Search Results for: best of the best

Odds and Ends (+ House Update)

by whoorl

ps

1. Let’s talk about the house, guys. I realize I kind of left you all hanging with all the updates and then….nothing. Well, we’ve been working hard to finish the space, and we are getting really close. (Although, come on, you are never really “finished,” but that’s the fun and/or frustration of it all.) D and I made a quick trip to Palm Springs for Modernist Week earlier in the month to find some treasures, and we found some really fun additions, namely that brass globe above that will soon be hanging in our living room. I am so in love. (Also, we found our dream house in the desert that is in the above collage as well. One day…)

Also, you may have heard on the Facebook page, but after 2 1/2 months of hanging ginormous pieces of brown craft paper with blue tape over every window in our bedrooms, our window coverings arrived and were installed on Tuesday. People, you haven’t lived until a 5×5 foot of heavy craft paper crashes to the floor at 3 in the morning…heart attack city. No more brown craft paper EVEEERRRRR! (That was in my best Mommy Dearest voice.)

So! In regards to the house, we are waiting on the rest of our lighting fixtures to be installed, as well as a few more pieces of furniture to arrive, but fingers crossed, we will be finished with all the big stuff by the end of this month. I can’t wait to show you the before and after photos in April, and thank you for being so patient!

2. Oh! Fun challenge alert. Have you seen the #lippyaday lipstick challenge on Instagram by Norlin M? I’m totally going to try it – won’t you join me? That’s a lot of lipstick, folks.

3. Newsflash: I have a mom uniform. It involves a striped top, rolled up skinny/boyfriend jeans, ballet flats, a denim or cargo jacket, and a top knot. D and I were laughing at his Instagram feed because every photo of me looks the same. Like this one. And this one. Oh, and I really broke the mold with my hair down one day. (And those of you wondering how I wear my Isabel Marant boots, there you go.) Soooooo….do you have a mom uniform? What is it?

4. Considering going blonde? (Like I did in my twenties? BAD IDEA. Not that I’m saying it’s a bad idea for you, but horrible for me.) Anyway, here are some thoughts to keep in mind. Also, lots of perfectly straight side parts were on the Fall 2013 runways – here’s how to create a good one.

5. Okay, Kristen and I are bummed that our Dishing on Downton videos are on hiatus, but at least we still have our Mama Said ones to keep us warm at night. Some of our most recent ones are TV obsessions (yes, we have more!), lies we tell our children (we don’t get that channel, they don’t make gum in California), and how our introversion affects us when making (or not making) new mom friends.

Happy weekend, everyone! It’s really warming up around here, and we are going to take advantage of the gorgeous weather. A trip to the beach, perhaps?

Some Hair and Beauty Fodder…

by whoorl

demure smoky eye

1. I’m always trying to figure out how to create a smoky eye that is more subtle/demure, less vampire/whorehouse. Love the above look, and all the products used are listed in this Glamour article. (And speaking of vampires, that actress is dating Peter Facinelli, aka Carlisle Cullen, who used to be married to Kelly from 90210, but they divorced. You know, um, just in case you were wondering…)

2. I did an easy, natural makeup tutorial at Beauty and the Beat this week with Jane Cosmetics. Bonus – my friends at Jane are giving away $100 in cosmetics to a commenter. (Not a random assortment, either. Like, you get to pick $100 worth of cosmetics from them.) I’m not really sure what deters people from entering/commenting over at Babble, but there are only 7 entries right now, so you’ve got a damn good chance of winning! You can enter here…their spring line is impressive!

3. Also, I posted the 16 top beauty sellers at Sephora – I’m such a sucker for lists like these. (I have 7 out of the 16…including you know what. What’s your tally?)

4. Apparently, two of the big hair trends this year are cool tones and pastels. I tried them out on my hair for this post. (Never fear…it was Photoshop, not the real thing. Which is a good thing because yuuuuuck.)

5. I spent way too much time trying to make my hair look like a diva one morning. I was hoping for Chaka Khan, but ended up a hot mess. It was still pretty voluminous, though! What are your favorite products for volume? Mousse? Hairspray? An electrical socket?

photo credit: Glamour

On My Bookshelf

by whoorl

books to read in 2013

I have a confession to make, and it’s quite a source of embarrassment for me. (Trust me, I would rather admit to something to effect of shoplifting or picking and ingesting one’s boogers than what I’m about to tell you.)

Breathe, Sarah.

I only read 5 books last year, and three of them were the Fifty Shades trilogy.

O.

M.

G.

5 books. 5 MEASLY BOOKS IN 365 DAYS. WHAT A DIPSHIT.

I’m mortified.

Listen, I’m not calling YOU a dipshit if you didn’t read many books last year. D does not enjoy reading at all, and probably hasn’t read one book since college, yet, not a dipshit. I get it – it’s just not his thing, but me? I LOVE to read. I live to read. I have been a voracious reader my entire life. I started reading at three years old. I can speed read with ease. There is nothing in this world that excites and/or terrifies me more than becoming completely engrossed in a novel. Do you get me? I AM READER, HEAR ME ROAR.

So what happened? Random Internet Surfing happened, that’s what. (R.I.S. is a disease and must be taken seriously. See your doctor.) If I would have opened a book instead of opening my laptop during my free time, my book count would have been drastically different.

Let’s summarize. I only read 5 books last year, and three of them were poorly-written mommy porn. (The other two were Gone Girl and Mockingjay, if you were wondering.) My unnecessary internet surfing is to blame. This kind of pathetic behavior must not be repeated. Ever again. You know where this is leading, don’t you?

BOOK LIST!

Here are some books I want to read this year.

1. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking – Susan Cain

2. The Blind Assassin – Margaret Atwood

3. Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen (I have never read this. I KNOW.)

4. The Passage – Justin Cronin (Books like this freak me out…will I want to build an underground shelter and never come out?)

5. Dark Places – Gillian Flynn

6. The Happiness Project – Gretchen Rubin

7. Columbine – Dave Cullen

8. The Paris Wife – Paula McLain

9. The Dream: A Memoir – Harry Bernstein

10. Cutting for Stone – Abraham Verghese

11. The Light Between Oceans – M.L. Stedman

12. The Invisible Bridge – Julie Orringer

What else? What should I add to the list? What’s the best book you read last year? What are you reading right now? Do tell.  (p.s. – I also have a Good Reads account which I opened in 2007 and just visited yesterday for the first time in several years. Let’s connect over there.)

This post contains affiliate links, which means if you click a link to purchase a book, I will receive something like 25 cents and, if lucky, be able to buy some froyo, which will keep me happy while writing posts. Thank you for your support of this website!

The Mouthy Twos

by whoorl

One of the best parts of blogging for the past eight (OMG EIGHT) years is accessing my archives for a little walk down memory lane. And truly, thank god for my archives because my memory ain’t so great, y’all. Truth, I’ve forgotten actual chapters of my life from my college days and my twenties…can’t remember names, can’t remember places, can’t remember faces. (And no, I didn’t partake in los druggos…)

Short term memory? Stellar. (Seriously, quiz me!) Long term memory? Piss poor.

Archive surfing has been very eye-opening in regards to my kids, especially when delving into certain “developmental” periods. “Was Wito like this? He could not have been like this, right?” These are questions I’ve been asking myself a lot lately, so I figured it was time to do some research.

Turns out, the same time period for Wito included a bit of this.

tt2

And a little bit of this.

tt3

The thing about Wito, though, is that he has never been sassy. Dramatic? Yes. Possessed with the ability to feel things VERY deeply? Um, yeah. (Fantastic example here.) Sassy? Not so much.

Wita, on the other hand, is a little sassafras. She’s got that cool demeanor, doesn’t show her cards to many, and possesses a bit of a smart mouth. Now, this shouldn’t be surprising…I mean, she’s the second born AND a girl. What should I expect? Lately, though. LATELY. She’s killing me with her little quips.

Well, here. Just take a look at a little snippet of yesterday.

Do you have one of these? It’s a good thing she’s cute.

Ankle Boots Galore

by whoorl

abg

I pretty much left you hanging after posting about the Great Ankle Boot Search of 2012. Sorry ’bout that.

Turns out – I DID find the perfect boots. When in New York last month, I just happened to stroll by Isabel Marant’s boutique in Soho. (Meaning I googled her store, mapped out the best walking directions from the hotel, and carved out a portion of one evening to make it over there. All before I even left California, ahem.) I walked into the boutique, requested my size in the Jenny boot, and was told they were sold out. This didn’t surprise me because the boot was impossible to find in that particular color and size (see previous post), so I accepted defeat. The associate sauntered into the back to grab a black pair for me to try on for size, and when she returned she was holding the taupe suede ones. She had found one last pair of the boots. “IT’S A SIGN! IT’S A SIIIIIIIGN!,” I yelled. (In my head, at least.)

And that was that. I bought ’em, and I love ’em. Yes, they were well above the price I wanted to spend, but I pooled together my holiday cash and pulled the trigger. And let’s just talk about ROI for a second. I’ve worn these boots almost every day since. With skinny jeans, rolled up boyfriend jeans, J. Crew Minnie pants, long accordion pleat skirts, you name it. And I love them. I LOVE THEM, WORLD!

Anyway, Jenny boots by Isabel Marant. Best boots ever.

Above are all the boots I tried in an attempt to find the perfect ones.

From the top middle, clockwise:

Sam Edelman Petty

DV Juju Boot ON SALE

Madewell Biker Boot

Hudson Rosse Boot

J Crew Aggie Boot ON SALE

Jeffrey Campbell Youngers Boot

Madewell Barnwood Boot

If you have any questions about any of those boots, let me know. I’d be happy to give you my opinion, and a few are on sale right now.

Odds and Ends nO 16

by whoorl

57420963970918158_KL4S5Zmo_c

1. Now, THAT’S a beard. photo credit: Jimmy Niggles Pipe Series

2. I just barreled through Season 1 and 2 of Homeland over the past two weeks. Oh, wow. So so good, and I’m genuinely sad over the ending of the second season. Why did that happen? WHHHYYYYYYYY, I ASK OF YOU? Seriously, I’ve found myself sitting in the school pickup line this week thinking about that ending. (Obviously, emotional investment in television programs/movies/novels is my forte.) Season 3 doesn’t start until September. That is a very, very long time, people.

3. For those of you who have asked, yes, I am planning to post pics of the house renovation. We still have so much to do in regards to decorating the house, but I promise I’ll post each and every room in the upcoming months. (Once we finish the lighting, the kitchen will be the first post, methinks. So happy with the way things turned out!)

4. A few articles I wrote elsewhere, if you are interested. 5 Quick Hair Fixes to Keep in Your Clutch. | Stylish Designer Stationery. | The Best Shopping Apps. (Are you all using Stylebook? It rocks the casbah.)

5. Oh! The titillating conclusion to The Great Ankle Boot Search is coming next week. I know I know, you’re on the edge of your seats over there. Right. In the meantime, here are even more super cute boots at a full range of price points.

6. Anyone watching The Bachelor this season? I have the episodes recorded, but haven’t jumped in yet. (See #2.)

7. We are taking the kids to Legoland for the first time this weekend. Any tips? Rides/treats we shouldn’t miss?

Happy weekend to you and you and you.