Quick Update

Phew! I'm feeling much better, thankfully. I'm not totally feeling 100% yet, but maybe 75% and no longer feel like I'm going to die!

Know how I know I'm feeling better? I'm up and doing stuff instead of interacting with my couch like it's my long lost friend.  I finally did my dishes, cleaned up a bit (can we say tissues everywhere?) and now I'm sitting here with a deep conditioner on my hair. So I'm feeling productive, which is a change from the rest of this past week.

As I said, I'm deep conditioning my hair, and I use olive oil mixed with any old cheapie deep conditioner. The reason for this, is that for me, plain olive oil doesn't work well as a deep-ish conditioner for my hair. I mix it with a thick, creamy conditioner and microwave it until it's warm, (about 10 seconds) mix well and I work it through my dry hair, plop on a shower cap (even saran wrap works if you don't have a shower cap) run a blow dryer over it for about 30 seconds and quickly wrap it all in a towel and let it sit for an hour or however long I can.Then I rinse well and shampoo - no additional conditioner needed.  My hair comes out so, so soft, it's amazing, and the feeling lasts for a few days. I try to do this once a week, but normally it only happens every 2 weeks.

I have a ton of laundry to do from this week, all the blankets I used when sick most especially. Gotta get rid of any lingering germs on things, such as remotes, phones, toothbrush etc. I don't want to reinfect myself!  Anyway, while I'm toiling away at work tonight, and chores this afternoon, my hair will be silky soft!

Happy Friday!

Sick

Sorry for my lack of posts -  I'm pretty sick and trying to kick it. I have a few posts already started so hopefully in the next few days as I find the strength I can get at least one up.  I haven't forgot about my blog or readers (...well, don't have any readers!).

Be back soon!

Baskets, Bins & Boxes (Oh My!)

Are you an organizational freak like me?  Everything has its place and everything should be in its place is my mantra.  Even my junk drawer is organized. I will hang my head in shame now. Clearly, I have issues.

Whenever I am cleaning things out, or re-decorating an area, I always look around for containers of some sort. When you look (and you're thrifty!) you can find all kinds of great things to use. Look at product packaging, for starters. I know I've purchased or received things  and the packaging is awesome for reuse purposes. When I buy candles I do not throw them out after I've burned them (and then thoroughly used all the wax by scooping it out and placing on a ceramic  dish on my candle warmer).   I wash them out and save them. Smaller votive type jars are great for things like colorful stones as just a decor item. They are perfect size for holding cotton buds. They can hold tiny things such as toothpicks or safety pins and if you use the votive size, you can organize a drawer full of them! They fit in most any average drawer so just think of the possibilities for all those tiny things you never know what to do with!

Plastic storage baskets you can find everywhere from Wal-Mart to any dollar store are fantastic. I must own hundreds of them.  (ok, a tiny exaggeration) They are cheap, most times being 2 for $1. You can't beat that. They come in plenty of sizes and colors too! These I use for darn near everything. They are perfect to nest into drawers to keep items contained and easy to find. In one drawer I have a few. One holds ink pens, one holds other smaller items, such as notepads/post-its and the like. Some are the base for batteries (sorted by size, natch!) I have one full of chargers (for all those electronics chargers we all have laying around).

The larger of the storage baskets  are wonderful for things such as spices, or you can use to keep all your condiments together in one in the fridge, freeing up all that door space.  keep one on the counter while you are preparing dinner and throw your 'trash' in it as you work, saving time and energy walking to and from the trash can, and then only have to make one trip!  I know that wasn't organizational in nature, but it's still a great idea! I have one or five under my kitchen sink and they hold cleaning supplies, rags and all that fun stuff.  If you organize well, you can just grab one and go!  Keep dusting things and a rag in one, and when you want to dust, you just grab that one basket and take it with you.  Saves having to rifle through everything to find what you need. Bathroom cleaners and sponges in one, general cleaning stuff in another. It really saves a ton of time.

My tray is similar, except it has handles. I love this one. It's going on my wishlist!

I found a beautiful fairly heavy and large white metal tray. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it, but I now use for all my nail polishes and accessories (emery boards, acetone, cotton pads, etc). It slides under my end table, and I can just pull it out and everything is right there and ready to go.

I ran across a wonderful wicker  large deep open container maybe 30"x18" or so. It once held magazines, but now it resides in my bathroom. It fit perfectly on the bottom shelf of a wire rack I have which holds  rolled towels. I slid it onto the bottom shelf and now it is filled with toilet paper! The toilet paper is out of sight, yet instantly accessible since this rack is directly in front of the toilet.

I have a blue & white oriental themed ceramic flower pot/container. It's small. I keep my makeup brushes in there and it's proudly sits on my vanity.  

I'm constantly looking for containers, and anything that has an opening is fair game for me!  I try to think outside the box as much as possible and doing that has yielded me some great ideas once in awhile.  I hope this has inspired you to find your own organizational goddess and given you some ideas!

What is your favorite organizational tool?

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Song Sunday

Somehow this morning I woke up finding myself facing SUNDAY already!  I'm way behind on posts I'd intended, but that is mostly due to unexpected yet welcome company who stayed the night Friday and never left until last night. So I had company from 3pm Friday til midnight last night, which threw me way off track.  I'm an introvert, I need a lot of 'down/me' time to recharge. I love my friends dearly, but I was ready for some quiet time!   Needless to say, all my plans, chores etc got neglected so today I'm trying to play catch up. I got a few things done, but I have to work at 2pm so I'm on a time crunch.

With all that out of the way, on to Song Sunday!  This song is very haunting (to me), it's beautiful and seems totally fitting after this weekend. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.  Please share your thoughts on this song/artist in the comments!

Have a great day!

Grace Potter - Things I Never Needed

Makeup Dupes

Some makeup items we've come to love and rely on can be pricey. I've found and use these 'dupes', so i can vouch for them personally. There are tons of dupes out there, so if you are looking to save a bit (and honestly, who isn't?), and still look fantastic, I encourage you to do some research and find your own dupes!


 Makeup Primers make your face smooth and flawless.  Your makeup will stay looking fresh and 'just-put-on' all day when wearing one. I wear mineral makeup and it's works wonderful for those of you that also wear minerals. Smashbox primer is well known, but it's also well known to be quite pricey, coming in around  $17 for the travel size! The full size runs about $36.  Granted, primers last for a long while because you only use a tiny amount for your whole face; approximately the size of a pea.  What I use?
Lanacane Anti Chafing Powder Gel which comes in at around $6 for a full 1oz.  You cannot beat that. It works just as well, is made for the skin and is fine to use anywhere on your body, face included. Why pay more for the same thing? 

 People love and rave about Nars The Multiple sticks..and with very good reason, they are gorgeous!  But the price? Ouchie. They run around $39.  What I use instead?  NYX Tango With bronzing Sticks  which run about $9.  Big difference for same thing. Shimmery, gorgeous glowing skin with a few swipes and you're out the door! I can't say enough good things about these. NYX carries these in a few colors, the one I use is Tango & Highlight.  Try it,  you won't be disappointed!

Eyeshadow Primer -- Urban Decay Eyeshadow primer is legendary and very well known. They run around $20.  Tubes are small, and they are just a base to ensure your eyeshadow stays in place all day with no creasing or fading.  Primers are wonderful if you are interested in longevity of your makeup.  What I use?  E.L.F Eyeshadow Primer  which runs around $2.  Works fantastic and you can buy a few, keep one in your makeup stash, another in your purse, etc.  

Clarifying Shampoo  -  DIY version:  squirt normal amount of any shampoo in your palm and add a spoon full of baking soda.  Wash hair as normal.  No special pricey shampoo required!

I hope this post has helped you save a few bucks, or inspired you to find your own dupes for things you use everyday.  Keeping more money in my pocket always makes me happy, and i hope I've encouraged you to do the same!  

What are some of your favorite dupes? Share in the comments below!

Song Sunday

Every Sunday I will post my favorite song of the week (or an old fav. of mine!) and i apparently had a brain fart at 1:17 a.m and couldn't come up with anything better than 'Song Sunday'. I won't be winning any awards with that one, now will I?! :)

Enjoy some good 'ole Matchbox Twenty!




So tell me what song that you could listen to over and over again? What song would always be on your list of favorite songs?

Doll Eye Mascara (Review)

NYX is a line of affordable, quality cosmetics that can be purchased via their website or in all ULTA stores. (Also the normal other places such as eBay and amazon).

I will fully admit here for the world to see that I am a mascara junkie. Yes, I said it - there is a 12-step program for mascara junkies isn't there?! I can't live without it and there is a never-ending quest to find the perfect mascara for me. I currently have 11 mascaras in rotation if that tells you anything!

I've had this mascara on my list of beauty items to try, as I've heard a lot of great things about it. I finally ordered one last week and received it within 2 days, so the service is fantastic! I paid less than $8 for it including shipping, which is a steal.

The mascara arrived promptly and was packaged exactly as you see in the pic. The box is cute and the tube is cuter. It's narrow on the top and bottom, and wider in the middle, if you lay it on its side, it is eye shaped! The brush is actually opposite of the tube shape: It is narrow in the middle and fatter on the top and bottom end. The brush appeared to be coated well, and is a dark glossy black color.

I couldn't wait to get this on my lashes and have gorgeous, fluttery, long lashes. Sadly that was not to be. The formula applied well, the brush separated my lashes well and it went on with no issues and dried in a normal amount of time. What was missing, however, was the DOLL EYE look. It didn't do anything special, or make my lashes especially long, fluttery or doll-like in any way at all.

In fact, this mascara was unremarkable in every way. Don't get me wrong, its not a bad mascara at all, it just doesn't do what is advertised. Well, off I went with my mediocre lashes to face the day, and though this mascara does nothing extraordinary, it DID last all day and it didn't flake or sweat off. I had no issues with the wear factor - It stayed on until I took it off that night, so that is a definite plus.

Removal was no fuss as it came off easily with my normal makeup remover/cleanser (olive oil).

Overall, a decent mascara but I wouldn't buy it again. The price is great, it coats well and doesn't clump and seemed to have good staying power. But if you are looking for mascara to give yourself incredibly long, fluttery WOW! lashes, keep looking.