Forever Beloved

Faith, Love & Truth

Homemade Pore Strips

So, I’m a Pinterest lover.  It’s true.  And one thing I love is browsing Pinterest early in the morning with my cup of coffee.

While doing my morning creep today, I came across a pin that super caught my interest.  I have a little girl that is in love with pore strips.  Seriously.  An entire box in a month.  Anyways, when I saw homemade pore strips I was all whaaaaaaat?!?!  I read the ingredients, YES, have them both.  So I was off to my kitchen to try it on myself first.

Ingredients:

  • 1 Tablespoon Unflavored Gelatin
  • 1 1/2- 2 Tablespoons Milk (any kind)

I measured 1 Tablespoon of unflavored gelatin into a bowl then added 2 tablespoons of milk. I mixed the ingredients together until it had a chunky consistency and then heated the gelatin mixture in the microwave for 10 seconds. DO NOT go beyond 10 seconds.

I slathered it all over my face while it was still runny and set back for 15 minutes to let it do it’s thing. You’ll feel it getting tight on your face.  When it starts to crack when you move your face, then it’s time to take it off.

Later in the day I convinced Miss Thing to let me try it on her.

As you can see in the picture below, it also becomes super shiny when it’s ready to be taken off.  Pic on the left is as soon as I put it all over her.  The right is when it was ready to be peeled off.

And that’s where this post will come in handy.  What not to do with homemade pore strips.

Don’t think “Hey, I have gelatin from 15 years ago, I bet it will work just fine”.  While indeed it will work fine, it won’t smell fine.  It’s kinda hard to get away from a yucky smell when it’s smeared all around your nose.

Do not put it on the little hairs by your hair line. When I say this stuff sticks, I mean it. And it will rip your hairs out. Repeat, it WILL rip your hairs out. Which also means do not put it on your eyebrows. And if you do by accident, wash it off later.

Don’t get the fab idea to put it around your lips, thinking it will make them look soft. What you will find out is you actually have little baby hairs around there that will rip out. The pain will make you temporarily blind. And your eyes will water. Lots.

The thicker you put it on, the easier it is to grab a hold of and take off. Also, if you take it off too soon (while it still feels kinda goopy) it’s harder to take off. So make sure you let it dry completely.

Exciting, right? Jade said she felt just like Goldmember when he was peeling his skin off.

Happy Birthday Mama

Happy birthday to my amazing, beautiful, amazing, wonderful, amazing, unselfish, amazing, most awesome mama in the entire world (did I mention amazing)…and thank you for the 1,246,724 things you do for us (and me especially) all year round…we love you insane amounts!!!!!

If it wasn’t for this woman, I would not be who I am today. It is certainly a blessing to be able to say your mother is your best friend. And she is clearly that, my best friend. I live beside her, normally see her every day and talk to her a million times a day. I am truly blessed.

I hope and pray that someday I can be the completely amazing person you are. Just in case you don’t know (and in case no one else ever tells you) you are clearly the BEST MAMA EVER!!!!

10 Ways To Be His Best Friend

Friendship in marriage is truly a beautiful thing to share together. We all have that song in our hearts. The longing to be “best friends”. The melody takes us back to our best friends, the boys and girls we hung out with when we were little – innocent times, free times, fun times. These were when we shared our secrets and our dreams with our bestie. The Lord puts that song in our hearts when we’re married, the desire to be best friends with our spouse. It’s up to us to read the lyrics God wrote for friendship and learn how to apply it in our marriage.

Building friendship in marriage takes a lot of work and time. We have to realize that straight away and commit to it. If it’s something you truly want, the hard work and commitment won’t feel like a big deal at all. I think one important thing is choosing to spend time together rather than apart. Whether it’s taking a quick trip for ice cream or sitting beside him watching football, time together is precious.

So, are you still friends with your spouse?  Do you love spending time together?  Are you best friends?

Be gentle with one another. When Joe’s parents were sick, he spent a lot of time away from home and with them. It would have been super easy for me to let myself get irritated that he wasn’t here. Not only would that have been super selfish but it deffo would not have been what God wanted me to do. God wanted me to comfort Joe, hold him and lift him up in prayer. And that was a time in our marriage when we grew closer together.

Have fun together!  One thing I can say about Joe and I is we can have fun {and laugh ridiculous amounts} doing anything!  We need to make sure we do the fun together too!  Fun is a key ingredient to a successful friendship. No one wants to spend time with a Debbie Downer.  Laugh. And laugh. And laugh some more.

Listen. Friends enjoy talking to each other, but beyond just talking, their ultimate desire is to listen and implement the desires of their partner. Friends learn how their partner thinks by listening to what their partner has to say. Repeating what your partner said to make sure you understand is a great way to build listening skills. You would be surprised when you do this exercise how what men say and what we hear differs.

See what you still have in common. Chances are you will find out you still have quite a few things in common. Find out what the common interests are and explore them together. Joe and I love truck pulls, watching big brother and random road trips.

Put them first! Don’t just let your spouse be a best friend. Make them your most important friend! Your relationship with your spouse should come before any other relationship in your life, short of your relationship with the Lord.

Find out what makes your spouses heart happy.  Find out what makes them smile and what their interests are and explore them together. It might be football, gardening, photography, art or hunting. This is one that takes sacrifice. When I was first married there wasn’t anything I hated more than sports on TV. It didn’t interest me a single bit. But, I have a husband who loves football (the Green Bay Packers to be specific) and a son who plays football sooooo there are lots of sports-ish things going on here. And ya know what, I love sitting beside my husband in the bleachers on a Friday night watching my son play football. I’m trying with everything I have to learn more about the game (this is the sacrifice part) so that I can participate in a convo with my husband while we are watching the game. Turns out my million questions like “what was that”, “why did they do that” and “what does that mean” is more of an irritation.


Make them feel good about themselves! Would you call someone who only makes you feel worthless and insecure your friend? Certainly not. Tell them about their best qualities. Celebrate their wins!

Remember forgiveness + grace. Even the best of friends have a bad day. Sometimes they say hurtful things or disappoint us. Offer the grace in those moments that you’d want in return. If you want a friendship that lasts, a marriage that endures, you must forgive both big & small.
Love them anyway. Isn’t that what best friends are for? Sometimes I’m sassy and hard to love, but thank God my husband loves me anyway!
Never stop dating. My husband and I turn any alone time together into a mini-date. Whether it is running to the grocery store or a quick little ride on the 4-wheeler together. Snuggle in, hold hands and make that time together count.