My Minutia

The Ultimate List of Favorite Things

For this last day of my tribute to "favorite things", I thought I'd do a list of ultimate favorites. No other way to categorize these favorite things except to say thay are the stuff at the tippy top of the list.

Source: 1000awesomethings.com via Teresa on Pinterest

 

 

Let the finale begin!

Toffee Nut Latte, Non Fat, Light Whip ala Starbucks. On those really hot days, I get it iced.

Tim Horton's Coffee. Not always in the house, but it's my favorite!

Diet Coke w/Lime. Yes, I know people give Diet Coke a bad rap. Yes, I know I shouldn't drink it.

Great Grains Cereal. The one with crunchy pecans. So yummy!

L'Oreal Elnet Hairspray. This hairspray has won several awards for years and is used by TV star stylists. I was so happy to find it at my local Target. It's half the price of my usual salon favorite hairsprays. Smells great, too...sorta powdery. My daughter even loves it!

Stila Lip Gloss. Have loved this tasty lip snack for a couple of years now! So pretty, long lasting...and lots of colors! I don't know if I could pick a favorite color. I think I love them all.

Faux Fur Printed Throw. Mine is almost like this one I linked. It's really soft...super soft and gets better every time I was it. Lilly and I snuggle up in it a lot! Especially in the Winter.

My Yoga Pants. Don't we girls love our yoga pants? My fav's are black.

Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day. I love all of it, and use almost all of their products...the hand soaps, the countertop sprays and dish soap. Current fav scent: Basil. I usually get it at Target, but I see they are having an Annual Summer Sale on their website thru August 7. 20% off!

Well that was fun! I hope you enjoyed it and found some new stuff to try!

Our daughter is headed back to school in a couple more days, and we are making ourselves crazy trying to get everything ready for moving her! So much to do still....yikes!

 

Favorite Snicky Snacks

Once in a while you just have to indulge...right? Here's a list of all time favorite, tried and true snacks that make me happy:

Cheez-Its. All Cheez-Its are especially tasty, but the latest Colby Cheez-Its are the bomb diggity. Cheez-Its have been a consistent tasty treat for years. My family agrees.

Orville Reddenbacker's Natural Popcorn. It has to be this brand, this flavor. Unless you are out and about town, then you have to get...

Vic's Corn Popper. The plain, Half Salt...so great. Seriously. The mix of cheese corn, caramel corn and white is addictingly good, too. So are their big popcorn bars (with M & M's in them). Yikes, I'm starting to get hungry.

Wheat Thins. Not big ones, not low fat, no special flavor...just the plain ones. Although, the tomato basil ones are good with garlic flavored creme cheese topped with a sliced green olive. A dear friend introduced those to me once...loved them ever since. Mmmmm. Nom Nom...

Swiss Cheese Spread. This link has a good recipe for it. Sooo yummy on water crackers. There's a great local restaurant that makes the best version I've ever had. Hy-Vee (local grocery) does a good job with it, too.

M & M's. Another mainstay treat. Usually Peanut M & M's, but if you are having popcorn, then you need a little bowl of plain M & M's on the side. And if you want an extra special treat, then you have Cheez-It's with plain M & M's.

Strawberry Twizzlers. A classic for tasty snack for years, right?!

Pepperidge Farm Chessmen. I try to avoid them if at all possible, because if I have them in the house, I will nibble them all away...one by one...not pretty. Their Gingerbread men are another favorite. They also have a way of disappearing quickly though.

A bowl of strawberries, grapes and blueberries is a yummy guilt free snack!

 

 

 

Favorite Wines

My hubby and I are chardonnay folk. Luckily we have pretty much the same taste when it comes to wine. We definitely prefer dry over sweet, that's for sure. Here are some of our very favs.

Cupcake Chardonnay You can get this almost anywhere. Grocery stores, Target, etc. It's inexpensive in our area, like around $10 a bottle. Great for Birthday and celebration gifts, right?!

Girard Chardonnay, Russian River, 2008 Oh such a nice wine. This is our most recent favorite. Hubby is good at picking them! Under $25. Good stuff.

Sonoma Cutrer, Russian River We first had this at a Valentine's Dinner. It's our most favorite ever. Holy cow, I drank this like Kool-Aid at the restaurant that night...accidentally. It was soooo smooth and buttery. Wish we could squeeze this one into our budget more often. Good stuff.

 

Last but not least, my good friend...

Kendall Jackson He's the fellow I order at most restaurants. I think it's under $15 at the grocery store. I see they have a blog. Looks like a good place to learn more about wines. Nice! Anyone tried the KJ Avant? I haven't seen that one out and about.

Well, those are the top 4 favorites. How about you? Have you got any wine favorites?

Favorite Catalogs

Oh, for the love of the printed page. These catalogs are a visual paradise to me. Every time one of these land in the mailbox I my heart skips a beat:

Free People.

I love the aesthetic of this catalog. Dreamy, gypsy, unique clothing. Their blog is an inspiring place to visit, too.

Fossil.

The color schemes, patterns and graphics are right up my alleyway. They also have a great blog.

 

Anthropologie.

But you already knew that, didn't you. Thought so.

Boden USA.

They also have MiniBoden (baby) and Johnnie B catalogs (teen). I like the spirit of this UK Company and am glad they have the USA version now!

These catalogs all inspire me, and their catalogs are great for daydreaming, and clipping, pasting, glueing into my art journals!

 

Favorites for a Pretty Face

Hello gorgeous! When it comes to make up, everyone has their own personal favorites. It's fun to share though, right?! Powdering and primping gets expensive--and you don't know what to get sometimes. I always enjoy seeing other's favorites. Here are some of mine:

Josie Maran Organic Argan Oil - This is an up and coming skin care professional who is getting fantastic reviews lately. They say this Oil is also good for cuticles, split ends, and acne. I use it as a moisturizer...and I've run out. I miss it so much! Must get more soon.

Clinique Black Honey Lipstick - It looks really dark, but it isn't...promise. It's really natural looking, just a hint of sheer color. This is an award winning lip color and has been for a few years now. I'm glad I tried it because I really like it and it goes with almost everything.

 

Nars Blush - Orgasm I didn't name it. But it's truly the best. Gives a natural healthy glow and a little shimmer. Just a pop of color on the apple of your cheek. It's won a lot of awards, too. Available in powder and creme. I'm laughing a little now, because if you head out to get this, you won't forget the name...I just betcha won't.

Urban Decay Eye Shadow Primer - Good stuff. If you haven't putting on a primer before applying eye shadows, you should. You can get samples sometimes at Sephora...that's how I found this good stuff.

Revlon 12 Hour Eye Shadow Colorstay. Color: Coffee bean (4 colors in the case). It's long lasting, and not all shimmery. Too much shimmer on your eye lids makes gals my age's wrinkles sparkle and draws attention to them. Go for the matte. (I couldn't get a photo of this eye shadow...sorry)

Now let's wash it all off, shall we?

Clarisonic Mia - There are other more expensive skin cleaning systems by Clairsonic with more bells and whistles, but I've been happy with this one. I highly recommend!

Make Up Brushes w/Natural Bristles Natural bristle brushes last for years and help all those powders go on really well. They rarely lose bristles. Worth the investment.

And to all of you who have make up brushes...go clean them. They absorb all kinds of color and oils every time they are used. Need to be cleaned every two week or so. I put them in a bowl of warm water with mild dish soap then let them soak a bit. Seriously...you will freak out and wonder what on earth you've been putting on your face when you see what's going down the sink while washing them. Especially those big fat bronzing brushes. Ack!

Favorite Phone Apps

Love me some phone apps! For the last year I've had a Droid X, which has been my favorite phone to date. Here are my fav. phone apps. Seriously...life is better with these apps...just sayin'. All but one of these are free apps, too! Can't beat that.

Little Photo - This is my most very favorite photo editing app. You can do awesome stuff with this app. I have other photo editing apps, but this one steals the show every time. Lomo with diff. gradients, instant film, retro effects, stunning black and whites....you get the idea.

Doodle Wish - I got this app recently and it's really great! You can doodle on the screen and over photos and cool bean stuff like that. Fun!! The samples shown after the link are sorta corny. I like to go to camera mode, and take a photo then write over the photo. Fun!

Cut The Rope - Fun, mindless game. Physics sort of game and gets more difficult as you progress. Actually this was $1.99 or something. This game gained great popularity on iPhone and now it available for Droids.

Androidify - Turn yourself and others into a droid. Silly and fun. Addicting.

Angry Birds - Who doesn't play this? I'm out of levels, so I'm sorta done with the game, sadly.

Words With Friends -If you don't have this game, go get it. Silly girl. You can play Scrabble with all of your fam and friends! I win some and I lose some...that's the way it goes. I always lose to my son. Smarty pants. Speaking of my son, he shared with me his favorite Droid phone apps. Share these with your kiddos and they will think you are one cool Mom.

Think like a 17 year old because here they are:

Live Hold em Poker Pro - Have a seat at a poker table, and play folks around the world. He is really good. Holy Smokes.

Cookie Dozer - An arcade type style game. He likes all types of games and this has a retro cartoony feel.

Words With Friends - see above.

Zombie Booth - So you take a photo of someone and it turns the photo into a zombie. A walking moving zombie. Gross! Not for the faint hearted, so not for me at all. I won't even look at it, but he laughs and laughs when he uses it.

Do you have any phone apps you are loving? I'd love to hear your Droid app recommendations!

Somerset Life, Summer Issue

What a yummy magazine Somerset Life is. All of the Stampington publications are and always have been! The Summer (July/August/September) issue some great blogging articles inside it! Here's a few shots of my article:

 

Have you seen this issue yet?

It's definitely a keeper. the blogging article by Vivienne McMaster about taking a photo walk is beautiful. Danni Hong's article is sooo her. Her story made me laugh and smile.

There are several articles and photos inside that make my heart go pitter pat. The luggage cases, Roben Marie's spool necklaces, the country wedding...so many pretties!

Here's the cover...when you are out and about, you should check it out!

 

Painted Pages, pretty pretty

Are you familiar with the mixed media paintings of Sarah Ahearn Bellemare? Hopefully you say yes! If not, you need to check out her work and her soon to be released book, Painted Pages.

 

This week I had the pleasure of perusing Sarah's new book, which is soooo lovely. When I got the book, I couldn't help but smile. I've been a fan for a long time! Her cheery yet vintage style is so great. Isn't the cover beautiful? Sarah shares many mixed media techniques throughout the book. She makes me want to get out my colored pencils again.

She also share's her inspiration, how to capture her colorful style for yourself, and she offers a couple fellow artists interviews. I keep flipping through the book and finding more and more reasons to love it! Check it out: here and check out her blog here.

What's I've been reading: The Happiness Project

Ya know that 20 minutes I spend in the school parking lot 5 days a week? Well, sometimes I flip through catalogs, or read a book, or stitch a project. That small dose of me time, while I sip a latte and wait for my lil' munchie to get of out school?  Well lately in that 20 or so minutes I've been reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. I just read that it's #4 on the New York TImes Bestseller's List! Congratulations Gretchen!!

 

The book was given to me by the publisher and I was asked to review it, if I liked it. That was about a year ago I think. Admittedly I was looking forward to reading this book...I mean, who doesn't want to be happy, right? Well, after seeing the cover, I thought to myself "this must be a silly project by some college student/students. Doesn't look very serious. Probably just a bunch of fluff. I have enough fluff in my life."  So it sat on the shelf until a couple weeks ago.

You should never judge a book by it's cover. Wasn't that taught in Kindergarten!? I'm so glad I gave it a second chance because I have really been enjoying this book! Turns out was wasn't written by a college student or students, it was written by a mother, and educated one at that. I love Gretchen's writing style, I love the way she approached her project, and I love what she shares through out the book. Her methods toward achieving a happier life. Brilliant. 

In the book she takes on one of the items on her "list" a month. I'm only on March, so I've got a ways to go. I look forward to reading it everyday. I've got me sister waiting for the book, as I promised it to her when I finished. I keep texting her about it...I bet she wishes I'd hurry up and finish it already!

I noticed they have it here, too. So that must mean the coolest of cool cats read it, right?!

Here's the link to Author, Gretchen Rubin's  blog!

It's Friday, go play

I forgot about this fun site. Have you used it? 

 

Just upload your pix (like Flickr) and do cool stuff with them. I've used a couple photos of my 16 year old.

 

Carve out some play time today! You deserve it.