Updated Blog Format!

Hello World,

It's been a few years. Five to be exact. I actually forgot I had this blog until I started trying to create a new one. I guess, I couldn't keep up with the old one because it was hard to find content to keep me interested. I now have a concept that you will love. I will be doing reviews. I always love watching youtube reviews (especially of beauty products). So I am turning this blog officially into a beauty review/makeup learning site. There may be some random days when I review non beauty items. I am going to where the spirit moves me that week.

Now let me start by adding, I absolutely am NOT a beauty guru. Most of my friends who know me will laugh at the thought. However, I am learning. I would love to blog this journey of techniques, brand information and general beauty knowledge I am learning. Hopefully it will help those clueless makeup/beauty halfwits like myself.

I am going to start this by adding a few shots of my newly revised vanity area, and my everyday makeup drawer. This and my bathroom sink is where all the magic happens.

This is the vanity in our master bedroom. It was built by my grandpa (Papa) to be a vanity. However, it really has never up until now been used for that purpose. I used it as a dresser and a desk. Now it is going to serve it's intended purpose. It has a cute little bench, but it's not comfy and is wobbly. I am using an old computer chair at the moment until I find something more elegant.

The little 3 drawer storage bin holds my current make up collection minus the every day stuff.
The little containers hold my make up brushes. The one on the left is my face brushes. The one on the right is eye brushes.

The containers are from the Dollar Spot at Target. I just filled them with rice to make the brushes stand up and not bump around. I also have a random candle I was burning this morning.

Here is my everyday drawer. I keep the basics. I change my eye shadow and lip colors daily . This is just my foundations/concealer, eyebrow products, and a few other essentials.

In my drawer I have the following (if you are interested :P)

The front basket contains:
An Elf Studio Blush/Bronzer duo (from Target)
A NYX powder blush in Pinched (from Ulta)
A NYC bronzer in Sunny (from Wal-Mart)
a small container from Target that I use to dump out my foundation into
NYX setting spray (the matte forumula) (Target)
Supergoop (it's an anti aging sunscreen day moisturizer) (received in a Birchbox)
Revlon Colorstay Foundation in Nude(from Wal-Mart)
A Smashbox photoready concealer

These are my every day face products. I sometimes vary the blush a bit with one of my two high end ones (on a special occasion). However, this is what I use pretty much every day.

The back basket contains:
A sample of Urban Decay eye primer (came with a palette from Sephora)
Elf Eyelid primer (from Target)
Maybelline Great Lash Mascara (clear) (used for eyebrow gel)
Burt's Bees Eye brightening cream (from Target)
Elf eyebrow duo (from Target)
Revlon eyelash curler (from Wal-Mart)
A mentos tin filled with Q-tips
I usuall keep my Target Beauty Blender dupe in one of these baskets, but it was just washed so it was absent for the photo.

I hope next post to start some reviews and give you some photos of my entire collection. Trust me, it is miniscule to compared to most real beauty bloggers and youtubers.

I hoping to not only use this blog to get better at my makeup skills, but to grow into teaching make up skills to others so they don't have to live their life like I did with poor makeup skills.

I hope this has been interesting for you, please come back soon for  an update.

Love ,

Julie

aka : Geekgirl (trying to be chic geekgirl)

Vacations are tiring!

I've been on vacation the past week. We didn't go on a huge exotic foray, but we did get to do a few fun things. By the end of the week I was starting to think I was more tired than if I had worked all week.

You see, this past Tuesday was my 39th birthday( I think I'm mentioned it before :P). My hubby and I decided we needed some time off to spend together. So we both had a few days off.

On Sunday, we went to see my Dad and stepmom. They live right outside of Dallas. They took us out for dinner and to the drive-in movie (yes, they do still exist). That was very interesting and fun (except for the 30 degree weather /brrr).

On Monday, we went to see a 3d Imax of Monsters &Ailens, and then we just relaxed.

On Tuesday, we met an old friend for lunch at Ghengis Grill (one of my faves) and then headed back to Huntsville in time for a great birthday dinner my Mom had made for me (mmm fried chicken).

Wednesday was day of relaxing and errands. It was really nice to just hang loose.

Thursday, I headed to Houston. I had some business to attend too, and I caught up with another old friend for dinner that night. I spent the night and headed back the next morning.

On Friday, my friends Sherry & Jean insisted we go out for lunch. It turned into a VERY extended lunch. We ended up bar hopping (in my words) for the afternoon. Actually we went to two bars and had a total of two drinks (i'm a faux bad girl wannabe ;) ). By the end of the day I was starting to feel all this commotion.

Last night I crashed hard and slept for 8+ hours (unusual for me). I am sooo rested now. Maybe that was what I need all along.. A week of friends, family, fun, and rest!

Vacations are tiring, but they are great!

Alas, they don't last. Monday it's back to the daily grind of running to keep up with a very busy schedule .

An Almost 39 year old GIRL!

Well it's official in less than 10 days, I will be 39. I've thought off and on that perhaps I am having a mid-life crisis, but nah, I'm pretty much the same old Julie. Not much has changed. I'm a flat plane of bubbly happiness just like i've been most of my life. Oh, don't get me wrong I have the occasional bump in the road resulting in moodiness or crankiness (typically arriving like clockwork once a month (wink,wink))

As I sit here typing on this cool spring Sunday morning... you would not think me your 'typical' 39 year old.. I am sitting on the couch ear buds firmly in place jamming to Pink... I am wearing Superman pj pants and have my hair pulled up in a high ponytail on top of my head with NO makeup (GASP!). Definitely not looking like most 39 year old women I know.

I know I don't feel 39, I feel the exact same physically as I did when I was 20's .. well perhaps there is a telltale sign or two that i'm not a young thing anymore... Occasionally my body will rebel when attempting certain tasks, my ankles are horrible condition from multiple fractures, my left knee can get achy. I have a few medical ailments that are easily remedied with medication. I have the very start of some teeny tiny fine lines under my eyes, but otherwise not many wrinkles (Thank you Jesus for making a sunscreen FREAK and giving me the sense to stay away from the sun when possible!). Gray hair seems to be my only aging vice. I started getting it in my mid 20's and have not readily wanted to admit to or live with it. So every 6 weeks my hair is in a state of color flux. I've had black, dark brown (most of the time), auburn, blond highlighted hair over the past 15 years.

I don't feel 39, I am told by all my friends (whom I am sure are just being kind) that I definitely don't look 39. However, friends have to say these kind of things so I don't let it go to my ego :P

I feel age is more of a state of mind than a state of body. So therefore; unlike 29 ... I have a feeling I'm going to sail into the ending of my 30's with celebration and a feeling of accomplishment rather than a sense of trepidation. 39 is where it's at baby! 39 is HOT! I will continue to tell myself this ,even if I am deluding myself. If you see me around please continue to feed my delusions for as long as possible , this will make me a happy camper :P

Dealing with imperfections

I'm feeling nostalgic and a tad melancholy tonight. Perhaps it's the rain. I just wanted to post some of those random esoteric thoughts I warned of in the beginning of my blog. I've been thinking of all my imperfections this evening, and how they fit in to make me who I am.

First of all I'm very impatient. It is a flaw I have. I get anxious and excited, it causes me great pain in my life because I just can't wait for what should happen on it's own normal course

Another bad thing about me is I'm relatively moody (ha... now the whole world knows). My moods can go from happy one minute to angry or broody the next. I blame it on midlife hormones, but the hubby knows better. That is just me. I am working very hard to control this.

Which leads me to another imperfection... my temper. I have a VERY bad temper. Not many people experience it because I work VERY hard these days to keep it in check. But my family, my hubby, and my close friends know... Julie is not herself when she gets ticked off. It's like I'm the Incredible Hulk or something. :P

Also i'm impulsive. I can do things without thinking about the consequences sometimes just because it seems like a good idea at the time.

I post these flaws and admit it freely to the world. Yes, I'm the typical impatient, fiery tempered , moody Aries of my astrological sign. However, there are a few good things about me that HOPEFULLY allows my family and friends to see past all this and see a different Julie.

This different Julie is a sweet person. She is compassionate and empathetic. You can often see her acting like a sap and bawling over some real or imagined hardship in the world. Yes, seeing people hurting is the fastest way to get to me. I can't stand it, I will do anything I can to prevent it (even total strangers, not just people I love).

This Julie is a bit of a wuss about many things in life, but when it comes to standing up for what I believe is right ,or for people whom I believe have been wronged.. I'm all over it. Bring it on, I'm not scared!

This other Julie cares what the people she loves thinks about her. I've never been one to say "screw it, I don't care what they think". My friends and families opinion of me is VERY important to me. If I appear flawed in their eyes it brings me great pain.

Finally the last 'reverse imperfection ' as it is, my generosity. I have been know to stretch myself thin to give to my family and friends. Whether it be my time, my physical efforts, or what little money I have, I try to give it freely and happily to those I love. It is something that makes me happy in this life, to share.

I hope those who know and (hopefully) love me can see all of these things. All of these imperfections and good characteristics all roll into one to make me who I am. I am not a bad person, but I am a flawed person as we all are.

Rustic Italian Bread

First of all, sorry for the lack of posts the past week. Between the craptastic weather this past week, a sick hubby, and a super rough week at work my creativity for blogging was at an all time low. I am going to try to be better in the future. No promises though :P

Today I want to tell you about the wonderful creation that filled my morning with joy. This wonderful creation was actually about 24 hours in the making.. It is a wonderful Rustic Italian bread I made from scratch.

I had been wanting to make some homemade bread for months now. I have a beautiful heavy duty Kitchen Aid mixer (courtesy of my hubby) and I strive to put that baby to good use. I wouldn't want him to feel he wasted his hard earned money :). So it was inevitable that bread was to be eventually tried.

Oh I've made bread before. It was usually hard, and just all around not really great. Even with a bread machine (a device that was such a pain it was quickly relegated to the bottom of the cabinet).

About two weeks ago I checked out an Italian cookbook from the library (the Montgomery county library has an AMAZING section of cookbooks and i'm working my way through them). It had a recipe for a rustic Italian bread using a preferment (a starter) or biga as it's called in Italian. I made a starter at that time with very good intentions of making the bread. Well I got busy and time got away from me, and well the starter was really bad by that time... Definitely not fit to put into anything I would eat. So I decided to wait until another time.

Well that time came this past Friday evening. I had a phone conversation with my friend, Chad. We were discussing the menu that we are preparing for an upcoming birthday party for another friend. Chad was telling me how he was going to make some of his homemade Italian bread for the party. Then I got the lightbulb idea to ask him about how he does his (I knew I wanted mine somewhat similar to his because it's super tasty). Sure enough he uses a starter too. So I knew that was the way to go. He gave me a few tips too (buy the yeast in the jar for example, dust the bread with cornmeal, and make sure the oven has plenty of humidity for a really crisp crust, and work the dough by hand (something I did take to heart except for the very first mixing in the mixer the dough was hand kneaded)).

Saturday morning, I was off to HEB. I picked up some yeast in the jar ,and some really good King Aurthur bread flour. I came home and started my biga. First of all I made it too liquidy ,and it threatened to overtake the bowl I put it in. I then researched online and discovered it needed to be much firmer. So I added some more bread flour and that helped. I let the biga ferment overnight.

Sunday morning(this morning) bright and early I got up and mixed up the actual bread. Before noon my bread had went through 2 risings and was ready for the oven. I put a dish of water in the bottom of a hot oven to create humidity and I also spritzed the bread with a spray bottle every 15 minutes of the 35 minute baking time. The results was a crunchy on the outside soft on the inside loaf of bread.It was exactly perfect. This recipe is a wheat recipe. Actually it's 2/3 regular bread flour to 1/3 wheat flour. The recipe is from Cooking Up an Italian Life Cookbook. It is Rustic Italian Bread. Email me if you want the recipe (as I really don't want this to be a recipe blog :P).

I have posted pictures of this bread. It is sooo tasty and will definitely become a staple in our house. Next time I'm trying it without the wheat flour to see what difference it makes. My recipe made 2 loaves. I immediately served some hot to my Mom, my hubby, and myself. My Mom had hers with a bit of butter, I had mine the traditional Italian way with extra virgin olive Oil and some fresh ground black pepper, and Alfred had his dry.. But we all agreed it was a success

I'm so thankful to have good resources for making such tasty treats. Good cookbooks and good friends :)

Enjoy your Sunday,

Julie

What defines a lazy Saturday?

I ask this question because occasionally (not as often as I would like) I have a free Saturday. A Saturday free of social obligations. Most Saturdays are spent taking road trips (so many interesting things to do in Texas.. and it's almost all within driving distance) or visiting friends. Usually on the non road trip days we will throw in a few errands too (the library for example.. why can't the library be open on Sunday?) . All this usually makes for a full day.

However, this Saturday I was so excited. I have a FREE day. It's going to be my only FREE Saturday this month.. Oh my, what to do? Well needless to say by the time I did all the things I've been wanting to do.. my FREE Saturday no longer seems free. SIGH!!! I'm such an over achiever at time.

Here is what my FREE Saturday consists of (after I get off the computer and quit sitting on my tush):

The obvious shower and makeup/dress ritual

Drive to Conroe(about 20 minutes away)

Go to the Outlet Mall with my Mom(she wants to shop for a few summer clothing items, since it's suddenly semi-swelting here)

Go to the Library (we do this MOST Saturdays, no big deal here)

Go grocery shopping at HEB (usually reserved for Sundays, but tomorrow is my Grandpa's birthday party)

Go to Wal-Mart

Drive Home to Huntsville

Put up all groceries/purchases

Plant the herbs I purchased last Saturday

Clean house (vaccum, organize some crap in my bedroom, clean bathrooms)

Make dinner (mmm I'm craving Philly chessesteaks)

Make a cake for my Grandpa's birthday party tomorrow. (I'm making a gorgeous dense vanilla cake that is similar to pound cake , it is sooo good you can eat without frosting , which I did the first time I was served this cake (at my mother in laws) but here's the big kicker, I'm going to get creative with my frosting....I'm topping it with a Limoncello buttercream and trimming it with spring green decor that has a touch of fresh mint in it.. mmmm

After all this, I hope to have some free time for myself to watch some Netflix movies or goof off on the computer...

So much for the FREE day :)

Have a great weekend,

Julie

Does Ft Worth Ever Cross your Mind?

So it's a chessy George Strait song from the 80's , but it fits my mood today.

Of all the places I travel on business regularly. I love Ft Worth the most.. I dont get to Austin hardly ever or that would be the best. Ft Worth is a great substitute though.

Again, I know this blog would be greatly enhanced by pictures, but I'm photographically challenged lately (ie... lazy).

I love Ft Worth for a few reasons:

1. It's a big city that feels like a small town. Despite my professed love for big cities, I have been a small town girl my whole life. I like a community I can feel at home in. Ft Worth seems to offer a lot of that. I've made a few friends in the Parole division here who go out of their way to play mother/big sister and make me feel right at home if I need anything.

2. Ft Worth has some of my favorite restaurants in this area. Despite my passion for food and innovative cuisine... My tastes in restaurants are pretty simple. None of those fancy fro fro places for this chick. Two of my favorites (that can't be beat by any other place i've sampled in the Metroplex) are a pizza restaurant and sushi restaurant.

Big Joe's Pizza and Pasta- OMG! This place is pizza heaven. And i'm one PICKY pizza person. I turn my nose up at the national pizza chains.. That stuff is not authentic pizza. ICK! This place is run by a team of Sicilian brothers who originally started business in NYC. It is safe to say it the best pizza I've eaten in my life. While I haven't been to Italy and ate pizza in it's place of origin, I bet this could rival even that pizza. What' even sadder is I'm so in love with their pizza and have rhapsodized so many times when i've dined there .. they know me on site and one of the brothers always flirts shamelessly with me. I guess he likes the fact that worship him as the god of pizza :P If you are ever in the Ft Worth suburbs they have 3 shops. The original is in Haltom City on Hwy 183 (an in my opinion the best ) and there is one on N Beach @Loop 820. The other is in Euless , but I haven't been to that one. If you like Pizza you must go there. It's so good i've never even been tempted by their pastas.

My other favorite restaurant that I wish I could pick up and transplant to Huntsville is Edohana's Sushi. This little sushi restaurant was introduced to me by a friend in Parole. I thank her every time I see her for introducing it me. It's that good. They have huge innovative sushi rolls, some of the best service around (the manager even personally called me a wrecker one night when I locked my keys in my van). If you ever go, you must try the Incredible Hulk Roll. It's creamy and soooo good. Easily the best sushi I've ever eaten. It's located on Hulen in Ft Worth about 2 miles from the I-30 side.

I am hoping that sometimes this spring I can bring my sweetie up here and we can investigate the more touristy side of Ft Worth. They supposedly have an amazing zoo and botanical garden. We shall see. In the meantime, everytime I get to travel to the Metroplex on business I'll be enjoying myself here in Ft Worth.