Embracing Him

He has made everything beautiful in its time. (Ecclesiastes 3:11a)

Every girl needs her own space right? I have always wanted to have a dressing area in my bedroom with ample space for me to do my hair, apply my makeup, and paint my nails.

My former vanity was the one my mother had as a teen. Though I love that vanity, it was small and becoming overcrowded with all my girly gadgets. I started looking for a larger replacement vanity, but couldn’t find one in the color and size I wanted. In addition, the few I had considered settling for (in desperation!) cost much more than my budget allowed.

What’s a girly girl to do when faced with such a dilemma? Bring her concerns to her loving husband of course! After talking to JT about what I wanted, he agreed that it would probably be next to impossible for me to find a vanity in the size, color, and price range I desired. To solve my problem, he offered to build a simple vanity shelf for me.

At first I wasn’t sure a vanity shelf would look right, but JT assured me that it would. He patiently strolled through Lowes with me while I found the perfect piece of wood. After the wood was cut, he stained it for me, and anchored it to the wall. The result? The spacious, attractive (and inexpensive!) vanity I had dreamed about for so many months!

Once the shelf was up, I was ready to spruce up the area. At the local Goodwill store, I was able to find a few heavy, textured, decorative candy dishes to use as makeup brush and utensil holders. While there, I also discovered a huge, custom-made, cushioned bench that fits under the vanity shelf perfectly. This beauty was a real steal at less than $15!

Now that my vanity is in place, getting ready each day is much easier. All my girly gadgets are in one place and I’ve got room for them all. The area is well lit and spacious. For me, this vanity sure beats trying to beautify in the bathroom under the wrong type of light! For JT, it means my girly glory isn’t spread all over our bathroom.

This simple little creation works well for both of us!

Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. (Psalm 139:16)

From the time I was a little girl, I knew I wanted to be a mother. I have fond memories of mothering my favorite dolls. The first was a beautiful brown baby doll named Love Notes and she was soon followed by a precious bald Cabbage Patch Doll named Heidi Ethelin.  I recall dutifully changing my dolls’ diapers, faithfully feeding them, pushing them in strollers all around our recreation room, and singing sweet lullabies to them. After a full day of doll play, I often dreamed of the day when I would mother a baby of my own.

Now I no longer dream, as God has blessed me with two darling daughters! While carrying Sweet Pea and Sugar Plum, I was amazed by the wonderful work God was performing inside of me. Throughout both pregnancies, I marveled at the miracle of life and thanked God for the gift of motherhood.  Today, as I think about how God chose me to carry, birth, and nurture two of His very finest blessings, I am so very grateful for His love and kindness.

Today, I hope you will be able to join a special woman in celebrating the joys of motherhood and the miracle of life!

The wise woman builds her house (Proverbs 14:1a)

As JT looks around the house, he often remarks about “how much stuff girls have”.  I’d like to say it’s not so, but the truth is JT is right. Let’s be honest ladies…we have lots of accessories and it’s hard for us to part with any of them!

In our bedroom alone, I’ve got a gazillion girly gadgets including, but not limited to, blow dryers, makeup mirrors, baskets, jewelry, and cosmetics. If I’m not careful, all this girly glory can take over a room.

One area that was becoming problematic for me was the storage of cosmetics brushes. Last week I mentioned that I had created a feminine and functional holder for my makeup brushes. It really spruces up my vanity and is absolutely adorable! It works for me and today, I’ll show you how I made it.

Let me begin by saying that as much as I’d love to say this idea is mine, I cannot. I actually learned how to make this wonderful brush holder by watching videos posted by the many makeup mavens on YouTube.

Creating your own brush holder has endless possibilities. Choose a jar shape that suits you or if you’re feeling green, recycle a pasta jar or something similar. Select materials and colors that strike your fancy or match your decor. Some holders use colored sand, while others use pebbles, beads, or even coins to keep the brushes in place. Let your imagination run wild!

Materials:

Jar (size will depend on how tall or short your brushes are and how many brushes you have)
Filler (rice, colored sand, pebbles, glass beads, etc)
Decorative ribbon
Your makeup brushes

Fill your jar with with filler material. Tie ribbon around the jar and stick makeup brushes into the jar. They’ll stand up and stay still.

If you’d like to create your own brush holder, here’s a video to get your creative juices flowing. What creativity…I love them all!