Paula
Here’s a way to keep warm wipes and lotion on hand in the winter. I use a combination of face wipes and cold cream in the winter to take off my makeup. Yes, cold cream. My after-sixty skin is so dry and nothing beats cold cream in the winter when my face feels like it will just crack off. But, the wipes were always so cold and I would dread touching my face with them. So, I got a baby wipes warmer. Problem solved. Why should babies be the only ones to enjoy warm wipes?
Then I had an idea. My body cream in the morning is too cold to put on, so I hardly ever use it in the winter, even though I love the smell and the way it makes my skin feel. So, I set it on top of the wipes warmer. Nothing gets hot, just enough warmth to take the edge off. OK, so, if the body lotion on top of the warmer was a hit, why not put the cold cream on top as well. So, I did.
I remember hearing Joan Rivers once say that she threw her body lotion tube into the bathwater when she was bathing and it was nice and warm when she put it on, so maybe that was in the back of my mind when I tried my “cleansing station”. I also pretend that the wipes warmer is smiling at me when I walk in and I say hello to it (doesn’t it look like it is smiling in the photo. And isn’t it pitiful that I say hello to it?
Give this a try. The warmer was about $17 from Target, but you can get them anywhere. I even use the wipes to clean up my bathroom counter quickly in the morning and I don’t have the shock of a cold cloth in my hand. It makes a big difference.
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I have to say that I have never met a lip pencil I didn’t like. OK, what a confession. And my friend, Linda Crim, gave me this great lip primer by Urban Decay called 24/7 Glide-On Lip Pencil in Ozone that is my new obsession. It is clear, really smooth and luxurious and keeps my lipstick on my lips and out of the cracks around them. They also make a version that is a shorter and fatter pencil, more like a crayon, for anywhere on the face that needs a little extra help. You can even use it to fill in tiny lines before you put on foundation. This stuff feels great when I put it on and really holds lip color in place. I line my lips with the pencil then put an extra line around the outsides of my lips just because it feels so good. As a rule, I wear a lot of lip pencil as a lip color, so my lips tend to get very dry during this time of year. Not anymore!
My daughter showed me a similar pencil by Sephora, and I have seen one like the crayon style by Gaella, but I have not tried those yet. In general, I have become kind of a fan of Urban Decay pencils: they just have a creaminess that I like and seem to last throughout the day. I call this Ozone pencil my lipstick moat: nothing gets past it. And I find that having my makeup last for most of the day gets harder and harder as I age. It is like my skin just sucks it dry before lunch! Anything that can make me look a little fresher by mid-day gets a big two-thumbs-up from me and this product does the trick. Give it a try and let me know what you think.
https://www.urbandecay.com/ultimate-ozone/UD521.html#start=1&cgid=2_508?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=urban%20decay%20lip%20primer|163|930881&utm_campaign=Brand%20-%20Lips%20-%20Type%20-%20Exact&utm_content=Lip%20-%20Primer|76759664388206&cm_mmc=cpc-_-Brand%20-%20Lips%20-%20Type%20-%20Exact-_-bing-_-Lip%20-%20Primer
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Starting over doesn’t sound that great, does it. It implies that you started before, failed and now you have to start over again. Rats! But, as a new year begins I feel like I am starting over toward a new, exciting life in 2017. In the past year, I lived on my own for the first full year since 1984. Wow! And not every day was a picnic, that’s for sure. There were a couple of times during the year when I just didn’t think I could do it. I just couldn’t see a time when I would be happy again and that was ominous. I had lost my intact family and that was never going to be OK. Well, guess what, that is not going to be OK. I am never going to have that and moving forward means having to pack that up in my suitcase and carry it with me for the rest of my life. Sad but true.
But, the good news is that starting over means just that: it is time to start over. I thought I was doing that a year ago at the beginning of a new year, but I had a lot more healing to do. I remember that a year ago my stomach hurt every day when I woke up. And, that same pain kept me awake at night. The same thoughts played over and over in my brain like they were on a reel. I couldn’t escape my situation and, I still didn’t want it to be true.
One year later, I am still sad that my children don’t have that fairytale family, but I enjoy my time with them so much more. I get them to myself when we are together. There is no tension. I don’t have to keep trying to put lipstick on a pig, and I don’t have to keep trying to like the pig! And, I don’t have to keep trying to make the pig not look like a pig ( I could go on for days).
So, now, in 2017, I am Starting Over at Sixty (yes, I have a few more days until that 60 turns to 61). I feel like a million bucks. I am lightyears ahead of where I was last year at this time, and isn’t that what reflection is all about? Where was I and where am I today? I may not be younger or thinner (never giving up on that) or smarter than I was 365 days ago, but I guarantee that I am happier and healthier than I have ever been and I am only getting stronger.
I feel like 2017 will be the year that I hit my stride. I wish that had happened thirty years ago, but the good news is that I still believe it is out there for me. And, let me assure you that if I can see a great future anyone can. You may not be able to see or feel it right now, but keep working to find it. It is out there. Now, let’s get going on a great 2017!
Read MoreI live in a one-room apartment. It’s a loft with concrete floors and brick walls and I absolutely love it. But when it comes to storage, there isn’t any. When I left my husband I left behind a pretty big house with a big, remodeled kitchen. I entertained a good amount and had lots of dishes and serving pieces that I brought out just for special occasions. While I still love to entertain, those days are over.
I am not complaining. Moving to a smaller space has freed me up from all of that stuff, and I could write a self-help book about that freedom! Everything worth having now has to do double or triple duty. And, my go-to accessory is a great mirror. It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money (the one in the photos here is from T.J. Maxx).
My Ottoman
I use a mirror on an ottoman in my “living room” to put it to work as a hard surface (the ottoman unfolds into a single bed for the times all of my kids are in town). The mirror makes it a perfect coffee table.
My Holiday Decor
I found some really pretty glass balls in a blush color last week at Lowe’s on sale and put them on the mirrored coffee table and I have an instant holiday display that looks beautiful.
My Serving Tray
As a nibbling station for a holiday party, I used my handy-dandy mirror and piled it high with different colors of grapes, lots of cheeses, figs, crackers, olives, and other fruit. I used cake stands to create some height. It was a big hit.
Anytime I use mirrors as serving pieces, or just as my coffee table, I make sure to put several candles on top. Candles on the mirror are so sparkly and warm.
The mirror that you see here has a mirrored “frame” that I think works well, but you can find one that suits you. Try this at home and you will figure out all kinds of ways to use your mirror. When you aren’t using it for anything else, you can hang it up and look at your reflection in it while you pat yourself on the back!
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