my eyeshadow consultant

I genuinely don't know how I stumbled upon this site but thank you, lucky stars that I did! If you are a MAC eyeshadow fan then you're going to love it too. Makeup artist Zabrena has put together an impressive directory of MAC eyeshadow combinations complete with pictures, and called it My Eyeshadow Consultant. Simply click on the name of the eyeshadow and up pops a portfolio of photos pairing that eyeshadow with other MAC shadows. I have been perusing her site for only a few days and I have come across some great combos that I am excited to try. Zabrena says that although she appreciates the artistic side of makeup her goal is to keep all her looks wearable. I find she is not afraid to use unlikely shades together which proves that thinking outside the box can create really beautiful looks. I am loving this site and have been inspired to start using a lot of my shadows in ways I hadn't thought to before.

Of course this site is most helpful if you have an extensive collection of MAC shadows, but with the pictures Zabrena provides you can see the colors she uses and find dupes from your own collection to recreate the look. This site could also be used to help you decide which eyeshadows to buy when you walk into MAC and feel overwhelmed at the collection. Zabrena is expanding her site to include Urban Decay eyeshadows with what seems to be a heavy focus on the Naked palettes.

If you choose to do so you can pay a small fee and register with the site which will give you exclusive access to more eyeshadow combinations, newsletters, email replies and for another fee - even one on one Skype time with Zabrena. I am impressed with the extent she has gone to to provide inspiration for us makeup lovers.

Why are ya still here? Hustle on over there and I hope you have some time cause you're going to need it!

A look inspired by Zabrena using Greensmoke and Patina. I have had Greensmoke for quite a while yet I rarely reach for it. Using it in this way gave me a new love for it. I enjoy rediscovering shadows I already have in my collection. I hope this site can be useful to you too.

Mr. Green: a sad story

The other day we were asked to watch 2 pet birds for a friend of ours. He was leaving the birds with us just for the day and would pick them up before bed that night. When he arrived that morning to drop the birds off he only had one bird and explained that the other bird had been sick all night and he had dropped him off at the vet before he came over and that the bird was staying there for care. The bird we were to watch was Mr. Green, the other one at the vet being Mr. Blue. We put the big cage up on the table and the boys immediately ran over to admire him. Mr. Green had food and water and so we had to do very little for him during the day. We had a busy afternoon out of the house and returned home around dinner time. I was in the kitchen making dinner and the boys were sitting at the table talking to Mr. Green. Willow was in the living room laying on the couch and the boys soon joined her to watch a show while I finished getting the meal ready. Out of nowhere I saw Willow dart off the couch and run into the kitchen where I couldn't see her but could hear her nails scrambling all over the floor. Assuming she had got herself stuck on something and was trying to get out of it, I came around the island to see feathers flying and Mr. Green laying on the floor flapping. I shooed Willow away and scooped up the bird and returned him to his cage which was already open. I looked him carefully over and couldn't see any outward damage although it looked like he was holding one leg up and his one wing wouldn't move when the other one did. I was upset. Obviously. We were asked to watch this bird for one day and now we've crippled him. He climbed around his cage and made his way to his food and water but moved very gingerly and looked quite lame. The only thing I could deduce was that while the boys were over admiring him Rigby had opened the door to the cage and then walked away. Mr. Green had obviously made his way out of his cage, off the table, onto the floor and down the hall when Willow spotted him. I was sick with worry and guilt for injuring our friend's poor bird, all while his other pet bird was at the vet sick! When he got to our house that night I told him what had happened and begged him to take him to the vet and get Mr. Green checked over as I really didn't think he was ok, and to let me pay for the whole ordeal. He agreed he would take him in the morning as the vet wanted to look him over anyway as he had probably contracted the same sickness Mr. Blue was being cared for. I texted him in the morning but got no response. Later that morning Neil came up and told me that Mr. Green had been to the vet and that he had suffered some serious fractions and because they don't do surgery on small birds they had had to put him down. OH. MY. GOSH. Worst babysitter ever. Our friend was more than kind about it and explained it was just a $15 dollar bird he had only got a couple months ago and that it was no big deal or heartbreak to him. Seriously though. The guy trusts me with his pet and we kill it within hours. My word.

What would you do to apologize to our friend? We have taken care of the vet bill and even though our friend is over it all I feel I should do something more. I don't know that replacing the bird right now is the best plan but is a pan of brownies really the best way to say "hey, I'm sorry we killed your pet?!" 

Sigh. Help! 

I just so happened to snap a photo of sweet Mr. Green earlier in the day. 

RIP 

Mr. Green 

We're sorry. 

Calgary

I have been absent, it’s true. You may have guessed that it’s that time of year when we pack up our lives and move somewhere beautiful and exotic (har, har) for 4 months. This summer we have made our way to Calgary and I’m really excited about it. We have family and friends in Calgary that we are thrilled to be seeing more often and this year we are foregoing the usual Vivint apartments and have rented a home. We are loving, LOOOOOVING being in a house with a backyard (and a BBQ!), a basement for toys, 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and all the space and amenities we could hope for (hello Video On Demand!) Neil has done an incredible job of preparing his office and we look forward to a great summer.

That only took a small paragraph to write but it’s taken weeks to accomplish and that my friends, is the reason for the neglect of my blog. Summers are fun and busy, as they are for everyone, and I plan on posting, just perhaps not daily. I’ll give it my best effort, keep in touch. :)

Anything in Calgary that is a must?

the power of music

When it came time to decide what I wanted to do after high school I seriously considered a couple options. My love of makeup and beauty impelled me to want to attend beauty school or go into cosmetology. I contemplated that route for a while but could never make it feel right. Since I was a small child I have loved old people. It was that love and adoration for the elderly that won over and I knew my calling was to work with seniors. I attended a 2 year program at the local college and graduated with a diploma in Therapeutic Recreation, specializing in gerontology. Although I am now a stay at home mom and haven't worked in the Therapeutic Rec field for 6 years (gasp, has it been that long?!) I still consider myself a Rec Therapist and I still think of those seniors every day. I treasure the life lessons I learned from those special people and all the fun we had together. I hope one day I'll be able to enter the field again to use my skills and love to improve the quality of life for the seniors around me.

When I saw this video floating around facebook yesterday it touched me for two reasons: my love for the elderly and my love of music. I understand and appreciate the power of music and seeing it's influence used so appropriately is very emotive. In my own experience I have seen residents who could not recall the day of the week or the name of a familiar face remember lyrics and sing along to songs they loved in their life. On some occasions 'singing' was the only form of speech some residents used.

The other thing that touched me about this video is the title itself, "Alive Inside." Because someone doesn't appear cognizant or can't articulate their thoughts does not mean they are not vibrant inside. Seeing a spark of reality was something that delighted me more than anything when working with certain residents. We have no idea what the mind is capable of when the body has lost it's abilities. Such special people.

Enough of my emotional rambling. Please watch the video, whether you love music and old people or not I think it's something you will find touching.

last week through Instagram

I wish I could write and tell you that my absence last week was due to something awesome and fun but.... it's not. Well not entirely. The first half of the week I was doing something awesome and fun! My husband whisked me away to accompany him on a business trip so we spent 3 days with some great friends down in Utah. We had a really fun time and it was a nice break.

Neil and I on our way to the airport – backseats are empty! Well, except for the carseats we forgot to leave for Grandma and Grandpa. Woops.

I got to spend 3 days with this beautiful lady!

Too bad our husbands weren't quite so charming. Seriously. 

First lunch stop: Happy Sumo, mmmmmmm in my belly.

Fun in Logan, UT. This is it people. This is it. 

We were finally able to attend a session at the Salt Lake City temple. LOVED it. 

 

It is hard to believe this beautiful temple was built by hand. 

Having fun in Vegas…. well at least at the airport in Vegas. Fruit & Nut bars are my favorite yet I didn’t purchase this one for $11. What I should have done was more than pose with that slot machine and I could have won the $11 to pay for it. Darn, too late. Ah well, it would have only lasted me the flight home anyway. (That's not a joke....)


We got home and a day later the plague hit our house. Rigby has been throwing up for days and Porter has been miserable with an earache. It would appear we are being punished for our enjoyable time away. Boo hoo.

A pile of dirty laundry created by one little man in just one evening. Poor baby couldn’t keep anything down.

Poor sick unhappy little boy. Finally getting some rest.

As much as I hate my boy being sick I’m not going to act like I haven’t enjoyed the extra snuggle time this week has brought.

AND…. for the first time in days I actually did my hair and makeup and I actually left the house. Off to church and back home to clean up more messes. Tell me the end is near. Ack!

It was a great and terrible week, heavy on the great. :)

Come find me on Instagram, my username is mitzfo.