16 Cool Things You Need to Click On Today

photo via Glamboxes

My birthday is tomorrow! Yes, I'm a Valentine's baby, which throughout my life, has vacillated between being a blessing and a curse. Word on the street is that the day will start off with breakfast in bed, followed later on by a sure-to-be-heavy-on-the-sprinkles-and-gel-frosting cake. I actually said I didn't want a cake this year (#healthy), but this seriously distressed my cake-decorating-loving daughter so...there will be cake. 

We'll hang out as a family and then head to dinner that night. Sunday is supposed to be single-digits cold, so I'll be hibernating. (And by "hibernating" I mean "trapped inside with two bored children and not actually sleeping but how awesome would that be.")

Have a great weekend! Here are some fun links to check out...

• This dress is SO pretty, SO feminine, SO spring-y, and the shape is super flattering. (And surprisingly reasonably priced!) Get in my closet.

• Also loving this dress. The bright pink color is gorgeous and I feel like I'd get so much use out of it.

• I'm reading this much-hyped book right now. Have you read it yet? Seriously, I CANNOT PUT IT DOWN!

• This made me think (and made me want to do better): How we unintentionally hurt our kids when we respond to them the wrong way.

• Khloe and Kim Kardashian talked to me about wedding hair.

• I freaking LOVE Cindy Crawford (and Marie Claire) for doing this.

• Here's a phenomenal read about our culture's current penchant for online shaming--and how one dumb tweet can alter your life immensely. (h/t Laura)

• These sunglasses though! (I'm clearly on a major pink kick right now...)

• The worst errands to run with kids. Yep.

• This hack for putting on a duvet cover BLEW MY MIND.

• When four sisters share one bedroom.

• This is such a good, simple idea: Teach kids kindness by having them make cards for sick children.

• What this woman has to endure just because of her job is insane. And why is no one doing anything about it?!

• Videos of soldiers surprise-reuniting with kids always get me. I cried about 2.5 seconds into this video and didn't stop until the end.

And in case you missed it, this week I...

• Gave Starbucks a piece of my mind.

• Shared some Valentine's-inspired fashion and beauty favorites.

9 Beauty Situations That Make You Want to Cry Like Kim Kardashian

I posted the photo above (a #regram from Up & Out salon) on my Insta last week. It totally cracked me up because it's just so true, right? It got me thinking about other beauty annoyances, so I thought it would be fun to illustrate a few of them--in GIF form. Enjoy!

1. When you walk out of the salon with a killer new blowout...and it starts raining.




2. When you go to get more of your favorite lip gloss and find out it's just been discontinued.





3. When you discover your new waterproof mascara...just isn't.




4. When you're trying to decide whether you should gather the energy to take your makeup off before bed or play Russian Roulette with your skin and just go to sleep.




5. When you wake up with a big zit placed conveniently in the exact center of your forehead. 



6. When you've spent approximately 100 years expertly applying your mascara. And then you sneeze.



7. When the hair on your head grows painfully slow--but the ones on your upper lip are multiplying like crazy. 




8. When you buy an expensive new self-tanner, slather it on, then find out that it's clearly not your shade. 

9. When it becomes obvious that your hair stylist is cutting off more than the quarter-inch you requested.

Now it's your turn! What did I forget? Below, please tell me what beauty moments make you want to cry. Maybe you'll see them come to life in GIF form here soon. ;)

13 More Cool Things You Have To Click On Today

The New Yorker cartoon above made me giggle. It's available as a framed print here.

How's your weekend going? Mine's good, though not as relaxing as I hoped it would be (lots of running around with the kids!). But I did take a break to go out with some friends Friday night, which was fun. I also found some time to cook a healthy dinner (this easy coconut curry, which I ate over coconut cauliflower "rice"--so good!). And I have these paleo brownies in the oven right now! Cross your finger that they're as yummy as they look.

So, as promised on Friday, I'm back today with a rare weekend post! Found too many fun things this week and wanted to share them all. Enjoy!

• I grew up in the supermodel era, loved them all, but was particularly obsessed with Cindy Crawford. I maintained a binder with Cindy photos (this was how superfans did it before Pinterest, kids), recreated her infamous Pepsi commercial for my high school pageant, and even did an oral report on her for 10th grade English. (Eek--yep, obsessed is definitely the right word.) For years, I saw every photo and read every article about Cindy. So, I really adored this awesome interview with her. So much great stuff. She rules. #cindyforever

• Have you read this beautiful essay by Judith Newman about her autistic son's adorable relationship with Siri? Really great. 

• I really want these black-and-tortoise-shell bow flats. Such a pretty alternative to the standard plain-black pair.

• Loved Grace's roundup of party dresses and accessories. Now I just need somewhere to wear that gorgeous hot pink number!

• Is Kim Kardashian a digital genius?

• Why hadn't anyone thought of this before? And, OMG, don't you just want to try it right now? 

• This funny, gay-wedding-advice video is great.

• 7 questions all bloggers should ask themselves.

• Just in case you've ever thought about applying sunscreen with your makeup airbrushing tool...don't. Here's why.

• A modern-day use of the barter system: Will Letter For Lunch

And, ICYMI, here's a few posts that have been popular on The Sparkly Life this week...

• How to Get The Most Gorgeous Read Lips

• Almost Famous: I Auditioned For a New TV Show

• The Best Scalloped Flats At Every Price