The Friday Forum - September 6

I wish I had the time - took the time - to make flower arrangements to brighten my favorite spaces. Unfortunately, I don't. Then, there's the "Charlie problem." He believes that anything that once grew in the ground and is green has been brought in for his munching pleasure. I don't want him to get sick or poisoned because I wanted to beautify my home.

Right now, I have a gorgeous, huge yellow chrysanthemum plant in the copper container at my front door. The plant is just starting to bloom. Would I have taken the time to purchase it? No, but one of my two best friends left it as a gift yesterday. I was thrilled when I got home from work.

This week has been a slow beauty week for me. After spending all day Monday cleaning my bedroom (you wouldn't believe the boxes of beauty products I have now stashed away), I was not in the mood for more beauty products. I did order some fragrances, and I can't wait for them to arrive. I was also hoping to hear that Carnaby Street had arrived at Neiman Marcus. That would have snapped me out of my doldrums. I'll pop over to Neiman Marcus Mazza tomorrow - for several reasons. I want to pick up two of Estée Lauder's new metallic trios. Yes, they are neutrals.

This week, I read an article in the New York Times Magazine. It has nothing to do with beauty. Actually, it is "all about ugly" and its many manifestations. It is a powerful article, written by a women who was kidnapped in Somalia and held what seemed like an eternity. "12 Minutes of Freedom in 460 days of Captivity" left me feeling unsettled. I didn't realize its full impact until I felt a tear running down my cheek. Although it has little to do with Syria, it gave me a window on a world I don't want us "in" - now or ever. See if it has the same effect on you that it had on me.

I didn't do a weekly contest this week, and I'm trying to decide how and when I will continue with them. As you know, I use Random.org to select the winners. Many of the entrants never read my blog, aren't subscribed, and may never come back. They are strictly what I call "contest people." I started the contests years ago to give something back to you - something that I sense is happening infrequently. Now, I'm not sure how to proceed. So, I took a little break. I'd welcome your suggestions for contests. I will tell you it's extremely hard to verify subscriptions, impossible for those like Feedly. I was thinking of randomly selecting someone who comments each week and posting a note to please contact me "because you just won a giveaway." Do you have any ideas?

It's time for the Friday Forum. I love this part of our week. What new products did you discover this week? Did you find any deals you couldn't resist? Are you using a fabulous product and want to sing its praises? Did you find a beauty product disappointing? Do you have a question others might be able to answer? Want to talk about skin care? What's new in your life? Just use the comments. Don't be shy. Just make sure to ask any question you might have over the weekend. By early the next week, most (not all) readers will have moved on.

Photo courtesy of fineflowers.com