marginalia and such

video (and more): empties, decluttering, and birthday acquisitions

Firstly, a long overdue empties featuring a few items from Project Use it Up 🙂 (success!)

I also used up two fandom tea samples from Adagio Teas (decaf rooibos blends that were great for after dinner), and a pen(!). Being a pen hoarder, every pen is an accomplishment.

And, since I was on vacation, I decided to give my closet and makeup collection another cull. The result, 1 bag of clothes (mostly winter and workwear) and a few products that were lackluster or caused irritation (or both).

However, as it was my birthday on Tuesday, I did receive some newness, and made a few additions to my summer wardrobe.

Presents from the boy, new teas and a teapet (also Adagio), new treats, 1 tank, 1 blouse, 1 long-sleeve tee, a flashy necklace for flashy days, and a pair of strappy Crocs (my version of rain boots for work days).

Also, a travel size lippie from Milk makeup in O.G. Red (love it!), a tissue mask, and my birthday gift from Sephora; plus, a tube of Kosas lipstick in Royal (these feel so soft and nourishing, with brilliant color).

ttfn!

life: taking time off

It’s my birthday next week and, in the spirit of celebrating myself, I’m taking a week off. It’s part of a tradition I started when I finally got a full time job with benefits: take 1 week off for myself. No commitments. No work. Nothing but me, the cats, and whatever makes me happy. Usually, this means reading, writing, and seeing my city as a sort of resident tourist. This year, I have a couple of projects planned, but mostly I’m going to work on relaxing and letting go of things. I’ll write, but I won’t push myself to meet some lofty goal. I’ll read, or maybe I’ll binge some shows. Who knows.

5 things I have been loving lately

5 things I have been loving lately by emperatrixx on Polyvore

Kosas cosmetics lipstick in Rosewater

NOW Hyaluronic Acid serum

Katie Dunlop’s Hot Body Sweat Guide workouts

teapigs. Popcorn tea after lunch

The hilarious and poignant “Into the Twilight” podcast on Soundcloud, which is bringing back all the angst, feels, and trashy wonder of Twilight.

June goals and such

Still getting things figured out, my PCOS diagnosis is pretty much official, and I’ve started a new fitness regimen! Lots happening in June, and it’s almost my birthday: time to revisit my goals for the year.

Just checking in to say hi and catch up on what’s been happening in my slightly hectic life.

the view from Sunday: a time to plant

Today was a day for gardening (among other chores).
You will note that the pot on the right reads “sweet mint”… it is not. I intended to buy sweet mint, and somehow came home with two lemon balms. Oh well. There will be lots of tea.

I also did some replanting…
Repotted my jade plant (hoping it will continue to thrive), and spread some of the succulents around. It’s a riot of green!

And repotted my baby jades. These survived the mite infestation that killed their mother plant. I have neighbors with nasty plants 😦

life: still kicking around

I am alive! But barely. I caught the flu right as I was preparing to start my health reset (not a diet, just a kick in the rear exercise-wise). As happens, I was a mess for a good week and a half and am only just getting over the gut-wrenching cough, headaches, dizziness, and general breathlessness. It’s been rough, but I really do feel like I’m finally on the mend.

Of course, I tried to write and that didn’t go well. I’ve been focusing on my promotion file, so my writing is limited to weekend sprints at the moment, but even that went on hold while I recovered. I have a hard time divorcing my academic voice from my creative voice, so I need to set clear boundaries between professional writing and fiction. That means weekends, which means slower, but less schizophrenic results.

So here we are, sloth-like but chugging along.

sparking joy: scaling back on beauty and skincare

I have the flu! Which means I had a lot of time to sort through my bedroom and make some decisions. This is a fairly small declutter, but after the last two rounds of decluttering, I am down to those items I thought stood a chance. They didn’t, but I sometimes I find it better to wait than to live with regret.

I was going to film a video, but these items are not revolutionary, so a post will suffice. I also tossed my empties. I was in the mood to purge and decided I could live without sharing my thoughts on mediocre products.

pictured from left to right:

top row

hair clips (assorted): My scalp reacted to these. Not sure if it’s the material or the tiny metal parts, but it was no bueno.
Honest Beauty creme foundation in Linen: I never really loved this. I thought about returning it at first, but decided to work with it instead. I found that the best application was skin to skin, patted on with fingers and blended with a brush, but the overall experience was mediocre and often patchy. I used it as a concealer more than a foundation, and now it’s well past the best by stage and I hit pan long ago. Tossed.
Hurraw balms in cherry and earl grey: They dried my lips. Did not moisturize at all.
elf lip stain: It’s ok, but it dries my lips the more I apply it.
Whole Foods dry skin hand lotion in vanilla amber: I like these lotions, but this scent is a little to heady for me.
Hourglass mineral veil: This was a sample and I’m unlikely to ever use it. Toss.
Assorted brushes: I have too many and I don’t use any of these regularly. Toss.

bottom row

Assorted samples: Red Apple lipstick, Buxom eyeshadow, Kjaer Weis eye shadow. These were nice, glad I sampled rather than purchased.
hair stick: like the clips, there’s just something about the material that doesn’t jive with my sensitive scalp.
Bare Minerals eye shadow (pink and smokey gray), Honey Bee Gardens shadow in Chai: I hate loose shadows. I don’t know why I even try.
Pixi shadow palette in gold: I like the colors, but the pigmentation is kind of weak. Replaced with an elf palette that works much better.
OPI gold matte polish: I like a nice gold for the holidays, but I’m not crazy about this formula.
Red Apple Lipstick in Audrey, Nars lipstick in Fast Ride: Audrey is past it’s use by and the formula went off. It smells really strong and feels slicker than before, and the color seems to be darker than when I purchased it. Fast Ride is nice, but it looks too much like Glossier Jam, and I like Jam better.
Elate lip to cheek color: This came in a Petit Vour box. The color is ok, but I hate that it smells like lemongrass and the packaging may be eco, but it just feels cheap.
Sephora lip liner: I never use lip liner.
Honey Bee Gardens eye liner in gunmetal(?); Pacifica eyeliner in jet: The HBG has glitter in it. Glitter! No good for my eyes. I like the Pacifica, but I prefer the brown.
Johnson’s bedtime lotion: An experiment for my nighttime migraines. Fail.
Marc Jacobs’ Dot: I like MJ scents, but Dot is a little to warm and cloying for me. I’m a Daisy girl, at best.

life: project use it up! update

In lieu of a proper “view from Sunday”, I give you a quick little update on “project use it up,” wherein I commit to using the stuff I have before purchasing replacements or backups. It’s all part of my goal to live more intentionally and minimally.

candles

My goals included using up my collection of scented candles (impulsively purchased throughout the year) and at least two of my perfumes. I used up nearly all my candles, and currently burning Wilfred Wax’s steamed&frothed, along with my favorite vanilla from IKEA, and a Healing candle from the Crystal Journey collection sold at my local Whole Foods.

Time to clean these out and repurpose!

scents

I decided to shelve Honey & the Moon until the fall (it’s just too warm a scent for spring/summer) and am only a few spritz away from using up my spirit of moonflower from The Body Shop.

pens

I also used up two pens, which was not part of the original plan, but deserve recognition, nonetheless. I am a pen hoarder by nature, though I’ve seriously decreased my collection over the last two years, and have made a concerted effort to only replace those I really love.

video: hypothyroidism and WTF is up with my health

I filmed this video two months ago (wow! my hair has grown), but I was reluctant to post it at first. When all the other life drama hit, I decided to shelve it for a few weeks. Now that I’m embarking on a whole new health journey/experiment, I think the time is ripe to share my story.

I’ve written about my issues with weight, but I’ve never truly shared my story. This video barely covers the surface, but I like to think that this is my form of advocacy. If in doubt, keep searching for a second/third/fourth opinion. Health above all.

life: work. time. pcos.

Hello. Long time. Yeah, that happened. All schedules out the window; my head is awhirl with deadlines and documents, and no space for all the rest. Still working on promotion, still gathering evidence and examples. My NaNo project is on a slow roll, but progressing in between all the rest. Meanwhile, my home is a mess and my financial fast is not so fast. With all that’s happening, side goals have taken a step back.

In other news, I most likely have some form of PCOS, but my appointment was rescheduled just as I was driving to the office… so the official diagnosis will have to wait. I suspected. I have several of the symptoms, and my weight has been settling in odd places (odd for me). I want a diagnosis, but I don’t want to take hormones or metformin (for reasons I won’t go into, but it involves dependence, band-aid fixes, and other health issues that won’t jive with the treatment). I’m researching all I can, tracking my fertility (no babies! I want nothing to do with that!), and looking into medical research on supplements and other types of nutritional support (library with med school database access = librarian on the hunt!). Just received my latest order from Vitacost and a book from amazon, so it’s a sort of PCOS-inspired haul.

My checkup was cancelled but my supplements arrived! Going to try this because research shows it helps #pcos and that's what we're going to do.

A post shared by Gricel (@emperatrixx) on Apr 27, 2017 at 11:10am PDT

And my book arrived too! #pcosdiet #pcos #research

A post shared by Gricel (@emperatrixx) on Apr 27, 2017 at 11:45am PDT

I’m going to try this, look into other books for ideas, and rely on the Whole30/paleo as the basis for my eating habits. I seem to do well on a paleo-inspired diet, though I’ve not been the best at maintaining a strict protocol in recent months.

It may remain quiet around here, but feel free to follow on the insta if you want to check in or say hi 🙂