Blush and bashful

Do you have a signature color? Nail polish companies think you do. Take a look at all these first-named colors from one of my favorite brands, Zoya. Is your name on there? Mine is not so I'm going to invent my own likeness. I choose a color much like my excalibur gray - but with a tiny shimmering gold undertone. Much like the 2 mini bottles of nail polish I've been carting around with me since college (the first college).

Behold:

On my nails in that picture is Zoya's Tamsen, which I bought along with Kelly one day in an hazy effort to pin my eternal nail colors. My real name wasn't an option - but if it was, would I have chosen it? Would it be me?

Here's my (flat) rendition of the (non-flat) color using the KaleidoPaint app on my iPad:

And here's where you may one day find it on the Zoya website:

Named "Eve".

Happy New Year, dear readers. Till next year...

Last minute gift ideas

FOR ME!!!!!!!!! You can give these to MEEEE!! Anytime.

Badass black dress and essential white dress.

Work it.. Work it good.

Upgrade!

Seriously. Anytime.

Coco crazy

I'll tell ya. There is so much to god damn learn in this life. My skin I thought I would never understand. I've considered it sort of like a plague all these years. Something to fight and fear. But maybe it's not really that complicated. Maybe, instead of going nuclear, we should nurture it with nature.

Which brings me to coconut oil.

The coconut oil selection at my local health supply store. I'm using the kind from Trader Joe's.

My dear friend H suggested one day that rubbing actual, undiluted coconut oil on her face might be working to help clear up her troubled skin. Rub oil ON my face?!?!? What's this crazy talk. Immediately I remembered that a different brave friend said she put this homemade balm of oils on her face in the dry winter months. CRAZY people.

But I ventured. I'm too tired to give you all the details, but, in essence, gentle is the way to calm bumpy/red/oily skin. Not harsh. Duh. The first person who taught me this was that Christina woman who owns philosophy. I used to like watching her on QVC. I've been using purity made simple on my face for years. I think my new coconut oil procedure will be a great addition to my skin maintenance routine.

So thanks, H! 

P.S. This woman swears to cook with coconut oil or ghee and never ever ever cooks with olive oil. I'm thinking she's right about that. Why assist cancer?

Cookbook Challenge

I have a confession.

I own a lot of cookbooks that I've never actually cooked from. Some of my favorite, oldest cookbooks I've only cooked one or two recipes from (probably repeatedly). I don't think there's anything necessarily wrong with having extra cookbooks. Just reading from them is learning. But now it's time to do.

It's time to liven up my kitchen repertoire.

For all of 2014 I'm going to select one of my virgin cookbooks per month and follow (thereabouts) a single recipe. Do something new. Then I'll try to blog about it.

These 5 should be part of the 12

Who's with me?!

Oh where to begin!