Somethings I've been really liking:
Miracle Face Erase cloths- I never used to remove my makeup at night before washing my face but a few months ago I accidentally purchased waterproof mascara and that stuff is ironclad. I was using Vitamin E oil that I had on hand to remove it and was ready to look for a less messy, less bleary-eyed option. I think I read about these cloths in an online article and they really are great for removing eye makeup!
Flekk eye shadow- Ha! Another "just go ahead and do it already!" entry. I haven't ever known squat about eye shadow but decided I am in my thirties and the time has come to figure out how to apply it well and find the right shades. One blogger, whose recommendations I often really like, has mentioned this brand a few times; at first I was put off by the price but after reading about how much she liked it again and then hearing it was on sale, I went ahead and purchased a set and am very pleased with it! (I got it on sale + free shipping, so I would definitely suggest waiting for a sale.) The best thing is that it comes with diagrams of where to apply each shade, as well as written directions and suggestions.
Jennifer Fulwiler's interview with Mitali Perkins (having the courage to follow your blue flame) was so very much what I needed to hear. Definitely will be listening to it again!
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A few months ago I came across a copy of Rome Sweet Home at a thrift store and picked it up although I've read it before. It crossed my mind to put it in a local Little Free Library. Then just recently I finished a good book relating to the Pro-life movement and decided to order a copy and drop it off in the same place. Who knows if anyone will even read them or if any good will come of it, but I'd like to think this can be a tiny little way of evangelization for someone like myself who just does not have much nerve or words. :)
(I once had a co-worker who wasn't a practicing Catholic anymore, and had mentioned his Confirmation saint was St. Anthony. I felt like I should do something for him so on my last day of work I placed a St. Anthony holy card in his box on my way out- see 'no nerve or words above'.)
Do you ever go about your life knowing there's an easier way to do things but you're making do and don't want another thing to read up on, so you keep things status quo? I have recently started scheduling pickups through the USPS website and it has changed my life. WHY did I never look into this before?! Every single time I had to mail an Etsy package that didn't fit in the mailbox I would trek on over to the post office to drop it off (almost always with a child in tow). Now I just plop it onto the front porch and hide while our mail carrier collects it. Easy peasy.
I came across this poem in Columbia Magazine last month and it is too good and so beautiful!
"The Virgin at Noon" by Paul Claudel (who's conversion took place in Notre-Dame Cathedral)
It is noon. The church is open.
I must go in.
Mother of our Lord, I have not
come to pray.
I have nothing to give and
nothing to ask.
I am here, my Lady, only to look at you.
To look at you, to cry for joy, to know
That I am your son and you are there.
Only for one moment when everything stops.
Noon!
To be with you, Mary, in this place
where you are.
To say nothing, to look at your face.
To let my heart sing in its own language.
To say nothing, but simply to sing
because my heart is too full… .
Because you saved me, because
you saved France.
Because France too, like myself, was
for you a thing to be considered.
Because at that moment when
everything collapsed, you intervened.
Because you saved France once again.
Because it is noon, because we are
at this moment of today.
Because you are there for always,
simply because you are Mary,
Simply because you exist.
Mother of Our Lord, we give
thanks to you.”