Beauty Divine

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Happy Valentines Day!! I hope you are feeling very loved today! Even if you don't get into the whole chocolate and romance stuff, you should at least find someone you adore and give them a big bear hug:) Have a great day and enjoy these five things that totally ROCK.

1.Love Birds Cards I had to pick at least one thing valentines day related. And I absolutely LOVE these cute handmade Bird in Love Cards. Especially because I'm a little over the whole pink and red hearts. It's a cute and a creative way to say I love you. And it's something you could use any time of year. Check them out here on etsy.



2. Meteor Shower by Owl City This band is quickly becoming one of my favorites. I love music that just leaves you feeling happy and Owl City really does that with their creative lyrics and electronic sound. I'm not sure if they are technically a Christian band but this song is a great reminder that we belong to a great God and he has made us new. Here are the lyrics:
I can finally see that you're right there beside me / I am not my own, for I have been made new / Please don't let me go, I desperately need you / I am not my own, for I have been made new / Please don't let me go, I desperately need you.




3. The Hunter Games books Someone at borders referred these books to me and at first glance I didn't think they were might type. But I really loved them. I like stories that put you inside a whole other world and these books do that. The two main characters Katniss & Peeta live in a futuristic "America" where the government has gone a little control crazy. What really made me love it is the way that Peeta adores Katniss. He would just do anything for her. These books rocked. I can't wait for the third one to come out.



4. Fashion Week Makeup I couldn't help checking out all the new trends at Fashion Week. The one thing I really loved was the makeup on models for Michael Kors. The artist used Shiseido's Spring 2010 line to make these shimmery gem-toned eyes. I love how he blends lots of colors together to get this reflective jewel look. It's bright and fun for spring. See more of fashion week here at Instyle.com.



5. Haiti Love T-shirts Another thing I spotted at fashion week was Victoria Beckham's T-shirt supporting Haiti. These are $25 each and the net proceeds go to benefit the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund. It's a small way to help and you get a cute reminder for others to help too. Buy one here.


Don't these things rock? I love finding little things that inspire me...and sharing them of course! Do you have anything you've found lately that really rocks? Share it below!

Redemptionby George Herbert


Having been tenant long to a rich Lord,
Not thriving, I resolved to be bold,
And make a suit unto him, to afford
A new small-rented lease, and cancell th' old.

In heaven at his manour I him sought:
They told me there, that he was lately gone
About some land, which he had dearly bought
Long since on earth, to take possession.

I straight return'd, and knowing his great birth,
Sought him accordingly in great resorts;
In cities, theatres, gardens, parks, and courts:

At length I heard a ragged noise and mirth
Of theeves and murderers: there I him espied,
Who straight, Your suit is granted, said, & died.

In this poem, George Herbert tells a parable of going to a rich landowner to discuss the fact that his lease requires him to pay more than he can afford. Failing to find the landlord among the rich and powerful, the speaker eventually is surprised to discover him among thieves and murderers. Once he finds him, there is a dramatic twist. The landlord himself has paid the price of his new lease, giving his life as payment.

I really loved this poem because of the simple picture it paints of God's love for us. It's easy to read words in the Bible and forget the power of the story. The underlying story in this poem is the struggle of humankind since the fall. We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Death is payment for sin and since none of us is perfect, we cannot afford to pay the cost of what we owe.

The speaker is much like us. He wishes to find a solution to his problems but finds that his landlord is absent: the landlord (God) has gone to take possession of 'some land he had dearly bought'. When we go searching for Christ, he surprises us. He is not found among wealthy kings or pious priests who have it all together. He is found among the least "important" in our eyes. He cares for the sinners, the murderers, the thieves, the prostitutes...every one of us who is guilty. He cared enough to die, to pay our debt. He kindly says, "Your suit is granted" or literally "It is finished." In other words, at the moment of dying, his thoughts are for those he wishes to rescue.

Redemption literally means ‘a buying back.’ He has paid for us. We only need to believe and accept it.

What's more romantic than getting dressed up, dimming lights and eating a delicious meal by candlelight at home? I think this is the perfect way to spend Valentines day. Who needs crowded restaurants, two hour waits, and being overcharged for dinner? Not me. I'm pretty sure this year I'm going to stay home and make Stephen his favorite meal: Chicken Parmesan. It's a little more work than my average mac and cheese meal, but it's so worth it. It's definitely restaurant quality so I had to share it with you!

The pasta:
*Follow the directions on your favorite type of pasta. I use farfalle (bowtie) pasta for this meal because it looks fancy and it goes well with a thinner sauce.

The chicken:
*Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet on medium high for one minute.
*Take three-four boneless, skinless chicken breasts (depending on how much you two eat) and pound them until they are 1/4" thick. Season both sides with Italian seasoning and garlic powder.
*Mix one egg and 1/4 cup of milk in one bowl. Then in another bowl mix 1/2 cup of dry bread crumbs and 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese.
*Using tongs, dip each chicken breast in the egg mixture and then into the bread crumb mixture. Coat and place into the skillet.
*Cook for 5-7 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink inside.

The sauce:
*Heat 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of garlic powder in a saucepan.
*Once butter is melted, stir in 1 can of diced tomatoes.
*If you like a little thicker sauce, add 1/4 cup of ragu.
*Bring to a boil and then simmer on low until chicken is ready.

The cheese:
*Shred 1 cup of of mozzarella cheese. (Or 2 cups if making cheese bread)
*When chicken is ready, top with sauce and enough mozzarella to cover the top. (I sometimes place this in the oven on broil until the cheese gets bubbly.)
*Serve over pasta

The cheesebread:
*Cut italian bread into 1-2" thick slices.
*Top with butter, garlic powder, a little basil or rosemary.
*After seasoning, top with remaining mozzarella cheese (Make sure cheese is really overflowing-you'll need more than you think)
*Bake in oven (350 degrees) for 5-7 minutes or until edges are crispy and cheese is melted.

Add a side salad and some sparkling grape juice in wine glasses and your romantic meal is complete!

One of the best purchases I've made this year was my Chi flat iron. I am not by any means a hairstylist and to be honest most days my hair gets thrown into a messy bun:) But on the days when I do actually put some effort into my hair, I have really appreciated my flat iron. The main thing I love about it is that it gets hot enough that I only have to go over a piece of hair once. It doesn't strip the moisture out of my hair and actually leaves it feeling silky. Flat irons I've used in the past literally burned my hair and made it frizzy -and my hair gets frizzy enough on its own!

I ran into the video below and became inspired to write this post. The website pursebuzz.com where I found it has awesome tutorials for hair and makeup. She shows you in the video below how to get many different looks with one tool: a flat iron. Hope you like it as much as I did!




Oh and if you're inspired to buy one, this website has some amazing deals:
Chi Products

In my pregnancy, I still have another 29 weeks to go. ::sigh:: But even though I have a lot of time to wait, I couldn't help myself from scoping out all the fun baby stuff!! Especially now that I have a nursery that is completely empty and just begging to be decorated! So I thought I'd share some of the awesome ideas I found and get opinions.
Here's this week's 5 things that rock...Nursery edition!

1. Typography
All you other graphic designers can appreciate this! I thought the design of these rooms were so cute and creative. We've all seen the alphabet or the baby name on the wall, but this takes it to a whole new level. I love it! I especially love the time & date of the baby's birth on a canvas. How cute is that?




2. Rockin' Rocking Chairs
Okay so I've been warned that I'm about to start getting up every hour of the night to feed and change a crying baby. So one of the first things I want to invest in is a rocking chair that is comfortable! Possibly one that feels like a bed so I won't get too grumpy when I have to get up!!




3. Tree Art
Babies aren't the only things growing in these rooms. I was scoping out Pottery Barn Baby and couldn't help but notice how many nurseries included a tree or branches. I'm not sure if I'm artistic enough to try doing this in my baby's room (I did find a couple bad examples) but I have to say it is very cute when the pros pull it off!



4. Mod Squares
I give my sister a hard time because she has an obsession with circles, but Stephen and I may be just as bad when it comes to squares! I was noticing the other day how many things in our house are designed with squares (a lot). So when I saw these rooms with square themes I knew they would fit right in my house if I were to put in that much effort:)


5. Framed
This look is so simple but I love it! There's just something I love about framed artwork or photos (the square shape? haha). It really just gives the room a finishing touch and makes the place your own. I'm not sure which I like better, the collage frames on a shelf or evenly spaced framed art. Maybe I could do both? Cuteness:)




What are your thoughts? Any favorite designs to put in a nursery? I would love many more opinions!

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A few nights ago Stephen and I crashed a girls bible study so that we could get to know some of the high schoolers here. I have never talked about so many random topics in the same two hours:) One of those random topics was a website called Picnik. They all thought it was crazy that I'm a graphic designer and had never heard of it before.

So what is it? Picnik is photo editing awesomeness, online, in your browser. It's a really easy way to fix underexposed photos, whiten teeth, or apply effects to your photos. You can also make collages, slideshows, and cards out of your fancy photos. All without being a master at Photoshop. It's free unless you want to upgrade and get some of the premium effects which are better. I threw together a few random examples just to show you a little of what it can do.
Have fun!

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What a crazy week of adapting! We've officially spent a whole week in our new city and Stephen and I are still trying to get used to all of the changes. Especially after never living anywhere other than Omaha. We got through quite a bit of highs and low already though...

Our lowest points were seeing family on Skype and knowing we can't just drive over and hang out with them. For me it was knowing I won't be able to see the little nieces and nephews for awhile (i actually cried lol I'm such a classic emotional pregnant lady). Stephen's biggest struggle has been coming home very overwhelmed each day with so much work to do because we are literally building our ministry up from ground zero.

I honestly feel like the hardest part is over (besides missing family and friends because I'm sure that will always be hard). And our blessings just keep adding up! Here are a few...

*Amazing new house! It's so nice and easy to keep clean and organized with all the space. We are excited to now have room to invite people over for gamenights, superbowl parties, bible studies, etc. The best part is we have a DISHWASHER!! I'm in heaven.

*Body of Christ! It's funny how we are experiencing the love of Christ through His people. It's almost like He is wrapping his arms around us by the actions of others. Everyone has been so welcoming and giving. We keep getting little surprises like a shoveled driveway, meals delivered (we're talking breakfasts, lunches, and dinners), and money gifts. We were feeling pretty lonely one night and the family who was supposed to bring us dinner instead invited us over to their house. It was so nice to hang out in a warm environment with great people and really get to know a few of the youth group kids. We loved it!

*Nice weather! Okay we may have gotten a little snow, but this weather is nothing like Omaha's bitterly cold temperatures. The sun has been out almost all week and there were two days where I didn't even need a coat. And even on the day that it snowed, we were surprised to find it was still easy to get around because there are no hills here:)

*Our house sold! This just makes me laugh because it was only on the market for two weeks in this economy, we didn't even have pictures up, and it was at our asking price. How awesome is our God who listens to all our prayers:)

*Internet! Even though we are so far away I love that I can actually see how everyone is doing. And Skype is pretty awesome even though it makes me cry hehe. Plus I can finally blog again;)

Tonight's our first night of youth group so I'm sure that will really get us excited for living here and getting to know the students. Keep us in your prayers!
Laurie

Stephen and I signed away our house in Omaha today! It is both a sad and happy day since we are leaving behind lots of hard work and so many memories. On the other hand, we are so excited to follow God and see the big plans he has for us here in Great Bend! We have only been here a week, but we have seen God's hand all over the place. (More pictures and details to come about that!) Our last week in the house, Jenny my amazingly talented photographer sister-in-law grabbed a couple pics of us saying goodbye to the bathroom remodel Stephen did. It was pretty amazing to see him transform it from that old spidery fruit cellar.
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What is it about fall that makes us all want soup? I wasted two full days trying to make homemade chicken noodle soup that failed. The second day, I even gave myself a pep-talk. “It’s just soup. You can do this.” But the pep-talk was not enough to make my soup more flavorful. It stunk both times. So I broke down and finally just bought packaged soup from the store and it was delicious.

So as much as I would love to give you a fabulous fall soup recipe, I won’t. I’m going to give you a recipe that is delicious, pretty to look at, and easy -except for the fact that it makes you shiver in the cold a little to use the grill. But I just give that job to my husband and it’s all good.

Chicken Fajitas
This is the recipe that they use at Roja Mexican Grill. They are amazing! (And they look really special and colorful in case you have people over that you want to impress! – what soup can do that, right?)

Ingredients (for 2-4 people)
*Bell Peppers – Don’t be scared. These are not spicy. They are sweet. You’ll need one green, one red, and one yellow pepper. Sometimes they come packaged together that way. Nice. Or if you’re really talented you can grow them yourself and save five bucks.
*One white onion
*Tortillas
*Mozzarella or Mont. Jack cheese, shredded
*Canola oil (healthier than vegetable oil)
*3-4 grilled chicken tenderloins/breasts (shiver in the cold part)

Part one – The chicken.
-Really season up your chicken before you grill it. Bare chicken is nasty. It just is. We use garlic powder and sometimes red/green pepper seasoning.
-Grill it (or have nearest man grill it) until the outside gets little black lines and the inside is no longer pink.
-Chop it into bite-size strips/pieces when done.

Part two – The junk.
-Chop your onion and pepper into strips. (Peel the outer skin off the onion first. Cut out the seedy middle of the peppers and throw it away.)
-Throw them into a skillet with a little bit of canola oil. Just enough to get the pieces wet, but not swimming. Turn stove to medium-low heat and saute (move around in the sizzling oil) until the onions are translucent and the peppers are not so crunchy. Try not to let them brown.
-Drain left over oil when done.
-Shred some cheese. Block cheese is at least a dollar cheaper than already shredded. And you get arm muscles. But make sure you rinse cheese grater right away or the cheese will be stuck there forever. Trust me.

Part three – The final product.
-Warm your tortillas in the microwave for twenty seconds to soften them.
-Pile on chicken, peppers, onions, and cheese. Roll it up and eat!

That’s it! Oh and we usually get chips and salsa/guacamole to go with them.
As Rachel Ray says…yum-o!!

"Beauty Divine" – Brandon Heath
Don't Get Comfortable

Does it ever catch your eye?
Beauty divine.
In an old man’s tears, a little girl’s smile.
It feels like a song
One that belongs to you

Stop making sense
Your weakest defense
Just quiet your mind
Let the world unwind

See we’re not alone
He makes himself known
In time, His own time

So breathe, life will surprise you
Just be, it’s what the world denies you
You see, the truth is all around you
Believe

This is the song that inspired the title to this blog. I love this song for the way it slows down the fast pace of my world. It makes me looks outside myself to see the little moments that are so precious on earth. I think we’ve all been stopped in our tracks by something beautiful.

For me, this morning it was the weather. My husband pulled open the curtains and said, “Have you looked outside yet?” What I saw made me gasp. It snowed this morning. It’s only the beginning of October and being the anti-newswatcher that I am, I was definitely not expecting to see it so early. We have these majestic pine trees across the street and seeing them topped with big white snowflakes was enough to make me stand there and drop my jaw. I glanced back at my husband’s big smile and let out a little giggle. Moments like that are timeless.

What if I was to react by taking a quick glance and shrug, “Big deal. It is almost winter after all. Makes sense,” and then carry on with my day? I would miss out on so much. Yet that’s what Brandon Heath is saying here. That’s so often what we do. We barely notice the sunsets, the wind through the trees, and shrug. Big deal. It makes sense.

Life is meant to bring us surprise and wonder. God reveals himself in so many ways. We are meant to just stop, breathe, and quiet our minds. Otherwise we miss Him. We miss out on life. We miss out on divine beauty.

Beauty products are expensive. And why are we so swayed by the ones with a pretty container and a brand name? I’ve spent way too much in the last couple years trying out expensive products that just didn’t quite live up to my expectations. When I worked at Von Maur, I had a discount and many coworkers who assured me that I HAD to try Estee Lauder, Clinique, Laura Mercier, etc. After using drugstore products my whole life, I decided to try it out. Some things I felt were wasted. It’s frustrating when magazines tell you “This is the BEST product” and you spend the money only to find it was not so great. Others I think were very much worth the money and paying more. So because I’m nice and want to save you the trouble and money, here are my findings. Please don’t send me hate mail if you don’t agree. These are just my opinion and hopefully you’ll benefit from them.


Hair products
Money well saved:
*Pantene Pro-V Ultimate Texture Hairspray – great for separating boring flat hair.
*Garnier Fructis Color Shield Conditioner – My hair color fades insanely fast. This really locks it in and smells good too.
*Got2be crazy sleek flat iron & blow dry lotion – saves split ends and settles frizz. Bottle is really cute and makes me smile.


Money well spent:
*Aquage finishing spray – great for curls and making hair look shiny
*Matrix smooth & sleek shampoo – I’ve never found anything that compares. It rocks.
*American Crew fiber balm – who cares that it’s supposed to be for men? I steal it from my husband to quick paste down fly-aways and it works!


Money well wasted:
*Redken Fresh Curls Curl Boost scrunching spray – It may just be my hair, but I don’t feel like this does anything at all
*John Frieda Frizz-ease hair serum – okay this is one that I see in every magazine so I talked myself into buying it. They don’t tell you in magazines that if you hair isn’t insanely curly or dry, this will just make it extra greasy - even with just a drop of product.


Fragrance/Skin-care products
Money well saved:
*Clean & Clear oil free shine control moisturizer – Light and creamy, doesn’t make your face oily and greasy.
*Clean & Clear foaming facial cleanser – the foam is really nice on your skin, not harsh like most cleansers – I end up with soft, clean skin


Money well spent:
*Jergens natural glow face tinted moisturizer – especially for albinos like me that do not keep a tan, a little tint is nice. The bottle is small and is only in the expensive category because it goes fast and you have to buy more often
*Escada Moon Sparkle perfume –sooooo good! Sheer and pretty and doesn’t overwhelm the senses


Money well wasted:
Clinique skin care cleansers/moisturizers – Okay I did not try them all, but these are expensive and I honestly didn’t find them to do anything that Clean & Clear couldn’t for my skin. People with different skin types may disagree.
*Estee Lauder beautiful sheer perfume – loved it the first few weeks and then smell got really old and faded really fast.


Makeup (This is my favorite part, so there are many)
Money well saved:
*Maybelline mascara –Maybelline makes great mascaras. I like simply pink/green mascara. Doesn’t clump or smell.
*Physicians formula multicolored blush, bronzers, & powders – these multicolored pallettes make skin tone very even and don’t get cakey. They add a really pretty glow.
*Almay liquid eyeliner – very even consistency and color. Doesn’t smudge or fade. Easy to wash off.
*Maybelline & Covergirl shadows – great color. Especially if you get your brush wet before applying, they are even and bright.
*Sonia Kashuk cream blush – you can get it at target. Great for when you need a lot of color to stay on, but want to look natural and not powdery.
*Victoria secret lip gloss – Smells, tastes, and looks amazing.


Money well spent:
*Mary Kay eye primer – Primers are amazing. They act like glue for your eyeshadow, brightens the shade, and keeps it from getting stuck in the creases
*Smashbox soft lights shimmer powder – Ever wanted that shimmery glow that celebrities like Megan Fox have on the red carpet? This powder is the secret. It looks really natural if you apply a sheer layer. It’s bomb.
*MAC eyeshadows – are very higly pigmented so the color is bright and stays on well.


Money well wasted:
*Clinique eyeshadows and blush – Wears off really fast! I was pretty disappointed.
*Mary Kay eyeliner – did not smudge, but color was not strong enough. Faded quickly.
*Covergirl mascara – It smells. The color is okay and tended to clump a little. But the smell is really gross. Possibly just the type I was getting (curling mascara), but still…ew!


Have you found that some products work better than others? Leave some comments. I would love to do more saving and less wasting!

During the month of July, two artists passed this artwork back and forth to come up with one artistic collaboration of the minds. Barton Damer began the artwork and posted the first phase on July 6th. Within a couple days, Promise Wurzell updated the artwork with her touches and posted the results on her blog. The cycle continued back and forth until each artist developed the artwork 3 times each with a final meeting of the minds to complete it. Tees and poster prints of the final artwork were printed in august to raise money for The Huruma Children’s Home. What a cool way to help share God's love and protection for these children!

If you're interested in the history of the Huruma Children's Home you can read more here: http://www.alreadybeenchewed.net/?page_id=1317

Unfortunately the tshirts could only be ordered in August, but I still think the artwork is worth sharing. They did an amazing job!

I think I have ADD. Or is it ADHD? Whichever disorder that makes you able to pay attention to something for five minutes tops before you're off dreaming about Caramel Latte's and reading a book by the beach. Yep that's definitely me.

Especially today. I've been working on designing a business card for our office staff for about five months now. Seriously. I keep starting the design process only to delete what I've done fifteen minutes later because it needs to be perfect. And then I get these random comments from co-workers like, "So how's the business card going?" In which case, I immediately have make an urgent phone call, or go somewhere, anywhere, out of the room. They probably all know I'm stalling. I just have to get it right!

Anyway, so this morning I decided, "Today's the day." I'm going to focus. I'm going to block Starbucks out of my mind and make the best flippin business card there ever was....but first I need some inspiration. That's where I fell. I should've known better than to go to the one place I get most distracted. Flickr.

I ran across this amazing designer (bemky) for Longview Christian Church who had his own organized photostream, with categorized sets and labeled tags. Go ahead. Marvel at it: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bemky/ I'm pretty sure he never gets distracted. And right then and there of course I decided I HAVE to have a photostream. So instead of spending two hours on the business cards, I put together a flickr account. With organized sets and labeled tags. And I even put a widget on the side of my blog (take that, bemky) just for you.

And now I'm going to lunch. I'm totally going to focus this afternoon. I really am.

On Tuesdays I'm usually involved in a women's bible study on the Attributes of God. This is usually where the older ones share their wisdom and I just sit there and wish I was as smart as them!

Today though, I chose to stay home because of one very sick doggy. I've been dogsitting this week for Molly and she is not doing so good. After a very traumatic experience at the vet yesterday and a surgery on her foot, Molly is now wearing one of those cones around her neck so she can't rip open her stitches. This leaves her constantly bumping into things and getting stuck because she is unable to see and hear all around her. This morning she was very depressed and defeated. So I opted to stay home with her and make sure she gets adjusted to the cone.

But as I've been sitting with Molly I started to see a few things clearly from my Bible Study. This week we are studying God's goodness. I was tempted to do the usual quick study: "God is good, okay I'm done!" But I knew that deep inside I question His goodness. There is so much hardship in this world that it's sometimes hard to accept that He is good even though he doesn't always intervene. As I was reading through it, I kept hearing poor Molly crash into things and thought "Life just isn't fair. Why does she have to go through this? Why do we have to go through tough times?"

I always have this nagging fear that God is waiting until everything is good in my life so He can take it all away and teach me something. Or it's hard for me to say, "You are all I need, Lord" because I'm scared He'll test me in it and take things away. I question God's goodness. Does He really have my best interests in mind?

But today in our study, I read Psalm 84:11: "For the Lord God is a sun and a shield; the Lord gives grace and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly." I started to think about that verse and look at Molly's situation with a bigger perspective. The cone may make her miserable right now. It's uncomfortable and isolating. But it's for her good. She can't tear at her stitches. She won't get an infection. She will get to keep her foot if it stays clean. Right now there is no better way for Molly's wound to be kept safe.

It works the same way with us. God is good. We can know that He wants what is best for us because He didn't even hold back from giving us His most valuable gift: His Son. We may hurt and not understand why we have to go through things, but it is not because God wants to punish us or test how much we can take. He gives us grace when the hardship is a consequence from what we've done, and makes all things work for His glory. He is a sun - a resource, strength, power - and a protective shield around us. God is good.

Okay don’t laugh at how much time I have on my hands but last week I did something really fun! I had been watching TV (being a slacker) and kept coveting all the super cute outfits I was seeing. And obviously working part time, I don’t have the funds to be buying a new fall wardrobe so here’s what I did: I took inventory.

I went through my closet and attempted to put together outfits. To my surprise after pulling everything out and layering a bunch of things I was able to come up with almost 40 outfits!

When I worked at a department store we had to put together outfits for the mannequins (forms) and had certain rule to make them look “fashion worthy.” At times it was really difficult to take boring and sometimes ugly clothes and try to make them into a cute outfit, but anyway this is what I did with my closet. My theory is that we have a lot more than we think but get bored after wearing a shirt the same way every time. I tested the theory on my sister’s closet and she was freaking out. Now before you give up and decide there’s no way you’ll find much in your closet, you have to try it!

Here’s the rules…
1. Get out a piece of paper and write as you go. Trust me, you’ll forget what goes with what after going through twenty things. Then you can write down when you notice something missing from what otherwise could be a really cute outfit. You’ll quickly find out what you need to pick up when you go shopping.

2. Start with laying out all of your pants on bed or floor side by side. It’s easy to put on whichever jeans that are clean with the shirt you want to wear, but don’t do it! You have to pair the shirts with the best pair of jeans for that shirt. As you put shirts together, hold them up to all of your jeans and see which looks best. Write it down and whenever that pair of jeans is clean, you can look at all the shirts that go well with them and choose from those. (By the way, ‘mom jeans’ don’t go with anything. Neither do pants that are too short. This is a perfect time to throw them away!)

3. Next make a goal to never wear any one shirt by itself. At the mall, we had to layer at least three tops on a form. Usually I just grab a couple longer tank tops that complement the top/main shirt and let them peek out the bottom of my shirt. For fall especially you can make your wardrobe stretch by pulling out jackets, cardigans, or any other cover ups for your arms. Then you can keep wearing the majority of your summer clothes.

4. Add accessories. Sometimes a long necklace really helps a flowy shirt from looking like a balloon. Add some fun tights under a dress to keep warm. For shoes, look at the style of your pants. Jeans with more of a leg opening/flare are better for flat shoes. Bootcut jeans are best with heels. (Skinny jeans are the exception)

5. Now that you have an idea of the great outfits in your closet, but hopefully along the way you’ve been writing down what is missing. For example: “This outfit would be great with a silver ballet flats or a black cardigan.” Now tally up how many times you needed that item for your outfits. The item you needed most will be at the front of your mind the next time you go shopping and you won’t waste money on another thing you won’t wear.

Time consuming - but so worth it!

Ever wonder how photos in magazines always look sharp with amazingly bright colors? I recently learned a few simple tricks in Photoshop to get photos looking vivid and bright. Here's what to do...

1. Open your photo of choice in Photoshop. I chose this photo of Britt Nicole which I did not take myself, obviously but had fun editing. Go ahead and copy the layer so that you can see the difference in your photo you go. I did this by going to Layer>Duplicate layer.

2. First tip: Brighten the image with exposure. Image>Adjustments>Exposure… When the box pops up, very little goes a long way. Slide the top exposure bar to +.10. Click OK.

3. Second tip: Bring out the colors in your image. I did this by going to Image>Adjustments>Vibrance… When the box pops up, slide your vibrance up until your colors pop, but don’t look harsh or fake. I went up to about +55. Click OK.


4. Third tip: Bring out the contrast in the image. I did this by going to Filter>Sharpen>Unsharp Mask. Take the radius all the way up to 250pixels. I usually adjust the amount anywhere from 7-15. For this image I set the amount at 10. Click OK.

5. Check your Layers palette to see how much better your image looks! You can do this by going to Window>Layers and making sure there is a checkmark by it. Once the palette is opened, click the eyeball next to the top layer. This will hide your changes. Click it again to show the changes. Then save it!

Here is my finished product with some text and a lens flare added. Hope you like it!