You Say You Want a Resolution....

My horoscope is telling me to make a list of resolutions…to “instigate some long overdue changes”…and then go out and have fun tonight!

My hard J from two separate MBTI tests (taken a decade apart) is pushing me to make a resolution list, if only so I can cross things off and feel really great about myself.  Though of course if I don't cross anything off because I haven't done anything then I'm going to feel all bad about myself.  Such a Catch-22 being a J.  (Though a J being a J also means I can include something on the list I’ve already done so I get off on the right foot.)  

Truth is, I'm not really one for resolutions. They seem pointless and like big old expectations that aren't met. Sort of like New Year's itself. (I should mention this is not exactly a holiday I get particularly giddy about, though very happy to have the day off!)

And I really don't like those generic resolutions that make you feel bad about yourself.  None of this nonsense like “lose weight”…. “eat better”… “stress less”… “get organized”.  For one….these are way too vague….way too breakable…and all kind of imply that I’m doing a hell of a lot of things wrong.  Which is not to say I do everything right.  Far from it if you want to know the truth.  

But what I am is a list maker.  An obsessive writer-downer.  I love Post-Its and lined paper and all different color pens to make these lists even better.  Yup.  Cray-cray.  Party of one.  

So, I’m going towards the attainable….the doable….resolving to do things that will bring me some short term or long term happiness.   And while I wouldn’t torture anyone with the full list (and I'm not sure I’m ready to be *quite* that honest here, just yet...but there's a good resolution....resolve to be more honest when I write).  

So here’s some resolutions to get the ball rolling before it drops at midnight:

Make a list of resolutions.

Refinance.  I know.  Snooziest and most boring place to start.  But hello! lowest mortgage rates ever.  (And while this may make me sound frightfully dull this is my mature resolution right at the top.)

Get my money’s worth at the gym.  Membership isn’t free for me.  But if I don’t go it’s like I’m paying for dinner every month, but I never actually go.  Although skipping dinner would also minimize my need to go to the gym.  But I know working out shouldn’t be just about vanity.  But we all know it kind of is.  (And the whole getting healthy/stress relief thing that I also need to work on goes all hand-in-hand here.)

Commit to writing.  The blog (more entires this year than last, and upping it again in 2013).  FWOFB - get back to the NaNo novel I started.  In the notebook.  (Because thank you Lena Dunham for explaining why it’s not a journal.)

Shop my closet.  I have enough clothes. I need to stay out of the stores and shop in the House of Audrey.  My bank account needs the break!

Plan a trip.  A real vacation.  Preferably back on the other side of the Atlantic.  I stayed domestic in 2012 and it made me more than stir crazy.

Make and keep plans for dinners and drinks and nights out with great friends.

Write it down.  I have yet to learn that when I think of a great idea or line or title or anything that even though I think it’s so amazing that there is no way I could possibly forget it, a lot of the time I will.  So, this one is simple….write it down!

And so it goes.  And the list will go on, but for now, time to get the preparations started before the bucket list adventure of New Year’s in Times Square.  Or at least from a vantage point safely above the chaos.  Don’t get me wrong…I like to have fun as much as the next person, but there’s no way I’m standing in a cold crowd for 12 hours in 30-degree weather. 

So I’m starting the New Year with a new adventure.  Happy all around!!!!

(Chosen only because of the word "champagne".  Thought I did love this record when it came out.)

Product Review - Drugstore Gems

By now I’ve established that I’ve never met a product I wouldn’t try.  We all have our vices and let’s be honest there are worse things I could be spending my money on.  Now some people may say I’m out of control with the product ordering (seriously…ask my doorman….as I’m sure he judges every time a box arrives.)  So yes, I do have a bit huge problem resisting discovering the next best thing…or stocking up on the current best thing.  And while I frequently worship at the house of Sephora, a girl who moonlights as a product whore has to be thrifty too. 

Now here’s the truth.  There are some places where I just won’t cut corners….like generic OTC meds…I just don’t believe that Brand X Ibuprofen works as well as Advil.  Or that CVS Cold will have the same effect as Tylenol.  I also don’t believe in generic OJ, shampoo, body wash, soda, razor blades or Mac n' Cheese.  But that’s just me.

That said, the aisles of Duane Reade (and CVS and Target and drugstore.com and soap.com, for that matter) are chock full of some great little gems, if you just know where to look.

Me?  I sought and found (sometimes with a little help):

Minipoo of the New Millennium:

When I was a kid my mom always cracked jokes about a product from the sixties -  Minipoo: The Dry Shampoo.  It seemed such a funny concept.  Why would you use a dry shampoo when you could just…I don’t know…* wash * your hair? 

But until high school I was the girl with the Pat Benetar/Legend of Billie Jean hair.  And then there was freshman year in high school, a time for which we will never speak of again.  And then the perm on my already curly hair which I’m pretty sure I just let air dry a lot because it’s just what you did.  I mean sure, we all wore make-up and I was painting my nails for as far back as I could remember and putting some Suave mousse in my hair to make it look the way it did (the jury will stay out on if it was good, but rest assured I believed it was at the time).  But there was never a doubt about washing it.

And somewhere all these years later, when I figured out how to actually care for my hair…and further figured out that washing it every day wasn’t good for it, I read about….tried….and now swear by dry shampoo.  More specifically Pssssssst shampoo.  A mere $6.99 and it does wonders.  Yes, it sprays out white, but as along as you don’t take a bath in it and run a brush though your hair you’re good to go. 

To note, I’ve originally went with Johnson&Johnson cornstarch powder….great on grease….hell on the hair….all that white powder does not brush out and grey roots have never been a goal of mine.  I’ve also tried some of the pricey dry shampoos out there and can assure you none of them were worth the money….there’s one brand that clogs to all holy hell. I even returned it to Sephora…got a new can…and less than 2 weeks later, same clogging problem.  There’s one that smells like lemon Pledge.  And one that just sits in your hair, mocking you while it does a whole lot of nothing until you wash your hair again.

Go with Pssssssst!  If your hair is thin like mine, it also adds some good oomph even on the clean days and helps to add some texture if you’re going all up-do on things.

You’re the Top

Well I still locked into my OPI Oktoberfest nail polish because it ain’t broke and this creature loves her habits.  But as any at-home-manicuring girl will tell you, the topcoat is key. 

One of my at-homer friends, who is the queen of the 5-minute red mani, swears by this Sally Hansen Insta-Dry.  It literally dries in seconds.  You can find it at any Duane Reade (or the like) for about $6.00.  And never fear...the bottle is red (which I love) but it goes on clear.  

And while I’ve never had a manicure that was chip free….which is most likely because I’m an epic spaz…this top coat gives such an amazing shine I’ve had multiple people ask me if I had a gel manicure.  To which I’ve proudly responded, “Nope.  Sally Hansen.”

The Eyes Have It

I love mascara. It makes all the difference. Transforms the face.  Opens the eyes.  Blah…blah…blah…..we’ve all heard it before.

And in the past decade (or so….), between samples and make-up counter recommendations and free gifts and impulse purchases and flexing my CVS discount and reading about the next-best-thing in some magazine or another and being suckered into buying a new one that I didn’t need I’ve probably tried over fifty different mascaras. I’m not even kidding. I have four in my closet right now….one rejection from my mom….one free gift….one back-up purchase because the one I wanted was out of stock…and the one I actually use and have sworn by for the past few years (and yes, one of the reasons I originally tried it was because Drew was in the ad…don’t judge me or my weakness for celeb endorsements):

Usually retails for under $10 and online stores are always having sales.  Soap.com is my favorite for the online coupon.

I don’t believe in waterproof.  I have cried with this one on and it’s held up just fine.  And mascara is a bitch to take off as it is (unless you’re using this magic, which incidentally is about $15….a drugstore gem if they actually sold it in a drugstore), so why the hell would I want to make it harder to get off?

Very black.  Thick brush.  Usually requires a little Q-Tip touch up, but make-up artists do that all the time, so I’m feeling good about myself and my application most days.  Hurrah for CoverGirl!

And hip hip hurrah for being able to find three essentials for under $10 a pop.  It’s what helps a girl invest in her future.  By which I obvi mean, the Clarisonic.  And no, I’m not even close to being done raving about it, so stop the eye roll.  

But it's true.  The Clarisonic and my love of it have only just begun. (or to fit the song below....I only want it to begin!)

So what are your drugstore gems?   Share and share alike!!!!

New Beginnings on Lazy Saturdays....

Once again one of my fabulous friends have come through with an email that puts it all in perspective, just in time for the New Year.

It's about letting go.  Taking control.  Moving beyond what's not working.  Accepting that it's not working and it may never work. It's facing facts, however hard that may be.  The good old reality check.  And being who you're supposed to be...who you want to be.  Whoever that hell that is.  

It's never easy to let go (at least it's never easy for me).  But I'm working on shaking off the crap that's holding me down....the mental and the physical...and everything in between.  Working on pushing through what's holding me back (which is usually my own head saying I "can't" or "shouldn't" or "it's just that the time isn't right").  Or I'm talking myself out of something because I'm too scared to give it a go.  It's a mess in my head some days....  

Or just my own epic ability to procrastinate like no body's business (especially due to my recent OOC obsession with tumblr.  I haven't been this compulsive about anything since Tetris came into my life all those years ago.)

So here's to leaving 2012 in the past and starting the way to a great new beginning:

"One always has to know when a stage comes to an end. If we insist on staying longer than the necessary time, we lose the happiness and the meaning of the other stages we have to go through.  Closing cycles, shutting doors, ending chapters – whatever name we give it, what matters is to leave in the past the moments of life that have finished.

Did you lose your job? Has a loving relationship come to an end? Did you leave your parents’ house? Gone to live abroad? Has a long-lasting friendship ended all of a sudden?

You can spend a long time wondering why this has happened. You can tell yourself you won’t take another step until you find out why certain things that were so important and so solid in your life have turned into dust, just like that.  But such an attitude will be awfully stressing for everyone involved: your parents, your husband or wife, your friends, your children, your sister.

Everyone is finishing chapters, turning over new leaves, getting on with life, and they will all feel bad seeing you at a standstill.

Things pass, and the best we can do is to let them really go away.

That is why it is so important (however painful it may be!) to destroy souvenirs, move, give lots of things away to orphanages, sell or donate the books you have at home.  Everything in this visible world is a manifestation of the invisible world, of what is going on in our hearts – and getting rid of certain memories also means making some room for other memories to take their place.

Let things go. Release them. Detach yourself from them. 

Nobody plays this life with marked cards, so sometimes we win and sometimes we lose.

Do not expect anything in return, do not expect your efforts to be appreciated, your genius to be discovered, your love to be understood.

Stop turning on your emotional television to watch the same program over and over again, the one that shows how much you suffered from a certain loss: that is only poisoning you, nothing else.

Nothing is more dangerous than not accepting love relationships that are broken off, work that is promised but there is no starting date, decisions that are always put off waiting for the “ideal moment.” 

Before a new chapter is begun, the old one has to be finished: tell yourself that what has passed will never come back.

Remember that there was a time when you could live without that thing or that person – nothing is irreplaceable, a habit is not a need.  This may sound so obvious, it may even be difficult, but it is very important.  Closing cycles. Not because of pride, incapacity or arrogance, but simply because that no longer fits your life.

Shut the door, change the record, clean the house, shake off the dust.

Stop being who you were, and change into who you are."

(And this has nothing to do with anything, other than it's what I happen to be listening to right now.)

Fab Five Friday

First there was Fab 5 Freddy, who I discovered in Blondie’s Rapture.  I had no clue who he was or what he or that song meant in the grand scheme of groundbreaking musical moments when I sang it into a hairbrush, at the top of my lungs, in my bedroom.  I just thought Blondie was epically cool and took it from there.

Then there was Duran Duran – a true Fab Five. It was the first time I understood true celebrity addiction and obsession. I gobbled up every copy of Star Hits and Bop! that I could get my hands on.  I plastered my wall with posters of Roger and Andy Taylor. (My sister was obsessed with John therefore I couldn’t me, as anyone with a sister will attest to.)  I gobbled up EPs at Crazy Eddie’s and once again, sang songs, into a hairbrush, in my room.  Sorry about all this awful singing, Mom and Dad!!!

Many years there was a wonderfully awful Lifetime movie that can be wonderfully awful in a way only Lifetime movies can be called The Fab Five about a group of high school cheerleaders in Texas who are the wild childs of the school, getting away with drinking, partying and breaking all the rules because one of their mom’s is the Principal.  They called her Big Mac or Big Cheese or Quiche or something because her name was Lorraine or some crap like that.  But that's besides the point.  What matters here is that when the new (and uptight/totally by-the-books) cheerleading coach gets on the scene, she is just not putting up with all of this teenage nonsense.  And that of course just makes the Fab Five that much more out of control.  And as you can guess a great movie follows.  (By which I mean "great" in Lifetime terms which means I should be ashamed to admit I enjoyed this movie, but I'm so deep in a shame spiral in this blog, why should I stop now????)  This movie could be a true story. Maybe not. Who can even tell on Lifetime?  All I know is it's high school drama plus Tatum O’Neal and Hannah from Pretty Little Liars as stars.  Done.  And done.

Which brings me to today. 

Fridays. From here on out it’s "Five Things I Find Fab".  (Yes, another ode to Andy Cohen’s obsessions from Watch What Happens!  Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?  AND Andy is yet another BU grad.  I mean could my alma mater BE any cooler????  Answer:  No!).

So here goes my first Fab Friday….

1. Wishes & Stars – by Harper Smith

In addition to discovering the amazingness of Girls in the past week (more on that to come), I have also found a whole new world of music – songs and artists alike.  Wishes & Stars is just brilliant to me.  Love it.  (And kind of loving the name Harper and want to use it in my next story.)  So the song....it’s been going on repeat and I will be singing it, sans hairbrush, when I get off this train and into the city. 

Though truth be told I could sing it right here and now and no one would even notice as the sounds of suburbanites and their bratty kids heading into NYC for the day have raised the volume on this train car to new heights!  It’s mindboggling how every annoying kid east of the Hudson can manage to be gathered onto one train.  Must be a full moon or something.

2.  The Christmas Tree

I am a fan of tradition.  Christmas is nothing like it was.  If people even bother to send cards, a bunch of them come via email or Facebook.  People buy cookies instead of making them.  Buying gifts is more of a chore than a pleasure with people pushing and shoving and the stores being way too crowded to even be fun.  You can’t get near Rockefeller Center. 

The Spirit of Christmas has left the building.

I do my best to not let my cynicism take over which I’ll be honest, is easier said than done.  I only sent out a small amount of cards this year.  I bought cookies and chocolates to bring to my parents house.  But I did get a few gifts that were practical and thoughtful (if I do say so myself.  I’m tooting Gabriel’s horn here.)

And other than a fun and relaxing and sentimental time with family, my favorite things about Christmas is sipping eggnog by the tree.  I even got to help decorate it this year, which was about all I needed to switch into the Christmas mode and stay there for the next week.  I also snagged half of the candy canes and took them with me when I left.

3.  A Well Earned Day In Bed

Rumor has it there’s some snow coming into NYC tomorrow, which doesn’t really sound like a fun day to be out and about.  What it sounds like is a fun day to be warm inside, being lazy, and reading and watching TV in bed.  I haven’t had a day like that in forever and I’m thinking that might be exactly what I do.  Close the shutters.  Shut out the world.  And do something fully self-indulgent. 

In my perfect world I’m taking naps throughout the day also.  Being able to do all of this when I’m not knocking back Tylenol Cold and fighting a fever is so much more fun. 

  

4.  Tumblr

How did I not discover this amazingness sooner?  I’ve been ripping pictures from magazines since I was old enough to buy them.  I obsessively write down quotes….underline them in books….buy those Quotable Cards and hang them on my fridge, along with all sorts of other clippings as my own personal inspiration board. 

And along comes Tumblr, which is one giant inspiration board of pictures and videos and quotes and photos and sound bites and anything else you want it to be.  In short, it’s my obsession.  I lose hours looking at all that’s out there.  And find inspiration in what I’m seeing people do.  If you haven’t checked it out, I highly recommend.    

Me? Find it here. 

http://audreynfn.tumblr.com

I’m.  All.  In.

5.  These Words:

“I belong with you.  You belong with me. You’re my sweetheart.”

Gives me the chills every time I hear them.  

So there you have.  Fab Five. 

And one song for good luck, to close with:

What do you think is Fab?  I want to hear all about it!