How to See Without Glasses
I only watched the first 52 seconds of this - not because I'm a busy, professional woman of the world and have no time for full YouTube videos, but because the rest of it seemed kind of boring. And also, I tried out what they suggested and it worked, so what more could I need? Try this if you have dead eyes like me!
Lessons of the Week
1. Pinterest Tip: Highlight text on something before hitting “Pin It” and the highlighted text will automatically appear in the description box.
2. Twitter Tip: You can create lists for people whose tweets you don’t want to miss. Am I the only person who didn't know this already?
3. A beautician just told me that the best (least painful) time to pluck your eyebrows is right after you get out of a hot shower. I just tried this, and she's completely right.
For past lessons of the week, you can find them over here: July 2013, October 2013, and December 2013.
Beauty Tip of the Day - Write Down Purchase Dates
An ongoing goal of mine has been to become (simply put) less gross. I don't know if it's because I'm getting older, but I can't seem to get away with as much as I used to. And I guess that's a good thing. One thing that I've really got to get better about is throwing away things that I have no use for and/or are expired. I'm mostly talking about makeup/beauty products here. (Does this post affect men at all? Yes, it does. No matter what kind of man y'are, I know there's at least one secret beauty product you're using that may go bad at some point. So I encourage you to label it up, guy.)
I only just clued in that using expired facial products can cause blemishes. Not washing makeup brushes can cause them, too. If you're reading these points and going, "Yeah. Duh." Well, I apologize. I guess you're better than me. In any case, writing the dates on when you buy products is such a smart move. I'm surprised I didn't read about this in Martha Stewart, to be honest. Though, to be fair, Real Simple, is considered a poor man's Martha Stewart to anyone with an ounce of intellect.
Start doing this! It'll change your life! Or, at the very least, it'll make you feel like you're becoming less gross. Also, I've found this especially works well with nail polishes. (The question of whether or not a nail polish ever really expires or goes bad is up for debate, but truthfully if I bought a certain bottle of nail polish eight years ago that has gone unused for that amount of time, then maybe it's time to spice things up and possibly buy a new colour? Just a thought.)
Children's Drawings Become Real Stuffed Animals
Wendy Tsao runs Child's Own Studio and has been turning children's drawings into stuffed animals since 2007.
I'm conflicted about whether I want to congratulate this woman on coming up with such a unique business idea or whether I want to QUIT EVERYTHING AND SOMEHOW ALIGN MYSELF WITH HER TO CREATE THESE DRAWINGS AS A CAREER. Can you imagine how fun this must be?
Prices run between $90 and $140 (Canadian), plus shipping costs - and there's obviously a wait list. But honestly, if you know how to use a sewing machine (and you should), I don't see what could be stopping you from trying to do this on your own. I would've never even thought of such an idea, but wouldn't it be an incredible gift? I don't know if a child would love it as much as I think they would (and should), but this is definitely going to be something I'll attempt if I ever have children. SUCH a genius idea. You can see more of her work here.
Colour Coordination for Kids
Is this not a genius idea? I can't really decide whether it's bordering on being either too controlling or just AMAZINGLY ORGANIZED. Your call. If children are ever in my future, this idea has to happen. Such a good idea (of course it's Martha's), I love it so much.
Scarf Weather
You may not agree with me when I say that it's perfect scarf weather right now, but hear me out. If you're trying to wean off of wearing your winter coat completely, the perfect way to go about that is to stop wearing it altogether and start wearing scarves instead before you need to pack all of those things away until next winter.
I've been doing it for about a week and it's worked out great. Especially because I don't need a coat in the morning since it's starting to get warm, but if I'm still out in the evening when it starts to get brisk - I've got my scarf in the bag ready to go. Or you could be an extremely well-put together adult and buy a spring jacket. I happen to like my suggestion more.
Strawberries & Vanilla Greek Yogurt
Ya know, INSTEAD of strawberries and cream! I can't tell you how satisfying it is. But if you're doing this - please make sure to get vanilla-flavoured non-fat Greek yogurt and not the PLAIN non-fat Greek yogurt. I don't know who eats the plain. I feel like it should be given to prisoners. Prisoners who are watching their weight, obviously.
(This is not an April's Fool joke. This really does taste ridiculously good.)
Brush Your Dog's Teeth, Please
Whoever is in charge of reading my eulogy, please include a nod to my impeccable oral hygiene. It's one of the few things I'm most proud of, thus far. If there's one, easy thing you can be taking care of in your life, it's your oral care. I'll never shut up about it. You know this already.
But what about your pets? Who's gonna take care of their teeth? You, bud. Please get on that already if you haven't. At least once a week is all they require it done, too. I'm pretty sure that's why dogs do things that piss owners off sometimes. They're acting out 'cause you're not brushing their teeth. We all love that minty after-breath! Don't deny them that right! And if you're thinking, "My dog hates it when I brush his/her teeth." Well, that's your fault, owner. Try this tip to start to get them into it.
Martha Stewart Living, April 2014 issue
The Smile Test
I'm kind of really into these videos. Such good tips!