Fall has finally arrived on this last day of September! We woke up this morning to those low clouds—you know, the gray ones that when you look closely, you can see a bit of blue sky but for the most part, the day is a shade of gray. And the trees were swaying in the wind. And the temperature dropped down to the point of welcoming today as the first official day of “sweater weather”!
The beginning of the gray weather–with a bit of blue sky peeking through. That’s Fall!
Chippy needed a day with his canine buddies and Bonaparte dropped our little rascal off while I got ready.
Is that smile because he’s going to be with his buddies–or is it because he wants food!
Today was a “drug store” makeup day. I wanted to do something quick and easy because it was going to be errand day and afterward a relaxing afternoon of baking bread, preparing my Frenchman’s favorite appetizer, Salmon Rillettes, and my writing.
Did I ever tell you what Bonaparte does? He’s a consultant for companies who want to prepare employees going abroad to live. He also has private clients. He’s always looking for ways to keep his clients interested and has created a book—he asked me to compile a listing of French singers and the CD’s that I love and listen to so that he can pass the information on to his clients. This is actually a great idea and when I finish the list, I’ll be posting it on the blog.
Actually, Bonaparte is a lot of fun!!
Back to the drug store face. I decided to use Rimmel’s 25 Hour foundation but first applied e.l.f. primer. This primer, for six bucks, is decent. It does the job and keeps the makeup on.
Two drugstore items worth checking out!
The foundation is good too. It’s a great match for my skin tone, but I find the difference between drugstore foundation and higher end foundation is that you need more of the drugstore stuff to get coverage. This is a very liquid foundation and isn’t full-coverage but for a day of “light” makeup—it’s fine!
I applied with a dampened beauty sponge, let it “set” then sprayed fancy water on my face.
For the eyes, I wanted a lighter look too. I took out my Makeup Revolution palette. This palette. The seven dollars I spent was well-worth it. These shadows are like silk. I’m not kidding. They apply so nicely. I hit pan on a few of the colors and will have to make it back to Ulta to get another one.
This palette may have seen better days, but the shadows are so silky. Best $7.00 spent on a palette!
This look is very similar to yesterday’s but the difference is that the Revolution shadows are so silky and are incredibly easy to blend.
Dressed and ready to go. I wore my new “Lovebird” sweater. I’m very impressed with this one. The fit is fabulous. I got it in a “Medium” because I wanted a looser fit. The length of the sweater is what I like because it isn’t cropped and isn’t too long. It comes just below the belly and at the top of the hips. The sleeves were a bit long but I turned up the cuff. Since I’m not big on bright colors, the birds added just the right amount of color-pop. Bright but not over the top.
Isn’t the sweater adorable? I took my blue suede shoes out of hiding and wore some ladylike fake pearls. A fun Saturday look!
We headed back to J. Crew Factory because I wanted to do some early Christmas shopping but nothing struck me. So, we went to Costco to get some flowers and salmon. The price on fresh flowers at Costco is excellent and so is the selection.
Oh! Here’s the finished face with the drugstore makeup! I do have the Fenty ColorBomb gloss on my lips. It looks very nice and light in this natural lighting!
What shocked me was that the Christmas decorations are out in force. It’s one thing to do early Holiday shopping, but come on—it isn’t even Halloween yet!
Look at this very “special” tree. The lights change color. I’ll stick to our real tree at Christmas time!
Frosty here comes at a hefty price! I’ll bet the day after Christmas he’ll be reduced to less than $25!
Our next stop was in Rosemont. We had to run a few more errands over on the Mainline and Bonaparte decided to make a stop at a shop I had never heard of. The shop? The Title Page.
I had no idea that I would be entering the threshold of…
….a truly magical world of….
A shop of used, old, and rare books. Oh, be still my heart! You have no idea how much I love old bookshops. As soon as we entered I was swooning from the musty, musky scent of old books. If I could bottle that scent, I would!
old books…
…used books, and more old books. I could have spent the entire day here!
As B headed over to the “smart people” books, I made a beeline for the aisle that housed the children’s books. I almost cried when I spotted old, old copies of Mary Poppins books—the series. The Hollisters. The Betsy Books. Heidi. Books from my childhood when I spent hours and hours and hours escaping into the world of each author’s characters.
Then I spotted cookbooks. This was like being in a fantasy land. I had visions of being stuck here overnight with a sleeping bag and a flashlight. I ended up making a purchase more from sentimental value.
The Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook. From 1965. This cookbook was my mother’s food bible. My eyes started to mist up as I thumbed through the pages because I remembered so many of the photos in the book. I also remember many of the recipes she made.
While I realize this may have been an odd choice of an older book to make, it was purely sentimental..
I remember these pages!!!
..and even MORE oddly, THIS photograph of a fluffy omelet was the one photo that piqued my interest in cooking. I was completely fascinated that an omelet could look like this. I know. I’m not quite right but I don’t care. I could frame this!! Tommorrow I’m going to make this fluffy omelet for dinner!
The owner, Beverley Potter, is a charming woman who is welcoming, friendly and just plain nice!!
Here’s Beverley Potter! If you are in the Bryn Mawr/Rosemont area, stop by this treasure chest of literature used and of the past. It’s an incredible bookshop!
I’m going to be revisiting—and perhaps I’ll be able to find a long, lost copy of my favorite childhood book, Little Ballerina!
Before I became hooked on chapter books, there was this. Little Ballerina was my favorite book–well, besides Madeline it was my favorite book. I would love to get my hands on a copy of this. The illustrations alone bring me back to that time….
Hard to believe that when we arrived back home it was well into the afternoon.
And so, I’m sitting here writing this as the rillettes are made, the bread is in the oven, Bonaparte went to fetch Chippy, and I need to clear the dining room table because all my “stuff” needs to be out of sight so I can set the table.
Tonight also marks the first official dinner we will be having indoors. Summer is now officially over!
Boy—did this day move swiftly!
The Costco flowers! Aren’t they pretty under the photographs that J. H. Lartigue took?
Almost time for our aperitif! Enjoy the rest of the weekend!!
OK. So Tchin Tchin was misspelled. It’s the thought that counts!
One of the singers I’m including in my list is Laurent Voulzy. He had a huge hit in France with the song “Rockollection” I had no idea that he also made an updated version of the song. Here it is, and if this doesn’t put a huge smile on your face—nothing will!
