I’ve got thyme on my hands, and I plan to spend some of it with my thyme plant today, which, by the way, is having the thyme of its life right now on my deck!
LOL. Thyme. Get it…? Buh-dum-bump! I’ll be here all day, folks! ?
I’m growing three herbs in the lady sanctuary at the moment — dill, cilantro and thyme! The dill and thyme are starting to get big, so I should trim them down a little (the cilantro’s being a bit of a diva, so no haircut for her today), and although I have some idea how to work the dill, I’m not so sure about the thyme.
Last time (thyme? haha) I used it was Easter in a roast potato and chicken dish, but other than that I don’t really know what goes with it, so I bookmarked a few recipes that look yummy (they’re listed below in case you’re curious). If you have any ideas, I’d love to hear about them. Tell me all your thyme secrets, please.
It’s nice and sunny today, so I’m going to take Connor to a new playground we found in town. It has a huge play structure, a sandbox, a separate play area for the toddlers, and I’ve heard that there’s also a creek somewhere nearby… I just really wish there was a way to bring Tabs ? because I can see him relaxing in the sun next to Connor while she plays in the sandbox.
He’s wonderful and cooperative on a leash, but I think all the kids would make him too jumpy. I’m afraid he’d get scared and make a run for it.
Now, if I had a cat stroller… (HEY, EL HUB, MY BIRTHDAY’S COMING SOON!) That would be a totally different story. I’m just sayin’… If a cat stroller comes my way, I won’t be mad about it! ?
In other news, here are the stories that caught my eye this week… Hope you’re having a great weekend so far.
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All the thyme recipes I want to try: Lemon Thyme Shortbread Cookies, One Pan Lemon Thyme Chicken Asparagus, Lemon Thyme Tea Bread and Broiled Catfish With Fresh Thyme, Garlic, And Lemon.
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So many fun facts about lipstick in this BBC video! Did you know that the world’s first commercially available lipstick was invented by Pierre-François Guerlain, and that the first peeps to embrace it in the US were the suffragettes, because lipstick symbolized their defiance?
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Ah…take me back to the ’90s, where butterfly clips, claw clips, comb headbands and scrunchies ruled!
Actually, I still wear claw clips. And scrunchies. (Whatever, don’t judge.)
This post is all about ’90s hair accessories, but what I really got a kick out of was the makeup and hair on the celeb pics, especially the Drew Barrymore pic from 1995. I had that EXACT hair style and brows, and for the record, I looked terrible!
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According to this Racked piece, it costs $2.50 to make a tube of lipstick.
So, how do companies get away with charging so much more for it? Follow the $$$.
“In general, when a retailer wants to sell a company’s products, the retailer buys those products from brands at 50 to 65 percent less than the retail price, then marks them back up to sell, taking that profit. That means the brand needs to sell a lot more to make a profit, which explains why makeup prices can sometimes be 10 times higher in a store than what they cost to make. Both the store and the brand needs to see a profit. Selling products to retailers means giving up a lot of potential income and control; the upside is that you can make that up in volume as well as get incredible exposure. Of course, if a brand chooses to stay direct to consumer, that comes with its own costs, like paying more staff and maintaining a website. Shipping and handling can also be a big financial hit. It all contributes to the final price you the shopper pay.”
- Yes, this is real life, not the latest summer spy ?️ novel. A makeup artist used makeup and pigs blood (oh, my) to help this Russian journalist stage his own murder as part of an elaborate plot to catch an alleged assassin…
- As a bonafide foundation junkie, I’m stoked about the new launch of Dior Backstage Face and Body Foundation. The rest of the products in Backstage look pretty cool, too.
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Is this the future of shampoo? A new line called OWA Haircare (an acronym for “out of this world amazing”) will be launching powdered shampoo this fall…but it’s *not* a dry shampoo.
You take it with you in the shower, sprinkle it on your hair, add water, and lather up.
So it’s almost like a solid bar shampoo, except powdered…
I don’t think I’ve ever seen something like this before, so I’m curious. Putting it on my radar to try.
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I liked this piece on actress Viola Davis, who says that she lives by these four simple rules:
- I’m doing the best I can
- I will allow myself to be seen
- I apply the advice an acting coach gave me to all aspects of my life: Go further. Don’t be afraid. Put it all out there. Don’t leave anything on the floor.
- I will not be a mystery to my daughter. She will know me and I will share my stories with her — the stories of failure, shame, and accomplishment. She will know she’s not alone in that wilderness.
This video made me crack up so hard. He looks like he just rolled out of bed, threw on a sweatshirt, then walked down the street to film this song’s video at a random spot at the mall…in the ’90s!
Aaand this next song is currently stuck in my head. Also, the closeups of her makeup are pretty.
Oh, I finally finished Faithful Place by Tana French, the book I’ve been chipping away at for the last two weeks. Now I’m gonna try to find Crazy Rich Asians at one last local bookstore, but if I can’t find it there, le sigh… Amazon Prime it is.
Kim, a fried of mine from the comments, brought up an interesting point the other day. She said that I should watch the movie first, and then read the book, because that way I won’t be disappointed by the movie, which makes sense to me.
What do you think? Should I still read the book first? Or should I just wait for the movie?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Swoozy says
Dried thyme is a nice addition to gravy, not that that’s a very summery thing 😉
Lex says
Hah! That’s such an interesting point! I’ve done that once – happened to first see the Pride and prejudice movie, and then read the book. And I have to say I quite enjoyed doing it that way because it made reading the text so much more ‘visual’. I could just imagine the actors I had seen and the surroundings from the movie, even if some of the dialogues or surroundings in the book were new to me (since the movie isn’t a perfect copy of the book).
And yeah… Guerlain aren’t modest about inventing lipstick bullets. I’ve been told this several times when I happened to be at their counter, haha!
PS. I noticed Dior also switched up their brush collection, by the looks of it. So if any of the old ones are on your radar, now might be a good time to get them. 🙂
Lex recently posted … Guerlain Terracotta collection 2018 and Summer-perfect products: Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess & Pure Color Love Liquid Lips (2018)
Savannah says
I love claw clips! Binge watching Friends since I hurt my foot and I’m off work for a while, and I love all of Rachel’s looks with the clips! Some of them I can’t even figure how to replicate but they look so elegant yet simple. I wish I had better skills with hair. I’m pretty bad at it lol
Cindy says
I’ve been wearing headbands since grade school, LOL! With big curly hair they are just practical and it’s very easy to do when your hair won’t do what you want or it’s very hot. I used to wear those comb headbands. They were very hard to get in my thick curly hair and twice as hard to get out but I just loved how big the curls got once the front was pressed down with the comb lol.
Charisma says
I’ve been using my thyme with everything! A bit in homemade tomato sauce with a bit of basil and oregano… Some lemon thyme (or you could do thyme plus lemon) in foil baked salmon — sooo delicious! My hubby recently blended it with his shake (lots of ginger, lemon, agave or honey, thyme, water and mint)
Divina says
I think Potatoes Lyonnaise would taste fantastic with thyme—and I would love to try it with this recipe, substituting thyme for the parsley: https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/potatoes-lyonnaise-lemon-and-chile
I am a clip girl all the way because with Asian hair being so slippery, I can’t use hair ties. Besides, ponytails give me headaches! I’ve always been jealous of people who can!
Happy Caturday to you!
Elsie says
Girl, just read the damn series. I saw an early screening of the movie, and as with all book adaptations, they cut/modified a lot of side-stories, but the movie was still charming and cute and omg the fine shirtless dudes. My seat neighbor was someone who had never read the books and he was smiling and teary when credits rolled. Personally, when I was reading the series, I wasn’t a fan of the main couple (Rachel and Nick were a bit blah) and was basically reading to follow the story of cousin Astrid, but the movie really added more personality to Rachel and Nick, and did I mention fine shirtless dudes? I hope the movie does well so that we get more of Astrid tho…
Lily says
I planted just 2 herbs on my deck, basil and rosemary, the two I use the most. So far they are doing well. You made me wish I had planted thyme because this Ina recipe is soooo yummy and soooo pretty.
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/vegetable-tian-recipe-1943236
Suzanne C says
That post on 90’s hair was too fun. But people in real life never stopped wearing scrunchies. Movies, TV, magazines… no. Target, grocery store, school pickup line… always.
Isabella says
CWA
read the book first
then the movie
it never works the other way
Tatiana says
Thyme is good with so many things. Tomatoes, eggs, chicken roasted with sprigs placed under the skin. You could make a frittata with red onion, chard, gruyere cheese, basil and thyme. I have a sour cream and thyme dinner roll recipe that I make at Thanksgiving. I’ll dig out the recipe and email it to you if you like. It’s labor intensive as it needs 2T of thyme leaves.
I love snap clips. Nothing holds my hair more secure. I used to love the comb head bands, too. Dear Daughter wore headbands all through high school and college (that would be the last 10 years) and still wears them to this day. Except for scrunchies I don’t necessarily think of those as 80’s accessories.
I saw the new Dior makeup on their Instagram feed. I’m curious how their Face and Body Foundation will compare to M.A.C.’s. I’ll wait until I can test it out in person before I decide whether or not to purchase.
Susan T. says
Thyme is good with anything potato, mushroom or egg. Maybe make a fritatta with all three! 🙂 Or just toss some thyme in your scrambled eggs.
Suz B. says
Thyme is my favorite! I like adding it to salad dressing, especially balsamic vinaigrette. Also yummy in sliced sauteed cremini mushrooms with onion and garlic (deglaze the pan with some dry sherry and finish with some butter and a bit of cream or half-&-half) – it’s a nice accompaniment to a good steak, or even mixed into a rice or farro salad or some risotto. You could try roasting tomatoes with some whole thyme sprigs, garlic, and olive oil. It’s great in cheese biscuits and crackers. And if you do any sous vide cooking, it’s nice to slip into the bag with your chicken/beef/salmon/whatever before you seal and cook. I found a lovely planter at Costco that has a trio of thyme, rosemary, and basil. That basil is, um, ambitious! Last weekend I used half of it for a big batch of pesto (YUM!!!!!) and it’s already getting huge again.
Those lemon thyme shortbread cookies may need to be my next baking project… Time for a trim, thyme…hee hee!
Kim says
Was that Taylor Swift or Tawny Kitaen? 🙂
Your thyme is really thriving! It’s usually paired with lemon, as you’ve seen.
Oh my goodness on the 90s hair accessories. My hair is fine so I could never make anything like that work for me. Though, the velvet scrunchie on the wrist was a must. HAHA!
That powdered shampoo sounds really cool. It will all depend on the texture when it’s wet, I think. And how it lathers. Even though I realize lather isn’t needed to clean, I just can’t help feeling my hair isn’t clean without it.
Chelsea says
I can’t stand thyme or rosemary! But I’m a super taster, so I don’t like a lot of things ? The grocery store I go to most often is called Fresh Thyme though!
I’m really curious about that new Dior foundation too!