Another Beauty Trick that Really Works

So if there is one beautification thing that I hate doing, its bleaching my teeth. Okay, that's a lie. I also hate blow-drying my hair, waiting for painted nails to dry, etc. Anyways, I want the look of beautiful pearly whites but can't fit my retainers on my teeth anymore (sorry Mom) to be able to even begin to bleach them. But, without fail, the world of Pinterest opened my eyes to an extremely cheap and efficient trick. 


Directions: Dip q-tip in hydrogen peroxide (the key ingredient in white strips) and apply to surface of teeth for 30 seconds before brushing teeth once a day for a few days. 


I was VERY skeptical of putting hydrogen peroxide straight onto my teeth but for the very little effort required I thought, "Why not?" I get a q-tip squeeze the hydrogen peroxide just enough to soak the end of the q-tip and not make a mess. Then I literally rub the peroxide soaked end of the q-tip on the fronts of my teeth making sure to get the edges (where my teeth tend to stain the worst). I technically don't time it for exactly 30 seconds but just leave it on while I grab my toothbrush and apply some toothpaste. Then viola!


Q-tips and hydrogen peroxide cost under $5. I've been doing this for a while now and have had no issues with sensitivity, etc., which is wonderful!! No more wasting hundreds of dollars on expensive teeth bleaching! 


If anyone ends up trying this, I wanna hear about it!

No Lie, This Little Trick Really Works

A couple of months ago, I was in a situation that many ladies find themselves in when its time to purchase a new  form of makeup. For some, the know what they love and its the same thing every time. That's pretty typical for me, except with Mascara. Ugh. I loathe the days that I have to stand in the beauty supply section of a store and literally stare at all the millions of different types of mascara and decipher which is the one for me.


Luckily, at the same time that I knew this awful dreaded experience was just around the corner, Courtney posted about her favorite beauty products. CHA-CHING! As Court's eyes always look perfect, I thought I'd give her favorite mascara a try. It was the one time that I went to the mascara section on a mission, knowing EXACTLY what I was going to buy! 

Bought it, used it, loved it. Then came that period of time when it starts to dry out and leave little black flakes on the skin. ANNOYING. Especially when it starts to do that on a week where the last thing you want to do is run to the store just to buy a tube of mascara? But alas, I had hope! I saw a pin on Pinterest that swore that you could "MAKE YOUR MASCARA LAST 3 TIMES LONGER!!!". Naturally, I thought I'd give it a try. 

The instructions: "A typical mascara dries out before half of it is used. When your favorite mascara starts getting dry, add 4-5 drops of saline solution or eye drops to the bottle. Insert your wand and stir and TA-DA!! Fresh mascara! This can be repeated 2 or 3 times until all your mascara is gone."


Since neither the hubs nor I wear contacts, we didn't have any saline solution so instead I used some clear eyes that I had on hand. It worked! It "re-hydrated" my mascara and I was able to use it about 2 weeks longer with just one dose of the solution! 


This is definitely one trick that I will be using for the rest of my life!!

Restaurant Review: Torchy's Tacos

5921 Forest Lane  Dallas, TX 75230

All I can say about this one is YUM! I was recently introduced to this casual restaurant by a good friend of mine and I frequently crave it!

Food that I've tried and a HUGE fan of:

• Green Chile Queso
• Not your typical queso! Okay, it is like queso but its spicy with a dollop of guacamole in the middle drizzled with some sort of pepper sauce. To die for. Definitely worth extra calories!
• Fried Avacado Tacos
• Again, delicious. I love avocados, so the fact that they made a taco out of them is even better. Good news, it vegetarian friendly.
• Chicken Fajita Taco
• Seasoning on this and the beef fajita taco are impeccable.
• Beef Fajita Taco
• The Republican
• Greg ordered this one last time we were there. Disclaimer: its not ground up sausage but more a sausage link. Greg referred to it as a Mexican Hot Dog. haha! He liked it, but it wasn't exactly what he had in mind when he ordered it!

I don't know much about the history of this restaurant, but when using Google to find the image above, I found that they have sold tacos out of a trailer! Not to mention, you can find one of these in Dallas, Houston, and Austin! If you like gourmet tacos, I don't think you'll be disappointed. 

Sunday Brunches

Today was our first day to ever experience a Sunday Brunch in Uptown! Let me just say, it was delicious and as expensive as one of our regular date nights. Oops.

I know some of you might be thinking, how did they get to do Sunday Brunch in Uptown? Isn't Greg working at a church in Keller (over an hour a way from Uptown)? Well, my friends, its time that I update you on some of the changes that The Foster house has been experiencing.

To make a reaaalllly long story short, Greg was recently given the opportunity to come on board with a missions foundation that raises money to send missionaries and churches out all over the world. It was/is an incredible opportunity to spend some time using his gifts towards something that he is extremely passionate about, while continuing to serve The Exchange DFW. After investing some time doing both jobs, the pastors at The Exchange, as well as Greg, decided that it would be best if he chose to do only one job and fully invest all his time and energy into the job that he chooses. So, that meant that a decision had to be made. Which one do we choose while remaining faithful to what God has called Greg to do as a minister and as a husband and leader of our household?

We spent much time in prayer separately and together and can honestly say that this has been one of the most precious times for us a couple since we have been married. Not only are we still having to figure out this whole being married, sharing a budget, house, food thing, but we truly had to rely on faith and acknowledge that God's Will is what is best for our lives. We had to take a leap of faith. And we had to do it as one.


When we got married, we set Colossians 3 as a precedence over our marriage. There are several reasons why we were drawn to this passage in particular, but v. 17 spoke to our situation:

"And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him"       -Colossains 3:17 

Even though Greg is an extremely talented worship leader, this verse shed light on the fact that Greg is called to glorify God in every situation, regardless of weather he was leading a church or not.

After much prayer, hard conversations, and tears, we truly felt discernment that God was calling Greg to be apart of the mission foundation in Plano. Greg is called to be a minister to the Gospel and has been blessed with a numerous amount of gifts. This new opportunity is not denying his God-breathed talent to lead worship at a church, but is for the first time in 10 years giving Greg a way to use some of the other gifts and talents that he has been given.

Does this job change mean Greg is done leading worship? Absolutely not. We did not desire to leave the people at The Exchange (as this is why the before-mentioned tears were shed) as we truly did form some great relationships with people at that church that we desire to stay friends with throughout the rest of our lives.  At this point in our marriage and our lives, we want to get re-group, and spend some more time focusing on us growing together. I do not feel this is something that we did well in the first 7 months of our marriage so we're taking this opportunity to explore new churches and grow alongside one another.

With that being said, today was the first Sunday since I've known Greg that we either weren't on vacation or he didn't have to work. That means that its been over 4 years since we have had a "normal" Sunday together! We literally don't know what to do. hah! Needless to say, we were able to go to an early service, join our friends in Uptown at Breadwinners (yep, our first time for that too), run some errands, nap, enjoy dinner, do some chores, and literally just have an extremely relaxing day. It was wonderful.

I know it will only be a matter of time before Gregory is called to serve at a church, so in the meantime, I'm cherishing our upcoming Sundays together.

Book Review: The Hunger Games

Yep, I did it. After seeing the preview for this upcoming movie, I jumped on the bandwagon and read the first book of the trilogy. Being a youth fiction book, it was an extremely easy read, and I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN! I managed to leisurely pace myself and finish the book in roughly two weeks, whereas after much convincing, Greg picked up the book and finished it in under 24 hours. It's that good!

I'm not even sure how to really recap the book without A) giving it all away and B) making any sense of what's going on. So, watch the movie trailer and then decide for yourself. But for real... its going to be awesome.

A Season of Lent: Understanding the True Meaning

Image from thevillagechurch.net

Today marks Ash Wednesday, the marked beginning of Lent. Our current culture has decided that it is a period of 46 Days for a bunch of people to attempt to kick an unhealthy habit or try and go without something. Lent seems to be perfectly timed to re-try those New Year's Resolutions that didn't quite get resolved. While yes, it was intended as a time to "go without" certain things, it was more of a time for fasting, which is VASTLY different from just giving something up for a while.

Greg and I are not New Year's Resolution people. They never seem to work and I always seemed to try and come up with something to change because I was "supposed to".  I've given Lent a shot in the past, and have been semi-successful, mainly with my attempt to give up cokes. Yet, again, I was simply "giving up"
things and was totally missing the whole reasoning behind WHY I was giving these things up.

An excerpt from The Village's website gives an adequate description of Lent and why, we as Christians should take part:


The Season of Lent

Lent is about the gospel. It is a time to narrow the focus of the Church to the work of Christ, in particular His life and death, a season to turn from sin and trust in His atoning work.

It is easy to get lost in the cultural caricature of Easter and miss the meaning. Lent is a reminder that the resurrection only occurred after the crucifixion. Rather than skipping over the ministry and crucifixion of Christ, Lent is a season to prepare ourselves for the joy of Resurrection Sunday as we symbolically enter the sorrow and pain which preceded it.

This year, Greg and I have decided to do a little re-fining together and hone-in on the true meaning behind lent. We've committed to go through the Season of Lent study that The Village Church is doing corporately as a body. It's not the kind of study where you read and then show up on Sunday's and hear a sermon that reiterates what you've been studying. The study is designed to do individually, with a spouse or family, or even with a home group. It's a study that will guide us on reading, praying, meditating, and even fasting. Needless to say, I'm excited.

Since this is an individual study, hear me be the first to say that as a couple, we will need and want to be held accountable. We WANT to see this study through to completion and participate on all fronts. It WILL be difficult. We WILL be challenged and the devil will seek every way to distract us and tell us that we're too busy, too tired, in bad moods, etc. So, hold me accountable. Hold Greg Accountable. Hold us accountable together. Maybe that means that you too go through the Season of Lent guide alongside us. Up for the challenge?

An Absence

Okay, I've been guilty again of letting my blogging fall behind. But! There are SEVERAL good reasons as to why! You'll be seeing a real blog on all the updates listed below. In the words of one of my besties, GET EXCITED! Okay, my life really isn't that exciting, but get ready for some new reading material.

1. I was engrossed in The Hunger Games and literally couldn't put it down. Good news, I finished it at a  leisurely pace of two weeks, which can't compete with my avid reader hubby who finished it in less than 24 hours. Yep, it's true.

2. There are several changes taking place in the Foster household! No, don't you worry, no babies are on the way (thank goodness!), but we are both undergoing some changes with our jobs, and therefore our lives!

3. For some reason, I look at my planner and realize that there isn't a lot on the calendar, but I feel like we've been going, going, going without any true rest. But! We will hopefully have a trip to LA booked by the end of the day! Keep your fingers crossed as this will be a much needed time of rest for the Fosters.

4. I've been attempting to finish up some "projects" and crafts in my free time. So far, I've only been slightly successful. Oops.

5. MY BROTHER IS GETTING MARRIED! I'm so excited for him and his now fiance, Lindsey, and literally can't believe it's happening! I'm elated!

6. And alas, a huge inspirational thank you to Courtney who tagged me in a post on her super cute blog and inspired me to get out of my non-blogging funk.

-K