We made it to Friday! My week included two trips to the dentist and enough Novocaine to knock out a herd of cattle (I swear I’m resistant to it–confirmation that I FEEL TOO MUCH IN LIFE), so I’m doing an especially celebratory weekend high kick today. I haven’t done a Friday Faves post in a while, and I’ve been collecting a list of my very favorite things as of late–things I love so much, I text pictures of them to friends (“You HAVE to get this! GAME CHANGER!”) and use them to start up awkward conversations with people I don’t know (“So, I’ve been using this deodorant lately…”). These simple little things from beauty goods to books are making me happy, so I’m passing them on to you.

1. How to Be a Wildflower by Katie Daisy (which might possibly be the happiest name on the planet). I just bought this life field guide, and it’s absolutely beautiful. I’m saving it for summer for something to look forward to. It’s filled not only with Katie’s cheerful paintings and lettering, but prompts for enjoying life to the fullest–things to do, meditations, recipes, quotes, an empty spot to press flowers and more, more, more. It’s an interactive workshop for happiness and gratitude, all tucked into a book that makes me smile.

2. Gem Gem Just Ginger Mango Candies I can’t find these many places online (the link is an ebay supplier), but I do pick them up whenever I see them at the check-out at Marshalls and TJ Maxx. I’m obsessed. They’re chewy and sweet (dusted in powdered sugar) but have a spicy kick to them with the ginger. I keep them in my glove compartment and inhale them when I’m waiting in car line to pick up Lainey. Can’t promise they’re good for your teeth though–I mean, see post opening paragraph.

3. Cru & Lu Leather Bow Collar (for the littles) NECK BOW! For kids! And the greatest one yet. It’s a leather Peter Pan collar that ties with beautiful rayon sashes, and it’s worth every penny of the $29 because it’s 100 outfits in one. Transform white tank tops into fashion statements, pair with knit dresses, cardigans, graphic tees. It has so much versatility, and it’s gorgeous. Neck Bows for President!

4. Bluewick Leather Tabac Candle  You may not know this about me, but I speak fluent candle. Whenever I travel and find a cool shop, I head straight for the candles to look for new brands, good scents and great packaging. And I get the shakes when I walk into Anthropologie and see the candle display–the temptation is real. I may have a slight candle obsession, but nothing compares to my dear friend and neighbor Dede who has an entire cabinet/shrine dedicated to candles–tins, jars, 3-wicks, tealights, you name it. We talk about candles like wine connoisseurs. “The grapefruit undertones! Splendid.” “Mmmm. Earthy with a hint of–what is that, bergamot?” “Burns nice and clean but the scent is weak.” I love Volcano, Nest and Thymes, but Dede got me hooked on Bluewick candles which smell divine and make my entire home smell like it’s not the kind of place with rotting sippy cups hidden under the couch and peed-out kid underwear sitting in the laundry basket. I like earthy musky scents that bring to mind a hot strapping man hauling firewood mid-fall, and this candle does just that–described as “Ripped leather, Oak with Tobac & Mahogany Musk.” While visiting Dede’s last night, I mentioned that I’m out of Bluewick, and she opened her candle cupboard, scanned the inventory, and pulled one out for me. “Here. For you.” One more thing–I never buy these full price. I’m on Bluewick e-mail list, and they have frequent 30-50% off and Buy-1-Get-1-Free sales with free shipping. God, this was supposed to be a quick read faves post, and look–I just wrote a thesis on candles. Come back next week when I write a ground-breaking essay about TOAST. Sorry. Carrying on…

5. Pentel EnerGel 7.0 Gel Pens In Michigan last week, my perhaps-the-most-delightful-person-in-the-world cousin Molly gives me a small wrapped “Oh-it’s-nothing” gift–because this is the kind of thing that Molly does. “I know you like a good pen,” she says. I rip the paper to reveal a pack of pens. Pens that would soon turn into life changers. Pentel EnerGel 7.0 gel pens. Glide like buttah. Perfect ink distribution. Feel good in your hand. Molly knows good pens because she’s a professor and uses them to grade papers. I use them for important things too–like circling cute shoes in the Boden catalogue, making grocery lists I’ll lose and signing my name 17 times in a row on Lainey’s agenda to make it look I haven’t forgotten the past 17 days. You can use them however you like though.

6. Just Between Us Mom & Daughter Journal I should have put this one first. This one’s my favorite. Lainey and I started this journal about 2 months ago–we’re taking our time–and we’re learning so much about each other–things we might not think to talk about. This journal is filled with prompts to learn more about each other–mom prompt on the left, daughter prompt on the right. When I finish mine, I tuck it under Lainey’s pillow, and when she’s ready, she fills out hers and puts it back under my pillow. I cried when I read her “favorite thing about my mom”:
she is creative and cares very much for people with “desabilities.” There’s NO RULES to this book–and its written invitations create a safe place to talk about fears, frustrations, funny stories, passions, loves, similarities, differences and ways moms and daughters can understand each other more and be closer. It’s both intimate and light-hearted and takes a lot of effort out of creating meaningful communication with your kid.

7. Benefit Matte Shy Beam One of my favorite make-up tricks that makes me feel pretty and fresh and awake is highlighting under my eyes and cheekbones. I fell in love with this Shy Beam recently and love the way it goes on and stays, highlighting all the things you want to highlight without being shimmery or cakey. It’s light and pretty.

8. San Diego Hat Company Sun Hat (for the littles) Best hat ever. My kids are big hat wearers, especially in the summer and at the beach. We bought this hat last spring, and I loved it so much I bought another one this year so we can have 2. It’s traveled to Michigan, fallen in the water, been stuffed in suitcases and has donned my kids heads from beaches to gardens to boat rides, and it’s still in fabulous shape. I love the leather strap that can be fitted below the chin, so the hat stays on even on windy days. The sun coverage is perfect, and the best part…it’s adorable.

9. Paper Wai Natural Deodorant I saw it on Shark Tank and got suckered into going online and buying it–then fell in love, and now I’m hooked. It’s all natural (a lot of other deodorants are carcinogenic), smells amazing and it works better than anything I’ve used. Brett and I both use it, and we’re a little bit dorky in our dedication to telling people how much we like it. I just reordered my second jar (it lasts a long time!). A little dollop will do ya.

10. Too Faced Lip Cream in Naked Dolly. When I want a break from classic red lips, I like a good nude. This pinky nude is my current favorite–not only is the color super sexy, but it’s so creamy and rich. Looks amazing with smoky eyes.

11. Aveda Pure Abundance Clay Conditioner. I get all my good stuff when I go to Michigan–found this one in my sister’s shower and came straight home to find an Aveda store to buy it. I have really fine hair, and it can look oily and weighed down, especially in the Florida humidity. My hair feels so light and bouncy with this (I use their Shampure shampoo with it). I’ve never been one to use fancy salon hair products–I’m a drugstore shampoo girl–but this one’s been too good to me.
12. Sunset Lover by Petit Biscuit. Last one’s from Michigan too. Cool niece and purveyor of cool things introduced me to Petit Biscuit, and this Sunset Lover song has been on repeat all week. It does something to me. Hard to find on iTunes, but I linked to the YouTube, and you can download it from Petit Biscuit Facebook page. Music always makes me feel too much, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

Okay, enough babbling about favorite things. Now get on out there and enjoy your weekend. Happy Friday!

*These are unpaid, unsponsored favorites, shared simply because I love them and think some of you will too–but as always, if I link to Amazon, I’ll include my affiliate links which kick back a small percentage to our family if purchased. 

Something shifted this year. Perhaps it’s climbing closer to 40 or teetering the fine line of almost having to shop for all three kids outside the toddler department, or maybe it’s the fact that nobody ever asks for my license anymore when I’m buying beer. But I feel like I’m stepping into another world, out of the young mom of babies one and into the middle-aged world where kids grow in triple time and moms can’t get away with shopping at Forever 21. In fact, last time I shopped there, I was with Heidi and two feet into the store–right past the first rack of crop tops and behind the size negative 4 mannequin dripping in Coachella style–she stopped.

“Wait, what are we doing here? We have, like, no f@&*ing business shopping here, Kelle. It’s called Forever 21. 21, okay? Not 37. We have to face it eventually.” She pointed to the closest article of clothing–a butt cheek-grazing pair of fringe shorts. “I mean, seriously. Are we going to wear that to the girls’ ballet class?”

“What are you suggesting?” I asked in horror. “That we walk down to Sears? Because I’m not going. I just want to look at their hats real quick.”

“Fine, look at the hats, but then we’re out of here.”

I found a hat with wearability that extended beyond the driver’s training crowd, but on the way back to our car, through the maze of kiosks and department store sales, I stopped at a makeup counter, lured by my current obsession and what I really wanted–another brow pencil.

“Jesus–you and your eyebrows,” Heidi laughed.

“No seriously, you have no idea,” I explained as I picked up a tiny brow kit with doll-sized brushes that promised to take your brows to “Wow!”–whatever that means. “It makes the hugest difference when you take time to fill them in.”

This brow thing is fairly new, but I admit I’ve had issues with my eyebrows ever since I was fifteen–when my cousin who had just returned from a nannying stint in New York City and was thus fully qualified as Knows All Stylish Things convinced me and my sister to pluck the motherloving heck out of our pretty little brows that had just finally grown into their natural shape.

“Thin is IN,” she told us. So we closed our eyes and winced as she tweezed every last hair, leaving nothing but a tiny line that arched high and left us looking permanently surprised. They never did grow back right, so now they’re a little crooked with some sparse spots, and I swear the left one is just half hanging there. I didn’t ever care or notice much until this brow craze started taking over fashion–oh, and that one time an Instagram commenter took the time to create a fake account to leave these eloquent words: simply “Your brows are F@*KED.”

And then I was Frida Kahlo for Halloween which gave me the excuse to really exaggerate my brows and play with penciling the heck out of them. I made them fat and bushy and realized just how little they are as the eye pencil tip grew flatter and flatter with all that space I had to fill. I looked so completely different–an amusing realization that got me hooked on this new eyebrow craze–and I admit, I took it too far.

I read up on brow techniques, started playing with products, hit the brow bar in Ulta. There are wands and waxes, powders and pencils, and I’ve tried them all–not without failure, of course. Texting before and after pictures of pre-filled and post-makeup eyebrows became a thing. I sent them to my sister (“What the hell? Too dark,” she texted back. “You might as well just use a Sharpie marker.”). I sent them to Heidi (“Wait–so are you looking at my brows every time you talk to me, thinking they look like shit?”). I sent them all the way to California to my friend Claire (“Did you send me a brow kit?” she recently texted me, “because one arrived with no note, and all I could think was ‘Kelle’s so obsessed with her eyebrows, I bet this is her way of telling me mine need help.'” I did not send the brow kit, by the way. And Claire’s brows are beautiful, just as they are.).

So what has all this brow fuss taught me? A few things, actually.

1.) Nobody cares about your damn eyebrows/face/body/parenting style/etc. except you.
2.) Don’t let temporary crazes consume you. Because THIN might be IN again soon.
3.) Find your middle. I know for me that moderation is where I find my happy. Still playing with youthful fashion? Fine–run in Forever 21 real quick to get a hat, but don’t leave looking like you’re headed to the Teen Choice Awards. Want to play with filling in your brows? Great, have fun, but go light–a little shaping and shading. You’re not Cara Delevingne for crying out loud.
4.) Face the music. Every year, things are changing and aging. So what, brows are f@*ked. And bodies morph. And babies turn into toddlers turn into children turn into sassy teens turn into adults standing in your kitchen someday, holding your age spot-speckled hands, asking for your advice because if you’re lucky, you’ve lived long enough to give it. And they’re still calling you mom.

There’s a playground of brow pencils and red lipsticks and morning exercises and slimming skirts and new recipes and home trends and fashion magazines with fun articles on how to fill in your arches and add more yellow to your wardrobe. I love that playground and am glad it’s there to accessorize our days, but the real heart of life that beats and keeps me alive is much bigger than that.

I returned to one of my favorite Mary Oliver poems recently–Have You Ever Tried to Enter the Long Black Branches? It was like reading it for the first time, and I typed a few lines, printed them and taped them above my desk, a closer reminder to keep for a little while:

“Well, there is time left. Fields everywhere invite you into them…

Listen, are you breathing just a little and calling it a life?

…Now the sun begins to swing down. Under the peach-light,
I cross the fields and the dunes, I follow the ocean’s edge.
I climb, I backtrack.
I float,
I ramble my way home.”

Some bits from that beating heart lately:

 

*I get asked about these Magna Tiles every time they show up in a post. An investment, but one you won’t regret. By far, the favorite toy in our home over the years and one that everyone plays with, from the littlest to me and Brett.

Now don’t go staring at my eyebrows in all my pictures now.

Happy Tuesday! Don’t breathe just a little and call it a life…inhale deeply all that is good.