Good Things List No.56: Travel, Snow, Good Mascara, Books and More

A monthly list of good things to see, buy, read and watch.

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It's the first week of December as I write this and we're already thick into the holiday happenings - decorating, church activities, cookie making and such.

My goal is to choose the best and leave the rest, and that is my hope for you, too (my Holiday Planner can help - it's free and you can get it by clicking here and signing up for my email list!).

Here are the good things from last month including a fun trip, a new mascara I'm loving, four book reviews, and the biopic I enjoyed.

Good Things List

Travel

The best thing from November was our trip to Maui, Hawaii!

We were able to go along with my folks and share their beautiful rented condo on a golf course in Kaanapali.

While they golfed, Brian enjoyed surfing and he and I were able to snorkel four times in different areas (my favorite).

Mostly I enjoyed being warm along with the lovely views.

Funny thing is, almost every time I tell someone we went to Maui, they say something like, "Oh that's our favorite place." Or "We love it there - we go all the time."

Guess we were the last on the West Coast to visit for the first time, lol.

A Bit of Snow

It was cold and wet when we got back and then about a week later we got some snow, which is pretty early for us in the Willamette Valley.

Brian took this photo of the hills from our window. It's zoomed a bit - our view is actually farther away, but it's still pretty breathtaking in all the seasons!

New Mascara

I have been through LOTS of different mascaras through the years. They've all been drugstore brands because I won't ever pay $20-50 for a tube of mascara, but I've tried all on the "best of" lists.

And they just haven't done the things that I've wanted: little clumping, curl the lashes, no under eye smudging, and easy to remove.

I especially didn't like the under eye smudge by the end of the day, which would happen even with waterproof mascaras.

While I'm not wearing mascara everyday anymore, when I do wear it I would like it to all these things - and I've finally found one that does!

It's called Pacifica Beauty Stellar Gaze Length & Strength Black Mascara and it checks all my boxes, plus looks natural and is silicone, sulfate + paraben free, vegan and cruelty free.

I can wear it all day without ending up with raccoon eyes AND it comes off easily with water. How? I have no idea but I'm here for it.

November Reads

I only read or listened to four books this last month. Usually I read more when traveling, but this time we were with others and doing a lot of visiting, so there were no snippets of listening to books while cooking, cleaning, and driving.

A Dangerous Place (Maisie Dobbs, Book 11), Jacqueline Winspear.

Oh, gosh - what to say about this book in the Maisie Dobbs series that I've been going through for the past year? Without giving too much away of the story, I will just say I was super disappointed about where the author took Maisie in this book. I really felt it was a cop out in order for Maisie to stay the same (a woman who solves mysteries and looks into other's problems, etc.) without outside interference.

I think a good opportunity was lost to show how a woman might do more than just one thing - which I was really looking forward to after book 10. Sigh.

No Time Like The Future, Michael J. Fox. After reading Michael's first book last month, I put a hold on his latest and listened to it while in Hawaii when I took walks in the morning. This wasn't quite as fascinating as his first one since that was also a memoir about his Hollywood years, but this picks up in his later life with his family life, Parkinson's, and his foundation. Oh - and the physical setbacks he's had in addition to Parkinsons.

He's been through it and things definitely tested his "glass half full" outlook on life. But hearing how he came to make certain choices and how that affected him as well as his friends and family is as inspiring as we've come to expect from him. I especially love how he just did things even though he had PK, like golf. Yes, his swing was odd and he'd shake, but so what? He also hit the ball and played a game.

That could be a good metaphor for life, couldn't it? (Which, come to think of it, Nike coined with it's "just do it" phrase!)

Blood, Sweat and Chrome, Kyle Buchanan. Oh man is this book a wild ride! Brian and I listened to this whenever we drove around, so it took us a bit to get through, but it was super interesting as well as unbelievable at times.

It's the story of the making of the movie, Mad Max: Fury Road, including the 10-15 years it spent in pre-production (yes, more than a decade as Mel Gibson aged out of the role...), the many crazy cars that were all created for and rode in for the scenes (no green screen here), financing and the unwavering vision of the director, George Miller. I had no idea the movie took 9-10 months of shooting in Namibia - hours in the hot, cold, and so.much.dust. It's full of cast and crew interviews with first hand accounts of incidents, fights, and marriages that happened. The most amazing is the movie's story and how it was created without a script, only story boards, and how it was kind of an underdog and went on to win Oscars.

Now we just have to watch it again armed with all this background knowledge we have now!

The Masterpiece, Fiona Davis. This book started out slow and I wasn't sure what to make of it, but it picked up pace when I finally got a sense of the characters from the different eras. The book flips back-and-forth between the 1920's-30's and the 1970s and is set in New York's Grand Central Station - in it's heyday in the 20s and on the verge of being demolished for a high rise in the 70s.

The story is about an art school that was housed in the upper offices of the station and the teachers there, especially one female who was making her way in the male-dominated art world. The Masterpiece is a painting that goes missing and then the characters from the 1970's finds it and starts the unraveling of the mystery of who the painter is. While I never really felt a connection to any of the characters, it was an interesting story and I wanted to see how it was resolved.

Watching

Elvis, directed by Baz Luhrmann. I had read a lot about this movie when it came out in August, some poor reviews about the movie itself, but mostly glowing reviews for the newish actor who played Elvis (and sang). My daughter and I really enjoyed it - it was fun and had all the highlights of his career as well as lots of good music. And we agree - Austin Butler was very good.

That's it for another addition of the Good Things List!

If you'd like to see more of what I'm enjoying, you can check out all the Good Things Lists here. I'd love to know what you think - if you've tried any of these or what you'd recommend. Leave a comment below with your thoughts!

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