Jun
11
Putting down roots
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One of my favorite things about this move is our new proximity to the cabin. It’s about an hour away now, and we spent the last two weekends driving down after JB gets off work on Friday, then meandering home on Saturday afternoon. The experience of going there on a whim, with minimal packing, zero pressure to fit in family visits, and a short, scenic drive as opposed to an endless soul-sucking slog on I-5, has been phenomenal.
We’re house-hunting in earnest these days, knowing that our lease turns into a pumpkin at the end of the summer. It has been a draining pursuit, with lots of come-to-Jesus discussions about what kind of mortgage we want to take on, what part of town we want to target, and what our long-term plans might be.
Our initial plan was to find a place outside of town with some acreage, but we’ve fallen in love with the area we’re living in now. It’s so close to everything — bike paths, shopping, gyms, schools, parks, recreation centers, you name it — and we both can see that being really beneficial while the kids are in school.
The country-vs-city decision involved a lot of soul-searching (especially for JB), but I think it’s been even harder trying to finalize our real estate price range. At first it seemed reasonable to buy something that was close to what we sold our Seattle house for, but after a lot of Excel-peering and Advil-chugging, we dialed back our target price by … well, by many, many dollars. There’s been a lot to consider (hello, surprisingly painful Eugene property taxes!), but ultimately we decided that it was smarter to have a monthly payment that gave us more flexibility, not only for emergencies and saving, but also for things like a camping trailer someday.
So now we have a fairly tight budget, but we’re looking in one of the most desirable areas of town. As you can imagine, every house that we’ve seen has been a compromise in some way, and I know it sounds ridiculously naive, but I’d sort of pictured us sifting through listing after listing, cherry-picking the most awesome, perfect place from an enormous collection of awesome, perfect places. Instead, it’s like, okay, can we live with these shitty things if these other things are decent? And then we inevitably disagree on which things take priority. Gah.
Anyway, I’m hopeful that we’ll find something soon, and in the meantime — oh, you guys, I am loving being here so, so much. I love the house we’re in, I love being able to hop on my bike and ten minutes later I’m zipping along the river, I love that JB is enjoying his job so much, I love that the weather is warmer and sunnier. This was the best change I have ever, ever made, and my god, I’m so insanely grateful to have had the opportunity.
Jun
7
9 skin & hair products that don’t suck
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Hi, I’m Linda’s Occasionally-Overly-Appearance-Focused Blog. You may remember me from such posts as “11 beauty products that don’t suck,” and WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH MY BABY OH MY GOD HE’S A LEPER.
(It was a viral rash. He’s totally fine now! Also, six years older.)
I kind of got a kick out of posting my favorite makeup items a while back (mostly because the comments section gave me all sorts of great ideas for what makeup items I wanted to immediately run out and purchase), so I thought I’d do another thrilling roundup of products I’m currently slathering in my hair/smearing on my face.
(No sponsored content here, but I did include Amazon affiliate links.)
Missha M Perfect Cover BB Cream No.23 Natural Beige. This one’s an update on the previous makeup post when I recommended this foundation. I still love, love, love it, but now that the sun’s out more often, I found that the original color I was using was too light. This #23 ‘Natural Beige’ color is better for a complexion that isn’t super pale—it still melts in and virtually disappears into my skin, but it’s not quite so fair. (Note that some people don’t tolerate this foundation well, I guess it has mineral oil in it which can cause weird reactions? I haven’t had trouble with it and I have sensitive skin/rosacea, but buyer beware and all that.)
NARS Bronzing Powder (Laguna). Also related to summer skin, this bronzing powder is AMAZING. I just bought it recently and it’s totally replaced my trusty Benefit Hoola. The NARS product is much silkier and more subtle, and can be layered really easily: one application is a nice sunny glow, the next is J.Lo, and so on.
Clarisonic Mia. Everyone raves about the Clarisonic, and for good reason—it deep cleans like nobody’s business, and leaves your face feeling all fresh and dewy and post-facial-y. I know they’re super expensive, but Amazon sometimes runs some decent sales on this product.
Peter Thomas Roth Un-Wrinkle Peel Pads. Someone recommended this product in the comments of the makeup post, and I’ve fallen in love. I don’t use them very often, but when I do I feel like there’s a visible difference in my skin afterwards: softer, more clear, less dull.
Terax Crema Daily Conditioner. Onto the hair products! I like this conditioner a lot for frequent use, it does a great job of moisturizing without leaving hair feeling heavy.
Joico K-PAK Restorative Treatment. I use this one every few days, it’s a wonderful deep conditioner that helps my tragically processed hair feel softer and less damaged.
Pureology Instant Repair Leave-In Conditioner. I’ve had several stylists recommend this product, and I’m a big fan of its effects. It’s not a bigtime detangler, but it definitely helps maintain coloring treatments.
It’s a 10 Leave-In Conditioner. This is the ultimate detangler/gloss-ifier. A little goes a long way, because you can easily get Exxon-Head from this stuff.
Kenra Dandruff Shampoo. Finally, the mildest, best-smelling, most awesome dandruff shampoo I’ve used, not that I’m prone to something so disgusting as dandruff. *cough*
Your turn! Favorite skin/hair products?
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