Gardening in High Heels

cultivate a beautiful life

The day in which I didn’t write anything

Guys, I’mma just break it down and get real with you today.  I didn’t write anything.  I didn’t prepare anything.  I knew I should have, but I didn’t.  Instead of writing something after work yesterday, I hopped on a Google Hangout with Devan of Devan Danielle and we chatted about business, needing focus (me), travel as it relates to design (her), and where we want to go with our businesses (us).

She told me about an upcoming post that she’s doing, Why you need more than a logo. You need a brand.  It should be out soon this week, so keep an eye on her blog for that.  Because it sounds like an amazing post and just what you need if you’re craving a little direction.

This is a short, sweet post and totally replaces what I had planned to write today.  But, you can’t say I didn’t post every day in June because I totally just did.  Search rankings be damned.

Be a Better Blogger is a weekly link up dedicated to helping you be a more intentional blogger. Want to be a better blogger but don’t know where to start? Head over to the Be a Better Blogger page for daily prompts and a weekly linkup to help get the creative juices flowing! Oh, and use #beabetterblogger on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook to keep the fun going even after you hit Publish!

The week in which I didn’t go shopping

This week for Project:Food Budget is kind of an anomaly: I didn’t go grocery shopping.  I did set foot in Giant Eagle, but just to buy a Father’s Day card and I thought about picking up a Rogue X Voodoo Donuts collab beer, but I talked myself out of that.

Sticking to a food budget is hard, but I love the accountability with Project:Food Budget

I’m sure you want to know how in the wide world I didn’t spend any money at the store all week.

Well I still had things from last week and I didn’t want them to go bad if I purchased new items.  So I was trying to finish off that.  Also, my father moved back into his house (all independent – I’m so proud) and I stayed with him for a few days to make sure everything was okay.

So this is a rather underwhelming post.

I guess we should include that I did go to lunch at Chipotle when I really didn’t need to, so let’s add that bill to the total.  $9.08 for a burrito bowl and chips that I ate for lunch and dinner on Friday.

That’s about all she wrote, so I’m not going to drag it out.  I’m proud that instead of wasting items, I used up what I could when I could and I’ll be stocking fresh today or tomorrow.

Go ahead and do yourself a favor and read what these budgeting badasses who actually went out and bought stuff. Emily Levenson / McGinnis and Bean / Red Pen Mama / Seeking White Space / facepalmmama / Gardening in High Heels / Melissa Firman / Copy & Post / Rachel Olive Miller / Shea Lennon

What’s on your menu? I could use some meal inspiration!

Be a Better Blogger is a weekly link up dedicated to helping you be a more intentional blogger. Want to be a better blogger but don’t know where to start? Head over to the Be a Better Blogger page for daily prompts and a weekly linkup to help get the creative juices flowing! Oh, and use #beabetterblogger on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook to keep the fun going even after you hit Publish!

Summer-izing makeup

It is officially summer.  That means it’s time to summer-ize the ol’ makeup routine.  Usually I wait until it’s too late and I’ve already broken out more times than I can count from not lightening up for summer, but not this year!  I’m only mildly in troubled skin water.  I think it’s due to my massive love of face masks and Rodan + Fields products when I need to perk up my complexion.

Anyway.

I fully believe summer is the time to go lighter.

I’m looking forward to wearing very little makeup except for lashes and lips.  Let’s face it, those are the only products that don’t entirely melt off my face in humidity despite priming underneath like I’m painting over a dark wall with a light color.

No matter what I end up putting on my face for the day, it all starts with SPF.  I have a few different day moisturizers depending on what I feel like, but I always put on something with SPF.

Summer makeup must-haves that hold up to the heat and humidity.

Now that the SPF PSA is over, some other things that I always have in my arsenal in the summer includes:

Primer for eyes + face

Even if I’m just putting on concealer, I always put some primer on my face and around my eyes.  Gotta give everything a fighting chance to stick around, right?  Right now I’m using samples of Smashbox face primer and Lorac Behind the Scenes eye primer.

Waterproof eyeliner and mascara

Let’s be real, most days I wonder why I even bother with eye shadow because within about an hour of being out of the house, it’s breaking down already.  Typically I’ll do a wash of a gold or copper and focus on eyeliner and mascara.  Use liquid or gel liner because it has the most staying power.

Sometimes I’ll try to be fancy and put on a colored liner for some fun, but when I have to get out the door, it’s a quick cat-eye look.

Eyeliner and mascara you need this summer.

Mary Kay Liquid Eyeliner for a dark black line.  NYC New York Color Big Bold & Precice Eyeliner.  I know they say it’s bold, but I don’t think it’s as intense as some other black liquid liners.

And for lashes, it has to be Covergirl Clump Crusher, especially on the lower lashes.  I used to get smudges under my eyes with anything I put on, but this is the cat’s pajamas.  NYC Big Bold Angel Lashes Mascara has been a nice surprise.  It very rarely will it transfer.

Bright, statement-making lipstick

Classic glamour in a red or orange-y red.  Fun with a bright pink punch.  Daring with an orange.  I’m not afraid of color on my lips.  I welcome it.

Bright lipsticks that are perfect for summer.

Almay Smart Shade Butter Kiss in Pink Medium, Laqa & Co Lil’ Lip in Ring of Fire, MAC lipstick in Sail La Vie (LE, I’ve heard Revlon Vibrant Mandarin and Wet n Wild Purty Persimmon are close).

Light-coverage powder

I haaaate feeling like I have a ton of dirt on my face in the summer.  Let’s face it, with the humidity and the sweat and the wind whipping up things…there’s a lot of dirt stuck to our faces.  Enter: light coverage powder.  Anything that will blur imperfections but not add the feeling of “stuff” on my skin is just the ticket.

Lightweight summer face products that every girl needs to have.

I love MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural (I’m Light Plus when not super-duper tan which I haven’t been since..college?)  I’m also experimenting with Laura Geller Balance n Brighten.

Light reflecting powder

I know, I said I wasn’t putting a lot on my face, but light reflecting powder or some other highlighter is necessary to brighten under the eyes and add a little lightness to the face.

Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder is what I’ve been using for years (almost daily) and I still am not done with the pot that I have.  One of the best beauty investments.  I also light Hourglass Ambient Lighting powders.  I have the palette that came out and it adds a little extra glow.

Blotting sheets

You know that 2pm skin feeling?  The one where you’re like…ugh I am a shiny hot mess and I just want to wash my face?  That’s why I keep some blotting sheets around.  Coffee filters work in a pinch.  So do napkins.  Just anything to get that shine and oil off of my face (and out of harm’s way of developing breakouts).

I’ve always carried Mary Kay Beauty Blotters with me and I instantly feel more presentable when I use them.

Summer makeup must-haves that hold up to the heat and humidity.

What is in your summer beauty arsenal?

Be a Better Blogger is a weekly link up dedicated to helping you be a more intentional blogger. Want to be a better blogger but don’t know where to start? Head over to the Be a Better Blogger page for daily prompts and a weekly linkup to help get the creative juices flowing! Oh, and use #beabetterblogger on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook to keep the fun going even after you hit Publish!

Sunday Lately, 25

I don’t know what the weather is like in your little neck of the woods, but in Pittsburgh, it is rain.  Constant rain.  That’s the only thing on the menu.  Sometimes we get a fun side order of  oppressive humidity to go along with it.  So that’s been fun.

Have you entered the $300 Delta Airlines giveaway? Go do that now!

Jackmanii Clematis

Completing

I’m working towards completing Molly Mahar’s The Joy Equation and Propelle’s Summer Camp assignments for the week.  It isn’t going to be too bad.  I hope.  I’m just not in the mood for writing and reflection.  After I get home from a day at work, I just want to be quiet and not really think too much.  I’m the kind of person who needs to sit and be alone after a large output of time spent with people.

Propelle Summer Camp is underway and it's just what you need for a summery business breakthrough.

Visiting

I don’t know if I’m doing much visiting.  On Tuesday, I got together with Marissa from Ampersand Creative, so I’d call that a visit.  It was great to catch up and hopefully next time we can talk a little bit more about blog things.

Repeating

I feel like I’m repeating myself a lot lately.  I’m sure I’ve said this before and probably will say it again, but it seems like there’s a pocket of people I deal with at work who don’t listen, so I repeat myself over and over and over.  I like routine, but repetition is just not a fun time.

Applauding

The cast of Mary Poppins yesterday.  I haven’t seen the musical before, by Jonathan’s mother loves it and sees it when it comes through Pittsburgh.  I was lucky enough to get to join them and I loved it.  Mary Poppins requires suspension of disbelief, naturally, but I love how easily it was to get sucked into the show.  It was very well done – the costumes, music, cast..all of it was great.  See it if you ever get the chance!

Scheduling

I need to schedule in summer plans with Jonathan.  We have a bucket list of what we want to do, and we both know we won’t do it unless we have set plans, so I really need to jump on that bandwagon.

Also, I’m already dreaming of next year’s planner.  Get To Work Book looks amazing and I want one right now, but I don’t want to go middle of the year to middle of the year; I’d like one calendar year in one book.  She’ll be doing that, but not just yet.  Patience is not my strong suit.

Climbing Jackmanii Clematis

What have you been doing lately?  Link up with Meghan, Katy, and Nicole and share!

Be a Better Blogger is a weekly link up dedicated to helping you be a more intentional blogger. Want to be a better blogger but don’t know where to start? Head over to the Be a Better Blogger page for daily prompts and a weekly linkup to help get the creative juices flowing! Oh, and use #beabetterblogger on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook to keep the fun going even after you hit Publish!

Wax…off?

If you don’t like embarrassing personal stories, this post is not for you.  If you don’t like talking/hearing about sensitive subjects, this post is not for you.  If you enjoy laughing at with other people, read on!

But first, don’t forget to enter this ah-mazing giveaway!

I will never go back to  European Wax Center.  Never.  Why?

I went in to get a sensitive area waxed.  Now, I used to work at a spa.  I’ve had hair ripped from all kinds of areas.  I know what I was getting myself into, pain-wise.  That isn’t a problem for me.

But you have to be completely comfortable with the person ripping this hair from you body with molten wax.  I am sorry to say, I wasn’t.  That should have been my first clue.

What can happen when a bad wax goes really bad. Watch out for European Wax Center, and above all, be comfortable.

There I was, laying on a table.  Just hoping the person who’s only been on the job for six months knew what she was doing.  Right off the bat, I was a little more nervous than usual.

I also wasn’t sure if the hair was long enough to be successfully eradicated.  I know if the hair is too long or too short, you’re SOL.  Kinda like Goldilocks.  It has to be juuuust right.

I’ll own it here that I didn’t ask if it was a good length.  But it isn’t my job to assess the situation.  I’m not the pro here!

Step one: make sure the person you’re waxing actually has enough to wax off.

A few strips came off, with a lot more trouble than normal.

“When was the last time you waxed?”  She asked me.  It’s been a while.  I don’t believe in paying money for something I can do myself, like Dwight Schrute says about tipping.  “Well, that can really affect how easily it comes off.”

Hm…  Okay, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt here, but I’ve never heard that one before.

A few more wax strips were laid down and unsuccessfully yanked off.  I was getting sweaty. I was trying not to twitch when she came near me to pull off another strip.  I was almost in tears.

People, I don’t cry in public and I have an unusually high pain tolerance.  I was visibly uncomfortable by anyone’s standards.

And she didn’t stop to ask if I was okay, she wasn’t communicating throughout the service to make sure everything was still kosher, nothing.

Step two: make sure the person who’s being waxed is, oh what’s the word, comfortable.

So I made her stop.  I just couldn’t fathom going any further.  It was painful, it was unpleasant, and the result was unsatisfying.

My waxer walked me up to the front desk and I was trying to make a joke so it wasn’t painfully awkward.  My pain tolerance was maxed out.

She didn’t say anything, so as the receptionist was getting ready to charge me and close my ticket, I mentioned casually to her, “Yeah, the hair was a little too short so she couldn’t really do much.”

“Oh, so you didn’t get the full service?”

I explained that I didn’t, I had to stop, and she went to confer with my waxer about how much to charge.

She came back and explained, “We’ll only charge you for a bikini, it’s going to be a much better deal!”

I wanted to laugh in her face and not pay at all.  I’m sorry, basically only two strips were removed with any success.  I had less than a bikini wax.  And what about the poor customer service?

Sadly, I’m the kind of person who knows exactly what to say after the moment.  I paid my “bargain” bikini rate plus a tip (I shouldn’t have given her anything, but I know what it’s like to work for tips..) and left.  Inflamed and enraged.

That’s my experience with European Wax Center.  I have had successful waxes so I know what this should have been like.  The experience I was given was just terrible.

Ladies, a wax can be done successfully and mostly comfortably.  I’ve had three experience at EWC and only one of them was anything positive.  And that was only because the waxer had been doing this for years.

Pro tips:

  • Speak up
  • Be an advocate for your safety
  • Find someone experienced
  • Be reallllly wary of EWC

Have you ever had a bad experience at a salon? What did you do?

Be a Better Blogger is a weekly link up dedicated to helping you be a more intentional blogger. Want to be a better blogger but don’t know where to start? Head over to the Be a Better Blogger page for daily prompts and a weekly linkup to help get the creative juices flowing! Oh, and use #beabetterblogger on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook to keep the fun going even after you hit Publish!

Let’s Play

           

People Really Dug These

We Belong in the Garden Together