Auntie Time

My sister called me this morning to see if I could hang out with "Peaches" for a little while. I'm always game to hang with this hilarious little nugget. She'll be three in July and talks a mile a minute. I told her we could have some girl time. We painted our nails and she did all of her own makeup - which was hilarious. I handed her a palette of about a dozen lip colors and a lip brush and she went to town. We looked at her baby pictures on the computer, took a walk around the neighborhood, and just had an all-around good time. I love this kid.

Very focused.

She loved it and would NOT let me touch it up for her.

The blush had sound effects that sounded like the "Zs" in Zsa Zsa Gabor. I call this her Anna Nicole face.

Blush on my neck? Don't mind if I do.

She kept giving me these super serious looks and when I asked why she didn't smile, she told me she was feeling serious. Diva. 

She hooked me up too. She was thrilled when she arrived and we were both wearing pink sun-dresses.

So proud.

I found Uncle Grit's candy! Bliss!

Checking out the backyard. She was concerned that we don't have toys back there.

This one is my favorite.

I love how determined she is. She knew right where she wanted to go.

Gone baby gone!

I'd been craving a change for a while and kept my hair long until the wedding passed. About 3 weeks after the wedding Grit got tired of me whining about my hair and handed me the phone to call my stylist. Usually I mull over a big change for a few months while I sort through photos but after the call I had less than 24 hours to decide. I pulled a photo out of a folder I'd been saving since my days at hair school and went to my appointment the next morning. My stylist, AJ, said that brides always come to chop all their hair off about 3 weeks after the wedding! I couldn't be happier with my short hair and don't know what took me so long!

New Vanities

So... I got a camera. And as we all know, I like taking pictures of myself. Because I'm vain. I'm aware. No need to shout. So... I thought I'd share the love with you. The self-love. The love of all that is me. My other love is doing cool edits to pictures of myself. Because I am my favorite subject. Yup. It's true. The first few here I took in my car when I arrived a little bit too early to a training yesterday. Oh yes, before I forget, one of my brothers-in-law is a professional photographer and he recommended that I get my camera from B&H Photo. They are based in New York and they have great service and good fair prices. I got a ridiculously good deal on my camera, the shipping was fast and I got an extended warranty for a good price. I recommend them! I'm going to start taking pictures of my knitting, my nephews and new baby niece, and my sewing when I start sewing this weekend! I bought patterns and fabric this week... but I've never actually made myself an entire garment before! I'm the queen of small edits and alterations, but I have very very basic sewing skills. I'll track my progress and let you know how it goes!

No Secret

I don't wear deodorant. Seriously. I don't like it. I don't need it. Yeah, you heard right... I don't need it. Don't hate me 'cuz I'm not smelly. Body odor is a pretty rare occurrence for me and it takes several days of not bathing to bring it about. And yes I have tested this. If I know it's gonna be a sweaty day I'll spray a little salt-water deodorant on after I bathe. You know you like it.

I only wash my face once a day. I stopped washing it with soap in the mornings because I noticed that 4 of my siblings with great skin only ever wash their faces if they're dirty or are wearing makeup. As soon as I stopped over-washing, my face got a lot happier.

Almost as soon as I wrote that my skin was great a few posts ago... it went haywire. So I won't tell you that it's recovering. Or that I'm nearly back to being makeup optional and glowy again. No way... I would never tell you that.

Oh yes, a mascara review. I tried MAC's Plush Lash mascara and it's driving me crazy. It does make my lashes supa-phat... but it's really dry and it flakes so bad that it gets in my eyes and makes me grouchy. It's crazy because I was using their Fiber Rich mascara which is literally full of chunks and it was smoother and didn't flake on me. I think I'll try Zoom Lash next. I tried Mascara X and liked it - but the fake rose smell was kinda strong. I'm just moving through all their mascaras to see what I like best.

Ok, the end.

Ha ha! I love this crap.

Random thoughts while shopping...

I'm divorcing polyester. Seriously. It has its place, in small amounts, blended with natural fibers. But polyester just looks like polyester. I don't understand why it's used to line other clothing since it doesn't breathe. It might just be my mission in life to rid my friends and family members' closets of the offending material. Today I bought beautiful fawn-colored wool tweed pants even though it's still 90 degrees outside. It's fall! In the last few years, my fashion sense has evolved considerably. I think I have good fashion, but as we all know, good fashion is relative.

I'm really picky about fabrics and can touch a garment and tell you whether it will hold its shape, how well it will keep its finish and color, and whether or not it's been priced correctly. My mom taught me; she made our Sunday clothes and always took me fabric shopping with her. I love natural fabrics and because of this, I spend a lot of time ironing, even though I hate it. Linen is my all-time favorite material.

I went shopping today after work. I don't think I'm the typical shopper. I don't like to shop very often, but when I shop, I usually make a day of it and peruse stores for a long time making sure I don't miss anything. I try absolutely everything on that catches my eye and take my time thinking about how it will work in my life. Sometimes I impulse buy and take things home I don't really need and will never wear, but mostly I come home with some seriously great loot and I'm not afraid to return things. I also receive clothing catalogues from my favorite places and I look through them and dog-ear the pages of things I like. I then look for similar items online and compare prices, fabric content, etc. I shop seasonally and don't do much shopping outside of those 4 trips a year.

I generally don't follow current trends and I prefer classic shapes, clean lines, and refined details. I love wide-legged trousers that are men's wear inspired with deep pockets. Creased, but no pleats - think Katherine Hepburn. I LOVE pencil skirts, tailored white shirts, tailored collared shirts in pretty colors, and clean tees with good shape in all the colors of the rainbow. I happen to think my simple, thin black rubber flip-flops go with everything. I know some of you just cringed... that's my personal faux pas that I will rock until I die. I said thin, simple and black. Please know, I think platform flip flops are a crime against fashion. I love pretty wedge-heels and have to keep myself in check or I would buy them exclusively. I love peep-toe shoes, stiletto heels, and D'Orsay styles. I like the look of patent leather, but I don't wear it and was really aggravated that there were so many patent shoes on sale today when trying to find shoes. I want warm buttery leather in the fall and winter.

I'm still looking for my riding boots.

Self Love

It's okay if you're in love with me.

I am.

This pic was taken today. My hair is up as it reached 116 degrees today!

Here's what I wrote recently:

June 9, 2007

There are days I love and respect body and days I hate it. Today I love it. I feel strong, sexy, and confident today. Days like this I want to walk around naked all day – but alas, I don’t live alone. As cool as my roommates are I still don’t think they’d appreciate it.

Everywhere we look, we're faced with some form of plastic surgery. Whether it's the obviously fake noses and breasts on tv and in magazines, or the programs showing it, selling it, and glorifying it. I sat behind a girl in church with an obvious nose job. I truly hope that it came about out of some medical necessity and not because she really hated a part of herself so much.

While watching the tragedy of self hate going on all over the TV recently, I asked myself whether or not there were any parts of my body or face that I would surgically alter. I did an inventory. I can honestly say that I wouldn't change a thing. There isn't any way that any feature could be improved upon. I believe everything to be well-suited to me.

I've had some great conversations with little girls in the shelter lately. They asked me whether I was in a relationship or not and it led to a conversation where-in I was able to talk to them about the importance of setting their own goals and making themselves happy because they will never be happy with anyone else if they can't be happy alone. Let me say that again, because it's important: If you aren't happy with yourself, by yourself, you cannot be truly happy with someone else. Your unhappiness with yourself will not go away just because someone cares about you. If you are miserable when you are single, you will carry that misery in some form into your relationships. To quote J-Lo, "Get Right." I found a really great new website recently and this lady makes some good points and asks legit questions about this very problem.

I also noticed that people frequently disassociate from their bodies. I caught myself doing it while hiking one morning. When I was having difficulty at very steep places I found myself saying things like, "My body doesn't want to do this." My body and my Self are not separate. And I did want to do it! The fact of the matter was that I was trying not to accept responsibility for being less strong than I wanted to be. Instead of disassociating from and blaming my body as if were something I cannot control, I merely needed to hike more to gain strength. Self love is a process and just when I'm sure I've gotten it down, I discover another way that I've been oppressing my Self.

I find that I feel the most beautiful, strong, and confident when I am speaking in front of other women. Encouraging them and supporting them. Empowering other women and helping them understand who they really are and what their true potential is has become my passion.

This post seems kind of disjointed to me, but I'm leaving it here because I really want to post it. I'll come back and do some more edits later.

This is a picture of my kissy-spot.

No pics yet...

...And I'm not really in the mood to tie up the loose ends I left hanging either. I'm still employed at the same place, in my original position - and my crush isn't so legitimate anymore. I just really really don't like games. We're both too old for them. Call me or don't, flirt with me or don't, but enough with the games. No more guessing please.

I was in a kind if stressed out and high drama place with that last post and now I've chilled out significantly.

I LOVE my new place. My roommates are really great and everything is really laid back.

What to blog about? I'm feeling rather boring today...

I think you should know that I really like hot-dogs. Really a lot. I could eat them every day. Sometimes I do. I try various organic brands all the time and think I've finally found the most delicious ones. I buy them at Trader Joe's.

I love sushi. It's delicious.

Um... I'm also obsessed with stationary. Beautiful, interesting, unique stationary. I collect it... and yet I send emails. Yesterday I bought three new sets of gorgeous note cards.

I have more than a dozen random notebooks and they all have thoughts, poems, and writings thrown in with old shopping lists and even old homework assignments. I always date them. I should really put them all in one place. I started reading through some of them and there's some really good stuff in there.

Martha Stewart Weddings is my favorite magazine. I collect those too. They've come in handy numerous times while helping friends plan their weddings. My mom and I looked at some today and discussed my wedding that is never going to happen. I don't want a wedding cake - I really don't like cake all that much - unless it's my great Uncle Woodrow's pound-cake recipe. That stuff should be illegal. My mother finds this decision appalling. I find most frosting appalling. Wedding cakes are a waste of cash. I'm having key-lime pie. And you are making it for me.

Every time I move, I find dozens of bobby pins in various places (under the bed, on the closet floor, in the bottom of every single box I unpack, etc.). I always carry bobby pins in my wallet for emergencies.

I almost chopped my hair really really short myself the other night as I was feeling brave, but I thought better of it - only because I can't do the back very well by myself.

I started pulling shoes out of my closet this week and trying them on - I found that most of the "tall" shoes I wore when I was in Provo now seem low-heeled and easy to walk in. I've got some fierce new shoes.

I'm going to try to visit Utah in August or September... I'll keep you posted. If you buy me a plane ticket, I'll come tomorrow.

The End........


p.s. This is my 400th post!

It is drastic! Take that!

My hair is gorgeous! After swearing for years that I would never be one of those girls who couldn't cut their long hair and then becoming one and then getting a traumatically bad haircut, albeit a long one; I have finally returned to my senses and gotten an adorable and flattering haircut. I told him the only rules were that I can't wear bangs in the summer because I'm way too sweaty and that I needed to be able to pull it back into a chignon - even if it's a small one (it's my new thing). The rest was up to him. Now I have gorgeous blended layers and my hair is only an inch below my shoulders. So what if I had to drive 30 miles one-way for my haircut and it cost me an arm and a leg? It was worth it! Hooray for good hair! I already booked my next appointment with him, hopefully in two months I'll be ready to take this relationship to the next level.

Update...

I'm mostly moved into my new place. I love living in a house full of friends instead of a cramped apartment with my bossy sister... and having a washer and dryer.
I'm applying for a new position tomorrow... (new position = travel money) ...I'll let you know how it goes.
I'm no longer out of mineral makeup or mascara - thanks to Whole Foods and M.A.C.
My hair is healthy and shiny - and I have a hair appointment with a stylist who is supposedly a master with curls. I'm ready for a drastic change... for real this time! I mean it. Maybe.
I recently overhauled my wardrobe. It's full of saucy pencil skirts in various textures and patterns, wide-legged trousers, bright colors and belted blouses. I've been mixing contrasting colors with gorgeous results.
My library books have all finally been returned -mostly because the fines were getting ridiculous, not because I wanted to return the books.
I sang in my mother's ward on Mother's Day. It went fine.
My birthday was great, see previous post.
I don't want a puppy anymore. My sister just got one. She's a pain. But really really cute. If I'm gonna get something that needs that much attention and money and pees on the floor, I'm gonna get a kid.

Adventures in bad mascara.

Here's a quick review:

Mascara from Rachel Perry is crap. It smudges and generally gets all over the place. I've been wearing mascara since I was 14. That's nearly 13 years. I'm reasonably good at it by now. I hope. This stuff is so messy that I somehow managed to get it on my forehead. Seriously. That's never happened before. And by the time I'd made it to church today, it had migrated under my eyes and I looked a little piratey. I fixed it before I went inside though. Don't buy it. It's crap.

I used to be a fan of Revlon Fabulash. I haven't used any in a year or more, but I went and picked some up early last week because I needed waterproof mascara in a pinch with all that was going on. Well, it's waterproof, but it flakes like crazy. It flaked so much that it caused eye irritation and my eyelids got swollen and puffy. It's crap. Don't buy it.

A review of sorts

Here is my life since Thursday:

Thursday: I took care of my sick nephew all day. The day consisted of lots of walks in the stroller, crying, baby Tylenol, antibiotics, juice boxes, pb&j, cuddling, diapers, stories, singing, applesauce on my carpet, and a huge mess to clean up after he left.

Friday: I went shopping and bought myself some much needed pick-me-up clothing (3 pencil skirts, gorgeous cream colored linen trousers, and 2 blouses) and put together a fantastic Easter ensemble. I met my cousin, Brandon, at the mall and helped him shop. I also hung out with Brandon and a friend of his until the wee hours. We hunted down two parties (the first one looked questionable and it took us an hour to find the other), we crashed one date (the girl requested rescuing), and we learned that the Rain Forest Cafe does not have good food and that it's ok to say no to crazy bus drivers looking for love. We did a whole lot of nothing, but had a blast doing it.

Saturday: I slept in due to a hang-over caused by disgusting food and 15-too-many U-turns. I went hiking with my sibs, Reb and Dewey, in the mountains at the wrong time of day and got a sunburn and a good workout. It was really beautiful so it was well worth it and we're going again next week to try a different trail - but we're going in the early morning. Afterwards I lay under the fan in my apartment with my sibs eating "Giant Hamburgers" and watching Nicholas Nickleby. I went to bed early!

Sunday: I had a beautiful Easter! The weather was perfect, church was wonderful, and I had dinner with my family. My ensemble received rave reviews and the day couldn't have been better. Well... some of what made it so great was that while I waited for a friend who was coming over for dinner with my family, a nice young gent in my ward chatted me up for close to an hour. He's charming and cute and had somewhere else to be, but chose to stay with me. I love Spring crushes. He's number five on the Spring crush list, but if he calls me this week like I expect, he'll cruise to first place.

Life is good.

I love these stupid quizzes. Whaddya gonna do?

You Are Bold Red Boots

You like to put your most outrageous foot forward!

What Kind of Boots Are You?

Your Alias Should Be:

Sage Lola

What Should Your Alias Be?

You're Part Diva

You know that a girl's gotta work it to get her way in the world. And while you aren't about to throw a tantrum at every turn... You do amp up the drama when you know you need it. You mix charm, honesty, and kindness to get ahead.

Are You a Diva?

Guys Like That You're Charming

You're the girl most guys can't get out of their heads Even if they met you on a bad hair day :-) You just seem to "click" with everyone you meet So even if a guy forgets about you for a second... his friends haven't!

What Do Guys Like About You?

Reasons Why Not

OK, in my efforts to keep an open mind, I have been denying my natural and perfectly normal responses to my date. But I'm a girl. I want to psycho-analyze it and tell you all the reasons why not. I'm definitely an over-analyzer and could go on for weeks about this, but I'll leave it here. No need to smear all my neuroses and his all over this page. If you want to know more (trust me, there's a lot), feel free to call me or email me. I love date-dissection.

And if you, my date, are somehow reading this, great. You're a nice guy, but you aren't the guy for me. I'll never say any of this to your face, I'll just tell you it isn't going to work out, so if you are reading, get some insight and then leave me some comments about your perceptions of me. I can take it.

Here are a few of my many gripes:

I let my sister convince me to keep my views/important facts about me (like being allergic to the world) in a bottle. It's my fault for listening to her. I know that there is a time and a place, but to keep the things I feel very strongly about under wraps to catch a man is warped. That may be her game, but it is surely not mine. I am a passionate and outspoken person and I am proud of this dammit! I am loyal to my causes and to my varied beliefs. I don't believe that it is necessary or polite to stuff your opinions down the throat of a stranger, but when you've just met someone and you are spending time together to get to know each other and your date is painfully long, it's perfectly OK to let some of this stuff out of the bag. That's why you're on the date; to share info, ideas, and opinions and make a judgment. Sheesh. I did manage to let a big cat out of the bag. As we were driving along I saw a new pointless high-rise being built dangerously close to tribal land and said in a very exasperated tone, "Geez, What now?" He asked what I was talking about and I told him how much I hate developers who just keep adding to the sprawl. I told him that it was the raging environmentalist in me. He said, "Just so long as you aren't like an Al Gore environmentalist." Excuse me? I politely said that I most definitely was. And that if I had the ways and the means, I would be out doing exactly what Al Gore is. He was quiet for awhile after that.

Gripe # 1. Doesn't respect environmentalists. Global warming is not a myth people!

Another thing, we were at a salsa tasting festival. I love heat. I like good flavored salsa with just the right amount of heat. I can take A LOT of heat. But I am allergic to corn (read: corn chips everywhere) and bell peppers. Heh heh, yeah. I also left this in the bag and was willing to incur a potential migraine to get to know this guy. That’s big of me if I do say so myself. As is to be expected, I hate having allergic reactions. I took some allergy medicine before I left the house and was well stocked with provisions in my purse. I know the drill. After a lot of asking/tasting around, we finally found the hottest salsa at the festival and as the heat kicked in for my date, he said he needed to find water. I told him to eat a handful of chips plain and that it would help it subside. (It really wasn't all that hot, but the guy who made it was.) My date completely DISREGARDED my advice and set off to find COLD water. Then he stood in a long line for several minutes although I told him they weren't serving water, only tequila, again disregarding my advice, only to discover for himself that I was right. By that time the heat had worn off. Why the stubborn disregard of my wisdom in these matters? I know how to deal with a burning mouth. Believe me. My second to last comp in the mission was a gorgeous Mexicana who got me acclimated to salsa that locals couldn't handle. Heat and I are friends. At least he bought me a snow cone.

Gripe # 2. Doesn't take me at my word.

Then we were talking about jobs and somehow my old job in Provo came up. He asked why I didn't like it and I told him that they refused to promote me even though I was better qualified than others around me; that I’d realized that no females were promoted beyond a certain point and that the company was sexist. He scoffed at this and then asked me how well they paid and where were they located since he is moving to Provo this summer. Hello? I didn't tell him, I changed the subject. And another thing, he asked me how much money I make now! Again I changed the subject; I was actually quite taken aback by this tactless question. He brought it up again a little later and I said in just such a way that he would know that I found the question impertinent, "How much I personally make? Or how much people in my field make in general?" He stuttered for a moment and asked in general. I answered that it depends on their experience. He left it alone after that.

Gripe # 3. Might be a sexist. He obviously thought the discrimination that I went through was all in my head. Lacks tact. (OK, so this is two gripes, maybe even three.)

Oh and here is probably my biggest gripe by far: He was so into the salsa that I could've walked away (or run away with someone else) and he would not have noticed (at least for a while). I am a charming and beautiful girl if I do say so myself. And because I was on a date, I was on my best, most charming, and affable behavior. Not to mention the fact that I looked like a goddess with flowing curls, kissable cheeks, and sparkling eyes (no need to mention my glorious lips, they speak for themselves. Ha ha, get it?). It seemed like everyone at the festival was responding to my charm except my date. There was even a girl so enamored of me that she gave me a necklace. Two separate gentlemen stopped me in my tracks to talk to me even though my date was right next to me; because unfortunately he was invisible and forgettable. One interested stranger was so interesting and charming (the maker of the hottest salsa) that I nearly considered finding a way to slip him my number. He was so intent on talking to me that it became a little bit awkward and although I tried to involve my date in the conversation (he just stood there with a blank look on his face, while he shoveled more salsa); I had to graciously extract myself from the situation. I shouldn't have had to do that; my date should have involved himself in a conversation with me. I, at least, was trying.

Gripe # 4. The salsa and I were too hot for him.

OK, on to the next gripe, and I've blogged about this before. He was NOT a safe driver. Maybe he really was distracted by the hotness that is me, maybe he was daydreaming about wizards/salsa/snow cones and gumdrops, and maybe he was asleep.
HE RAN A RED LIGHT!!!
It wasn't a little bit red. It had been red for awhile before we got to it. He didn't pause or hesitate. Nothing. He didn't even see it. It's not like we were deep in conversation either. It was during one of the 500,000 silent spells we had when I needed a break from holding up both sides of the conversation. And that's not all folks, he is a drifter. He was drifting in and out of lanes that didn't belong to him like a drunken Granny. I was white knuckling the handle above my door. He didn't seem to notice.

Gripe # 5. I COULD HAVE DIED.

And last, but most definitely not least; I will leave this one with no explanation as it speaks for itself:

Gripe # 6. He called his "Maw-maw" THREE TIMES while on our date.

Truly.

The End.

Finally

So...

My date went well.

I looked gorgeous. I wore a cobalt blue top and white embroidered jeans with turquoise jewelry. I almost couldn't make it to my date because like Narcissus, I looked at my reflection and fell in love. Hee.Hee.

He is very nice.

And very quiet.

We went to a salsa tasting festival.

And to an art museum.

Conversation was polite.

And minimal.

It was a 5 hour date.

I'm tired.

And still deciding...

26 Miscellaneous Facts

1. I take good care of my hands and nails. I rarely paint my fingernails. And when I do, I start hating it immediately.
2. I don't take quite as good care of my feet, but my toenails are always painted.
3. I'm fascinated by faces, especially noses.
4. Facial plastic surgery bothers me. See above. Leave your face alone!!!
5. I LOVE my feet even though they are hard to shop for. (Small, wide, high arches, high instep.) I think they are strong and pretty. I love high heels, my feet love flip flops.
6. I dance around my house while I get dressed in the morning. I have to make sure my blinds are closed.
7. I feel sexiest when well-moisturized and freshly bathed.
8. I say I know I'm beautiful, but I am always surprised when perfect strangers do double takes - but I like it. A lot.
9. I love gardening. And cooking. And reading. And none of these things are related.
10. I sometimes worry that people think I'm shallow and it hurts my feelings when people treat me as such.
11. I realized recently that I obsess over beauty because my Grandmother put a lot of emphasis on it and subsequently my Aunts do too and they have always been my role models.
12. I believe that my family are disappointed that I'm fat because they think that beautiful is a responsibility.
13. Maybe I think this and project it onto them. Maybe not.
14. I think faux is tacky. Nails, hair, eyelashes, fur (real or fake), etc.
15. I wish I could be a true vegan, but I love cheese. And pork chops. And leather shoes. And butter on my buttermilk biscuits. I'm allergic to all of the above except the shoes and the pork chops. And I'm sitting on a leather couch typing this. But I am trying to be more socially conscious.
16. I have not colored my hair since Fall 2004, but someone asks me at least once a week whether I've just colored my hair. Maybe it changes like people's eye color? Yeah right. I always think it looks the same - because it does.
17. I never used to wear white, but now I wear it all the time, even though I don't have to anymore for school. I love crisp white trousers and breezy white skirts. I look best in off-white.
18. I have a freckle on the side of my nose. I have 3 freckles resembling Orion's Belt on my abdomen. They start just above and to the right of my navel and end on my right side just under my rib cage. I've always had them. And I love them.
19. I renovate my own clothes a lot. I removed an offending ruffle from an otherwise great pale-tangerine linen skirt but left the sweet pin-tucks, and cut a pair of boring white linen pants into charming bermudas. I'm in the process of sewing a bold ribbon along the hem of a blah skirt. Lately I find that the clothes in the stores have too many details all at once, or not any. I'm all about balance. Yes, I will tell you where I got it, if you ask me nicely.
20. I'm obsessed with the pajamas Angelina Jolie was wearing in the first Tomb Raider movie when she was flying on her bungee thing. They look soft, silky, and fluttery and I really want some. Does anyone know where I can get some?
21. I don't sleep on sheets that aren't white. This is a relatively new OCD thing - as of about a year. But I find that I'm calmer and sleep better this way. I gave all my colored sheets away.
22. I wear less make-up now than I ever have in my life. And when I do put it on, I miss my skin and want to wash it off immediately, but I tell myself that I look better with it and so I leave it on. But I really do look better without it... I'm rambling.
23. I think I'm getting better looking as I get older. Maybe I just like myself more.
24. I love checking my blog stats. I've lots of visitors from the other side of the world. I just wish they'd leave comments. Strangers are welcome here! As long as you leave nice comments!
25. I love Audrey Hepburn movies & caper movies, like To Catch a Thief and Ocean's 11 & 12.
26. I'm an avid people-watcher. And I recently joined a website that my sister told me was like an LDS Myspace, but it's really an LDS dating site! Scary! I use it to people watch and to find old friends. Online dating is a frightening prospect. I keep getting messages from weird guys and at least once a day my sister and I can be found shrieking with laughter/terror while trolling the site. It's loads of fun. It's a great way to people-watch because you won't get caught staring.

That's plenty for now. I'll leave it at 26. 26 is a good number. And I have less than 2 months of 26 left, so I better represent.

What-evah

I'm working on tagging and organizing all my old posts. Stay tuned, it's an ever-evolving process.

I really really want Joss Stone's new album, Introducing Joss Stone. So I think I'm going to buy it for myself this week - to reward myself for being so great. I'm mightily disapointed in her current hair-do, but what-evah, I'm disappointed in my current hair-do. If she's feelin' it, I'll leave it alone.

In other news, I found out that The Crazy lives around here now - and that technically he's in my ward boundaries, but he hasn't shown his ugly self yet. No worries though, if he does show up, he's gonna take one look at the powerful goddess that I've become since then and run for his Crazy life! Sucker.

Joss Stone

I am not conflicted, I am well rounded.

Ha ha! It's true.


And in other news, I have MONUMENTAL crush on a guy in my ward. I've had this crush for a long-ish while now and when it comes to this guy, that one shy bone in my body seems to dominate the others and I am not quite myself. I'm trying to talk myself into asking him out or something, but I'm telling ya'll, I am nearly tongue tied around him. And ya'll know about me and making the first move and if not, just know that at my core I'm a traditional southern belle who does not ask men out. This shy thing is a pretty new phenomenon. I've been making excuses and calling it mysteriousness. But I don't know if it's good or not. He might run away once order is restored and that shy bone goes back to being the runt of the litter.

Secrets

As ya'll well know, I LOVE makeup. LOVE LOVE LOVE it. Recently, I've been exploring more natural forms of makeup and have had some great results. So as promised, here's my review so far...

First things first, I will not use products from companies who test on animals. For more info on who does and doesn't test check out: http://www.caringconsumer.com/

Face care: Basically ANYTHING by Dr. Hauschka is phenomenal. It's pricey, but well worth it. My skin has never been so happy. Even so, I want to try out products by Primavera, Jurlique, Weleda, and John Masters. I've been using Dr. Hauschka's Cleansing Milk, Facial Toner, and Quince Day Cream. I'm in love. (I used to use Burt's Bees products, but I find them to be too harsh for me.)

Face Makeup: So, it turns out that the most popular mineral makeups (Bare Minerals, Colorescience) are not quite as "natural" as they claim. Some use parabens as preservatives and contain bismuth oxychloride and talc. (In a nutshell, parabens are being studied to see how they may contribute to breast cancer since they alter your hormones and are endocrine disruptors and have been found in their whole state in breast tumors; bismuth oxychloride causes skin irritation, clogged and big greasy pores and is related to arsenic; and talc stretches the pore walls. Any info beyond this, you need to research for yourself because I could go on for days.)

I've had success using Larenim mineral makeup. My skin likes it and I always get compliments when I wear it. If you hate mineral makeup, you're on your own. I haven't found a liquid that I like in the "natural" category. In the "regular" category I really love Clinique's Almost Makeup. I've been a fan for years. I do mix my regular and natural cosmetics. For example, sometimes I'll use a makeup primer from Smashbox before I put on my mineral makeup. It gives my skin the most incredible finish ever.

Ya'll know that I'm a blush junkie. I always wear blush. I haven't gone natural in the blush department yet because I'm afraid of disappointment. I'm still a big fan of Clinique blushes. Iced Lotus is my favorite color. I'm sure they're full of parabens and other evils. I'm going to try Larenim's blushes next - hopefully they can come through for me. I've tested the Dr. Hauschka blushes on my hand and they are ridiculously silky, but a little too pricey for me right now- and the color selection is pretty limited- they only have 3 colors.

Eyes: I also haven't tried any of the natural eyeshadows. So far, M.A.C. Cosmetics wins the prize for making the absolute best eyeshadow in the greatest colors. Again, probably toxin laden. Larenim eyeshadows are next. Then Dr. Hauschka.

Mascara: I am madly in love with Ecco Bella FlowerColor Cosmetics Mascara. I have it in brown. I'm on my way to get it in black too. I've been using it for 3 months and couldn't be happier. I have really sensitive eyes and I haven't had irritation, clumps, or flakes. I've heard Dr. Hauschka mascara praised as the greatest product ever made, but I never believe claims like that, I'll believe it when I try it. But I'm not about to shell out $24 for mascara right now. $24 will get me two tubes of Ecco Bella.

Lips: Confession: I haven't been wearing lipgloss or lipstick for a good while now. I think the lip-gods have been smiling on me because my lips have just looked great with a little of my favorite lip balm: Avalon Organics Vitamin C Lip balm. It's great stuff, I keep it with me all the time. I might be a little obsessed. Ok, I lied (not about being obsessed, that is all too true)... Sometimes I use Alba Botanica TerraGloss in Bloom or Garnet and Philosophy's the Supernatural Lip and Cheek tint, but they've discontinued it. Jerks. Wearing the tint with Garnet over the top is the perfect everyday red for me. But I don't wear it everyday 'cuz that would mean I would have to end my love affair/addiction with the above mentioned lip balm. It's a problem.

On to my desecrated locks. Yeah, they're still choppy. Yes, I have my hair in a bun at this very moment. If my haircut wasn't so ugly, the whole world would be swooning over the remarkable shine and bounce and curl that is a result of using.... you guessed it! Dr. Hauschka. I've been using the Shampoo with Apricot and Sea Buckthorn for dry hair and the Conditioner with Jojoba and Marshmallow. It's miraculous. My curls have been pathetic and non-existent owing to the ridiculously dry climate. As soon as I had washed the shampoo out the first time, ringlets started forming before my eyes. I kid you not. The stuff is like crack. I can't stop using it. I want to wash my hair everyday. I just stare at all the other shampoo in my shower (Aveda, Pureology) and whisper curses at it for not being as truly miraculous as my new love. I do still use my Pureology RealCurl Define Creme. And I like Aveda's Be Curly Curl Enhancer. And Bumble and Bumble Curl Conscious for fine to medium hair. John Masters is next on my list. Because he does the kind of hair I want to do. And has the only "clean air" salon in NYC. No chemicals. No fumes. I might just have to relocate and go work for him. I'm gonna test his products first though. 'Cuz they just might suck. I'll let you know.

That's all for now. Feel free to share any insight you have about products you've tried.


P. to the S.

When I get my hair fixed, I'm thinking about taking this picture with me. I love the hair, hate the spider mascara.



Or this one:

This is for all the beautiful girls...

One of my sisters found this great website that reviews all of the "natural" beauty products out there and gives the complete low down. If you're interested in beauty and health and conservation, check out www.saffronrouge.com.

I no longer have an enormous stash of miscellaneous makeup and will not purchase any beauty products unless I've researched them. As a result I'm purchasing less products and the products I choose are more effective, better for my skin, my health, and the planet. My skin is happier than ever. Some of the products cost more than I'm used to, but since I'm purchasing less and getting more use out of it, it's definitely worth it. As I try new products, I'll post my own reviews for you... Stay tuned!