So…what is the Monday Poll? Excellent question! It isn’t, contrary to its name, an actual poll, like with little clicky buttons. It’s just a list of more or less random questions I’ve been posting on this blog every Monday morning for the past quadrillion years (since 2007). 1. What would you rather be great at: finding good deals, arriving on time, navigating or mental math? I could use a little help with all of these things, ha! Let’s go with finding good deals. 2. Who is your biggest supporter? El hub. He’s seen me through many dreams chased! 3. Claw clip or hair tie? Hair tie, black, stretchy. 4. I am too old to [FILL IN THE BLANK]? Deal with nonsense. Do any physical activity without a warmup, lol. *Not* draw boundaries. 5. Your ice cream truck treat of choice from back in the day? I always like the popsicles that were red, white and blue. Drumsticks were a fave, too! Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict, Karen P.S. Here are the questions to copy/paste with[Continue reading...]

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On the first day of the Festival of Fabulousness, ruthless bandits of the Rodentia Trashpandia gang fell upon the royal carriage carrying Queen Karenina and Princess Coco on the road to town. Not only were the queen and princess in peril, but the carriage also carried the kingdom’s precious collection of bedazzled dance costumes! 🌟👗 As luck would have it, two Knights of the Tender Turkey rushed to their aid! With the help of a squire squirrel and his finch friend Fabian, who happened to be on their way to the festival at the time, the trio of furry fighters and their tiny winged companion sent the bandits scurrying and saved the day. Huzzah! 🤗 Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict, Karen

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I’d love to hear your take on why you love your foundation, tinted moisturizer, powder, concealer, etc, because this gal needs to do some makeup shopping STAT. For the first time in months, I’ve felt the urge to wear makeup again, hooray! A little background: I’ve been going uber-minimalist for the past few months, and I’ve whittled my daily beauty routine down significantly. I do a tinted sunscreen with SPF 50, cream blush, under eye color corrector, a brow pencil and mascara on most days. Oh, and setting spray, of course. A couple weeks ago, though, I got the urge to dig out my Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin Foundation tinted moisturizer and some powder blush and, gasp! It felt REALLY good to wear it. Who knows? Maybe a return to a full-face of paint is in the cards for me in the near future. I think that’s the beauty of makeup. It’s always there for you to come back to it, if and when you want to do so. Anywho, enough of my rambling. Tell[Continue reading...]

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We went camping last weekend by the Russian River, and Marnie tagged along with us, which added a different spin to our usual routine. I’ve never gone camping with a dog, so it was a first! For this trip, I tried something new; I spent less time taking pics on my phone and more time trying to be present. I only took a handful of shots, including the one at the top. Have you ever tried this? It’s been years since I’ve attempted to not grab at least a good amount of photos during a trip on my phone, and it was kinda weird for me. I’m not sure how I feel about it! On one hand, it was really nice to not feel the need to constantly document everything. I really tried harder to burn images in my mind and capture the feelings at the moment—the sweetness of seeing Marnie walk right up to the edge of the river and getting right into the water without any hesitation, or how my heart swelled when[Continue reading...]

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So…what is the Monday Poll? Excellent question! It isn’t, contrary to its name, an actual poll, like with little clicky buttons. It’s just a list of more or less random questions I’ve been posting on this blog every Monday morning for the past quadrillion years (since 2007). 1. Something you need to buy for yourself that isn’t beauty related? Shoes. I’ve been waking up with sore and cranky arches, so it’s time! I can’t believe there was a time in my life when I could wear whatever footwear and get up in the morning with happy feet. It’s wild to me! 2. Colors in your wardrobe that you wear the most? I wear a ton of blue, gray and black. Honestly, I’m not crazy about that particular palette; it’s just that I bought a bunch of basics in those colors a while back, and sticking to just a few different colors makes it easier to get dressed in the morning. I have some pink, red and yellow items up in the mix, too, which I[Continue reading...]

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