Search Results for: 5 things

1. The purples in the new Urban Decay Ultraviolet Palette!

I shall embark upon wearing each and every one of the purples in this $49 palette, which is out now with 12 powder eyeshadows, as smoky liners along my upper lash line, coupled with one of the matte neutrals on my lids. 😁

2. Maxi dresses

Stay cool and fashionable! Plus, there’s something freeing about your legs and booty enjoying the occasional light breeze. *shrugs* 🤷‍♀️

I have become so committed to maxi dresses lately that I got two of these Loveappella V-Neck maxis (the coral and navy) with the Nordstrom gift card I had squirreled away forever. Added bonuses: they’re currently on sale and available in petite sizes.

3. Hall and Oates

I have a (conspiracy) theory that Hall and Oates were secretly dating… Anywho! I’ve been listening to their older stuff a lot lately while I cook dinner.

Here are some classic jams to get you started, in case you haven’t heard of them before, and if that’s the case…BLASPHEMY!

You Make My Dreams

Out of Touch

She’s Gone

Rich Girl

4. Honest Beauty Liquid Lipstick in BFF

What can I say? Old habits die hard, so while I wear a mask, I still 1) smile 😊 at strangers, and 2) wear 💄 lipstick. One I love is BFF by Honest Beauty. It’s a nude matte that doesn’t move, so when I have my mask on, it doesn’t transfer. Plus, the nude color is super pretty.

5. The Titan Games

This show pits fitness enthusiasts/everyday people against professional athletes in a crazy hard obstacle course race, and it’s hosted by Maui from Moana, a.k.a. the Rock, a.k.a. Dwayne Johnson.

It may sound cheesy, but it’s shockingly engrossing! Highly recommended! Every time our family watches it, we cheer (scream, really!) for the regular guys and gals.

***Warning: don’t be surprised if you formulate a plan to improve your wimpy grip strength after the first episode.***

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. What have you been loving lately? 😃

1. Printed leggings

I recently got these snake print leggings from Athleta on sale , and they’ve convinced me that, if one is committed to living life in stretchy pants, prints are the way to go!

Why? Because if you actually work out in ’em, prints hide sweat stains better than solid color leggings do. I’ve also recently discovered that prints do a better job of 1) hiding any wayward food stains and 2) underwear lines. If you’re as committed to wearing granny panties as I am, then you understand the significance of the latter.

2. THIS SANDWICH!

I am deeply enamored with this cheese, veggie and hummus sandwich.

So yummy, so satisfying, and so easy to make. You can have a meal on your plate in five minutes!

The beauty of this sammie is that you can tweak it. If you want to add a protein, add a few slices of turkey, or bacon, or turkey bacon, or both kinds of bacon. If you don’t like hummus? Substitute it for smashed avocado or spinach dip.

It’s just two slices of your favorite bread, cucumber slices (sliced lengthwise and cut thin), tomato slices, two tablespoons or more of hummus, a slice or two of sharp or medium cheddar cheese and a handful of greens.

Also, to make this sandwich all it can be, you need to do three things:

1. Dress your greens! If you skip this step, then your sammie will taste like depressing rabbit food. Whatever greens and salad dressing you have on hand are good, just as long as you like it. I do a handful of spinach tossed with a teaspoon or two of Trader Joe’s Pear and Gorgonzola Dressing.
2. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to the sliced cucumber and tomato. Yup, this adds more flavor. I just stack the veggies, then sprinkle a little on top. If you’re trying to cut down on salt, then a salt-free spice mix works, too.
3. Choose a flavored hummus. Plain hummus totally works, but if you can find a flavored one, that’s even better. My fave is roasted red pepper.

My body also feels really good after I eat veggies, ya know?

3. Sweet Magnolias

I marathoned this entire Neflix series in three days, and once I finished the last episode, I immediately started re-watching it again. It’s like Gilmore Girls meets Virgin River, and it’s so good! The main characters are three lifelong friends who live in a small town called Serenity, and the show takes you through the ups and downs they experience while starting their own spa in town.

The show seems kinda old-fashioned in that the dialogue’s slower-paced than most modern dramas. The plots also focus on people actually trying to do the right thing and making choices that, you know, help themselves and the people around them, rather than celebrating cattiness and backstabbing. Sure, it’s a little cheesy…but it’s also refreshing. Who’d a thunk it? — a show that isn’t all about destructive friendships and relationships.

4. First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream

It’s thick and rich but doesn’t leave my face or neck feeling greasy, and it layers beautifully with serums and makeup. A big-ol’ 6-oz. tub of this super hydrating face cream is $34! It’s made for all skin types, even kids and babies.

5. Making a meal for the freezer

Lately, whenever I cook dinner, I try to make enough for an extra meal I can freeze and defrost at a later date. This works especially great with meals where you pour a sauce on top of pasta or rice!

Last week I made spaghetti sauce, and when I was done, I took an empty gallon-sized freezer bag, put it inside a bowl for stability, and filled it with the sauce. Once it was full, I removed as much air as I could from the bag, sealed it up, and placed it on a baking sheet, which I then stuck in my freezer. Doing this freezes the bag flat, making it easier to store.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF! 🙂

1. Inflatable pools for adults

Cheers to the genius who dreamed up these adult-sized “kiddie pools,” although I don’t quite understand the point of sharing a tiny pool with someone. Three people in one inflatable pool? NO THANK YOU! That’s just too many limbs in my personal space.

I like this pool with the banana leaf print, but trust me…I’m not sharing. Each one is $42.99, and you can find them at Thunderdome Target.

2. Upload on Amazon Prime Video

Absolutely brilliant! I blazed through the entire season a few weekends ago. It’s set in the near future… 2033…and it’s about a 20-something programmer on the brink of a technology breakthrough when his life is unexpectedly cut short.

No problem though because his consciousness is uploaded to the cloud into a digital slice of virtual “heaven” that people are able to purchase as a service before their demise. Of course, this neatness comes with a price, both monetary and otherwise, and the virtual “afterlife” turns out to be far less than ideal.

I laughed, I screamed (“DID THAT REALLY JUST HAPPEN?”), I saw the afterlife through a lens I’d never seen before (big surprise! — capitalism decides to monetize heaven). All I have to say is that I know myself all too well, and if loading your consciousness into a server ever becomes a choice in the near future, I will give that a hard pass.

3. My strawberry plant

I’m growing a strawberry plant in the Lady Sanctuary, and it already has a few green berries, which I’m SUPER EXCITED ABOUT. It’s so cool to see a plant thriving and doing its thing. I just hope the neighborhood squirrels and birds don’t find it so I can actually eat the fruit.

4. Improv ramen with gluten-free noodles from Costco

I’ve been craving all teh carbs lately, especially ramen noodles, and have been making this gluten-free quickie version at home. From start to finish, it takes about 30 minutes, so it’s a fairly quick meal, and the noodles stay good in the cupboard forever (well, almost). Plus, you can customize it with whatever you have on hand.

Lemme walk ya through it…

1. Warm about a tablespoon of olive oil in a deep, heavy pot on medium heat. Add a handful of any aromatics you like — I used garlic, a bit of fresh ginger and the white parts of a green onion for mine — and cook till everything’s wilted and fragrant.
2. Add one box of beef broth and a box of chicken broth to the pot. (Then, into each empty box, add a little water and swish it around to get all that good flavoring out, and add that to the pot as well.) Add two teaspoons of fish sauce and two teaspoons of soy sauce, but if you don’t have either of those, I’m thinking you can substitute with any thin, salty sauce, like coconut aminos.

   Bring to a boil, and simmer on low until you’re ready to add noodles.

3. Next, cook your ramen noodles according to the directions on the package, and set them aside. I used Costco’s Lotus Foods Organic Millet & Brown Rice Ramen, which is gluten free and vegan, and it’s ready after about four minutes of cooking.
4. Cook or prep any other accouterments you want. Some ideas: eggs, bacon (which I used this time because I didn’t have pork belly), shrimp, fish cake, green onion slices, corn, peas, dried seaweed… So many options.
5. Ladle your broth into a big bowl, add your noodles, proteins and veggies, and enjoy right away! 😋

5. The idea of a tennis shoe collection

Back in the day when I was semi-fabulous, I lived in high heels. These days, not so much. It’s just so much easier for me to sprint after Connor and Rosie when I’m *not* teetering above the ground in three-inch strappy sandals. Plus, my feet are happier now that I stick to comfy sneakers.

The thing is…I don’t feel like I should be doomed to a life of boring footwear!

Sooooo, I’ve been toying with the idea of collecting Nikes…. They’re always coming out with cute styles, and my feet have been happy with every pair of Nikes I’ve owned. Beyond that, my standard-issue uniform these days is black stretchy pants with a tee, or jeans with a tee, and both go well with sassy tennis shoes.

Clearly, I’ve already done the math in my head. LOL!

Anyway, my birthday’s next month, so I’m thinking about finally springing for a pair of Air Jordan 1 High Zip Premiums in this pretty wine color.
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1. Clinique Chubby Stick Shadow Tint for Eyes

I’ve been crabby lately.

I’m sure I’m not the only one, but I’m frustrated, and I’ve cried on more than one occasion.

I also haven’t really been totally jazzed about wearing tons o’ makeup, particularly over the past few days, but I have felt the urge one or two times, and this has been the only eyeshadow I can handle.

The Chubby Sticks are semi-sheer creams you can blend with your fingers (or a brush), and they’re precious gems when it comes to 10-minute makeup. I have them in a number of shades, but I definitely wear Portly Plum and Ample Amber the most.

2. Modern Love, on Amazon Prime Video

The biggest downside to this series is that there’s only one season! I think it’s so ridiculously well-written, authentic and poignant. I can’t even explain… It’s one of the best-written shows I’ve ever seen. The stories are based on the Modern Love column from The New York Times. Each self-contained episode thoughtfully explores many kinds and facets of love, from what it means to love, and to be loved.

Each episode is touching, but totally not in a corny and predictable rom-com sense, and the entire season is a work of art! If you’re a wimp like me and can’t currently handle shows with violent story lines, please give it a watch. Highly recommended.

3. Banza Pasta

Of all the gluten-free pastas I’ve tried (can’t believe I just typed that), the vast majority of which taste like stinky feet, Banza is among the best. It’s made from chickpeas (very high in protein!), but I can’t really taste any background chickpea “flavor.” The texture’s also very close to traditional glutinous pasta. I’ve served it to people without them knowing it was gluten-free, and no one has even noticed before.

I like the spirals, shells and linguine the best because they don’t fall apart, even a little. I’m not a big fan of the spaghetti, however, because it breaks apart too easily after it’s cooked.

Most of the pasta shapes recommend an 8-10 minute cook time, but I usually do 7 minutes, because anything more than that and it’s way too squishy. (I like my pasta al dente.)

4. The reporter who went live on air with no pants

For real, though, he only did what the rest of us are doing. #teamnopants all day, every day.

5. This trick to measuring out ingredients on the scale

I will do anything to avoid washing YET ANOTHER DISH, so this little trick has me shook. Say you want to measure out a tablespoon of peanut butter (16g) for a snack. All you do is pop your jar of peanut butter on the scale, hit “tare” to zero it out, and then remove however much peanut butter you want to use directly from the jar. The scale will show you how much you used. (See the negative sign in front of number 16?)

Mind blown!

This saves me from putting a clean plate or bowl on the scale just to measure out ingredients.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen