Good to be back and a product review...

Today is my first day back after a nice long staycation. And Lord, is it good to be back. Not just back to work--back to some semblance of a routine, some feeling of normalcy. I spent my vacation hanging out with my kids (Matt still had to work) and cleaning. Although I didn't get as much done as I wanted to, it was nice to wake up to an uncluttered side of the bed (I am the world's worst for stowing old magazines and books right beside the bed, making for a sometimes treacherous morning trek to the shower), a sparkling clear shower door, and an organized kitchen this morning.

The holidays were very, very kind to my family and myself. The kids got what they wanted and were generally awesome--full of joy and gratitude and holiday warmth. They have yet to get back to the normalcy of life, as they are still in vacation mode--school doesn't start for another week. Sam is spending the time with his new pet fish, and Gabby is at an aunt's house, spending time with her cousins. Alice is enjoying the fact that without the tree in the living room, she has much more space to play. And she is enjoying the fact that she's insane. So there's that.

I had evidently been a very, very good girl last year because I was bestowed with a lovely pair of Frye Harness boots and a Kitchen Aid Artisan Mixer. My dad bought me the mixer after hearing the story of me nearly burning up two hand mixers making Martha Stewart's marshmallows for Alice's birthday party. You have no idea just how happy this made me. I literally teared up when I pulled it out of the box and screwed the dough hook in. So far, I have made whole wheat bread in it, and although I meant to make some marshmallows, I have yet to do so. I think I am going to make some when we (finally) have Christmas with my husband's extended family this weekend. My kids bought me some gorgeous jewelry (including the necklace I am wearing now that has an M on it--Sam said that it was for Mommy, and I said, "Well, my name is Morgan too, so it can be for that too" and he goes, "Yeah, I hadn't thought of that!"), and Matt surprised me with a huge compartmentalized picture frame for my office that he put pictures of himself and the kids in. And over each picture, he put a gift card. So I have nine new giftcards to spend, ranging from small to large. Cutely, he made a note about each card and why he thought I would like it. For instance, on the itunes card, he put a note that said, "Because running to the Beastie Boys should be getting a bit old by now." I have already used the itunes card and an Amazon card--hello new yogurt maker! I would love to make it up to Starbucks today to use some of that one for a nice big skinny latte, but with the way this day is shaping up, I don't see that happening!

But, alas, all that holiday merriment has come to a close, and I'm back to being naughty rather than nice. I managed to wear the Frye boots today, although they are definitely more casual than my typical work attire. I have paired them with my holy denim trousers from Talbots, and a striped navy bateau neck shirt from Gap. And my pretty initial necklace from Sam. I feel like I look really cute today, so it is a shame that I left my camera sitting on the kitchen counter.

It is especially a shame because I just discovered the world's most perfect eyeliner, and I was going to take a (creepy) picture of my eyes so that you could see it. Ladies, run (don't walk) and buy this shit:

It is Clinique Quickliner, and Clinique's website tells me that it is an Allure award winner, so evidently it is not just me that thinks it is AMAZING. Up until this point, I hated any eyeliner that wasn't liquid. It all seemed...painful. Like you had to press hard to get the desired line and there were stops and starts and you became painfully aware of the skin on your eyelid. And how it would suck to puncture it and be left with Swiss cheese for a lid. So I used liquid, that I could kind of paint on with a little silky brush.

But then I bought this because I wanted some brown eyeliner, and I was bored and I do odd things when I'm bored. And this morning, when I went to put it on, I realized that it is amazing. It just flows on, in a way that I didn't think a pencil even could. It reminds me of drawing on a little line of chocolate mousse, a little smooth, happy line of decadence. And although chocolate mousse on your eyelid sounds DISGUSTING, imagine the smoothness. Or imagine a nice chocolate pot de creme. That is this stuff. As you can see in the picture, it has a little smudger on the other end, so you can even smudge, although I don't know how comfortable I am with smudging, just in general. We'll see.

And I should point out that it goes great with this stuff, in the cocoa shimmer shade. It is a bit shimmery, a bit "Baby New Year" without being all Ke$ha up in your grill.

(Do people even say that anymore? Up in your grill? Hmmm.)

Well, I'm off to eat my Weight Watchers approved lunch that I meticulously brought from home. Spinach salad, ya'll. The fact that I am excited about that makes me feel old/like Popeye/weight conscious in a good way.