Recent Obsessions, and a Giveaway!

Those of you that know me know that I'm normally about a 4 on the "Give-a-shit-o-meter." It takes a lot to really get me going, unless it's something that I'm particularly passionate about. My appearance and fashion trends tend to take a back seat to, oh, making it to work on time and eking an extra 10 minutes of horizontal-ness out of my morning before the screaming starts. Why is it such a surprise that we brush our teeth and get dressed every day? 'I brush my teef yeserday, Mama!' Silly me. And, we live in New Hampshire which is not known for being at the forefront of any fashion trends that haven't been created with function in mind prior to form. This is the land of fleece and comfortable shoes. Love me them Danskos! With that in mind, I'm bringing you a few things that have gotten me pretty excited lately.

As I've mentioned before, I get hideous circles under my eyes when I'm tired, or stressed, or hormonal, or awake. And, the past few years have seen those fine lines and wrinkles become more apparent around my eyes since, as my mom says, I've been "rode hard and put away wet" for a while now. So, I treated myself to a mini facial while on the boat. It was heavenly. However, the 20-something with gobs of disposable income was quick to point out how dehydrated, uneven, and tired my skin looked. Bitch. Isn't that why I'm freakin' here? And, lets trade lives for a week and then we'll examine your skin. She even gave me a shoulder massage (despite the fact that it wasn't included in my mini facial) because it "looked like I needed it." Thanks. After she recommended over $400 worth of creams and exfoliants and masques and shit, I realized that I could probably stand to devote another 10 minutes of my day to looking less old. My traveling companions were a big help when they exclaimed, "Wow! You look a lot younger!" Wretched family. So, I'm giving this a shot. We'll see how it goes. I'd like to look less haggard. Call me in September. In the meantime, I'm spackling on the moisturizer and loading up on the eye creams and gels.

I love me a good freebie, too. Again, if you know me, you know that I'm a sucker for raffles and silly prizes. So, I was sure to enter as many raffles on the boat as I was aware of. One of those actually bore fruit, too! While we were in Stockholm, Phil, our shopping guide, sent us to this cute little store that sold Swedish crystal and Parazul. This was the first time that I'd heard about Parazul (because I don't get out much and really don't look too hard for fancy stuff), and I'm pretty much in love. Unfortunately for all of us, the shop was low on stock otherwise we probably would've left hundreds of dollars there. However, I've been doing my research online since we've been home and have found the object of my desire. I'm lusting after the black slim bag. The price tag is a bit hefty, but I managed to find a coupon code for 30% off. So, I'm just kind of torturing myself. I digress. I won a Parazul scarf in the raffle. Yeah! So, I think that the bag is a must-have. The big bag is ginormous, and I really don't need anything that big. But, I just got a coupon code for the messenger bag. Decisions, decisions.

And, speaking of freebies. Head on over to Scientific Housewife, she's got a neat giveaway going on over there.

And, speaking of giveaways, I've decided that it's time. I made a Hamsterbean yesterday, and it's possibly the cutest thing ever. So, to enter for your very own trio of Hamsterbeans, which will be created in a color palate to be determined, check out the instructions below.Here's how to enter (one entry for each thing):
1. Leave me a comment on this post. Feel free to respond to my recent obsessions, or share yours!
2. Follow this blog, or remind me that you're a follower.
3. Post this giveaway on your blog.
Good luck! This giveaway will end and a winner will be posted on August 12.