Avon.

I am an Independent Avon Representative and I would love to serve you with your orders for Avon and Mark.

I have a few options for you to place an order!

You can e-mail me at sara.e.curran@gmail.com
If you prefer to order by phone, please e-mail me first and I will send you my number. I would be happy to provide you with a hard copy of a brochure!

I also have the option of online ordering. You can also have your items directly shipped to your address. Please check out www.youravon.com/saracurran

You can also view an ebrochure for that campaign off of my website, no matter which way you decide to order!

Check back frequently for a spotlight on campaign favorites! 

Campaign 5 favorites:

Gel Eyeliner- Apply with a brush! Long-stay. Comes in metallic shades. 50% off until March 15th

Lipstick inside a gloss! Also 50% off until March 15th. You can't beat $4.99

Mark. maxi dress. Can't even express how much I love this one. On sale for a limited time!

Great animal print sandals. Also 50% off for a limited time!

New Item! Mark. "I'm Hooked" bracelet. Love these!

I am just amazed by the wide selection Avon has to offer. Please feel free to ask me any questions anytime you need! Happy to serve.

Happy Friday!

{S}

Pregnancy & Lymphedema

I am coming up on one year. To read my story and diagnosis, click here.

29 weeks and peering over my belly to see my feet. You can hardly tell my left leg is the one affected in just my toes- wrapping does help.

I decided I am able to be vulnerable about this. I am human and it's a part of life.

In the beginning, I figured, "Hey- better me than someone else". I assumed any maturity I have accummulated over the years would come in valuable in this situation. I started out with hope and faith that this was a temporary situation and would be healed in no time. It's quite difficult to stay positive. I need to remember to count my blessings. No one is hurting and no one is dying, but it's still hard.

I think back to year ago from right now. Why did I take my ankles for granted? Sounds hilarious and silly, but it crosses my mind. I never thought I would envy other women's ankles. Again, silly. March hit and my reality changed. Worrying about something you never thought would be a problem.

Swelling has gone up and down. I have good days, and I have bad days. I have days where I want to cry about it, and days I think I have only been made stronger. I am blessed it's as minor as it is.

The hard part is being a 23-year-old and wishing I could flaunt my ankles in some heels or some flats. Only on my good days I can wear certain boots. Wrapping and compression socks become old. My husband gently reminds me at night, "You need to wrap your foot". I can only respond with, "but I just want to be normal..."

I thought the swelling would get a lot worse while being pregnant. Some days I have no definition in my ankle, and some days I almost look normal. Recently I have had some swelling in my other ankle. My attempt at good humor is a response of, "At least they sort of match now".

I fight for my son in prayer- I pray it wouldn't be hereditary for him. I hope he never has to deal with it. I would gladly keep it just so he wouldn't have to deal with it in his future.

All I can say is I am grateful for being pregnant in the winter. Long pants and big boots. I am thankful it is nowhere near to what it could be. I am still waiting on my miracle- it will come in one form or another. Faith like a mustard seed right?

I regularly wonder- is there someone out there just like me? A twenty-something with lymphedema? If there is- I would love to meet you.

{S}

Dear Future You...

I wish I could say that I wrote this; no better words. I'm that cheesy single female who prays for my future husband. 

This letter levels me out... keeps me grounded and in check with  guarding my heart. I thought I would share this beautiful letter with the rest of you. 

 

dear future you,

    i know that these words don’t bring you to life. you are very much alive. these words don’t make you anything new. you are very much made. created and formed; beautifully thought out.

    every blink, every bone, every mistake.

    because you are very much you, and you are somewhere out there, i think of you often. and don’t worry- i don’t think of you in ways that build you up into perfection. you’ll never fit inside of a list. in fact, the sum of your flaws and your scars- the times you lost yourself, lost your love, the bitter questions and the ugly realizations- these make you more of a man than any false expectations women dream of.

    you are real, and when i find you i will love you at your very least.

    i think of you most in the details. the small, passing moments that i know deep down were created with space for you. the silence in the elevator. the passenger seat. the one missing quarter i needed for the meter. yesterday morning’s extra free latte. the curves of my sleep patterns and the folds of my hands.

    these moments miss you as much as i do.

    i don’t know what you’ll be, but i love who you are. i hope from the day you meet me i can convince you of that. i hope you will know regardless of how you change, i am in love with all of the in-betweens and transitions, all of the better and worst, because i am in love with your core.

    i hope i can do a good enough job of giving you the respect you need. i hope when your character is questioned, your faith is small, and your strength is not what you pretend it to be, that the thought of my admiration for everything you are is your backbone.

    i want you to understand when you meet me that i have been torn apart. in the search for you, i have made just as many mistakes. at my own allowance my heart is not as pretty as it started out- but i am making renovations. the love of god, and the thought of you, is healing me. i have been slowly stitching the pieces together, and learning how to guard what is left. i am fully aware that this won’t make our love easy, but its just as true that easy doesn’t make love.

    god has been showing me what love actually looks like.

    when i look at him, i see how massive his heart is- and in turn, how small my love is. i’m so thankful i have fallen for him before i found you, because he is making my love grow large. he’s also shown me that hurting is healing, and something can hurt and be good all at the same time.

    and i promise when we have each other, my love will be so big it will hurt us both.

    there’s no one like you.

    every laugh, every cell, every eyelash, every vein.

    i’m here waiting, and i love you without even knowing you.

-Unknown

{L} 

And so the blonding begins...

My dark red-headed friend is ready to be lightened up... blonde wise, that is. 

For fall, most people like to go a more darker hair color. Than, once the holidays are over and people start wanting the warm weather, we tend to lighten up the hair color. 

My good friend Molly has started her lightening process with a fun girls' night in with sweatpants, chipotle, starbucks and a movie. 

Here's some before pictures

I packed in a TON of enlightner foils, keeping it fairly blended all at the same time. 

Here's our end result

I do LOVE it... If I do say so myself!

If you are ready to lighten up a bit, you know where to find me!

Student #86838!

{L}

A Little More Natural - DIY

I know that our bodies come in contact with hundreds of chemicals per day. Sounds a bit crazy right? Not really. Read the ingredients in your shampoo, your body wash, your tooth paste, and any other daily regimen product you use for starters.

While it's next to impossible to get away from all of these chemicals completely, I try to go natural in as many ways as I can. For starters, I try to choose bath products that are paraben and sulfate free. It is possible to find these products at places like Target and Wal-Mart for a low price.

Another one that has me worried is deodorant. Previously, I would try to limit using it everyday and follow the guidelines-  like not using it for 8 hours after shaving your underarms. I don't like messing with the lymph system especially with my lymphedema- and since you have cluster of lymph nodes right in your underarm area, I cringe thinking about applying regular deodorant to my underarm.

I began trying out different natural options, and found some good ones. I really like Trader Joe's  (they use cotton fiber) crystal sticks (natural form- you wet the top to use), and Lush has some great natural options. On to my absolute favorite.

Enter Grandma's brilliance. She one day decided to whip together some DIY deodorant for me. She had been using it for years. I hope you can handle it's complexity. If you have some ingredients in your kitchen you will be ready for this.

Here are the ingredients you need. Ready for this?

1.)

source

2.)

That's it. You say I am kidding. I promise- I'm not. You use equal parts to make as such as you like. Grandma dips her finger into water and then into the mixture. I go just go right for the mixture and directly apply. The only problem is it can be messy since it is powder!

It will help with all your deodorant needs. Now if you are a heavy "sweat-er" this might not be the best option, but I wouldn't discourage from trying it.

I love using this and being pregnant as well- I can know what is being put on my body and it won't potentially harm my little one! One more way to avoid chemicals!

{S}

Partying with A Bowl Full of Lemons

Estate Sale Find

If you remember all the way back to my Craft List, the last item (and favorite item) was taking old, used, vintage pieces of furniture and refurbishing them.

A couple sundays ago, my friend Elisa, mama and I went to an estate sale in our neighborhood. First off, I'd like to note that estate sales are a little weird. wasn't a fan.... EXCEPT that I found this little treasure for 1$. 

And now, after a couple weeks of this smoky smelling stool sitting in my bedroom, it was time to revamp!

First things first... unscrew the legs and take off the gross leather!

 Now, to start my project!


I needed new cushion for my stool and found some cut up egg crate in my basement. I doubled that up and cut it to the exact shape of the wooden piece.  For extra added cushion I stuffed some pillow fluff in between the two egg crates... the more the merrier.

My mom had found some fabric she liked online and bought a yard or two of it. She wasn't sure what she was gonna use it on, so she let me use some for this stool (can't go wrong with free). It just so happens to go perfectly with my decorations!

She also had some left over piping she had used on outdoor furniture last year. Grabbed a hold of that for around the stool.

So... goes to my next step... Cut out your pieces. 

I started off by making the piping and sewn the edges of the top piece, piping and edging together so when turned complete, it fit around the stool. 

Once I had that sewn together, I took the legs of my stool. They are wooden and painted black with a metal piece at the bottom. I slightly sanded the wooden part down to make the paint stay on longer and headed to home depot with some fabric.

They have a small 8 oz paint jar you can purchase that you can have matched to whatever color you'd like. I brought in a matching fabric that I had, that I'm going to incorporate into my room as well, that had a fun color in it. I had Pat from home depot make it my paint color. 

 Yes, I did this on my kitchen counter, hence the butter dish.


I applied about 4 coats of paint on the legs, wood and metal part, for it to look even. While those dried, I went back to my base with an automatic stapler, flipped it so the bottom was up, evenly stretched the fabric and stapled it to the bottom. Something about using a power tool makes me feel indestructible! (is an automatic stapler a power tool?)

Once the legs dried, I screwed them back on the stool and voila! Brand new stool!

 

 I only spent $1 on the stool and $3 on paint. Everything else I had available to me at home. 

$4 for a stool that perfectly matches my decorations, learned to reupholster, fun project to do for a night... Can't beat that!

  

{L}


Partying at A Bowl Full of Lemons