15. SHELAC.

It's a manicure that lasts for 14 days. Do I really need to say anything else?



Ok, fine, I will. I swear Shelac is not paying my rent or anything, but they should for the ammount of free advertising I provide them with. A co-worker of mine (and former beautician) got a "two-week manicure" for her wedding, and when she got back from her honeymoon they were still on...and beautiful!! It's not fake nails, it's literally just nail-polish. It's applied in layers and UV-light cured to make it set, and while it a but thicker than traditional nail polish, it still feels natural. I've been a devotee since she told me about them, and while I have gone to several locations and made some mistakes, it's still something I feel is worth spending money on.

I normally just get a neutral shade, but it helps my nails grow out and look oh-so-fabulouso whilst doing so. This is the first time I've enjoyed color on my nails; I used to think it was pointless to paint your fingernails since it chipped so quickly, but now I see the allure.



This is a highly suggest, if you have the cash. It runs about $30-$35 for the first time, then if you maintain a semi-regular schedule it's $25 to get them re-done. And Shelac, I accept cash or credit, thank you.

15. THIS PRETTY BEAUTY TREAT LETS ME BE MY MESSY, ACCIDENT-PRONE SELF WITHOUT WORRYING I'LL WRECK MY MANICURE AND WASTE MY MONEY.

14. PORCELAIN PRIDE.

I have it.

Yes, reader(s?), I have returned. Not on my beloved list of things is being task-oriented, or following-through. But it is on a list of wants or aspirations. Also on that list is a 10K, but I DO believe in miracles!



So, back to my porcelain pride: I, as you may have gathered, am quite the fair-skinned lady. Being of mostly Scandinavian descent, after logging some solar time my skin turns a pleasant shade of pink before it peels off to reveal a shiny, blindingly white layer of Irish-Girl-Alabaster. It wasn't always like this! I use to be just another sun-streaked, dirty-tan swimmer, proudly wearing my x-marks-the spot-tan-lines earned from 2 practices a day. But after a brief prom-induced tanning bed phase, I became sick of laying in other peoples sweat/dead skin cells and feeling my contacts glue themselves to my eyes from the bed's rays. Being too cool/busy to swim in the summers, my skin was quickly growing accustomed to this new shade of white.

I once read an article about skincare where the question of true skin color was posed..."What is my natural skin color? What color should my skin be?" And the answer was, "The color of your backside." I kid you not. It makes sense that your (hopefully) unexposed skin is your intended shade, and that has been my motto ever since. And if you don't like it, you can kiss my pasty white-...everything, I guess.

Now I embrace it. I have "enhanced" red hair (ok, fine, I dye it), and am a sunscreen devotee. I figure as long as I'm not intentially scorching my skin, I might as well go the whole 9 yards and embrace it, and also embrace the daily sunscreen routine that I am almost sure I'll be thankful for in 10+ years.

Sure, my shade is a running joke for most of my friends, but a large portion of the jokes are made by yours truly. Truth is, while sometimes I long for tan skin, it's not enough to log the hours in the sun or put my health in danger. One of my favorite anecdotes to share is the one where I was singing a duet with my roommate for her senior show, and I appeared onstage next to her in a black dress (short, lots of leg and lots of skin). As soon as the lights hit me, our mutual voice teacher yelled, "Stop! Stop! Erin...your legs are SHOCKINGLY white." And said as if I had all at once overwhelmed/stunned/amazed her at the sheer whiteness of my legs, and would you please buy some nylons before the opening? I love that story. But, the real kicker is that that same fair-skinned voice teacher is in her mid to late thirties and still playing teenagers in shows! Granted, she's pushing it a bit and it's opera, but STILL!!



So, here's to all my dainty-dermis'd dames! We shall have the last laugh and look hot doing it!

(No offense to my tan sistas, I'm not-so-secretly jealous of your ability to change skin color...you're fabulous too!)

14. HAVING FAIR SKIN MAKES ME HAPPY. IT MAKES ME FEEL DIFFERENT, SMART AND JUST A LITTLE BIT CLASSY.

13. MERMAID CARWASH.

This is one of the most vivid smells from my childhood. And by smell, I mean memory. But really I mean smell, because that's how most of my memories are logged anyhow. My family took car trips into Madison (WI) almost every weekend, and this was one of our many traditional stops. Now, I like a good car-wash as much as the next Joe, but Mermaid Car Wash just has that special something.

This car-wash feels like an downright adventure! First, you eagerly wait in line behind other cars, slowly approaching the Mer-man who takes your vehicular-cleaning order. After you make your selection, he writes some illegible, incredibly-fresh-smelling mermaid hieroglyphics on your windshield that lets the Mer-men inside know what you want done to your car. And then you exit your car. Yes, I know...it's insanity. You leave your car with the Mer-men and watch through large windows as they guide your car through the various stages of cleaning, and you're again surrounded with scents straight from an oceanic dream.

And there's a parrot inside the car-wash. A PARROT! He's a bit cranky, but he can sometimes be persuaded to say things! You might as well be in The Pirates of the Caribbean, that's how exotic this feels.

I've only gotten my car washed once this winter. Not because I don't love her, but because she gets un-shiny so very quickly without off-street parking, and she tends to feel self-conscious about her bumps and lumps. But I think there may be a lucky roommate and/or a lucky boyfriend that will experience a Wisco-style* auto-bath sometime this spring.

*I am, indeed, aware that Mermaid Car Wash is a phenomenon not limited to the Madison area. Now.


13. I HAVE ODDLY WONDERFUL MEMORIES OF THIS MADISON CAR-WASH, AND I HOPE MY KIDS ENJOY GOING THROUGH CAR-WASHES WITH ME HALF AS MUCH AS I DID WITH MY PARENTS.

12. BUTTERNUT SQUASH TORTELLACCI.

I won't lie. It's because I currently have a belly full of this delicious dish from Prima in South MPLS. Here's what makes this even better: I don't like squash OR pears. And I LOVED this dish; the flavor combinations were so perfect and the squash was...good enough to make me reconsider my hatred of squash.

I tried this dish because I heard nothing but rave reviews about it and against my instincts, I decided to taste it myself. Butternut, sage brown butter, almonds, caramelized pears, olive oil and a hint of cinnamon. OMG.

As I told TBB tonight at our pseudo-Valentine's Day dinner, "There are few things that make me happier than an exquisitely tasty meal." I think he appreciated the sentiment. I veered from today's blog topic because the tortellacci was that good. And now I will go appreciate a favorite wine of mine.

12. GOOD FOOD MAKES ME REAAAAAL HAPPY. ESPECIALLY GOOD FOOD I HAVE JUST DISCOVERED.

11. LIME PACKETS.

My mother and I discovered these little citrus treats at a grocery store one day, and being the food adventurers we are...decided, of course, to buy two boxes. We split a box of lemon and a box of lime between the two of us, and the rest is history.

Much to the chagrin of my enamel, I love citrus and believe it makes (almost) everything taste a bit better. And this is why True Lime rocks:

-it lasts a lot longer than real lime/lemon slices
-it comes in travel-friendly single serving packets
-only 100% all natural ingredients
-it hides the taste of city water
-it makes a great hot drink w/out the tea bags or coffee teeth
-it helps (at least me) fill your daily H2O quota
-it has zero calories, zero carbs, no sweeteners, kosher

I keep 'em in my purse and on hand at work so I'm never without it, I highly suggest giving this a try.

11. I, OF THE MESSY AND LAZY BEVERAGE SCHOOL, LIKE TO HAVE THIS LITTLE INSTA-DRINK WITH ME SO I CAN ALWAYS BE ONE PACKETS AWAY FROM MY CITRUS-Y FIX. I LOVE TO SHARE THESE, LIKE MOST FOODS I LIKE, WITH FRIENDS/CO-WORKERS/STRANGERS, WHO IN TURN THINK I AM VERY IN-THE-KNOW. HOORAY ONCE AGAIN FOR HEALTHY, SIMPLE PLEASURES.

10. BRAIDS.

I know what you're thinking: Braids are for little girls and Swiss Miss ads. But I'm a big girl and I love having pleated locks...and still need my mommy to braid my hair. Or anyone really, anyone willing and nimble of fingers. I'll blame it on my lack of hair and my mother's blessedly low-key approach to hair/makeup, but I have never successfully braided my own hair! I'll spare you the pictures, just take my word for it.

My braid memories are mostly fond ones. From the center part, Britney-schoolgirl look, to the time I let a fellow cheerleader talk me into cornrows, to the loose fishtail braids I try to master off of youtube videos...I love me some braids.

As a girl with fine hair, this is one of the few hairstyles that actually feels tight, secure and like I could shake my head up/down/all-around and have it stay! My flower-named friend recently went to a salon just to have her hair braided and I think I might be quickly doing the same! There's nothing like a well-done braid to make you feel put together, and I just don't think TBB's man hands are up to the challenge.

I love this hairstyle (and Imogen's tutorials) so much, I even considered buying some clip-in hair extensions to help me out. More word on that later; maybe it will show up as my happy-thing around day 207.

10. I LOVE A GOOD BRAID, EVEN IF IT'S NOT ON MY HEAD PER-SAY. I THINK THEY'RE FUN AND FLIRTY!

9. CIRCLE-SHOPPING.

I'm not sure what else to call this compulsion of mine- "circle-shopping" is the closest I can get. Let me try to explain...

As much as this blog is a compilation and virtual representation of all my free (and not-so-free) happies, I won't lie to you; I like my things. I love discovering and shopping for pretty things, and normally looking at them is enough, but at my weaker moments I downright COVET them! I know it doesn't make me sound very mature, but sometimes I'm cranky that I have to live within my means. What do you mean I can't spend $425 on Jimmy Choo Crocodile Hunter Wellies?! But...but..I want them!

So, to harness my inner Veruca Salt, I circle-shop. This means as I go through magazines and catalogs full of things I want/must have, I circle them as if I'm marking them for later. As in, "I'll circle these items so that Frederick (my butler) will know to have them promptly shipped and awaiting my return from my latest trip to Marseille." It does the trick every darn time! It's almost as if I've already purchased, owned and forgotten about the item. Which, of course, means I certainly didn't need it that badly in the first place. I forget about the "must-have" entirely.

I've updated this practice a bit to stay hip with the kids, so now I bookmark when I find something I can't live without. If my bookmarks get too full, I go back to the links and weed out all the over-the-thigh cashmere boots and butterfly sequined-capes*, and clear my mental closet for the next pretty. It's a bit materialistic, but it's way cheaper to go mental shopping and buy groceries instead (see blog entry #1).

*Ok, FINE. I bought the cape...



9. CIRCLE SHOPPING ALLOWS ME TO INDULGE BRIEFLY IN MY FRIVOLOUS SIDE WITHOUT FEELING POOR OR SOMEHOW DENIED--I AM THANKFULLY NEITHER. IT MAKES ME HAPPY TO PRETEND SHOP AND I'M GLAD THAT'S ENOUGH FOR ME.