Welcome to Skosh, where I hope to talk about my Wyoming life. A skosh (skōsh) is a small amount or a little bit. The word reminds me of my dad. He said skosh all the time and whenever I hear it, I think of him. So, I hope this blog is aptly named and I can talk to you a little bit about a lot of things.
When you read advice online about how to start a blog, the common theme is that you need a niche, and that niche should be appropriately unique, narrow (but not too narrow) and not something saturated by the giants of the blogging industry. Sounds simple doesn’t it? Oy. Can your niche be that you do a lot of things? Can you talk about horses, baking, knitting, fashion, and makeup all in one blog? I don’t really know if anyone will be interested in all the things, but I sure hope so.
I live in Wyoming, where I grew up. My husband and I have three horses, a dog, and some cats – a couple of barn cats and one retired, deaf, barn cat who lives inside now. We don’t have cows or sheep or goats because you have to draw the line somewhere. We have 2 acres, which is perfect for us. I always have plans for the next project – inside or out and really wish that money tree I planted would start to grow. Let’s be honest, I can’t do a home improvement blog. I’m in awe of the people who do. I really don’t know how they do it. Do they sleep? Do they own stock in Home Depot? Anyway, there might a random project here or there, but don’t get your hopes up that you’re going to see a bathroom remodel in a weekend, or the flooring (which I’d actually really like to do) done in a week. But that brings me to my next random thought. I don’t think I can just blog about any one thing because I don’t dedicate myself to that one thing. I knit, but I don’t knit as much in the summer because I’m busy riding my horse. I don’t think there’s enough horse stuff to talk about to fill an entire blog (I tried that once – I ran out of material in less than a month). I love to cook and bake but I don’t create recipes. I just make them and modify them for my altitude when necessary. Do you see where I’m going with this? I sure hope so because I’m not sure if I’ve even figured out the point. Oh yeah, the point is that there’s a skosh of this and a skosh of that around here, and I really hope you’re ok with that.
So, I thought I might start by sharing my June favorites. I know you don’t know me, and you have no reason to take my word for anything, but it gives you a taste of the randomness of my brain. Ready?
If that’s not a mouthful, I don’t know what is. Is there a competition I don’t know about to see what cosmetic company can come up with the longest name? Anyway, this is not a new product, but Chanel has finally released some olive skin tone shades (I have an olive skin tone post in the works). They did not release one that is light enough for me (a common problem), but I figured out a work around. One thing I’ve leaned on my olive skin journey is that you have to be creative because it’s rare to find a foundation that’s a perfect match. I bought BO33, which is the lightest olive shade they currently offer. I’m more in the B10 range, but that’s too peach for me. So, one pump of BO33, one pump of Haus Labs white (000 Fair Neutral), and a tiny bit of a white mixer (LA Girl from Amazon) is pretty much perfect. Is it a pain in the ass to mix my foundation every day? Yep. But I love the way this foundation wears and sits on the skin so I’m willing to put up with the hassle. I tried just mixing it with the Haus Labs, but it isn’t quite opaque enough, but mixing it with just the LA Girl made it too matte and kind of cakey. So, I use both. I’m high maintenance and I’m fine with that.
This is a new shade in the existing formula, released for summer. First off, if you haven’t tried the Westman Atelier blushes, they’re really lovely. They’re expensive, but they last forever. I have a couple of colors that I’ve had since the brand launched. They’re very travel-friendly with super luxe packaging and a great cream formula. And the Coquette color is the perfect summery peachy pink. A lot of blushes turn colors on me – I tend to see an orange shift – but this one doesn’t. It gives me a healthy, summery flush and lasts all day. I’d highly recommend it if you’re in the market for a new blush.
Again, not a new product, but new colors for the season. I find that I do a single color eyeshadow 90% of the time, especially in the summer. I love eyeshadow, but on the daily, I’m lazy. I slap a single color on my eyelids, maybe put a bronzer in the crease, use a little eye pencil, and call it a day. These eyeshadow sticks are fabulous. They’re easy to blend and wear all day, and again are super travel-friendly. I have all the colors – please don’t judge, but I’ve been wearing Shroom and Ballet on repeat. Every once in awhile I go crazy and wear them together.
I have issues with mascara. The biggest issue is that I have oily (maybe they’re just sweaty) eyelids and I get mascara transfer on my eyelids all the time. It’s beyond annoying. I’ve tried a few dozen mascaras and the only formula that doesn’t do this is a tubing mascara. And tubing mascaras have their own problems. They’re usually lengthening, but not overly volumizing because of how they build on the lashes. I like lashes that make a statement. I have fine, not overly long lashes, despite the lash serums I’m perpetually trying, and I need a mascara to give me some drama. Cue Vast Lash. The product information says:
Enduring and smudge-proof yet easy to remove, Vast Lash is clean volumizing mascara reimagined.
Miami-Proof Mascara: No flakes, no fuss, no smudge—just serious staying power that looks just as bold and voluminous 12+ hours later.
Single Coat Impact: This clean, eye-defining mascara volumizes your lashes in a single swipe, coating evenly from root to tip. When you’re ready to remove it, simply rinse with warm water.
Dramatic and Directional: Bigger, bolder, better, Beckham. “Vast Lash is not polite—it is major, it is thick, it is powerful, a mascara to push your look.” —VB
Pure excellence in every way: That’s the Victoria Standard.
The information I was able to find on it says it’s not a tubing mascara, but some other unique technology. I don’t really care. It doesn’t smudge and is easy to remove. It’s a win.
I saw these shoes on Gwyneth Paltrow’s Instagram feed and was immediately intrigued. They’re kind of like Birkenstocks, but dare I say more comfortable! I have narrow feet and I think I like these because they fit me better than my narrow Birks. Plus, they’re machine washable. I always say I’m going to keep my good shoes nice and not wear them to the barn, and inevitably I end up running out to do something like check water and have to fix fly sheets or something and muck them up. It happens every single time. The soles are made from recycled wine corks (I need to find out if they have a donation box somewhere) and they’re handmade in Portugal. They’re all I’ve been wearing for sandals. Apparently they’re pretty popular because you have to pre-order them but they’re worth it. I got the EU 40 and I’m a 9 ½ – 10, so I’d say they’re true to size.
I was going to say t-shirts, but I also really like the sweatshirts. I don’t have anything from this company I don’t like. Again, they’re expensive, but I find that the fit is great. I’m tall and I have the hardest time finding t-shirts that are long enough and don’t look like I’m wearing something I shunk in the dryer. The sweatshirts are an absolutely perfect French terry that are ideal for cool Wyoming evenings on the patio (once the mosquitos die a well-deserved death). My experience with clothes is similar to the discussion we had on shoes. I try to keep my nice clothes nice, but habitually fail miserably. I have had amazing luck getting all manner of random stains out of all of these pieces with some oxy-clean. Your mileage may vary, but I will say horse slobber and tail conditioner aren’t the easiest stains to remove. And am I the only one who doesn’t spill anything on the clothes they don’t care about, but cannot wear anything “good” without something random happening?
My good dressage horse (we can talk about my Quarter Horse dressage horse later) is the only one of the three horses we have who gets shown and needs to have a nice tail. He’s also the only one who thinks it’s cool to let his buddy chew layers into his tail. The other two horses have long, thick, gorgeous tails. But not Deets. So, I went looking for tail solutions and found BioMane. It’s a small company based in Utah and I love everything they make. I have the tail bag, the brush, shampoo, conditioner, detangler, and braiding tape. I like to go all-in when I do something. It may be a character flaw – I don’t know. Anyway, I’ve been braiding Deets’ tail for about 3 weeks and I’m already noticing a difference. Surprisingly, his neighbor hasn’t chewed on the tail bag. I tried a different tail bag last summer and it lasted maybe a week before it was chewed off (multiple times – I’m a slow learner). I haven’t seen a single sign of chewing and it stays on through riding and turnout for the week I leave the braid in before redoing it. Impressive. So, for my horse friends out there, if you need great tail products, check them out.
I’ve gotten into sourdough bread in the last few months. I’ll do some posts on that specifically, because there’s a lot and I have thoughts. But, in the process of figuring out sourdough bread, I’ve purchased a couple of Heath Ceramics bowls. The first one is the Large Serving Bowl and it’s a great workhorse. I use it to mix everything from bread to cookies. But the bowl that I’ve been using a bunch this month is the shallow salad bowl. I love it for bulk proofing sourdough because the shallow design makes it easy to do coil folds, but I also love it for serving salad (shocking, I know, since that’s what it’s designed for). But when I bought it, I had no intention of using for anything other than bread. This bowl is unique in its size and shape, and it’s fabulous for all kinds of salads and veggies. Heath Ceramics quality is outstanding and I’m already trying to figure out what to buy next.
A couple of years ago I cut refined sugar out of my diet. Ok, if I’m being super honest, I try to limit the amount of refined sugar I eat. I use honey or maple syrup and try to limit those as well. I love dessert, and I love to bake, but sugar isn’t really good for me – emotionally more than physically. Anyway, my local food co-op sells Wild Tonic Kombucha. I’ve also seen it at Whole Foods, so I’m sure it’s commonly available. I initially started drinking it because I was trying to drink less wine and I get bored with just water, and it was the only no sugar kombucha I could find. But now I love it. They have so many interesting flavors and I haven’t found one that I dislike. I’ve even got JG drinking it! They have their regular kombucha flavors, plus some mocktail and alcoholic flavors. I haven’t seen the hard options for sale around here, but I have added some alcohol to the mocktail flavors for a refreshing treat.
A friend told me about this brand of luxury artisanal fragrances. Maison d’Etto is a unique interpretation of the contemporary equestrian lifestyle. I purchased the discovery set a few weeks ago and fully expected to love Durban Jane, which I do, but I think it’s more of a fall/winter fragrance. The unexpected hit for me is Macanudo. It’s a green fragrance, and I’ve never liked one before. They’re usually just too green. Too cucumber or grass or … something. But this one is delightful.
Smells like: Fresh Grass, Bergamot ( TOP ); Hay, Jonquille, Wet Earth ( HEART ); Haitian Vetiver, Tonka Bean ( BASE )
The notes don’t even sound that amazing (or they don’t to me), but there’s something about the combination that I’m digging. I think I might have to save some money so I can buy a full size bottle. But until then, I’m enjoying the baby one from the discovery set.
What are you loving? Anything I absolutely have to have (even though we all know I don’t need a single thing)? I hope you enjoyed this list and might consider sticking around for whatever randomness comes next. I have some other posts in the works and can hopefully get into a good routine around here.
Stephanie
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