1. This top and base coat combo
I just started using it two weeks ago, but it’s tough as nails! The base coat is Essie Grow Stronger ($9), and the top coat is Dior Gel Coat ($28, yes, it’s kinda fancy schmancy).
I wore it last week with Smith & Cult Bitter Buddhist. Side note: This is my favorite green polish of all time (even more than Chanel Jade), and I have a LOT of greens. It’s a sensational sea-foamy jade that looks baby blue sometimes. I wear it all the time. I love it!
I didn’t have a single chip for seven full days, but then a big chunk came off in the shower on the eighth day. But that’s great for me (I’m tough on my nails). Whenever I can get a full week from a mani/pedi without any chipping, I feel like I should throw a parade, LOL.
Even though I actually only want to wear Bitter Buddhist because the obsession is real and ongoing, I’m gonna try this base/top coat combo with different polishes over the next few week to see if other polishes hold up as well.
2. Bread recipes
I’ve been stockpiling them for days because I want to try baking bread this weekend for the very first time.
As of right now, I’ve tentatively decided on this artisan bread recipe from Laura in the Kitchen. It looks easy enough (famous last words)… I think I can handle it.
Obvs, this has all been brought about by The Great British Baking Show, which I still watch every night before bed.
Right before I start making the dough this weekend, I want El Hub to say, “On your mark, get set…BAKE!”
3. Hourglass Arch Brow Gel
WHAT!? This stuff is good! (Here’s the review, BTW). I love filling in my brows with it, and I want to shout it from the rafters. “I love Hourglass Arch Brow Gel!!!” In the three weeks I’ve been using it, I haven’t touched the brow pencil/clear brow gel combo I had been using and wearing daily in some form or fashion for THREE YEARS (most recently it was MAC Brow Sculpt brow pencil and the Benefit Clear Brow Gel).
It’s that serious. LOVE it for bushy, natural-looking brows, especially.
4. Senita’s new dance-inspired spring collection
I used to be one of those people who believed that workout wear should stay in the gym.
No more.
Now that 99% of the outfits I wear on a daily basis 1) contain Lycra and 2) can handle burpies or squats at any given moment (I kneel about 3,647 times a day to pick up Connor because she wants to be carried 24/7. I’m like, “Kid, you’ve got legs! You should use them!”), I no longer subscribe to that belief system.
Senita is an indie workout line from Arizona, and their clothes are well made, good deals, and I think they’re CUTE. I have quite a few of their pieces, and I love everything. Their capris are in the $37 range, so that’s compared to lululemons at $89 and Zellas at $49. And they’re just as good as Zella IMO.
Their new collection was inspired by dance and yoga, and I want IT ALL. SO much pink and black. And they have dresses…WITH POCKETS!
5. Foam rolling
My HIIT teacher got me hooked on this, and now I “foam roll” every night (well, I try to!), because it’s like getting a deep-tissue massage before bed. For free. My muscles feel loose and relaxed afterwards, and when I do it consistently, I swear I sleep better, too.
Here are a couple of foam rolling workouts I like to do…
That’s it for me! Those are my five at the moment. How about you? What are some things you’ve been loving lately?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. TGIF. 🙂
You have some awesome faves! I’m interested to check out the foam rolling and you know I’m with you 100% on the active wear as every day wear. 🙂 I’ve said this before but, oh my gosh, carry that little treasure every second you can. I still wish my boys would jump on me like spider monkeys, wanting to be carried. Of course, at 5’11” and 6’2″, that’s not happening. Honestly, the real obstacle is that they barely accept hugs at this age. But I digress – keep carrying while you can! HAHA!
I think you’re going to do a great job with your bread!! I’m going to try my hand at cauliflower pizza crust tonight. I have a good feeling about our baking firsts! 🙂
Yes, ma’am. I’m gonna hold onto that little cherub for as long as she’ll let me. Plus it’s an upper body workout!
Ooh… are you making the cauliflower pizza crust from scratch?!
Very true! Yes, from fresh cauliflower. It worked out really well. We just picked up some frozen, riced cauli to try next time. Squeezing the water out, using a thin dish cloth kept the crust from being soggy. We’ll probably make it a couple of times per month. 🙂
Oh, foam rolling! I think my father has one somewhere that collects dust, I might snag it and see if I like it. Working out and such is great, but I am pretty sore right now, so that might be what I am missing.
You should do it! It will help with the soreness. 🙂
Goes to show you how much I don’t work out even though I should. What is HIIT and burpies? Love the active wear, but I stick with solids for my short torso and heavy legs.
Hi Jane,
HIIT is short for a type of training called high-intensity interval training. It mixes shorts bursts of activity where, ideally, you work to your maximum capacity, followed by a short rest period. You can do it with anything — running, swimming, biking, etc. I do it in a class that also combines strength training. It’s very effective, and the workouts go by fast. Burpies are the old school exercise you probably did in gym back in the day! Here’s a video.
How have you been?
Ok. Now I get it. I was never that coordinated.
I am doing ok, a bit stressed lately. Too much happening all at once. I am glad that the weather is back to a reasonable temperature. The cold spell we had was just brutal. We were away for a long weekend at the beginning of the month to celebrate my dad’s 90th birthday which was amazing and surreal. It’s crazy that I have a dad who is 90 and a son who will soon be 17. Where does the time go!
Be well!
Time has no mercy. You are so lucky; I hope one day to have a dad who is 90! Hard to believe your baby will be in college soon, too.
Sorry to hear that you’re stressed. Remember it’s only temporary, and that you’ve handled stressful situations before. You can do it again.
Just checked out the Senita website. RIP my bank account! Thanks for sharing xx
LOL, Kelli! I know, right? I may just have bought a dress (or two).
Foam rolling is so good. And those Senita clothes are cute!
Things I’m loving lately…
Hada Labo Tokyo Skin Plumping Gel Cream! I stopped using this for a while and I forget how good it is, especially when you put on a really excessive amount and let it absorb for a while.
Queenie Ke leggings! A friend bought me a pair on Amazon and I ended up buying another because I really liked them.
It’s SO good. I’m going to do it in a few minutes, LOL!
Just looked up the Queenie Ke leggings and OMG, so cute. I love the ones with the straps around the ankles. What’s the squat situation like? Can you see through the booty when you bend over?
They’re really thick! I worry with cheap leggings about the booty show through and I didn’t get that, even with the white pair!
Good to know. I’m REALLY tempted by those strappy ones, although I’m afraid I’ll end up spending half my day telling Tabs that the straps are NOT toys for the tabby.
GIRL, how do you manage to keep that pair clean with your fur babies? You’re my hero…
They don’t stay clean! LOL
My current loves:
(1) Lighter evenings already, it really lifts my spirits when the dark winter evenings start to become ever so slightly lighter each day once we’re past 21 December. (2) La Roche-Posay Hyalu B5 hyaluronic acid serum, seriously moisturising! (3) My Alexander McQueen skull scarves.
Enjoy the baking!
The Great British Baking Show is the best thing to watch on Netflix, seriously! Hubby and I made an almond-pear tart last week because of it, and I’m about to make a leek quiche this evening!
Haha! My daughter also wanted to be carried EVERYWHERE. Like 5 steps down the street! She’s gotten much better over the last month or so. Connor’s a few months younger than mine. Fingers crossed– maybe she’ll be interested in walking again soon!
Loved this post! I have been obsessed with Calligraphy lately! If I haven’t got anything to do, Ill be practicing Calligraphy!
I will definitely have to check out those leggings, so cute!
I have never made bread but my husband ordered a sourdough starter from San Francisco 15 years ago and its still in our fridge, alive & kicking. He probably makes bread from it every few months or so. It’s amazing! It’s so hard when I’m on a low carb kick.
I love Hourglass & I think the brow gel will be my very next beauty purchase.
5 things I’ve been loving lately as well:
1. Nars Stripdown lipgloss, it’s such a good nude gloss
2. Royal Dansk Danish Butter Cookies
3. My new cut & color-wow can good hair change how you look & feel!
4. Maison Margiella Replica By the Fireplace fragrance
5. Plain Hummus– I know it’s crazy but I had only ever had flavored hummus. The Plain is surprisingly so good.
That nail polish is really pretty. I’d never heard of foam rolling before. It sounds kind of nice. That bread looks yummy! Let us know how it turns out.
Five things I’ve been loving:
1. Living Dead Beauty Bold Eyes Palette. I’m usually not a fan of mattes, but these are really pigmented and smooth and work with my weird shimmery colors. Only $23, to boot. http://www.deardarkling.com/living-dead-beauty-grunge-goth/
2. Tack pins. I’m having way too much fun sticking quirky tack pins and button pins on my denim jackets.
3. ABH Matte Lipstick in Dead Roses. I’d never bought it, because I thought it was too similar to other shades I have (I have a weakness for rosy-brown nudes), but I got it on the last sale for $5 with the eyeshadows I ordered. OMG, it’s amazing! It might be my new favorite nude.
4. MAC Blush in Pink Cult. I hadn’t use it for a long time, but started again the last couple weeks. I don’t know why I ever stopped. It’s soooo good.
5. A huge silvertone Medusa head ring I got from Wish. com for $2. It looks really great in person, and is a really nice casual statement piece. https://www.wish.com/c/599549f68c934c7e6f201cae
Sorry, I meant to link to the palette so you could see it, not the article. Whoops! I’m an airhead today. 🙁
https://livingdeadbeauty.com/collections/bold-collection/products/bold-eye-palette
1. Barolo Marinara sauce from TJ’s!
2. CBD biscuits for my pups. They help with their aches and pains.
3. New Chapter Every Woman’s Daily Vitamins
4. Gatorade, cause I’ve been sick.
5. Pokemon Go, I’m playing with my family to give us all something to do together. It’s only 3 people but it’s been fun so far.