Friday Finds & Check-ins, Volume #685
Share your recent beauty purchases or rediscovered favorites in your stash (for those on low/no-buys!), chit chat about weekend plans, and learn a little more about each other!
Let's Chat!
Share your own answers in the comments!
Recent Purchases/Rediscoveries: Give Me Glow Haunted Pumpkin palette arrived!
Weekend plans: We’re having both families over for Christmas Eve dinner, and then we will split time with our families on Christmas Day. We are in charge of cooking everything for dinner, so that’s going to be… fun!
What will you be happy to leave in 2022? Hopefully, I can leave some emotional baggage in 2022 and at least lighten the bags for 2023, LOL.
Psst… since it’s Friday and we’re heading into the weekend, if you have some downtime, consider playing one of the games hubby and I have created! 🙂 You’ll find all of our games on Awordy, but here’s a breakdown of what we have so far:
- Adoptle (guess the name of an adoptable pet in six guesses)
- Concludle (figure out the subject within six clues)
- Mislettered (guess one letter at a time to figure out the phrase/quote)
- Word Frenzy (find as many words from the letters available before the shark devours them)
This week's doggo photo/video...
Share your pet photos to the Temptalia Pets flickr group!
Wow, that’s so exciting! You’ve said on the past here that you don’t cook often, so I hope you have fun as head chef! Absolutely love the Christmas Mellan post.
Rediscoveries: Wearing the Natasha Denona mini gold palette <3
Weekend plans: Packing for a move on Monday. I haven't even started — I've been catching up on a work back log!! I've moved so many times though, that I feel like a pro at this point. Packing books always feels satisfying. The kitchen is always the worst, lol.
What will you be happy to leave in 2022? Happy to keep shedding old ideas and habits I want to discard and continue forging my own path!
Good luck with the packing Kira – it’s a tough gig, even though you have moved around a lot. Yep, the kitchen is the worst – so many big and small items.
Enjoy your move to a better place Kira.
Thank you so much Genevieve!
Recent purchases: No beauty products this week.
Rediscoveries: MAC Powder Kiss Lipstick in Teddy 2.0. I bought this lipstick many months ago and forgot about it until this week, when I wore it every day.
Weekend plans: Visiting relatives and friends. I also have an End-of-the-Year Resolution: Donating clothes and shoes that I haven’t worn in at least a couple of years, so I’ll be working on that this weekend and all next week.
What will you be happy to leave in 2022? I lost two loved ones in 2022, so it was not a good year.
Losing loved ones always makes the year tough – and you’ve already had a tough year with your workload too. I hope, in amidst the clearing out (I’m good on clothes, but quite a few pairs of shoes need to go), you get some time to recharge your batteries.
My office is closed for the holidays until January 3 (paid time off!), so I’m definitely doing a lot of recharging. Went out to dinner with friends tonight (and did a very festive eye look with my Dior Galactic palette). I have several more get-togethers with friends over the coming week, so I’m hoping this will be a nice ending to a difficult year.
Such sweet memories of Mellan! He was a very patient boy with all the photographs!
Recent Purchases/Rediscoveries: I just bought L’Oreal’s new Telescopic mascara in black-brown, based on Youtube reviews. I am….pleasantly surprised! It does a good job of lengthening, separating and filling in my cranky, sparse lashes. The telescope packaging design is really cute, too. Not 100% sold yet, as I have to see how it wears/removes throughout the day but fingers crossed this might be a new HG!
Weekend Plans: We are having people over for our annual cookie decorating party tonight. It would have happened earlier but college classes did not finish until yesterday for my youngest, and my middle has a full time job now so doesn’t have as much time off. I’m just happy we can do it at all this year, as the schedule has been hectic! We’ll likely relax on the 24th, might head to church for the Christmas Eve service, and then will be going to my MIL’s house for dinner on the 25th. It should be a pretty quiet weekend, actually! I’m crossing my fingers that I got enough/the right gifts for everyone….
What will you be happy to leave in 2022: It would be nice if all the Covid/various respiratory illnesses would stop being passed around! I think we’re all ready to feel healthy!
I was just thinking this afternoon – have I got the right gifts for everyone – especially the kids. Lachlan was easy – all he wanted was a basket ball ring, but Olivia was much harder this year. When your children start working and have their own schedule, I know it can be tricky to get everyone together for a time. Cookie decorating sounds like a really fun thing to do. Enjoy your Christmas festivities and have a great time at your MIL’s.
That video montage of Mellan and you was such a lovely tribute to your very first fur-son. I know that this is emotional time for you whenever it comes around. It’s so hard losing our beloved, totally innocent fur-babies! Scunci was born the day before I turned 45. Those anniversaries stick with us.
Purchases/rediscoveries: Finally received my order from Macy’s for the two MAC Whitney Houston pieces that I picked up, but got sick, so I haven’t been able to use them yet. Haven’t worn makeup all this past week, so no rediscoveries either.
Weekend plans: Rest up and get well. Lots of hot beverages, too. I don’t think it’s Covid, but it’s definitely something causing coughing, congestion and tiredness. I’m more worried for my daughter and her family in Ohio with this CRAZY cold snap and blizzard 🥶
What will you be happy to leave in 2022? Heartbreak. It’s time to put that behind me and forge ahead with my life. There are just some things that I cannot fix or change. I will always love my son and his children, but he’s in with QAnon and doesn’t allow me to see my two granddaughters. And so, as difficult as this will be for me to do, I must put him on the back burner for my own mental health and sanity.
Hope you feel better soon, Nancy! I’ve lost family to QAnon also, so I know how hard it is. We had much larger gatherings and more relatives prior to the pandemic, and that’s mostly gone now. Offering you hugs and healing during this time.
Thank you, Brandi! I’m so sorry to hear that your family has been affected horribly by QAnon, too. They are destroying families and friendships GALORE. I just wish that those sucked up into this rabbit hole wake up and come back to reality. And soon.
I hope you feel better soon! May next year bring you good things . Getting to meet you in person this summer was one of the best parts of this year. ❤️
Thank you, Rachel! I think it may be allergies, because it seems to act up whenever I either go outside or open the patio door for the kitties? But, some have said it sounds like the flu? I just want it to be gone!
Meeting you and getting to spend time with you was the best part of my entire summer! 💓 The only rough part was that this is when Mother Nature decided to go into furnace mode in the Valley. But, hey, we survived!
What an absolute bird brain your son is not to allow you to see your granddaughters – just when you were getting along with your ex DIL!
My former principal – a lovely man, his wife has turned to QAnon as well. She is an intelligent, well educated and successful businesswomen – but has fallen victom to this awful regime. It has split his family and made everything very difficult for them. You can’t do anything for him Nancy – and one day he will come back to you. You are quite right to put him on the back burner and acceopt that he is what he is at the moment.
Best wishes Nancy.
Oh Genevieve, my heart goes out to that poor man and the rest of the family who are not siding with the wife! This whole INSANE movement now seems to have gone overseas, spilling into other lands, destroying other families, separating friends from one another, and wreaking havoc and chaos wherever it goes. When will these deluded or misguided ones WAKE UP? It’s just heartbreaking.
As for whatever is going on with me, today wasn’t quite as bad. Then again, I’ve been trying to stay indoors as much as possible. Thank you, Genevieve, for wishing me well!
Yes Christine, we all miss Mellon too – he had such a kind face and was so beautiful. Winnie looks lovely as well dressed up in his Chrissy clothes.
I hope that you and Shaun have a wonderful Christmas with your family and that your Christmas Eve dinner goes according to plan. As one who always cooks for the big events, it is nerve wracking at times to make sure all the food comes together at the same time. Best wishes to you and your family.
Recent Purchases: Just a few extra beauty purchases to put into my DIL’s Christmas beauty bag – mascara, her favourite foundation and perfume – Philosophy’s Amazing Grace.
Ozsale – an Australian online retailer offered an amazing bargain on Shiseido’s Visionary Gel lipsticks – $10 each and I ordered 3 of them: Scarlett Rush for me and High Rise and Pixel Pink for Anika.
Rediscoveries: PMG’s Bronze Bliss
Weekend Plans: Having cleaned the house within an inch of its life, wrapped all the presents, shopped for the Christmas fare, I have to set the table and start preparing some of the Christmas dishes (salads) today (Saturday – Christmas Eve). I usually make the potato salad (a request from Olivia) and organise the seafood salad – but I never put on the dressings until I am about to serve.
Tomorrow is going to be quite hot here (a shame really) , so salads are in order.
Anika and Nicholas (our son and daughter in law) have announced that they are expecting their 4th child due in early July. We are overjoyed to have another beautiful grandchild in our family. Olivia and Lachlan are thrilled and little Harry will soon be a big brother.
During the week we took the kids to see the Christmas lights in the city – which they loved and last night we went to see the Christmas house decorations in our area. They were beautiful.
Happy to leave in 2022: Generally I have found 2022 to be a much less stressful year than the year before and it has been an absolute delight to have babysat Harry whilst his mum worked. We are just so sad that his speech delay is not allowing him to communicate with us as it should – although the speech pathologist thinks that his speech will improve with time and practice.
Wishing everyone in our Temptalia community a wonderful festive season.
Oh my, sounds like you are ready for the festivities! I still haven’t done my wrapping yet but I have time….right?? Ha! A very merry holiday to you as well!
Thank you Brandi – same to you as well!
I love reading everyone’s posts- all the little stories, plans and wishes are so touching. It’s a sweet little group of friends in a big giant world. Lots of love to everyone this season 💕
Thank you Audrey – many of us on this blog have been ‘here’ for a long time and we have shared each other’s highs and lows. It is a sweet group of friends – that’s for sure.
I hope you too have a lovely festive season.
Happy holidays to everyone, whatever you celebrate! If you don’t celebrate, have a wonderful weekend. Stay safe and warm if you got hit by the big winter weather event here in U. S. ❤️
🎄RECENT PURCHASES:
Vampyre Cosmetics Dracula book eyeshadow palette and Vincent Price Classic Horror UV pigments palette.
⛄ WEEKEND PLANS:
Wrapping gifts tomorrow, and taking stockings over to my kids’ place. (Big “kids,” Coco the kitty, and Doodles the dog need stockings, too!) Spending Christmas Day with the family (including my brother, Brandon’s GF, and Aaric’s friend/roommate).
🎅 WHAT WILL YOU BE HAPPY TO LEAVE IN 2022?
Pretty much the whole damn awful year. I don’t know that I’m expecting 2023 to be much better, though.
Have a great day with your family Rachel and I hope Santa is good to you! It has been a fairly tough year for many, with COVID still around and the awful weather events that seem to be happening around the world.
I hope you aren’t too affected by the winter storms and that your family stay warm, safe and well. Take care and enjoy yourself too this Christmas.
I hope you and your family have wonderful holidays, Christine!!
Recent Purchases/Rediscoveries: I am finally trying some Lethal Cosmetics thanks to their mystery bag deal. And I got a few things for Christmas as well. I’m really looking forward to playing with makeup over the coming weeks.
Weekend plans: just Christmas with me and the hubs. Also doing some art, a little baking, and Christmas movies.
What will you be happy to leave in 2022? Absolutely. I’m hoping and praying so so so hard that next year is brighter and more positive.