Rain

I was supposed to be a huge event of a storm today.  I was supposed to work all day because of it.

It was not a huge storm.  It was a fizzle of a storm.  We got like 1.5" at the house.  I don't know what other areas of town received.

So now I'm sitting on the couch, looking for things to do - I don't feel like cleaning...and while I feel like baking, there's the cleaning afterward to contend with, which makes me not want to clean.  Maybe I ought to go ahead and get out and do something - I mean, that's essentially what I was going to do today anyhow, right?

On Tastes

The older we get, the fancier our tastes get...

Then:  The Cheesecake Factory was considered expensive and we dressed up to go there.
Now:  The Melting Pot is more or less a mid-level restaurant for us - and we will wear business casual attire.

Then:  $6 pizza was a luxury we maybe got once a month.
Now:  $9 pizza is almost a weekly occurrence.

Then:  Spending more than $35 for a dress was a sin. I don't know what Shawn's limit for clothes because he never bought any.
Now:  I have no problem spending $70 on a clothing item I really want.  Shawn's still cheap - he'll only buy jeans on black friday.

Then:  I will never, ever, not in a million years, ever want to own Prada shoes.
Now:  O mah gawd!  I love these shoes!  $600 is a bit steep...but someday I'll own you my pretties.

Then:  $150 suit from Men's Warehouse and suit separates found at the Goodwill Store
Now:  Custom tailored suits from Louis Bespoke

Then:  $60 for men's dress shoes was pushing it.
Now:  Really, really wants a pair of Allen Edmonds Park Avenues

Then:  Shawn didn't shave because razor blades are expensive
Now:  Shawn just bought himself a straight edge razor and is currently shaving with it (though to be fair, he's still such a cheap bastard that he got a refurbished one for $72 from The Whipped Dog instead of buying a new one for $300)

Products

A month ago I posted a Facebook status update about walking to the grocery store (1.7 miles round trip) to pick up some ultra gentle face stuffs to maybe hopefully get rid of a rash I had on my upper lip that made it look like I had been waxing every day for about a month.

I'm not sure why my skin went all wonky, one of my coworkers postulated that it was Demodex mites (same family that causes mange in dogs, but not the same mite), while others thought it was me using harsh face washes (which I do tend to do - I still buy acne products as if I'm in high school even though I don't need to), and Shawn's helpful recommendation was that it was because I was wearing makeup.

Anyhow, after a month of washing my face 2x a day and using some products meant for sensitive skin with rosacea, I think the problem is under control (or enough so that I don't wear makeup).

These products, which I highly recommend are: [NOTE: I'll try to remember to stop and check the prices at the store]

Cetaphil face wash.  I meant to grab the sensitive skin version, but grabbed the normal to oily version instead.  Whatevs, it's all good.  I'm sure the normal to oily version is still more gentle than say Noxema, and it's definitely more gentle than the face wash I had been using - an Avon Anew face wash that has been discontinued (it was anti-wrinkle and anti-wrinkle means that it's harsh)

Simple Soothing facial toner.  Remember those astringents you used in high school?  The ones that burned a little after you used it?  Yeah, this isn't like that at all. If the astringents in high school were more like this one, I wouldn't have tried to save money back then by using rubbing alcohol...so burny...and bad for your skin.  This one has no scent to it, it doesn't sting at all, and I seriously figured I was just rubbing more water on my face.  But after using it for a month, I do like it.  It does help with shine, it helps with pore size so I'll keep using it...though I do dislike the fact that I have to use cottonballs to apply it...they really need to come out with a little spray mister for this (like Clean Start All Over Clear)

Aveeno Ultra Calming Daily Moisturizer (SPF 15).  I love this stuff.  It's gentle enough that I use it as my eye moisturizer/sun block as well.  After all the crap my lip was pulling, this felt amazing. The only problem I had with it (and not a problem unless your skin is so devoid of moisture that you have to use straight Vaseline like I was) is that the moisturizing aspect only lasted until about lunchtime.  This isn't a problem now that my skin is acting normally.  I like this AM moisturizing/SPF product way more than the other product I had been using (again, anti-wrinkle but with an SPF that made me feel all greasy).

Curel Ultra Healing for Extra Dry Skin.  OMG.  I'm already a big proponent of "Curel in the blue bottle which is apparently no longer blue and is instead white" and for a long time I was using the blue bottle Curel as my night time moisturizer.  So it was no surprise that when my lip went all wonky, I immediately started using the lotion as needed...the problem was 'as needed' quickly became 'waking up in the middle of the night to reapply' hence why I switched to plain ol' Vaseline petroleum jelly. Which, if you've ever done, it works wonders, but it doesn't necessarily seem like it's the best stuff to put on your face even though it's non-comedogenic and hypo-allergenic (it does make one shiny, though).  So when I was looking for a night-time moisturizer, and I saw the Curel Ultra Healing with Ceramides (which are a must for rosacea), AND the fact that it was extremely cheap compared to all the other possible night-time moisturizers (I paid $4.97 for 6 oz - I remember this because the Aveeno was 3x more expensive but was only 4 oz), I went ahead and bought it. I figured worst case scenario was that I'd end up using it as regular hand lotion.  Instead I ended up carrying this everywhere.  Seriously.  It resided in my purse for 2 weeks.  When my lip would dry out around lunch time, I'd use a little of this stuff and reapply whatever makeup I was using.  I usually would wash my face as soon as we got home and would reapply this and it would last until the following morning when I'd wash my face again.  The only thing I thought was odd was the citrus scent (it has orange oil in it); not that it smelled bad, but that when you think "calming for irritated skin" you usually don't think "mmmm, acidic citrus fruits." 

Upcycled

I learned something about myself this last weekend whilst in San Diego...

Wait, let me explain.  We went to San Diego.  I tend not to mention things of this ilk (aka vacations) on my blog or on facebook or anywhere really.  It's mostly because I don't like advertising that we'll be away from our house for extended periods of time.  All this because when I was in middle school, my dad created a website and posted EVERYTHING on it.  Address, our next planned vacation, our names, our ages, our favorite colors and the names of our pets.  My mom made him remove most of that.  And so, lesson learned, I never post anything about future plans unless they are way off in the future.

So anyway, we're in San Diego and there's this "Festival of Sail" going on with tours of old timey boats (which we didn't do - I was game, but Shawn wasn't...something about spending $40/person on the zoo and $100 on kayaking that made him not want to spend more money).  At said Festival of Sail, there were food vendors and arts and crafts vendors.  My two favorite arts and crafts vendors were

1. A vendor who upcycled beer bottles into glasses, liquor bottles into lamps and wine bottles into cheese boards, and
2. A vendor who upcycled old boat sails into bags.

As I was contemplating which boat sail bag to get (I got the one with a blue anchor on it, though I should have gotten the one with a pink dolphin tail), I realized something.  I am a sucker for upcycled things. My favorite necklaces are ones that are made out of bottle caps.  I bought my sister a seat belt purse for Christmas a few years back because I really wanted one but couldn't justify spending $75 on a purse.  I make gifts for my coworkers out of bottle caps, wine corks, and tourist maps.

Yep, total sucker for upcycling.