A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That, Especially for the New York Centric… Feel Free to Contribute Your Thoughts & Suggestions.
Friday, July 31, 2009
A Line I Have Loved Forever ...
My Constant Companion
I use it on my lips, cuticles and other body parts
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Movie of the Moment
Matching Make Up
LOOK #1
The first look in my scope was the beige neutral lip against a dark lined eye, the perfect look against sun kissed skin. It seems this pallette will continue into Fall 2009 so I am glad I am getting an early start. Milani's Lipstick in Creamy Cocoa #20 was the perfect nuetral shade and a steal at $3.39. I also bought a 99 cents Pencil Lip Liner from Italy's Jordana's make up line. The Beach Sand liner and the lipstick go on creamy with good pigment and a bit of shimmer. To complete this look I added Jordana's Fabu Liner Liquid Eye Liner Pen for $1.99. The marker like applicator is perfect for a cat eyed look or a simple eye defining rim. I also walked away with SinfulColors Professional Nail Polish ($1.99) in Tahiti Breeze, a pearlized creamy beige that gives your nails a neutral icy pearlized sheen.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Tuesday's Mental Musings
Granted there are times when pushing pass who we have been and what we can do stretches us and encourages us to grow and become. In that becoming we blossom and actualize parts of our genuine selves, parts that require nurturing through work and effort. It is through that work and effort that that we grow and it is by practicing our new abilities that we sustain those changes and they become part of what defines us, not what distracts us from our genuine selves. We become.
Knowing when the situation we are investing in is such an opportunity is the key. It means listening to our instincts, not our internal recordings. It means acknowledging emotions that surface when we are faced with things that are new, strange or uncomfortable for us. It means truly hearing the answers we are receiving when they present themselves and when need taking action or inaction as the case may be. And it often means allowing others to support and help us. In the end it means acknowledging when the best we can do is not enough and accepting that we shouldn't invest any further in the given situation. In the end it means knowing when the best we are can become better and pushing pass our fears to reach the self waiting for us to become.
Monday, July 27, 2009
I Have My Hat...Do You?
Happy 400th Birthday New York!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Yesterday's Card
A Biased Opinion
Friday, July 24, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Calling all Foodies from Da Bronx...
Nail Envy
OPI Matte Nail Lacquers come in 6 shades, black, white, pink, red, green or blue. Each dries to a shineless matte that looks so chic and "new" that I am considering investing the $8.50 to try it but still can't seem to find it on the shelves. (BTW, despite my love of nail polish I usually only wear it on my toes!)
If it's not available in your area try Amazon.com -
Nail Art
Small But Not Little
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Tuesday's Mental Musings
The first emotion I reached for was anger and my anger can be deadly. I have mellowed with age and allowed myself to work towards the hurt and confusion that followed to avoid the easy emotion. In another time and place my anger would have found concise and direct words to cut the woman in two, words meant to destroy not play with her ego, before turning on her companion with the same. With maturity comes understanding. I was not part of the conversation and her comments, though about me, were not directed at me. I stood back, raise an eyebrow, made direct eye contact and watched with an aloof expression as the woman stopped in mid sentence, turned beet red with embarrassment and finally away in shame. Maybe it's a gift to be able to do this but it is one I would gladly exchange for sincere camaraderie between women, especially when it comes to dealing with men. The crazy thing is we ran into them at another rest stop in New Jersey and she actually smiled at me in recognition before realizing that I had been the woman she had rudely critiqued. She couldn't walk in the direction opposite me fast enough.
I do not like women who compare themselves to others in order to find a way to make themselves better, prettier or thinner than her sisters, but I understand. Let's be honest, we woman can't help but compare ourselves to other women, but I sincerely believe it is because most of us can't see ourselves and are trying to find the bits and pieces of who we want to see/be in other women we run across or are lucky enough to have as friends and family. It is only when we fail to see our own beauty and strength that our comparisons tear not only ourselves but other women at the seams.
I do not like women who sell out their sisters for dick (that's right I wrote dick) and to be honest I never will. I understand and have the desire to be loved and wanted by one man too. I understand prioritizing your relationship with a man but I do not understand competing with women for a man, especially one that is admiring other women.
In this case it was the man who initiated the woman's need to be so rude. His question was disrespectful to her and drew out her insecurities. Granted she might not have thought I was attractive but could have said so in the manner that was not hurtful or disrespectful to my person. She made the choice to react rather than act. She should have turned around to see if the object of their critique was close. She made the choice to react rather than act. In my opinion the more appropriate reaction could have been for her to turn to her companion and ask him why he would ask such a question of her, what was the purpose of the question before telling him how him asking it really made her feel. Instead she allowed this man to push her buttons. She made the choice to react rather than act. We have all been there. You live and you learn.
Despite dealing with the situation in what I thought was a mature manner I had mixed feelings walking away from the scene, which should be obvious since I am writing about it. I know I am an attractive woman but more importantly I am an attractive woman that can respectfully acknowledge women who are as or more attractive than her. I know beauty is everywhere and goes way beyond what we are told should or is beautiful. I practice finding one beautiful feature on every person I meet because I sincerely believe this. I refuse to wallow in any insecurity or allow encountering beauty outside of my own understanding to devalue me. There will be times I am jealous or envious but those emotions aren’t worth holding onto. Instead I see them as opportunities to question myself and evolve knowing better emotions will follow. Running into this woman reminded me that not everyone understands this and this makes me sad.
A part of me hopes that the next time that woman has the opportunity to rate another woman that she stops to consider how she would feel if she heard another woman speak badly about her. A part of me hopes that if she ever finds herself in this situation that she turns and smiles at her sister and finds the beauty in her rather than giving a man the power to pit her against another woman by buying into the game. A part of me hopes she acknowledges her worth and lets that man know that she deserves to be respected in a way that doesn't feed into her insecurities or disrespects other women, even if there are times when other women are being admired. And the whole of me thinks before the grace of God go I...
Brooklyn Bits and Baubles
Union Max, located at 110 Union St Brooklyn, NY 11231 - (718) 222-1785 , offers all manner of vintage item including clothing, bric-brac, jewelry findings, bits and baubles and tons more that make it worth the trip. Call for hours.
Seeing Through....
The items on the attached page cost between $48 and $68 dollars for glass, resin and lucite jewelry very similar to the pieces I own. Are they an exact match? No, but being fashionable is about being inspired not the price of or the label on the items you wear.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Feeling Mallow....
I thought I would share in my "borrowing"! Enjoy
TOASTED-COCONUT MARSHMALLOW SQUARES
DIARY OF A FOODIE: SEASON TWO: THE WORLD OF SWEET
- ACTIVE TIME:1 HR
- START TO FINISH:3 1/4 HR (INCLUDES SETTING TIME) c
- 2c unsweetened dried coconut
EQUIPMENT:
a 9-inch square metal baking pan; a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment; a candy thermometer- Toast coconut in a shallow baking pan in oven until golden, 7 to 10 minutes. Oil 9-inch baking pan, then sprinkle
3 (1/4-oz) envelopes unflavored gelatin
1 c water, divided
1 1/2 c sugar
1 c light corn syrup
1/4 t salt
2 t pure vanilla extract
1/2 t coconut extract
Heat sugar, corn syrup, salt, and remaining 1/2c water in a small heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved.
Remove from heat and let stand until bubbles dissipate.
With mixer at low speed, pour hot syrup into gelatin in a thin stream down side of bowl. Increase speed to high and beat until very thick, about 15 minutes.
Add vanilla and coconut extracts and beat 1 minute more.
Spoon marshmallow over toasted coconut in baking pan and press evenly with dampened fingertips to smooth top
Let stand, uncovered, at room temperature until firm, about 2 hours.
Run a sharp knife around edge of marshmallow and invert onto a cutting board.
Put remaining coconut into bowl and dredge marshmallows to completely coat
- Layer on parchment in air tight container. Stays Fresh for 1 month.
Calling All Artists..
This is a limited edition worth heading to your local Sephora to play with before purchasing- http://sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P234317&categoryId=B70
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
Charge!!!
Vogue Fall Patterns
Babied Summer Skin
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Shine On
A long time has passed since I first ran across them during a trip to a Pearl River ( http://www.pearlriver.com/ ) when it was located at the corner of Canal and Broadway and or used Papier Poudre Blotting Paper Book (http://www.amazon.com/Papier-Poudr%C3%A9-Oil-Blotting-Papers/dp/B000AV1E8G/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=beauty&qid=1247431929&sr=8-2) because the Pharmacy I worked at during my college days carried them.
Now every mainstream company seems to offer there own version of this old makeup essential. These days I prefer Almay StayClean Shine Removing Face Tissue. And now that they seem to be in every 99cents I wander into I find myself buying a pack every time I run across them. These oil absorbing tissues contain a bit of salicylic acid and instantly remove oil and shine for a matte even face and at 99cents for a pack of 50 sheets you can't go wrong. I suspect they are being phased out so get them while you can..
Fall Footing
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Tuesday's Mental Musings
I, like many, many others, am drawn to the tidbits of lives I will gladly never live and enjoy the occasional scandal in photo and print. I will admit to reading Hollywood gossip blogs on occasion. They have replaced my habit of peeking at the gossip rags while on the grocery checkout line. At times I am fascinated by the lives and times of people we choose to put into the limelight. It takes a special type of ego to want to be adored and admired in such an extreme and out loud way. What interests me is how it is all handled, not just by the celebrity but by those of us with enough interest to keep them in the spot light. I guess it is as they say, good or bad, all press is good. After a bit of gawking I find myself appalled, mostly at myself, and I turn away in disgust and avoid all contact for weeks at a time until something heard on the "news" sucks me back in for another round.
Those moments aside, I have no desire to know such gossip about my neighbors, family or friends, especially from the mouths of third parties who have had no say in the real life too close for comfort dramas that can occur. This is not to say that I don't want to hear an individual's story, especially if it involves evolution and accomplishment on the various levels in which we greet this life but I want to hear it from the individual themselves and I want it to be their story and to see their position and responsibility in it.
Yes, I want it all! But most of us don't share our stories in this way. Instead most of us attack the character and behavior of others without as much as admitting our part in it all or we deliver the story in judgment rather than as a neutral observer. When privy to this kind of gossip I find myself cringing and trying to see things from the "villain's" point of view in order to balance out the one-sidedness of the story being told. Perhaps not being able to allow others to discuss their points of view because their delivery appalls me is a fault of my own ego but I am OK with having/owning this fault.
Standing by this edict is rather hard because most of us do not share our own stories in a specific, direct and honest manner. Instead we become a third party in the story of our lives. We choose to focus on characters and situations that contribute to it rather than accept blame and responsibility when it is our. The villains become omnipotent in our tales because we can control their depiction through our descriptions in order to direct blame away from our own choices and actions when situations play out in ways that are not to our liking or benefit. It's easier and safer that way.
If we truly shared our truths in a responsible "I made the choice" way we would have to become more aware and focused on when to act or re-act or not act in our day to day living. We would have to own our behavior in ways that would make our stories more complex and truthful because we would be admitting our responsibility in it all. The reward would of course be the lessons learned from it all. But standing in our tales means exposing our vulnerability and perhaps giving the impression that we are in less control or have less understanding than we would like others to believe.
Granted there are always going to be stories where we are not the heroes we would like others to believe us to be but by sharing these stories in a direct and honest manner we prevent ourselves from being the victim even when it means admitting we allowed ourselves to be victimized by circumstances we could have controlled or more importantly when we allowed our reactions to those things beyond our control to victimize us.
Again, learning to share your life in an honest way with is hard. Removing the drama and being direct and vulnerable means trusting that we are sharing with people who are interested in who we truly are, not who they want us to be. It also means becoming aware and responsible for whom we choose to share our truths with and for the perimeters we set with them. We must decide the level of intimacy we want with others and then trust that what truths we or they expose is right for those involved and more importantly, ourselves.
Directly admitting our responsibility in living the lives we are living would mean being vulnerable and exposing the fact that we are still trying to understand our footing on this journey of discovery but doesn’t a journey require steps, decisions and changes in direction in order to get to where we are going? And in the end we all, rich or poor, beautiful or ugly, are heading toward that same final place of arrival we might as well get there with the truth of our lives intact....
Monday, July 13, 2009
Munchie Bargain Alert
This past Friday I discovered Santitas Authentic Mexican Style Tortilla Chips and much to my delight the huge 14oz bag was print marked $2. Of course I purchased the bag, which was $1.50-2.50 less than all the other brands, and they were good and even better than some of the other brands I have tried. I thought I had discovered a product put out by a new company but these chips, which come in yellow or white corn versions, are a Frito-Lay brand. I'm not certain if the $2 print mark bags are widely available or only being distributed in select marketing regions but I definitely suggest keeping your eye out for this brand.
Ringing In My Ears
Below are earrings I made 3 years ago. They are both silver. One set has turquoise beads and the other acquamarine. Sorry I couldn't find the pair I made from seed pearls and silver! Both pair are a little "lived" in but greatly loved. I bought the string of beads from Phoenix Jewelry parts on 37th Street and the silver wire and earing bases from metalliferous (see earlier post for recommendation). Based on the amount of bead and silver used for each they must have costs me well under $10 per set.
Are they exactly like the gold pair? No, they never could be. Could I go to either supply place and buy gold and pearls, sure I couold but then isn't do it your self luxury all about having the option of making unique items that reflect your tastes and abilities, both of which surely improve with time?
If you live in New York or are interested in making yourself self some personalized jewelry finding your way to Phoenix's store or website is worth the time and effort.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Mental Musings on a Sunday Morning..
Most of us return to the old patterns of behavior that distracted us to where we were or from where we wanted to be in the first place never allowing ourselves to realize the reality we wanted to shape.
Some of us, the lucky ones, get back up again and begin to focus on the small steps, the day to day, in some cases, the hour to hour, and start the journey, over and over again if need, in order to achieve our set goals. Unlike those of us that choose to repeat and continue to live our history those of us who accomplish or more importantly sustain our changes push aside our egos and understand that it sometimes took a life time to become who and what we didn’t want to be and that it’s only through determination and patience that we can unravel that identity and the patterns of our behavior and change. More importantly we begin to understand that it is only through self forgiveness and sometimes the forgiveness of others, even if that forgiveness takes forever to come, that we can reach pass our narrow view of our selves, regardless of how grand we believe ourselves to be, and dissect who we are to become who we truly are or what we desire to be. Sometimes in doing so we learn to accept who we are and come to understand that the change we seek supports that person.
Those of us who actually change the part of ourselves that can change, in my opinion behavior and reaction patterns, take on board that we can only do so by accepting that we are not gods. We cannot, regardless of how much money we have or spend or how many degrees line our walls or how beautiful in form we appear to be, wave our hands and make that which offends us go away. We are human and are meant to experience all the nuances of this thing called life. We are human and we are stuck in the shit and the mud. We are human and we make mistakes and sometimes from those mistakes change and beauty comes.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Site Worth A Review
One of My Tastebud's New Favorite Websites
This community driven site boasts recipes and photos posted by members. The members critic and embellish and share their versions of the same or similar dishes, many of them old family favorites. I didn't use any of the chicken recipes from the site but I have since trolled around and printed out a number I will be making soon. I'll let you know how they turn out.
RICE
FINISH
Friday, July 10, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Powdered Perfection in the Heat..
Sally Hansen's Line Smoothing Mineral Powder is a multi hued powder that is meant to be sweeped and lightly dusted across your face. The combination of tones minimize lines and blemishes to create an even and smooth complexion. It comes in colorless, rose and bronze. The colorless powder still gave me enough of a bronzish glow for compliments on a "tan".
This Girl Rocks!
Tall, beautiful and womanly, but more importantly finally at peace with the fact that she has curves and wears clothing that isn't a sample size, she is the only plus sized models to have ever graced the cover of Harper's Bazaar, has appeared in four international editions of Vogue and walked Jean-Paul Gaultier's catwalk.
Perhaps fashion models aren't the ideal role models since their talent is based on their beauty but having one whose beauty is closer in size and shape to your average woman is better than asking young girls and mature women to remain the lithe size of young boys and still have breasts and curves. Unfortunately we live in a society that at first glance values looks above intellect or talent and women aren't going to suddenly wake up knowing that in the end our value and worth goes beyond how well we fill out a swim suit or pout at the camera. I would rather my niece admire someone like Crystal than to believe that a every woman can be a size 2 or 4 naturally and that reed thin models are the norm instead of the exception. Perhaps seeing Cystal and other women who are naturally the best their bodies can be will allow her to accept that there is more than one ideal and that she is perfect and beautiful as she is.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Today's Tarot Card
Finding Beauty Below Eye Level
Sometimes we must look below eye level to see what we might otherwise have missed. We must remember and be reminded that beauty always surrounds us and it is up to each of us to see and acknowledge it otherwise we will continue to reach for ideals that may only exist within a fantasy that distracts us from the reality of this beautiful thing called life -s.r.
Tuesday's Mental Musing
My friend is correct. But in my defense, I am Libra and I will always defend my actions lol!, I reminded my dear friend that my blog is about the luxuries of life, big and small, free and costing, and I find that in the day to day luxuries abound. I can’t help but want to share them because for me sharing and communicating about things of various interest is about living a luxurious life. And trust me, I do edit down the things I post about! LOL
Through my blog I post what I hope are creative and frugal ways to add things many of us may consider needed in order to live a luxurious life. Most of the things I share are true interests of mine even when they are but whimsies of the overall themes. There are times I question the relevancy of some of the things I find interesting enough to post about but considering them allows me to decide whether or not they are a needed. I hope that when confronted with things that may seem frivolous or unnecessary that readers take a moment or two to take inventory of the things that are important to them. Perhaps, more importantly, considering even for the briefest of moments, those things that do not matter so that they understand what things they should no longer be concerned with and only invest their time and effort into the things that make them happy.
I hope that my blog and blogs like mine remind others that manifesting material things is easy. The material starts with an idea and once that idea forms it can with intent become reality. In my opinion the more important lesson in acquiring isn't the end result of owning that which you have desired but the creative journey that manifesting those things we have interest in takes us on. Things can be replaced, experiences cannot.
I hope the posts encourage readers to look around and see their resources and understand that they manifested all that they have and all that they are. We all choose how we live our lives and no, we all aren’t going to be as rich or famous as “insert name here”, yet we all can be wealthy and known within the capacity we decide we want to be. Stopping to appreciate who we are and what we have softens the blow of dreams unfulfilled and reminds us of those goals and accomplishments which truly litter our reality.
Most of all I hope my posts amuse and entertain you dear reader as much as they do me because in the end, no matter what our purpose in doing something is it is really about our own sense of fulfillment and joy, even when that includes self-less acts of kindness. Living life with a bit of humor reminds us that things, especially the material, aren’t who or what we are even when they are part of our expression of who and what we are.