Two Sisters, One Pond

I'm a sucker for new fall makeup

2008-09-15T12:27:00.011+01:00

I'm a sucker for high end makeup. Luckily I have a couple of good hookups for beauty products, so I get good stuff to try out, usually for cheap or free.

A few weeks ago, my sister-in-law Katie and I hit the makeup counter at Nordstrom and had the new fall colors "introduced" to us.

Essentially, that means I go to Nordstrom, get an appointment, and beg that they don't make me look like a drag queen before it is all over.

I also have a couple of new Aveda items to tell about as well.

So this Aveda lipstick above is a really nice neutral called sheer ivory nut. Not the best shade on its own, but layered over another darker color, it is awesome. And I don't mean the scary brown liner with sheer lip color in the middle type of thing, thank you very much.

The other Aveda lipstick (below) is called arrowroot. It is a really nice brown-ish brick color. Love it.

The best thing about the Aveda lipsticks is the taste - they are cinnamon and minty. I'm told they are "natural" plumpers added to the beetle-free formulations, but to me, they taste like Aveda Peppymint. Yum-o.

This uruku cheek-lip creme is awesome. Kind of a bronzer, but a little more sheer - better for your lips than your cheeks, IMHO.

The piece de resistance is this bronzer - not yet released, kiddies! It is called Brazilian Sun. Love, love love the subtle shade and the super light application. Looks great over my bare minerals. Comes with a little makeup pad like applicator, which I'm not so much on (I'll stick with my MAC brushes, thank you very much).

All of these new Aveda items are nontoxic and are not make with synthetic crap, which I appreciate. Now if they would only stop the supposed discontinuing of the Night Nutrients, I'd be singing their praises day and night.

And now onto the MAC stuff...

This MAC cult of cherry spiced chocolate eye shadow is totally awesome. I'm just too cheap to buy it. Actually, I'm not too cheap, it is just that Kelli got me the giant Sephora makeup pallete last Christmas, so, and you'll be surprised to hear this, it seemed like overkill. But it is a good deal at $36.

I like the plush lash mascara. But I know most everyone else is not a big fan of the MAC mascara.

This lipliner is awesome - it is a subtle rose-y berry color called Naked Rose. MAC Lipglass Viva Glam VI makes it even sexier. I also got a twig lipstick for returning my empties. A staple shade for fall.

On politics, PR and clowns

2008-09-12T06:22:00.002+01:00

Shannon may soon have a senator more famous in the US for starring in Saturday Night Live (there's an SNL theme running through this blog isn't there?). I have a mayor who seems to have escaped from the circus to somehow become a powerful man in UK politics - Boris Johnson the Clown Mayor of London. I know it’s not a clever nor an original thing to point out, but dude, what is up with your hair? Google him – this pic isn’t a one-off.

You may have seen him at the closing ceremony of the Olympics, having trouble holding his… flag. Not the best PR stunt. No, the best PR stunt was his first action when he came into office this summer - banning alcohol on the Tube and buses. It may be more pleasant to get on the Tube at night after the pubs have closed, but it’s no New Deal, is it?

He’s recently mooted that he’s going to ‘streamline’ the staff at his office. Don’t cut your PR department, Boris, lest we not see your mug in the paper daily…

Only in Minnesota

2008-09-10T12:43:00.002+01:00

Only in Minnesota can you vote for a pro wrestler for governor and Stuart Smalley for Senate. Yesterday, I was able to do the latter.

What would de Tocqueville have said?

It is going to be a long fall at our house

2008-09-09T13:06:00.002+01:00

Oh dear. The NYT is reporting that Tom Brady is out for the season. Undoubtably to find a new supermodel girlfriend. Oh, and I suppose there's some business of a serious knee injury.

What a blow to the Pats.

Matt Cassel will be filling in at QB.

Let me be the 1,000,000th Patriots fan who is hoping Cassel is the next Tom Brady.

For those who don't get my obscure sports reference, you'll recall that Brady filled in when Drew Bledsoe was injured in 2001. Brady stepped in at the first Jets vs. Pats game after September 11, which I attended at the Meadowlands. What a day.

After that game, Brady never missed a beat. Except for the super bowl last year, but that's a topic for another day...

Bye Bye RNC

2008-09-09T12:41:00.003+01:00

An interesting week last week here in St. Paul. The Republicans came to town. To this, a blue state. Go figure.

Despite what you read in the paper, the convention was in St. Paul, not "Minneapolis-St. Paul". Which basically meant people who live and work in St. Paul were grossly inconvenienced by all of the "security detail" in place for all of the "VIPs", who I suspect did more of their eating, carousing and drinking in Minneapolis.

Luckily, we were smart enough to get the hell out of here for vacation for most of the time. We were here for the last day and that was more than enough. My boy's school couldn't let the kids out to play because of the threat of tear gas and the site of the SWAT teams 24/7. Gotta love that midwest charm.

I did go out to dinner with my dear friend Ana on Thursday. As the food blogger on twincities.com notes, there was not a sole in sight dining at our local establishments. We went to the River Room, a popular business lunch spot in downtown St. Paul (reservations usually required). When we arrived at 12:40 pm - albeit a late lunch for the midwest - there were only 2 other tables occupied. Our server said that it had been that dead all week.

....And we had to have that crazy lady who thinks she's going to be VP here too spouting her family values anti-pit bull shit.

So much for adding to the local economy.

Jesus H Tap-dancing Christ! ... I have seen the light!

2008-09-09T07:01:00.002+01:00

I didn’t know Shannon had been bugging me to start a blog with her for 9 months. That’s a long time to keep Shannon at bay. And maybe I haven’t quite seen the light about it. There are so many reasons not to blog

It takes time. I’m busy. I’ve got re-runs of the Avengers, Dr Who and Moonlighting to watch.
Blogs are so 2006. Everyone Twitters, doncha know?
Did I mention I’m busy? Thanks to the credit crunch I spend half my life at Tescos looking for bargains and standing in the queue (for the colonial audience, you may have heard this word in Cream songs. It means ‘line’.)

Then there’s the issue of funny. I don’t know if anyone besides Shannon and my husband think I’m funny. PLUS - I think the Americans and the English are not only separated by a common language, they’re separated by an uncommon humour. How Friends became popular here I’ll never know - this is the land of Faulty Towers! The Goons (not The Goonies…)! Python! Strange, surreal, painful, clever humour – not quick sitcom slapstick. But maybe remaking The Office for the American audience is bringing us closer? Here’s hoping.

Despite all this, I guess I’ve seen the light about blogs. Blogging is cathartic. It’s a great way to keep friends up to date – at least in a more comprehensive way than the Facebook status. And ultimately, you – our audience – are going to get a much more real vision of what America vs England is really like than you would reading your NYTs and your Guardians. Here, the poop hits the fan.

As Shannon said, Enjoy.

Welcome to my underground lair

2008-09-09T01:43:00.002+01:00

Welcome friends, family, advertisers and lurkers.

Two-sisters-one-pond is a project that has been 9 months in the making has finally come to fruition. My sister Kelli and I have been sketching out the framework of this blog for months. Now we're LIVE!

So here we are...So many questions, so here are some answers...

Why blog?

Well, because we're pretty f-ing funny, that's why. And opinionated.

What does the name mean?

We're two sisters, separated by one pond, but yet somehow we still know how to push one another's buttons. That pond, for those geographically challenged is called the Atlantic Ocean.

What will you blog about?

Anything and everything. Shitty experiences at the Target or Boots check out line. Great new restaurants in cities around the world, ranging from Tampa, Florida to Rotherham, England (do they have great restaurants there...well keep reading and you'll find out). Why I didn't get upgraded on my last flight. The latest fall makeup lines. Strollers. The new Crate and Barrel catalogue. Joe Biden's blow-your-mind debate on Iraq with Tom Brokaw last Sunday (that Brokaw is no Tim Russert, by the way). Absurd council taxes. Music. Motherhood. Good cheap wine. Trader Joe's.

Nothing's off limits.

As Elwood Blues said: "We're on a mission from God." Enjoy.