For most of my life, I have not worn any makeup. Which is why it's so odd that I spent a significant amount of my hard-earned money on a lot-- I repeat LOT-- of beauty products last week. It all happened when Mandy suggested we check out the L'oreal sale at the Metropolitan Pavilion the week before Mother's Day. I thought I would just pick up a couple of Kheil's lotions. But no... it was more like I hoarded a whole year's worth of gifts for myself and all the women in my life! I won't reveal how much I really spent. I'll just say that the receipt was as long as a scarf! But seriously, there were some really good deals considering department store prices are 3-4 times more. Above are some of the steals we got:

• Giorgio Armani hydra glow foundation - $16 (retail $57)
• Kheil's lip gloss in "downtown peach" - $3.50
• Vichy dermablend concealer - $6.40
• Lancome lipstick in "chiffon blush" - $7.20

Tonight, second trial for wedding makeup with Mandy while the boys jumped up and down and hollered along to the Yankees game.

My new Timex which I got on sale for $19.99 at Century 21. Like the women in my family, if I like something, I tend to buy more of the same. I had this same watch but with pink straps for the last 2 years and when the battery died a couple of months ago, I thought it was probably covered with speckles of bacteria and unseen spores of C. diff from work and decided it was too gross to continue using again. So I put it in a bag of things to donate to the thrift store. I'm just kidding. Anyways, now I have a brand new watch!

Neil has been making delicious food lately-- as always really. -chicken liver terrine, roasted honey walnut brie, & fresh French baguette -salt-brined heritage pork shoulder -braised pork shoulder with sesame pancake, fresh cilantro, pickled carrots & jicama

So glad to be back home. Now I can try to forget about work and wind down by eating leftover congee from Big Wong and watching one of the two Netflix movies I get every month. This time it's Herzog's Encounters from the End of the World. I will take advantage of my time home alone to watch this one since I think the last Herzog documentary I made Neil see (Grizzly Man-- quite grizzly indeed) was probably one of the strangest things he's ever experienced... Well, perhaps it is a bit odd that I could watch 8 hours of Ken Burns straight, but I find documentaries so calming! From the folksy violin soundtracks, and the grainy clips of old footage, to the neutral, soothing voice-over.