A Death In The Family, er, Kitchen: Mickey The Microwave

Posted on August 4, 2014 by BeautyFrosting

RIP, Mickey the Microwave.

RIP, Mickey the Microwave

It’s no secret that I’m the nostalgic type. A total softie. And the kitchen to me can be almost as romantic as the bedroom. Almost.

So when my microwave of 16 years died tonight, I’ll admit I got a little teary. My mom, my friend Jenna and I bought Mickey in August of 1998 when I was going to the University of Texas at Austin and living at The Gables.

Such fond memories of heating and reheating. Sugar-free Swiss Miss. Aveda comforting hot tea. Cream cheese salsa queso with my former roommate, Vanessa, and many a microwave popcorn.

You were a good microwave, Mickey. A great microwave. And I have appreciated you – and your heating capabilities – more than you’ll ever know.

May you rest peacefully in that luxe, vintage kitchen in the sky.

xoxo,

BF Asks: Have you ever been sad about the loss of an inanimate object? (And am I really asking that?)

High-Low 10/28/13, Dallas Moments (5 out of 10) and Laughing Stars

Posted on October 28, 2013 by BeautyFrosting

HIGH: My Trip Home to Dallas, Part 1

Well, my trip home to Dallas was just one big High, really. So here are the first 5 of my Top 10 Dallas moments.

10) Arriving to find out that my big brother, David – a.k.a. Sueño – is now playing golf. I seriously couldn’t stop laughing.

Apparently Brother has taken up golf.

9) Fresh off the plane, we immediately hit our family favorite – Mi Cocina. We always end up there for about 80% or more of my visit- this time, we were there 5 out of 9 nights. It’s our happy place.

My favorite pic ever of my Mom, brother and I at our family mecca - Mi Cocina Preston Forest

8) I’m such an avid nightswimmer that it’s always sad for me to come home in the fall & winter months because it’s too cool for my nightly jam session-swims. But that didn’t stop me from sitting by the pool, having a glass of champ and reflecting on my summer and fall. What seasons they have been! (p.s. I had just bought that Cynthia Rowley cardigan sweater at Marshall’s!)

A cool, fall night by the pool reflecting....

7) I was SUPER excited to get to go to the State Fair of Texas while I was home. Between the fried food (corndogs, fried oreos, fried snickers & more), the carousel, the Love Bug and the swings, I felt like a kid again. And the fact that I got to enjoy it with my big brother and new friends only made the day even more nostalgic and sweet!

The State Fair of Texas - the best fair in all the land!!

6) Now, this was just too much fun. Getting to go to Homecoming at our high school, Episcopal School of Dallas with my brother and some of our friends? Priceless. And Brother had gotten his 3 dates corsages. I felt like a teenager! See a theme here when I’m in Dallas?

Brother putting on my corsage before we headed to Homecoming!

I’ll have the other 5 for ya tomorrow!!

LOW: Laughing Stars – A new little angel is born.

I had a few lows over the past week but none was as low as this. A dear college friend who is always so full of light – and a loyal & loving BeautyFrosting reader – unexpectedly lost her little daughter. These are the things that we just can’t make sense of. Our hearts and minds cannot make sense of pain this profound. So all we can do is try to comfort one another, love one another, remember the good times, honor the memory and pray that in time we heal. I don’t have any words that can comfort as much as I would like but these words from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (from The Little Prince) always give me a pinch of peace when I’m most lost due to loss. I am sending as much love and light to this sweet family as I can muster. To laughing stars…

xoxo,

BF Asks: What was your High-Low this week? And what words comfort you in times of loss?

*So what exactly is a High-Low, you ask? High-Low is the BEST & WORST part of your day, week, month, etc. I started this tradition with friends & family after I discovered it through a movie decades ago. Not only is it useful for reflection sake but it is also an excellent way to communicate with your spouse, kids or friends over the dinner table. By introducing this tradition to folks, parents have told me that their kids have opened up more and friends have told me that their spouses have become more communicative. Try it for yourself and let me know what your experience is!

In-My-Tub-Tuesday: Bath & Body Works Pure Paradise Collection

Posted on July 30, 2013 by BeautyFrosting

With Flossie about to hit Hawaii and summer’s end in sight, I’m wanting any indication possible that summer can last just a little bit longer.

So what bathtime delights am I turning to in this tropical storm time?
Why, the Pure Paradise Bath & Body Works collection, of course!

Bath & Body Works Pure Paradise Collection ($11 -$16.50) - Pictured here: Pure Paradise Body Lotion ($11), Pure Paradise Shower Gel ($11), and Pure Paradise Fragrance Mist ($14)

Last night, I took a long, hot bath soaking in the Pure Paradise shower gel ($11). It foamed up a bit and made my bathroom smell like a tropical vacation meets my old days at camp. I closed my eyes and was able to smell both the memories of my yesterday and the future memories of my tomorrow.

What do I mean by that? Simple. It reminds me of a tropical vacation due to its summer seduction quality that it seems to have all bottled up while reminding me of my times at summer camp – filled with innocence, first love and the warm night breeze.

Of course, that might all be from the sumptuous star fruit, juicy guava or dewy cassis. Or it could be from the luscious gardenia, frangipani or water lily. But the white musk, blond woods and sunkissed coconut certainly don’t harsh my tropical bathtime buzz!

And when it came time to hydrate, I wanted the scent – and nostalgic feeling – to continue. So to town I went with the Pure Paradise Fragrance Mist ($14) and Pure Paradise Body Lotion ($11).

I went to sleep in a seductive slumber dreaming of my old pre-teen boyfriends from camp and my future boyfriends on the beach.
Now, that’s what I call a good evening, ladies!

xoxo,
BF

BF Asks: What scents remind you of the summers of your youth?

Whatcha Watchin’ Wednesday? The Carrie Diaries & V05 Herbal Escapes Kiwi Lime Squeeze Clarifying Shampoo and Conditioner

Posted on January 16, 2013 by BeautyFrosting

While watching CW’s The Carrie Diaries a few nights ago, I was left not only missing Charlotte, Samantha and Miranda…

but also the 80s!

It was so fun being taken back on a magic carpet ride to 1984.

So when I took a shower that morning after viewing this fun new series on the elliptical, I was craving some 80s love.

Enter V05 Herbal Escapes Kiwi Lime Squeeze Clarifying Shampoo and Conditioner.

While the name might remind you of a bad experience with Bartles & James wine coolers (or a good one), the scent leaves you craving a fresh kiwi.

And the clarifying shampoo and conditioner really do the job they set out to do.

I had a keratin treatment not so long ago and my hair would just not rinse clean.

But V05 Herbal Escapes Kiwi Lime Squeeze Clarifying Shampoo and Conditioner fulfilled its promise, leaving my hair clean, clarified, bouncy, voluminous and shiny – without drying it out!

While some 80s products & trends should never return, here’s an 80s staple – V05, that you should definitely return to.

And with prices that make you feel like you’re in the 80s, you can be whoever you are – Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte or Miranda…just like that – with bouncy, voluminous locks!

xoxo,

BF Asks: What product do you most miss from the 80s? And, of course, which Sex & The City character are you?

In-My-Tub-Tuesday: Whish Pomegranate Three Whishes Body Wash

Posted on November 20, 2012 by BeautyFrosting

We all know how I love my nightly bath. But know what makes it even better?
A foamy, frothy, fruity-smelling body wash that makes my body feel adored!

I got all that and more when I tried Whish Three Whishes Body Wash in Pomegranate.

No, I don't just love it because it matches my bathroom...but it doesn't hurt, either!

The wondrous Whish creators removed the typical not-so-lovely drying ingredients (such as sulfate) found in many body washes and replaced them with scrumptiously softening organic ingredients. Perfect for a sumptuous soak in the tub! Especially since I’m still reading Fifty Shades Darker (wink, wink).

The Whish formula sounds more like one of my recipes than a list of body wash ingredients which of course makes me love Whish even more!
This pomegranate formula moisturizes with organic shea butter, organize raspberry butter and organic aloe, cleanses with wheat, sugar and corn derived ingredients and soothes with organic cucumber and organic marigold. DELICIOUS!

And other good stuff from this whimsical Whish body wash? It’s cruelty free, paraben free, DEA & TEA free, petrochemical free and contains all natural & organic ingredients. Love all that!

Plus, I have to admit, the scent reminded me of showering at Southern Methodist University in Virginia Hall back during my Talented And Gifted camp days. It took me right back to Dallas, Summer 1992. Nostalgia gets me every time. The best selling point in the world to a nostalgic girl like me!

Now if only there was a genie in this Three Whishes Body Wash so I could have 3 wishes granted!!!

xoxo,
BF

BF Asks: What product takes you back to Nostalgiaville?

Freewriting Friday: The truth about the past…

Posted on August 17, 2012 by BeautyFrosting

A myriad of memories...One of my MANY collages over the years...

Recently, I had a nice, long talk with a friend about the power of memories. We agreed that some days, a memory can burn brighter than the sunshine in any modern moment.

And that, my friends, can be deceptive.

We build up the past in hopes of it taking away the pain of the present. Or the boredom. Or the troubles. Or simply the routine. It’s our escape into something that’s familiar while being just foreign and different enough from our current situation.

After many questions, a few tears, a couple glasses of wine and a goodbye, this is what I emailed my friend.

The past is precious because that’s exactly what it is.

It has PASSED us. Or, rather, we have passed it.

Memories remain those beautiful moments frozen in time for a reason.

Like a scene from a favorite movie we can’t forget.

Or the lyrics of a song, from the soundtrack of our life, that we will always recall.

As much as we may try to thaw out those memories, to recreate them…

we cannot.

We never will.

They will live THERE forever.

We must remember them. Cherish them. Share them. Grow from them. Let them live on in us. Pass them on. And move on.

Who we were is not who we are. Who we wanted to be is not always who we have become.

But, in the promise of the the wishes of the dreams, the hopes for those plans, and the phantoms of our expectations, we become who we are meant to be.

And the adult us is way better than any child could have hoped for.

We wouldn’t have liked the person, now, that we wanted to become, then, very much anyways.

So cherish the past, relish the present and procrastinate, as much as possible, when it comes to the future.

We will wish for the very day, we are having now, one day down the road.

xoxo,
BF

High-Low 9

Posted on August 13, 2012 by BeautyFrosting

Happy last few weeks of summer, golden girls!

I had many memorable moments this week but my favorites came from my party this weekend that I hosted for my big brother, David.

Me with the guest of honor, my big brother - David

David, a.k.a. “Sueno”, has been in Los Angeles for the summer. He lives in Dallas normally, where he is a Government professor, but has had a lovely LA summer out here for the past 2 months.

I’ve been a little more like Julie McCoy – on The Love Boat – than Dawn McCoy, acting as a social coordinator and/or camp counselor for him during his stay here.

It has been a busy, busy summer but a magical and memorable one, as well!

So, of course, I had to give him a proper send-off!

I decided to host “A Fiesta for Sueno” replete with homemade margaritas, summer sangria, friends’ dishes, pie, cupcakes, a kiddie pool and more.

Here are the highlights from the fun fiesta!

HIGHS

The Invite:

My true calling: Party Hostess

The Social Lubrication? Our family’s favorite cocktail. Did somebody say Margarita? I tried to recreate Mi Cocina in Los Angeles. It was good but NOTHING compared to Mi Cocina in Dallas!

Kickin' Cucumber-Jalapeno Margaritas

An added bonus? Utilizing my Nanny’s antique relish tray for customizable margaritas. Love it!

Limes, Jalapeños & Sweet Pickles - oh my!

Pie time!!!

BF and my Avocado Pie with Toasted Coconut and Tequila Whipped Cream

And the food? The food was AMAAAAAAZING!! I made Big Mouth Black Bean Dip, Drunk Pico de Gallo, Zesty Citrus Guacamole, Texas Praline Cupcakes, Avocado Pie with Toasted Coconut & Tequila Whipped Cream and The Devil’s Cupcakes (Mexican Chili Chocolate with Nutella Mascarpone Frosting). And my sweet and culinarily-talented friends brought Bean & Cheese enchiladas, Chicken Enchiladas Suizas, Mexican Lasagna, Mexican Salad and Mexican rice casserole. YUM!!!

The Tex-Mex spread

Kickin' Cucumber-Jalapeno Margarita & Avocado Pie

Even the cupcakes were Tex-Mex themed!

My good friend, Amy, brought the biggest hit of all — A KIDDIE POOL!!! On this super-hot LA day, this saved the party! Adults, and kids alike, were in summer heaven! It never hurts to have a little slice of nostalgia served up with your margarita!

Around the campfire? Not on this scorching hot day!

A few of my favorite girls!!

It was one of my all-time favorite days! A beautiful summer day spent with my brother and good friends. Yet again, I am reminded how fortunate I am. To live in this beautiful, beachside city and to have the best friends that make throwing a party an effortless affair.

I know it’s gonna be hard to say goodbye to my big brother but, at least, we have this fun fiesta as a beautiful memory of his time here. Fiesta, indeed.

LOW

Ouch!!

Ouch!!!!!!! That’s what I said when I reached into the drawer of my vanity, to pull out my hairbrush, and was met with a searing pain instead. I’m applying neosporin, and crossing my fingers, praying it doesn’t scar. But it’s a bummer because it’s on my makeup swatting hand! Just thankful it wasn’t worse!

xoxo,

BF Asks: What was your High-Low this week?