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Before things went absolutely bonkers beneath a cloud of powdered sugar and flour at the bakery right before Christmas, there was a brief lull, during which my coworkers and I talked about our New Year’s Eve traditions — ya know, things our families do to ring in the New Year.

One tradition that seems to be shared by many families is that of cleaning the house to make it spic and span (or as close to it as possible) before January 1.

Now…I used to do this religiously every December 31. I’d get the floors so clean you could eat off them, but I let that one go a few years ago (around the time Connor Claire arrived)… I’m thinking about doing as much as I can today, though. I want to maximize my luck as we start a new decade. (Side note: When you have a small child, you live in a state of high-functioning exhaustion, always.)

Anyway, I’m going to do as much as I can before the new year starts.

One thing I like to do — which I carried over from my parents — happens right at the stroke of midnight, when we jump up and down and shout “Happy New Year!” repeatedly. Then we open the front door to welcome all of the good luck into our house and our lives. And you do this while holding your cat, of course, so she doesn’t escape into the night! 🙂

At my parents’ house, my mom also does these things, which I don’t know if they’re exclusive to her family or if they’re more of a Filipino thing, but she’ll put 13 coins underneath the welcome mat at the front door for good luck.

They’re usually pennies…but I don’t know if they specifically have to be pennies, or if you can mix and match your change, because my mom is a self-proclaimed cheapskate, and she’s not about to be putting silver dollars or quarters under the mat, LOL! So, yeah, she puts 13 pennies under the mat and leaves them there all year long, then replaces them with fresh coins every New Year’s Eve.

And she’ll also hang a bunch of grapes (13 to be exact!) in the middle of the front door jamb, where they’ll hang all year long. Again, she does this for good luck.

My coworker, who’s also Filipino, said that her family, in addition to opening up the front door and doing the thing with the grapes, would bang pots and pans to scare any evil sprits away at midnight. They’d also throw coins up the staircase (not sure why).

Oh, and food! Growing up, my mom would make this savory rice soup called arroz caldo. It wasn’t my favorite thing to eat because my mom always made it extra gingery, and I reeeeally don’t like ginger (I only like it in sweet baked goods), so I’d sit there and suffer through a few bites while everybody else devoured it.

How about you? What are your New Year’s Eve traditions?

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. First thing you wash in the shower?

Totally depends on the scenario. (Side note: Leave it to me to make a shower complicated, HA HA HA!) If I’m wearing makeup, then the first thing I’ll wash is the makeup from my face using an oil-based cleanser…but I won’t officially “wash” my face with my Fresh Soy Cleanser until the very end of my shower, because it’s just easier for me to remove my makeup at the beginning when my face is still dry, which is why I do it. 🙂 Then, I’ll wash my face with the Fresh Soy after I’ve shampooed and conditioned my hair (so I don’t end up with any leftover hair product on my face).

Scenario two: If I’m not wearing any makeup, then I’ll wash my hair first.

Scenario three: If I’m only in the shower to do a quick rinse-off (like after a morning or a midday workout), then I’ll wash my face and neck first.

2. How often do you plan your makeup?

Pretty often… I’d say about half the time, just because I like having a general idea of what I’m going to do before I start; otherwise, I always end up with some variation of the same bronzed neutral look.

It’s my default, and it’s easy. ?‍♀️

3. Are you sarcastic?

Um…no, not normally in print, because it’s just too hard to convey without facial expressions and intonation. In person, however? No, never. /s

4. What color is your favorite lipstick?

Lately, I’ve been all about warm rosy beige with a touch of peach. YES.

5. Would you go sky diving?

If you’d asked me 20 years ago, I would have screamed “YAAASSS!” I did it once a long time ago and had a blast, but it doesn’t sound as fun to me now… Purposefully putting myself in an unnecessarily dangerous situation seems less…appealing now. The world is dangerous enough without me willingly jumping out of airplanes, LOL!

Is it just me…

Or has the “dawn of a new decade” thing turned everything up a notch? Apparently, EVERYONE (including my cat, who’s an extra talkative torbie this morning) is “coming for 2020.” I don’t mind it because I do love a fresh start, although when I do the math, I try not to hyperventilate when I realize that I’ll be in my 50s in 10 years, and Connor will be a teenager (!).

Do you have plans for New Year’s Eve? We’ll be keeping it low-key here and celebrating at home.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Here are the questions to copy/paste with your answers in a comment. Talk to ya soon.

1. First thing you wash in the shower?
2. How often do you plan your makeup?
3. Are you sarcastic?
4. What color is your favorite lipstick?
5. Would you go sky diving?

Hi, friend. ? Happy last Saturday Surfing of the decade.

THE DECADE.

Crazy, right?

You know what else is crazy? How delicious these Harry & David Pears are! ? TJ’s had them in gift boxes for the holidays, and I bought one for Christmas. They’re juicy and sweet, and they taste like biting into a cotton candy grape that makes your eyes roll back in your head in sheer ecstasy… I think we’ll have them with our toast for breakfast this morning, yum! Grab a box before they disappear, because if you don’t, I will. LOL!

Man, Trader Joe’s… I love that place.

Now, onto this weekend’s reading…

• Dolly Parton is so determined to never, ever be seen without her face paint that she even sleeps with makeup on! Now that’s dedication.
• Note to self: I will be making these pizza cupcakes ASAP. ??
• Y’all need to talk some sense into me please, because I can’t get doing this upcoming Spartan Super Race outta my head. It’s June in Monterey and involves running a 10K *and* doing 25 obstacles. On that note, here are 10 hair products to try if you work out often. LOL!
• From how-tos to makeup hauls, here’s a (short) history of the last decade of beauty on YouTube.
• Just in case you were unaware, dyed armpit hair is a thing.
• These products at Sephora — all under $25 each — will give you the no-makeup makeup look.
• How this young woman dealt with the hair loss caused by chemotherapy.
• Beware of skin-lightening creams. ⚠️

Have a wonderful last weekend of 2019, sweet girl. ?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Well, this was a first.

I can say with 100% certainly that I’ve never been as excited about reusable shopping bags as I was on Christmas Day when I opened those sets of Trader Joe’s Mystery Bags.

I was hoping for bags from remote locales (remote to me, like Anchorage and Key West), so I gnashed my teeth when I saw this one from another town in Northern California…

[SIGH] There’s a donkey on it saying, “Eureka!” though, which kinda makes up for it.

My favorite is this one from Louisiana, which has seafood nestled in what appears to be a tuba on one side of the bag, and aromatics (onion, pepper and celery) on the other.

Weird, but I like it!

This blue hen on the Delaware bag makes me wish I was dual-CCL (a crazy cat & chicken lady).

Oh, and I love the regal red and purple on the New Hampshire bag, too. The purple flower is a lilac, right?

Last, but not least, these two lovebirds on the Virginia bag look like they’re whispering sweet nothings to each other about TJ’s Sliced Brioche (my favorite thing to have for breakfast these days).

Each of the mystery packs comes with three different shopping bags, and I got this one from Virginia twice. What are the odds?!

Overall, cool! This is such a fun gift. Way to go, Trader Joe!

Do you happen to hail from one of these places? 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF.

Merry Christmas, sweet friend. How are you? I hope your day is filled with love and light (and that Santa stopped by with a lipstick or two).

I’m about to sit down to Christmas breakfast with my parents, El Hub, Coco and my brother, and then in a bit, we’re off to visit my glam granny.

Kind of a funny story – one Christmas Eve when I was a kid, it was raining nonstop. It was a full-on deluge! My granny jokingly said that when it rains on Christmas, “Jesus is crying,” and so, of course, being a natural worrywart, I took it seriously and became VERY CONCERNED about why Jesus would cry on Christmas… I spent hours wondering, “Why was he crying? Shouldn’t somebody comfort him? Does he need a tissue?” For years, I vexed over the weather when Christmas came around!

Anyway, eat all the carbs today because they don’t count on holidays. 🙂 And don’t forget to be extra kind to yourself.

Love you so, so much.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen