omg nail polish

i first saw essie in last year's j. crew holiday catalog. between drooling over plaid shirts and cozy cashmere, i noticed this nail polish in bright colors with names like "mink muffs" and "spaghetti strap." then i got the biggest shocker - the target in my small hometown ACTUALLY SELLS ESSIE.
cue the angels.

i'm over buying cheap nail polish. i was excited enough that i found o.p.i. at target, but essie? really? now i'm sort of (very) obsessed. nail polish is fun; i love trying new crazy colors that paint on smooth and actually stay on.

any favorite colors out there?

color pictured is sand tropez. i've been scouring for the perfect nude, and this is it. i'm in love! next on my must-buy essie list: melon and lilac. sigh. i love spring colors.

kate and william - the lifetime movie

oh hells yeah.


there are few things as fabulous as a royal wedding - except the certain-to-be-awful lifetime movie that goes along with it. just in case i wasn't anticipating the royal wedding enough, my favorite tv channel is coming out with "william & kate" on april 18. i have the snuggly blanket and wine ready to go for the occasion.

makeup review: maybelline lip stain

i can't tell you how many times i've spent pacing the makeup aisles at target, wondering which lip stick, lip gloss, nail polish or eye shadow i should buy. discovering a new favorite is like finding gold - once i find something i love that works, i'll pay whatever it costs for it. i'm partial to sephora, but that doesn't mean i don't love a great deal. sadly, i'm finding less and less quality among the cheaper products. you get what you pay for - most of the time.

i've been wanting to try a lip stain for a while now. i love the idea of it - lips just stained, as if i've been eating strawberries. no gloss, no shine, just simple natural-looking matte color.

i picked up maybelline's color sensational lip stain in cranberry crush at target for about $6.50. i haven't had a lot of luck with maybelline products and usually go for revlon or l'oreal. unfortunately, my bad luck continued with this lip stain.

the pros: beautiful color (very flattering berry-red), matte finish, and it really did look like i had just drank some kool-aid.

the cons: stayed on for all of five minutes before it started flaking off, too expensive for a drug-store product to not last longer, can't go with any other glosses because it flakes off then too.

my verdict: i'm still searching for the perfect lip stain. this is not it.

kate fashion: kitten heels

kate middleton, she of the most-anticipated-wedding-of-my-generation, went out to lunch with her sister pippa and fiancee wills, and wore very lovely, very simple tan kitten heels.


i found some that look almost identical from ann taylor loft. simple, easy to wear, goes with everything. you're not going to break your ankle walking in these.

well, you might, if you're clumsy like me.

in other kate fashion news, i adore her hair like that. i have spent many evenings in front of my bathroom mirror, trying to achieve the perfect amount of volume and messiness without veering into the sloppy. never works for me.

and yes, i'm waking up at 5 a.m. april 29 to watch the wedding. can't wait!

elder

it's a bitch getting old.

you'd think people could at least keep their dignities. after all their work and struggles, you'd think karma would return the favor.

but then your body betrays you time and time again and you're rendered to a person so dimly recognizable, your children and grandchildren are left with only memories of who you used to be.

it's so unfair. it's so fucking unfair that after everything, old age robs us first of our appearance, then of our health - and then it has to take the mind, too. it's truly bullshit seeing my grandparents suffer. they all put themselves through college. they all suffered through a depression and a world war. they worked hard, giving their children a better life. they are good, decent, loving people. and now in their last years, they suffer.

and now my last memories of them will be of that suffering - of this shell of a person who is not the grandfather i once knew with the sense of humor and pride. it's not him. but he's the only grandfather i have.

bullshit. utter confounding indignant injustice.

here's to alissa

alissa czisny won the u.s. national championships yesterday. she skated third-from last, in a virtual three-way tie with mirai nagasu and raechel flatt. her performance to "selections from winter into spring," by george winston, a graceful, quietly powerful piece of music that featured a single piano, perfectly showed off her elegance and maturity. she is coming off a major international win - the grand prix title, almost more impressive than the nationals win because it's against competitors around the world.

but what's even more special about alissa is her age: she's 23. she was competing against girls who were almost 10 years younger than her. most ladies in this sport peak early (sometimes too early - see caroline zhang), and lasting from one olympics to another is considered longevity.

but alissa is changing that. she is actually better now than she was as a teenager. as a person in my 20s, i am so happy for her. i have been watching skating almost my entire life - i remember thinking oksana baiul's pink costume at the 1994 lillehammer olympics was the prettiest dress i had ever seen. i have always loved skating, and not because of the jumps or the points. it's the artistry - the way skaters like alissa express themselves through their programs - that i love.

chalk one up for the 20-somethings.

what's in my purse

i saw this on another blog and thought it was an interesting idea. besides old receipts, grocery lists, target lists, expired coupons and kleenex, i keep a lot in my purse. i feel naked without it - except at work. i hate having more than one bag at work, so i only carry my computer bag (that is full to the brim with everything i may need that day).

but on a normal day, my purse contains a medley of goodies*:

• c.o. bigelow lip balm in sheer rose
• nars lipstick in funny face
• yves saint laurent radiant touch in luminous ivory
• larabee dot stacy kate spade purple wallet
• giant brown sunglasses from target
• vera bradley hard sunglasses case
• l'oreal pressed powder foundation
  
• moleskine pink notepad
• l'occitaine hand lotion
• a granola bar
• orbitz gum
• keys
• iphone
  

purse: could be one of three favorites - black coach, taupe big buddha arlene slouch bag, or my personal favorite, my beloved louis vuitton speedy.

and yes, i have a makeup problem. or is it a sephora problem?

it's amazing when i take it all out how much crap is in there. every now and then I bother to go through my purse and actually throw some of the crap away.

what's in your purse?

*dog not included

what's worse than a tiny bedroom? a tiny bathroom

especially when you are like me and can't go into sephora or target without getting ONE MORE LIP GLOSS because maybe this lip gloss will be the magic lip gloss that will solve all your lip-related problems. that sounded like it could be possibly misinterpreted.

my bathroom really is tiny, though. including the shower, it's 7' x 5.5' or so. small. way too small for me, a person who swoons at public restrooms and their enormity of counter space.


here's looking into the bathroom from the doorway. no, we don't have a blue wall - that's just the camera flash.


here's the other side. ugh, that toilet seat cover makes my eyes bleed.

i now have to time doing my hair and makeup around t, because we both can't fit in our bathroom. redoing it wouldn't change the size issue, but it would update the 80s fake wood vanity. thank god.

any ideas?

damn you, tiny bedroom

as i try to distract myself from the fact that my roots are in desperate need of a touch up and my hair appointment is still a day away, i'll ponder the other obsession in my life: new furniture for my house. i love my house. love it. i love the archways, the built-ins, the tiny kitchen nook and most of all the wonderful warm feeling it gives me at night when i go to sleep.

but what i don't like are the tiny, tiny bedrooms.

it's a sacrifice you have to make peace with if you want a 1940s starter home. the rooms are small. deal.

never mind the fact that i have ONE CLOSET. that is bad enough.

they don't make houses like mine anymore. everyone has more bathrooms than they do bedrooms (srsly, what's up with that?), massive amounts of counter space, and vaulted-ceiling bedrooms. so most of the furniture being made doesn't fit with my bedroom size either. i'm still jamming my undies and sweats into the same tower dresser i used when i was 10. the night stand is literally breaking with the weight of clothes. knobs have fallen off, the bottoms of the drawers are caving in. do i have too much clothing? never. but i do need new furniture that doesn't cost as much as a mortgage payment.

i should mention that i'm an obsessive cheapskate when it comes to thinks that i actually need. t and i have been surviving on a box spring made for a full mattress (when we have a queen) and propping up the broken frame with 2x4s. that's how we roll.

anyone have any luck with furniture that will fit in tiny bedrooms?

how much is an amazing scarf really worth?

say, $395?

yeah, i know i'm years behind, but it's freaking mcqueen, mkay? let's be honest, there is no price that tops the late alexander mcqueen's genius - and this is his signature item.

i may have found my next i-really-can't-afford-this purchase.

scarf, alexander mcqueen, $395