So…what is the Monday Poll?
Excellent question! It isn’t, contrary to its name, an actual poll, like with little clicky buttons. It’s just a list of five more or less random questions I’ve been posting on this blog every Monday morning for the past quadrillion years (since 2007). I love reading your answers, and it helps me get my week off to a good start. ?
1. High-rise, mid-rise or low-rise pants?
High-rise always and forever, mid-rise if I’m desperate, low-rise…NEVER. I rue the day low-rise pants came into my life, hahaha!
2. A drugstore skin care item you swear by?
CeraVe Healing Ointment is the stuff!
3. Would you rather have expensive hair care products or expensive skincare products?
While I would love both, right now I’ll go with expensive skincare please. ?
4. (Fill in the blank) is the key.
Communication is the key (because nobody can read your mind, obvs). Sleep is the key. Having comfortable underwear is the key. Coffee is the key. Patience is the key… Seriously, we could be here all day… There are so many key things!
5. Something you’d like to eat today?
I’ve had a request from my sous-chef to make her lemon tagliatelle pasta for dinner, and that sounds good to my tummy, so that’s happening later on today.
6. Which would you rather have — 1) an uninterrupted eight hours of sleep, 2) the laundry folded and put away, or 3) a clean house?
ALL OF THE ABOVE.
Ohhhh, but if I have to pick one (BOO), I’ll go with a clean house.
7. Something unusual that you keep in your purse?
I don’t know how unusual it is, but I always have some sort of snack food — a protein bar, juice pouch, applesauce, etc. — just in case someone around me gets hungry (I’m mostly referring to myself). Food is the fastest way to thwart crabbiness! You can quote me on that. LOL!
8. Avocado toast — so good or so gross?
So good when I’m in the mood for it, but I don’t normally crave it, ya know?
9. A makeup brand that you’ve been into lately?
Honest Beauty. I never feel like their makeup is trying too hard, if that makes any sense. It’s just enough to get the job done, which has been my style as of late.
This week I’m trying their Get It Together Eyeshadow Palette, which I’m excited about because of the very wearable neutrals. They also included a straight-up matte black and beige eyeshadows, which are always super handy to have around. I’m hoping the powders are easy to blend because my blending skills are SHOT!
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. Here are the questions to copy/paste with your answers in a comment. Talk to ya soon.
1. High-rise, mid-rise or low-rise pants
2. A drugstore skin care item you swear by?
3. Would you rather have expensive hair care products or expensive skincare products?
4. (Fill in the blank) is the key.
5. Something you’d like to eat today?
6. What would you rather have — 1) an uninterrupted eight hours of sleep, 2) the laundry folded and put away, or 3) a clean house?
7. Something unusual that you keep in your purse?
8. Avocado toast — so good or so gross?
9. A makeup brand that you’ve been into lately?
P.P.S. Hello there, my friend, and happy Monday to ya. Just a friendly reminder that you’re capable, courageous and you can totally handle whatever needs to be done. You can and you will! ?
1. High-rise, mid-rise or low-rise pants Mid-rise or low-rise only because my stomach area is sensitive. (I always wear a shirt that covers everything.)
2. A drugstore skin care item you swear by? Maybelline clear mascara for taming eyebrows
3. Would you rather have expensive hair care products or expensive skincare products? Expensive hair care. My hair is difficult to tame, so expensive products work better.
4. (Fill in the blank) is the key. Patience, confidence, love, understanding, etc.
5. Something you’d like to eat today? Leftovers from Bonchon, which I had for kunch!
6. What would you rather have — 1) an uninterrupted eight hours of sleep, 2) the laundry folded and put away, or 3) a clean house? Uninterrupted 8 hrs of sleep.
7. Something unusual that you keep in your purse? I’m not sure if it’s unusual, but I have tweezers because you never know. (I always have a stray brow hair or something that needs to be plucked.)
8. Avocado toast — so good or so gross? Depends. It’s not my fav, but it’s growing on me.
9. A makeup brand that you’ve been into lately? I’m re-visiting some old Clinique eyeshadows that I found while cleaning. I love neutrals and natural looking makeup, so it’s been fun to use them again.
I’ll have to try that clear mascara in my brows. Thanks for the idea, Danielle!
1. High-rise, mid-rise or low-rise pants
I’ll go with mid-rise right now.
2. A drugstore skin care item you swear by?
Burt’s Bees chapstick
3. Would you rather have expensive hair care products or expensive skincare products?
Neither. (Expensive hair care products)
4. (Fill in the blank) is the key.
YOU
5. Something you’d like to eat today?
Filter coffee, home style
6. What would you rather have — 1) an uninterrupted eight hours of sleep, 2) the laundry folded and put away, or 3) a clean house?
A clean house
7. Something unusual that you keep in your purse?
Dollar bills and pennies.
8. Avocado toast — so good or so gross?
Avocado toast is good.
9. A makeup brand that you’ve been into lately?
MAC. Also, Shiseido
Hi Tisha,
If you haven’t tried it already, the Shiseido eyelash curler is wonderful!
1. High-rise, mid-rise or low-rise pants? Mid-rise.
2. A drugstore skin care item you swear by? Dove Nourishing Body Wash. It doesn’t dry my skin and because it comes in a variety of scents, it doesn’t bore me.
3. Would you rather have expensive hair care products or expensive skincare products? Definitely, skin care. I have virgin hair and very seldom use styling tools so my hair is in good shape.
4. (Fill in the blank) is the key. Thoughtfulness. Be thoughtful in how you communicate with others. The words you choose, your tone of voice, and your body language can make or break the message you want to convey.
5. Something you’d like to eat today? Hmmm . . . I really don’t have a hankering for anything in particular. I’ll give it some thought much later this afternoon when I have to start dinner prep.
6. What would you rather have — 1) an uninterrupted eight hours of sleep, 2) the laundry folded and put away, or 3) a clean house? I could use 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Because of medical conditions, I typically wake up 3-4 times a night.
7. Something unusual that you keep in your purse? For years I’ve kept a ziplock bag filled with Clorox wipes in my purse. My husband and I eat out frequently and often the tables—especially in food courts or fast food places—are far from clean. And, in this day of covid, I wipe down the tables even when they appear to be clean.
8. Avocado toast — so good or so gross? I like avocados but have never liked avocado toast. I just can’t.
9. A makeup brand that you’ve been into lately? The past year, most of my purchases have been Chanel, Clé de Peau, or Guerlain
I do the same thing with Clorox wipes and have been doing it for years, Eileen! Great minds think alike!
1. High-rise, mid-rise or low-rise pants? High rise for me and my belly.
2. A drugstore skin care item you swear by? JASON vitamin E oil keeps my skin soothed and crack free, especially since I’m always using hand sanitizer!
3. Would you rather have expensive hair care products or expensive skincare products? If color qualifies as hair care then hair please.
4. (Fill in the blank) is the key. A good attitude is the key!
5. Something you’d like to eat today? Sushi…. mmmm
6. What would you rather have — 1) an uninterrupted eight hours of sleep, 2) the laundry folded and put away, or 3) a clean house? Laundry, apparently I love to wash it, the flog it on the bed for another day…
7. Something unusual that you keep in your purse? Pocket knife? Or hopefully y’all have that too, so it’s not unusual.
8. Avocado toast — so good or so gross? Sogood.
9. A makeup brand that you’ve been into lately? Can it be nail polish? I recently tried Cirque Colors and am enjoying the 3 shades I bought. Hatch, Fairy Floss and Snozzberry.
Sushi sounds delightful! Mmm, yum…
Have a great week, Jennifer!
1. High-rise, mid-rise or low-rise pants.
High-rise. Or really anything at the natural waist (I think that would be high-rise?).
2. A drugstore skin care item you swear by?
Nivea cream/lotion. Since childhood. I also knew my husband was The One because he also used Nivea (in a tin in Europe).
3. Would you rather have expensive hair care products or expensive skincare products?
Expensive skincare.
4. (Fill in the blank) is the key.
Honesty. Great digestion.
5. Something you’d like to eat today?
My leftover piece of saba (broiled mackerel) from Foodland!
6. What would you rather have — 1) an uninterrupted eight hours of sleep, 2) the laundry folded and put away, or 3) a clean house?
Uninterrupted eight hours of shut-eye!
7. Something unusual that you keep in your purse?
iPhone cords roady wrapped in twist-ties.
8. Avocado toast — so good or so gross?
So gross.
9. A makeup brand that you’ve been into lately?
Byredo (the Colour Sticks!)
Hope you had a nice Valentine’s Day weekend!
Oh Foodland, how I miss thee! 🙂
We had a great Valentine’s Day weekend here. Super chill and relaxed with *lots* of chocolate up in the mix. How was yours?
Sounds cozy and sweet! We chilled at the beach, the highlight was buying bentos at Foodland Farms. It’s the simple things, eh? ?
1. High-rise, mid-rise or low-rise pants. High rise, preferably with little to no stretch to really hold it all in.
2. A drugstore skin care item you swear by? Eucerin Intensive Repair hand cream
3. Would you rather have expensive hair care products or expensive skincare products? Expensive skincare. Haven’t found any expensive hair care that’s worth it.
4. (Fill in the blank) is the key. Gut health. Haha. Thoughtfulness and consideration.
5. Something you’d like to eat today? Soondubu stew, I’ve been craving fish (which Dear Husband dislikes) and tofu lately
6. What would you rather have — 1) an uninterrupted eight hours of sleep, 2) the laundry folded and put away, or 3) a clean house? Well I’d love to have all three. Definitely 8 hours sleep please. I woke up after being asleep for an hour last night. Then couldn’t fall back asleep. Then woke up again at 3:30. Then got up at 6:30 to zoom with my trainer.
7. Something unusual that you keep in your purse? Not sure it’s unusual, a replica of an ancient Roman coin with a horse on it.
8. Avocado toast — so good or so gross? I only like it with ponzu, sesame oil, sesame seeds and fresh pickled ginger.
9. A makeup brand that you’ve been into lately? Whatever I find in my stash. Still making my way through my stash, trying things on and either keeping or decluttering. Yesterday I wore Charlotte Tilbury before deciding it was too glittery. Wiped it off and put on Fenty Beauty shadows instead.
Good for you for zooming with your trainer so early. You did it! It’s better than nothing (aka my mantra these days).
Just got back from a playdate with some of the other moms/kids from Connor’s class. I keep telling myself to cherish this time because soon enough she won’t need me to chaperone her when she hangs out with her pals, but I can’t help but feel awkward during playdates. I suppose it’ll get easier? I hope so.
Happy Monday to you!
It was either Zoom at the crack of dawn or do nothing, which wasn’t an option. Don’t usually work out that early, but she had another appointment and needed to shift things. Her kids are on break from school for “ski week”, too. My Zoom sessions with her are every bit as killer as if I was meeting her in person, now that I have a little, mini gym in the garage with a rower, plyobox, two barbells, a set of bumper plates, dumbbells, kettlebells and bands. Dear Daughter keeps nagging me to buy a squat rack, but I have no idea where I’d put it.
You still have time before Connor utters the dreaded, “You can just drop me off here at the corner” or “Can I use the car today?” Yeah, some playdates were awkward, some weren’t, it depended on how well I got along with the other moms. Awkward is when your kid gets to high school and decides they don’t like the other kid as much anymore but you’re still really good friends with the mom. Lol.
1. High-rise, mid-rise or low-rise pants?
Mid-rise!
2. A drugstore skin care item you swear by?
Aquaphor. It’s the only thing I can slather on my lips that doesn’t cost a million dollars (looking at you Hourglass tinted lip oil!)
3. Would you rather have expensive hair care products or expensive skincare products?
As long as expensive means it actually works then I’ll go with skin care.
4. (Fill in the blank) is the key.
Kindness is the key.
5. Something you’d like to eat today?
Leftovers from this Japanese fusion restaurant we ordered in from yesterday. Lots of tasty ramen and a dish called “loco moco”. I’m so excited to eat ☺️
6. What would you rather have — 1) an uninterrupted eight hours of sleep, 2) the laundry folded and put away, or 3) a clean house?
I don’t mind doing laundry and my life right now allows me pretty good sleep. I’ll go with clean house since I hate cleaning.
7. Something unusual that you keep in your purse?
Not sure if this counts as unusual but I always keep a card that has my blood type on it in my purse (I’m one of those who matches her purse to her outfit.) who knows? It might save my life one day!
8. Avocado toast — so good or so gross?
I’m kind of over avocados… we ate too many and now I only want it if it’s in something. Like in a burrito, salad.
9. A makeup brand that you’ve been into lately?
Not sure as I pretty much just stick with Mac, Chanel, hourglass and Tower 28. New releases haven’t impressed me much lately. But I’m shopping my stash and really cutting back this year.
1. High-rise, mid-rise or low-rise pants High-rise.
2. A drugstore skin care item you swear by? Nothing comes to mind.
3. Would you rather have expensive hair care products or expensive skincare products? Skincare. I don’t think most expensive hair care products are worth the money. (That is actually true for most expensive skincare, too, I think.)
4. (Fill in the blank) is the key. Knowledge is the key.
5. Something you’d like to eat today? Steak.
6. What would you rather have — 1) an uninterrupted eight hours of sleep, 2) the laundry folded and put away, or 3) a clean house? The 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. I don’t think I’ve had that in about 30 years.
7. Something unusual that you keep in your purse? A tape measure.
8. Avocado toast — so good or so gross? Haven’t had it, so I don’t know.
9. A makeup brand that you’ve been into lately? Viseart.
PS – We got the snow I thought we might get for “Presidents’ Day.” Unfortunately, it is too powdery to make a snowball or snowman. It’s going to be about 1 degree for a low tonight. At least my power is still on.
1. High-rise, mid-rise or low-rise pants? Since I have a flabby stomach, I am decidedly not a low-rise fan.
2. A drugstore skin care item you swear by? L’Oreal DermIntensives 10% pure glycolic acid serum. It minimizes acne scarring and dark spots and has completely eliminated scars from my arms!
3. Would you rather have expensive hair care products or expensive skincare products? Expensive hair care products.
4. (Fill in the blank) is the key. Creativity is the key.
5. Something you’d like to eat today? Before I go to bed, I’ll probably have a bagel and cream cheese.
6. What would you rather have — 1) an uninterrupted eight hours of sleep, 2) the laundry folded and put away, or 3) a clean house? Laundry done.
7. Something unusual that you keep in your purse? I don’t usually carry a purse, but I have a tiny (small enough to fit in a jeans pocket!) Victoria’s Secret makeup bag I usually keep my keys/credit card/ID in, and I also carry a ratty, falling-apart Skip card from The Oatmeal’s Exploding Kittens card game-I found it in a book at work, fell in love, and had to bring it home.
8. Avocado toast — so good or so gross? I don’t eat avocado, so I’m gonna have to say so gross.
9. A makeup brand that you’ve been into lately? I know nobody outside my household is going to see them for a while (someday!) , but I’m collecting Marc Jacobs Enamored lip glosses-my latest one is Whip It, with Sugar High, Hey You! and Allow Me on the way. I’m also picking up a few of the Rouge Pur Couture red lipsticks Zoe Kravitz created for YSL-I have Brooklyn Baby, and London Sky and Midnight LA are on their way!
I’m also waiting on Marc Jacobs’ Le Marc lipstick in Oh Miley, a gorgeous red.
1. low-rise! I just like how it feels sitting on my hips.
2. ELF Hydration cream.
3. Ooo, this is a toughie! I’ll say expensive hair products since I love my drugstore skin care products. <3
4. A good night's rest is the key.
5. It's Mardi Gras so I'm craving some muffuletta!
6. Clean house! Then after not sleeping well, I can crash on the couch for a nap in my clean house. 😀
7. Two wooden chips worth $1 each at the local farmer's market. We never spent them last year and so in my purse they sit…
8. Neither, I'm neutral on this!
9. That palette you mentioned does look really nice! I'll say Maybelline since I keep buying their lipsticks. Also, Milani has been killing it, I love their lip crayons! So fun to put on. And I don't buy from them often but KVDBeauty has a special place in my makeup heart.
Hope you had a good Monday!
It looks like my comment from yesterday didn’t go through. Forgive me if this is a duplicate.
1. High-rise, mid-rise or low-rise pants? High rise
2. A drugstore skin care item you swear by?
Pacifica Coconut Probiotic Water Rehab Cream. It’s light for day wear on my oily skin, and makes a great primer for powder foundation.
3. Would you rather have expensive hair care products or expensive skincare products?
Skin care. My hair doesn’t require anything too special.
4. (Fill in the blank) is the key. LOVE
5. Something you’d like to eat today?
Monday, it was pepperoni pizza, which I had for lunch.
6. What would you rather have — 1) an uninterrupted eight hours of sleep, 2) the laundry folded and put away, or 3) a clean house?
A clean house.
7. Something unusual that you keep in your purse? Nothing too weird. Prescription migraine pills and dental floss, I suppose.
8. Avocado toast — so good or so gross? Gross! I don’t like avacados.
9. A makeup brand that you’ve been into lately? Kaleidos! Great quality, creative, and fantastic packaging.
P.S. Guess who got airline tickets to Oahu for Valentine’s Day?!! Hubby and I are going to have a 30th anniversary/second honeymoon trip in September. I’ve been reading your Hawaii posts for tips.
And I was so proud to be on time for the previous Monday poll! 🙂
1. High-rise, mid-rise or low-rise pants. Low, pls.
2. A drugstore skin care item you swear by? Neutrogena 8 hour rapid clear lotion. 2% salicylic acid at a bargain price makes for a good every day BHA!
3. Would you rather have expensive hair care products or expensive skincare products? Right; both! HAHA! But I’ll go with skin as well. Although I’ll choose best performance over price. Some of the spendy skincare hasn’t worked for me.
4. (Fill in the blank) is the key. Empathy, currently. And gratitude. Be grateful for your blessings and try not to be too harsh/judgemental when others don’t have the same ones. I’m trying to prioritize that for Lent. 🙂
5. Something you’d like to eat today? Oh, gosh, I just ate so nothing is coming to mind. But I pretty much always want to eat pizza, so I’ll go with that. HAHA!
6. What would you rather have — 1) an uninterrupted eight hours of sleep, 2) the laundry folded and put away, or 3) a clean house? It would absolutely be #1 but I don’t usually have a problem getting that. So, clean house, hands down. I was on a vid meet yesterday and a coworker had vacuuming going on in the background. It was a cleaning service they use every 2 weeks to deep clean everything. I was green with envy!! 🙂
7. Something unusual that you keep in your purse? Dental floss threaders might be unusual. Or cushioned pads for the days when I’d walk all day at a show and my shoes would rub my achilles. Benadryl? Like you said, it’s hard to know what’s unusual.
8. Avocado toast — so good or so gross? Love avocado and love bread. But I really do need something besides those 2 things. Maybe some bacon. And egg. 🙂
9. A makeup brand that you’ve been into lately? Lately isn’t the right description, but I’ve been putting Malice on just to sit around the house because it makes me happy to have some color instead of looking pale/half dead. So, Chanel.