Just For Fun

Happy Caturday, sweetest! This lasagna is from Connor’s birthday party last March, and the reason you’re lookin’ at it now is because…I’m about to do something I never thought I’d ever try.

I’m going to make a gluten-free lasagna.

Rather, I’m going to try to make a gluten-free lasagna.

El Hub recently found out that he might have celiac, so he’s working with his doctor and going gluten-free for a few weeks to monitor his symptoms. So for this past week when I’ve made food for all of us, I’ve been doing gluten-free meals, which is why the aforementioned lasagna’s happening.

I’m also making a separate lasagna using regular pasta to bring to one to my neighbors, too. And I might also make a third one to have as a spare… (Yes, I’m a lasagna-making ? machine.)

Saturday Surfing: Interesting tidbits I came across this week

• Favorite read —> The journey of Katie Stubblefield, who became the youngest person in the U.S. to undergo a successful face transplant. It’s a long read and difficult at times, but by the end of it you’ll appreciate your face and everything it does for you that much more. Side note: science is freaking amazing.
• Also, we live in *strange* times. Did you know that there exists an entire sub-genre of beauty videos where pets select the makeup their owners wear?
• Even though they aren’t supposed to last long at all, I still want to try a water-based fragrance. They’ve been around since ye olde Roman times (so roughly a millennium), and they’re making a comeback, driven in large part by clean beauty devotees.
• Who’s that (birthday ?) girl?! Madonna just turned 60 (WHAT), which means that her iconic biceps have been gracing us for nearly four decades. Here’s a timeline of her arms through the ages!
• This coffee ☕ is supposed to make you ??‍? smarter.
• Eight of the best cat toys for kitties ? who stay home alone during the day.
• Seven of Aretha Franklin’s most iconic looks. RIP, Queen of Soul. Your music ? carried me through many rough patches in my late teens and early 20s, and your legacy will live on forever.

My favorite Aretha song

Yum! I wanna make this for lunch.

On a mission to perfect the push-up

This looks super cute and relatively easy…

Hey, anyone else out there doing the gluten-free ? thing? If there are any recipes or food websites you know and love, please hook a lady up.

Have a good rest of your weekend!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

I was cleaning my Surrat lash curler the other day and wondering about this, because I’m fairly certain — and this may sound totally gross, depending on your opinion on the subject — that I’ve only done it once or (maybe) twice in my entire life.

And I’ve curled my lashes A LOT over the years. It’s an everyday thing for me.

Even though I usually have those pad replacement thingamabobs floating around, because most lash curlers come with one or two of them, I usually wait until my curler gets so gross that it crosses the point of no return and can’t be resuscitated, and I end up chucking it and buying a new one.

This happens about every few years, or thereabouts.

So I’m wondering…does anybody ever replace those pads? I’m sure there has to be a continent of responsible lash curler lovers out there…or maybe I’m just the grossest person on the planet?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

What I wanna know is this: Is there anyone out there who doesn’t fall for this?! Because if you’re out there…TEACH ME YOUR WAYS. I swear, it doesn’t matter how well I plan out my purchases, it seems like I’m always this shy from qualifying for the free shipping threshold, and you know I’m not about to pay an extra 5-10 dolla-dolla-bills-y’all just to get my haul to my doorstep.

Inevitably, I’ll end up with some nonsense I don’t need but would rather spend the equivalent $$ on to snag that free shipping.

What about you?

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. How good are you about keeping your makeup collection de-cluttered?

Ya know…even before I started blogging, I was terrible at it.

Absolutely awful.

I need someone to hold my hand and talk me out of my crazy next time I sit down to clean up my collection because I hold on to things way too long. I will generally always find a reason to keep something. Forever.

I wish I could be one of those people who mercilessly unloads items they never use. Maybe then I could finally let go of that ancient pan of NARS Amour Blush that I took with me to Europe in 2005. (In case you were wondering, no I don’t use it anymore.)

2. Do you play Fortnite?

Nah, I’ve heard about it many times in passing, and I actually had to Google it to find out what the fuss was about.

My dream idea of gaming is playing Tetris. On a Gameboy. In the ’90s.

3. What’s the last thing you explained to someone?

El Hub asked me, “What’s the deal with Cardi B? Why’s she so popular?” HA HA HA! I may or may not have given him a dissertation on her rise to fame.

4. Jellybeans or chocolate?

Chocolate! ???

5. Cher or Beyoncé?

Bey, although Stevie Nicks trumps everyone, every time.

5+ Bonus question: who’s your team?

The Warriors, baby!

Happy Monday!

Why am I always caught by surprise when I see the pink ladies pop up this time of year?

No, they aren’t a girl gang from Grease. They’re those flowers up at the top. 🙂 They show up in Bay Area every year in late summer and signal that fall is right around the corner.

OK, now, I know that fall is coming, but it’s like my mind refuses to accept that summer will be over soon. 🙁

I have Facebook friends who are already posting pictures of pumpkins and their pets and kids in Halloween costumes, while I’m here knocking on a watermelon and thinking about the pool.

Sigh…

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. How good are you about keeping your makeup collection de-cluttered?
2. Do you play Fortnite?
3. What’s the last thing you explained to someone?
4. Jellybeans or chocolate?
5. Cher or Beyoncé?

Good morning, glory. Happy Caturday. ? We’re getting ready to head to the ?️ beach (because you gotta get there early to grab a spot in the main parking lot, or you end up having to park a mile away and hike up mini Kilimanjaro).

The ? ocean is calling!

But first, some light reading. ?

• If you don’t know, now you know. The ’80s-style makeup on Netflix’s GLOW is authentic and epic — so epic that the artists have been nominated for an Emmy! To keep the makeup as authentically ’80s as possible, they eschewed modern-day tools like the Beauty Blender. According to GLOW makeup designer Lana Horochowski, “The ’80s were all about severe, harsh lines… I applied the girls’ makeup as if they were applying it themselves really quick for a show,” she explains. “If something was a little wonky, I’d just leave it.”
• Linda Cantello (widely regarded as the inventor of the smoky eye) is not feeling Instagram makeup.
• Period parties are an old tradition being revived in many families, and ya know what? I think it’s kinda cool, because why not celebrate this major milestone in a woman’s life as a joyful step into womanhood? I’d rather have it be something positive than something shameful or negative.
• Charlotte Tilbury’s coming to Sephora…which means that I’ll have one more reason to lose my damn mind at the VIB sale!

• This was non-beauty related but still interesting and somewhat frightening (to me, at least): There’s a new field of research called “persuasive design” that examines how computers can change the way we act and think. The ideas are built into thousands of games and apps, and companies like Twitter and Facebook rely on persuasive design techniques to encourage people to do things…like spend more time staring at their phones.

  From the article:

  “While defenders of persuasive tech will say it can have positive effects, like training people to take medicine on time or develop weight loss habits, some health professionals believe children’s behaviors are being exploited in the name of the tech world’s profit. On Wednesday, a letter signed by 50 psychologists was sent to the American Psychological Association accusing psychologists working at tech companies of using ‘hidden manipulation techniques’ and asks the APA to take an ethical stand on behalf of kids.”

• I blessed the rains down in Africa! How a teenage fan’s fervent Twitter campaign gave us the magic that is Weezer’s cover of this iconic ’80s Toto song.

What are you up to this weekend?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen