Peachy Keen Paint for a Light and Bright Bedroom

Oh hi, Internet! I've been neglecting my blog in favor of, you know, actually doing stuff. And when I'm not running around, I'm looking at pictures of warm, peachy colored bedrooms. Our bedroom is the only room in our place that gets very little natural light. Right now it's painted gray, and it looks like a well-upholstered dungeon.... not good. I'd like to go back to something like the room's former design: Black furniture, black and white textiles, and color on the walls. I need a paint color that's light, bright, and warm, and I'm leaning toward a very pale peach.

Adorable Home

Love Inspire Create

Avant Garde Design

Better Homes and Gardens

What do you think?

So what, you may ask, have I been doing when I haven't been poring over paint colors? I had such a full weekend, I feel like I'm only now stopping to catch my breath! On Friday I dropped in at a friend's birthday party, then went out and danced at QDP with awesome people. On Saturday I helped two of my favorite people in the world move into a new house, and then was treated to Rosepepper and Jeni's ice cream as a reward for  my efforts. And on Sunday, Keith and I introduced our families to each other over dinner in Chattanooga.

His parents, my parents, and his Mom's parents all met for cocktails and dinner at the Easy Bistro, which is incredibly gorgeous and swank and just OMG look at it. It's in an old building that was once a Coca-Cola Bottling plant, and it has so much Art Deco charm. The sexy black walls... the chartreuse banquette... WOW! When we were there, the tables were festooned with gorgeous arrangements featuring peonies and calla lilies. Oh, and we witnessed a proposal! So much love is in the air, y'all.

The whole point of this dinner was for us to introduce our families, but we ran into a storm on the way there and arrived last. I was afraid we'd walk in and our parents would be awkwardly eyeing each other and it would be horrible. Instead, I felt like we were crashing their cocktail party. We walked in, and they'd obviously been talking a while and they liked each other. I was so happy to see Keith's parents and grandparents, too. Big hugs all around, no awkwardness, and lots of smiles. 

Halfway through dinner, I looked around and thought All of these people are here because Keith and I fell in love. These people are going to be related to each other because one night we both went to the 5 Spot and started talking... and never stopped talking. A little crush became something something big and life-changing. It's a humbling, joyful thing to see that our relationship has the power to change other people's lives, too. It makes my stomach drop, like I'm on a roller coaster.

And then I had to break the spell by saying to Keith, "They're all here because of us. We have the powerrrrr!" in a supervillain voice. But still... Love is a big deal.

May 2013 Ipsy Bag: Spring Fling

For those of you just tuning in, Ipsy is a beauty subscription service. For $10 a month, Ipsy sends 4 - 5 surprise beauty products to your door in a cute cosmetics bag. They even mail it in a shiny hot pink envelope! Seeing that envelope in my mailbox always makes me dance around like a little kid. If you don't want to get in a beauty rut, Ipsy is for you.

It's Ipsy bag time again! I'm not a fan of their new shipping partnership with DHL: It took 6 days for my bag to go from North Carolina to Nashville. What, are they shipping it by sedated land tortoise? But all was forgiven when I received my bag. This month it's chock full of fancy full-size products! And they're almost all to my taste, because this month Ipsy started using our beauty quiz results to customize our bags. Everyone received a full size Zoya nail polish, a yaby concealer, a Mirabella lipstick OR a Juice Beauty lip gloss, plus two random items chosen just for you. And some users got a bonus Urban Decay eye shadow! Here's what I got:

Full size yaby Concealer Refill in Buff - $4.85
Full size Zoya Nail Polish in GeiGei- $8.00
Full size Mirabella Colour Sheers Lipstick in Posy- $22.00
Full size Pacifica Perfume Roll-On in Tahitian Gardenia- $12.00
Anastasia Mini Clear Brow Gel - $6.68
(full size is $22.00 for 7.93 mL)
Full size Urban Decay Moondust eyeshadow in Space Cowboy - $20.00
(special gift for active members/content creators)

TOTAL VALUE: $73.53 (HOLY SHIT!)
Ipsy Price: $10.00

I'm so excited that I got a full size Pacifica Perfume! Pacifica doesn't use any phthalates, nitro-musks, or benzene. The Tahitian Gardenia scent is almost overpoweringly sweet and heavy when it's wet, but it dries down to a subtle, citrusy floral scent that's perfect for spring. It's feminine in a classy, old-school way. Some Ipsy users complained that it smells like old ladies, but I disagree. It's probably more sophisticated than the scents those girls usually wear, though. This is not a bubble-gummy, fruity scent for a young girl, and I like that. The packaging is pretty, too!

I was skeptical about the yaby concealer. How would they give us the right colors? But Buff blends well, and it's a perfect match for my skin. I used it yesterday on my undereye circles, and I like the result. Ipsy is still ironing out the customization thing: On the forums, many African-American women said they received Buff, too. And pale Irish girls got Pecan, the darkest shade. But I can vouch for the product's quality--it's good.

I wanted to try a clear brow gel, and it's like Ipsy read my mind. I have long, unruly eyebrow hairs that do what they want, damnit. The Anastasia Clear Brow Gel holds my brows in place without looking heavy or unnatural, and I like that. When I wear it, though, I can feel it. I become distractingly aware of my eyebrows in a way that is weird. I like the way it looks, but it's going to take some getting used to. Still, I'm glad to have this for bad eyebrow days. Yes, I have those. Don't look at me like that!

The Mirabella Colour Sheers lipstick applies like a lipstick, looks like a stain (think BeneTint), and feels like a super-buttery lip balm. It's made with mango butter, and it made my semi-chapped lips look smooth and healthy--major win! The color looks very dark and bright in the tube, but it's sheer, so I like the way it looks on my face. This is an item I never would've bought, because I would have expected it to be garish, so I'm so glad Ipsy sent it to me! 

I wanted to try the Zoya polish because it's free of formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, toluene, camphor, and dibutyl phthalate. Can you pronounce that? Me neither. Anyway, I thought a less toxic nail polish might dry slowly, but this dried even faster than the polish I got in last month's bag. Unfortunately, though, the sparkly baby pink polish makes me feel like Tinkerbell. It's childish; I'd have preferred the mint green or sky blue polish that other users received. But I like the formula, and now I know that Zoya is a brand to look for.

Finally, let's talk about the Urban Decay Moondust eye shadow. IT'S A SHOWSTOPPER. When I swatched it on my hand, I looked like I'd rubbed up against a disco ball. It's a neutral, champagne colored shadow jam packed with silver glitter. It's definitely not for every day, but the neutral color can be used with practically any wild eye look. Ipsy sent it with a note that said, "Thank you for being an active member of the Ipsy community. Because we appreciate the content you create and share to inspire and help members of the Ipsy community, please enjoy this brand new product from Urban Decay as a bonus in your May Glam Bag." Bloggers, take note: If you subscribe, Ipsy will show you extra love!

If you subscribe to Ipsy, what did you get this month? Do you think they customized the bag well?

Right This Second: Cool Songs, Gatsby and Art Deco Sparkle, and Toys for People Who Love Making Lists.

New York City watercolor print by SketchAway on etsy

Right now I'm crazy about the New York Rooftop Party station on Songza. It has a lot of my old favorites... Lou Reed, David Bowie, the Velvet Underground, and Yo La Tengo seamlessly mixed in with newer bands like Phoenix, Passion Pit, Divine Fits, and Alabama Shakes. Alabama Shakes were a strange choice for this mix, but no matter. Every time I hear them, I think of that magical month in 2011 when they played in Nashville, like, a dozen times. I caught almost every one of those shows. I love them!

Rhinestone Headpiece by ShopElizabethPerry on Etsy

Who isn't inspired by the 1920s right now?! I saw The Great Gatsby on Friday, and I loved the music, lush costumes, and over the top set design. As much as I appreciate historically accurate art deco design, I did love Baz Luhrman's outrageously orchid festooned, bodaciously bedazzled re-imagining of flapper style. This headband looks like something straight out of Gatsby! 

Also. During the scene where Jay showers Daisy with his clothing and it begins to look like rainbow confetti, was anyone else reminded of the scene in Spring Breakers where James Franco crows, "I have shorts in every color!!" Um, yeah. I started laughing uncontrollably because for a brief moment I imagined Leo with a big nasty grill.

Antique French Game Board Print from inkpainter on Etsy

If you've ever watched someone play video games for hours and days and years and thought If he improved himself in real life as much as he improves his character, he'd be a super-fit millionaire Ph.D by now, then you've probably wished there was a way to turn real life into an RPG. Now someone has done it! In the last two months, I've become completely addicted to HabitRPG. 

You simply enter in the things you want to do on a regular basis, like take vitamins or read a book for half an hour or work out for an hour. You also enter things you don't want to do, like eat junk food. You can set tasks to be done every day, or only on certain days of the week. When you do the awesome stuff, you check if off your list, earn points, and eventually level up. When you do the less awesome stuff--be honest!--you lose health. At the end of the day, you also lose points for the healthy tasks you didn't complete. You can enter one-time chores on a separate list, and earn points when you complete those, too.

For an obsessive list-maker like me, it adds an element of fun to my daily chore list. I'm using the principles I learned in the book Switch: How to Change When Change Is Hard to make difficult tasks easier to complete: I'm breaking each job down into very small, specific tasks. For example, "clean the bathroom," can sound overwhelming, and it doesn't provide much direction. It's better to break the job down into specific tasks, like clean the bathroom mirror, wipe down the vanity, put fresh towels out, etc. And it works! I'm beginning to develop better habits. My bathroom has never been so clean, my laundry pile has never been so small, and I haven't forgotten to take my vitamins in weeks.

Have you played it? I'd like to talk to someone else who is using HabitRPG to see what kind of things other people use it for!