Shells of Silver

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you found the time to overeat and watch Oktoberfest meets Santa Clause style parades. I don't know how I feel about the latter yet - I'll get back to you.

Keepers

Just a few beauty related things that have made their way into my daily routines over the past few months.

• MAC Shadow Quad: Christmas money well spent. While I had never been big into eyeshadow, I carefully selected these 4 to suit me and now wouldn't want to do without them. They're all multipurpose and seem to have everything covered, from all over-highlight and contour to helping out my dark brows.
• NYX Cream Blush in 'Boho Chic': My current favourite cream blush. Subtly highlights while blending easily to prevent a china doll situation. 
• For my lips, I've been using The Body Shop's Aloe Lip Care morning and night, as it's just so hydrating. During the day I switch between Burt's Bee's tinted balm in 'Honeysukle', and MAC's 'Peach Blossom' - both perfect nudes. 
• Too Cool for School Pumpkin Sleeping Pack: A gift from Katie that has me converted to sleeping masks. I've tried out a few North American versions but this remains the best so far for refreshing skin overnight. 
• Bourjois Java Rice Powder: I'll admit that the packaging of this one is what caught my eye. I knew it would look good on my desk. It turns out to be a pretty hightlighter as well, leaving a diffused champagne hue behind that's really flattering. 
• La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo: My second tube now, as this stuff has saved my skin. It magically calms breakouts and irritations overnight, without leaving skin feeling tight or dry.
• Bass Nylon Brush: I picked this brush up for just a few dollars in the Fall, seeing as the natural bristle brush that I had been using was causing some breakage. While I never would have thought that a brush could make such a difference, now my hair won't survive without it. It can be used on wet or dry hair, glides through knots, and generally just smooths hair to make it more manageable.

Sally

It's time for a lesson in eye rolling from Sally Draper. I'll be taking notes.

Happy Birthday Katie!

I hope you saw at least one person wearing a snappy plaid jacket.

Watching Lately: Movie Edition

While I seem to have a steady queue of TV shows to watch, and somehow become dedicated to, I watch far fewer movies. When I do find a movie I like though, it really sticks with me - so I thought I'd share some recently discovered gems:

'Safety Not Guaranteed' is inspired by the infamous 1997 Backwoods Home Magazine ad that read: 

"Wanted: Somebody to go back in time with me. This is not a joke. You'll get paid after we get back. Must bring your own weapons. Safety not guaranteed."

It follows Darius (Aubrey Plaza - a nod to Daria?), a magazine intern who joins writer Jeff (Jake Johnson), and a fellow intern as they investigate the ad. While Jeff uses the story as an opportunity to connect with a childhood crush, which takes a different route than you'd expect, the bulk of the work falls to the interns. Darius impresses Kenneth (Mark Duplass), the ad's seemingly paranoid writer, and becomes his traveling companion in an attempt to get the story. Without going too much away, the fact that the movie is never actually defined as fantasy keeps it grounded. The characters are also relateable and charming, and it kept me interested until the end. 

'Love Me If You Dare' or 'Jeux d'enfants' details the unusual friendship of Sophie (Marion Cotillard) and Julien (Guillaume Canet). They bond at a young age in a time of chaos for both of them, starting a destructive game of dares. Whoever holds the small tin box has the power to dare the other. The task has to be completed before the box is returned. Over the years the dares escalate and we see how the game affects who they become, their relationships, and what they are capable of enjoying in life. While the characters could be called terrible people, I felt like their unpredictable moral compass was refreshing, particularly against a backdrop that melds fantasy and reality in the defining scenes (unintentional theme?). It kept things from veering too much into fairy tale territory. If anything, this one compares to the original versions of most fairy tales where people dance themselves to death or wind up arrested.

Have you watched any good movies lately?

December

A few phone pictures from the last while. A bit of card and gingerbread house making, decorating, serious snow, holiday reading, Christmas shopping slip up, and Levi enjoying his gifts from my family (sort of).