Friday Faves.
It’s already Friday. I hope that if you celebrated Christmas that it was a lovely day. We went to a Candlelight Christmas Eve Service and had our traditional Christmas Eve feast. The number of teens who stayed home to watch The Polar Express has steadily dwindled. Only one this year. We got to sleep into a reasonable hour on Christmas morning. I must admit this is a nice aspect about your children growing into teenagers.
My hubby and teens are still on vacation and want to be entertained spend quality family time together, so I’m popping in briefly to share some of my faves.
As promised in last week’s faves, the gift that I ordered for Miss Sunshine from Sephora.
Surratt Relevée Lash Curler.
Miss Sunshine just turned 14 in October. She seems to be following in her mother’s footsteps in that she is not yet interested in wearing a full face of makeup. Over the summer, she discovered curling her eyelashes and wearing mascara. She felt like the eyelash curler she was using didn’t quite fit the curve of her eye. I did a bit of homework and discovered the Surratt Relevée Lash Curler. It was recommended as fitting the most eye shapes. She tried it out Christmas morning and was very impressed with how it worked, even without mascara.
I’ve also read that curling your eyelashes is a quick and easy way to perk up your eyes if you look tired. I have not used an eyelash curler very often. In the past, my eyelashes had a tendency to touch my sunglasses with just mascara. I did try the curler, but Miss Sunshine said I wasn’t squeezing hard enough! I’ll probably try it again.
Have you ever used an eyelash curler? How do you get over the fear that you might pinch your eyelid or rip all of your lashes out?!
Aura Cacia Essential Oils.
I got a diffuser a few months ago. I only had one essential oil blend. The hubby surprised me with a collection of essential oils. The sweetest part is that he actually researched what the top ones to own were. He gifted me with peppermint, eucalyptus, lemon, frankincense, and lavender essential oils. I’ve been on Pinterest looking for different types of blends.
What is your favorite way to use essential oils? I’m thinking of making some rollerballs with essential oils in a carrier oil.
Sony FE 50 mm f/1.8
I’ve been talking about how I want a 50 mm prime lens with a f/1.8 aperture. Quite often called the nifty fifty, the lenses are often a staple in a photographer’s lens collection. I kept waffling on which brand I would use. The hubby got me the Sony lens for Christmas. I love that he researched it enough to know what the complaints against it were (a little slow and noisy when focusing), but thought that even if in the long run I decided on a different lens, this would help me know if I loved this type of prime lens.
He was so right! And I am so in love! The zoom lens that I purchased with my Sony Alpha 7 II only went to a f/3.5. The f/1.8 allows me to create the background blur that I had been seeking. I still have so much to learn about photography…mostly lighting and settings (of course those are major components to photography), but I’m having so much fun with this lens.
The bokeh of the Christmas lights in this shot of Maverick made me very happy. I also took some shots of the family and may actually begin to enjoy portrait photography with this lens’s capabilities.
Nature and landscape photography.
Of course, my original love for photography was capturing the outdoors.
I had been getting frustrated by my lack of skills with my mirrorless DSLR and its learning curve. This lens made me excited about photography again.
I love the details that this lens captures. I plan and getting out into nature more and putting this lens to the test.
The song I chose this week is actually by a fellow blogger. Miriam over at Out an’ About has made a song in a collaboration that you can read about in her post here. It is an ode to Old Man Winter (a poem originally written by Deb from Once Upon A Hotflash.) As Miriam mentions, it can also reflect other relationships or inner turmoils.
Winter is just beginning to set in here. I have to remind myself not to go into full hibernation mode since that is not healthy for me.
Do you all have any big New Year’s Eve and Day plans?
If you saw my announcement of my January Challenge, then you have a little idea of what my New Year’s Day will entail.
2017 was a year full of growth for me.
I’m looking forward to 2018.
I think it’s going to be an even bigger year of growth and stepping outside of comfort zones for me.
How are you envisioning 2018 for yourself?
I hope that you all have an amazing day and weekend and I’ll see you in the New Year.
Let your shine!
Amy
