Seeing Green

Wylie wants to know if its spring and time to come out yet.



Nope

Not even close.

Even though our world has been very white lately there was just a little bit of green in our world for a little while.

When the Green Bay Packers advanced to the Super Bowl this past weekend!

It was all green, and smiles, around here then!


Do you plan on watching the Super Bowl? Can you be bribed into being a Green Bay Packers fan for the night? (Bribes are CHEESE by the way).

What is your holy grail?

Once you have entered the blogging world you may notice that different subjects sometimes have their own language. SAHM = stay at home mom. MUD= made up drama. It makes you feel a bit like Jessica Fletcher in Murder She Wrote trying to figure out what all the acronyms mean.

In the world of beauty blogs there is another acronym that I have caught on to. HG. HG= holy grail. These are the products that the beauty bloggers can't live without. And while I don't consider myself a beauty blogger ( I will leave the house without make up on, I don't spend much time at all on my hair and sometimes I don't shower ) I do have my own list of HG products that I know I wouldn't want to live without.

Warm Vanilla Sugar lotion by Bath and Body Works

This stuff smells so good. Sooooo good. It is my favorite lotion to use in the winter because it just smells so cozy to me.

Freeze It Original Formula Hairspray

Even though I don't normally spend much time on my hair the Freeze It hair spray is the best out there when it comes time to boost up the hair do. And by boost up I mean tease the heck out of it. If you need some pouf (think Southern sorority girl, not Snooki) then this is the best way to get there.

Victoria's Secret Dream Angels in Heavenly

I really love the way this smells and I'm a lot more likely to use a fragrance body lotion then real perfume.

Aveda's Rosemary Mint Shampoo and Conditioner

It smells really good (are you sensing a trend here?) and it also has a slight stimulating effect on your scalp when you use it. I really dig the Aveda product line.

Bare Escentuals bare mineral make up

It's my favorite foundation by far. I never really liked the feeling of liquid foundation and with all the information about chemicals that my lovely chemist husband tells me I know that less chemicals is a good thing and this is about as simple as it comes.

Nars blush

Had this container for a long time and I'm still not even close to running out. It's a good example of a more expensive product but because it is quality it lasts a long, long time.

Maybelline mascaras

If I was only allowed to wear one make up item mascara would probably be it. I've always loved the classic Maybelline Great Lash (pink and green!) kind. Lately I have been using the Maybelline Colossal mascara which I really like and I'm going to try out the Maybelline Falsies kind and see how that works. Lashes can never be long and dark enough.

So what are your HG products? I know that when it comes time for me to try out a new product consumer reviews are a determining factor. How do you decide when to try something new?

What's Been Going On

It's been a busy last couple of weeks.



Wednesday and I got to share a seat on the long drive home for Christmas. You can see how happy we both were about that.



Green Bay Packers still going strong! Woo hoo!



There has been baking.


And cupcake eating.



And possibly a pretty exciting concert in the semi near future.

What kind of new things have you been up to this New Year?

2011 Book List

It's a new year and a new list of books to consume. I love getting a new book and totally being taken in by it. So without further ado this is my list so far:

Safe Haven – Nicholas Sparks (Not a huge Nicholas Sparks fan but I've heard good things about this one)

The Help- Kathryn Stockett

Winter Garden – Kristen Hannah ( I loved Firefly Lane, started True Colors but didn't get a chance to finish it, I will probably go back to that one at some point)

Heart of the Matter – Emily Griffin ( I generally like her writing style and her books are so easy to read)

The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes – Diane Chamberlain

South of Broad – Pat Conroy (I ordered this one and am anxiously waiting for it to arrive)

American Wife – Curtis Sittenfeld

The Glass Castle – Jeannette Walls

Savannah Breeze – Mary Kay Andrews ( My sister has been reading Mary Kay Andrews' books and liked them and lent me this one. Paula Deen is a fan of the series so with those two endorsements it can't be wrong)

Deep Dish- Mary Kay Andrews

The Devil in the White City- Erik Larson

The Kitchen House – Kathleen Grissom

So that is the list I'm working off of right now. It's a pretty good sized list but I'm always open to adding on if there is a really good book out there that I have missed.

Got any great book recommendations to share?

Why So Serious?

Growing up I'm sure a lot of people would probably have classified me as a pretty serious kid. Blame it on being the first born child, being Type A or whatever but I can't say that this label wouldn't have been inaccurate. I took my school work seriously, I took my family seriously and stayed out of trouble.

The older that I get the more I find myself drawn to the other side though.

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Fun fact: The husband and I went and saw Dark Knight at the midnight showing when it was released which happened to be the day before our wedding. Maybe a little crazy but it all turned out good :)

I find myself really drawn to people that don't take themselves seriously. I think that this is both a reflection of where I am now in my life and where I want to be. We aren't talking about people that are bums and have no ambition in life but more about people that just seem to take things in stride and have fun with what is going on. Can laugh at them self and aren't afraid to make some mistakes in the risk and challenges that come their way.

A lot of the people that I would throw on to my list of the not taking things too serious kind are pretty usual suspects around this blog:

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I think not taking things too seriously, the hang ups, the slips ups and the mess ups, helps you to survive with a lightness in your step. This is something that is really easy to remember when the path is free and clear and super difficult to remember when things are going the opposite of what you expected or hoped for.

"Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it." - Lou Holtz

Do you consider yourself to be a serious person? What helps remind you to crack a smile and worry less?

It's All About Perspective

I'm bacckkk!!!

I've been re-decorating, can you tell?

I really wanted to freshen things up on my blog. I didn't like that the title and overall first impression was tied to my Etsy shop. Don't get me wrong, I love my Etsy shop and my little business has been so much fun and I plan on continuing to grow my business.

But I wanted a blog that wasn't all about business.

So For Better of For Curious was born.

I think it is pretty safe to say that I'm an optimist and I don't believe and wasting your energy and time on the negative or things that you can't control in life.

Worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do but you don't get anywhere.

I also happen to be a curious soul that is always trying to learn more, do more or getting excited about a new idea.

You could say that the main change on this blog is all about the perspective.

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And when it comes to perspective I can't help but think of Anton Ego in Pixar's Ratatouille.

"You know what I'm craving? A little perspective"

Moving forward I plan on making this blog about that things that really interest me. About the things I get excited about. Trying new recipes. Finding ways to make clean and healthy eating also enjoyable. Not forgetting to enjoy food. Making myself more bendy, which means being more dedicated to my yoga practice. And all the pretty, beautiful and amazing things that visually inspire me.

Want to be curious with me?