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So…what is the Monday Poll?

Excellent question! It isn’t, contrary to its name, an actual poll, like with little clicky buttons. It’s just a list of five more or less random questions I’ve been posting on this blog every Monday morning for the past quadrillion years (since 2007). I love reading your answers, and it helps me get my week off to a good start.

1. Tacos or burritos?

Tacos, all day every day, and one thing they have going for them: you can order different kinds of tacos, like one fish, one carnitas and one grilled chicken, for the same meal.

It should be said that I do also like burritos…but they’re just too much of a commitment (ha ha). Plus, have you seen the burritos around here in Northern California? They’re HUGE.

2. Do you consider gift-with-purchases when you buy makeup?

These days, not really, because I’m pickier about what I keep around, and most of the items I’ve gotten in past gift-with-purchases rarely get used. There may be one or two items I like, but more often than not, they get given to friends or family.

When I was younger and still building up my collection, it was a different story, because I loved me some freebies!

3. What’s your ride-or-die MAC lipstick?

Oh! MAC Velvet Teddy. If we were vampires, I would ask Velvet Teddy to be my vampire bride from here to eternity. (Yes, it’s that serious.)

4. The last person (or people) you took a long car trip with?

El Hub and Connor last June. We drove down the Central California coast to Hearst Castle.

5. Do you bite your nails (or have you in the past)?

Nope. Never was into gnawing at my nails.

Popping pimples, though? Girl, that’s another story.

Life is short

We’re big basketball fans around here, and if you follow basketball at all, I’m sure you’ve heard the news about Kobe Bryant and his daughter. 🙁 I’m heartbroken for his family… I mean, we all know our days on earth are precious and numbered, but it’s easy to forget, at least it is for me, amidst the frippery of everyday life.

Hug your loved ones a little tighter today, friend. Sending you love and warm light from this little corner of the Internet.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Here are the questions to copy/paste with your answers in a comment. Talk to ya soon.

1. Tacos or burritos?
2. Do you consider gift-with-purchases when you buy makeup?
3. What’s your ride-or-die MAC lipstick?
4. The last person (or people) you took a long car trip with?
5. Do you bite your nails (or have you in the past)?

Happy Caturday, lady! Or, should I say, “Happy Unicornday?”

Hmm… Doesn’t flow off the tongue as readily, but I like it. ?

There are two reasons I’m into that unicorn up there at the top. 1) Its silver-haired mane gives me something to look forward to someday. (Oh, to be a silver-haired unicorn! #BIGDREAMS) And 2) because the picture is on every single card in this deck of Affirmators! (exclamation mark included!) cards I got in my stocking for Christmas.

It’s so cute! Each card has a positive saying on it, and the way it works is you shuffle the deck (unicorn side up), pull a card out, and read it, ideally out loud (it’s supposed to work better that way). And then you carry that thought with you throughout the rest of your day.

In my new morning routine, the first thing I do — instead of mindlessly scrolling through social media or reading my emails on my phone — is feed my mind with these good things, and I kid you not, it sets the tone for a pretty good day.

This one is my favorite…

I like this one too!

OK, here’s today’s list o’ links…

• If you’ve ever felt like you have to juggle 12 things at once, and it chips away at your soul because it seems impossible to find time for your favorite creative endeavors, this piece on how many women rarely have long stretches of time to focus on anything anymore might speak to you. The writer, Brigid Schulte, says: “Women’s time has been interrupted and fragmented throughout history, the rhythms of their days circumscribed by the Sisyphean tasks of housework, childcare and kin work – keeping family and community ties strong. If what it takes to create are long stretches of uninterrupted, concentrated time, time you can choose to do with as you will, time that you can control, that’s something women have never had the luxury to expect, at least not without getting slammed for unseemly selfishness.”
• I’m loving this range of stylish feline furniture, but let’s get real… Rosie would opt for an empty Amazon cardboard box over a cat-sized platform bed (with a mattress and bed sheets and EVERYTHING!) any old day.
• Say “I love you” to yourself this Valentine’s Day ❤️ with a unique gift from the El Paso Zoo. They’ll name a cockroach after your ex, then feed it to a meerkat live on camera. ?
• The abundance of hydrangeas on the Azores is outstanding! The archipelago, located in the mid-Atlantic, has a delicate, narrow weather pattern, which allows these flowers to blanket the islands with blue and purple blossoms.
• Got littles? This shower attachment made for young children softens the flow of water and sets it at the perfect height for little ones.
• The Last Manilaners is a new documentary about the last living Jewish refugees who fled to the Philippines to escape the Holocaust. Locals welcomed the refugees with open arms and protected them when World War II reached Philippine shores.
• For my Bay Area babes, FYI: Market Street in San Francisco is going car free next week. As of Wednesday, January 29, private vehicles will no longer be allowed to travel from near Van Ness Avenue all the way to the waterfront. ?

For anyone who needs this today

I do this a few times a week… Good stuff!

Somebody make this soup for me please.

Isn’t she lovely?

It’s Charlotte, dahlings.

I’m on my way outside with Connor to catch some rays before the rain returns. Connor’s learning how to ride a bike (with training wheels), so we’re going to do about 300 loops around the circle.

It’s my cardio for the day!

Have a great weekend. See you soon. ?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Yes, girlfriend, I was just there! I picked up a bottle of Kate Somerville Anti-Bac Clearing Lotion, one of my favorite products of all time, and the best acne cream I’ve ever found, hands down.

How about you? What was the last thing you got at Sephora?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen