Let me tell you; you haven’t lived until you’ve taken a toddler to the ballet. It’s an experience, LOL! I took Connor to watch the Nutcracker yesterday, put on by a local ballet company here called The Stapleton Ballet, and they did a performance for parents and young kids.
Technically, it was a dress rehearsal, but it was open to everyone — even babies! The kids got to enjoy the ballet and could move around and get their wiggles out if they needed to.
It was cool. I have so many memories of the music and the dancing from Nutcracker when I was growing up. I had a well-loved record (YUP) and a book, and I’ve gone to see the ballet a few times.
Back in high school band, I played parts of the music when we did select excerpts one year. My favorite piece, by the way, is the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies, because it has the best flute parts. 🙂
I think Connor enjoyed it… It’s hard to say… She didn’t want to sit on my lap, which I guess isn’t a huge surprise, since she’s a high-energy kid with her own agenda.
She’s a mover and a shaker, but we were in a row toward the front right, with about three seats between us and the next family, so she had room to groove.
When the house lights came on and the curtain went up, she said, “WOW!” Then when the dancers started kicking and flying through the air, she decided that she wanted to participate in the performance, so she started twirling in the aisle and kicking her legs. It was quite the adventure!
We ended up leaving during intermission because it was nap time, and she was getting cranky. But it was fun. I’m hoping to make it a new tradition for the two of us.
So, I didn’t have a lot of time to get ready before we left for the theater. In fact, I had literally two seconds to put on my makeup…
OK, maybe it was a little more than that, but not much.
Anyway, I’m always cutting it close, but lately I’ve been cutting it REALLY close.
Normally, when I only have 10 minutes or so to get out of the house, I won’t attempt winged liner, but I did it yesterday. You can totally do it if you have an angled liner brush and a black eyeshadow.
The trick is to only load the tip of the liner brush. If you do that, you get much more control over where that shadow is going, and if you happen to make a mistake, it’s easy to correct because it’s just shadow.
I used matte black powder MAC Carbon eyeshadow and a MAC 263, which is their small angled brush.
I think it’s so much better than the 266 if you have limited lid space because it’s thinner than the 263 and much easier to control.
On that beauty note…here are some stories (some beauty related, some not) that caught my eye this week.
- Could glitter eventually become a relic of the past? Scientists call for a ban on glitter in an effort to protect marine life, and microplastic bans could soon include glitter used in lotions, cosmetics and more.
- Work can become a major part of your identity. The danger is letting it define who you are. Here’s how to emotionally detach from your job.
- Mad props to this photographer who pulled off a high-fashion photo shoot at a mega hardware store.
- The Paul & Joe Spring 2018 (!) collection is paws-tively purr-fect because of — you guessed it! — cats. LOTS OF CATS. The green nail polish looks like pretty cool paw polish.
- Spa experts offer their tips for glowing skin, and part of me hopes a 120-minute deep-tissue massage is somewhere on the list.
- Beauty stocking stuffer ideas for those on your nice list.
- Presents for the skin care addict in your life… Or, presents for yourself, you skin care junkie, you. 🙂 Either way, it’s all good!
- Speaking of skin care, the Algenist Genius Liquid Collagen is supposed to start showing results overnight. Sign me up because I don’t have time to waste, yo!
- The holidays are hopefully a happy time, but sometimes people are going through difficult things this time of year. Here are four mistakes we often make when comforting friends over the holidays.
Have a good rest of your day, OK? I hope you find a nice balance between being productive and finding time to relax before the sun goes down.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. Do you have your tree yet? We’re thinking of getting ours this weekend… So excited! 🙂
Katie says
December 2nd, 2017 at 9:04 amOoh I adore the ballet! I go probably ten times a year (I’m aware of how nuts that is) because I usually get a series of tickets for my birthday and then I also go sporadically during the rest of the year. I started going probably when I was Connor Claire’s age with my godmother to see the Nutcracker! We went every year for more than a decade.
It’s so nice that companies are doing those kid-friendly performances nowadays! I’ve also seen performances for people with sensory sensitivities where house lights stay up and music is muted, which I think is super cool. I’m glad you guys had a relatively enjoyable experience! It’s always a bit difficult with little kids, I remember my brother got upset by the cannons when we were small.
Katie recently posted … Done!
Karen says
December 2nd, 2017 at 9:36 amHi Katie,
I would go 10 times a year if I could! You’re so lucky. What is your favorite ballet? I saw The Little Mermaid in SF a few years ago and loved it.
Katie says
December 2nd, 2017 at 9:44 amI’m really lucky I live so close to NYC so I can go in and get cheaper last minute tickets, as well as student price tickets. My favorite is probably Swan Lake! I also saw the brand-new Whipped Cream with the American Ballet Theater this summer and it was fantastic.
Karen says
December 2nd, 2017 at 9:52 amI haven’t heard of Whipped Cream. If it ever comes to SF I’ll see if I can catch it.
P.S. My daughter has a ballet doll named Misty after Misty Copeland. 🙂
Katie says
December 2nd, 2017 at 10:11 amThat is absolutely adorable!!!
Karen says
December 2nd, 2017 at 11:40 amShe has point shoes and a bun and everything, and Connor will hold her up so that she looks like she’s kicking.
Lorraine says
December 4th, 2017 at 6:04 pmKaren, if you are able to catch an American Ballet Theatre performance, be sure to point out Jeffrey Cirio and Stella Abrera to Connor Claire. They are Filipino American Principal dancers there, both absolutely brilliant! ABT brings their Nutcracker and other productions, including Whipped Cream, to Southern California. It’s worth the trip!
Kim says
December 4th, 2017 at 11:53 amThat’s a great tradition. One of my besties brings her daughter every year. She’s 13 now. 🙂
Karen says
December 4th, 2017 at 1:43 pmHow sweet! I hope in a few years Connor will be able to stay still in her seat, LOL!
Lorraine says
December 4th, 2017 at 5:16 pmI love it! I took my little dancer to see the SF Ballet Nutcracker when she was in first grade, it was a wonderful memory! Now she dances on pointe, and has danced as Clara and in the Waltz of the Flowers at her ballet studios. Those memories of seeing performances and the magic she felt, she keeps that in her heart whenever she gets a chance to perform onstage. She is thinking there might be a little girl in the audience, just like she was, experiencing that magic for the first wondrous time. Here’s to beautiful Tchaikovsky music, and our wiggly kids who have to move!
Trude says
December 7th, 2017 at 2:50 pmSounds like such a fun thing to expose her to! And those little rainbow socks are killing me. 🙂
Karen says
December 7th, 2017 at 4:41 pmYou have so much to look forward to! This is a fun age. 🙂
Shannon says
December 13th, 2017 at 8:14 pmThank you for linking to my post Karen (the spa experts tips for glowing skin!) Made my day!
Karen says
December 14th, 2017 at 10:31 amYou’re welcome, Shannon!
Caroline says
January 25th, 2018 at 3:46 pmConnor definitely enjoyed it! The first time I took my daughter 3 years ago, she just sat in awe with very little expression. The only way I can tell she was enjoying it was the fact that she didn’t have time to respond to me talking. I love the nutcracker too and I collect a lot of them and display them during the holidays. You might fancy reading this article: https://www.cuckooforest.com/blogs/cuckoo-forest-blog/nutcrackers-that-actually-crack-nuts its about nutcrackers that actually do their job. haha