Guys I Would Love To Find Under My Tree

A few days ago there was a post on HelloGiggles about well, guys the author wouldn't mind finding under her tree.  The author, Heather, wrote to Santa about 10 guys who are pretty yummy.

If I could get Santa to place a handsome guy under my tree, then I would be a pretty happy girl. I don't have any gifts wrapped under my tree at all, so a guy may scare the bejesus out of me.  But he would have to wrapped, and what guy would allow himself to be wrapped in pretty wrapping paper and placed on cold linoleum?  And an unconscious guy who was drugged or bludgeoned and probably bleeding isn't something I really wanna find in my kitchen.  (My tree is setup in my kitchen because that's where I had the most room and best windows.)

Don't get me wrong - Santa if you are reading this - I would still like a cute guy as a gift, just don't put him under my tree.  Maybe slip him my address, have him bring coffee and a cranberry-orange scone to me one morning. It maybe a hard feat, but come on Santa, you can work some miracles.  While I know it's far fetched to believe one of the guys I would accept with no argument would just show up on my doorstep, I'm gonna throw it out there.

Ryan Gosling

It is no secret I find him attractive beyond normal standards.  He's handsome as all get out, a fantastic actor, can play piano and guitar, oh and he has abs that you could do laundry on.  I could just image him making coffee every morning, serving it to me in bed, then grabbing the guitar we keep beside the bed to serenade the dogs (his and mine) and me. Oh, he likes magic.  He goes to this restaurant in LA called the Magic Castle, a members only restaurant.  It sounds like an awesome date night. Are you listening Ryan, I would enjoy this place more than any other girl!

Jason Segel

Like the above guy, Jason can play the piano and even composes songs.  He's handsome and wonderfully hilarious. Every night I watch How I Met Your Mother and swoon.  Yeah, he's that good at his job.  If you've seen Forgetting Sarah Marshall, well then you've seen him naked and that's not a bad site.  Full frontal and I was impressed.  Although, I'm not sure he has much of a tushy, but I can deal with that.  Oh, and he not only starred in Sarah Marshall and The Muppets, HE WROTE THEM!  The music in the movies...yeah he had a hand in composing the songs.  And rewind on that one, he BROUGHT BACK THE MUPPETS!  I grew up watching the Muppet movies and The Muppet Babies.  One drawback may be that he has a puppet room at home.  I'm ok with this, except the door would need to be locked at night and have those motion sensor security lights that also come on when power goes out.  I'm not going to get scared one night when he's off shooting HIMYM or his next film and there is a storm causing a tree to scratch on the windows.  Yeah, I've thought about this in great detail.  I truly think he's one of those perfect guys. He's Marshall Eriksen for goodness sakes.  I can name a few other reasons.  He cried when he met Kermit.  He's been 6'4" since he was twelve.  He's a good Jewish boy.  On Thanksgiving he tweeted a pic of himself and his little sister.  And he tweets about his favorite food items (kinda won me over with his top five sandwiches).  Despite being tall, he's afraid of heights;  both of which I suffer from also.  Lastly, he and I could procreate our own basketball team!


Jorma Taccone

Not only is he one third of the awesomely cool rap trio The Lonely Island, but he writes for a load of NBC shows.  He wrote, directed, and starred in an episode of Up All Night with Maya Rudolph and Christina Applegate, not to mention all his SNL appearances.  Jorma is a very small fellow, so it's slightly weird that I find him so attractive. But he's just so darn cute and funny I can't help myself.  And while I'm at it, just throw in that equally adorable friend Andy Samberg while you're at it.

John Cusack

Ok, so he's forty-six, but he's John-freaking-Cusack!  He's just...yeah, I've been in love with him since I first watched Say Anything as a preteen.

Young Kevin Costner

Honestly, any Kevin Costner. First actor love. He was Robin Hood and in about 8 baseball movies - ok that may be an exaggeration. 

Finn Hud - I mean - Cory Monteith

Tall, Canadian, and loves hockey. Enough for me, but add in that he can sing and play the drums, sold.

Timmy Tebow

Not because he looks like that or is a sensation this year.  I've adored Tim since he first started for the Gators.  And when you learn of what an amazing person he is, it trumps all other things.  He's a good Christian boy who's family raised him going on yearly mission trips in the Philippines and he still makes time to give back.  I am a Tebow fan for more than just the arm.  Ok, well the arms are very, very nice.  And those thighs and butt.  Gotta move on...

I'm really finding it hard to make it to ten guys.  I have some Honorable Mentions though:  

Ben Affleck - I can't take him from his lady. They are just too cute and she's a fellow West Virginia girl.

Mat Kearney - That voice, those eyes, yeah.

Timmy Thomas - He's a beast on the ice.

Edit - Forgot about one Honorable Mention.  Prince Harry - He's just so handsome. He could be my Prince Charming. 

Buying For People Who Are Hard to Shop For

This year I have found myself struggling to come up with awesome gifts to give my loved ones.  I set the bar pretty high with my stepdad's gift last year.  He keeps saying when they add on to their house there will be a huge media room.  He will have a awesome record player, his awesome keyboard my mom got for him two years ago, and musical/movie themed art.  So I framed some awesome albums for the walls.  He was absolutely thrilled with them; I believe he said "best gift ever".   I have spent hours online window shopping for everyone on my list (mom, stepdad, brother, stepsister, brother-in-law, ect.) and I can not come up with something awesome to purchase and gift for my mom and brother.  What do you buy a mother with everything or the ability to purchase it for herself? As for my brother, well he's just so damn picky, claiming he just wants a Visa gift card, nothing really tangible, except the plastic card and outer wrapper. But we'll get to that later.

My mom is my best friend.  I know her likes and dislikes.  I know her have's and have not's. She just has the capability to purchase anything for herself.  My stepdad is very successful and my mom could be on the Real Housewives of South Florida or something like that. I think I have finally decided on something Adele or Lady Gaga related. She's a huge fan of both and we jam out all the time.  My stepsister got them vintage vinyl this year, but lets face it, it's kinda copying my gift from last year.

Now my brother and I had a huge disagreement over his gift. He asks for Visa gift cards from everyone so he can waste his money on something stupid he'll use once and never use again.  I have a problem with that because I don't want to know he's pawned the item he purchased with the money.  He does that pretty often.  So this year when I pretty much demanded he chose a gift under $200, he wasn't happy.  When he asked for a gift card, I let him know the gift card would be for substantially less.  Is that wrong of me?  I don't think so.  I want to hand something to someone rather than money or a card.  Especially him, because he will waste it on something he doesn't need.  He is a jobless man-child who lives with our grandfather.  He has things he really needs, but he won't spend money the correct way.   He ended up asking for something for the entire amount, go figure.  First he wanted me to buy him a PS3.  Finally, I bought him a crazy expensive coffee maker for him and my grandpa.  My coffee maker cost $60. I spent $190 on this Keurig maker for them.

I wanted to buy my aunt something nice, but she only wants money also.  She took in my Golden Retriever when I lost the time to take care of her. She has done A LOT for me over the years.  She's my second mom.  She works really hard, and is a care giver to my grandpa.

As for me, I say I'm pretty easy to buy for.  I love the Red Sox, Bruins, Mountaineers, pretty dresses, nice shoes, Fiesta ware, movies, books, and music, in no specific order.  Oh, and sea turtles; I like sea turtle trinkets.  My stepsis got me two of those things with her gifts for me doing her hair for her wedding and my Christmas gift.  She got me this really cute sea turtle bracelet and Bruins earrings.  I adore both of them.  My parents, however, gave me money.

Money, after I sent them lists of things I find amazing.  The lists had probably a thousand things to chose from.  Now the decision for what to purchase for myself is up to me.  When I don't need anything, it's hard to decide what I need the most of my wants.  When it comes down to it, I don't need any of it.  My mom will tell me to get something for my apartment.  There's a problem with that, I've lived on my own for 6 years, I have all those things.  I purchased the last of the needs last year, a new dining table and chairs.  I really want a record player, but I have no albums to play on it.  I left all of them at my dad's and have no way to get them.

My mom's sisters are giving me gift cards also.  They don't have to, they just chose to be lazy.  One basically told me I can only have a gift card from two places: The Gap, or American Eagle.  I don't shop at either store.  I saved the gift cards from AE from last Christmas until July this year.  I had $60 and got a bunch of tops on sale.  A few of them, I haven't worn.  I told her the stores I like shopping at, and she could have one of her sisters get the gift card for her or order online.  I don't feel like if someone is going to give me a gift, it's in bad taste for me to tell them what I like or that I won't like it.  I also told my family to donate the money to one of my charities.  And NO ONE has done so.  My stepdad was going to, but my mom told him not to.

What does an adult buy when they have money to spare?  Do tell please.

Let's Talk About Skin

I am a creature of habit when it comes to my skin.  I have used Origins Cheeks & Balance cleanser & Balanced Diet moisturizer for 10 years. TEN YEARS! And if there was a time I ran out before getting to Charleston when I lived in WV, I'd used the same thing I used before I switched, Neutrogena Deep Clean Cream Cleanser or the newer and hard to find Rapid Clear cleanser - basically the same but fights oil a little harder. I love the Rapid Clear line.  I use the two-in-one Clear Pore cleanser/mask as a mask in rotation with Origins Charcoal mask or one of the $1.99 deep sea mud masks from Ulta. Before I switched to Bare Minerals foundation, I used Almay Clear Complexion liquid foundation with salicylic acid. I tend to go towards things which keep me from breaking out.  Not a huge problem for me, except during that dreaded time of the month. So, I just like to stay ahead of the game and be completely preventive. During the humid Summer months when I have been tanning (I know, it's bad for my skin) I use a tinted moisturizer from Almay or Clinique or nothing at all in leu of a more full coverage option.

When I made the switch to Bare Minerals, I've never been more happy with a change.  I received more compliments after the switch than I had ever received before.  I've never been a heavy makeup wearer, I tend to go very natural and switch it up my eye shadows to something crazy on days I need a compliment or two. When my aunt looks at me first thing in the morning, when I think I look the worst and says "what have you changed with your face routine? Your skin looks amazing."  I beamed and pushed for my mom to make the change.

The only item I change like I change hair products (I like trying new things when it comes to hair care) is my mascara. I've been using Maybelline's Lash Stillettos mascara since InStyle or Marie Claire said it was their favorite second to Dior's Runway mascara.  Dior is a big favorite for people who can spend $50 plus on one cosmetic item.  The only mascara I keep going back to when I'm bored and know it will make my lashes look great is Almay's Triple Effects. Such a great mascara, it lengthens and thickens my already curly lashes.

For eyeliner, I've used the same liner since high school, Almay 16-hour liner in brown or brown-black for daily use. It's my absolute favorite liner ever.  I will be splurging on a MAC or Smashbox cream liner to try soon, but I like my old friend. We know each other very well.

It may surprise some that my rituals don't have many skin care products.  I never felt the need for all the serums or toners until recently.  I'm getting older, my skin is changing. Most people get more dry as they age, but right now I'm getting really oily.  Not just on my face, my scalp has gotten increasingly more oily causing me to change up my shampoo and conditioner often to combat this issue.  One thing I do try to enjoy once every two weeks is a mud or charcoal mask.  It helps combat the days I am too tired to stand at the bathroom sink and remove my makeup before bed.  I have tried to be more on top of taking my makeup off at night since reading in Marie Claire that sleeping with make up on for one night ages you 7 days.  One night isn't so bad but doing it nightly, builds up over time.

The first change I made was 7 months ago when I started using a toner after cleansing.  Not an astringent, even though some toners can be labeled so, but a liquid which balances out the pH of the skin. It helps with redness and irritation when you use a more striping cleanser.  I started using Murad Clarifying Toner after a facial.  It improved my monthly break out as well as some of the oiliness. It is rather expensive for how often I use it - twice a day at $22 a bottle - so I picked up a cheaper option from the Neutrogena Acne Stress Control line - I've used this line when the Rapid Clear cleanser was MIA on my local shelves.  (I've used the every cleanser in this line - foam, cream, scrub)  We will see if this cheaper alternative works as well.

I'm a big testimonial on products person.  If someone says they love it and can give me results proof, then I will be more willing to try.   I currently work from home and take online college courses so I don't have much reason to put makeup on daily.  I still need to cleanse often because of my oiliness, but I wanted a quick option.  I've been plagued with hereditary dark circles (thanks dad) and I'm a huge laugher so I have laugh lines I want to slow down a little.  As a lover of paraben-free, naturally derived, and eco-friendly I have been looking at the Yes To products for about 2 years.  I finally made the purchase after reading Sophia Bush's blog on her website.  She has her own Water Bobble filter! I tried Water Bobble after seeing her giving them away on her twitter.  I have a very weird palette when it comes to water, I can takes the littlest bit of chlorine left in it when I take a sip.  Brita filters tend to leave those impurities in the water that I can taste, so for me to make the change to a filter system and love it, then it's pretty impressive.

Well, I was browsing her blog after she posted a music option last week and she had blogged about the Yes To products she loves.  It triggered the need to try them.  I finally purchased them last night at Target and I've used them twice now.  She spoke of her love for the Yes To Blueberries cleansing wipes but I went with the Yes To Cucumbers wipes.  I need gentle and a little less nourishing because of my oiliness, and they don't currently have a Yes To Tomatoes wipe.  Of the Yes To Tomatoes line, I purchased the mask.  I look forward to trying it later tonight. The second product in the Yes To Cucumbers line I got is the Soothing Eye Gel.  WOW!  Using this with the Yes To Blueberries Brightening Eye Roller is amazing.  I have tried quite a few dark circle correctors and nothing stuck with me or worked.  I used last night before bed and my eye area is less puffy, brighter, and tighter.  ONE USE!  And I only got 5 hours sleep so my dark circles would normally be down to the bottom of my cheek bone.  I am sold on those two products alone.  I used again this morning and my eye area is even more radiant. I never believe a person when they say a product works overnight on commercials, but dang it if these two finally proved me wrong.  

The final Yes To Blueberries product is the Age Refresh Intensive Skin Repair Serum.  I have an issue of when I break out, I pick the affected area with obsession that can only be rivaled by a meth addict. I've been better about this over the years but there are a few spots where my skin shows discoloration and I wanted to correct it while I'm still young.  The product also corrects firmness - feels better already, reduces wrinkles, and protects skin.

One night and I'm sold on this company.  And to make things better a portion of proceeds got to the Yes To Seed Fund which works to engage children with Mother Nature.  How cool is that when kids are such indoor creatures anymore.

There you have it.  My new and old skin care rituals.  What are yours?

Peace & Love - and good skin!