older girl beauty

Sunday Lately for this 30-Something:: Week 79

- Mel 2 Comments

Blogger Tribe_Sunday Lately Sunday Lately is a weekly linkup hosted by the Blogger Tribe (lead by Angelica, Meghan, Nicole, and Katy). Catch up and read all of my past Sunday Lately posts and camp out with the Tribe on Facebook!

The prompts for July 03 (Week 79) :: Updating, Remembering, Needing, Wearing, Being

Des Moines Arts Festival blogger
Enjoying a vodka lemonade at last weekend’s Arts Festival (in a perfect-length maxi dress that I got from StitchFix!)

Updating:: my shampoo. Random response to this prompt, but I finally consulted a hairdresser for help with my scalp. I get the worst acne — washing my hair every day isn’t helping to get rid of these painful pimples (neither was NOT washing every day). So I was recommended a product to help balance, and, hopefully, help me out with this 30-something problem.

Remembering:: Well, trying not to remember that we were supposed to be in Belize right now. While we ultimately made the correct (adult) decision to cancel the trip, my friends are still there and I’m feeling kinda bummed out about it.

Needing:: some time off, despite our trip cancellation. How convenient that I kept this week off? 🙂 I was incredibly lucky to get a job so quickly after relocating, but I still have some unfinished business from moving. Also, can you believe that we’re closing on FOUR MONTHS of living in Iowa?! I still haven’t got my new ID here yet!

Wearing:: SWEATPANTS. After having 90+ days for most of June, this weekend’s temperatures in the 60s feel like winter. I’m not mad — it’s going to be gorgeous fireworks weather. Bonus: last night, I watched FIVE DIFFERENT displays from my bedroom window. Monday is going to be so awesome.

Being:: completely obsessed with the Olympic Trials. Did you watch Michael Phelps swim last night?

Every 30-something needs… to feel beautiful in her own skin.

- Mel

My blogger friend Terra of Stylish White Female started a great idea: to show off the bare naked faces of women to show that we ALL are beautiful. (follow along on twitter too: #barenaked)

She requested her female readers reveal their bare-skinned faces — no makeup, no fancy filters, no hiding behind hair — and I submitted my picture. Along with a horrible list of all the things wrong with my bare face. What’s weird is that I’m not self conscious about my body at all — but my face? Zero confidence. I see enlarged pores and saggy, sullen skin and under eye circles and red eye lids and sun damage (and sadly, now skin cancer scars)… and age. Even when I showed off my skin cancer scars and surgery pictures, I was hiding behind a mess of bruising and bandages.

Even hiding behind a pair of eye pads.
Even hiding behind a pair of eye pads.

The truth is: I DO NOT LIKE myself — my face — without makeup. Even less so as I get older.

Terra started an amazing project that hopefully prompts more women like me to love the skin we’re in. I’m trying… and her thoughtful response back to my list of negative comments honestly made me cry. I don’t know why I hate on my face so much — or why I’m struggling emotionally so much with aging — but her praise and encouragement made me reconsider how I see myself.

I’ve got some work to do, but I’m forever grateful for her doing such a project.

Weekly Therapy: the ups & downs of home ownership

- Mel

the week:
The deck boards are gone in the start of our resurfacing project. It unearthed an unsightly mess — and a much bigger problem. Which I guess is just more of the same in this home ownership experience.

deck

But I think the boyfriend and I both decided to just tear it all down and start some greenspace. It will be raised because of the existing fill dirt and retainer wall and there will be more money paid to change the zoning and to go through historical review process (again)… I think it might be worth. Starting over, at least seems like the right call.

Oh, did I also mention that our air conditioning unit’s compressor went last week? Yeah, that was another $250 put back into the house *cries*

Anyways, I can’t wait until the 1800GotJunk guys get this shit out of my courtyard and get my weekend started.

weekend:
Friday, 42nd Street date night with the boyfriend tonight. I GET TO SEE JOEY FATONE.
Saturday: work. meh.
Outdoor skating on Sunday! (no rain no rain no rain no rain) We’re also going to look at a cabinet currently for sale (with an amazing offer to refinish to our liking too). We wanted something tall and interesting to add to our dining room. We’ll see!

And enjoying the rest of this:
dr frank wine

52 books in 52 weeks:
Really super-close to finishing #14 Bonk: the Curious Coupling of Science & Sex by Mary Roach – GREAT BOOK! I can’t wait to read her others.

seven things, seven days:
1. I participated in a twitter chatt with Simple Skin Care and the One2One Network — and I ended up winning a gift basket. WOO!
2. Uploaded all pics to flickr on my day off. Whew. So many pictures stored on my iphone from the last three years. Like, 1000 more to go.
3. Passport photos and application – sending today! Expedited fees, woof.
4. My bandages were finally removed from my face. I’m feeling very… weird. The boyfriend didn’t even notice, so I guess that’s a good start. Or, it’s just SO MUCH BETTER than all that bruising and swelling, that this is now my good face.
5. What do you do with excess of rhubarb from your CSA? Make strawberry-rhubarb banana bread, of course.
6. Beauty of life did a First Look Friday feature with Older Girl Beauty.
7. Interesting and appropriate article from National Post: The psychology of buying a home: why do we love one place and not another? I can tell you, like, 832 reasons why I wanted to buy another house… but we got this one.