Rock Paper Scissors

Via I Love Charts.

Fun Pix Fridays #15

It’s doggie-themed today.  Just ‘cause.

Thing #67: Do an at-home facial

A few months back, for my birthday, this is what my sister Fiona gave to me: a spa day in a box!  Isn’t that nice?  She also gave me ice-cream.  Even nicer.  But more on that later!

I set up a little spa day at home.  I ate a little ice-cream.  I gave myself an at-home facial.  I ate a little more ice-cream.  It felt good.  You should do it too.  Here’s how:

• Remove all make-up using a gentle cleanser, like Avene Extremely Gentle Cleanser, and cotton wool.
• Put a couple of drops of your favourite essential oil into a sink of boiling water.  I like lavender for bedtime or eucalyptus for a pick-me-up.  Steam your face for about 10 minutes. Pat dry with a towel.
• Apply a face mask, avoiding the eye area and leave for the required time.  I used Avene Soothing Moisture Mask, but I also love Lush’s BB Seaweed and Mask of Magnaminty. Remove mask with warm water.
• Close pores with a spray of thermal water, straight from the fridge (Avene, Evian or Vichy are all good)
• I like to finish with a 5 minute facial massage using almond oil (as mentioned here).  If you have oily skin, you can massage in your usual moisturiser.

€5 was donated to Habitat for Humanity for the completion of this thing.  Click here to read about the cause and donate online.

More things to be happy about (10)

Fonzie from Happy Days;  kicking your baggage to the airport counter;  unexpected phone calls;  gentlemen rising when a lady enters or leaves a room;  the ocean breeze;  double-dares;  railway stations;  an empty parking space; cheek-to-cheek dancing;  leather-bound diaries;  whispering;  little bits of kitchen knowledge;  air hostesses’ uniforms;  fresh clean sheets on your bed;  organising snapshots in an album;  the back-and-forth dance of tennis players;  lighted swimming pools at night;  long days at the beach;  window seats;  spotless chefs’ whites.

P.s. I forgot all about doing a happy list last month (don’t worry I was still happy), so I’m gonna do two this month.  One more thing to be happy about

Thing #20: Give up something for Lent

For some reason, Roisin and I decided to give up cheese for Lent.  Please don’t ask why.

This is the worst thing I have done so far.

I have no idea why I even put it on the stupid list.

Traditionally, giving something up for Lent is believed to free your mind of materialistic things in order to reap countless spiritual benefits.  In short, the time I usually spent gorging myself with cheese should have been spent contemplating my role in society and improving my inner self.

Unfortunately, I didn’t really think about that.  Instead I thought about deep fried brie, margarita pizza slices, risotto, croque monsieur, carbonara, baked cheesecake and bagels with Philadelphia.  I thought about Eddie Rockets cheese fries and Dominos Two-for-Tuesdays.  I thought about my Mam’s lasagne and my Dad’s special Sunday night toasties.  I thought everything I was eating might taste better with a little parmesan.

Unfortunately I didn’t even lose a few pounds as I over-substituted other foods for cheese at a weighted ratio of 4:1.

Unfortunately, my friends and family members suffered through my withdrawal symptoms through no fault of their own.

Unfortunately, nobody benefitted in any way from this thing.

But I did it.  And no one can take that away from me.

€5 was donated to Habitat for Humanity for the completion of this thing (so I guess somebody will benefit).  Click here to read about the cause and donate online.

 

Best of… May 11

It’s June 6th.  I’m late with my round-up again.  I’m always late.  I’m sorry about that.  But let’s just move on…

…to the best playsuit I’ve seen (via Facehunter)…

…and this oversized Topshop Jumper (via Vanessa Jackman), which I own, but don’t wear often enough…

…and this half-shirt-tuck thing (Does it have a name?).  I do this a lot.  Now that I seen it on Hanneli’s blog, I know it’s cool.

Garance’s friends were as beautiful and inspiring as ever this month.

Everyone is talking about colour blocking.  Here’s how it’s done, via Sterling Style, Hanneli and Khatu.

Rumi, in a pretty perfect Breton striped tee (It’s Forever 21).

Also, did you see Rumi’s post on her favourite hair and beauty products?  I love hearing people’s can’t-live-without products and was thinking of doing my own post on this soon.

via Stockholm Streetstyle (1), The Sartorialist (2&3) and That’s Chic (4).

Thing #3: Spend a rainy day watching movies in my pyjamas

If you are going to do this, do it right.  Follow my tips for the full therapeutic benefits of this kind of duvet-day:

• Check the weather forecast to make sure the day you have planned will be rainy.  There is no pleasure in staying indoors while the sun is shining.
• Schedule nothing else for this day.  Have your meals prepared (or order pizza?) and have plenty of snacks at hand.
• Get the right mix of drama/ humour/ romance in your movie choices and maybe include 1-2 favourites that you know and love.
• Shower in the morning and change into clean pyjamas.  This makes the day seem intentional and productive and you’ll feel less of a slob.

€5 has been donated to The Ride to Conquer Cancer for the completion of this ‘thing’- read about it and donate online by clicking here.

Paris Vs. New York

If I was stuck in a lift with you for an hour, you would find out that one of my dreams is to live in either New York or Paris some day.  To live in New York, I need a visa.  For Paris, a reasonable grasp of the French language.  Unfortunately I have neither right now.  But, I’m working on it.

Illustrations by Vahram Muratyan

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you choose?

Thing #53: Join the Library

Aside from the libraries at university, of which you are a member by default, I have not had membership to a library since I was about 8 years old.  It’s such a shame, isn’t it?  Well, that has all changed and for the bargain price of €2, I am now the proud owner of this:

Yes.  A library card.

Even though Galway Public Library, with its dismal selection of books, wasn’t all that I had envisaged, little could take away from my sense of productivity at checking another thing off my list!

I am interested to know how everyone else is getting on with their Day Zero Lists?  Did you know the website is now back up and running? So if you haven’t already written one, maybe now is the time- you can see my full list (and my progress) here.

€5 has been donated to The Ride to Conquer Cancer for the completion of this ‘thing’- read about it and donate online by clicking here.

Ten Words You Need to Stop Misspelling

This illustration by The Oatmeal addresses one of my ultimate pet peeves (as you might have already read about).  I applaud any attempt at correcting this worldwide issue.

If you like this, you should also check out 7 things you really don’t need to take a photo of, What it means when you say literally and Minor Differences (that aren’t really that minor).