In my neighborhood.
This here is the California poppy, also known as Eschscholzia californica, the official state flower of California.
Right now they’re blooming all over the place!
Aren’t they beautiful?
California Poppin’
Daily Photo
Kinda Stoked About…
I’m, uh, kinda stoked about these pistachio macarons from Laduree. I tried to restrain myself (I really did!) but had to sneak a couple bites before busting out the camera (the lid is covering the ones I nom’d).
Macarons are easily among my top 10 cookies of all time. I could have ’em for breakfast, lunch and dinner, OM NOM NOM!
I’m also pretty stoked about showering tonight with one of these new body washes by Dove…
New from Dove…
- Crème Mousse Deep Moisture Body Wash ($6.69): With notes of pink mimosa and pomegranate, this rich, pearlescent cream body wash also doubles as a shaving cream
- Crème Mousse Gentle Exfoliating Body Wash ($6.69): Designed to smooth away dull, dry skin, this body wash has a white floral scent with notes of magnolia and white jasmine
- Crème Mousse Sensitive Skin Body Wash ($6.69): Unscented and hypoallergenic for sensitive skin
- Purely Pampering Pistachio Cream with Magnolia Body Wash ($6.49): Pamper yourself with this lush, moisturizing body wash and its calming scent of rich musk, magnolia and pistachio cream
- Purely Pampering Pistachio Cream with Magnolia Beauty Bar ($3.79): Has the same relaxing scent as the body wash but in Dove’s classic moisturizing bar soap form
They’re available now at grocery stores, drugstores and online, if you’re interested. 🙂
Your nephew says hi, by the way. He’s very pleased with himself right meow because I tried to do a cute little photo shoot with the Dove bottles and a white bath robe, but that quickly went south when he left his black, gray and orange tabby hair ALL OVER THE PLACE.
And then because Tabs is Tabs, he took off with part of the robe.
Sigh…
Everything Must Go
No, I did not find this sign at a garage sale, although if I had, I would have told the seller that I thought Helvetica Bold was a great choice. 🙂
It’s clean, efficient and totally means business. You don’t mess around with Helvetica Bold.
I actually have this up on all four walls in my office right now, LOL! It’s in reference to an ongoing cleanup project.
I’ve been trying to straighten up my office for, oh, the past six months or so without much success. I just never seem to get anywhere. I feel like I’m only moving things around. I take junk from one corner and put it in another.
Doesn’t work.
Last weekend I finally made some real progress, though, after reading an article on lifeHacker.com called The End-All Guide to Getting Out From Under Your Office Crap.
Talk about helpful! It basically outlines steps you can take to really organize the heck out of your workspace. One of the ideas is to approach the task with the mindset of “Everything must go,” hence all the signs on my walls. My hope is that seeing the reminder over and over, day in, day out, will help me get this space under control.
The Gerbera Daisies Send Their Regards
Regards all the way from Novato, California. That’s about 25 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge and 40 miles south of Napa Valley (for the Star Wars fans out there, we’re about 5 miles from the otherworldly Skywalker Ranch), so these are sci-fi-lovin’ Bay Area Gerbera daisies. 🙂
Tabs at Office Depot
This cat.
There’s no escaping him! As far as feline supermodels go, Tabs is totally overexposed. No matter where I go, there’s Tabs. 🙂
He’s literally everywhere now, on every product, even steno.
He and his fellow feline supermodels have the place on lockdown, and you can’t turn a corner without bumping into one of them.
Clearly, they are the ruling cat gang of the office supply world. 🙂
P.S. If you’re a cat lady, then…
NYX Gives Lashes More To Love With $7 Lush Lashes Mascara in More To Love
Seven lash-loving mascaras. Seven lush lash looks. Seven bucks each.
With NYX’s new Lush Lashes Mascaras, you could literally do a different lash look every day of the week.
That’s actually the idea. There are seven different mascaras in the line, which was recently released for spring, each one designed to create a different full-fringed effect.
The whole NYX Lush Lashes Mascara fam
- XXL (LL01) — This hefty mascara really packs it on! XXL’s volumizing formula and va va va voom brush offer the ultimate tools needed to lift, define and curl even those hard to reach lashes.
- BADUNKADUNK (LL02) — Bigger is better, and this full-sized formula has it all. The vitamin-enriched formula deepens, darkens and makes lashes look thicker. The full-sized brush reaches from root to tip while perfectly building beautiful, fuller-looking lashes
- STACKED (LL03) — The sky’s the limit with our clump-free, voluminous formula. The unique combination of brushes build volume from the roots with the short teaser bristles and coat lashes easily from root to tip with the sky-high length bristles.
- VOLUPTUOUS (LL04) — Have them guessing if they’re real or not with this well endowed formula. The thick tapered brush builds volume and is also ideal for reaching even the tiniest lashes.
- FULL FIGURED (LL05) — Be big and be proud with our unforgettable waterproof formula. The straight brush shape easily grabs and coats each lash from root to tip to boost length.
- CURVACEOUS (LL06) — For the ultimate volume and definition, this classic shaped brush is perfect for separating lashes and making them look thicker, bigger, more curvaceous.
- MORE TO LOVE (LL07) — Love to love the look of your lashes. More to Love’s curved, super-sized bristles coat each and every lash with rich, deep color from root to tip while curling.
More to Love, the one I’ve been wearing, is great if you like lifted lash curls and extra long lashes.
It’s not the most volumizing mascara on the block — XXL or Badunkadunk would probably better for that — and I do get some flakes when I forget to follow the “Don’t rub your eyes, Karen!” rule, but I think it’s a solid performer.
I don’t notice any smudges or clumping, and I like the criss-cross way it arranges my lashes.
Is it holy grail? Well, this one, More to Love, probably not. I do crave more volume, but with crazy curl hold and lush lengthening power like this for only $7, it gets a thumbs up.
The entire Lush Lashes Mascara collection is available now at drugstores, Ulta and nyxcosmetics.com.
Massive Monday Flower Power and Monstrous Deck Garden Progress!
I can’t believe I’m saying this right now because it’s Home Depot we’re talking about, and El Hub can spend hours — HOURS! — looking at PVC pipes and 2x4s (seriously, that man can contemplate nails and power tools for DAYS), but last weekend I had so much fun at Home Depot.
First, I actually found a like-minded makeup-loving gal working there who wanted to talk about makeup. I was posting up in the power tools section babysitting El Hub’s cart when one of the sales associates walked by and complimented me on my shoes (I was wearing Tom’s flats).
The shoes led to makeup because, of course, all roads inevitably lead to makeup, LOL! And we chatted about blush for a while in the shadow of the circular saws…
Funny. 🙂
Then I wandered into the lawn and garden department, which was off the hook! It was like a country-sized botanical garden in a fairytale movie. There must have been tens of thousands of different plants.
I ended up with a cart filled with foliage (and, yes, El Hub got some lumber) for the garden on my deck.
I can’t wait to go back…
Here’s part of what I have on the deck so far. There’s a little more stuff on the other side, but I still have a ways to go… Gotta get some more cages for more tomatoes and more edible plants.
Any suggestions? I want plants that produce a lot of food.
The Kristin Perry Crystal Cage Ear Cuff Is Not Your Average Bling
So, the ear cuff I wore in the Powell Street MAC Pro store tour and the past couple of Ask MBB vids? — it’s the $16 Kristin Perry Crystal Cage Ear Cuff.
I love that thing! It’s kind of unusual… Not your standard-issue bling.
It’s also surprisingly comfortable. The cuff wraps nicely around my ear (it goes around the right) and doesn’t give me a headache, like some ear cuffs do (very important… I’m not kidding), no matter how long I wear it.
It doesn’t fall off, either — I mean, as long as I’m not doing jumping jacks or jogging. 🙂
I usually like to wear it just like I am in the MAC video, with a small pair of rose gold studs, a long gold necklace and a bracelet.
NOTE: you do have to be a little careful with it because it’s not the sturdiest piece of bling. I had it in a pocket inside my purse last weekend, and one of the crystal rings fell off.
I have to remember to Crazy Glue that back on…
