Hiya! Is it Wednesday already? I haven’t left the house in three days. Before we get into the why behind that statement, so that this is marginally related to beauty, this week’s self-care mani is OPI’s Infinite Shine in You Sustain Me.
Cute, yeah? I’ve had a thing for creamy mauves lately.
We’ve been hunkered down because Connor’s been really sick. 🙁 She finally caught the respiratory virus that’s been surging in our neck of the woods over the last few months, and it’s been rough on her little body.
Long story short, because of the pandemic, kids her age haven’t had the chance to go through the usual waves of viruses that happen to them while they’re young. Now everyone’s catching up and getting sick left and right.
Today she’s feeling a little better; I think she’s made it past the hardest part and is finally on the mend. Fingers crossed.
Painting
In addition to dealing with what we’ve been calling “fighting the yuck,” it’s been noisy as all heck outside. The exterior of our house is currently being painted (the home owners association forces everyone in our neighborhood to do it every few years), and for some reason these particular painters are very loud. There’s banging, drilling and all kinds of nonsense happening outside. My nerves are shot!
On the bright side, though, I can draw the curtains (YAY) and close all the blinds and roller shades so they don’t have to see us wearing pajamas 24/7 while we’re inside.
Windows and blinds and roller shades, oh my!
It only took months, but we finally have all our window treatments done. And now I know enough about the whole process to do it again if I had to.
All I have to say is Hunter Douglas all the way! If you’re plagued with indecision when it comes to home decor (story of my life), you can’t really go wrong if you go the Hunter Douglas route. I’m really happy with how ours turned out.
The window covering saga of 2022, aka what we finally ended up getting
- Blinds: Hunter Douglas Everwood in Avalanche
- Roller shades: Hunter Douglas Roller Shades in Crawley 101 Wedding Dress
- Curtain hardware: Pottery Barn Antique Bronze Rod Wall Bracket in 1.25” Diameter
- Curtains: Pottery Barn Broadway Curtains in Oatmeal (living room and bedroom) and Ivory (dining room)
By the way, all these play well with the shade of paint we picked, Benjamin Moore Simply White.
OK, what else is going on?
Movie to add to your list
I watched the movie “Where the Crawdads Sing” on Netflix the other day, which I really enjoyed.
The best lounge pants
I bought a pair of these joggers from Target for 20 bucks, and they are chef’s kiss! SO SOFT. And they have pockets! I want another pair or two or twelve. Haha.
California to Hawaii?
El Hub is actively campaigning for us to move to Hawaii. I mean… Homeboy’s been working this angle since the day I met him (local boys always want to go back, it seems), but lately it’s kicked into overdrive. I have mixed feelings about it.
Advice for teeth staining
I went to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned last week, and the dental hygienist told me that in order to prevent staining from coffee and what not, the best time to brush your teeth is actually *before* you drink your beverage – not immediately after.
She told me if you brush immediately after drinking coffee, it just pushes the liquids into your teeth and stains them even more. According to her, it’s better to brush beforehand to remove all the plaque so that coffee/tea/whatever you’re drinking has less to stick to.
Anywho. That’s what’s been going on over here. How are things your end?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Hawaii move? . . . remember the strict quarantine re felines. I couldn’t do it to my Dixie.
My daughter and son-in-law lived in Hawaii for several years after they got married. (she has Native Hawaiian family). They loved it but couldn’t afford a house if they wanted to start a family so they moved back to the mainland. I know they miss it. I never thought I’d live in Chicago but it’s where my husband wanted to be so here I am, but love it, all the same (she says at it’s snowing outside brrrrr).
It’s interesting that you’re having a CA to HI dilemma too. We spent a month on the Big Island in May to kinda see if living there would be a good option for us. One of my oldest friends has been there for over a decade and is raising her young family there. While I loved our stay, I found out after a couple of weeks that my eczema (which has been inactive for 5 years!) flares up in the humid weather. ☹️ We also realized that unless we live right on the beach, we won’t really make the effort to go to the beach after that first week. We stayed at a house 6 mi away from the nearest beach there, and we live 9 mi away from the beach here in SD. My son prefers the pool. That visit was definitely life changing for me in so many ways, and I’m excited that living in beautiful Hawaii is an option for you and your family!
Aww! Hope Connor is feeling 100% soon. Saw my hairdresser this weekend and she said one of her friends caught a norovirus. Then her husband got it and then their 10 month old got it, so all three of them were sick at the same time. Ugh. No fun.
I love visiting Hawaii, but I don’t think I could live there. I actually like cold weather. And the food prices there would eventually get to me.
Thanks for posting a pic of your mani. That color is definitely in my wheel house. Gonna check it out. Maybe it will go on my Xmas wishlist.
Hope y’all feel better soon and the painters finish up quickly so you can go back to peace and quiet.
I just moved 2500 miles away from home 5 1/2 months ago, CA to MI. I still feel connected to my family and friends back home, the distance isn’t difficult. My 16 has struggled a bit with school, it’s hard moving high schools. It is awesome getting to know all the little nuances that make up a new state.
I hope Connor feels better soon. Once they go to school they are little petri dishes because unfortunately, not everyone is a good mother and keeps their sick child at home!
Big moves are tough! We moved less than an hour away and it was still a pain in the ass. Some good friends back in Michigan are moving to Albuquerque because the husband got an amazing job offer really unexpectedly, so it’s a big, sudden change. It could be worth it though. I’ve never been to Hawaii (Never had a chance and I see a lot of writing from Native Hawaiians asking non-Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders to reconsider going) but with all the fires California gets, I can see where El Hub is coming from.
Hope Connor Claire is on the mend soon. I had some terrible fever and respiratory stuff a few weeks back. I’ve always gotten sick really easily (I was constantly sick growing up, but they’re now seeing some research that measles affects immunity afterwards in children and I’m the only one in my age group who had it lmao), my husband didn’t get it at all.
I have similar joggers from Old Navy and they’re so soft and comfortable!
I had had the first vaccination for measles, but wasn’t old enough to have had the full series. Luckily the partial vaccination made it milder, according to my mom, I was 2.
Oh no, poor Connor! I hope she’ll recover quickly and hasn’t passed it on to you or someone else in the family.