Tea Time & Towels

I have a bit of an obsession with antique tea towels. As a kid, my mom always used these old, thin linen towels to dry our dishes on. We had thicker, newer towels to dry our hands, but my favorite towels were the worn-out tea towels that lined the countertops daily.

Although I now have a dish washer & a drying rack in my home, I still love the look & feel of vintage or reproduction tea towels. Here are some stunning examples of the kind of gems I wouldn't mind stacked up in my kitchen.

Tea Time by kimberly-destree featuring cotton kitchen towels

Thomaspaul cotton kitchen towel / Cotton kitchen towel / Thomaspaul red kitchen towel / Cotton kitchen towel / Victoria Eggs english tea towel, $19 / White kitchen towel / Thornback Peel cotton kitchen towel, $20 / Donna Wilson kitchen linen, $19 / Orla Kiely kitchen linen / Porcelain tea cup and saucer, $17

Favorite Friday Favorites

1. February Playlist-

2. New Nail Polish-

This nail polish lasted over a week with minimal chipping. 99 cents well spent! And the color will transition well from winter to spring! 

NYC Long Wearing Nail Enamel in Lexington Lilac

3. Kraken Dress-

The Walk the Plank dress from Sourpuss Clothing is so dreamy! 

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4. Rick's Etsy Shop-

Rick started an Etsy shop this week! Right now he is currently selling his comic book collaboration, Paint Your Tigers Gold, but be on the look-out for more comic projects & art!

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5. Gatsby Necklace-

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Happy Friday, Friends!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Favorite Friday Favorites

1. The Friendly Oak on Etsy-

2. Martin Short is One of my Favorite Humans-

And pair him with Jimmy Fallon playing a word game? Forget about it! 

3. Hold it Together, Destree......

*SNIFF* *WHIMPER*

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4. Two Words: Fudge Clump-

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5. Re-reading Stephen King's It-

Three rules for reading a Stehphen King novel:

1. Don't read at night.

2. Don't read while alone in the house.

3. Whatever you do, don't read in the bathtub. 

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Happy Friday, Friends! 

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Favorite Friday Favorites

1. Marcus Mumford Singing 'Kansas City'-

As it turns out, Bob Dylan wrote & recorded a lot of music. Some of which never actually made it on to major albums.  In fact, Old Crow Medicine Show's song 'Wagon Wheel' is actually a Dylan song that he never finished.  Go figure. So it stands to reason that a whole mess of great musicians would get together to make something awesome out of something awesome that Dylan wrote & recorded in a basement a million years ago. Hence The New Basement Tapes: Lost on the River. The New Basement Tapes, comprised of Elvis Costello, Marcus Mumford & T Bone Burnett, just to name a few, brings 20 never before heard Dylan songs to life. Now,  I would listen to Marcus Mumford sing stereo instructions, but this is infinitely better. 

And, yes. That is Johnny Depp playing guitar. Get ready to swoon, friends. 

2. Is it swimming season yet?

I think I could withstand a substantial spring chill if I had this swim suit! Brrrrr....

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3. Isn't That the Truth-

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4. Bottled by Emma Lazasuki-

5. The More You Know-

I want you guys to be safe out there. There are no monsters in Colorado, apparently.

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Happy Friday, Friends!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Make-Up Monday- Seche Vite Quick Dry Top Coat

Last Monday, I went in search of a new top coat. I am usually very loyal to Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Top Coat, but my current bottle had turned into the dreaded bottle-of-goop, so it was time for something new. I was looking for the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Top Coat, but I couldn't find it at the Rite-Aid that I went to (I later saw a giant display of them at Walgreens, so if you want to try it out, head there). 

While wandering the aisles, I found a product called Seche Vite sitting right next to the nail polish removers. 

I like the look of this packaging. Very clean & simple.

As you can see, my nails were really in need of some R & R,  Also, thanks for photo-bombing, Rook-Rook.

I vaguely remember someone at one point or another talking about this top coat and how amazing it was, so I felt pretty confident in picking it up. And besides, Rite Aid has a money back guaranty on all their make-up, so if I hated it, I could always take it back. 

As soon as I got it home I took some pictures of the product in anticipation of reviewing it here on the blog. While looking at the packaging I realized something. Something that I hadn't seen on a top coat ever before. 

WARNING: This product contains a chemical known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm.

I was immediately nervous. Now, I know most nail polishes have chemicals in them that you shouldn't ingest or, you know, sniff for prolonged periods of time, but I'd never seen a warning on the bottle! I started doing so research, thinking that I would find a quick answer one way or the other, but the answer I found wasn't nearly so cut-and-dry.

It looks like the real chemical in question in Seche Vite is Toluene. 

What is Toluene?

Toluene is a solvent found in common products such as paint, paint thinner, nail polish, nail glue, and adhesives among other things. It is commonly used in nail polish to help it apply smoothly to the nail.

From the CDC:

Toluene enters the environment when you use materials that contain it, such as paints, paint thinners,  adhesives, fingernail polish, and gasoline. As you work with these materials, the toluene evaporates and becomes mixed with the air you breathe.

Why could Toulene be bad for us? 

Inhalation of toluene in low to moderate levels can cause tiredness, confusion, weakness, drunken-type actions, memory loss, nausea, loss of appetite, and hearing and color vision loss. These symptoms usually disappear when exposure is stopped. Inhaling high levels of toluene in a short time may cause light-headedness, nausea, or sleepiness. It can also cause unconsciousness, and even death.

But why is the warning so specific to California? Cosmetics Info shed some light on that.

The California Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 requires the Governor of California to maintain a list of chemicals "known to the state" to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity. Toluene is among the ingredients identified by the state of California under Proposition 65 for identification in labeling. The state has established a No Significant Risk Level (NSRL) for Toluene when used in nail products. These NSRLs are sometimes referred to as Proposition 65 “Safe Harbors”. A study and assessment of the risk posed by the use of Toluene in nail products has been conducted under the auspices of state attorney general’s office and they have determined that its use in nail care products is below the NSRL for consumers.

Of course, at the end of the day, all of this is up to you. What do you think about this warning? Do you currently use Seche Vite or another top coat? 

Favorite Friday Favorites

1. Peaky Blinders-

After finishing the third season of American Horror Story I was looking for a new tv series to watch & I had heard so many good things about Peaky Blinders. I'm only a couple episodes in, but so far everything people said was true. It's really good! Fair warning, though; it's pretty rough. Strong language, adult content & Sam Neil beating the snot out of people when he doesn't like the cut of their jib.

You know, that old chestnut. 

2. January Playlist-

3. This is Too Much-

My head nearly exploded when I saw this. Jimmy Fallon is probably the only night-time host that would be able to put this together. Everything is just spot-on.

4. Yeah, Pretty Much-

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5. This PMJ Kanye West Cover-

"No, you're not perfect but you're not your mistakes." Postmodern Jukebox hits it out of the park again. 

Happy Friday, Friends!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

17x23 & Nobrow Press

Recently I was recommended Bianca Bagnarelli's graphic novel Fish. After requesting it from my local library district & waiting the normal amount of time, I picked it up. After the reading the short but beautiful book, I started looking for the name of the publisher.

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Nobrow Press, based out of London & since their start in 2008, has become one of the leading publishers in quality book design & creative content ranging from adult graphic novels to children's literature. Fish is part of a graphic short project called 17x23, designed to help talented artists & writers tell their stories in a manageable & economic format. The hope is that while a 17x23 book can be a stand alone project, a graphic novelist could turn their 17x23 book into a larger project if they wanted.

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After looking on the Nobrow website, I realized that the Hildafolk book that I read at the beginning of the year is also a 12x23 book. Everything about these books is beautiful; from the outer cover design to the inner cover design. The paper is of good quality & feels good on your finger tips & the art & story are well done, especially for such a short book. Nobrow uses a printing process called spot-color printing which allows pure Pantone colors to be combined in separations creating some of the most vibrant colors found on the printed page. It seems like Nobrow wants the entire experience of reading one of their books to be a delight and in my humble opinion, they are succeeding.

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Creating books that are both beautiful & well written has kept Nobrow afloat, even in a world where the printed word isn't quite as popular as it once was. As a book lover, there really is nothing quite like holding a well-made, beautiful book in your hands and I hope you get the pleasure of reading a Nobrow Press book in the very near future.