Wednesday, February 29, 2012

February Birchbox.. Late

I've had my Feb. Birchbox for a month now, but have forgotten to post about it. This month was just kinda.... ok, nothing too special. And honestly, I haven't tried any of it yet.


Ok in the box:

* colorscience pro- Travel Puff.. basically a puff with powder so you wont be shiny
* Eye Rock- Designer Eyeliner Stickers
* Kiehls- Dark Spot Corrector Serum
* Juicy Beauty- Green Apple Facial Peel
*Chuao Choclotier- Spicy Maya Chocolate Bar (chocolate with chili pepper spice)
*Birchbox Download for 6 free tunes for the band Green River Ordinance??

I dunno, I think I am going to pass on the chocolate and travel puff. I can't imagine spicy chocolate being remotely good. I might curl up with a book tonite and try out my green peel. Here's hoping my skin doesn't fall off!




Creature of Habit

 There are few things in life that I love more than stumbling upon an epic find. 
Trying out some new product, thing, or idea and...
--SURPRISE-- 
It completely changes you. Your life becomes better, easier, faster, sunnier, no matter how trivial. And then you like them so much, you keep going back to them. And you buy 4 of them. Cue the Julie Andrew's music.


 Here are a few of my Favorite Things.. well, as of lately.


Oh, how I love these. I never thought exposing so much of my leg could make me feel so.. liberated. They have just enough stretch that I can feel comfortable eating my beloved McDonald's Filet o Fish for lunch. And I'm kinda digging the the collection of Rainbow Bright colors. 
2) Target Milena Wedge
The perfect shoe. Not a heel and not a flat. Simple enough for dressy days. Simple enough for errands. They come in simple colors. Perfect.



3) Pinky- White Nude Nail Polish
I've really re-kindled a love for polish. But as much as I'm loving it again, only my toesies are seeing the colors. My hands, however, are on a quest for the perfect pinky-white nude.
OPI's Bubble Bath has been satisfying my craving, lately.


4) Urban Outfitters Scarves
Mmmm.. a more recent find.  I can't quite explain it, they're a bit grungy, a bit casual, and a bit glamorous. One of those infinity scarves can't be beat.


Amidst the wave of mineral make-ups, buffing brushes, and "barely there looks", I think I'm the last person on the Earth that wears a full liquid foundation+pancake concealer. Everyday. There's just something about "cheerleader competition" make-up that I swoon over. Benefit is a great little line out of CA. They have some beautiful things in a kinda kitchy, retro wrap. Just playing with the samples at Sephora just gives me the willies inside.


6) Music
That sounds like most cliche-est answer ever.
But it's true.
 My family has always loved music. Drewsie and I still don't think twice about calling each other just to catch up and share a couple of great songs. But in the last half year, I've taken a real nose dive back into it. Old stuff, TV jingles, radio music, dance music, and stuff I would have never even considered. It just makes me feel.. together- like I have my head on straight. Like a big gulp of water. And I like that feeling now.
Here, let me give you a smidge.

*  The complete Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band album- The Beatles
* "Video Games" and "Diet Mt. Dew"- Lana Del Rey
* "As Much as I Ever Could" -City and Colour
*  "Holocene" -Bon Iver
*The complete Brothers album- The Black Keys
* "End of the Line" and "Comeback Kid"- Sleigh Bells
* The classical piece  Clair de Lune
*The 30 #1's- Elvis Presley
* some Iron and Wine
* " You're a Wolf" - Sea Wolf
* The Karen O and Trent Reznor cover of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song"



What are some of your constant favorites? Do YOU have some "til death do we part" items?

 


 

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

EPL Nugget


You guys know I'm always reading.
On a whim, I picked up Eat Pray Love while running around Goodwill.


It was .99, so, mehh, why not read it?

It's not too bad. Alot of reading her personal thoughts on her quest for pleasure, meditation and the balance between them, while she visits some suh-weet countries. 
A bit hokie in some parts, but I can relate as I want to be a better me, too.

In the middle of a particularly heavy section of Yoga poses and Ommmmm's, I found a fan-tab-ulous little passage that I've been thinking and praying about. It just really spoke to me. It's just the right amount for a long run on the treadmill.

"Destiny, I feel, is also a relationship- a play between divine grace and willfull self-effort. Half of it you have no control over, half of it is absolutely in your hands, and your actions will show measurable consequence. Man is neither entirely a puppet of the gods, nor is he entirely the captain of his own destiny; he's a little of both. We gallop through our lives like circus performers balancing on two speeding side-by-side horses-one foot is on the horse called "fate", the other on the horse called "free will". And the question you have to ask every day is - which horse is which? Which horse do I need to stop worrying about because it's not under my control, and which do I need to steer with concentrated effort?

There is so much about my fate that I cannot control, but other things do fall under my jurisdiciton. There are certain lottery tickets I can buy, thereby increasing my odds of finding contentment. I can decide how I spend my time, whom I interact with, whom I share my body and life and money and energy with. I can select what I can eat and read and study. I can choose how I'm going to regard unfortunate circumstances in my life- whether I will see them as curses or opportunities ( and on the occasions when I can't rise to the most optimistic viewpoint, because I'm feeling too damn sorry for myself, I can choose to keep trying to change my outlook). I can choose my words and the tone of my voice in which I speak to others. And most of all, I can choose my thoughts."
                                                                                  --Eat Pray Love

  Everyone has hard times, but I am learning to be able to choose the high road. Be the better person. Choose the right attitude. And then as a reward, choose the right pair of on-sale shoes.
Kidding.
Kinda.




Saturday, February 18, 2012

Mats


Happy Weekend, friends.
Because of Parent-Teacher Conferences and President's Day, I'm the proud owner of a 4-day weekend. Yabba Dabba Doo!

Yesterday was spent being HIGHLY productive with the most mundane of tasks. Things you really dread doing, but have to eventually accomplish.  I mean, I no doubtedly set a  record. One of these tasks? Cleaning out my the car.. (insert scary music).

It wasn't SO bad. Lo and behold, I had a friend who needed to clean her car out, as well. And to build this excitement of car cleaning, she shared that she would be taking her car mats to the laundromat to wash them and did I need mine washed as well?

Yes, my friend washes her car mats in the industrial washers at the laundromat.
Genius.
Why hadn't I thought of that?

Off we trooped.
With soap, mats and quarters. Lots of quarters.

And what followed?
An impromptu photo shoot. And clean mats.














 

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Cargo Hold

Remember when we were all kiddos and pockets were big.
 I mean BIG.
 Girls and guys wearing ridiculous bottoms with pockets so big you could hide your Trapper Keeper, your 500 piece Bonnie Bell Lip Smacker collection (I was partial to Dr. Pepper), and/or a sampling of your teen angst CD's. If you were wearing something on your lower half, I can guarantee you it had a pocket. And possibly a little knobby button.

Yeah, Jnco, Stussy, and Old Navy (circa 1996), I'm talking about you.

Imagine the horror  digust I've felt when celebrities have casually turned up with unnecessary fabric all over their teensie little thighs in the form of...pockets!


Traitors, all traitors.

 
So, fast forward a bit.I was pilfering through the racks at Gap one day and spotted a pair. Actually this pair, to be exact:

 An ugly, olive green heap of fabric. Snickering, I pulled them with me into the dressing room, imagining the good chuckle I would have at the ridiculousness.

Wait- Time Out- do you do that too or am I the only one? Try on things that you know will look awful? I do sometimes, just for the giggles...weirdo, I know.

After some brief hopping and sliding into the heap of olive green, they weren't... actually half bad. Like, I LIKED them. Lady like AND tough. GI Joe AND GI Jane.
 And at a cool 17.95 + 40% off?
Bingo.
 Looked even better.
Thus, beginning my love affair with the skinny cargo pant.

They go with everything. I promise. Throw on your T-shirt, your sleep shirt, your patterned top, your cute new shirt, the semi clean top you wore yesterday, whatever. Channel your inner UPS man and find you a pair.
You won't be sah-wwy!

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Cognac, Cognac, Where Ever You Are...


Stay with me:

Scenario: You wake up one day, take a look at your sad, little _____ (fill in blank with some replaceable item), decide it's seen better days, and declare that "It's time for a new one!" So with some gusto, a hot pursuit begins.

I now hate a "hot pursuit" as I have been pursuit-ing since.., I dunno, THIS post!

What am I searching for.
A purse.
A simple tote to carry my crap from point A to B. But alas, I've made it difficult for myself. I know EXACTLY what I want, and what I don't want to pay.

The problem?
Finding it.

I've been head over heels for my current cognac leather tote for awhile now. Maybe over a year. Plain. Real Leather. Simple. Roomy, and bought at a TJ Maxx Price.
Bliss.
So, when I head it crying from all the unsightly wear and tear I've put it thru, I decided to OFFICIALLY start the hunt. Saving my money, checking EVERY possible place.

That was months ago. I feel like a tiger with leg cramps- I've been ready to pounce for W-A-Y too long. But I'm thru, THRU I tell you. I'm about to narrow it all down ( and purge some of the sites on My Favorites tab). Wanna see some contenders? They were all carefully interviewed in front of a panel committee and given a random drug screening...Kidding.








or possibly this hunk of chunk change:


(Kidding, Mom)

Thoughts? Any peer-pressured help would be appreciated!





Thursday, February 2, 2012

Awkward-Awesome Thursday..


Let's all slap hands for almost the weekend!
Annnd another awkward-awesome week...

AWKWARD:
* Up to this point, its been questionable, but as of late its official. I think I've reached adulthood. The law says the legal age is 18. I beg to differ. 27 is more appropriate. I find myself now sporadically thinking about my sodium intake, if should I be investing in something, and political debates. The icing on this adult size cake? I am made an appt. for Stanley Steemer to steam clean the carpets.
* People on the gym equipment next to you singing. Loudly. Off Key. Hey buddy, you're not Michael Bolton or  Prince, so why don't we put a lid on it, hmm? Let's save those "chops" for shower solos.

*And while we are on gym people, the weird, creeper-esque guy repeatedly staring, winking, overtly flexing during my runs. Sir, you look 40 from all of your 'roids, I am 27. It would never work out between us.

*Let's have a serious discussion. Yes, by now, you know I work at a school. So occasionally, I could, in theory, be inclined to hear a little toot-toot from a kiddo, wouldn't you say? Boy, when I hear them it is a STRUGGLE not to laugh. So much so, that often the little darling will ask me why I am shaking all over. It's because you pooted, kid. And I feel weird hearing it.

*Eating a whole bag of Lays Dill Pickle chips. And your tongue swelling from the tartness.


AWESOME:

* Is the weather nice where you are? It's been highly unusual here. Warm and breezy. I'm torn. Yes, I do love flying home from work with the sunroof open. But yes, I do love a snow day. I'll be thankful for both.

*My latest love affair with... cargo pants. I know, I know! More about this later.

* Lays Dill Pickle Chips (see above for the flip side).

* Move over LeVar Burton, I've been reading. A lot.

 Might I recommend The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series and The Hunger Games? Yes, you're welcome.

* February 11. Don't judge.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...