Stuff I Love: CoTZ Face Sunscreen!

Picture courtesy of www.Drugstore.com

  As any true ginger who loves her skin will tell you, sunscreen isn't just for the summer.  It's part of the daily routine to keep the freckles and hyper-pigmentation from making you look like a leopard.  I have tried nearly every sunscreen I could get my hands on and I spent years working in a spa and online beauty store, so I had a lot of options. I always ran into the usual issues; greasiness, chalkiness, didn't absorb well, or it smelled like sunscreen.  I don't mind the typical sunscreen smell when I'm at the beach or it's the middle of summer.  But there is just something strange about smelling like sunscreen in December.

  I received a free sample of CoTZ Face (natural skin tone) and I fell in love immediately!  First of all, the texture is divine, it's silky soft and easy to apply.  There is no greasiness or waiting for it to absorb, so you can put your make-up on right away.  Then there is the smell, it is so mild as soon as you apply it to the skin, it's gone.  The one I am using is the natural skin tone and upon first inspection I thought the color might be too dark for my fair skin, but it blended perfectly.  I've applied it to my boyfriends more olive skin tone and it wasn't a problem for him either.

  You want to know the best part?  It isn't expensive, it retails for less the $20.  The tubes aren't huge, but they last for months and they are easy to travel with.  It's definitely become one of my staples in my make-up bag.
 

Photo Summary of the Last Year

One of my 2013 goals was to start blogging again and somehow it's June and I haven't written anything.  For shame!  In my defense, there's been a lot going on in my life.

So let's do a quick recap of what has happened since my last blog post....

I met Track while on a trip out of the country.  

We started traveling between Redding and San Francisco to see each other.  

We went on a trip to Tulum, Mexico.  

Which I had been dreaming about doing for years. 

Photo courtesy of www.geektreks.com

Then I moved to San Francisco to be closer to him.  

Photo courtesy of www.seed100.com

 I got an awesome job in the financial district, 

right across from the Transamerica building.

Photo courtesy of www.hookedonhouses.net

Then I moved into this building (minus the ivy).  It's got incredible views and I've got two closets in my room, unheard of in the city.   I am in love with this place and am in full nesting mode at the moment.

This just scratches the surface of everything that has happened, but now you are basically caught up and you got to miss out on the awkward transitional periods.  You're welcome!  I am excited to start writing again and I've got a lot of new topics I want to dive into.  

         

February Photoshoot

 

www.taylormccutchan.com


Photographer: Taylor McCutchan
Model: Willow Brook
MUA: Jen Siqueiros
Hair: Tricia Davidge


Couldn't wait to share a few pics from the photo shoot earlier this week.  I'm so excited, can't wait to see the rest.  Had a blast working with this team of people.


*Clicking on any of their names will take you to their facebook pages so you can check out their other work. 

Copper Quartz Inspiration

Last week when I was down visiting my beautiful cousin in Huntington beach we stopped by an Anthropologie store and I stumbled upon this amazing copper and quartz crystal box.  I couldn't afford the beautiful little box even though it was calling my name, so I took a picture with my phone instead.  Last night, I was going through my inspiration pictures and put this one to good use creating these copper and quartz crystal point earrings.  They will be listed in my shop this week.

Barnes & Noble Inspiration

Went to Barnes & Nobles to look for a book on tape.  

Their selection sucked, so I wandered over to the craft section.  

Spent an hour flipping through jewelry books and found a little inspiration.

Thinking about giving the bottom right a try. 

 

Love Inspired Jewelry

Love Me Sweetly Pearls & Rose Quartz Layered Necklace

With Valentines Day right around the corner, I've been inspired to create some love themed jewelry.  I love the combination of pearls and rose quartz, not only are they beautiful together but their meanings are both lovely too.        

Pearl:  The symbol of feminine wisdom.  There is much folklore and tradition about the pearl.  It was said in some early cultures that the pearl was born when a single drop of rain fell from the heavens and became the heart of the oyster. Pearls have been referred to as the 'teardrops of the moon'. Others believed that pearls were formed by the passage of angels through the clouds of heaven.
    Pearls inspire femininity and increase self acceptance. They lift your spirits and make you feel calm and beautiful, reminding us to walk with dignity.

Rose Quartz:  The stone of unconditional love and infinite peace.  It is the most important stone to use when working with the heart chakra.  It purifies and opens the heart on all levels, most importantly promoting self-love.  It’s gentle vibrations are calming and reassuring, making an excellent stone to use in trauma or crisis. 

It can be used to increase self love, draw more love to you, or reignite love in a relationship.  It can help restore trust and harmony.  It helps soothe the heart after love is lost, increase feelings of self-worth, and open you up to new love.


Check out WillowLily this latest addition to the shop and other natural stone and reclaimed vintage pieces.

Video Project: Fotoshop

 

This commercial isn't real, neither are society's standards of beauty.

This is a video project I worked on last summer.  It's the brainchild of Jesse Rosten.  So check it out and let me know what you think.  

Newest Work in Progress or I Am at the Mercy of my Muses

My newest work in progress is a necklace I started several months ago with hand bent heavy copper wire hammered and wired together.  This weekend the muses were frequenting me quite often, so I just turned on the television, watched a bunch of movies and let them take over.  I find it's best if I kinda blackout while I work, the minute I start over thinking things my mythical friends leave.  They also like wine, so I do my best to appease them. With their help I added amethyst, agate, rose quartz, turquoise, peridot, freshwater pearls, and abalone.  As of right now it is destined to be a very large statement piece.  This piece of the necklace measures 6.5 inches and it's not even done.  Fingers crossed they come back soon, guess I better keep watching movies and drinking wine until they do, just in case.  

Life as the Bionic Woman or Not All Trees Grow Straight

I like to think of my spine as a tree, sometimes like a snake, but mostly a tree.  Most little trees grow straight all on their on own, but some are creative.  They see themselves as artists and there aren't about to follow some age old truth that straight is better without trying out their own way first.  My scoliosis came early and the doctors and my parents spent years watching my spine twist and contort itself.  I was more preoccupied with my ever growing Barbie population and the ever shrinking Ken population going on in the basement.  My sister was always dismembering the ken dolls.  I wanted to climb trees, eat dirt, catch pollywogs and do science experiments on snails.  Snails don't like broccoli,  if you were wondering.  My back crossed my mind when the headaches came or P.E. teachers expected me to anything more athletic than sitting in left field talking to the flowers.   I just learned to carry advil and cry whenever we had to run the mile. 

Junior High came and because it's just not quite awkward enough being 5 feet 8 inches tall, gangly, and hormonal the doctors decided it would be the perfect time to put me in a brace.  Remember the brace Lisa Kudrow's character in Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion wore?  It was basically an updated version of that.  I was going to post a picture of one, but I got nauseous looking at google images of them.  So use your imagination.  I only lasted about a year in that when I unhappily agreed to let them turn me into the bionic girl.  We waited till I was officially done growing and I was put under, cut open, and rebuilt.                     

Side view x-ray of the bars and screws that hold me together.

This is the happy part of the story.  The surgery went great, they were able to stretch out my spine enough to give me an extra inch of height.  I was now 5'10", but strangely disappointed I wasn't 6 feet.   I recovered, got sent back for the last semester of my senior year of  high school, which I spent most of sleeping in my car instead of going to class.  Somehow I drove on pain meds, but sitting in class was too hard.  I think my teachers and the administration pity graduated me.  My headaches became less frequent and eventually the 17 inch scar started to fade.  After a few years I stopped feeling like my back functioned as a meteorologist and I sounded less like someone in my eighties predicting storms according my pain levels. 

This all came back to me today as I took out my x-rays to show the physical therapist.  The very first physical therapist I ever remember seeing.  It's been a decade since they first filled me with titanium.  I can honestly say I'm glad they did.  I still have pain, but it's livable.  My crooked spine will never be straight, but then again I wouldn't want them to take all the creativity out of me.      

My Fluffy Assistant

Was taking pictures of a this necklace this afternoon so I can get it listed and got more than I anticipated.  My not so helpful assistant LunaBelle made it in the picture too.  She's more trouble than help in the office, she loves to knock stuff over and thinks every spool of ribbon is just asking to be unraveled. On the positive side she gives great cuddles and kisses, so we keep her on staff as emotional support.

Newest Copper Healing Pendants

These are two pendants I've been working on today.  They aren't finished yet, but I'm hoping to have them completed, named, and listed in the shop by next week.  They are made with hammered copper and then wrapped with freshwater pearls, amethyst, rose quartz, agates, and turquoise.  If only one ends up in the shop it's because I've decided to keep one.  I'm always a sucker for wearing amethyst and rose quartz close to my heart.  Who couldn't use a little more stability and love?

Roses & Pearls Bracelet

This is my newest bracelet, made with cream colored freshwater pearls and rose quartz.  The inspiration came from a set of bridesmaids jewelry I just completed for a girlfriend's wedding.  Since then, I have been dreaming and creating in creamy whites, pale pinks, and little splashes of glamorous crystals.  It's all pulled together with a silver toggle, which bares my favorite ancient symbol. 

Rose quartz  is the stone of unconditional love and helps align the heart chakra.  It will not not only help with heart healing and self love, but it will draw more love to you.  If you are already in a relationship it will encourage harmony and unconditional love.  This stone is perfectly complimented by the pearls which also encourage self acceptance.  Pearls invoke a feeling of beauty, calm, and dignity.  They are a perfect example of transformation; a ragged, rough grain of sand growing into a object of great value and beauty.  There is something very raw and yet feminine about this delicately textured piece.  It brings us back to the simplest and purest thing in life, love.     

September Garden Update

 It's the first day of fall.  I would love to write an amazing post about what that means astrologically, spiritually, and historically from a mythological perspective....but I just don't want to.  I'm in a mood and basically I'm just trying not to crawl in bed or open the bottle of wine that's been calling to me all day from the kitchen.  I have a good reason for feeling this way, but I don't want to talk about that either....so let's talk about the garden.  

I'm really started to notice how certain plants are starting to die back while others are at their height.  The beans, which only produced 5 lousy pods, are dying back.  Still scratching my head about why they were so unhappy.  The corn has also finished and I've cut down nearly all the stocks.  I've got two tall ones left standing and I'm having a hard time parting with them.  They just seem so regal standing guard over the garden, it feels wrong to cut them down even though I know its time.  Some of the squash are dying back, which is probably a good thing, since the leaves are so dense it takes me forever to even find the fruits and veggies hiding out underneath.

On the other end of the spectrum the cantaloupe is doing great.  We already had our first one.  The roommates and I all sat down and ate it together.  You would have thought I had brought some strange fruit home from another country the way everyone oohhed and aahhed over it.  It was the very first melon I've ever grown so I am pretty proud of myself.  There are quite a few more out there ripening up as we speak.  Also, we have watermelons that are close to being ready.  My fingers are crossed that they turn out to be the sweet deliciousness I have been dreaming about for the last few months.


The tomatoes and peppers are also doing better, although not quite the turnout I had hoped for the heirloom tomatoes.  I've been picking the tomatoes as soon as they have a lick of color to keep them safe from our furry masked bandits.  Got two small black prince tomatoes the other day.  The more I look at them, the less I want to eat them.  They are such a dark reddish maroon color, they look like coagulated balls of blood .  I told my friend, Dane, last night if any of his body parts turn that color he should go straight to the hospital.  He was in the middle of cooking dinner.  He refused to use those tomatoes and I got exiled from the kitchen.  Lesson learned, don't talk about hospitals or blood around food.

I also discovered recently that these strange little squash I've been picking and complaining about were actually baby pumpkins and butternut squash, both of which I've grown before.  I feel pretty stupid now, but at the time I was really stumped trying to figure out what they were.  Anyway, there are still a few types of squash growing that I'm mystified about, but I'm just ignoring them now to see if they turn into anything recognizable before I throw another fit and embarrass myself again.

Supposedly, it's going to start cooling down this weekend.  I guess I should start thinking about a fall/winter garden.  Maybe this time around I will label stuff so I actually know what I'm growing....but then again that just sounds like it might take the mystery out of it.  Let's be honest, surprising myself is half the fun.    

Jungle Garden

If you want your garden to appear more green and jungle like simply water a lot and stop weeding.  It works for me.  I haven't quite evolved into the kind of gardener who has a picture perfect garden.  Truthfully, I'm not really counting on that ever happening.

Tomato Thief

Someone or something is stealing my tomatoes as soon as they are ready to be picked.  It's bad enough they are taking so long to turn red and now some selfish little prick is stealing them before I get to taste all my hard work and devotion.  I'm peeved to say the least.  At first I thought it was our dog, Nico, she's mischievous, but just not smart enough to pull this off without me figuring it out.  Then I thought it might be my roommates eccentric hippie uncle, but he swears it isn't him.  So now I think it's raccoons.  I haven't found any evidence it's raccoons, but what else could it be?  Either way I guess it's another trip to the hardware store for some kind of wire to protect my beloved tomatoes. 

Purple Bellpeppers

Check out my awesome purple bell-pepper!  Pretty awesome right?

Lavender Lust

Made a solo trip up to the Mt Shasta Lavender Farm to see what all the fuss was about and well, I get it now.  It's beautiful, but more than that it transported me back to Provence.  The place I first fell in love with lavender 8 years ago. 

I happen to have an obsessive love of lavender, it nearly verges on unhealthy at times.  Lavender lotion, lavender soap, lavender oil, lavender laundry detergent, lavender wands, lavender paintings.  If it has anything to do with lavender, I will want it.  So it's no surprise that when lavender season comes around each year I find my way to a nearby farm to walk through the fields, cut the flowers, and basically bliss out. 

The English lavender was in full bloom and thank goodness bees love me, cause they were pretty excited about the lavender too.  Mt. Shasta was mostly covered with clouds most of the afternoon, but even so the views were magnificent.

As son as I arrived, I grabbed a basket and began cutting bunches of lavender. I wanted to make a few lavender wands.  English lavender isn't really ideal for this, because of how short their stems are, but I figured I would give it a try anyway.  After wandering through the fields talking to the bees (now you know why they like me so much) and gathering my bunches, I went in and paid for my stems and settled at a little table under a bright blue umbrella.  I took out my ribbon and got started.  It was a lot harder than I remembered.  I'm not sure if this was because of the English Lavender or because I was so out of practice, but either way it took quite a bit of patience and hand eye coordination.  I only managed to make two, but I was still pretty proud of myself.

The French Lavender (longer stems) will be blooming soon and you better believe I will be back.  This time I might even drag a few people with me.  I will let you know how it goes.  

Radishes!

I mentioned earlier that I have never grown radishes before.  I had never attempted them for several reasons: 1) I knew nothing about them or what growing them entailed 2) I didn't know what to do with them after I grew them 3) I wasn't entirely sure I had ever eaten one.  My roommate Ericka didn't know any of these things about my radish ignorance when she brought home two packets of radish seeds.  Not wanting to disappoint her I attempted to do a little research on them, but ultimately just threw them in the ground and hoped for the best. 

You can bet I was surprised when they not only sprouted but took off faster than anything else in the garden.  I was incredibly excited!  

I can now say I know what a radish tastes like too.  Luckily, my roommates and Ericka's dog, Nico, really likes them.  We are up to our elbows in radishes and the second crop I planted isn't even ready.  Anyone have any good recipes for radishes?

Garden Update: Mid June

This is the garden after my new hero, Anthony, offered to come over and dig the rest of my rows for me.  It's still looking a little sparse at this point.  I will take another picture in the next few days after the rain ceases. 

I still have more corn, squash, watermelon, tomatoes, and flowers to plant. Oh and just a few days ago I found baby tomatoes and crook neck squash on a few plants.  I'm still in shock everything is going so well. 

Why I Really Garden

Some people deal with anxiety by breathing, others with meds, but I chose to deal with my anxiety attack today by attacking the grape vines that grow on the fence bordering our garden space.  To each her own, I guess.

I had looked up grape vine pruning info online this morning over my second cup of coffee and half way through reading about it, I decided that I would just follow my gut.  This is generally what happens when I feel as though master gardeners are explaining things in a way I can't understand.  Generally speaking following my gardening intuitions works out about 50-75% of the time.  I might be a little biased about this statistic.


How I ended up in the garden pulling grape vines out of trees with giant clippers isn't the point.  What is important is that I think I did a pretty good job.  Once I was done with that I also pruned three of the neighbors trees.  So far they haven't complained, but their dog did stare at me suspiciously the entire time.  I don't think she bought my whole "your parents are going to thank me for this later" line I tried on her. 

After all that I felt much better and went inside to work and make phone calls.  Not too long after that Ericka came home and started working on cleaning out the back garage.  I figured it was the perfect time, since it was cooling off to plant the strawberries and transplant some of the peas.

My grandparents also have a garden across town.  Their strawberries were out of control so they gave me a bunch of the babies that had jumped ship from their raised beds. I planted them in the border of the garden alongside several different peas.

Ericka and I planted sugar snap peas and pole beans a few weeks ago.  I'm not complaining, but whoever planted the sugar snap peas (ahem Ericka) basically dumped them in a piled and called it good.  Well, they were all growing in one giant clumped circle.  It wasn't going to work, so I dug them up today, gently, and transplanted them with some good rich soil into a space farther back.  I hope they are able to survive the transplant and make it, cause I really love sugar snap peas straight off the vine.  I eat them as a reward to myself for weeding and watering.  So I guess if I'm being honest I planted this entire area as food I will eat while I tend to the rest of the garden.

So I guess the moral of this blog today is that I really garden to deal with my anxiety and as a way to bribe myself.  Gardening as a way to combat neurosis, this is what they should be really teaching in school.  I mean who really uses geometry anyway?