New Product!

Check out my newest, nicest face product. I've been using it constantly since I got it...

Right? I mean I'm kind of being funny, but I also have been using a roll of paper towels under my sink for the past month or so and my skin has really not had any major breakouts since I started. It takes a little time to get out of the habit of just using your big towel or hand towel to dry your face. But those things carry skin cells and bacteria that can be no bueno for your face! Give it a try for a month or so and see what you think!

Waiting for Wilma Pie

This past Saturday, my friend offered to make taco soup if I'd make a dessert. I took this as a chance to make one of my favorite pies, a Waiting for Wilma pie! It's a chocolate, caramel, pecan pie and it's an absolute winner!

The recipe is here, and I have some additions/changes that always work best for me.

1. Make your own pie dough if you have time. I didn't this time, but have in the past and wish I had just taken the time to do it. Frozen dough is sometimes good, but homemade is always delicious!
2. You can definately knock the baking time down to 40 minutes. It'll make the pie just a little fluffier.
3. I sprinkle a little sea salt on top before I put it in to bake. It always gives the pie a little more complexity!
4. If you have trouble finding the dulce de leche, ask someone at your grocery to help you. They probably have it, but it's often in a random spot!

Weekend Wanderings

Well, I'm back after a wonderful weekend. Just what I needed after a rough week of being sick and busy!
Friday: Hung around with my sick puppy, watched Clash of the Titans with my roommate (hilarious, and action packed), then Chinese food and dancing.
Saturday: Slept in, wine and cheese in the park, taco soup, pie, Mean Girls and bedtime.
Sunday: Easter Brunch with friends, an ill-attempted run, reading and napping, delicious pimento cheese burger to top it off.

Unfortunately, my laptop has died. I'll try to maintain a posting schedule, but it might be a bit abbreviated. The upside is that I'm getting so much more relaxation time in!

Sick+Spring Allergies=Office Eek

I'm feeling completely out of it. I'm suffering through spring allergies and may also have a cold of some kind. But, I still have to work and attend class, meaning I can't just stay in my PJs. One day away was one too many! Days like today make me thankful for old standbys:

I slather myself in Kiehl's Creme de Corps lotion, spray Bumble and Bumble's Surf Spray in my already messy hair. Slip on an easy dress with a long necklace and black sandals, and stuff a grey cardigan in my giant bag for the times I will (certainly) get cold in the office. Top it off with a shimmery tinted moisturizer and pretty coral lips and I just might look a little better than death for the duration of the day. What's the in rest of the bag?  Kleenex, Ricola and a travel tin of green tea. I wish I were kidding.

Sick Day

Sweet, sweet readers. I'm sick. I'm taking the day off from class and work to lay in bed, drink tea, blow my nose and disturb my dog by eating 17 Ricola every hour. On days like today, my only recommendation is this:

I'll be drinking several quarts of this today. See you on the other side, kiddos.

Some Kinda Rant

I know that I usually just use space here to talk about makeup, clothes or random shopping and cooking. And I really like that, and I have some great posts lined up for this week. But today, I just want to rant a little bit about what I've been reading and hearing re:health care reform.

Listen. I know that there are knowledgeable, caring people on all sides of this debate. There are people who support the reform fully, and welcome the exact reform being put into policy. I know there are others who have some concerns about pieces of the reform and wish some of it were different, or removed. I know others who don't support it at all, and wish that we as a country had explored other methods of ensuring health and well being to all people. I know that there are other viewpoints that come from a place of reason and compassion, and that they aren't all in support of the reform. And, I'm down with that. I personally support the reform, with hopes that there will be refinements made. I'm also open about saying, while I've done my level best to understand the reform, I'm still unsure about a few pieces.

What I'm just sick to pieces of is having to encounter unbridled despair and rage over this reform. Fear that isn't tempered with any attempt to even understand the language of the reform. I am genuinely sad that instead of trying to understand what's happening, a few people seem to be content to allow Glenn Beck to tell them what this health care reform "really means." I'm tired of corporations and talking heads making millions off of fear they needlessly ignite, and then fan to pandemic heights. I've had it. The only way to understand what the health care reform will do, is to READ it. Or, read a few articles about it. Don't trust the media? Then turn off your Fox News, MSNBC, CNN etc. Read the bill. It's hard to read, I didn't understand a ton of it.

The bright side is this: I think that most people want to understand, and they form a variety of opinions on the issue once they understand. I just don't want to see my neighbors, friends, family and colleagues swallowed up by a fear for something they haven't tried to understand. That's never gotten any of us anywhere.

As a side note: Here are some airy, fun things coming up!
-Paint/wall decor ideas
-Updates about where A and I are moving
-Wedding decor (I promise to not turn this into a wedding blog. I promise)
-Office organization
-Q&A I've gotten several emails from readers (who I didn't know, but am happy to now) asking questions!
I promise, it'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Liberty of London...sigh

Alright, Liberty of London has collections at Target and MAC. And, yes, some of it's really pretty. What I'd like to point out, is, some of it's really ugly. Some of it's only on the rack because, while some companies hide overblown florals away and call them "misguided", Liberty of London makes a policy of them. And I love prints, people. I wear prints so ridiculous my mother is embarrassed to be seen with  me. She once asked that I "Leave the Picasso prints on the walls." Very funny. In any case, I did go check out the Liberty stuff at Target, in part because while the whole blog world bemoaned the fact that everything got swept away in a day, all THREE of my Targets in South Carolina were still brimming with overgrown florals and inexplicable peacock designs. (As a side note: I think peacock looks can be really pretty, but I have a weird reaction to anything that doesn't include the whole bird. I'm not sure why?)

AND I even BOUGHT something. I actually bought two somethings. Not a dress, or a scarf (it's going to be HOT soon, I don't want a damn scarf.). I bought two coffee mugs that bring the kind of delight to my heart usually reserved for morning my dog lets me sleep past 8 am. I only found one online, and it's the less pretty of the two. The other one has the same colors, but in a kind of cracked glass pattern.

I might return for a few more items, but none of them will be clothing. It's strange, I either love the cut but hate the pattern, or I love the pattern and hate the cut. For example:

Am I loving the print? Yes. And I even love off the shoulder. I'm less interested in a giant ruffle at my chest, though. That seems hazardous. But I may go back for a few more things, like some of the pillows and maybe a few items to give as gifts later on.