Who has a case of The Mondays? This girl. When a rock cracks your windshield on the highway, a stone falls out of your ring (it was a costume ring, so not as bad as it could have been) and you realize you forgot to email an important paper to yourself all BEFORE you arrive at work? Not a good start. Weirdly, the thing that cheered me up today was the manicure I splurged on Friday evening. I say splurge because I generally try to save money by doing my own nails. However,they were in seriously woeful shape so I put myself in the hands (see what I did there?) of a professional. BIG difference! I walked in with the hands of a 14-year old boy and left with a pair of hands that actually appear to belong to the grown, professional woman that I am. While this may not seem like a big deal to many, it's amazing how much higher you hold your head on days when you know you look pulled together. So, while it's important to try to stick to one's budget, a treat every now and then can be considered a necessity. You just never know when that little extra boost will come in handy (ok, I'm done, I swear) on a day where anything going right can be considered a victory : )
The start of a new month always makes me feel like new opportunities are available, but recently I've had another reason to look forward to the 1st: JewelMint, StyleMint, and the days-old BeautyMint. Jewel Mint, a collaboration between actress Kate Bosworth and stylist Cher Coulter offers creative, statement jewelry pieces; StyleMint is the place to get fashion-foward t-shirts designed by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olson (think great pieces to layer under jackets or tuck into skirts, not concert memorabilia); and BeautyMint is the newest launch with Jessica Simpson that is currently offering skincare.
While I've not had the opportunity to try BeautyMint (and given to my ravenous Sephora habit, I'm not sure that I will) I can attest to the greatness of JewelMint. I have a few of the pieces and they are distinctive, have great presence, and are well made. They're my go-to when I'm wearing a basic outfit and want to jazz it up without effort. I hesitated a bit to join StyleMint, (1) because the Olsen twins themselves generally look like shrunken homeless women, (2) because many of their items appear to lack a defined shape, which is murder to a 6'0'' woman. However, I came across one of their November pieces that at least looks to be a winner, so I'll let you know how that goes.
Regardless of what items are offered, these groups all work the same way - you sign up, fill out a short quiz that helps them program specific items to show you, and each month you get an email with your new selections. You can always see more items for sale if you aren't interested in those that fit your original profile. There's a semi-weird system involving a $29.99 monthly "membership" fee, but you have the option in the first 5 days of the month to skip the month and they don't charge you. Should you have a change of heart, you can always go back and buy a piece from the collection. Yes, as I said, it's a little weird and I think this is an area that could be improved. The good news is that promotions such as Twitter Tuesday and Facebook Friday offer frequent discounts on items.
Regardless, I definitely look forward to the beginning of each month to see what new items will be available for perusing and possibly purchase. If you are interested in signing up, simply do a web search for the Mint you are interested in, and follow the instructions.
Sugar fumes, that is. I don't know why, but whenever I'm facing crunch time at school, I've always turned to candy to get me through. Last December at finals time, it was Gummi Bears. This time the urge to eat solidified sugar while torturing my brain has conveniently coincided with Halloween. Luckily for me, I managed to find the original, small Swedish fish the other day at a bulk candy store. Yes, it's terribly neurotic of me, but I just can't do the giant Swedish fish, which is all they seem to carry at drugstores now. Alas, my little red sugar gems and I have been reunited, and they are carrying me through my final push of studying for my comprehensive exam. Hopefully I'll still fit in my airplane seat in a week and a half when I leave for Germany.
Does anyone else stress eat candy? If so, what's your poison?
This is the start of Simmer and Shine, a blog I intend to devote to two things I spend a lot of time (some would say entirely too much time!) thinking about - style and food. Much more to come after I finally - hopefully! - graduate with my Masters...
