True Jeans dot com

So I'm a curvy girl with a little bit of pa-dunk-a-dunk going on in the back there (or maybe it's pa-donk-a-dink for you?) and I find jeans really quite unflattering. I'm either left with a unibum or muffin top, neither of which are particularly delightful.

Also, my wishes, dreams and manipulating prayers for the transference of large bum mass up to small boob area haven't worked either. You'd think that would be an easy fix really, I mean it's seems like quite a simple procedure!

Today I stumbled upon http://www.truejeans.com/ to look at some Little in the Middle jeans (LiM). Well already I was excited about LiM jeans as they describe themselves as being created for

'women with small waists and curvy hips. These jeans are a natural fit for pear and hourglass figures who desire form, fit and fashion. No more gapping at the waist!'

YIPPPPPEEEEEE! I have never found a pair of jeans specifically for white females with the small waist & wide, large, baby-birthing hips combo before.

So that was an exciting moment.

THEN - get this peoples - I realise the website I'm on (http://www.truejeans.com/) has a mantra of finding your 'true fit'.
'Buy Jeans that Fit'?! Not a concept I am used to.

I measured myself with their PRINTABLE measuring tape (yes I said printable!) and plugged in my info. So far they have paired me up with several $150.00 jeans. So now we know the truth - it hurts the chequebook to be beautiful. As soon as signing up they sent me a 10% off coupon code to use within one week. I guess that's something!

At least I know which styles to look for on clearance now! Thanks True Jeans!

Anyway, if you're someone who has a bit of trouble finding jeans that flatter, try this place out - it could be life changing!

Love Gracielicious

P.S. For all you males out there - don't feel left out! They want to help you find your perfect fit too.

Homemade Deodorant

When I saw this post on Lifehacker it perked my interest! I'm always looking for a non aluminium deodorant and the ones available can be quite pricey and not particularly effective.

With the option of adding any kind of essential oil, the possible combinations could be endless!

To start you will need the following:

1/4 cup corn starch

1/4 cup baking soda

2 tbsp coconut oil

2-3 drops of essential oils (optional)

2-3 drops vitamin E (optional)

empty container for new deodorant

Start by mixing the cornstarch with the baking soda.

Then add your choice of essential oil - some good options are teatree, sandalwood, lemon, lavender & neem. Of course if I would add vanilla & chocolate flavours if they had them, i mean who wouldn't want chocovanili scented armpits?!

Now add 2 tbs of coconut oil and a few drops of vitamin E oil (for skin softening purposes). They mention on the website to buy coconut oil with the high melting point rather than the medium kind.

Mix up the ingredients until they start to form a lovely silky mass, sort of like melted white chocolate (most my analogies are to chocolate, fyi).

I felt my mixture was a little toooo silky so I added equal amounts of cornstarch & baking soda to thicken it up.

At this point I was ready to pack it into my container.

And you're done! How easy was that?! You can make personalized deodorant with the items in your pantry. Allow this to set for a couple of days before using.

Don't forget to add a label so your deodorant is easily recognizable!

'Help for Grace's Stinky Pits!
apply liberally...often!'

For the original article please follow this link.

Chai Tea Latte

So I really quite enjoy lattes.

Chocolate is divine, English penny sweets are delicious & salt n' vinegar crisps make my mouth water.

But, hot drinks are my weakness!

On the Samovar website they had a step by step on how to make homemade lattes.

Right up my street! Tea-street that is.

So today I'm going to make my own and try this out. It seems really quite easy as there are only a few simple steps.

First off, I chose my tea. You can use tea bags as I am, or loose tea. I went with tea bags so I didn't have the extra step of straining out the leaves.

Then I combined equal parts of water & milk. If you're going to make a 16 oz latte then you want half that to be liquid. When you blend ice with the mixture it will end up being 16 oz. Therefore, you'll need 4 oz water & 4 oz milk.

Also, feel free to use whatever kind of milk you like. I chose regular milk as these lattes will also be partaken by my husband who would instantly sniff out Almond Milk if I used it.
I mean the thought of using Almond Milk! How dare I.

I decided to make a big batch to last the weekend, so went all out with 16 oz of each. I know! Wild & crazy up in this here kitchen.

So next I combined the liquid and brought to a boil in a saucepan. Then I added the tea bags to stew for about 5 mins. Stewing times may vary depending on your personal preference of tea strength. (Did you know that some really strong teas offer bodyguard protection?)

Then I added the sweetener (which can also be done before you add the tea).

My personal sweetener of choice is Stevia.

Where's waldo!

When I felt happy about the strength of my tea, sweetness levels etc I whipped out my little frother and went to town!

So I stopped there as I fancied a hot latte. But at this point you could pour over ice or blend with ice to make a frap!

So go save yourself $4 and make some of this stuff right this second!

I demand it.

If you want to check out the original article please follow this link

Namaste

The Giver

The Giver by Lois Lowry


My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I LOVED THIS BOOK! First off it's short and sweet and really easy to read (a nice break from the deep soul-searching stuff I've been reading lately). The twists at the end almost knocked me over! AND I would have cried if my brother and husband weren't in the room with me. BUT, having said that I almost cried at the latest American Express advert on the tv about Entrepreneurs, so take that with a very large truckload of salt.

Thanks Amanda R. for sending it my way! x

View all my reviews >>

Emotionally Healthy Spirituality

Emotionally Healthy Spirituality: Unleash the Power of Authentic Life in Christ by Peter Scazzero


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I learnt so much! Having come from a cult where my view of the Lord was so warped and twisted, this book really straightened me out. Helped me to see the way people use the Word for their own benefit and how the church can pretty much make things up! It also helped me to heal the hurts I had endured but also take responsibility for my part in joining a congregation like that; one where God isn't given the glory He deserves. Like a counseling session wrapped up between two hard covers!

So very thankful to Jane for sending it my way.


View all my reviews >>

My Birfday!

I am now 26.

Over that hill and on my way to that place called '30'.

Ooooooweeeeeeee.

To celebrate I violently took the weekend and made it all mine!

To start, we went to Matilda's in downtown Alpharetta. It's an art gallery where every Friday night they have live music. This week was bluegrass! It was so great! They had a upright bassist, mandolin, banjo, guitar & violinist. They all squeezed round one mic and harmonized. We went with Debbie, Danny & Jim from my old job in Roswell.

Oh and not forgetting our mate Clevenger who joined us for the evening (Kimmy was visiting family in Chicago)

For the last song they moved out into the crowd for some jigging and jiving!

Saturday afternoon saw Davey, Justin & myself in the theatre to watch Transformers!

We LOVE movies!

Then, folks, oh my...the following pictures might stir some emotion (some tasty food). We went to Roy's Hawaiian Fusion for my birthday dinner from Daddy (he's currently in Australia working a project)

During the course of the evening I experienced different levels of emotion.

Original Hawaiian Martini - GLUG

Shrimp Lumpia - HMMMM, YUM

Justin's Filet - MELT IN YO MOUF

My Pecan Crusted Trout - SPEECHLESS

Chocolate Souffle - COMPLETE DISILLUSIONMENT

*grace started questioning who she was, her name, where she was, what was she doing etc*

This is Molten Chocolate Souffle. I don't know how to say this without coming across a bit strong:
IT WAS ABSOLUTELY BLOOMIN' DELICIOUS!

Dave and I, the chocolate lovers, were wondering how we were to go on with our lives having just experienced something so DELECTABLE. I mean Roy, come on, you just can't do that!

Here's my lovely Macadamia Nut Pie. TOISTY.

After this we rolled on out of Roy's and made our way home.

Chocolate covered twinkie time!

After lunch at West Egg on Sunday, Annie & Brenton took us over to Atlantic Station for my birthday treat.

Yep, they've done it. Made the most rich, sickly sweet dessert in history.

One bite is all it takes.

Then, Sunday night, the girls and I went out to the Clay Cafe in downtown Roswell. We painted and chatted for a few hours - it was the greatest!

All in all, probably one of the best birthday weekends the world has ever seen. It could only have been improved if my Mumma could have been there!