Summer time...

                                           Photo via craigieonmain.com
And the livin' (as a grad student) ain't easy.  Is anything easy when you're in graduate school?  Anything other than self effacement and practice of anti-social behavior?  Well, let's not dwell on that.  In keeping with speaking and manifesting, I have a summer spinoff of my Life List.  The Summer Livin' List.  This will motivate me to do more than drink on my back porch.

Summer Livin' List 

• visit the Berkshires
• Eat at Jack's 
• Do the Cocktail Whim at Craigie on Main 
• Do the Chef's Whim at Craigie on Main 
• Do Martha's Vineyard
• Go Camping 
• One more sewing project
• Make headway on the 52 Cheeses
• Roaring 20's Birthday Party
• Make ice cream
• Brunch on summer weekends
• cocktails around (and maybe swimming in) a roof pool
• After dinner walks through my neighborhood
• French cooking class
•     chocolate mousse
•     fruit tart
• Watch a sunset from the beach
• Watch a sunrise from the beach
• BONFIRE!!!
• Spend a weekend in Provincetown
• Clam Bake/Crab Boil/Lobster Boil

...

Of course I'm free to add other fun things.  Don't ya just love the summer?

Loving: Kind Mango Macadamia

I have been loving KIND's Mango Macadamia Bar.  No this is not a paid endorsement unless pay= deliciousness in my tumbly.  Yes.  Tumbly.  Settle your teeth into this one friends.  You'll be glad you did.

Nu Shooz

Oh.  yes.  My bike commute in 85 degree temperatures and 70% humidity was terrible, but I wore super shoes and super shoes make all the difference. Right?

Photo courtesy of the fabulous Neighbor Sister

Yes y'all.  Determined not to look like an obvious graduate student*,  I've put a touch of effort into my bike gear and it's paid off in these sweet sweet mama's.  They are just the beginning of my rubber bottomed bike shoe arsenal.  Those wedges?  They're rubber foam, perfectly 'foot braking' safe.  There's a  bit of a jute on the sole but most of it is rubber and I had great traction on the pedal.  What's the verdict?  VELOve these shoes?

*FAIL...yesterday (Sunday) i found my way into lab in a holey t-shirt with bike grease on my bosom.  Every day a new start right?

Pink a Boo

OPI Axxium in Pink Flamenco.

Who can? Toocan!

That's right folks.  Panniers!   And nice ones!  I love the Detours Toocans and special bonus?  I found a sweet deal on Craigslist.  I got these babies for $70 altogether.  The one drawback in my opinion is that the bags are kind of heavy on their own which becomes a problem when you're unloading them for toting about.  As long as they're on the bike they're fine.  Pros?  They're attractive!  I've gotten more than one compliment on these lovelies, they're sturdy (the counter to the drawback), so.many.pockets!  great for keeping things separate.  If I hadn't gotten such a great deal that I had to eschew the idea of retail altogether, I would have opted for a flashier color, still,  I love them.  Anyhow, if I had the motivation, I could adorn them as I saw fit.  With these and my bungee net, I'm a cargo pulling fool!

Loving: More cyclists forgo special garb, commute in heels and suits

“When I’m pedaling along and I realize I’m starting to ‘glow,’ I make a conscious decision to slow down...New England’s humidity means there are some days you’ll sweat, regardless.

On such muggy mornings, embrace prints, writes Velouria. “Patterns disguise sweat stains. Wear small stripes, flowers or polka dots, slap some deodorant on when you get to work, and you’re dry and fine in five minutes.’’ 
For the most part, I bike in spandex bottoms.  My commute is near ten miles, twenty round trip and unexpected chafe can become a real problem by the end of the day.  Spandex curbs that.  While I'm not so sure about the prints, or whether you should even be sharing that you're sweating like a pig, I like that people are biking!  Caveat:  As much as I hate the aesthetic of helmets and love cycling in style...really Bostonians?  You have to be nuts not to wear a helmet.  This place is not terribly bike friendly and the potholes can send you careening toward TBI.  *dismount soapbox*

Check out these bike fashion blogs:
Copenhagen Cycle Chic
Chic Cyclists
Velo Vogue

A Handy Solution

I'm a picker, I'm finicky, I'm a sometimes perfectionist and I'm prone to fixation.  Basically, I can be an anxiety monster and my outlet is often my manicure.  Catch me in a nervous fit and you're likely to find me picking a cuticle, hangnail or scratching off nail polish.  Why?  Punishment, of course, for not being perfect.  I never said I wasn't crazy.  Anyhow, my fixations lead to a mixed bag of manicure results.  As long as I have time to get to a salon once every nine days or so for a manicure, my nails and hands look good, happy, healthy.  Let the manicure lapse, however, and we have problems.  Picking, biting, obsessively filing, first because 'my nails are ugly' (never mind that my fussing with them made them that way) then because I need to fix the damage I've inflicted.  All this AND I'm hard on my hands.  Being in lab means I'm washing them often.  Harsh.  Dry nails.  Dry hands.  NO MORE!   I've found an awesome solution.  OPI Axxium Gel Manicures!

Alright, I know, I sound like a shill, but here's the deal:  I'm not.  This product is just so awesome.  The Axxium gel system is a special gel formula that's painted over your natural nails and light cured.  Voila, great glossy long lasting manicure that lasts for up to three weeks.   Gel lacquer is so much more gentle and flexible than acrylic overlays or even traditional gel overlays.  I'm quite pleased.  Once my nails grow out I'll use more fun colors, for now, I'm sporting the Passion.  A neutral, so that if there are any glitches I can weather them until my next manicure.  

Pretty. Basic. Manicure.