Batting My Lashes

In case you're new around here, I'm pretty much a girly girl (who hates the color pink and loves football and movies like Die Hard). I love clothes, shoes, makeup, jewelry... I get my nails done every three weeks and my hair colored every five weeks.

My color may not be natural, but my curls are!

Recently I've become super annoyed with my eyelashes. I was sick to death of mascara ending up all over my face. OK, that might be a slight exaggeration. I've tried expensive mascara, I've tried cheap mascara. I've done false eyelashes for special occasions, but I don't want to do that everyday. Plus I suck at putting them on.

About a month ago I took the plunge and got eyelash extensions, and I can't tell you how thrilled I am with them! I'm going to attempt to show you the difference, but I feel like pictures (or at least pictures that *I* take) don't do it justice. So prepare yourself for big grainy photos of my eye.

This is a before pic, with mascara.

My initial appointment lasted about two hours. It was kind of weird at first - she kind of taped around my eyes and most of the time I could feel my eyeballs moving around and I just hoped that my eyes wouldn't open. But eventually I relaxed and I may have dozed off. Her goal is to make the lashes look natural so they're not going to be super long. She did ask "do you want them straight like yours or curled?" Um, curled, of course!

After. NO mascara!

The closed eye view. Duh.

I am in love with my lashes. No mascara, no eyelash curler. And honestly, I've hardly worn makeup at all since I had them done, which is nice in the summer. I had a total stranger comment that my eyelashes were beautiful, and last week my hairstylist asked me what kind of mascara I use.

It took a little getting used to at first. For the first couple days you're supposed to keep them dry (or as dry as possible). And I had to keep reminding myself to not rub my eyes, especially when I first woke up, but that's just a good practice anyway so ... bonus.

It's not cheap, but for me it was totally worth it, and when you get them touched up it's less expensive. I got mine touched up yesterday after 4 weeks and I probably could have gone longer (she praised me for how well I took care of them).

Four weeks old.

Have you ever had eyelash extensions? Tell me about it!

Everyday Makeup

This here's one of those girly-girl posts that I occasionally do. When I posted my 2013 favorite things I was going to include favorite beauty products but eventually decided to give those their own post. So I was thinking of my five favorite products (because five seems like a good number) and then I realized that those five together pretty much sum up my everyday look. And by "everyday" I mean every day that I actually leave the house. Just so we're clear.

1. Dior - Diorskin Nude BB Creme (in Medium 003). If you ask me "what's the difference between foundation and BB Creme?" I'll say "I have no freakin' clue." And I'll admit that this shit is expensive. But last summer while at Sephora, one of their associates put this on me (although it was the tan version then) I kinda fell in love. It gives me good coverage without being too thick and heavy.

2. Benefit - Brow Zings (in Medium). This stuff lasts forever; believe me, because I'm obsessed with defining my eyebrows so I use this every day and I've had it for probably a year. The left side is kind of waxy and the right side is more powdery. Sometimes I only use the waxy side and it works perfectly well on its own.

3. Maybelline - Falsies Big Eyes mascara (in Brownish Black). Here I'm going with drugstore product. I feel like I'm on an eternal quest for mascara, and even when I first tried this one I was skeptical. There are two wands; one for upper lashes and one for lower, and I felt like even the upper lashes brush was pretty thin. But it really extends my lashes and (most importantly) I don't get smudges under my eyes like I seem to with most mascaras.

4. Dior - Dior Addict Lipstick (in Rock 'n Roll). I know, I know. Another expensive item. I never would have picked this shade for myself but I love it. It's got a little shimmer and it's the only lipstick that Aaron has EVER complimented me on (without prompting). Ever. That's over 26 years, people. Damn straight I'm buying it.

5. Kevin Murphy - Undressed paste for hair. I get this at the salon. I tried to find it on Amazon but they had it listed at $64.99 and I promise I don't pay THAT much for it. I don't know what the hell that's about. Anyway, I use this on my hair after it's dry and it defines my curls and defrizzes and softens and ... it's fabulous.


So ... I took before and after pictures and I'm going to show them to you but I must apologize for the quality of these pictures. Quite frankly, they suck, but I think you can still get the idea. The only difference between the two pictures is the above products.

There you have it. I do generally add a touch of blush but that would be six products, not five, and I don't have a favorite blush. Any recommendations?

And to link up with Whitney, here's an appropriate tune:




Have a great weekend!

Polenta Casserole Recipe, and Makeup Brush Storage Update

A couple weeks ago I posted this picture and had some requests for the recipe. Since I clearly didn't make it (Aaron did) I had to find said recipe, but here it is at last.

Rustic Sausage and Spinach Polenta Casserole

POLENTA
5 1/2 c water
1 1/2 c instant polenta (They're very specific about using INSTANT polenta.)
3 oz grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbs unsalted butter
1 medium garlic clove, minced
Salt and pepper

TOPPING
1 Tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 lb Italian sausage, removed from casing
6 medium garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
8 oz spinach, chopped coarse
1 Tbs red wine vinegar
2 oz grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbs minced fresh parsley leaves

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees with oven rack in middle position
2. For the Polenta: Combine the water, polenta and 1 1/2 tsp salt in a large bowl, cover and microwave on high power until most of the water is absorbed, about 8 to 10 minutes. Stir thoroughly, then continue to microwave, uncovered, until creamy and fully cooked, 1 to 3 minutes longer. Stir in Parmesan, butter, garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Cover to keep warm, set aside.
3. For the Topping: Heat the oil in a 12 inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and 1/2 tsp salt and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the sausage and cook, breaking the meat into large chunks with a wooden spoon, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook another 30 seconds.
4. Add the tomatoes with juice, bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Stir in the spinach a handful at a time and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Smooth the cooked polenta evenly into a 13 x 9 baking dish. Spoon the sausage mixture on top and sprinkle with Parmesan.
6. Bake until polenta is heated through and cheese is melted and just beginning to brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes, then sprinkle with parsley and serve.

This recipe came from The Best One-Dish Suppers by the editors of Cook's Illustrated Magazine. We've been subscribing to Cook's Illustrated for years and Aaron gets a lot of recipes from them. This book has a lot of great recipes (the chicken pot pie on the cover is delicious!) and you can get it from Amazon.

Click on picture to go to Amazon

Last week I posted step one of getting myself organized beginning with the bathroom drawer. I mentioned that I still wanted to do something with my makeup brushes and Steph at Life According to Steph suggested doing something that's been all over Pinterest. Well, I'm not as prolific with my Pinterest account as some of my friends so I didn't even know what she meant. So I did a search and found this:

From Pinterest via The Home Daybook

Wouldn't you know, I happened to have a rectangular vase and decorative stones and they were doing NOTHING. We bought the vase at Ikea because it was cool but we've never really put anything in it. We do use the stones if we have fresh flowers, but that doesn't happen all that often either, mostly because our cats like to snack on fresh flowers.

So here's the final result:

My vase is a lot bigger than the ones I saw on Pinterest, but I also have this handy dandy windowsill that fit perfectly so I'm not taking up tons of counter space.

There you have it. I actually did a DIY project! Yeah, yeah, I know it's not much, but for me it's huge.

Stay Tuned,

The Gila

Linking up with Helene and Emily:

Bag Check

Did you notice my new look? Also, see the tag line I'm trying out, "Sometimes silly, sometimes serious, always real"? Well, this will be more on the silly side and it probably won't interest the male readers out there. But hey, I'm a girl and I like girly shit. So there you have it.

Have you ever gone to a concert or a sporting event and before you get your ticket scanned you have to let people look inside your bag? I've finally gotten better about either taking a small clutch or just using pockets in those situations, but up until very recently, if anyone had to look in my bag, it would be a frightening thing. However, I have now gone through it and purged it of Christmas receipts (really, all receipts that seem to make a home there) as well as put all credit cards/cash in the wallet rather than let them float around willy-nilly.

My friend Stephanie at Life According to Steph (and BTW, she's my real life friend as well as a blogging inspiration and she's doing a digital scrapbook giveaway right now so check it out) did a "what's in my bag" post recently and it motivated me to clean out my bag and take a look at what's inside.

First, my bag. I got it in October at the Nine West outlet in Myrtle Beach and I've been carrying it ever since. I own lots of purses, but I don't switch them out very often. I personally believe that one can't have too much animal print (although one CAN have too much all together at the same time and I've probably been guilty of that). If you don't share that belief, that's cool, but don't bust me for mine.

In the outer compartment: hair elastics, both insurance cards for BOTH cars (perhaps I should put these IN the cars), two sticky notepads, an iTunes gift card, my favorite pen that I unfairly accused Aaron of losing, some packets of Motrin, a prescription cream for some eczema on my finger that I'm very bad about using. Not pictured for obvious reasons: my W-2.

Inside: headphones, purple iPod, stamps, Altoids smalls (in cinnamon because I really don't like any other mint), tissues, car key and Mom's house key on my handy dandy Columbus Brewing Company bottle opener keychain (don't drink and drive, kids, but the bottle opener can come in handy). Not pictured: iPhone because I can't very well take a picture of it when that's what I'm using to take the pictures.

Lipstick holder, Sally Hansen Lip Inflation lip plumper (this stuff is the bomb if you have thin, nonexistent lips like I do), jump drive, wallet, pen and pencil, glasses case.

This lipstick holder is the greatest invention. My friend Lois has one and I've wanted one for years. I finally found one in Myrtle Beach at Purpleologist. The lipstick is L'oreal Caramel Latte, and look! In the mirror you can see my iPhone case - it's fuzzy tiger print.

This is what my reading glasses look like. I don't have to use them that much, yet, but I'm always glad I have them when I need them.

Makeup bag, which I haven't carried in a while because mine got gross but thanks to the Ipsy Glam Bag I get a new one each month. Inside:

Sally Hanson VitaSurge Strength Gel for nails

Benefit Hello Flawless powder in Petal

MAC lip liner in Chicory

nail file

Bath & Body Works Liplicious brown sugar scrub and lip color in Coconut Truffle

Great Lash mascara

Lipsticks: L'oreal in Ginger Spice

Sephora Rouge Shine lipstick in Tenderness (which appears to be discontinued)

MAC in one of the Viva Glam colors (maybe VI?)

MAC in CB 96

Sometimes I also carry my symphony chorus music in my bag and a water bottle if it won't spill.

So, that was fun (for me, anyway)!

Stay Tuned,

The Gila


P.S. I happen to love my hair today so here's a pic. I kind of suck at self-portraits, and please ignore my multiple chins, but I recently read a blog tip that I should have more photos of myself so, here goes nothing.