Friday Finds & Check-ins, Volume #656

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: Just received my Ulta order – the new L’Oreal Infallible bronzers (a whopping eight shades!), two of the UD mini palettes (they sent one as a press sample), and LORAC’s new eyeshadow palette.

Weekend plans: I’ll probably head over to my parents’ house so that Winnie can swim! He really is quite the water dog these days.

What’s your favorite drink on a hot day? Strawberry lemonade!

P.S. — Want to chat with readers on the regular? Check out Temptalia’s Discord where you can chat about beauty, makeup, and more! 🙂

P.P.S. — Check our hubby’s new site for video gaming guides — good if you (or someone you know or your kids!) is into gaming, including crosswords and Wordle. Plus, I worked with hubby to develop our own games, Concludle and Adoptle.

This week's doggo photo/video...

Share your pet photos to the Temptalia Pets flickr group!

65 Comments

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Seraphine Avatar

Recent purchases: Just a couple of hair products this week (Pravana Nevo Intense Therapy Leave-In Treatment and It’s a 10 Potion 10 Miracle Styling Potion).

Weekend plans: Binge-watching “Stranger Things,” reading “Ariadne” by Jennifer Saint (not as good as “Circe” by Madeline Miller, but still enjoyable), and working on a scrapbook about my dog who recently passed away.

What is your favorite drink on a hot day: Lemonade flavor Sparkling Ice

Seraphine Avatar

We have thousands of photos of our boy to sort through. It’s a huge project and it will be a huge book, but I think the process will be emotionally cathartic. I’m sorry about Olivia’s pony. I think a scrapbook is a very good idea.

Seraphine Avatar

Well, whenever you get around to Circe, it takes awhile for the story to really get going. There’s a lot of build-up. But once it really begins, it’s a great book!

Rachel R. Avatar

RECENT PURCHASES/REDISCOVERIES:. I ordered the Sigma Untamed Palette, as it’s on sale on their website.: No rediscoveries, as I was sick for a month and not wearing makeup. (My son brought home a Non-COVID upper respiratory virus from work, went back to work when recovered, and brought home the COVID Omicron subvarient that evades vax protections.)

WEEKEND PLANS:: Making a day trip to Eugene. My husband’s uncle was just put in hospice after a hospital stay for heart problems, and isn’t expected to last very long.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE DRINK ON A HOT DAY? Ice tea or water with lemon.

Celesta Avatar

Recent Purchases: I got a mystery eyeshadow bag from Copacetic Cosmetics… it will be my first time trying the brand, so I’m excited for it to ship.

Rediscoveries: Nothing I can think of, this week.

Weekend plans: Covid/strep recovery. My husband tested positive for covid last week and is well on the mend, my son tested positive for strep also last week and is much better, but I was taking care of them both… I tested positive for strep Monday and positive for Covid yesterday. I don’t feel as bad as I thought I would but it’s not been fun at all. Thank goodness I got my booster over the holidays, or it probably would have knocked me on my butt.

What’s your favorite drink on a hot day? Lemonade.

Genevieve Avatar

Your family has certainly experienced a very tough couple of weeks Celesta and having both strep and Covid is quite challenging….at least the boosters prevented the covid from being really bad, but still the Strep aspect can be quite awful too. And taking care of two sickies when you are unwell yourself is really hard.
On a more positive note, I just looked up Copacetic Cosmetics and gosh, they do have some gorgeous products. I quite like that Hustle quad myself…I hope your mystery bag turns out to be full of goodies for you to cheer you up.

Deborah S. Avatar

Winnie looks so small in this picture! Sweet baby.

Haul: Nothing this week.
Weekend plans: Not much except taking care of my mother. She suffered a stroke a week ago yesterday. I was home when my phone rang and it was my brother. All I heard him say was, “I need you here now”, and he hung up the phone. By the time I got dressed and got over there she was pretty advanced. An EMT came out of a town called Noxon which is about 18 miles away and met the ambulance coming from 25 miles in the other direction. My brother said she staggered into his house and couldn’t stand up. We don’t really know what happened as she had managed to shower, wash her hair and get dressed except for tying her own shoes. In the condition she was in, she couldn’t get into her shower as it is a shower/tub combo. But, her hair was wet so she did something. She couldn’t talk, her right arm and leg were significantly impaired. The ambulance took her to the closest hospital which is 56 miles away from us. Being an RN, you are always going to be somewhat guarded in your assessment of the staff in your local hospital. I always practiced in large tertiary centers where the advances in healthcare were on the cutting edge. Needless to say, the care in our little local hospital left a lot to be desired. My family are embarrassed by my questions, my advocating for the best care, etc. My daughter flew over and my sister drove up. My daughter is perfectly fine with my dogging the Doctor’s and nurses to make sure that my mother received the best possible care. The rest of the family, not so much. Over the first week she has made remarkable progress. Her right leg has completely recovered. Her right hand is roughly 95 % of her before stroke strength, ROM and just the more fine motor function of the fingers remains weak. The biggest issue has been her speech and swallow. Even that is better but she will need long term therapy both physical and speech. So, that leaves me back at square one with regards to my moving. Essentially, mom lives with my brother as they have a 6 foot landing between their front doors. She will not move away from my brother and I don’t want to leave him to do everything so for the time being, I am staying here.
Favorite hot day drink: Seems like I am always answering questions with a caveat but sometimes certain things sound better than others. Overall I would drink tea but somedays, when it is super hot and humid, nothing sounds better than a cold beer. I am not a beer drinker but in select situations, it is the only thing that sounds like it would quench my thirst.

Ana Maria Avatar

I wish all the best to your mother in recovery and lots of strength to your family. Keep pushing and advocating for her, even the smallest step matters in recovery. I know that feeling of a brother calling with such news and I wish no one would have to live through it.

Deborah S. Avatar

Thank you so much, Ana Maria. Her forward progress has halted as most of what improved was related to inflammation. Now the real work begins. Her affect has changed somewhat and she is angry. I know that it is a stage that most stroke patients go through but it is hard when it is your mother. All we can do is keep trying to move forward.

Deborah S. Avatar

Thank you Kira. Yes, the road ahead is going to be long and stressful. With stroke patients there is a window to try and regain lost function but with her being to angry right now, I don’t know when she will be willing to try and work. I do appreciate the support from everyone here on the blog.

Mariella Avatar

Deborah, I’m so sorry to hear about your mom. Where I am (Ontario, Canada), there’s been an ongoing “crisis” of sorts with older folks moving to cottage country because it’s so beautiful and has a slower pace, etc. Of course, the regional hospitals in these areas (traditionally holiday destinations) are small and really aren’t set up to care for large populations of elderly people, who need more care generally and more specialized care. The situation you describe with your mom is somewhat similar, with urgent care not being close at hand. I hope she continues to improve. Your advocacy for her is a huge point in her favour!

Deborah S. Avatar

Thank you, Mariela. My local hospital is really not good. There are a few staff that have maintained their practice but the bulk have not. In particular, the physician who is caring for her is really difficult to deal with and has out right lied to my face. As a family, we talked about moving her 3 hours away but my brother and sister don’t want to do that as they wouldn’t be able to see her so for the time being, I am just trying to be diligent. Not much else I can do.

Deborah S. Avatar

Thank you, Celesta. I am glad that I am close enough to be her advocate and being an RN, I know what to expect and what needs to be done. Convincing her of that is another thing. She is in the angry phase and doesn’t want to do anything to improve her condition. The good news is that while she is angry, at least she hasn’t given up!

Helene Avatar

I’m so sorry to read that your mother suffered a stroke. However the quite speedy recovery seems hopeful.
Keep at the hospital staff, we both know that they for the most time have a heavy workload, but engaged relatives to a patient also means that someone actually understand and see what they can and do do.
I hope she’ll make as full a recovery as possible.
Sending positive thoughts to you and all your family.

Deborah S. Avatar

Thank you Helene. Regardless of my families feelings, I know what I am talking about and I won’t let them get away with substandard care. I had to argue with her Doctor because he didn’t want to do an echocardiogram and said it, “Wasn’t a priority.” I just looked at him like he was an alien. Then I explained to him that we needed to find the cause of the clot/embolism and that the heart was a likely source given the chance of valve disease. He still wasn’t cooperating so I decided to talk to my family about moving her to a larger hospital in the nearest big city, about 3 hours away. Then she converted into atrial fibrillation and the Doctor had to accept that they needed an echocardiogram. The next issue is that the echo tech only comes once a week! Every single test, question, intervention is like a fight. She is getting better despite the their care!

Helene Avatar

I think your family should be grateful you are there making sure your mother gets the best care they can provide. Not that it seems all that good, with a tech coming once a week.
How do they handle emergencies?
I was just going to start writing about the importance of immediate treatment when I remembered that you know more about that than I do.
I’m so glad she’s getting better and I’ll keep sending positive thoughts.

Deborah S. Avatar

Thank you, Rachel. I guess there was a reason I was having so much trouble deciding what to do regarding moving away or staying. She is making slow progress but she is very angry and doesn’t understand why this is happening to her. She is almost completely deaf and even with hearing aides, she doesn’t hear well. Add to that not being able to speak and she is already getting very frustrated. I am better at understanding her than the rest of my family but that is because I have 45 years experience communicating with varying stages of aphasia and from varying causes. All I can do is try to keep her moving forward.

Nancy T Avatar

The look on Winnie’s face: PRICELESS! 🥰

Purchases/rediscoveries: Ordered Youth To The People Eye Dream Cream and one of the Sephora Favorites smaller kits. Other than that, I am on a SUPER tight budget this month because I just slapped down roughly $300. smackaroos on a new phone! And, as much as of an improvement it is over the previous one I had for 4 years, the guy at the store did a TERRIBLE job of setting up this new phone. Geesh! He didn’t even know how it operated! He failed to carry over all 3 of my email accounts, and so now I only have access to my backup/retrieval account, but not my primary account. The stress has me tied up in knots.

Weekend plans: Meeting tomorrow morning, either on Zoom or possibly in person. Also have to pop a load of laundry in and do some food/household shopping. And… Learn how to use this phone without having some kinda nervous breakdown!!!

Favorite summer drink? Raspberry iced tea or an iced mocha frappecino!

Genevieve Avatar

What a drama over the phone – honestly I just loathe it when the store staff can’t get these things right. I think I would go back to them and get someone else to do it again – unless you have totally lost your accounts.
It’s good to read that you are able to be walking around and doing a few things for yourself independently now. Hope the phone works out for you.

Mariella Avatar

I am such a techno-phobe and I’m also someone who really feels that technology has just taken over too much of our lives… so I understand the new phone stress! I had to get a new phone a few months ago and was shocked to go to a restaurant with a friend (once they’d re-opened to in person dining but you had to show vaccination proof) to find that my vaccination records hadn’t transferred to the “wallet” on my new phone!!!! I was lucky (it was just a fluke because I don’t clear out my purse often enough) that I had a laminated paper copy of my vaccines but otherwise, my rather high maintenance and “cranky when she’s hungry” friend would have been really annoyed!!!

Genevieve Avatar

What a cute litle doggie Winston is, sitting up straight like that….

Recent Purchases: Sukin Hair Masque – I find it really good on my scalp to hydrate and soothe it when I have my colour renewed.
Rediscoveries: Quite a few – Pixi Beauty Reflex Light palette, Nude by Nature’s Garnet lipstick, bareMinerals Soft and Smokey palette.

Weekend Plans: We decided on an oven and cooktop (Elextrolux double oven) and the Delonghi gas cooktop, both of which have been installed this week. We do have to do some cabinetry work on our benchtop and I have decided to have a stainless steel plate put in so I can rest a hot saucepan or frypan on it when re-arranging my saucepans etc on the cooktop (if this makes sense!).

We had some very sad news this week – Shimmer, Olivia’s beloved pony, stumbled and broke her leg in her other grandparents’ paddock on their property. At first it was thought to be a hairline fracture that would easily heal, but some specialist vets looked at the x ray again and did some more and found that it was much more serious that previously thought. It was decided that she would need to be put down.
Anika, Nicholas, Olivia and Lachlan went up to Kinglake to say good bye to her last Wednesday. We had Harry as he was too little to understand what was going on. Olivia was particularly distraught, as Shimmer is a beautiful little pony, only two years old. However her nana explained the situation to her well and she understood how the broken leg would impact the pony. So it’s been a very tough week for us all.

Favourite drink on a hot day: Water or a cup of tea!

Mariella Avatar

Oh dear….so sorry to hear about your grand-daughter’s pony. That must be a heart-break indeed for everyone. I imagine the other grandparents feel dreadful even though it was an accident and unavoidable…but still…

Hope you enjoy your new kitchen appliances! With the cooler weather approaching where you are, I imagine they will be put to great use!

Genevieve Avatar

Thank you Mariella for your kind thoughts. Anika’s parents are absolutely devastated about this – particularly her dad, who took care of Shimmer most of the time. They think Shimmer stumbled in a rabbit hole (these rabbits are huge pests in Australia) and they are always trying to fill in the holes in their paddocks, but it is an endless job.
Yes, I have christened the new appliances and made a roast dinner, with all the trimmings last Thursday for the family. They cooked beautifully and evenly, which is something my old oven never really did. It has quite a few functions on it that I am learning to use. Winter is definitely the time to be using an oven, that’s for sure.

Genevieve Avatar

Thank you Celesta. Shimmer was such a sweet little pony and it was just heartbreaking that this fracture has has meant that she loses her little life. They are indeed beautiful animals.
I am pleased to read that you are feeling better and I can understand your reluctance to not infect your son with covid by keeping your distance, but that is so hard with a little one. Take your time to recover (I hope your workplace is understanding), as fatigue is a huge factor in this awful disease.

Genevieve Avatar

Thank you Rachel for your kindness and sympathy. It has been a very tough week. Anika didn’t know how to break the news to Olivia and it was very upsetting when she did.
When we moved into this house it had a very large oven/grill, so we were lucky with the space to now have a double oven – mind you, I am still learning how to work it all. Having the steel plate in the bench next to the cooktop will make it easier to place saucepans if I have to re-arrange them. It seemed like the best solution to the benchtop issue. Eventually I do want to change the cupboard to a different finish, but that is quite expensive for the moment.

Stephanie Avatar

Recent Purchases/Rediscoveries: This week I spent my “fun money” on some new undies. On the last day of the Ulta hair sale I got the Arctic Fox hair repair serum so that I could get free shipping on my hair dye and I actually already like it a lot. I have been on a hair-stuff kick of late which has kept me good on my makeup low-buy/eyeshadow no-buy.

Weekend plans: I have an art project that involves painting a cabinet for the living room, so I will work on that on Sunday. We are going to the farmer’s market in the morning as last time we were there we found a lady that had a ton of cool tiny succulent pots for dirt (lol) cheap.

What’s your favorite drink on a hot day? Boring ol’ ice water in my tall sippy Starbucks cup, or if I am fancy an iced coffee or matcha latte from a coffee place.

Zia Avatar

Recent Purchases/Rediscoveries: Saints Angels Sinners Swim Team palette!
Weekend plans: I’m FINALLY seeing a friend Sunday! I feel like it’s been weeks and weeks.
What’s your favorite drink on a hot day? Very sweet strawberry lemonade with pieces of fruit in it!

brendacr1 Avatar

Aww! Winnie is soo cute!!
Recent Purchases/Rediscoveries: Nada. The new migraine meds that I’m on are very expensive they cut my migraines down by more than half but my Blue Cross won’t cover the cost so other things are being cut back.

Weekend plans: We are finally taking a vacation out of country! All the ts are crossed, bags are packed, the dog is at my daughter’s. I won’t be able to sleep tonight but it’s worth it.

What’s your favorite drink on a hot day? Ice water I just find it refreshing.

Genevieve Avatar

A holiday Brenda! How wonderful and I hope you both have a wonderful time.
Very bad news about your migraine medications – it’s pretty awful when medical insurance companies make these random decisions regarding medicines that you need. I hope your doctor can persuade them to change their minds.

Ana Maria Avatar

Recent Purchases/Rediscoveries: Nothing new

Weekend plans: Trying to solve all the errands and chores, get my eyebrows done, shop for last minute gift, worry and make lists. 😆

What’s your favorite drink on a hot day? Hot coffee… my favorite drink, and I always have it hot (I can’t stand iced coffee). I feel I don’t like iced beverages in general (6 years since I moved to US and can’t still understand the obsession with iced water).
But if it’s hot, I just want plain water. On a hot day anything sweet or flavorful turns my stomach upside dows.

Mariella Avatar

Purchases: nothing at all this week and no rediscoveries – I was sick for a few days (did so many RATs that I gave myself a nose-bleed!) so makeup wasn’t high on my list

Weekend plans: last training session with my personal trainer this morning (to make up for one I missed earlier in the week when I was feeling so sick) – he’s being promoted so won’t be training clients any longer. I’m sad… And tomorrow, another baby shower for my daughter (her mother in law is holding one for that side of the family – we opted for 2 smaller ones to keep numbers low)

Favourite drink on a hot day – probably just plain ol’ water or a French citron presse (basically snazzy lemonade!) and I do like the cold, “brain freeze” drinks from Starbucks!

Genevieve Avatar

Enjoy your second baby shower Mariella, it was a sensible decision to break it all up into two smaller groups, given the current covid situation.
I’m glad to read that you are feeling better and I quite understand the effects of the RAT’s – my husband had to give himself one before we went on our trip to Bendigo as he was feeling unwell and complained bitterly about his nose for a couple of days….

Helene Avatar

Third time trying to do this, “connection interrupted” nonsense stopped my previous two (2) posts.
Winnie is cute, love that expression!

Recent Purchases/Rediscoveries: SPF from RoC, new to the brand, I hope I’ll like it.
No rediscoveries.

Weekend plans: Same old, Dog, garden, house, food and so on.

What’s your favorite drink on a hot day? Cool water, ice coffee, tea and as always ice cold Dr Pepper.

Helene Avatar

Sunscreen is the one thing I always use, even during winter when I’m only out once during the light time of the day. I do find it hard to find one I really like, having a very oily t-zone makes it more difficult and the sunscreens often make it look even more oily.
I do have some fun, like now talking to you, a member of one of the best communities online.
The dog is also a fun part of life, though taking the walks can be a chore (when it rains) 🙂 He is a lovely boy, stubborn, fun, kind and actually caring. He is the best part of life, as all our pets are.
And we do have the fun part of life in deciding what makeup to use and how to combine it.

Nikki Avatar

Recent Purchases/Rediscoveries: Just placed an Ulta order and used the new-member 20% off code (I just made an account last month) on it-Laura Mercier Orchid Caviar Stick eyeshadow, MAC x Stranger Things He Likes It Cold blush (I don’t watch the show and swore I wasn’t going to like anything from the makeup collection, but d*** it, I fell for that blush!), Lancôme Mademoiselle Amanda L’Absolu Rouge Cream lipstick, REM Beauty Miss Venus Interstellar highlighter, and Ariana Grande REM perfume.

Weekend plans: Weekly grocery run last night, worked all day today, maybe an errand or 2 tomorrow.

What’s your favorite drink on a hot day? Iced tea (either raspberry or regular sweet tea), raspberry lemonade, or vanilla Coke on ice.

Nikki Avatar

And I just placed a big Amazon order today because the Haus Labs rebrand at Sephora means all the leftover stock from the original Amazon version of the brand is being clearanced out at half off. I picked out Eye-dentify gel pencil liners in Pride (metallic purple with a pink shift) and Priscilla (matte sky blue), Burlesque lipstick (a red shimmer intended to be universally flattering) and Le Monster lip crayons and Le Riot lipglosses (this gloss formula is being discontinued entirely in the rebrand!) in various tones of red, pink, and purple-Miami Tango, 1950, Mastered, Greaser, Rebel, Bella, and Fire Me Monsters and Scream, Werk, French Martini, So Popular, Banshee, and Old Flame Riots.

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