Makeup Mania

What a great weekend for makeup! I am embarrased to say this, but on Friday night I watched QVC for 3 full hours! It was their Beauty Newsmakers special and I was completely entranced. What a mindless way to unwind from a hectic week! I ended up purchasing some LORAC eye shadow. If you haven't tried LORAC shadows before, what are you waiting for? They are the best! Subtly shimmery and they last for hours. Here is the one I purchased http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx?view=2&app=detail&params=item^A201646,RecTypeInd^IOFFER,navlist^A201646*A193247*A170261*,cp^detail,tmp^related,cpprod^A200796,cm_scid^dtlr&walk=&cmtags==

In addition to my QVC marathon, I have a 15% off coupon to Sephora for Beauty Insiders that is good through tomorrow. I just think this lipgloss from Hourglass is genius. http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P256901&categoryId=C17271 Perfectly shaped for your backpocket and great for summer when you don't want to leave the house with a bulky purse. Just slip this in your pocket and be on your way! Happy Sunday, Beauty Queens!

Spring Cleaning Tips

We are doing some Spring cleaning at our house this weekend! It is just amazing how stuff accumulates throughout the year.

Organization guru Julie Morgenstern shared these 8 tips for spring cleaning in the April issue of Redbook. I hope they are as inspiring to you as they have been to me!

8 things you can toss without guilt-right now!
1. Kitchen items you haven't used in a year or longer. If you've never used your breadmaker or panini press, the odds you'll used it in the near future are pretty slim. Donate the bulky appliances and enjoy the extra space.
2. The entire contents of your junk drawer. There's a reason you call it that! Think you might hae some useful items stored there? Empty the whole drawer into a box, and any time you use an item, place it back in the drawer. At the end of the month, toss whatever's left in the box and rename the newly functional drawer.
3. Clothes that no longer fit. They make it more difficult to search your closet to find the things you do wear. If you truly believe they'll fit at some point in the near future, then box and store them until then.
4. School work from high school or college. The material is most likely outdated, and the chances you'll refer to it again are slim. Save your favorite papers in an archival box, but toss the notebooks, texts, and handouts.
5. Baby gear. Safety standards change so quickly that car seats and cribs are generally outdated just a few years after they're manufactured. Plus, they take up a lot of room. Keep only if you're already working on baby number two.
6. Random receipts. If you don't know what they're for, or if they're for basic items (groceries, toiletries, lunch) that you don't need to record for taxes or expenses, get rid of them.
7. Half-used bottles of shampoo, conditioner or makeup you only tried once. If you don't like the product enough to use it everyday, you won't like it in a few months' time.
8. Books you've never read, or books that you'll never re-read. Donate them and save space on your shelves for the books that speak to your soul.

Spring Linens

I am loving these springy table linens from World Market. www.worldmarket.com What a way to brighten up your kitchen!

How cute is this Fleur de Lys glassware? Adore the green tint.

A Great Read

I recently devoured a great book in just a few days. It made me laugh and cry and was one of the best books I have read in a long time. It is atop the NY Times bestseller list right now (not that I really follow that list) but if you are looking for a good read, check it out!

http://www.borders.com/online/store/TitleDetail?detail=aboutProduct&sku=0399155341&id=58295549#aboutProduct

Description: In Kathryn Stockett's stunning fiction debut, The Help, three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step . . .Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone. Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken. Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can look like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own. Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed. In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women - mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends - view one another. A deeply moving book filled with poignancy, humour, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't.

Celebrations at Home

I follow a blog, Celebrations at Home (see blog list below) that recently showcased a yellow and turquoise party. It just so happens I have been obsessed with this color combination lately and can't wait to find a way to use it, other than decorating myself in the 2 colors. I think the combo just looks so fresh and springy! Check out http://www.celebrationsathome.blogspot.com/ for lots of pretty party ideas and inspiration. I hope you enjoy Chris' attention to detail as much as I do!

Pretty Jewelry

Just came across this jewelry site, 2 sisters on separate coasts that create the simplest and most beautiful jewelry I have seen in a long time. Their pieces are so creative and yet affordable. Pick something out for your momma today so it arrives in time for Mother's Day next month. Happy browsing! www.whitleydesigns.com