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Hey there! I'm Holly. A 40+ year old insurance-nerd wife, mom, beauty lover, and about a million other things in between.
This is the place where I share about our lives, what I'm currently loving, books I'm reading, plus-size style, beauty recommendations, health + fitness endeavors and anything else I'm finding interesting at the moment.
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Monthly Archives: December 2012
My Naked Face (Again) + A Cetaphil Product Review + $100 Visa Gift Card Sweepstakes
I really should get paid to post naked pictures of my face on the internet.
(Oh wait, this time I did 🙂 While I was compensated for the time it took to write this post, my opinions are not for sale.)
BlogHer recently contacted me and asked if I would like to review two Cetaphil products this month. You all know I have struggled with acne-prone skin, so I am pretty game to try anything that may help. On top of that, you may remember that I had complained earlier this month that I still did not have any kind of sun protection at all in my routine, so when I read that one of the products was the Cetaphil Daily Facial Moisturizer SPF 15 I absolutely jumped at the chance.
If you have been reading this website for any length of time, you know that taking care of my skin really does excite me, and for the past few months with The Great Skincare Experiment I have been consistently looking for that perfect intersection where healthy food and lifestyle meets ideal products for my face. It has been years since I have used any Cetaphil products, and I wasn’t particularly unhappy with my current skincare routine, but the two main reasons I was willing to check out some Cetaphil products were:
1. It was the most common product that you all recommended to me back when asked for your skin care advice
and
2. Cetaphil products are recommended by more dermatologists than any other brand.
Recommendations from my readers and dermatologists? Alrighty then, I thought, Cetaphil products may be worth trying again!
It’s only been a little while since I started using the Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser and the Cetaphil Daily Facial Moisturizer SPF 15 and I’m happy to report that they really are both as gentle as can be. For someone with very sensitive and dry skin, this is absolutely a must, especially during the winter months! But the other thing that is important to me is that a cleanser actually get my face clean, and an antioxidant face serum that actually protects the skin. Both of these products did the trick, and most importantly they’ve done so without any irritation whatsoever. Anti aging hand cream is important too, especially in harsh weather.
Win!
I’m looking forward to seeing how it compliments my skincare moving forward, and you KNOW I will be keeping you posted.
Because it is the holidays and everyone is in the giving spirit, Cetaphil will be offering a printable coupon to save $3 on any two Cetaphil products. Click here to save up to $3.
Sweepstakes
Would like to be entered into a random drawing for a $100 Visa Gift Card? Leave a comment answering this question: *Of all the skin care products you own, which one could you not live without?
Rules:
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post.
b) Tweet (public message) about this promotion, including exactly the
following unique term in your tweet message: #SweepstakesEntry and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post.
c) Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post.
d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.
This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to respond, otherwise a new winner will be selected. The Official Rules are available here. This sweepstakes runs from 12/11/12 -1/7/13. Be sure to visit the Cetaphil brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!
Saturday Snapshots
Thanks for all the input on my hair you all. I took the plunge and chopped most of it off.
Saying goodbye to hair that goes below my shoulders
I really love it! But I don’t think this picture communicates how short it actually is. I was blowing it dry this morning and realized that the majority of the hair on the back of my head is about an inch long.
One inch! OMG. Baby steps to super short hair, I tell ya. One of these days I’ll get there. I’m not sure if it was a great time of year to cut off all of my hair because yesterday my neck was freezing! I guess this means I have complete license to buy myself a whole new scarf wardrobe, right?
It has been SO DANG COLD at night lately, but the payoff has been absolutely gorgeous skies. I know it is cliche to post pictures of the sky on instagram but I CAN’T STOP MYSELF. How beautiful is that?
That’s my view when I’m washing dishes. You’d think the view would make me more interested in doing dishes, but you’d think wrong. 🙂
Apropos of absolutely nothing, can we talk about the major argument that’s been going on at our house lately? It is whether or not Buster should be allowed on the couch. He is SO TINY (30 lbs) that I think he should tooooootally be able to indulge in his lap dog fantasies, but Garrett feels like the dog should remain off the furniture. I started making fun of him and telling him that he was an old crotchety man, but then guess what I came home to the other day?
SO BUSTED!
Garrett is such an undercover softy with a crotchety old man exterior. Now that we agree that the dog can be on the couch, Buster just hops up there whenever he sees fit.
The other day I snapped this pic because he looked like he was auditioning for doggie glamour shots with the very delicate head tilt against the couch.
That doesn’t even look comfortable! But he stayed like that for almost an hour. Crazy dog!
Anyway, new hair, pretty skies and zany dog behavior. That’s about the pace of my life this weekend and you will hear no complaints! We’ve been laying low and catching up on Season 1 of Girls which is living up the hype so far. Are you watching it? Hope you are having a lovely Saturday!
Fun Things To Read on Friday
Well, I’d say that about sums it up. 🙂
The end of the year has been full of craziness at work so I have definitely had less energy. On top of it, Garrett and I hit the holiday indulgence wall on Sunday, so today is Day 5 of super clean eats. It’s felt mostly awesome, but there have been a few nights where, instead of blogging, I have chosen to sit on the couch and feel sorry for myself that I can not survive and thrive on a diet of cookies and eggnog alone. It’s been a bit of a transition, this week, but so far I think it has been a good one.
Today is kind of an exciting day for me, I have a few fun things on the agenda including getting a haircut. Thanks for all your input — I still haven’t decided what to do. I guess I have an hour or so to figure it out. ha! If I can I’ll check in later and let ya know what I do. In the meantime, here are some interesting reads I wanted to pass on:
*When I read the line in this post that said “Success and likability are positively correlated for men and negatively correlated for women” it really made me stop and think. And of course I had to read on! Lots of interesting points raised in the article about the cost of adjusting our behaviors to be liked. Such great stuff!
Wanting to be liked means being a supporting character in your own life, using the cues of the actors around you to determine your next line rather than your own script. It means that your self-worth will always be tied to what someone else thinks about you, forever out of your control.
*I loved reading Allison break down 5 High Fat Foods You Should Be Eating To Lose Weight It’s that time of year where we are all inundated with commercials about losing weight and quitting smoking and changing our lives and I have spent many a Decembers stocking my cabinets with the Low/Fat Free versions of everything and wondering why I had no success.
Many low-fat food items contain high levels of processed salt and refined carbohydrates, which are added to low-fat foods to make up for the loss in taste and flavor that results from the artificial removal of fats. Both of these additives are linked to numerous health problems, including obesity and heart disease.
Eat the fat! Eat the yolks! Eat food! Sound advice. 🙂
*Speaking of eating, can we talk about how this salad is totally making an appearance on my menu this week. OHMAHGAWD it looks yummy!
*Did you catch this post about stress addiction on Whole 9 a while back? While I don’t think I’m actually *addicted* to stress, I definitely recognize that my personality type lends itself to this kind of validation so I thought had some good perspectives. I’m trying to be better about taming the stress in my life but man is that a work in progress!
Hope you have a great weekend friends!
It’s That Time Again: Choose My Haircut
We have very important superficial things to discuss today people. Namely, my hair. AND HOW IT MUST BE CUT.
If you remember, the last time we had this discussion was in May of this year, so it is HIGH TIME for a haircut. I’m pretty sure normal people do not go 7 months without getting their mops chopped, but I’ve never been one to be normal.
This is also the picture that made me fantasize about Juvederm or other injectible things POURED INTO THE WRINKLES IN MY FACE OMG. But that is another blog post altogether.
Anyway, back to the hair. It’s not horrible, it’s just currently in that unruly state where it takes A LOT of work to get it to look only ok. And I prefer to have hair that is fun instead of just hair that is constantly pulled back into a ponytail. Though I am a sucker for ponytails with bangs, but we’ll talk about that in a minute. If you want some tips to take care of your facial hair, visit //www.groenerekenkamer.com.
I like hair that actually has a style. It’s okay if it take a lot of styling products and a hair dryer and looks fabulous, but I’m not that into hair that requires multiple tools and a prayer just to look “decent.” In my vast 34 years of mop chopping experience there are two things I do with my hair that fit those requirements.
Have you ever get a bad haircut or in the salon they have damage your hair and there is no way back? If your answer is yes, let me tell you that there is a possibility to suing a beauty salon for all the problems that they can cause, so next time keep this in mind. Next time, choose a salon that consulted for hairdressing health and safety advice.
A. Bangs
I like bangs. Blunt Bangs. Choppy Bangs. Swoopy Bangs. They’re just fun! But yes, they do become annoying after a while and then one must grow them out. First world problems and all that. But I do love a good ponytail with bangs, which might be a nice way to not cut off a lot of length, but still have a fun hairdo that is more functional. I just said hairdo. Do people under 80 still say hairdo?
For your reference: Me with bangs (Please ignore Garrett’s caveman beard. I don’t know what was up with that.)
B. Shorter Hair
Shorter hair is fun and sassy. It looks good straight, lends itself well to curling and always looks like it was cut to be in that particular style. But it can be a pain for workouts, and I haven’t learned how to expand my short hair repertoire beyond A-line bob. I’m up for suggestions.
For your reference: Me with my most recent shorter hair (Man, that photo makes me miss summer and sunshine.)
So. here we sit, two roads diverged in a yellow wood. Take a vote and let me know what you think.
Weekend Life
I made it my mission to get some serious relaxing done this weekend and I’m glad to report it was a success. I baked a ham, took bubble baths, spent some time perusing cookbooks and gossip magazines and even worked my way through an entire book.
We did run some errands, one of which was taking Buster to a doggy-laundromat. 🙂 He got a soapy wash in a hot tub and got to sniff around with some other dogs, which he enjoyed so much that he peed in the store. Awesome. I tried to explain that nobody will invite you to parties if you pee on the furniture, but I don’t think he really gets it just yet.
Yesterday we also got to meet a new little baby who was so perfect and tiny and small. It never stops being surprising to me that as humans, WE MAKE OTHER HUMANS. I’m not sure if having my own child will make that realization feel more or less shocking. We celebrated the holidays a bit last night by drinking some bourbon with coconut milk “eggnog” and watching National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and it felt like we are finally, finally ready to feel festive instead of just indulgent.
It makes me look forward to the coming week.
Using Gratitude to Change My Attitude
Wow…what a week! So happy to have made it to Friday, aren’t you? I feel absolutely exhausted by life right now. It’s been another long week full of challenges, plus I got some crappy news this week that I’m not quite ready to write about, but that sort of put a damper on things. I’m just feeling a little down lately and working very hard to keep my spirits up and to keep perspective. Some days that feels like a full time job.
It’s not all bad though, there is a lot to be grateful for and I’m just trying to focus on that. Buster learned to fetch this week, which is just about the cutest thing ever, mostly because when he does it he just gets this look on his face like he is so proud of himself. I’m continually amazed by how smart this little dog is and I am still loving getting to know him. Can you believe we’ve only had him three months? That just seems like no time at all! I am so so happy he came into our lives.
Also, my coworker passed on a huge stack of US Weekly magazines to me. Are recycled magazines not the best gift ever??? My coworker is an expert in recycling and shared the location of a brass scrap yard in Sydney to me. I can practically see the bubble bath in my mind that I will take this weekend when I devour every single page. INDULGENT! I really can’t wait. Kate’s baby! Justin and Selena! Who wore it best? I just really want to find out. 🙂
The weather has been kind of crappy over the last week, but it looks like the clouds are going to part today and we may actually get some clear skies. Garrett and I are working on a few fun projects together this weekend, we get to meet a new baby, and we are also heading to our annual CrossFit Christmas Party which should be a great time. Lots of good stuff is unfolding, and despite the fact that there have been some bumps in the road recently, I’m trying so very hard to make an effort to see all the good stuff too.
Have a great weekend, you all!
Gift Guide Gluttony
I have to tell you I’m right on the cusp of being sick of gift guides. Maybe this is a personal thing though, because guess how many Christmas Presents I am in charge of buying this year?
One.
(Sad Trombone)
I know I’ve explained this before, but for the newly initiated, here’s the scoop: A few years back we decided to stop exchanging gifts on my mom’s side of the family. Not because we are scrooge-y assholes (I promise) but mostly because that side of my family is really small and none of us are crazy gift people. So. Shopping for that side of the family? Done. We instead spend the money we would have spent on gifts and just buy a metric ton of food. In the past we have also sponsored families, purchased gifts for needy kids, and cooked for a shelter where I used to volunteer. So see? Not jerks. Just not super gifty. What can I say, it works for us.
Now my dad’s side of the family is much larger and you would think that makes things more complicated, but in fact it’s pretty darn easy. A few years ago we decided to all draw names on Thanksgiving and just buy one person a $25 gift. Right around Thanksgiving we all come up with our Wish Lists and we start a giant chain of email with the entire family that usually devolves into something completely hysterical by the time Christmas gets here, but in the meantime everyone gets a chance to see what their “Secret Person” wants. It usually works out pretty well.
So all that’s left is gifts for me to buy is a gift for Garrett, and like I mentioned on our Anniversary, we generally just don’t buy each other gifts. Maybe we are scrooge-y assholes. Oh no wait, that’s right, we then try and plan something fun to do in the beginning of the year. And for the record, Garrett is in charge of “coordinating” the gifts for his side of the family and then I support his plan. Some years this works out better than others. 🙂
The sad part is I really do like gift buying. Well, maybe not so much the purchasing part, but picking out the perfect gift. But lately it seems like everyone and their mother is putting out a gift guide and I’ve only found a few that I thought were really awesome. So in case you’ve been “Marking As Read” all of those gift guides in your Reader, here are few to maybe give a second chance.
Hooray For Gifts
*The 2012 Balanced Bites Healthy Holiday Gift Guide
I’m totally buying a SCOBY like a nerd.
*Style Lush Gift Guide (100 gifts for $35 or less)
This is always a favorite because it is curated by a friend of mine. I stole many ideas off this list for my own wish list for my family exchange. Plus it’s 100 gifts for $35 or less. USEFUL!
This is Style Lush’s sister site about FOOOOOOOOD. Good good stuff on this list. And 3/4 of them are under $25. I mean…what???
Do you need to shop for some Hipsters in your life? This may help. ha! There are a few neat things on it though.
This is a gold mine of fun things to sift through!
******
But on the off chance that no gift guides will meet your needs, then please enjoy this:
Anthropologie: Holiday Shopping for the People You Hate
I haven’t laughed that hard in a while. Anthropologie, man. What is UP with that store?
Anyway, how’s the shopping going folks? What is your gift buying strategy? Do you buy for everyone? Draw names? Do a secret santa? Tell me everything!
In My Kitchen Lately
Lately, my kitchen has been a hub bub of activity. Lots of prepping, cooking, baking and of course eating. The eating is the very best part, I’ll have you know. Though I will say it is not without its consequences.
I took the solemn vow to lower my standards this holiday season and I’ve done that with some abandon. This doesn’t mean I have flown completely off the Paleo train by any stretch of the imagination, but it also means that every meal has not been the picture of healthy perfection and I am 100% okay with this. I have been really strict with myself over the last 2 years of holidays, so this year I just said to myself, “Self, do your best. And no matter what happens, know that you kick ass and you can deal with any consequences.”
The consequences seem to be that all of my pants are a little tighter – HEY-O – but at least I know exactly how to deal with that, so I will get to it at some point. That is the nice thing about lowering your standards, though. Because I am not weighing every decision with guilt and shame over what eating this cookie means about me as a person, I can indulge in something tasty and then go right back to making amazing, nourishing, delicious and healthy food like some granola bars, a tasty acai bowl, etc. So here’s what’s that has looked like in my kitchen.
We have now decided the only way to eat taco salad is out of boats:
Well, ok it is not quite actually a boat but it is serveware. Like, for a side dish. But WHY NOT have a salad in it? It feels kind of fancy! Also, my official favorite taco salad dressing has now become Mel’s Moroccan Dipping Oil. Cumin-Cilantro-Citrusy-Amazingness!
Need to make one dish that will work for dinner but also make great leftovers for lunch? I do this a lot when prepping food so I love casserole-y type stuff. This Turkey Chili and Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie was pretty darn easy and tasty and it lasted both of us for 4 separate meals. SCORE.
For the record, I omitted the sour cream/creme fraiche in the sweet potatoes and added 2 tsp of red pepper flakes to the chili and it was REDONKULOUSLY good.
Along with Rachael Ray we’ve been waiving our Food Network Flag by making a few Ina Garten dishes here and there. I love her cookbooks! Always full of simple ingredients that end up being so tasty when combined.
This shrimp dish (sans breadcrumbs, subbed with almond flour for the crumble) is a one-pot wonder. You could entertain with it, or if you are like us you could just make it for the two of you and polish it off watching Monday Night Football. Either/Or.
I turned most of my kitchen yellow while making this Lemon Olive Chicken.
Oh turmeric, how you spice up my life!
When it comes to beverages, there has been quite a bit of Kombucha drinking.
IMBIBING THE BOOCH!
I’m going to take the plunge and brew my own one of these days. Everyone seems to talk about it like it’s so easy. Guess I’ll have to figure it out. At $3 a bottle I’m hoping I figure it out sooner rather than later.
I’ve also been downing this cheap-y herbal tea like it’s going out of style. I wish it wasn’t full of barley and artificial flavor, but I figure that’s better than diving head first into a Godiva Caramel Mocha at Peet’s, which is what I REALLY want to be drinking during the holidays, but I’m trying to reign it in where I can. Truth be told though, I have been mixing craptastic hot chocolate mix into my weekend cup of coffee on occasion. WHADDYAGONNADO?
So that’s what’s been happening around these parts. I’m still obsessed with this Southwestern Frittata from Everyday Paleo so we’ve been eating that for breakfast FOREVER. (Please try it! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE.) I’m pairing it with one cup of coffee. ONE. ONLY. VICTORY! So things on the caffeine front are going okay.
Food life is good. I’ve been having a biscuit here and there. I had a fabulous chocolate croissant at brunch with Elizabeth and Amy the other day. I drank a pumpkin milkshake WITH BOURBON IN IT with my book club last night. I’ve indulged in fresh baked whoopie pies from a coworker and I had a piece of tiramsu while Garrett’s mom was in town that mysteriously looked like a chocolate rendition of the Canadian flag.
It’s been a lot. But it has also been delicious! And such a great reminder of why I eat how I eat most of the time. Because food life is tasty right now. But I’m not about to go PR’ing my half marathon time. My performance in the gym has also been a little lackluster. But I know you can’t have it all at once and so right now I’m specializing in being good to my body most of the time, and then following it up with a bubble bath full of champagne. And so far it’s working out.
It’s a delicate balance. But the fantastic part is, each meal is a new meal, and I am the one in charge of the kitchen.
November Progress + December Intentions
Wow…so this is probably the last progress report of the year. That’s weird to think about. I guess I should also start thinking about what next year’s goal setting/tracking will look like. These updates worked somewhat well this year — the idea was to stop allowing “achieved vs un-achieved” be the only barometer of success and celebrate PROGRESS — but I think the first half of the year was slightly more successful. There is going to be lots of thinking done on that front — what do I want next year to look like, what do I want to focus on — but honestly I just don’t think I’m in the right head space to start planning that just yet.
Maybe in a week or two.
November was a rough month, you guys. 50% success as far as intentions go: We had some fun meals with my family and Garrett’s mom’s visit was definitely a success in that it happened and we all made the best of it. But obviously with Garrett’s grandma dying and all of that it was a much different visit than I think any of us thought it would be. But I think that was even more powerful, actually. I can’t tell you how many times Garrett and I said to each other during that week, “Can you believe a week ago we were concerned with dust bunnies and meal planning and now…NOW all of that sees SO IRRELEVANT.”
Time is weird that way. I mean, I am a planner. There is no way I will ever NOT be someone who makes lists and sets goals and makes plans. (More on that later this week in my monthly book update. During November I read this book which was so interesting!) But the time is going to go by whether we make plans or not. Most of the time I find that sentiment super motivating — time is going to go by anyway, might as well get stuff done. But something about this November has just made me realize that I spend a lot of time planning for the future and that definitely does make it challenging to live in the present.
I posted this picture on instagram last week and I have literally been thinking about it daily since I originally saw it.
I do a lot of thinking about the future and it helps me in a lot of important ways. But one of the consequences of that is that it also creates a very particular anxiety in me that has just sort of weaved its way into my lifestyle. And I think I want to work on that. So with that,
December Intentions
I’m just going to aim for some peace.
I would like to try and finish this year being focused on the present. Sure there are lots of things I want to accomplish, and I don’t plan on sitting on the couch for 31 days doing nothing, thinking about nothing, and going where the wind takes me. But I just need to be in the moment a little bit.
What that looks like? I have no idea, but I’m willing to throw my plans out the window and find out.
I’m hoping that this will help me narrow my focus for 2013 and give me a little bit of clarity. I have done A LOT of thinking about how I thought 2012 would look and how it actually looked and definitely have some things to say about that soon, but I want to make sure I close out what has been an awesomely successful and challenging year in a peaceful place, so that I can start a fresh page next year.
How are you doing with living in the present? Did you have a phenomenal 2012? Are you planning for 2013 yet? What’s on your plate?
