"....I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." ~James 10:10~

Thursday, March 31, 2011

{Introducing BE RADIANT Hand and Body Scrub!}

Be Radiant 100% All Natural “Sunny Days” Hand and Body Scrub My scrubs are made from 100% ALL NATURAL ingredients and I mix each batch myself. Safe enough to eat---it contains my special blend of several pure, high quality 100% natural oils and lots of other “good for you” goodies to make your skin feel brand new!


You will get exfoliated, moisturized, relaxed, and pampered in just one easy step.


Available scents:

All natural

Lavender

Orange

Peppermint

Cinnamon


Each 8 oz. jar comes with a pretty ribbon and twine bow and a nice tag, complete with instructions on how to use. Makes a great gift! 2 for $10 or 1 for $6 . If you'd like to place an order, leave a comment below, facebook me, or email me at lauramrada@yahoo.com


THANKS!!!


Love,

Laura

Friday, March 18, 2011

{La-la-la-la-la-Lasagna!}

Hello!!!
and.....I'm so....happy!

Lots of GOOD things have already happened (or will be happening:) today:

1. God woke me up and gave me another GORGEOUS day to enjoy! We each wake up to a gift first thing in the morning---what a WONDERFUL GOD we serve!

2. I'm going to have lunch with some of my FAVORITE peeps today! Happy Early Birthday Lisa and Leslie!

3. Trav called and told me our laptop was repaired and upgraded to last another 5-10 years for just $50! Yay!

4. I found this cell phone holder in some junk being thrown away at work and I must admit it's pretty handy:) I've become "Mrs. Cell Phone Holster Wearer"....if you haven't seen this you MUST google it! FUNNY!

Lots of GREAT THINGS!

Speaking of GREAT THINGS....I gotta brag on this lasagna Molly made!
She used Buddy, The Kitchen Boss's, traditional familly recipe and it was DE-VINE!
Look at all the layers---nommmm! Mo is becoming quite the chef!

I won't be back 'til Monday because this weekend is jam-packed busy with Ali's Pageant, Church, and Makayla's 1st Birthday party---and I can't wait!

Oh---and Sunday, in honor of the 1st day of spring, you can get a free italian ice at Rita's from 12-9 pm!


Have a FABULOUS FRIDAY!


Love,
Laura


22 Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”

~Lamentations 3:22-24

Thursday, March 17, 2011

{Create: CHEAP Easter Wall Art!}

Top of the Mornin' to ya!

I DID NOT wanna get pinched today...

...so I thought green fingers and green toes might do the trick! PLUS--a green outfit---just to be on the safe side:)

Wanna see my $1.50 Easter Wall Art?

First, notice the square shaped plate hanging about my stove---
I just bought two pieces of super cute Easter scrapbooking paper for 59 cent each and covered the plate. I used tape to wrap it like a present:)

Then, I cut out a circle from my other piece of paper for the middle and taped it on. I finished it off with two Easter egg stickers and a flower left over from my dishtowel project.

TADA! New Easter Wall Art!
The paper says "Happy Easter"!
I'll just unwrap it when I'm finshed with it and hang my plate back on the wall:)
This is TOO EASY not to try yourself!
Love,
Laura
P.S. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

{Create: Homemade Spring Kitchen Towels!}

Time to Create!

Fun! Fun! Fun!

Supplies Needed:

1. Hot Glue Gun

Your secret weapon to creating something cute QUICKLY and EASILY! I couldn't live without a hot glue gun!

2. A spool of pretty "springy/Eastery" looking ribbon. I got mine at Hobby Lobby for $1.50. It was 40% off:)

3. Plain towels. I got these for $1 each at Dollar Tree. I loved the colors they had to choose from.

4. Some kind of embellishment. I found these flowers for 39 cent each at Hobby Lobby.

Now, if your glue gun is smokin', you're ready to start! Actually, if your glue gun is REALLY smoking, you might wanna replace it soon:) That was just a figure of speech:)

Literally, all you do is glue a strip of ribbon across the front and then glue on your embellishment. It's THAT EASY!

What do you think?
Cute, Simple, Cheap, Easy, and only took about 10 minutes!
My sisterfriend, Mo, has a blue kitchen so I grabbed the blue one for her:) They would make GREAT gifts for Mother's Day which is right around the corner! Or teacher's gifts for Easter:)

Spring/Easter Kitchen Towels Complete!
Moving on to project #2....
I needed to decorate a big candle holder for spring. I love this candle and had it in the back room for awhile because I just didn't have anywhere for it. I decided to dig it out and put it on my dining room table.
First, I opened a bag of stick-on Easter eggs that I found at Hobby Lobby for $1.50. They were also 40% off.
Next, I tied on a big bow from the spool of ribbon I used earlier.
Then I stuck some Easter Eggs around the edges on on the bow---and TaDa!
Festive-looking in 5 minutes flat!

Tonight's craft project is a new Easter plate to hang above my stove. I'm going to browse around Hobby Lobby later for some inspiration:) Fun! Fun! Fun!
Happy Creating!
Love,
Laura

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

{Restaurant Review: HoneyBaked Ham!}

On really dreary, rainy days I LOVE getting out of the office for a lunch break with friends! Leslie suggested Honeybaked Ham and to be honest, my first thought was---YUCK! I don't even really LIKE ham and it just sounded...less than appetizing. But BOY WAS I WRONG!!!

Tip#1: NEVER leave home without "The Little Coupon Book". In it you'll find TONS of great coupons for eating out. I usually pick mine up at a gas station near my house at the first of the month.
I found this coupon for Honeybaked Ham and it was a BARGAIN!
So....let's just go on in and see what this place is all about:)
The atmosphere is quiet and quaint, perfect if you just wanna have a nice relaxing lunch break...which was exactly what I wanted! A friend of mine was working the register so that was a nice surprise, too! I chose the Turkey Bacon Ranch sandwich combo. It came with whole grain bread and I left off the ranch and cheese (to save calories:) but kept the bacon because it was DELICIOIUS! The sandwich was HUGE and I was pleasantly full when I finished:)
Leslie was happy too! Thanks for this wonderful suggestion!
I got sunchips, a big ole homemade cookie and a drink with my sandwich...
...for $5.39!
I haven't found a fast food lunch yet for $5 that can compare to that!
If you're like me and thought you wouldn't like it, give Honeybaked Ham a chance...It's DELICIOUS!
And it's so FAST that I had time to stop by Dollar Tree and Hobby Lobby to pick up some crafting material---I'm gonna whip up a new Easter project tonight!
Love,
Laura

Monday, March 14, 2011

{Holy Chicken!}

I had a regular chick-fil-a combo for lunch today (I usually get grilled and pass up the fries) and unfortunately I didn't review the nutrition facts until AFTER I had already scarffed it down. Sadly, I ate 900 calories worth of fried food! Yikes! I WILL NOT be doing that again anytime soon!

*Info courtesy of Chick-fil-a *

Chose any product from the list on the left to view nutrition totals.
My Meal
Chicken Sandwich
Waffle Potato Fries medium
Polynesian Sauce
DELETE ITEM CLEAR ALL PRINT
Total
900 Calories
42g Fat
8g Saturated Fat
0g Trans Fat
60mg Cholesterol
1790mg Sodium
95g Carbohydrates
8g Fiber
11g Sugar
34g Protein

I could just smack myself! However, the damage has been done, and healthier choices must be made in the future!!!

So...here's to eating very lightly tonight!

Love,
Laura

{Weekends were made for FUN!}

Where do I start???

There was SO much going on this weekend that I barely had time to breathe:) But it was AMAZINGLY FUN!!!

I got to do pageant interview makeup for a friend of mine, Brittney, from my church at home.... She's a GORGEOUS girl so it took no time at all!
Isn't she BEAUTIFUL! We kept her look simple---deep plum eyeliner, bright blush, pink shadow and pink lips. She's such a sweet girl!!! My lil sis, Ali, curled her hair, and I think she did a FAB job!
Later, we went to the middle school pagaent to support my fruzin Morgan and all the other gals we knew from church:)
The sistah-friends had lots of fun!
Here is Morgan doing the opening number....
---and us getting our picture made with her afterwards! She was BEAUTIFUL and I'm so proud of her. She is kind, funny, gorgeous, and christ-like...it doesn't get much better than
this girl! We love you Morgan!!!!

I wish I had a picture of my friend Brittney too but I don't:( I'm hoping her mom posted one on facebook!
My sister Ali is competing in the Miss ECCHS pagaent this coming weekend---Good Luck Ali!!!!
Last night we had a party at Travis's grandparents house for his brother Patrick. He has recently gotten a new job and he is about to spread his wings:) He will be working at a very nice and prestigious Golf Club in North Carolina.
Yay for P Rada!
So, in his honor, Bette put on a delicious spread---
A platter of mini-desserts---
---and lots of other yummy stuff that was gobbled up before I got around to taking a pic:)
Travis and NunNun
The Guest of Honor:)
Ken and Bette
Patrick opening some gifts to help get him started in his new place:)
Tim, Vanessa, and Hunter
Patrick loved his new towels from the Burgess family....
...hehehehe!
We had lots of fun being silly and spending time together....and taking our blood pressure with NunNun's new monitor. That entertained us for hours! It doesn't take much....lol!
Happy Monday Everyone!!!
Love,
Laura

Saturday, March 12, 2011

{So like me....}

Yep...I knew this would happen because it's just SO LIKE ME....

I'm already off my makeup kick---I get into something so intensely for a few days, weeks, ect. but then all the sudden I'm just not that interested in it anymore and I'm ready to move on to something else:)

So since I've lost interest, if I told you I would do a makeover for you and you still want me to, I'll be more than happy too:) Please just leave me a comment so I'll know who you are. If you DON'T neccesarily want one and just volunteered to be a good friend and help me, then THANKS but I'm just putting this hobby on the back burner for a little while. I have SO MANY things I need to be doing and putting effort into that DESERVE more of my time and energy right now.

So----I'm sure my next interest is sure to pop up soon....and you know I'll tell you all about it:)

You guys keep BEING RADIANT!

Love,
Laura

Friday, March 11, 2011

{I admit it...}

I was WRONG!!!

I was so excited about yesterday's extravagant purchases that I couldn't wait to use them this morning. I was LESS THAN IMPRESSED with the results:(

For years I have KNOWN that most drug store cosmetics perform VERY WELL for everyday use (If you are shooting for a magazine or something, then you might wanna bring out the big guns (aka the really expensive stuff) but for me....I'm going back to my drug store favorites:) Considering my mom is, in my opinion, one of the most BEAUTIFUL women in the entire world and has used nothing but drug store brands her whole life, I REALLY should've been more wise:)

The concealer, which cost $18, was so similar to the one I've been using that cost me around $6 so it's going back to Ulta. I truly did not think it was any better, once I put it on my face, than any others I've ever tried.

Secondly, the Stila highlighter....it is very pretty but for $22 I can get a wet and wild product very similar for SO MUCH LESS!

Lastly, the Benefit powder was the product I was MOST happy with:) It went on so smoothly and really feels lightweight, like you aren't wearing any makeup at all. BUT....it cost a whopping $32 so it is probably going back too...my covergirl compact is about 90% as good but about 80% cheaper:)

I can't believe I fell for the consumerism and marketing tricks! Ugh! I read several books recently that all insisted that the higher dollar products were MUCH BETTER but after a quick look back...I think it's because they want you to buy THEIR PRODUCTS! I figured those guys out!

So, I'm taking my "they got one over on me" booty to Ulta for a quick refund and a clean slate!

Happy Bargain Hunting!

Love,
Laura

Thursday, March 10, 2011

{We belong together!}

EEEEK!
Excitement Overload!
See my big smile----I treated myself to some luxurious and much needed items today. I might have to start waiting tables part time because I found LOTS more than I wanted for my makeup kit! Hehe! (But seriously!)
When you spend alot shopping during your lunch break, you must compensate with a cheap (but still pretty healthy) lunch....

---$2.46, you can't beat that!

So, you wanna see what's in my bag???

New Product#1 Smashbox concealer in 02. It was $18 but it was SO WORTH IT! I tested it on my hand and instantly knew it was exactly what I was looking for. Blendable, lightweight, oil-free and a natural color. Not all people need oil-free products but I do:)

New Product #2

Stila all over shimmer duo
The perfect highlighter for cheeks, eyes and on the cupid's bow of the lip...a little trick that instantly makes your upper lip appear plumper:) It was $22 but since you only need a DAB it should last awhile.

New Product #3

Sorry it's sideways:) Benefit "Hello Flawless" custom powder cover up---I'm in love! It had the perfect yellow undertones to match my skin and covered flawlessly when I tested it on my wrist (which is the place you should also test cosmetics since it's closest to your face's color) I don't wanna tell you how much this one cost because my husband might read this...hehe! Think of it as an investment in YOU!
We really DO belong together:)

I have been trying to save money by buying cheaper stuff for my face but it really does't make much sense. Spend as much as you can afford on a REALLY good concealer, foundation, and highlighter because the pricey one's have more pigments, staying powder, and you need less to look FABULOUS! Save money by buying less expensive eyeshadow, blushers, (although you need atleast one GOOD blush) lipsticks, and glosses.

Now...Wish me luck finding that part time job!

Be Radiant!

Love,

Laura