Beauty School


I've seen a lot of bloggers share their beauty regime with everyone, which made me want to follow suit.  While I may not post pictures of myself or show off my sense of style (which I'd say is pretty good, but I'm not one for pictures, sorry!) or feel worthy of schooling you in beauty products, I will say that I've spent years trying to find the perfect regime.  I've tried tons of foundations, tons of eyebrow products, etc., and it's had its ups and downs.  But I think that now, I've got it down.  I'm wearing less makeup than before, am embracing the "natural" look and have a few go-to products for getting a little dolled up (like last night, for date night - dinner at Lokal and bar trivia down the street, which was really fun).  So here's my list ::

1. Laura Mercier Foundation Primer - I got this complimentary with my gazillion dollar purchase at Macy's awhile back (thank goodness for gift cards, eh?).  I love using a primer because I have crazy bad skin, so every little bit helps.  It's a toss between this primer and Smashbox's - they're both pretty good.

2. Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer with SPF 20 - it might be a tad bit expensive, but for me it's been completely worth it.  I've been on a quest ever since my teenage years, to find the perfect foundation.  I have terrible skin - pink undertones that always looks a little irritated, oily skin that sometimes gets dry and flaky, terrible under-eye color, etc.  I've been cursed.  But this tinted moisturizer provides really good coverage that lasts throughout the day - something I can't say about other foundations I've used.  I never thought I'd be able to wear a tinted moisturizer, but lo and behold I was wrong!

3. Smashbox HALO Hydrating Perfecting Powder - this just happens to be what I'm using these days, thanks to Inna.  Luckily, the tinted moisturizer doesn't require me to use much powder.  Some days I skip it altogether!

4. Sephora Bronzer Powder with SPF 15 - can't get enough SPF out of your beauty products, especially if you're a fair-skinned lady like myself.  This bronzer gives me a touch of color in all the right places, especially when applied with a bronzer brush!

5. Benefit Cosmetics Brow Zings - I basically have no eyebrows, so this product has been a real life-saver.  I've been cursed with bad skin and transparent hair, so what little hairs my eyebrows have are really hard to see. Luckily I discovered the art of filling in your brows long ago.  The wax gives the brow definition and shape while the powder fills in the gaps.  Brilliant!

6. Rimmel Lash Accelerator Mascara - It works just as well as the expensive stuff, I tell you.  My eyelashes were already kind of long so I'm not sure how much of a difference it's made, but it definitely gives me what I want out of my masacara. Plus, it's cheap!

7. Benefit High Beam Luminizer - This product is perfect for highlighting the contours of my face.  I love it on my cheeks, eyebrows, inner-corners of my eyelids, etc.

8. Tarte Cheek Stain - I take turns with my blushes, but this stuff is pretty awesome.  It leaves a dewey finish, perfect for a nice day-time flush.  I use Blissful, which gives me a peachy glow.

9. NARS - The Multiple, Orgasm - this stuff is awesome.  It was a big hit at the wedding, too!  It goes all over your face, neck, anywhere, really.  It has a nice shimmer and the color is subtle.  I don't use it as often as the Tarte stain, though.

10. Benefit CORALista - such a lovely shade of pink, it's perfect for summer but it's also perfect for that "natural" look I'm after.  I also read a tip somewhere (I think it was Lauren Conrad maybe?) to swipe a sheer layer of blush on your jawline - it's funny, I thought that would look terrible on me but I did it and it gave me a nicer complexion than before.  Weird, right?!

11. Burts Bees Tinted Lip Balm - Hibiscus.  This is a new product that I'm completely smitten with.  The shade matches the CORALista blush pretty well and it goes on just like any other chapstick.  I keep it in my purse and wear it almost daily!

12.  Laura Mercier Lip Stain - Mulberry.  I wore this last night, paired with some white/golden eyeshadow.  Such a lovely, grown-up look!

So there you have it.  I left off some things, like the MAC red lipstick I love to wear from time to time, all of my eyeshadows, or the liquid eyeliner I bought at Walgreens that makes the occasional appearance.    But you get the gist, right?  So tell me, what are your favorite beauty products?

Show Dogs




I've got a bit of puppy fever.  No thanks to all the amazing pooches I get to see frequently (Charlie, Lucy, Dubs, Canubs, Bentley), or the fact that I've volunteered a few times at PAWS.  Then there's the fact that we just might be getting a pooch of our own once we are all moved and settled. But these pictures, I just can't get enough.

Photographer Kate Lacey created a guide book to dog breeds that has captured personality through the photograph.  She has simply let the dog's speak for themselves.  You can see the pride, playfulness, adoration and curiosity showing through these different breeds of dogs.  There is no commentary in the book other than the dog's name and breed.  Who doesn't love a well made pictorial book featuring adorable pooch after adorable pooch?!

You can buy a copy of Show Dogs : A Photographic Breed Guide by Kate Lacey here.

Via The Fox is Black

Well color me crazy!





One of my favorite things about dressing for the warmer months means that I get to wear lots of color.  I love color, especially when it's paired with other color.  So I am thrilled to see so much of it everywhere (except on the trees and the ground and things, I'm ready, mother nature!).  I'm currently knitting my niece a lightweight scarf that is color-blocked (hot pink, sparkly white and black) that has served as inspiration for all things color.  Are you into wearing bright color these days?  Or did Mila's color-blocking of EVERYTHING ruin it for you on Project Runway?

From the top, left to right, y'all ::

1. A.P.C. Dress
2. Eve Dress from Three Little Ducks
3. Lulu's Aryn K White Dress
4. Brian color-block linen sweater
5. Poltock & Walsh for ASOS Color-block Swing Dress
6. Urban Outfitters Sparkle & Fade Color-block Tunic
7. Bally Structured Color-blocked Cotton Jersey Dress 
8. Sparkle & Fade Color-blocked Top

pull up your bootstraps


I mentioned yesterday that watching Mildred Pierce was a highlight of my weekend.  I mean that in every way.  I hadn't given the show much thought until I heard the NPR interview, which left me curious.  I'm so glad I gave it a chance, because it's really stuck, leaving me eager for more.

Kate Winslet is incredible as Mildred Pierce.  The character suits her well, not to mention she looks rather beautiful in her 1930s get-up.  The story is captivating, empowering and tragic.  One that grips you with lust, pride and a mix of other emotions, and then jolts you back to reality in an instant.

I'm feeling quite determined now, ready to pull up my bootstraps and make my goals a reality.

Needless to say, I'm intrigued and I'll be back for more.  Have you seen it or plan on watching it?

Images 1, 2, 3, 4

Weekend Recap


What a weekend it's been.  It started off with an overflow of happy emotions and then ended with a devastation that has me pretty down, to say the least.  Not to be too overdramatic, but March Madness really has a way of kicking you where the sun doesn't shine, you know?  I mean, one minute you're over the moon with the excitement of a victory.  Cut to less than 48 hours later, your head's hung low and your heart is broken because of a surprising loss to an 11-seed team.  Ugh!

Other than basketball, the weekend was good.  Some highlights include ::


  • Bar night with BK & Jen!  Catching up with friends is always nice, especially when there is a blowout on TV of the best kind going on in the background (KU crushing Richmond)
  • Euchre night with the Hinshaws!  Peanut is growing like crazy and he's got this cute little smile that's starting to come out to play.  Or maybe that was just me convincing myself that his little mouth movements were really smiles in disguise.  Either way, that boy sure is cute.
  • We finally got around to watching Howl - it was very good.  Accompanied by a glass of wine, it was the perfect way to end a Saturday night.  I highly recommend seeing it.
  • Mildred Pierce.  After hearing an interview on NPR, I couldn't wait to watch this new HBO miniseries.  Kate Winslet is lovely in it, as is Melissa Leo.  I'm already hooked!  Did you watch it? It's definitely a lovely way to spend a chilly Sunday night, especially after your heart has been broken.  (As a side note, my maiden name is Pierce and I used to live on Mildred street when I moved to Chicago.  Just thought I'd share)
How were your weekends?  Good, I hope.  Also, the bright side of KU's loss is that you don't have to read my biased basketball opinions any longer!  But I'm curious to know if any of the Final Four teams have your hearts?  My bracket(s) is shot, but I did pick UConn to go to the final against KU, losing of course.  So I guess I can get behind Kemba Walker to take them there...

Have a great weekend + I'm home!


I'm home, and while it feels good to be back home with my own little family, I'm so sad that my trip is over.  Wichita treated me well, like, really well.

Nearly my entire family picked me up at the airport on Monday afternoon, and we promptly headed back to my mom and stepdad's house.  The weather was almost perfect (the wind was insane), around 80 degrees!  We sat out on the back deck and I caught up with my mom and brother.  We had a family dinner, played a quick game with the kids and then I spent the rest of the evening laughing at silly YouTube videos with my oldest niece.  The two girls were able to spend the night and I shared a bed with the oldest...but never again.  She woke me up at 3 a.m. after punching me in the eye in her sleep!  Needless to say, I gave her a lot of grief over that one.

The next day we all went to the zoo!  The Sedgwick County zoo is one of the best in the country, especially thanks to the recent additions made possible by Charles Koch.   We saw penguins, gorillas, tigers, lions, peacocks, flamingos, etc.  It was perfect and the weather was like summer.  Seriously, it couldn't have been any more perfect.

The following day, I convinced everyone to go to the Coleman Factory Outlet to find some super cheap camping gear.   Wichita is home to Coleman, and the outlet is seriously an amazing store.  We're pretty much set for our next camping trip now, thanks to my brother who gave us his old tent and who helped me pick out the best of the lanterns made.

Later that night, my stepdad took both my brother and I to the Wichita State University Shockers basketball game, who were vying for a trip to Madison Square Garden for the National Invitation Tournament.  We cheered them on to a victory and sent them on their way to the NIT Final Four!  It was so exciting, and because our original seats were directly behind the camera crew, they ended up moving us down to the 4th row which was only two levels up above the actual court.  Talk about a good deal!  It was so loud in that arena, it was one of the best Wichita experiences I have had since I moved away.

Yesterday, I spent the rest of my trip at my mom's.  The kids were there, we played Apples to Apples Jr., which was hilarious, and I went through a gigantic tub of pictures, drawings and memorabilia from my youth.  It took forever, but I'm so happy I did it because lo and behold, my deceased father's pocket watch was in there.  I thought I had lost this prized possession years ago.  It's been tearing me up inside ever since.  So when I opened the box it was hiding in, I cried tears of joy!  I couldn't help it....it's the only thing of his that I have that has any real meaning to me.  He used it every single day and now it's back in my hands.  Not much can beat a feeling like that.

It was so hard to say goodbye after such an amazing time with them.  While I didn't get to see much of all of my family, it was so great to spend so much time with the ones I did see.  The only thing that could have made the trip any better was if my husband had been there to enjoy it all too.  But that's okay.

Anyway...it's the weekend now!  What are your plans? How were your weeks?? I'd love to hear.  We've got a big basketball weekend ahead of us.  Rock Chalk Jayhawk, Go KU!  We're totally going all the way, I can just FEEL it.  Whatever you get up to, I hope you have a wonderful time and enjoy your weekend completely!

Lastly, thank you to Kirby for your awesome guest post!  Thank you Raegan for posting pictures of the handsome Liam, Hadley & Ryan's little bundle of joy.  He really is the bee's knees.



The Peanut Wonder has arrived!





I didn't get to spend nearly enough time with him but hopefully there will be more opportunities to snuggle and sniff him soon.......




Guest post - Colors of Honey






Hello!  This is Kirby from Colors of Honey.  Meagan asked me if i would like to do a guest post for her while she is visiting family this week.  I jumped at the chance to make my own fashion board.  I'm usually all about weddings so it was a nice change of pace to create an everyday look.  I have been drawn to anything peach colored recently so I went with that feeling, mixed together with some great classics for my go to summer look!  I think what I like the most is almost everything is under $50! (except for the ray bans, but those are classic and wearable year long)
GAP draped top
$40 - gap.com

T shirt
$38 - anthropologie.com

GAP pleated short
$50 - gap.com

TOMS tie dye shoes
$54 - nordstrom.com

Crossbody bag
32 GBP - warehouse.co.uk

TopShop metal jewelry
$30 - topshop.com

Ray Ban wayfarer shade
$165 - mytheresa.com

$25 - espritshop.com

Mama, I'm comin' home


Today I leave for Wichita and I'm so ready.  I haven't been home since Thanksgiving, which isn't that long ago...but before that, I hadn't been home since Christmas the year before!  I'm going solo, while the mister is away on business (which wasn't even planned, it just worked out that way in the end).  Those three kiddos have spring break while I'm there, so we'll get lots of quality time together!  Hoorah!

Posts might be sparse while I'm gone.  I get back on Thursday but we're turning around and leaving for a weekend trip to Louisville, so I'm sorry in advance if I don't get the chance to drop by your lovely blogs this week!

For Japan With Love



I have no words for the situation in Japan...it saddens me greatly, as I'm sure it does all of you.  Like so many, I don't have much to give, but I want to do my part.  So that's why I'm participating in the Bloggers Day of Silence tomorrow.  Every little thing I can do to help is something, even if it is just a day of silence. And if we all participate, imagine the possibilities.  For more information about For Japan With Love, visit ever ours and utterly engaged.  Please help me spread the word!

You are all such wonderful people, and I know that together we can make a difference and help the victims who are all so far away.

Another easy way to donate is to text 90999 with a message reading REDCROSS to give $10 to support disaster relief efforts.

happy st. patrick's day!


Any plans for today?  Are you going out on the town tonight, seeing any parades or finding any pots o' gold?  I plan on drinking a green beer later today, because it's not St. Patrick's Day without one.  But I do wish I could spend today with my favorite kiddos, who are likely getting some cool classroom parties full of green cakes and cookies and perhaps some pot-o-gold punch.  Or with my mom, back in Lawrence...one of my favorite years was when she drove up to spend it with me, drinking green beer at The Replay and watching the parade go by.  It's fun to drink green beer with your mom, btw.

Hope you have a happy day full of celebrations!  Also,  I hope your weather is awesome where you are, because it sure is awesome here!

Hello spring!

The temps outside are getting very close to perfection and it makes for a very happy Mo!  So why not turn to uplifting spring colors?  I'm really not a big yellow fan in general, I don't think I have any yellow clothes but I did sport some yellow flats last summer that I wore until they had to be thrown away.  What color is making you happy now that the weather is getting warmer?



If you're in Chicago, what are you doing today to enjoy the weather?!

I want...


I can't recall whose blog it was in which I discovered these terrific chevron beaded necklaces from Etsy shop JZinn, but I want several of these babies so freaking bad.  Mayhaps when I'm in Kansas, my lovely jewelry-making mother could show me the ways to make my own...mayhaps. 

Lorna Simpson










Lorna Simpson, considered to be a pioneer of conceptual photography, is well-known for her photography, videos and text works that confront and challenge narrow, conventional views of gender, identity, culture, history and memory.

On Saturday, April 2, she will grace the Museum of Contemporary Art here in Chicago with her presence, where she will discuss her process and most recent work.  She has been creating work that draws from archives of photographs from the 1950s, complicating the images by creating her own replicas and posing herself to mimic the originals.  

The drawings featured above fascinate me, as they were drawn from rough cut footage from a promotional film made by an institution for children with speech and learning disabilities in my own Wichita, KS in the late 1950s.  The women depicted are actresses in the role of mother or caregiver.  

For more, visit Lorna's website to discover an amazing collection of photographs, videos, drawings, exhibition images and more.  

Weekend Recap


While we may not have actually done much over the weekend, it was still enjoyable.  That is, if you look past the sneeze machine that was my husband and the absurd amounts of Kleenex we both used up.  Goodness.  Gotta love those almost spring colds, right?!  Right.  Anyway...some highlights of the weekend include ::

  • A KU victory + drinks + pub food at Lotties with other KU fans!
  • A Saturday in pajamas, spent drinking water and herbal tea like it's going out of style
  • A KU Big 12 Championship!  Sorry guys, it is March...this is only going to get worse
  • Zach Galifianakis in his Annie costume on Saturday Night Live.  Whoa.  Yes!
  • A clean apartment!
  • Last but not least, RAEGAN IS HERE!  Hooray!!
How were your weekends? Wonderful, I hope.  Happy Monday dear friends, I hope you enjoy every last bit of extra daylight we've all got!

Have a nice weekend!


Sorry for the weird photo - I am really good at posting really odd photos, right?  I mean, a wee one smoking?  And just so you know, I do not condone smoking wee ones.  No way.  Wow.  Anyway, here's to a lovely weekend.  I'm meeting the dude at a KU bar to watch the game against Colorado in a half hour, Rock Chalk!  We're not sure what the rest of our weekend plans consist of, but I do know that a special someone (*ahem*, Raegan) is coming into town at the end of the weekend for a few days and I can't wait to see her!  What are you all up to this weekend?  I know a lot of you in Chicago are going downtown tomorrow to celebrate St. Patty's day.  I'm not sure if we'll be going down, so have some fun for us!  I'll be thinking about Japan a lot this weekend as well.  Also, I can't believe we spring forward this weekend...longer days, hoorah!

Friday's Fancies

Happy Friday!  I've been doing some day dreaming this morning, can you tell? Today's Friday's Fancies is just an outfit that I would like to wear at any point throughout the week for any occasion whatsoever.  That top, those pants! Those sandals, those earrings!  I want it all.






I have no big plans for my dream outfit to debut itself to the world, but I'm A-OK with that.  What about you? Any big plans for the weekend?  Any dream outfits?

spring fever is so contagious


Holy Staghorn Ferns, Batman!  I've got spring fever like you wouldn't believe!  Can you tell??

Last week, I moseyed on over to Sprout Home (dangerous) and with a lot of willpower, walked out with only a single air plant that cost just a few bucks.  Hooray for that willpower, because I could have walked out of there with the entire populace of plants (and candles, pots, flowers, mats).  My love for Sprout Home is unconditional, who's with me?  After paying said visit to the store of all plant stores, it's been hard to get the green guys out of my head.  If it can't be spring (yet) outdoors why not bring it indoors?  Luckily, I have more than plenty of plants indoors to keep me trucking until everything turns green outdoors, and we've got plenty of helpful images right at our fingertips!

Are you a plant kind of person?

All images via Pinterest

Sweet Blog Award


Recently, Beth over at Deer Little Fawn, awarded me with the Sweet Blog Award.  Thank you, Beth!  When you win this award, you're supposed to share 4 guilty pleasures with everyone and also pass the award along.  So here goes...

  • I'm a candy fiend.  I always have been and probably always will be.

  • Trips to Target.  Some people love it, some people loathe it.  My husband being the latter, although I think he might secretly enjoy it.  I say that because when we go together, we usually take a stroll through the men's section and he usually picks up at least a t-shirt or two.  We/I always walk out of there having spent way too much money though.

  • Shopping for candles.  Because there's nothing better than lighting up a fresh candle with a unique scent.  My favorites always come from Anthropologie and I especially love the ones with woodsy scents.
  • Watching SNL.  Even when people said it totally sucked, I still watched it.  I love staying in on Saturday nights and watching it, but we also dvr it to watch at our leisure.  I've been listening to The Sound of Young America and Bill Hader was on the last podcast...God, I love Stefan.


So there you have it...some guilty pleasures that aren't all that embarrassing, right?  Right.

So now it's time to pass the award along, and it's really hard to do.  But since I have to narrow it down, here they are ::

Thanks again, Beth!

Sweet Sandals







With every day that passes, my feet long to slip into a summery sandal.  It's getting worse by the hour.  My feet are so over wearing boots.  They want to be freshly pedicured and ready to rock the warm weather footwear.  Any of these sandals will do, especially those green ones from Kind Boutique.  Oh yes.  They're ready.  So very ready.

Marais Espadrille Wedge from Kind Boutique, Cooperative Leather Cross Strap Sandal from Urban Outfitters, Perlstein Sandal from Aldo, Criss Cross Sandal from Marais USA, DV by Dolce Vita Nyle Beaded Flat Sandal from ASOS  

Jack and Anjelica







Anjelica Huston and Jack Nicholson were on-and-off sweethearts for 13 years.   The pictures of them together are so beautiful - I particularly love the photo of them with him in his robe and her in her bikini, smoking.  It shows they were playful, romantic and loved to have a good time.  After reading about their relationship, I'm intrigued.  In the beginning of Huston's acting career, she starred alongside Nicholson for several films, was around for Roman Polanski's arrest (at Nicholson's home), and suffered the agony of being the lover of a boy, not a man, who was very famous.  Through the years, he was with many other women and even fathered a child with another woman a year before their relationship finally ended.  She noted that breaking up with Nicholson was harder than any death she's survived.

"...There is really no justice in love. You can't go into something emotional with a bargain in mind. You have to love unequivocally. You have to be direct in your emotions otherwise you can't expect anyone to deal directly with you."


So eloquently put!  


For more, you can read this 2008 article from The Independent and/or be on the lookout for her upcoming memoir

Images 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

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