Things I Love Thursday: Beauty edition

I've decided to experiment with having themed Thursdays (man, I love alliteration!), so this week's theme is beauty. Here are, in no particular order, as usual, the things that I'm loving this week:

1. Rimmel Extra Super Lash Mascara

I like this mascara because the curved brush picks up every single last lash I have and it stays on for hours, which is wonderful when I'm busy (which would be, oh, I don't know, most of my life). It's cheap too, which is nice for my student budget.

2. Conair HS34r Compact Hairsetter
These hot rollers are a new purchase for me, but I've decided that with grad school (!) and real world job interviews (!!) coming up, I need to do something a bit classier than heading places with wet hair. I'm moving further south, so I can't fight the curl, but I figured there had to be a way that I could do it better. I think I've discovered it. It's a really easy set and it gives a nice curl (when you don't leave it in too long-I looked rather poodle-esque for a while this morning until I tamed it). I think I'm going for an Old Hollywood look, like Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca. We'll see, and I'll post a picture once I perfect it :)

3. Burt's Bees Super Shiny Lipgloss
Simply put, this makes my lips shiny without a lot of color, which is great for when I'm in the middle of a teaching day and don't have time to painstakingly reapply my lipstick.

4. Pond's Cold Cream
This vintage beauty cream is what my grandma uses and the smell reminds me of sleepovers at her house when I was little. It takes my makeup off wonderfully and makes my skin feel nice too.

5. Noxzema cleanser

This brand has been around for a while and has apparently always been sold in the blue jar. I like it because it wakes me up in the morning and leaves my face really soft, just like the Pond's does.

There you have it for this week! Come back next week to see if I'm feeling serious or frivolous

Things I Love Thursdays, vol. 3

This week has been a little crazy, so this post will be pictureless, but I've been working on my list, so I wanted to post it anyway.

5. Photobooth

Oh my word, I'm having so much fun with this. It's kind of dangerous, especially when I'm in hotels by myself, because I end up spending lots of time recording myself talking, then playing it back... all in innocent fun, of course, but a huge waste of time. Not that I'm narcissistic or anything.

4. The Office

My brother got me hooked on it (I know, I know, 5 years after everyone else on the planet), and for some reason, it's the best part of my days these days. I'm working my way through Season 2 and it's positively shameful how much I watched today; I can't bring myself to put the number out into cyberspace where it will exist for the rest of time. Steve Carell's character makes me profoundly uncomfortable and there are a few subjects that make me feel a little squicky, but overall, I've been laughing hysterically, much to the chagrin of my hotel neighbors, I'm sure.

3. Kids

As a teacher, this should go without saying. My kids remind me daily why I'm doing this; it's not about the money, it's about them. They work hard for me and give me hugs and tell me they love me. And if I've made a difference over the last month for just one or two of these kids, then it's been worth it. I love all my kids and I'll be really sad to leave them next week. However, I've just gotten my new assignment and I'll be going out to the western part of the state for 4 days a week over the next 5 weeks, which means a whole new crop of kids to get to know!

2. New Planners

I went to WalMart this evening (mostly because it's really close to my hotel) because I was in need of a new planner; my MC one runs out at the end of July and I hate to get a new one a month into it (most planners start in July). For just $9, I have the planner of my dreams: a big, lovely green weekly/monthly planner that lets me organize to my heart's content. Yes, I am a nerd. Yes, I will also geek out over buying school supplies for my 18th first day of school. It's who I am and I embrace it.

1. Revisiting beloved childhood novels.

This job has been wonderful because it has had me revisit books I loved once upon a time but had forgotten about. In my 4th/5th grade class, we just finished Henry Huggins and are working our way through The Cricket in Times Square. I had forgotten how much I loved them until I reread them; surprisingly, my memories were quite strong. I'm also listening to a new audio book, L.M. Montgomery's Anne's House of Dreams, part of the Anne of Green Gables series. I love Miss Montgomery's books, and I'm finding that as an adult, I'm picking up things that I missed as a child; I understand things that I never did before and I'm able to feel both joys and sorrows more keenly. I can't find my copies of the series, so I suppose it's up in the attic and I'll need to find it before I move.

Things I Love Thursday, vol. 2

Welcome to this week's edition of Things I Love Thursday. I have to say, it's been a lot of fun keeping an eye out this week for things I might want to write about. So, without anything further, here are this week's top 5 things that I love (this week, I'm counting down to my absolute favorite).

5. Hotel pillows

Part of my job this term is traveling to teach, so I've been staying in a lot of hotels lately. And boy howdy do I love the pillows. There's just something about the soft, yet firm, yet fluffiness of them that can even make a bad day seem less catastrophic. I also love the fact that I've been getting king-sized beds, which means lots and lots of pillows for my happy snuggling. Despite the fact that strangers have slept on them before, they're still pretty terrific!

Image found here

4. The Raleigh Farmer's Market

I wish the picture below was mine, but it's not. I'm usually too busy shopping to stop and take pictures. This past week, I loaded up my Reisenthel basket (the one about which I waxed poetic last week) with fresh corn, blackberries, peaches, green beans and goat cheese. The smell of fresh dirt, the warm fresh peach samples, the farmers who are willing to answer any and all questions: an hour there is a pretty happy hour for me. I'm on a quest these days to eat fresher and more locally (can't wait to get down to Charleston for that!), so having a Farmer's Market so close to my house helps in my endeavors. This week, Jack asked if he could go with me, because he's on a tomato kick. The kid loves them (and cucumbers with hummus) and can't get enough! I'm all for supporting local food and good habits in kids, so perhaps the camera will make an appearance this week.
Image found here

3. Books on Tape

I have to give Sam the credit for this one; she suggested that since I'm spending so much time in the car these days, I should try it. I'm so glad I did. The book pictured below, The Food of a Younger Land, is the one I started on this teaching trip. It's about a book that the Federal Writers Project (part of the WPA) started but never published right around the time the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. It's a look at the traditional food ways that, even then, were starting to die out. 70 years later, it's a fascinating look at what my grandparents and great-grandparents grew up eating and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Sam, if you happen to read this, you're totally right about the voice. This guy's voice makes the whole thing interesting!

Image found here

2. Garmin nuvi

My Garmin is my best friend when I'm on road trips; Cupcake and I have taken lots of adventures together so far this summer and I'm anticipating lots more, especially as I get to know my new city. Yes, I've named my little piece of technology; it's an homage to one of my music professors at Meredith, who called anyone or thing that frustrated her "Cupcake." The first trip I took with my Garmin was to DC; the Garmin takes a while to calculate where you're going, but I didn't know that at the time, so I was driving down the highway yelling "Come on, Cupcake! Hurry it up!" as it tried to read satellite signals. From then on, it has permanently retained the moniker... I actually think it's kind of cute.

Image found here

1. MacBook

Like I said the other day, I've finally jumped on the Apple bandwagon and I am so glad I did. I've envied Mac users for a while now, but this little baby was worth the wait. It's sleek, streamlined, easy to use and did I mention pretty? It finds a wireless signal in no time flat, which is practically miraculous, considering how long it took my MC computer to connect to the internet. Pages and Numbers make a lot of sense to me and I'm very excited about working with this computer all next school year.

Image found here

That's it for this week's edition!

Things I Love Thursday: inaugural edition

I've decided that I need some kind of regular blog feature in order to keep me posting; the thing that made the most sense to me is to write about the things that I love. I won't be compensated for anything that I mention; these are just truly the things that are making my life easier/more fun at the moment, hence inspiring my love!

Here are the 5 top things I am loving this week, in no particular order.

1. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

I received this book as a gift for Christmas 2008 and I waited to read it until last week. BIG mistake! I was engrossed in the story for a couple of days; I had to stretch out my usual reading time because of a teaching run to Atlanta/Athens, so I didn't have a whole lot of time. That being said, it was totally worth every minute I spent reading. The only quibble I have with the book is that the ending is a little rushed, but Gaskell originally published the story serially, so apparently her publishers hurried her along and she wasn't entirely thrilled with the way the ending turned out. It takes a little getting used to, just because it is Victorian and the style of writing is a little different. My plan for the next week is to watch the BBC version on my instant Netflix, so I'll report back on how it compares to the book. However, if it's good, and the BBC usually does a good job, it might be worth it to start there.

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2. Riesenthel Baroque Basket

My aunt and uncle gave me this basket for a graduation gift and as I've begun my summer of teaching, it has been invaluable. First of all, it's sturdy, so it can handle being filled and carted from my car to my classroom, back to my car, into my house, back to the car... you get the picture. Secondly, it's roomy; right now, it's holding a ream of paper, a photo box full of my teaching supplies (crayons, pencils, markers, eraser, scissors, pencil sharpener, Post-it notes and tape), bandages, handsanitizer, Luna bars (but I'll get to those in a minute!), and my waterbottle and there's still some room to spare! I think that next year when I'm in Charleston this will make a wonderful basket for visiting the Farmer's Market!

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3. Pilates

I chose this book as my visual for Pilates because, well, you don't want to see me on the floor in my sweatpants attempting that move. Also, my Pilates instructor last semester in my elective PE used this book and I've been referring back to it lately. I'm finding with spending a lot of time on the road and on my feet teaching, it's nice to have something to stretch me out and relax me at the end of the day. The beautiful thing about this book is that you don't need anything but a mat; I usually don't carry mine with me because my suitcase is a little too small, but I improvise with the extra blankets that hotel rooms usually have. After driving for a couple of hours, nothing feels better than stretching out all my limbs; plus, I'm sleeping better. I think I would have been intimidated if I had just gone out and bought this book and tried to teach myself, but it's a really good resource as a refresher from the class I took.

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4. This book journal by Paperchase

This book journal was also a graduation gift, given to me by my sweet cousin in California; we trade book suggestions via text message, which I happen to think is fantastic! It's got some space in the front for book reviews, then quite a few pages for "Books to Read," followed by a ledger for for "Books Borrowed/Lent." It's simple and streamlined and very comfortable to use. I've got the first page of the "Books to Read" section filled up about halfway with things that I want to read; I've actually gotten to two of them. I've started carrying this journal around with me, though, which is a bit unusual for me. It is, though, very practical and it's not too big, so I can leave it in my car if I don't have room in my purse (my family's teasing me about "cluttering up" my new car with books. Books? Clutter? Not possible!).
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5. Caramel Nut Brownie Luna bars

This protein bar is the best of its kind that I have ever tasted. The caramel is slightly salty, the brownie part is fudgy, the nut bits are teeny-tiny and don't get stuck in your teeth-it's perfection! And only 180 calories! Excuse me while I faint. Not to harp on about being a teacher (have you noticed? I'm teaching this summer! And I love it!), but this is a perfect pick-me-up between classes or while driving long distances. I usually get a box of 15 at Trader Joe's, but you can get them individually at Trader Joe's and places like Target, Walmart, Kroger, and Whole Foods (at least in my area).

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So there you have it! My 5 favorite things for this week!