Just For Fun

Hmm… How many cups of coffee, imbibed from this mug, do I need to fuel myself for today?

Two?

Three?

FIVE?

I end up drinking *MOAR* coffee ☕☕☕ than usual on Caturdays because I like to be sufficiently fueled for my weekend pursuits, which today involve investigating the wares at a local restaurant supply store and playing soccer with the Coywolf. ⚽

Oh, and doing a little light reading, of course…

• A few of my favorite MAC liquid lipsticks are on deeeeeep discount at Nordstrom Rack right meow.
• Pinterest just launched a new feature that lets you virtually try on lipstick. ?
• Get to know Anne Troussicot, senior vice president and global general manager for French brand Darphin.
• Serious question: Is it summer yet? ?️ That’s when I like to wear short, white opaque nails. Here are some tricks from nail pros to help the look last a long time, along with some color recommendations.
• Bay Area visitors and residents, just in case you choose to ignore TLC’s advice and do go chasing waterfalls, there’s a three-mile hike up to Cataract Falls in nearby Bolinas that’s supposed to be gorgeous this time of year.
• The Humane Society of Missouri has a Shelter Buddies Reading Program where children soothe anxious shelter pets by reading to them.
• The Barbie universe just became more inclusive.
• New York artist Tom Bob takes common objects like bike racks from around the city and transforms them into colorful, clever pictures of animals and people (the flamingo ? is my favorite, of course).
• A dermatologist weighs in on hair growth shampoos that actually work.
• According to science, your cat REALLY DOES LOVE YOU. ?

Note to self…

An interesting twist on one of my favorite songs from the ’90s

Let’s do this, fam.

Love this kind of makeup

What are your plans for today? I hope you get a little quiet time to yourself. You gotta refuel your tank, ya know?

Talk to you soon.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

According to this NY Times article, there are only a handful of Glamour Shots stores left in the United States!

Do you remember when they were literally in every single mall?? I remember going to the one in New Park Mall circa 1994 with my BFF Jen, and I don’t remember if it was a premeditated thing or spur-of-the-moment, but I do remember taking Glamour Shots that involved the holding of collars and exposing of shoulders, as well as black pleather jackets and pearls.

WHY, THOUGH?!

I seem to remember that we believed they were hella cool at the time, but in retrospect? Cheesy.

Thankfully for me, they have been lost in the vortex of time… 🙂 *wipes brow*

Glamour Shots 101

Let me know in the comments if you’ve ever done Glamour Shots. I KNOW YOU HAVE if you lived through the mid-’90s and were within driving distance of a mall!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF!!!

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. Tacos or burritos?

Tacos, all day every day, and one thing they have going for them: you can order different kinds of tacos, like one fish, one carnitas and one grilled chicken, for the same meal.

It should be said that I do also like burritos…but they’re just too much of a commitment (ha ha). Plus, have you seen the burritos around here in Northern California? They’re HUGE.

2. Do you consider gift-with-purchases when you buy makeup?

These days, not really, because I’m pickier about what I keep around, and most of the items I’ve gotten in past gift-with-purchases rarely get used. There may be one or two items I like, but more often than not, they get given to friends or family.

When I was younger and still building up my collection, it was a different story, because I loved me some freebies!

3. What’s your ride-or-die MAC lipstick?

Oh! MAC Velvet Teddy. If we were vampires, I would ask Velvet Teddy to be my vampire bride from here to eternity. (Yes, it’s that serious.)

4. The last person (or people) you took a long car trip with?

El Hub and Connor last June. We drove down the Central California coast to Hearst Castle.

5. Do you bite your nails (or have you in the past)?

Nope. Never was into gnawing at my nails.

Popping pimples, though? Girl, that’s another story.

Life is short

We’re big basketball fans around here, and if you follow basketball at all, I’m sure you’ve heard the news about Kobe Bryant and his daughter. 🙁 I’m heartbroken for his family… I mean, we all know our days on earth are precious and numbered, but it’s easy to forget, at least it is for me, amidst the frippery of everyday life.

Hug your loved ones a little tighter today, friend. Sending you love and warm light from this little corner of the Internet.

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. Tacos or burritos?
2. Do you consider gift-with-purchases when you buy makeup?
3. What’s your ride-or-die MAC lipstick?
4. The last person (or people) you took a long car trip with?
5. Do you bite your nails (or have you in the past)?

Happy Caturday, lady! Or, should I say, “Happy Unicornday?”

Hmm… Doesn’t flow off the tongue as readily, but I like it. ?

There are two reasons I’m into that unicorn up there at the top. 1) Its silver-haired mane gives me something to look forward to someday. (Oh, to be a silver-haired unicorn! #BIGDREAMS) And 2) because the picture is on every single card in this deck of Affirmators! (exclamation mark included!) cards I got in my stocking for Christmas.

It’s so cute! Each card has a positive saying on it, and the way it works is you shuffle the deck (unicorn side up), pull a card out, and read it, ideally out loud (it’s supposed to work better that way). And then you carry that thought with you throughout the rest of your day.

In my new morning routine, the first thing I do — instead of mindlessly scrolling through social media or reading my emails on my phone — is feed my mind with these good things, and I kid you not, it sets the tone for a pretty good day.

This one is my favorite…

I like this one too!

OK, here’s today’s list o’ links…

• If you’ve ever felt like you have to juggle 12 things at once, and it chips away at your soul because it seems impossible to find time for your favorite creative endeavors, this piece on how many women rarely have long stretches of time to focus on anything anymore might speak to you. The writer, Brigid Schulte, says: “Women’s time has been interrupted and fragmented throughout history, the rhythms of their days circumscribed by the Sisyphean tasks of housework, childcare and kin work – keeping family and community ties strong. If what it takes to create are long stretches of uninterrupted, concentrated time, time you can choose to do with as you will, time that you can control, that’s something women have never had the luxury to expect, at least not without getting slammed for unseemly selfishness.”
• I’m loving this range of stylish feline furniture, but let’s get real… Rosie would opt for an empty Amazon cardboard box over a cat-sized platform bed (with a mattress and bed sheets and EVERYTHING!) any old day.
• Say “I love you” to yourself this Valentine’s Day ❤️ with a unique gift from the El Paso Zoo. They’ll name a cockroach after your ex, then feed it to a meerkat live on camera. ?
• The abundance of hydrangeas on the Azores is outstanding! The archipelago, located in the mid-Atlantic, has a delicate, narrow weather pattern, which allows these flowers to blanket the islands with blue and purple blossoms.
• Got littles? This shower attachment made for young children softens the flow of water and sets it at the perfect height for little ones.
• The Last Manilaners is a new documentary about the last living Jewish refugees who fled to the Philippines to escape the Holocaust. Locals welcomed the refugees with open arms and protected them when World War II reached Philippine shores.
• For my Bay Area babes, FYI: Market Street in San Francisco is going car free next week. As of Wednesday, January 29, private vehicles will no longer be allowed to travel from near Van Ness Avenue all the way to the waterfront. ?

For anyone who needs this today

I do this a few times a week… Good stuff!

Somebody make this soup for me please.

Isn’t she lovely?

It’s Charlotte, dahlings.

I’m on my way outside with Connor to catch some rays before the rain returns. Connor’s learning how to ride a bike (with training wheels), so we’re going to do about 300 loops around the circle.

It’s my cardio for the day!

Have a great weekend. See you soon. ?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Yes, girlfriend, I was just there! I picked up a bottle of Kate Somerville Anti-Bac Clearing Lotion, one of my favorite products of all time, and the best acne cream I’ve ever found, hands down.

How about you? What was the last thing you got at Sephora?

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. What’s something you say a lot?

I’m 100% guilty of overusing the word “seriously,” both in print and in person, and when I’m mom-ing pretty hard, I also say, “Make good choices,” and, “Please use your listening ears,” a lot.

2. How tall are you?

I tower over my minions at a staunch 5 feet one inches.

Pretty sure I’m shrinking, too.

3. What are you marathoning right now?

Anne with an E on Netflix. When it first came out, I didn’t want anything to do with it because I have such fond memories of the Anne of Green Gables series from the ’80s, but I’m glad I gave it a chance. Even though it’s darker than the old series (it *really* spells out all the bad things), it still has a sweetness about it.

4. Which would you rather live without — mascara or eyeliner? (Side note: In this scenario, you have to choose one or the other. “Neither” is not an option!)

UGH, this is hard, man… I guess if I had to give one up, it would be eyeliner.

5. What makes you happy?

• Coffee with milk and honey first thing in the morning
• Light, melt-in-your mouth cakes and cupcakes
• Having a cat on my lap
• Feeling warm and safe in my house
• Clean floors

Just in case you haven’t seen a cat in a dress in a while…

Here ya go!

This little number belonged to Coywolf back in the day, but she graciously decided to share it with her kitty cat baby sister. ?

It’s a holiday here in the U.S. today (Martin Luther King Jr. Day), and many people have the day off from work. Whatever you’re up to, I hope it’s going well.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. I ended up sleeping in this morning and got a grand total of nine hours (!) of sleep, but honestly, I felt really sluggish when I got up, like I could have slept at least three hours more.

Interesting factoid, but did you know that oversleeping can make you feel even more tired? I had no idea!

P.S. Here are the questions to copy/paste with your answers in a comment. Talk to ya soon.

1. What’s something you say a lot?
2. How tall are you?
3. What are you marathoning right now?
4. Which would you rather live without — mascara or eyeliner? (Side note: In this scenario, you have to choose one or the other. “Neither” is not an option!)
5. What makes you happy? ?