What Have I Been Up To This Week?

It's been kind of quiet this week on the blog this week due to the fact that I have been busy with stuff.  I have been visiting with family, recovering from visiting with family (lol), and dealing with the wet basement in my house from the Great Flood of 2014.  Also, our internet has been kind of spotty, so reading and commenting on blogs has been difficult.

My brother and his wee ones (my two nephews and niece) who live on Long Island have been visiting my parents in mid-Michigan, and they came to Detroit to go to Greenfield Village on Saturday, and I went with them.  Greenfield Village is an outdoor museum that was founded in 1929, and has numerous historical working buildings that have been moved there to create a "village" that depicts American life and how it has changed since the founding of the country.  I haven't been there since I was a kid, so it was fun to see everything as an adult.  I think as an adult, one can appreciate historical stuff and museums differently than as a child.  It was kind of a long day (there is a ton of stuff to see), and I may have gotten too much sun (I didn't burn or tan because of my diligent use of sunscreen!), so I was pretty tuckered out by the end of the day.

Some pics from Greenfield Village:

Statue of Henry Ford

Detroit got a boat load of rain, or rather enough rain to float a boat, on Monday, and our basement flooded some.  Not a huge amount to where we needed professional help to pump it all out, but I spent much of Tuesday and Wednesday wet-vac-ing and sopping up water.  Our sump pump and dehumidifier have been working overtime.  Detroit's freeways were such a mess that my husband couldn't even get in to work on Tuesday due to closings and such.  We didn't have anything damaged because we learned in our old house that had some water issues in the basement to not put anything directly on the floor, so we have everything on plastic pallets or plastic shelving.  It also helped that our basement is unfinished, so we didn't have to deal with carpet or electronics getting wet or anything like that.

After dealing with basement fun-ness, I went to my parents house on Thursday.  We had a party for my sister, who flew in from Wisconsin, and my brother.  We were celebrating my sister graduating from the University of Wisconsin, and my brother receiving tenure at Adelphi University!  My aunt also came to Michigan from Illinois for the party.  A few family friends came over, too, and it was a nice, relaxed celebration.

It was hard saying goodbye to my nephews and niece (ages 10, 8, and 6), who I only get to see once or twice a year.  They are such sweet children, and they are growing up sooooo fast.  They are leaving Michigan on Saturday, and I'm not sure when I'll see them next.  Hopefully around Christmas.

Anyhow, I think next week will be a little more normal and predictable, although my parents are going to Russia on Tuesday, so I get to enjoy being anxious for the next 2 weeks while they are there.

As a reward for reading this rather fascinating peek into my week, here is a photo if Emma hiding under a tablecloth.

Have a great weekend!

Mid-Summer 2014 Garden (Pic Heavy)

It's been quite a while since I took you on a garden tour.  Lots has been happening, so tons of photographs today.

I think this is from mid-June when the orange Asiatic lilies were blooming.

Bright orange Asiatic lilies

The alliums (those orbs on tall stalks) grew a little wonky.

But they popped open and were nice and large.

Orange daylilies and various hosta, along with hydrangea bushes

Daylily buds with some heuchera in the back

The hosta along the driveway look nice and lush.

Balloon Flower buds look like balloons.

And then they open and look like this.

This little guy was an annual snapdragon from last year that spent the winter in the garage and survived!

Biiiiig hosta (I can't remember the variety of this hosta.)

Huge hosta leaves!

Huge 'Southern Comfort' heuchera leaves

Spotted lungwort foliage

'Fire and Ice' hosta

This is a perennial snapdragon from Spain.

I love how interactive snapdragon blooms are.  Pinch the "cheeks" and the "mouth" opens!

The daylilies started blooming.

The catmint in the sun garden finally bloomed.

Even the carnivorous plants bloomed.

Venus Fly Trap

Sarracenia purpurea (pitcher plant) flower

Close up photo of the pitcher plant flower

tropical Sundew

The pot of Caladiums looks pretty cool.  Charlie wants to come outside and check them out.

I have a whole post dedicated to all the spectacular daylilies here.

Thanks for taking today's extra long garden tour!

Just Another Silly Caturday

I'm not sure Emma appreciates Charlie playing with her tail.

Have a fun weekend!

Movie Night

My husband and I probably go to the movies once a year, so when we do go I like to, y'know, look nice and stuff.  Not as fancy as when we go to the opera, mind you, but nice.  We went to see Guardians of the Galaxy, which was really fun and quite good.  I'm not sure I've ever mentioned it, but we are regular watchers of pro-wrestling, so we wanted to see Batista (Dave Bautista, who played Drax the Destroyer) do some acting.  Plus, the film is based on a Marvel comic, and my husband has several of the Guardians of the Galaxy comics in his collection.

This is mostly a beauty blog, so here are the pics of my face wearing makeup:

Eyes:  From the Too Faced Pretty Rebel Palette --
                    Instigator (antique metallic gold) all over the moving lid
                    Gangsta (shimmery chocolate brown) in the crease
                    Miss Sparkles (glittery black) in the outer corner and lower lashline
                    Dainty (matte cream) under the brow and in the inner corner

from left: Instigator, Gangsta, Miss Sparkles, Dainty

          Sonia Kashuk Long Wear Gel Eyeliner in Ebony along the upper lashes
          Tarina Tarantino Hyperliner in Tommy Jet (black) on the lower waterline
          L'Oreal Voluminous Butterfly Mascara

Cheeks: MAC Bronzing Powder in Refined Golden (shimmery bronze)
            theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer highlighter (shimmering champagne)
            Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Dollface (matte cool pink)

Lips: Cargo Plant Love Lipstick in Lindsay (creamy pink) (this is pretty ancient...)

from left: MAC Refined Golden bronzer, Mary-Lou Manizer, Tarte Dollface blush, Cargo Lindsay lipstick

I attempted to take photos of the dress (from Target last year) I was wearing, but did a fairly poor job. I'm not sure why I didn't just get my husband to take one of me...

It has some cool patterns.

Yes, this is my bosom.  Ahem.

I wore some metallic gold wedges, which I believe are also from Target.

We had a great time, and really enjoyed the film.  It was quite funny, but it also had a poignant moment where I started crying and had to get out some Kleenex.  I would totally recommend going and seeing Guardians of the Galaxy!

Okay, my hair is a little unruly.  In the summer I put some leave-in conditioner in it and just let it do it's thing.

What's the most recent film you've seen in the theater?

Luxury Lust List

Some pretty pictures of what I'm drooling over right now.

Givenchy Terre Exotique Healthy Glow Powder  $66 -- Probably too pretty to use, but doesn't the color also look like it would give a beautiful bronze glow to the skin?

Chantecaille Tiger in the Wild Palette  $78  (really any Chantecaille palette makes me drool) -- The shadows and blush (the shade in the lower left corner is a blush) are tigers!  Tigers!!  The shades also look really wearable.  Probably too pretty to use, too, though.  5% of the proceeds benefit TRAFFIC.

Guerlain Rouge G Le Brilliant Complete Shine Lipcolor in Bianca  $51 -- The packaging is killer.  I can only imaging what it would feel like to pull one of these out of my handbag.  Especially at the opera or somewhere where I'm all fancied up.  Although I'm guessing using this would feel fancy no matter what.

Tom Ford Cheek Color Blush in Love Lust  $57 -- I've heard/seen such great things about the Tom Ford makeup line.  It all has very elegant packaging, and it seems like the colors chosen for the various products are flattering. Christine from Temptalia raves about this blush, so of course it makes me want it even more.

Chantecaille White Tiger Poudre Delicate  $85 -- Again, it's a tiger!  Definitely too pretty to use.  Proceeds benefit TRAFFIC.

Marc Jacobs Style Eye-Con No. 7 Plush Shadow in The Siren 210  $59 -- Gorgeous rainbow of buttery shadows.  Jen from Vibrant, Vivacious, Veracious Beauty Blog did an amazing look using this palette, which made me want it even more.

Yves Saint Laurent Baby Doll Kiss & Blush in Rose Frivole  $40 -- I played with one of these at Sephora and was impressed by the texture and staining power.

Yves Saint Laurent Touche Éclat  $41 -- I have never tried this "cult" product that so many people love.  There are plenty of dupes out there these days (L'Oreal and Maybelline make cream illuminators housed in brush-tipped pens), but it would be fun to have the original.

What's on your lust list?

P.S. According to Wikipedia, TRAFFIC is the wildlife trade monitoring network.  It is a joint program of the World Wildlife Fund and the World Conservation Union.  (www.traffic.org)