I was chatting with someone IRL a couple weeks ago, and she told me that sometimes she puts on her makeup in the morning before sitting down to work because it makes her feel more productive, and I was like, “YES! You are my people!” ? That’s totally what happened in this look here. I was researching luxury vinyl flooring, so these soft teal wings happened…
Side note: over the years, our carpet has become completely thrashed thanks to the cats, so now I’m learning all about laminate versus vinyl plank flooring versus hardwoods… If you have any flooring knowledge bombs to drop on me, I’m all ears!
I’m wearing the new Urban Decay Naked Wild West Palette here. Just a couple of the brown matte shades on my lids (Spur and Nudie) and the shimmery teal (Bud) on my lash lines.
I’m still on the fence about this palette and haven’t quite figured out if I think it’s must-have… This is my third time using it, and although I do like the mix of brown, taupe and gray mattes, coupled with the fun blues and golds, I don’t know if it’s that practical. I’m gonna give it a couple more tries, then check back in with you…
By the way, I’m also testing a new concealer from bareMinerals called The bareMinerals Original Liquid Mineral Concealer. It’s a medium-coverage brightening liquid concealer you can build up in layers to full (specifically for the under-eye area). It’s comes in 17 shades, and it’s available on qvc.com for $25 a tube now.
This was my first time using it (I’m wearing Medium/Tan 3.5 C!). So far, I think it’s alright… It’s a little more coverage than I’ve been wearing lately, so it’s kind of shocking to see real-deal concealer on my skin again.
To its credit, it doesn’t pool up in my fine lines or anything, so it’s not super obvious, but I do have to blend out the edges quite a bit because the pigment is very concentrated. I think it should be fine on its own, but it might be a tad too heavy if you like to set your concealer with powder.
In non-makeup related news, I found a delicious new herbal tea at Trader Joe’s called Blood Orange Rooibos, and it’s naturally very sweet to my taste buds (I don’t even add sugar). It has just a touch of citrusy tang too.
I’ve been drinking less Earl Grey tea lately because I read somewhere that cutting down on the caffeine might help with my migraines, which, ugh, have been terrible lately.
I mean, I love me some tea and coffee, but I’ll try anything at this point.
Anywho, if you see this one TJ’s, grab a box. Then grab an extra one for me, hahah! Kidding. It’s super good though, especially with dessert.
I had a cup last night with a slice of gluten-free chocolate chip cake that Connor and I made last weekend.
Not only is this cake easy and delicious, but it’s light and moist, and it just melts in your mouth (the secret ingredient is unsweetened applesauce). If you decide to make it, you could have it in your tummy in less than one hour.
The fact that the star ingredient is applesauce almost makes me feel like it’s healthy… 🙂 Yeah, maybe that’s a stretch! It’s still good though, and it’s one of those cakes that’s nice to have around in case company stops by (for when the pandemic’s over).
If you came over, I’d cajole you into having a cup of tea and a slice, for sure!
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Your complexion is so beautiful! It’s smooth and glowy and healthy looking and I am so jealous.
I love me some UD, but I just have not been tempted by this palette.
Need to get some lavender dryer sachets at TJs, so I will be looking for that tea. I’m assuming it’s decaf since it’s rooibos.
I do not want the recipe for that cake, I do not want the recipe for that cake, I do not want the recipe for that cake because I will inhale it in one sitting if I make it. But it really does look yummy!
But it’s mostly applesauce, so it’s “healthy.” LOLOLOL If you want it, I can write it out… It comes together in 15 minutes (it would’ve been 5 if I didn’t have my sous chef), and is sooooo easy.
But it has chocolate in it. Lol. It’s a simple carb. I shouldn’t. And eating the entire cake in one sitting really is a lot of calories. Lol. Did I mention I have no will power when it comes to sweets, so the best strategy is just to stay away from them completely. Or as much as possible.
It’s good you’re working with your sous chef, it’s a good experience for her. Although I admit the clean up is always more when the young sous chefs help. She’ll thank you when she goes off on her own in about 20 years.
I hope so. When I left for school I had absolutely no cooking skills. Or life skills, really! My hope is that when it’s time for Connor to leave, she’ll be able to handle most things that come at her.
About that cake! You could always decrease the sugar, and perhaps even cut the chocolate chips in half. You could also leave off the chocolate chip/brown sugar topping. It would still be good! Oh, and once it comes out of the oven, you could freeze half of it. Or maybe give half to a neighbor. OK, I’ll stop being your cake pusher. LOL
Ok, you’ve twisted my arm with the cake recipe, lol. I can always give half of it to my trainer. She has two growing boys in their tween years and she’s always amazed at how much they eat. And I’m like, “Wait ’til they’re actual teenagers. Teen boys inhale food and never gain an ounce”.
I hear you, my parents were immigrants and I learned no skills. I went off to college and could barely figure out how to buy my books for classes. The high school I went to was so easy I never had to study, so when I got to college I had no study skills.
I figured my job as a parent was to help my kid grow into a self sufficient adult who would contribute to society and be able to handle all the stuff thrown at her. Parenting is hard.
OK, I’ll write out the recipe! 🙂
I have a girlfriend with two teenage boys who both play basketball for their high school, and you would be shocked with the amount of food she has to buy. She takes pics at Costco and I swear it looks like she’s buying food for a busy buffet. Sometimes she has two of those big flats! Half of it’s usually meat. SHE’S ALSO ALWAYS COOKING. OMG.
El Hub and I were talking about the things we can do to make our home “the hangout house” for Connor and her friends in the next few years, and he was going on and on about how when he was in middle school and high school, the best hangout houses were the ones where the parents always had a ton of food, and I was like, “Dude, unless she’s hanging out with a bunch of boys, it’s a little different for girls.”
Funny how you should mention books at college because I had a similar experience. When I moved into the dorms, I didn’t know I had buy my own books until I lived there for a week and saw other people doing it. I also didn’t have a bank account, and had to convince my mom and dad that I needed access to checks and an ATM to pay for the books.
Parenting is so, so hard. I keep telling myself to enjoy this time now with her. Oh, and to chill the eff out! I always feel like I’m doing everything wrong because I’ve never done this before, and I feel like I’m throwing darts the dark. Like, all day long, all the time.
Oh, and thank you for saying that nice compliment on my skin. I’ve been diligent about doing a consistent routine after slacking on skin care for so long! I’ve been using The Ordinary’s Azelaic Acid and Neutrogena retinol at night and I think it’s made a difference!
As far as the flooring goes, the vinyl plank flooring has come a long way since it first came out years ago. I would recommend going that route since it can almost look like hardwood without the additional maintenance or costs that actual hardwood comes with.
Thank you Rovie, I was leaning toward luxury plank vinyl because I can get the look that I want (wide planks) for a more affordable price, and I love the idea of having relatively low-maintenance floors. I’m concerned though about how long it lasts. We’re probably not going to be in this house forever, but still, if there’s a chance we’re here for a good amount of time, I don’t want to have to replace it all again in 10 years, you know?
If you have any other flooring tidbits I would love to hear them!
Hardwood would definitely last the longest. Refinishing hardwood gets really expensive (I have seen bills for thousands of dollars depending on the damage) so I would just be careful with hardwood floors. I deal with rental properties so in general I find that the flooring does not last as long as it should. Renters tend to not take care of the properties.
Thank you again! Do you have any experience with luxury plank vinyl brands? We were thinking of Coretec but are open to other brands.
I unfortunately do not.
Aw, that’s OK. Thank you for letting me know and for all of your help so far! I really appreciate it.
Karen, I’ve suffered from migraines for over fifty years. Identifying my dietary migraine triggers and avoiding them as much as possible has gone a long way towards lessening the frequency, intensity, and duration of migraine episodes. Although caffeine is a well known trigger for most migraine sufferers, there are also many others. You might want to read up on the subject and adjust your diet accordingly. For those of us who are plagued by migraines, caffeine is just the tip of the iceberg. I hope your headaches soon subside.
Thanks, Eileen. I didn’t think to do a food diary so I might try that too! I’m curious to know what your food triggers are? How did you figure it out?
David Bucholz, MD, from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (so you know he’s not a quack) wrote a book I found to be the most helpful in learning about triggers. It’s called “Heal Your Headache The 1-2-3 Program for Taking Charge of Your Pain”. I learned to identify my triggers and how much I could “cheat”* before triggering a migraine. Although there are many common dietary triggers, not everyone’s headaches are necessarily triggered by the same things. You can see lists online of the most common triggers, but it makes more sense to figure out what is problematic for you. Why deprive yourself of a food or beverage just because it’s on some list if it doesn’t trigger migraines in you? Conversely, there might be something that routines causes you grief that is not on a list. That’s where Dr. Bucholz’s book is invaluable. Learning to manage my triggers has worked so much better for me than taking prophylactic medications.
*Apropos “cheating”, some things will result in a migraine for me no matter how much or how little I ingest—things like cured, fermented, or aged foods—so I completely avoid them. Other things have a bit of wiggle room and it’s more a matter of how much and/or how often. For example, I can have a 6 oz. glass of wine with my gal-pals when we meet for lunch every month. No headache. But, if I have a second glass and then finish my meal with a cup of coffee, I’ll have a migraine for sure. Learning to balance becomes second nature after awhile.
Oops. His last name is with two h’s. Buchholz
Thank you Eileen for this info! Adding this book to my reading list right meow.
I am so sitting on the fence about the wild west naked palette – it’s the green that lures me in but I already have so many green and teals. It looks great on you, I can’t wait to see your final thoughts on it.
That cake also looks delicious and I would love the recipe – I have to say I have total Trader Joe fomo, and your mug makes gives me ceramics envy too (we have no Trader Joe’s in the UK and I work for a ceramics company so you would think being surrounded by mugs I would get over the envy but I love them all).
As far as flooring, it depends on how likely you are to have spills as to which I would recommend. I have two cats who love to play in their water bowls and spill them all over, it ruined my laminate and it started to lift within 2 years (despite having a ten year guarantee), they now have a hard wearing, water proof/ resistant vinyl – so far their claws have not damaged it and it keeps the wooden floor beneath protected from water damage.
I hope some of that helped.
Ooh, thank you for noticing my mug! I totally geek out over dishes and plates, too. 🙂 The mug is from a store we have here in the US called Crate & Barrel, and it’s from the Farmhouse collection. I *just* started collecting (hoarding? lol) pieces. I love the warmth of the white and the lines.
What do you do at the ceramics company? I’m curious about your job!
Also, thank you so much for the input on the flooring. We’re leaning toward luxury vinyl at the moment because of durability and cost. Do you happen to know the thickness of your vinyl?
That cake looks really delicious!
Thanks! It was super good.
I did my whole house in vinyl plank flooring 3 years ago and I have to say I love it! I accidentally spilled a red liquid dye (for candles) on the floor and I was able to get it to the point it looks great again. It’s also water proof which helps with a house full of messy people! I wish I knew how to post a picture here –
Linda you can email me! Here’s the info.
I would love to know the brand that you used. And do you happen to know how long the floors are supposed to last? I do not wanna do this again in 5 years!
Ooh, I definitely want that cake recipe. It looks yummy!
Got it, Veronica! I’ll have up soon. 🙂
We are building a house and are going through the same floor dilemma at the moment. Hubbie really wants hardwood flooring, and I’m saying ‘So are you going to clean and maintain it then?’ I want to go the luxury vinyl route, they look so good these days that you can hardly tell they aren’t the real deal, and SSOOO much easier to maintain. I had a hardwood floor in my room when I was a kid because of allergies, I couldn’t have carpet. I hated it, it was noisy and cold. Mind you, it was an older house with only timber joists underneath, not a solid concrete base which we would do in our house now, and which hubbie assures me would make it warmer and less noisy. But that doesn’t change the upkeep needed. Hardwoods might last longer but to keep them looking nice you have to get them refinished every couple of years. Every time I moved furniture or wore heels on the hardwood floor it would mark. And to refinish it meant hauling ALL my stuff out and camping in my sister’s room for a few days until the floor was ready to walk on again, a major hassle. Definitely in a high traffic/high spill area like a kitchen, I would not recommend hardwood, although it would probably be easier to refinish a kitchen than a bedroom, not so much furniture to move around.
Any, just my two cents worth! Will be interested to see what you decide ?
This was good food for thought, Miss Kitty! have you been looking at any particular luxury plank vinyl brands? I’m thinking Coretec because I saw it in a neighbor’s house and it looked VERY real. She had a huge dog with big paws/claws and the floors looked practically perfect. My big concern about LVP is that if it scratches or dents, you can’t really fix it like you could with hardwood. Plus hardwood adds more value to the house, it seems.
I don’t really have any experience with either as I’ve always lived in houses with carpet!
I’ve never actually had LVP before either, we have tiles in our kitchen currently. But I have read that you can repair minor scratching in LVP by buffing the spot and waxing. I’m thinking if we go this route then we will get a few extra planks and keep them for repairs if there ever was any major damage, much easier to replace a plank of LVP than a plank of hardwood ?
I haven’t got as far as deciding on a brand yet, there are a few good ones out there, I think it will come down to colour selection finally.
Oh, I didn’t know that about fixing LVP. Thank you for that info!
What are colors are you guys leaning towards? Our place gets a lot of natural light, so I want to take advantage of that by getting some kind of lighter, warm oak.
I’m leaning towards a darker colour for ours, the room will have plenty of natural light and the walls and cupboards are all lighter colours, so I think a dark floor will give a bit of contrast and keep it grounded. Plus our carpets will be dark so it will tie in with those.
Here’s the link for repairing LVP scratches, if you’re interested! https://www.builddirect.com/learning-center/flooring/how-to-fix-scratches-on-your-vinyl-plank-flooring/
Looking forward to trying your apple cake recipe on your latest post ?
My neighbor’s LPV floor was a rich, dark color with wide planks and it looked gorgeous. Really, really expensive looking. I would love to do a darker color but everyone keeps telling me that they’re hard to clean because you can see every speck of dirt. At first I didn’t believe it but then we got a black gas range and it’s a pain to keep clean. It shows EVERYTHING.
Thank you for that link! Going to bookmark it just in case.
Also, let me know how your cake turns out. 🙂
Cake!! ??and I love using apple sauce to bake with! It really adds a nice flavor and is better than butter even though I love that too lol.
I always put on makeup before my zoom classes (back in school again) and I just feel better and I can focus. Also zoom is not nice, that HD no no no lol!
I like it too! I’m going to try different versions of applesauce cake next. Maybe a lemon one!
What classes are you taking? Anything fun or interesting?
I am getting an associate’s in graphic design! (I have 2 bachelor degrees, in addition, I apparently like the school I guess lol) Most of my classes actually are really fun, it’s a lot of work but the kind of work that’s really satisfying. I am also taking some adobe suite classes like After Effects and Premier Pro. I really love making videos and editing. Right now everything is virtual but this Fall I finally get to be on campus in the new graphics/fine arts building that was built so I am excited to be around humans lol!
I bet your classes are challenging and creative. How exciting for you to be learning so many cool things! I take it you’re doing something completely unrelated to your former degrees?
Sorta lol! I have an English degree, then one in arts media management. So it ties in a little bit but hopefully this time find a job I will love. I did customer service for 20 plus years and noo more! Wish I had done this sooner but then again maybe I am doing this at the right exact perfect moment, right now. ?❤️
Better late than never, right? Plus it’s always such a joy study to learn something that you truly enjoy doing!
We had waterproof vinyl planks in our last rental and really liked them! They held up so well to toddler spills and had enough texture to look real without catching too much dirt.
If you ever wanna talk migraines, I’m here for ya girl. My mom and I both suffer, I’ve been getting them since college. Besides hormones, my biggest triggers are all the best things in life – avocados, wine, strawberries, deli meat. Ugh I miss them.