Archives for October 2013

Bottle cap facts

October 17, 2013

The Atlantic recently published an exposé on Snapple’s “Real Facts,” those bite-sized nuggets of random information printed on the underside of Snapple caps. Turns out that they’re not all real facts! Many of them are outdated, misleading, contradictory, unverifiable, or just plain wrong.

Snapple claims to have a pretty vigorous fact-checking process, but any curious tea drinker can hop on the internet and debunk many of Snapple’s factoids in less than 30 seconds.

Some “Real Facts” already proven to be false?

“Elephants only sleep two hours a day.” (#35)

“Caller ID is illegal in California.” (#70)

“Thomas Jefferson invented the coat hanger.” (#868)

Regarding the permeation of misinformation, the article also quotes Jeopardy champion Ken Jennings as saying, “But now people believe Winston Churchill was born in a ladies room, or that babies are born without kneecaps. They see it 10 times, so they think it must be true.”

Wait, what?! I won a baby shower game with the answer that babies don’t have kneecaps. Turns out they do. So I guess I owe the party hostesses a plastic baby bottle filled with pastel M&Ms, huh?

Although Diet Snapple was my tea of choice for most of my teens and 20s, I now prefer Honest Tea — the beverage and the bottle caps. I feel healthier drinking it (less sugar).

And while I don’t buy Honest Tea solely for the words of wisdom printed on their caps, they do share some pretty inspiring quotes. I particularly enjoyed their collaboration with SMITH’s Six-Word Memoirs.

Now here’s a random fact for you that’s actually true:

Larry Smith of SMITH Magazine is the Larry of “Piper and Larry” from Orange is the New Black (and also from real life, I suppose).

Full circle.

(image sources: 1, 2, 3)

AM/PM: A day in the life of Haeley Giambalvo from Design Improvised

October 16, 2013

AM/PM chronicles a day in the life of busy mothers to explore how all different types of moms juggle their responsibilities — from stay-at-home moms to moms who work full time outside of the home. If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “I don’t know how she does it” about another mom, read on!

Today we’re talking motherhood with Haeley Giambalvo of the DIY decor blog, Design Improvised. A creative crafter with a penchant for pom-poms (check out her super easy pom-pom balloons here!), Haeley’s work has been featured on Babble, Apartment Therapy, and BHG Style Spotters, among other blogs.

Haeley and her family relocated to San Antonio this summer, and shortly after they arrived in Texas, Design Mom featured a tour of Haeley’s old digs back in Chicago. What a farewell gift! Since the move, Haeley has been busy turning their new house into a beautifully decorated home.

Read on to learn how Haeley juggles all of her responsibilities!… READ MORE!

Thin or thick eyebrows: Which do you prefer?

October 15, 2013

If you give a tween a pair of tweezers, chances are she’ll over-pluck her eyebrows. At least, that’s what happened to me.

Over the years I’ve learned to tweeze more judiciously, but I’ve fallen victim to creating uneven brows numerous times in my pursuit of perfect arches. Eventually, though, I realized I should leave my eyebrow shaping to the professionals.

While living in New York City, I regularly visited an aesthetician named Svetlana. Svetlana was a large Russian woman with a heavy accent who would lovingly coo, “I know, baby. It hurts to be beautiful,” while ripping out hair from various parts of my body.

Unable to find an aesthetician I trusted as much as Svetlana when I moved to Omaha, I became reacquainted with my trusty pair of tweezers. Recently, however, I’ve been trying to wean myself off eyebrow plucking. According to T Magazine, “fuller, heavier and more precisely sculptured” brows are back in vogue, and I’d like mine to grow a little bit thicker. After all, “thick, full eyebrows signify youth and vitality” — and running after Levi while 21 weeks pregnant is making me feel older by the minute!

To give my natural brows a more well-defined shape, I’ve been relying on clear mascara to keep them from looking bushy and unruly. Maybelline Great Lash Clear Mascara is inexpensive yet does the trick. Another trick I’ve discovered is to tweeze my eyebrows while sitting in a parked car. The natural light helps to illuminate the one or two hairs obstructing my arch so that I don’t accidentally over-pluck (again).

What do you think of the thick eyebrows trend? Would you let your brows grow in fuller? Or are you partial to thin eyebrows?

P.S. – More ways to look young? How about Botox at 33? Also, chic short hairstyles.

(images: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

Chalkboard wall ideas

October 14, 2013

A couple of weeks ago I had a sudden urge to paint a chalkboard wall in my kitchen. (Well, not me personally. When I’m pregnant, I leave all painting jobs to my husband!)

Obviously, chalkboard walls are not a new idea, but my desire to add one to our home was new. In fact, it seem to come out of nowhere! After prowling the internet for chalkboard wall ideas, I felt even more strongly that we had to have one. Not only could we use the chalkboard wall for list-making and coloring, but I’ve always loved how they look as photography backdrops.

Here are some of my favorites:

Repainting our smallest kitchen wall was on the agenda for this past weekend, but before JB ran out to Home Depot for the supplies, I got cold feet. Would black chalkboard paint make the room feel closed in? Would the chalkboard dust create too much of a mess? Are chalkboard walls cliche?

After posting my concerns on Instagram and Facebook and reading your encouraging responses, I decided to go ahead with the kitchen chalkboard wall. One reader reminded me to do what makes me happy — sound advice! Who cares if the chalkboard wall trend is waning; having one in my kitchen would make me happy.

Plus, when I get sick of it, we can always repaint!

Painting a chalkboard wall is a relatively easy but time consuming project. Stay tuned for a before and after post (gotta wait for the paint to cure!).

(image sources: House to Home, unknown, AKA Design, Christine Lane Interiors, Flickr, Cococozy, Decor Pad)

Community theater and Friday links

October 11, 2013

After spending the past three weekends either visiting or hosting family, I’m looking forward to a couple of quiet days at home. Besides trying to catch up on life, laundry, and our DVR list, we don’t have much else planned. JB promised to tackle a small painting project, and we have tickets to see the Omaha Community Playhouse‘s production of Les Miserables. I confess I’m a bit wary of a community theater tackling such an ambitious musical, but the show got a near-perfect review in the local paper. Encouraging!

Hope you have a fun and relaxing weekend! Here are 10 Friday links for you to explore…

Cozy throw blankets are synonymous with fall, but I like to cuddle up with one on the couch all year long. Thinking of replacing my well-worn throw with this super soft version from West Elm.(On sale now!)

Don’t let social media come between you and your significant other. Pars Caeli offers four ways to woo your loved one with technology.

I’m guilty of mindlessly watching TV when I find myself with free time (or when I’m procrastinating on a task), are you? Here are 50 things to do other than watch TV courtesy of BRIKA.

J.Crew now sells maternity ~~clothing~~ pants! And check out their new baby shop.

Are you active on Pinterest? I’m trying to pin more frequently (you can follow my boards here). For more inspiration, I’m going to check out Pretty & Fun‘s five favorite ladies on Pinterest.

Blake Lively is starting a “life curating” business a la Gwyneth Paltrow’s GOOP, and Hello Giggles supports her somewhat-elitist career move. Do you?

I usually rely on my husband’s knowledge of wine when it comes to picking a red that will complement my meal (before I was pregnant, of course.) Honestly, I don’t know the difference between a Malbec and a Pinot Noir. When I can drink red wine again, I’ll be referring to this red wine flow chart on Cupcakes and Cashmere to help me make more informed decisions.

A clever way to transport cupcakes from Donuts, Dresses and Dirt: a DIY shirt box carrier.

We’re addicted to Homeland, are you? We binge-watched the first two seasons before the premiere of season three, and neither JB nor I thought season two was as awful as we had been warned. Season three is off to a slow start, though, and one major reason is Dana’s story. The Daily Mail explores all the Dana hate.

Like Tristan from Besotted, I try to stay away from anti-aging creams and serums made from chemicals while I’m pregnant. Still, I’m paranoid about wrinkles and fine lines, so I might have to try the Argan Infinity Cream she recommends.

Archives for October 2013

(images: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

(image sources: House to Home, unknown, AKA Design, Christine Lane Interiors, Flickr, Cococozy, Decor Pad)

(Photos by Bruce Buck for The New York Times)