Daily Covet: Beauty don’t come free… or cheap

Last night, after dropping a bundle on three new bras (after going waaayyyy too long without replacing old, worn out, and played out bras), I was lamenting the cost of being a woman.  I like the finer things for sure, but I won’t say I’m excessive about my beauty regimen.  Hair cuts and highlights run me about $150 every 12 weeks – yep, I said 12 – as I try to put them off to save myself a couple trips per year that way.

I spend about $50 on day cream, $40 on eye cream and $40-ish on cleanser every couple of months.  I’m a stay-at-home mom, so I don’t regularly wear makeup, except my $26 Lancome Definicils mascara and $18 juicy tubes of lip gloss.  Or just a tinted Burt’s Bees lip balm for $9.  Perfume gives me a headache, and my family membership to the gym, is probably comparable to most gyms – relative to the part of the country you live in.

My point you ask?  Big news!  Jennifer Aniston reportedly spends $8K per month on her beauty regimen.  I was driving this morning, and my radio station’s DJ was remarking over Jennifer Aniston’s monthly beauty bill of $8K.  Apparently, $900 per week goes to Yoga lessons, neck ointment by Euoko is $450, and regular splurges on Tracie Martyn Spa Facials are $500+.

Everyone seems up in arms about this fact.  And while I don’t begrudge Jennifer Aniston her beauty routine (hey, she’s not getting plastic surgery every day like Melanie Griffith!), why is this news?  Articles keep talking about how high and mighty Angelina would be about all the coin Jennifer’s dropping for beauty, while she’s trying to save the world.

Angelina probably spends that and more on tattoos and private jets to wander the globe.  (Yes, I’m Team Aniston…)

All I have to say is… all that money is NOT in vain, as witnessed below.

Daily Covet: Lululemon workout clothes to inspire workout

I’m sitting home with a cold this morning, and thinking about how long it’s been since I’ve worked out.  10 days to be exact.  The plague spread through my house, and left me untouched… but yesterday it hit me like a ton of bricks.

I jumped on LuluLemon’s website in the spirit of working out to see what cute things they have going on there.  I instantly clicked the skirts and  dresses link and found a super cute skort.  So cute, in fact, that it might actually inspire a workout.

And they also have great tanks in fun colors and unique styles.  So, I may as well throw an entire outfit into my virtual shopping cart, right?

Scoop Neck Tank, lululemon.com $52

Chase Me Skirt, lululemon $68

Daily De-Covet

Yep, it’s happened.  Write down the day, the day that will live in infamy.  The day that I, Amy Grace, am not coveting anything.  Not anything in particular, anyway.  As hard as I have tried today, and as many websites as I scoured while waiting for my car hatch latch to be fixed, I could not find a single thing worth posting.

So, my loyal followers, I will give you the top 10 things I do not covet today instead.  Try to control your excitement!

Cry Baby...

10.  The Iowa Caucus finished up last night, and since I am a neighbor to Iowa, I seem to get more than my fair share of political calls at inopportune times (read ALWAYS!) I do not covet these.

9.  It’s 48 degrees right now in Middle America, and my Mac’s weather icon says we should be expecting almost 60 tomorrow.  It’s been like this for several weeks, and it looks like it may continue into the beginning of the next one.  It will end sometime, and we will be repaid handsomely with snow, ice and treachery soon.  I do not covet these.

8.  I have work to do.  My virtual boss (she’s real, but we’ve only met once in person.  And she lives 10 hours away.) sent me a copywriting assignment with plenty of categories to complete.  I do not covet these.

7.  We generally eat 3 meals and 1 snack at our house.  Coming up with something to make for 3 meals per day, 7 days per week is awful for me.  I would rather jam a sharpened pencil into my palm.  I do not covet these.

6.  I gave up shaving my legs last fall, and started waxing instead.  It’s great that the hair grows in slower and softer each time, but sucks that you have to wait for it to get long enough to be ripped out again.  They are especially unsightly when I have to wear workout pants that only go to my knees.  I do not covet these hairs.

5.  I took another close look at the tile that is my kitchen counter top.  It’s awful.  No matter how much I scrub, dig and bleach, the grout is dingy and dirty.  It doesn’t help that I live with 3 children (ok 2, but my husband doesn’t wipe up spills either.)  And who’s brilliant idea was it anyway, to use tile and grout for a counter top?  I do not covet these.

4., 3.  Sadly, I was not blessed with a lithe little body or the Hollywood metabolism that keeps starlets thin without even trying… ahem, right!…so there are at least 4 days per week, when I must drag my butt to a Body Blast class, Zumba or to run rat-like on an annoying cardio machine.  I do not covet these days.  Or these machines.

2.  My husband bought me new, super cute Uggs for Christmas.  (Yes, the ones on my daily covet!)  They were too big.  So I reordered from Ugg.com, and they sent me a new “pair” in my size, yet one boot was significantly larger than the other.  I do not covet boots in different sizes.

1.  And last, but definitely not least, I have had a knot in my shoulder for weeks now.  I’m pretty sure it’s from excessive typing in a non-ergonomic fashion.  As I type, it’s zinging me with sharp pin-like pains, while simultaneously maintaining the ever-present dull ache.  I do not covet this.

There you have it!  You don’t even have to stay up late to watch Letterman tonight… you can get your top 10 and all my complaining in one sitting.  Thanks for hanging in there with me!

Daily Covet: On thin ice

Riedell Ice skates 117 Red Ribbon Womens, skates.com sale $112

Our family has taken up ice skating lately.  This afternoon, we went with some friends from my son’s preschool for another spin around the ice, and got talked into buying a season pass to the outdoor rink.  True to form, the rental skates sucked and hurt my feet.

It was just like when I took up skiing as a kid, and had the hardest time finding boots to fit and be comfortable.

So here I am, not 4 hours after purchasing our season skating pass, coveting my own pretty, white figure skates.  They are pretty inexpensive these days.  You can get a recreational pair for as little at $39.99.  These particular skates are a little more expensive, but I figured my chances of actually finding a cheaper pair to be comfortable enough would be slim to none.

I think these would be sufficient for practicing my triple toe loops, don’t you?!