What A Little Creativity Can Lead To……

So, it’s no  grande secreto that one of my favorite creative people of all time is the enigmatic Zoltron.  The other artist that I love the most (in the total, personal sense of the word) is a certain Hollis Rhodes. You may not have heard of him, YET, but that’s about to change.  This is what happens when the two artists collide:

This, eventually, becomes

THIS.

When Zoltron first posted the tale I didn’t realize that the amazing art I was looking at was updated (if you will) by my very own BIL.  It soon became a bit of a local sensation, with several posts about it in Bay Area blogs (including Fecal Face).

Then, more bait was placed.  “Sue Nami” was born.

This version really demands a closer view, click on the image to see it close-up, the only way to really understand how much detail is really within the work.  It has so much going on, I could easily look at it for a half-hour and still not completely understand its full complexity.

The happy result of my two friends and their combined talent is going to be a show next month at Bi-Rite‘s 18 Reasons. Don’t miss it!

Frankie Doodle

One of the more recent pictures of my dear Frankie Doodle. She is quite the imp, lots of lovable, huggable fun.

I love her so!

Lovely (Hint of Tint) Lips!

I am slightly obsessed with inexpensive lip balm that adds shine and tint to my lips.  Above are the new Juicy lip balms from Wet n Wild, available only at CVS. They are an incredible deal at $2.99, and have SPF 15 to boot.  I bought the cherry and strawberry (top and bottom right), raspberry was sold out!  The cherry is great, adds some red and not too much. Strawberry is very pale pink, I imagine it would look really lovely on darker skin tones. I’m going to head back to get the raspberry, I’m certain that it has the most impact. These are big, chubby sticks! My favorite lip balm this summer is the Nivea Kiss of Flavor Strawberry balm.  It goes on with a perfectly sheer red tint and has a bit of shimmer too.  It’s not sparkly so it is perfect for all day wear.  The feel is perfectly light and the “kiss” of flavor is just right. It has an SPF of 4 and is also $2.99. Next up, Rose Petal Hydrating lip balm by Nuance Salma Hayek. This is another CVS only product. It’s just like the best-selling Smith’s Rosebud Salve, but with some sweetness added to it, which makes it a tad better in my opinion! You don’t get much tint at all, but it’s great at keeping my lips moist and smooth. It’s thicker than Smith’s too.  $7.29 Lastly, the new(ish), much touted Burt’s Bee’s tinted balms are as good as everyone says.  My favorite is Rose, but Hibiscus looks nice sometimes too!  They have such a great texture, so smooth and light. Next time? I’ll post my favorite UN-tinted balms (hint: EOS Mint is at the top of my list), glosses and lip stains (The Balm Stainiac, Benefit Cha Cha and Josie Maran Argan Beautiful Lips collection are at the top of my “must try” brands! Wouldn’t hurt if a Sephora gift card fell from the sky!)

Fruity new look!

What do you think?  I am going to give it a whirl for a bit.  There is supposed to be a secret fruit that can be unlocked, but I guess I’m not creative enough to figure out how.  (The two other visible choices were banana and dragonfruit.)  I’m not so into bananas, and want to give pink a rest, so it’s blueberries for you!  I also would consider the Vertigo theme (see below) but I’m not sure if I like using footers for widgets.  It does have much more visual impact. but  would having to scroll down to the bottom of a page keep you from going there?  One way to make it easier would be to reduce the amount of posts per page.  I may just do that, so don’t be surprised if you come back to find my look changed again!

Vertigo theme.

We’ve been Softened!

I love getting surprises in the mail, it makes your day so much brighter. Even better is when I get something that not many other people know about.  It’s true, I love new things and getting the scoop on them before anyone else.  So lucky me, Purex sent me a new laundry softener to try out and I actually used it.  I have been averse to softeners ever since one brand (the kind you can find at a place like Whole Foods) caused a major rash in my “bathing suit area”.  Yikes.

Well, Purex Complete Crystals Softener changes the laundry softener game entirely.  Instead of an oil-based liquid formulation (like Downy or Snuggle), Purex Complete Crystals Softener comes as crystals just like kosher salt.  You simply pour theformula right into the washing machine along with your laundry load, that simple.

Oil-based liquid formulas coat your laundry making them unsuitable for towels (did you know that? All that softener you use to make your towels feel soft and smell fresh is actually decreasing your towels ability to absorb water).  Liquid softeners also make the flame-retardant on childrens sleepwear ineffective, so you need to spend extra time sorting those items out of the loads you intend to use softener on.  Hooray for that !  I am happier than a clam when there is less work to do.

 

I tossed my daughter’s lovey ( known as Lady Bunny) into a load with Purex Complete Crystals Softener a week ago and Lady Bunny still smells wonderful.  Now we sniff her each evening as part of our bedtime ritual, it’s pretty cute.  She smells better than she ever has. You should try it too!  The first three readers that can tell me three different things about this new product will win a coupon for a bottle of their own!

Look for Purex Complete Crystal Softener at a retailer near you!

http://www.purex.com/MXTQEPZOXYOMU3514AXODMQMFIYLHZ