HEY NATALIE JEAN

4.11.2012

SNIPPETS OF A QUIET AFTERNOON AT HOME

you know how it is

when you don't have anywhere to be

and you're just waiting on the grocery delivery to arrive?

4.10.2012

MAMA STYLE: MY SKIN CARE ROUTINE

i decided this year to finally be purposeful about my skin care routine. i'm going to be thirty in october (woah), and i have a kid now, i'm somebody's mother, and also this summer i'll have been married nine years? nine years. whaaaaaaat. these are the wrinkle-makers, people. it's only a matter of time.

i had terribly troubled skin in high school. (you know, it wrote emo poetry and graffitied buildings.) i went to a few doctors and tried all kinds of washes and medications with no luck. when i moved back to the desert for school, my skin miraculously cleared up. poof! some combination of dryness and age i'm sure. since then my skin has been fine minus a hormonal pimple or two, so i've largely ignored-slash-abused it. i've learned the less i interfere the better, but now that "i'm going to be thirty this year", it seems a good time to beef up my arsenal just a smidge, so that when this aging thing really hits i'll be ready for it.

here is what i've been using lately and loving:

// 1. DOVE WHITE BAR SOAP // i've been using this to clean my face since i was thirteen, on a dermatologist's recommendation. i've tried drugstore foaming cleansers, i've tried proactiv, i've tried really expensive boutique label cleansers... this is always the best.

// 2. OLAY CLEANSING BRUSH // i'd wanted to try the clarisonic mia for a long time (bloggers RAVED about it, i was so suckered in), but i just couldn't justify the price. then one day i stumbled on this olay brush at costco. it does a similar job at less than a quarter of the price. two thumbs up. it's amazing. i use it every night with my dove soap. (i chucked the cleanser it came with.)

// 3. BURT'S BEES BLEMISH STICK // i like to hear my pimples screech in pain when i use a blemish treatment. this one has a good kick, is all natural, and really seems to work. it smells funky, but i sort of like it.

// 4. KIEHL'S MOISTURIZERS // i'm trying to be better about wearing moisturizer at night. when i do remember, i like the basic kiehl's ultra facial moisturizer. during the day i'm all about the kiehl's tinted moisturizer. if i've had a lot of sleep (hah, when has that ever happened) i don't need anything else. one bottle will last me a good eight months or longer.

// 5. SAY YES TO CUCUMBERS FACIAL TOWELETTES // i love these wipes for lazy nights and mornings when i need a good refresher. they might not cut it for removing heavy eye make up, but i haven't needed to worry about that for a while (oh the glory of fake eyelashes).

// 6. DIY RAW APPLE CIDER VINEGAR TONER // raw apple cider vinegar is like a miracle food. it is good for everything from weight loss to curing allergies, alleviating heart burn, and making your skin look amaaaaazing. when rebecca posted about using it as a toner i finally got myself to whole foods to buy a bottle. it has to be raw, with the mother, and while rebecca recommends two parts water to one part vinegar, i go for 50/50. i smell like a salad and my skin literally glows. (the first week or so there's an adjustment period. i had some icky breakouts when i started using it and apparently that's common, the vinegar is said to pull out impurities, which is gross but also rad.)

// 7. ROC NIGHT TREATMENT // i use this both night and day. retinol is good for removing fine lines and clearing up blackheads. i've even noticed a difference in my skin's smoothness, which is more than i expected, for sure.

so. what's your skin care routine like?

anything amazing i HAVE to try?

4.09.2012

MEETING DADDY AFTER WORK

it's the busy season for tax accountants, but it's not the busy season for international tax attorneys. most nights this week brandon has been able to come home early, while the sun's still out and everything. what a luxury! sometimes, when it's warm enough, we'll trek south to meet the him on his walk north. it's quite the tactical mission. lots of text messages flying back and forth and "i'm on the west side of ninth!" and "but i crossed over to tenth!" and then! oh how sweet it is when huck spots his old man coming up the street and realizes, hey! that's my dad-person!