She's put the spell on me, that Elizabeth Bear, with her tersely modulated prose and bitter lovemaking. All the Windwracked Stars, a cyber-norse apocalypse story, and the tragic prequel, By the Mountain Bound... Good Stuff! My favorite scene? Glistening toadstools in a barren land.Also occult sorcery, wampyr, steampunk, and Victorian politics collide in New Amsterdam, a fetching novel that sets a stage of mystery and intrigue that leads to Seven for a Secret.
'Such is the nature of the passionate cook, even at the fledgling stage. And, as Samuel Beckett so succinctly put it, forbidding us to dwell on our disasters or give up, "Try again, fail again, fail again better."'--Tamasin Day-Lewis.
On the cover, this image of the spire city really helped me to understand what the world was about, how it was constructed, etc. A rare confluence of illustration and story. Although, some niggling part of me feels that I shouldn't need the picture for explication purposes.
Suicide groups, melamine milk, middle class apathy, vicious hunger, despair and disillusionment; approximations of these current events are both described and foretold in Paul Auster's seemingly timeless, placeless depiction of human society gone to shit. In the Country of Last Things has the raw atmosphere of Jerzy Kowalski's Painted Bird, highlighted by Auster's signature symbolic play, but the book skews experiential rather than intellectual.
Blogged before but now there's a picture. Ssambap for two comes with a mountain of greens (kelp, cabbage, shiso and more), two kinds of serviceable bbq meat, a very salty tofu jigae, plus a cornucopia of fresh, nicely seasoned panchan. I kind of broke my diet with this one.
Honeyberry dessert shop makes their yeasty, crusty, not too sweet buns every 15 minutes. They also have lychee sundaes, green tea shaved ice, and tiramisu. This combo of plain, warm roti bun, Pocky, hazelnut ice cream with espresso is the ultimate Sunday morning supercharged breakfast food and perfectly balanced.
Cleaned out my beauty stash today after accumulating a lot of tester products over the years for my sensitive, allergy prone, paradoxically dry and simultaneously broken out skin. Below are the items that made the cut, or ones that what I've strayed and returned to again and again. All of these need to be "retested" to see if they hold up now that I'm finally starting to get my skin under control. In any case...
Future Skin gel foundations from Chantecaille in Shea. Significant coverage, with a creamy formula that applies light or opaque, and looks moist. Silicone base = No adverse sensitivity. Works great on my dry skin. I've tried various clear foundation primers and found them to be irritants, so I just a little extra moisturizer and let it set if I need to. I also like the New Concealer stick. because it is more convenient to carry. The formula is slightly thicker but very blendable. The regular pressed powder compact has a sheer fine luxurious finish, but the cake cracks so easily I no longer carry it regularly. I may try their Protection Naturelle SPF stick powder since regular sunscreen lotions do not agree with me, solving two issues at once, and perhaps the Real Skin Compact.
Origins lip brush has a small flat side brush and a tapered tip capable of drawing a very thin line. I reserve one for my lips and a separate one for applying cream liner on my eyes.
Anna Sui full sized makeup brushes, because they are so quality, have good hand fee and are gothy/cute as heck. The matching accessories decorate your counter with femme fatale boudoir panache. I also used to buy her pressed powder that came in a black pot with a small purple puff even though it was a tad drying because the color #702, was spot on for my skin tone. Unfortunately discontinued in that format, but she still sells the color in a compact. Her skin products tend to have a lot of fragrance and after some close calls, I have mostly avoided them since to my chagrin.
Stila Color Pushup in a claret shade which goes on cheeks and lips with a sheer, just ate ripe strawberries look. Discontinued.
Prescriptives liquid foundation and concealer brushes. I usually prefer my fingers, but on special occasions I might use these brushes to get a more polished look. All Synthetic if you're into animals. Prescriptives also made one of my favorite lipsticks, also discontinued. The colors were a slightly metallic brown, Mattina Copper, and a similarly shimmery deep red, dated now, but the texture was perfect for me, matte, papery, that went on like china silk and stayed that way without being dry. Alas...
Sephora mini nail polish, because I hardly ever do my nails, so full size bottles just start to clump up under the sink. This way, I can experiment without collecting clutter.
Nars eyeshadow duos come in hues that are downright spectacular and stay on super intense. At the drugstore, the Black Opal line for women with darker skin is a cheaper alternative.
Phyto Shampoo and Phytomist Spray. The one for colored hair has a grapefruit scent that is bright and invigorating. Thank goodness they switched the glass bottles for metal.
Kiss Me Heroine Make Long and Curl Mascara, Japanese brand that goes on easy, dark, and stays smooth.
MAC Cream Colour Base in Bronze, a shimmery copper color which I also use liberally on the eyes, and as a highlighter on cheeks or over lipstick for summer. Promotional, but I'm sure theres a good substitute out there somewhere.
Smashbox soft traveling case and mini makeup brushes in red, with matching Tweezerman slant tips. I use these brushes more than any others. Easy to find in a hurry. Don't love the lip brush, though. Promotional?
Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser used as an all-over cleanser, makeup remover, and makeup brush soap. Despite what all my dermatologists have said, Cetaphil gives me hives and makes my itchies worse. Sigh.
Looking for: a new lip color (preferably not a gloss) with liner, replacement for my Stila all-over stick, better all over moisturizer (Theraplex), exfoliant (Komenuka Bijin Facial Cleansing Powder), eyebrow (Sana Naginata), Sources: Sasa, Cosmeland, YesAsia
Fun products to try: Tokidoki (lip stain, eyeshadow), Watosa (packaging sold me, I admit), BeautyBlender, Aqua Eyeliner Makeup Forever
Other foundations to try for drier skin: Chantecaille (Real Skin - Glow, Biolift Concealer - Cream, Protection Naturelle), Shu Uemura Nobara Stick, Bobbi Brown Cream Foundation
Future Skin gel foundations from Chantecaille in Shea. Significant coverage, with a creamy formula that applies light or opaque, and looks moist. Silicone base = No adverse sensitivity. Works great on my dry skin. I've tried various clear foundation primers and found them to be irritants, so I just a little extra moisturizer and let it set if I need to. I also like the New Concealer stick. because it is more convenient to carry. The formula is slightly thicker but very blendable. The regular pressed powder compact has a sheer fine luxurious finish, but the cake cracks so easily I no longer carry it regularly. I may try their Protection Naturelle SPF stick powder since regular sunscreen lotions do not agree with me, solving two issues at once, and perhaps the Real Skin Compact.
Origins lip brush has a small flat side brush and a tapered tip capable of drawing a very thin line. I reserve one for my lips and a separate one for applying cream liner on my eyes.Anna Sui full sized makeup brushes, because they are so quality, have good hand fee and are gothy/cute as heck. The matching accessories decorate your counter with femme fatale boudoir panache. I also used to buy her pressed powder that came in a black pot with a small purple puff even though it was a tad drying because the color #702, was spot on for my skin tone. Unfortunately discontinued in that format, but she still sells the color in a compact. Her skin products tend to have a lot of fragrance and after some close calls, I have mostly avoided them since to my chagrin.
Stila Color Pushup in a claret shade which goes on cheeks and lips with a sheer, just ate ripe strawberries look. Discontinued.Prescriptives liquid foundation and concealer brushes. I usually prefer my fingers, but on special occasions I might use these brushes to get a more polished look. All Synthetic if you're into animals. Prescriptives also made one of my favorite lipsticks, also discontinued. The colors were a slightly metallic brown, Mattina Copper, and a similarly shimmery deep red, dated now, but the texture was perfect for me, matte, papery, that went on like china silk and stayed that way without being dry. Alas...
Sephora mini nail polish, because I hardly ever do my nails, so full size bottles just start to clump up under the sink. This way, I can experiment without collecting clutter.Nars eyeshadow duos come in hues that are downright spectacular and stay on super intense. At the drugstore, the Black Opal line for women with darker skin is a cheaper alternative.
Phyto Shampoo and Phytomist Spray. The one for colored hair has a grapefruit scent that is bright and invigorating. Thank goodness they switched the glass bottles for metal.
Kiss Me Heroine Make Long and Curl Mascara, Japanese brand that goes on easy, dark, and stays smooth.MAC Cream Colour Base in Bronze, a shimmery copper color which I also use liberally on the eyes, and as a highlighter on cheeks or over lipstick for summer. Promotional, but I'm sure theres a good substitute out there somewhere.
Smashbox soft traveling case and mini makeup brushes in red, with matching Tweezerman slant tips. I use these brushes more than any others. Easy to find in a hurry. Don't love the lip brush, though. Promotional?
Looking for: a new lip color (preferably not a gloss) with liner, replacement for my Stila all-over stick, better all over moisturizer (Theraplex), exfoliant (Komenuka Bijin Facial Cleansing Powder), eyebrow (Sana Naginata), Sources: Sasa, Cosmeland, YesAsia
Fun products to try: Tokidoki (lip stain, eyeshadow), Watosa (packaging sold me, I admit), BeautyBlender, Aqua Eyeliner Makeup Forever
Other foundations to try for drier skin: Chantecaille (Real Skin - Glow, Biolift Concealer - Cream, Protection Naturelle), Shu Uemura Nobara Stick, Bobbi Brown Cream Foundation
Two locations of this San Francisco Seafood restaurant serve fresh and steamed shellfish, red or white clam chowder, lobster rolls, and crab cakes with chipotle sauce. The food is hearty, basic and mostly straightforward. My dining partner thought the New England chowder needed a little more brine in her broth, but I enjoyed the thick, creamy soup and tender chunks of clam. My lobster roll came as a lightly toasted slice of white bread and needed a touch of butter and little more heat, but the meat was fresh and the dressing simple enough to let the lobster shine.
Take the receipt next door and then get some probiotic yogurt with toppings to go, sweet frozen or regular sour, at Fraiche.
Take the receipt next door and then get some probiotic yogurt with toppings to go, sweet frozen or regular sour, at Fraiche.
