Hello, Operator?

Fuzzy brain fumble
through the mist
and
fog

Sun up
sun down
doesn't matter
it's just smog

Waiting 
a whole lifetime and 
then some
For what?

To 
become

Not me.
Never me.

I'm not here
Do you hear?
Call back later
when the air
is clear.

Image Source

LaLa Shoes Boutique Has Stolen My Heart

You guys. I have found an online boutique that has my shoe size and it fits like a GLOVE. So comfy.

You see, I have a slight obsession with Mary Janes since the first time I saw them paired with a cute skirt and top.

So, when LaLa Boutique told me to pick a pair to promote, my first thought was "SHOES!!!!, second thought was of course, I will.

I headed right over to: https://www.lalashoe.com and found the CUTEST, most comfortable Mary Janes ever from Chase And Chloe!

There are so many other styles to choose from. I bet you'll find something you love as well! I want to see pics of you in your gorgeous LaLa Boutique shoes!

**I have received a sample product, payment, or both in exchange for this review. Regardless, I pride myself in bringing you an honest and thorough review. Thanks for reading! My comment box is always open for any questions you may have!**

Poppa Ravi Amazing Huge Bamboo Cutting Board

I am so excited to work with Poppa Ravi again! This time they sent me a GORGEOUS Extra Large Bamboo Cutting Board and I am in love!

The picture doesn't do it much justice but I can guarantee it is the best cutting board you will ever own!

And, just for being a loyal reader, right now you can receive 75% off if you order through Amazon.com for $33.99 with 75% off! You won't regret it and I'd love to hear your thoughts on it!

**I have received a sample product, payment, or both in exchange for this review. Regardless, I pride myself in bringing you an honest and thorough review. Thanks for reading! My comment box is always open for any questions you may have!**

Joyal Beauty Retinol Cream

I am on a beauty kick lately.

I started out in my forties not worrying a bit about wrinkles, lines, dark circles, puffy eyes, etc etc etc. 41? Not so much.

So, in my quest to find the perfect creams, elixirs, potions, and lotions, I was asked to review Joyal Beauty's Retinol Cream.  

Like the Joyal Beauty Vitamin C Brightening Cream I tried awhile ago, this is a heavy cream with a different sort of smell. The difference, however, is that this one worked much better! I put it on every night before bed and actually started to see results within a week! I did not break out at all and I can tell that my skin is firming up due to the boost in collagen and although it doesn't work as well as my very favorite "beauty hack"....

                                                   (LOL)

It is definitely something I plan on adding to my regular routine. You can find Joyal Beauty Retinol Cream on Amazon for just $20.85. Let me know how you like it!

**I have received a sample product, payment, or both in exchange for this review. Regardless, I pride myself in bringing you an honest and thorough review. Thanks for reading! My comment box is always open for any questions you may have!**

Joyal Beauty Vitamin C Brightening Cream

The holidays can be...exhausting.

This one especially so for me. As you can imagine, I needed to ready my "NOPE. Nothing wrong here!" face and I was failing.

So, I decided to try Joyal Beauty Vitamin C Brightening Cream and see if it would help. I got my package a few days before bricks started to fall on me from out of the sky of life so what better time to try it?

I really liked the effects, because it did brighten it but the cream was a little heavy and I'm still fighting a break out from it. But, I have oily to combination skin and tend to stick to lighter moisturizers. My pores clog way too easily. 

The packaging was nice and it arrived very quickly! I would definitely recommend for those of you with drier skin. And, the extra brightening (especially around the eyes) is fantastic. You can find it for $18.99 on Amazon!

Stranger Things About Stranger Things

I don't know if you noticed or not, but I went just slightly INSANE about the Netflix show, Stranger Things.

                                   photo courtesy of wikipedia.org

From the very first episode, I WAS IN THERE. Yeah, just why are they running tests on kids? And she is number 11?! SHE FLIPPED AN ENTIRE VAN. WHERE IS BARB? WHY IS STEVE SUCH A DOUCHE? HEH, THE NAME FINN WOLFHARD IS WAY AWESOME. And, OMG what in the shit exactly is a DemiGorgon and WHAT, WAIT IT'S OVER?! IS SHE STILL IN THE UPSIDE DOWN?

Serious stress, yall.

You better believe I was on pins and needles, counting down, jumping out of my skin for the next season. 

And, then this is what we got.

So, apparently now 11 has a (kinda) sister and Steve is everyone's mom, Will's brother is non existent, oh and at the very end THERE IS...

A PROM.

NOPE.

I'm not digging that with a diamond shovel. Ok, I get it. Growing up is hard, but with crazy upside down world shit going on, it's definitely harder.

What I am saying is this. I am a fan. A HUGE FAN. The characters are amazing and well cast for sure but what I love...what made me fall in love with this show?

The story. 

Let's get back to that. I still have questions. How about you?

Alterre Shoes Resort/Winter 2017: That 70s Shoe Collection

This post is a bit late as I have been traveling here, there, and everywhere lately. In my travels, I was able to catch an open studio Alterre showcase in NYC.

It was awesome!



These are like nothing I've ever tried before! I spent quite awhile checking out all of the different combinations and love how I can go from one look to another with just a quick change of the base or the straps. I could not decide which one I wanted to take home...well, ok, I wanted to take home all of them!

The shop is gorgeous and the employees are beyond helpful! You should check them out on 373 Broadway, Rm C10 NYC or you can always visit their website (they're having a sale!) https://www.alterreny.com  

**I have received a sample product, payment, or both in exchange for this review. Regardless, I pride myself in bringing you an honest and thorough review. Thanks for reading! My comment box is always open for any questions you may have!**

Asani Fabric Steamer

More than anything, I hate buying gifts for people. Not that I don't like to give gifts, I love to, I am just never sure if I am getting the right thing. And, of course, every year someone will give me a useful gift that I think to myself, "Best present! Why didn't I think of that?!"

This year, I decided I want to be the one to give the useful gifts. Luckily, Asani reached out to me to review their Fabric Steamer and so begins my search for the best useful gifts to give this year!

 I ordered it right off of Amazon and it was here in a just a few days (thanks, Prime!). I have never tried a fabric steamer but I knew of a dress that could definitely use a good ironing, steaming, whatever!

Believe it or not, I have only worn that dress once. 

I got to work. The steamer was really easy to fill and it was heated up and steaming in less than a minute. The instructions were really easy so off I went.

About 15 minutes later, this is the result:

So, better and I didn't have to pull out the ironing board and all of that. I just hung it up and steamed. I liked it and if I spent a little more time on it (I'm impatient) I could probably get all of the wrinkles out. 

This would be perfect for travel, too. It's small enough to fit in any bag. I will probably be packing it while we're going to see family this year. We are doing family photos, so this will come in handy.

You can find it for $21.99 on Amazon right now so definitely check it out!

Have you used a fabric steamer before? What were your results?

**I have received a sample product, payment, or both in exchange for this review. Regardless, I pride myself in bringing you an honest and thorough review. Thanks for reading! My comment box is always open for any questions you may have!**

His eyes were like saucers
A moon inside a sun
The night that was full of turmoil
After we both saw
Apollo
punch the universe.

Sights In The City

 Emily Dickinson, 1830 - 1886

Hope is the thing with feathers  
That perches in the soul,  
And sings the tune without the words,  
And never stops at all,  
   
And sweetest in the gale is heard;          
And sore must be the storm  
That could abash the little bird  
That kept so many warm.  
   
I've heard it in the chillest land,  
And on the strangest sea;         
Yet, never, in extremity,  
It asked a crumb of me.

In the sweet years
I hid under the tree
the leaves' canopy
sheltering me

From the loud ones

The haunted house
far away
the words of disappointment 
didn't touch me that day

I got lost in words
on pages of adventure
it felt like freedom
that was the clincher

I didn't want to leave
my sheltering tree
but no one ever cared
after all, I was just
me.

The Day The Sun Came Out

Originally published on The Legendary (downdirtyword.com)

The Day The Sun Came Out (April 11, 2012. Issue 36. The Late Issue)

My mother has been in a committed relationship since I was 17 years old. While people staying together that long is an anomaly within itself these days, my mother is still with the woman she fell in love with when I was only 12 years old.

My life as it is today hasn't always been this way. I grew up in a traditional home, my father worked as a journalist and editor for the local paper and my mother worked various jobs as we moved around.

From an early age, however, I knew there was something different about my family.

My parents seemed like they weren't very happy most of my life. My father manifested this by becoming a working alcoholic at a young age and my mother, well my mother cried a lot. Things were pretty bleak but it was my family and all I knew so I assumed this was how all families were. Things went on like this up until I was about 12.

My mother was involved in community theater my entire life. Everywhere we went, she found the local theater and immediately got herself and my brother and I involved in it.

We were all in plays together and had a lot of fun.

My father wasn't interested in the least. He didn't come to our performances and was pretty annoyed when we sat around practicing lines or rehearsing.

We moved away from my hometown for awhile when I was 11 and when I was almost 12, my mother met Mary for the first time. We all met Mary. She worked the light board for most of the plays in the theater and was just generally talented in all things set design.

Mary and my mother soon became best friends. We often did things with her family and things slowly began to change. We went camping more, we went on little trips. My mom smiled more. Mary had a daughter around my age and a son around my brother's age and I thought her husband was hilarious. Mostly, I was just glad my mom had finally found a friend.

As I grew older, Mary and my mother grew closer and closer as my mother and father drifted apart. By the time I was 15, my father was drinking every day, especially so on the weekends, and just didn't really have anything to do with any of us. We continued to all hang out together as a family and sometimes my father joined us but most of the time he didn't.

When I was 16 almost 17, my mother told me that she had decided that she was going to divorce my father. We were going to move again and that's when I found out the secret that all of us KNEW but couldn't confirm.

My mother and Mary were in love.

To me as a 17 year old girl, this news was confusing, frightening, and exciting all at the same time. I knew my mother was happy with Mary but I didn't quite understand same-sex relationships yet. After two nasty divorces, my mother and Mary were free to be together and I was unsure what the future would hold.

I would come to learn over these many years, however, that love is love and my mother deserved to be in a committed loving relationship no matter who it is with. When people ask me today what it was like when my mother came out, I tell them it was like the day the sun came out. Suddenly, everything was clear and bright and I understood things in a way I don't think many other people do at that age.

I have my two moms to thank for teaching me about real love and the sacrifices people make for it. The sun has never stopped shining for me, since. It may not be what most people believe but I know it is real and true and no one will ever be able to take that away from them.

Suddenly
It was just us two
we
me and you

Where are we going from here?

You promised me
when you were defending my sea
and I promised you
forever, too.

Where are we going from here?

Transition
Tradition
It's an odd situation
Butterflies
Fireflies
They are now scattered
in the wind

Where are we going from here?

Suddenly
It was just us two
we
me and you

Where are we going from here?

In the house of the girl
named after the sky
 It's the quiet house
on the inside

                                           photo courtesy of BusinessInsider.com