In The Sun
Latest Posts
What Do Beauty Bloggers Spend Their Own Money On?
Have you ever gotten the chance to look inside the cabinet of a beauty blogger?
It is INSANITY. I host two beauty-focused shows for Allure so I test out a lot of products to see what I want to incorporate into segments (and reviews on RG)…but for-real beauty bloggers? Literally have boxes and boxes and boxes full of review samples filling their bathroom cabinets from companies hoping that a product will catch their eye. And they spend virtually every day sifting through products in search of the best of the best…so for them to actually walk into a store and buy a beauty product for their own personal use, it must be CRAZY good.
So for this post, I thought I'd do something kind of different and ask a few top beauty bloggers (and friends of mine) what products they love so much that they never fail to make room for them in those already-overstuffed bathroom cabinet.
Easiest-Ever Black, White & Green Holiday Tablescape
I like a pretty tablescape as much as the next fancy-pants, but what I do not like is buying items that I will use exactly one week out of every year. This holiday season, I'm going for a Christmassy table setting comprised entirely of items that I either already own or have plucked from my very own backyard, making it both completely practical and completely free, whee.
Black, White & Green Holiday Tablescape
1. Pull every single white, black and gold piece of china you own out of your cupboards, and layer 'em up. If you've got any Jadeite or other green serving pieces, throw a couple of those on there, too.
Again and Again
When I was expecting Goldie, I wrote and wrote and wrote about my fear of losing all those special times I had with Indy; those days when it was just us two, wandering around and stopping into diners for pancakes, paging through books in bookstores…being not just mother and son, but friends. Like, best friends. That's one thing that surprised me about becoming a parent, you know: the fact that your children aren't just your "kids"; they're people you love hanging out with, who are funny and smart and interesting and make everything you do together more exciting, because you get to see what it's like to do it (whatever "it" is) for the first time ever.
I was scared I'd lose that in the madness of a new baby's arrival; that he'd feel pushed aside, or forgotten somehow. And so it's something that Kendrick and I have spent a lot of time talking about, and we've worked very hard to make sure that I get time once in awhile to go somewhere on my own with Indy.
Yesterday I told my son that I was taking him on a special adventure. "Is Daddy coming?" he asked. "No," I said, "It's just you and me today." And instead of being sad that Kendrick wasn't coming along - which was what I expected - he literally flung himself into my arms and said "Let's go NOW!"
Spotlight On: Ben-Amun by Isaac Manevitz
Meet one of my favorite jewelry lines of all time. Ben-Amun is like what a 1920s-era princess who decides to go wild for a few days, in like, Ibiza would wear: big stones, crazy detailing, oversized silhouettes…but still elegant, somehow. And the best part is that it's technically "costume" jewelry (even though it doesn't look like it), so it's much more affordable than it looks.
OK, so I kind of freaked out about what happened in this photo. (In a good way.) That man up there is Isaac Manevitz - the designer of Ben-Amun jewelry - and a few weeks ago, at a brunch in the city, I met him...and completely fangirl-ed out, both because of his work and because he and his wife are the loveliest people ever, and basically babysat Goldie the entire time we were there.
I Just Wanna Dance
First: the fact that I am, at the age of 33, once again attending school dances is both super weird and extremely fun.
For Kendrick's Winter Formal Masquerade I had all these grand plans of floor-length ball gowns (and I do happen to own one - for no apparent reason, as my life does not typically involve outings to places where ball gowns are required) and sculpted waves and…I don't know, I thought I was really going to go over-the-top fancy, because I never get to go over-the-top fancy and that sounded like it'd be fun.
And then I realized that what's missing in my life lately is a little partying. Like, old-school put-on-a-sexy-dress-and-high-heels-and-stay-out-late partying. I don't want to swan around eating canapés; I just wanna dance. And so I decided to dial down the formality and go with a dress that I could move around in, a hairdo that looked messed-up to start with (so a little extra tousling courtesy of a Pitbull song wouldn't be a big deal), and one hell of a mask.
DIY Christmas Cards For Kids
Well, this is an adorable little project.
The problem with crafting generally - and Pinterest crafting, specifically - is that normal people don't have cabinets full of stuff that they can use to effortlessly whip up DIY-ed whatevers. And adding a run to Michael's to a craft transforms it from "fun and affordable alternative to store-bought" to "abject misery."
Anyway, I'm all about the crafts that you don't need to leave your house in order to do. In other words, the actually cheap and actually easy ones that just use stuff you've already got lying around.
How To Put An End To Co-Sleeping?
My son did not sleep for eleven months. Like, at all. It was as exhausting as it sounds. And the fact that he did not sleep made it easier for me to follow the advice of the zillions of people who told me to put him in his own crib as soon as possible so he could learn how to "self-soothe" (a.k.a. cry endlessly, forever and ever and ever), mostly because not-sleeping next to me and not-sleeping over there in the crib that was ten feet away from our bed (because we lived in a one-bedroom apartment at the time) was six of one, half a dozen of the other.
And what it all added up to was that none of us slept. Ever. For the better part of a year.
I Put Together A Stocking For You
Trying out a fun new tool for this segment where you can click right on the video to go to the products that interest you - let me know what you think??
Also: goodness I am excited about these stocking stuffers (which, incidentally, are not just for the ladies; there's some great guy stuff in there too). One of them is even inspired by my new ink, and another is inspired by the fact that my feet are tragic.
UGH
You want to know how I spent my morning? It was super fun.
See, in that Spirit Of Saying Yes that I wrote about a few weeks back Kendrick and I have started getting out more; accepting dinner invitations, making plans to catch up with people we haven't seen in ages, et cetera. Yesterday we went into the city for breakfast with two old friends, then decided to go to a party downtown while our kids fell asleep at my parents' place. And then it seemed like it made the most sense to just let the kids stay asleep; Kendrick would take the train home to deal with the dogs, and I'd drive me + kids back in the morning.
7AM hit, and everything went swimmingly: both kids woke up on time and in decent moods, I got everyone dressed and fed and packed, and we headed towards the front door with exactly enough time to make it to the car and get out of town before 8AM, at which point we would suddenly became illegally parked according to city regulations.
And then I realized:
