Nailed It!

Today I'm here to tell you about an amazing product if you wear any kind of nail polish at all. (Well, I guess not if you have gel nails or whatever, but anyway.)

This stuff. It. Is. Amazing.

I don't quite remember where I heard of Londontown nail products, though it may have been on a podcast somewhere, where the person showing her knitting mentioned she was wearing some of their polish (which is great, as are their Nail Veils, but those are other posts). Anyway, I had to go down the rabbit hole of finding out about the brand, etc., because a) I remember loving the color of the polish the person was wearing, and b) I'd never heard of the brand and was curious. So I tried a couple of their products, and liked them a lot (as I said, some later post, OK?). 

Now, I don't always wear nail polish, but I have noticed that when I make an effort, and have something on my nails - even clear nail polish - I tend to leave my cuticles alone. Which is a good thing, because my poor cuticles have suffered so many indignities in my life. When I am bored, or anxious, or tired, or who knows what, I tend to pick at my cuticles, which of course causes them to bleed, and makes my hands look like small battlefields. But if my nails have something on them, I'm more likely to not practice that habit.

The problem for me has always been getting the polish off without problems. Nail polish removers with acetone make me break out in a rash. So I was getting non-acetone removers, which were fine. But getting all of the polish off was the problem. I would use so many cotton balls, and so much of the product, and later in the day, still notice polish I'd missed. 

Anyway, one time when I was perusing the Ulta website, I noticed they carried some Londontown products, including the "Lacquer Remover" shown above. It was a whole lot more expensive than the others, but when I read the different reviews, they all said that very little of the product was necessary to get off all of your nail polish. So I was intrigued. And I realized that I spent a lot of money on cheaper polish removers, mostly because I used so much all at one time, so I was always running out. I bit the bullet and ordered some of this.

All I have to say is, if you have had the same problems getting nail polish off of your nails, buy this stuff. It's worth every penny! Usually I get a cotton ball and soak it, not drench, but get it wet, and then I place it on each fingernail for 10 seconds. (Some of the cotton ball comes off when you take it off your nail.) I do that for each nail, and then I go back and sweep the cotton ball over the nail using a bit of pressure. Voila - polish gone! Completely, and your nails don't feel dried out like sandpaper either. I couldn't believe how well it worked, and have tried it even with darker polish, and had the same good results.

And in the end - the bottle lasted me for a whole year, making it well worth the price! As a matter of fact, when I went to buy a new bottle, I happened to hit a sale (I don't remember if it was at Ulta or on the Londontown site itself), and got two bottles for only slightly more than the price of one. 

Needless to say, this product knocked it out of the park with the BMST, and now I don't go through a whole decision process of whether or not it's worth putting on nail polish due to the hassle of removing it.

This is my opinion only, of course - I'm not sponsored by anyone or any company, I just wanted to share something I really love and think others might appreciate as well.

If you decide to give it a try, let me know. I hope you if you do try it, you have the same kind of success.

So ...

Yeah, I know. I've abandoned this blog for about a year and a half. I've kept up with my knitting/crafting blog a lot better, but even there recently I had to take a break. Of course, the main difference is that I know some people read that blog, and this one is mainly for myself, and there have been a couple of people now and then who have commented, but who knows if they have given up.

Anyway, I've decided that since I have many beauty and fitness types of things to say/talk about, I needed to once again make friends with this blog. If nothing else, it helps me keep track of products or other things that I like or don't like, so that I don't re-do or re-buy the wrong things!

Things in life have changed for me. At the end of July 2022, I left my full-time job of 12+ years. I had loved my work, but in the last year and a half before I left, things had really deteriorated when we got a new CEO who thought he was a library and archives expert. (Spoiler alert: he isn't.) Let's just say that our department of five people had dwindled to myself and one other person (who he LOVED) by the time I left. I couldn't really afford to retire, but in order to maintain my mental and physical health, it was necessary. So now I get a monthly Social Security check, and I have a job three days a week at a local yarn store. We are struggling a bit, but we're OK and I'm doing a lot better than I had been, so I guess it's a win?

In September 2022, a friend and one of my nieces and myself started a little fitness group. We each take turns creating monthly goals for all of us, and check in daily via text messages. It's really been great, and all three of us are healthier and making progress, slowly but surely. We all agree that the accountability of checking in every day has made a huge difference in our attitudes towards living a healthier life. Which is not to say we don't lose sight of things now and then, but we are also very forgiving, which is fantastic. 

What else? Well, since I last spent time here, we adopted two more kitties! In May 2022, we adopted Alfie, a three-legged very fuzzy gray and white cat who was about a year old at the time. We call him our lovable weirdo, because he is very sweet and affectionate, but truly weirder than any cat we've ever had before. And then this past May, we adopted Esmeralda (aka Esme), a one-eyed gray tabby who is a little over a year old. For about the first four months she was with us, we seldom saw her, she was so afraid of us. But she got along perfectly with the other kitties, so that's what mattered most. And she and Alfie are definitely best buddies. in the past couple of months, she has gotten braver, and will occasionally even let us pet her - major progress, I tell you!

(Alfie on the left, Esme on the right)

And that's really about it for now. Like I mentioned, I have a lot of things I'd like to write about, so you will be hearing from me again sooner rather than much later. 

In the meantime, if anyone other than me is reading this, I hope you are well, and that you'll stop by again. 😊

This Made Me Laugh

Hi all - it's been a while since I've posted, for a huge number of reasons, but here I am right now.

I decided to write this post because of something over the weekend that made me laugh really hard.  This past Saturday, I went to have my eyebrows tweezed.  Now, you are probably wondering why I would pay perfectly good money to have someone tweeze my eyebrows.  Well, the answer is because I can't see them well enough to do it myself; and I can't get them waxed because my sensitive skin just gets scabby.  And I have a few brows that, at a certain point in their growth, take off in several different directions, and are really long!  Sometimes I manage to nab them, but most of the time, even with a magnifying mirror, I can't see them well enough to get them - and since I can't wear my glasses, it's just hopeless.  The Tim refuses to have anything to do with this activity, and I can't say I really blame him.  No one wants to try doing something on someone else's face unless they know what they are doing, right?

Anyway, I was texting with my niece Amanda later in the day, and mentioned that while I was out to do that, I had also done such-and-such.  She texted back and said that Pat (her husband) said he hoped I wasn't trying to have "aggressive brows."  That was a term that was new to me, and brings to mind something like a supervillain would have.  But she said that he meant brows like some of the women on Instagram show:

This just cracked me up!  I have never thought of anyone's brows as being "agressive" but now I'll never look at another photo like this and not be amused.

Nailed It

 Do you have "good" fingernails?  I will admit that I always notice people's hands and nails.  And I love it when people have nice hands and a pretty manicure.  

The morning security guard at the building where I work always has a variation on this kind of manicure, which fascinates me:

This is not something I would like for myself - for one thing, I'm 99.999999% sure that I would not be able to carry out my normal daily activities and functions, but as I said, it does fascinate me.

My mother used to have gorgeous hands and nails even when she was older.  They were really strong, too - she would change the color, etc. because she got tired of it, not because it ever chipped!  And she used a typewriter all day at work, besides just the normal activities of her life.  My oldest sister Nancy seems to have gotten her genetics in that regard.  My other sister and myself seem to have missed out.

My nails are not overly strong, but I have been making an effort to get them to look better and be stronger.  Not just because it's always something I notice on other people, but if I pay attention to nice nails, I am less likely to pick or chew at my cuticles.  Which yes, is really gross, but when I am really stressed or nervous, that's my downfall.  Over the past few years, I have been extremely conscientious, and I have to say that where my hands used to have gross cuticles on most fingers, now it usually only happens on one or two when things get tough.  So that is progress.

I used to work with someone who used nail wraps, and her nails always had really cool designs on them, which was fun.  But she did say that when she took them off, her nails were kind of a mess, so that was a no-go for me.  

Anyway.  Sometimes for whatever reason I end up getting to work much earlier than I need to, so I'll poke around YouTube and watch a podcast or a movie/TV show trailer.  Today I came across this podcast episode from a channel called "Our Time of the Month," which is a couple of women who are in Baltimore, and mostly seem to talk about beauty and wellness.  This episode was them trying some press-on nails from Olive & June, which is a really great company.  I have to tell you, I laughed really hard because it was so much fun to watch/hear their commentary!  It's not that long - a bit over 20 minutes - so if you need a chuckle, give it a watch.  

Enjoy!

Happy New Year! Do You Have Fat Ears?

 Hello and Happy New Year (yes, I know it's almost the middle of the month)!  I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and survived without getting covid or even a cold.

We had a great Christmastime and New Year's, and this weekend we will be taking down all of the decorations and putting them away until next year, which is always sad.  But then it's so exciting when they come back in December that it's worth it.

On to the question in the title of this post - do you have fat ears?  I have to admit, I've never once even given the "fatness" of my ears a thought one way or another.  I do have pierced ears, and have always had earrings that I could wear without any trouble.  But then my sister in California sent me these for Christmas:

I opened the package and thought, "Oh how nice," and it was a lovely surprise.  They were sent directly from Madewell, and she had told me to expect a package, so I didn't open it when it came, knowing it was a gift.

Then when we put away our gifts, I put them in my jewelry box.  A couple of days later, I decided I would wear them.  I put one in one ear, and it pinched a little bit, but I figured that was because I'd been fiddling with it, since the part that goes through your ear is really stiff.  I went to put the other one on, and the little post that is so stiff and goes through your ear just didn't fit.  I mean - DIDN'T. FIT.  I couldn't even push it through to try and finish putting it on.  So I gave up, and then took off the other one, which left a HUGE red spot on my other ear, where I guess it was too tight even though I'd worked it through.

OK, well, clearly they just wouldn't fit.  I called and asked if I could return them, even though I was pretty sure that since they are "personal" items, I couldn't.  And I was right.  When my sister asked me if I liked them, I told her that I did, but they didn't fit my ears.  And she responded, "Well how FAT can your ears possibly be??? I mean some people do have fat ears (do they??), but yours must be incredibly fat!"

Anyway, she said she had also sent a pair to my nephew's wife and they fit her, but "she's so tiny anyway, I'm not surprised."

So there you have it - I have what are apparently the world's fattest ears.  I have since learned that this style of earring is called a "huggie" and is supposed to fit tightly around your *thin* ears.  

Now.  Other than the fact that I thought the earrings were nice, and would have liked to wear them, none of this hurts my feelings.  This particular sister is, and always has been, obsessed with fashion and thinks anyone over a size 10 is doomed.  Also, as I mentioned above, I have never given much thought to my ears one way or another, as far as what size they wear ... 😀

I will likely pass these along to one of my nieces with skinny enough ears, but I thought it was worth sharing this in case anyone wants to start a support group for those of us with fat ears ... assuming not the only one!

Christmas Gift Idea That Comes Highly Recommended

 

If you are anywhere near a Trader Joe's, GET THIS.  

I read somewhere a few months ago, that this was wonderful and very hydrating body lotion.  Since my skin gets extremely dry once cooler/cold weather sets in, I thought it was worth a try.  So the next time I went to our local Trader Joe's, I bought a bottle for myself.  ($6.99 for 12 fluid ounces)

This stuff is amazing, at least for me. I primarily use it on my arms and legs, and I have to tell you that I haven't had any "snow" from dried skin since I started using it about a month ago.  Generally, I slather it on after a shower, and it easily lasts until my next shower.  It seems that especially in the last few years, when I would undress in the cold weather months, as I took off my jeans or whatever, all of these little pieces of dried skin would come off my legs with my clothes - gross!  I have used other body lotions, and there are a lot of them that I like, but this one wins out.

It has no discernible scent (at least that I can notice), which is a plus as far as I'm concerned, and it has a really lovely, smooth feel going on.  You may be concerned that it's so "wet" going on, but it absorbs into your skin almost immediately, and so you don't have to wait around 10 minutes or more to get dressed.

I love it. You really should give it a try if you have the chance.

Inexplicably Camel

Do you ever get something in your brain that you want to find in a store, and then you become a teensy bit obsessed with it, and you're not even really sure why?  

That's my current situation.  I have decided that I want to have either a pair of camel-colored slacks:

(not necessarily this specific pair, but you get the gist)

or, a camel-colored skirt:

(again, for context)

I am not sure why all of  a sudden I feel like having something in the camel shade would make me happy, but there you go.  Practically speaking, I'm sure that I would get something on it almost the minute I put it on to wear.  But I do that with everything I have - if it's not a pencil or pen mark, it's a spill, or dog drool, or who knows what?  

And, pants would probably be more versatile, and warmer when it's cold.  But then again, I do love skirts and dresses.  

In any case, it's really kind of a moot point, because I have no plans to go shopping anywhere anytime soon, and more importantly, I have no money to spend!  

But in the meantime, it's kind fun to look ...