Feeling whimsical and love drunk

Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward from a cute Cup of Jo post about meeting your significant other

My bf and I recently stumbled upon our Facebook convo thread that chronicles our 10 year friendship. We just got together this past March! Reading the random posts was so funny and intense... we wrote really racy messages, and WERE JUST FRIENDS... how did our respective significant others of the time NOT GET PISSED!?

Take a minute and relish old notes and mementos... I think you'll be pleasantly surprised and amused, most often than not! 

JLO KNOWS BEST

From Glamour:

Notice that pearly sheen that catches the light at different points on her face? That's highlighter. And here's where I see it:

Down her nose.

Along her upper lip line.

On her cheekbones.

On the "ball" of her chin, just under her lower lip.

Across her forehead about 1 1/2 inches below her hairline.

Right under the arch of her eyebrows.

Basically, it's on all the "high points" of her face which would normally catch the light on their own anyway. But with a little highlighter, it makes her look more glowy than any one person ever has in history.

So there it is: every spot Jennifer Lopez wears highlighter. 

*I am procrastinating.
This was in my email... had to cite it for future use. 

For when you're not over someone

I Don’t Want To Love You Anymore May. 28, 2013 By Jen Glantz

Via Thought Catalog

Jen Glantz writes stories that occupy a confessional territory where she exposes her deep love affair with New York.

I don’t want to love you anymore because I want to go to sleep. The hours tip toe around one another, while I’m wide-awake, talking the ears off of the sheep above my head. They are smoking cigarettes, rolling their eyes, yelling profane things back at me hoping I’ll just fall asleep already so they can go about their nightly business.
Because I want to be able to go on a date with someone new and not think about you. Not compare the poor lad’s jaw structure to the ways of your chiseled face or think about how I can’t wait to order oysters as an appetizer because I know you’d be thrilled to share them with me. I want to be able to French kiss someone else without thinking about the swirls of your tongue on the roof of my mouth, like defined brush strokes on a familiar canvas.
I don’t want to love you anymore because I’m sick of feeling upset, all the time. I don’t want my heart to break again and again when my friends nonchalantly ask me about you. I don’t know where you are, what you’re eating for lunch, the latest book you’re struggling to get through. I don’t know anything about you anymore. But they won’t stop asking.
I don’t want to love you anymore because everything reminds me of you. The most ridiculous things remind me of you.

Because it’s hard to move on.
Because I don’t know how.
Because I’m no good at it. My grade school report card would read: excellent at sharing, storytelling, and being an enthusiastic line leader. Needs to work on mastering the dynamic elements of falling in love.

I don’t want to love you anymore because you give me permanent acid reflex and indigestion. The nerves bubble in my stomach and I’m overcome with this anxious spell like I’m one of the last kids waiting to get picked for the kickball team. You’re taking a long time to make your selection and my legs are beginning to shake because I have to pee and also, the granola bars in the dugout are making intense eye contact with me.

 
I don’t want to love you anymore because I forgot how to love myself. I won’t shower, or eat, or sleep, or smile for days. These are things I want to love, again, more than you.

I don’t want to love you anymore because it’s never fun being the only one in love. It feels like you’re making out with a plastered wall or sending undeliverable pieces of mail. It’s miserable and lonely; and I don’t want to love you anymore because then maybe I’ll finally be able to find someone who loves me back.

*I really liked this piece and wish I had read it when I was miserable, not too many months ago. I think she accurately expressed a very poignant reminder that we need to give value to the people who wish to be in our presence. We also need to (hopefully) give humility to those who don't. This idea helped me move on, re-evaluate my self respect, and helped me regain my identity. Further, it definitely made me open to love from the most kind hearted boy I've ever known. The best part is that we were under each other's noses for ten years. It's like Winnie and Kevin Arnold or Corey and Topanga type of love—only not fruity and melodramatic

Now, to liven up the mood a bit, to feel happy, and to stomp your foot along to the base drum, listen to this awesome song:

Blitzen Trapper's FURR

You should play it in the car, loud and with the wind blowing and messing up your hair. I had the pleasure of doing that this weekend, sitting shotgun next to the best boy.

Celebrities, they're just like us!

Andy would have definitely graced the pages of US Weekly's "Celebrities, they're just like us" with these images. He looks like just another dude in the grocery store.

Andy Warhol would have made an ideal extreme couponer.

Via Retronaut



Bottoms up! (vegan, gf)

OBSESSED WITH:

I found Perfect Food Raw (in chocolate flavor) at my local organic market. I'm a sucker for trying supplements and whatever claims to make me a bionic woman, and these caught my eye a few weeks ago. I've been drinking a glass of vanilla flavored almond milk with a packet of chocolate Perfect Raw Food, every morning. This holds me over until I get hungry for breakfast at work. I LOVE IT!

The instructions say to mix the supplement with water... I think this is bizarre and gross in theory (chocolate flavored plant enzymes in water... vomit in my mouth). 

Instead, I decided to make mine with milk because it seemed like it would be similar to mixing Nesquik with milk. I used to love chocolate Nesquik when I was little!

 I use a blender to get the drink smooth because I have yet to successfully mix the supplement in the milk stirring by hand.

Lastly, I've found that the trick to making this beverage a treat is to use very cold milk! 

It's refreshing and filling. I really think the cold temperature and the milk mask whatever "weird" flavor the supplement might have. My boyfriend thinks I'm a pyscho and doesn't understand how I tricked my brain into loving this combination. 

 

Love you Mindy!

C'est la vie. 

THIS IS SO WEIRD... (Experiment)

...I WILL HAVE TO TRY IT.

Pinterest, you never cease to amuse me with your crazy claims and silly suggestions:

"Get rid of unwanted hair ANYWHERE! For 1 week, rub 2 tbsp coffee grounds mixed with 1 tsp baking soda. The baking soda intensifies the compounds of the coffee breaking down the hair follicles at the root"

No. I do not have a beard. If I did, my blog would have a mass following because everyone would want to know about the modern bearded girl's trials and tribulations and I'd definitely have my own show on TLC.

Go figure... on Monday, I was acknowledging this..!

Made me laugh

Girl catcall

Dear random girl with the pixie bleached hair, nautical-stripe dress and bright yellow blazer who was walking her dog,

You were so cool I HAD to yell at you from my car window as you crossed the street. You were so happy and looked cool. Your outfit was very fresh and perfect for the beautiful spring weather. I'm glad you smiled and accepted my compliment of "Your outfit is soooo cute, you look awesome! Your whole look is perfect!" without scowling and making me feel dumb.

I hope you have a cool life forever.

Best,

Girl in the car who crushed hard.

The look:

The hair, a mix of these two colors with the cut of the latter pic:

Pinterest

Pinterest

The clothes:

Neon Yellow Blazer from Zara, taken from the 18th district  (I LOVE HER + HER BLOG)

A casual take on the nautical dress from O'neil, available at  PacSun

White

I love everything from this series. Some of my absolute favs include:

Anthropologie-SHADES OF WHITE

Varanasi Maxi Dress

Split Swing Tank

Pleated Lacework Dress

Winter Blossoms Bib Necklace

Moly Chandeliers

Having one of these days:

Popsugar Fitness

Photo from Pinterest

I really like Popsugar's site. I think I became a fan because they combined style and pop culture with a fitness channel.  The host, Dr. Zelana Montminy struck me as a nice and relatable person (ie: not annoying) and I liked her attitude. I always end up finding something that catches my eye that motivates me to want to be active. 

Don't be a Lazy Jane

The fact that the segments are relatively short also entice me to try the moves... because if I can find an excuse to NOT TRY something positive that barely leaves a dent in a 24 hour day (...10 minutes out of 1440 min... c'mon) then I have proof that I'm a loser blob taking up space who isn't enjoying life. So... do it! 

One of my fav videos... 10 min, it gets your heart rate up!

I'm still working on my graceful side-kicks. They're very jerky and I can kick higher with my right foot. My left side is lazy. I'm like a marionette with a broken string.

Farinata for your Friday

Simple Cooking: Farinata Flatbread As A Gluten Free Pizza Crust

A friend writes for the Chicagoist and posted this awesome recipe.

Farinata

The photo came from here so don't get mad at me for not citing it

Batter
1 cup flour
1 cup water, plus 1 tablespoon water
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper

Optional add-ins
1 tablespoon fresh basil
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
handful of grated parmesan

Baking
medium (we used 9-inch) round cake pan, pie tin or cast iron skillet
Enough olive oil to lightly coat the bottom

Toppings
Whatever the hell you want.

1. Sift the flour with the salt and black pepper. If you think you've put in too much black pepper, put in more black pepper. Seriously, you won't regret it. Whisk in the water and olive oil slowly. Bittman recommends the batter be the texture of heavy cream, but we liked it a little thinner and added a tablespoon more water.

2. Set the batter aside and cover it. Some recommend leaving it for half an hour, some recommend putting it in the fridge overnight, but everyone agrees that it's best if the batter has a little time to breathe before you toss it in the oven.

3. While that happens, preheat your oven to 450 degrees, with the pan inside. Once it's heated, take the pan out and add just enough olive oil to cover the bottom. Put the pan back in the oven for about 5 to 7 minutes, until the oil is shimmering.

4. Stir the add-in ingredients, i.e. herbs and parmesan, into the batter. Then slowly pour the batter into the center of the pan, and keep it thin. Give the pan a little swirl to make sure the batter is evenly covering the bottom. Don't just dump the whole bowl in there if it doesn't look right. Then put the pan back in the oven for about 10 to 15 minutes, until it's slightly firm in the middle and brown around the edges.

5. Then, put it in the broiler for a couple of minutes (keep an eye on it!) just until the top starts to brown. Take it out and let it set for a minute or two.

6. If you're going the pizza route, dab the oil off the top, then flip the farinata out of the cake pan and onto a cookie sheet or pizza stone. Dab the oil off the other side, too. Then add your sauce, cheese, toppings, etc., and pop the cookie sheet back in the oven until the cheese melts.

7. Eat it. Did I have to tell you that part?

Our Toppings
As you'll see in the photos above, we caramelized onions in olive oil with some salt, then sautéed in some chopped mushrooms with them. We used tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and grated parmesan, then put the onions and mushrooms on with some shredded prosciutto.

Easy Lunch (vegan/veg/broke)

Punjab Choley $1.99

+

Quinoa

=

DELICIOUS!

I am totally going to lie and say I made all of this by hand one day, when I have to impress people at a dinner. Too bad George Harrison died a long time ago, I would have totally won him over with this dish.

Email subject lines.

I've gotten into the bad habit of writing "the thesis statement" of my emails in the subject line. It just gets the job done quickly... and I learned to do this at my job. At first, I thought that everyone who sent me command emails this way was rude and passive aggressive. They are. But when in Rome... I've learned to appreciate the messages in the subject line because it is like instant messanger, only not-cool. 

I just wrote the following subject in an email to my friends. I sent them the link to this blog:

"what i do when im bored. if u have a cool link. send it to me. nobody reads this. i post things so my brain doesn't explode in the office."

This is an experiment to see if I have friends. (Thank you CT, because you already got back to me and actually told me you love the subject line.)

More face... and inspo via Charlotte Tilbury

Make-up artist CHARLOTTE TILBURY

CHECK OUT HER BLOG/HOW-TOS...

"I put on mascara and the whole world’s reaction to me changed. I remember feeling kind of hurt about that. And then I realized, Actually, I’m just like everybody else. I do judge people by the way that they look; we all do. Obviously the personality matters, but that initial moment, if someone walks into a room and they’re gorgeous, you kind of embrace it. Beauty is such a beguiling thing." -Charlotte Tilbury 

I was inspired to write about my love for mascaras by Charlotte Tilbury's recent interview featured in INTO THE GLOSS:

Tilbury explains, "On my eyes, I always put on eyeliner before mascara. I like to do what I call the ‘feline flick,’ inspired by all of those icons of the 1950s, '60s, '70s. Cats are very sensual, and that elongation—it just immediately says ‘sexy’ to me. I trace the shape I want my eyes to be with Dior’s Waterproof Crayon Eyeliner in Intense Brown and then I go over it with mascaras, plural. [Laughs]. My mascara is a hybrid of four different mascaras, until I develop my own. I might start with either the Chanel Inimitable or Kevyn Aucoin to get separation and definition, and then I might build up a little with the Maybelline Colossal, to add length and make them grow. Once I’ve got that in place and I want more drama, I go over with the Tom Ford Mascara or the Estée Lauder Sumptuous Extreme Mascara. Always in black. And I’ll add even more of the Tom Ford or the Estée Lauder one at night when I’m going out, just to make it even more false-eye-lashy looking. I’m wishing for the perfect mascara; I don’t want to use five. It’s a fucking bore to use five! If only I could find the perfect mascara, the perfect cream, the perfect foundation…"

Well, I'm ok using a million mascaras at a time. Trying them out is like a borderline hobby for me. What would I do with just one?

The current gang:

from left to right: Cover Girl "Clump Cluster" - Benefit "They're Real" - Lancome "Hypnose Drama" - Rimmel "Lash Accelerator" - Maybelline "Falsies" - Chanel "Le Volume"

What I do (1 or 2 coats of each):
(day): Clump cluster; Lash Accelerator; Le Volume; Hypnose Drama; Lash Accelerator for final separation.

(night): Clump cluster; Lash Accelerator; Le Volume; Hypnose Drama or They're Real or a coat of each,followed by as much Falsies as needed -depending on the look. BE SURE TO SEPARATE AND COMB LASHES AS YOU GO... nobody thinks globbed on mascara is sexy. 

Liz Lovely Discovery (GF,vegan,yum)

I was hungry in a Safeway in California.
I saw GF cookies on a little display table in said Safeway.
I opened the bag right then and there and absolutely swooned at the mouth:

Liz Lovely

I have yet to buy them on the East Coast, but I will. I've only tried the GF "chocolate fudge" kind... yum. And guess what, the GF cookies are also vegan... win.

Intrigued by Carlyne

Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele

Le21EME

"You can learn a lot of things, but you cannot learn style. Style is your insides..."

MDX

"It’s energy. I love energy, I hate sad—I hate sad."

Vogue

Click on the various links to read amusing and insightful interviews with stylist Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele. I love her confidence, attitude, and affinity for accessories! I admire her spirit!

Among many other things, Ms. Cerf du Dudzeele loves the sun and leopard print. Self-explanatory. Carlyne is cool.

From Spindle & Canister

 

Back to reality.

I ate like a queen (ie. garbage disposal) while in California... now it's time to counter all of that...

...with what will be one of many FRUIT OVERDOSES POST... I love berries!

FYI:The fork is casually hidden with the fruit because three of the teeth conveniently broke right before I took this picture.

West Coast Weekend

I spent the weekend in Monterey and Carmel, CA. What a beautiful area! I loved the coast and the cliffs (it reminded me of certain beach towns in Chile) and met some very chill people. They definitely had a certain je nais se "Californiatude..." that I readily adapted to. 

Getting some sun and splashing in the gorge in Big Sur, CA (that's me on the left)

Eat like a local:

Hula's Monterey 622 Lighthouse Ave, Monterey, CA 93940

Full Moon 429 Alvarado Street, Monterey, CA 93940 

Another random highlight of the trip (maybe of any hangout with a girl) is that you get to use/try some of their beauty products because you're in there using their bathroom, living their life... and you get curious! Thanks to my friend Joc, I'm now obsessed with:

The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer Illuminator/Highlighter

So Pretty! My friend is blonde with green eyes - I'm a brunette with brown eyes... this shade worked great on both of us. Score. 

Hypnose Mascara by Lancome

I'm a mascara whore. I had to try this because it was so fannnccy compared to my drugstore go-tos. It's making my top 5 list of mascaras. I loved how it opened up my eyes, I loved the length + volume, and it wasn't too clumpy. 

EmbryoLisse

AWESOME lotion! Feels so great, absorbed quickly, I became addicted. 

Happy rest of the week! (Sucks to be back at work. Whomp, whomp.)

**Hair update: I washed my hair with baking soda on Friday morning. I let it get super dirty over the weekend (beach, outside air, finger combing). On Sunday, my friend and I added coconut oil to our hair to condition it. I slept with it in my hair, so by Monday morning, I really needed to wash my hair. I was too embarassed to ask her for baking soda and was pressed for time, so I washed my scalp with Garnier Fructis Pure Clean Fortifying Shampoo. The coconut oil was great though, and I highly recommend it. My hair is really soft and shiny.

Weightless Wallet

Books+Me+Amazon.com = Trouble

I can't wait for these 3 gems to arrive:

DV's Autobiography

I don't have kids but all kids should learn about The Beatles. I buy rad kiddo books in anticipation for my future kids/kids in my life. I don't trust anyone who doesn't like The Beatles

Vanity and Health.

Experiments (shampoo and face toner)

My blalking (bog+stalking) of inspirational random chicks yesterday led me to LOVE CHUGS via The Skinny Confidential  and consequently, I decided to try some of the natural home remedy tricks they rave about. 

First on the agenda was washing hair without shampoo. 

Background Info: My hair is in fairly decent shape, in that I stopped dying it and using heating tools to style it 2 years ago (when I went through a very holistic phase...that I'm getting back into now). By leaving my hair alone, it grew long fairly quickly and became something that I never stressed about. Drinking Kombucha also helped it become very shiny and silky.  My natural color is a medium golden brown-- which I  love... but life events  tricked me into changing my hair as a quick fix to feeling more in-control and different  (cue the dyes).Slowly but surely, my hair became more brittle and lifeless again. When I finally came to my senses, I promptly got a hair cut to trim up my ends and started leaving my hair alone. Again. 

As the ladies explain, respectively, shampoos strip your hair of the natural oils that would keep your hair looking awesome if you would just let them stay on your head!

Baking soda used as a cleaning agent, on the other hand, will remove build-up and regulate the pH of your scalp. Hmm...

I tried it. 

My hair is very clean and feels light—but also has a very slight "dried hairspray" texture, which I'm assuming comes from all the alkaline. My plan is to see how long the cleanliness lasts before it's imperative that I wash it again. 



There's a quick work-place bathroom selfie. I let my hair air-dry and I didn't apply ANY products to it post baking soda wash.

The second trick they recommended was using Apple Cider Vinegar for a variety of issues. I love ACV and have taken it before, but never to condition my hair or tone my skin! *Make sure you dilute it with water* before you apply it to your body, since it's VINEGAR... aka it's acidic! I still have some microdermabrasion breakouts so I decided to be more of a heathen and applied the ACV right on a blemish. It stung and all the vinegar on my face made my eyes water. I woke up this morning and the skin on that area was still pink, but smoother and less angry looking!

15 Reasons to Use Apple Cider Vinegar Every Day

Not to be a buzzkill, but I  decided to do a little bit more research to learn about baking soda's properties and if there were any negatives to using it. I'm just wired that way! I like to be informed. 

I came across this, so read it, and then go mash an avocado/grab some mayo/get a regular hair oil and mask and dump it on your head to nourish your hair. Done deal. 

Ghostwriter has a life and a face

Up until this moment, I have remained fairly anonymous*. To change that, I've decided to post a few pictures I have on my phone. Enjoy. Welcome to my fanclub, whoever you are!

That's me at CVS, buying make-up on a budget

 

Smiling at a wedding

Love face masks!

Frankie

Lulu

*I feel like a narcissist posting about myself and including these pictures... but then, what would be the point of having a blog? I don't really know. A reason I like stalking random people via their blogs (yes, I said stalk) is because it's interesting to get glimpses of other people's lives. It's like when you're walking in the neighborhood and you nonchalantly peer at someones house (because it's there, NOT because you're a gross peeper person)  and you can see a bit of the house through a window... don't you ever wonder what it would be like to be in there at dinner? I always think this during colder months, when houses look cozy, and I wonder what their Thanksgiving's might be like. (Yes? No?) I can call myself out in that most of the blogs I stumble upon and end up following are of very pretty people doing pretty things. Their pictures are cool and properly filtered. I love the illusion of perfection mostly because I can't nail it. Don't worry. I will post ugly pictures of myself too, to keep this blog honest.