While I Was Out: Where the *Bleep* Have I Been, Anyway?

Hi guys. I know, it's been forever since I posted, but I can explain: life is weird.

Here's the deal. Over the past couple of months, things have gone from the ridiculous to the sublime at my house. To start with, Thomas and I have written a script, and stuff is kind of starting to sort of,  maybe, not completely but could-at-any-moment happen with it. I can't really go into it ('cause there's nothing to go into), but we optioned it (it's Facebook official, and everything), and now we're just pacing the delivery room, waiting and hoping to pass out cigars, eventually.

Now, as those of you who have been around here already know, we've also been steadily trying to renovate our sunroom. Well, the good news is: we finished it! And it's gorgeous! The bad news is: it immediately flooded, along with a good chunk of the rest of the house. No joke. Our area experienced "historical" rainfalls, and pretty much half the city ended up with at least some water in their houses. Before anyone tries to organize a fundraiser, or anything, though, let me assure you that we are perfectly okay. Thomas and I were extremely lucky that the water that came in was minimal, did absolutely no damage to any of our furniture or belongings, and was quickly cleaned up. We only lost the carpet in our room and the hallway, and for about a day, we honestly thought we'd saved it. It was really not a big deal. We also have a very elaborate system of drains that normally works perfectly. There was just so. much. rain. Like, half a foot in an hour, or some such nonsense like that. In any case, here's a shot of part of the sunroom. Thomas took a really nice panoramic video of the whole thing, but it hates me and won't embed.

 

You'd never guess it used to be teal with white trim and white-ish carpet. There's still junk in there that needs to be cleaned up, and an extra air hockey table (any takers?), but I'm calling it done.

 

And, since the carpet was up in the hallway, we took the opportunity to paint in there, as well. Since we already had orange and brown, that seemed a nice, warm and cozy color scheme to stick with.

Look, Ma! New carpet!



And...it looks like The Shining. Ronnie has two identical stuffed dinosaurs (his baby and a backup), and I really (like, you have no idea how badly) want to put them side by side at the end of the hall. We were about three-quarters of the way through painting when we realized the similarity, so we decided it was easiest to just go with it. We got the creepiest mirror and sconces we could find, and I'm planning to put a framed minimalist poster for the movie on the opposite wall.

It's hard to tell, but those are all distressed, and the candles are black. I'm planning to have a virgin light them on Halloween night to see if the Sanderson Sisters show up.

Anyway, while all this was going on, Thomas and I learned that Night of the Krampus was nominated for a Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award. Holy crap. People like Joss Whedon and Greg Nicotero win those things. Plus, the other shorts nominated were all amazing. It really and truly was an honor to be in their company, and associated with this award in any way. The winners were announced Monday night, and I am happily shocked to report that we walked away with First Runner-Up. The winning film was a shot-for-shot remake of the 1931 Dracula trailer, made by the folks over at Cinefix. It's absolutely hilarious, and I highly encourage all of you to check it out. I subbed to the channel after watching it. Congrats to them on a well deserved win!

Finally, I'm finishing up rehearsals for an Andrews Sisters tribute act, and we have our first gig next week. I've had a Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy earworm alternating with Do You Want To Build a Snowman for weeks (freaking memes). Blood may be shed soon.

Anyhoo, that's what's been going on around the Smith house--oh! We're filming tomorrow, too. I knew I'd forgotten something. Basically, it's a circus, but at least most of the acts are really cool.

In conclusion, I leave you with a chihuahua assembling a bed frame:

 

Awwwwww!!!!

InstagRandomness

I am so tired.

I mean, I am flat-out, fall-on-your-face, dear-God-I-should-not-be-driving exhausted. Poor Thomas is, too. I'd like to blame it all on the time change, but we've been burning the candle at both ends for so long now, this was bound to happen. At this point, I'm sitting upright. Please don't ask any more of me...and pass the coffee. Thank you.

Now, for your viewing entertainment, I give you: Random Instagram Photos! InstagRandomness, if you will. If you enjoy these, you can follow me @adorablenapalm. I don't have a hashtag (I'm not hip with all this newfangled social media hullaballoo. In my day, I had to dial-up to get to the world wide web. I had to wait for a connection and listen to a whole lotta screeching, just so I could reach America Online. Also, I'm apparently 106 years old now.) but I am always open to suggestions.

And now, the InstagRandomness!

Considering the March ipsy bags have already started arriving, I should probably show you a picture of the February bag. I actually took about two-dozen photos, with close-ups, swatches...the whole nine yards...and they all turned out orange. All of them. This was the best one of the bunch.

My bag contained Zoya nail polish in Odette, City Color Be Matte blush in Fresh Melon, Tini Beauty Eyetini in Spiced Rum, POP Beauty lip gloss in Peony Petal, and a Nume hair mask. The bag was a very cute hot pink with pink leopard lining.

Briefly, the Zoya is a lovely plum cream. For me, the name Odette conjurs up visions of soft white feathers, but this is beautiful, just the same. The blush is ginormous, crazy pigmented, and the perfect Spring-y coral. It's sitting in my current rotation. The Eyetini is fabulous. It's a rich bronze cream that applies easily, blends well, and reminds me a lot of my favorite MAC eyeshadow, Woodwinked. I lucked out with the POP Beauty lip gloss. It seems that several subscribers had issues with a gasoline-like smell, but mine is fine, so far. The rubber cap does have a distinct rubber odor, but that's to be expected. The gloss itself is more like a liquid lipstick. It's opaque, a pretty orange-leaning pink, and stays on fairly well. It's not my favorite thing, but I've worn it quite a bit. Lastly, the Nume hair mask conditions nicely and smells of Patchouli (to me, anyway). All in all, February was a very good bag month.

Now, if you've been reading this blog for any length of time, then you probably have noticed my complaining about the renovations we're doing to our sunroom. Well, folks, here's a sneak peek:

The walls are Orange Spice (or Spiced Orange? I can't remember) from the Better Homes and Gardens collection at Walmart. The door is Tierra Brown from the same line. The blue is painter's tape, and I'd better get used to it, because it has embedded itself into the walls and glass. Yay.

The floor is mostly done, now (just a few more planks. Thank God), but here's a shot of the new floor going over the old laminate tile.

I am in love with this floor. The wooden planks are actually stick-down vinyl tile! You can cut it with scissors (and I have...oh boy, have I ever). The brand is Style Selections in Antique Woodland Oak, and Thomas and I found it at Lowe's. If I hadn't put it down myself, I'd never believe it was stick-down tile. It even feels like real wood. Ah-maze-ing!

This little "weekend project" has been going on for a solid month and a half. Of course, we did take one weekend off to go to the brand-new Pensacon convention in Pensacola. Remember, this was the first year EVER of this con. First. Year. Now, look at the vendor floor:

Holy hordes of people, Batman! There were eleven thousand attendees on Saturday. Not over the course of the weekend. Saturday. That's nuts. And awesome. We were there Saturday and Sunday, and had an absolute blast. I got to see Axel from The Walking Dead, and nearly bumped into Nicholas Brendon in a hallway. It was magical. If you get a chance, read the article I linked to and join me in being highly impressed with this fledgling con.

In addition to celeb-spotting and souvenier shopping, Thomas got to participate in a panel on Indie Filmmaking. I sat in the front row and grinned like an idiot while snapping pictures. I'm so proud of him. There were six other highly accomplished speakers, and we were so honored to have Fighting Owl counted among their work.

So, this happened...

I kind of love him. He sits in our office/studio, next to a shadow box filled with zombie faces. That seems fitting. My voice students haven't had a chance to meet him, yet, so I'll have to let you know how that goes. The dog likes him. He also likes the Krampus. However, Batman is not allowed anywhere near him. The chihuahua may not be the best judge of character...

Speaking of Ronnie, I leave you with a visual representation of the word "spoiled":

I love that little face. Both those faces, actually. :)

A Brief Interlude: Rant and Random Observations

I'm actually working on a "real" post right now, but thought I'd stop in for a sec for a mini-rant and some random observations.

*Begin rant...now

Why, in the name of all that is holy, is Halloween already being clearanced out?!?! Today is the 17th. That's...one, two, three...14 days before the actual holiday, and it was already on clearance over the weekend, so really...19 days before the actual holiday. The pop-up Spirit store didn't open until September, and nothing made it to Target or Walmart's shelves until the very, very, very end of the month (and even then it was only a few items). Christmas trees, on the other hand, have been on the floors for two weeks.

In addition to Halloween items barely being in stores, the selection has been godawful. I had to go to three stores before I found glow-in-the-dark nail polish, and then it was overpriced. In the past, I've found throw pillows, baking supplies, nice table linens, welcome mats--you know, decent decorating items--but this year, the best I could find was a clearanced out centerpiece at Michael's, left over from last year. I know that I've already ranted and raved over the lack of costumes in stores, so I won't go into that again, except to say this: my little brother needed a Batman mask for Homecoming Week at his school, and I told my Mom I'd pick it up for her. I eventually ended up in the toy department at Target, because I couldn't find one anywhere else. Let me say that again: I ended up in the toy department. Not the Halloween aisle. The toy department. That's just sad, folks.

Normally, I try to do a Halloween post per day in October. It's something that I really look forward to, but this year, I really don't have anything to write about. According to the merchants, Halloween is over, and it wasn't really worth dealing with, anyway. There aren't any awesome new costumes out this year, unless you count Sexy Captain America. I'm going to be a Despicable Me minion, but that doesn't require special makeup or hair. There was a great Toy Story Halloween special on last night, but aside from that, there's been very little holiday-specific programming. I'm just...I'm just disappointed.

I'm still going to try to post some Halloween-related things around here, but it's not going to be everyday. The post I'm working on now is a product review. I am going to attempt a makeup tutorial, but really have no idea what it'll be. Maybe a sugar skull? Thomas wanted me to do that last year, but I chickened out. Anyway, I should probably wrap this up. After all, there are only 68 days till Christmas, and I haven't even started shopping.

*End of rant.

Recently, I've learned and/or noticed some things that I thought I'd share with you.

If you cross my puppy, he will b**ch-slap you. Pardon the language, but I really don't know how else to describe it.

College kids look like babies. When did that happen?

Phone chargers work really well when you remember to plug them into both the wall and your phone.

I don't care how uncool or inauthentic it may be, I really like Olive Garden, and I could go for some fettuccine alfredo right now.

Equate Weight Loss Shakes may taste like Slim-Fast, but they are nowhere near as effective at controlling hunger.

I think I figured out why I'm craving Olive Garden.

All day long, I've had both Time Warp and Seasons Of Love stuck in my head. They keep alternating, so now, apparently, there are 525,600 ways to jump to the left and take a step to the right.

That's it for the randomness. Have a great day, and I'll be back with an honest-to-God post soon. Thanks!

Random Observations: Does This Count As a Vacation?

Okay, I've officially given up on the post I was attempting to write. The gist of it was: Essie Naughty Nautical nail polish is really, really pretty, and it lasts a long time. Just make sure you use a base coat, or it will stain your nails the color of mold, which is not a good look. I had photos, and they were actually halfway decent. Unfortunately, Blogger has decided that I am not to publish that post (at least, not in its entirety), so this is the best I can give you guys. I'm extraordinarily sorry.

But it is a darn nice polish.

It's teal.

I like teal.

Anyhoo, Thomas and I are getting ready to take Fighting Owl to the Pensacola Para Con next Saturday. C.U.P.I.D. is screening in the Birmingham Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival the next Saturday, and then we begin filming two microshorts in September. On top of that, my grandfather has been ill (but is doing much better, thank God!), so I've been a little busy trying to help my mom with him. I haven't been as much help as I would have liked, but, not to put too fine a point on it, I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off.

Through my haze of chaos and general confusion, I've noticed some things, and I thought I'd share them with you. Mind you, they're completely random, and I'm running on caffeine and adrenaline. Consider yourself warned.



I've, quite literally, eaten Taco Bell for lunch every day this week. When did I go back to college?

Fish Eye Pinot Grigio is not half bad. I only felt slightly trashy dropping a couple of ice cubes in it. (It's hot down here, y'all. You do what you have to do.)

Wet 'N' Wild has come out with an eye shadow collection that contains a red--A RED!!!--and only costs $2.99 for a trio. The baby blue, peach, and matte brown trio is surprisingly wearable, and quite lovely.

Halloween decorations are already out. School hasn't even started yet. WTYouKnowWhat, man?

Staples wants seventeen bucks for a brochure holder that can also display DVDs. Big Lots had a desk organizer for six dollars, and it looks nicer and holds more. All it needs is a coat of spray paint to cover up the pink lining. DIY, baby!

Wearing jeans in August in Alabama is a stupid fashion choice. On the upside, I may have lost a couple of pounds of water weight.

If you start up a parked vehicle, put it in gear, and then immediately put it back in park--never taking your foot off the brake--the vehicle will still move. If you do all that and you're my brother, you will also come this close to running over your mother's foot.

This week, I've lost a hair clip, a pen, and the will to get off of my couch after 6pm. I really only miss the hair clip.

Until Monday night, I had not hemmed anything since 1998.

If you put something flat on the conveyor belt at Target and it gets sucked up into the counter, they can not get it back. Lord knows what you'd find inside if you cracked one open. You would, at least, find a pack of Goody hair barrettes.  



I think I need to go home and unscrew the cap on that bottle of Pinot Grigio. 'Night, everybody!

While I Was Out: Random Phone Pictures Edition!

As any of you who have been following for a while know, things are never quite "normal" at my house. For crying out loud, this happened in my backyard:

Krampus Peek-a-Boo! I see you!

That's my sweet, adorable hubby, by the way. He was the stunt double for our creature actor. Truth be told, though, I think he just wanted an excuse to run around the backyard and scare people. 

Now, that was back in...February? I think? Anyway, things are still bonkers around the Smith crib (see? I'm hip and with it), which is one reason I've been MIA so much around here. I thought, for fun, I'd sift through my camera phone pics and see what popped up. Maybe they'll better illustrate the weird.

So, we made a mascot head. This is (just the head) of Punchy the Fighting Owl. The rest of the costume is still in progress, but the hard part is done. In case you're wondering, we made the body out of insulation foam and a hard hat, the eyes out of layers of screen door mesh and acrylic paint, and the whole thing is covered in polyfill, felt, and furry cloth. Oh--and about 612 hot glue sticks. We ended up sort of making the whole thing up as we went along, but the inspiration for the design came from this Instructable.

No. I did not make my own DIY Redneck Wine Glass (sold in other stores for $15.99, apparently). We're in pre-production for a couple of shorts, so my "grocery" lists are a little...funky. I had to run into Dollar Tree to look for a laser pointer, a car phone charger, some rubber snakes, glass stones, paint supplies, and a fake goldfish. (Oddly enough, the hardest to find item on that list has been the bag of rubber snakes.) I saw this set-up and couldn't resist snapping a picture. Then, I went home and glued (no kidding) 436 amber rhinestones onto leopard material.

I know I've mentioned it about a gazillion times on here, but Thomas and I have been working really hard to clean up our backyard. Because we're gluttons for punishment, we decided to add a water feature to this strange little random patch of dirt that lay in the middle of a rockwork embankment. Here it is at the OMG-I'm-almost-finished-with-this-bleepidy-bleep-bleep-thing-and-I-ran-out-of-rock-! stage. It's finished now, though, so I'll have to take a picture and let you guys see it in all it's waterfall-y glory.

Good Lord, we need to power wash the courtyard! Here's Thomas, doing his best Vanna White impression to show off the piece de resistance in our backyard makeover: the movie screen. It was a DIY project, made from movie screen material bought off of Amazon, and some lightweight wood pieces from Lowe's. It took about five minutes to screw together the wooden frame, and then the fabric is just stretched over it and stapled. We've hung it onto a couple of fence posts using picture hanging hooks, and the screen lives indoors when not in use.

And, because I've just been so bored, I decided to completely renovate my closet. This is still at the "in progress" stage. I've still got a ways to go on organizing, and then I have to empty it all out and paint. Expect a blog post on this when it's done...if it's done...

And, most exciting of all, I took the puppy to the vet. Trust me, he wasn't anywhere near as happy as he looks.

There's a lot of really cool stuff coming up in the next few weeks. Fighting Owl Films is doing a panel at Pensacola Paracon, and then Thomas and I are (most likely) going to the Sidewalk Moving Pictures Festival. Our short, C.U.P.I.D., was accepted, so if you're in the area in August, you should go check it (and the rest of the festival--should be awesome) out. 

Have a great Monday, y'all!

Random Observations and Hard Truths

Either I dress like a seventeen year-old boy, or there's a kid at the mall who dresses like a 32 year-old woman. In either case, it made for an awkward moment outside of Hollister last night.

Why do the owners on Bar Rescue get so bent out of shape over Taffert changing the name or redesigning the interior? He does that on every episode. Did they not watch the show before signing up? I could understand the first couple of seasons, but it's been on for a while now.

In my town, there is a cupcake shop next to a gym, and a Baskin Robbins next to a Weight Watchers. There's a special place in Hell for those sweet shoppe owners.

Pineapple-Banana smoothies and Pinterest-inspired single-serve salads are awesome. They make a fantastic lunch, and I feel so much healthier for eating that today. It was even better when followed by a Cadbury Caramel Egg.

I should consider joining that gym next to the cupcake shop.

Facebook is a complete and total productivity-sucker. That said, if I ever stopped scrolling through it, I might miss gems like this:

Photo Credit: Facebook (The Walking Dead Memes, via Rosemary Martin)
I laughed for about a minute.

The other day at Target, I saw two really cute belted dresses that I considered trying on...until I realized they were in the maternity section. Why are there belted dresses in the maternity section?

I really want a red velvet cupcake. Darn you, cupcake shop!

It costs as much today to go to a matinee flick as it did for my first date to take me to a nighttime showing. Thank God for Netflix.

A couple of weeks ago, I had to explain to my brother what life was like before the Internet. Ouch.

One of my brother's friends had never seen a rotary phone until he saw my mother's decorative princess phone. He asked how to text on it...and was serious. Double ouch.

Walgreen's only had 100+ sunscreen when I ran out of what I had and needed to buy another tube. I think I'm getting paler.

Thomas and I are buying a house, finishing a movie, preparing for a festival, and working our regular jobs. Whoever invented the frozen margarita in a bag, I salute you.

Life With the Smiths (Or, I Really Need a Vacation)

I was flipping through the pictures on my phone today (read: I was bored), and came to the realization that Thomas and I are really weird. Also, I take pictures of the most random things. For example:

This picture was taken in July. July. Also, it's toast. Look closely. I assure you, that is toast, cut into a gingerbread man shape, slathered with icing, and dusted with sprinkles. We needed to shoot the poster image for Night of the Krampus, and I didn't have any cookie mix in the house. Oops. So, I improvised. And photographed it. For some unknown reason.

This is my kitchen backsplash. Thomas and I went through bloody heck to put this thing up, so I'm as proud of it as some folks are their antique cars. First, we had to pick out the tile, which was, of course, out of stock. Then we stalked the home improvement store a week or so until we could buy it, and then--and only then--were informed that it wasn't the sticky back, self-adhering type, but it was twice the price we thought it would be. There was grout involved. We ran out halfway through. Thomas threatened to divorce me four times. I threatened to kill him twice. A fun time was had by all. It looks fantastic now that it's all up. Of course, now the countertops look awful...

Thomas decided to be Batman for Halloween. This is the best picture I have of him in his costume, because the "professional quality" rental had to be held onto his body with duct tape and prayer. Indoor lighting was not its friend. In the dark, though, he looked amazing, and even had trick-or-treaters' parents asking for pictures with him. He had a blast, and talked like Christian Bale for about a week before and after.

It's a flying elf!!!! I love this picture! During the Night of the Krampus shoot, I snapped a few in-production photos, and this was a complete accident. The little boy jumped from the stairs to the ground, and somehow the stars aligned and I got this shot that naturally looks photoshopped. He's so clear, and the background is so fuzzy, and he looks like he's hovering in mid-air. Plus, the face is fantastic. Love, love, love.

Everyone should have a Herbie. Nothing says, "Fun times!" like a narcissistic skeleton torso in a plaid blazer and beret. Why, I keep one Herbie in the guest room closet, and another in a storage locker, just to be sure I'm never without the arrogant little so-and-so! Here he is with Soren, after we finished a shoot. Soren still has on his makeup, and we were all a little punchy. Herbie, of course, was a total diva throughout the entire day.

This is what happens when you watch too many Jurassic Park special features in a row. We had just watched a featurette on how they created the scene with the velociraptors in the kitchen, when I decided I needed a snack. This greeted me, and I darn near fell on the floor laughing. It's like Ronnie's little stuffed dinosaur wanted to imitate the movie, and failed epically. Still cracks me up. (Can't you just hear his sad little baby Rawr?)

Speaking of Ronnie, here he is sword fighting with Thomas. We make our own fun, y'all.

Thanks for joining me on this little journey into my weird life. This is what happens when you're trying to finish one film and promote another while trying to buy a house during Holy week (and you work for a Catholic church). I'm approaching delirium. Have a great day, and I'll see you tomorrow!

Randomness: Naked Basics Eye Look and Jewelmint Mystery Box

Good Lord, it has been a day! I had planned to do a December faves, but that'll have to wait. Instead, I give you TOTAL RANDOMNESS!! I know you're excited...

Anyhoo, to further test out the Urban Decay Naked Basics palette, and how well it coordinates with the larger neutral palettes, I put together this quickie eye look. It works beautifully with a deep berry lip (like Revlon Lip Butter in Red Velvet). Leave it as is to wear to work or shopping; toss a little sparkle on top, and you've got the perfect holiday party look.

Lid: Venus (Naked Basics)
Crease: Naked (Naked 1)
Blending: W.O.S. (NB)
Lower Liner: Naked (N1)
Brow and Inner Corner: Virgin (N1)
Upper Liner: Zero 24/7 Glide-On Pencil
Mascara: Buxom Lash

I also received my Jewelmint Mystery Box!!! About a week and a half ago!!! I'm posting this not to brag or show off, but because the Mystery Box is still available. If you were thinking of purchasing, here is an example of a typical box. Each box is different and pieces are chosen at random, but it'll give you an idea.

From Top: Evening Star Bracelet, Crystal Gazer Necklace (not available on site/discontinued), Lover's Locket Silver, and Calypso Island Earrings (not available on site/discontinued). You might be able to find the discontinued pieces on Ebay, but I can't guarantee that.

I was beyond thrilled, because I'd already been eyeing the Evening Star Bracelet. It, alone, was worth the $29.99 price tag, but there was no promise of that piece. The Mystery Box is a gamble, and one that you won't necessarily win if you're not completely enamored with the majority of the Jewelmint product line--past and present. Sure, the bracelet was a favorite, and the locket has already made it into regular rotation in my daily wardrobe (I'm wearing it today, actually). The other two pieces...well, they've been more challenging.

I did manage to wear the earrings. I paired them with a black sweater over a gold tank, and pinned my hair in a messy bun. The earrings were the main focus of the look, and I received a few compliments on them. They're decent quality, not too heavy, and really made my outfit look "styled", rather than "thrown on". The Crystal Gazer necklace is still in the box, but I think will work well with a low-cut black wrap dress and my leopard flats with pink crystals (much less tacky than they sound, I promise!).

All of the pieces are well-made. The clasp on the bracelet is very secure, which is extremely important given the weight of the piece. It's not light. The locket does open and close, with both a magnetic and button closure. The minimum amount of four pieces came packed with three items in a signature Jewelmint box, and the bracelet in a velvet Jewelmint pouch.

Do I recommend the Mystery Box? Absolutely, as long as you are prepared to possibly end up with pieces you HATE. I have gotten a dud or two in the past, but there are normally enough pieces that I genuinely love, that it all comes out in the wash. I don't get every Mystery Box that comes along, but the ones that I have received have given me items that I never would have purchased on my own, but offer new opportunities to be creative, and maybe even breathe new life into some old wardrobe pieces. 

Random Observations

I think Michael Stipe is trying to decorate my house. Either that, or Andy Kaufman is punking me from beyond the grave. In two days, I have been in two different home decor shops (Kirkland's and Bed Bath & Beyond), and both times I have been haunted by REM's Man On the Moon. Now, don't get me wrong; I really, really like that song, and was a big fan of the Jim Carrey movie (robbed of an Oscar! Robbed!!), but I haven't heard it in any rotation, much less heavy rotation since last century. What is going on, and should I be on the lookout for a skinny, bald man bearing throw pillows?

Yeah...I've officially gone off the deep end. I think I need a vacation.

In other news, the Adorable Napalm Facebook page (why aren't you following it?) has gone Timeline. I have no idea if I like that, or not, but it did give me the opportunity to put a snazzy picture at the header. I thought, today, I'd go through that picture and let you know what was what in that (actually, very organized and artfully arranged) chaos.

1.   Stila One Step Primecolor, Pop of Pink
2.   Buxom Big & Healthy Lip Stick, San Fransisco
3.   Stila One Step Makeup, Light
4.   Urban Decay Rollergirl Palette
5.   Hermione Granger's Wand
6.   Buxom Stay-There Eyeshadow, Mutt
7.   Beauty and the Beast Figurine
8.   Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara
9.   Bare Escentuals Mineral Foundation, Fairly Light
10. Stila One Step Primecolor, Kitten
11. Buxom Stay-There Eyeshadow, Cocker Spaniel
12. Urban Decay Primer Potion, Sin
13. The Tenth Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver
14. Benefit Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow, RSVP
15. Buxom Lips, Clair
16. MAC Eyeshadow, Woodwinked
17. Mini Stormtrooper Helmet
18. MAC Lipstick, Russian Red
19. Buxom Lips, Trixie (I know you can't see it, but that's what it is)
20. LORAC Eyeshadow, Sand
21. Stila One Step Primecolor, Capri Coral
22. Benefit Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow, Strut
23. Sephora By O.P.I. Top Coat, Traffic Stopper Copper
24. Urban Decay Primer Potion, Eden
25. LORAC Perfectly Lit Oil-Free Luminizing Powder, Spotlight
26. Urban Decay Eyeshadow, Free Love
27. China Glaze Nail Polish, Riveting
28. Owl Keychain (it screeches!)

Frugal Friday: This Is How My Mind Works

Some random observations from today:

Someone is always getting married on the Young & the Restless. Seriously. About once a week (in the 30 minutes, or so, that I catch most days before I go to work), someone will either announce an engagement, find themselves in a forced/arranged/sham marriage, get word that their ex is betrothed to their enemy and will be their kid's step-parent (whoa), or--crazy as it sounds--actually walk down the aisle. Of course, then someone will have to try to stop the ceremony by objecting, shooting someone, or having the bride or groom arrested. I'm telling you, that is one heckuva town. Vegas never had it so interesting.

Weddings make me think of cake. Now I want cake. There's a cupcake shop on the corner near my new house. I will never lose this weight. Oh well.

You don't so much clean an unused bathtub as you dust it. In some ways, I find that to be more difficult. Not only that, do you have any idea how galling it is to exert so much effort cleaning something that was never used? Well, I take that back. It was used once as a crime scene for a friend's student film, but then the only stuff that went into it was fake blood, and that was made with dishwashing detergent; so, in effect, the only thing that's ever been in that tub was soap...and I still had to clean it. That's just irritating.

Oh! There's a gym nextdoor to the cupcake shop! I could join the gym, and then work off whatever calories were in the cup--oh, I can't even get through that sentence. The shop is walking distance from the house, though. I could just walk to and from the cupcake-y goodness, and that wouldn't be so bad. Yeah! That's a plan!

You should never lose hope. Just because you step up to the Plinko game of life with only two chips, and the first one lands on $0, you shouldn't give up. It only takes one chip to hit $10,000. Your chip could be that one.

Forget the cupcakes! I don't need them! I will lose this weight! I will be strong! Now...what can I do about that pesky Krispy Kreme down the street? Sigh...

And now, for this week's deals:

E.L.F.: Get an 8-piece set (plus travel case) for $2 with any $20 online purchase. Just add the Sweetheart Collection set to your cart, along with $20 worth of merchandise, and enter code SWEET at checkout to get your discount. Offer valid until 1/30/12.

StyleMint: Existing members who buy any two Ts today will receive a free Cupid's Kit, which includes one best-selling JewelMint piece, a seamless cami, and either a lip stain or face cream. No code necessary.

JewelMint: Purchase any JewelMint piece today and receive the Take a Bow Ring for free with code BOWRING.

Have a great weekend, guys! (Now, go get your cupcake on!)