Search Results for: how the light gets in

Wintry Dry Skin Relief

February 7, 2014 at 6:54 am by Claudia

I live in upstate New York, where it gets very cold and windy and dry in the winter. And, boy, does my skin suffer for it! I’m always on the lookout for a product that will help my dry, wintry skin.

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I’ve recently had the chance to try some of the new products in the Suave Professionals® line, which offers women everywhere access to premium quality products with the finest skincare ingredients, in this case, authentic Moroccan argan oil. The products I tried out are part of Suave Professionals® Moroccan Infusion Body Care, which feature authentic argan oil from Morocco, a lightweight oil rich in nutrients and antioxidants that leaves skin looking silky and radiant and moisturized. I had the chance to try the Moroccan Infusion Body Lotion and the Moroccan Infusion Dry Body Oil Spray.

Here’s how Suave describes these products:

The Body Lotion is a “daily moisturizer that absorbs quickly for up to 24 hours of radiant, non-greasy hydration” The Dry Body Oil Spray “has a non-greasy formula that absorbs instantly and seals in long-lasting moisture.” They go on to say, “New Suave Professionals® Moroccan Infusion Body Care products, clinically proven to moisturize as well as Moroccanoil®†, feature a light, luxurious fragrance and are infused with authentic Moroccan argan oil, a lightweight miracle oil known to be rich in nutrients and antioxidants.”

My thoughts: I really liked both products. The Body Lotion goes on smoothly and is non-greasy, something I really appreciate. My hands felt and looked much better almost immediately. I’ve also started spraying the Dry Body Oil on my legs after a shower and they are really appreciating it! Both products do what they are advertised to do and my skin does indeed look better.

I’ve used products with argan oil before and liked the light, natural scent of the oil. I wear a very light perfume — light enough that the scent of the Suave tends to overpower it. I suspect that many will love this scent though.

†when clinically tested with comparable Moroccanoil® products. Moroccanoil® is a registered trademark of Moroccanoil®.®

• Find more information about the Suave Professionals® Moroccan Infusion Body Products at www.Facebook.com/SuaveBeauty.

• Visit the Suave Beauty Facebook Page to get tips for radiant skin, style advice from celebrity stylist Brad Goreski and enter the “Radiant Wishes” sweepstakes for a chance to win Suave Professionals® Moroccan Infusion Products, a spa day or a trip to Los Angeles.

• Each comment left on this post will automatically be entered for a chance to win a $1,000 gift card. Just leave a comment with a response to this question:

For a chance to win a $1,000 gift card, let me know which of the Suave Moroccan Infusion Body Care products you would most like to try.

Sweepstakes Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
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For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. The Official Rules are available here. This sweepstakes runs from 2/7/2014-2/28/2014. Be sure to visit the Suave Professionals® brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ posts!

Re-Thinking the Studio/Sewing Space

February 6, 2014 at 9:08 am by Claudia

Over a foot of snow on the ground here with more coming on Saturday.

My head is spinning. February, you are a cruel mistress.

Thanks go to our neighbor who, as we were sitting in the house getting ready to tackle shoveling, started to snow blow the entrance to our driveway. You know, that place where all the heavy and impossibly hard to shovel snow plow build up is. What a lifesaver! Then he proceeded to do a bit more of our driveway as we shoveled the top and the paths to the doors and the shed. Even with his help, we were out there about 2 hours. Sore backs all around.

The bed? Oh my heaven. With tired bodies and the aforementioned aching backs, we sank in to that pillow top and slept blissfully.

I’m in love.

I’ve been making a few changes to my studio/sewing space. For quite a while now, I’ve felt it was too cluttered. What I found charming a year or so ago is now just plain too much. So, since we had to move some things to get the bed up the stairs, I used that time to to reconsider what I wanted in that space. I decided to clear everything off the mantel shelf and take everything off the walls. I’d already moved the bookshelf into the bedroom (it’s right next to my side of the bed.) While I was waiting for the new bed, I repainted the mantel shelf in a lighter shade of aqua and moved Mabel out of the way of the incoming mattress, which got me considering a new place for her to live.

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Note snow on skylight. Makes for a rather dim photo shoot.

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I wanted something more striking and graphic on the mantel shelf. One day I had the idea to create a display of some of my favorite egg cups, arranged in a straight line all the way across the shelf.

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They always make me smile and their pastel colors look good on the aqua shelf. They are also a collection, variations of the same thing, and that makes for a more striking display. I bought that fifties-era print several years ago when I was working in San Diego. (I used that frame to display something else for a while but I decided to change it back. I missed it.)

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Hello, cheery, happy egg cups! I’m glad you’ll be right by my side when I’m sewing.

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Since I’ve been editing a bit in every room of the house, I had this pretty, but empty, frame sitting around. That adorable badge says Mockingbird Hill Cottage and I’ve always loved it, so I decided to hang it from the frame. I like it.

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Remember those frames I was painting? There were from the dollar store – made of plastic, black and silver, the usual document type frame. I painted them the same aqua as the shelf and now they display the Studios Magazine and Romantic Homes Magazine features. I don’t know if you remember, but I had these in much larger frames before and they hung over the bookcase, which used to be on this wall. This is much simpler.

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The little vintage spice shelf that holds The Lamb with the Party Hat has been moved to the right side of the sewing machine.

And I moved Mabel into the bedroom, where she remains, ready and waiting for a sewing session. The little table she was on just took up too much room in what is already a very small space. That’s the same reason I moved the bookcase. I wanted to make it easier for Don and I, especially Don, to maneuver around that corner.

Oh drat. I forgot about the Claudia program I just framed in the shadow box. I wonder if it should be part of this space?

I promise more photos when there’s light streaming in through that skylight.

Don leaves tomorrow. We’re already very sad but grateful, of course, that he has work. There will be two lonely girls here at MHC.

Don’t miss the chance to win a $1000 Target Gift Card. Visit my post on the new Cartwheel App.

Happy Thursday.

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A New Find For Our Cottage

February 3, 2014 at 9:45 am by Claudia

I think that what we bought the other day might surprise you.

I know some of you had an idea about what it might be, but believe me, I gave no hints in yesterday’s post. We bought something that I might not have noticed had it not been for Don, who pointed it out to me. As we stood there and stared, we found we couldn’t take our eyes away from it. We’d leave that particular area in the shop and then we’d circle back, together and individually. We took photos.

We knew right where it would go, where it had to go.

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There it is, above the piano. It’s a chromolithograph of the Aquitania, circa 1913, one of three ships in the Cunard Line, ships that crossed the Atlantic Ocean in the heyday of transatlantic travel.

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These chromolithographs were given to travel agencies to hang on the wall, extolling the wonders of ocean voyages. This one is in particularly good shape. The Aquitania was launched in 1913 and was part of Cunard’s ‘grand trio’ of ocean liners, along with the SS Mauretania and the SS Lusitania. The Aquitania’s nickname was ‘Ship Beautiful.” It was in service for 36 years and held the record for the longest serving Express Liner until into the 21st Century when the Queen Elizabeth 2 became the longest serving liner. The ship also served in both World Wars.

We both love the ocean and Don spent a lot of time on the Pacific Ocean in his youth. The ocean still calls to him. There’s something glorious about the vivid red of the funnels, the choppy seas, the smoke pouring from the funnels, the cloudy skies. I’ve tried to capture its beauty in these photographs.

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We can’t take our eyes off it. It’s also highly collectible and a good investment, but that’s not really why we bought it. We bought it because we love it and we wanted it to be a part of our home.

You understand, I know you do. Something touches you, you can’t stop thinking about it. You know, deep within you, that you have to find a way to make it yours.

It is made for this spot above the piano. For the first time, the piano makes sense where it is. I’ve always had a bit of a problem with this massive piece in our little living room, with its dark mahogany finish. It takes up space, and though I love it very much, I struggled with how to make it work. Somehow, this lithograph with its intense colors and its dark frame, makes it all come together.

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Some rearranging of the McCoy singing birds and the McCoy vase had to be done. I took away everything but the birds and the vase, then Don and I eyed the whole thing and this is what we ended up with.

bluebirds

Two on one side.

whitebird

One on the other.

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I love the way the lithograph changes depending on the light. It gets dark and moody at times. Then a burst of sun through our windows changes it yet again.

We are more than a little in love.

By the way, the Miss Keyboard sign has been moved to its new home, above the picture window in the den. I can’t get a good shot of it yet because of the light from the window, but I’ll work on it. I was a bit worried about where we would put it, but it actually looks even better there than it did above the piano.

There you go.

Happy Monday.

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Wintry Dry Skin Relief

Re-Thinking the Studio/Sewing Space

A New Find For Our Cottage

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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