My Old Lady Beauty Ritual

I have a funny nightly ritual that I fondly think of as my old lady beauty ritual. After I've washed and moisturized my face and brushed my teeth I sit in bed and pull out a giant pot of super emollient cream from the cubby in my nightstand. I pat a little under my eyes and on my eyelids (experts say that eye cream is a bit of a hoax--any thick cream will do) and then I rub a generous amount of cream onto my whole neck, from my chin down to my collarbone. The skin on my neck tends to get dry and tight which can be uncomfortable so I take extra care of it. 

But then not too long ago I read somewhere that you can often tell the age of a woman by looking at her neck. What?? I guess the reasoning is that the skin on your neck is just as fine and delicate as the skin on your face but more likely to get neglected. Moisturizing it with your regular face cream is good but using an extra rich cream is better.

I'm not obsessive about anti-aging tricks and when it's my time for them, I say bring on the laugh lines and eye crinkles. But I think we could all do without neck wrinkles for as long as possible. Here's to hoping my little routine will stave those off for a good long while.

Do you have any quirky beauty rituals? Please share! And happy weekend, friends.

On Making Your Own Adventures

Last week at the end of the day on Friday, I was feeling weird and restless. It had been a full and productive week and I was in the mood to do something but was having a hard time coming up with a fun thing to do that didn't cost money. We're trying very hard these days to be conscious of our spending--in general but also in anticipation of our Japan trip--and at 4:00 on a Friday, the only ideas I could think of involved drinks or food.

What's a girl to do!?

I was getting mopey. My husband suggested I take a long walk and reminded me that fresh air always makes me feel better. I mulled this over. We talked about dinner. We had planned an indulgent Friday night dinner of hot dogs with some kale and brown rice on the side for health and balance. I told him we didn't have hot dog buns. Cue more mopiness on my part.

And then my husband (as he is apt to do) saved my afternoon. "Why don't you walk to that cute little food store near the park and buy us some hot dog buns?" 

Ok, I know that on the surface that doesn't sound like fun, or a very romantic suggestion on my husband's part. But the man knows me. This was exactly the adventure I needed. The store he was referring to is about a mile away from our house, a perfectly walkable distance, but in our town we are so used to jumping in the car when we need something that it wouldn't have occurred to me to hoof it.

"It'll feel like you're in New York." He knows I miss those days of walking 30 blocks without a second thought, my little bodegas where I used to pick up that one thing I was missing for dinner. The people-watching and buzz of life all around. They were little adventures.

It was a chilly day but I was already feeling my spirits lift so I bundled up, popped in ear buds and turned on my Radical Face Pandora station, grabbed a tote, and set out down the street.

The store didn't have hot dog buns.

As far as I was concerned, though, my Friday afternoon mission was completed. I was mopey no longer. I smiled to myself, thinking how funny it was that I had walked 20 minutes (one way) to buy hot dog buns at a store that doesn't carry hot dog buns. I bought some regular bread and a few ripe avocados and some lemon mint tea and began my trek home, red-cheeked and tingling and happy.

The hot dog buns were just the excuse anyway.

(Photo above is an adorable house I noticed while walking.)

The Dreamiest Dining Room

Dark, rich, moody walls. Pewter pitchers and plain white dishes. A long farmhouse table with rustic wooden chairs. Dim sconces casting shadows. Antlers and framed black and white sketches and photographs. A crackling fire. Gorgeous hazy sunlight filtering through the windows. Neutrals layered upon neutrals.

Ok, what do you think--any guesses? You might think I'm sitting here describing my dream aesthetic and you wouldn't be far off from the truth.

But no, this room actually exists, at least in the way that Lady Mary and Mr. Bates and secret-wielding servants and breakfast trays for married women exist. I know it's far less glamorous than its upstairs counterpart, but the servant's dining room is my favorite room in Downton Abbey. I just love it.

Wouldn't it be so much fun to model your own dining room after this one? (Apparently the paint they used was mixed up from historical paint recipes, and you can buy it!) I would do it in a second. This room is just so tasteful and earthy and elegant.

(Don't even get me started on the kitchen. Open shelving, copper pots, stone cannisters! To die for.)

Good Trends/Bad Trends

Trends are interesting. I have a pretty solid sense of what I like and don't like and don't pay too much attention to whether something is "trendy" or not. I think most of us are probably like that. If something is trendy but we like it, who cares that we're jumping on a bandwagon! It's trendiness for the sake of trendiness that is the real danger. (And don't get me started on the expression that something is "trending." Ugh!)

As I've become immersed in the blog world it's sometimes hard to tell if certain things are universally popular or if they're only so among us blogging gals. Is the rest of the world obsessed with snake plants and their earthy chic factor? I'm not sure.

Anyway, I thought it would be sort of silly and fun to make a quick little list. Trends I love (not because they're trends but because they click with me) and trends I don't love (for whatever reason). I hope you'll share yours in the comments, too!

Trends I Love:

Game of Thrones
Delicate gold jewelry
Instagram
Subtle pastel-tipped hair (I'd never do it but it can look gorgeous when done right)
Reusable grocery bags
Oversized black-rimmed glasses (on other people, since my eyes are stubbornly good at seeing)
Gallery walls (but only when done really well!)
DIYing
Pumpkin Spice Lattes

Trends I Don't Love:

Pinterest recipes
Dry shampoo (I use it but it's not a miracle product like the masses would have you believe)

Lena Dunham

Facebook
...and Twitter
Inspirational quotes turned into wall art (it can be beautiful but it's not quite for me)
Super skinny jeans on men



What am I missing? This is the kind of thing that's fun to gab about with girlfriends. So tell me: which trends do you love and which ones bug you?

Let's Get To Know One Another: A Word To Describe Your Style

My eclectic china cabinet, currently

We've been really busy running around cleaning, unpacking and arranging for the last few days. It's been so so so much fun but my back could definitely use a break from all the bending and lifting. Thank goodness, my parents arrive tomorrow from D.C. to help over the weekend. And my mother-in-law was here on Saturday helping us get our bedroom together. Have I mentioned how lucky I feel to be a hop-skip-and-a-jump from family? This move to Charlottesville has so many bonuses.

Anyway, it's been really interesting having all of our belongings in one place. Seeing all of our dishes together, for example, the ones I've collected from thrift stores and our simple white wedding dishes and beautifully textured pottery bowls and plates that were given to us as gifts. I had a funny little revelation the other day about these dishes. Our china cabinet has three open shelves with glass doors, which is where I've been putting our nicest, fanciest things. At first, I had only our wine glasses and some white footed soup bowls on the shelves and I thought, "That's so gorgeous and simple, I'll put only glass and white dishes in our china cabinet! It will look streamlined and French and lovely against the dark aged wood of the cabinet!" This was my grand design idea.

But then a few days went by and necessity demanded that I stop reserving the space for only white pieces. My beautiful chartreuse tray and collection of pie dishes needed a home, and so did my hammered silver teapot from Grandma and my blue handmade sugar and creamer set from my college girlfriend and my copper colander. I began tucking each piece into place, and as soon as I strayed from my white only! theme, I breathed out and thought to myself, "Who was I kidding? This is so much better. Eclectic, that's my thing. I wouldn't have it any other way."

So that's it, my "one word" to describe my style. Eclectic. That's not to say that my style is always funky or offbeat, but that it's a mix of tastes and textures and colors and modern and old. I like earthy and antiqued but I also like bright and glossy and the contrast between the two is exciting to me. All white dishes would be lovely in that cabinet, there's no doubt. But that's not quite me. It would be too perfect and planned, not rustic enough, lacking the pizazz and serendipity and mix of styles I so love. My eclectic china cabinet, with its white and glass and old and new and everything in between, it feels just right.

Now it's your turn! You have only one word to describe your style. What'll it be? I can't wait to hear.

Let's Get To Know One Another: Food Staples

With our move less than a week away (!!!) we've been trying to eat up as much of our food as possible so as not to be wasteful. Our pantry and our fridge are slowly getting depleted and I think we will be eating some strange meals over the next couple of days as we try to finish off the perishables. My poor husband has come into the kitchen a few times recently wanting an apple, or some butter for toast, and I've had to break the news that we're out of this or that and that it seemed silly to replace it right before we pack up and leave. Wastefulness makes me cringe, and so does mayonnaise that's been sitting in a warm car for 24 hours! Better to go without for a few days.

Anyway, it made me curious to know: what are some of the things you always have in your fridge or your pantry? Things that your husband would be surprised to find you're out of? Anything unusual on the list?

Image Source

Here are some of ours, a peek into my kitchen:

Half and half for morning tea (I put it on steel cut oats too)
Sweet relish for making homemade tartar sauce
Hummus
Almond milk for my lactose intolerant husband
Several cans of black beans and chickpeas and kidney beans for easy dinners
Bananas, almost always
Fresh garlic
Some kind of raw nuts, usually pecans or walnuts, for oatmeal, salad-making, desserts
Sesame seeds to throw on roasted kale or in stirfry
This Thai peanut sauce (we love it drizzled on vegetables or rice)
A bag of spinach
Ground flax seed, which is so good for you and easy to put on top of cereal or a salad
Jasmine rice (I can buy a five pound bag from the Korean supermarket for 5 dollars!)
A treat or two (usually ice cream) in the freezer
A big block of extra sharp cheddar


What are some of your must-have staples? I find this sort of thing oddly fascinating!

On My Mind

Sometimes random mish-mash posts can be fun, especially on a Friday, don't you think? Here are a few things on my mind these days.

I spotted these shoes when shopping with my sister-in-law in Houston and it took some strength to resist the temptation to even try them on. I think they're perfect, but I don't need anything new right now. Maybe I'll watch for when they go on sale.

I've been getting really into the look of Turkish Kilim rugs lately and have learned that eBay is a great place to find them. Wouldn't this one be gorgeous on hardwood floors against white walls?

My sister-in-law (a different one, I'm blessed to have 3!) sent me this awesome video last week. I really liked it and believe its message is a powerful one. Watch it and let me know what you think.

Occasionally, I like to see what's going on at my alma mater. I stumbled on this article and I'm quite captivated by this new interdisciplinary sacred music drama about Joan of Arc that is being created and performed by several collaborating departments. It's called "I Was Born For This" and I imagine it's incredibly moving.

I can't wait to try out this studio when we're in Charlottesville!

My friend Kristyn recently re-branded her handmade jewelry shop and her new collection is stunning. I bought the Arch Earrings (pictured above) and they arrived last week. They're simple and feminine and exquisite. Do check out her shop--I think you'll be impressed.



What's been on your mind? I'd love to hear. Enjoy this middle-of-May weekend, friends!

When Life Endears You

Sometimes life has a quirky way of endearing us to it.

Yesterday at my hair appointment, my hairstylist was describing her sixth-grade son's "serial killer handwriting" and her story and hand gestures were so funny that I was laughing and leaning forward in my chair (I'm a forward-leaner when I'm laughing hard) and there were tears in my eyes.

I spoke to two different customer service representatives from two different companies yesterday and both were as cheerful and helpful as can be and my problems were resolved in a matter of minutes (that never happens, right?!).

And then there was the lizard quandary.Yesterday afternoon I got in my car to drive to the grocery store and noticed that a cute little lizard was peering right at me from the hood of my car. I pulled over in my neighborhood and got out to shoo him off. He ended up jumping down into the tire and at that point I didn't know what to do--I didn't want to crush that little guy! Just then, a few Saudi Arabian flight school students (they are trained at Fort Rucker) stopped because they thought I had car trouble. I explained the lizard situation and they both jumped out and got on the ground and tried to see if he was still in my tire. One of them said that snakes like to get into the hood of the car so we should check there, and I said that it was actually a lizard and I knew he was in the tire. He didn't know the word lizard so I described to him what they look like. I think they thought I was way too weirdly nice to be so concerned about hurting one of those.

Anyway, we couldn't find the lizard so I decided to just start driving very slowly and the guys who helped me were going to drive in front and look back to see if the lizard jumped out. Sure enough, after about 3 seconds of creeping along slowly, I got an ecstatic thumbs up and a hand signal that could only have meant that the little critter skittered off safe and sound! The whole thing ended up being hilarious and sweet.

Then later in the day I had a very honest, real, meaningful text-chat with a dear friend. Let me just say that she's a keeper, that gal.

It was a regular yet oddly endearing day. One of those days when you connect with people, friends and strangers alike, in a way that makes you feel happy and grateful.



Have a wonderful weekend friends!

Let's Get To Know One Another: Go-To Snack

A lot of you were quite positive about my new series idea, Let's Get To Know One Another. Hooray! I'm not really surprised because you readers are always sweet and supportive and encouraging. I'm so thankful for that. The best part of these posts is learning about you. I write so much about me and I think it's fun to actively invite you to tell me about yourselves.

Anyway, next up in the series--what is your go-to snack? I'm the kind of girl who needs to eat something every few hours or else I will become very hungry and cranky. In fact I recently learned an adorable new word (I think it's British? Betsy, help me!) for meals taken at non-meal hours: elevenses. Perfect, right? Who isn't starving for lunch already by 11?

My food cravings come and go in waves which means that my go-to snack changes every so often. Last year around this time I would have said homemade olive tapenade and crackers. But these days it's tart, juicy, chewy, dried cherries.

My mom was the one who first got me hooked on these. They are totally like candy to us and I think I could probably eat them all day long. Here are my favorite ways to munch on these beauties.

Plain, on their own, by the handful.

Alongside a pile of pita chips and a dollop of hummus (the sweet/tangy, garlicky/creamy, and crunchy/salty combination is just so delicious to me).

On top of a bowl of greek yogurt with a sprinkle of ground flax seed.

With raw almonds and dark chocolate chunks.

Ok, now it's your turn! It's time for your elevenses and the kitchen is stocked--what do you grab?

Art Assignment

I discovered a new YouTube channel recently called Art Assignment and last night I got caught up on their first couple of videos. It's quite neat! It's hosted and run by John Green (author of The Fault In Our Stars) and his wife, Sarah Green, and produced by PBS. John and Sarah tour the country visiting contemporary artists and then commission these artists to dream up a creative "assignment"--it can be anything! The videos are posted on their channel and anyone and everyone who is interested can participate. Definitely a little quirky but I think it's a pretty fun concept.

Several of the assignments they've posted so far are (to me, anyway) not exactly "art" per se, but rather an encouragement to be creative and have an experience that is new and imaginative and perhaps to see the world and the people in it in a fresh way. For example, one assignment is to place an object in a public place and observe what happens. Do people pick it up? Notice it or walk right by? Talk about it with the person they're with? Then you create a record of what happened--a photo, a video, maybe a drawing. Doesn't that seem like an intriguing social experiment? And what's fun is that anyone can do the assignments. You don't have to be particularly "artistic," just enthusiastic and innovative.

Anyway, in case you're curious, here's a little intro video that explains the web series well.

Do you think you'll participate? Or follow along with the videos (that's what I plan to do!)?

Let's Get To Know One Another: Favorite Smell

If I asked you to name your favorite smell in the world what would it be?

For me that's an easy answer--it's cucumbers! Hands down. There isn't a fresher scent in all the world, at least according to my senses. Though lemons make for a close second.

Now tell me yours! Is it a favorite perfume, the salty ocean air, something weird like gasoline?! I want to know!

(I'm thinking of starting a new series called Let's Get To Know One Another. I'll write about a little quirk or favorite or preference of mine, and you can share yours in the comments. I'm starting simple today but we can get into all sorts of interesting things! What do you think? Does it sound fun?)