Paperback Musical

Doesn't "Paperback Musical" sound like a great musical. I imagine people just singing chapters of books. Or a musical about Jane Austen's life starring some flat-chested brunette waif who wails vocally. Musicals have been on my brain because I will be in one, The Sound of Music, next month (squeals with glee). I wish I could say I was Maria, or even that beeotch Elsa, or even that crotchety ole Sister Berta (raggedy beeotch), but alas I am but a lowly postulant. If you want to know what a postulant is, go to www.dictionary.com and find out. I haven't even done this myself, so you will already be a better person than I. Rehearsals and working out pretty much rule my life at this point. Oh and creating my master plan to take out David's Bridal. Think Pinky and the Brain without Pinky, poor planning, and zero follow through. At least Brain would try. So maybe it's more Pinky and less Brain. I have also created a Musicals playlist on Spotify because I am that lame. Here's the link if you would like to enjoy and I'm always open to suggestions for more musicals to add to it. MUSICALS There are more I am wanting to add to the list but just never remember to do it. It features of few of my favorites sung by some of my favorite peoples ie. Julie Andrews, Idina Menzell, Barbara Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, Audrey Hepburn etc. Here is my wannabe Audrey Hepburn picture circa Breakfast at Tiffanys

 CAUTION: LEVEL DUCKFACE ON THE CLICHE PIC FACE SCALE

In other news, I have been back in my reading groove by reading on my lunch breaks. Just finished reading Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (And Other Concerns). It was a cute and funny book but mostly airy. (Don't you like my fancy shmancy Starbucks mug of the NYC skyline? Me too, mostly because it hold 18oz of coffee and because it reminds me of my brother. )I'm about to start reading The Great Gatsby which I've heard great things about and am looking forward to the Baz Luhrmann adaptation of it via motion picture. I recently purchased Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I am a huge Jane Austen fan and a huge fan of zombies so I feel like this will be an epic read. I will keep you posted.


That's all for now. I always tell myself I will write on here more often, but let's be honest, I won't.

GAGADEUX

Ode to GAGA

So Happy I Could Die.... and it's alright

Welcome to my Vintage Corner. I told you I loved the style of the 60's (maybe some of the 70's too) I have also been stocking up on some milk glass [pics to come]. Next on my list... a settee or I would take a claw foot bathtub cut in half circa Breakfast at Tiffany's.

HAIR

I LOVE THIS BRAID and i wanna attempt to do it one day

Raisin Face

Ok I get it, tanning is popular. I hate it, whether it's for 10 minutes in a coffin tanning bed or sweating outside on the beach. There are a few reasons, one being the aforementioned sweating, the others being cancer, wrinkles, and peeling. It is inevitable, especially living in the south, that I will get some sun exposure, however, I try to be as preventative as possible.

I don't really know much about skin care for men, because I'm not one, BUT I know that everyone should be good with some sort of moisturizer with an spf in it. I feel like nowadays this should be a "duh" but we all know that guys are idiots.

For girls, it is always important to have a skin care regimen that includes the following: daily cleanser, weekly exfoliant, DAILY MOISTURIZER with spf, and daily eye serum or eye cream. If you want to throw in a once-a-month mask (<-- click for great at-home facial recipes featuring things from your kitchen) of some sort that is good too.

I myself and some of my friends have to deal with acne and people ask me with my oily skin that is prone to breakouts, why I use moisturizer. Well according to my own personal experience research, my face tended to breakout more when I didn't wear moisturizer as opposed to when I did wear it. My theory is that as my skin needs moisture, it will over-compensate for a lack of moisture by producing excess oil on my face and as a result, causing more breakouts for my skin. Add on top of that make-up and dirt and you have a recipe for disaster.

It is important to start this routine now (in 20's) not when you already have wrinkles and are trying to turn back the hands of time. You can make a preemptive strike against wrinkles now. The difference could be EXTREMELY drastic as pictured below.

I am also including a picture of my mom when she was 17 and now at 46. She is out in the sun alot but has been using skin care regimens for many many years. I learned about basic skin care from her years of using Clinique products as I was growing up!

Whether you use ProActive, St. Ives, Clinique, or you went to the dermatologist (like me!), find something that works for your schedule and ALWAYS ALWAYS wear moisturizer.

These statements are from my personal experience and readings and have not been reviewed by a doctor or a dermatologist.

Did someone say PIE?

Since summer is almost over, you may want to do this pie before it's too late. Though it may already be... oops. This is my favorite summer pie I call "Plum Peachy"

You can guess from the name of the pie that I used peaches and plums but I also used blackberries. Here is what you will need:

3 Georgia peaches

2 Plums (any kind will do though the plums with a dark red flesh inside look the prettiest)

2 cups of blackberries

2 Pilsbury Pie Crusts (i cheat) [or one box with two crusts in them]

2 cups of flour

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 and put a cookie sheet on the rack below where the pie will sit. These fruits are very juicy and there is LOTS of spillage.

Go ahead and grease and flour your pie pan and put the bottom crust in. Then cut your fruit into wedges you can leave the skin on or off.

Mix the fruit and the sugars together in a bowl and put into a skillet. Set the skillet on a medium/high heat. Let the fruits come to a simmer for about 20 minutes. This will help draw out much of the juice of the fruits. Drain the juice from the fruit and put the fruit back in the bowl. [TIP: Put juice in a container to use for syrups on pancakes, waffles, or ice cream] If you skip this step, you will end up with a soggy pie.

Put the fruit back into the bowl and add the 2cups of flour. Please be cautious as the fruit will be very hot. Once you mix the flour and fruit dump the mixture into your pie pan with the bottom crust already in it. Now for an added hint, sprinkle a thin layer of flour over the top of the pie filling before putting the crust on top. Go ahead and cut 3 or so slits into your pie crust (or whatever fancy thing you would like to do) and lay it on top of the filling.

Now almost every single pie recipe will tell you to press the edges down and join the top and bottom pie crust edges. I do want you to do this, HOWEVER, the juices will have no where to go. If you think I'm exaggerating about the juice, you are SORELY mistaken. LOL Please remember that the main ingredient is peaches, one of the juiciest fruits on the planet. Please leave one to two small gaps on opposite sides of the pie, but make sure that the cookie sheet from earlier is wide enough to catch the dripping. The gaps should be only big enough for you to put the tip of your finger in and will also provide a drain if needed. haha!

Take your egg and mix it up in a small bowl or cup with a fork. Now using either pastry brush or your fingers rub the egg all over the top crust. This will create a nice shiny brown crust on top! Bake for 1 hour at 350. Check to see that the juices are bubbling and the crust is golden brown and you're done! Let the pie cool for another 30 minutes if you want it juicy and let it sit over night if you want it more congealed.