Just For Fun

Cost Plus World Market Is Hello Kitty Headquarters!

August 6th, 2020 by Karen 6 Comments

hello kitty pasta sauce — Who’d a thunk it? Hello Kitty has her own pasta sauce!

I have to preface this by saying that I haven’t done much shopping out of the house over the past six months, so other than regularly scheduled trips to Trader Joe’s, Target and a couple of trips to the Novato Sports Basement, my retail experience as of late has been limited…so maybe that’s why going to the Cost Plus World Market store in Santa Rosa last weekend was like a world tour of international travel!

I felt like Willy Wonka in the Chocolate Factory. Everything was sparkly and new, and everywhere I turned, I saw something I’d never seen before!

So, weird thing about Cost Plus World Market? They have so many Hello Kitty items. Who knew? I certainly didn’t.

If I were an elementary school student, this is what a well-stocked adult kitchen would look like: Hello Kitty olive oil, Hello Kitty pasta sauce, Hello Kitty pasta, Hello Kitty ramen noodles, Hello Kitty soy sauce and Hello Kitty green tea matcha marshmallows…

hello kitty soy sauce — Low-key kicking myself for not buying this

hello kitty pink bottles — I have a feeling this might be sake? Or vinegar. LOL!

hello kitty matcha marshmallows — I wonder what these would taste like in s’mores!

hello kitty chocolate marshmallow — I feel like these could be potentially pretty gross…

hello kitty mustache candy — In case you’ve ever wondered what Hello Kitty looks like with a ‘stache…

Basically, if you can dream up a Hello Kitty-related food item, you can probably find it at Cost Plus World Market. I had no idea Miss Kitty’s reach extended so far into the culinary world.

I was most impressed by the variety of noodles. Miss K is all about the carbs…

hello kitty dried noodles — Just in case you need ALL THE NOODLES

hello kitty dried noodles 3 — Is he rolling his eyes?

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How Would You Describe Your Current Hair and Makeup Style?

August 4th, 2020 by Karen 28 Comments

nars kalahari — Pretty much my current makeup style to a “t”

Hmm… Well, of course, the pandemic has changed almost everything in terms of how far I’ll go on a regular basis with my hair and makeup, but even before March, my hair and makeup style were growing increasingly casual. I call it more “easygoing.” I primarily wear neutrals these days (basically because they’re easier to blend than more exciting colors like bright purples and greens), with subtle variations on classic elements, like winged liner or smoky lids, and my hair is usually up in some kind of bun or ponytail/braid variation that’s purposefully a little wild with a sleek element or two.

I guess that’s one way to describe it… Mostly messy (LOL!), with pockets of smoothness here and there.

Really, I lean on the classics, but I’ll still make an occasional foray into colorful crazytown.

I actually look at old makeup pics of myself and am actually kind of astonished that I had the wherewithal to do elaborately colorful, fun looks. If I could, I’d go back in time and high-five myself for my efforts, ha ha ha!

For now though, I like my current hair and makeup style (notwithstanding the pandemic-inspired modifications and compromises).

How about you? How would you describe your current hair and makeup style?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Vol. 637

August 3rd, 2020 by Karen 31 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. Frosted Flakes or Rice Krispies?

Oh, easy one. Frosted Flakes, please! And if it isn’t too much trouble, I like mine with a 50/50 mix of 2% and oat milk.

2. Your favorite bag at the moment?

My black Timbuk2 backpack is rocking my world! It’s so nice to have my hands free to, ya know, to use hand sanitizer 1,587 times when I’m out and about.

3. Would you rather have a big-ol’ painful pimple on your butt, or your back?

Hmm, excellent question… Not the best morning convo, but I’ve experienced both and would characterize them both as “pretty miserable.” Be that as it may, I can imagine the booty pimple being a little less annoying most of the time. I guess? Granted, I’d probably feel the booty pimple every time I sat down (UGH), but at least it would be easy to reach. 🤷‍♀️

4. Did you (or do you now) ever watch soap operas/telenovelas?

Heck yeah, girlfriend! I was up on all the crazy storylines in Days of Our Lives back in the ’90s (remember when Marlena got possessed by the devil??).

5. How’s your mental health these days?

Eh…it’s been up and down, to be honest. I always try to see the sunny side of things, but I’ve been feeling worn out lately, especially whenever I see Connor do something like stare longingly at groups of children while we’re at a park or the pool, or when we went camping. She’s lonely. No siblings, cousins or kids in the neighborhood, and even if there were, there’s the virus to contend with. Coco also doesn’t have the vocabulary to fully express her feelings quite yet, so she just erupts into tears at bedtime or while we’re in the car.

And I’ve been feeling lonely too. I especially miss the little interactions I used to have with people throughout the day. COVID has changed so many elemental parts of life.

6. What time of day are you the most/least productive?

Most productive in the morning, and least productive after 4 p.m., but I can usually power my way through the afternoon slump if I have some tea in my system.

7. Do you still keep in touch with your high school prom date?

Nope! He was a friend and a nice guy, and we ended up going to the same college, but we rarely ran into each other and didn’t keep in touch.

8. Does anybody actually know what they’re doing?

HELL NO, GIRL. We’re all just improvising and making it up along the way. Nobody has any idea what they’re doing!

9. Are you currently wearing any makeup, and if you are, whatcha wearing?

I’m grimy and sweaty right now because I just finished a million-minute core workout (well, more like 40 minutes…but it felt like an eternity), so no, but I plan to wear MAC Melba Blush later, so I should probably be rewarded with a ticker tape parade, hahaha! 😂

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. Frosted Flakes or Rice Krispies?
2. Your favorite bag at the moment?
3. Would you rather have a big-ol’ monster pimple on your butt, or your back?
4. Did you (or do you now) ever watch soap operas/telenovelas?
5. How’s your mental health these days?
6. What time of day are you the most/least productive?
7. Do you still keep in touch with your high school prom date?
8. Does anybody actually know what they’re doing?
9. Are you currently wearing any makeup, and if you are, whatcha wearing?

P.P.S. Have a wonderful day! YOU DESERVE IT! Treat yourself to something nice this week, and hang in there! You can do it! 🤗

Sundays With Tabs the Cat, Makeup and Beauty Blog Mascot, Vol. 618

August 2nd, 2020 by Karen 2 Comments

Tabs used to have a roommate, but they had a falling out.

His name was Sushi, and he was a flamboyant, fabulous betta. He was also an accomplished aquatic model.

Before they became friends, Tabs studied Sushi from afar. He took notes on posing and general fabulousness, trying to crack the code to becoming a world-famous supermodel.

Tabs wanted to learn everything about modeling, and Sushi was a pro.

This went on for months. Tabs had great respect for Sushi and what he’d accomplished in the aquatic modeling world, but there was something else…

Over time, the nature of their relationship changed, and Tabs couldn’t explain why. He found himself getting hungrier and hungrier…for knowledge, and he determined that the only way he could truly understand modeling would be to digest everything Sushi had to offer.

To get his mind and body working in unison, Tabs started a rigorous fitness regimen focusing on plyometrics, also known as jump training, with the goal of being able to jump up onto the hutch where Sushi lived in his fishbowl.

Tabs believed that if he could work eye-to-eye with Sushi, Tabs could tap into the secrets of the modeling world…

Of course, in hindsight we know this idea was flawed…

Tabs became obsessed with Sushi and finding a way onto the hutch. He trained relentlessly, day and night, stretching, leaping, reaching and climbing.

This continued for weeks until, one day, or should I say one night, I was walking down the stairs when I saw Tabs perched on top of the hutch with a paw reaching into Sushi’s fishbowl!

“No!” I exclaimed, “Tabs! Get down!”

Immediately, he jumped down onto the carpet, looking confused, aghast, and a little guilty perhaps.

Things were never the same between Tabs and Sushi after that. They stopped talking about modeling and stopped hanging out. They even stopped meeting for lunch. Oh, they lived together for a while longer, but they never spoke again.

To this day, we don’t know exactly what happened or why the relationship soured. It’s a mystery. Totally unexplainable. 😊

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Saturday Surfing, Aug. 1, 2020

August 1st, 2020 by Karen 6 Comments

Greetings, fellow feline and fun-filled weekend enthusiast! Our two artists-in-residence send their regards.

While the girls decorate this piece of paper, I plan to decorate…my face with winged liner and a bright lipstick.

Why?

Answer: why not? But seriously, I don’t have anything profoundly exciting planned. I’m just taking Connor to her dance studio for the first time in months because she has a solo dance recital, and that’s all the excuse I need to get a little gussied up… At the very least, I can brush up my brows! 😁

The dance studio moved most of their classes online, but they do a couple things outdoors in their parking lot, and we’re going today so Connor’s dance teacher can record her and a couple other socially distanced students while they do the routine they would’ve performed on stage at our local civic center for the spring recital.

I still can’t believe how much things have changed… At last year’s spring recital, there must have been a hundred kids and 300 parents, everyone jammed into a performance hall, and all the kids and parents got ready in a big room backstage adjusting costumes, soothing nerves and, ya know, breathing the same air in close proximity.