A day with coffee is so much more beautiful than a day without.

Hello people,
I am sure by now that you have heard me mention my love for coffee.  Looking back in time, I think I was 7 or 8 when my mom allowed me to have coffee that was mostly milk with a bit of coffee in it.  I believe that is what we call a latte now days.  From that moment on I wanted caffeine in my life. It became a quest of sorts.  As a teen I took my java with real cream and lots of sugar.  Talk about a jolt of energy.  Later I switched to coffee with milk.  Now days it is about a quarter cup of chocolate silk soy milk and then strong coffee.  I guess that would be a soy latte.  It is awesome.  So good, you should try it.  I am not apposed to having a shot or two of espresso.  I love tea as well, but coffee is my favorite of the two. I found an interesting link with information about coffee, and other interesting articles. I have pasted the information below.  But I'd be remiss if I didn't give you the link as well.


http://theoatmeal.com/static/coffee.html


The oatmeal is a fun site to check out.  If you have any interest in caffeinated beverages.  Have a steaming hot cup of coffee with me.  It tasted great on a cold winter day.


Leslie

All the little things that make this the beautiful life

Hello people,
Primarily, I tell you about  all the stuff that makes life beautiful.  Surface level stuff like make up, clothes, candles and fun things that I do and experience.  Today I want to go deeper.  Yawl know that I have metastatic breast cancer.  The past 10 months have been extreme.  I have 3 weeks of chemo a month with a pretty intoxicating witches brew of science to try and shrink the tumors.  Those tumors are in my right arm bone, both lungs, both hips and in right chest wall.  I've lost my hair, eyelashes, eyebrows and all traces of femininity.  It is much harder to put on my face or do my hair.  In the  midst of all of the treatment, being sick, and physical pain, I have made myself get dressed up and do my makeup and hair almost every day.  Trying to feel noral is my new normal. 

By making myself stick to the routine of being normal, I have managed to move from Texas to Colorado.  I have gone to England for the week of the royal shin dig.  Traveled with m daughter to Dothan Alabama.  Recently traveled with my husband to New Mexico for a family celebration.  I have forced myself to do more outside of my comfort zone  in the past 10 months than I have done in the past 5 years.  Because of these excursions, I have seen a more beautiful life than ever.  Sunsets, snow drifts, cactus, an amazing owl that lives on our land, lots of deer.  Even more beautiful are the people that I have spent time with.  My closest family members, old friends, and new friends, church too.

Oh don't get me wrong, I am still a girl to the core and love shopping, clothes, make up and all those superficial things.  This week I got news that made the beautiful life positively glitter.  I am in remission!  No I am not cured.  It will most likely come back, but God only knows when.  I get to stay on chemo to keep myself in remission, with a short drug break from one of my chemo drugs for a couple of months this Spring/Summer.  It may be tacky to see so much beauty in life when you know that you are dying.  But the beauty I see is less fake sparkle and more true beauty.  Less things and more moments.  I had to share this great news with my beautiful life people.  Thank you for sharing in this news.

Leslie

Christmas, what a perfect day

Hello people!  It has been forever since I have posted.  This blog is supposed to be about all the ways you can make life more beautiful. It seems that most of my blogs have been makeup related.  I DO have other things that happen or that I do that I think make for a beautiful life.  So, future posts will be  a little less cosmetic related and more mishmashes topics that I find interesting and think you will find interesting as well.

Recently I watched a show on hgtv that I hadn't seen before.  It was called Donna decorates Dallas.  I found it pretty interesting.  I would watch it again.  Anyhow, they made some feather trees and they Rocked!!!  It was something that totally fit the nitch of making life more beautiful.  So, off to hobby lobby I went.  Once I had my supplies (bags of feathers, a new hot glue gun and a Styrofoam Christmas tree) I went home and whipped one up.  Below you will see a photo of the finished tree.

Feathered Christmas tree

These feathered trees are Victorian in origin.  They started making these trees in Germany in the 1800's.  They made them out of goose feathers and a paper tree form.  The Victorians used black feathers because they considered them to be more elegant.  These trees became a popular and cheap option in the United states in the 1920.  There are antique trees from that time still around and lots of people collect them.  Maybe someday I can get a fortune for my cheapo feather Christmas tree. LOL.  While I am waiting to make my fortune, it is just a tree that decorates my home and give me a more beautiful life.

Should you decide to make one, just let your imagination go wild.  The one I saw on Donna decorates Dallas had feather, leopard skin ribbons, and lots of glitter.  Mine just is fancy feathers.  You can find all sorts of example on youtube, and other craft sites around the web.  Happy Crafting!!!!


Thanks for stopping by missditz-thebeautifullife.com

Leslie

Updates, new products, and Christmas cheer.

Hello People,
It has been a while since I have posted.  Since You last heard from me I have moved (twice, because we stayed with my mom between moving to Colorado and moving into our house)  The whole moving process took a long time.  I have already settled into a routine with my new oncologist.  I have a whole month of treatment under my belt.  So far Parker Colorado is pretty decent.  This country living is an adjustment though.  Everything takes a lot more planning.  When you run to the store it takes half the day to drive to town and do the shopping and return.  You don't just run for a gallon of milk!  Other than making me a better planner, I am hoping this new life helps me to relax more.

It gives me plenty of time to search my favorite sites.  Such as www.limecrimemakeup.com.

Here are a few of our favorite things:  Loop-De-Loop (midnight blue with iridescent sparkle), Cherry On Top (pink-red with rainbow sparkle), Golden Ticket (lamé gold),  Kaleidoscope (plum-purple with turquoise sparkle) and Candy Apple (ruby red with crimson glitter).

Carousel Gloss is Limited Edition and expected to last through the end of winter, so be sure to put it on your Christmas list! Retails at $17. Vegan & cruelty-free.

They are always coming up with new things.  Recently they came out with the candy eyed shadow primer.  This works great as a lip primer too!  But for the holidays they have created a new lip gloss.  The colors are fantastic.  Very whimsical and fun.  I can see myself using the orange and red or even accenting with the gold.  Heck, I might even use the purple.  Blue is a bit bright for me, but I know that there are some brave fashion forward people who read this blog, and for them blue is the bomb!  So, if you are looking for a great stocking stuffer, or a little gift for yourself, it is very affordable at $17 for the whole set!!

Here is a recipe for a drink that you can use for holiday toast.  It is called Christmas cheer.  But you could have it at Thanksgiving.  Remember, Don't drink and drive!

Servings:

9 

per drink

• 1 1/2 fluid ounces green apple vodka
• 1/2 fluid ounce triple sec
• 1 teaspoon grenadine
• 3 fluid ounces cranberry juice

per pitcher

• 12 fluid ounces green apple vodka
• 4 fluid ounces triple sec
• 2 tablespoons grenadine, plus
• 2 teaspoons grenadine
• 24 fluid ounces cranberry juice

Directions:

1. 
   
   Drink makes one and the pitcher makes 8 (unless the drinks are large, then maybe 5-6).
2. 
   
   Mix and serve over ice.
3. 
   
   Happy holidays!

you could probably remove the alcohol and make  a virgin rendition of this drink.
Have a happy thanksgiving.

Leslie

Here are a few of my favorite sites.

Hello People,
I have a confession to make.  I am a purpose driven shopper.  Yes, that's right.  I don't usually like to go shopping unless I have something in my mind.  It is usually something that I have made up in my head.  For instance I may want a shirt and have an image of what it should look like.  I go shopping, and of course I won't find what I want.  There won't be anything that is exactly what I want.  This makes me cranky!  It makes me not want to go shopping at all.  Another confession is that I love presents!!!  When a package arrives in the mail with  my name on it it makes me giddy inside with excitement.  You would thing this would be a temporary rush, but nope.  It is long lasting.  I buy for long term enjoyment.  The clothes I buy are investments to me.  If I buy something to wear I usually go for something classic that can be added to or taken away from and will not go "out of season".  So there are a few retro or vintage type sites for clothes.  Here is a little list of some of the clothes sites I like to shop at. 
Pinup girl clothing is a great site for all shapes and sizes.  It is great for a girl like me who has curves.  You can easily order clothes there and not worry that it will be the wrong size.  There are clothing charts and the outfits are very tailored and stylized.  You will LOVE the retro-ness of the site.  The clothes are very "mad men" looking.  I enjoy day dreaming.  To check it out personally follow the link below:

http://www.pinupgirlclothing.com/

You also may have heard me mention Mod cloth a time or three.  LOL!  My daughter and I really LOVE this site.  There is such a wide selection of fun and funky classic clothing.  You'll also find housewares, jewelery, shoes and other accessories.  They have a blog with recipes, fashion and decorating ideas. It is fun to read, the writers are interesting. There is even a section of vintage products.  It is a popular part of the site.  They get snapped up pretty quickly.   The link is:

http://www.modcloth.com/

The third place on line I like to shop for clothes is Ruche.  It is a beautifully done website with great sections.  There are great clothing varieties, home and office, swim suits, curvy and plus sizes.  It also has an interesting blog to read.  I always learn a little something when I visit the blog. It has great people writing.  The photos and layout are really exciting! 

 http://www.shopruche.com/


It is a bit more expensive than my usual haunt of Target.  http://www.target.com/  They have some pretty fun clothing in their campaign international line.  But it isn't that much more pricy.  When you spend a few more dollars at these sights you will find clothes that have double seams, blind hems, french seams, and beautiful decorative stitching and embroidery.  All high quality items that you can wear for many years because retro never goes out of style.  Style never goes out of style.  Plus Fun clothes are always fun. 

Thanks for stopping by.  Take a moment to subscribe.

Leslie

Fried pasta with sun dried tomatos and artichoke hearts

Hello people,
This is a simple 10 minute meal from start to finish. It is what I call jar cooking or dump and stir. Using the ingredients you keep stocked in your pantry, you can create a bunch of different versions of this recipe. It is super yummy, easy to make and quick!! Enjoy. Also, if you do make your own version, post a video or share the written recipe.

Leslie

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Tee shirt revamp project

Hello people,

I have a project for making over a basic tank top tee shirt.  What I have done is taken a2 yrd tulle trim edging and sewn it it into a a circle by sewing the ends together

Then I have taken a 3/8 inch wide elastic, measured my waist and removed 3 inches.  Taking the elastic and stretching it as I sew, I have sewn it to the the tulle.

By stretching the elastic as I sew a zig zag stitch (at the widest and longest setting) to the tulle, it creates a gather and makes the tulle ruffly. 

After turning the tulle into a ruffled circle I pin it to the tee shirt and then sew using the existing stitch line at the hem of the tee shirt as a reference point to sew the two pieces together. 

Then viola!!  Here is a picture of the finished shrt. 

This is a nice little pop of whimsy to just a plain tee shirt!  I love being a girl.

Can a girl ever have too many ruffles?

Thank you for stopping by to check out this project.

Leslie

Advice on makeup primer and a little advice on life

This is a quick video with a little makeup tip and a bit of advice on living!

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com