I’ve never done a post like this but figured it’s as good a time as any since my 25th birthday is on Sunday. I honestly almost completely forgot about my birthday this year. I feel like after you turn 21, there really isn’t much of a change anymore. But still, this is my first birthday as a married woman so it is still exciting!
Since working from home, I have had a lot more time to read new blogs and just research more things in general. Most of these wish list items have actually come from doing just that. I have been able to learn more about health and wellness. I’ve also learned that I have a desire to learn how to do my hair differently, and even try some makeup tutorials.
This post contains affiliate links.
My Wish List Items
Miraqueen – I saw this on a new blogger that I recently came across, Blair and I watched her tutorial on how to use it and it and it just makes the most perfect curls. I really want to learn how to do more things to my hair so I think this is a great start.
Essential Oils Young Living Starter Pack – Of course everyone has heard of essential oils at this point, but I have been wanting to look more into them for the past year or so. I finally took a leap and took an online class over the past few days and I am hooked and have not even tried them yet! I can’t wait to get a starter pack.
Personalized Notebook – I just came across this the other day as well. I just got the Simplified Planner by Emily Ley for Christmas and this notebook matches the planner. I have been wanting to get a newer, more personalized notebook, but I have been writing in one for the past year and can’t justify spending money on a new one until the one I’m writing in fills up. But if someone bought it for me for a present then it’d be more than fine! 😉
Blanket Scarf – I’ve always, always loved this pattern. I saw a scarf just like this before Christmas at Target and loved it. I absolutely adore scarfs in the colder months, they just keep me so warm. I haven’t bought a new scarf in a while though and this one is right up my alley.
The Magnolia Story – I found the show Fixer Upper on Netflix probably about 6 months ago and absolutely fell in love with Chip and Joanna. They’re just too cute and are so awesome at what they do. Then I found out they were Christians and I knew I just had to read their book when it came out. I had this one on my Christmas list as well.
DSLR Camera – I’ve always been interested in photography, and actually wanted to take a class in high school but never actually did. I think it’d be so much fun to have a real camera and learn how to use it. I just wish they weren’t so expensive.
I honestly usually have no idea what I want for my birthday or for Christmas when someone asks me. I’m surprised I was even able to make a list like this, haha. Guess I’ll have to send it out to my family now, since for once I actually know what I want! 😉
What is still on your wish list from Christmas? Have you made a birthday list yet for this year? What’s on it?
Ever since I was a teenager I’ve struggled with acne. During those hormone-filled years, it was much worse than it was once I entered my 20’s, but still, I had acne in my 20’s! I remember being 15 and thinking to myself I can’t wait to not be a teenager because obviously then my acne will go away. But nope. I’ll be 25 on Sunday, and I can finally now say that I have a handle on how to take care of my skin. I thought I’d share what works for me, in hopes I can help someone else too.
How I Used To Hide My Skin When Taking Pictures
But before we dive in I want to show you pictures of me from 2013. I was trying to find a picture of how bad my acne was a few years ago but I of course would not have allowed myself to take a real picture of my skin back then. So instead I will show you how I used to take pictures to strategically hide how bad my skin actually was. (And then at the end of the post, I’ll share what my skin looks like now, for real, without hiding anything.)
These were the only types of pictures I would allow of myself on the internet. The light had to be perfectly hitting my face so that you couldn’t see my skin clearly at all, (I would often take pictures right in front of the window to have that effect), like in the picture to the left. Or I would so heavily edit the picture, like on the right, that you could never tell what my skin actually looked like. So as you can see, my skin was not something I was proud of. But I’ve come a long way and have finally found what works for my skin. The secret is that I have very sensitive skin, which means that I need to treat it as such, even when dealing with acne.
7 Steps To Clearer, Healthier Skin
This post contains affiliate links. This means that the price of the item won’t change for you, but I receive a small commission of the sale if you choose to buy. Thanks for your support!
1 | Use a Natural Face Wash
This step is my secret weapon. I used to use Proactiv and it would work for a while then all of a sudden out of nowhere it seemed my skin would just start breaking out like crazy and for the longest time I could never figure out why it worked for so long and then would just stop. I eventually figured out why and it was because the harsh products that were used in Proactiv would eventually dry out my skin so much that it would make me to break out even more. That’s when I switched to Yes to Tomatoes Detoxifying Charcoal Cleanser and my face almost instantly cleared up. This is an all-natural product that doesn’t have harsh ingredients to dry out my skin. It naturally cleans skin. I was amazed at how clean my skin felt after using this for the first time. It’s like your skin can actually breathe again. I’ve yet to find another product that has given me great results like this one and I really believe that anyone with sensitive skin that also struggles with acne would greatly benefit from giving this product a try!
I generally just wash my face with this before I go to sleep. If I’m going through a period where my skin is acting up more than usual, I will wash my face in the morning and at night. Just be careful not to dry out your skin too much. If using it twice a day dries out your skin too much, only use it once a day or see Step 2!
2 | Use a Non-scented Moisturizer
This is especially important in the dry winter months. When our skin gets too dry, it cracks and lets bacteria in, which leads to breakouts. So the only way to fix this is to moisturize. I use Jergens Soothing Aloe, which works great for me. I used to put it on both morning and night but my dermatologist told me that it was only necessary to use once a day. (Unless you have very dry skin, then use it twice a day until you see improvement, then switch back to once a day.) This is definitely not the only moisturizer that you can use. My dermatologist actually had me using Lubriderm, then I switched to Jergens once it ran out. Any will work, just make sure it is unscented! The scented kind can make you breakout more.
3 | Drink Lots and Lots of Water
This may seem like one of the hardest tips to believe, but it really does make a difference! Drinking more water has changed a lot of things for me over the past year too. It has given me more energy, and has definitely helped in clearing up my skin. When we drink the water that our bodies need, we give them what it needs to flush out the toxins that can cause breakouts. (I’ve linked an article that explains it with more detail if you’re interested.)
4 | Drink A Skin Detox Tea
This is another one of my favorite tips. I absolutely love tea. Almost as much as I love coffee. I usually drink anywhere from 1-3 cups of tea a day, so when I found this tea I was thrilled! Yogi Skin DeTox Tea really helped to start flushing out the extra toxins in my skin, and helped to keep me hydrated as well! Yogi Tea is my favorite brand because it has all natural ingredients, which is so important to me. I drink at least two other flavors by them as well and they are so good! The taste for this particular tea isn’t amazing or anything but it’s definitely not bad. You can even have it iced. I’ve read reviews for it on Amazon and saw that some people prefer it that way. I preferred mine hot though!
I don’t currently drink this now but if my skin tends to have a period where it is acting up more than usual, I will generally pick up a box and have 1-2 cups a day. You can drink up to 3 cups for 30 days.
5 | Change Your Pillow Case Often
This is especially important if you use product in your hair. This is something that I need to really be careful about. I use gel in my hair every day, and what happens is when I sleep, the gel comes off and goes onto my pillow. And since I have such sensitive skin, when I’m sleeping on it all night, the gel causes my face to breakout. When I found this out I was so shocked. It was not something that I would have ever thought to do myself, but it makes so much sense! You might want to change your pillowcase at least once a week, if not every day in the beginning, just to ensure that your skin stays clean overnight.
6 | De-Stress
Sometimes life just gets to be really stressful. Whether I’m just dealing with daily stress or if I’m dealing with the stress surrounding a major life change, stress always affects my skin and how prone to breaking out I am. When I was planning my wedding, my skin was the worst it had been in years. Which was really unfortunate because it did not clear up until after our wedding, but that just proved to me how much stress affected my skin. Sometimes we can’t help being stressed out but what I’ve found can really help is working out. Whether that be just walking a mile every day or going to the gym for hours, just do what’s comfortable for you. It will definitely help improve your skin because sweating gets out the toxins out too!
If working out is just not an option for you, try other ways to de-stress. Take a bath. Read a book. Write in a journal. Listen to some music. Pray. Just do your best to de-stress anyway that works for you!
I know, I know, we don’t need another reason to eat fruits and vegetables and I’m sure you already know this, but I needed to include it because it really does help! Eating fruits and vegetables gives our bodies the resources they need to detoxify our skin. The antioxidants in fruits and vegetables fight against inflammation, repair scar tissue, and also repairs sun damage.
I try to eat fruits and vegetables every day. One way I try to add extra fruit in is to make acai bowls! I really try to have vegetables with dinner as well, and try to plan our meals around whole, real foods, which add antioxidants to our diets.
What My Skin Looks Like Now
As you can see, my skin is not perfect, but it is very clear. These steps really do work, but I will admit that I still do struggle with breakouts every once in a while. If I happen to get very stressed, I will usually breakout more than usual. But these steps have really helped to fight back against my acne and have given me so much more confidence. I really hope they work for you too! Let me know if you try any and what you think/if they worked!
It’s official! I am a full-time blogger and stay at home wife. I can’t believe it. That sentence just brings me so much joy. In my last post, I explained how my husband was waiting on some big news from his job regarding a promotion. We heard back about that job and it was not at all what we were led on to believe it was. At first we were very disappointed and confused. We really felt like God was leading us on a new path. But since the job was not what we thought it was going to be, we weren’t sure how this would be possible anymore. There was a lot of confusion, some anger, and some tears, but God showed up big time like he always does. To make a long story short, Tommy is continuing to work with his dad as a welder, and learning as much as he can about his dad’s business in the coming years, to hopefully eventually take over the business down the road. We are so thankful that everything worked out to an even better plan than we originally thought!
So what that means for me is I get to pursue my dream of blogging full-time! As you can see, there has already been a lot of changes on my blog over the weekend. I ended up switching over to a self-hosting site (which was the biggest headache ever), and was able to customize my blog to finally look the way that I’ve always dreamed of it looking.
Why I Am Choosing To Be A Stay At Home Wife
I know that I keep mentioning that I feel like God is leading me to “stay at home” or “work at home”, so I want to explain a little bit more about what that means to me and why I feel like God is calling me to it.
As a little girl, the one dream that I can remember far outweighing all of the others was being a wife and mom. God answered my long-standing prayer of being a wife on May 22, 2016. It has been a dream since then honestly, but not at all what I thought it would be like. Since then, I’ve written so much about how lost, far from God, and confused I’ve felt. I’ve also written about how much anxiety I have been struggling with since getting married. It honestly didn’t make much sense to me because this is what I’ve always wanted. Why was it so hard?
It took me a long time and a lot of seeking God for it to finally make sense. God showed me that I was feeling so stressed and lost because I had too much on my plate. Working full-time, at a pretty demanding job no less, didn’t give me much time and much less energy to really get things done at home. I always felt like I was behind on my chores around the house, that I was failing at cooking healthy meals, and that I just was always tired and always on edge. Not exactly how you want to feel during your first year of marriage.
This was particularly hard on me because my husband and I believe that as a wife or husband, our first priorities should be our family. This just looks differently for both of us. As a wife, that means to me that it is my job to manage my home, meaning cooking healthy meals, cleaning and organizing our home, etc. While we believe it is my husband’s job to provide. So because I felt such a high call to manage the home, I felt like such a failure because I knew I wasn’t doing this to the best of my ability. (Please note, my husband does help me around the house and I really do enjoy working at home. He does not expect these things of me or get angry with me if I am not doing a good job with them. He always lovingly helps me if I am behind.)
I had no idea how I would ever have the time to do these things well, but when my anxiety got to be so bad, my husband and I felt the only healthy option I had was to quit my job, and seek God as to what to do next. It has been a long, long road but this is why I am choosing to be a stay at home wife and finally feel like I have the time to really manage my home and set the peaceful atmosphere for my husband and guests that I’ve always wanted to.
What You Can Expect From Me + What Topics I Plan To Write About
I’ve always, always talked about wanting to post more on here. I honestly have never posted consistently. I plan to have a post up every day, Monday-Friday! As far as topics, I plan to write about my journey to getting a handle on being a stay at home wife – including things like meal planning, my cleaning schedule, and how I budget. I also want to continue on with the healthy eating series I just started. I want to write more extensively about marriage and what I’ve learned so far. I am also going to start sharing wedding details and sharing our pictures, which I’m really excited about! That’s it for the most part, I plan on sharing book reviews when I have them and as always, what God is teaching me. I’m so excited for this new season and am so thankful to be able to share it with you!
Life has been vastly different for me since quitting my job three weeks ago. I have so much more freedom than I can ever remember having. It can be a little overwhelming sometimes. Other times it can also be super inspiring. I’m learning to lean on the latter. I have so many plans, both big and small, about what I want to do with my time now. The only thing that’s holding me back is uncertainty right now.
You see, as I’ve shared before, my husband is in limbo right now and we are waiting to hear back about a job that we were almost certain he was going to get. (Seeing as the owner of the company told him that he wanted him for the job!) There have been a few hiccups though but we should be finding out very soon what is really going to happen.
I share all that to say that I have been having a hard time finding a “rhythm” as a stay-at-home wife because I am not 100% sure how long I’m going to be able to do this right now. I haven’t wanted to take the time to make a stay at home schedule if it is only a 1-2 month thing, and end up having to go back to work, whether that be part or full time because that would again change my schedule.
When I first started “working at home”, I also was unsure how I was going to like it. It seemed like an awesome fit before doing it because it gave me a lot more time to focus on the things that are very important to me – cooking healthy foods, cleaning our home, setting a relaxing atmosphere, etc. I was very excited for this because I always felt like I never had enough energy to really devote myself to these things. But I remained skeptical because I was very nervous about what others would think, (and I worried that would affect me so much that I would not be able to stay motivated at home), if I would have too much time to do these things and get bored, how it would affect my marriage, etc.
Staying Motivated
All of this has caused me to be confused about how I actually feel about this situation. But I have learned that I definitely could enjoy working from home. I have learned that it is very important to stay motivated as well. For the first few weeks I made a list of things that I wanted to get done around the house while I was at home, but didn’t have the motivation to start them because I felt like I should wait until I found out if I was going to stay home permanently or not first. (Because I wanted to plan out every detail and felt like I couldn’t just yet.)
While most of my anxiety had gone away after quitting my job, I still had some really bad days and I was really confused as to why. One day I was feeling particularly anxious, while I was thinking about one of these projects that I wanted to get done, and I just decided to just jump right into it. Forget planning. Forget having the “perfect” time to get it done. And I felt so much better for the rest of the day. I was actually amazed at how much better I felt.
That day I realized how important it is to stay motivated even when you don’t necessarily have to get something done. It’s so important to my well-being to be able to feel like I can accomplish things. I also have been looking more seriously into blogging full-time and I am getting really excited about that.
What Has Changed Since Being Home
I have much less anxiety.
I have less stress.
I can actually enjoy what I’m doing.
I am much happier.
I feel more “myself” again.
I have more motivation.
I pray way more.
I have a much better relationship with God.
I have clearer skin.
I attribute all of these great things happening to having more time (obviously). I also believe that these things are a result of listening to what God has planned for you. I believe one reason why we experience a lot of stress and anxiety is because we are trying to live a life that God has not intended for us to live. By taking a step of faith and listening to what God called me to do, I believe it opened up these blessing into my life.
Projects That I Have Completed/Want To Complete
I want to also share exactly what I’ve been up to since I’ve been home. Before I quit my job I had projects in the back of my mind that I always wanted to get to but never had the time/energy to do so. Since I’ve been home I have been able to:
I should have taken a before picture … This is much better than it was!
Clean out our bedroom closet (see above picture) – This was the biggest mess you’ve ever seen before I was able to clean it up. I feel so so much better now that it’s done.
Catch up on a lot of deep cleaning – I am still working on this but I did 6 loads of laundry yesterday! (3 loads of regular laundry, towels, sheets, and our comforter!) I was also able to dust and really clean the floor in our room (even under the bed!). There are some more deep cleaning projects that I plan to do within the next week too. (Deep cleaning the bathroom, the cars, and the floors in the rest of the house.)
Organize our drawers – I have not started this but plan to because these drawers are a mess.
Organize the kitchen cabinets/pantry – I want to do this, not because the cabinets are necessarily a mess but because we got a Ninja blender for Christmas and I have nowhere to put it so I haven’t been able to use it! Need to get to this one soon!
As you can see having more time at home has opened the door to me actually being able to feel like I have a handle on what is going on in our home, rather than me feeling like the house is always one step ahead of me. I feel like I can actually manage the home, which is such a great feeling. Once I get all of these projects done, I plan on making a cleaning schedule and keeping up on all of them. Depending on if I am able to stay home going forward I also plan to make detailed meal plans for each meal of the day and am super excited about that! (I will definitely share more about that going forward!) I hope this answers any questions about what I have been up to the past three weeks! 😉
If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that I’m excited for 2017. 2016 was a somewhat tough year but it was the year I became a wife so I will always look back on it with thanksgiving. All that to say though that I am excited for my first full year as a wife, and just a change of pace as the new year begins.
If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that I am working through the devotional Wife After God and am loving it. I think it’s such a great start to the beginning of the first full year of being a wife. What books have you read that were really helpful for your marriage?
If we were having coffee, I’d say that since I quit my job my life feels all out of sorts. I never in a million years would have guessed that God would do something this crazy and flip my world upside down in the best way, but I am learning to embrace the change and cling to God and see where exactly He may be leading me.
If we were having coffee, I would ask you how you find the time to do house work and work full time (if you are a wife and full time worker that is). When I was working full time I always always felt like I was behind on everything. While there was enough time to technically get everything done, there wasn’t enough time to do it all and enjoy it. I wonder if anyone else has that feeling also or if that was just me? Something tells me that that is not how God intends for us to live though.
If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that I got the Simplified Planner by Emily Ley this year for Christmas and I absolutely adore it. I could never stay motivated when I tried to use a planner in the past, but there is just something about this planner that I just love. It’s just so well designed and I just love the encouraging quotes on each page. Do you use a planner? If so, which one?
If we were having coffee, I’d maybe just possibly let you in on a possible dream that I think God may be growing in my heart. I already have known forever that I wanted to work from home, but never thought it a real possibility. But now that I am home I have come across so many people who have made it work so I wonder if it is actually a possibility for me. I wouldn’t know if I should talk about it because it feels too good to be real, but if I’m feeling brave enough I might let you in on that little secret. 😉
If we were having coffee, I’d of course want to know how you are really doing. I’d want to hear your heart and if this new year has been a breathe of fresh air to you. I’d ask how your relationship with Jesus is, and let you in on the fact that I have been spending so much more time with Him than I think I ever have. Having so much free time has opened the door to me being able to spend as much time as I can reading my bible and it has changed my outlook on life, and something tells me this is only the beginning.
Today I’m linking up with Erinfrom Erin Salmon Writes. Come join us!
Hi friends! I wanted to start a little series here on healthy eating. I am always trying to find easy, healthy recipes to make. I’m not at the skill level to make my own recipes, but I hope I will get there eventually!This post does not contain any affiliate links, I just wanted to share a recipe that I find really yummy and hope you will too. 🙂
The first recipe I want to highlight is an Acai Bowl! I’m sure you’ve heard of them before. They have gotten so popular in the last year. They also remind me of summer and I definitely need that reminder on a snowy day like today. I am currently drinking mine pretending I’m on a beach!! I have adapted this recipe from my all time favorite baker. Her name is Rachel, I have linked back to her post at the end. I have also done one other recipe adaption from her website, (although that one is NOT healthy at all) it is SO delicious and my husband and I’s favorite desert.
Use a blender to combine all ingredients and top with whatever toppings you find most yummy. The other half of the banana works great and I usually use granola (as listed). You can also use chocolate chips, any other type of fruit, or even nuts.
Have you ever had an acai bowl before? How did you like it? What is your favorite breakfast?
– I saw this on a new blogger that I recently came across, Blair and I watched her tutorial on how to use it and it and it just makes the most perfect curls. I really want to learn how to do more things to my hair so I think this is a great start.
– I’ve always, always loved this pattern. I saw a scarf just like this before Christmas at Target and loved it. I absolutely adore scarfs in the colder months, they just keep me so warm. I haven’t bought a new scarf in a while though and this one is right up my alley.
– I found the show Fixer Upper on Netflix probably about 6 months ago and absolutely fell in love with Chip and Joanna. They’re just too cute and are so awesome at what they do. Then I found out they were Christians and I knew I just had to read their book when it came out. I had this one on my Christmas list as well.
– I’ve always been interested in photography, and actually wanted to take a class in high school but never actually did. I think it’d be so much fun to have a real camera and learn how to use it. I just wish they weren’t so expensive.
– I saw this on a new blogger that I recently came across, 
– I’ve always, always loved this pattern. I saw a scarf just like this before Christmas at Target and loved it. I absolutely adore scarfs in the colder months, they just keep me so warm. I haven’t bought a new scarf in a while though and this one is right up my alley.
– I found the show Fixer Upper on Netflix probably about 6 months ago and absolutely fell in love with Chip and Joanna. They’re just too cute and are so awesome at what they do. Then I found out they were Christians and I knew I just had to read their book when it came out. I had this one on my Christmas list as well.
– I’ve always been interested in photography, and actually wanted to take a class in high school but never actually did. I think it’d be so much fun to have a real camera and learn how to use it. I just wish they weren’t so expensive.
and my face almost instantly cleared up. This is an all-natural product that doesn’t have harsh ingredients to dry out my skin. It naturally cleans skin. I was amazed at how clean my skin felt after using this for the first time. It’s like your skin can actually breathe again. I’ve yet to find another product that has given me great results like this one and I really believe that anyone with sensitive skin that also struggles with acne would greatly benefit from giving this product a try!
, which works great for me. I used to put it on both morning and night but my dermatologist told me that it was only necessary to use once a day. (Unless you have very dry skin, then use it twice a day until you see improvement, then switch back to once a day.) This is definitely not the only moisturizer that you can use. My dermatologist actually had me using 
, then I switched to Jergens once it ran out. Any will work, just make sure it is unscented! The scented kind can make you breakout more.
really helped to start flushing out the extra toxins in my skin, and helped to keep me hydrated as well! Yogi Tea is my favorite brand because it has all natural ingredients, which is so important to me. I drink at least two other flavors by them as well and they are so good! The taste for this particular tea isn’t amazing or anything but it’s definitely not bad. You can even have it iced. I’ve read reviews for it on Amazon and saw that some people prefer it that way. I preferred mine hot though!
