The smudge on Ella's face + other peeves

I thought it was a very good film. Something you can watch on a relaxed and rainy day. I have two nitpicks/ questions/ observation about the show, though . . .

When Tully came to pick up Ella at her house, and she was outside gardening and her grandpa was on the porch--she visibly had something on her face. She stepped inside for a second saying she was going to go "freshen up"

Well, when she came back outside and hopped in the car,and she forgot the dirt or whatever that was still on her face! It was a short time later she felt it. Embarrased, she wiped it off.

It just doesn't make sense to me that it was set up so that she went into "clean up" yet still overlooked the obvious smudge on her face. I mean, I guess that was to show that even though she was trying to make a good impression--she still was absent-minded or something; but, I think it would have been better if she hadn't gone inside at all, in my opinion. I know that would have meant Tully couldn't get those awkward moments alone with grandpa; but maybe they could have had her off somewhere else, like, having to put Bessy the cow back into the stable or something like that. Or maybe done it so that the audience really didn't see the smudge until she too noticed it.

Also, I realize this movie was probably filmed with a small budget--and they did a great job---but beings that she had returned home for the summer to work for a veterinarian, and beings that Tully's brother was raising an animal for show---it would have been good side-story to have the animal get sick/injured and Ella could have helped mend it--just in time for the auction or whatever . . .

Thoughts?