Pretty is

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TBB ASKS April ~ Spring

It is TBB ASKS day!

Because it is the first Monday of the month, [and because I haven’t finished my post about the weekend], today I’m linking up with The Blended Blog for the monthly Q&A.

1. What 3 colors remind you most of spring?

2. What is the first thing you add to your wardrobe in spring?

This year it was new shoes

3. What is the first wardrobe item you ditch in spring?

Sweaters.

All my sweaters are neatly folded and placed on the top shelf in my closet.

  Won’t be needing those until December

4. Who mows the grass where you live?

LB is head of mowing operations because he does it better than I.

5. What’s spring like where you live?

Today it is partly sunny 86°/61°, tomorrow it is supposed to rain 84°/62°, Wednesday there will be PM thunderstorms 79°/49°, Thursday mostly sunny 69°/51°, Friday partly cloudy 84°/57°.

Each day is a new adventure

 

6. What’s your favorite thing about spring?

Warm days and cool nights

 

7. Are you a spring cleaner?

I’m an all-season cleaner

 

8. Are you a baseball fan?

When the Cubs made it to the World Series last year, I watched every game.  Other than that, I haven’t followed any major league teams in a long time.

 

9. Tulips or Daffodils?

I love tulips and LB knows it!He surprised me with these tulips and I will do my best to keep them alive.

10. Favorite outdoor spring activity?

Being out in the sun

11. Flowers in the ground or in pots?

I have several potted plants, however in the ground is a healthier option at my house.

The dogwood is doing very well.  So far!

12. Favorite bird?

Robins

When I see these little guys hopping around in my yard, I know spring has arrived!

13. Car wash or wash vehicles at home?

There have been occasions when a personal car was necessary, but for the most part our cars will get a run through the car wash.

14. When do you pull out your sandals?

Some sandals are out year round, others will come out with the shorts.

 

 

 

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

 

All About Makeup

The ladies at

The Blended Blog

will regularly host a link up that is interesting and fun.

Also, as I’ve mentioned before, it is great to have someone provide a topic.

Today the link up is

All About Makeup

For me makeup is typically all about Mary Kay.

My skincare, foundation, loose powder, and mascara are all Mary Kay products.

My eyeliner and lip color are not Mary Kay.

But I have to have them!

Lately I’ve been experimenting with a gift I received last Christmas.  It is a pink case filled with makeup from ULTA.  Mama decided all the girls needed one.  You can read about here.

In addition to highlighter,  bronzer, blush, eyeshadow, eyeliner, eyeshadow primer, and lipgloss there are 4 color correcting concealers.  It was necessary to do some research before using the concealer.  Here is what I found:

The easiest way for me to decide which concealer is best is to envision their complementary colors on the color wheel.

Yellow concealer, being that it is directly across from purple on the color wheel, is best for hiding purple or blue bruises, veins, under eye circles and any unwanted blue undertones on your skin.  Yellow is the most often used concealer.

 Purple/Lavender concealer  is opposite yellow on the color wheel and is used to regulate yellow-colored skin imperfections such as sallowness and yellow bruises. It can also help conceal dark under-eye circles and dark spots on darker skin tones. Purple/lavender concealers are suitable for eliminating any unwanted yellow undertones on your skin.

Green concealer is best for masking red areas such as broken blood vessels and the dreaded pimple.  Because red is directly across from green on the color wheel, using the green concealer neutralizes the color red.   In the case of widespread redness, such as rosacea, then a color correcting green primer would be best.

Pink concealer can help make dull or ashen skin look rosy, and can reduce the appearance of dark under eye circles.

So that is the short and sweet on color concealer.

Although I use the yellow most often, I’ve been having a good time experimenting with them all.

 

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog. 

It Has Been One Year

March 10, 2018 marks one year since I began this blog.

Today is my

FIRST

BLOGIVERSARY!

With no idea how to begin, I presumed if other bloggers I’ve followed can do this, so can I.  My intention was to ease my way into fashion blogging because that’s what I like, so I registered with WordPress and came up with a name for my blog.

The title “Pretty is” came to me from a quote my Mama enjoyed repeating:

“Pretty is as Pretty does”

And apparently she heard it often from her mother.

Prettyis.me

was registered because pretty is dot net and pretty is dot com were already taken.

Also it sounds cute.

My first post was short and sweet and included nothing about women’s fashion.

It was a Friday, and I took the day off to keep my GlamBaby Lydia.  She was 20 months old at the time.  You can see that post by clicking here.

Ironically, I spent the day with her today, as well…happily pushing a Little Tikes car.

After beginning my blog, and as the weeks passed, I realized that fashion blogging isn’t as easy as it looks.

Although I enjoy reading fashion blogs,  I spend a good deal of my time working an office job and commuting to and from that office [which happens to be located in another city and makes for a lot of travel time].

Rather than posts about fashion, I found that I was posting more and more about what I do and the people in my life, which is okay.

That said, today is a special day for another reason.

In Buffalo New York, on March 10, 1925, Bettelou Ellen McCarty was born.

Much later she met George S. Duckworth and she loved him.

And so she would become Bette Duckworth

My Mema

a.k.a. Mema Duck

Today we spent the day at my Mama’s house and I enjoyed taking some time going through her old pictures.

Mema left us on January 14, 2010That is another sweet face that I look forward to seeing again.

 

 

 

 

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Kim

XO

New Year, New You?

On occasion I find that I have hit the bloggers block wall.  On these perplexing occasions I will look to see if The Blended Blog has created a questionnaire for me to complete

Woo Hoo!

While it was likely intended for January 1st, I’m going with it today! 

1. Resolutions or No Resolutions?

No Resolutions, unless you count the diet that I start every month, which is not really a resolution, but a do-over.

2.   Love Snow or No Snow?

I think snow is beautiful, and I’ve seen some lovely snow pictures from bloggers and social media friends.…but I’m not jealous.

Although I would love the opportunity to don a pair of skis and have a brisk run down the Toll Road once again, I am a warm climate woman and tolerate minimal cold but only to wear my jackets and boots.

3.  Name a New Place you want to go this year:

I’ve been everywhere I want to go.

But when I asked LB what he thought, reminding him that I am “a history person” he replied, “Gettysburg”.  We’ll see what happens.

Stay tuned.

4.  Would you rather have a New hair cut or Hair color?

I would rather have hair color… and I have it every 3 months.

While I’ve toyed with the idea of having a cute little bob cut, I’m not brave enough to go there just yet.

5.  Name one special thing that you want to do for yourself this year:

If I could embrace entrepreneurship and never commute to an office again… it would be great!

6.  Least favorite thing about January?

Leaving home before the sun comes up  and arriving back home when it is going down.

7.  Most favorite thing about January?

Initially I made the comment that I don’t find anything appealing about January.  My Mama called me out by reminding me that she was born in January.  That event in itself makes January a significant month.  Now that my attention is on January birthdays, I realize that there are many important people in my life who were born this month.

My niece Sydney
My great niece Thea
My uncle John
My Mama’s dear friend Gerry (my friend too)
My Aunt Debbie (Mama’s baby sister)
My sweet LB
My dear friend Wendy
My sweet Mama, born on January 31st

8.  When do you take down your Holiday decorations?

I try to leave them up until New Years Day…

You’re Welcome Santa

9.  Do you diet in January?

My Life is a series of one diet after another.  It is what it is.

10.  What area of your home do you want to organize the most?

Probably my closet… and my solution would be to take Stephanie’s old room and transform it into a fabulous closet room, but I don’t know where to put my treadmill.  It would not be a welcomed part of this transformation

11.  Favorite winter comfort food?

What is a comfort food?  Hot Chocolate?

12.  Favorite guilty pleasure?

Shopping… I have no other vice.  I’ll share my latest shopping excursion in my Friday Favorites.

The Year in Review: 2017

Fashion over Forty blogging is big business, and something I’ve followed and have always been interesting in doing.  Blogging for me began on a day that I had taken off from work to babysit for Lydia.  At the time I was hoping to gear  my blog toward fashion and style.  However, when Lydia left with her Mommy to go home that afternoon, I felt that I needed more than a Facebook or an Instagram post to remember that sweet day.  Rather than keep a traditional journal, I decided to incorporate the day into my new blog.

You can read about it here.

Since March 2017 I have been publishing a few posts per week.

“Pretty Is: My Life and Style”, is my blogging journey, i.e. What I see as Pretty.

Whether it be an experience, an event, a memory, or an outfit, my hope is to share something that will be interesting, useful, and/or make others smile.

On this first day of the new year, I’d like to share my ten most popular posts from 2017.

Here they are:

# 10

Mary Duckworth Reid

# 9

4th of July Fashion

# 8

How to Wear White Pants

# 7

 Shopping at Ross

# 6

Shopping at Target

# 5

Father’s Day

# 4

Happy Birthday Lydia

 

# 3

Happy Birthday to ME

# 2

Trunk Club Tuesday

 

# 1

Liberty Furniture

While it hasn’t been a full year yet, since I began my blogging expedition, I’ve gained a new perspective on life;  I’ve learned to focus on the positive;  I have begun to realize how blessed I am.

Many of you have encouraged me with your comments, on the blog, or in person.  Thank you Mama, Sylvia, Richard, Laurie, Amanda, Stephanie,Wendy, Debbie, Stuart, Gina, MaryAnn, Mariet,

and

[OF COURSE]

My LB

 

 

happy new year GIF

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Kim

Friday Favorites

This week has been torturous to say the least.

No one is happier than me to welcome the weekend.

Today I left the office in grandiose style…

Lionsgate Home Entertainment friday patrick swayze dirty dancing jennifer grey GIFLook out weekend… here I come!

 

Yesterday I rambled on and on about the seasons changing.

That said…

Favorite # ONE

FALL!

Tomorrow I will head upstairs and begin my search for the fall décor that I stashed away before last Christmas.  Of course that means I will have to pull out the Christmas décor to find it.

I’ll plan better next time.

What is fun about this is how I have forgotten about all of the cute decorations that I own. When I retrieve them from the closet, it will be like getting something new without spending more money! I’m looking forward to it with great anticipation!

And LB is so excited about fall

[it’s vacation time after all]

that he brought pumpkins home tonight!

And because fall means it is time for “all things pumpkin”, I am currently planning

Favorite # TWO

LB loves pumpkin!  When I mentioned finding a recipe for a PUMPKIN POUND CAKE he almost couldn’t contain himself.

A google search for pumpkin pound cake revealed…Doesn’t it look good???  We’re ALL IN!

I’m excited, LB is excited, and if I call Mama and tell her to come over once it is baked, she’ll be excited!

Speaking of excited, I made a new friend this week!

Favorite # THREE

Ann-Claude

I met her when I signed up for Trunk Club.  We chatted this past week and now I have a trunk on the way.  I’ll be sharing more about this very soon!

Looking forward to it!

on an entirely different subject…

Favorite # FOUR

Starbucks Doubleshot Espressothis is a new necessity in my life [since I can’t seem to get more than six hours of sleep per night].

I enjoyed one of these little caffeine drinks this week around 2:00PM and I will be bringing more of them to the office with me in the future!

Favorite # FIVE

Gift sets from Mary Kay…

and there are a lot of them!

The White Tea & Citrus Satin Hands® Pampering Set

The Mary Kay Eau So Cute™ Eau de Toilette

makes a fun stocking stuffer…My girls are going to be in for a surprise this year… right?

Happy Friday!

Happy Fall!

Back to School

There are several blogs that I follow… most of them are fashion blogs. One in particular that I enjoy is Coast to Coast (by Lisa, an East Coast girl in a West Coast world).  She will occasionally post an outfit or publish a post that is fashion related, but she includes a little bit of everything in her blog. That is my kind of blog! I’ve picked up several ideas from her, including “Friday Favorites” and “Show and Tell Tuesday”.  Today when I looked at her blog I found a post titled Back to School by The Blended Blog ‘asks’.

Since I enjoyed reading Lisa’s answers, I thought I would join in the fun for a walk down Memory Lane.

My Back to School Answers:

1. Did I love school or hate it? I didn’t love going to school, but I loved having the opportunity to make good grades, and I’ve always enjoyed learning something new.

2. Start school before or after Labor Day? LB and I were just talking about this Sunday.  He mentioned that school used to start after Labor Day because most schools didn’t have air conditioning. I honestly can’t remember when school started.  But I do remember graduating from high school in June!

3. Wake up: Eager Beaver or Slow Poke? I’m pretty quick to jump up out of bed now. When I was growing up I must’ve been a slow poke; I remember Daddy calling “Rise and Shine, Beeping Sleauty”

4. Favorite Breakfast? Usually cereal with milk

5. Favorite Cereal? Something chocolateyI still love chocolate cereals!

6. School Uniform? No, we didn’t wear uniforms back in the 1800’s… except for during P.E.  That’s a topic in itself!

7. New outfit for the first day of school? Yes.  Usually.  I think.

8. Walk to school or ride the bus?  The bus rides began in the 8th grade…but up to that point, my Mama drove me.

9. Backpack, tote, or messenger bag? I always carried my books until I started college at the turn of the century.  Then I had a backpack.

10. Eat school lunch or pack lunch? A metal lunchbox with a glass thermos.  Sounds dangerous, right?

11. Remember the little milk cartons?  They were so cute.

12. Paper bag or lunch box? It was a Charlie Brown lunchbox.  Not sure why I didn’t have something a little more girlie?

13. Favorite thing to do at recess? Wasn’t a fan of recess… definitely didn’t enjoy Duck, Duck, Goose!

14. Favorite back to school item?  Hmmm…. probably the new notebook… a Trapper Keeper… or something similarly awesome!

15. Chalkboard or Dry erase board?  Chalkboard… and the worse thing ever was being called to the front of the class to work a math problem to be watched by all (tears).16. Regular pencil or mechanical? Regular… number two, of course17. Homework as soon as you got home or after dinner? I don’t remember having much homework until high school, but at that point, with all the extracurricular activities, it was do homework whenever you find the time.

18. Favorite after school snack? Ice cream… at my Mema D.’s house… which was part of the reason I was a little chunk.

19. Favorite after school show? The soaps (also with Mema D.) on Channel 4… typically the Guiding Light which started at 3PM right after school. Remember Reva and Josh???

20. Favorite subject in school? Art… no question.

21. Least favorite subject in school? P.E. (Physical Education) OMG… remember the physical fitness tests? Getting sweaty then having to go back to class! Wearing those ridiculous outfits a/k/a gym suits!  I have searched the internet high and low and those things are nowhere to be found.  I’m convinced that God Himself intervened!

22. Name of your best friend in high school? My aunt Debbie, Kim M., Kellie G., LaTresia B.

23. High school Mascot? An astronaut. Edward H. White (center) to be exact!

24. SAT or ACT? SAT is the only test I remember having to take before college. The MLST (Minimum Level Skills Test) was the goofy test that we were required to pass to move on to the next grade.

25. Favorite year in school? My Senior year.  Definitely!

26. Class ring or no class ring? Yes I have a class ring. Because I dropped it, there is a chip in the stone, but it is still pretty.27. Attend or not attend high school reunions? At this point I have not attended any of my reunions. Hopefully I will be able to do so in the future!

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