Back in April, I worked hard to prepare our backyard for the brutal Texas summer, complete with a new coat of paint for our porch posts and a bunch of hanging baskets to liven things up while blocking out the afternoon sun. I selected plants that are bred to withstand lots of sun and heat, so that fact, combined with a much cooler, wetter summer, created a great environment for my plants to really thrive. Here’s a look at how my hanging gardens are holding up.
This is my very first, and largest, plumbago, framed by my little garden poem. This plant has always looked a bit scraggly, but it has really grown well in direct sun.
Here’s a glimpse of a lantana plant, which is well-suited for hot climates and xeriscaping. I have a bit of a heavy hand when it comes to watering, but my lantana pots have adapted to my habits and actually droop in the mornings if they aren’t watered by 9 am. I think I have spoiled them!
A side view of my pots, a mixture of lantana and plumbago. The little lavender plant is also doing very well.
The lobelia have not fared as well, I’m sad to report, and are mostly gone now, aside from a few clover. I had never raised these before, and I believe lobelia are more delicate, so I’m impressed that they lasted until August.
My geranium collection is still going strong, though some have faded in the direct sun, and all could use a good pruning. I actually pruned them well all summer long, deadheading while the boys played outside, but I’ve been slacking a bit in the August heat. Still, I think these will survive through the fall and, hopefully, into next year.
And finally, my pride and joy, the begonia and bougainvillea purchased from the local high school’s agricultural department last spring. I’m so impressed by how well these plants are flourishing, and the bougainvillea is really taking on a life of its own.
I didn’t know much about bougainvillea before I purchased it, but the stems produce long thorns that can be toxic. The sap of the thorns can cause an irritating skin rash, so I’m careful to keep these out of the boys’ reach and I’m trying to persuade the vines to grow along the roof of my porch.
Overall, I’m thrilled with my hanging gardens and how well everything is growing at the end of the summer. I’m also thrilled to tell you that these pictures were taken with our new Canon Rebel T3i camera and EF 50 mm lens!
Oh swing me way down south
Sing me something brave from your mouth
And I’ll bring you pearls of water on my hips
And the love in my lips
All the love in my lips
–From Truth #2 by Patty Griffin
I’ve always felt pretty comfortable in my body and, for the most part, I like the way I look. I’ve written about my face before, and the issues that come with having a weird illness like scleroderma, but that is completely separate from my body. Sure, I have the odd day where I feel fat or ugly, but don’t we all? I try fairly hard to look nice, because when I feel pretty, I just feel better in general.
I take fairly good care of myself, and try to eat healthy and exercise. A little. I’m not a fan of sweating, and I prefer to be indoors, blogging, if I can. But that only benefits my head and my heart, not my hips. Oh, and I love to eat. I’m from a family of eaters, raised in San Antonio, and still living in Texas, which means I love anything chicken fried or covered in queso. Or both, in the case of my favorite taco, the Trailer Park (extra trashy, please!) from Torchy’s Tacos.
My body carried two big boys in two years time and worked extremely hard to bring them into this world. I lifted them with my arms and nursed them from my breasts, and now, I spend a lot of time chasing them everywhere. I’m 34, and things are beginning to head a bit south, so the time has come to do something about it. Gracefully, as God intended.
One of my most treasured movies is Steel Magnolias, which I love for its incredible quotes that fit so aptly within my everyday life, and this exchange, between Dolly Parton and Olympia Dukakis’ characters, would cause me to just keel over and die if someone ever said that about me. Please, Lord, may my backside never look like I’ve got two pigs fighting under a blanket!
My mom “raised me right,” too, so I have invested in a little bit of lycra, and it has made all the difference.
After James’ birth, my body snapped back pretty quickly. And then I struggled with an overactive thyroid, somewhat common after pregnancy, and lost too much weight. I walked daily with James when he was tiny, and then throughout my pregnancy with Rhys, but maintaining a workout regimen became nearly impossible once I had two babies to care for all day long. It’s hard to do cardio with little legs running to keep up. I try to get in a bit of physical activity when I’m playing outside with them, and I’m hoping to find more exercise time once preschool starts in a few weeks.
But my body has definitely changed, for better or worse, and I’m adjusting to its hills and valleys. I now have a tummy, where once there was none, and there’s definitely some junk in my trunk, too. But I don’t feel embarrassed by this, and I’m learning to embrace it.
The lovely Alison, from Wardrobe Oxygen, has written about control undergarments in the past, and because I could not find her recommendation in stores, I found the next best thing. This shapewear by DKNY has been a lifesaver for me, softly lifting up and smoothing out what needs to be lifted and smoothed, and I feel confident wearing skirts and dresses that are a bit clingy. And best of all, I don’t feel like a sausage encased in a wrapper, because the material is breathable and stretchy, perfect for the heat of a Texas summer.
I admit I’m a little wary sharing this with you, but when I find something that works, I like to shout it from the mountaintop, or, at least, from my blog. I’m a big believer in taking all the help you can get to look great, and in this case, it’s turned out to be painless.
(Cakewalk, in a very old Target dress, with a little bit of invisible support.)
Do you have a secret beauty tip or trick that works for you? Feel free to spill the beans!
Since I became a stay-at-home mother, I’ve found ways to indulge my love for beauty and fashion while still saving money. I shop online sales often, and you already know about how I maximize my beauty purchases. If I find a drugstore brand that works as well (or better) than a department store brand, I will gladly switch products. That’s how I fell in love with Maybelline Great Lash Mascara, and why I was so excited when I first saw this ad in magazines this summer.
For the month of August, Maybelline has released four fun, colored shades of their best-selling mascara. You can see the advertisements in all the magazines and read about the colors online. There are even makeup tutorials featuring the colors (Pop of Purple, Blink of Blue, Go Go Green, and Totally Teal) on YouTube. I particularly like this lesson. Colored eyelashes have been seen on the runways at Fashion Week and are becoming a little more mainstream, so I thought it would be fun to try a bit of purple for myself, just to see if I could pull it off.
Well, easier said than done! I guess I blinked, because, while it seems Maybelline has gone to great lengths to publicize their well-timed, limited edition mascara campaign, they overlooked the beauty junkies of Austin, Texas and its surrounding areas. After a thorough search of my local drug and grocery stores that left me empty-handed, I began a one-woman phone campaign that caused the annoyance of all the cosmetic managers in Central Texas, a few Maybelline customer representatives, and one very patient young man at some store in New Jersey who calmly entered the colors’ names into his computer while trying not to laugh. Over the course of two days’ worth of naptimes, I spent hours on the phone trying to locate these limited-edition colors, all to no avail!
Most of my interactions with cosmetic counter managers went a little something like this. (Warning: Not appropriate for children or the workplace.)
On one hand, I completely understand her frustration and desire to amuse herself at the customer’s expense. I worked retail; I’ve been there. On the other, though, what’s a girl got to do to find a six dollar bottle of purple mascara? I followed all of Maybelline’s suggestions, called the numbers they gave me, checked on the status of truck orders, waited while salesclerks checked their storage inventory, and jumped through hoop after hoop, for nothing.
There’s not a single bottle of this mascara in the Austin area. I know, because I’ve looked.
I even enlisted the help of the members of my online mother’s forum, but their efforts have been unsuccessful, too. I was able to track down one bottle of Pop of Purple from a seller on Amazon, for almost twice the price after shipping, and it arrived in the mail this past weekend. If not for that, I would doubt the actual existence of this product.
Since my lashes are fairly dark, the effect is somewhat muted, and appears almost gray-purple, seen here with my Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eye Color in Amethyst and my Chantecaille eye liner.
Still, it’s a fun look to try and I’m keeping my eyes out for the Totally Teal. I’m not holding my breath, though, and Maybelline has not heard the last of me! If they refuse to provide popular products to this area of the country, I’ll simply have to shop elsewhere. Sephora has its own line of colored mascara, and I’ve got a gift card that’s burning a hole in my pocket.
Have you seen these colored mascaras in your local drugstore? If so, I’d love to hear where!
**Update: After this post was written, but before I published it, one of my mother’s forum members located the mascaras at a Target store in Niagara Falls, New York. This helps to support my theory that the products were shipped to California and New York, and that’s about it.
