Latisse

i’m sharing my opinion about a new favorite product.

Latisse.

i wish i had before & after pictures of my eyelashes to share with you…

but, i don’t. sorry. bummer.

i have a few girlfriends who were using Latisse in the past couple of years… and after seeing their amazing results with longer, fuller, darker eyelashes…i finally caved and gave it a try. and, the price has dropped dramatically since the product was first released so that also encouraged me.

i love it. that’s it. i started using Latisse in February, and it definitely takes at least six weeks to see results. you must be faithful with using the drops every day, or night in my case. i like to put it on after i have washed my face at night, before bedtime. but, the results once they kick in, are amazing. there are some symptoms that could result, but so far, i have had great results without anything weird happening. considering i am pretty light complected and blue eyes, that is great. you can read about the cons, here.

I thought i had pretty good, average eyelashes before…but now, i get about a dozen compliments a day from strangers… or i get questions like, “do you have eyelash extensions?” “wow, your eyelashes are like 900 miles long…what did you do?” – that one was from my friend summer, she’s hilarious.

i know eyelash extensions have been all the rage, and i never gave them a try. only because i find when i am looking at someone with extensions, they can be the top of the line, but i only tend to notice where they are missing some, or where they are kinked. also, i like to have a make-up free/nothing extra attached to my face, face. at least once a day. especially when i am exercising. so, eyelash extensions haven’t appealed to me. but, improving my own eyelashes totally has my interest.

you do need a prescription to get latisse. i get mine from this medical spa where i also have done these treatments before. which i also recommend!

i am currently on my second prescription of latisse, and i have backed off to only applying it every two days. i have read if you stop using it, immediately and/or over time, your eyelashes return to normal. but i don’t have any personal experience with this stage yet.

i disliked the stiff application brushes that latisse comes with. i chose to use my own make-up brush to apply the drops. I found it to be easier & more precise with a softer-tipped brush. I just found one from my stash of make-up samples, and use a clean/new one every week or so.

here’s a picture i found online, it shows typical results which i would easily compare my personal results with…

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my favorite vitamins in the whole world.

i believe in good health. exercise. a balanced diet.

but, on top of all that, i also believe in a great multi-vitamin. no matter what your age. my kids take vitamins. i take vitamins. my husband takes vitamins. when i’m pregnant i take all kinds of extra vitamins.

and, i passionately believe we are more healthy because of this.

not only more healthy, but we have energy, which also evolves into a happiness.

about two years ago, i bleached my hair…like pretty much dipped my head into a pan of hair bleach. for a long time, i had really wanted to be platinum blond. think: gwen stefani blond. not just highlights, but LOTS of highlights.

big mistake.

you can get the idea, here, but please don’t go looking for more pictures during that time, it was bad.

the consequence of bleaching my hair like that was that i lost two-thirds of my hair, and the hair i had left…no longer felt like hair.

i literally killed it.

this was exactly two years ago.

for the past twenty-four months i have been giving my hair love, love, love. hoping it would improve & return to normal.

my first step at the time was changing my vitamins, to help my hair. at this post-hair-loss time, my husband was taking “Nature’s Way, Alive!” vitamins and recommended i do so also.

the daily dose is three vitamins for adults. instead of taking all three of those vitamins at once in the morning, i like to take one with each of my three main meals. i believe more nutrients are absorbed into my system this way. i even carry a bottle of vitamins in my handbag in case i am eating out or traveling so i rarely miss taking all three vitamins per day.

immediately, not only did my hair start improving, but i NOTICEABLY felt better. i felt better than i had ever felt with any other type of vitamins. when i wake up in the morning, after i’ve had my ‘first’ breakfast, and i’ve taken my first vitamin, within fifteen minutes i start to feel myself pick up. it really is a ‘whole food energizer.’

and, {knock on wood} since i started taking these vitamins, for two years, i have not been sick. not one runny nose. not one cough. no sore throats. nothing. just very healthy. yeah, i’ll have an occasional day here or there where i am totally exhausted. but, i do that to myself, no vitamin could help with that!

if you are local, i purchase these vitamins at the Harmons on 800 north in orem. one of my favorite grocery stores in utah county. they run on average $28.00/for a bottle of 90 vitamins.

cheers to good health!

{a few more health & beauty posts coming up this week…}

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blickenstaff’s toy store is marvelous!

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a peak into my storage rooms…

as you can see, clear storage bins are a favorite organizing tool in my home.

i like them because you can get a glimpse of what you are looking for without taking off the lid or digging through mysterious boxes to find things. everything in the bins stay clean, things remain smelling good. smell is huge for me, i dislike anything with an odd odor, and mice can’t get into bins! dusty & i once stored all of our early-marriage stuff in boxes at his families ranch, we went overseas traveling for two years and returned to all of our boxes full of mice. yes, mice were living in the boxes, in all of our stuff. it was not good.

i also really like that i can print signs that can be seen as labels from the inside. i love how this looks with all the bins lined up on the shelves. makes my little o.c.d. soul so happy & content!

the bins are great for organizing holiday decor, keepsakes, children’s clothing, re-usable party decor, and/or items rarely used. i’ve packed up some of the kids’ toys that are typically ‘messy’ to play with. legos. polly pockets. littlest pet shop. you name it, we have probably owned it by now. these toys are now special occasion toys and are brought out to play with only once in a while. the bins also make for easy clean-up!

a bonus to the storage bins, if you do move often, it makes moving easy! You don’t have to pack anything up or look through boxes to decide what to take/what to get ride of… you are ready to go, it’s already organized and boxed. and, if you need to store it, they’re mouse-proof!

christmas is my favorite holiday. therefore, it warrants its very own storage room. i also use this room for storing party decor, and the halloween tree.

however, you will notice – i don’t disassemble my christmas trees. i simply undecorate them and carry them to the storage room. {a little lazy!} these are decoration trees that go on our porch or around the house. we do get a ‘real’ tree for the big daddy.

when i went storage-bin crazy about ten years ago, in order to cut costs, i did wait to find sales at Kmart, Target, and Wal*Mart. Typically a few times a year each of these stores will discount the bins 50%. Usually it’s a buy one, get one free, or just 50% off. so, if you are looking to make the switch from boxes to clear storage bins – look for sales!

happy organizing!!!

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it’s my favorite time of year!

sela~bella loves to pick these little flowers, and brings them to all of us through-out our day!

***

XOXO.

Posted in art, create something, favorites, sela | 6 Comments »

keep calm and put up your poster.

i’ve seen these posters popping up in the design world for some time now, and have been contemplating hanging one or two of them in our home.

after learning more about the history of where these posters originated, i’m even more drawn to them…

*****

a little history on this poster…

It was one of a series of three posters created by the British propaganda office during World War II, and the only one never displayed publicly.

The others were ‘Freedom is in peril, defend it with all your might’ and ‘Your courage, your cheerfulness, your resolution will bring us victory.’ The posters were distributed throughout the country at the onset of hostilities to encourage an “attitude of mind” rather than a specific aim. “Keep Calm,” was in fact, held on reserve with the intention of only using the command in times of crisis or invasion.

During some of these challenging days of economic distress, public unrest, and natural disaster it is comforting to pay heed to this simple and inspiring WWII mantra.

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ohhhhh, i love concrete…

and those windows are just killing me.

this building resides in my home state of washington.

can you even imagine having a space like this
dedicated simply to being creative,

dare i say it’s perfect?

it’s called, “the brain.”

i also like, “the earth house.” also in washington.

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