NOTABLE THINGS: EYEBROW MAPPING, MY SELF TANNER, FOOD COMMERCIAL TRICKS, + MORE!

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As I’m sure many of you are doing, we’re laying low after a busy holiday. We traveled to Minnesota (where I grew up) for Christmas and all 19 of us crammed into the small home we grew up in.

A few years ago my family surprised my parents by moving the cabin that my dad (and a couple of his friends) built when they were teenagers. It was in danger of being demolished and in 2017 we decided that moving the cabin onto my parent’s property was the perfect Christmas present! He’s been working hard to restore it ever since and this year was the first year that we could sleep in it!

He set up two cozy cots for Chris and I along with a coffee maker and some ambient lights. It really was a special moment!

Other notable things…

• I screenshot this photo on Instagram from @theverygirl. I’ve never had my eyebrows waxed or professionally shaped which means that I’ve been winging it with my own brows since the 7th grade. This eyebrow mapping photo confirmed that my brows are in fact up to code! 😉 Are yours?

• I have always thought it was ironic that stainless steel appliances are one of the most “stainable” materials out there! Chris’ dad introduced us to this product that actually cleans and shines the stainless steel back to its original condition! (Almost everything else I’ve tried smears or leaves streaks.) I swear by this stuff!

• I’ve been “see-through pale” my whole life and for once I wanted to feel tan! I’ve used St. Tropez tanning mouse for the last 10 months and couldn’t love it more! (And yes, I wear it during the winter months too because I’m naturally too white for any foundation to match my skin…that’s a true story.) Hot Tip: If you use this tanner, you should apply it with the mitt that comes with the tanner. The tan turns out 100 times better than if you just apply it with your hands.

• I was mesmerized by this food advertisement video and the hacks they use for commercials. Now I know how McDonald’s commercials make their burgers and fries look so good. Hint: Half the time the food you see on TV isn’t actually food!

• I found this fun color palette generator called Coolors a few months ago and now I use it all the time for color combinations and branding materials. It automatically generates new color palettes for you and you can customize the palettes by adjusting the saturation or shade! Or if you have a particular color in mind already, you can find a combination of colors that blend well with that! NOTE: I use the free desktop version (which doesn’t work well on phones) but you can purchase their app for $1.99 if you prefer to play around with it on your phone!