The Crazy Suburban Mom: 2011-12-25

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Favorite Presents this year!

I finally got sea glass jewelry and I was floored, who knew my family read my blog??? I've wanted a ring made by Tara at Scarborough Seashells for oh, years now. And this year I got it, and it's the most beautiful tiffany blue.

Look, I did my nails to match. I got a pendant to match and pictures of that will be forthcoming! Check out her etsy shop and her blog. She does amazing work, beautifully finished. I couldn't be happier! Thank you, Tara!

And Ventura's favorite was this...

It's called 'The Dog Brick' by Nina Ottossen. There are other toys to choose from but this one looked like something he'd enjoy and he does!

And I gave my son the Universe...

Slooh is a subscription website where you can witness eclipses, transits, comets, and newly discovered supernovas... And control robotic space cameras which AMAZED HIM TO NO END! It's very cool. Ben is very into astronomy and ALL things like this, he is forever watching one science channel or another. This was a way fun thing for him.

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Friday, December 30, 2011

Ms. Finch and I take umbrage to the word chunky

I found something unexpected today. While doing a look-surf for new posts by my favorite Filobloggers; a news story goggled into my lap . Petula Dvorak, a columnist, published Gadgets got your schedule scattered? Maybe it’s time to go back to paper in The Washington Post.

While the slant of the story is Pro-Filo (et al) there is the sarcastic giggle of paper-prejudice bubbling just below the surface: "It isn’t the fear of technology that is driving us back to the chunky Filofaxes we stored away in a box also marked “shoulder pads” and “beepers,” writes Petula Dvorak.

FYI Washington Post.... The word 'chunky' is never flattering and neither were/are/or will be at any time in the future, shoulder pads.

Ms. Dvorak's goes on to theorize that paper planners, or to use her term, "a brick of calendar filler papers" "...could be a woman thing." Ouch, Ms. Dvorak. Just ouch.

The " A woman thing" is a nod to an article in The Telegraph she references that described the Filofax as among other things " the latest relic of the 1980s to enjoy a resurgence, following big hair [...] shoulder pads," categorizes smart phones as "quite masculine" and ends with "Taking out a Filofax is quite a fashion statement [for women]."

The all but buried point of the article is that paper planners work, and work well -- But this positive message runs chaotically through a maze of shoulder pads, big 80's hair, and the cringe-worthy phrase, a woman thing.

I wish this story articulated the positive points about Filofaxes and followed up with a period before it got to shoulder pads (no one needs to revisit those). To quote the article on using paper, "It is simply the way some people are wired organizationally. The way we understand the order of our lives."

Yes, Washington Post... Yes It's not a woman thing, it's a brain thing. We girls have them you know.

Brains, I mean ...

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Thursday, December 29, 2011

Julep Maven Giveaway and get your first box for $5

I recently tried two Julep Maven Polishes. They call it Nail Vernis which works for me because seriously -- You can't describe it's wonderfulness with only one language. They are, wow! Great! And in French, Julep Maven est fabuleux!

Julep Maven boxes arrive monthly as a subscription ( $19.99) but if you want to try it out you can get the first box of Nailicious Love for only $5 using the code CRAZYSUBURBANMOM at checkout.

Whitney

In person Whitney's a schoochy bit warmer (but just a schoochy bit), she rides the neutral fence like a champ. Whitney's described as "mushroom grey-beige," and I think she's a year-round choice and appropriate for any occasion. The little black dress of nail color as it were.

I have similar colors to Whitney and trying to do a quick one coat with any of them would be a streak-fest.

This is ONE magical coat.

I can't think of another cream with coverage like that.

Now, say "Hi!" to Nicole...

Hi! Nicole, you coppery-red darling, you!

Can you see the depth of the shimmering shebang that is Nicole? I love this color (in fact, I have it on again). I'm a total sucker for Ruby-Red Slipper nail colors because they remind me of an endorphin-inducing pair of Mary Jane's my mother wouldn't buy me when I was eight.

Childhood trauma and polish color aside, the Julep Maven formula is impressive. I'm very hard on my nails (I use them as tools) and my polish can look beastly before it's dry.

I wore Nicole for five days before I took these pictures. I did have a chip.

One. Single. Small....

...hardly noticeable chip after almost a week is, well, crazy talk! And I'm sure I tried to take a screw out of a wall or something with that nail... There are times in like a day and a half I have to redo everything; here I was almost a week-in wearing a deep, saturated red and it still looked good.

You really should try this polish.... It goes on like a dream and you have a bit of play time; the polish takes to reworking. I really liked that. Seems with many polishes I get one shot with the brush and that's it.

The consistency is great and the drying time was fine. I like the square bottles, I know some people don't but they look beautiful and the shape makes storing them SO much easier.

Score: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ out of five hearts

Oh, besides the polish...

Another thing that came in my "Classic with a Twist" box was the Facial for Hands Glycolic Scrub . It's the middle of winter and my hands feel baby-butt soft and did after one use, which is why me and my scrub are going steady. I love instant gratification.

In the monthly boxes you get over $40 worth of Nailicious Love in the form of trendsetting polish colors and cutting-edge treatment products.

Julep takes pride in the fact that they offer the most exciting runway colors and the most effective (For real, wow!) and innovative hand, nail and foot care products. Unlike many traditional brands, all of our polishes are free of DBP, toluene, formaldehyde and formaldehyde resin- but beautiful and long lasting nonetheless.

Julep Maven is “Powered By Girlfriends“ meaning they value and support all the girlfriends in their lives and they are proud to donate $1 from every Julep Nail Vernis sale to organizations that empower women.

For the giveaway, one reader will win a Julep Maven box to love for ever and ever.

Open to US and Canada.

There are TWO Mandatory entries : comment here and like Julep on Facebook.

Let me know if you follow Julep Maven on Twitter, that will be another entry.

....And if you'd like you can comment once a day.

Please include your email address in your comment so I can find you and maybe tell me your favorite Julep Maven Color, too... Or pass along your best nail tip. Or how about what you do for dry winter feet?

I'm always working on those awful feety things.

Giveaway will end January 12, 2012 at 9:00 pm eastern time.

And don't forget, if you want to try your first box of Nailicious Love for only $5 use the coupon code CRAZYSUBURBANMOM at checkout.

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*Julep Maven provided me the products for me to review.*

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Two pens straight from the penmanship gods

Recently Philofaxy inquired "...which gel pens and roller ball pens work with ordinary Filofax paper?" (And the supplemental question of, which ones fit the pen loop?)

It's at 28 comments and still getting responses because it's a great question ( The number of paper/pen combinations alone are kinda dazzling and best left to the mathematical).

Now, to people who don't give a day-glo patootie about writing in a Filofax to begin with, the question of which pen to use is as a bit like asking, Prior to shredding papers should they be face up or face down? And I get that.... But to someone who writes in one everyday, and more importantly, intends to go back and reference it, the pen and paper combo is critical.

The pen slash paper choice will either produce a zen-like experience or a giant pain in your day-glo patootie.

The wrong ink can ruin an important list (and the page behind it). Pick the wrong pen to set the date for a critical meeting and the next time you look for it you may find it had dissolved in a (n) erasable poof. Ink can be temperamental that way.

And rail against the penmanship God's all you want but it's hard to match a fountain pen with a Filofax; many leave you not with sentences but a Rorschach test.

Writing with a lousy pen is as much fun as texting on an iPhone.

Check out the ' What's in my purse' photo below.

Thought I'd change my purse so snapped a pic first

Mid-rightish-bottomish are the pens I had high hopes for: The Pilot precise zing, Pilot parallel calligraphy, Pilot G2, Lamy aqua Safari, and the Cross Edge.

I thought I'd love them all, I only love two and really only use one.

Plus one more.

The Lamy Joy.

So aptly named. I have a thing for calligraphy pens because it makes my sub-par handwriting prettier and Joy does a great job for around $30 (At Goulet it's $28 Check them out if you haven't). The ink doesn't bleed and feather on Filofax paper.

Look.

As you can see from the back side of that page, the shadowing in non-intrusive.

Here's a close up of a calendar page.

and the back.

Not much aggravation coming through the back.

The Pilot G-2 07 is the one I reach for most often.

That page has Joy words on top G-2 words on bottom.

The Lamy words are more flowery, the G-2 words more practical. If I want to highlight the Lamy words I need to give it an excessive amount of some time or I have all manner of smearage. With the G-2 I can highlight willy-nilly. I also have about six colors for the G2, with the Lamy I'm a bit stuck till I'm done with that color.

The G2 fits in the pen loop (A5) the Joy doesn't. They both shadow on the back about the same.

Both are really fun to write with. The Joy is a great pen and it's doesn't feel scratchy or obnoxious. The G2 is smooth, it writes like a dream on some pretty darned pedestrian paper.

I've tried a lot of pens but keep coming back to these two. I love them both and no, the Lamy doesn't fit into the pen loops but I still find a way to schlep it around with me.

Now that's love.

P.S. The pen that comes in third is the $40 Cross Edge, and it writes very nice and feels very nice. It just doesn't write quite as nice as the G2 which is much cheaper.