natural beauty

  • habit shift: safety razors.

    When I was ten I shaved my legs for the first time. In defiance of the arbitrary mandate from my mother that I was not to do so until the eighth grade, I borrowed…

    July 30, 2020 33 Comments
  • natural beauty: on my face, recently.

    It took me until I was past thirty to find a regular hair stylist. Before that, I’d hop around from place to place, partially because I moved so much in my twenties, partially because…

    November 13, 2019 50 Comments
  • on being selfish.

    Faye has been telling me lately when she’s feeling selfish. By which, I’ve gathered, she means she’s feeling like she wants some quiet time alone. Or, some quiet time together. Time to snuggle up…

    October 10, 2019 30 Comments
  • natural beauty: herbal foot soak.

    There are more noble pursuits than sloughing dead skin from your heels and ensuring that your chipping pedicure doesn’t see the light of day for one for one more minute, but I’m here to…

    August 14, 2019 8 Comments
  • make-believe: the living is easy.

    Our kids’ last day of school isn’t officially until next week, but we’ve had a week of celebrating in anticipation of the eventual summertime freedom and school has been slowly grinding to a halt.…

    June 19, 2019 3 Comments
  • baby proof: sun protection.

    My kids’ feet have sandal lines on them. Despite our efforts to keep them fairly well protected, it’s mid-June and their little feet (and mine) are already showing the effects of our sun-loving habits.…

    June 13, 2019 48 Comments
  • habit shift: unshaven armpits.

    I shaved my armpits, more or less every few days, for the better part of twenty-two years. This winter, I stopped. I was curious. I wanted to see, for the first time ever, what…

    May 6, 2019 123 Comments
  • habit shift: brushing my face.

    I’ve been brushing my face. I thought you should know. I’ve been brushing it dry, using gentle upward strokes. Brushing my neck, too. And what other women might refer to as their décolletage, but…

    April 2, 2019 31 Comments
  • make-believe: polar vortex.

    Truth be told, I’m cold even with socks and slippers and the biggest wool sweater I own. Instead of lounging in bed wearing flirty pajamas and reading a good book, I’m hunched over my…

    January 31, 2019 26 Comments