Quarantine Reads

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I’m hoping to make some serious progress on my “to be read” pile during this time at home, and I’ve read some great ones lately! Here are books I’ve enjoyed and perhaps you will like them too. (Find these fantastic bookends here.)

How to Celebrate Everything

As much as I love to “read” a cookbook cover to cover, this one is so much more. How to Celebrate Everything dives into what makes family celebrations and rituals so meaningful to our family stories. This is a great book to cozy up with, and has me adding ingredients to make both pickles and mashed potatoes to my grocery order.

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

I’m embarrassed to say how long I’ve owned this book without trying its methods. In fact a new version is now available. The idea is to make up a big batch of bread dough and store in it your refrigerator, baking a small, fresh loaf each day. I ordered a special measuring spoon, dough container, and oven thermometer to get started. Stay tuned for my bread baking adventures!

The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe

I adore this book. Angela Kelly opens up about her close relationship with the queen and all that goes into creating her iconic looks. This book is so elegant and beautiful. It will transport you right out of quarantine and into Buckingham Palace!

Open Book

Jessica Simpson has an extraordinary life in so many ways and Open Book is spilling the tea about it all. i could not put this one down! It’s a great read and will leave you seeing her in new ways.

American Royals

If you enjoyed The Royal We or you are just a monarchy enthusiast like me, you will enjoy American Royals. Imagine if the USA had a king and queen! Weave in lots of beautiful clothes, a palace, and several intriguing romances and you have this darling book. I was delighted to see a sequel is available for pre-order as well.

Lilac Girls

Warning… Lilac Girls will absolutely break your heart. This is a work of fiction based on real people in World War II. It’s gripping, it’s sad and it is beautiful too.

Chasing Vines

I admire and respect Beth Moore so much and I’m loving Chasing Vines. It’s one to be savored and lingered over, to soak in the biblical wisdom she shares so eloquently.

Tell Me More

Grief, parenting, friendship…. Tell Me More takes a raw and real look at them all. This book has some language, just FYI, but it’s full of so much truth. I took a lot away from this one.

Those are my most recent reads… let me know if you enjoy them too!

Home Beauty Hacks

As we all hunker down and fear the worst… we can still try to look our best… or maybe just not completely let ourselves go. While I fear what my hair will become without highlights (spoiler alert: not a natural blonde) I do have some home beauty tricks to share from other parts of my routine. These are things I already do at home on a regular basis, and I’ve perfected my systems.

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Eyebrow Tint

This eyebrow dying kit makes a huge difference and will save you so much money! Mix up a little dye in the cute little cup following the instructions that are included. Paint the mixture on your eyebrows and use a Q-tip to keep it from going out of bounds. Let set for about eight minutes. Wipe off with a dry black washcloth. Then wet another part of the washcloth and wipe off the rest. You will look instantly better!

Remove Your Gel Polish

If you’re like me, you treated yourself to a gel manicure before we all hunkered down. At some point, it will need to come off. I’ve perfected a home removal system that keeps your nails safe. I do this when I’m in between manicures and my shellac has grown out too much. Simply follow these steps:

1. First, take a good nail file and scuff up your polish all over. This breaks the seal and will aid in removal.

2. Next, soak off the polish. You can do this two ways, but either one needs to be done for at least TEN MINUTES. Set a timer on your phone. If you peek at your nails, start the 10-minute timer over again. You can either soak in a bowl of pure acetone, or use these handy peel-and-seal packets. I do one hand at a time with the packets. I love them!

3. After soaking use a tool like this to carefully scrape off any remaining polish.

4. You can also use your file to buff off stubborn spots.

Also, BONUS BENEFIT… when you do return to the salon you will already have your polish removed so you can get them done in a snap.

Self Tanner

I’ve tried many self-tanning methods but two clear favorites have emerged over the years. I love this product for my face and this one for my body.

Some tips on using the body towels:

• Do it right after a shower where you’ve exfoliated yourself really well.

• After rubbing it on, obviously wash your hands… but before you do, put the used towel in a ziploc bag. The next morning you can use it to touch up any spots you missed without using another towel!

Save the Trees and Your Skin

I use SO MANY little cotton pads as part of my daily skin care routine, so several months ago I switched to washable ones. I now feel much less wasteful about using a fresh, new pad for each product. I ordered a couple of different sets, but these reusable pads are my favorite.

The pads come with tiny laundry bags, but I wanted something different to make sure they get thoroughly clean. I use this set of two bags. One is for clean cotton pads, and one for dirty. When the dirty one starts getting full I throw it in the wash with my other white towels. Once washed and dried, I empty the clean pads in to the clean bag. It works like a charm!

At-Home Dermaplaning

I mean… what could go wrong?!?!? Ha! Every few weeks I use a blade to gently remove dead skin and any fuzz (ew) from my face. Just gently scrape clean skin at about a 45-degree angle. Please be safe and only go up and down, never side-to-side, obviously. For a budget version, I like these blades. I recently upgraded to this tool (you’ll want refills too) and I am a huge fan. You do need to replace your blades early and often for best results.

I hope you enjoy these tips. I hope to share more as we navigate a new normal in this uncertain time. Lots of love to all of you!

Groundhog Day Breakfast

Groundhog Day is #2 on my list of 20 Days to Celebrate in 2020 and I that means a fun breakfast is in order. I created these little groundhogs with Nutter Butter cookies, M&M’s, mini M&M’s, and marshmallow bits. I used frosting as the “glue.” These little guys are peeking out of store-bought chocolate donuts. My fingers are crossed for an early spring!

Check out my Groundhog Day movie night too!