Just For Fun

When you’re well into your second decade of life, sometimes you can’t help but look back at the cats, toddlers and humans you’ve known, the places you’ve been, the flowers you’ve sniffed, the collars you’ve rocked, and the makeup looks you’ve inspired.

Call it a fall career retrospective, if you will. Tabs (and I) got a little emo today looking back at old pics from falls of yore.

Fall has always been one of Tabs’ favorite times of year, and not just because the turkeys are plump and the grass is extra green and tasty, but also because of fall fashion.

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Good morning, meow mix! Do you ever have temporary bouts of cat clothing-related insanity? I’m going to venture a guess now that this does not come as a shock, but I do, and mine routinely occur at Target.

I was there the other day when I saw this children’s dress… Or is it a tunic top? I’m not exactly sure what it is, TBH! It was on a rack. When I saw it, I paused and thought, “Hmm… If I can find it in an XL, I bet I could wear it as a t-shirt!”

LOL. Then I came to my senses… Can ya blame me, though? That cat is super cute! ?

Oh, and I also saw this interesting mint green coat that reminds me of the bathroom rug my parents had in the ’80s, ha ha!

I kinda wanted to get it, but I held back because I already own enough clothing that makes me look like a Muppet…

On that note, let’s get to this weekend’s reading.

• In case you were wondering what to do if your cat is peeing on your boyfriend’s laundry…
• Up until recently, the scientific community mostly ignored the bio-mechanics of cat grooming, but researchers recently discovered that the spiny bumps on cat tongues, which are known as papillae, are actually curved backward toward the throat, and they’re now applying this knowledge of cat tongues to the development of cutting-edge technology for hoomans.
• Netflix has a new drama coming out called Perfume, and it isn’t about the dark goings-on at a haunted fragrance counter… In it, a criminal profiler investigates a series of murders that trace back to a group of boarding school students who once experimented with psychologically manipulating people using scents.
• Even the Queen loves Charlotte Tilbury!

• What does “clean beauty” even mean? There isn’t a clear-cut definition here in the U.S., and the marketing can be hella confusing.

  This post talks about common chemicals used in cosmetics (including parabens and phthalates), and what different camps of people within the beauty world think of them.

• Good to know —> Google is working on motorized shoes ? for virtual reality.
• This baby sloth loves eyebrows! (Side note: I wonder what he or she thinks about Instagram brows.)
• This photo moved me to tears.
• A dermatologist’s guide to layering your skin-care products.
• Things to keep in mind if you’re a darker diva and you’re thinking about microblading your brows.
• In case you haven’t noticed, teen heartthrob hair is having a may-jah moment.

One of my faves

On my “good morning” playlist at the moment

Why yes, I’m on a ’90s music kick!

All I want for Christmas are Lisa’s lipsticks, LOL.

If you’re that one awkward mom at the birthday party, a.k.a. me

Have a great rest of your weekend. Stay dry.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Happy Thanksgiving, sweet friend. Let me be the cheeseball/ball of cheese that I am for a second, OK? I’m here to remind you 1) that you are ❤️ loved, 2) you are capable, and 3) you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be in life, even if you don’t feel like you’re quite “there” (wherever that “there” is) yet in your journey. I’m thankful every day that we’ve somehow, through the magic of the interwebz, gotten to know each other.

Like a lot of women, I crave connection. Need it. Thrive on it. Feeling like I’m part of a tribe makes life feel a little less…well, tedious. Like I don’t have to go it all alone.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this line I heard recently in a horror show I watched on Netflix called The Haunting of Hill House (of all things!), where one of the characters talks about preparing children for the dangers of “the real world,” and what she says stuck with me. “It [the real world] has teeth. It is hungry, and it is stupid, and it eats and eats mindlessly.”

Sometimes, I feel like I’m being chewed up and consumed by all of the adulting I have to do all the time — bills, work, the drudgery of everyday things like vacuuming the couch and cleaning the bathroom. How do you get through it all without feeling like you’re stuck on a hamster wheel? How do you feel less lonely?

Answer: You find friends where you can, and you hold onto them. Tight. And that’s what I cherish most and am thankful for the most here at MBB — all of the friendships I’ve made along the way (since 2007!). Without you gals, I’d be outta my frickin’ mind by now. Really. Granted, that may sound a little dramatic (what, me dramatic? NO WAY!), but if life had taken a different turn and I were doing something else instead, like teaching underwater basket weaving to tourists on a remote island, I know that I’d probably be fine…but there would most definitely be a hole in my heart. An emptiness. There would be something missing.

I am so, so thankful that we found each other in this little corner of the world. I’m grateful to you for your thoughtfulness, your compassion, your wit and your joie de vivre, and I’m happy to say that I’m one of the lucky women who has a tribe of girlfriends to turn to.

Thank you for being a friend, and yes, I just quoted The Golden Girls! ? Thank you for having my back, because I’ll always have yours.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Eat an extra helping of mashed potatoes for me, will ya?

With lots of love, your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

I might sound like a broken record…especially when I say, “I might sound like a broken record,” which is a phrase I know I use all the time, but I think it’s important to be open about taking care of one’s mental health. I know the holidays can be a stressful time, so here are a few things on my “Positivity Playlist” at the moment, in case you need a little help this week.

Time for some Electricity on repeat…

I’ve discussed some of this before, but when I was going to therapy a couple years ago (just needed someone to talk to about work, life, self-doubt, motherhood, loneliness, aging), one of the things my therapist and I talked about was conscientiously trying to see the proverbial glass as half full, rather than half empty, and how it can take a LOT of work sometimes to see the world in a positive light.

I still think about this all the time because, depending and on how I’m feeling, it’s either really easy for me to feel positive and grateful for the things I have in my life (even though it’s far from perfect), or it’s really hard, let’s be honest. Some days I feel like everything’s a sh*t show, and I can’t handle it.

One of the most helpful techniques I’ve come across for me has been actively recognizing that when I feel that “life is a sh*t show” feeling coming on, I openly acknowledging it to myself.

You know how you can smell the rain coming before it happens? It’s a little like that. When I start to feel that feeling creeping up on me, I recognize it, acknowledge it (“Oh, here we go!), and then turn to my positivity toolbox.

Pretty sure I’ve mentioned all of these things before, but here they are again:

1. I make it a point to do a little extra cardio, whether it’s jogging, walking or doing a workout DVD or YouTube video, because those endorphins really do help me a lot.
2. I try to get some extra rest by going to bed early.
3. I leave myself encouraging, positive notes everywhere — Post-its, on mirrors, on my wrists. Side note: The notes are usually written with an Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on Eye Pencil, LOL!
4. I listen to songs that make me wanna move my booty and dance around (see below).
5. I fire up a Ted Talk on positive thinking.

Something here usually makes me feel better. They definitely don’t make me feel worse.

Here’s what’s on my Positivity Playlist right now…

I hope this can help you in some way, too, even if it’s just to get your heart pumping and your body moving.

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 are you like when you’re really, really tired?

An absolute joy to be around! ??? People can’t get enough of my sunny demeanor, and my cup runneth over with patience. (Yes, that was sarcasm.)

2. Which eyebrow is your “good” eyebrow?

My left. It’s the one that bothers me the least, even with Raul (a.k.a. “the bald spot”)! My left brow is longer than my right, and I like where the arch is positioned, so it’s easier to fill in. My right brow is significantly shorter and straighter than the left one, and the arch isn’t as defined, so it takes more work to fill in.

3. What makes your skin ? happy?

When I get enough sleep, drink obnoxious amounts of water, and use Kate Somerville Anti Bac Clearing Lotion.

4. What are you doing for Thanksgiving?

GIRL, I’m not cooking for three families! I made a reservation at a restaurant, which means, for once, that all I have to do is show up! And I’m here for that!

5. Who runs the world?

Cats. And rich old dudes. ??

Who caved in the second weekend of the Sephora VIB sale?

Alternatively: Who fell prey to the second weekend of the Sephora VIB Sale? LOL! Come on, come clean!

I must’ve checked to see if the Charlotte Tilbury Beauty Glow Palette had been restocked, oh…about 100 times. Never mind that I had signed up to get a restock notification last week, ha ha ha! Apparently, I really, really want to go there.

I didn’t though, but I still put a bunch of stuff in my cart anyway, just for kicks (including this CT kit and the Drunk Elephant Marula Oil, which everyone raves about).

Totally not makeup-related, but thanks for all the meal recommendations for feeding guests. I went to Costco over the weekend, got some pre-made dishes and side dishes from the refrigerated section, a few salads, and a rotisserie chicken (which just happens to be gluten-free, hooray!). I also made a huge pot of chili, which has carried over for several meals. Seriously, where would I be without you? Probably in a corner rocking myself back and forth slowly and whispering “safe place, safe place.”

Thanks again.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Question time! Here they are to copy/paste with your answers in a comment. Talk to you soon.

1. What are you like when you’re really, really tired?
2. Which eyebrow is your “good” eyebrow?
3. What makes your skin happy?
4. What are you doing for Thanksgiving this year?
5. Who runs the world?

CHECK THIS OUT. (Oh, and happy Caturday, friend.) You know that I’m solidly #teamtraderjoes, but I was absolutely shocked — SHOCKED! — to discover a glaring absence in/around the subject of this advent calendar I saw for sale.

They only have one for dogs.

Naturally, I expected to find one for the kitties as well, but I couldn’t, and believe me, Connor and I examined every shelf with a fine-toothed comb.

I can’t believe TJs would do us cat ladies like that! I really do hope they come to their senses and release a cat one soon…

LOL.

Ironically, even if TJ’s did sell one for cats and I brought it home, how much you wanna bet Tabs would be more interested in the packaging or the paper bag I brought it home in?

I still want to get him one though. #catladymoments

Now, on to this week’s reading…

• Possible TMI moment: I get new pajamas for Connor Claire about every three months because that’s how long it takes her to grow out of them, but I haven’t gotten myself new pajamas since at least 2015.

  On that note, according to hyper-enthusiastic reviewers on Amazon, these PJs are the cats meow.

• Ballet shoes are finally available in tones for women of color, and all I have to say is HOORAY!

• Could this be the workout-wear of the future? Nike has filed patents for self-cleaning shoes and a “smart” bodysuit capable of teaching you yoga.

  If it isn’t too late to make a suggestion, I would prefer a bodysuit that could actually do the yoga for me. Let’s see you make THAT happen, Nike.

• And this is why Ryan Gosling is perfection: Homeboy needs makeup to make himself look BAD. LOL! I mean, I just roll out of bed and look terrible, but for RyGos, it takes a village.

• This naturally occurring compound used in some perfumes can smell both floral and fecal. Freakier still? The poo scent is supposed to make your fragrance smell better.

  Um…wow AND gross?

• Here’s an article on how to win over someone else’s cat, and all I have to say is GOOD LUCK WITH THAT, since cats are well-documented @ssholes.
• These two cats have been attempting to get into the same Japanese museum for two years, and the Internet is rooting for them. Obviously.
• The ancient Egyptians were the most EXTRA of cat people. Case in point: this recently opened tomb, which revealed 100 gilded feline statues, along with dozens of mummified cats.
• The latest on Japanese beauty street style
• Interesting! —> The Beauty of Human Imperfection: Our flaws show how our past shaped our present.

• I don’t even know where to start with this trend of “DIY nose jobs.” People on Instagram (where else?) are now reshaping their noses using something called scar wax.

  One hand, I think it promotes a negative view of certain nose shapes (Girl, if I had a dime for every time some stranger on the Internet said my nose was “too flat” or “too wide”). On the other hand, it’s pretty darned creative.

• Something I’ve always wondered: Should the bride pay for her bridesmaids’ hair and makeup?
• In case you have $25K sitting around and you want a diamond-encrusted makeup brush.
• I was touched by this story on the kindness of strangers, but I was also totally shocked. Do people actually get into cars with people they don’t know? (I mean other than taxis, buses, Lyft, Uber…)

This cat is my hero.

Booty-shaking goals

One of my favorite songs, and this rendition is all sorts of beautiful.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, whatever you’re up to.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen