Karen

What Thanksgiving Traditions Are You Looking Forward to This Year?

November 19th, 2019 by Karen 2 Comments

There’s a pecan pie around here somewhere. I think it was on the counter…or maybe I just ate it before the actual meal, HA HA HA!

Thanksgiving is almost here, and with it, our traditions. One such tradition that absolutely MUST happen in my family on Thanksgiving is the eating of the pecan pie…

I freakin’ love pecan pie. It’s what we had at Thanksgiving when I was growing up… I mean, sometimes we’d also have a pumpkin pie up in the mix, but really nobody would touch it. My mom would always get pecan, and you would know if my dad had been tasked with buying the pie because he would inevitably mistakingly ONLY buy pumpkin and forget the pecan… But my mom always knew what was up.

It’s funny, though, because as much as I love pecan pie, it seems weird to have it any other time of year. The only time I actually consume copious amounts of it is on Thanksgiving, and I look forward to it every single year.

I also look forward to spending time with my family here in the Bay Area, and whenever possible, with my family in Hawaii. It’s always nice to have a block of time to reconnect with the people who mean a lot to us, and that we don’t get to see too often anymore as grownups, and to unwind over food and fun.

We also always watch some football, and ya know…while it’s not super high up on my list, I still look forward to sitting around and talking while a game plays in the background.

Oh! — I also look forward to having seconds, a.k.a. “round two of the Thanksgiving feast.”

Like, you know, everybody eats, then pauses to take a break (and maybe take a quick cat nap on the couch), and then a few hours later you come back for the second round.

I gotta admit…I do love going back for that second (and perhaps third!) plate on Thanksgiving.

How about you? What Thanksgiving traditions are you looking forward to this year?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

MAC Unsung Heroes: Smoked Almond Lipstick

November 18th, 2019 by Karen 9 Comments

mac smoked almond lipstick swatch — MAC Smoked Almond, a.k.a. THE BEST.

What’s an unsung makeup hero? For me, it’s an oftentimes underrated makeup morsel, a permanent collection product that scoots under the radar screen of many makeup lovers but regularly rocks my world. The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorites.

Warning: do not attempt to picture an almond hunched in a doorway, puffing away at a cigarette when you think of the words, “smoked almond,” because once you see something like that in your mind’s eye, you’ll wonder 1) what would ever possess an almond to smoke in the first place, and 2) why said almond wouldn’t know that smoking was bad for it.

Every day for the past week before my shift has started at the bakery, I sit in my car in the parking lot and apply a layer of this beautifully bright rosy brown lipstick on my lips, and every time I do this, I say the same thing to myself in the mirror.

“SO PIGMENTED!”

I’m talking intensity to the extreme.

And yet despite its intensity, Smoked Almond isn’t one of those tricky lippies that is SO saturated that it becomes a pain in the bum and you end up needing a PhD in chemistry to apply it. You can still totally do it freehand, straight from the tube, while half-asleep, WITHOUT a lip liner or brushes or a Christmas miracle, for that matter. Smoke Almond’s creamy consistency practically melts onto lips the moment it touches them. No dragging whatsoever. Just a smooooove glide.

My lips tend to dry out and practically shout, “MOAR moisture!” from the rooftops, but Smoked Almond, which has MAC’s Amplified formula, has enough hydration to keep ’em happy all day long.

mac smoked almond — Smoked Almond on my lips

This is a fantastic everyday/daytime color to keep around if you have many rosy or rosy brown blushes like NARS Amour or Charlotte Tilbury Ecstasy in your collection. It’s also long-wearing and doesn’t move or scoot once you lay down a layer, and it feels lighter than a kitty whisker kiss on your cheek.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 601

November 18th, 2019 by Karen 23 Comments

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. Today I’m grateful for _____ (fill in the blank).

So many things, including…

Coffee (always coffee)
Having gotten a good night’s sleep
My sweet and supportive husband
Clear, crisp fall days
The roof over my head and the food in my tummy
Mechanical pencils (random, but they’re kind of fabulous!)

2. An article of clothing you wear all the time?

Well, a friend of my recently gave me a pair of Athleta workout tights that no longer fit her, and let me tell you — my world has been ROCKED. If I could live in those pants 24/7, I totally would.

3. Burrito or taco?

Tacos, baby!

4. What are you wearing on your lips today?

MAC Smoked Almond lipstick, which has been my neutral jam for the past couple weeks.

5. How are your brows these days?

They were my nemesis throughout October, because I sorta forgot about them, to which they responded by growing wild and unchecked, but I trimmed the unruly bits last week, so balance has been restored to the land once again… So they’re doing fine and cooperating with me for once. LOL!

You. Are. Magical.

There’s been a lot of talk of warm white light lately at our house.

So much talk about it that I’ve started walking around the house bathed in it.

Wait — let me take a step back…

First things first, good morning! Happy Monday, my friend. 🙂

OK, so the warm white light thing. Basically, Connor recently moved from her crib to a big girl bed, and she’s at that stage where the newness has just worn off, so at bedtime lately she pulls out all the stops to get us to let her sleep with us in our bed, or just to delay us turning off her bedroom light.

One thing we do whenever she feels scared about something, after we try to talk through it logically (which doesn’t always work), is what we call “mommy magic” and she calls “Coco magic.”

The magic involves surrounding yourself with an imaginary beam of warm white light. This warm white light surrounds you with protection, with love and with anything and everything you need at that moment to feel secure and safe.

So, whenever anyone in our house needs a little TLC, we tell them to take out your magic, and surround yourself with your warm white light. As silly as it sounds, it kinda works! It works for Connor, and I’ve been doing it for myself, too (I know, I know!), and for some reason, it just feels good.

Anyway, if you feel a little scared or anxious at some point today, remember that you are magical. Anytime you need it, you can surround yourself with the special warm white light. You are loved, you are protected, and you are safe. 🙂

On that note, I’m off. I have a coffee date in a few (today’s my day off from the bakery…so of course I’m gonna hang out in another bakery, HA HA HA!), which leads me to today’s bonus question: croissant or scone??

Have a wonderful day. ❤️

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. Today I’m grateful for _____ (fill in the blank).
2. An article of clothing you wear all the time?
3. Burrito or taco?
4. What are you wearing on your lips today?
5. How are your brows these days?

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 580

November 17th, 2019 by Karen 3 Comments

This time of year always reminds me of one of the most astounding acts of selflessness and courage I’ve ever seen.

The year: 2012. The place: New York City, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

The night before the parade, disaster struck the team in charge of the company float for Tabs the Cat Industries LLC. The float wasn’t going to be ready in time because the white roses the team special ordered from Belgium got held up in customs, so Tabs stayed up all night long decorating the entire float himself with local flowers he picked himself from around Central Park.

And as if that weren’t incredible enough, Tabs purr-formed the role of Master of Ceremonies the next morning and walked beside the company float (he also danced atop the float with Beyoncé).

It was one of the most historic displays of dedication by a corporate cat executive in American business history.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Saturday Surfing, Nov. 16th, 2019

November 16th, 2019 by Karen 9 Comments

trader joes 12 days of beauty items — Mmm… All the yums…

Happy Caturday, my friend!

One of the perks of adulting 24/7 is that you can actively pursue unapproved, unsanctioned frivolous endeavors, like buying yourself an advent calendar from Trader Joe’s and opening everything at once WEEKS before the actual holiday officially starts!

Having the freedom to do things like this almost — almost — makes up for having to deal with people stealing your parking spot. Or, for having to pay the bills. Forever.

(Kinda sorta. Not really.)

Quick TJ’s advent calendar update

I’ve been using a few of the things from my new 12 Days of Beauty Calendar this week, and all I have to say is, “HELLO, YUM-YUMS,” because everything I’ve tried so far smells like food!

Delicious-smelling delights are to be found in the…

Blueberry & Acai Facial Scrub: This smells exactly like a fresh blueberry smoothie, and the grains are the perfect level of “scrubiness,” in that they aren’t too aggressively gritty or too unhelpfully gentle.
Warm Vanilla Body Butter: The scent of hella bougie vanilla extract will follow you around for hours when you slather this thick, moisturizing butter on your bod.
I need an XXL size tub of this ASAP.
Brown Sugar Scrub: How many people are singing D’angelo to themselves when they use this in the shower I wonder? Hmm… It’s super moisturizing (watch out, though, because it makes the bottom of the bathtub slippery after you rinse off), and the sugar grains are substantial. It smells like freshly baked sugar cookies.
Rose Facial Oil: This scent of this light, yet hydrating, face oil takes me back to my childhood, when my friends and I would roll up to the Asian store and buy French rose pastille hard candies!

If you live near a TJ’s, I recommend grabbing one for yourself (and the ladies in your life) ASAP. It’s sooooo good, you guys.

Anywho…since it’s Caturday and all, Rosie Posie wanted to say a quick “meow” from her own personal fainting couch, which is also known as “Connor’s big girl bed.”

These girls have the cutest bedtime ritual. Every night, right before bed, Rosie hangs around and listens while I sing Connor her goodnight lullabies and read her a book. Then, when I turn off the light and leave the room, Rosie hops on the bed and stays with Connor till she falls asleep.

Every day I learn a little more about Rosie and fall more in love. 🙂

On that note, here’s this week’s reading…