Just For Fun

So…what is the Monday Poll?

Good question! It isn’t, contrary to its name, an actual poll. 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 gazillion years (more than 10!). I love reading your answers, and it helps me get my week off to a great start. ?

1. Did you ever have a Cabbage Patch Kid?

I did! She arrived one Christmas morning, but it was after the initial Cabbage Patch Kid craze when parents were body-checking each other at Toys ‘R’ Us stores to get their hands on one of the dolls.

She still lives at my parents house, I think.

2. What are you wearing on your nails?

OPI Chills are Multiplying (I’m three days into another seven-day nail experiment).

3. Something your teen self wore all the time?

A loose black long-sleeved scoop-neck dress with a peach flower print. It had a separate little black clip in the back to cinch the waist, and I wore it with opaque black tights and black ankle boots… (Yes, I thought it was the sh*t, LOL!)

I wish I’d kept that dress so Connor could wear it someday. I held onto it through college, but then I donated it and most of the rest of my teenage wardrobe to a thrift shop in Davis right after graduation.

4. Could you cut it as a member of the Real Housewives cast?

GIRL…I don’t know with the level of petty treachery on those shows, but if enduring a bunch of ladies throwing wine at each other at lunch meant that I could grow my own multi-million-dollar side business selling frozen reduced-calorie non-alcoholic margarita mixes for cats, then HELL YEAH, I would most certainly find a way to make it work!

5. Are you excited about the upcoming holidays?

Yes, I am! I mean, I’m not the type who busts out the pumpkins in August or anything (ha ha, I’ll wait till September), but I do love the holidays.

Happy Labor Day

I was driving the other day when someone on the radio said, “Why is it called Labor Day if you have the day off? Shouldn’t it be called Less Labor Day?”

Ha ha! 🙂 Hope you’re doing something fun.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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

1. Did you ever have a Cabbage Patch Kid?
2. What are you wearing on your nails?
3. Something your teen self wore all the time?
4. Could you cut it as a member of the Real Housewives cast?
5. Are you excited about the upcoming holidays?

More adventures on the gluten-free front.

(Good morning and happy Saturday, by the way!)

I should have taken pics along the way when I made this GF veggie spaghetti the other day, but it was totally improvised, a.k.a. I had no idea if it was going to taste gross, so there were no cameras up in the mix.

Cameras only get involved when there is 0% gross factor, ha ha!

The pasta turned out pretty darn delicious, if I do say so myself. It’s made out of yellow lentils and brown rice and tastes kinda nutty, like Japanese soba noodles. So, not exactly like regular pasta (whereas the GF lasagna from a couple weekends ago tasted like legit gluten-y pasta), but still good. El Hub and Connor also liked it.

This time was veggie (and cheese) all the way, but I want to do it with a protein next time, like broiled salmon or roasted chicken.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 package of Trader Joe’s Organic Yellow Lentil and Brown Rice Pasta Spaghetti (or your pasta of choice)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 a package of cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 2 large handfuls of sugar plum or cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• 3-4 big handfuls of fresh baby spinach
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan, and more for serving
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• Salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.
2. Add spaghetti, and cook 6-8 minutes, or until al dente. Drain in a strainer, reserving a cup of the pasta water.
3. Heat olive oil on medium low in a non-stick pan with high sides, and then add garlic and cook until fragrant and golden (don’t let it burn, though, because it’ll taste bitter).
4. Increase the heat to medium and add sliced mushrooms, and then cook 1-2 minutes.
5. Add halved tomatoes and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until mushrooms are lightly browned and tomatoes are softened and start to release their juices.
6. Add spinach and cook until about halfway wilted down.
7. Add in the spaghetti, Italian seasoning, about half a cup of the pasta, and the Parmesan, and then toss everything together until a thin sauce forms. If you need to, add more pasta water or Parmesan to make it more “saucy.”
8. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve with additional Parmesan.

Alright, now for this week’s reading!

• Thinking about investing in beauty? It might be something to consider, seeing as how the industry generates hundreds of billions of dollars in sales each year. Here are the major players, broken down by the numbers.
• At just 22 years old, Howard University pre-med student Akilah Releford started her own skin care line, Mary Louise Cosmetics, with just $200. Now the cruelty-free vegan line of masks and treatments is making a big splash on the indie market.
• These are cool: antique-inspired makeup organizers. You can find ’em on Amazon.
• You know the old saying: “If your man is gonna wear makeup, he better be wearing Chanel!” (Clearly I just made that up, but it should totally be a thing, don’t you think?) Their line just for guys includes brow pencils, a tinted moisturizer and a fancy lip balm.
• Here’s an idea for a name of a new blush: Parrot Pink! Researchers have found that parrots, like humans, may blush as a way to signal their feelings to their caretakers and other birds.
• Did you know that during the Victorian Era it was fashionable to give one’s nails a light rose tint with lemon juice, followed by buffing them to a shine with a chamois? So many fun facts about the history of nail artistry as a form of self-expression in this post!
• Why are so many perfumers men? In this piece a group of women perfumers share their thoughts on feminism, fragrance and women in the industry.
• Speaking of fragrances, if you’re looking for a new one, may I suggest Shark by Tara Reid?
• A proposal to ban kitties from this New Zealand village is getting clawed by locals!
• And in more cat-related news…this camping tent for your fave feline can be used indoors or in the great outdoors. Also, the 6th annual Portland Catio Tour is coming September 8th (and I wish I could go).
• But wait, there’s more! — these kitty cat washcloths will purr-fect your skin care routine.

So excited for this new remake of Anne of Green Gables

I never wanted to play the tuba until I watched this performance by The Roots.

Such a cute video! It has kind of a ’90s vibe, too.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

So…what is the Monday Poll?

Good question! It isn’t, contrary to its name, an actual poll. 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 gazillion years (more than 10!). I love reading your answers, and it helps me get my week off to a great start. ?

1. What was your favorite year in school, and what was special about it?

I mean, it’s gonna sound so cliché, but senior year in high school really was great.

OK, I didn’t drive, but all of my friends did, so I never had to take the school bus, which, in our district, was a lawless land. So, driving around with my friends at lunch was a lot of fun.

Plus, that year there was the anticipation of what the future held, but not knowing yet where my future was going to lead me, and I think that seeing all of that possibility, you know, when you’re young, makes the future seem so wondrous.

Academically, it was hard, but I think there was actually less pressure than the first three years of high school, because I’d gotten pretty good grades through that point, so I wasn’t too worried about getting into at least one college.

I was also lucky to have really good girlfriends, and, like, I kinda knew my place in the world, if that makes any sense.

That was also really the last year I felt completely steady and sure…because right after that real life happened and all hell broke loose!

2. Can you fake any accents?

Man, my grumpy Filipino old lady accent is ON POINT.

(Maybe that’s because I am a grumpy old Filipino lady, ha ha ha! I recognize that.)

I can also do a terrible wannabe bougie English accent, like “Ellow! May I offuh ew a coppa tea?”

Wait a second, that sounded more Austin Powers.

3. How do you like your popcorn?

I have a patented Karen method for movie popcorn. I do what I like to call a Kettlecorn Sandwich, where you do one layer of regular popcorn (no butter), then a thin layer of Kettlecorn in the center, and then a layer of regular popcorn on top. Then I add as much salt as I can get away with before El Hub catches me. 🙂

4. A recent unexpectedly great makeup, skin care or beauty find?

Burt’s Bees Baby Lotion. I got it for Connor originally, but I used it one night because I was getting hives… It’s just that time of year when my skin has allergic reactions to what I’m assuming are dead and dying leaves and stuff… I don’t know. It just always happens in the fall.

Anyway, the lotion’s great. It’s very moisturizing, affordable, absorbent, and it smells juuust enough like babies (powdery).

5. Costco?

otherwise known as “the happiest place on earth.” I’ll go if you’re driving, ’cause I am a savage in that parking lot.

By the way, if you’re going, get a box of Sabatasso’s Gluten-Free Cheese Pizzas (in the frozen section). The cheese tastes completely fresh, and I would never have thought that the crust would actually be so good as it is because it’s gluten-free, but it’s DELICIOUS! Flavorful and salty, and delightfully chewy. YUM! Best frozen pizza out there now, IMO.

The world wouldn’t be itself without you

To partially quote Ace of Base, I saw the sign! Well, I saw a sign at Starbucks yesterday that said “The world wouldn’t be itself without you,” and I couldn’t help but wonder who the nice person was who took the time out to draw it and put it on the community board. Whoever you are, thanks. You made a stranger smile.

Side note: my drink of choice at the moment is still a Venti Passion Iced Tea, no sweetener with a splash of coconut milk… It’s a less sugary version of their Pink Drink and it’s YUM.

What’s your drink of choice on this beautiful Monday?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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

1. What was your favorite year in school, and what was special about it?
2. Can you fake any accents?
3. How do you like your popcorn?
4. A recent unexpected makeup, skin care or beauty find?
5. Costco?