Microblog 06 | My Hair Cleanse

Skyler E.

Cleanses are all over the place right now. Juice cleanses, kale cleanses, you name it it's probably a cleanse. (Is there a Ramen cleanse? I'd be into that)

What I'm talking here about is a little different. 

Once I passed my unruly teenage years of constantly bleaching and dying my hair to death, I turned over a new leaf and began forging my way into 'natural hair'. But I wasn't really having much success. 

The Best Red Lipstick For Your Skin Tone + A Giveaway!

Skyler E.

A red lip is a classic statement, and the best part is that it looks gorgeous on everyone! You may be bewildered, though, by the millions of options that are available and you may be unsure as where to start. Maybe you’ve been at your local drugstore and grabbed the first red lipstick that you saw. You go home, put it on and…. It just doesn’t look right.

Well, not all reds are created equal, and your skin tone has a lot to do with that. So, we created this nifty guide to picking your perfect shade!

Microblog 04 | Today Has Been A Day

Skyler E. 

Packing up your home and moving to a new place isn't so bad. You have an opportunity to pair down your belongings and get rid of or sell unnecessary things, which feels good. While you're bubble-wrapping and stuffing everything into boxes, you start thinking "Do I really need all this crap? Do I even care about that?" I've started to reevaluate how I live materially.  Living somewhere new also allows you the chance to explore a different area and discover things you've never seen before, that's always fun! 

But often, moving involves more than just transporting your stuff. Things go wrong. Life gets in the way. You may know this very well. I didn't. I've haven't moved in awhile.

The Bee's Knees | 01

"What we're currently crushing on! The trendiest trend stuff everyone really loves but I'm not sure why! Buy this thing that is super in right now!"

:(

I don't know about you, but we're tired of all that. There is such an over saturation of products being marketed at us and and endorsed by people we don't know these days, that we can never really be sure what's real and what isn't. It feels like high school again. "What? You don't have one of these?! How do you even, what is life?" It almost makes me feel... bad (sometimes) but mostly uncomfortable.

But I suppose that really is the point.

Here at The Sunshine District, Jacqueline and I are quite similar in a number of ways but we have a LOT of varying interests. Many times they are things that don't exactly fit within the perimeters of our blog and sometimes they do. Regardless, we want to enjoy and celebrate the things that we love. Because those things are special to us, and possibly other people will find them special too.

They may be products that work for us, other blogs we read, music we have just recently discovered (even if it's 15 years old), books we're currently reading, the list can go on. The Bee's Knees feature is our opportunity to share those things with you!

We won't focus on the trends of the day/week/month, rather we want to share with you things that make us feel good and happy. Possibly some of you will feel the same and wouldn't that we wonderful?

We think so.

Why don't we start then!

Orange Scented Olive Oil Cake with Chocolate Ganache topped with Fleur de Sel

Skyler E.

I think cupcakes are cute, but I don’t want to eat them.

I’m sure that wedding cake was expensive, but I’ll probably get someone else to eat my slice when you’re not looking.

I’ve just never liked cake all that much. Growing up, cakes were just scarine pastel, frosting rose covered sugar bombs that haunted my dreams. There'd be no actual discernible flavor of any kind, just sweet springy nothingness. And dry. So dryyyyyy.

How to Revamp Thrifted Art

Skyler E.

We all have some old art hanging around that we don’t really like any more. Maybe we got it from the thrift store or it could have been something we bought a number of years ago. It’s probably sitting someplace, neglected, gathering dust. So sad. But have you thought that it’s actually waiting to be reused? We can restyle it into something fun and fresh!

How to Cover Acne

Skyler E. 

I’ve had a tumultuous relationship with my skin since I was fifteen years old. Acne and I are old friends, and a few years ago I started to have other skin related issues like cystic acne,  eczema and allergy related hives and rashes. It pretty much sucks. I can’t think of any other way to describe it. It’s made me feel so vulnerable and angry at times.

I’d ask myself, “Why can’t I have good skin? What’s wrong with me? I take care of myself, I see a dermatologist, I’ve tried so many things…. why isn’t my skin normal?” And honestly, I still ask myself these questions. I’ve come to know that I may always have to deal with these problems. Even my 85 year old grandfather still has acne. So if this is my situation, I need to make do.

Everyone’s skin and chemical makeup is different. So sharing treatment ideas isn’t always helpful to me because there is never any guarantee that it will work for you. I personally have been unable to find the right treatment to successfully fight my acne, so I decided to hone my acne hiding skills. When I wear makeup, it makes me feel confident and so much better about myself. I feel like I can tackle my day and that’s what works for me. Maybe you feel the same way, but you haven’t been able to pin the right method down yet. That’s why I wanted to write this, for anyone who has had these problems too. 

This was actually a very clear skin day for me so the before and after isn't all that dramatic, but the results are the same even on a terrible day. 

To be honest, most people I know aren't aware that I even have acne or any skin problems. So since that’s the case, I want to share with you how I cover my acne.

Microblog 02 | A Quiet Moment

I'm currently in the process of moving, but I'm not sure where to yet. 

It's only when I tell people this that I realize how crazy this sounds! (Am I nuts? I am indeed) I may be staying in Seattle but there's a big possibility that I might move back to Oregon? Most likely I'll talk more about it at another time when things are more settled, but in the meantime, all I can say is that its been absolutely bonkers! Packing and putting the final touches on the house, getting ready to sell (and the stresses and perils that go along with that.) At the same time, I'm working and doing the blog. 

It's so dang easy to constantly rush around and be anxious over all the things that need to be done. That and the siren song of crawling back into my bed and cocooning into a sad-sack. She calls to me at about 2pm every day, that jerk. In fact, I succumbed to her wiles only yesterday. It was a bad day. 

At times like this, I think it's so important for me to take a moment to stop and be still. Taking twenty minutes to breathe and treat yo self isn't going to make a difference in how things get done. 

"It will be ok!" 

That's what I have to tell myself. Constantly. 

Cocktail Hour | French Manhattan

Ahh, the classic Manhattan is a thing of beauty. I've had some bad ones and I've had some great ones. Normally it's the drink I use as a measuring stick to see how good a bartender is (that or an Old Fashioned). Then I pass judgment on them. Then I decide whether or not I'll order drinks from them again. Because honestly, cocktails are so dang expensive around here, unless my mind is totally blown, I'd rather just go home and make my own. Preferably in my stretchy pants, braless, and completely sealed off from the outside world. This is "me time" now honey. 

Like most classic cocktails, the Manhattan has many supposed origin stories. The most popular being that it was invented by a Doctor/secret-at-home-mixologist at the Manhattan Club in New York City in the early 1870s, during a party hosted by Jennie Jerome, Winston Churchill's Mother, in honor of the presidential candidate Samuel J Tilden. (That sentence was waaaaay too long good lord) It was so popular that, even after the party, people began requesting the drink, referring to it by the name of the club it originated from. Unfortunately, this story is impossible not only because Jennie was in Europe at the time, but she was also very much pregnant with Churchill. Another tale that seems more plausible is that this drink was invented by a bartender known only by the name of "Black" during that same time in NY. 

Well, regardless of how it happened, this simple and elegant drink was at one time viewed as the drink of drinks. Much more popular than the Martini or Martinez. 

Locals Only 01 | My Favorite Coffee Shop

Peixoto - Chandler, Arizona

11 West Boston Street, Suite #6

Chandler, Arizona 85225

Peixoto (prounouned "pay-sho-tow") is located in the heart of downtown Chandler in the south eastern part of the Phoenix area. My biggest regret is that they didn't exist eight years ago when I was still living in this part of town. However, I still think that the 45 minute drive is well worth it. 

I'm still relatively new to exploring great coffee. Up until about a year ago, I was perfectly happy ordering my tall black Pike Place and occasional soy latte. They say ignorance is bliss, and they would be right. I was ruined from the moment I took my first sip of my first cortado. This happened to be at Peixoto. My husband and I were having dinner with friends at our favorite sushi spot in town, and the sushi chef (who also happens to be a friend of ours) recommended this little coffee spot nearby. My husband works in coffee and was excited to try it out. It was love at first sip.