2  small. Painted them to match, added some flowers and another boxwood in each and voila I had really great looking planters for super cheap. Check out their website for a more detailed process. Love how they turned out!!


Bonus* My husband planted our hostas the year he moved into our house – they are huge and beautiful!!  

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Hello Apple!

Holy cow, when I logged in tonight and realized it has been almost 3 months since I have blogged -I thought how are you all living life without my so-insightful posts? So...I must remedy that immediately!


I have moved into the world of Apple products!


It first started when I wanted a kindle because of how much I love to read. After some research, the hubby and I thought it was in our best interest to save up for an iPad. Needless to say - I've not been disappointed. I was able to pay cash for my new iPad 3 the day it came out!


Next was my Mac Mini. My HP laptop that I bought in 2007 began to black screen every time I turned it on and my computer was our home computer and even with my new iPad I still find that working on a computer for different projects is WAY easier. The Mac Mini is half the cost of the cheapest Apple laptop and since I had my iPad I really wanted to stay with Apple. I also didn't mind having something more stationary because my iPad is so portable. Another great feature is that we already had a TV in the office and you can connect your Mac Mini via HDMI so I didn't need to buy a new monitor! So we were able to save money but get what we want!


Lastly, just last week I got my new cell phone. Yes, I got a 4s iPhone! Probably my most favorite thing about my phone is my otter box! Thanks to Amazon - it is orange & camo! Thankfully I haven't lost it yet when it's camo side up! :)


Coolest thing about going Apple - we paid cash for everything! Thanks Dave Ramsey!

Check it all out at www.apple.com

What apple product did I write this post on is the big question??

Friday, March 23, 2012

Blow-dry Technique

Anybody ever wonder why your hair is so frizzy or maybe flat to your head....well, it all starts with how you blow-dry your hair! 

So here is a good process on how to avoid that crazy frizz and flat, limp hair!

1. If you towel dry that's fine - just don't rub your hair with the towel - that's the culprit of frizz!

2. Once you've gotten the excess water out - comb through your hair. Don't brush, brushing will result in a lot of breakage.

3. Apply product. (Volume - use a root lifter) (No Frizz - use a smoothing serum or cream)

4. Start to blow-dry - if you have coarse hair or it's thick, best to use high heat. If you have fine or thin hair use medium heat. 

5. Personal preference I blow-dry my hair upside down using my fingers until about half way dry then I grab my favorite paddle brush to add smoothness. Blow-drying upside down will add a lot of volume - especially if you used a root lifter! 

6. Always point the dryer away from your scalp. If you blow-dry towards your scalp that adds a lot of unwanted frizz! 

7. Once dry - before you flip your hair back over - give your whole head a cool shot. A cool shot will set your hair. (Think of it as - curls right after you use the curling iron - wait until it is cool to separate the curl and it will stay a lot longer) 

8. Finish styling with flat iron, curling iron, or leave as is!