Just For Fun

So, remember the Nike’s I posted yesterday? I didn’t end up getting them because I used the Nordstrom gift card that had been burning a hole in my pocket to buy these silver and white Air Max Bellas instead.

They aren’t as sassy as the burgundy high-tops, but I figure they’d be handy to have around, since they’re neutral enough to wear with jeans and a white tee, or with any number of workout leggings I’m hoarding, as my body repels “real” pants now.

And perhaps maybe, JUST MAYBE, if I drop enough hints about my upcoming birthday, someone in my family will get the hint and order the Air Jordan 1 High Zips in a size women’s 7.5!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

This SUPER delicious oatmeal bake with peaches, blueberries and bananas has been my go-to breakfast as of late. I prep and bake it on Sunday, then have it for breakfast over the next few days.

It’s totally filling, and if I’m going to be working out in the a.m., it gives me a good boost of energy.

I use a combination of fresh bananas and frozen fruit because it’s easy (I don’t have to wash and cut), but sometimes I also use fresh berries (Costco FTW!).

This dish is also perfect for brinner (breakfast for dinner). Just add scrambled eggs and bacon on the side. BOOM! Delish! ?

Blueberry, Peach and Banana Oatmeal Bake

INGREDIENTS

• 2 medium ripe bananas (ideally, you want ones with lots of brown/black spots because they’re more flavorful), sliced into 1/2″ thick rounds
• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 1 cup frozen peaches
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 tbsp honey (you can also substitute with maple syrup)
• 1 cup uncooked rolled oats
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup whole milk (you can substitute with whatever milk you have on hand)
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 350. Lightly grease a 9-by-9 glass or ceramic baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Layer the banana slices on the bottom of the pan and sprinkle 3/4 cup of the blueberries on top, and then drizzle with the honey.
3. Cover with foil and bake for 15-20 minutes (you want the bananas to be soft).
4. While the bananas are baking, make the oatmeal mixture by combining the oats, walnuts, baking powder, cinnamon and the salt in a medium-sized bowl. Mix everything together with a fork or a whisk.
5. In a smaller bowl, make your milk mixture by whisking the milk, maple syrup, egg and vanilla extract.
6. When the bananas are soft, take them out of the oven and remove the foil (set it aside so you can use it to cover your pan before you put the leftovers in the fridge). Distribute the oat mixture evenly over the bananas.
7. Give the milk mixture a few whisks, and then pour it evenly over the oats to cover them completely.
8. Arrange the peach slices on top, then sprinkle the remaining blueberries between the slices.
9. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the oatmeal has set and the top is golden brown. Serve warm in slices as is, or place each slice in a bowl and add milk.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF! ?

1. Inflatable pools for adults

Cheers to the genius who dreamed up these adult-sized “kiddie pools,” although I don’t quite understand the point of sharing a tiny pool with someone. Three people in one inflatable pool? NO THANK YOU! That’s just too many limbs in my personal space.

I like this pool with the banana leaf print, but trust me…I’m not sharing. Each one is $42.99, and you can find them at Thunderdome Target.

2. Upload on Amazon Prime Video

Absolutely brilliant! I blazed through the entire season a few weekends ago. It’s set in the near future… 2033…and it’s about a 20-something programmer on the brink of a technology breakthrough when his life is unexpectedly cut short.

No problem though because his consciousness is uploaded to the cloud into a digital slice of virtual “heaven” that people are able to purchase as a service before their demise. Of course, this neatness comes with a price, both monetary and otherwise, and the virtual “afterlife” turns out to be far less than ideal.

I laughed, I screamed (“DID THAT REALLY JUST HAPPEN?”), I saw the afterlife through a lens I’d never seen before (big surprise! — capitalism decides to monetize heaven). All I have to say is that I know myself all too well, and if loading your consciousness into a server ever becomes a choice in the near future, I will give that a hard pass.

3. My strawberry plant

I’m growing a strawberry plant in the Lady Sanctuary, and it already has a few green berries, which I’m SUPER EXCITED ABOUT. It’s so cool to see a plant thriving and doing its thing. I just hope the neighborhood squirrels and birds don’t find it so I can actually eat the fruit.

4. Improv ramen with gluten-free noodles from Costco

I’ve been craving all teh carbs lately, especially ramen noodles, and have been making this gluten-free quickie version at home. From start to finish, it takes about 30 minutes, so it’s a fairly quick meal, and the noodles stay good in the cupboard forever (well, almost). Plus, you can customize it with whatever you have on hand.

Lemme walk ya through it…

1. Warm about a tablespoon of olive oil in a deep, heavy pot on medium heat. Add a handful of any aromatics you like — I used garlic, a bit of fresh ginger and the white parts of a green onion for mine — and cook till everything’s wilted and fragrant.
2. Add one box of beef broth and a box of chicken broth to the pot. (Then, into each empty box, add a little water and swish it around to get all that good flavoring out, and add that to the pot as well.) Add two teaspoons of fish sauce and two teaspoons of soy sauce, but if you don’t have either of those, I’m thinking you can substitute with any thin, salty sauce, like coconut aminos.

   Bring to a boil, and simmer on low until you’re ready to add noodles.

3. Next, cook your ramen noodles according to the directions on the package, and set them aside. I used Costco’s Lotus Foods Organic Millet & Brown Rice Ramen, which is gluten free and vegan, and it’s ready after about four minutes of cooking.
4. Cook or prep any other accouterments you want. Some ideas: eggs, bacon (which I used this time because I didn’t have pork belly), shrimp, fish cake, green onion slices, corn, peas, dried seaweed… So many options.
5. Ladle your broth into a big bowl, add your noodles, proteins and veggies, and enjoy right away! ?

5. The idea of a tennis shoe collection

Back in the day when I was semi-fabulous, I lived in high heels. These days, not so much. It’s just so much easier for me to sprint after Connor and Rosie when I’m *not* teetering above the ground in three-inch strappy sandals. Plus, my feet are happier now that I stick to comfy sneakers.

The thing is…I don’t feel like I should be doomed to a life of boring footwear!

Sooooo, I’ve been toying with the idea of collecting Nikes…. They’re always coming out with cute styles, and my feet have been happy with every pair of Nikes I’ve owned. Beyond that, my standard-issue uniform these days is black stretchy pants with a tee, or jeans with a tee, and both go well with sassy tennis shoes.

Clearly, I’ve already done the math in my head. LOL!

Anyway, my birthday’s next month, so I’m thinking about finally springing for a pair of Air Jordan 1 High Zip Premiums in this pretty wine color.
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Here are some motivational videos I like. I highly recommend these — particularly watching them first thing in the morning (this is key!). I hope you find something here that speaks to you.

Have you ever taken a look at your morning routines and wondered if there’s anything you can do to make your mornings better? I’ve been thinking about this a lot and looking for ways to help my days start on a good note…

One thing I recently figured out (and wish I’d learned sooner!) is that feeding my mind early in the day is super important. Seems like any media I consume at the start of my day sets the tone for everything that follows.

Scrollin’, scrollin’, scrollin’

I used to mindlessly scroll social media first thing in the morning, and I’d let my brain nibble on whatever “tea” or drama popped up on my timeline, but you know how that can go… There’s a lot of bad news out there, and I have to monitor my consumption of it, frankly. Otherwise, I feel beaten down, disheveled, anxious and unfocused.

Right now, more than ever, I also have to manage my consumption of GOOD news, like by watching or listening to inspiring and motivating audio and video.

It’s been about two months since I’ve started regularly doing this, and truth be told, it felt super cheesy at first (like I was a caricature in a Saturday Night Live skit or something!), but now I’m fully on board with it.

THIS DUDE!

It took me a while to get into it…

Now, every day, I listen to at least 10 minutes of something “motivational” (“air quotes”).

It didn’t take long to notice a difference in myself. After just a couple weeks of managing my intake of “bad” news, I started feeling more focused, mentally stronger, less overwhelmed and anxious, and generally happier.

This all came about after watching several interviews with Spanx CEO Sarah Blakely, a self-made businesswoman who inspires me. She often talks about how when she was in high school her dad gave her a set of tapes by motivational speaker Dr. Wayne Dyer called No Limit Person, and whenever she’d drive around in her car, she’d have the tapes playing in the background. Eventually, she says, those words that were constantly playing taught her vital lessons that helped her succeed (like learning how to view failure as a good thing).

Whenever you have a free moment, press play

I started by listening to different speeches by Wayne Dyer, and that led to other motivational speeches/videos. It’s not like it takes extra time out of my morning either, because I play them in the background while I do other things, like while I’m brushing my teeth, washing my face, making the bed, getting dressed or making breakfast. And I usually listen to one video per sitting, which typically lasts about 10 minutes.

Here are a few on my current playlist…

To wit, it might feel corny at first. This I fully acknowledge. Because it certainly did for me, but if you keep at it, you just might find yourself feeling better in the morning and throughout your day. And maybe you’ll even start seeing more good things in places you never noticed before.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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. Have you served or do you currently serve in the armed forces?

Nope. But I have friends who have (Army and Air Force), and my dad was in the Navy.

2. Who taught you how to ride a bike?

Mostly me, since I was left to my own devices to figure out most childhood things (my parents worked a lot). My cousin Beverly also helped. She would sit behind me on the banana seat and drag her feet on the ground while I pedaled, and then she’d occasionally lift her feet off the ground until I figured out how to balance.

3. Coral or berry?

Coral!

4. What are you allergic to?

Tree and grass pollen, and the occasional cantaloupe makes my throat itch.

5. What did you have for breakfast this morning?

Nutella (the Trader Joe’s version) on whole wheat toast, berries and a bite of scrambled eggs.

6. Your thoughts on the super-shiny highlighting trend?

Quite frankly, I’m surprised it’s still going strong! I was into it about five years ago, but I’m not the biggest fan of the look on myself right now.

7. ’80s or ’90s?

Ooh! Tough choice. I’ll go with the ’90s today.

8. Sandals or flip-flops?

Flip-flops.

9. Oversized tee or crop top?

The crop top, worn with high-waisted workout pants.

10. The last big public gathering or event you went to before the pandemic hit?

El Hub and I took Connor to Disney on Ice at the Oakland Arena the last weekend of February, and I remember being freaked out about the virus at the time and administering hand sanitizer to the fam after we touched anything, but the all-encompassing magnitude of the crisis here in America still wasn’t really real by then, you know?

I still can’t believe we were in that space with all those people… Only three months, and it seems like a lifetime ago.

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. Have you served or do you currently serve in the armed forces?
2. Who taught you how to ride a bike?
3. Coral or berry?
4. What are you allergic to?
5. What did you have for breakfast this morning?
6. Your thoughts on the super-shiny highlighting trend?
7. 80s or 90s?
8. Sandals or flip flops?
9. Oversized tee or a crop top?
10. The last big public gathering or event you went to before the pandemic hit?

P.P.S. It’s Memorial Day here in the U.S., which is also the unofficial start of summer! Hope you’re enjoying your day so far. ?

Here’s your unsolicited floral fun fact of the day:

Bird of paradise are deer resistant and can withstand temps below freezing.

Seriously, who knew? I didn’t.

I’m going to file this under “The Things You Find When You’re Cruising the Neighborhood for Plant Ideas.”

And because “makeup” is always processing somewhere in the background of my brain, I’m wondering how I’d incorporate bird of paradise colors into a makeup look…

Maybe a bright coral lip with colorful, crisp orange liner on the upper lash line? Ooh! — then I’d add a blue cat eye flick at the outer corner with the tiniest sliver of green along the outer edge. ?

What would you do? While you ponder that, here are some things that caught my eye this week…

BRB. Gonna make some breakfast.

• Crayola is coming out with “Colors of the World,” an awesome box of crayons in colors reflecting skin tones from around the globe. ?️ I’m a mix of “Medium Almond” and “Medium Golden.” How about you?
• THIS IS INCREDIBLE! —–> Rebecca Sharrock has a rare condition that allows her to remember every moment of her life. Her first memory: “I remember being in a dark place, with a reddish light and I had my head between my legs, so I’m assuming that’s when I was in the womb but I didn’t know my age at the time. That’s the earliest I can go back, as my memories are always in chronological order.”
• Can COVID-19 “live” on makeup? Here’s what experts say about beauty best practices during the pandemic.
• Favorite read of the week: Lyndsay Tucker, a Sephora beauty consultant in the Bay Area, has Elon Musk’s old cell phone number, and she receives countless calls and texts meant for him. Unsurprisingly, some are pretty weird. “One woman volunteered to go to space with SpaceX, and another person sent a blueprint for a bionic limb. “Which is, No. 1, really cool,” Tucker says. “But I have no idea how it’s built.
• In case you ever wondered what Jackie O.’s exact skin care routine looked like! (Here’s a hint: it involves her dermatologist saying that she should hang out in the sun without a hat.)
• What drugstore brand e.l.f. is doing to stay ahead in the beauty game. By the way, if you haven’t tried it yet, their solid sponge cleanser brush soap is EXCELLENT for brushes.
• Fun fact: in the three-year pursuit to create mascara for her makeup line, Gucci Westman tested 45 different mascara wands.
• Meet Rodrigo Flores-Roux, the man behind Clinique Happy, one of the most iconic scents of the ’90s.
• Nail techs are putting their lives on the line to do nails.
• I’m a little obsessed with the product descriptions for the scents from Imaginary Authors, this small indie perfume line based in Oregon. My favorite is Falling Into the Sea:
  

  “At the age of nineteen Nica Galas published her first book, the autobiographical tome Falling into the Sea which chronicled her short and torrid love affair among the hot beaches and lemon trees in the Gulf of Naples. The breathtaking story opens with Nica and her girlfriends picking bunches of jasmine flower for boys while they cliff-jumped into the sea. An innocent first kiss erupts into an ardent summer entanglement which is cut short one moonlit night when her lover leaps into the dark abyss never to surface, leaving Nica naked on the cliffs screaming his name. This scent is sunshine in a bottle. Wear on cloudy days to invoke the ardor of summer.”

• Belly chains? Check. Low-rise jeans? Yup. Crocheted blankets as shirt? Yes, girl, that too. I’m horrified to report that I wore almost all more than a few of these outdated fashion trends from back in the day.
• This gal’s sweet hubby sits outside of the window of her hospital room at a table decorated with flowers and candles so they can have date nights.
• Peter Dinklage and Jason Momoa are teaming up for a vampire-themed buddy comedy, and I’m all for it.

I did this earlier in the week, and it’s super fun.

What happens when worlds collide

I’m happy to report that ’90s singer Jon B is 1) alive and 2) thriving during the pandemic. Fast forward to 7:52 to listen to “Don’t Talk,” a.k.a. my club jam from way back when.

I now know how to change a tire! I love this guy. He grew up without a dad, and now he makes how-to videos with practical “dad” advice.

I need this; you need this; we all need this in our lives right now.

Have a nice rest of your Saturday, and yes, it’s SATURDAY! No worries if you had no idea what day of the week it was until just now, friend. It’s happened to me more than a few times since March.

WAY more than a few times. Happy Memorial Day weekend. ?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen