Bayberry Candles on Christmas Eve & New Year's Eve

by Liz Heather in , ,

“Light a bayberry candle on Christmas Eve and allow it to burn completely until it goes out on its own, as shortly after midnight as possible. After midnight, the closer to midnight it burns out on its own, the more prosperous one will be in the new year. You can do this on New Year’s Eve, also.”

I don't usually write about upcoming posts for my Mom Says section, but this is the one exception. And I'm writing about it so early in December so that you have time to order these candles if for some strange reason you actually LISTEN to my advice. (I always buy them off Amazon since they seem to be the cheapest on there.) (And they're surprisingly hard to find in candle shops.)

Anyway, where does this tradition/superstition come from? Lots of places, apparently. Just Google "legend of the bayberry candle" and you'll see for yourself. Why do I do it? Well, because my mom is probably the luckiest person I know and if she tells me to burn a candle, then I'm gonna burn that candle. 

“This bayberry candle comes from a friend,

so on Christmas Eve burn it to the end.

For a bayberry candle burned to the socket,

will bring joy to the heart, and gold to the pocket.”
— Legend of the Bayberry Candle Poem

by Liz Heather in

“Don’t type out ‘lol’. If you really do laugh, then write out “hahahahah” or if it was a tiny laugh then a “haha” will do. ‘LOL’ isn’t clear at all. Let me know exactly how funny it was, please.”
— #lizadvice

Tip of the Day - Eye Makeup

by Liz Heather in ,

Instead of using concealer only underneath your eyes, use it on top of your eyelids as well. Why the hell would you do this? I'll tell you why.

  1. It keeps your whole eye area (under and above) the same colour and keeps it all the same kind of smooth.
  2. It acts as a primer and lets your eye shadow stay on way longer.
  3. It brightens up your eyelid area so that if you do wear any eye shadow, it'll stand out even more.

I just learned to do this recently and have noticed a difference. Subtle difference, but a difference. Also, it really does help your makeup stay on longer. That's the main reason I do it. Well, that reason and the fact that I don't use eye shadow primers. (I totally would, but they're too expensive usually.) 

Yearly Photo Books

by Liz Heather in ,

I haven't had photos printed in quite a long time. And that doesn't really make a lot of sense since I still take photos often. So I decided to start making yearly photo books. I started doing this last year in 2012 - and all you do is compile all the memorable photos from that year and upload them into a photo book. There are tons of sites that do this for you, but the one I've been using has been Snapfish. (You could always do this yourself, with printing the photos yourself and putting them in an album yourself - but my way is way faster and easier, I think. And possibly cheaper, depending on where you print your photos.) (I paid $30 for a book with about 222 photos in it, and I got to arrange how I wanted it to look, also.)

The goal here is to make one of these books each January. To be honest, I wish I'd started doing it sooner. When I someday have tons of free time and money isn't an issue, then I'll make sure to go back and get those past years done. Also, if you are taking photos in your everyday life, well, you can't rely on computers to always keep them safe. I do have an external hard drive, but that isn't the main issue here. I want to actually see these photos once in awhile! And having a handy little book full of them is way more attractive an idea than rummaging through files on a screen, in my opinion. 

Again, I've been using Snapfish and if you do choose to make one, they're having a sale right now until November 24th where they have 60% off photo books with the code BOOKNOV60. I would say that this would be a good gift for someone, but it's really a way better gift for yourself since you're the one with access to all the photos you want to save. (There are also mad deals on Groupon every so often, so check there, too.)

Also, am I the only one who actually enjoys it when someone brings out a photo album? 'Cause I love the hell out of that shit. Not the albums of strangers (I'm not a mutant), but of people I know? C'mon. That's adorable. 

Tip of the Day - Pillow Mist

by Liz Heather in ,

Have you ever seen this product? You can get it at The Body Shop or through Avon - or basically anywhere with women's products. And like a rube, I've bought varying "flavours".

Verdict? They're all bullshit. ALL. And I'm a moron for thinking that a certain kind of scent would lull me into some kind of heavenly abyss. Ain't gonna happen. Want to hear a better idea? Wash your damn sheets.