random | Permission to Peruse

Wordless Wednesday: Words that WWF Wouldn’t Let Me Play

November 10th, 2010 at 4:24 pm / Amy Bennett / 5 Comments »

WWF = Words with Friends, an iPhone game like Scrabble you play online with friends.

The excessive appearance of children’s character is scary, I know. Also? The fact that I saved these.

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Rockaholic: A Review

October 18th, 2010 at 7:27 pm / Amy Bennett / 7 Comments »

I have always had such thin, fine hair. And when you have fine, thin hair you can not. I repeat CAN NOT NOT wash your hair every day. It’s a greasy mess barely passable for the gym. I was mentioning it in passing to my stylist and she recommended TIGI’s Dry Shampoo Rockaholic. Well. That was WAY out of my new budget UNTIL Ulta ran a breast cancer awareness campaign and put their specially marked cans on sale for $6.99 last week AND put out a 20% coupon in the paper.

So this morning, I rolled out of bed just a few minutes before having to get to work and found that my hair was as usual…smashed in the back, sticking out at on the sides and starting to get a bit greasy in the front. I started spraying at the roots, concentrating at my hair line and then at the crown. I used my round brush to restyle as I would with my hair dryer and voila! My hair was suddenly passable! It even poofed at the crown like I like! This picture is about 10 minutes after rolling out of bed and no flat iron either!

Now, I can’t say it was just as good as the first day. The texture was much more coarse than normal and I had to tame a few stray pieces through the day. But FOR SURE hundreds of times better than having to do the whole thing over again. For days like today where my biggest outing was Walgreens for a good deal on cough drops and aspirin, it worked like a charm.

So. Have you ever tried a dry shampoo that you’d recommend?

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Water Marbling Manicure Take 2, 3 and 4

October 17th, 2010 at 3:30 pm / Amy Bennett / 3 Comments »

I did the girls nails today. And then mine again after mine was destroyed doing theirs. They picked white, pink and purple. Go figure.

These are Emma’s. Her pinkies are my favorites.

photo 2 (1)

These are Lexi’s little chubby hands and I just want to *squeeze* them. I can barely get passed the cute chubby to see her nails. Her right thumb is the best but you can’t see it well.

I picked white, purple and some peachy color (quickly when my orange wouldn’t work) which I sort of regret. I think I’m getting a handle on the patterns though. These are at least much more consistent in look across all the fingers.

Things I noticed: my high lacquer polishes hardened almost immediately. My older Revlon polishes wouldn’t spread well. I stuck to newer Revlon colors I had.

I really want to try out some neon colors!

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The Water Marbling Manicure

October 14th, 2010 at 10:04 pm / Amy Bennett / 17 Comments »

OK so I heard about this marble manicure thing from Katie on Twitter the other day. Side note: I feel like everything I know is starting to come from Twitter. Every other sentence I say is something like “Oh, I saw that on Twitter” or “The other day on Twitter”. Oh well. So the other day on Twitter I heard about these things and some of them looked SO cool. And they made it look SO EASY. Here is one of MANY tutorials on YouTube.

Here’s the basic steps though:

Paint your nails with a base color and let dry.
Pick 3 other colors to use.
Fill a bowl with tepid water.
Tape up one finger (see videos).
Let a drop of the first color drop on the surface of the water.
Let a drop of the second color drop in the middle of the first drop.
Let a drop of the third color drop in the middle of that.
Repeat as many times as you want.
Use a toothpick to pull in the colors to the center.
Dip your finger in the spot of the pattern you like.
The polish has created a film on the water. Pull that away from your nail while it’s still dunked in the water.
Pull your nail out and untape it immediately.
Repeat for all your nails.

Yeah, it’s not the fastest thing ever. One video I watched said it only took 15 minutes. HA!

So I picked this mint green color for the base and then silver, pink and dark purple colors for the swirl which apparently were horrible picks because really only the green and purple showed up. I had to redo a few fingers and still a few are pretty sketchy. I think if I try a few different colors and practice with the patterns in the water I’ll get better. Here is my first water marbling:

I think my thumbs came out the best:

So, that’s that I guess. I definitely see some potential.

Have you heard of this? Tried it?

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I’m Scared of Envelopes

September 23rd, 2010 at 8:46 am / Amy Bennett / 21 Comments »

I’ve been a fan of Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman for quite some time. I’ve put a lot of their ideas into practice. We’ve never carried debt but we started and completed our emergency fund. I’ve even set up a budget, created an account on mint and tracked our money . But that’s where it stops. I never have set up any practices to stay in budget. I watch it go into red every single time, far beyond the limits of the budget. It’s been depressing. I knew Dave Ramsey’s budget system was the “envelope system”. Where you budget your money, put cash for non-bills in envelopes and when it’s out, it’s out. That scares me to death. Because what if I saw the cutest top on sale at Target and I HAD to have it. Or what if I REALLY wanted Taco Bell for lunch instead of a pb&j. Or what if…

The end to all those sentences is, I wouldn’t be able to get what I wanted. And that’s just lame. I’m a grown, responsible adult and I should be better able to control those desires. Because it may cost to opt-in but I have to count the cost of opting out. The price of my inability to control my desires is someone’s next meal or the clothes on their back. We have to be more responsible so we can give more. We have to be more responsible so we are equipped to handle crisis so we are not running around trying to fix it instead of concentrating on others. We have to be more responsible so our kids see us be more responsible. Since December we have gotten much better but we’re ready to take the next step and tackle the envelope system.

Based off the budget I had set up in mint.com, I created a budget on Dave’s forms and actually planned where every single dollar is going to go with every paycheck. I know when bills are coming and going. We’re saving for once-a-year stuff. We’ve set up what money is staying in checking, what’s being moved to savings and what goes in an envelope. I even have a coffee envelope! Everything in moderation, people! You didn’t think I was going to completely cut that out did you?

Scott and I actually had a budget meeting. Dave suggests “the nerd” do the budget and then present it to the spouse. They are able to make any changes they want without question. I, of course being the nerd, presented it last night with much anticipation. We went through every line item with little fighting and actually very little changes.

So October 1 we start. It’s going to be weird dealing in cash. It’s going to be weird planning meals. It’s going to be weird rationing out clothing money. It’s going to be weird not going to Chick-fil-a every single time we want. It’s all going to be weird for a while.

Weird and scary. But I believe so worth it.

Very curious…do you have a budget? If so, how do you control your budget? Are you a Dave Ramsey fan?

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Emmy 2010 Wrap-Up

August 30th, 2010 at 10:43 am / Amy Bennett / No Comments »

Just a few thoughts:

SO excited for “Cam” from Modern Family for his win as well as the whole cast and crew for winning Best Comedy
Very sad for Kyle and Connie for not winning their categories but a little surreal seeing them in the crowd! So happy the show at least got recognized.
The LOST song that Jimmy Fallon performed was hilarious. “At least I tried.”
George Clooney’s bit with Modern Family was gold.
So many gorgeous dresses but these are my top 3

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Fashion Friday – Flirty, Purply, Lacy

August 20th, 2010 at 3:00 pm / Amy Bennett / 9 Comments »

Flirty, Purply, Lacy Fall by bennettaj featuring Oasis tops

I just need to know which shoes you’d pick.

You can find more Fashion Friday at Musings of a Housewife, Girlymama, Mommies with Style, Water Water Everywhere

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At 60

August 19th, 2010 at 8:41 pm / Amy Bennett / 29 Comments »

I couldn’t quit staring at these ladies at lunch today.

At first I was taken by their looks and outfits. They have cute hair cuts, trendy yet age-appropriate clothes on and stylish hand bags. I thought, man I hope I’m in their shoes at their age. My fashion-conscious friends and I retired, spending lunch at a bistro…

Then I thought how shallow that was.

Is that what I’m aiming for? Just to look pretty and eat good food? Not to say that’s all to them because I don’t really know those ladies or what they’ve been through or done.

But it made me think about what I DO want? What do I want 30 years from now? What do I want my story to say?

Scott said yesterday lying in bed considering it all we sure do have it made. And I guess we do in some ways. No complaints from me. I don’t begrudge my blessings but I wonder if I’ll be satisfied with a good lunch and a pretty handbag at a Bistro with my friends.

I feel a rumbling in my soul to see something bigger and better. Not to be satisfied with the simple and easy and pretty. I’m not asking for pain or destitution but I don’t know, its rumbling in there. It really is.

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Give a Hoot

August 17th, 2010 at 4:07 pm / Amy Bennett / 2 Comments »

I love owls. Can you tell? They were the inspiration for my latest Polyvore set.

Owl by bennettaj featuring Oasis tops

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iPhone 4 Unboxing

August 12th, 2010 at 11:20 pm / Amy Bennett / 7 Comments »

Well the iPhone saga continues and today’s episode is all about getting my new iPhone 4! Yippee! I had to take a look back but it’s been about 6 months since I cracked the screen and 3 months since my 3G died and I’ve been using a 1st gen thanks to a great friend who let me borrow his. This new phone feels so bright and shiny and update and new and fast and all kinds of wonderful.

I have to tell a little story about getting it though. First off, we know I’d been holding out for the white but finally had to buckle after they announced it would be too long. Then after I ordered it, it was going to be 3 weeks until it got here. It finally shipped last week….from China. The original order said it’d be here on Friday but I was doing the happy dance when I woke up this morning and found out it was going to be a day early. Mainly because I’d scheduled the day in the office Friday and I wouldn’t be around to get the package.

So all morning I’m anxiously awaiting lunch time when our normal carrier drives by. After lunch and no driver.

Finally, I see one go by but he didn’t stop. I run out to the front yard and wait for him to come back down the street. I expect him to notice me in the yard and stop. Well, no sir, he went right on by without even a glance at us. I run out to the road and wave my hands hoping to stop him thinking, “He has my iPhone from China on that trucckk!!”

After quickly deciding I shouldn’t jump in the car and follow him to his next stop, I take Emma’s suggestion to call them all the while thinking of planning a trip to the distribution center. But alas, all my fears were calmed when the lady said that was the Express truck and the Courier truck that had my phone from China on it would be at my house by 4:30. Whew.

So I did an unboxing video just after it arrived. I had had no shower since we were going to go swimming and no makeup, etc, etc but catch the end of the video, it just showed life around our house so well…

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What Was Supposed to be a Loft Haul

August 3rd, 2010 at 7:00 pm / Amy Bennett / 6 Comments »

So I was going to do a haul video for you of a few new things I got from The Loft outlet in Charleston this weekend. In fact, I did 4 of them. But then realized my Flip is dying and there’s this weird strip on the right hand side of the screen which completely covered me up. That could be a good thing according to some but I decided to take a few pictures instead anyway. And then the pictures looked really bad so here…PLEASE LOOK AT THE REALLY CUTE SHOES.

These did not come from The Loft but they go with the new gray pants, red tank and gray&cream striped V-neck sweater from The Loft that you’ll now have to use your imagination to see.

But trust me. CUTE!

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Random Wii

July 29th, 2010 at 9:51 pm / Amy Bennett / 2 Comments »

You know what’s depressing? Having your Wii Fit tell you you gained 4 lbs. since your last workout.

You know what’s not depressing? Finally kicking your husband out of first place in that Penguin vs. Fish balance game.

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The Hair Cut – Again

July 23rd, 2010 at 11:56 am / Amy Bennett / 20 Comments »

So I tried. I really tried to let it grow. My hair is just not made to be long though. It’s too fine and flyway and finicky. So I got it chopped again today. It’s ok if you like it longer, you won’t hurt my feelings but I love it!

2010-07-23

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Zac Efron Charlie St. Cloud Premiere Pictures

July 21st, 2010 at 11:30 am / Amy Bennett / 6 Comments »

I kinda lose all sorts of levels of maturity when I see pictures of Zac Efron. Last night was the premiere of Charlie St. Cloud and I couldn’t help but need to comment on some of the pictures.

This? Is what I would do if I was near Zac Efron. Stand very close and stare at him with a cheesy smile. I imagine his reaction to be the same.