Gardening in High Heels

cultivate a beautiful life

Never Have I Ever – Beauty Edition

The older I get, the harder it is to play Never Have I Ever.  It’s also been quite a few years since I’ve had to play Never Have I Ever.  Never have I ever had a Big Mac, broken a bone (knock on a huuuuuge pile of wood), operated a chain saw..

Today’s Blogger, May I prompt is Never Have I Ever.  Since it’s Makeup Monday, I’m sharing health and beauty things that I’ve never done.  When I was sitting down to write this, I realized there are a lot of things I’ve done when it comes to “beauty” stuff – I’ve waxed, dyed, permed, and just about everything in between.

There are very few things I haven't done when it comes to makeup and hair. But there are a few. Read on to see what "Never Have I Ever" done. #BloggerMayI

Never have I ever…

Successfully teased my hair.

I have a Spornette Little Wonder and it’s great but I have no idea what I’m doing with it.  I kind of just push hair around.  It looks messy instead of..BAM look at my big hair don’t care, which is what I want it to look like.

Gotten a French pedicure

For the longest time, I always wore red polish on my toe nails.  I can’t make up my mind when it comes to finger nail polish, but toe nails were always red.  Finally, I managed to break out of that rut, but as experimental as I get with my nails, I can’t bring myself to do the French style on my toe nails.  My little baby toe nail is soooo small, it would basically just be entirely white.  And look weird.

Successfully used home wax kits

I’m Italian and as expressive as we are with our hands, our eyebrows are just as expressive.  I have dark, heavy brows and they need to be controlled.  So I figured I’d get an at-home wax kit and try to use that instead of tweeze.  Fail.  Fail all over.

I ended up getting about a quarter of my eyelashes stuck to the strip.  I did not realize that before I pulled it off my face.  I just realized how many waxing blunders I’ve made.  I should just leave that to the pros.

And that’s all she wrote.  This headache is getting worse the longer I concentrate.  Time to zone out with Netflix and Parks & Rec.  Leslie Knope heals all wounds.

What have you never ever done?


Sunday Lately, 18

As you’re reading this, I’m out on the mean streets of Pittsburgh running for my life.  Okay, just running.  It’s Marathon Day!  Let me say in advance how excited I am to be running with Jonathan for a second year and for the post-race Bloody Mary at Wigle Whiskey.  I may be more excited for that.

Nothing like a little alcohol and spice after putting your body through a great strain.

What have you been up to lately? This is week 14 of Sunday Lately link up with Katy, Meghan, and Nicole!

Dwelling

On how amazing Lush products are.  I ended up treating myself to a shampoo bar at Lush when I went to pick up a present for a mama-to-be.  I love the scent (it’s lemony!) and I also walked out with a sample of the R&B Hair Moisturizer.  Now that scent is amazeballs and a half.  It’s this beautiful citrus and jasmine scent that sticks around all day.  I wake up the next morning and don’t want to wash my hair because it still smells so good.  I will cry when the sample runs out because it’s $22.  Why are Lush products ridic. expensive?

Helping

I feel like I’m still picking up a lot of slack for everyone.  It’s especially frustrating at work.  We’re now being graded on our job, which is nice to have solid numbers showing performance of everyone, but so much of what I do is dependent upon others.

For example: If I call someone for a scheduled appointment, I can only hope they remember we were talking.  Half the time, someone else tells me, “Oh, Susan isn’t available today. Try again later.”  That now is a strike against me.  I can’t control what someone else does, so I’m a little worried about how this will pan out.

Forgetting

The prompts for this week.  I know the last time this prompt came up, I said it too.  But srsly.  My brain has so much in it, five random words just do not stick.

I’m also forgetting to return emails until it’s like, 10pm and I’m in bed running through a list of everything I wanted to do for the day and making sure it matched up with what I got done.  Does anyone have inbox management tips?

Switching

I’ve made a weird switch when it comes to nail polish.  I always used to wear polish on my nails.  It helped that I worked at a spa and when it was quiet, I would just paint my nails.  I had a lot of downtime back then.  Now, it doesn’t happen near as often.  I don’t get home until later and I hate painting my nails at night because you get those awful sheet marks.  Sometimes that happens even if I paint my nails in the morning and 12+ hours go by.  So many girl problems.

Relying

On adrenaline to carry me through this marathon.  I prepared as best I could, given what was happening this winter/spring.  With the goal of “Sell this house in a month!” and Mother Nature raining down her cold, frosty disapproval over us, it didn’t leave much time to run outside.

I do feel eerily calm about it all, though, so I’m assuming that’s a good sign.

What have you been up to lately?

Blogging Commandments

Today’s prompt for the Blogger, May I challange is Five Favorites.  I haven’t written about blogging in a while, and this post by Marissa at Ampersand Creative got me thinking about what my blogging commandments are.

I really don’t have many hard and fast rules when I’m blogging, but I do have some guidelines.  Think of them as the Pirate’s Code.  Here are my top five favorite blogging commandments.

I really don't have many hard and fast rules when I'm blogging, but I do have some guidelines. Here are my top five favorite blogging commandments. #BloggerMayI #blogging #guidelines

It doesn’t have to be “perfect”

Life isn’t perfect, it isn’t always pinnable and neither is my blog.  I want my blog to be an extension of me, and of course I want it to look good, but getting caught up in making everything perfect is a sure-fire way never to start.

Don’t wait for the “perfect” [fill in the blank] to start a blog, publish a post, change your niche.  That moment will never come, I assure you.

Engage with your readers

So I know a blog is usually mostly sometimes can be very narcissistic.  I know there businesses who blog and serious business bloggers (I guess see also: find your niche).  But most blogs are more like Every vapid, insipid thought that passed through Annabelle’s brain (name that movie, folks).

So, if you want people to get anything out of what you’re saying, offer something they can connect with.  Sure, share your story, but also ask about theirs.  Why bother even publishing something if you don’t want to inspire or engage with other people?

Honor your tribe

Along with engaging your readers comes responding to their comments.  If someone is nice enough to comment on something you’ve written, you best believe you can type out a reply to them.  A very dear bloggy friend’s comments don’t let her respond to me (hey Laura), so she’ll periodically email me.

Do what you can to show your community that you appreciate them.

Be the blogging friend you want to have

Ooh, look, another blogging commandment that goes off of the previous one.  Make your readers and your community feel special – honor that connection.  That means sharing what others are writing in addition to promoting yourself.  Again, no one wants to read something that is entirely self-centered and egotistical.

Give kudos where you can, comment on other blogs, link to another blogger’s post when you find it inspiring, pin their stuff (Jaelan does this every Friday for her tribe!) – whatever you can to spread the love.

Keep learning

Never stop learning and growing.  There are always new things to learn, from new social media practices to writing techniques to design elements.  I really want to evolve my blog as I do, so I have to keep moving.  I fully believe that you’re never really quite “finished.”  There is always something new to see, do, be, hear, smell, try.

So those are my guidelines when blogging.  I want to make them all pretty and printable and hang them by my desk.  And keep adding to them.

What are your blogging commandments?

Five goals for May

Ah, a fresh new day and a fresh new month.  So many possibilities.  So many goals just waiting to be made…and completely forgotten halfway through the month til eventually you decide…better just wait until another fresh start new month comes along.

Just me?

Anyway, today is the first day of Blogger, May I with Katy and Meghan.  In case you missed it yesterday, we’re blogging every day this month and we hope you’ll join with us.  And not get sick of hearing from us every.damn.day.

Today is Introduce Yourself.  Since last week, I pretty much just wrote about myself all week and I don’t want to subject you to that too much, I’m going to introduce you to myself through my five goals this month.

(And in case you’re wondering – I’m Angelica, I write, manage social media marketing, love craft beer, can’t live without chocolate, bake when I’m upset, am an accidental gardener, and can quote the entire SATC series.  Many accomplishments, for sure.)

Five goals for May #BloggerMayI

Write a blog post every day

Didn’t see this coming, did ya?  I’ve done this before a long time ago and they weren’t the best quality things around.  I hope I can hit quality and quantity this time around.  I’m so thrilled Katy asked me to join in the fun and help her lead the charge.  And I can’t wait to dig in and really get going with this challenge.

Complete the Pittsburgh Half Marathon

I may be am cheating here.  I know I’m going to complete the marathon.  But people write things on their to-do lists that are already to-done just so they can cross something off, so I can do that here, right?

(Take a look at a few things I’ve written recently with some running tips!)

Get my garden in

I knew I wouldn’t really start to work in the yard until after the marathon, but I can’t put it off any longer.  There probably won’t be many more frosts in Pittsburgh; I’m thinking mid-May will be the good time to get everything in the ground.

I’ll definitely be planting the staples – tomatoes, peppers, green beans, zucchini, peas, eggplant, herbs – but I also want to add some marigolds in to keep critters out.  I never have, but I’m interested in seeing if it’ll do anything to alleviate the groundhog/bunny problem.

Put my office together

I have things thrown in my office because I quite literally have no where to put them.  I don’t have any office furniture in that room, so the supplies I’ve moved into my house are just sitting there.  It’s driving me nuts!  I have to get it off the floor and put away somewhere and have a functional space for my computer, sewing machine, scrapbook supplies, Post-Its, etc.

Stay on top of emails, invoicing, scheduling social updates

Pretty much just the little flotsam and jetsam that accumulates in life.  When things get busy, the first things to go to the wayside are posting on Twitter, replying to emails, cutting coupons.  Doing dishes.  At least I don’t have a problem remembering to grocery shop and eat!

Introduce yourself and link up!  What are your goals for the month?

Blogger, May I?

When I received an email titled, “Bloggy Idea – I might be crazy” in my inbox yesterday, there was no way I couldn’t open it right away.  Blog ideas that are so insane they might just work?  Sign. Me. Up.

The proposal: blog all day e’ry day for the month of May.  Okay, not all day, but the every day part is true.  I tried to do this way wayyyy back and the results are something I should probably delete because I had no plan and you know how much not having a plan drives me nuts.

Well, Katy is such a rockstar that she has a plan.  She, Meghan, and myself will be using the prompts below to write one thing every day for the month of May.  We’re calling it Blogger, May I? and I love it.

The prompts are broad enough that anyone and everyone can join the fun.  Or you can just use your own – ain’t nobody got time for rules here.

You don’t have to write every day if you aren’t inspired to.  Maybe there’s just a few things here that tickle your fancy – that’s cool, too!  Either way, link up with us when you post and use the hashtag #BloggerMayI on your social pages so we can see that people actually are into this follow the fun!

#BloggerMayI daily blogging challenge with Angelica, Meghan, and Katy

#BloggerMayI

May 1: Introduce Yourself
May 2: Five Favorites
May 3: SUNDAY LATELY (Dwelling, Helping, Forgetting, Switching, Relying)
May 4: Never Have I Ever…
May 5: The Story Behind Your Blog Name.
May 6: Share a Recipe.
May 7: Where do you call “HOME”?
May 8: A Story Without Words.
May 9: Most Important Female Figure in Your Life.
May 10: SUNDAY LATELY (Updating, Reminding, Needing, Wearing, Being)
May 11: What Are You Learning?
May 12: Favorite Blogging Tools.
May 13: This Time Last Year…
May 14: A Big Dream/Goal.
May 15: Who/What Inspires You?
May 16: Tips on How to be a Tourist in Your City.
May 17: SUNDAY LATELY (Completing, Visiting, Repeating, Applauding, Scheduling)
May 18: Current Struggles.
May 19: How Do You Define Beauty?
May 20: Show Off Something You’ve Created.
May 21: Blogs You Love.
May 22: Describe Your Style.
May 23: Makeup Must-Haves.
May 24: SUNDAY LATELY (Planning, Loving, Reading, Wishing, Feeling)
May 25: Favorite Quote.
May 26: Summer Plans.
May 27: Treat Yo Self!  What would it be?
May 28: #Get #Hashtag #Happy
May 29: List of Ten Things.
May 30: If I Had a Super Power…
May 31: SUNDAY LATELY Doing, Appreciating, Designing, Humming, Expecting)

Grab a button and insert it into your posts or sidebar (and if you forget the prompt for the day, it’ll link back to this post!)

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