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. To blend or not to blend?
Blend it! And then, even if you don’t think you need to, blend it some more.
2. One thing your best friend(s) taught you?
They taught me so many things, because even though we were/are the same age, when I was growing up, my best friends were the ones who were there to give the guidance I wanted and needed. It really was like the blind leading the blind though, because we didn’t really know anything, but they were there to hold my hand and help me figure things out.
One thing I learned from my friend Jen was how to make uniform chocolate-chip ? cookies! One day after school, I was over at her house, and for some reason or another chocolate-chip cookies were being made. I remember her precisely portioning out each piece of dough with a teaspoon, and then rolling each one into a perfect little ball.
It was so different from what I usually did, which was to grab chunks of dough of various shapes and sizes, and place them willy-nilly on a baking sheet. It never occurred to me that there were other ways to portion and shape cookies, and I was in awe of her neat and ordered method.
So silly.
To this day, I roll out my cookies as neatly and evenly as possible, so they look like Jen’s.
3. What would your dream mascara be like?
A super duper dark black with lots of length, curl hold “out to here,” and it should separate each individual lash. It would also be smudge-proof, yet wash off easily, because I’m demanding like that!
4. Faux fur or pleather?
I’ll take the pleather…as long as it looks like real leather and isn’t too stiff or plastic-looking.
5. Last kind thing someone did for you?
Yesterday morning El Hub made breakfast, and I just assisted. He made the bacon and eggs, and I was in charge of the French toast!
It’s always nice to have someone make you food on the weekend.
They’re baaaaaaack
As of today, there are 51 days left till spring. I know this because 1) I keep seeing spring countdown clocks on my FB timeline, and 2) because yesterday morning I went for a long walk, and I saw the first cherry blossom ? tree in bloom.
Soon… SOON! Of course, this also means that I won’t be able to step outside without taking allergy meds beforehand, but on the bright side — flowering trees.
I can’t wait. ?
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. To blend or not to blend?
2. One thing your best friend taught you?
3. What would your dream mascara be like?
4. Faux fur or pleather?
5. Last kind thing someone did for you?
Happy Monday. I hope you had a nice weekend. Spring can’t come too soon!
1. To blend or not to blend? Blend, blend, blend
2. One thing your best friend taught you?
3. What would your dream mascara be like? No allergic reactions. Blackest black. Thickening, volumizing, lengthening, waterproof, and smudge-proof.
4. Faux fur or pleather? Good quality pleather
5. Last kind thing someone did for you? My younger son tried to cheer me up this morning and smooched my cheeks all over like he did when he was little. (He 21 years old now.) lol 🙂
Happy Monday, Rachel. I hope this week is good to you!
1. To blend or not to blend? – Absolutely, blend away!!
2. One thing your best friend taught you? – My best friend happens to be my mom. She’s taught me so many things over these past 49 years. The one thing I use everyday is to treat someone the way you would want to be treated. Kindness goes a long way.
3. What would your dream mascara be like? – My lashes are stubby barely there things. My dream mascara would be super black, giving me awesome fullness and length, all in one tube. I mix and match mascaras everyday to get the look that I want.
4. Faux fur or pleather? – I’ll go with pleather on this, as long as it looks like the real thing. Not like a shiny piece of linoleum.
5. Last kind thing someone did for you? – My husband dropping me off at the bus stop this morning on his way to work.
Hi Barb,
Agreed on kindness being a wonderful thing. I try to dish it out as much as I can! It comes back to you!
1. To blend or not to blend?
I know I need to blend. But sometimes I wonder: Is all this blending ruining my skin? These days I’ve been skipping a lot of things that need blending and sticking to a lot patting instead ( moisturizer, mac face and body).
2. One thing your best friend taught you?
To respect myself and help others take my cue.
3. What would your dream mascara be like?
Like false lashes but I think I’ve made peace with the fact that no mascara is going to have that ‘false lash effect’ even though a lot of them are marketed that way. False lashes just elevate your look in a clean, effortless way that IMO mascara just isn’t able to match.
4. Faux fur or pleather?
Pleather, if I had to choose one.
5. Last kind thing someone did for you?
Give me a ride back home when I needed a ride ?
How’s the kitchen organization coming along? I went back into a clutter relapse a few days ago but am determined to straighten at least some parts of house today! Have a good one
Hi Tisha,
It’s slowly but surely coming along, thank you for asking! I rearranged the shelves in my fridge and now have designated areas for specific items (whereas before I’d put stuff in there willy nilly). I kinda want to put labels in there, too, but I don’t know if that’s OTT. I might just do it anyway. After the fridge my plan is to tackle one shelf at a time in the pantry, which is a MESS.
How are you handling cleaning things out? Do you do a little bit every day?
The fridge – Yes! My husband had taken on the role of designated fridge-cleaner for a while but since he has been showing no interest in that department of late ? , the need for me to have a hard look at everything inside the fridge and have an overhaul of its contents is becoming unavoidable.
Honestly, the main thing I’m trying to do is cut out all that mental clutter – the stuff that allows me to procrastinate, starting with Facebook. For a while at least.
Totally get it. You know what helps me? Doing one small task each and every day.
I’m trying to do a mental declutter as well, and one thing that has really helped was reorganizing and updating the files in my file cabinet. I worked on it a little bit every day for two weeks and now my paperwork is in a good place, and that’s been such a relief!
I’m so happy for you about the cherry blossoms! We’re covered in snow and our high will be 3 degrees F today. It’ll be a while before anything blossoms here. 🙂
1. To blend or not to blend? Definitely blend. I can’t imagine any scenario where I wouldn’t.
2. One thing your best friend taught you? Oh, my. Endless lessons, from Kindergarten to today.
3. What would your dream mascara be like? As volumizing as thick, false lashes, water and smudge proof and easy to remove (I had to steal that from you because it’s so true).
4. Faux fur or pleather? As an accent, faux fur (like the trim on a hood, etc). For anything else, probably pleather.
5. Last kind thing someone did for you? Told me that I haven’t changed a bit since high school. I love you, Kind, Almost-Certainly-Half-Blind Classmate! 🙂
You’ve known your bestie since kindergarten? You’re so lucky!
Yes, two of them. The others I’ve known since elementary school (there are 5 of us). We’re all still best friends today and all our kids call the others “aunt”. 🙂 We’ve realized as we’ve grown up that it’s uncommon. And we are actually very grateful we’ve been blessed that way. 🙂 Like you and Jen and Cindy – but we live closer so can see each other much more.
That’s amazing. Sometimes I feel like there’s so much emphasis on “mean girl” culture right now with girls, and not just girls, women (hello, every reality TV show made ever). I really hope Connor is lucky to have meaningful relationships with other girls. We actually checked out a book yesterday on friendship and how to be a good friend! 🙂
I think that’s great that you are talking to Connor at a young age about being a good friend. I wish everyone would do that because it just helps society to be nicer and better. You’re spot on with the meanness. We spent a lot of time talking to the boys about being kind. And also letting their friends know when they were doing something hurtful so the friend had an opportunity to change that behavior instead of being ignored or left out. But, we definitely stressed sticking up for themselves and each other. The lesson was to never hit first but, if someone hits one of you, you’d better both jump them! HAHA! There was never any need for that, thankfully. But, I think just knowing that you’re not going to be in trouble for sticking up for yourself is important for kids. Don’t let mean people be mean to you! 🙂
Yes, that’s definitely an important lesson. I’m going to have to work on that one with her too because standing up for myself took me a long time to learn, and I’d like her to learn early on that if someone messes with her she needs to GO FOR THE THROAT. Kidding. Kind of!
1. To blend or not to blend?
B L E N D
2. One thing your best friend taught you?
That I am worthy.
3. What would your dream mascara be like?
Volume, length, no clumps, no smears, removes with micellar water, doesn’t make my eyes irritated.
4. Faux fur or pleather?
Pleather!
5. Last kind thing someone did for you?
My husband had dinner and brownies made when I got home from dress rehearsal Friday and then we played Trivial Pursuit.
That is an AWESOME thing for your hubby to have done, what a sweetheart!
I really enjoyed your performance and am in awe of your flexibility. Seriously, I could never do what you do.
Thank you!! That’s so sweet! ?
1. I’m trying to think of a time where you don’t need to blend makeup and I cannot think of one. So blend!
2. Oh wow. This is a hard one. Hm. She taught me I can ask for help and that help will come.
3. Pretty much the same as Karen but a deep brown instead.
4. Can I choose a pleather vest with faux fur trim? Hee!
5. My husband lets me sleep in on weekends while he cares for baby. 🙂
That’s so sweet of your hubby. I hope you and the baby are well!
1. To blend or not to blend?
Blend!
2. One thing your best friend taught you?
That friends are the best when your heart has been broken.
3. What would your dream mascara be like?
Blackest black, a ton of volume without clumping and at least medium length lengthening. Basically falsies in a tube.
4. Faux fur or pleather?
Faux fur.
5. Last kind thing someone did for you?
My husband took blog pictures for me last weekend.
Aww, that’s so nice of him! How did he do?
1. To blend or not to blend? Blend! Blend blend blend!
2. One thing your best friend taught you? A couple of my friends had babies before I did, they helped me SO much! Also, I have a couple of girlfriends who are teaching me all the fun words in Spanish!
3. What would your dream mascara be like? It would be dark, non flaky, non clumping, with just a hint of shine.
4. Faux fur or pleather? A pleather Moto jacket.
5. Last kind thing someone did for you? We’re getting a pug puppy in three weeks! We’re pug people, and I was going to start looking for a puppy next month, our current pugs are older. Turns out a neighbor three houses down have puppies. They knocked off quite a bit from the price because we’re neighbors and have pugs. I’m so excited!!!
I was in the Bay Area last week for work and OMG it felt like spring! I didn’t need a coat! It was splendid! And then I landed in Chicago Friday night and it was maybe 2 degrees, no joke. The warmth and vitamin D was most welcome.
1. To blend or not to blend?
Always blend. Never not blending.
2. One thing your best friend taught you?
Know your worth! She’s also a recruiter, so….but it totally applies to life.
3. What would your dream mascara be like?
Lengthening, curl-holding, and not flaky, and no spider-lashes.
4. Faux fur or pleather?
Faux fur all the way!
5. Last kind thing someone did for you?
My SO helped me dig my car out of the snow this morning and drove me to the train so I could sleep in a bit. D’awwww.
Oh, so you were able to get some of our nice weather! You *just* missed the big storm from the week before. Were you walking around in short sleeves without a jacket?
Yes! Some of my Chicago coworkers were there the week of the storm; apparently the road to the office there gets flooded with rain, or the tide (or both, I guess)…they all got to work from the hotel lobby one day.
I was wearing a cardigan and scarf if needed, but Friday was glorious and was wearing a tee while driving with the windows down. I was purposely walking slowly between the office buildings to bask in the sun.
1. To blend or not to blend?
Blend! But gently, because wrinkles.
2. One thing your best friend taught you?
We’re each other’s opposite. She pushes me to be bold, I soften her sharp edges a bit. And so on. ?
3. What would your dream mascara be like?
Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir Major Volume mascara, lol.
4. Faux fur or pleather?
Pleather. Faux fur makes me look like a Muppet.
5. Last kind thing someone did for you?
Mom went to get me a Coke today because I had a massive headache and needed caffeine. It was a mission of mercy. (Certain individuals drank all my caffeine-laden drinks without my knowledge this weekend. There will be repercussions after school today.)
Yes, blend gently! No need to push that brush into your eyeballz! lol
Girl, Coke is so good. I don’t drink it often but when I do I practically keel over with delight. You know what my fave is? Coke in a bottle! I swear it tastes different.
1. I just got my first set of grown up eye brushes so I’m about to embark on the blend life!
2. Creativity. I’ve only had 1 best friend and it was when I was in 3rd grade. She taught me how to be carefree and creative and I’m thankful to this day.
3. Audrey Hepburn lashes in a bottle.
4. Faux fur. It’s cold!
5. On Saturday we stopped at a rural town BBQ pit while on a day trip. It’s hard to put in words but the people there were so hospitable and kind and patient. And they extended that kindness to my young kids. Often when we’re out as a family I feel like we’re simply tolerated. But there we were all truly welcome and treated as valuable people. I felt so seen and welcome and their kindness touched my heart. It wasn’t just a job to them, serving us was their passion. Just wonderful, genuine people. I wrote to them the next day thanking them.
Congrats on your first set of brushes, Jaclyn! Have you gotten the chance to take them for a spin?
1. To blend or not to blend? Blend—and use clean brushes!
2. One thing your best friend taught you? My mom (she was my best friend) told me that showing an interest in other people is time well spent and that every day I should find at least one good thing to say to someone because lifting someone else’s spirits will brighten my day as well. I’m not talking about false flattery. I’m talking about taking a moment or two for a bit of light-hearted repartee with the people that I encounter as I go about my day.
3. What would your dream mascara be like? It would be the blackest black; it would not flake, fade, or migrate, and it would make my lashes look full and feathery. And, it would not be waterproof. I hate waterproof formulas as they irritate my eyes.
4. Faux fur or pleather? Faux fur but only if it looks fun and is not pretending to be real.
5. Last kind thing someone did for you? Yesterday a lady who was ahead of me at Starbucks was taking an inordinate amount of time: asking lots of questions, continuously changing her mind, texting back and forth with someone about their order, etc. It was epic! Finally she turned around and said to me, “I feel terrible about this. Please let me pay for your drink. Whatever you want.” My iced tea was all the sweeter because of that lady’s kindness.
Happy Weds
Sorry ? I’ve had a migraine .
Always blend esp around the jawline
My best friends taught me to be brave and stand up for what I think is right
Mascara should be black , thick , curl and wash off waterproof! In search of !
Faux fur . It’s so warm .
My husband made my dinner while I had my headache ?